Open The Masquerade Ball

[Elysium]

Clearing his throat, a masked individual ascended the dais, voice mysteriously amplified so as to reach the ears of everyone in the ballroom. ”Attention lords and ladies!” He called. ”It is time for the Masquerade Date Auction!” In one hand, he held a flute of champagne, which he vigorously tipped back, spilling some of the contents across the front of his tuxedo. The hour had drawn late enough that such revelry was second nature to the inhabitants of Lhavit. Many laughed while others cat called. All the while, a crowd began to form around the staging area.

Once the man had drained the flute, he set it on the tray of a passing server. ”Now then!” He called, pulling a paper from his coat pocket and fumbling with it for a moment. To Alses, this man would seem eerily familiar, as if she’d seen his masked face before. ”Allow me to explain how the auction works. We shall be calling all ladies considered both lovely and eligible, in the effort to raise kina for the reconstruction effort. Now mind you, these are no ordinary dames, but the finest in all the land, so to both guys and gals alike – don’t be shy! We don’t discriminate! We appreciate here in the City of the Stars!” The last word was punctuated by a belch, drawing raucous laughter from those nearest.

’You’re drunk!’ A voice called. ”Moderately!” The man replied, pinching his thumb and forefinger together. ”A bit. Somewhat. Moving on!” The crowd laughed, which came as no surprise, many of them in a similar state of mind.

”I shall call each lady by name so that she might come to the stage. From there, I’ll advertise her lovely qualities. The bidding shall begin after the time in which I’m done speaking,” he gestured grandly, ”and you all shall begin flailing about, trying to put forth money in order to win her presence for a night. Now, no funny business. I will have you know that certain folk here sport very attractive, very pointy horns on which they will not hesitate to impale you. Not to mention those who can easily put your lights out from across the room. Now!”

After the comedic and somewhat heartening speech, nearly the entire ballroom gathered all around. Servers moved through the throngs of people, handing out tiny wooden fans to those interested, so that they could hold them up once the bidding began. The fans were on the whole, rather attractive for simple little things, patterned like souvenirs.

Peering at the paper, he hiccupped. ”First to the stage, please put your hands together for the inimitable, unforgettable, irrefutably beautiful Miss Cassandra Southwind!”

And all craned to see who and where she was.

[Wendell Botwind]

As he was a bit of a shy wallflower, Wendell had been standing by himself for the most part but now that the auction was commencing he became interested and went to listen to the man talking.

Wendell held a flute of champagne in his left hand and he wore a quicksilver robe and a domino mask of moons and stars. As he was neither handsome nor muscular he had never been much of a fellow who naturally attracted ladies, and he was reasonably certain that he would never be auctioned off himself. But a chance to bid on someone else appealed to him, and so he decided to seriously watch and listen to the various choices.

It did not matter to him if he won or not; he was a nice guy and was simply happy to be helping the reconstruction effort.

[Engghaen]

A small girl dressed in blue stepped into the ballroom. She didn't look very happy. She wasn't, either. Engghaen had no intention to go to the ball whatsoever, but Brandon should be there and that was always a reason for her to go. Alone, she wouldn't dare, but maybe with others she would. She was, after all, a rather shy person and she didn't like parties. They were too busy, they gave her major headaches and everyone got drunk. That wasn't fun in her opinion. Fun was being alone, looking at the stars at nighttime. Nonetheless, she had put all those thoughts aside and had come to the ball.

She was late. The party had already started and it was busy, as she had expected. She had forgotten how late it would start and pulling on her dress had been quite a disaster. People were being jolly and there were lots of different kinds of food being served around. What it was, she didn't know and didn't care to anyway. First priority now was to find Brandon and maybe someone else she knew, but chances were small that she would. She wasn't the best known person in Lhavit, but she also had a small plan in the back of her head. To get a date. This was the perfect moment to find berself a date. Brandon was a good guy, but she didn't date him and she did really want to bond to someone.

The girl stared at the dresses of others. Some were very eccentric, with layers and layers and layers of fabric. They were beautiful. Herself, she was wearing an aqua blue dress she had borrowed. Her goal was to keep it clean so she wouldn't have to pay all those Kinas to get it fixed and clean again. Personally, she found it was too long and thick, but it galantly curled down her hips, her upper body framed with a drarker blue lace. She didn't mind to do her hair much, and had put it up partly, leaving the longest tips of her hair rund down her back but forming a small knot on her head. Around her neck was a silver piece of jewelery, shape of a hourclock, completing her outfit.

