Jasmine gets into the carriage with him and directs the driver to take them to the Parliament building. They come up on the large white marble building nearly twenty minutes later, vines climbing up the large pillars and helping it to look even more regal. There are plenty of errand golems and wisps working in and around the building when they get there. The building reminds Persius of one of the palace's that belonged to the Seven Kings in Baehalan.
Persius looks at the building in amazement at the infrastructure, taking in the view: Must be one of the goddess' designs, it's way too pretty. *He gets out and heads up to the entrance, a set of double doors with glass panes. He sees runes carved into the sides as he opens the door for Jasmine. He heads up to the receptionist.* H-Hello, I am here for the meeting with parliament, I wanted to know which building that was.
Receptionist: -she's looking over at her computer, barely acknowledging him- Invitation or golem to vouch for you?
Jasmine looks at her with a blank expression: He is the representative of The Goddess Aiah. A Sister of the Ivory Sanctuary is his escort.
Receptionist: -she gasps and looks up at him, stares for a moment and starts blushingWow he's cute!- O-oh um of course of course! Welcome, y-you're new. A golem has never come with an actual representative before. C-Can I have your name? F-for your visitor badge?
Persius smiles and nods: Thank you dear. My name is Persius Selvaraj. I'm not late, am I?
Receptionist: No no not at all. Not even all of the council members are here yet.
Jasmine: -she looks up at Persius- Most meetings start on average twelve to seventeen minutes later than the posted time.
Receptionist: -she glances down at Jasmine- Wow…your golem is pretty..precise. Oh before you go in you also need a draft of the minutes. -she reaches into her desk and hands him a stack of papers- You can leave this with the golem.
Persius: Her name is Jasmine by the way. Thank you so much. *leaves to go to the meeting room while handing Jasmine the papers* Ready?
Jasmine: -she takes the papers and immediately starts reading them- Yes. I will know the minutes before we sit so you are prepared.
Receptionist: You..shouldn't name them like that. They'll become sentient you know?
Persius: Darling, she's older than your great-grandfather. Come along Jasmine, we need to introduce ourselves. *goes off without hearing anything else and goes into the meeting room*
The meeting is a large round meeting room with rows of desks and seating lining each level with a larger desk than the rest in the very center of the back wall. Many councilmen are already in their seats and talking quietly amongst themselves but they all look up when Persius enters the room, easily spotting the new guest.
Jasmine: -she leads him to the large desk in the center when a woman with fiery orange hair and eyes with a rose gold monocle is sitting- Please allow me to introduce The Goddess Aiah's representative, Persius Selvaraj. Persius, may I introduce the current Prime Minister, Seraphina Vesta.
Seraphina: -she looks down at them and gives him a polite smile- Well hello there. A pleasure to make your acquaintance. How wonderful that you've been given the opportunity to be the Goddess' representative.
Persius: *he looks at Seraphina* what on Ahanium?..…the Prime Minister huh? Mhm *he bows very demurely and meets her eyes* Hello, pleasure to make your acquaintance, I hope to become quite acquainted with you as we go through this meeting. Thank you so much for welcoming me.
Seraphina: -she looks him up and down- You are quite lovely, what kind of mage are you?
Persius: What kind of mage? As in the magic style I use?
Seraphina: Heh yes, the root of your family's magic. My family has fire magic as its root.
Persius manages a forced chuckle, still feeling awkward from the question before: Ah makes sense, red hair and all. Y'all are quite the riot. My magic is based in Alchemy and Psychic.
Seraphina: -her eyes widen slightly and she grins as she leans forward- Really? A true split root. How wonderful~. Are you single? My daughter would be delighted to meet someone so unique. Or has your family already found you a match?
Persius keeps a smile but stands firm in his speech: My family believes that my choices are my own but I am only here for representation. *his eyes flash for a second* I just prefer to keep business as such, Prime Minister.
Seraphina: Of course, of course, this conversation is better suited over tea. I'll send the request to your golem later then. -she smiles at him and waves to an open seat up towards the top of the room- You may sit there to observe this afternoon.
