Movements of Fire and Shadow [M] (Marjorie)

[quaggan]

 The musicians were really giving it their all. Coriander wished he knew more about music, just to appreciate their work properly. Maybe he should learn anyway - it could be another avenue for him to approach people. He saw some of his guests staring at the players in a way that implied interest in something different than their talent. He wouldn't mind drawing such looks.

This party was something he felt rightfully proud about. It was months in the making, and took far more work than he felt comfortable about doing. He wanted to make it a celebration to be remembered, not just another social occasion. And so he made sure that everything would be of the highest quality. He stole Count Varai's prized chef to prepare the refreshments, wrote to the most famed musicians, paid enough money to the entertainers that his mother took notice and threatened to stop supporting her useless firstborn. He convinced her, of course.

He had one of the most renowned tailors in Arca make his costume for that evening. Long coats were back in fashion - it was a bit annoying, as it would drag on the ground, but he just had to pay extra money to an artificer to get it enchanted to repel dirt. He wondered if the fashion movers and shakers were colluding with the utility wizards, bribed to keep them relevant.

His coat was made out of softest nighttvelvet - a fabric conjured into existence by skilled sorcerers, impossible to find in the limited natural world. The dark violet was accentuated by golden threaded embroidery that took months to finish. It was worth the wait, he reveled in the jealousy and attention of his guests. He would be the talk of Arca for months to come.

He noticed his parents around, shambling around in barely fashionable clothes. They were probably boring everyone with their business talks, trying to make a deal. They never knew the proper value of just having fun. Avemai wasn't here, and thank Kia for it - he would ruin everything with his numbers and calculations!

His gaze lingered on one person. It took him a moment to realize why - that was someone he didn't recognize. A part of him was pleased - the party must have been really going well if it drew uninvited guests. He headed towards the stranger, words springing to his lips like fine wine.

[Marjorie]

Neese

Neese hadn't been invited, but he'd been in Serendipity already, and had heard about some party that was supposed to be impressive. Neese liked lavish things, he loved good food, artfully preformed music, dance, beautiful people, and he particularly enjoyed the part where he had showed up unannounced, and people were still happy to have him.

At the moment Nesee appeared something closer to human than Fae (in his own eyes at least), though much more fairy touched than the average Sereian. He was tall, still, retaining his natural height, at six foot ten, putting him taller than everyone else in the room. However, his skin took on a more natural tone, light and fair, and his eyes were a deep shade of emerald green, with finely up swept eyebrows and delicate pointed ears. His hair was soft mossy green, reminiscent of his natural skin color, and cut in the current fashion of these people. He was also dressed in one of their long coats, fabric trailing the floor never breaking in it's genital flow against the ground and never picking up a stain or a speck of dirt - due to magic, but not the sort people would suspect for his entire appearance was a facade, a glamour so perfect as to escape the scrutiny of even these people. His own coat was a deep emerald green, the same exact shade as his eyes, and embroidered with silver thread in an intricate pattern of notwork that nearly looked like lace overlaid on the fabric - or somehow impeded into it, and it picked up the light and cast of a sparkle in an unnatural way, setting off little flickers of multi-colored light around him. And all of it was nothing more than a beautiful lie.

Noticing the man of the hour, as it were, approaching Neese cast a smile on him. There was something mischievous in that look, and yet still pleasant. He had been among the people casting interested looks at some of the musicians. Their music was light and lovely enough that he swayed just slightly to the sound, that paired with the beautiful bodies holding the instruments made for better entertainment.

"My Lord Elethain Coriander," Nesse said, turning to face the man, and took a few steps toward him, his movements more akin to floating than walking they were so fluid, "you do throw a lovely party."

[quaggan]

 As Coriander's attention was drawn to the new guest, he found that he could not turn his eyes away. Not that he'd want to - he was such a mesmerizing creature, one that eclipsed all the others. What did it mean for his noble fellows if the one who surpassed them all was not among them? His eyelids twitched, as if trying to blink, but he fought against the reflexes of his body, unwilling to lose even a milisecond of viewing this vision.

The movement of the uninvited guest was as beautiful as his visage, a grace that could not be compared to anything Coriander has ever seen in his life. He never thought that his time was lacking in beauty, but now he understood that he's never known what true beauty was to begin with. Perhaps he should have been humbled by realisation, but any sort of such a weak feeling was blown away by pure awe.

