[FONT="]Hartem - Freistaat Warnen - Vereinigte Republik Warinien
Hartem - Free State of Warnen - United Republic of Varinia
19th of May 1957 - 0430 hours
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[FONT="]Ermis Rallis woke up feeling the atmosphere too hot and humid in the room. Spring came in Varinia and this meant that the days were becoming longer and longer, the differences extremely easy to notice and temperatures and humidity were rising, which were bringing with it all kinds of mosquitoes and the appearances of bogs everywhere. He opened his eyes and saw a mosquito on his arm. With a slap he squashed it. The sun could already be seen on the window appearing over the horizon. The Rallis family moved to Varinia in late Januar, coming over as what the immigration office called "ideological refugees". Vasilis Rallis was a member of the DKKP, together with his brother, Chrysanthos, but even if both of them were communists and members of the party, there was a difference between them. Chrysanthos couldn't disavow his religious beliefs and still attended mass each Sunday, even if he was doing it in secrecy so that the party wouldn't get suspicious of it. His brother, Vasilis knew of this and the subject of religion brought many arguments between the two brothers as they were becoming hotter and hotter, in the end Vasilis was always threatening to report him to the party, but he never did it in the end. Both of them came to Hartem to join the International Legion and both of them saw action first in Warnen, on the Milesian border where they fought against attacks and raids coming from the White-held Milesia and then around Din Rheged and lastly in Pennsans. Now both finished their services in the legion and they have returned back to their civilian trades, Vasilis working on the assembly line at the Altmann Motor Works and Chrysanthos at Hartem Farben, a dye factory. Ermis was the oldest son of Vasilis, being now 17 years old. He was enrolled in the Arend Gerber Gymnasium, in a special class for immigrants and ideological refugees in which they were studying intensively for a whole year in a single semester, so they wouldn't lose a year. Ermis knew German so he didn't had to take German classes too, though he studied the southern, Eiffellandian dialect and there were many things that the Varinians were saying that he didn't understand. He had colleagues coming from Kadikistan, Eiffelland, Ivernia, even the Yiddish Free State. Of all those, he preferred to befriend the Eiffellanders, especially Astrid Hauer and to stay as far away from the Kadikistanis as possible, who were always finding trouble. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Ermis got up and went to the window to open it. He could feel the cool fresh air filling the room and he loved it. He returned to bed, but no more than two minutes passed, that his father went to close it. Ermis got up again, but he was stopped by his father: "[/FONT]Don't even think of it!" he said with a nearly growling voice. He sighed and looked at the clock and saw that there was just an hour left before the alarm would ring, so, feeling fresh, he decided to go out and take a morning walk in the city. The flat in which the Rallis family was living, was horrid. In a studio apartment, Ermis was living with his father and his sister. His mother died in an accident in Pelasgia, though his father said that it was an account settling between some fascists and the DKKP. She died when Ermis was 6, he had some memories of her, but didn't remember her very well. His father, Vasilis was speaking of her fondly and when Ermis came with him to some of the meetings of the party, he observed that many other communists were speaking of her with much respect so as much as he hoped for it to be an accident, he started to think more and more that his father's story was true. Next door, the other Rallis family was living in a studio too, with Chrysanthos, his wife and their three girls. The kitchen and bathroom were shared. The building was built in the first systematization of Hartem, in 1875, when the medieval town with it's small and narrow streets was demolished and gave way to classicist buildings and wide boulevards. The Rallis were living in the Gut Moor borough of the city, on the eastern side, along the coast. Ermis loved to take walks in Mitte, as the white bauhaus buildings there reminded him the most of Propontis, but he was mesmerized by the life in Mitte, as it was really rising up to the images the Varinians were creating as the World Capital of Culture. He barely managed to go downtown since he came to Hartem for a few times, as the school was in his neighborhood, his dad was very authoritarian and protective especially during the war, when he was forbidden to go anywhere else than school and home, out of fear of possible attacks and bombings. The city then was also under curfew and was was kept in darkness during the night, out of fear of a potential Ivernian involvement in the war leading to a possible bombing campaign of the capital. But now, the war ended and with Sabine Schneider, the Varinians were saying that things were returning to normal. For Ermis, everything was completely new now. The warring atmosphere completely created a new city and now it was like he was discovering Hartem again. People of all kinds, from pale red headed Kerns to black Himyaris coming from Loago to everything in between could be found in Mitte, each spoke it's own language, shiny commercials for all kinds of products were every where, pubs, theaters, cabarets, everything could be found in Mitte. Ermis was born in Propontis but after his mother died, the family moved to a village near Therme. Even if he had a some near forgotten memories of Propontis and went to Therme a few times, Hartem with it's size and completely different mentality from a conservative orthodox Pelasgian village, was fascinating him. A clock ringing on the street 6 am made him return with his feet on the ground. The city was coming to life, as the people took to the streets to go to work, U-bahn, trolleybuses, trams and busses were already filled going from the city center to the factories concentrated in the north and eastern sides of the city.
