The Unnamed Custom

[Taelian]

42nd of Frost, Year 119

"Vividly imagine the picture I am about to detail; imagine its corners, fine lines, each independent touch. Imagine this story as if it were a painting, with its artistry spanned across the length of a temple wall. Like one of the Elven monuments of old."

"Okay," the Understudy softly replied. Eloise acknowledged his agreement by carrying on.

"I am going to tell you of House Blanciet. The point of this 'game' is not to discover what happened to them; I will tell you their ends before we even begin. The House was completely culled -- every last member, slain. Their estate was enveloped with fire; their name was smeared even after their elimination, like the burning of witches. They were so despised -- so reviled -- as to be immortalized by the peasantry as symbols of decadence and rot. And among the Valran, and Entente... symbols of weakness. Of what must come when the Candor is treated with mistrust; when its concepts are not adhered to. When the game is not only not won, but entirely lost."

And so, he imagined, the details would begin.

"In order to properly envision the progression towards Blanciet's demise, you must understand their individual members. Montese Louen Blanciet, the patriarch of the House... Gillian, the matron, Cailan their son, Anna Clara their eldest daughter, and Henrietta their youngest. All of them were mages; two children were lost to early initiations, as is common in Daravin. Most often, around half of all children born to the Nobility will die. It is why they consume salves to increase fertility, and why they resort to Necromantic arts to alter the way in which new life is conceived. They play a game with chance, and they often lose. But Blanciet was not downtrodden in this matter; they had three mage children, and each of them a talented youth. Let us entail them, one by one."

[Taelian]

"We will begin with Louen. A human man, nearly fifty years of age. He and Gillian were young lovers -- a fortunate affair, as many in Daravin find their romances arranged in some way, often as a result of arcane talent and supposed bloodline. Gillian was a powerful mage on-par with her husband, who himself was a Reaver and Kinetic of invaluable skill. Living in the north of Daravin, near the warfront with Lorien, these skills decorated him as a great tool for the Emperor. He was given medallion after another; praise and recognition everlasting, though he was not fond of military affairs. For the purpose of this game, there will be three 'keys' that will piece together Blanciet's demise. Within what I have just told you is the first key, though I do not encourage you to look for it yet. Allow me to continue," Eloise requested.

Taelian nodded once more, allowing the story thus far to encircle his thoughts. He imagined there would be many more details.

"Gillian, his wife, was not a battle-mage: she was a manipulator of the mind. A practitioner of Mesmer and Masquerade, commonly conjoined in Daravinic court affairs, she acted as the organizer for every occasion whether trivial or grand. She coordinated the household wardrobe, their individual presentations, how they spoke and with what mannerisms they addressed certain individuals and in general; for her, aesthetic presentation was the pinnacle and root of all grace. It was nobility -- all of the duties and other pretenses of their transcendent class were largely an extension of their privilege over society. Nobility itself was all in appearance, in glamour; it was derived from opulence and fostered it so as to continue its own existence. To be truthful, Ebon Knight, this is not an incredibly original position within the Daravinic court. The Entente are the paragons of opulence; if you are ever invited to view within Amoren's lustrous halls, you will see. The glamour is beyond what is possible by mortal creation."

She continued. There were, after all, three members of Blanciet still remaining.

"Cailan was the eldest son. This did not necessarily make him the heir, as heirs are chosen in Daravin by the house-leader's will, determined by their magical skill. Even so, Cailan was chosen for he was a direct heir to his father in combative ability. He was an Elementalist, a Reaver like Louen, and a Transpositioner like us. Some say he consorted with the Choir of Fog, a latent Summoner, but certainly we can never know. Even some of the cult symbology and effigies of Summoners are common among the un-initiated Entente, who often consort with contraband beings. Regardless, Cailan was due to surpass his father by the time he was of equal age. He was, also, known to be more charming and measured in his speech -- a true Entente in the making. When he was selected as Louen's permanent heir, there was speculation in Genteven that he would soon become the Lord of Rathrouen at his current pace; the second most powerful ruler in the Empire's north. Alas. Cailan was filled with insatiable lust, and many of his desires were rather depraved. He fancied anomalies of human physiology, and even became rather skilled in Necromancy in order to build them. His slaves were all crafted by his own hand, as if they were sculpted like clay, carrying all of the traits he momentarily found attractive... until he did not. You can imagine this did not do well for him in the Candor," she mused.

