Atharen, A Fantasy Roleplay Forum

Posted: **Mon Sep 19, 2022 1:59 pm**

49th Ash, 4622

A faithful night where the moon was at it's peak appearing to glow orange as if it was the night of a perfect solstice. Rene had sent a letter to each and every guest that lingered on their ability to draw from the Entente's source of power, he would watch from the balcony of his manor, his most prized Valran, Andre would approach Rene who appeared to be dressed up in masked attire. "The invitations have been sent and it is time to begin our grand reckoning, Andre... We shall be avenged and furthermore we shall spill the blood of those who wish to inflict harm upon the lesser races." He held his glass up as Andre nodded willingly, before he would proceed to get up.

"I have also sent invitations to those who have a hidden fear and those who have been wronged by society, including Salen... A fellow brother of yours as you know." Andre nodded as he frowned, gazing at Rene in thought, before he walked up to him "You sure he's ready for this?"

"Absolutely... And he's not alone..."

"I'm worried he's too consumed by vengeance, you know the man's anger has reached unstable elements, he got himself captured by another Veir."

"Who I've invited..."

"What?"

"Salen's intelligent enough to wriggle himself like any situation, maybe you should try your hand and risk another initiation for Remnant?"

"Not worth the risk..."

"And that says something about you, that you were always such a pussycat..."

Andre glared at Rene at his moment of ridicule, before he proceeded to leave him to his devices, Rene would gaze amongst the others entering the soiree, hoping he could spot out the guests that would arrive on time.

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Posted: **Mon Sep 19, 2022 2:27 pm**

Looking in the mirror, Salen had already been experimenting on his looks with his magic, but he couldn't find any form of satisfaction within them, mostly because he had not been use to the fact that he had let his hair grow over the season. The long luscious brown locks he combed backwards appeared to be annoying to ship with his current wardrobe that he rolled his eyes "Hmm..." He thought for a second about his looks, proceeding to tie his hairback and conjured up a golden hairband around it, forming a tightly secured bun.

He smiled at his looks as he tilts his head "Well, someone's a handsome little dreg..." He said to himself, before getting ready in a black doublet, laced with purple embroidery, a pair of leather pants and a pair of leather boots, laced up. He would eventually fix his look with one final illusion. A reckoning changing the appearance of his attire to last him for the night. He would exit through the exit of the hideout and make his way to the front of the house. There were cues of Entente waiting, as if Rene had a large party guestlist to fill. He narrowed his eyes, looking around every member present, but he couldn't see a sign of familiar faces around, not even Dahlia.

Eventually, he would get his vengeance. He just had to wait patiently and go with the motions of all the events to come. After all, he was good at doing that, but there could only be so much patience before someone would let true malice grip their heartstrings once more. He would proceed to walk through the hallway, his eyes described a bronze hallway with a checkered floor, followed by a variety of crystal chandeliers that were hung on their pedestals. Further across the ballroom was the central stairs which Rene stood atop to observe the guests of the manor, so much that he'll eventually catch Salen's eye once again. A smile was exchanged between them as he would walk about, pretending to be chameleon.

Posted: **Thu Sep 22, 2022 6:24 am**

49th of Ash, 4622

With a pale moon looming from the City of Monuments, cascading a brilliant silvery orange light that scatters across the vast emptiness of space itself, the evening glow illuminated a series of seven black rods, which was notable around the thief’s right pec but thankfully covered by the clothing he so graciously borrowed. Taking a moment to tidy up his formal attire, which comprised of the following:

A black turtleneck top made of cotton with purple silk ribbons that wrap around the arm;
A two-coloured shawl with one half coloured a tar-black hue & the other half washing out into mauve wash with a golden border on the piece, which is draped over the right shoulder and loosely bound on the left; Held in place around the waist by a purple hibiscus sash with two long tails of reflective bronze diamonds;
Grape-coloured leather-woven braces on the forearm;
Black breeches that are slightly baggy around the thighs before clingy tightly around the calves, which were made of cotton;
Calf-long leather boots that were dyed to a plum hue with black lace woven in a criss-cross pattern to help maintain the boot’s tightness around the lower limbs;
A plain black face cloth that covers the lower half of the face;
A charcoal black & porcelain white eye mask covers the right side up to the cheek whilst the left side is only covered up to the corner of his eye.