The cat went to the side of the ballroom. She felt like a black sheep midst of white, beautiful ones. Most of the people had turned at least a little tipsy. She wanted to stay away from that. No reason to get drunk tonight. There was no reason for a party, anyway. Sighing, she stood a bit clumsily. What to do? She couldn't relax. Maybe people would hate her dress. Maybe Brandon was here for ages and had found someone else to go with. Maybe there was nobody liking her.

In the only shades she could find, she was listening to someone saying something. She could barely make up what he said, but surely the man was drunk. It was something about.. An auction? Oh no. She had totally forgotten about that. In a whim, the girl had signed herself up for that auction. It was for the construction and some people were glad to pay for that. She just wanted a date and thought that maybe she could just put herself in for that. It ment, that she was being auctioned off as well. She'd get a date with someone she knew nothing about. It was a frightening idea, but well, she couldn't escape now.

Turning away, she finally spotted Brandon in the crowd. A big streak of jealousy hit her. He was dancing with yet another beautiful woman. Compared to her she was just a little, whimsical young girl. Her mood turned worse and the bad thoughts started spinning again. Now she was sure no one would bid on her or even talk to her. Or offer her a drink while she really didn't want to. She had seen some gentlemen do that to other women, but surely no one would be interested in her. A voice in her head told her to step forward into the crowd, so people could see her. A bit unknowing what to do, she did and sighed. People were everywhere. She could see some getting drunk and others trying to attract someone. No one would be interested in her.

Tears were welling in her eyes. Why did she go here again? It was a bad idea. A horrible idea. She should just go away after the auction.. Oh, it was a disaster. She didn't want to dance. She didn't want to be merry or get drunk. She just wanted someone to make those bad thoughts go away.
x

[Agnusha]

Truth to be told, a party was not Agnusha's kind of favorite event to be attended. She was okay with the idea of revelry and merriment of course, moreover with such disaster that struck the city last Fall. Most of the time she just felt not fit to be there, in the crowd. The other reason was... because most party would be started after Syna went down behind the horizon, and she didn't like to attract much attention. Which would be hard enough when a pair of horn was protruding from both side of her head. This one was no exception. But since all Lhavitian would come -- even Lady Zintilla, the idea of missing the Ball was quite unacceptable. Not to mention that Tian, her master Philterer had tormented her to do preparations for days. She seemed to be very excited about the Ball.

Agnusha wore silken dress that goes sleeveless to her shoulder, violet shades of new twilight was her color tonight. She kept her hair high at the back but leaving flocks of her white hair to be fallen and framed her head at the left side. It was truly time consuming to made up the hair because she was doing it alone, but in the end she couldn't admit that it was excellent but at least good enough. A sapphire settled neatly at her forehead replacing the absent of a mask. It was fake one, some kind of cheap jewelry one could find at azure market, yet it was quite a nice replica. In general, her appearance may be way too simple for the ball -- in contrast with Tian's sophisticated gown -- but she didn't mind it.

The Philterer seemed to mingle with crowd easily. And as usual, the apprentice decided to retreat. Glided among the attendants of the Ball, with a glass of a liquor she didn't even know the name as company. She tried to mingle but with everyone wearing mask, it was nearly impossible to recognize anyone. And she didn't know much. She just walked here and there, heading toward random direction and pretending that she was looking for someone. She couldn't help but wonder if she could stumble upon someone she might know, or someone who might know her. She let out a deep sigh. Not a chance. Now she knew what was worst than not going to a party where you're invited. Attending a party and having no one to talk with.

After music began to fill the air and many people started their dance. Agnusha find herself retreated once again. Her step was light even without the alcohol in her blood, carefully dodged a pair of young man and woman not to disrupt their mome -- wait -- A flash of memory drew her eyes toward the young woman. She painted her face in a fiery color that matched her blazing hair. Could it be the same Inarta she had met before at the rooftop? Krisa? Agnusha stared blankly for a tick before shaking her head and turned away. She couldn't be her. Krisa couldn't be the only Inarta in the city, could she? Even if she was Krisa, she had found someone she could talk to... and she better get someone for herself.

