Propontine Empire - Kingdom of Eilezia_diplomacy

[Eilezia]

"To His Majesty, The Emperor Andronikos III Megas Komnenos,
To the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ioannis Argyropoulos,

In the latest rough decades of our time, our previous and beloved Supreme Guide, His Majesty Theseus Bellukis III, in accordance with the Supreme Council, has been keeping the Kingdom of Eilezia in an isolated position from the rest of the international community with the hope of sparing our people any condtions of war. This noble intent was not enough for preventing our lands from the disruption and the sufference caused by the recent conflicts which raged across our countries. But now we see great opportunities before us and believe in the great advantages which might result from cooperation and intergovernmental coordination. For this reason we would like to start a fruitful and sincere collaboration between our two people, recognising the strong ties existing between our culture, economy and society. In order to grasp at the current opportunities and better handle the threats which endanger our stability and freedom, we are addressing you with the intent of organising a meeting between our delegations in the form which suits you best. We would be extremely honoured of embracing you in our little but hearty Kingdom but at the same time it would be a privilege to come to visit your glorious Empire.

Waiting for an answer to our request, we send our most genuine greetings and, as a sign of good fortune, a marble statue representing Eirene, the goddess of peace, carved by one of our finest sculptors.
With anticipated gratitude,

His Majesty, the King Donathos VIII
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Isocrates Lazos"



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[Pelasgia]

Tiburan Empire
Personnal Correspondence of the Emperor

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To the attention of His Majesty, King Donathos III of Eilezia.

Your Majesty,

May good fortune and health find both Your August Person and Your Realm. We are most glad to have received your generous, yet humble, invitation. We too have often thought that an alliance between our great Nations would be most beneficial for both parties. Indeed, due to the isolationist policies of the late King, may the Lord's peace be upon Him, our two nations lacked the initiative to take the necessary steps to maximize the potential that their position on the two coasts of the bottleneck of the Long Sea allowed to them only.

Having most graciously been given the chance to forge a pact of cooperation and formalise the friendship of our peoples, We accept your proposal with the utmost gratitude. We would be honoured to be Your guests, as Eilezia might be small in size, but She is unmatchedly strong in culture, civilisation and spirit. We would thus be not very much unlike pious pilgrims who seek guidance in the Land of God, as we would be civilised men seeking a pact in the Home and Heart of Civilisation.

We decided to write this letter, sign it in full and seal it with the Golden Imperial Seal reserved for Chrysoboula so as to demonstrate our dedication to such a meeting, as well as our promise to honour whatever agreement comes of it. If We were so lucky as to be invited to your nation, We would attend the meeting in person, along with our Ministers of Economics, Trade, Defence and Foreign Affairs.

Andronikos III Megas Komnenos
Emperor of the Tiburans

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ΝΙΨΟΝ ΑΜΑΡΤΗΜΑΤΑ, ΜΗ ΜΟΝΑΝ ΟΨΙΝ·
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[Eilezia]

4th April, 1956
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To His Majesty Andronikos III Megas Komnenos, Emperor of the Tiburian Empire,


On behalf of the people of Eilezia, the Supreme Council, the Royal House and me in the first place, I read with deep joy Your agreement to our invitation and even more rejoicing is filling my heart by seeing we share the same vision about the present and the future of our lands. Too much time has passed under the bridges of our rivers since the rulers, the philosphers, the poets and many other extraordinary minds, nourished in our cities, sparked the highest forms of civilisation at the south and the north of the Long Sea. The massive heritage of culture and values inherited from our ancestors is beyond evidence but not enough to keep pace with our Northern neighbours and handle the threats ensuing the spread of radicalist ideologies and the Emerald Eagle-White Dove conflict. My hope and belief is that a cooperation between our nations could better defend us from the evil of this world and push forward our societies.

We will be extremely honoured to have Your august presence, accompanied by your esteemed Ministers and whoever else You would like to have alongside with You. Our royal office for the cerimonial is already committed to organise Your kind visit to our Kingdom. In order to guarantee You the best stay as possible, Ioannes Vasilis, the person in charge for diplomatic visits in Eilezia, is set to be in strict touch with Your officials, according to Your instruction.