Jared took a moment to look at himself in the mirror, his short, charcoal black, semi-curl hair suiting well with what he managed to collect over the past few nights for this occasion. Nevertheless, the nightfallen mage couldn’t help but sigh as he was about to enter a battlefield that required more finesse than he would like compared to his usual outings in the streets of Genteven.

“Well, the sooner this ends, the faster I can return to my comfort zone… Act natural, and don’t be suspicious.”

At this point, Jared would make his way into the ballroom; slightly dazed by the wealth displayed by the aristocrats, from marbled tiles that litter the floor to the bronze-gleaming hallways but, most strikingly, the crystalline chandeliers that loom over the ceilings. The thief took a moment to take it all in before steering his mind back to the objective at hand, which was to be at the ball & try to keep a low profile for the suscepts that he would stick out like a sore thumb as he assumed that every Entente knew each other and being a new face despite being in a masquerade would garner too much attention for the thief’s liking.

Posted: **Thu Sep 22, 2022 8:04 pm**

Vinsue had received a letter from someone who visited her dreams. A letter offering to rid her of her fear as well as an invitation to a Soiree. She only had one real fear and that was a deep fear that did more harm than good. A fear of mages. The fear was crippling at best and she knew she needed to get rid of it. As bad of an idea as it was, she decided to come. She just hoped it would not be a mistake.

So here she stood in the proper attire, though how she came about it was another story that was, for now, irreverent. Her purple dress was long and flowing, covering everything but her face and hands. She had tight black elbow length gloves on. Around her waist was tied a black scarf. Her hair consisted of two braids that joined in the back and was tied with a black ribbon. It all sat above the other part of her hair that was down. Lastly was the most important part. Her face was covered by a simple black mask with a small fluff of purple feathers on the left side. She had thought about making stilts to look taller, to add to her mystery but in the end she decided against the idea as it would make walking and dancing near impossible without practice.

She took a breath to steady her nerves before stepping into the ballroom. She was far out of her element but hid it behind a simple smile. As far as anyone could see she was right at home though a little more tense than she should have been. She was not raised around fancy people. But she had been told to watch as in the wilderness anything brightly colored was poisonous. She hoped she was told wrong. Another thing was she had never been to a dance before. The gods forbid someone ask her to dance. She knew some jigs from her moms tavern but had no clue how to do any dance appropriate to a Soiree. And more than once she had been told she had two left feet. So she stayed near the walls and watched.

Posted: **Sat Sep 24, 2022 5:07 pm**

Hugo had been most surprised when on one fateful night he had been visited by an owl with a letter at it's feet. A letter which, when inspected more closely, included an invitation to a Soiree hosted by Rene Denver. Something which was quite curious. The thing that first attracted his attention was the mode of transport, this owl almost certainly had to be magical in some way. There was realistically speaking very little chance that it could somehow find him individually. Usually, messenger birds were trained to go to specific locations, such as castles or messenger posts. They were not trained to find an individual. This meant that this creature had some kind of instinct which allowed him to find Hugo. It meant that he could be found at any time by any person who had such a bird or some similar magical ability. Even if he was hiding out. But for the time being that little fact would be ignored for the contents of the letter.

The letter itself was a pretty standard invitation, but the name of the person who signed it off gathered Hugo's interest as well. Rene Danver. He was a local Veir who Hugo knew to be influential and have a pretty large estate. And yet Hugo did not know what kind of day-day occupation the Veir had. Nor why many people seemed to be very reluctant to speak of the person in question. Something which had led Hugo to stay away from the potential danger that could occur by being too close to this man. But now he could hardly afford not to go. Not going would be an insult and if he didn't go Hugo would get no insight into why he had been summoned in the first place. As is said so commonly, curiosity killed the cat. Perhaps it will kill Hugo.

