The Festival of the Gods (Open)

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The Festival of the Gods

Mysterious shakes and a deep rumble had been coming from the castle since late that morning. Despite the constant drizzling that morning the weather had cleared leaving it hot and sticky. As evening approached a thick haze brought in by the coast covered the area. As evening approached and darkness fell, the first lights of the castle blazed to life. Signifying the start of the Festival of The Gods.  

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As you pull up to the grand stair case leading up to the court yard, you are greeted with the sound of cascading water. The court yard is not yet visible to you; hidden away by rows of tall cypress trees, and cascading arrays of flowers, fell over each tiered row. The stair case of white marble was lined with large potted plants with flowers giving off a sweet fragrant scents. Small fire fly like flickering lights lit up the stair case encasing it in a soft orange gold glow. As you ascend the stair case the air gradually gets cooler. The thick haze that blanketed the air, making it hard to see more than a few feet ,drops down to a low wisps of fog that danced around your feet. The court yard you now see was transformed into an enchanted garden.



Large wisteria trees had grown along the edges of the court yard, placed evenly in rows. These wisteria trees were massive, their branches reaching up and weaving to create a ceiling full of cascading purple flowers. The Wisteria tree was a symbolism for devotion, on the day of honoring the gods, it could not be more perfect. Amongst the ceiling of Wisteria, the same orange lights twinkled above them, blinking like tiny little stars.



The court yard was large, and lined with hedges that opened up in sporadic points to hall ways leading into the castle. The openings marked with two large cypress trees that reached up towards the ceiling of wisteria. Behind the hedges water spouts arched up; a feature that already had been present in the court yard. It was fed by a small reflecting pond that lined either side of the court yard. The reflecting pond each about a foot in width, now had small floating candles scattered throughout the water. Delicate white egrets moved about the water; seemingly unbothered by guests. More flowers lined the outer edges of the court yard, with a few fragrant blooms here and there. Creating a pleasant scent, but not overwhelming. In fact many of the plants in the room for those who knew the subtle nuances symbolized each element that the gods and goddess represented. There were white marble pathways that led through soft trimmed plushes of grass, leading to small white marble benched areas, cushioned with colorful pillows. Small marble tables had been brought out, and each of them held a glass sphere filled with an all flower potion that gave off light. Instead of just having petals in the potion a single white water lily bloomed in the center, creating a very alluring center pieces. These lights could be found on pedestals throughout the court yard, giving off plenty of light, but just dim enough to create a mysterious like atmosphere.



To the right of the court yard a long white table covered in pale gold linen, had a large spread of light horderves. They would cycle out through the evening; by men dressed in white, wearing simple white masks.



In the middle of the court yard a large marble expanse would serve as a dance floor, an orchestra was set up towards the left hand corner of the court yard. Already they were playing soft music, as people arrived and where announced. However the pièce de résistanc of the courtyard display was towards the back, located at the grand staircase in which nobility entered down from the castle and into the court yard. Beginning at the top of a terrace, at a height which one could brush a hand against the hanging wisteria if they so wished, the stair case came down in a zig zag pattern. At the bottom of the stair case always sat a large fountain. Usually it was just a large pond meant for koi, and even now the large colorful fish swam calmly in the clear waters. Now the large pond was part of a much larger grander display, at either ends of the pond spouted massive water spouts that reached to the top of the terrace. It framed a massive water fall that cascaded down from an unseen location, down into a smaller pond located on the second tier; framed by three tiered water spouts on either side. The stairs artfully descended in a zig zag pattern, not a bit of the stairs were covered in water, leaving it open for a grand entrance.



The waterfalls while it could be heard from outside of the courtyard loud in clear, oddly enough was just mere background noise; somehow the sound seeming to be muffled in the distance. The sounds in the courtyard were only the soft murmur of people, and soft music wafting through the air. Curiously the sound of bird songs could be heard up in the eaves of the Wisteria. One might even see one flinting about.