And then the mystery man spoke, his voice so melodic and complex that Coriander would silence the musicians he spend a dizzying amount of money on, just so that no lesser sound could profane this experience. Any response he could provide would fall short in comparison, but he could not just stare open-jawed - it would be an affront to the beautiful creature that honoured his party by coming here. "Thank you for your kind words, Lord...? Forgive me, but I cannot recall your name. The wine must have gone to my head..." An obvious lie - neither was his head so weak to forget names so easily, nor could he ever forget meeting someone so dazzling. But what was the art of conversation if not the skillfull weave of lies and truth?

[Marjorie]

What did it mean, indeed? For Neese, it meant that he had been board. He'd come to Serendipity for a reason, though not one that necessitated urgency, though he supposed he shouldn't terry too long, least his goal escape him threw the fate that time forced on mortal lives.

What did is mean for Coriander and his fellows, well... it could mean a great many things, or if they were very wise and chose not to take the bate, nothing at all. Neese smiled, indulgent, flattered by the man's obvious awe. They were jealous, covetous, greedy little things - humans, not unlike himself. He liked that about them. Their need for more, better, most made them amusing play things.

Neese tilted his head, as if considering. "Lord... yes, that's quite appropriate," though he hadn't been addressed as such in more than an age of men. "Oh the wine," he nodded, affirmatively, "I do see how it could be, it's a lovely variety you have offered your guests." His smile widened a little. "Pray, tell... what would you give in return for the gift of my name?"

[quaggan]

 There were people who were breathtakingly beautiful, but had little else to give them value. Coriander was pleased to find out that his guest was not one of those. Oh, the mysterious man was gorgeous enough that his looks alone would earn him a place in this party, but his mischievious nature made him even more welcome. And he was right - why should anyone give up their name so easily, just because the social conventions demanded it?

"What can I possibly offer you?" he sighed, pretending to be severely concerned. "I have put immense effort in making this party happen, but if all this is not enough just to have the honour of knowing your name... Is there anything of equal value? Perhaps you'd be willing to trade it for a secret, one I have not told anyone yet. Or, if you're a connoisseur of wine, maybe I can tempt you with a choice from my private stock, one that I was unwilling to give up even for the sake of this celebration. I saw you watching the musicians, and while I lack their talent, I hold their contract and therefore it is my will that guides their hands and voices - is there a particular song you'd wish to hear from them?"

[Marjorie]

All this was quite honestly barely enough to make Neese show his face, never mind give his name. He leaned in just a touch closer to Coriander at the offerings he listed off for Neese's taking, his growing interest becoming more apparent as he did so. The musicians were lovely - talented even, but Neese had heard both better and worse before... They held his interest for but a brief moment, besides, if the glance he tosses toward one of the singers was any indication, a public song was not what he'd want from them anyway.

Neese turned his gaze back to Coriander then, the way he was looking at him turning suddenly intense. "I like secrets," he said, the curve of his lips increasing by a degree, "you could say I collect them." He arched a delicate eyebrow at Coriander, "I can only judge it's worth though, if you tell it to me... How about - if you tell me an interesting secret I will gift you with my name, and if I find that the value of your secrete exceeds that knowledge then I will allow you to ask of me a second gift." It was a dangerous game for mortals to play with Neese, but the sort that Neese liked best.

[quaggan]

 Ah yes, secrets. The greatest currency, more precious than gold, more constant than love, more frightening than death. Coriander rarely met someone not interested in secrets - be it keeping one's own, or finding out someone else's. He wondered what should he offer.

Instinctively, he rejected the idea of giving up one of the social secrets - things his fellow nobles wanted to stay hidden, their dirty pleasures and personal guilt. This beautiful creature seemed more interested in the party itself than the other guests - if he was a spy, he was here for pleasure, not work. Perhaps a secret of Arca itself? Or one of the rumours from other provinces? While Coriander preferred to stay here in the heart of Serendipity, he grew quite adept in recognizing his countrymen and identifying their origin province. Or maybe...

That was it. He remembered something one of his lovers told him. A scholar, working on an important research for some secret wizard society. If he told anyone, she would be in trouble - but it wouldn't be the first time he betrayed someone, and certainly wouldn't be the last.

"Perhaps a secret appropriate to our location" he began. "A secret hidden from most of Serendipity. A way to conquer our nation's bane, the reviled iron. Would that be a mystery worthy of your name?"

[Marjorie]

Social secretes could be of interest to Neese, especially if he were particularly interested in making a game out of reveling a person's secretes, but there were a great many kinds of secretes, and those were the rather mundane ones, if any were to be called such.

A way to conquer iron? The idea had never occurred to him... conquering an element of nature - like iron - was like trying to command the winds. Not to say that some mages could not control the natural elements, but conquering one suggested the ability to make it submit under any circumstance.

