Summoning The Great Powers

Ritz-Carlton Hotel,

New York City,

It had been an uneventful morning as Yagou and the other diplomats prepared for the day. They were set to meet the President of the United States of America, an encounter that would have been inconceivable just a month or two ago. Yagou felt quite worried about it; if his nation was to survive, he needed to secure the support of all five countries without causing conflicts among them.

“Haaah!” Yagou sighed as he took some food onto his plate and sat at a nearby table.

While he was lost in introspection, Elara and Hanki arrived, fully dressed for the day.

Hanki looked quite a bit worse for wear, his face slightly red and suffering from a terrible hangover from last night’s shenanigans.

“Good morning, Uncle Yagou!” Elara shouted with a bright smile, quickly sitting beside him.

Yagou looked at her and rubbed his temples, replying in an exasperated tone, “Elara, how many times do I have to tell you not to call me that when we are working? Do you want to start rumours? You are here as my subordinate, not my niece!”

She flinched at his scolding and nodded, saying in jest, “Okay, okay, I’m sorry, Chief Diplomat Yagou!” while sticking her tongue out slightly.

Yagou, unable to deal with her snarky remark, decided to ignore it and turned to Hanki. “Hanki, are you alright? You don’t look too well,” he asked, worried about his colleague's health since Hanki was usually in good shape.

“Um, yeah, I’m fine. Yesterday’s drinking kind of hit me hard. Forgive me if I’m a bit passive today,” Hanki replied, coughing moments after speaking.

Yagou nodded, finishing his food. “Alright, if you say so, don’t push yourself if you’re not feeling well.”

Hanki gave him a nod and continued without replying.

Feeling it was not worth pursuing the matter further, Yagou got up to meet the American representatives, who had already finished their meal and were waiting in the lobby.

As he walked down the stairs, he saw the two Americans holding white sticks in their mouths and blowing out smoke. Concerned for their well-being, he ran up to them frantically and asked, “Mr. Nelson, Mr. Mitchell, are you alright? Why are you blowing smoke from your mouths?”

Nelson and Mitchell quickly turned their heads to see a worried Yagou, panting as he ran down from the third floor.

“Sir Yagou, please calm down. We are fine. This is just a way for us to relax,” Nelson said quickly, trying to reassure the anxious diplomat.

Mitchell nearly burst out laughing at the scene but turned away in time to hide it. “It’s mostly safe. Please don’t be concerned,” he added, his voice steady.

Yagou, still slightly confused, nodded slowly. "If you say so," he replied, though he still felt uneasy about the strange habit as his people had no culture of smoking.

Nelson took one last puff before extinguishing the cigarette. "Shall we head out? The President is expecting us."

"Yes, of course," Yagou agreed, regaining his composure. He turned to see Elara and Hanki approaching, ready to join the group.

Nelson glanced at the blonde elf and smiled, thinking, “Well, I assume only the head diplomats will meet with the President. I might as well ask her to stay with me so we can talk more.”

Ever since seeing her at the airport, he had been fascinated with the kind girl. After all, he had never seen an elf in his life, but the more he talked with her, the more he felt they were not so fantastical.

Taking the chance, Nelson quickly leaned over, kissed Elara’s hand gently, and said, “Milady, may I have the honour of escorting you?”

In an instant, Elara’s face went bright red as she blushed indiscriminately at the sudden move, she had enjoyed conversing with the gentlemen but this was something she had expected in a hundred years of her life, not knowing how to react she squeaked a shrill,” Yes” and ran behind Hanki to hide her embarrassment.

Yagou stood there, completely dumbfounded by what had just happened. Nelson had kissed his niece's hand without any prior consent. In their country, this was unheard of, as men were not allowed to touch any woman other than their fiancée without explicit permission from her family.

Yagou walked over and held the young diplomat by his shoulder, his face boiling over with rage, and sternly asked, “Excuse me, Mr Nelson, but may I know what you are doing with my niece?”

Having little tact, a confused Nelson simply rubbed his raven hair and replied, “Um, I was just asking if she wanted to spend time with me today.”

Now it was Mitchell’s turn to be dumbstruck. Internally facepalming, he cursed Nelson in his mind, thinking, “Nelson, you ass, what are you saying? How did you conclude it was okay to kiss the hand of someone from a different world, and what was that cheesy execution?”

Before Yagou could hit Nelson, Hanki pulled him back, saying, “Now, now, let’s all calm down. This seems like one of those cultural differences you keep yapping about all the time, Yagou.”

