She was ready.
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Ellanor took a step back to admire her handiwork. Jennifer wore clothing in the traditional style of a Gur Khani, though slightly modified.
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They traditionally wore a long, flowing robe called a “deel” made from fine silk or wool. The deel was usually embroidered with intricate designs and patterns, often featuring animals such as deer, birds, as well as flowers. The robe was typically dyed in shades of red, blue, and green, which were considered sacred colours in northwestern culture.
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Beneath the deel, they would often wear an underskirt called a “zubin” made from cotton or silk. The zubin was designed to be loose-fitting and comfortable, allowing for ease of movement.
A Gur Khani's headwear was an important aspect of her attire – especially in Jennifer's case. She seemed to prefer to wear a crown-like headdress called a “sang” made from gold, silver, or precious stones. The sang was often adorned with feathers, pearls, or other ornaments. This headpiece signified her status as a noblewomen.
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Traditionally, the wife of the Heir to the Dominion wore ornate leather boots called “bashlyk” which were decorated with intricate embroidery and tassels. These boots were designed for riding horses and were often decorated with precious stones and metals. However, Jennifer had insisted on wearing sandals due to her belief that the bashlyk were ridiculously outdated.
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Jennifer's jewellery was an essential part of her attire. She wore necklaces made from pearls, rubies, sapphires, and other precious stones. Her earrings were often shaped like animals or flowers and were suspended from long silver or gold chains. Her fingers were admonished with rings set with gemstones.
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hairstyle was also an important aspect of her appearance. She wore her hair long and braided, often with small beads or pearls. Her neck was left bare as the ceremonial scarf called a “tassel,” which held great spiritual significance before the Covenant takeover – was disliked by the Covenant of the Void.
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“How do I look?” Jennifer asked excitedly.
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Prefect Ellanor Etatè chose not to voice her actual thoughts, which were along the lines of, like your husband is about to return after orchestrating the Sevitan Genocide part two.
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She simply said, “Regal...” and left it at that.
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Gur Khan Jiro Estrin, Heir to the Estrin Dominion of the East and Northwest, entered; having returned from some summit or another on the mainland.
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Jiro and his deceased elder brother, Temji, were polar opposites of each other. As was described in the autobiography the Prefect had read reluctantly, he was domineering, aggressive when angered – which happened often owing to a short temper – cruel to the point of borderline sadism and if nothing else, confident.
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Jiro, on the other hand, was meek as well as calm and had a tendency to repress his anger. Unfortunately for him, the repression of his anger meant that Jiro could seem like a completely different person when he was pushed beyond his breaking point. Perhaps he WAS a different person.
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Ethier way, the man that stood before the former EASP member was ill-suited to shoulder a burden the size of the Dominion that he would eventually inherit and rule over. He did not exude confidence from every pore like his brother had supposedly done, quite the opposite.
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Ellanor Etatè knew that moulding the Gur Khan to her image would be like a master Mason working stone – effortless – the most challenging part of gaining leverage over the heir would be gaining his trust.
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“H-hello my beloved Jennifer. H-how have you been?” he stammered.
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“Quite well.”
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“If it is alright with you, then I will leave you both to whatever you were previously engaged in while I go to meet my father. Tall and mighty and strong is what he is, you know.” He said anxiously while looking over his royal shoulder.
Jiro shuffled away.
Jennifer giggled at what he had said.
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“How ironic! Khagan Xantè is actually a short, bookish man with no shortage of wrath in him...” she explained quickly to her handmaiden.
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“Where were we?”
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“On a topic that does not require more discussion. Thou was a Provisional Adjunct in the Eastern Absolute Socialist Party, yes?” She glanced at the Eastern born woman with eyes that twinkled with curiosity.
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Ellanor profoundly disliked talking about EASP, but she obeyed.
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“Yes I was. EASP was the perfect dictatorship crafted by a perfect storm of events that catapulted them into power. The Red Death Outbreak was engineered by them to give them a landslide vote, which it did. They then released a vaccine that ended the false epidemic. Prime Minister Resiak tore apart the Pheasantine Republic and rebuilt it in his image from the ground up. Then he declared himself to be Executor of the East Reinhart Rensiak of the new regional government, the Executorship of the East.”
“Indeed, but I want to know what thou did for them, Ellanor.”
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Prefect Etatè had tried and failed to dodge the question that she would now have to actually answer.
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“I managed the AEUV oversector, which encompassed four Prefectures: the city of Æton – previously called Aeton – in addition to the large towns of Eyraelynine, Urai, and Vassau. Except it wasn’t under EASP directly. I was placed there by a provisional government until the Estrin Dominion finished destroying EASP and absorbing the East for the second time. Then, when they were done, they bumped me down to Provisional Prefect of..nothing, this was done as a slight. My father was the Oversector Commissioner for the Central Commission for the Preservation of the East, and my mother was a humble secretary.” Ellanor recounted bitterly.
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“What about you? Your family in particular.” Ellanor asked, hoping the topic would stay well away from EASP.
“The House of Romanakov? There's not much to know, really. I had a sister, Maria Romanakov, but she died young. My parents – Baroness Elena and Baron Alexi – were nothing major and inherited and married into their titles, respectively. My grandmother was the famous one, Grand Vizier, Baroness Anastasia Narca Romanakov.” Jennifer seemed humble about her family.
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“I hear Umbracrest is dealing with rising tensions, like always.”
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“I try to avoid the swamp that is inter-faction squabbling in the west.”
Muttered Ellanor.
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“As do I.”
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