Beatification Ceremony of Prince Laurez Hajioff

[Lakhzovia]

The Eternal Royal City of Ardiapur

Laurenz stood in his formal Royal Garb, which being Crown Prince and therefore Master of the Ardiapur Guard meant dress uniform. The sun was beating down fiercely on the city causing him to sweat uncomfortably in his clothing, he wished he didn't have to stand outside the Palace, but guests were arriving for his ceremony and protocol therefore demanded that he do so.

Next to him stood his uncle Theofilus who was Chief of Communications, his other Uncle the Autokrator himself, would only be making his entrance later in the evening, again as dictated by protocol.

He shifted slightly to ease his discomfort "How many did you say were coming?" he asked his uncle.

"A good number." replied Theofilus drily "and a few who are the heads of some very important states"

The conversation obviously over Laurenz turned his attention back to the far gates at the end of the long plaza that ran from the front of the Palace.
 He saw them open as the first of the dignitaries cars arrived.

[Comrade Kermit]

Elena had a look over the place when they arrived as the first delegation. She looked at the nervous Laurenz through the tinted car windows and then turned to her father, giggling: "He doesn't seem to like his job. Look at him, it seems like he was about to leave any second"

"You better don't tell him that." he answered amused "And now smile: we're stopping here."

The doors opened and Duke Philipp left the car, while his Ducal guard swiftly rushed to him. After him the Princess. They went into the direction of the prince with a smile showing that they both had made their homework for royal etiquette lessons. Elena quickly looked around and was really impressed by the foreign architecture. She asked herself why they had not been here before. Her father shook the hand of Prince Laurenz saying "I'm pleased to meet you, your Highness, This is my daughter Elena" he added pointing at her. Elena nodded heading into the direction of Prince Laurenz, knowing it was now her turn to shake hands.


Crown Princess Elena von Wateringas

Spoiler: show

Duke Philipp V von Wateringas

Spoiler: show

[Lakhzovia]

The doors of the car opened and a man he recognised as the Duke of Herrenbucht emerged followed by his daughter Elena. He smiled as he shook hands with the Duke as he made his greetings: "I'm pleased to meet you, your Highness, This is my daughter Elena"

"Your Highness, the pleasure is all mine. I was delighted to learn that you had accepted my invitation, and even more so to discover that you would be bringing your daughter." at this point he turned to Elena "I have heard congratulations are in order, it is not every day that one hears of a woman being made next in line to rule, your country is very lucky to have such forward thinking leadership."

He smiled as he took Elena's dainty hand for a gentle shake. She really was very beautiful he thought to himself.

"You know it always struck me odd at the lack of contact between our two nations, I understand the historical reasons given our history as a Satrapy of the Ardian Empire, however I would have hoped that we could have open the channels sooner than we have. Alas I fear that attitudes are slow to change in the Rhandic Court, perhaps we are in need of a breath of fresh air."

Out of the corner of his eye he could see Theofilus shoot him a disapproving look, he was well aware it was his Uncle's opinion that he lacked sufficient respect for the traditions of court. As always Laurenz ignored it and continued to forge ahead as he pleased.

"Please, you must allow me to show you to the reception, I'm afraid as the first to arrive there are only Courtesans and Nomarchs present at the moment, frightfully boring lot, but I am informed that there is a good selection of wines from the Karpas Mountains."

[DaveIronside]

"All I'm saying Freya is we could have been sat on some nice beach in Lodja or somewhere getting some sun, me watching you in a bikini and drinking cocktails with umbrellas in." Alex said as the aircraft began to descend.

"Look you knew you were marrying a Princess, so you play the hand your dealt. That means turning up and functions like this trying not to make me look a fool." Freya teased him as she straightened his tie and kissed him. "Beside if you do get called Prince you'll be on a whole lot more of these" There were still discussions about whether to grant Redfern the title Prince, it didn't really matter to him but their was a growing movement about keeping the royal family noble.