Preparing himself for another Soiree, Hugo went for a look he had not tried before, but which was still in his wardrobe from before his family had been evicted from the old estate. It was a sort of suit which was quite long. It started at his shoulders and went just below his knees. It had a series of enamelled buttons at the centre to keep it closed, whilst small floral-like patterns covered the rest of it. The colour of the outfit was mostly a muted yellow. Reminiscents of the deserts, but it was mixed with different shades of yellow and some very light shades of green as well. Below that he had a pair of pants which were a darker shade which ended at his good black shoes. One small feature that Hugo liked about this outfit as well were the gloves which he wore. They were a shade of light brown and had a golden spider web pattern going over them. It caught the attention of people and it just appealed to him personally.

With his 'armor' equipped Hugo would make his way towards the soiree in question, leaving Bertrand in the waiting hall with the other servants, but nearby in case he was needed. Hugo knew that he would be contacted once necessary, but until then he filled his time by talking with the various low-level Veir or higher-end Valran who filled the room. Getting some info of how the economy and social scene of Genteven were at this moment and in return sharing some minor info regarding the expedition that he had been on. But though he goes to the usual routine, Hugo keeps an eye out for the elusive Rene Denvers. Hugo was simultaneously wary of meeting the man but also quite eager and excited to do so. Wanting to know what had caused someone a fair bit higher on the social echelon to invite him specifically to the soiree.

Posted: **Sun Sep 25, 2022 2:44 am**

"And the wolf howls hungry in on this night of a bloodmoon..." Rene turned his head towards Andre, nodding towards him "Let the others enjoy the festivities for a while before we begin the introduction." He said with a smile as he would clap his hands in the air, smiling at everyone "Écoutez la musique!" He shouted as everyone cheered. It appeared that Rene was a confident host for the party as he backed into his chambers for a moment, but it could only create anxiety and tension for the other four partygoers; it was evident that at least some of them were versed in the political background of the Entente, but those who weren't will struggle more.

Salen, Vinsue, Hugo and Jared have the opportunity to strike conversation with each other yet again, especially since it had been some time ago that they embarked on the expedition. It is clearly within the constraints of time that they would become more prevalent throughout the situation they are in. What does Rene Denver have to offer and what evidence is there that he won't want to benefit from them, like most Entente. That question was down to Salen, the one who knew the man, who had worked with him blindly, securing contract after contract, killing various undesirables and liabilities of Daravin. As much as he enjoyed making people suffer for their crimes, there was no right or wrong, a blurred line between the process of what's moral and what's immoral.

The best way of approaching this was through the edge of conversation and interesting conversations could be dangerous in the hands of an Entente soiree, especially when there were eyes and ears everywhere; it was a den of opportunistic wolves that would pounce and scramble about once their prey was cornered.

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Posted: **Sun Sep 25, 2022 6:48 am**

Taking a moment to listen to the music and the slightly loud cacophony of chattering between the highborn made the early 30s thief feel nauseous. To say the least, having his eye mask & face cloth does help conceal much of his anxiety to a certain degree as his scarred hands wrap themselves over the opposite ends of his elbows as a form of self-comfort.

“Alright, Jared, let's take a moment to assess who might be of interest…. Again, thinking of it as a casing a joint & finding opportunity to takes.”

The nightfallen thief had done his fair share of eavesdropping to obtain vital information from a variety of people, from merchants to guards & even everyday citizens, since he wasn’t adept at gathering information through typical means such as maintaining a conversation for an extended period.

This would result in Jared being able to find & weed out precise information that he was seeking at the very least but where to start was the most critical question. Which group of people or individuals seems to know the most or those with loose lips among others? These were the people that Jared was looking for, no less to understand better what kind of battlefield he was entering, one that wasn’t through physical & violent means that he was accustomed to, but rather one’s whos reputation & status among the nobility, some that Jared was never accustomed to.

His amber-eyed gaze burns slightly with determination to pull through this event as he takes a moment to look around the room & listen to anything of interest. He was carefully skirting around the outskirts of many groups whilst attaining various bits of food & wine, using this motion as a guise for his surveillance.