[Ai]

A tall slender figure of a delicate complexion ascended the steps. Platinum blonde hair was braided and piled artfully on the top of her head. There face was concealed by a full white porcelain mask, leafed with gold that arched out from the eyes in the form of a large butterfly. The gold leafed mask was inlaid with pearls and diamonds. Large platinum eyes looked out from thick eyelashes, gazing at the wonderful arrangements during her ascent. The woman’s dress was a daring sleeveless empire cut dressed, the band around the figures well-endowed chest was made with a shimmery gold fabric, the edging inlaid with pearls and diamonds. The rest of the dress was made with a gossamer white fabric that fell in a loose waves that extended into a train behind her. The gossamer fabric was overlaid over a gold mermaid style fit, emphasizing her hour glass figure. Her thin waist was emphasized by a thin belt also decorated with pearls and diamonds. On her back a large butterfly bow artfully crafted to resemble butterfly wings, was made out of gold and the white gossamer fabric. The bows end ribbons fell to trail on the ground behind her, joining up with the train from the skirts. Her feet were clad in matching slippers.

When the figure appeared at the top of the stairs, she could not help but stop, and take in the sights and pleasant smells. Whoever decorated this year, really out did themselves. Her husband would be most pleased. As she slowly entered the court yard, she took in every little detail; really the area was stunning. The symbolism was subtly done, there were plants here that represented each and every one of them…the lighting was even pleasant enough that Zepon may enjoy himself. Really the thought that was put into the decorations this year was impressive. She would like to know who had done it.

[Deleted]

The whole setup was wondrous, a sight beyond description, and Melda looked upon it with a smile on her face. She stood at the top of the stairs for just a moment, taking in the rooms beauty before slowly making her way down the steps, lifting her dress to do so. She was in a lovely lilac gown with silver accents. It flowed down her body, clinging to her elegantly and coming to an end at her feet. Her silver heels could just barely be seen, and only then when she was lifting the skirt to make her way down the steps. The neckline plunged down to the middle of her chest in a “V” form, thin straps wrapping around her pale shoulders. The dress was silky, yet it had a pattern sewn into it, one that looked like small feathers, and various wings were holding onto the fabric, some extending out around her, but not to far. It was an illusion of petals and flowers, looking like birds feathers. The lining of the pattern was the silver in her dress, shimmering in some of the lighting. Her eyes were covered by a white lace mask, with light white feathers protruding from the left side, medium in length. Melda’s silvery hair mixed in well with her mask, as she decided to keep it down for the festival, curling it at the ends so it cascaded genially down her back, and small ringlets at her hips. The bottom of her face could be seen, and her lips were painted a soft pink, complimenting her pale skin nicely.

She made it to the bottom of the stairs and released her skirts to flow back down around her feet, like a small purple pond was attached to her. She had never wanted to attend such things like this, but this year it seemed appropriate, so she was very stunned by the outcome so far. Melda walked slowly to one of the small real ponds, looking down into the water. The reflection was truly stunning, and almost added to the beauty of the room. Melda remained there, awaiting a familiar face, if one were to appear.

[Lucinda Noru]

This was Lucinda's first ball in Teair and she could hardly contain her excitement. There would be so many people and it was an excellent chance to mingle with everyone and not worry about formalities or ranking since all the guests wore festival masks. She wasn’t really sure what to expect from the evening but retained high hopes nonetheless.

Lucinda had decided to forgo the royalty’s usually expected dark colors for something more in her own personal tastes. The dress was long, a ball room style with short sleeves, made of summer silk and white,with rainbow colored edging around the neckline and a layer of beautiful rainbow colored silk for the skirt's top layer. The top half was corseted with a sweet heart neckline while the bottom half ballooned out into fuller skirts, the edges of the hem about a half foot out. Her mask was simple as well. Cut in a cat eye style, it had gold thread outlining the edge, and was mostly white except for a roughly quarter inch of rainbow threading around the eyes. She wore white shoes and had her hair up in a half ponytail to help hide the string which was tucked underneath.

As she made her way into the courtyard, the princess had to stop for a moment at the top of the stairs to take it all in. Her eyes widened with surprise even as her face broke into a grin. It was absolutely gorgeous and smelled wonderful. She had a feeling it was all very carefully planned but most of the nuances were lost on her. The lighting was perfect and the sound of the water with the birdsong blended nicely with the music.

