The Wind Rose
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Málaga, España
15th July 2024It was a hot day in Málaga, even if the President of the Spanish Government had chosen the Andalusian city because the weather was slightly cooler. However, the Terral wind could be felt in the city, and therefore, temperatures rose due to the huge amount of warm air coming from the Málaga Mounts and the interior of the region. The Mediterranean City, famous for the Espeto de Sardinas or its rapid-growth as a technological capital, home to the eldest airport in Spain, had reached temperatures of 40ºC. Certainly, not the best start to a very important summit.
The encounter between the Istkalenian Prime Minister and the President of the Kingdom of Spain, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, would take place in the Palacio de la Aduana, which served today as the host building for the Museum of Málaga, closed today for obvious reasons. The city was decorated with Spanish and Istkalenian flags on those avenues that the Istkalenian motorcade would take towards the meeting point from the airport, and security was tight. As it was summer, lots of tourists floded Málaga and the whole Costa del Sol, so while minimal disruption had to be caused to them as a result of the summit, safety had to be guaranteed for everyone.
Alberto awaited for the arrival of his guest in the palace, admiring the collection of the Museum of Málaga. In the main hall, where everything was ready to welcome the Istkalenian Prime Minister, Elizabeth Íkrat, two comfortable sofas, a table made out of wood and a quiet fan had been displayed there that day. Alberto went to the main hall to check if the place was cool enough, and he was pretty much satisfied with how his team had set everything up. The awning that covered any sort of direct sunlight entering the hall was also pretty much effective. In any case, a way different fan (abanico in Spanish) would be the gift Íkrat would receive, so she would have the chance to use it if she felt the temperature was too high.
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The darkness had crept in, bit by bit, until it had surrounded them whole. And it felt, to Elizabeth Íkrat, that she had begun the war she was fighting against it - against reaction, against misery, against death - too late, that it had already, long ago, won and conquered all, that all her struggle had been and would be for nothing, that she would soon have to kneel before the shadows, as she had before Liiv, as she had before Loime, renounce what remained of her goodness and life, and fall into Hell.
She shifted in her seat, sighing, looking out of the car window at the Málaga streets rushing past. Spain, she thought, was such a bright country, When she had first gotten off her plane, she had been stunned by the heat and the light, the sheer intensity of the sun, how it had seared and burned at her flesh. She had known what the weather was going to be like, had known that it was going to be hot and sunny - far, far more than either Kirelesile or Líresile, both almost perpetually rainy, windy, cold, could ever get - and yet, still, it came to her as a surprise.
"A divine surprise," she muttered, and though the words were sarcastic, she felt as though there was an odd truth to them. Light and warmth were good, were divine, and darkness and cold, their absences, were not, were their opposite, were what ought to be seen as the hellish. And wasn't it the doctrine, in any case, of some church - she couldn't remember which - that it was divine light that burned the sinners? The doctrine of her own country's courts, too, told her that flesh, everything material, was inherently of evil, and therefore necessarily was destroyed when brought near real goodness.
She was flesh - she had burned - she would therefore fall. Yes, it was too late; perhaps it had always been too late. Perhaps her project would have been doomed no matter when she had begun it; perhaps even it, too, had sprouted from the same seeds of evil as the rest of the darkness had. After all, wasn't it, too, made of flesh, like the world, like the courts, like Liiv, like Loime, like - her?
She pressed her hand to the window, feeling the heat, the slight pain, and leaned back, closing her eyes, letting go.
Time. She felt the car rocketing to a stop, and knew she had to rouse herself. She groaned, slightly, rubbing at her face, running her hands down her clothes, half to straighten them, half just as familiar motion to relax herself.
And from the cool darkness of the car she climbed into the Spanish light, blinking as her eyes adjusted, looking up to the sky, at the buildings all around.
Now it was for reality - to make all the compromises (as she had) that paved the road to personal hell, to die by a thousand cuts. Necessary evils, unfortunate sacrifices - pretty words all the way down to the lake of fire and sulfur.
Sun, sting her, heat, burn her; fitting, she thought, necessary, that such a day be so hot.
But no point, now, in moralizing. Morals were for those who could believe in a world of Forms, of some pure goodness existing outside of this plane of reality - and she was not one of them. She had dipped her hands, as all flesh is wont to do, in darkness, and it would never come off; it was inescapable, in and necessary for everything, and it could only ever be for her to try and hope to be and do otherwise, in futile but virtuous struggle.
That was it, she supposed, that was her war and its why (but would it never be something more?).
She walked into the cooler Museum, marveling at the collection, before greeting the President of Spain.
