((Joint IC by @Sancronis and I))
At the Military Headquarters in London, Alyssa Nuzhat had been invited to a meeting with Oliver Talbot to discuss the far east. Oliver sat behind his desk as Alyssa was escorted in by a servant.
Oliver Talbot: “Greetings, Miss Nuzhat. Although I’m not the first, I’d like to welcome you to England. Please take a seat. Can I get you a drink”?
Oliver said whilst gesturing to his wine cabinet.
Alyssa sits down and smiles at General Talbot, crossing her legs and folding her arms
Alyssa: “Thank you for the kind welcomes, General, a drink is unnecessary but thank you, I’m not one to drink wine"
Not wanting to be rude, Oliver decides to refrain from drinking whilst his guest isn’t.
Oliver: “Anyway, I’ve invited you here with the hopes of discussing your homeland as well as most of the far east. Your books described the land, yet I was hoping to learn of the people of those lands”.
Alyssa: “I wish I had written more about their cultures, as they are all very diverse, but the stories I had published were written when I was a girl. I’ve been planning to write more journals, including their cultures and their languages, but I haven’t gotten the time. Feel free to ask away about anything you wish to know.”
Oliver: “One of the first things I wanted to ask was about how large empires had coped with diverse cultures. One thing that any European can obviously see is that England is the most powerful western European nation, and that it shall soon become a large empire with many people who may conflict with each other. I’d hoped to find out how they coped so that I could offer advice to the future empire regarding how to deal with diversity without stamping out the cultures of the conquered land”.
Alyssa: “Honestly? By not caring, the Hindustan Empire, dealt with their problems by treating every culture as the same as their own, with respect and dignity and didn’t prohibit anyone from doing anything, within the law, they didn’t attempt to destroy entire cultures and instead let them live in harmony”
Oliver: “I see. So you’d recommend that the course to fight intolerance is not special effort in favour of acceptance, but instead combat against intolerance?”
Alyssa: “I would, it makes for a more peaceful land in my opinion”
Oliver: “According to both the old De Virga map and the more recent Fra Mauro, ‘Korea’ is furthest from England, so perhaps you could tell me of the major differences between this Kingdom and England? I would imagine they are legion”.
Alyssa: “Well, to start with, Korea has its own language, nothing to do with English, it has own writing system which is written right to left whereas here it's’ left to right, it has its own religion, called Confucianism. Their last King has been, what many people are calling, a godsend, he’s caused many technological revolutions and cultural advances.”
Oliver: “I see. I’d also like to ask about how the Eastern technology compares to Western European. Gunpowder, and I believe many other inventions came from the east, so I am curious as to whether or not they are more advanced than us”.
Alyssa: “More advanced? No, more creative? Quite possibly, European technology is more about war and furthering the countries goals, whereas Eastern technology is more about bettering the country as a whole, and a lot of social inventions, such as Chess, which is a really fun game.”
Oliver: “I see. And yes, I can certainly agree on chess. We’ve had it in England for over four centuries since the Normans brought it here. I know of three kings who were patrons of the game. I suppose it is yet another reason that Europeans can thank trade with the East”.
Alyssa: “Personally I think England can learn a lot socially from Eastern kingdoms, there may be few technologies there that England doesn’t have either.”
Oliver: “I don’t doubt that that’s the case; however, I believe that it may not be too long until technology spreads east from Europe. You need only look at Italy to see that Europe may soon enter a golden age”.
Alyssa: “Very true, but as well as technology and social development, the East also has many goods very rarely found in Europe, spices and a surplus of jewels and gold.”
Oliver: “Of course, a side effect of that is that future Europeans will probably attempt to expand into Asia so that they may seize control of the natural resources of the East. And of course, the Ottomans seizing control of Constantinople will most likely cause the European powers to expand eastward, even if that will be a goal for future generations”.
Alyssa: “And sadly, the European powers are a lot stronger than most in the East, so seizing control may definitely be in Europe's’ future.”
Oliver: “Has any eastern nation ever had a conflict similar to the First Barons’ war? Or at least a similar result in which the people were granted some rights? If that’s not the case, then at least some good could come of future European - or at least English - expansion”.
Alyssa: “Well, the Timurid Empire is going through insane rebellions, the capital has been ransacked and burnt to a crisp, and any important city is occupied, but a lot of that is due to the Timurid Empires Kahn’ being a ruthless dictator who enjoys murdering just about anyone he can get his hands onto.. But, nothing for the throne of another country or anything, not within the past five centuries or so at least.”