"Look hun" Alex fiddled with his tie again much to his wifes annoyance. "It's not like I've never done diplomacy before, I was attending diplomatic meetings long before you ok." Alex had been King David's former Chief of Household, and a whizz at it too, his briefing folders were legendary in the East Moreland diplomatic service and sorely missed. By now the airplane had stopped and the pair made their way down the steps and onto the tarmac, thankfully a car was waiting and whisked them directly to the venue. Alex, ever the gentleman, opened the door for his wife and the pair, dressed in their respective military uniforms headed over towards their host. "I like a nice wine" Alex said as they arrived as the Duke of Herrenbucht and the Duke finished speaking. Freya gave him a sideways glare indicating he should shut up.

"Thank you for inviting us" Freya said, "My brother, the King, would have liked to come however business back home keeps him. He hopes however my visit can be the start of good relations between us. Would it be possible to grab a moment with the Crown Prince after the ceremony, my brother has sent him a small token?"

[Lakhzovia]

"I like a nice wine"

Laurenz's eyes shot to the new arrivals while his face registered the slightly perplexed expression of one caught off guard before recomposing himself "Well then you are in luck. The Karpas Mountains have perfect soil and climate for growing excellent grapes, Rhand's best vintages come from the royal wine estates in the foothills... but please, forgive my manners and allow me to welcome your Majesties to our humble Kingdom."

Theofilus cleared his throat loudly while shooting Laurenz another of his scolding looks. Of course Laurenz knew what he'd done to upset him, and he'd done it quite deliberately. The previous evening during the briefing on the guests Theofilus had made a number of disparaging remarks about the disgrace of a Princess being allowed to marry a commoner and had held East Moreland up as an example of the dangers of modernist ideals. Referring to the two guests as 'your Majesties' had been calculated irritate him. He noted that Princess Freya had given her husband a similar glare.

"Thank you for inviting us" Freya said, "My brother, the King, would have liked to come however business back home keeps him. He hopes however my visit can be the start of good relations between us. Would it be possible to grab a moment with the Crown Prince after the ceremony, my brother has sent him a small token?"

"You are more than welcome, we are most honoured that a Kingdom as great as East Moreland would deign to send anyone at all, let alone such a distinguished Royal couple! It is of course possible to arrange such a meeting, in fact while it may appear somewhat shameless to say so, part of the reason for my open invitation was in order for the discussion of the prospects for future relations with other nations. I believe Rhand could benefit immensely from opening itself up to new ways of thinking, while also strongly believing that Rhand has much to offer Mundus, not least our wine."

[DaveIronside]

Freya smiled as Theofilus had called them a royal couple, "Well the Royal couple things still open to discussion" Freya was teasing Alex once more, "He is merely Major Redfern, or just call him Alex" she lovingly leaned her head on his shoulder. "We'd be delighted to discuss whatever you wish, hopefully once we've got the ceremony and the like out the way." Freya knew her brother was always keen to get things going with other nations and if this could be an ice breaker then so much the better.

"I can see it now" Alex said "Your wine coming one way, our whiskey the other, match made in heaven" Alex hoped he hadn't offended but he had often found flippant comments was a good way of gauging other nations, would they see it as mere small talk or take some kind of offence, it was a hard habit to break in terms of turning off his former military intelligence instincts, at least he wasn't out roaming the street finding an ice cream and a newspaper, his more preferred method of finding out about a country.

[Lakhzovia]

Laurenz beamed a smile "Nothing builds friendship quite like drink and trade, one can but imagine the relationship then that could spring from the trade in drink."

Laurenz was very much enjoying the discomfort he was inflicting on his uncle Theofilus. He considered the man to be almost a parodic version of the court mindset he hated so much, an embarassing anachronism that stood as a living metaphor for the backwardness of Rhandic society with his obsession about protocol, bloodlines and class. When Laurenz eventually became Autokrator, he decided, things would change; he might even send Theofilus off somewhere undesirable, make him ambassador to a progressive republic somewhere.