Ermis knew that he stayed a bit too much outside so he decided to wait for his father to go to work before returning to take his backpack and go to school. He felt hungry so he went to the first diner he saw, The Treffpunk. He was the only customer, even if he saw that it was non-stop. He seated himself on a stool at the bar. No one was inside, but he could hear some noise coming from the backroom, Himyari music in Engellexian could be head. Probably from Camden or somewhere, Ermis thought."If you're hungry, you're lucky! I was heating the pan," said the barman as he came in front. He was a black Himyari, from Loago, a huge man. "I really am then," said Ermis smiling and feeling amused by the enthusiasm of the man. "I'd like a coffee and something for breakfast." The man didn't wait and immediately poured coffee in a cup and gave it to Ermis. "If you want milk on it, just tell me. I will make you some omelette with some wursts." The man didn't wait to receive an approval from Ermis and immediately, though he couldn't see him, he could hear the cracking of eggs and the frying of the sausages and the omelette. "So, were you lucky or not?", asked the man again from the kitchen. "What do you mean?" asked Ermis. The man first brought the plate with an omelette, a bratwurst and a pickled cucumber. "I mean tricks... like... those guys", said the man showing a bunch of young men, no that much older than Ermis staying outside chilling on the sidewalk many of them smoking. Ermis was shocked to see that many were wearing female clothing, one even wearing a skirt. "Are they..." Ermis wanted to ask, but was interrupted by the man. "Puffs? Yeah they are. Prostitutes? Yeah they are that too..." He changed his looks towards Ermis afterwards. "But if you aren't from that scene... What's with you? Where are you from?" Ermis wasn't really sharing the same political views like his father or his uncle so he didn't really want to say that he is Pelasgian. "Where would you think I am from?" he asked. The man smiled. "Ok, mysterious... Let's play this game then. First, looking at your light brown hair, I say that you aren't Kernish or Gaelic. Looking at your skin though, I can see that you are tanned. This means that you aren't a Varinian German and seeing the way you were looking outside so shocked and surprised, I'd say that you barely arrived. So considering that your primary language is German, you must be Eiffellandian, though I don't think you get tans, not even in the southern, Eiffellander winter. No, you are surely Himyari, like me. I'd go then statistically and use the biggest people in Himyar to raise my chances and will say that you are Pelasgian. Am I right?" he said with a triumphal smile. "That was... on spot... Yeah I'm Pelasgian. My dad came to fight here and it was a stupid mistake as the Imperial secret services came after us and it was the only way to have my family continue a normal life..." said Ermis looking at the emptied coffee cup. "Well, I was born in Loago and I too would give anything to return to the warm beaches of Maseru, but life in good here in Hartem and as much as you see it or not, you are privileged here." Ermis looked surprised. "Privileged?" he asked. "Yeah. Look at them again." said the man showing the prostitutes from across the street. "They are mostly Celts who came to the south to survive. You came from Pelasgia, received a citizenship and a house from the government. I even saw German youth becoming like the ones there. I've seen too much things from this bar. If you want to keep your life good, or at least keep it at the same levels you are living it now, stay away from people like them." Said the man sternly. "It would be 100,000 Bonns. Now, go, you are going to be late for school or something." Continued the man as he took the banknote Ermis gave it to him. "So you really see anything from here?" asked Ermis. "Heh, yeah... First were the Bohemians, then the Celtic Unionists, then Anarchists, then the Kadiki Guys and now puffs. You see everything on Kastanien Allee".