Iron was, of course, no friend of Neese's either... being fey, and much more so than these silly Serendins who held so much pride in their lackluster glamours and poorly understood bloodlines that were by now so diluted as to be nonexistent, at least to his eyes.

"Indeed," Neese responded, "it might, in fact, be worthy of two." A glimmer of mischief played behind his smile.

[quaggan]

 The beautiful creature seemed intrigued and eager to hear it. Of course, it was possible that the mysterious lord just feigned interest, but Coriander doubted it. The adamant refusal to give his name easily showed enough disdain for the social conventions to make it highly unlikely that he would ever be untrue to himself just to spare someone's feelings. This scholarly curiosity was not something Coriander ever experienced - he far preferred the secrets of people to the secrets of the world. The world was boring in its constancy and lack of reactivity.

"There is one kind of iron that harms no Serenians" he began. His voice was low and quiet, but not out of anything like respect for the scholar who told him this in confidence. No, he just didn't want anyone else to overhear. A secret lost value with each person who knew it, and this one was to be for this mysterious lord alone.

He pulled his sleeve back to expose skin and the vein pulsing beneath. "An acquaintance of mine discovered that the blood coursing through the flesh of every living creature contains tiny elements of iron, so small that even the keenest eye could not see them. And yet, it does not seem to stop anyone from drawing on the heritage of the fae, even with our bane embedded in our very flesh. While I lack the passion for scholarship to truly understand the ramifications, the knowledge alone is a secret few know."

[Marjorie]

Neese shook his head, looking very much disappointed. "I forget sometimes," he scoffed, "what simpletons Humans can be." He sighted. The man's secrete was of little to no value at all. "Do you expect this to be a surprise?" his tone was rich with mockery, "as if I've never split the blood of a mortal across my flesh before.

"I don't suppose I should be overly surprised at the value of your information." However a deal had been struck - a secrete for a name, and Neese was not the sort to go back on his word, even if he himself wound up disappointed by the results. "You may call me Arlan."

[quaggan]

 Looked like this great secret was a bust. Well, Coriander would have to exact his revenge on the scholar later. He got the name, and perhaps one hint that Arlan might not have meant to reveal. The mention of blood proved that his interest in the secret was more than academic: it was something that could have harmed him. He would have either to be a Serenian, or one who shared their weakness. And the dismissive way he commented on 'mortals' made it clear. He was not one.

Should he be more surprised? In a way, it seemed like a natural extension, a conclusion that could not be any different. A mortal could never be so beautiful, after all - and Coriander knew all the nobles of Arca, he would have recognized Arlan if he was among them. But he could not possibly have seen a lord of the Fair Folk.

"You are a man of your word" he admitted, although perhaps he was making quite a generalisation, calling one of the Fae a man. "But this secret was not worth what you were generous to give me, and I cannot accept this exchange. Allow me to offer you another secret - not as a bargaining chip, but as an apology."

Even he was not as arrogant as to think that any of the secrets he knew could intrigue a lord of the Fae - especially after his original failure. But he was still Serenian, he knew enough about the mysterious masters of the Faelands. He knew how they were drawn to the strong emotions of mortals, especially negative ones. That would be his offering to Arlan.

"Look at the man over there" he motioned, pointing at a young nobleman taking a glass of wine from a servant's tray. "Lord Evergliet's son... he is not. The real Alain Evergliet died a year ago - took his own life. But his father refused to accept it. He would not live without his child. Were he a common man, he would have killed himself and this tale would come to an end - but he was of high birth, which gave him connections and wealth to carry out his plan. Who you see before you once was an unfortunate person whose resemblance to the original Alain sealed his fate. Lord Evergliet had him kidnapped and paid powerful psychics to wipe his mind and load it with the memories scavenged from Alain's life. He would have his child again."

[Marjorie]

Well, Arlan, was the oath maker. It seemed the right name to give him - neither was it a lie, even if Neese was the one he preferred to live by, there was choice in keeping his word also though. He gave a slight nod. "Indeed," he was and could be down right deceitful, but to actually, purposefully lie? It was not something that Neese liked to do - he valued himself and his own word too much for that, and it made the game more fun if his deceit and trickery was always only ever hidden in a truth, and not a lie. It made winning all the better.

Oh, was it a carelessly given away hint - well, yes. Neese was a creature of great ego also, and he liked to put himself easily above others - in words, in appearance, in actions, in attitude, and the perceptions of others. Arrogance was certainly something one could easily see in him. He'd never made any attempts to hide it, after all.