In the meanwhile, with the uttermost gratitude I give my kindest regards and pray for Our merciful Lord to protect You, Your family and Your people.

His Majesty Donathos VIII, King of Eilezia
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[Eilezia]

8th April, 1956
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To His Majesty Andronikos III Megas Komnenos, Emperor of the Tiburian Empire,


May our Holy Lord lay His benevolent hands on You and Your subjects.
I hereby confirm with the greatest satisfaction and trust the agenda agreed with Your officials (and I take this opportunity to thank them for their ready and constant disposal, on behalf of our royal office for the cerimonial and myself) regarding Your highly appreciated visit to our capital in the days of 12th, 13th and 14th of this month .
The whole sojourn will unfold as following:
- 12th April: arrival of Your delegation at the airport of Metragos "Queen Helene II" (11.15 a.m.); private lunch between Your Majesty and me at Palati Stratis (01.00 p.m); public speech delivered by Your Majesty at the Apollopedion before both the Assemblies of the Parliament (03.30 p.m.); private meeting between Your Majesty and our Royal Family (07.00 p.m.); official dinner at the Royal Palace "Elafokrenos" (08.30p.m.).
- 13th April: tour of some archeological sites in Philadon, including the ancient Agorà and the Roman Forum (09.00 a.m.); meeting with the Orthodox Patriarch of Eilezia, His Holiness Stefanos V (11.15 a.m); official lunch at the Artemion (01.00 p.m.); official meeting between our delegations at the Chiasma, seat of the Supreme Council (03.00 p.m.); attendance at the opening of the theatrical season of the Royal Theatre of the Muses, followed by an official dinner (08.15 p.m.).
- 14th April: visit and public speech by Your Majesty at the Royal University of Philadon (09.45 a.m.), official lunch at Palati Roda (12.00 a.m.), official greetings and departure of Your delegation (02.30 p.m.).

The order of events might be subject to changes in accordance to the tightest procedures of security which might be required. In order to guarantee the highest level of privacy, it will be our greatest pleasure to host Your Majesty and all the companions at Your service in the Artemion, one of our most prestigious and historically relevant residences of our Royal Family.

Waiting for Your imminent and blessed visit with the absolute maximum of hopes and positive sensations, I offer to Your Majesty my most estimeed regards.



His Majesty Donathos VIII, King of Eilezia

 

[Eilezia]

Philadon, 12th April 1956

The Emperor Andronikos III, his servants and the ministers accompanying him land at the airport of Philadon "Queen Helene II" with a slight delay due to the rough weather condition. In fact it was really windy and had been raining fo hours till 30-40minutes before the arrival of the delegation from the Tiburan Empire. The distinguished guests are welcomed at the plane doors opening by King Donathos VIII, the Queen Hermione, the Councillor of Foreign Affairs Isocrates Lazos and other high officials, just few hundred of metres away from the vehicle. The young King, wearing the Sash of Saint John and the Lynx Ring (two of the highest symbol of the royal power in Eilezia) is a bit edgy and doesn't know the proper balance between formality and informality to take on as this is the first time he meets the Head of another nation, which is, as it happens, the glorious Empire of Pelasghia. After the two leaders pay homage to each other, the band of the Royal Air Force plays the Polychronion, the national anthem of the Tiburan Empire.
Then, while the Queen is escorted to the Elafokrenos (the royal palace) and the ministers/officials of the two delegations are directed to one of the most renowed restaurant of the capital, King Donathos VIII and the Emperor Andronikos III have a private lunch at Palati Stratis, a palace from the XV century just few kilometres away from Philadon and famous for its gardens and the frescoes of its rooms. One of the most talented chef of the country, Simon Zografos, has been called to arrange a menu of light courses which combine tradition and innovation, matched withsome of the best wines produced in Eilezia. After asking his interlocutor about the situation in his Empire and then describing the series of frescoes which decorate the main dining room, the King Donathos VIII conveys to the Emperor Andronikos III its fear that all the magnificences fashioned in Eilezia and the Tiburan Empire in millenia of civilization, like the one they are admiring in that moment, might put in strong danger by the aggressive expansion of Kadikistan or a spread of the Emerald Eagle-White Dove war. He believes that strengthening the ties between their nations and maybe even the Levantine States might be useful not only to prevent instability from touching the lands below the Long and the Kalahari seas, but also to scale up their influence in the world and improve the standards of living of their people.
After this informal but at the same time strategic lunch, concluded with a toast to a good continuation of the Emperor’s journey in Philadon, the two Heads of State, anticipated by the ministers and councillors, move to the Apollopedion, the historic seat of the Eileithyian Parliament, in the heart of Philadon, where the present and the future of the inhabitants of the capital, and then the Eilieithyian people, has been discussed and moulded, yet in different ways, for more than 2600 years. Both the assemblies have been summoned in the bright Hall of the Virtues (called this way for the gigantic fresco covering the ceiling with the representation of the four cardinal virtues) and even the few elected members of the communist and reformed socialist parties, who see with suspicion a convergence between Eilezia and the Propontine Empire, and threatened for days that they would have not attended this event, showed up. The High Steersman of the Communal Assembly, Talos Kellis, after a harp solo/instrumental version of the Polychronion, before yielding to the Emperor Andronikos III for his speech, welcomes his presence among the MPs and states the affinity of the Parliament to the Tiburan Senate, appreciating the separation of powers remarked with the national security bill failing to pass.
The first day of the Tiburan delegation in ends with the meeting between the Emperor Andronikos III and the Royal Family in the Elafokrenos, the main residence of the King’s family, named after the legend according to which the water springing from the fountain at the center of the inner garden of the palace originates from the same water source where the sacred Artemis’ deers would drink. The Queen Hermione expresses her desire to meet one day the Empress of Pelaghsia and on behalf of the whole family gives as a gift to the Emperor a wooden chest, minutely inlaid, adorned with lapis lazuli, mother-of-pearl and the Eye of Neptune (a rare topaz digged up in few mines of Telasseke) and containing several fabrics made in Eilezia.



