Islandkartthing

"Welcome, dearest visitors, to our place of moot."   "Oh, hi."   "You visit from far away?"   "You can tell? Yes, we are from Kagomei."   "Oh, all the way on the other side of the Fenician Ocean! Did you have a nice trip?"   "Yes, quite, can we start the tour? I'm afraid we're expected, soon."   "Oh, I'm aware of your schedule, your next meeting is in the Skaldflagrungbadingsthing."   "Err, come again?"   "The cupola at the top of this building? It's where the ministry officials will join you."   "Oh, thank you, can I have your name?"   "I'm Aster Foldsthing, and you are obviously a Kagomine Diplomat, but I wasn't given your full name, just Voice Amarat..."   "I'm Amarat Beltran Meltran Flinflon Nomintan Killidarvi Sporray Sottofumare Konigsee Stillbergen Ferrare Takahashi Dandelion Matsumoto Kagomei Veneer, Meritant of Honour, Feyd Veneer, Lanungmei of Kimaguré, Baron of Sporray, Baron of Konigsee, Count of Stillbergen, Namolec prime of Sottolanga, Loroni-warbaron of Utta-Utta, Prince of Ferrare, High Prince of Benevento, Valour-keeper of Kagomei-by-interim, Meritant of Honour, pleased to meet you."   "Errr, my, that's a lot of titles, not all of them Kagomine, either."   "No, I do get out of Kagomine, from time to time..."   "I'm sure, and you visit... yourself?"   "In a sense, it's complicated."   "You mostly visit your mom, lately, Amarat."   "I'd have to get out of bed early to visit any place she hasn't visited."   "And your mother?"   "Is the secretary of state of Kagomei."   "Heavens, so she has been here before, obviously?"   "I'm told one of the antrerooms to the Skaldflagrungbadingsthing is named after her."   "You're Amarat Veneer?"   "Junior, named after my father."   "No wonder they wouldn't tell me you were visiting... I'd have exploded..."   "Now now, I'm not that important."   "But you are even more attractive in person..."   Flora grabbed Amarat's biceps and tugged, in a very possessive manner."   "Oh dear, and totally married, I see..."   "Actually, not right now..." Amarat grinned, Flora was almost always visibly jealous, despite the fact that it was her idea they'd let the herevallin lapse for at least half an arnd. "But I imagine Flora here will be convinced to be my wife again sometime, if thats a concern."   "Your customs are always a bit strange to us."   "But the Saami are famous sailors, just as the Kagomine are, why are our sea-wives so impenetrable?"   "Oh, perhaps because ours don't travel that well..."   "Oh, I don't think I've ever met a Saami who'd even name his sea-wives, so there must be something to that."   "So, she is only married to you while you're in port?"   "Well, no, although that's what inspired the tradition. I was married to her for three years, then we lapsed for one day, then we married for three more years, and now we're lapsed again."   "Ah, so it's not a geographic wedding, it's a temporary one? Those are unique to Kagomei. If you were sea-married, she'd not be your wife right now, because you're not in her... domain, I guess, is the right word."   "And I'd be able to choose?"   "I suspect your temporary weddings are for the same reasons as the geographic ones, terms of service, either on a ship, or the military, where you may be seperated for long stretches of time..."   "It is known."   "Oh, that explains it, well, are you two apart?"   "We will be, once she returns to her command."   "She's a military officer?"   "She rates her own flag..."   "Apologies, I thought she was... chosen for her obvious beauty."   "Well, she does have that, but she is my commanding officer."   "How does that work? You're the crown prince!"   "When I put on the uniform, she is God Aboard Ship, simple, really."   "And without the uniform?"   "He is my prince..."   "Oh, of course."   "Not that I haven't shared him before..." She dimpled at the attractive, petite, busty blonde. "But I'd rather he'd not get too far away, if you know what I mean..."   Aster blushed, bisexual folk were not unknown in Saami, but they tended to be more discreet because of an incident in this very building... Flora's blatant looks were... who was she kidding, it didn't hurt that the redhead was a petite dish herself, but Amarat had been in her fantasies for so long, he'd just have to crook a finger, no matter what else was required.   "We should start the tour..." Amarat tried to disarm this ticking timebomb of a conversation. Flora was never subtle in her appetites, and had been exploring the finer points of the Serendipity and Forbidden Cults' creeds. Forbidden's tolerance for public sex and attraction to scandal meant a lit powerkeg as far as Amarat was concerned. That Serendip's flair for chance meetings would trigger on him meeting a fangirl of his only guaranteed a hot mess had Amarat shaking his head.   "Please come into the main antechamber, King Karel of Sarn married Queen Edelwaite Heidi in this very spot."   "It's a well known series, back in Kagomei. I imagine some of the backstabbing was dramatized, though."   "Some, yes, and none happened in this room, we'd know."   "The third Baronness of Relogna also was married here."   "How... did you know? Most people don't even acknowledge Brescian ranks, let alone how tied they are to other realms."   "It helps that I'm a descendant, in the primary line..."   "That would make you..."   "The future Baron, provided I don't rank up..."   "Humour the poor girl, Amarat, tell her all the ways you can rank up from baron..."   "Well, I am Feyd Veneer, which is a barony, in Kagomine terms, I am also four-times-baron in Brescian, Benevent, Brunswicki and Sarn terms."   "Sarn?"   "Amarat, stop teasing the girl, your cousin is Countess of Alaszt-Lorren, after all."   "She is Countess of Alaszt-Lorren, Baroness of Ryalfi, Baroness of Relogna, Electoral Princess of Saer-Natthingham. Saer has precedence."   "In any other family, you'd salute her... Not in yours..."   "No, the Lucumon of Ferrare does not salute anyone but an empress, it's in the local laws."   "That's your mom?"   "For now, when I'm 35, it'll be me."   "How many years?"   "Just about two."   "What's a lucumon?"   "Equivalent to a Duke, the Mastareir is higher."   "The Mastareir of Benevent, I presume?"   "If not for a quirk of language, the Archduke of Sarn, Sarnath, Belt and Luxem would be a Mastareir as well..."   "Why not Brescia?"   "Has a King, from right of conquest."   "Who rules... Benevent?"   "I guess, it's complicated."   "Saami has many treaties with Benevent, I'm surprised we didn't come to your aid..."   "The Pact of Eurani overruled them, I believe."   "Oh. Which was countersigned here, the Saami part, that is..." She pointed to a small, discreet study, filled wth books, some were in controlled-atmosphere containers, so ancient were they.   "Yes, I own a copy signed by some of my ancestors, but it's unclear which copy actually has force of law, it's a good thing they're all reliable copies..."   "Oh, yes, quite. Please come this way, we are behind schedule, and this is the Islandkitchenthing, where people eat and dance and enjoy much merriment."   "Wasn't the Thing related to the Thane, that is the king, of Saami?"   "Yes, a Thane leads a Thing, it's how it works. You did your homework."   "So a Thing is ruled over?"   "In a sense, just like a Sun'ga, a Thane make sure everyone has food, in a kitchen like this."   "Oh, you're very well informed, most people barely know the Kagomine word Sun'ga."   "I spent two Arnds in Kagomei, I had a blast."   "Two Arnds? That'll do it. I bet you even know Outbox has an Inbox."   "And Inbox has an Outbox. And Veneer is more than a cover over other things."   "I am Feyd Veneer, did you ever visit on Aunday?"   "Yes, Responsible Disclosure is such a nice place to have breakfast on Aunday."   "What happens on Aunday in Veneer, my Namei?"   "I enjoy lunch with my people, as is proper."   "All of them?"   "Veneer is only about five hundred people, we just need to have big pots."   "Oh, they all fit on the grass at Responsible Disclosure, don't they?"   "Mostly, it's one the the things grass is good for. Picnics."   "You're not like I expected Kagomanif..."   "Kagom-anif... Kagom-tribe?"   "Yes, you've been studying our language, I see..."   "A little, I had been preparing this visit for weeks now..."   "You're doing very well, most Kagomine have a much heavier accent, yours is only perceptible because I'm looking for it."   "I'm sure that's not the only thing you're looking for..."   "I'm sorry?"   "Flora, apologize, that was uncalled for."   "She's been ogling you for about an hour... Come on, and we're not married... right now, it's not like you have to pretend you didn't notice."   "Flora, apologize."   "I'm sorry." That wasn't Flora, that was Aster, Amarat had to hold his chin, before it hit the ground.   "See, my eyes are open."   "You two should apologize, I'm just here because of duty, and you're preening like hens to a rooster."   "Well, if we're hens, we have the right rooster for duty." She chuckled. "Amarat is very dutiful."