She found a way out between another dancing pair and trotted slowly towards what seemed to be another corner of the Ethereal Opera House. The crowd was thinner here for most of the guest was dancing, or considering to join the dance. She admitted that the musicians was doing an excellent work to entertain the attendants. Agnusha kept walking silently toward the end of the corner before realizing that the corner it self was occupied. A little girl with bright blue dress stood alone, much like herself. She looked down with glittering tears run through her cheek.

Putting her glass on a nearby table, she took several step toward the girl. Her hand automatically reached for her pocket where she usually kept the handkerchief. But there was no handkerchief that night. In fact her dress didn't even have pockets. Still she knelt down next to the girl, touching her shoulder smoothly and trying not to make her afraid. "Are you alright? What happen?" She meant her word with much sincerity and hoping that the girl wouldn't be terrified with her sudden appearance.

[Jenni Twilight]

x

Jenni listened patiently to Julius' continued speech, still directed mostly at Lady Alses. She was about to quirk an eyebrow up the offer of a dance came around - to which she would graciously deny - but an interruption came that caused her to glance in it's direction. A slightly less-than-stable man was announcing the start of the Masquerade Date Auction, throwing up jokes and comments. Her face paled visibly... she was technically part of this. Though it hadn't bee her first choice, someone had persuaded her to do it 'for the good of Lhavit', or something like that. They had been quite determined. Normally this kind of thing was not her usual preference... but she didn't have a choice.

But she did have a choice on who she was with when the announcement came. Namely... not with people she knew. Julius, maybe... she barely knew the man, but he seemed alright. However, she was certainly not going to be in the dignified presence of Lady Sela... she wouldn't have been able to stand it. Even the thought made her shudder. Trying to bring her face back to a pleasant expression, she nodded to both man and woman. "I apologize for this, but I'm going to have to take my leave from this intriguing conversation. It was quite enjoyable." Smiling, she slipped away into the crowd, feeling a blush rising in her cheeks, barely postponed. She wasn't comfortable with this, and was regretting the decision immensely.

After sighing heavily, she gulped down the contents of her glass, barely bothering with the taste now. Maybe alcohol would help. Just as she set it down to the side, a remarkably bad comment about Ethaefal came up, causing her to wince. His other mention of 'turning out your lights' could either mean actual lights, in which a Dawn Tower reimancer was in need to put out the flames. Or he could actually mean death, in which the horizon was broadened. Or both. You could never quite tell, when someone was as obviously drunk as the announcer. He'd even admitted it, earlier.

Luckily, the first person announced was not herself, but rather a woman named 'Cassandra Southwind'... whoever that was. Well, when they approached the stage, the morpher would be able to see the woman's face. Everyone would, at least. And then the auctioning would begin... she didn't dare think how embarrassing that would be. She'd need to as calm as all get out to smile during that. What if she didn't want a date? There was no getting out of it, however... so there was little she could do.

Common - Nari/Crook - NPC - Writing - Reading

x

[Alses]

e

The bells had passed in a rather delightful blur of auristic impressions, fine food and wine and light, frothy conversation that bubbled with merriment forever only just under the surface and often breaking through. The Ethereal Opera rang with laughter, fuelled by champagne and dancing, a rippling overtone to the soothing classical melodies that the orchestra was valiantly weaving for the dancers.

Alses had been drinking in the atmosphere and the alcohol; even chained in her mortal form, she was expansive and ebullient, merry and with two spots of high colour on her cheeks – not that they could be seen, the mask adding another layer of protection, of hiding from reality.

Dancing, she’d avoided like the plague, turning down Julius’ gallant offer. Bereft of the unconscious grace her celestial form granted, especially considering her own lack of skill or experience with the artform – and having seen the Ethereal Ballet perform, it most definitely was an art – she’d concentrated on mingling, instead.

Such a lovely word, mingling, encompassing such a wide range of activities: she’d swept off through the crowds on a number of occasions, the susurrus of weighty gold and silk drifting behind her as she wove as elegantly as her mortal chain allowed through the party throng towards the tables and around the dancefloor, always laughing, always talking, exchanging the pleasantries and the bows left, right and centre. Always moving, always shifting, never in one place long enough that her company became boring or she ran out of things to say.