[Achkaerin]

It had been a very long time since Arthur Whitaker had done anything like this, he'd always been more in the background of the Achkaerinese nobility, he'd been the guiding hand in the early days of Emperor Peter's reign, he'd been one of the major figures in the Emperor's earlier life but after the first couple of years of Peter being on the throne he'd sort of gone into semi retirement, only returning to the scene when his niece Princess Esme and her family had gotten into trouble. He'd wanted to go back into that semi-retirement but with several situations across Mundus demanding attention Peter had asked him to take his children and go this event, something Arthur had been more than happy to do, it wasn't anything complicated after all just a simple socializing situation with the chance to get to know another nation.

Arthur had spent much of the flight over talking with his children, it was a tightly knit family his eldest Amelia had been chosen to exhibit at the Valkyria Fashion Show, which was a major landmark career wise for her, the middle child George had been going through various archaeological finds and filling in forms for the CETO, then there was his youngest Ashleigh she didn't have a job yet, but she'd been doing a fair amount of voluntary work with refugee's and asylum seekers so she was putting her skills to good use. Arthur could never stop smiling around his children, he was proud of them and he knew that their mother would be as well.

The four of them got out of their car and looked around, fortunately there was always the advantage of knowing the Morelander reputation for punctuality so chances were that if the Morelander's were there that they'd be there before you, so if you wanted to know where to go just look for them. It didn't take Arthur long to spot Freya and Redfern, so at least they knew that this was the place.

He found his way to the welcoming committee
"Arthur Whitaker and these are my children Amelia, George and Ashleigh. All the way from the frozen north. It's a privilege to be here today." he said

[Comrade Kermit]

Duke Philipp was irritated by the sudden arrival of the East-Moreland delegation. It took him a moment to organize his thoughts: "We haven't met yet I think. It's a pleasure to meet you your Highness" He said looking at Freya. "And also you your...semi Highness?" he added a bit unsure looking at Alex with a smile that seemed to be a mixture of taunt and amusement.


"Laurenz beamed a smile "Nothing builds friendship quite like drink and trade, one can but imagine the relationship then that could spring from the trade in drink."
While her father tried to build up contact to the East-Moreland delegation, Elena turned to Prince Laurenz again

"I agree. Speaking of wine and whisky makes me really thirsty. I never get to taste good wine. If you're going to visit Herrenbucht don't try the wine! Our beer is much more worth it, my father would surely be pleased to let you try some made in the Duke's brewery. Oh I'm sorry speaking about beer, that's not very... ladylike" She cleared her throat and spoke a bit more quitely now. "Hopefully the rest arrives soon, I think I'm going to try your wine either way, maybe someone wants to join- uh oh new guests!

"Arthur Whitaker and these are my children Amelia, George and Ashleigh. All the way from the frozen north. It's a privilege to be here today."

[Lakhzovia]

"Arthur Whitaker and these are my children Amelia, George and Ashleigh. All the way from the frozen north. It's a privilege to be here today." said the Achkaerinese delegate.

"Not anywhere near as much of a privilege it is to receive you as our guests!" said Laurenz "You know, as a child I thought Achkaerin was populated by snowmen, I simply could not fathom anyone living so close to the pole, I was very surprised when I started school and learned the truth about your great nation. It is truly a pleasure to have the chance to finally make contact with your people on an official basis."

Laurenz looked around at the small huddle of guests and made his decision. "If you would all please follow me, I shall escort you to the reception." upon seeing Theofilus preparing to object he added "I am certain my esteemed uncle Theofilus is more than capable of greeting the other guests within the necessary strictures of protocol." Theofilus grudgingly agreed, partly out of a desire to have his infuriating nephew out of his presence.

[Libby]

Lord Besarian Ivanov hadn't been sent on a diplomatic task for months, it seemed his Queen, Viktoriya Tar, had monopolised what in Besarian's view was the best perk of his job, the chance to travel and enjoy the finer things in other nations. He was pleased therefore that the Queen had turned down the visit on this occasion citing a need to "Deal with things" back in Gaia, so as the most senior political figure after the Queen he'd jumped at the chance.