He merely holds his drink & various nibbles of food as he finds it a bit discomforting to eat in front of a large crowd whilst his face cloth is hiding the lower section of his face—still, some quick movements after determining that most people were distracted by their own devices. The thief takes a moment to consume his appetisers before taking a sip of the sparkling champagne.

“Huh, a little bit bland, but a few tweaks can be improved upon the dish….”

When he returns home, the nightfall cook takes a moment to savour the bite-size morsels and analyse how Jared compares the dish for his future experiments, briefly revealing his jagged scar that runs across the tip of his mouth on the right side of his face that extends up to the mid-section of his cheek. Then, slightly distracted by the presented meals, he briefly mutters about possible ways to improve such a meal. Still, he was not an expert, nor would he ever claim to be, somewhat adjusting the taste to his personal preference.

It only then did Jared hear a few mutters whispering into the wind as the night progresses, and people begin to speak more but are still restrained as the alcohol flows & some are not pacing themselves as they would like.

Jared couldn’t help but make a slight comment, albeit a whisper, to himself as his honey-hued gaze glossed over the room as there were many people who Jared would find rather attractive in his own right, whilst he considered himself to be average among the masses.

“Seems like people are enjoying themselves on the surface, but I should enjoy it the most of it… Although not going to lie, there are quite a few good-looking people here…”

Posted: **Sun Sep 25, 2022 1:02 pm**

Salen would seat himself down on a chaise, observing the whole party with such elegance and poise, he then proceeded to Voyage, capturing a familiar glimpse on the many mindscapes within the party; it was as if he was transpositioned between two realms. The realm of the mortals and the realm of the abstract mind, where creative concepts and thoughts are kept safe within the brains of others. It was a landscape that Salen was beginning to master, but not quite know the inner dangers of exposing himself to other horrific nightmares. He knew at this stage, Remnomancy was dangerous, even at full progression there was no telling that within the Reverie, there are other things lingering between them. Specters, haunts and even wraiths that are exposed between the dark rifts of the Dead Realm, it was as if the realms were intertwined with each other on a larger scale.

Salen took a deep breath and walked through the ballroom in an astral-like state, unseeable to the naked eye. It was as if the process of dream-diving has become an out of body experience as he would walk around slowly, trying to find familiar minds to play with. He recognised one of them, Hugo Abreo. He had no idea he was invited to such a precious event and yet it would be ashamed not to make his presence known, he made his way into the deep latches of his mind before looking around his Memory Palace, appearing to be a reveal of his old estate.

He looked around and smiled, raising an eyebrow as he spoke in Hugo's mind for a moment, ensuring he was here "I didn't expect to see you here." He voiced out, echoing through his mind "Oh and you seemed to have forgotten, I exist everywhere you go... I have eyes and ears everywhere... Remember that." He snickered as he tilts his head "By the way, are you still dressed like some sad suit trader, like always? I'm sorry, it may seem like I'm insulting you, but I'm just telling you the truth." He phased back into his mind, opening his eyes as he was back in normal reality.

He eventually set his eyes on Hugo at the party as he conjured an illusion amongst the shoulder of his arm, eventually creating a golden phoenix style pauldron among his shirt. It appeared to look like it was actually stitched into his clothing for a second as he had given away the secret to looking so good. Remnomancy. He smiled to himself and chuckled "Why, that's so much better..."

He couldn't help but find these newfound abilities useful, but there was a cold and harsh feeling on anxiety lingering by, like someone was watching him. Still, he tried to not let it bother him, but he knew this was an ominous sign, a sign that an enemy was nearby. He spotted Jared, a familiar figure from the expedition as well as Vinsue, it appeared that fate had brought them together, so it seemed, before he walked over to him, chuckling to himself "And I encounter you again... Jared? If I remember correctly..." He proceeded to pick at the passing servettes across the room, before taking a nibble.

Salen looked disatisifed by the food once he tasted it as he scrunched his nose in displeasure "This is disgusting..." He said quietly.

Posted: **Mon Sep 26, 2022 5:59 am**

Vinsue was once warned to stay away from Veirs as they tend to like toys. A friend of hers was forced into magic by one and she did not want the same fate so she was more cautious than she should have been. To see everyone cheer at the announcement only showed just how far out of her element she was. But she would not show it. She had a bad feeling about being here but it could just be nerves.

