ser Noche
The late morning suns shone down on Algol, and the spire with the landing pad
provided a spectacular view across the rocky precipice it towered over, and out
over the seas with their particular purply hue. There's a bit of wind, and the
water ripples slightly across the panorama, with larger crests in the distance.
Occasional crags jut out from the water in dark-grey solemnity.
Below,
the carved stone of Taishijan, the ancestral fortress of the ser Noches,
reflected the bright light of the blue and green sun with a dull glow, and below
that the outlines of the shore of the capital city Saberai were visible. The
waves rolled in on a sandy-pebbly beach, which from up here seemed a creamy gray
colour. The water itself turned to a vivid jade colour as the ground below it
rose to meet the waterline.
From the nave of the spire, a door opens, and
a young woman in a simple but stylish dress of black and white walks towards the
group, followed by a small hovering wagon with an open top, fitted with
purple-upholstered seats.
"Welcome to Taishijan, noble sers and lasies."
She made a deep bow to the assembled group. "I hope you have not waited undue
long, there was a little delay over the access protocol for the
Oculus.
"May I inquire, is this the full size of the group going down to
Taishijan, or are we awaiting more visitors? If there are three or more people
coming I will call a larger shuttle, it only seats eight."
Taishijan art:
http://inwiki.wikispot.org/Algol_%28Capricorn%29?action=Files&do=view&target=Taishijan.jpg
Laurent
Salamah considered the matter. His whole family had come, which was both an
advantage: they were there and not elsewhere, bothering him, but at the same
time, including them would be troublesome.
He allowed none of his
indecision to be shown as he said, "My wife and brother will be here presently,
but the rest can wait in the ship. That is three for our party, so if each of
the others only has the people before us, we can go momentarily," he
suggested.
He tapped his wrist, and from the ship came first his wife,
her hair long, silky and blonde, showing none of her fifty-five years, in a
dress of green and gold. Her skin is as pale as Salamah's is a dark bronze She
approaches, her every movement as graceful as Salamah's, and she, unlike him,
allows some of her wonder to show as she looks upon Taishijan.
Salamah,
well, there was nothing quite so impressive that he'd ever seen, and that
included Azha. He had lived there for a while, and found it far less impressive
than this sight. "Will Marcus be joining us."
"I do think so..." and out stepped Marcus, in perfectly proper Noble clothing,
sure, but with none of the style or flair of the others. It hits very few grace
notes even if it avoids the general pitfall of over-extravegence. His hair is
dark, like his brother's, and his skin is a half-shade darker than Salmah's.
His eyes are a slightly hazy brown, and while he hasn't given in to fat, there
is, already--and he is Salamah's kid brother--signs of inactivity. He smiles
pleasantly at all involved and said, "Greetings, all..." he glanced around, and
there is a hungriness in the look of his eyes, a desperation. Salamah's smile
faltered a bit, but only for a second.
"We are all assembled, then?"
Sternseher
Duchess Selina seemed far less bothered by Salamah's need to 'lead' the group of
nobles, simply folding her hands in front of herself and nodding in agreement to
his question. Nagi (Chikanaga) stepped in close and whispered something into her
ear, and she smiled and glanced away from the young woman leading the 'carriage'
and took a moment to look out at the city below them. It truly was a beautiful
sight, and she took in a deep breath and forced herself to remember that, at the
moment, she was breathing a completely different world's air.
Her
brother-in-law shared in her enjoyment before she turned to the young woman
again and bowed her head politely to someone who was, in all likelihood, no more
than a commoner worker. "I'd like to extend House Sternseher's thanks for the
prompt and warm greeting, as well as the offer of transportation."
Selina
looked to the other newcomers as they hurried on out in their own time, Nagi's
eyes lighting up a little bit at he saw Salamah's wife. Hopefully the flirt
wouldn't cause his sister-in-law any problems!
Al Saffah
Bundar takes a few moments to drink in the spectacular view spread out around
the landing pad- so much different to anything back home! Sheratan seems a
little quaint and backward by comparison. "Yes, yes, this is all on my side." He
turns to approach the wagon, giving Salamah's wife a courteous nod, Qaribah in
tow. It had been agreed beforehand that it was best for her to stay in her
father's shadow as much as is practical- it wouldn't do for anybody else to
figure out that she's there as as essential aide more than anything else.
Laurent
Salamah, of course, saw through it. Sort of. He could hardly from his limited
data draw the exact conclusion, but he was a very smart man, a genius in fact,
and quite socially adept. That Bundar had brought only one person implied
trust, that the person was his daughter suggested that, quite possibly, it was
deserved. He valued family, after all, a minor miracle considering he hated
most of his that was still living...and loved them still. And the way they
acted, the way she kept in the shadows...she had seem relationships like that
before.