"It's an honor," she said, smiling, "to be able to meet you. Now - an odd thing to start off on, but I feel it's important, I'd have to sit through this summit feeling vaguely ashamed otherwise - I hope you don't have the wrong idea of who I am, given what I've said about one of your country's past, less competent, more...authoritarian leaders. Please understand that I am holding together a coalition at home from far-left to far-right, that that requires saying, on occasion...strange things....but my apologies. I am talking a bit too much, I think, too, but I'm told that's my way, please excuse me for it."
She dug through her purse for a box, managing to get ahold of it before opening - revealing a little metal bird - and holding it out to Feijóo. "My government wanted to give this to you, as a little token of our country's ties - it's a mechanical sparrow, our national animal. If you wind it up and let it run" - she began to turn, slowly, a key poking out of its back - "it flutters its wings and chirps a little song, see." Indeed, as soon as she let go of the key, the sparrow's wings began to move up and down, though weakly, a few notes escaping its beak before it wound down. When it had finished, Íkrat closed the box and set it down on the table before them, before sighing.
"Things are quite volatile," she said, with a certain caution, "as you might know, in Eastern Europe. Krexit, the election in the Duchies - we, and I'm sure your government as well, have many concerns. But I'd like to hear yours first, if you may."
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«The honour is mine, Ms. Íkrat. Please, follow me», Feijóo said, before both leaders made their way into the museum and Elizabeth offered her apologies for her previous words about Primo de Rivera, who she once acknowledged as one of "her models". Alberto smiled when the Istkalenian Prime Minister said that she was talking to much, but to the new Spanish President's eyes, she was not: «No worries, Ms. Íkrat. And you are definitely not talking too much -he laughed-. Have you ever seen a parliamentary debate of the Congreso? The special sessions can last for 2 days, even the debate before the vote to proclaim me as President took two days! You are completely fine», Feijóo kept smiling.
The Spanish President looked with curiosity to the gift that the Istkalenian Prime Minister had brought, and thanked Íkrat for the gift. Alberto really loved it, and proceeded to give the fan to Íkrat: «As you may already know, this type of fans is used by women in Spain to blow some air into their faces when it is hot, like today. There are a lot of designs available, but I have chosen this one because of its origin. The drawing represents the Alhambra of Granada, and it was made by a 200 years old company based in the Comunitat Valenciana. I hope that you like it», Feijóo said.
Once both were left alone, the summit could finally start. Alberto listened to the first topic that Elizabeth talked about, and he gave his views about them: «Eastern Europe has made me feel concerned since I took power after Mr. Juncker's resignation, and the situation does not seem to be getting better, but worse. At the moment, the King of Spain is on a official visit to Reitzmag, so I guess he will be able to give me some deeper impressions about your neighbours' politics after his return. I would certainly use, however, the world "volatile" to describe the part of Europe where your country lies.
To begin with, Krexit is a slight concern to Spain. We are not fearful of a Reitzmag outside of the European Union... Until they start to do things that they should not be doing, and you know what I mean. There has been some concern in Istkalen about their application to get nuclear weapons, as far as I am concerned, and as the President of a nuclear state, I must confess that I would not like to see any nuclear nation outside of the European Union, as that could lead to unknown consequences not only for your country or mine, but also for them. Certainly, they could become a threat, something that they have not been to our eyes so far.
The election in the Duchies is not much relevant, in the end, we all know who is going to win. If anyone believes somebody who is not called John Peter Key is winning, that person has no idea about how politics work. I guess we will have some more Keysism again, which also implies that they will try to impose their views to the rest of Europe, as always. Nevertheless, I must confess it is my goal to improve the relationship with both Reitzmag and the United Duchies, but sometimes both are a headache to me... And I guess that to the rest of Europe too. Now, they seem to have focused on winning the priviledge of telling the story as they will, through their alliance, which is threatening. I do not know if you have had the chance to read the interview of my Defence Minister, but she pretty much said what I believe: we need to fight against manipulation, fakes and any attempt to sway the truth in their favour. I was wondering if Istkalen also shares this sentiment.
Last, but not least: how is the Inimican base doing in Istkalen? I believe that I do not need to tell you, but you can count on Spain for whatever you need. We are a friend of Istkalen and its people, and we are willing to help if requested», Feijóo said.
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"It's lovely," said Íkrat, flicking the fan open with a little laugh before gently folding it closed. "Yes, very lovely."
"The Inimican base is doing quite well," she said later, in response to Feijóo. "They are well-supplied, from what I understand, there have, thankfully, been no incidents with regards to the local population - my country is, after all, my country, its reputation is not unearned - and the controversies around it have long since died down. We have settled into rather a comfortable relationship, which is good for Istkalen's autonomy in the post-Svarnan intervention era - and certainly in the post-Krexit era that might come, for what Simon Bridges might do in the absence of any European Council to restrain his government, is, in my eyes, a great unknown, an uncertainty, something that only harder power and harder security guarantees, like the base, can give us insurance against."