As he arrived he saw several delegations he recognised, the Morelanders and the Achkaerin group for a start, mainly from briefing notes but the faces seemed familiar. He made his way over to Theofilus , "Hello" he smiled as he approached, "Lord Besarian, Chief of the Lodjain Conclave, emissary of Her Divine Majesty Queen Viktoriya Tar, Guardian of Sessife" it was an odd habit that Lodjain nobles had in the formalities of the office. "I'm delighted to be here, I'm looking forward to the ceremony, I know my Queen is looking forward to hearing about it" he had no idea if that was the case but it sounded good. "So what exactly is likely to happen" he asked, "May I smoke" he'd pulled a solid silver cigar case from his suit jacket, he'd not been able to smoke on the flight over and rather was looking forward to one, "Care for one?" he offered the case towards Theofilus before even awaiting an answer.

[Lakhzovia]

The small party of people were being led off towards the reception by the Laurenz who was engaging in jovial small talk when the new arrivals approached Prince Theofilus.

"Lord Besarian, Chief of the Lodjain Conclave, emissary of Her Divine Majesty Queen Viktoriya Tar, Guardian of Sessife. I'm delighted to be here, I'm looking forward to the ceremony, I know my Queen is looking forward to hearing about it. So what exactly is likely to happen... May I smoke?" he asked as he held out a silver cigar case. Theofilus was unperturbed by the intense barrage of greetings and questions and quickly entered in to his well polished greeting.

"On behalf of the Autokrator and all his Court I welcome you, Lord Besarian, Emissary of Her Divine Majesty, to the Kingdom of Rhand. We are most delighted to receive you on this joyous occasion of the beatification of the Crown Prince." He made eye contact with Besarian and realised the man continued to hold out the cigar case towards him, he coyly took one of them "I thank you also for this generous gift, such things as these are a rarity in our Kingdom. In regards to what is likely to happen, this evening we shall make our way to the Basilica where there will be a full Mass at the height of which the Crown Prince will be called forth by the Patriarch who, along with the Autokrator, will elevate His Majesty to the status of living Beatification, after which there will be a ball held by the Autokrator in his Winter Palace."

[Lakhzovia]

St. Dominik's Basilica, Ardiapur

The Beatification Ceremony

After the remaining guests had arrived at the reception at the Palace Laurenz had made his goodbyes and retired to prepare for the ceremony. An hour later a train of cars waited outside the Palace to take the assembled dignitaries, Nomarchs and Courtesans to the ceremony in St. Dominik's Basilica. The cars were driven to the basilica by a route chosen in order that the basilica would be revealed at the last moment as they pulled in to the broad public square in front of the buildings main entrance, a masterpiece of Rhandic High Baroque architecture. Large crowds thronged the streets and crammed against barriers around the edge of the square, the entire city was bedecked in the royal colours and the flag of the Kingdom.

The arriving guests were quickly ushered up the stairs and through the main door into the cavernous interior. The heady scent of incense hung in the air while the coloured marble, gold fittings and bring ceiling mosaics depicting past Autokrators sporting saintly garb and halos exuded luxury.

Ushers busily hurried to and throw showing honoured guests to their seats. An entire row at the front of the Basilica had been reserved for the visiting foreign dignitaries who were escorted to the area. "Please make yourselves comfortable, the ceremony will begin shortly said one solemnly before hurrying off again"

[Weremark]

"Just in time!" gasped Magnus, having entered St. Dominik's Basilica alone. Steadying himself, he quickly took a look around the old walls, immediately finding himself besieged by Ushers. Today he did stand out, wearing his own royal garb inscribed with the Crow sigil of Weremark, as well as his own coat of arms. "Forgive me, yes," he addressed the usher. "I'm Duke Magnus of Weremark. Forgive my lateness, I had a...hold-up." he revealed what he could. Led to a seat, he sat down in it quietly, silencing his phone completely as the ceremony began. It appeared he had missed meeting Laurenz directly, but he had no doubt an opportunity would soon present itself for him to do so.

His luck, as it was, to appear with barely a word, and late at that, in front of a whole gaggle of international delegations. His father wouldn't be too pleased with him, but as distance both literally and figuratively grew between them, he found himself caring less and less of his father's own opinions. A sign of maturity, Reinhart would have called it, undoubtedly. How late for one to arrive at thirty-three. he thought, a great feeling of relief rushing over him as he realized he'd avoided the worst of the blunder; he'd made it there before the ceremony itself.