Philadon, 13th April 1956

The second day, expected to be the most decisive one of the 3-day trip of the Emperor Andronikos III and finally greeted by the sun, starts with the Tiburan delegation visiting the the greatest symbol of Philadon, the ancient Agora, the Tiburan Forum and the Ochuroma, an enormous complex hosting the Museum of Antiquities and the Museum of Modern Art. An official lunch, serving traditional dishes of Eilezia and attended byboth the delegations, follows at the Artemion, the beautiful royal palace eccentrically designed by the Falzani in the XVII century and erected around the ruins of an ancient temple of Artemis and where the Emeperor Andronikos III is staying during his sojourn.
Then, in the first afternoon it’s time for the core event of this diplomatic visit: the official meeting at the Chiasma, the seat of the Supreme Council, a medieval structure with a cross plant built over the remains of an ancient paleochristian church and where a piece of the Holy Cross was brought to by one of its first owners (transferred later to the Orthodox Cathedral of Jesus The Saviour). In the wide and profusely decorated Hall of the Fates, the two delegations seated in front of each other around a long ebony table engraved with golden and wooden details, ready to discuss a number of issues concerning military, cultural and economic cooperation. After some of his aides take in the room water, irafion (a local light liquor) and some traditional cookies and pastries, the King Donathos VIII open the talks addressing the Emperor Andronikos III and his ministers: “It’s the uttermost privilege for us to have Your Majesty in person and all of you, much estemeed ministers of the glorious Tiburan Empire! Too many years has gone by since we saw a Head of State or one of his officials sitting here with us in this hall. The last time this happened, the negotiations ended up with an embargo but our skilled analysts on foreign affairs pleaded the horrible curtains which were installed here to the failure of the meetings because they negatively affected the spirits of my Grandfather’s interlocutors. But now, as you can see, the curtains have been completely renewed and, unless You disagree with me, they are quite likable. Furthermore in this day and a half Your Majesty and his ministers have been here in Philadon I gathered your kindness and political intelligence. So I strongly believe our attempts to find common field of interest and benefit here today will not fall through.”