[Deleted]

Kail had made sure the outfit he had was clean and smelled pleasant since he did not want to offend anyone. He used the last bit of his Axe Phoenix deodorant for the event. Over his face was a black and gold mask that looked a bit moth or butterfly inspired which was in contrast with his light purples and blues off his outfit with the leather straps that seemed empty. The only part that could be seen of Kail was his mouth and hair. He approached from the commoner entrance, due to the fact that he was not a noble or a lord. The blond was blown away by the shear beauty of the event. Things like this back in his world were for the super rich like world leaders or someone of that level. But this was not even done by technology. That was the major thing that knocked his socks off as he walked in, he saw several women come down in super elegant dresses. They had to be of the higher nobility although one of them really stood out that was decked out in a lot of jewels. Like a ridicules amount of them. This had to be royalty or perhaps one of the goddesses but he was not sure who and was going to try and keep clear of that woman.

The thought of romancing a goddess never crossed his mind, but knowing his greek myths that was a really really bad idea. Especially if it is a wife or lover of one of the gods. He could be cursed or worse and did not want that to happen to him. Kail's life was already hard and confusing to him. He did not want that kind of trouble of the divine kind, but for now food was his main priority. The blond went over and picked up a bit of the light fare and ate along with something to drink. Kail would watch how much he would drink as he did not want to make himself look like an idiot. He did wonder if this party would bore him like it did with the winter ball though. But everyone was in a mask or a costume so perhaps it would not be too bad. Kail did try and relax himself and enjoy the evening like everyone else there.

[Deleted]

Lilith had heard the buzz of the event everywhere she went, from the whispers in the library, to the gossip where the Mage Guard took her, and after the buzz grew, she became curious. She’d heard many nobles would be there, and even Gods/Goddess, though she was sure those were just rumours. Regardless, she had a way in and she had to admit she’d be a fool to turn it down. She didn’t arrive from the grand entrance as the nobles or royals did, nor the back entrance as some people from the kingdom did, but rather a side entrance from another room in the castle. As much as she’d of loved to descend those gorgeous stairs, she probably would have fallen flat on her face in the process. When Lilith’s eyes took in the whole room she nearly fell over anyway. She couldn’t take it in all at once, there was so much. The lighting, the decorations, the food, the people. This event would surely top anything she would ever go to in her life. She vaguely remembered when she attended the Winter Ball, having gotten a little sloshy, and taken off the “explore” the castle. She smiled at the memory— it had been the day she met a very good friend of hers— one she still didn’t know was okay or not. She hadn’t been in contact from anyone involved in the Gallows since that night— aside from Sima and Aria. She was always worried, but she knew she couldn’t dwell on it forever.

Lilith was wearing an emerald gown, form fitting in the bodice, and coming out to a small flare by the hem. It was sleeveless, but she wore a jacket with it, and the sleeves ended at her finger tips. The collar of the jacket shot up, around her head in feathers, bright green and blues in colour. The feathers accented the dress, on the ends of the sleeves, in the middle of the bodice and near the bottom front of the dress. There was a small train behind her of just the feathers, but it was not long enough to get in anyones way. Her long, platinum hair, was twisted up around her head in small braids, though only half. The rest was in a long, messy braid over her right shoulder. There was a peacock feather in the braids around her head. She wore a golden mask, accented with green and blue swirls around her face, and three feathers extended from the left side, greens blues and browns. Her purple eyes shone from under the mask, gawking at the room around her. The rest of her face was visible, and she wore a light purple lip colour.

Lilith walked a little further into the room, coming across the food table. She looked around it with a small smile and grabbed something small to snack on for the time being. She walked around the table and grabbed a small glass to drink— she didn’t want to over do it and have an exotic story to tell like last time. Good story, but dangerous memory. Lilith turned, now having her glass and her food, and nearly walked right into a man she hadn’t seen standing there. Oh! I am so sorry! I didn’t spill any on you, did I? She looked over his clothing to make sure she drink hadn’t sloshed onto him at all, and noticed his was moth inspired, or that was how she saw it anyhow. She glanced at him a bit longer, noticing his long blonde hair. He seemed familiar, but there was a lot of people she didn’t know, so she didn’t want to assume.


