The candles go out, the beds and rooms are vacated, and the gates swing shut for what seems to be a final time in Castle Berkeley.
Tomorrow will be Monday: the resumption of classes and what is supposed to be normal life—or, perhaps, normal inasmuch as normal can be said in the days that followed the discovery of the late Viscount Berkeley’s body. There is still too much left unanswered and there is still pressure coming in from all sides about what precisely happened that Sunday morning.
It is something they know well, having experienced some rather harrowing encounters throughout their weekend stay in the castle.
Now, with them back at Oxford, there are several matters that they need to attend to. What to make of the funeral? for one. Who is to be named Dominus? for another. What happens now? is perhaps their most pressing question yet.
OOC NOTE
All of you would have gotten submissions in your inbox about the random encounter your character had throughout their weekend in Castle Berkeley. Please post it along with your character’s reaction and tag it with #dominusevent and #dominustask.
You can no longer start threads regarding the event. Existing threads can still continue but it is advised to wrap them up soon.
CONGRATULATIONS, ROSIE! You have been accepted for the role of ANASTASIUS with the faceclaim choice of CASIL MCARTHUR! Please don’t forget to go over the checklist and remember to submit your blog within twenty-four hours.
We really adored your vision of Anastasius. You took the parts of the skeleton that we loved but also did it in such a way that it was a breathtaking take on his character! We loved the thematic concepts you put into play and seeing it all play out in you app form was truly a gem to read. Your Anastasius is utterly bewitching and we can’t wait to see him in the dash!
Hello! As noted in the event post, we expected the event to run a couple of weeks or so. We’re just tidying up some background stuff and you can expect the final update soon. :)
Apologies, the last few days have been hectic on the admins’ side of things so we haven’t really gotten around to choosing! However, we did already have some talks behind the scenes and the chosen character will be informed within the next couple of days.
I'm kind of confused about which characters are in which society! I've read the pages and am currently working on my app for The Aesthete (With Teddy Quinlican as the FC if that'll work!) and am just like confused with what society she's in and who else is in her society.
Sorry about the confusion, anon! The MASTERLIST should show you which members are in which society by clicking through the filters, and we also tag our characters with S if they’re in Sodalitas and P if they’re in Pandidakterion. This link should help show who else is in her society.
(And while Teddy’s an approved FC for Irene, she’d also work wonderfully for Elagabalus!)
CONGRATULATIONS, JEN! You have been accepted for the role of JUSTINIAN* with the faceclaim choice of MEDALION RAHIMI. Please don’t forget to go over the checklist and remember to submit your blog within twenty-four hours.
Your Justinian was wonderfully imagined and so richly characterised. You took the themes of the skeleton—the longing for greatness—and really blew our expectations out of the water. From your first paragraph to the last line, Apolline was a delight to watch unfold and we look forward to seeing her on the dash!
Since we only have four characters open, I think it’s safe to say that we want all of them. If we absolutely have to pick just one, though, we’re really in need of a Sebastos for Pandidakterion, so the answer’s Justinian!
EDIT: @wildbasilius says women for pandidakterion and we can’t help but agree, anon!
WHEN: 13 October 2019, the weekend after the discovery of Edward’s body
WHERE: Berkeley Castle, Gloucester, United Kingdom
WHAT: A Requiem for Edward Hardwicke
At first: a low and heavy note, resonating loudly inside the church. Then, the choristers’ voices start to lift up into the heavens for the passing of Edward Hardwicke, praying for eternal rest for those who departed from this life to go onto the next. At first, the attendants are nervous, flicking nervously through their programs, but then they settle into an uneasy sort of participation, their voices eventually joining the fray.
The requiem mass for Edward Hardwicke, Viscount Berkeley, has begun.