“No, no, no! This is not okay. How can that be acceptable? And this is my niece!” Yagou shouted, not thinking clearly.

Mitchell, noticing the attention they were garnering from bystanders, quickly intervened. “Let’s take this to the car, please!” he shouted, swiftly guiding them all to the limousine.

Elara, still blushing wildly, was seated between Yagou and Nelson with Hanki beside Yagou just in case he lost his temper, Mitchell not wanting to be part of this fiasco took the front seat and let the chaos ensue.

As the engine revved up and the vehicle moved, Yagou glared at the dark-haired boy with an increasingly scrutinising gaze. “Mr Nelson, do you understand what you have done?” he asked sternly.

A now mortified Nelson couldn’t bring himself to look Yagou in the eye. He nodded slowly before replying, “Yes, I do. Please forgive me. I didn’t realise it was such a serious issue. Is there anything I can do to make up for my mistake?”

Yagou sighed, then took a moment to explain their societal norms. “In our culture, physical contact with a woman, especially in such a manner, is deeply personal and requires explicit permission from her family, please refrain from such actions, while I understand the differences, I don’t appreciate understanding not being mutual. .”

Nelson swallowed hard, feeling the weight of his misstep. “I understand now. I will be more mindful in the future. Again, I apologise for any offence I caused.”

Before Yagou could speak again, Elara looked at them and exclaimed while pouting, “Okay, please stop now! It’s fine. I understand Mr. Nelson didn’t mean this to happen, but can you two stop fighting, please? I don’t like seeing my uncle and Nelson fighting!” She blushed slightly as she glanced at Nelson's sharp features.

Sensing Elara’s discomfort, Yagou raised his hands in the air and sighed. “Alright, alright, we won’t argue anymore. But please be careful from now on. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir. Crystal clear. I again did not mean any offence,” Nelson replied, finally raising his head. He glanced at Elara with a small smile and added, “And thank you, Miss Elara. I hope this doesn’t hinder our friendship.”

Elara's eyes lit up as she smiled and replied, “Of course not, Nelson. I would be happy if you showed me around. And please, feel free to call me Elara.”

Nelson’s face relaxed as he smiled wholeheartedly at the blonde-haired elven girl and replied happily, “Yes, Elara, I hope we can be great friends from now on!”

As the two’s innocent friendship blossomed, Mitchell and Hanki couldn’t help but smile, feeling that their two worlds were truly beginning to unite despite their differences. This was how it would be from now on.

Knowing that all was well, Mitchell finally spoke, his brown hair swaying as he clapped his hands lightly. “Now that’s settled, let’s focus on what’s ahead. Mr. Yagou, we are on our way to meet the President. I hope we can forge a wonderful future together, as two nations standing united in the face of this turmoil.”

Yagou nodded, saying, “Of course. I hope we can work together amicably for the foreseeable future,” though he couldn’t shake the fear that the dream he had might mean a different end.

…

Hours Later,

White House,

Washington DC,

President Charon had been pacing around the Oval Office, thinking deeply about the current state of affairs. It had only been a few hours since the House of Representatives passed the bill to the Senate. Thankfully, it didn’t face much pushback, which was a rare occasion, but the situation's absurdity didn’t leave room for much conjecture after all.

“Haahh!” she sighed, feeling a headache from dealing with so much at once. It hadn’t been an easy three months, having to handle the borderline economic collapse of the country. Add to that stubborn old politicians and distrust toward one another, and you get a complete clusterfuck of a situation.

Rubbing her temples, she thought to herself, “Damn it, both the Republicans and the Democrats are on my ass for this fiasco. It’s not like any other president faced this in their terms. And on top of that, the Russians, while amicable, don’t seem to trust us one bit. Let’s not even start with the rest: the Chinese are planning to backstab us at every step, India only intends to play along with us as much as necessary, and the only saving grace are the Japanese, who are still very friendly.”

Wanting to slam her head onto the wooden desk in front of her, she dreamt of how simple it would have been if only NATO had come instead of the three strongest countries in the world.

While wallowing in self-pity, a knock came on her door, and she quickly composed herself, knowing better than to show vulnerability. “Come in!” she shouted, signalling her spectacled aide to enter.

The tall woman walked in briskly, put down a pile of documents, and sternly looked at the young president, pushing her glasses up. “Madam President, the dignitaries will be arriving any moment. Please get ready to greet them soon.”

Charon quickly nodded, straightening her posture, smoothing out her suit, and smiling softly. “Thank you, Emily. I’ll be ready.”