Neese followed the man's gaze toward the young lord taking his glass of wine. He glanced back at Coriander when he was threw talking. Well that was interesting indeed. What trouble he could make for the lord and his 'father.' He smirked. "Now that is at least an interesting truth." Oh, the two of them could make lovely play things. Two lives ruined for one secrete, and what of the Lord's wife - did she appreciate the lie, or did she loath it. Would she turn against her husband, he wondered, or morn the loss of her son a second time. How too, he wondered, would the man's court respond to the son slowly loosing his mind as he plucked random false memories from his mind and replaced them with real ones. The 'son' would surly loose his mind over time to such psychic meddling, and the father - he would loose his son once again to a slow and insidious disease.

[quaggan]

 Coriander considered his options. Arlan looked more pleased with the second secret - perhaps the courtier should have stuck to the matters of people's hearts rather than the secrets of the world. Maybe it was arrogant of him to think in the first place that a mortal could ever discover something that wasn't ancient knowledge to the ageless beings like the Fae.

His curiosity was burning through his soul, goading him to keep talking to Arlan, but for once in his life, the risk concerned him. The lord of the Fae looked interested, his gaze turned fully to the false Alain Evergliet. His practiced eyes quickly fished out of the crowd the grieving father as well - either by artificial family resemblance, or through the senses a mortal could never possess or comprehend. As pleased as Coriander was at this outcome, he couldn't help but fear that the Evergliet family was more interesting to Arlan than the disappointing mortal who introduced this delightful mystery to him.

That just wouldn't do at all. He had no intention of being snubbed by a guest at his own party. But he would be a liar and a hypocrite if he claimed that he wasn't curious at all to see what Arlan would do to the Evergliets. Coriander had some ideas, but he wasn't so arrogant to think that they were better than what a Fae could think of. He could assist.

"I imagine someone like you would have no problem gaining access to the Evergliet manor" he remarked. "It would be almost boring to just walk right in, through the front door... like I can. I am a friend of Alain's, after all." That's how he found out the secret, in a way. Lord Evergliet harvested his memories, to reconstruct his son as accurately as possible. But his psionic made a sloppy job when wiping his memory, leading Coriander to become suspicious. He ended up hiring someone to examine his mind, and found out the truth.

[Marjorie]

Neese smiled, turning his attention back to Coriander. "Yes," the simple answer first, "just as it was easy for me to gain access to your party here." Touch of boasting there. He hadn't used the front door, that was so mundane.

Assist. The thought would have been laughable, if Neese had known it was his though. How could he help? Oh, but there was one thing... "Perhaps you'd care to introduce us?" It would be interesting to see how the man - or his supposed son would react to him, he liked to watch people unravel over time, and first impressions were so rarely accurate... still they could be quite amusing.

"I might even consider you in my debt," that could be another fun game to play, "if you would be so kind." Though such debts tended to backfire on those who chose to call them in.

[quaggan]

 Coriander made a mental note to consult his staff and see how Arlan gained entry. Just for the principle - and to satisfy his curiosity, of course. But that would wait - his priorities were his party and this charming lord of the Fae, not exactly in this order.

He barely stopped his lips from curving in a self-satisfied smirk when he heard the next words spoken. Perhaps he was getting a little ahead of himself - a Fae lord's debt might not be a good thing to be accruing in the first place. He was Serenian after all, he heard all kinds of cautionary tales about the ways masters of the Faerie handled their debts.

The cautionary tales never stopped him before, and he saw no reason to let them get in his way now.

"Shall I?" he offered, spreading his arms wide. No time like the present.

[Marjorie]

Neese would indeed be impressed if someone figured out how he had gained entry into the Coriander's home. He had stepped threw a reflection in a window and out the reflection in a tall mirror in some noble-lady's room. She hadn't been there at the time, not that a woman standing in her underwear looking in the mirror would stop him from stepping threw right into her room. However, there hadn't been any witnesses to his actual entrance. Someone might have seen him coming down halls from which guests shouldn't have been walking toward the party, but he really didn't care if they had seen him.

Oh, a self-satisfied smirk would have been welcome, indeed - evidence that Coriander had taken the bate... still, the evidence was there in the lord's willingness to do as Neese had asked. No harm in toying with more than a few mortals at once, after all... at least, no possible harm done to Neese as far as he could see. Plenty of harm done to others, quite likely. He smiled faintly, happy to catch two birds with one stone, and even better neither party knew they'd been caught yet.

When Coriander spread his arms wide, in gesture of leading the way, Neese followed, his fluid movements, inhuman in their precision and grace. He made not a sound, but looked almost to be gliding across the ground rather than walking.

[quaggan]

  "My dear friend!" Coriander exclaimed with not entirely false geniality, approaching the new Alain Evergliet. "Are you enjoying the party?"

The young man turned, his eyes full of wonder. "I think everyone here is - I've never seen anything quite like it! It's wonderful."

