Collab between Winston and I [i] Wan Chai, Capital of the Empire of Khan, Mother of all cities and seat of the Emperor of the earth[/i] Baron Verlan Duloire had initially made his way north by carriage but the urgency of his mission dictated that he should act quickly, the survival of Aznavor’s two settlements in the new world depended on his work and thus he abandoned the comfort of his carriage for the mobility of a horse that belonged to a member of his escort The cuirassier had eagerly accepted to swap places and now finished the rest of his journey shielded from the rain . Verlan had learned from courtier Ga Yao that in Aventia, rainstorms , called monsoons, were frequent In summer and the summer months c constant downpours ould sometimes batter the land for weeks on end, rarely had he been so glad to be travelling in winter. His peer Ga Yao had turned out to be an amicable and intelligent man who knew much of his own people and Aznavors’ for the Khan no doubt had observers among all the colonies. At the beginning of their journey the men had employed Aznavori interpreters who had been living in Newport and had come into contact with the locals and picked up some of their strange language but by the end of the three week-long journey Verlan himself was had mastered basic Khanian etiquette and had grasped few sayings and quotes spoken by Khanian wise-men of old. He felt he had developed a sort of respect for Ga Yao the young and able eunuch that had accompanied him to the capital. Verlan had spent the first days of his journey asking about Khan’s customs and history hoping to discover useful information that he could report back to his younger brother King Phillip. When he did this, Ga Yao would smile politely, answer vaguely and change the subject. It was when, during the second week of travel,when Ga Yao and Verlan had begun talking without their interpreters , that the two envoys had begun playing opening up to each other This had first been achieved when Ga Yao invited his Aznavori counterpart to play Maidan ( The Empire’s equivalent to Chess) a challenge which verland had accepted with keen interest even though he lost all but one of the games he played with the Imperial courtier Despite these losses the journey became much more interesting and Verlan’s interest in the culture of the people of Khan soared prompting hi mto take his decision nto abandom formality and ride to the capital confident in the knowledge that the cuirassier he had left in the carriage would ensure its contents Aznavor’s gifts for the Emperor of the Earth would make it safely to his Imperial Majesty. ----------------------- Ga Yao liked the look of Verlan Duloire’s face when he first saw the extensive fields leading to his home town a mix of awe and admiration were barely concealed beneath a weak veil of self-control. “Ah yes the harvest has been tragically poor this year” he teased his foreign guest who soon gaveu p all pretense of not being impressed by the wonders of the Empire. Fields spread from one horiozon to the next interrupted only by hamlets which Duloire assured him would be considered large villages in his home country . The cortege had interrupted their journey only once on the way to the capital after Ambassador Duloire insisted on visiting a small roadside temple. To yao the temple was nothing impressive it’s walls were green and the temple did not have the gold-leaf roof of city temples. It was a fitting shrine for local spirits and the ancestors of the local peasants but no man could hope to directly address the Heavenly Emperor in such a place. Nevertheless, Duloire gazed in amazement as he stepped beneath the green marble arch and noticed the white jade statues within. Duloire had seemed so disappointed to leave the shrine that Ga Yao consented to writing him a permit to visit the biggest Temples of the Capital. ---------------------------------- Despite the best efforts of Ga Yao to be jovial Verlan Duloire felt a sense of concern when his horse reached the walls of the capital. Ten Thousand warriors all clad in steel lamellar armour bearing plumed helmets and bright banners were assembled on either side of the road leading t othe city gates which were themselves an impressive feat of engineering. Before entering the city the Verlan passed beath two massive oaken gates and two steel portcullises separated by thirty meters of tunnel.Tthis thick wall and long gates were evidently menat to trap enemies between the gates as the ceiling was a series of murder holes and funnels to pour boiling liquids down on any foes unfortunate enough to end up between the two gates. No doubt the Imperial soldiers were only a demonstration of the Empire’s might intended to worry the first foreigner to enter the capital of the Empire but the fact remained. The Empire was a nation which in peacetime could field an army of over 100,000 men and dedicate 20,000 of these to guarding one gate belonging to one of its cities. ---------------------------------- Emperor SI Fu was not blessed with courtier Yao’s