The Winter Festival

[KaiserMelech Mikhail]

The following invitation was delivered to leaders and dignitaries around the world:
[center][quote][img]http://i973.photobucket.com/albums/ae218/mikial21/FlagofMarscurianSiberiaorAmur.png[/img][/center]
Dear Sir or Madam,
You are formally invited to celebrate the transition of the seasons in our beautiful nation and the safe return of the Marscurian Siberian navy to its winter port. The celebrations will begin on Saturday, October Twentieth, Two Thousand and Twelve at Eight O'Clock in the evening.

All guests will arrive at the Mietonka International Airport, and will be transported to the festival sight of Glubokiye Vodishtot. Proper accommodation will be given to all guests staying in the city.

Additionally, we cannot stress enough that all weapons, including ceremonial swords with sharpened blades, are banned. Sufficient protection will be given by Marscurian Siberian Guardsmen. Also, a large portion of this celebration will be held outdoors, and temperatures in the city have dropped below freezing, so guests should bring warm-weather clothes.

I look forward to seeing all of you,
Khagan Mikhail Stein[/quote]

[Centurius]

[quote]
[center][img]http://data.treksimming.com/athenian-federation/CoatofarmsAthenianFedSmall.png[/img][/center]


To the Office of the Khagan of Marscurian Siberia,

The Megale Autokrateira of the Athenian Federation accepts your invitation. While she will not travel with armed guards she will be accompanied by four unarmed High Guard.

Sincerely,
Office of the Megale Autokrateira[/quote]

"I'm going where?" Ariadne said as she read the report the junior aide just gave her, poor guy. Taking the heat for a mistake someone else had made.

"I swear, if they serve turnips I might just kill someone"

[Domingo the Honored]

Following essentially the exact same routine he had developed over many trips to Marscurian Siberian events, Sergei Aleksandrov, the Grand Chancellor of the State of the Chancellery of Cyrantia, started by putting on his heavy winter furs, a veritable necessity given his ally's aversion to heating. He then left Xavier via government car to drive down to Glubokiye Vodishtot, the city holding the party. He did not have to go exceptionally far - the city was in fact in Cyrantian territory, with its right of government ceded to Marscurian Siberia, given their population majority there.

Arriving in the city, Aleksandrov simply drove straight to the party. Being located in his own nation, the city was more than welcoming any time Cyrantian officials came around, even if the Marscurians were their government. When he made it to the precise scene of the festival, Sergei would seek out his ally's leaders to greet them, as he always did.

Edited October 19, 2012 by Domingo the Honored

[Kevin Kingswell]

Unfortunately the royal family was unable to attend the party due to a mess of problems that concerned them all back at home however, the request was passed about the government and military of Bhutan and it finally fell on to the newly sanctioned Junior Premier Colonel Yuri Sokohov's desk and he felt that it would grant him the perfect opportunity to get out of his office and into the real world and all the associated politics that came with it. Sokohov sent a request up the chain of command requesting permission from his superiors to attend the party and to his some what surprise he got an almost instant agreement back, not knowing he was seen as a joke among the high command staff. Still he was excited and left work early to meet with his girl friend to go shopping for some winter clothing for the pair so they could attend.

So it was that the young twenty three year old blonde haired and brown eyed officer took his nineteen year old red haired, blue eyed girlfriend Vera Angel out through the most expensive shopping mall they could afford to shop at and over the course of a couple of hours they bought their new clothes. Yuri outfitted himself with a thick grey fur lined great coat and grey winter trousers with black boots and a warm leather jerkin underneath. With this he wore his military cap on his head and rank insignia on his breast meanwhile his girl friend choose a more slim line black overcoat and long legged black dress which came down to below her knees and to go with a matching pair of thermal stockings and like her boy friend a matching pair of boots. To protect her head and face she had a hood added to her coat for a small extra charge.

With their clothes sorted the pair purchased train tickets to take them from Bhutan to [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=4]Marscurian Siberia though they had to travel third class as they had little money spare after buying their new clothes. Cuddled together with Vera taking the window seat the two of them enjoyed the journey, taking in the different views as they traveled and it was only thanks to the attention of a train service employee [/size][/font][/color] that they were woken on arriving in a random town in the middle of Tianxia and told they needed to go by boat the rest of the way and so they collected the small amount of luggage they had brought and got off the train. Here they were immediately confused and lost as neither of them had thought to arrange other transport but luck was on their side as a old pensioner agreed to take them to [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Mietonka in his little river fishing boat. [/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]In fact the old man didn't actually know the right way and after getting lost in some fog the pair left his boat and made their goodbyes and by another sheer stroke of luck came across a small private airfield and after some sexy flirting by Vera they managed to get a pilot to take them the rest of the way in his Cessna airplane. Landing in [/font][/color][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Mietonka International Airport the two of them bid farewell to the disappointed pilot and made their way over to where all the guests of the party were meant to be meeting for the journey to the location of the party.[/font][/color][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] [/font][/color]

Edited October 19, 2012 by Kevin Kingswell

[iKrolm]

"Ah hell," muttered Dallas Valdés muttered as he read the invitation. "You're sure we can't send someone else to the event?"