 

[Pelasgia]

The Emperor, along with his entire delegation, had been left breathless by the beauty of Eilezia. Pelasgia had been colonised by Ancient Eilezians who had crossed the Long Sea thousands of years ago, bringing with them civilisation and culture, while nearly eradicating the local populations, assimilating or driving out those the rest. Pelasgia was certainly a beautiful country, but it was merely an imitation of the beauty and nobility of Eilezian civilisation. As for the land, it was no surprise the Eilezians had given the world so much and developped such a high culture; neither too hot, nor too cold, mild and welcoming, breathtaking and wealthy in every sense and with welcoming people, it was practically a heaven on earth. The finest vineyards and beaches of Actaea and Melingia fell short of even the humblest corners of this far smaller realm.

The locals had been extremely welcoming to the Emperor, which was surprising, considering the long and not always happy relationship between the Eilezians and their brothers on the other coast of the Long Sea. A few years ago, instead of irafion and sweets, the Emperor would have expected poison and daggers. Yet the Eilezians still found a way to put their pride aside and invite him over, to do what was right; one couldn't help but respect that. The King himself had been most kind, as has been his wife, whose gift for the Empress of the Tiburans was deeply appreciated. The Emperor promised to ensure the two ladies would meet and he also made sure that this kindness would be returned in full. Relaxing in the luxurious residence which the Eilezians had temporarily bestown upon him, Emperor Andronikos III Komnenos, replied to King Donathos' kind words.

"The priviledge is all Ours, Your Majesty. How many men can boast to have received the same hospitality which you showed Us? Your land is rich and splendid in all ways, Your Majesty. We are deeply greatful for this. What is done, is done, Your Majesty. One King's words cannot bind their line forever; after all, We, too, bear responsibility for what happened here in those unpleasant times. We were far too arrogant and too demanding. Your willingness to see Us honours Your Majesty and Your Majesty's Nation deeply, since, as Your very own Aristotle once said, magnamity is the greatest of virtues. And this magnamity of Yours, We shall return with open ears and a new heart. We are most certain that You and Your skilled ministers could work with Our own, so as to find a suitable and mutually beneficial middle ground!"

[MENTION=1982]Eilezia[/MENTION]

 

[Eilezia]

The king goes on: “Your majesty, we are profoundly happy that You and Your ministers are finding your stay in Eilezia as agreeable to your refined tastes. My people hailed the news of Your visit with joy and will be strongly proud to see that our doing into making You feel as best as possible in our palaces and streets meets Your expectations. By saying that a warm hospitality was our duty, it would be an insult towards all the pleasure we are receiving by by Your presence. As you remembered tu us, magnamity is the greatest of virtues but Aristotle also said the best antidote against 50 enemies is a friend. And our greatest hope is that You will return to the magnificent Propontis as a friend of us. ” He was just finishing this last sentence when his eyes encounter the serious gaze of Thomas Arvanitis, High Councillor of the Internal Affairs and Defense. So he resumes: "One of my most trustworthy man, Thomas Arvanitis, High Councillor of the Internal Affairs and Defense of this Kingdom, has one virtue, which, sometimes, might be also a flaw: an extreme sense of practice. So, judging by his look, I guess it is time we begin to discuss the questions took forward by your officials and mine before Your arrival and I would like to start by addressing a specific problem to you that A. Arvanitis is dealing with these weeks. Just few days ago our guards on the border with Pelagsia intercepted a load of various weapons which was going to be smuggled in to our Kingdom. It has been a while now that our ports in Thimens and Puragon have been used to export weapons illegally and we are certain that some of them are bought here by local anarchists and other subversive groups. This unacceptable trade is passing through the borders with your Empire and the Levantine States and while I am saying it with regret, our border controls are failing into stopping it. So I am wondering if Your Majesty might give us support on this issue as your highly trained police force has more experience than us. I am asking you this because some of these buyers are reported to be related with the Red Argounauts members who cowardly struck on February 27 in the Central Railway Station of Propontis. Furthermore I humbly put on this table the hypothesis of some kind of defensive cooperation against the turbolences at the north of the Long Sea"

 

[Pelasgia]

