Kalistan

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Empress reportedly "stunned" by latest Gem Vault audit
Empress has called the horde, believed to be worth more than several Dovanian nations combined, "obscene", in the past
Eveari, Grand Duchy of Ananto
December 15, 5676


Her Imperial Majesty tours the Ananto Vault which houses the Crown Jewel Collection

"Her Imperial Majesty, Empress Jennifer Ananto-Connor has begun to look into divestment of some of the collection of precious gemstones and metals stored in the House Vault in Eveari," said Her Imperial Majesty's spokeswoman, Lady Amber Dawson. "She is not sure if the House will in fact divest of some of the collection, amassed over many generations, which has begun to crowd the vault facility in Eveari."

The Empress has privately pushed for divestment of at least a portion of the stored wealth for years. Unnamed sources have reported that the Empress finds the horde "insane" and "obscene," but to date, has only been partially successful in halting further accumulation of precious metals and gems for the collection. The latest audit has brought the value of the collection back to the foreground of the conversation around House Ananto's vast fortune. The most recent audit of the Gem Vault's contents reportedly "stunned" Her Imperial Majesty.

"The recent gem vault audit shows that the collection has grown by an additional 19% over the last 25 years," said Lady Dawson. "Much of this is due to new sources of diamonds and rubies from Xsampa and Kalistan's heavy importation of those stones in particular. But a lot of the accumulation has also been accumulated through royal confiscation of Amethyst, and large scale purchases of primarily silver, but also gold and platinum, from the private sector. The result is growth from about ₭50 Billion Imperial to nearly ₭60 Billion just in precious stones alone. Added to that is another ₭528 million in Silver reserves and ₭432 million in gold reserves, just in the vault alone."

The Empress has stated that the Ananto House's gem vault, which holds the more than the GDP of many Dovani states without oil is completely unnecessary, and could be used to help people. "Her Imperial Majesty is aware that sending a personal fortune to a developing nation is probably not the most prudent use of those funds, especially those that lack any semblance of functioning government or infrastructure necessary to adequately turn largess like this into aid that will actually help people, rather than line the pockets of corrupt officials, but the alternative is to simply let tons and tons of precious stones and metals sit in a vault a dozen stories underground and do nothing."

Her Imperial Majesty, who is not a direct descendant of Empress Carolina I Ananto, has limited say in strictly House Ananto affairs, and has been frustrated by the blood Anantos' reluctance to liquidate the Gem Horde. "It leads to some interesting discussions around the dinner table," said Lady Dawson. "I think it is factually accurate to say that His and Her Imperial Majesties do not see the question in the same light. Lady Helen Ananto has stated that as long as she continues to helm the House, the Gem Vault will remain in tact, and His Imperial Majesty tends to agree with the Princess of the Empire that this collection is the heirloom of future generations and it should only be aggrandized, rather than diminished. So far, my Lady the Empress, is a minority vote."

Lady Dawson was careful to not suggest that Her Imperial Majesty wanted to get rid of the entire Vault. "Her Imperial Majesty may have specific feelings about the size of the collection, but she, like everyone who ever visits, and sees the collection with their own eyes, is in awe at what her family has amassed. One cannot simply walk into a room that is essentially silver bullion by the ton, stacked from floor to 12 foot high ceiling, 5 ingots deep and not be amazed. One cannot simply tour each wing of the Gem vault and see gems in bins stacked one on top of another, knowing that each stone you may lay your eyes on could easily be worth a whole year's salary, or in some cases worth an entire lifetime's salary, and then glance an inch to your left or right and see 10,000 equally valuable stones of all sorts of colors, clarity, and sizes, and not find yourself in awe. Her Imperial Majesty only thinks it should be pared down a bit."

Few people have been permitted to tour the Gem Vault, most of them personal friends of House Ananto, and the occasional photographer who gets the opportunity to take pictures from within the vault. The Gem Vault is also the home of the long coveted Hulanevek Diamond, which was a relic of ancient Beiteynu that made its way to Kalistan via Kundrati during the reign of the Black Empress Pavlina I Ananto, and has been the property of the sitting Monarch ever since. "Whatever happens to the other gems in the vault," said Lady Dawson, "whether they are kept or divested, Her Imperial Majesty was emphatic: Kalistan is never giving back the Hulanevek Diamond. It belongs to Ananto, and will remain in its new home forever." Lady Dawson confirmed that Her Imperial Majesty has indeed held the Diamond, but His Imperial Majesty still refuses to touch it, due to the curse.

@TheRepublic