Emily was Charon’s oldest friend, going back to their high school years. She had served as her aide ever since Charon first became the mayor of a small town in rural America many years ago. Emily had become her only anchor after Charon’s family broke apart following a messy divorce between her parents. Through thick and thin, Emily had been there for Charon without question, never asking for anything in return—a true friend in every sense.

“I can never truly be grateful enough to her. If it were not for her, I probably would have ended myself back then,” Charon thought, as a faint memory of a young Charon lying bleeding in a bathtub while a frantic Emily embraced her. Emily’s weeping face was the last sight she remembered before losing consciousness.

Shaking her head to dispel the ancient memory, she quickly slapped her face twice before standing up and heading into the reception room, prepared to carve a new destiny for both herself and the country.

…

Outside the White House,

The journey had been far more relaxed than expected as Nelson and Elara chatted, breaking the alienness of the place and making it feel far more normal than the situation should have allowed.

Hanki, on the other hand, looked worse for wear, breathing heavily with a red tint on his face. Despite his obvious discomfort, Hanki was too stubborn to admit anything was wrong.

Meanwhile, Yagou, ever the worrywart, was overthinking everything, especially since his troubling dream. No matter how much the American diplomats reassured him, he couldn't stop fidgeting from nervousness.

As the convoy made its way through the gates of the estate, Mitchell took one final look at the group, deciding it was better to ignore the mess. Instead, he announced, “My fellow diplomats, we’ve arrived at the heart of American democracy. Please get ready to disembark!”

The cars came to a halt, and the passengers prepared to step out. Elara took a deep breath, feeling a mixture of excitement and nerves. Nelson gave her an encouraging smile, while Hanki struggled to maintain composure. Yagou, still fidgeting, tried to steel himself for the upcoming meeting.

Stepping out, Yagou took in the grand marble structure with its impressive arches. It reminded him of the Parpladian palaces he had often seen during his travels within the third civilisation area. The building seemed like an anomaly as if it were from a far different era than the rest of the country. This could only mean that it held enough significance to be preserved throughout the ages.

As they made their way in, Hanki came close and said in a rough voice, “Yagou, much like the Kremlin, this place radiates history. My gut tells me we must be cautious here, lest we face dire consequences.”

Yagou nodded nervously, replying in a hushed tone, “You’re right. Ever since we came to the land of these newcomers, I’ve had the feeling that something is amiss.”

Not a single word came from either of the Qua-Toynians as they reached the door of the building. The Secret Service quickly escorted them in after a brief security check.

Entering the room, Yagou was once again taken aback. A brunette woman dressed in blue stood with a cordial smile, energetically proclaiming, “Welcome to the United States of America. It’s an honour to meet representatives from the Qua-Toyne Principality.”

As he stepped forward, Yagou couldn’t help but marvel at the number of women in power here. He had often met queens, only to see them sidelined by men. But in the countries of the Otherworlders, women were far more involved and embroiled in politics than he had seen anywhere, at least within the Second and Third Spheres. Having never been lucky enough to visit the Holy Milishial Empire, he couldn’t help but admire them.

Yagou took a moment to compose himself before stepping forward. “Thank you. The honour is all ours. We hope this meeting will mark the beginning of a fruitful relationship.”

The woman extended her hand. “I’m President Charon. Please, make yourselves comfortable.”

Yagou quickly accepted the gesture, extending his hand with a polite smile. “Thank you. The pleasure’s all ours!”

President Charon warmly shook his hand and welcomed the delegates, signalling for the diplomatic meeting to begin.

The group quickly settled in, with Hanki and Yagou taking their seats opposite the President, while Elara decided to wait outside with Nelson.

Soon enough, the meeting that would decide the fate of the United States of America began.

As Hanki and Yagou took their seats, they couldn't help but notice the impressive decor of the room, with its rich history and symbols of American legacy. Hanki, now sweating profusely and short of breath, looked around the room, finding its simplicity something beautiful in its own right.

Yagou, having taken a deep breath, finally decided to ask the most daunting question of all. “Ma’am, I hope you forgive my bluntness, but what are your people planning to do with our world?”

Charon, taken aback by the sudden question, coughed a bit before answering politely. “Mr. Yagou, our intentions are nothing more than peace and trade with all. As long as no one infringes on our nation’s right to exist, we will never do anything to violate our longstanding path of peace.”

Yagou couldn't shake the feeling that President Charon’s honeyed words were merely lip service. In his experience, nations with such a disparity in strength rarely refrained from subjecting others to their will, no matter how benevolent they seemed.

