Ymiden 70, Arc 717
Tristan's Office
Tristan was in a bit of a dilemma. The season before he had interviewed a Naerikk. Yndira had told him that she was a cannibal, and he had immediately started to turn her story into a play because Rynmere really needed a play about a beautiful woman killing men and eating them. He had been looking forward to casting an actress for the leading role and starting with the first rehearsals, but by the time that he had finished the script and polished it, it was already blate Ymiden.
A little while earlier Empress Emerson Sands had contacted him and asked him to write a play about the royal wedding. He had of course agreed because you couldn’t say no to the most important woman in the kingdom. Besides, he had come to the conclusion that such a play would likely increase his popularity approximately tenfold and ensure that people would remember him long after he was gone. You could never be famous enough in his opinion!
The wedding would only take place in late Saun, but if he wanted to do things properly, he needed to start the preparations for his play now. That meant that he would have to take a break from working on Yndira’s story. He didn’t want to. He had fallen a little in love with his beautiful cannibal killer! He didn’t have time to work on two plays though, not if he still wanted to rule his duchy halfway efficiently (and he really, really wanted to because his subjects would probably rebel and overthrow him otherwise!)
What was he supposed to do?
He took a sip from his glass of juice (he had promised Faith that he would drink less alcohol now that he was a father) while he thought about it, and then something suddenly occurred to him. If he wrote a great play about the royal wedding and people like it, it would probably be much easier to get decent funding and find good actors for Yndira’s story. Why, all the actresses in Rynmere would probably be begging him to pick them!
Besides, King Cassander was his friend.
So he decided that he would go to the library which was something that he was not particularly looking forward to because you always had to be quiet in the library, and you weren’t allowed to eat and drink either. If he wanted the play about Cassander and Emerson to be (mostly) accurate though, he needed to do a bit of research, about religion, the history of the royal family and so on. He had been educated on Rynlism as a child, but he hadn’t paid a lot of attention back then. He had spent most of his time writing weird poems.
He had briefly considered simply asking the couple to send him their biographies, but the king and the Empress probably had other things to worry about, such as the RCA and the Alliance. No, it would be better if he didn’t bother them. With that thought in mind he asked the babysitter (and his favourite bodyguard Lianne in case Aelig decided to show up) to watch Ayla for a while because he had some important business to take care of.
The librarian probably wouldn’t appreciate it if he brought a baby either, even if said baby was magical.
So he made his way into town, Hannah and Brandon, two more of his bodyguards, in tow. He’d hurry up. Ayla was currently asleep in her bed, so hopefully she wouldn’t even notice that he was gone!
~~~
The library in Oakleigh didn’t have as many books about Rynmere specific subjects as the university library in Andaris which didn’t really come as a surprise to Tristan. The people of the Eastern Settlement had always been rather proud of their independence from the kingdom.
Perhaps it was also for that reason that he didn’t find all the information that he needed.
Some of the questions that he had had were answered, but new questions arose in their place. Another problem was that the librarian refused to let him take the books home even though he was the duke, so he actually had to sit down at a table and take notes.
Of course he added his own questions and comments:
King Cassander was born on the 27th of Saun, Arc 717 (I need to remember to send him a birth trial gift! Maybe some toys for his new puppy?). His last name is Renault, but the royal family has very close links to the Luther family of Welles who own most of the land in that part of the Eastern Settlement.
The first Luther king, Craig Luther, was crowned in 618, after arcs of the title belonging to the Andaris line (It wouldn’t surprise me if House Andaris tried to take the crown back sometimes! I’m actually surprised that they haven’t rebelled yet!).
People weren’t happy about a stranger ascending the throne and burned buildings to the ground in protest (That sounds really familiar!). His successors apparently weren’t very popular either (Didn’t they learn anything?). King Owen Luther’s younger brother William was killed during an attempt on the king’s life. He died protecting his brother.
King Cassander’s parents died in 710 when their ship was attacked by pirates (Did they know that the king and the queen were on that ship? Was it really an assassination?). Cassander was just a boy then. Who took care of him? Does he have any living relatives left in Rynmere? He was just ten. A ten arc old boy can’t take care of every aspect of his life himself!
Anyway, he married Freya Sail who was a couple of arcs older not too long after that. She did of course take his name. The city guard was doubled the trial that she married Cassander. She was the most hated woman in Rynmere for reasons that we are all familiar with (Why did he marry her?). She died in Saun 716. In which way shall I incorpoprate her death into my story? I’m not sure if Cassander wants to be reminded of his first wife!