"Your Majesty is lucky to have such driven and focused Ministers. Indeed, the smuggling that has plagued our borders, as well as our region in general, is unnacceptable and, as we were reminded not too long ago, in the bloodiest of ways, dangerous. We would be glad to aid your police forces in border control. If it please Your Majesty, we could dispatch a special mission to help train and modernise your police forces as well as police forces of our own to aid your border guards. We would also promise to strengthen our own anti-smuggling operations. Since a large part of this trade goes on via boat, cooperation between our coast-guards could also prove pivotal. Indeed, it would seem that we are surrounded by dangerous and expansionist factors. A defensive cooperation would only be logical. We would not hide it from Your Majesty that we are already in the midst of negotiations with several other nations in the Long Sea concerning a defensive pact, while we have already struck one with the Republic of Justiza. We could very well see the benefits of an alliance between our nations. On the basis of that alliance, our armed forces could aid in the modernisation and training of your own. We have already dispatched one military mission to Justiza, We are certain that another could be dispatched to aid your own armed forces just as easily and rapidly." The Emperor paused for a moment to think. "Our navy is in the process of a large scale modernisation. Our ships are already up to date, but we ae rapidly replacing them with state of the art warship. This leaves us with several ships that are up to date and fully battle-worthy and thus turning them into scrap would be a waste. We would be willing to gift some and sell some to your own navy at a significantly reduced price, so as to help you in stengthening your own navy."

 

[Eilezia]

The High Councillor Arvanitis paid close attention to the Emperor's words and when this latter concluded his proposal, he leaned on the King, whispering few words to him. Donathos VIII takes up: "Your Majesty, the High Councillor Arvanitis has just made me notice how Your offer is going beyond our initial hopes, so we can't help thanking for this support You're agreeable to lend us. The skills developed by your military official on cracking down all sorts of illegality will be certainly pivotal into stopping those traffics. We'll command our Coastguard to coordinate its coverage of territorial waters with Your correspondig units." By saying that, the Kings looks for the approval of T. Arvinitis who agrees. Then he continues:"As for the possibility of a military alliance, this is exaclty what I was hinting at. And we positively hailed the news of Your agreement with the Republic of Justiza. Our offices in the Department of Foreign Affairs are already at work to organise a future meeting with the President Benedetti. The opportunity of buying some ships from your naval fleet at discounted prices is really tempting and I am oriented to grap at it. But we surely can purchase just a very limited number of ships as our Royal Navy at the moment doesn't lack of military resources and the approved budget for military expenses for the next 3 years leave us a tight room of manoeuvre. Your Majesty and His Minister of Economics can easily understand that the debt must be kept under control (too many times in the past we were on the brink of bankruptcy).
And this leads me to bring to Your consideration at this table another crucial issue ( on our account): economic cooperation between our two people. Going to detail, my High Councillor of Treasure, Economy and Trade, Hesperos Manolis, has envisaged three lines of action:
- reduction of duties between our countries (our economic structures are smilar in some parts and different in other ones, so I think a reduction of protection might prompt our enterprises to improve their efficiency);
- in Eilezia a demand of cars has started reaching the middle classes and since we don't have an automotive industry, your carmakers would be able to satisfy it with their competitive prices;
- the publishing industry in this country is one of its main asset and these weeks preceding your visit our main publishers have been asking us for striking with you an agreement which might allow them to build on their presence in your market, considering the evident similarities between our people in terms of language and cultural mindset.
What does His Majesty think about it?"

 

[Eilezia]

The High Councillor Arvanitis paid close attention to the Emperor's words and when this latter concluded his proposal, he leaned on the King, whispering few words to him. Donathos VIII takes up: "Your Majesty, the High Councillor Arvanitis has just made me notice how Your offer is going beyond our initial hopes, so we can't help thanking for this support You're agreeable to lend us. The skills developed by your military official on cracking down all sorts of illegality will be certainly pivotal into stopping those traffics. We'll command our Coastguard to coordinate its coverage of territorial waters with Your correspondig units." By saying that, the Kings looks for the approval of T. Arvinitis who agrees. Then he continues:"As for the possibility of a military alliance, this is exaclty what I was hinting at. And we positively hailed the news of Your agreement with the Republic of Justiza. Our offices in the Department of Foreign Affairs are already at work to organise a future meeting with the President Benedetti. The opportunity of buying some ships from your naval fleet at discounted prices is really tempting and I am oriented to grap at it. But we surely can purchase just a very limited number of ships as our Royal Navy at the moment doesn't lack of military resources and the approved budget for military expenses for the next 3 years leave us a tight room of manoeuvre. Your Majesty and His Minister of Economics can easily understand that the debt must be kept under control (too many times in the past we were on the brink of bankruptcy).
And this leads me to bring to Your consideration at this table another crucial issue ( on our account): economic cooperation between our two people. Going to detail, my High Councillor of Treasure, Economy and Trade, Hesperos Manolis, has envisaged three lines of action:
- reduction of duties between our countries (our economic structures are smilar in some parts and different in other ones, so I think a reduction of protection might prompt our enterprises to improve their efficiency);
- in Eilezia a demand of cars has started reaching the middle classes and since we don't have an automotive industry, your carmakers would be able to satisfy it with their competitive prices;
- the publishing industry in this country is one of its main asset and these weeks preceding your visit our main publishers have been asking us for striking with you an agreement which might allow them to build on their presence in your market, considering the evident similarities between our people in terms of language and cultural mindset.
What does His Majesty think about it?"