[The Young Pope]

Archbishop Vito de Lisio, Apostolic Nuncio/Ambassador to Rhand - "Just in time, Thank God, just in time..." I told myself, at least the traffic on the way to the beatification eased up right there at the end. "Archbishop Vito de Lisio, I sincerely apologise for my late arrival, the traffic...ah yes great that you understand hahaha". The welcoming Usher led me right to one of the designated seats and I comfortably sat down; after the beatification, I would naturally meet Laurenz directly after and extend ES relations with Rhand, hopefully that is. I noticed that a certain Weremark Lord sat right next to me. "Greetings, Archbishop and Apostolic Nuncio to Rand, Vito de Lisio...A pleasure to meet you, Lord...?"

[Libby]

I thank you also for this generous gift, such things as these are a rarity in our Kingdom. In regards to what is likely to happen, this evening we shall make our way to the Basilica where there will be a full Mass at the height of which the Crown Prince will be called forth by the Patriarch who, along with the Autokrator, will elevate His Majesty to the status of living Beatification, after which there will be a ball held by the Autokrator in his Winter Palace."

"Well if these are a rarity you can expect a box of them to arrive in the next mail after I return home, consider them the first exchange of friendship" Besarian light both cigars before allowing himself to relax, he watched as the other groups arrived and did his best to mingle until they reached the venue. He found somewhere to discreetly deposit his stub end before popping a breath mint and making his way into the Church, it was the first time he'd been inside one and while he prefered the bright artistic nature of the Sessifetian temples and shrines there was something a little appealing about the place, it was certainly impossible to deny the skill of the craftsman. He found himself admiring the workmanship while he took a seat and waited.

[Lakhzovia]

In the final moments before the ceremony was due to begin an usher hurried over and provided the guests with an earpiece "For simultaneous translation" he explained "While I'm sure our distinguished guests are familiar with classical Ardian, the High Church dialect of Rhandic Ardian has a number of significant differences in grammar and pronunciation." he then hurried off and a hush fell over the basilica which was soon pierced by the loud ringing of bells followed by the start of liturgical chants calling the congregation to worship. A procession of priests swinging thuribles entered the basilica from a side entrance at the rear of which were three figures decked in gold and fine silks advertising their importance. One was clearly Prince Laurenz, one wore the tall crown of the Patriarch and the third wore a coronet, the Autokrator. Eventually reaching the altar the Prince and the Autokrator took their seats while the Patriarch began the mass.

An hour of ritualistic prayers and three hymns in the ceremony began to build to its high point with the Patriarch blessing the host and wine of the sacrament bringing about the metaphysical transformation of the elements into, what the Church claimed, were the literal divine body and blood of their deity. Those eligible were called up to receive communion following which the main communion wafer was placed within an ornate monstrance upon the altar in order that their god be present as witness for the impending beatification.

"These are the commands of our Lord" chanted the Patriarch.

"We shall hear them and obey!" responded the congregation.

"Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God." the Patriarch continued "Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.

For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same. For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.

Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. For this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.

This is the word and command of our Lord!"

"We hear and we shall obey!" came the congregation again.

At this point the Autokrator rose and stood before the Patriarch who took a thurible and walked around the King while incensing him. The Autokrator then took his place by the Patriarch's side. Prince Laurenz then came and kneel before them.

"In accordance with the command of our Lord we honour and magnify those who have been appointed to rule over us. Laurenz Hajioff by divine will have you been selected to rule over us, blessed are you and blessed be the work of your hands." said the Patriarch who now began to incense the Prince "May you be blessed with long life, may you be blessed with wisdom, may you be blessed to know always the ways of our Lord. No mere man are you for divine favour rests upon you; your body and soul are a throne for the divine light, in you is a glimmer of the beatific vision of eternity. Long may the Lord protect you and long may he, through you, protect Rhand." The basilica rang with a resounding Amen followed by bells and the sound of cannon fire from outside, the beatification was complete.