Persius looks where she waves too: Ah…okay. Oh her name is Jasmine, please acknowledge her as such. *he goes to the front of the room and sits down, looking at the rest of them murmuring*
"A split root?" "I heard that too, where on Ahanium has he been hiding?" "I want him for my children." "Wouldn't he be nice to have around?" "Never seen him in Opirea, his parents must keep him inside. Ehhe." "With a child like that, I'd keep him inside too haha." "Could you imagine the amount he's worth alone probably?"
Persius cringes deeply on the inside. You disgusting people. I am not an object! He stills himself and just calms his breathing. I just want to get the fuck out of here. These people talk about children like dice in a game. I don't understand it. I just want to get through this so I can leave.
The rest of the councilmen file in and take their seats, all of them getting filled in on the gossip and glancing up at him.
Seraphina: -she stands up and claps, instantly silencing the whole room- Now that we're all here, allow us to get this meeting started. We do have a new face here today, Lady Aiah has sent in a representative for this meeting. Please welcome Persius Selvaraj! -the whole room looks to him and some clap and they all greet him- Wonderful wonderful. Now let us begin.
The meeting begins and Seraphina leads the council through all of the minutes in the packet that Jasmine was handed. Jasmine keeps Persius on track for the meeting as they go along and signals him when they come to the end of the budget portion without mentioning Aralan or Sifinica.
Persius puts his hand up, and stands up slowly: I don't mean to just interrupt but…I realized that we went past Aralan and Sifinica without doing any budgeting. If we could go back and go over those budgets, that would be great. Thank you. *he smiles softly at her*
Seraphina: -she looks up at him- …Oh my how careless of me, apologies. It seems those weren't prepared for today but I'll be happy to circle back to them before the end of the meeting. Well done, very good catch. -she smiles at him but it doesn't reach her eyes and she looks back to the council room and continues on with the meeting-
Persius makes a note of that in his mind: Hmmm I see..they purposely do this so that they don't have to talk about it. *he sighs* Mmmm..
Jasmine makes notes on top of the minutes for him as the meeting continues. As the meeting goes on they spend a lot of time on Opirea, seeming to slowly go item by item about school grants, nature maintenance, and recreational spaces. An hour into this, Persius starts to visibly become tired. Jasmine taps him gently several times to wake him as they drag into hour two as they start on Brevurant.
Persius: *he shakes himself* Huh? On Brevurant? *leans towards Jasmine* Have they gone over Aralan and Sifinica yet? I feel like this meeting is taking an awfully long time…
Jasmine: They have not. After Brevurant the minutes state they will move on to Oppeven, then end with Grand Econ.
Persius: Hmmmm okay but I definitely need to make sure they do Aralan and Sifinica. That's the whole point I'm here. *he grows a bit weary and also a little frustrated with the fact that they almost don't want to go over it*
The meeting continues to drag on and the drowsiness Persius feels seems to increase as time goes on until he completely nods off. He finally wakes when Seraphina claps once more to signal the end of the meeting.
Persius wakes up almost frantically, and then looks around, a lot of the others filing out: Huh? What? The meeting is over? How…did I doze off? This is weird…Jasmine did they go over Aralan or Sifinica at all? *he rubs his eyes but he notices that a few of the mages are looking at him including the Prime Minister and he straightens up and starts to get up but feels Jasmine tug softly at his shirt in the back*
Jasmine: -she nods towards the entrance and quietly walks out-
Persius: *looks at her and walks out as well, not meeting the eyes of the others which are a few as they gather around each other. He meets Jasmine outside and she signals for them to talk in the carriage. He gets in with her and the driver heads back off to Ivory Sanctuary.* Jasmine, what the fuck was that? I have never ever fallen asleep in a meeting but also…it felt like I couldn't stay up. I hope this wasn't what I think it was but I think I was charmed. Fuckin' assholes. *he's beyond pissed as he sits there seething, thinking about that whole meeting* Wait, did they even talk about Aralan and Sifinica at all? They took an hour on Opirea which made no sense, all that time to talk about some parks and grants, some bullshit!