( The Dress  The Mask)

[Deleted]

Finn saunters into the ball with a wide smile on his face, cheeks slightly flushed from the ale and reverie he had been participating in throughout the day. In truth at this point many commoners knew how Finn was dressed and several of the nobles. In fact, through the haze in his mind he realized he had hired eight new house guard throughout the course of the day. Well I'm sure Altair will be able to figure out if they are spies, He decides, though after a little over a week and a half here he would almost prefer the spies, if only so that someone could get a story straight.

Finn found himself more and more puzzled by the court gossip and had already turned away several potential brides. They bring be pretty dullards, what I wouldn't give for a plain competent woman, hell I'd make a commoner my personal scribe at this point. He resolved as he immediately walks to the side of the hall to breath and pour himself a drink of the wine on offer.

Finn was dressed in wide red silk pants with golden trim and a tower of gold patterned upon, the symbol of the northern dutchy. The the outer layer of his silken shirts was the same color read, though instead of a representation of stone walls golden feathers were embroidered to make it seem like they were falling from the heavens onto the wall. Beneath this was a golden yellow shirt with brilliant white lace trim that spilled from the sleeves and collar, at the back the trim led into a cape crafted of golden hawk feathers, also used to accent his golden mask which rose up into his hairline. His usual leather belt was replaced with one that seemed to be fastened of interlocking coins and his talon carving knife hunt at his side along with a fine ale horn filled with the north's finest wine on the other hip.

He gravitated towards the bird song with a wide smile.

[Deleted]

Kail was watching things carefully as lords and ladies were coming down the stairs a lot more. Then someone came over and almost spilt something on him. He had moved out of the way at a critical moment. As he was about to speak to the woman though. The voice was familure to him and then saw the long silvery white hair. "Its fine Lilith, you did not get anything on me" thankful as stains would have been a pain to clean in this era of time. The blond scarfed another piece of food that was rather tasty and downed it. It would have been awhile since he would have had some good food like this. He took another glass of whatever drink it was and leaned against a tree. It was a party but why he was not getting joy or just enjoying it. Perhaps in the back of his mind that there was a sword of damaclease over him. Deep down perhaps he was still scared shitless even though he was wearing a mask. That there would be more then enough people to slay him or do worse to him. But this event though was not to worry about any of those fears. Kail was very thankful that there was a mask on it would at least hide the fear in his eyes.

"Its rather fancy with everything here" he commented with everything there. His eyes though still watching though as if a force of habit. Kail did wish he could break the habit and it made him facepalm as it reminded him a song back from his world. The blond knew he had to lighten up with everything there and had to but. It was damn hard as he still did not have any power to make some people fear and respect him. If the blond had that though he would be able to live with some peace of mind.

[Deleted]

If his voice hadn’t confirmed his identity, his using her name certainly did. A smile came over her face, and a rather large one at that. She hadn’t seen much of Kail recently, for obvious reasons. Good, I wouldn’t want to ruin such a beautiful costume. You look absolutely dashing Kail, I must admit. She sipped her drink, holding in the hand farthest from him, just in case. She was stunned he would dare come to an event as important as this one, but also understood to desire. The event was simply stunning, and with masks required, it would be nearly impossible to pass up— or at least in Lilith’s mind.

Yes, it’s amazing, isn’t it? … This is very brave of you Kail. She glanced at him, noticing the way his eyes darted around the room. Even in a room of masked people the blond could not let down his guard. It saddened her to see her friends constantly anxious and ready to fight if need be. It was upsetting and nerve-racking for her. If anyone saw her talking to him, and figured out both their identities, she could be kicked out of the Guard, and possibly arrested. Lilith took a deep breath and nibbled on some food.

How are you doing? I haven’t seen much of you, since… well. Where have you been staying? With Rivers and the others? I have no idea where any of you went, and to be honest, I was rather worried about you all. You disappeared after such a big thing… Lilith shifted nervously, taking another small sip.

[Ai]

T’was really a wonderment; she skirted along the edge near the pond. Still taking in all the details; she deducted a phioric had to have worked on some of this; for the animals were calm and unalarmed as one strolled by them. It was a shame Teleska wasn’t attending; while that girl wasn’t for fancy parties, she might have enjoyed this setting. Really her curiosity was itching for some information; and since it would seem her significant other had yet to make his appearance, she was free to mingle.