The Autokrator, Prince and Patriarch them processed out of the main basilica while the members of the congregation began talking to one another. They would later make their way to the grand ball at the palace to join the celebrations.

[Lakhzovia]

The Ceremony had finished and eventually the dignitaries had been led out of the Basilica to their cars waiting to take them to the ball at the Winter Palace. They arrived to find Prince Laurenz standing greeting guests as the entered the grand ball room, spotting the foreigners he gestured for them to come over.

"Welcome back to the Palace, I hope you did not find the ceremony too alien?" he smiled politely.

[The Young Pope]

"Oh no, quite the contrary, it's quite a relief to see a Christian mass, especially a beatification ceremony, outside the Ecclesiastical State; beautifully elaborated with the hymns and attire, ah very splendid indeed. Congratulations my young prince, may God's light forever shine upon you and your coming descendants; The Holy Father in Celestis sends his blessings and regards. It is high time for two, great christian nations that value tradition and customs to unite and stand tall together...". Archbishop de Lisio knew that this was a great opportunity to improve relations between the Papacy and Rhand, no matter if the other one was orthodox and catholic respectively, it was now more important than ever to forge some sort of dialogue between the Christian churches, which is what Pope Peter II is trying to accomplish, thus de Lisio had to impress and make the holy father proud. Since de Lisio was quite alone, he decided to stick close to the Prince and talk about whatever came to his mind, likewise from the prince's side.

"So, how's life so far in Rhand? At least you're not experiencing a war in which the enemies have risen anew from the past, more dangerous than ever haha..."

[Weremark]

"Altberg," he answered. "Duke Magnus Altberg, Heir to Weremark. Pleased to meet you, Archbishop." he exchanged his pleasantries with the Ecclesiastical Ambassador, before sitting himself properly and observing in great detail the Beatification ceremony as it began. As it went on, he found himself successfully resisting his warborne cynicism; a rather significant chunk of him questioned the foreign religion he was observing, moreso now that a major ceremony was meters away from him. He kept his composure, though, taking his sister's words to heart. If she could do nothing else, she could deal with the different and the strange far better than he could.

When the ceremony ended and he found himself directed to a car, he took a moment to straighten his hair and attire before the inevitable meeting with the Prince himself. Emerging from the vehicle looking better than before, Magnus arrived just in time to hear the familiar Archbishop speak again of mutual religion. Once the man finished, he saw his own initiative to speak, and took it.

"I find it quite intriguing, actually," he began, referring to the Prince's question, "that, despite the obvious differences in tradition, I also had the pleasure of noting an intrinsic similarity. I do not say this often enough, Your Highness, but I truly did feel a touch of home during that ceremony." he paused, extending his white-gloved hand. "Duke Magnus Altberg, Heir to Weremark. I'm delighted to make your acquaintance." he stated with a curt nod, his English very good.

[Comrade Kermit]

"Indeed it was a fine ceremony your Highness" answered Duke Philipp. "It is nice to see a nation honor its tradition. Many forgot about tradition and prefer the colors and sounds of modern life and enjoy changing everything from day to day. But for me these people and cultures are without value. You and your people on the other hand have my honest respect. It was a pleasure."

"You really did a great job and I bet this noble ceremony filled everyones heart with deep patriotism!" Added Elena not knowing what else to say as her father already took her words right out of her mouth.

Duke Philipp proceeded to greeting the Archbishop. "Your Excellency! It is nice to see that you found your way here. Do you become nostalgic when you see beatification ceremonies? When did the pope perform his last one?" Philipp said with a shrewd smile. Provoking catholics was one of his favourite hobbys, and in Herrenbucht there were not many possibilities to do so.

[Lakhzovia]

Laurenz had been fascinated by the presence of the Archbishop, "You know it is extremely gratifying to see a representative of the Ecclesiastical State here, I remember a time as a child where it was almost unthinkable that a Catholic would attend a ceremony of the Rhandic Orthodox Church, I pray that this spells the end of the centuries of bitter division and a move towards a future of greater Christian fraternity."

"So, how's life so far in Rhand? At least you're not experiencing a war in which the enemies have risen anew from the past, more dangerous than ever haha..."