Now, though, as the ballroom merrily gave the dais at one end its mostly-undivided attentions, Alses slowed and came to a stop, still with a glimmering champagne flute in one hand, head tilted to regard the oddly, oddly familiar gentleman serving as an inebriated Master of Ceremonies. Where Lili A’realia had gone, Alses had no idea – and didn’t particularly care to speculate. Normally this would have been her duty, surely, but the warmth of experienced alcohol, the reassuring presence of the disguised guards and the bubbly atmosphere of the ball all kept Alses unconcerned.

Indeed, the majority of her brain was tangled up with something altogether more pressing: ‘Where have I seen him before?’

There was…something…about their tipsy emcee that was tickling and niggling at the back of her brain, some unconscious leitmotif bringing buried synapses to incoherent life. Unable to remember from a purely physical standpoint, she reached out with magic, that ever-eager companion – she never forgot an aura. Or at least, her magic didn’t, filling her brain with recollections and remembrances.

Golden cords were just winding through the upper reaches of the ballroom – the better to rise above the changeable tides generated by the drink-fuelled guests – when the surprise announcement of the Auction sent cold, icy chills prickling up her back. The buried memories in the stones, impressions of the bad old days drowned under thick layers of happier times, roared to life and bayed in her brain, feeding off and feeding into the sudden, anticipatory hunger of the assembled crowd.

This had been a slave market, once; surely it wasn’t about to become one once again? Alses felt her face drain pale and she swayed even as she glanced frantically about for Zintila – surely the Starry Queen wouldn’t allow such a travesty?

Her concentration was shattered, her focus lost and her magic dissipated before it could reach the dais. That wasn’t important now, it had been shoved to the back of her brain with the latest set of developments. All oblivious to the effect his words had had, the emcee carried on, and as he did so and Alses registered what was said, the atmosphere became lighter, blood rushed back to her face – once again, she was inexpressibly glad of the mask – and she felt privately foolish for being so…vulnerable…to the past.

This was for charity, people had presumably signed up. Slavery didn’t enter into it. Calmed and massively relieved, making her way along with everyone else to crowd around the dais, Alses reached out once more – but her concentration was shattered, blasted into a thousand thousand pieces of spinning confusion at the announcement of the first…volunteer? Offering? ‘Lamb to the slaughter?’ whispered a cynical little part of her.

Cassandra Southwind.

Cass.

The spiky, defensive Svefra had volunteered herself for this? And at an auction for a date, no less – to a people who were largely a stranger to her.

Bold, daring – potentially dangerous, although Cass could take care of herself, in the event, and in any case, the Shinya were never far away.

But still…

Newly-acquired fan in hand – ebony-lacquered wood, white fabric and gilt jasmine flowers, a pretty little trinket – Alses craned to see over and around the taller guests all around, gave up, and made adroit use of the distraction to make her way to the front row or two of people around the dais, near to Jenni Twilight and Julius Starr once more.

Her stomach was suddenly full of butterflies as she gazed at the empty, waiting dais, all conversations forgotten. She’d not even known that Cassandra was attending, and now the girl would be paraded before the great and good of the city like a prize Okomo. Irritation, irrational and strong, surged through her for a moment before she regained some measure of calm, before the little rational voice in the back of her head whispered its soothing thoughts and she was able to relax an unconsciously white-knuckle grip on her fan.

In an effort to calm herself, to make herself normal – why did it matter that Cassandra was feting herself to all and sundry? This was a masquerade, after all; that was what happened – Alses turned to address Jenni, only to find that the woman had elegantly slipped off somewhere, the tail-end of a pretty excuse hanging in the air, half-heard. She blinked, rather nonplussed, but there was little time for surprise.
e

[Brandon Blackwing]

x

As a voice echoed through the room, and the people gathered around a baldachin of sorts, Brandon halted his clumsy movements, the pathetic excuse for a dance and turned towards the speaker to see what was going on. Due to the heat generated by “dancing” he had put off his mask, which was now serving as some kind of hat. Now however, he put it back on, completing his outfit again and made him anonymous once more. He gave Krisa a small bow and declared he had had a lot of fun dancing with her, which was true, and suggested they’d listen to what was said.