Ai found herself near the main fountain by the stairs; surprised that even this close the sound seem muted. Given it a very dream like feel; she gazed down in the water the tips of her fingers running along the surface of the water. Her silver gaze looked up and around; noting two figures who descended the stairs. One looked as though she had a …owl theme? The other was an easy one to guess; a rainbow, each very well done. She always loved this part of the festival; seeing the creativity and craftsmanship of every costume. Some of the woman even got daring with their outfits; she couldn’t help but notice the owl’s plunging neckline; her daughter Vennessa would have adored the design.

As both descended down the stairs, Ai approached them; while the smile on her face was hidden by the mask, the look of warmth shown through her eyes.

”Good evening ladies; I compliment you on your dresses, they simply are stunning.”

Her voice was rich and warm and motherly.

”Would either of you know who happened to decorate this year?”

[Lucinda Noru]

Lucinda looked up, a bit startled when she was addressed. She had been standing idly and simply watching all the guests arrive and begin to mingle.She didn’t think she recognized anyone yet, except perhaps the owl themed woman standing close by and also being addressed by Ai. She suspected that to be her high elf friend, as she knew no one else with such features.

The princess took her attention off the outlandishly dressed, handsome man she’d been watching, (The red and gold of his outfit suited him quite well, though it was the strangest costume she’d seen yet) and smiled to the lovely woman, whom of course she did not know was the goddess. “Thank you, but I’m afraid my dress pales in comparison to yours. It’s absolutely gorgeous,” she replied, looking over Ai’s costume with awe. She was easily the best dressed person in the ballroom so far.

“You are in luck, though. I do know who decorated this year and, for my part, am very pleased with how this turned out. It’s beautiful and the atmosphere is perfect. Once I see her again, I must ask her about the plants because, knowing her, there’s a very good reason for her choices,” she said, getting momentarily carried away. “Forgive me, I digress. The woman you seek is called Aria Wurud, though I haven’t seen her here yet,” she finished

[Noku Noru]

Noku's eyes fell over the elegant courtyard, and he smirked to himself. Aria had certainly outdone herself, and though lavish, the decor was tasteful, befitting the pride of the Festival. The King's garments were of white, edged in silver filigree that glittered like spider silk. A short cape fell just to the floor from his shoulders, also of white, with the same silver falling in long, straight lines to the tapered hem. His mask concealed his entire face, but his eyes could be plainly seen. The mask tapered up and around his head abruptly, appearing to run into the folds of his cape, and extended beyond his face several inches all around. The resulting appearance, intensified by lines of black and gold interwoven around the border, made the face seem disproportionate to his body. The border of the mask had, at intervals, decorative protrusions curling outward like wild tendrils, traced by the same dark, glittering threads. As Noku descended the staircase, he raised his arms outstretched, causing the cape to fan open and throw the soft light of the courtyard about in intense flashes--reflected from bold and complex interlacing of gold filigree that gave the effect of scales. He entered the courtyard without speaking, and casually strode to the refreshments, selecting a few minor items and some fresh punch.


It was a strange pleasure for Noku to have the advantage of ignominy over a crowd. He surveyed the diverse guests in elaborate dress and severe fashion, his eyes falling on a woman in green, with a golden mask accented by feathers, to the end of the refreshment tables. He glided to her side, standing before her with his cape drawn and his arm across his body, concealing himself. He traced her eyes, waiting for her to offer her gaze, then stepped backward, and offered his hand to her at full length, his cape falling out to show its brilliant lining. "Would you care to dance, Miss?" He spoke falsetto, allowing a soft cadence to supplant his normal harsh candor.

[Claire]

When Claire first arrived in this strange country, she had not imagined she would be returning to the castle so often. Or that she would be a wanted criminal, but that was why she was here at the very least. These people certainly liked their ah- fancy dress parties- but she couldn’t blame them. She had been to more than one loose kind of celebration when she was still home. She looked up, past the brim of her broad hat, towards the wisteria.

She was going to start sneezing at this rate, which would do absolutely nothing for her ambiance.

Dressed in black and silver and gold, Claire was covered head to toe in the garb of a hilariously wealthy man. The man, the Arch Duke who had assisted her had good taste in fabric after all. He would be able to recognize her but that would be about all, other than those whom she had modeled the costume for. She looked… westernized. A tall and foreboding god of Death clad with a heavy black cloak, wide hat and a mask in the shape of a skull that completely obscured her facial features. There was a drop of cloth around her hair and throat to hide the bronze tone of her skin, as well as thick black gloves. Only upon very close inspection would her skin betray her non-Novian origin through the slits for her eyes.

