The First Royal Ball of Clan Thaaftwé
The crowd was lively, brimming with excitement at the event’s prospect. They spoke hurriedly amongst themselves, exchanging hopes and expectations about the festivities ahead. Each individual was bedecked in the finest adornments they had to their name, attempting to one-up their compatriots in terms of exuberance without dipping into the overly gaudy.
Once the sun had set, they all filed into the magnificent building that had been erected beside Clan Thaaftwé’s royal manor. The building stood just under two stories tall, so that it would not dwarf the home of the matriarch, surrounded on its front by a large wooden deck and vined pillars stretching up to hold the terrace’s roof. Two large basins of water filled with glowing flowers floating upon the liquid’s surface flanked the set of double doors that served as the main entrance. Inside, a massive space was bordered with tables and chairs, the majority of the room reserved for footroom where dances and mingling would occur. Cool-toned lanterns of various shades of blue, purple, and pink hung from the ceiling at various points, lighting the area and causing a faint glow to leak out from the tall windows lining the two side walls.
Across the room from the entrance was a section of the room that was lofted above the rest. Two stairwells with satin carpet of a deep indigo cascading down them led from this balcony down to the main portion of the space where the crowd of anxious diplomats stood. A series of doorways could be seen, covered only with thick black curtains, in the back corners of the balcony area.
As one of these sets of curtains parted, the crowd fell silent. Out strolled a tall skydancer, dressed in a crisp uniform of dark navy adorned with a metal breastplate and a pristine fur mantle draped over his right shoulder. He walked with purpose, taking long strides out to the front of the balcony. The only sound was that of his footfalls on the carpeted floor and the occasional murmur from the crowd about his appearance. When he came to a stop, he lifted his chin slightly and looked out over them.
“It is with great honor and dignity that I introduce to you, on this night, the gracious leader of your host clan. Presenting Her Royal Majesty and Matriarch of Thaaftwé, Queen Ibaacuine.”
His voice rang out clear across the vast space, echoing ever so slightly off of the smooth walls. Despite this, his tones were generally softer than one would expect of a man with his militaristic rigidity. He took a step back and gestured with a single hand, the other tucking behind his back. Behind him, a separate set of curtains parted and out stepped two masked servants, both marching in time with each other. They emerged and slide to either side of the doorway, pulling apart the fabric barrier with them for the woman striding out onto the balcony.
She moved with grace, but also with precision, not a single ounce of energy wasted on her movements. Her dress was ornate with numerous detailed fabrics layered one over the other, all of them swaying ever so slightly as she walked. Strings of gems and jewels hung about her and caught the soft light off of their numerous facets. A long, smooth train followed behind her, obscuring her tail from view.
Upon her head, perched between a pair of magnificent horns belying her age, sat a stunning crown, its shape framing her sharp, intense features. The majority of her hair was tied up in a tight, ornately woven bun while a small portion was allowed to flow down her back and drape lightly over her shoulders. Thin, gold chains cascading down from the back of her headpiece and caught the light against her hair.
The crowd stood silent, waiting with baited breath as she carefully approached the front of the balcony. Behind her, seven people trailed out of the unseen space behind the curtains and stood dutifully at the back of the area, waiting for their introductions. The queen came to a stop, and slowly surveyed the space below her, a smile stretching across her features.
“Welcome, all,” she said, her voice cutting into the chests of her audience. There was great power and command to that voice. “I am extremely pleased that you all could join us here tonight, and grateful that you were able to make the strenuous journey to our home.
“Tonight marks the beginning of a celebration, festivities which, before now, have never come to our shores. This night is the commencement of an occasion to mark the birth of my three daughters.” The queen turned her head ever so slightly and three of the people standing quietly behind her took a step forward. She looked back out over the crowd.
“My eldest, Princess Taanyth.” The shortest of the three women, a pearlcatcher, stepped forward and lifted her head proudly as she met the eyes of those in the crowd.
“My second, Princess Lohnai.” Of the two remaining, both guardians, the more modest of the two stepped forward. She looked out over the collected nobles with a level expression.
“And my youngest, Princess Ilanei.” The final woman stepped forward, beside her nearly identical sister, and gave the crowd an equally blank look of examination. The queen slide her gaze sideways to the three of them and her smile widened.
“They are the first of my line, the first children gifted to me by the gracious will of our gods above. It is they who will carry my legacy out into Sornieth. It is they to whom this festival is dedicated.” Her voice trailed off and her smile dropped as she turned her attention out to the crowd. “This celebration will last a single week, and with its closing, my daughters will be departing this island with the three clans whom I deem fit for their company. However, before I allow the festivities to commence, I must introduce you to the entourage representing Clan Thaaftwé beside me for the duration of this week.” She extended a hand to her side, gesturing to the people standing behind her.
“These four, along with myself and my daughters, will be your hosts for the duration of these festivities. We represent the Clan of Thaaftwé,” she said. She paused a moment, scanning the eager faces below. Then, her smile returned, and she lifted both her arms to beckon out over the room. “And it is with my greatest pleasure that I announce that this ball of celebration has now commenced!”
Hello all! Welcome to the roleplay thread for my clan's first major event, the royal ball celebrating the matriarch's first children! This event includes a "week" of festivities during which nobles and royal families can schmooze, socialize, and chat about politics as well as put forward themselves or their heirs in an attempt to win the hand of a princess in marriage. Applications for marriage to the princesses will close on March 2nd, 2017. The roleplay portion of the event is welcome to continue after that as it will take me a few days to sort out which clans the princesses will be going to.
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Rules:
- Attendance to this event is exclusive to the noble and royal families of clans, as well as their entourages.
- Your first post within this thread must begin with the members of your clan that are attending the ball; you can include this at the beginning of your first reply to any action within the thread. Please include the following in that section of your post (an example will be provided of the expected format below):
- Images and links to each dragon
- A brief description of the role of each dragon within your clan/party
- Which of your dragons are vying for a marriage and which princess they are most interested in
- If you are not participating in the marriage proposals, please state this
- Please remember to @ the people that you are directly replying to in your post. This helps replies to not get lost and lets people know when new parties are interacting with them.
- Direct harassment of any character will not be tolerated and the guards (read: me as this event's moderator) will be obligated to escort you from the ball. This includes blatantly racist remarks (both in character and out of character), violence between characters, excessive vulgar language, etc. Remember this is a formal event; all in attendance are expected to have manners.
- Please give other people in the thread time to reply. Things might get lengthy or cluttered and it might take time to sort through it all.
- Don't worry about joining late! The event is designed very loosely and anyone can slide in when they get the chance. Just try not to hop in on the very last days of the thread!
- If you feel I haven't seen a post sent my way, feel free to give me a nudge in my PM inbox! I just ask for a three day grace period since I've been working long days and might not get a chance to reply each night.
Note: When the three clans that the princesses will be married to are decided, the princesses will be sent to live in those three clans. So, if you are all full and do not have enough to expand your lair, please think about whether or not you would like to apply. Thank you!
If you have any questions about the rules of the thread, feel free to direct them towards me, Thaaftwe. My inbox is always open in the event that you feel as though you are being harassed or excluded and wish to bring it to my attention.