Oliver: “I see. I’m afraid I can’t think of more to ask about, but is there anything you’d like to know about England or Europe?”
Alyssa: “I get the nation pride and such, but why are a lot of you English so hostile to foreigners?”
Oliver: “Well, some feel that only the English should have priority in our society. I strongly disagree, as such an attitude can only damage the Kingdom and prevent it from properly managing a diverse range of subjects. Unlike some individuals, I hope that one hundred years from now, London will be the capital of a cosmopolitan empire with diverse people all the way from Trondheim to Gascogne”.
Alyssa: “I can see that happening if you’re nobility decides to be fair and just to foreigners, having foreign presence can greatly help a great kingdom such as England be the foremost colonizing force, I refuse to believe Hayks claims of finding my home continent is true, It is possible he has discovered a new island or some sort, and who knows what can be on there?”
Oliver: “Although the spherical shape of the Earth has been theorised since the Greeks, it is obvious from old trade with eastern nations that the primitives discovered by Hayk cannot be from any Asian nation”.
Alyssa: “Ah, finally an Englishman who agrees with me! That is something I wish I could have heard sooner.”
Oliver: “Have you encountered a great deal of doubt about the truth of your homeland in response to Hayk’s discovery of “India”?”
Alyssa: “Sort of, since Hayk has dismissed the idea of me being from Ceylon, I have been very confused in what he has found, whether it’s just random islands, or even possible new entire mainland for the English to explore, it is very interesting. But I dislike him calling his discoveries India, when it really is not.”
Oliver: “Well, I suppose that as more of the land near the islands is explored, the identity of the land will be clarified”.
Alyssa: “Yeah, I’ve been thinking of returning back to Ceylon, perhaps after first mission from the ERTC has been completed, and come back to England with the wonders of the East.”
Oliver: “Indeed, that would certainly destroy doubts as to your homeland. It would also give an incentive to England for overseas expansion so as to reach the rich Eastern lands”.
Alyssa: “That is what I was thinking, only problem is I have no way to get there that wouldnt take me about a year.”
Oliver: “I suppose that you may be able to get funding from the ERTC if you were to propose it as a trading mission. It would still take time, but you wouldn’t be unable to serve England during that period. It would also allow you to bring back more if they funded a large trading caravan to help you move the goods”.
Alyssa: “I’m pretty sure the head of the ERTC has a dislike towards me, and also the fact of how incredibly bored I’d be going there alone”
Oliver: “ There will surely be people in the courts of England who do not have too many duties here who would be willing to accompany you. I unfortunately must remain, but I imagine my daughter, for example, would happily join you. It would be good for her to see the world before she is rooted down in England; and it may give her the chance to practice her military prowess if she were, perhaps, given command of the caravan’s guards”.
Alyssa: “Well, please discuss the matter with your daughter, it would be much appreciated, I will send a letter to Ximeno, seeing if there is a chance for them to fund my mission there.”
Oliver: “I wish you luck, and - as I’ve not had reason to spend much beyond normal costs in the years since my appointment as count and then duke - I would be willing to contribute to some of the expenses of such an expedition”
Alyssa: “That is unnecessary, General, but I thank you very much for the contribution, I must leave as the sun seems to be setting, but I hope to talk to you soon, perhaps with some good news regarding the expedition”
Oliver: “Very well”.
Oliver then stood and offered his hand across the table to shake Alyssa’s. “I wish you luck and good fortune in both the expedition and life generally”.
Alyssa stood out of her seat and shook the General's’ hand, smiling as she did so
Alyssa: “Thank you very much for everything, General, I wish you the same”
After their long but pleasant conversation, Alyssa had to depart after the sun started to go down. After she left, Oliver thought that the conversation had gone quite well. He’d learnt a fair bit about the East and also possibly secured what could be a very helpful experience for his daughter. It seemed that she was also quite a decent woman despite how some had reacted to her presence.
Alyssa smiled as she left the castle, she had seemed to have finally found a friend among nobility here in England, maybe this wasn’t such a mistake after all. She was happy to have the possibility of returning home, however short her trip would be, and the company would be nice too. General Talbot was a great man, she was happy to have made a friend in him.