The man was obviously drunk, spilling some sort of liquid on his tuxedo, belching extremely loud and speaking with the tongue of a drunk. Disgusting he found it, really disgusting. Though it was indeed a party and time to indulge in alcoholic drinks and expensive foods, the bat was of the opinion that one had to be at least a little bit … well, not sober but in an appropriate state of mind and body to present some sort of date auction, whatever that might be. But that was just his opinion, and he didn’t know a thing about parties. For all he knew things always turned out like this at upper class balls.

Actually, he wasn’t one to speak as the alcohol in his blood had been clouding his mind for quite a while as well. He couldn’t hold his liquor as well as most people, something he’d experienced during fall, something he’d rather not remember, but it kept popping up in his mind whenever alcohol was served. He knew from the unsteady feeling in his legs he’d drunk way to much already, having even grabbed drinks from passing servers while dancing. Not that he actually cared about it anymore, a constant smile was painted on his face and although they were somewhat obscured by his mask, one would notice his pupils had shrunk quite a bit.

A server passed through right now, and Bran’s hand shot out, reaching for the objects he carried, but to his disappointment it wasn’t a beverage, but a fan. He frowned, why were they handing out fans? Sure, it was rather warm inside but not too hot that one needed to fan some cold air to their face. The thief opened the object with a motion of his fingers and started to force the air to blow through Krisa’s hair, while he chuckled of contentment with his new toy.

Then Cassandra’s name was called and Bran ceased his actions, turning around hoping to catch a glimpse of her. He hadn’t known she had been attending the party as well, and he wondered what kind of clothes she wore. Somehow he suspected she’d be wearing her regular clothes instead of a dress, he just couldn’t imagine her wearing one. Only then he understood the meaning of her name being spoken by this drunk auctioneer; she’d signed up for auction. She was going to be auctioned away! For one or other reason he found that very funny, the proud woman, like he saw her, had signed up for something like this? No way!

And he started laughing, his posture crumbling, his unsteady legs almost unable to support his body, convulsing like a fish on the land. The bat realised he was rolling over the floor, with tears pearling down his cheeks and he couldn’t stop. He was choking in it, but he couldn’t stop. Every now and then his body took in a much needed gulp of air, but it was consumed too quickly for him to feel any less smothered. After a while, the loud and full sound of his laugh died when there were no exhalations anymore to carry it out his body. It felt as if his belly was one with his back, and his lungs were glued or squeezed in between. Finally it stopped, and the bat could breathe again, he hauled himself to his feet, stumbling, a new wave of laughter rolling over him when his thoughts returned to the funny situation. This one was shorter though, stopping after a couple of ticks before a new one started. It continued like this for a while until eventually he was able to make an end to it.

x

credit goes to Euthisa

[Cassandra Southwind]

oocSo many posts all of a sudden! Sorry I'm like the last to reply.

Though the champagne had proved to be more acidic than her liking, Cass was not without drink. Fit young servers with absurdly clean clothes came by her with so many trays of them, colorful concoctions which she accepted with abandon. At first she took whatever she could get, but as the night wore on she requested straight, cold rum and offered the quickest server a jade kina for every glass he brought her thereafter. Thoroughly wetted, she found vantage of her reveling cousins and watched them protectively from afar, refusing any offer to dance.

Such was her duty, and one she preferred to the burden of mingling or merry-making. She watched Maggie carefully long after their elder cousin had given up on dissuading her, flitting from one boy to the next like the belle she was meant to be. Marina chatted awkwardly with her limited knowledge of the language, taking to the floor only when asked and never for more than one song. Cassandra was primed to steal across the hall and pull them away from any harm that might befall them, but of course none did. When the magnified man at the dais began to speak, Cass did not turn to look at him.

As the great crowd around them gazed in one unified direction, the Southwind Svefra skirted through it and met where Cassandra stood. Her trained glare faltered when she saw them both wearing knowing smiles; her expression was not one of mutual happiness but rather one of confusion, which turned quickly into dread. Cassandra probably understood the Lhavitian’s slurred words best, for all of the days she had spent in the city market that season. She shook her head wildly at Maggie and Marina, downing her drink just in time to receive another and, with it, making toward the door.

But it had been a long time since she had actually walked, and then she had been much more sober. She stumbled, spilling a bit of rum on the nice marble floor. The hands that caught her did not let go, giggling that the protests which fell from her in drunken mumbles. A gurgling river of Fratava poured from their three mouths as all eyes realized whose name had been spoken and turned on her. Cassandra Southwind could only shrug her cousins off when she promised she would go up on stage, regaining what little dignity to concentrate on climbing the steps and crossing to the center of the dais.