Life in Rhand continues much according to its ancient traditions, it is blissful if fraught with the difficulties that all states face, primarily the condition of the poor. But does not our Lord tell us that the poor will always be with us?" he pondered the point for a moment before adding "Tell me Archbishop, is it your opinion that the poor should exist in order that we be provided with the possibility of Christian charity in order to merit our souls, or are they a challenge to us to right the wrongs we see on the societal level?"


"I find it quite intriguing, actually," he began, referring to the Prince's question, "that, despite the obvious differences in tradition, I also had the pleasure of noting an intrinsic similarity. I do not say this often enough, Your Highness, but I truly did feel a touch of home during that ceremony." he paused, extending his white-gloved hand. "Duke Magnus Altberg, Heir to Weremark. I'm delighted to make your acquaintance."

Laurenz grasped the gloved hand firmly and shook it. "It is most pleasing to hear that you felt so moved by the ceremony. I have always felt that the Rhandic Church, despite its name and geographical limits, is truly a universal Church with something to offer all... That's not to say that your own traditions and faith are without their particular merits, indeed if our ceremony made you feel a sense of home then your own faith must itself be one with a lot going for it. It is, I must say, very nice to meet you, I do hope you'll enjoy your stay in Rhand, and may it be but the first of many such meetings!"


Laurenz bowed slightly in mock humility towards the Duke. "Our Kingdoms and peoples share much it seems, our love and commitment to our traditions and faith, our ancient and noble royal lines, and the domestic challenges that we both share. I hope, if I am not too presumptuous, to discuss the latter with you later when we have a chance for a private audience?"

Turning to Elena he made an intense eye contact while thanking her for her kind words, having done so and with others attempting to gain his attention he allowed his gaze to linger a moment longer before turning with the slightest flicker of reluctance to continue making niceties.

[The Young Pope]

Archbishop de Lisio always found it a fond time to discuss theological questions and those which mattered about the faith itself.

"Look at it this way my dear prince, naturally all of us including myself find that poverty is one of the most pressuring issues befallen to mankind and everyone should have a decent stable life, of course. However, The vast majority of Christians in the world are poor. Yet they remain Christian. Poor Christians do not blame the Church for their poverty; they know their poverty is not the fault of the Church, but rather their corrupt governments or unjust social systems that exist in their countries. In fact, the Church is regarded by the poor as a champion of their cause as is proven by the millions of poor people who turn out to see the Pope or your Patriarch during their many visits to poor countries. In the Bible, if one reads John 12:8, Jesus Himself tells us that we will always have poor people with us. This statement does not of course mean that anyone ought to close their eyes to poverty, but it does mean that, because of the sin in the world, resources will never be fairly shared. There is no institution on Earth that has done more to minimise this state of affairs than Christianity. No organisation has done more for the needy of the world than our Churches. The many Christian Religious Orders that were founded specifically for the materially poor are testimony to the generosity of the Church. To conclude, poverty itself will always remain among us but poverty itself isn't necessary for us to do Christian deeds and try to live like our Lord; mankind may show its negative sides, but can also show its good side willingly and voluntarily...

"Hahaha, I hope my answer satisfies you Laurenz, but I do like these questions, great to explain and clairy. And what about you Duke, what's your opinion on poverty itself?"

[Libby]

Besarian had sat through the ceremony frankly amused by the whole religious notion of it, if he was honest it was the first time he'd actually attended a full Christian ceremony and he found it tedious. Back home the Priestesses didn't need to constantly remind people of their duties to the Goddess, they lived them everyday through having a living breathing Goddess in the form of the Queen. It was simple, there was no need to be told to obey a God, because if you crossed the Queen you went to prison, it was that simple. A well ordered society such as that of Lodja celebrated their Goddess not reaffirmed themselves to obey them. Besarian shook his head at the whole negativity of the faith he'd just witnessed.

With the ceremony seemingly over he got up to go and strecth his legs and made his way to the waiting car, there was a ball to attend and so as such he figured there would be drink there, if he was going to be surrounded by these Christians all evening he may as well do it with a glass of wine or six.