On to Emerson. Emerson was born on Ymiden 19, Arc 692 (Cassander really seems to have a thing for older women!). She is of course considered the most holy figure in Rynmere, pure, true of heart, mind and soul. She is a spokesperson for the people of Rynmere, enforcing laws, weighing in on sentences for prisoners and more. She also oversees the monks.
And then there is of course the matter of the curse. The Empress always wears a veil. People that look at her are supposed to get cursed. What kind of curse is it though? Maybe I should try and find somebody that was subjected to it!
Anyway, I can see why some people have a problem with this marriage now!
Are Cassander and Emerson really in love or did she curse him? They seemed to get along well when I last met them, but Cassander didn’t look as if he was the victim of some kind of dark magic. Maybe kings are immune to the curse?
Should the politicial consequences of their union matter if their feelings for each other are genuine by the way? Most people would probably say yes and insist that that it isn’t right and that it’s dangerous!
In my opinion they shouldn’t though! If two people love each other, they should be allowed to get married! Besides, Emerson will still be a better queen than that terrible Freya!
Tristan stopped writing for a moment and rubbed his forehead. He could feel the beginnings of a headache. His hands were already hurting, and there were a lot of ink stains on them, and he still hadn’t read up on Rynlism! He really needed to get a library of his own so that he didn’t have to copy everything anymore. He would start working on his library project as soon as he returned to his estate, he decided. But for now he had some more writing to do! He needed to hurry up. He didn’t want to leave Ayla alone for too long!
~~~
When Tristan, Hannah and Brandon finally returned to Oakleigh Estate, Lianne awaited them at the gate, little Ayla who was wearing a sky blue dress in her arms. Tristan immediately raced up the stairs and took his daughter from her. “I’m sorry that I left you”, he said to the little girl. He had really hoped that she wouldn’t have to wake up without him. She didn’t seem to be mad at him though. She just looked up at him and smiled as he hugged her.
“I had to work, you know? The king asked me to write a play about his wedding, and I needed to take a look at a few books at the library. I’m back now though. Let’s go to your room and play a bit. Maybe I’ll write a story about you next – or for you! Would you like that?”
OOC: 1.516 words
Tristan's Office
Tristan was in a bit of a dilemma. The season before he had interviewed a Naerikk. Yndira had told him that she was a cannibal, and he had immediately started to turn her story into a play because Rynmere really needed a play about a beautiful woman killing men and eating them. He had been looking forward to casting an actress for the leading role and starting with the first rehearsals, but by the time that he had finished the script and polished it, it was already blate Ymiden.
A little while earlier Empress Emerson Sands had contacted him and asked him to write a play about the royal wedding. He had of course agreed because you couldn’t say no to the most important woman in the kingdom. Besides, he had come to the conclusion that such a play would likely increase his popularity approximately tenfold and ensure that people would remember him long after he was gone. You could never be famous enough in his opinion!
The wedding would only take place in late Saun, but if he wanted to do things properly, he needed to start the preparations for his play now. That meant that he would have to take a break from working on Yndira’s story. He didn’t want to. He had fallen a little in love with his beautiful cannibal killer! He didn’t have time to work on two plays though, not if he still wanted to rule his duchy halfway efficiently (and he really, really wanted to because his subjects would probably rebel and overthrow him otherwise!)
What was he supposed to do?
He took a sip from his glass of juice (he had promised Faith that he would drink less alcohol now that he was a father) while he thought about it, and then something suddenly occurred to him. If he wrote a great play about the royal wedding and people like it, it would probably be much easier to get decent funding and find good actors for Yndira’s story. Why, all the actresses in Rynmere would probably be begging him to pick them!
Besides, King Cassander was his friend.
So he decided that he would go to the library which was something that he was not particularly looking forward to because you always had to be quiet in the library, and you weren’t allowed to eat and drink either. If he wanted the play about Cassander and Emerson to be (mostly) accurate though, he needed to do a bit of research, about religion, the history of the royal family and so on. He had been educated on Rynlism as a child, but he hadn’t paid a lot of attention back then. He had spent most of his time writing weird poems.
He had briefly considered simply asking the couple to send him their biographies, but the king and the Empress probably had other things to worry about, such as the RCA and the Alliance. No, it would be better if he didn’t bother them. With that thought in mind he asked the babysitter (and his favourite bodyguard Lianne in case Aelig decided to show up) to watch Ayla for a while because he had some important business to take care of.