However, recognising the imbalance and having little choice in the matter, he decided not to push further, fearing unseen consequences. He nodded politely and replied, “Thank you for your honesty, Madam President. We understand your position. Now, let us continue with the rest of our negotiations.”

Charon gave a quick nod and handed over a document with a smirk to the Qua-Toynian diplomats, anticipating that if they managed to pass this deal, America might be able to claim any future mineral resources in exchange for development easily.

Yagou glanced over the document, which was quite detailed, encompassing hundreds of clauses. However, one specific line caught his eye: the United States would retain the right to extract a darker black fluid from their lands. The more he thought about it, the odder it seemed. Why would a nation like theirs want tar of all things? But just before he signed, something clicked. That tar wasn’t waste; it was a resource that the Muan warships used—oil.

In an instant, his face turned sour as he glared at the President, saying in a harsh voice, “Madam President, do you think of us as fools? Are we a joke to you?”

Taken aback by the sudden change in tone, Charon replied firmly, “Mr. Yagou, just what might you be referring to?”

Standing up, Yagou pointed to the treaty of friendship and said sharply, “This. Did you think of us as so backwards that we wouldn’t know that your world runs on what you call ‘oil’? Did you think we would simply hand over our precious mineral wealth to you for nothing?”

Charon felt frustrated and wanted to hit her head against the wall. The person who drafted the treaty seemingly was getting paid for nothing, as they had used their first draft, which assumed they were dealing with a world lacking understanding of modern technology.

She took a deep breath and responded, “Mr. Yagou, I apologise for any misunderstanding. It was never our intention to deceive or undervalue your resources. We are here to build a partnership based on mutual respect and benefit.”

Before Yagou could speak, Emily walked in with refreshments, quietly placing them on the table. She bowed respectfully and said, “Pardon my intrusion, but if I may be bold enough to offer my opinion.” She looked at Charon with determined eyes, awaiting her approval.

With a quick nod from Charon, Emily continued calmly, “Mr Yagou, it seems there may have been a misunderstanding regarding our intentions. Please be assured that the clause in question was included to prevent other nations from exploiting the natural resources of your country.

As far as we are aware, Qua-Toyne currently lacks the technology to harness oil effectively. However, if you have any concerns or issues with any part of the treaty, President Charon would be more than happy to accommodate your needs and make the necessary adjustments.”

Yagou took a deep breath and calmed himself, realizing that there was little he could do to change the situation at that moment. At least, for now, the Americans were maintaining the appearance of friendliness, even if he remained cautious about their true intentions.

He sat back down, composing himself, and replied sharply, “I understand. Please forgive my outburst. It was not my intention to escalate the situation, but protecting our nation’s resources is paramount.”

Charon gave a reassuring nod, her expression softening. “There is nothing to forgive, Mr. Yagou. Your concerns are valid, and we respect your dedication to your people. We would expect nothing less from a true representative of Qua-Toyne.”

Yagou gently nodded as the discussions moved forward, covering a range of topics from goods trade to the potential supply chain issues that might arise due to the vastly different levels of development between the two nations.

He smiled inwardly, realising that he had achieved a result far better than he had initially hoped for. The agreements on trading rights and technology transfers, even if limited, were milestones that could pave the way for future collaboration. Despite the lingering unease, he was satisfied with the outcome.

As the meeting drew close, Yagou and the other diplomats stood, signalling the end of the day's negotiations. He approached President Charon, extending his hand with a polite smile, ready to seal their agreement with a gesture of goodwill.

Just as their hands were about to meet, a sudden, loud thud echoed through the room, coming from beside him.

As Yagou turned to look, his face went pale. Hanki’s body was lying on the floor, motionless and nearly lifeless. The sudden sight sent a shock through him, freezing him in place for a split second before panic set in.

“Hanki!” he shouted in alarm, his voice trembling with fear as he rushed to his side. His heart pounded in his chest as he knelt beside his fallen colleague, frantically searching for any sign of life.

The room fell into stunned silence, the gravity of the situation sinking in as the other diplomats and officials exchanged concerned glances. Yagou’s mind raced, trying to grasp what had just happened. Was it a sudden illness? Something more sinister? He couldn’t tell, but the sight of his long-time friend lying so still filled him with dread.

President Charon, alarmed by the sudden turn of events, quickly motioned for medical assistance. “Call for the medics, immediately!” she ordered, her authoritative voice cutting through the tension as Secret Service agents sprang into action.

Yagou, his hands trembling, gently shook Hanki’s shoulder. “Hanki, can you hear me?” he asked his voice barely a whisper, fear gripping him as he waited for any kind of response.

…

TBC