Hartem - Free State of Warnen - United Republic of Varinia
19th of May 1957 - 0430 hours
[/FONT]
[FONT="]Ermis Rallis woke up feeling the atmosphere too hot and humid in the room. Spring came in Varinia and this meant that the days were becoming longer and longer, the differences extremely easy to notice and temperatures and humidity were rising, which were bringing with it all kinds of mosquitoes and the appearances of bogs everywhere. He opened his eyes and saw a mosquito on his arm. With a slap he squashed it. The sun could already be seen on the window appearing over the horizon. The Rallis family moved to Varinia in late Januar, coming over as what the immigration office called "ideological refugees". Vasilis Rallis was a member of the DKKP, together with his brother, Chrysanthos, but even if both of them were communists and members of the party, there was a difference between them. Chrysanthos couldn't disavow his religious beliefs and still attended mass each Sunday, even if he was doing it in secrecy so that the party wouldn't get suspicious of it. His brother, Vasilis knew of this and the subject of religion brought many arguments between the two brothers as they were becoming hotter and hotter, in the end Vasilis was always threatening to report him to the party, but he never did it in the end. Both of them came to Hartem to join the International Legion and both of them saw action first in Warnen, on the Milesian border where they fought against attacks and raids coming from the White-held Milesia and then around Din Rheged and lastly in Pennsans. Now both finished their services in the legion and they have returned back to their civilian trades, Vasilis working on the assembly line at the Altmann Motor Works and Chrysanthos at Hartem Farben, a dye factory. Ermis was the oldest son of Vasilis, being now 17 years old. He was enrolled in the Arend Gerber Gymnasium, in a special class for immigrants and ideological refugees in which they were studying intensively for a whole year in a single semester, so they wouldn't lose a year. Ermis knew German so he didn't had to take German classes too, though he studied the southern, Eiffellandian dialect and there were many things that the Varinians were saying that he didn't understand. He had colleagues coming from Kadikistan, Eiffelland, Ivernia, even the Yiddish Free State. Of all those, he preferred to befriend the Eiffellanders, especially Astrid Hauer and to stay as far away from the Kadikistanis as possible, who were always finding trouble. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Ermis got up and went to the window to open it. He could feel the cool fresh air filling the room and he loved it. He returned to bed, but no more than two minutes passed, that his father went to close it. Ermis got up again, but he was stopped by his father: "[/FONT]Don't even think of it!" he said with a nearly growling voice. He sighed and looked at the clock and saw that there was just an hour left before the alarm would ring, so, feeling fresh, he decided to go out and take a morning walk in the city. The flat in which the Rallis family was living, was horrid. In a studio apartment, Ermis was living with his father and his sister. His mother died in an accident in Pelasgia, though his father said that it was an account settling between some fascists and the DKKP. She died when Ermis was 6, he had some memories of her, but didn't remember her very well. His father, Vasilis was speaking of her fondly and when Ermis came with him to some of the meetings of the party, he observed that many other communists were speaking of her with much respect so as much as he hoped for it to be an accident, he started to think more and more that his father's story was true. Next door, the other Rallis family was living in a studio too, with Chrysanthos, his wife and their three girls. The kitchen and bathroom were shared. The building was built in the first systematization of Hartem, in 1875, when the medieval town with it's small and narrow streets was demolished and gave way to classicist buildings and wide boulevards. The Rallis were living in the Gut Moor borough of the city, on the eastern side, along the coast. Ermis loved to take walks in Mitte, as the white bauhaus buildings there reminded him the most of Propontis, but he was mesmerized by the life in Mitte, as it was really rising up to the images the Varinians were creating as the World Capital of Culture. He barely managed to go downtown since he came to Hartem for a few times, as the school was in his neighborhood, his dad was very authoritarian and protective especially during the war, when he was forbidden to go anywhere else than school and home, out of fear of possible attacks and bombings. The city then was also under curfew and was was kept in darkness during the night, out of fear of a potential Ivernian involvement in the war leading to a possible bombing campaign of the capital. But now, the war ended and with Sabine Schneider, the Varinians were saying that things were returning to normal. For Ermis, everything was completely new now. The warring atmosphere completely created a new city and now it was like he was discovering Hartem again. People of all kinds, from pale red headed Kerns to black Himyaris coming from Loago to everything in between could be found in Mitte, each spoke it's own language, shiny commercials for all kinds of products were every where, pubs, theaters, cabarets, everything could be found in Mitte. Ermis was born in Propontis but after his mother died, the family moved to a village near Therme. Even if he had a some near forgotten memories of Propontis and went to Therme a few times, Hartem with it's size and completely different mentality from a conservative orthodox Pelasgian village, was fascinating him. A clock ringing on the street 6 am made him return with his feet on the ground. The city was coming to life, as the people took to the streets to go to work, U-bahn, trolleybuses, trams and busses were already filled going from the city center to the factories concentrated in the north and eastern sides of the city.