[Achkaerin]

Pomp and pageantry not to mention traditions and traditional ceremonies weren't anything new to Arthur though it had been some years since he had last been present at one, and that had been his nephew's coronation as Emperor, maybe he'd have to start going to Edelweiss again. But this sort of thing wasn't what he was used to, though that was mainly from the religious side of it Achkaerin being in technical terms a Pagan nation and this being a more Christian ceremony. Still he decided to go and find a drink somewhere, it had been a long few days and frankly he needed something like it. Besides his children were more than capable of surviving in the environment - Amelia was chatting with Laurenz, George was...rather predictably trying to chat someone he didn't know up...yeah that was going to end well wasn't it? The boy just refused to learn the lesson. As for Ashleigh she was hanging around with the other dignitaries making friends. For the most part it was what they were probably expected to do, get relationships built up.

He found himself beside Besarian in the search for something to drink, it was an amusing moment, two Dukes from two different nations looking for a drink.
"As the saying goes what's your tipple of choice if I may ask Lord Ivanov?" Arthur asked

[The Young Pope]

"A pleasure to meet you Duke Philipp, always nice to meet a another Christian brother that doesn't belong to the clergy." De Lisio listened carefully how the Duke asked his question and then noticed his smile, he was obviously trying to make some sort of provocative joke, and thus also let off a smile in return before replying: "Oh yes my dear brother hehe, it's pretty common for each Pope to beatify certain people who've led holy and virtuous lives, oh and at least one confirmed miracle must've taken place beforehand through the intercession of the person." After giving what he considered to be a satisfactory answer, he suggested to Duke Philipp if they could have a drink together with other attendees. "Sounds like a great idea, yes?"

[Comrade Kermit]

"If you put it like that your Excellency, I guess you're right." Philipp answered with a tone of honest respect. "I certainly would like to have a drink with you. These two Dukes over there look like they are in need of a third one. A glass of our Lord's blood maybe?" He asked while the two were heading to the bar. "Or do you prefer the more secular beverages. My delegation brought along a few beerkegs from Herrenbucht."

[Comrade Kermit]

After several failed attempts to beat the harddrinking Archbishop in a drinking game Duke Philipp received a phone call: his Minister of State had tried to contact him through a secretary: Your Highness? Are you there? The Lord Minister wishes to remind you of the diplomatic meeting with Al Thalra that is he was planning to have", Philipp remembered that there was still much to plan and  concluded that it would be best to leave the ball. While lurching away from the bar he remembered that he had initially planned to have private talks with Laurenz after the ball. He quickly ordered one of his personal servants that travelled among the delegation to send a message to Herrenbucht and that they may dispatch an ambassador as quickly as possible to Rhand. After that he said goodbye to his daughter that would rest at the ball and was escorted away from the festivities to leave Rhand as quickly as possible, without being noticed by any of the officials apart from the Archbishop.

Elena searched for Prince Laurenz and found him at the bar surrounded by some Rhandish officials: "Ah there you are your Highness. You seem a bit bored. Religion, architecture tradition and wine. It seems like on my ongoing effort to learn more about the Rhandis culture I still missed to practice Rhandish dances. Would you mind to remove that educational gap?" She asked well knowing how rude she was and she felt that the other Rhandish men were not amused about her behaviour.

[Lakhzovia]

Laurenz smiled "How could I say no to such a distinguished guest as yourself?" he offered her his hand and led her to the dance floor of the ball room. "I'm afraid that traditional Rhandic dancing is either crass folk dancing or overly formal court dances, fortunately from the early 20th century the popularity of of foreign dancing has infected the upper echelons of our Kingdom. I think you may know this one?" as he began to lead in a Herrenbuchtian waltz.

[The Young Pope]

"Well...seems I would need to find new people to talk to...huh". The Archbishop was scratching his head not knowing what to do otherwise, he didn't want to disturb the Prince either dancing with one of the other delegates, he decided to take it easy and sit by the bar, he thought it was a shame that his drinking game with the Duke had such an abrubt end, that poor old man couldn't take the booze it seemed, he naturally hoped everything went alright with him as well as prayed for his health.