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If Tartu was the gem of the Kingdom is was one that had been chipped and lost its shine long ago. What had once been a thriving city through the 19th and early 20th Centuries had been the scene of vicious fighting in the 1960's and even after had struggled to regain its lustre. The city was made up of row upon row of concrete housing blocks, the ground floors of which were turned over to commerce while the residents of the city lived above them. Thankfully the one positive of the rebuilding of the city was the fact that there had been plenty of oppurtunities to put green spaces in so that those consigned to living in the small flats that most Tartuites called home had places to stroll and relax on the frequent sunny days.
Today one such of these green spaces was off limits to the general public as it was effectively surrounded by a ring of steel with large temporary metallic panels put around the Royal Park. The perimeter of the park was being patrolled by khaki clad soldiers who appeared pretty casual about the days proceedings. At Tartu International Airport there would be a small welcoming party but the aim was to keep the arrival of the Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother rather low key. In the view of the First Minister, Darijus Laine it was important to find out about this "Sisterhood" as it appeared the Kingdom may have a significant number of them and added to that they had the place the Bene Gesserit considered the Holy Land on the doorstep the downside however was several influential nations called them terrorists and until The First Minister could work out which nations they saw as the most significant to befriend they didn't want to upset them. A convoy of black armoured cars made their way up to the entrance to the park and it was here the First Minister and King Kārlis IV would meet their guest.
"Reverend Mother, welcome to the Kingdom of Chistopol" The First Minister was the first to greet her extending a hand in welcome. It had been determined that he should be the first to welcome the guest as it would show that while on paper Chistopol was a Kingdom it was the people who had the real influence. Darijus though was a man who respected the King and believed that he was the personification of what was good about the nation. "It's my pleasure to introduce His Majesty King Kārlis."
"Dear Lady" the King stepped forward his left hand gripping the top of a black wooden cane topped with a silver decretive panther's head. The King figured that for this short meet and greet followed by the walk into the park itself he didn't really need the cane but he had good days where he could walk for hours but then other days his legs would suddenly feel like heavy weights and occasionally had failed him. He did not want that to be his first impression. "Its good to meet you. I hope you've had a safe journey. Where have you come from as I heard you'd been busy on business around Mundus." The two Chistopolians and the Bene Gesserit delegation entered through the metal protective screen. The park featured a network of white gravel paths that were flanked by avenues of trees under which every ten meters or so nicely carved benches sat with most having brass plaques pinned to them dedicated to some family that had died during the fighting for independence. As they reached a small lake that swans elegantly glided on a small bridge jutted out into the lake to a small island on which sat a kind of cross between a bandstand and a gazebo. At the centre of this was a table set up with various seats surrounding it. "Please take a seat" the King said as he carefully lowered himself into his own seat. "I am eager to learn about this faith of yours. I am also eager to see if we can in someway show support to the faith." The King began before the First Minister interrupted him.
"We however will support the faithful, maybe not the Sisterhood." Darijus explained, "My concern is this Chistopol is a nation that probably recognises your problems more than most, but I was elected to complete the rebuilding of Chistopol and not lead us into another war. My concern is also that we may be at a point where we are forced to choose a friendship with the Sisterhood and your Theocracy or friendships with nations across Mundus. While my heart wishes to support the Theocracy at this point my head is telling me that would be a mistake for my people. I hope this is understandable and I apologise if it isn't what you wanted to hear. I am though keen to hear what your faith is about and how you think we can support the near million or so members of it here in the Kingdom."