Maria was back to MidAranye. Not too long ago she was in Royal Seleucid negotiating for oil and gas and now she was in what she could best described as a business district transplanted in one of the most traditionalist countries of MidAranye. The very existence of the city of Elysium in a country as rigid as Tamora was a living testimony of the power of persuasion of the Heyrans. A power she felt herself in the last couple of months as Heyran investments poured in Samantra in key industries and gaining supporters or better said lobby in Petrograd and as Heyra joined Samantran initiatives such as the DeSovietization Institute. If that wasn’t enough Heyra also knew how to take advantage of the geopolitical shifts, as Rokkenjima launched and an economic crusade against Samantra, Heyra positioned in support of Samantra. All that had shifted the priorities of Petrograd and especially the spiritual government of Samantra. While the spiritual government in Novyy Rim was not exactly trusting of Heyra, it was now of the opinion that the main threat came from Rokkenjima whom they perceived as waging a religious proxi war against the values Samantra stood for. The latest decision of the of the Rokkenjiman Empire to fly the LGBT flag on their embassy in Petrograd and have their Empress visit the Rokkenjiman embassy in Nis to criticize the values the holy kingdom was re-founded upon only cemented that belief.
With the opposition of the spiritual government out of the way, the secular government in general and Maria in particular had more leeway in the talks. Unlike many in the secular government Maria was becoming a bit worried of the growing influence of Heyra on the Mundus stage. They had a presence and influence on most corners of Mundus and Maria was becoming of the opinion that such huge influence was driving out opportunities for Samantran companies. Still for now she was on a wait and see approach as she couldn’t do much about it since none in the government shared her views.
“The trip was worth it to see the great city of Elysium, Your Excellency.” She said smiling at Anginer as she moved under his umbrella adding ”I think God provided Elysium with plenty of other blessings from the little I could see so far.”
“Governor, you surprise me” she said in reference to the helicopter trip as she had not expected such an itinerary. She looked forward to the trip as she enjoyed her last meeting despite it not having the most positive outcome. Maria saw Anginer as extremely ambitious and with great achievements so far, which was something she respected.