01-03-2021, 09:47 AM
Election Day - the aftermath
Xiomera
In Xiomera, most people were celebrating the results of the elections. Empress Calhualyana was one of them.
Having found herself too excited about the results to sit around in Jinyu twiddling her thumbs, she had summoned the Imperial jet to take her back to Tlālacuetztla to join in the fun. She could easily return to Jinyu in time for the talks once the party was done; having the Imperial Air Force as available to her as a ridesharing car or a taxi was to a normal citizen was just one of the perks of being an Empress.
As she sipped champagne with Toquihu and the other revelers, and looked out from the Palace over the Tlālacuetztla skyline, Calhualyana found herself reinvigorated. I gave the people a chance to make their voices heard, and they have spoken. I am truly Empress now, and Xiomera follows my vision. With the XCP behind me, and with the mandate of the people, nothing will stop me now. Yauhmi's spell over us is broken. And with her final fall, the Empire will rise. Xiomera is mine, and the future is ours.
As Calhualyana partied and took selfies with her fans, the majority of Xiomerans shared her sentiment. But not all did.
In the Tlālacuetztla neighborhoods of Zipacpepe and Italman, in the city of Xochiatipan, and on Cenotillo Island, many of the people were not pleased with the election results. And they made their displeasure known. These were the closest things to strongholds the Unification Party, and the diminished Xiomeran opposition, had left. What started as peaceful protests ended in fire and smoke, as those Xiomerans who weren't content with their country choosing to slide into tyranny made their last outcry on election night. The Imperial Police and the local police, as they always did in Xiomera, quickly and effectively suppressed the protests. Nothing could be allowed to spoil the party, after all.
In another part of Tlālacuetztla, Xayactochtli and the IGP, along with their followers, bitterly ruminated about the severe loss they had been handed. The defeat had simply proven to them that elections were a waste of time, and that the people needed to be led rather than allowed to lead themselves. Watching Calhualyana celebrate her victory online and on television, they nursed their wounds. Calhualyana may have thought the election meant everything was over. They did not agree.
Huenya
In Huenya, the election results were greeted with a mixture of surprise and disgust. For Huenyans who weren't Xiomeran, it served as validation of all their beliefs about Xiomerans "from east" - namely, Xiomera proper. Some Huenyans (the overly optimistic ones) had actually hoped that the Xiomerans would vote against Calhualyana's plans. The more realistic Huenyans, who had hoped that the vote would at least be close, and thus an affirmation of their belief that Xiomerans would embrace Huenya if given the chance, found those hopes crushed.
For Huenyans who were Xiomeran, it was as if their own family had betrayed them. In some cases, it was literally families staring at each other across a growing divide. Many western Xiomerans, having long shared lives and land with the other people of Huenya, didn't share the beliefs of their eastern counterparts. The western Xiomerans (with the exception of those who had, or were, moving "back east") had also genuinely believed that somehow, Xiomera would redeem itself.
Now, after the election, the growing anger and disdain in Xiomera for the rest of Huenya was beginning to be matched by an equally growing disgust and anger among Huenyans of all ethnicities for Xiomera. Xiomeran Huenyans, in particular, were looking at their kin and seeing people who had just voted away their first real chance at freedom after six centuries - out of spite and fear of change. Disgust was, perhaps, a mild word to describe their opinion on that matter.
Three of these new Xiomeran Huenyans, in particular, found themselves at a loss.
In Zapotlán, as he presided over the ruins of a once thriving city and watched to make sure no further attacks on Huenya occurred, General Tlanexchel found himself incandescent with rage. We sacrificed lives, blood, treasure....an entire damned city. And for what? Calhualyana is what they want? Tyranny is what they love? If that's what it means to be Xiomeran, I am ashamed to be Xiomeran for the first time in my life.
As their General brooded, the Xiomerans who had sided with Huenya, lined up on the front lines, shared his sentiment. Any lingering ties they might have had to the Xiomeran Empire were severed, once and for all, on Election Day.
In Jinyu, Yauhmi and Texōccoatl watched the results with dismay. Texōccoatl found himself disgusted and angry, much like Tlanexchel, and much for the same reasons. What the hell is wrong with them? Texōccoatl thought, not understanding his own people for the first time in his life.
After a moment, Yauhmi asked to be left alone in a drained voice. Out of respect, everyone left the room, even Texōccoatl.
Once she was alone, Yauhmi closed her eyes. Tears began to run down her face. She finally faced what she had tried to ignore. She would probably die in Chuaztlapoc, never getting the chance to return to Xiomera or see her home once more. She would never get to see her husband's grave, or visit the places she loved, again. Her own people had rejected her. No matter what happened in Jinyu, she had lost Xiomera - possibly forever. And Xiomera would be locked away behind a golden curtain, held in place by an iron fist, with no freedom for its people.
I'm sorry, Topilpopoca. I failed.
She was thousands of miles away from home, in Laeral. But even when she returned to Huenya, she wouldn't be any closer to home.
