location & timeline: sotera's gardens, february 13th, an hour after the thorned king's appearance.
availability: open to all !
ERIDA had been rather disturbed by the appearance of the Thorned king. While his powers of terrifying every soul in the room had certainly been a thing of appreciation and envy, the amount of chaos it had generated simply be appearance alone, had been quite more than she'd been used in using.
it did help with her own use it, though.
She didn't have to deplete her own reserves of it, instead she'd happily use whatever power constructed by the... king, to her benefit. Still, she could only hope it would be enough to sustain her, for the time being. Being away from Frigoria had threatened to destabilize her magic - and that wasn't something she was keen on happening.
she'll have to do with this little help.
Sensing an additional presence, her mask long forgotten somewhere in the ballroom, Eris checked her posture and her usual lady of the kingdoms mask had slipped back into it's place.
"Do you find yourself unwilling to retreat for the night as well? Tiredness beckons, but I fear I would be unable to sleep. Tonight's events had shaken quite a few individuals - even I cannot remain immune to it."
time & location: February, 13th, dawn. common room.
HER COSTUME had been slightly dishevelled. The blackness of the feathers muted in the day's rising light, her black swan's mask discarded beside her, the pointed beak almost a mockery. The similarities between the mask and the Thorned King had been almost comically apparent, but no one would think a pretty little lady to be behind it.
first of all, the Thorn-thing turned to dust, and she had still been here.
With a bottle of stolen liquor in front of her, Vivian had refused to return to the Sotera's dormitories, the chambers assigned for the Soteran lady in waiting. With so many Frigorians in attendance, it had been a laughing matter ; calling her a Soteran.
she had almost let it slip.
A figure approached her, and she poured another glass of strong bourbon, kicking at the chair beside her.
"Anyone still awake at this time of night is in a desperate need of a drink. I have an extra glass, if you want?"
location: hallways of the soteran palace
time: after midnight; february 13th, 1276
the words of the jesters still echoed in his skull, unable to throw them completely from his mind. he nodded absentmindedly to partygoers as he passed them, head fully occupied with the unsettling events of the previous hours. as soon as the bards had finished their odd proclamation, the ballroom had begun to empty. the new king was nowhere to be seen, and he had yet to spot the lady of asteria amongst the crowds of uncomfortably leaving guests. he scanned the floods of people, looking for any faces he recognized, but those that still wore their masks made it nearly impossible.
carefully, yinuo pushed his way against the flow of foot traffic, like a salmon swimming upstream as he attempted to work his way back to the main room. any trace of the strange jesters and their...idol was long gone at this point. his eyes outlined the doors of the room, trying to spot any possible clue as to where they might have vanished, all the while attempting to quell the icy hand of panic gripping his heart. the three. they had said it so plainly, so bluntly, so...without fanfare. this slip-up was going to be hard to evade. he couldn't afford a single mistake.
like this one, he thought in frustration, turning to the presence at his back, making themself known with a soft noise. yinuo dropped a small bow. "my apologies; were you speaking to me? i'm afraid my thoughts were elsewhere."
location & timeline: sotera's library, february 14th, after dark.
availability: open to all !
RENYI had spent the majority of her diplomatic affairs hunting down for the rulers of the two kingdoms, but after the Thorned King's appearance, she was determined to get to the bottom of it - & immediately, if she could. She had seen more than a few familiar faces around the library, all of them pouring over ancient tomes & texts, searching for & hunting for even the smidgen of information.
she had found none of value, yet.
Some madman's ramblings about a place called Frigoria that had made the headache return with a pulse. Pressing her fingers against the temples, Renyi lets out a deep sigh, before continuing to focus on the tome in front of her.
"It's all just ramblings without heads or tails. Just a vague mentions of a place called Frigoria & then nothing more. It would appear they'd been assimilated into both Asteria & Sotera centuries ago. Even the name of the once ruling dynasty remains forgotten. Perhaps it's all smoke & mirrors, after all." Renyi spoke as the person slid into the seat opposite of her.
time: the morning of february 13th.
location: the halls of sotera's palace
open to everyone.
the echoes of her footsteps rung in the empty halls as asteria's general moved briskly towards her destination. qynna popped the last of a muffin in her mouth, poppy seed and blueberryβnot a combination she had ever expected, but one that had the potential to quickly become a favorite. it was surprisingly good. then again, maybe she just liked anything the head chef made. it was certainly a possibility.
