Snippet #2791971

Halena laughed out loud at the glass of mineral water that was poured for her. She took the glass and set it aside, still chuckling as she did so. At Marlenes looks she shook her head and pointed at it "Carbonized liquids have a curious effect on our anatomy, they function as a hallucinogenic aphrodisiac." She explained, "It has something to do with how our body processes carbon compounds. Inhaling them has no effect, but when absorbed into our bloodstream via our digestive system, well... I'll spare you the details but just know that Carbonized Wine is often served to the bride and groom at weddings."

With that point said, Halena listened patiently to the story that Marlene shared, responding only at it's end with "The mistake Samsons enemies made was imprisoning him, rather than destroying him utterly. That is the philosphy of Asylia. Your people are not presently a threat, and you have nothing that we really need or want. But the fact remains that you could become a threat, and that is enough for the majority of the court at present to call for your destruction."

Halena paused then, taking the time to eat some of her food. She did this for about three minutes, eating with voracious speed suggesting a great appetite. The truth is much farther from that however. Halena could eat the food quickly and still savor the taste, but she also wanted it out of the way as soon as possible so it wouldn't interrupt their conversation. This was also why she had ordered items that were a favorite of hers while also being quite easy to eat quickly.

As the last noodle was slurped into her mouth and swallowed, Halena chose to respond then to the last of Marlenes statements. "At present, the Asylian Court has a majority leaning towards the elimination of the Aschen Empire. I've been able to convince four members of the court to favor preparatory observation rather than preemptive elimination. I've a representative making his way to the Taiyou to try and convince them to turn their attentions away from Assisting the Aschen forces and instead engage the mercenary fleet backing the Shogun in their territories. This is so as to prevent them from becoming involved and escalating the conflict."

"At this time, my plan is to buy time for the Aschen Empire, while establishing relations with the Taiyou, that would then be used to open up a direct line of communication between your emperor and my father." She smiled softly at this "Though the court holds great influence in the kingdom, the king's rule is absolute. And while others may complain or question, they cannot contest his orders. Increasing the number of my supporters in the court is secondary, as it will make it easier to convince my father to call back our forces and sue for peace. To that end, proving that the Aschen have valuable goods and or services that can only be provided by an active Aschen Empire will help us secure your people's status as a viable production economy that Asylia can benefit from. That alone may not be enough however, so I also intend to reinforce the idea of presenting the Aschen empire's history as being identical to Asylias, in so far as being a kingdom that has risen from dark times and conflicts to stand against it's own evils. In this way we could convince some of the members of court that rather than being a threat deserving of being destroyed, the Aschen are a nascent empire that, through Asylian guidance, could prove itself equal to Asylia in terms of honor and integrity. Ergo, the Aschen would be more valuable as Allies than as a footnote in history."

Halena shared all this while eyeying the glass of Mineral water before saying "Could I perhaps get a glass of juice, strawberry or perhaps Pineapple?"