patience or diplomatic skills and was not impressed by the Aznavori Ambassador yet he was pleased that Aznavor had ent an ambassador at all. Other nation could not boast as much. “Have the other nations of your homeland forgotten their respect? Or is it that they have ever learned any?” boomed the Emperor in Khanian as soon as ambassador Duloire was led into the room. “I cannot speak for my fellow ambassadors, nor their masters, my liege, but Aznavor has not forgotten the old ways. We too have wise-men who remind us of the importance of tradition, respect and honor. “ The court fell silent. Two things were clear. Firstly that two strong personalities wre present I nthe room and that for all the Aznavori’s talk of respect and honor, the ambassador had addressed the Emperor directly, without being introduced or even bowing. The second was that he spoke in Khanian. The Emperor was the first to regain his composure. Had he even lost it? He smiled bemused at his foreign guest. And what do your great men say of tardiness and truth? My messengers inform me that you insisted on delaying your arrival to my city to stop at a lowly roadside shrine. Did you truly have too many sins to wash cleanse yourself of before meeting the son of the heavenly Emperor? Furthermore You are clearly not the King of Aznavor, my men have shown your coins and I can see that you are not King Philip of Aznavor. “It’s true, my younger brother does not share my good looks but I assure you I have the authority to act on his behalf. He has granted me such priviliges because he values my honesty and valour and I bessech your to put them to the test. As to your first question, Krieger the blinds shares the same view as your own Diu Lei, he states that tardiness is always a fault of the lazy, the worthless and the extremely important. I hope that by trying to contact my God in one of your temples I have not given you the impression of belonging to one of the former categories. ‘ The Emperor eased up a little, pleased to have found a jousting partner as opposed to his usually sycophantic courtiers. He decided he like this man and would grant him an audience King or no. The other nations had after all not deigned to send anyone at all, where were their Kings or even their Kings’ brothers? Instead he had letters all stating much the same; trade with and do not fight with us for we are wielders of powerful magics from beyond the seas. The Empire had no need of their Trinkets nor fear of their threats. Spies of the Empire noticed ships carrying more and more soldiers to Aventia each day, cowards who hid in their home castles were these kings who preached peace with one hand yet prepared for war with the other. Some were no Kings at all! How could he be expected to foster friendship let alone trade with men who did not have bear the divine mandate to rule but merely the mandate of the common people? Aznavor had recognized the merits of the Empire and had sent a man of royal blood to treat with him. He would listen to the man’s propositions. “I am willing to forgive the fact that you aren’t your brother. Indeed it would seem that some of the ladies at court are intrigued by your facial hairs that your brother does not seem to have. However I must insist upon the need for gifts. It is a tradition I cannot backdown on you msut understand. Of course your grace. You need not worry your tribute is on its way by carriage. I hate to spoil your surprise but one of the gifts is meant do precisely that and therefore I will let you in on a secret. One of my Kings’ first gifts to your people is one of the magics from beyond the sea the other Kings have warned you so much about. Should you come to blows with these other Kings mine own liege, who I believe can will see you as a brother, would not see you at the mercy of their magics and would give you these gifts so that your warrior become accustomed to them before the need to face them arises. Now I wish to propose the following deal to your highness… -“I insist on being the eldest brother.and I you must one day tell me why your younger brother not you inherited the thrones of Aznavor” declared the Emperor who was clearly younger than both King Philip and Baron Verlan. Baron Verlan Duloire nodded and smiled knowing that sometimes it was best to keep one’s mouth shut. He would open it later only to present his deal, agree with his Imperial majesty and to share the Aznavorian wine that would by that evening have arrived at the palace. He let the Emperor have the last word for he had won his diplomatic victory. ---------------------------------------- Summary The Empire of Khan is introduced. Verlan Duloire meets Emperor Si Fu and a friendship is made through Vineyard diplomacy. The Kingdom of Aznavor is recognized as the Empire of Khan’s little brother (its inferior only in name) 250 Arquebus are gifted to the Empire of Khan to become acquainted with Aznavor is declared The Empire of Khan’s primary trading partner and is given rights to send merchants into Imperial lands and trade in its resources.