Noble Order [Open Prompt]

[Mino]

1 Searing 122

Did he even know — no; he did.

Mostly because they had sent an invitation, like this was supposed to be any other social gathering. Was it, truly? Lesser houses coming together to…discuss the turn in their governing. Mino, himself, didn’t have so much of an eye for politics. Just an ear to the pulse of it to relay back to the Ladies. They would know what to do with it. There was a measure of discontent that was almost palpable in the air as nobles crossed the threshold. Lady Blue had since resigned herself from most social outings following the ever eventful wedding reception of the crown prince.

He couldn’t blame her.

The rathari scanned the smattering of nobles already gathered. Young, old; startlingly young, this crowd was. Upstarts that would inherit the family name and the wealth and power. Those that didn’t seem to think their Queen Regent’s takeover to have been for the benefit of the people. But, he wondered, if they really cared for the benefit of the people. More like, the benefit for themselves. It would put House Briathos in a position of power greater than before just by association. The power of rumor was something that every Lekivian knew well.

But the people around him — these were much lower houses. Merchants, new money, dwindling old money; individuals that were struggling to assert their own power. Faces that he knew, but not well. Brows raised as he met eyes with one such face. A name he couldn’t quite place, but he could place that house emblem worn on leather armor. Decorative, of course. It, and the individual, cut a path through nobles to stop before him and Mino took a moment to catch each and every feature on the other’s face before jumping to those around them. To see, mostly, their reaction.

“It is an honor for a member of House Lekivian to join us.” He had only missed that first part of the greeting, coming back to focus on the younger noble before him in time to meet the much deeper bow with a pleased smile and a shallow bow. A dip of his chin in acknowledgement, really. “I know you were present for the events of —” The other cut themself off, lips pursed. Right; he was starting to place this one just a smidge more now. A careful orator; ambitious. A minor house that had always been at least two steps behind Mino’s own, and a target of theirs for various reasons. “I pray this doesn’t…dredge up anything too unpleasant.”

His smile was mostly teeth. The gleam of elongated canines and sharpened cuspids. “It’s an honor to have been invited.” He gestured with one hand, a half turn to cover most of the crowd. “This gathering of minds will prove to be enlightening, I think.” Stupid; they had other things to worry about. Mino’s smile widened just a touch as the other laughed softly.

“Truly — we must speak out against such tyranny as been exhibited.” Pretty, empty words. None of them would do jackshit. “We must appoint a new leader, as is customary. To have such a choice robbed of us is going against the tradition we’ve followed. In unprecedented times, we must look to the stability of that tradition, those regulations.” Passionate — and still stupid.

Mino could already feel the headache forming.

[Blythe]

The young Briathos noble had counted herself as one in attendance with today's audacious gathering. She hadn't come to any conclusion on her quiet meandering on whether this soiree was a hair shy of treason. She moved forward each step in careful measure as the deep blue velvet shimmered from torch and lantern light as the black robe advanced.

Some took head of the color and stepped back out of respect or fear of the sorceress. The way she moved was calculated as to draw attention of her ominous approach, whispers began there hushed spread upon her slow and steady stride. As a student of the college of entropy she expected this.

Blythe took a deep breath in to calm her nerves concealed by her hoods shadow and fabric, so many eyes were cast upon her and the pressure was on as she could feel the stress and anxiety building up within her chest. She was here to save lives, but she knew she had to choose her words carefully.

As she exhaled to relieve herself of the tension. She began storing this toxic feeling of dread within herself using the feeling of stress as a weapon as she bottled it as an affliction if the need arise.

She half expected them to scatter like roaches in a silent admission of guilt, so she forfeited the idea of exposing her true identity. If her presence was known it would be a disaster as there had to of been a leak of information for an heir of Briathos to be in attendance.

In her eyes they were rats looking to scavenge power at the expense of Kalzasi. Could they not see the nation was at war and if divided they could potentially fall? There were no food shortages, no water shortages and the luxuries were still available to those that could afford them.

No the only thing she saw was discontent with peasants that managed to make themselves kings of there petty domains. That moved for greed at the expense of the common man, her house remained in power because of there loyalty to Kalzasi. And with that said this was neither the time or place to disrupt the status quo. They needed to focus on the threat at hand and to the nation.

She'd take a moment to draw the hood back exposing long white voluptuous hair that was wild and free. Her pointed ears seemed to bounce gently to the noises surrounding her while her luminous eyes seemed to glow in bewitching radiance. Her smile was sly and devilish as she was adamant about her stance on the matter.

