Snippet #2365945

Aziz was reclining on the Royal Barge, and didn't look forward to having to transition to a smaller boat. An attendant was going over a list of things at the Resort but found himself greatly underwhelmed by the advertisement. That was one of the downsides of being from Iram, one of the few cities of Kesh. A downside to his family's Empire, the land of Kesh was rather large, but most of it was uninhabitable. Most of Kesh was desert and even most of the land that wasn't desert was still unusable for most people's everyday living. On the plus side, Kesh had vast amounts of resources and the living conditions of its people showed the wealth of the nation. But no where was this more evident Iram, next to which this 'luxury resort' was a downgrade from his usual everyday living.

"Yes I'm aware of my need to sacrifice a bit," he interrupted the attendant, "after all I was only able to bring Farah here in terms of pets." His hand lazily scratched the ear of the Bengal tiger in question. " I do not need reminding of Kesh's situation. Everyone knows that we have few people and barely anything of a military force." Aziz took a drink of the wine that had been on the table before continuing, "But it's also common knowledge that the extent of our treasury and natural resources dwarf our fellows on the global scale...nor is our information network something to ignore. Other nations can keep their armies, Kesh will always be king where finance is concerned." With that he held out his hand, and the list of the other royals attending was handed to him.

A quick skim told him most of what he needed to know, many lesser royals and nobles would be there. Of all the nobles in attendance, only five names stood out to him. Amalea the young queen of Sentaura, a bold and uptight woman who knew her way around the battlefield. Katherine Goldworthy, the reason for her attendance was a surprise...while Italy's appearance was to be expected she was acting out of her expected profile. The Cymbaltian Elizabeth Jane, another name expected, they were a proper lineage if nothing else. The list of interesting women concluded with Anya Demyr of a country whose name he couldn't pronounce, something of an outdoors woman if memory served. The last name he paid attention to was a male, the French Prince Chris Minik. If his file was to be trusted, he didn't want to be here but would still be Aziz's main rival... actually he found the man quite likable on paper. Perhaps this was the term he'd heard some girls say on his way out of Kesh...frenemy?

The slowing of the barge indicated it was time to change vessels. "Something stronger," the bartender gave Aziz straight whiskey, which the prince quaffed before leaving. The lesser boat barely fit him, his luggage, Farah and his escort (granted his escort was double what was really required). But his arrival at the resort was otherwise flawless...or would have been if Farah hadn't run off upon landing. "Farah, get back here!" Aziz chased after his pet since the servants were too afraid of her to bother. They'd go ahead and handle the arrangements and other trivial matters. At the moment, he was more concerned about his pet.