The librarian probably wouldn’t appreciate it if he brought a baby either, even if said baby was magical.
So he made his way into town, Hannah and Brandon, two more of his bodyguards, in tow. He’d hurry up. Ayla was currently asleep in her bed, so hopefully she wouldn’t even notice that he was gone!
~~~
The library in Oakleigh didn’t have as many books about Rynmere specific subjects as the university library in Andaris which didn’t really come as a surprise to Tristan. The people of the Eastern Settlement had always been rather proud of their independence from the kingdom.
Perhaps it was also for that reason that he didn’t find all the information that he needed.
Some of the questions that he had had were answered, but new questions arose in their place. Another problem was that the librarian refused to let him take the books home even though he was the duke, so he actually had to sit down at a table and take notes.
Of course he added his own questions and comments:
King Cassander was born on the 27th of Saun, Arc 717 (I need to remember to send him a birth trial gift! Maybe some toys for his new puppy?). His last name is Renault, but the royal family has very close links to the Luther family of Welles who own most of the land in that part of the Eastern Settlement.
The first Luther king, Craig Luther, was crowned in 618, after arcs of the title belonging to the Andaris line (It wouldn’t surprise me if House Andaris tried to take the crown back sometimes! I’m actually surprised that they haven’t rebelled yet!).
People weren’t happy about a stranger ascending the throne and burned buildings to the ground in protest (That sounds really familiar!). His successors apparently weren’t very popular either (Didn’t they learn anything?). King Owen Luther’s younger brother William was killed during an attempt on the king’s life. He died protecting his brother.
King Cassander’s parents died in 710 when their ship was attacked by pirates (Did they know that the king and the queen were on that ship? Was it really an assassination?). Cassander was just a boy then. Who took care of him? Does he have any living relatives left in Rynmere? He was just ten. A ten arc old boy can’t take care of every aspect of his life himself!
Anyway, he married Freya Sail who was a couple of arcs older not too long after that. She did of course take his name. The city guard was doubled the trial that she married Cassander. She was the most hated woman in Rynmere for reasons that we are all familiar with (Why did he marry her?). She died in Saun 716. In which way shall I incorpoprate her death into my story? I’m not sure if Cassander wants to be reminded of his first wife!
On to Emerson. Emerson was born on Ymiden 19, Arc 692 (Cassander really seems to have a thing for older women!). She is of course considered the most holy figure in Rynmere, pure, true of heart, mind and soul. She is a spokesperson for the people of Rynmere, enforcing laws, weighing in on sentences for prisoners and more. She also oversees the monks.
And then there is of course the matter of the curse. The Empress always wears a veil. People that look at her are supposed to get cursed. What kind of curse is it though? Maybe I should try and find somebody that was subjected to it!
Anyway, I can see why some people have a problem with this marriage now!
Are Cassander and Emerson really in love or did she curse him? They seemed to get along well when I last met them, but Cassander didn’t look as if he was the victim of some kind of dark magic. Maybe kings are immune to the curse?
Should the politicial consequences of their union matter if their feelings for each other are genuine by the way? Most people would probably say yes and insist that that it isn’t right and that it’s dangerous!
In my opinion they shouldn’t though! If two people love each other, they should be allowed to get married! Besides, Emerson will still be a better queen than that terrible Freya!
Tristan stopped writing for a moment and rubbed his forehead. He could feel the beginnings of a headache. His hands were already hurting, and there were a lot of ink stains on them, and he still hadn’t read up on Rynlism! He really needed to get a library of his own so that he didn’t have to copy everything anymore. He would start working on his library project as soon as he returned to his estate, he decided. But for now he had some more writing to do! He needed to hurry up. He didn’t want to leave Ayla alone for too long!
~~~
When Tristan, Hannah and Brandon finally returned to Oakleigh Estate, Lianne awaited them at the gate, little Ayla who was wearing a sky blue dress in her arms. Tristan immediately raced up the stairs and took his daughter from her. “I’m sorry that I left you”, he said to the little girl. He had really hoped that she wouldn’t have to wake up without him. She didn’t seem to be mad at him though. She just looked up at him and smiled as he hugged her.
“I had to work, you know? The king asked me to write a play about his wedding, and I needed to take a look at a few books at the library. I’m back now though. Let’s go to your room and play a bit. Maybe I’ll write a story about you next – or for you! Would you like that?”
OOC: 1.516 words
