Aurian and the Zaxars

[Zaxar]

20:00, April 5, 2022 - Geolithia Convention Center, Niyol, Zaxar - Zaxari-Velaherian Trade Summit —

Nicholas von Kenne scanned the hall, not exactly a fruitful task given the immensity of the building, searching for his charge. It really amazed him sometimes, just how much Niyol had built itself around the attraction of business. There was no way this building could get any use domestically, there weren’t enough Zaxars in the country for that, he would sometimes joke. Rather, the majority of large buildings in the city were catered to hosting events such as this one, attracting foreign crowds often larger than their Zaxari companions.

In this mass of suits and dresses, one must really be tall or especially vibrant to stand out in this crowd. Von Kenne had offered to escort the Zaxari princess Dyani Zaxar, the 22-year-old sister of the Emperor, as the official representative of the imperial family at the event. Emperor William had always made it a point to send a family member to any significant diplomatic event in Zaxar where it was feasible. And so Dyani had been selected for this particular event, a significant guest being the current third-in-line to the empire. Thankfully, as she was not of particularly tall stature, the princess had chosen an eye-catching dress of a shimmering Zaxari blue for the occasion. It was only thanks to this that Kenne had caught sight of her, standing off towards the north face of the building. She appeared to be engaged in what must've been a very humorous conversation, with the amount of laughing going on, with a Velaherian who Kenne could not quite make out from behind the Zaxari imperial guards and Velaherian security personnel, though it appeared to be a man of his early to mid-20s.

Kenne was not left to observe the lively interaction for long, however, as he was quickly drawn away by a Velaherian translator who he recognized from his visit to Bastaria just a few months back. He remembered the man as one of the better Velaherian-Ilene translators he’d met. And he had also been one of those representing the Starinburg-regime for the talks on Kenne’s own flagship VZLP guest worker program at the summit, which had proved quite promising. At the end of the day, trade was the purpose of this meeting. Trade that promised to uplift both nations, an alliance of the economic backwashes of both Aurelia and Argis. Most nations would likely ignore this deal because of that fact, all the better for Zaxar as Velaheria’s was not exactly a regime that was savory to most of Zaxar’s target investors. But, as so many often forget, scissors beat paper, but with enough paper one can make an imperial ledger, and that is something far denser than any rock…

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@DPR Velaheria

Edited January 24 by Orioni
typos; spelling; Velaheria ≠ Veleheria (see edit history)