It certainly did not.

[Taelian]

“Anna Clara follows. A traditional member of the old Entente, or so she prided herself, Anna was focused on academics and discipline. She was an articulate and poised woman, known for her severity of manner and the utter class with which she stood and acted. She portrayed strength and wisdom, and was incredibly private of her personal affairs, to the point where we still know little of them even now that she is dead. That, Taelian, is true mastery of the Candor: indeed, had Louen chosen properly, Anna Clara would have certainly been his heir. But he chose power over wisdom — as many of them often do.”

And, he supposed, it was time to elaborate upon the last one. Éloise took a brief pause in her speech, but shortly after began to narrate the last of the siblings.

“Henrietta was a vastly troubled individual, prone to emotional volatility. I… will not even dare to elaborate on her further; she was damning to her family and as it is our first game, I will spoil her demise and tell you that she was crucified by her family - quite literally so - as a spawn of evil, hung from a parapet with rope and chain. Barbaric? Perhaps, but common for endangering members of an elite family. Now that I have explained all of this to you, Taelian, I want you to point out to me their weaknesses and what you believe may have been exploited. The three keys.”

He curled his lip and again, silently, nodded. Taelian decided the likely best action was to return to the father and determine what exactly it was about him that was a… ‘key’, as Éloise described it. If he could do that, he would likely be able to piece together the remaining excerpts into a full story. Or so he thought.

“Louen… was not fond of military affairs. Did he make this publicly known?”

Éloise smirked. “Impressive catch; in a militaristic state like Daravin, a lack of jingoism can be a weakness. But no, he did not, and that is not the first key.”

By process of elimination, that meant it could really only be a few things; he did not wish to waste his attempts, even though she had not numbered them. “Was his…” he paused. He had meant to ask if his family had been displeasured by his relationship with Gillian, but he was the patriarch. It did not matter.

That left only the excerpt of how he and Gillian were young lovers, and how fortunate that was. He felt he had an idea of Eloise’s direction, then — the lesson she was trying to tell. Perhaps due to Riven, and the importance Taelian placed on him.

“Was their love, in some way, their downfall? Perhaps due to their passions… were they spurred to unwise decisions?” he asked.

The woman faintly grinned, and nodded. “Well done. That is correct; they made many irrational decisions in the court that led to the foundations of their downfall, largely due to emotional commitments of theirs. Including to one another. Or—no.” She raised her fingertip to her chin, as if she were remembering something. “That isn’t true, Taelian. Your first assertion was the truthful among them. I am flattered by your unquestioning trust in me, however. You are, unfortunately, very unscrutinizing. The first key of your demise will be your inability to distinguish truth from fiction.”

Taelian blinked. He did not understand how he would have noted her deception within the flow of their conversation; she said little, and her demeanor remained the same. There was no glint of mischief in her eyes, or…

“The unspoken truth is not a lie, but if you allow it to go unspoken, you are lying to yourself. You must learn to position yourself to challenge others; to do so without alerting them, shifting them slowly towards your purpose. This may be a game, but so is court. Take the rawness from it and focus on the aspects most consistent. Unchanging.”

[Etro]

♅ The Unnamed Custom ♅

XP: 5

Pieces of knowledge:

• Investigation: A Mock Case
• Investigation: Piecing a story together
• Investigation: Paying attention to spoken detail
• Politics: The dynamics of a noble House
• Politics: Counts
• Politics: Jingoism

Comments: I loved this the first time I read it, but reading it a second time only made it that much more intriguing. The tapestry woven about this house and the point Eloise was trying to make to Taelian was well written and draws the reader in rather well.