The truth only kept him second guessing - he wondered if the former Alain would be just as impressed. This one's mind might be missing some of the memories Lord Evergliet failed to collect, something that would have changed his opinion. But it didn't matter now. Coriander saw his guest's eyes stray to the ethereal form beside him, light up with wonder and awe.

He wasn't surprised, but a part of him questioned the nature of his interest. The previous Alain was only interested in women, to Coriander's disappointment - not just out of personal interest, it just seemed stupid to limit oneself to only half of the populace. But he didn't test this new one yet. Well, maybe Arlan would.

"Allow me to introduce my friend" he began smoothly, taking a step back to let Alain take in the full wonder. Certainly not to check out the Fae's bottom while he was at it; he suspected some of the guests behind him were engaged in this activity as well. "This is Alain, son and heir of Marquis Evergliet of Verulamien. Alain, it is my pleasure to present Lord Arlan."

[Marjorie]

If you asked Neese to pick a gender or a pronoun he would say he was a he, and that he was male... however concepts of gender were not quite the same in Faerie as they were in the mortal realm. Nothing was so solid and absolutely defined in Faerie as they were for mortals. Case in point - Neese could appear however he chose, and have all the working parts of any physical gender or species he chose, or some combination there of. Just as he did not appear in his natural form here and now.

Neese liked beautiful people, he didn't particularly care to limit his exploration of his own pleasure by something so simple as gender preference.

"I'm most delighted to make your acquaintance, my Lord Alain Evergliet," Neese said, casting upon him a warm smile as he stepped forward to offer the man his hand in greeting. As moved though, he glanced behind him, over his shoulder and cast a knowing smirk at Coriander as if to say - I noticed you looking. He turned his full attention back to the young would-be lord then.

"I have not been to Serendipity for... some time, and I must say," he glanced about the room, as if it were indeed the most splendid party he'd ever attended, "I am most pleased that my reintroduction to your people could occur here, of all places." His smile widened into something full of mirth and mischief when his hand connected with Alain's. In that moment, when their hands touched, something came unbidden into the young man's head - a memory long forgotten, burred, stolen. His kidnapping - the fright and confusion, palpable in his mind. Neese watched as the young man fought back the panic, seeing hands taking him, and dragging him off, a cloth thrown over his face - and yet he was still there in the room.

Alain shook his head. "My deepest apologies, I believe the wine may have gotten the best of me," the young man said, his grip on Neese's hand re-firming before he pulled it back. "It's my pleasure to meet you Lord Arlan. May I ask - Lord Arlan of where?" He had an inkling, everyone in the room likely had an inking of where the man was from, but he thought he would ask anyway. 

[quaggan]

 Coriander didn't even bother trying to look innocent. They both knew - even the new Alain noticed something has happened, and looked confused. But the boy's attention soon snapped back to Arlan - something no one could fault him for.

The fae lord's next words were curious as well. So he's been to Serendipity before? Well, that shouldn't be surprising - the kingdom's people were descended from his kind, after all. Was he here to visit a relative? He'd ask, but he doubted that his mysterious guest would yield the truth easily - he wasn't willing to even give his name just because a mortal wanted to know. Coriander's mind already began turning gears, trying to think of an appropriate offering - but perhaps it would be best to wait and let Arlan spread his wings. He's already shown interest in the Evergliet family, it would be quite a show to see what he had in store.

Someone was making his way towards them. Just on time - Coriander lost Lord Evergliet in the crowd earlier, so he was pleased to see the Marquis once again enter his field of vision. "I see your parental instinct is a thing to be feared" he commented. "Have no fear, I'm not here to drag Alain on one of our escapades." He couldn't make promises for Arlan, though.

"I don't think you know each other..." he began. It was a safe assumption to make, even if he was wrong, he would learn something about his mysterious guest. "Allow me to introduce you. Lord Tellervo Evergliet, Marquis of Verulamien. Lord Arlan, of..." he trailed off, allowing the fae to fill in. Even if it would be a lie, it would still be worth hearing.

[Marjorie]

"Lord Arlan of...hum..." he said, giving a mirthful smirk. "Oaths, and choices, and... well a great many things." He chucked lightly. It was likely not the sort of response anyone was expecting, but that was their problem for being boring and small minded. Being the ruler of somewhere gave much less power than being the ruler of something - like a force of nature or a essence of thought or a truth of life.

Neese dipped his head slightly to the Marquis, as if he'd been introduced to a respected lessor - and while respected might not be a term he'd use, lessor would, and he saw no harm in being polite thus far.

"It's a great pleasure to meet you, Marquis Evergliet."