And there she stood in silence waiting to hear the proposition so that she may formulate a proper rebuttal. As she tool precaution as not to have her sleeve slip and expose her houses Signet Ring.

[Mino]

In the sea of nobles, she stood out.

The paltry stench of magic that clung to the mages within the nobility was enough for Mino to know who might be best to steer somewhat clear of on most occasions. Just enough that they would be annoying in some sense to be around if he had intentions of taking. But she stood out because she wore that magical stench with pride: with a robe. The parting of noble peers also helped in setting the stage for some measure of who she was. Portraiture of the great houses wasn’t as much a commodity among the nobility as it was the peasantry and that might have been why they wouldn’t know — and truth be told, Mino was rusty on his study of great houses outside of the ones that Lady Blue had ordained as being important to focus on. But: none would realized who was in their midst beside her being some powerful wizard.

House Briathos was unpredictable in a way that made Mino’s skin crawl with both anticipation and discomfort. An invisible ledge on a building he would have to leap from eventually, given his encounter with another member of the house. This woman had a scent not that far off, to be honest. A curious tip of his head as he watched her approach the spacious seating. A depression in the architecture of the room, with cushions lining benches as nobles sat and lounged with a wide table with water coursing through carrying drinks and snacks to be plucked up by all seated around. Mino snatched a handful of grapes as they passed, gaze on the woman as she remained standing.

Their host, however, barreled on as those invited — and not — made themselves comfortable.

“It is not to say that our Queen Regent is incapable of ruling over us, but I do not think it is right to ignore tradition when the people need something familiar. We had a demigod for a crown prince, and should have foreseen that there should be a threat to us.” He made no announcement of himself — surely, all those in attendance would know him since he had sent out the invitations (sadly, he would be mistaken to think so) — as he stood, walking around the pit with a glass in his hand. Presumably to offer it to Blythe. “But we cannot also overlook that this decision was made with intense emotion involved. We are at war and need someone who will not be ruled by such emotion. If our…Queen should be so ridden with her emotion — it could consume us along with her.”

Maybe there was some merit to what he had to say. Mino was not one to think much about the emotion that went into the decisions made by Lady Blue. He’d not seen her as anyone with much of an emotional range, but his meeting with Sahfri had only made him feel as though she were one individual that would know herself as well as any. So — a point made, but not applicable, in the rathari’s mind. As their gracious host passed by Blythe, the Lekivian noble raised his hand in greeting to her, gestured for her to sit by him. One spot occupied to his left, but the right free with his legs having taken up the space in his lounging. Easily rearrangeable.

Somewhere around the pit, their host had begun speaking again, but toward someone that had uttered words of agreeance. A murmur of assent with these claims went through the nobles, nods where there was no speech. Several shifted glances and ah. Looked like he wouldn’t be the only scoping out who actually believed any of this.

[Shuai Chisuo]

The only reason Shuai was in attendance was because he was told to be by the elders since it was not like he had anything better to do. Something which he should take offence to but... he was only there because that statement was in fact true.

Not that there were no benefits to it, there were plenty of food and refreshments. Of course such things were trivial to nobles, being most of the attendees there including Shuai but, it did mean that Shuai did not have to go through the trouble of deciding what he wanted to eat that day or when or how- the boring questions really and it also gave him the chance to try something from another kitchen. His only concern if any was whether this kitchen was any good, not that he could even ask about that without the risk of offending his host. The other concern was what he was even there for which when he asked those who sent him was answered with a 'whatever the fuck you want'. Did that mean that he would have the backing of the house? Or that he would solely be responsible for whatever he does? At least he did not have to think much. That was what the booze was for which, come to think of it...

Was already working it seems. Who was this other gaudy person calling him the boorish help? Granted Shuai knows his own family does not like to be in the public eye too much, hence the entire issue with his father's more adventurous days in the past, but it seems to be a little shortsighted to try and simply offend anyone in a gathering of nobles such as this one. There was no telling who was who- unless you were one of those nobles who were always keeping an eye on the whos who and whats what. With that in mind Shuai simply ignored the other and continued to enjoy the spread as he watched the proceedings of the summit at least the other said something which really should not have come out in polite company. Shuai himself growing tired of being polite simply showed the weapon on his side, not too big but proof enough to show that he knows how to use it if he had no trouble carrying it around and said in a low growl "get lost or I'll meet you in the arena, you really don't want that do you or to start some trouble with some other house where everyone is watching just because you don't have the stones say something which matters about the war."

Ah nobles, all bark and no bite. Now that they have finally reached the topic of the queen and the war they were all here for, would it be just another example of that?