Alya, the Head of Foreign Affairs, and Musaevna, the close friend of Alya and the richest women in Tamora, went to the Djerb international airport to meet their guests. Alya was enjoying the recent rise in power and influence she was getting. After spending almost two decades in the shadows she was now on the spotlight and Musaevna, her best friend, also benefitted from Alya growing influence. While many factors influenced Djerb into recognizing the Theocracy, it was no doubt that Musaevna was among the deciding ones.
The two women were wearing black
abayas dresses a matching hijab. They both chose black because Tamora was under a period of national mourning after the execution of Dilara.
“Welcome to the Empire of Tamora! It is a pleasure to meet you.” said Alya to her guests bowing lightly and putting her right hand over her heart. She then presented Musaevna to the guests who proceeded to make bow and make a similar gesture.
Alya took the gifts and thanked the guests “I will make sure a representative of the government will be at the graduation” she added referring to the first Tamoran girls doing so. “I also know just how precious and hard to obtain this spice is. Lady Musaevna explained to me how important it is for your faith and the great sacrifice it took to obtain it.
“If I may, Your Grace. We have also prepared something for you. “ said Alya handing Verspasian a parchment. “It carries the seal of the Emperor. It is the official confirmation as ambassador to the Empire and proof to all that you are a guest enjoying all the ranks and privileges of a foreign representative." Whether by chance or by careful examination of Tamoran mores the Theocracy had chosen a representative that pleased Tamora: he was married and also had a child.
Alya then proceed to present the second gift, a book with lavish covers” This is a copy of the Book of Mani, our holy book. It is the essence of our faith. It also bears the signature of the Supreme Ayatollah of Tamora. After all, it was the
synod of the Church that took the first steps to bringing the situation in Kaitaine to the attention of the Tamoran people. It is my modest opinion, Your Grace, that the holy book will would help you better understand Tamora as a whole.”
Once the exchange of gifts was done and the people made the proper introductions, Alya invited the guests to proceed where the military fanfare stood. Once they reached their designated places the band proceeded to sing the national anthem of the two countries.
Afterwards, the guests were escorted by limousine to the Imperial Palace. As the convoy made its way to the palace, the passengers could see through the window a city packed with minarets from the various Manist temples that were present all over the city. From time to time even crosses of churches and minarets of mosques could be seen. Djerb was the most Manist large city in Tamora yet even here the presence of other religions was noticeable. Aside from religious symbols, the Tamoran flag was also ever present, whether iT was in window shops or just apartment windows, it was pretty much everywhere. In close “competition” with the Tamoran flag was the portrait of Dilara which was recently declared a martyr by the Manist Church after she had been crucified by the Slavans.
Less than an hour after the guests arrived in Tamora, they together with their hosts were just settling in the large meeting room of the Imperial palace designed for meeting guests. Unsurprisingly, here too the Tamoran flag was present as were numerous portraits of various Emperors from Tamora’s long history. Above all stood the portraits of the two most revered figures in the Manist religion: the
Prophet Mani himself and, a little lower and in a smaller portrait, Alya the Mother of the Nation. Aside from the slave servants that were busy brining in refreshments for the guests, two imperial guards were also present in the room, close to the corners doing their best not to be noticed.
The guests were invited to take a seat at a round table. After everyone was sited, Alya asked the guests ”Was the trip to Tamora okay?” in order to start the conversation before going to the more important issues.
After a couple of minute of conversation, she resumed:
“With your permission, Your Grace. We would like to start addressing some of the issues on our agenda. We took the liberty of picking a location for your embassy here in Djerb”, she handed Verspasian a tablet with a couple of
pictures of the proposed location. It was a about the average size of what you would expect from an embassy. Nothing too lavish in proportions but not small either. What it did have was location; it was close to the Imperial palace which, according to Tamoran customs, was a sign of respect and courtesy.
“Now of course, considering the issues you are having with the KGB, we will be providing extra security to the location, If you have any requests on this matter please do tell me and I will make sure we do our very best to fulfill them as fast as possible.”
“I would also like to thank you for the fact that you offered us a location for our embassy so fast. I have to admit you took as by surprise with how fast you reacted. I am a bit ashamed to admit that we have yet to choose an ambassador but we are working on it. So far, from what I understand even getting one in there is a challenge as he would have to be “smuggled” in. We will of course have the embassy be active and will inform the rebels in the east that any attack against our embassy will be seen as an act of aggression against Tamora.”