Jasmine: -she hands him the minutes and her own notes on top of it- I believe you were charmed during the meeting to help mislead you. They did not address the topic of Aralan or Sifinica directly. They mentioned sending the budgets for the cities to Natasia Halie.
Persius starts flipping through the notes: I know the Dean, she's very on top of shit so if they really wanted to do that or had an agreement, they would've but I doubt it. They don't care because those cities are primarily mixed cities. Just feels…out of place to me. No…I know something is wrong! Might be a demographic issue. I didn't even go through this shit in Baehalan, which is even more frustrating, it was easier dealing with demons! Hmmm this is a big problem but…*he leans on the window, looking outside, feeling a bit sad and disheartened* I feel like I failed, I had a goal and it just seems like it went out the window. *he sighs and takes his phone out to text Ajii*
Persius: Hey I hope everything is okay. If we can chill tomorrow, that'll be great. Today was a lot..
Aiji: I'm free, no worries. Snacks, movies, and video games to cheer you up?
Persius: Yeah sounds good. I'll bring some drinks too. *puts his phone away and looks at Jasmine* Has it been like this for a while in the meetings?
Jasmine: From my understanding yes. This charm has also been used before when newcomers arrive. This is why there are not many diplomatic interns. When reported, I no longer go to the meetings and I am swapped out with my Sister. If you wish, I can retrieve the note's of the last several meetings. How far back would you like me to go?
Persius looks at her with solemn eyes: As far back as possible to see how long they haven't been taking care of those cities but records of this happening to other interns as well. Is it a charm that can work only on new people because everyone else seemed fine?
Jasmine: The one correlation we have found is this charm does not work on full blooded mages. Those interns have lasted and stayed to learn. The others have felt unwelcome and uneasy, these interns have quit and changed their desired studies.
Persius: I see well I'm not that easily persuaded. As long as they aren't aware of certain things I'm fine with that although…I'm not happy with the fact of them looking at me like a piece of meat. That was revolting.*as they get to the Ivory Sanctuary, he looks at Jasmine* Thank you for being there. It was a bit intimidating but I won't back down. So hopefully by the next meeting, I'll be more prepared.
Jasmine: Once the report of the charm has been made, Lady Aiah will introduce you to my counterpart. She will be more equipped to help you for your next meeting.
Persius smiles and tries to joke: Awww does that mean I won't see you as much?
Jasmine: If you require me, you may summon me.
Persius feels this wave of sadness come over him. Did I not do enough where you can't do your duty either?: Okay cool. *he gets out of the carriage and goes up to the entrance and hesitates before walking in, he still feels like he failed. He breathes and walks in and goes straight to the throne room with Jasmine.* Goddess? Are you here?
Aiah: -she's on her throne with Adrian sitting on the arm of her throne and Ra sitting in her lap- Ah, welcome back. How did it go?
Persius looks down, he's disappointed in himself: Ummm not the best, there was quite a bit that happened but I'm not sure how to explain it. It was just intense and it seemed to drag and…something peculiar happened. I passed out and that's never happened. I can wait to talk about this though, you are with your children. I'll see myself to my room. *he feels visibly upset, almost as if he wants to cry and almost fast walks to his temporary room*
Adrian: -he nods at Ra and hops down and runs after Persius- Wait! Pretty guy~!..Persie wait!
Persius stops but doesn't turn around, he's trying hard not to cry but steadies his breath and turns around: Yes Adrian?
Adrian: -he tackles him and hugs him- It's okay! You don't have to be sad…Mother knows this stuff happens with those big bullies. Come talk some more? She can help.
Ra runs up and grabs his hand and starts pulling: Yeah! She'll set them straight! Those big bullies are all going to time out!
Persius starts tearing and laughing but also crying a bit and he hugs Adrian back hard, kneeling down and also pulls Ra in and then they both pull him back into the throne room and he wipes his face: Goddess…I apologize for my demeanor.