Claire turned her head back to Seanait, who was undoubtedly right behind her, gesturing up to the flowering display above their heads. “Look. They pride theirselves so much with their beauty.” she reached out to pluck one of the blossoms hanging above and looked down at the delicate blossom in the palm of her glove. This place had such pretensions to beauty, but she knew what ugliness lay beneath. It’s beauty was held together with strands like spider’s silk, just one errant tug would rend the whole structure asunder, plunging it’s monarch with it.

Claire crushed the blossom in her palm and looked back to Seanait once more, dropping the crushed blossom from her palm and extending a hand back. “Let’s go find his Majesty, shall we?”

[Deleted]

Big breasts were a pain. Literally. Séanait had seen large breasted women attempting to run and having to clutch at their chest to avoid a wardrobe mishap, or heard them complain about how it had hurt when they ran. So, she'd always counted it as a blessing that she wasn't particularly well endowed and could happily run around without any support. Tonight, though, she was feeling self conscious about her lack of cleavage. The "breast"plate picked out by Claire seemed to echo in its mostly empty mammary glands.

Still, apart from wishing she filled her costume out better, Séanait was feeling pretty happy. She was going to a festival with a deliciously macabre and dashingly handsome Claire! And, better than that, there would be plenty of excuses to link arms or hold hands. After all, it would look odd if the God of Death and the Goddess of War didn't go together hand in hand, wouldn't it?

Claire's costume had influenced Séanait's own. If Claire had gone with a God of Fertility motif, Séanait would have chosen a mask and skirt that complemented it. Since, however, Claire had gone with a Death motif (very appropriate, Séanait thought), she had chosen to focus on the grimmer aspects of a War Goddess. Her helmet consisted of a semi-circular skull cap made from boiled leather, to which had been fastened a guard at the rear of her neck and cheek flaps, all of boiled leather. Tin bands served to hold decorative pieces of silver painted leather that depicted many fantastical scenes of monsters and men fighting.

Finally, there was a face plate, decorated in tin and copper, that covered her whole face except for her eyes and part of her mouth. Red glass set into glowering copper brows and an angry looking depiction of a mouth gave the whole helmet a menacing appearance. Combined with a blood red skirt of fine linen, it made Séanait look quite menacing.

Behind her mask, Séanait smiled a vicious smile as Claire crushed the blossom and took her hand. Séanait, heart racing as though it might burst, came up beside her and chuckled.

"Yes, let's go make sure he's having fun."

Helmet

[Deleted]

Diamond was going to go the easy route and just wear his normal attire plus a mask. But it seemed Fate had something else in mind as his mercenary company had sent him a package. When he opened the package it was a set of well made eastern clothes for a formal events and they were made out of the finest materials that were able to get. Diamond did get quickly dressed in it so he would not be late. The top of the outfit was a purple color and had billowy sleeves that seemed to be tied at the shoulders. There were some floral patterns in black that went well with it. The hakama pants were black in color that almost seemed to hide his feet but he was wearing white tabi socks that went with the straw sandals. There was a cloth like tie for a belt on his right side was a pouch that held his crystals and then on his left was a wooden sword that looked like his katana blade. Made out of the strongest wood he could get with the connections with his employer Lady Melda. The mask he was wearing was styled like a wolf and it was black to a very charcoal grey. He slowly walking down the stairs and knew he would be noticed by others. Due to the fourin garb he was wearing and would stick out like a sore thumb.

But as he stepped down though there were was a major presence that was making Diamond shaking his head slightly as one of the women there was deffinately had a divine feel to them. He looked around and had saw Melda enjoying herself has he had seen her outfit for the evening. As he walked by Ai that sense he felt before was magnified by a high amount. "I do have to agree...Lady Aria has done a amazing job, I have been to the eastern lands. And this well blows everything out of the water that I have seen. Forgive me if I butted into the conversation" Diamond said and did a slight bow out of respect and manners. At least for him that is even though most of the women were masked. And did not know if they were goddesses, nobility, or commoner.