PM to join drive it home.

[Adrienna Lynint]

71st of Autumn, 514 AV It was well past dusk when the summons had come, and with them came a note of trepidation from the heart of Adrienna Lynint, who had perched at her table and was taking down notes of things she would need, would absolutely require for her advancement. The slave that had delivered the summons belonged to her brother, she could recognise the girl and the beauty her brother adored in his servants, and she'd given the only response she could. Alexander Lynint was not the type of man to accept a 'no'. He would come to her if his slave did not serve his purposes, and Adrienna did not want him in her room. The slave departed with Adrienna's agreement to Alexander's request, and she took a moment before closing her book to consider the request itself. He'd wanted her upon the grounds, near the slave buildings. It was an unusual request, and it insinuated that others would be invited to share the surprise that Alex wished to bestow upon his sister. Adrienna pursed her lips, concerned and piqued curiosity growing at what could be in store. After all, the summons had promised a game night, and there were many games that a Dynast might partake of. Perhaps it was Toss. Yes, it must be Toss. Eventually, Adrienna began the motions of preparing for a night of activity, donning pants, shirt, and boots as well as a coat for warmth. Her hands dived into her hair, sweeping the dark strands back from her face, and quickly twisting it into a knot. In ten chimes, Adrienna was at the designated meeting place, and she felt a sliver of welling unease at the sight that greeted her. Alexander was there, his arms folded behind his back and his chin tilted, as if he pondered some deep and meaningful truth that lesser people, like her, could not hope to understand. His guests that had shared the invite presented to Adrienna stood around him, milling about and sharing a few words. They did not matter. Only Alexander drew Adrienna's eyes, and the man who stood beside him as well. Lucian. Suddenly, Adrienna was on guard. However, she could not afford to show it, so she strode forward to Alexander and Lucian to address them and to send Lucian to his quarters. They had work to do in the morning and the slave had no place enjoying a game with Alexander's guests. "Good evening, brother." She addressed Alexander first, and the man turned slate eyes from the heavens in order to look down his narrow nose at his twin. Something twisted his mouth into a smirk, and he inclined his head. "Thank you for coming, Adrienna," he said. "Lucian, return to bed." Adrienna interrupted anything else her dear brother had to say by turning to her slave. Lucian opened his mouth to respond, and it was in that moment that Adrienna realised his hands were bound behind his back and that there was more in play here. She returned to Alexander, who had watched her. "This slave is mine. You have no right to bind him." Or to sentence him to a fate he doesn't deserve. She knew what this was. It had been years since it had been played upon Lynint soil, but her brother held an unhealthy fascination for tormenting his slaves that allowed Adrienna an insight into this. "Don't get all emotional, sister." The smirk that had been dancing over Alexander's mouth grew into an actual smile. His teeth flashed in the light of the torches set up to allow the Dynasts to see in the dark night. There was menace in there, but it was beneath the surface where the others could not bear witness. The situation was delicate, for Alexander was prying at something that had gone unspoken for far too long. "This man has been allowed to be too brash, too outspoken, and I don't appreciate it. There are more slaves and you can choose amongst them if this one can't win this simple little game." And he raised his hand to gesture. A lamp was carried from the house, leading a procession of slaves with bows and quivers of arrows. Adrienna, who had never held a bow before in her life, clenched her fists ever tighter. She had not looked away from Alexander, who had not looked away from her, and between them an unspoken sentiment was shared. Adrienna had to be pressed to accept her bow, while others were handed amongst the other Dynasts, and the slaves that had brought the objects returned to the house except the one with the lamp and Lucian himself, who had remained silent and wary. "Mingle, while I finish the arrangements," Alexander finally broke the silence between himself and his sister, jerking his head to the milling guests, Dynasty and Freeborn alike, and Adrienna curled her lip in a sneer that promised retribution before she obeyed him. If the Lynint Dynasty children were snakes, then Alexander had to be the biggest of them all. She stepped around him as he moved forward with the lamp bearer towards Lucian, fighting every urge to check up on her slave and betray the feelings she had for him. There was nothing to be ashamed of, but Alexander had already caught onto the bond between mistress and servant, and she did not wish anyone else to realise what had brought them all here. Now, she looked over the guests for a familiar face before slipping amidst their number.

[Adelaide Sitai]

Until the Lynint House loomed into view, Adelaide had still not been sure that she would attend the "game". At numerous points as she got dressed, called for the carriage, set off, left the Sitai plantation and everything consequently, she was on the verge of turning back around, ready to decide to spend a quiet evening at home with her thoughts rather than take part in the cruel power trip that she was certain she was attending.

Truly, the invitation had not stated what would be happening, but Adelaide wasn't stupid - or at least was far from considering herself so. Through the cloying, overly polite tone of the invite, so much so that she could not help but find it faintly patronising, she had made a note of the important details, like a detective honing her knowledge. The time and the place were the prime indicators of Coruscate, as was the not-so-cryptic note saying that "Equipment would be provided". It all pointed to that most vile, but most Kenashian, of 'sports', where the value of a human life (even if it were only the life of a slave) was second to the entertainment that the end of that life could provide a small group of idle dynasts. Naturally, it was different when used as a means of execution, but Adelaide was sure that that evening it would not be the case - she knew enough of the goings-on in Kenash to be able to keep track of slaves being executed for their crimes and she hadn't heard of any recent crime worthy of such a fate.

