Bresciani Komber/Beneventi Komber (/ˈbrɛ.t͡ʃani ɹeɪz|ˈbɛniːˈvɛnti ɹeɪz/)
"Thank you for seeing us." Amarat Jr Veneer, Flora Rolli, Ainsley Shoo were in the antechamber, and walked into the office of the de-facto ruler of Eurani.
"Don't be silly, I'll always make time for you, sweet Amarat. And welcome Meritant Flora Rolli."
"Pleasure." Flora kept standing, and stiffened when the arguably most powerful woman on Arnd just hugged her Hérévallin like the ex-girlfriend of his she was, to her toes. "We are here on business." She reminded the other three.
"I hadn't thought you had visited Brescia in a while, Amarat. And I do think it's your Hérévallin's first visit, do you have her visa?"
"We do, why do you ask?"
"Because, if you follow protocols, and send it properly, you'll lose her passport for a week, and it'll eventually end up on my third secretary's blotter, where he'll ask my second secretary for my pre-cooked signature. I could just sign it right now and save you the bother."
"How do you know I am who I claim to be?"
"I trust Amarat, he wouldn't be seen with you if you weren't true."
"Here, you can sign mine, too?"
"Oh, I would, except yours is diplomatic, I can accept it, but not sign it."
"How come you are under a diplomatic visa? I thought I was head of delegation?" That was Ainsley, who had been silent until then.
"You will be, the paperwork just needs to clear to Mother."
"To your Mom? How come... Oh"
"Yeah, the people working for Mother would know what her answer would be to 'should your son be extended your own diplomatic privileges abroad, now that he is Bameimeito?'"
"You mean, they know the answer to: 'Do we want to appear like we don't want to waste the Nameihomei's time?' Which is of course, always yes."
"Besides, under Eurani rules, you cannot be admitted under a non-diplomatic passport to any Eurani country, as the designated heir to the crown. And yes, that is a reaction to your law barring anyone from claiming diplomatic privilege. Since we can't be sure you're you, we aren't going to let you claim a lesser identity, as if you were trying to avoid the penalty for impersonating an ambassador."
"Oh, so I'm automatically a representative of Meihomei now?"
"By our law, you're the closest thing short of your Mother or Meihomei visiting themselves, above the Vice-Secretary of State."
"How much higher above?"
"We're not trying to dickmeasure them... We just consider him the legal personification of Kagomei unless they're present."
"Above our own Ambassador?"
"He would be, except the official Ambassador was his mother and she was never replaced. Until you gain the letter of marque, I imagine."
"Oh, no wonder."
"Pity too, used to be the plummest, choicest place for an Ambassador in all of Kagomei."
"Then what happened?"
"The Ambassador got married, had a child, but didn't want to give up the place that comes with it."
"I thought Vano Venti was a family property."
"Oh, Vano Venti is, Praescia Vannalotti is not."
"What's that?"
"Mom's other estate in Brescia, almost in Sardé , she doesn't visit as often, but it is responsible for more of the revenue."
"Just how big is it?"
"It'd be a quarter of Kagomei in size, by itself, by revenue... Well, it's the second richest area in Brescia after Ferrare."
"Cough."
"What it is, isn't bigger than Ferrare, but it's a lot larger than the next one over."
"No, I'm not arguing your figures, I'm just trying not to let my throat dry, I will end up owning Ferrare, in toto, by myself. And that plot of sheep farms and olives and winegrapes she has is doing as well, except without the cities Ferrare has, or the universities."
"No cities?"
"Only a 20000 population city, the first, that is the oldest, in Brescia, for that matter."
"Oh, like Innu, where the oldest city is kinda small?"
"Innu City used to be much larger, Not Brescalle.
"How much bigger was it?"
"Early records speak of Innu being a hundred thousand, before Xanadrigal ."
"And Brescalle never grew?"
"Each time it was about to grow, some disaster happened, so it stayed the size it was. A twenty thousand souls city on some of the best wine and farm land in Arnd is hardly impoverished."
"Brescalle and Ferrare are top 20 for agrarian productity in all of Arnd, just like Innu and Dunkehl."