By the right hand side, in the front pews, the mournful faces of Lord Hardwicke and his wife stares sombrely at the casket. They are surrounded by the friends of the young viscount. The funeral rites are long and awkward, the Latin strange and foreign for all those uninitiated, the music almost jarring. They would have rejected the invitation, but such an action would prove even more suspicious, and so they found themselves, almost reluctantly, having to perform as a group of friends mourning the passing of their fallen comrade.
But with every flicking of the missal and the singing of the hymns, furtive glances are sent around when they think nobody’s looking. All of them knows that among their midst is the one who betrayed them, the one who dug up Edward’s body and presented it as a work of art for everybody to see. Suspicion and the threat of a conspiracy weighs heavily on their minds: was it a lone agent? Was it a group of people? And, at the back of their minds, though they know it’s impossible: was it someone else?
The past week had not been kind to them. Almost every single acquaintance and associate of the deceased viscount had been interviewed or questioned by the police, in varying degrees of intensity, and they are not altogether blind to the unasked question Edward’s parents seem to pose with their gaze. How did this happen? they seem to be asking. How did it happen that such a heinous crime was committed and that his body came to be desecrated?
It is not only his parents’ questions they have to face, the conspirators knew, for they cannot help but recognise the faces of the older attendants. How could they not, when it was those faces that lined the walls of their crypts and secret rooms and meeting places? There are equal parts disapproval and interest there—interest aroused by the macabre turn of events and disapproval for the fact that Edward’s murder has officially put both societies at threat of exposure; and while most members have amassed power and commanded influence, they cannot make the world turn a blind eye to the corpse that was displayed at the grounds of Oxford that cold Sunday morning. They cannot make people forget that macabre vision, like something drawn up by a haunted and possessed artist. Something happened to Edward Hardwicke, and it seems the whole world is determined to find out exactly what.
Yet even as suspicion and the threat of exposure looms, the political machinations of certain individual members continue to roll on. Tensions begin to arise as both societies seem to be instructed by their alumni to play fair and nice with each other, self-preservation beating hundreds of years of tradition. In addition, the question of who would take up the mantle of Dominus (and, most importantly, how) seems to still be left unanswered.
OOC Information
Welcome to the first plot drop, everyone! This is an event that will last for maybe a couple of weeks or so, although it will only last a weekend in-character wise. Both societies were invited for the requiem mass and burial ceremony of Edward Hardwicke. Rooms in the Berkeley Castle have been let out for them to sleep in during their stay. You are free to roleplay anything from their going to and arrival at the Castle to their departure and arrival at Oxford. Please also take note that some of you will be receiving submissions from the main about specific encounters your character may have had throughout their stay in the castle. We encourage you to write freely about this: whether it be your character announcing it to the rest, confiding in a select few, or just keeping it to themself. To receive such encounters, please turn on your SUBMIT BOX.
Summary:
The REQUIEM MASS was held on SATURDAY afternoon at ST. MARY’S CHURCH.
Alexandra Grimaldi was appointed as the First Reader.
The pallbearers are LORD HARDWICKE, EARL PERCY, VISCOUNT ROYSTON, ————, ————, and ————.
The WAKE was held on SATURDAY EVENING at the GREAT HALL in BERKELEY CASTLE. Although it continued well past night and into the early morning, just until the first rays of sunlight peeped through the curtains, characters are permitted to enter and leave as they wish.
Characters are allowed to explore the castle as they wish.
Characters left Berkeley Castle at SUNDAY EVENING.
Please message the main if you’d like to volunteer your character for a role! (Note: this will probably greatly affect what kind of random encounters your character might have, if any.)
With the follow list posted and the Discord invites sent out, we are now open for plotting! Interactions can begin upon the posting of the first plot drop at 8pm EST. In other news, the MASTERLIST, the OOC LIST, and the TRIGGER LIST have been updated. Character skeletons will be updated over the week with their bios to be posted. There’s also been a tiny addition on the CHECKLIST: please add the tag #dominusfollow to your tracked tags! (EDIT: Add #dominusintro for your character intros too!)