He and his family piled into the vehicle after Bundar. He sat
next to Bundar while a movement of his head had Marcus near the back, and
Jamilla, his wife, near where Qaribah was sitting, behind Salamah and
Bundar.
With luck his wife could talk to her and Marcus could continue
his months-long streak, though he doubted it with a sinking feeling.
But
for the moment, he had his own goal. He sat down easily next to Bundar and
turned, smiling, radiating sincerity as he said, “I am sorry if I gave the wrong
impression when speaking to the Duchess. I did not mean any disrespect that
came from it.”
Shockingly, so much that he almost allowed it to show on
his face...he wasn't lying. Not entirely, at least. Within his sincere look
was a small nugget of real sincerity, absolutely indistinguishable from his
cleverly made fake deposits. He was actually slightly sorry, at least partially
because his mind was already beginning to form a few ideas.
Part of them
would have to include a closer relationship between the three parties...and
perhaps a discussion or two with Lady Ser Noche. While he waited for the reply
he recalled, with the sort of headlong giddiness he always felt (but never
showed) when an idea was coming together in the mind, that this was the fifth
year of the reign of House Redwater and that, if all went as it should, there
would be another election before too long...
Sternseher
Taking a keen interest in the 'driver' of the hover-wagon, Selina's
brother-in-law would take the closest seat possible he could to her, trying to
engage in some friendly banter and chatting. The Duchess herself didn't seem to
mind if he occupied himself with the help for a bit, and settled in the far back
where she would have a greater chance of being alone. She wasn't unaware of the
fact that this might make her seem rude, but she wasn't the type to constantly
keep playing the charade most nobles did.
This wasn't to say she was
cold, or didn't try to be friendly and polite, but there was only so much she
could take. More than that, she had a lot on her mind, and so she enjoyed the
view while mulling over a dozen different thoughts after she was comfortably
settled and ready for their ride to begin.
Laurent
Her closest company was Marcus, who was, fortunately enough, not the sort to
engage her in any banter. On the other hand, he fully had the power to annoy
her a bit. He cleared his throat and politely asked up to the driver, "Excuse
me," he was not a boor, though next to his brother he had none of his charm,
"Will there be a reception, with...drinks?"
Jamilla cut in and said,
"Non-alcoholic, of course. Salamah and Marcus are not the sort to get drunk,"
and her voice on saying Marcus became this very subtle thing. It was quite
clear that she was passing on a message to the driver. The message, if the
driver had any grasp of social subtleties, was 'Marcus and alcohol do not mix.'
ser Noche
As the group piled into the eight-seater overwagon, the woman stepped in last
and sat down. The machine lifted off the ground silently and slid away from the
tall spire. The antigravity unit made it feel as if the open shuttle was hardly
moving at all, and only the slightly increased breeze betrayed to
motion.
"We will descend momentarily to the older section of Taishijan,
where the residences are. We hava a reception prepared, where the Lady ser Noche
will meet up with you. You may decide whether you wish to discuss matters with
the Lady privately or at the reception, either is fine. Lady Nora is always
happy to see emerging clan leaders who pay interest to the goings-on in
Capricorn, and she was happy to hear of your arrival.
"In the meanwhile,
I am allowed to give you a short tour of the greater Saberai area, if you would
like it. We are currently flying above the major structures of Taishijan, the
ancestral fortress of the ser Noches. The original structure was carved from the
rock formation into the structure at the base, and later expanded with
structures in and atop the rock. Sadly, the current-day state is not the
original, even though it resembles it in minute detail.
"If you look below, you will see a large hollow in this particular formation,
which is partially natural, but it has been enlarged to fit more construction
for the capital city, Saberai. What you can see here is actually only a small
part of the city as most of it is underground. This has proved a good thing,
because in the recent war with the now deposed Triumvirate, the forces of the
Canaigh warfleet laid waste to Algol, and the area where we are flying now was
reduced to a wide crater. It was a sad day, but we are glad of our technological
progress, and we can proudly say that we have been able to use matter
reconstruction technology to refill the entire crater left by the nuclear
bombing."
The woman smiles brightly, and waves a hand over the
surrounding area - not merely the humongous rock facade, but also indicating
several of the rocky spires out into the ocean. From her indication, the area
affected was immense, several tens of kilometers in diameter.
New cast: House ser Noche is an incredibly powerful House who opposed the Imperial Administration and the tyranny of House Goman. Their current Head, Lady ser Noche, was the runner up in the last Imperial Election, getting three votes to Yale Redwater's seven...a new election is approaching (or, by the time this is published, has passed, actually.)
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