She kept her back straight and head held high as she walked around the sea of black and purple. She avoided talking as much as she could as she was in no way trained in politics and had no wealthy estate to boast or brag about. She could makeup stories about her scars but that was more something for a pub or war camp.

She stopped seeing a different color. Who wore yellow to a black and purple party. That was considered rude right? Or maybe not. He may just be more important? Either way she was curious and had to investigate. As Vinsue approached she actually recognized the individual. She waited for his current conversation to end before approaching. "Hugo, It can't be you can it? What brings you here?" The gnome was barely recognizable in the fancy dress compared to the jumpsuit she was wearing on that day.

Could this actually have something to do with the expedition? She looked around before spotting another person who she had met at the camp. This confused her even more. If this had to do with the explanation then why we're there so many highborns? She took a fancy glass as the servers passed. She took a sip. Sparkling grape juice. She immediately frowned. "Is it just mine or are they serving everyone sparkling grape juice?" She was not a kid damnit. Why was that so hard for people to understand? She sipped her drink.

Posted: **Tue Sep 27, 2022 8:58 am**

The mysterious woman walks into the party, seemingly concealed by nothing but a full face-mask appearing to be venetian styled; the stares from the Entente appeared to have enacted an aroused suspicion from the party, especially from Charlotte Auberin. A keen spy from the Halamire herself and yet it would seem that there was nothing out of the ordinary about this woman. She continued to through the party as she made her way to the stairs, she saw Rene through the curtains of his room as she waited, before she was beckoned in.

She appeared to slip in unnoticed by the other Entente, her presence has enacted some kind of violent gossip amongst the Entente as they begin to wonder who this enigmatic woman is. The fact is, only behind the curtains can be the true purpose of who this woman is. Rene smiled as he appears to be seated very well "Well, hello fellow sister of Scaeva..." He spoke out in a charming and suave fashion, before she unveiled her mask in front of him "It's been a long time, Rene..."

"As it has you, Cordelia... You risk everything to come here."

"Indeed, I have some form of political landscape over Lorien, I'm dealing with the conflict of the Civil War there as well as providing those with protection against anti-magic sentiments... I trust you have a good reason to summon me here, for I am an exile as you well know..."

"An old enemy of yours has slipped up..."

The excitement on her face lit up before she laughed "Oh... You mean, my pathetic twin sister... The one who banished me from these lands? Well, I always told her that karma has a habit of biting someone on the backside... What did she do this time?"

"Undermine a great deal of people... It was bound to come to her already... A great risk to the empire so she has become, everyone wants her dead..."

"It seems like you've had your fair play of fun, although you obviously invited me here for other reasons, I know you Rene... Sharp as a wolf and yet simple as a lamb."

"A wolf in sheeps clothing..."

"Exactly, what are you plotting..."

"I believe I met your stepson; he looks quiet the spitting image of your father with Sil'Norai blood in him..." He spoke.

"What?"

"Magically gifted too..." He simply added.

"You know how upsetting that was to me when I found out my husband had been playing around with debauchery... It made me angry and yet you torture me even more that he has a son?"

"I thought that was what you wanted..." Rene delved further "You've always wanted to be a mother and yet you don't seem interested..."

"He isn't my blood..."

"He's Lorenzo's... That makes him yours still..."

Cordelia sighed "You're right... How is he? Was he well educated in Nardothis? Was he given a chance even?"

"No... Not really, but he's survived... Just you'll have to talk with him one day."

"You mean, he survived with the lowborns of Daravin? Why didn't no one take him in?"

"There was noone to take him in and Daravin is a cruel place for a child, I did not think he would survive and yet here he is... Standing."

"What is he? What's his specialty, his marks... Tell me." She said with a smile, as she seemed interested in the topic at hand, knowing that there was an ounce of guilt that resided within her, she may have not had a biological role, but there was bound to be some form of matriarchal sympathy that lined within her. And so, the conversation pauses.

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