Békésmező

**Békésmező** is a province of the Grand Principality of Gyöngybagoly, located south of its federal capital Hegyibagolyóvár. The province is very sparsely populated, with the largest settlement being the village of Kisfalva. Within Békésmező also lies the palace which is the namesake of the province, Békésmezői Palota. The palace serves officially a secondary role, but is highly favored by the The House of Gyöngybagoly.

The palace and grounds were designed by Owltz, advice from HWieniawsky, with some material contributions from Maddoix. Founding and construction beginning on the 5th of September 2023.

Due to the palace, entry into and out of the whole province is somewhat restrictive by authorities. The Security Police, often treat the whole province akin to the palace grounds itself. Entry into the province has to be requested, whether for tourism or diplomatic reasons, Kisfalva residents are exempt from this rule.

## Etymology

**Békésmező** is a combination of two separate words in Hungarian, those being békés, meaning peaceful, and mező being field. The name comes from the place wherein which the palace lies, having a vast field described as peaceful and calming. Much of that field is now the palace gardens. That field, along with the palace lie in a shallow valley in between higher land on its sides.

## History

### Claim and Establishment

The Province which now is known as Békésmező, was for a while unclaimed by the Grand Principality, though de facto controlled. South of the city of Hegyibagolyóvár, plans by the city administration were had to expand into it, though never executing upon them due to lack of state support. Months after the founding of the capital, the state began eyeing the territory. The decision was made by the House of Gyöngybagoly, and the Grand Avian Privy Council, to claim and expand into it. A royal grant was made for the establishment of the province, within it a royal palace, and a small town to be built.

### Palace construction

Beginning on the 5th of September 2023, the plans for the palace, yet unnamed, were to be executed upon. During the planning stages, the palace was upsized a few times until landing on the current plans. The House made plans for the palace to be much more luxurious and secluded than the official Hegyi Palace. The main body of the palace was progressing far quicker than expected, while the prismarine roof significantly slowed down the progress.

### Penzing Conflict

As construction was still undergoing, the Grand Duke of Penzing, Henryk Wieniawsky made an unannounced visit to the site. The Grand Duke, found the size of the palace quite surprising, and threatening to the Palace of Penzing. The Grand Prince tried to reassure the Grand Duke: "Penzing is still bigger I think" "Both (by area and volume)". The comments by the Grand Prince were either delusional or uninformed. The Grand Duke responded: "Nah, you're just trying to avoid the Penzing expansion pack!". And thus conflict of expansion was begun between the two palaces. The conflict was short, two colonnades were added to Békésmező haphazardly shortly before Penzing, due to lack of ability to expand without unsightly additions, ended the conflict.

### Friendship

Following the end of the conflict, unknown as to the start of it, an exchange of gifts were made between the Grand Duchy of Penzing and the Grand Principality of Gyöngybagoly. The gifts for a time were upsizing each other one after the other, with riches and titles given. Deciding to convene after the giftings, Grand Duke and Grand Prince, meeting in Penzing Palace agreed to strengthening ties and cooperation. Planned are: a set of identical monuments, one for each, a Penzing town bordering Békésmező for which a connecting bridge is to be constructed, and dedicating rooms and monuments to one another.

## Province Locations

Under construction:

* Békésmező Palace, the grandest and most important construction of the province.
* Cliff of the Gyöngybagoly House, is a forested cliff with a church dedicated to the House and a gazebo. The area contains a summer cottage of the House.

Planned:

* The town of Kisfalva, a moderate small town close to the palace. Highly affluent people of the Principality live in the town.