The plane carrying Emperor
Abbas and his First Wife
Alya had left Djerb less than half an hour ago. It was for the first time the couple were visiting a foreign country together. While that might be strange for royal families of other countries, it was the norm in Tamora where the Emperor rarely if ever went outside the borders of his empire. So having both of them going abroad was rarer still. But this was just any foreign country they were going to, it was Royal Seleucid and the two kingdoms had developed an ever closer relationship. It was the product of both a shared history and culture ( Parthian was the second most spoken language in RS while Seleucid was the second most spoken language in Tamora) and also of close personal relations between the monarchs. The two kingdoms were absolute monarchies and if the HoSs did not get along then state relations could easily breakdown and could stay that way for a whole generation. Abbas had a good relationship with the late King Akakios, they saw eye to eye on many things though they did disagree on a lot of others like what Abbas, and Manists in general, saw as too much openness and trust of foreigners with the Lodjan affair being a prime example. There were also religious differences that could not be ignored; the RS had a more liberal attitude, something that Abbas was not too fond of.
Now it was a different time, RS had a new King and seemed to go through a restructuring of its institutions with a more focus on the military. In Tamora, a country where institutional change was seen not just as risky or reckless but close to haram (sinful) since it implied a change to the organizational government structures left behind the Prophet Mani, these changes were viewed with suspicion but none had expressed any concerns to their RS counterparts. Initial signs from King Heydar looked good and it seemed that he was determined to continue the good relationship his father had with Tamora. Abbas by coming to RS wanted to make sure the new monarch understood that Tamora was also fully committed. Furthermore, Abbas, despite opposition from his family, had set in motion a plan to get the two families closer, the preparations started when King Akakios was still on the throne and they continued even though he had passed away.
- Abbas, sorry to interrupt but we need to review the schedule for the trip. Time is short and prayer time will soon begin.
- Fine, Alya. Let's begin.
- I have made arrangements for us to visit your domain in Deh Kord (ooc: a region of RS) as
Shiekh. Since it is your first visit there and I have arranged to meet the local nobility. It will be a first step to see what their expectations and needs are. My first impression is that they expect for you to own the title and forget about it so I guess you could say they have no expectations.
- I have no intention to forget about the title but on the other hand I need a physical presence there if I am to make an impact. So that will be something to think about. Despite the reports I read I am not exactly sure I understand how much authority these titles carry in RS. They are not like ours that is certain.
- No, though they are not purely ceremonial, I can confirm they are nowhere near that level of authority as the ones we have.
- What's next?
- A visit and a meeting with the head Ayatollah of RS. They are both anxious and glad to have you visit the local Manist community. We will also have a short meeting with the head of the local government and enquire about the status of the great temple
announced by the late king Akakios. They have promised that a small section would be dedicated to our faith so showing interest is something we must do. That should be all I think.
A few hours later,the plane had reached its destination and the Imperial couple was going down the stairs of their plane and were ready to meet the hosts. Alya was dressed in the usual
abaya dress and hijab, she also made sure to wear gloves in case foreign dignitaries wanted to shake hands with her. It was considered improper in Manist culture to have the opposite sexes touch each other in public unless married , wearing gloves was a way to get around that since the skin never touched. Abbas on the other hand was dressed in the official
white uniform he used for special occasions. Both of them wore the golden watches that king Akakios had
gifted them when during his honeymoon to Tamora. It was unlikely that anyone in RS would notice since King Akakios was no more and his forth wide Oksana has been banished for her treacherous actions.
Back home in TamoraBefore Abbas had left Tamora he held a public ceremony where he delegated the responsibility of ruling the Empire to his son Jamshid . a tradition that went back centuries. And those weren’t the only preparations that we're done. As a Shiekh of Deh Kord (of RS), Abbas was allowed to send
six craftsmen to the festival in RS so he had asked each of his kings to propose one from their kingdoms. Each Tamoran kingdom had its own particular culture which was preserved to a great extent despite being part of the Empire for centuries in most cases. Sending a craftsman from each of the six different federated kingdoms was a way to show the diversity of culture that Tamora enjoyed.
On the outskirts of Djerb, in the vast estate that belonged to Kadyrov family,
Musaevna Kadyrov was also preparing to leave for the Jewell Festival. Her reasons for attending the festival were not limited to buying jewelry though she did enjoy that but also to use the opportunity to maybe build some connections with foreign interests. Abbas especially and even Alya to some extent were unapproachable by anyone not up the top of the ladder, Musaevna on the other hand despite her huge wealth and influence was more easily approachable. She also left a message to
Alisha McRae inviting her to attend the festival in RS and offering to pay all the expenses for the trip. She figured that worst case scenario she would get to chat and do some shopping with her, best case scenario she might understand more about how the Bene Gesserit.
Musaevna Kadyrov would not be on the same plane as the Imperial family and thus would not be greeted by local dignitaries. However, her trip to Royal Selecuid would be anything but modest. Waiting for her in Djerb international airport was her private plane , Sukhoi Superjet 100, and at least two dozen security guards and personal staff that will be attending her every need while in RS. Furthermore, while the local dignitaries would not be present in Ipsus, the Tamoran ambassador to RS would be there to greet her on her arrival to the airport, a further sign of just how influential she was with the Safavid Imperial family.