by Max Barry

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Region: Selene

Traveling Ipriot
Adrassia, Parthenopias

Ah when I finally arrived after eight days backpacking along the Helenean Coast of the Thalassic, I knew it would be a sight to behold, thankfully I wasn’t wrong. The small town hugged the cliffs tightly and terraced farms and vineyards could be seen a bit further up the winding coastal road. Truly to see the white building hugging the rugged and ever so jagged mountains was a sight as the waves crashed upon the beaches below that only ladders and heavily worn carved staircases could reach.

The landscape had clearly been passed over by generations of carvings as old facades were cleaned and put on their finest appearance for the coming celebration. Parthenopias was to celebrate the Victory of Adrassia when 1,200 Parthenian marines successfully repelled an invasion force of Austra backed proxies in the Great War. The enemy flotilla had managed to engage and route Mydic forces and other allied ships twice before being able to mount their ultimate goal, a seaborne invasion of mainland Mydia to force a new front and divide off the Western Allies from Mydia by land. The marines held the small town against the much larger invasion force of 50,000. The Marines held for six days before the Mydic, Qastari and Vekkeli navies could overcome the opposition and finally see off the invasion force before a permanent foothold could be achieved. A true triumph and one for which every year since, the Empire’s elites have descended on Adrassia for this festival of music and celebration.

Cassiano Delano, vlogger and backpacker extraordinaire or at least that’s what the people who followed me on social media would call me. The Walking Ipriot. Traveling to places both near and far was my specialty and reporting on the hidden gems of our beautiful Vesta is my goal.

To Festivál
That Evening

Music bounced between the old stone facades of the cramped little side streets and alleyways of Adrassia. A typical Mydic town that could harken back to the “good old days,” when life was simple and the world felt smaller. Back then this was the Thalassocracy of Parthenopias, a seapower who oversaw what was the western portion of the now Mydic Empire’s north coast. The gilded roof of the Cathedral of the Holy Flame shimmered under the night sky, crystal clear and stars could be innumerable for all I could see.

First I wandered around the main plaza for an hour or so just taking in the jovial atmosphere the people were in. Just a few days ago this nation was rocked by terror attacks and now it’s people were here, celebrating a victory against a different enemy 50 years ago. Something about the tenacity was humbling, that they wouldn’t be cowed into submission by whatever or whoever did the bombings. It was about the time I started getting hungry and looking for a food truck that I noticed a group of armed guardsmen in black uniforms poured into the area seemingly securing it. Then came the trumpet blasts that were accompanied by a person on the speaker, “Ladies and gentleman, please stand for the arrival of the Basileus and his family.” Some people clapped, the applause wasn’t defining and you could tell by the public’s reaction they were still unsure how to truly feel at this moment, the younger members of the imperial entourage seemed most aware of the mood.

Next however came another announcement, “The Right Honorable Lydia Galanis, Archon of the Mydic Empire.'' That's when the crowd erupted into rapturous applause, the mood shifted and it could be felt in the air. The applause didn’t die down until the woman had taken her seat. Afterwards there was a buzz among the people as they talked about how she was here and not just home recovering, it seemed to give her more respect from her people. They were, after all, her people. They elected her, they entrusted their lives to her on a daily basis and she put it on the line and here she was honoring the fallen of a war before her lifetime. Unlike the Basileus who had been Crown Prince at the time and was alive to see the nuclear bombs drop. A different leader from a different time.

After I finally shook myself out of deep thoughts, I got on my way to get some good grub and got lucky enough to find my friend in the area, Luciano della Rocce, an expat from Sartoria who had been my mentor at University in Mydare. Both of us being from Sartoria had allowed us to connect a bit easier and when I found myself becoming a travel vlogger, who wouldn’t want to touch base with someone in a far away place and maybe, just maybe get to go and see them? Well I leapt at the opportunity when I got the invitation to the festival from Professor della Rocce.
After all the night was just starting. Fireworks, more live music and celebrations throughout the town. Boats were in the small harbor just bobbing up and down in the waves as people swam and generally relaxed. What a place to have a life. Easy to see how the simple life was one to enjoy here.

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