As the carriage tripped over stones and down dusty roads towards Silverbite, Adelaide's head felt like a bubble packed full of different emotions, a bubble in danger of bursting and letting out a stream of irregular and inconsonant emotions. In order to calm herself and keep her mind occupied during the bell it would take to cross plantations, she started humming slightly to herself. Something was niggling the back of her mind insistently, like a constant itch... the words of the poem that she may or may not have written floated around - their meaning imprinted into her subconscious like a tattoo.

"The wind blow through the Willow Trees,
Whispering, weeping, whooping, whimpering,
Shaking its boughs and the rattling of leaves
Echoes the rattling of cages - the song is ending
Something charred and black is underfoot,
Something white and ashen in the air,
The bones of slaves who will never come home again.
The bones of slaves wailing: Beware, beware!"

It was awful that something so wrong could not leave her thoughts, had lingered there for over a Season. It went against everything Kenash stood for and against everything she believed herself to stand for. Such a ditty made a mockery of the complexities of Kenash, of the nuances in the way the city was run. It would not do to speak of such a thing. Mentally, the young Sitai imagined herself digging a hole and dropping the words into it before filling it back up again. After all, that was what she tried to do with all unpleasant images and dangerous notions.

"In five chimes, we'll have arrived Milady." called the coachman as Adelaide saw blurred lights wavering mildly in the distance.

Her thoughts immediately returned to the game of Coruscate. She was still not sure how best to react and almost cursed her curiosity for ensuring that she accept to attend such an event. She was also surprised as to why she received an invitation at all. She had possibly spoken to Alexander a couple of times, but always in company of many other people and never to do anything more than exchange polite niceties. Maybe it was because of her knowing Adrienna Lynint, but even then the relationship could not be classed as much more than as an acquaintance. It really was rather odd and, as far as Adelaide knew, she was the only member of her family to have been invited where so many relatives would have probably taken to the game like a duck to water, in spite of the fact that such a game had not been played on Sitai grounds in years. Not since Adelaide was a toddler.

When Adelaide finally emerged into the clearing near what appeared to be slave buildings, her confusion heightened. She had never held a bow and everyone else there seemed to be a seasoned player, thuggish brute types that could in no way be mistaken for gentlemen in spite of family their name and the type of shallow (so much so that even other Dynasties couldn't stand them) Dynastic ladies that most sensible people took great pains in avoiding. The latter were laughing loudly and exclaiming (in their harsh, nasally voices) how glad they were to be invited to one of these. Telling anyone that would listen that they didn't happen regularly enough and it was a shame that things weren't conducted like they had been in the last century. Adelaide looked around her listlessly and attempted to fade into the background. Maybe it would prove difficult to convince the other dozen or so guests that she wished to simply watch, for research purposes, rather than actively partake? In her knee-high brown boots, blood red culottes with gold brocade, and matching jacket over a white blouse, she stood out like a sore thumb, looking as though she were about to go riding rather than on a manhunt.

Finally, realising after less than a chime that she probably looked uncomfortable and not wishing to give anyone the satisfaction of seeing her as such, she adopted an impassive face completely lacking in emotion, as if the proceedings bored her. She greeted her host with a smile that she managed to make look warmer than she felt (her acting skills fortunately as useful in this situation as they were on stage) and thanked him for his invitation. He seemed to smirk at those words, but it was relatively dark and Adelaide chose to believe she had imagined it rather than the alternative, that he had merely made her privy to the party in order to shock her and gain some sort of amusement out of doing so. That would have been a lot of effort for nothing anyway since, at any rate, the young woman was fully intending to remain completely stoic all evening, or all night if it lasted that long.

"Good evening Adrienna." she said with a smile as she noticed the sister of the host and walked over to her, "How have you been?"

[Orin Fenix]

Grades are Served

 

Adreienna Lynint

Adrienna, if you ever come back to Mizahar, PM me and I'll happily award your grades.

 

Adelaide Sitai

Skill	XP Intelligence	1
Observation	1
Poetry	1
Composition	1
Philosophy	1
Land Navigation	1
Politics	1
Socialization	1
Acting	1

Lores

• Location: Lynint House
• Coruscate: The Most Dangerous Game
• Poetry: Coruscate Poem
• Alexander Lynint: Barely an Acquaintance
• Politics: Recognizing the Right People
• Sitai Dynasty doesn't participate in the Coruscate
• Acting: Using Skills off the Stage

Extras :

Yet another wonderful read. Hopefully one day I'll get to read a thread from you that resolves itself. And again, loved the poem.

Don't forget to edit or delete your grade request in the grade request thread.

If you have any questions or concerns about your grade please feel free to send me a message.