"What's that?" "That's my grandparents, Meltran Kagome and Schoonvance Venatori. In their other estate, in Brescia, wearing their honourifics and the crown of Bresciani Komber." "Bresciani Komber?" "Because, for propaganda reasons, Bresciani spent centuries affirming that they were the true heirs of the Ancient Goodwilling, and denying the Benevent's claim to same, despite small issues, like Benevent having kept their language, unlike Brescia, for instance. To support this propaganda, the crown of the Goodwilling was kept, and when Brescia and Benevent became united politically, and is given to the most powerful noble in either realm, and is given the title of Beneventi Komber, by the brescians. The benevent call it Bresciani Komber, as if the ancient Goodwilling would be insulted that their lands would be so reduced." "How big were they?" "They had trade posts from Eurani, to Kagomei to the Olmeqians, clear on the other side of the planet." "But no conquests?" "No, that's why we call them Goodwilling. It's a probably poor translation of their own name for themselves, but it's accurate as far as I can tell, they only had enough military to protect their trade, not conquer." "Didn't the Moniqans try?" "They did, and they found out that trade can buy a lot of mercenaries when threatened. The Moniqans only tried once... After the mercenaries laid siege to Oulob, the Moniqans found easier targets." "We've been to Oulob, it's deep in the interior!" "Yes, near where Lake Aznabel, gets water from the River Sloshy. They could have struck the Sook from there." "I thought the Horse Plains were easily defended?" "They are, but not a wide river like the River Blue. Not from Goodwill river power." "Isn't it the River Roaring that far south?" "River Raging, Roaring's downriver from Lake Tsiutang, Raging's upriver." "And they went that far up?" "They sent their elite Cataphracti upriver to capture temple bells from Headwater Temple, all the way in the headwaters of the River Blue, at Lake Tussi. Just to prove how badly defended that part of Moniq was." "In the headwaters? But that's almost on the other side of the subcontinent!" "It's on the other side, the headwaters are two thirds of the way to the opposite shore. That watershed's incline is just crazy. The headwater's main city is the district head for Mujeki Island on the other side." "That's some river. And your parents? They were high nobles?" "Grandfather was one of two candidates to be called Beneventi Komber at the time, as the Lucair of Ferrare, and lost only to Mindanao Dell'Auro, when he became Mastarna of Benevento." "What's a Mastarna?" "It's like an over-Domei. Not as in the national ruler, but as a class of aristocracy higher. In Kagomei, Domeis rule one of the provinces, a Masterna would rule at least two." "Which your mom does, and so does Meihomei, at least, technically." "Yeah, both have multiple Domeis, but it's not a permanent, heritable thing. When she retires, Natalia will become Mastareir of Benevent, unless her father names Annunzia or Ninu." "Hey, you look flushed." "I don't really like considering my relationship with Annunzia or Ninu and especially their dad competing with grandfather." "He must have been younger?" "Yeah, almost 20 years younger, I imagine it was a factor." "What about your mom? Does Min... Mindanao see her as a threat?" "I doubt it, they've been friends for decades now. Mom has him over every year, they trade wine gifts." "I imagine they must have been closer, when their kids were dating..." "No, at least, I didn't get that vibe." "What vibe." "Closer, they were acquaintances, peers, not that close, but not that far. Sure, when I was partying with them, they exchanged more, but I always got the impression mom at least, saw it as a long shot." "How perceptive of you, my son." Mikhala Veneer walked in from the garden. "I always felt the dell'Auros were marrying up, either of the three, where you were concerned, but I was content if they made you happy." "And I'm not?" "No, you're not dear, his Hérévallin's a gem, I'm glad to call you daughter." "Aw, you're going to make me blush, and cry, and smear my make up." "Hug?" Mikhala hugged her daughter-in-law, and both women sniffled. "Mindanao is still Bresciani Komber?" "No, he stepped down from his place in the line for the mastarnate when his daughter became involved with Eurani politics. But Natalia will become Mastarna and Bresciani Komber when she steps down from actual politics." "Not you?" "I'd rather not, I've spent a lot of my life doing politics to keep other people happy, I'm fully content working on my own happiness for a change. But it wouldn't make me unhappy if Amarat became Mastarna." "Mastarna of Benevent and Bameimeito of Kagomei, just how much of the land is that?" "Enough that people will take you seriously, if they don't have the good sense to do so already. If you could hold both titles at once, that is." "And some don't?" "Kingmakers." As if the name explained everything. "I doubt they don't take me seriously, mother, by this time. They hate me and all that I stand for, but that's a seperate issue. I doubt they think I don't matter, not after the attempts on my life..." "I'm not inclined to give them much benefit of the doubt, not for anything." "Please try, every inch of magnanimity on your part cuts off some of their more rational support, leaving only the fanatics." "You also said he can't have both titles at once?" "No, which is why it'll probably go to his cousin Linnaeus." "Linni? But I thought he was working up to be a Kagomine diplomat?" "He is, well, he's learning to be a diplomat, it helps that he's my nephew, so he can be a Kagomine diplomat while I'm the head of Kagomine Diplomacy, but once he grows out of it, he'll still know how diplomacy works, useful for a Mastarneir of Ferrare, which is likely to be him." "So, an old man tending grape?"
Comments