"No sir, Marscurian Siberia is closely tied Tianxia and we're a little short handed on those of acceptable rank as of late."

"Very well," Dallas acknowledged, "But see if the Army techs can shove one of those SCU personal-heater-things in my coat. The Marscurian temperature and I don't agree with eachother too well."


[b]Reply to Marscurian Siberia:[/b]

Thanks you for the invitation. Dallas Valdés shall attend to represent Selenarctos at the festivities. Per your request, we shall leave security arrangements once inside of the event in your hands.

[Kankou]

André Boisclair arrived in Mietonka International Airport in Cotam Unité, the Presidential Air Transport of the Greater Quebec Republic. With him was Charlotte Dunois and Shirakime, two of his greatest supporters in terms of donations and invited guests. As he waited for whatever was to be done at the VIP lounge (which he rented out in its entirely for his use), his thought was on the last time he was at a party like this, which was a complete fiasco. At least that slut princess was not around to ruin his mood..... or was she?

Edited October 19, 2012 by Kankou

[KaiserMelech Mikhail]

As the VIPs came into the airport via their various methods, they would first be gathered in the far end of the baggage claim, and then the group would be met with several soldiers who would escort them down the escalator and into the transit floor of the airport. The first train that they would take would be the Mietonka Monorail, which had one of the terminal points at the airport. Being seated in one of the cars, everyone would feel a sudden lurch as the monorail pulled out of the station and headed south towards the downtown region of the city. Exiting the underground station, the car was suddenly bathed in orange light as the setting sun shone through the western-facing windows. With a low whir, fine mesh window coverings rolled down, blocking much of the light while not obscuring views of the landscape around the tracks. After stopping at several stops in the northern part of the city, the train began passing under a series of well-lit archways before heading under a large glass roof. They had entered Mietonka’s central station. The ride so far had been quiet due to the monorail’s electric motor and the well-insulated cars, but the minute the doors opened, the passengers would be bombarded by the noise of the station. The loudspeakers instructing people about schedule changes, the screeching of the metal wheels along metal tracks, the squeal of breaks, and the conversations of thousands of people boarding different trains on different lines filled the station and resonated all around them.

The quickly, the group would be ushered off of the train and onto the monorail platforms, which stood directly above the rail lines that they needed to reach to get on the train that would take them to the north. All around them, modern trains of the Capital Express moved in and out of the station, but their ride would be revealed in a cloud of steam. With a locomotive that had a distinctive streamlined shape and twin columns of smoke coming from low stacks in the front, the train would be pulled by the diplomatic locomotive. The seal of the diplomatic corps was plastered on the front of the engine, along with multiple locations on each of the luxurious cars that followed.

“You do not need to worry,” one of the soldiers said to the group, “this train travels at 125 miles an hour, with bullet-proof windows and siding that can withstand a direct grenade blast. We have preferential travel on all rail lines inside the country and unlike electric or diesel engines, our steam engine can continue running through a power outage or even an EMP burst. Each rail car will have four soldiers for protection from any and all threats. For comfort, you will all be supplied with queen-sized beds and heavy sheets. Dinner will be served as soon as we leave the station, alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks are available upon request, and a light breakfast will be served at 4am when we reach Glubokiye Vodishtot.”

It was just after 8:00 in the evening when the whistle blew and the train left the station. The rails ran through the city, passing just around the central business district before heading north along the Bira River. The bright lights and crowds of young people heading out for a night on the town gave the delegates, none of which had ever been to Marscurian Siberia, a sign of how far the country had come.

Gathered for dinner in the dining car, the delegates would be treated to the type of hearty meal typical in Marscurian Siberia. A lightly seasoned steak cooked to order, garlic mashed potatoes, a large side salad topped with carrots, peppers, cucumbers, and mild turnips, assorted rolls still warm from the oven, and a rich red wine from vineyards around Amurpet.

Outside the windows, the lights of small hamlets and individual farmhouses could be seen in the distance as the train ran northward from Mietonka to the capital of Marscury. The ride in total would take around eight hours: two and a half in Marscurian Siberia, roughly half an hour at the Cyrantian border crossing over the Tunguska River, and five hours to travel to the city of Glubokiye Vodishtot. If the guests wished, they could go to bed after dinner in an attempt to gain some rest before they reached the city. If not, the rear car of the train contained a wide array of entertainment options, including a poker table, several bookcases with books from around the world, and a large satellite television that received both news stations from around the world and popular movies from Marscurian Siberia. Those who chose to simply stay awake through the journey would have plenty of time to sleep in their rooms at the Grand Amur Hotel before the celebrations began.