"I'll get you back for this," she said in Fratava, once she had reached her dreaded spotlight. The words were addressed to her cousins, though she could only assume that there was no one else who could understand them. She could not recognize anyone else in the crowd--she could barely see them, through the dizzying haze of drink that clawed at her vision.

There was a strong glare on her face, but there was a playful smile in her eyes. Those that did not know her may not have seen it, witnessing instead a fierce young woman who stood taller than her height. If she was going to play the fool in front of the entire city, she was going to do it her own way. Through her stupor she made at intimidation, chugging the contents of her glass and throwing it savagely on the ground. As the delicate crystal shattered at her feet, her bright blue eyes peered through her mask and over the crowd, daring the first man to make their bet.

[Elysium]

All eyes fell on her, the inhabitants of the ballroom frozen in time for a single moment, before the drunken auctioneer cleared his throat. ”Er, well then! Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you: Cassandra Southwind!” He shot a nervous glance her way before very prudently, taking a step back. ”Cassandra here is second to none in her martial prowess. Bearing the blood of Laviku himself, she is as keen with a cutlass as she is with a sail! Beware – she’ll steal your heart and be halfway to Zeltiva before you know it!” Smoothing the front of his tuxedo, he began.

”Bidding starts at one hundred kina!” He cried.

The ballroom was silent. One chime passed, then another. And then a voice broke the silence.

”Five hundred.” It said. All in the vicinity of the man turned at once, some breaking out in gasps. Clad in a fine suit stood a larger than life individual with a long chestnut mane, smiling broadly at the girl. He was accented in gold, holding his wooden fan high above the crowd, hair tied neatly at the nape of his neck. Everything about him was compelling, from his head to his feet and he seemed intent on the challenge in Cassandra’s eyes.

”No finer woman has ever graced the halls of this Opera House,” he said simply, low voice strangely hypnotic.

”Okay, we’ve got five hundred! Going once, going twice…”

”Six hundred kina!” Another called. All that turned would see none other than the inestimable Ald’gare Dusk, a wicked gleam in his eyes. Many laughed at the gall of the patriarch, standing up to this masked stranger.

And so the auction was off. With the ice broken, the bidding began in earnest. ”Six hundred! Do I hear seven hundred kina?”

”Seven hundred!”

”Seven fifty!”

”Seven fifty going once, going twice…”

It begins!Now is your chance to buy a date with Cassandra – or not, depending! But look out. It appears we have some tough customers on the floor!

[Wendell Botwind]

Wendell watched the proceedings with keen interest as he found the entire concept of an auction fascinating.

He did not see himself as a very material sort of person as he had never really known either hunger or opulence; his father had been a practical man who made just enough to get by. And so where others might find themselves fascinated by mythical creatures or exotic races, Wendell found himself eagerly watching the bidding war over Cassandra.

Much of it went over his head-- and the sheer amount of Kinas being offered and bid was mind-boggling to him-- but he stood there in his bespoke masquerade outfit, flute of champagne in hand, and realized that for the first time in his life, he had a goal. He wanted to be able to bid, but he did not have enough Kinas, and he was not the sort to pretend he had it when he did not.

He did not know Cassandra or any of the other women here... that was not the point. He had thought to come and help out Lhavit by spending a few Kinas for the rebuilding efforts, but his meager coin was clearly meaningless (or close to it) here. Even if he had raised his hand, he would have been outbid in the first chimes.

Until now he'd just been a teenager, living off his parents and taking Lhavit for granted but at this moment he realized something about himself: he wanted to increase his ability to do things. That might mean getting a job, or finding some other sort of income, or it might mean something else: getting involved in politics or making various connections around the city of Lhavit.

And he might totally fail, no matter what he attempted. He was not from any family of importance and he had very little going for him. But here and now, seeing all these handsome and beautiful people bedecked in finery and having a grand time with each other, he realized that he at least needed to try. Pondering and reflecting on all he might accomplish, he realized that so long as he kept trying, he could one day look back and know that he gave Lhavit his best shot.

Which he had not done so far.

And so he needed to be more than who he was-- he needed to change. So that some day he could be here in a place like this, spending as many Kina as he desired-- be it for his own desires, or to help the general economy of Lhavit.