Xiomera
In Xiomera, most people were celebrating the results of the elections. Empress Calhualyana was one of them.
Having found herself too excited about the results to sit around in Jinyu twiddling her thumbs, she had summoned the Imperial jet to take her back to Tlālacuetztla to join in the fun. She could easily return to Jinyu in time for the talks once the party was done; having the Imperial Air Force as available to her as a ridesharing car or a taxi was to a normal citizen was just one of the perks of being an Empress.
As she sipped champagne with Toquihu and the other revelers, and looked out from the Palace over the Tlālacuetztla skyline, Calhualyana found herself reinvigorated. I gave the people a chance to make their voices heard, and they have spoken. I am truly Empress now, and Xiomera follows my vision. With the XCP behind me, and with the mandate of the people, nothing will stop me now. Yauhmi's spell over us is broken. And with her final fall, the Empire will rise. Xiomera is mine, and the future is ours.
As Calhualyana partied and took selfies with her fans, the majority of Xiomerans shared her sentiment. But not all did.
In the Tlālacuetztla neighborhoods of Zipacpepe and Italman, in the city of Xochiatipan, and on Cenotillo Island, many of the people were not pleased with the election results. And they made their displeasure known. These were the closest things to strongholds the Unification Party, and the diminished Xiomeran opposition, had left. What started as peaceful protests ended in fire and smoke, as those Xiomerans who weren't content with their country choosing to slide into tyranny made their last outcry on election night. The Imperial Police and the local police, as they always did in Xiomera, quickly and effectively suppressed the protests. Nothing could be allowed to spoil the party, after all.
In another part of Tlālacuetztla, Xayactochtli and the IGP, along with their followers, bitterly ruminated about the severe loss they had been handed. The defeat had simply proven to them that elections were a waste of time, and that the people needed to be led rather than allowed to lead themselves. Watching Calhualyana celebrate her victory online and on television, they nursed their wounds. Calhualyana may have thought the election meant everything was over. They did not agree.
Huenya
In Huenya, the election results were greeted with a mixture of surprise and disgust. For Huenyans who weren't Xiomeran, it served as validation of all their beliefs about Xiomerans "from east" - namely, Xiomera proper. Some Huenyans (the overly optimistic ones) had actually hoped that the Xiomerans would vote against Calhualyana's plans. The more realistic Huenyans, who had hoped that the vote would at least be close, and thus an affirmation of their belief that Xiomerans would embrace Huenya if given the chance, found those hopes crushed.
For Huenyans who were Xiomeran, it was as if their own family had betrayed them. In some cases, it was literally families staring at each other across a growing divide. Many western Xiomerans, having long shared lives and land with the other people of Huenya, didn't share the beliefs of their eastern counterparts. The western Xiomerans (with the exception of those who had, or were, moving "back east") had also genuinely believed that somehow, Xiomera would redeem itself.
Now, after the election, the growing anger and disdain in Xiomera for the rest of Huenya was beginning to be matched by an equally growing disgust and anger among Huenyans of all ethnicities for Xiomera. Xiomeran Huenyans, in particular, were looking at their kin and seeing people who had just voted away their first real chance at freedom after six centuries - out of spite and fear of change. Disgust was, perhaps, a mild word to describe their opinion on that matter.
Three of these new Xiomeran Huenyans, in particular, found themselves at a loss.
In Zapotlán, as he presided over the ruins of a once thriving city and watched to make sure no further attacks on Huenya occurred, General Tlanexchel found himself incandescent with rage. We sacrificed lives, blood, treasure....an entire damned city. And for what? Calhualyana is what they want? Tyranny is what they love? If that's what it means to be Xiomeran, I am ashamed to be Xiomeran for the first time in my life.
As their General brooded, the Xiomerans who had sided with Huenya, lined up on the front lines, shared his sentiment. Any lingering ties they might have had to the Xiomeran Empire were severed, once and for all, on Election Day.
In Jinyu, Yauhmi and Texōccoatl watched the results with dismay. Texōccoatl found himself disgusted and angry, much like Tlanexchel, and much for the same reasons. What the hell is wrong with them? Texōccoatl thought, not understanding his own people for the first time in his life.
After a moment, Yauhmi asked to be left alone in a drained voice. Out of respect, everyone left the room, even Texōccoatl.
Once she was alone, Yauhmi closed her eyes. Tears began to run down her face. She finally faced what she had tried to ignore. She would probably die in Chuaztlapoc, never getting the chance to return to Xiomera or see her home once more. She would never get to see her husband's grave, or visit the places she loved, again. Her own people had rejected her. No matter what happened in Jinyu, she had lost Xiomera - possibly forever. And Xiomera would be locked away behind a golden curtain, held in place by an iron fist, with no freedom for its people.
I'm sorry, Topilpopoca. I failed.
She was thousands of miles away from home, in Laeral. But even when she returned to Huenya, she wouldn't be any closer to home.
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