 

[Pelasgia]

The Emperor was very satisfied with how the meeting was going so far.
"This would seem like an excellent proposal, We would certainly agree to it. To add to it, We would propose the creation of incentives for investments between our nations and for our companies to operate in eachother's country, excluding major sectors of the local economy, of course. Seeing that your nation isn't particularly industrialised, but mainly an agricultural economy, we could aid in your industrialisation, if Your Majesty's government would entertain such a prospect. After all, industrialised nations are bound to dominate the region and we would be much more comfortable if the strong of the region were nations such as yours, with whom we share many similarities. Speaking of cultural proximity, We believe this would be a great opportunity to strengthen the cultural bonds between our nations. Museum and student exchanges as well as programmes to showcase eachother's culture in our nations could work wonders in this field. Additionally, we could establish Eilezian Institutes of Language and Culture in the Empire and vice versa. We could even work to boost the tourism between our nations, with easier visa access."

 

[Eilezia]

"Foreign direct investments from your Empire to our countries and vice versa? I figure this would be such a forceful way to raise our rate of employment, which is lagging behind the growth of production, on one hand and expand our complementary industries out of the national borders. As pointed out earlier, Eilezia actually is lacking an automotive industry to supply our domestic demand, a limit which might be overcome by your carmakers selling some of their models to Eileityhian customers or opening a factory here. In coordination with our regional prosarchons our Department of Treasury, Economy and Trade will arrange some kind of incentive schemes (like tax breaks) to offer to your companies. At the same time maybe our major publishing houses might open a few bookstores in Propontis and other main cities of Your Empire. This way sectors of national interest wouldn't be affected by the operations.
In the matter of cultural cooperation, Homer, Plato and all the other exceptional thinkers and artists of our past spoke, wrote and created masterpieces for the whole hellenic community, so strengthening our cultural bonds would just honour their name. Most of the universities in Eilezia already have courses of Pelasgian literature and a cultural institute like the one Your Majesty has suggested could be easily integrated in the system. Tourism is starting to generate not irrelevant incomes to the economy of this Kingdom and we believe it might become one its main drivers in the future. The main share of tourists comes from Your dominions and we would be delighted to see an even greater number of citizens from the Tiburan Empire enjoy our beaches and cities. And it's a duty for the people of Eilezia to know and admire the beauties of Your lands. So our officials in foreign and internal affairs might devise a facilitated mechanism to issues visa cards. And I think it might be also useful travel agencies be encouraged to organise package tours into our territories".

 

[Pelasgia]

"Incentives like tax breaks could aid our industry in opening factories in Your Majesty's nation, certainly. Of course, we would like to ensure that such an expansion would not be at the cost of our own demostic production, so we would have to set some limits on the number of factories, but We would certainly entertain the prospect. As for the bookstores, We are certain we could use and accomodate quite a few. We are confident that an easier visa process would aid both of our nations, as Your Majesty pointed out. We are also in agreemnet, pertaining to Your Majesty's ideas about a cooperation between our tourism sectors." The Emperor thought for a second. Most of the major issues that concerned the Pelasgian delegation had been settled rather pleasantly. He decided to pass the ball to the Eilezian side. "We would also like to increase our diplomatic presence in eachother's nation, so as to facilitate our new proximity in international affairs. Are there any other propositions Your Majesty might have?"