as she walked, her mind was racing with to-do lists and memorandums. after the disaster at the masquerade last night, there was so much she needed to do. first on her list, however, was to set up a meeting with her...advisor? who should she even talk to about this? perhaps she could just catch anyone of higher rank than her. no, that had the potential to go horribly wrong horribly quickly. it would be better to find someone that knew more about the thorned things than she didβperhaps someone who had seen them enter, or someone whoβ
abruptly, qynna's train of thought derailed as she crashed into another person. "oh, do excuse me, my sincerest apologies!" she exclaimed, arms flying up in an effort to catch whoever she'd bumped into and keep them from falling over. "i-i wasn't looking where i was headed, and i was headed there quite quickly. that'sβmy fault, i swear."
location & time: the gardens of sotera, late morning after the masquerade.
availability: open to all !
NIGHTMARES plaguing her night's rest aside, Zhao Yan had been having a swell time in Sotera. Alright, nightmares, the jesters, the absolutely creepy idea of a hidden kingdom and subsequently an entire civilization apart ; she'd been having a good time.
The mask were pretty, people were - mostly - polite, everyone had been having fun ( until the jesters had arrived but she had promised herself she won't be thinking about it anymore ) and overall she had met with some old friends, and made new ones.
a success.
Strolling down to the gardens after finally kicking into gear, Yanyan had been standing beneath the Datura tree. The flower had closed once more, the moment the night had turned into day. Perhaps it was for the best - the flowers had been... a little eerie, looking quite a bit like some monster's long forgotten trumpet.
Still, it had reminded her of home, of the village called Frigoria she had lived in her entire life. It had been filled with the Datura. Turning towards the sound of footsteps, Yanyan smiled to the intruder.
"The garden looks rather lovely in the daylight. Though, it is a shame the Datura only blooms at night. They are quite the sight once their flowers open."
ββββWhere is the metal among the ashes? What do the contrasts in red and blue symbolize? They will return, won't they? And they shall bring their Queen?β
βββQuestions.
βββEntombed before mayhem could exhume them, enshrined within the recesses of her mind.
βββEven then β
βββShe sat beneath the domed roofs of the alcove, the chill of marble walls infused into her spine, and the tendrils of flowers and foliage veiled her in silent oath. Stone, verdant hues, absence.
βββSerenity never came.
βββAnd the structures before her β they loomed. They disregarded the laws of her mind. How she must count upon the simplicity of beingβ¦ For her eyes to trace the rise and fall of rooftops, the sharp turns of windows, but the contours? Never-ending. Even the shadows seemed vast and the moonlight beyond reach. The archway, the spires β endless.
βββThey contested adulation like a grotesque pantheon.
βββThen she must be an ant.
βββThus, she did not think. She did not feel. Mustnβt. To deconstruct these thoughts would be to collapse beneath them.
βββAnd yet, in the abstraction, she was real. Lips fit for song, eyes to beheld meaning, and painted beauty as costume.
βββThen β
βββSomething reflected light.
βββShe stilled.
βββBeneath her seat was a mirror cushioned by the grass. Small, handheld. A thing belonging to someone. Real. Tangible. Provocation by presence and circumstance: a thing-in-itself subjected to her senses.
βββThat β that was enough. She was needed. If left unattended, it could be stolen; if left ignored, it would mean she had abandoned something that required care.
βββShe leaned forward, fingers hovering over its frame, her reflection warped in the glass. Still, she did not move to pick it up.
βββNot yet.
βββSince the masquerade, Lady Jiao Bi felt herself return.
Lin Yixin figured, at the end of the day, it was best to be seen being sociable at an event like this. Sociable with Soteran nobles, to show that he was not prejudicial or begrudging; sociable with Asterian nobles, to show the good relationship he had with his people. Even sociable with the servants at the royal palace, to come across polite and respectful.
He had been an outgoing boy once and he tried his best to channel that into his adult self. Laughing freely, drinking happily, there was a sparkle in his eye that only the most practiced observer would know was fake. He danced politely with everyone with whom it was proper, his dance called mostly filled paused for refreshments between songs, taking one quiet moment to glower and brood at his terrible suffering in being forced to be social. It seemed the world around him was ignoring him for the moment, so he thought it was safe to let his face fall, to be bitter and resentful just for a moment. He brought his facade back quickly, only to turn and realise that the lapse had been observed.
"A lovely evening, isn't it?" he tried. Perhaps it would go unremarked upon. "I've been enjoying the... Jesters. They're remarkable entertainment. I wonder what their songs mean?"
