Stormy Bay
"Set in the river delta of the river roaring, Stormy Bay's natural deepwater harbour and nearby savannah make it a prime location on the Eurani coast. With oaks, chestnuts and other hardwood forests providing cover, as well as timber for ships, few other harbours or drydocks are as well protected or as widely famed."
"The Phoenician left from Stormy Bay, after all, after an overnight stay at Castle Gascong."
"Welcome, Mei Visitor."
"Your Kagomine is excellent, thank you for having me."
"I must ask, what is the purpose of your visit?"
"I am the Feline Advisor to Meihomei and I am visiting one of my wards, the Kitten Kruk, who has been adopted recently by Emdund Vasisliebe, Bleg of Bleg."
"Ah, and you have diplomatic credentials?"
"I am a Kitten-Ra, I claim rights of visitation by a ritual older than your nation, test my precedence at your peril."
"Err, quite. Please let me consult my superior."
"First you verify if he is who he says he is."
"Don't be silly, Franny, our own Kitten-Ra wrote me because 'he's giving me a headache, make him go away, but be nice about it.'"
"Oh, so not just 'any' kitten-ra, but one of the harbingers."
"What's a harbinger?"
"One of the kitten-ra who have the most power. Other kitten-ras know of their presence, they're the heavyweights. A regular kitten-ra is at least extra-territorial. A harbinger is sometimes multi-territorial, but most are treaty-bound."
"What, like 'native to all of Eurani'?"
"Yeah, that'd be a good one, but this particular Kitten-Ra was at Lai-Dang, if he's 'native to all of Lai-Dang', watch out."
"Frannie, you sure about this guy?"
"Ow! Ow! He hurts my brain, you can't exactly fake that you know. My cats want to meet him."
"Aren't you supposed to welcome him?"
"I am, if he announced himself in advance, I have to, and I'm the one wrangling the bleg of bleg for him. But thankfully for my peace of mind, he showed up with no notice."
"Better than breaking, what would it be, four treaties?"
"Four or five, but just Lai Dang would bankrupt us, the punitive clauses are nasty, and cumulative."
"There are no founder clauses, but Kagomei is the initiator of the treaty, does that make it any worse?"
"No, because, ugh, you don't want to think about multiplying that, it's bad enough... It'd brankrupt Moniq in two weeks! I wanna work for treaty authority, so much money!"
"Gotcha. So you're lucky, he showed up without notice, does that mean anything for you?"
"He'll probably want to say hi, if he does, let him through, like don't bother checking, his authority under the treaty is bigger than his entire nation's, do not pass go, do not collect 200 Eurani, just be nice."
"Oh, that bad huh?"
"This guy, if he decides to wreck someone's day, he can get nasty, and that's without going into his other titles."
"What other titles?"
"He's interim-Lucair of Ferrare!"
"Oh, fuck. A Lucair of Ferrare? That's barely smaller than Bleg of Bleg, by himself! Tell me we're not keeping him waiting."
"We are, but he's career diplomat, he knows how this game is played, and we're not keeping him waiting more than anyone at his level or lower."
"Who's a good kitty, yes you are, yes you are Corvo."
"Welcome, sorry to keep you waiting, I am Frannie Kantutcha, Kitten-Ra of Bleg."
"I am Linnaeus Van Pelt." The lack of titles rang like alarm bells. "With me is Corvo, get of Ariellyn, get of Robyn, get of Graînea, get of Rembrandt, Cat Knight of Kagomei, get of Cat King Karel, and Cat Queen Amygdala."
"An honour, twenty-times over, but you are more."
"I serve Kagomei as Undersecretary of state for Classification."
"And you own land and titles in Brescia, Realm of, Brunswick, Sarn, Sarnath, Ralt and Luxem?"
"I even own some small land in Lolland." Linni was getting better at this game, his host wanted him to namedrop someone in Bleg, and Linni wouldn't give him the satisfaction of naming anyone from the Dell'Auro family. He knew naming the Mastarna of Bramant-Reigundy would just get him bundled up to her estate, his mission side-tracked.
"Ah, that must be it, please excuse me."
"Come on, this guy was multi-territorial, even without being an ambassador."
"Get it straight, he's extra-territorial, from being an ambassador, and from being a kitten-ra, and for holding land in two continents, and five eurani pact nations, he's multi-territorial, he could host a shindig between the Hand and the Oz, and they'd fricking have to behave!"
"What, so not just for the size, but for breadth?"
"Not even that, his diplomatic weight counts twice because subcontinents. He's over three, for sure. And if he gets a 'miptun' in any of the others, someone's getting in trouble."
"What about 'exes'?"
"Those count, you know something I don't?"
"Him, and his cousin, for that matter, were rumoured to be dating the dell'auro sisters, all three."
"Frak me sideways! Frak me sideways and honour my aged grandmother forevermore."
"Hey, I know I usually don't mention language, but that's pretty intense."
"He's, at least, on a first name basis with the Dell'Auro sisters? And no one thought that made him a player?"
"He's the ex of all three sisters, just like his cousin, him not being a player was never a consideration. When the younger sister visits Kagomei, she rolls a dice which cousin she likes better that day."
"And someone thought that was a good idea?"
"No, well I mean, I don't think anyone considers it a good idea, but those families having those close ties is nothing new, and traditional, almost, at this point."
"How close?"
"Look, They're fourth cousins, by themselves, at this point, not close enough to trigger consanguinity checks, but close enough anyone who thinks they hate each other has to reconsider."
"And how close are they to Bresciani Res/Beneventi Res?"
"Too close, if you gotta ask, you'll get your nose snapped in."
"This high, they'll take a number to snap your nose in too..."
"Something to consider, this 'comparatively low level functionary of Kagomei' was there when they signed Lai Dang, and is on a first name basis with enough ambassadors, they will probably sell tickets."
"What?"
"He's on a first name basis with Moniq, Kagomei, Tsu, Nisei, Lolland, Brunswick, Sarn, Alessia, Brescia, Lai Dang, Abendeen, Nuova Firence and New Etrusca, you going to try this guy's patience? I wouldn't!" Meaning the rulers of such nations, that is.
Type
Large city
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