Aiah: -she smiles softly at him- It's alright dear. Come, sit with us and tell me what happened. I've looked over the notes that Jasmine took. -instead of his usual chair, she makes a large plush blue cushion appear for him-
Persius comes up the steps and sits on the cushion as the softness cradles him: This cushion is nice…anyways there was quite a bit. First of all the Prime Minister looked at me like a prized Boarinite(a rare breed of pig), and then they didn't even want to add Aralan and Sifinica to the budget list. I implored them, they said they would circle back, never did and for some reason, I got so fuckin'...I mean..I got tired out of nowhere like I couldn't stay awake. I've never fallen asleep at a meeting. Why the fu-...why would I now? I've been in meetings twice as long…with demon kings mind you. And they are not the nicest people.
Adrian: They used a sleeping charm? That's cheating! Fuck those guys! That's not your fault at all, Persie.
Ra: Yeah! They shouldn't get to do that at all! We should burn down the building!
Persius: Haha you both are very sweet. I'm okay. I just wanted to do a good job…I also want those cities to get the funding. Skipping funding for two whole areas is garbage!
Aiah: You did very well Persius. This is not the first report I've received about one of the council members using sleep charms to weed out those who were not full blooded. Your notes are also the most thorough, I like your work. You will do very well as my representative. I will not allow you to go unprotected again, that was my short sight and for that I apologize.
Persius wiggles from the apology and blushes and looks away a bit: well…it's alright you didn't think it would be that bad. It's okay. Thank you. I will be more prepared for the next meeting. *he looks at his hands, not looking at Aiah, but the blush touches his cheeks*
Aiah: -she gently touches under his chin and tilts his head up to look at her, she looks deeply into his eyes, her expression soft and warm- You will do wonderfully. Please, go rest. A sleep charm does need to be slept off so you will feel better. The children can wait for their lesson.
Persius looks at her and his expression softens under her gaze and blushes as he looks deeply in her ruby eyes: G-goddess..alright..as you wish. mmm…*he almost gets lost in her eyes but shakes his head and then hops off the cushion* I…ummm..alright I'll be off.
Aiah: Rest well dear.
Adrian: -he waves at him- Have a good nap!
Ra: Get some sleepies!
Persius waves at them and goes to his room, takes off his clothes and promptly passes out after only a bit of time. He dreams deeply…and he sees Aiah…but not like how her normal self looks, like a soul self, she's very bright and almost fiery, looking made of full light, he tries reaching out for her but she keeps moving away and so he follows until he can't see her anymore. He looks around for her.
Persius: Goddess? Goddess Aiah? *he looks around some more*
He finds her again in the most beautiful and lush garden he's ever seen, it truly looks like it was made by the gods. She's kneeled down on the ground holding the most vibrant lily. When she notices another presence she gasps and looks towards him…and she has more eyes than normal. Nine deep glowing ruby red eyes stare back at him. In her surprise, what he thought was hair before flares up, and it turns out to be large insect wings.
Persius: Aiah? *he's never said her name before but he started moving closer, looking at the eyes and the insect wings* What…is all this? It's beautiful. *he comes over and knees before her* That's a beautiful flower, Aiah Darling. *he doesn't even know why he's saying it but it just comes out before he can even catch it* Were you tending to our garden again by yourself? At least come get me. *smiles at her and reaches for her hand slowly*
Aiah: -she gently touches his hands- I wanted to surprise you…our favorite lily's were finally in bloom my love…-as she holds his hands longer her eyes widen slightly. She looks up at him and smiles sadly- Oh…it's not time yet…I'll see you again when it's time my Sweet… -she places her hands over his eyes, enveloping his whole body in a gentle loving warmth, making him go back to a dreamless sleep-
Persius: *tries to reach for her again but his vision goes black and he sleeps dreamlessly* Aiah…His voice lulls off into the black as he fully drifts. His mind is calm and he doesn't have many feelings of anxiety anymore.