"The same uncertainty is what gives me so much pause about the Duchian election. We both know that Key is - well, he is someone who will do whatever, give concessions to this or that organization or party, to remain as Prime Minister. There's simply no other realistic way to keep a party that has been in government for forty-odd years ruling. If it seems that public sentiment in the UD is pointing towards something like the abrogation of the Caspian Treaty, or, more dangerously, in a reality with a nuclear Reitzmag outside of the EU, fullthroated support for whatever plans Bridges may have for the region, he will simply go along with it for the sake of holding on to power and popularity. That is the danger: that some group which would like to destabilize the Caspian and Eastern Europe gains some amount of support, scares the perpetually anxious Key, and causes him to adopt the most radical possible version of their opinions."
"Simply put, an era of regime-change, an era of treaty-breaking, and an era of a weak EU approaches, and that deeply concerns me."
"This brings me to what I wanted to discuss with you. We live, as you've just said, as your minister Mordaunt said, in a world that has become increasingly defined by lies - and yes, I agree, we must try to combat them - and therefore a world where the international order that protects us may soon come crashing down. In the face of this threat, now almost an inevitability, my government has made its focus security - on ensuring that Istkalen remains safe against international instability. I therefore wanted, in particular, to see whether or not Spain was open to increased military coordination with us - joint exercises, for example, or allowing us to purchase new arms and other military products from your companies more easily. Preparation, modernization - these are simply absolute necessities in this new era."
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«His concessions are dangerous, and I share the sentiment of him always being anxious about everything. Just look at that CCTV policy of his, with facial recognition, it reminds me to some utopic novels about dictatorships. At least the United Duchies remains democratic, for now...», Alberto said. «I also believe that Simon Bridges would be more dangerous outside of the European Union than inside it, and if it were to be a nuclear Reitzmag, I doubt certain powers would allow it. Spain would not, that is for sure: any nation that does not lie under the ENAA's regulations is a threat to us, and to regional peace. But they seem to be leaving soon over the Right to Divorce recognition, so I doubt they are authorised considering the ENAA does not like erratic behaviours».
Feijóo then decided to address the request from the Istkalenian Prime Minister: «The Kingdom of Spain is open to increase its military coordination with Istkalen, as it is to sell arms and our many military products. Our Defence Ministers will be able to sort that out: tell the team at the Ministry to send us a list, and we will get into it. I am glad that you agree with the sentiment that Minister Mordaunt and I share, and I believe that even if the current international order may be falling, it is our duty to avoid its defeat to lies. Correct me if I am wrong, but some rumours have arrived to Moncloa recently about certain wish of the Istkalenian Government to join the Treaty of Telum. Are these rumours correct or are they just rumours? By the way, for the delivery of the equipment, we could just get them into Istkalen through the Inimican base if needed. Pretty sure Emperor Artabanos will authorise it, mostly to the strong ties between both nations».
«I also wanted to speak about trade. In the last summit between our nations, my team has notified me that President Aguilar and President Rikkalek agreed on free trade in the electronics sectors, as well as lower controls on the exports of cobalt and uranium to Spain. They agreed to talk about lumber on a future summit that never happened, but first I wanted to know if these agreements are still in place -the President said, stopping to drink some water- If they are, which I guess they are as we have not received any notification stating the opposite, I would like to reaffirm my Government's compromise with those agreements. I was wondering about what else Istkalen has to offer in exports, and if you would be interested on any Spanish products. Furthermore, would it be possible to explore some sort of extra supply of REM from Istkalen? We actually receive our REM from Czech Slavia, which is of amazing quality, I must confess. But the military is pushing to get another secret source of REM, for the sake of diversification», Alberto explained. During Aguilar's Presidency, the former President had created a national reserve of those materials, which received new amounts every month. Getting to know if Istkalen was willing to supply REM to Spain in secret was important to continue with those plans.
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"We much appreciate that Spain is so willing to be a strong partner in these increasingly trying times. The shipping arrangement you've mentioned would be perfect for us, as well."
"With regards to Telum: Istkalenic foreign policy remains non-aligned. Our focus, for the time being, is on obtaining security guarantees from our independent partners and neighbors: Czech Slavia, and perhaps even Vayinaod. While we are interested in reinforced cooperation, economic and military, with the Telum bloc, we do not think that membership would be ideal or realistic for us."
"The agreement on trade remains in place - I would actually like the broach the question of whether an expansion, ideally to full, free trade for all but the agricultural sector, is possible."
"As for rare-earth metals, while we are willing to provide an additional supply to Spain, we will not do so without discussing the issue with the other signatories of the Treaty of Yokohama.:"
The Kingdom of Spain