Ermis knew that he stayed a bit too much outside so he decided to wait for his father to go to work before returning to take his backpack and go to school. He felt hungry so he went to the first diner he saw, The Treffpunk. He was the only customer, even if he saw that it was non-stop. He seated himself on a stool at the bar. No one was inside, but he could hear some noise coming from the backroom, Himyari music in Engellexian could be head. Probably from Camden or somewhere, Ermis thought."If you're hungry, you're lucky! I was heating the pan," said the barman as he came in front. He was a black Himyari, from Loago, a huge man. "I really am then," said Ermis smiling and feeling amused by the enthusiasm of the man. "I'd like a coffee and something for breakfast." The man didn't wait and immediately poured coffee in a cup and gave it to Ermis. "If you want milk on it, just tell me. I will make you some omelette with some wursts." The man didn't wait to receive an approval from Ermis and immediately, though he couldn't see him, he could hear the cracking of eggs and the frying of the sausages and the omelette. "So, were you lucky or not?", asked the man again from the kitchen. "What do you mean?" asked Ermis. The man first brought the plate with an omelette, a bratwurst and a pickled cucumber. "I mean tricks... like... those guys", said the man showing a bunch of young men, no that much older than Ermis staying outside chilling on the sidewalk many of them smoking. Ermis was shocked to see that many were wearing female clothing, one even wearing a skirt. "Are they..." Ermis wanted to ask, but was interrupted by the man. "Puffs? Yeah they are. Prostitutes? Yeah they are that too..." He changed his looks towards Ermis afterwards. "But if you aren't from that scene... What's with you? Where are you from?" Ermis wasn't really sharing the same political views like his father or his uncle so he didn't really want to say that he is Pelasgian. "Where would you think I am from?" he asked. The man smiled. "Ok, mysterious... Let's play this game then. First, looking at your light brown hair, I say that you aren't Kernish or Gaelic. Looking at your skin though, I can see that you are tanned. This means that you aren't a Varinian German and seeing the way you were looking outside so shocked and surprised, I'd say that you barely arrived. So considering that your primary language is German, you must be Eiffellandian, though I don't think you get tans, not even in the southern, Eiffellander winter. No, you are surely Himyari, like me. I'd go then statistically and use the biggest people in Himyar to raise my chances and will say that you are Pelasgian. Am I right?" he said with a triumphal smile. "That was... on spot... Yeah I'm Pelasgian. My dad came to fight here and it was a stupid mistake as the Imperial secret services came after us and it was the only way to have my family continue a normal life..." said Ermis looking at the emptied coffee cup. "Well, I was born in Loago and I too would give anything to return to the warm beaches of Maseru, but life in good here in Hartem and as much as you see it or not, you are privileged here." Ermis looked surprised. "Privileged?" he asked. "Yeah. Look at them again." said the man showing the prostitutes from across the street. "They are mostly Celts who came to the south to survive. You came from Pelasgia, received a citizenship and a house from the government. I even saw German youth becoming like the ones there. I've seen too much things from this bar. If you want to keep your life good, or at least keep it at the same levels you are living it now, stay away from people like them." Said the man sternly. "It would be 100,000 Bonns. Now, go, you are going to be late for school or something." Continued the man as he took the banknote Ermis gave it to him. "So you really see anything from here?" asked Ermis. "Heh, yeah... First were the Bohemians, then the Celtic Unionists, then Anarchists, then the Kadiki Guys and now puffs. You see everything on Kastanien Allee".
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