Games are held at the Great Tournament Grounds at Lyonesse Shadowpath Node of Dunst! One on one combat! Jousting! Fire Eaters! Juggling! And it all goes well with great feats of daring-do until an injured White Knight rides in announcing the Sacred Graal has been stolen. Then all hell breaks loose and it is all Black Knight on White Knight violence!

And in the end, it rains, and the Graal is recovered, and it goes to someone who is the Victor of the Tournament to complete the Ritual of the Node...

Big Thanks to everyone who came out for this scene to make it a huge success: good guys, bad guys, AND CAINE!

( Three of Petrus's accomplices in the crowd unfurl a huge purple banner, displaying Serminia's national emblem. It is absolutely gaudy in every sense of the word, but the timing is absolutely perfect. )

Liam's eyeballs didn't explode at my codpiece at Bley's wedding, and no one was afraid.

Must try harder.

Gossip ACR: Sun Dec 13 03:18:51 2009 by Benedict (public)
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The salons and halls and chambers of the palace have it from people who have it from other people that the King wonders why Bleys chose to ignore his Royal Heritage to have a wedding to the Duchess of Karm take place off Crown Property. The King firmly supports his brother in his good endeavour and wishes him well in his marriage, and utterly refutes that it is a sign of weakness on Bleys' part to marry the Duchess under such circumstances. Yes, the Palace was available to his brother. Of course.

Gossip ACS: Sun Dec 13 05:44:59 2009 by Bleys (public)
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The better-informed gossips in the palace believe Prince Bleys to have been prudent in his choice of venue for his wedding, for when the wedding was announced, and invitations sent and the logistics arranged, it was Julian who was upon the throne and not Benedict. Given the only-tenuous truce and lack of warmth between His Previous Majesty and His Royal Highness, and the disarrayed state of the court and palace in the absence of Princess Flora, it seemed wise of Bleys to have chosen a venue less subject to mishap, whether deliberate or intentional. And besides, who would have dared plan a wedding in the palace at a time when Flora was absent?

To the image of Bleys, Benedict is looking at an oil painting that hangs in the Dining Room in the Palace. He looks from a painting to an image. "Prince Bleys."
The image of Bleys is in a place with a grimly ugly sky. It is raining fur, lightly. "Brother," he greets. With cold irritation he says, "I would rather again the logistics and bloodshed of moving a starving batallion of iron-turtle knights and their damnable mechanical contrivances through the haunted mountains of Ygyrystan than to attempt to move my wedding from one venue to another." He points at the roiling, varicolored sky. "A shadowstorm is coming. Beware of monsters. That is all." And like an elastic band snapping back abruptly, he withdraws his mind from the contact.

The image of Bleys turns his attention away from the Trump, and vanishes.

You paged Bleys with 'That one where we had to blast our way through rocks with boiling vinegar?'.

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To: Bleys
Subject: +sending/PAT-BD: Bird with orange plumage
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The bird carries a very small vinegar vial. Inside is a rolled note: /Was/ available. When nobody asked. Benedict Rex.
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The image of Julian nods. "I did." Then, apparently with his usual bluntness, he asks, "Do you still love Amber, Brother?"

To the image of Julian, Caine answers promptly, "Like nothing else."

The image of Julian says, "And will you do whatever it takes to make her strong again?"

To the image of Julian, Caine says, "You're about to ask me to do something really stupid, aren't you?"

I discovered Glanworth's has been closed.

Who will I get to make my codpiece for Bleys' wedding?

It is too bright here, the night is too short. I care little for sunbeams and blue skies. This is not my Weirmonken. This is a brightly colored and horrible nightmare. This is chains and collars. The others do not care for it either--the spirits of the forest cry out for help. I do not know where to even begin. The Forest King's voice whispers in my ear of blood and sacrifice. If that is what it requires of me, so be it. Brand has offered what help he can, when the time comes for me to travel to the Other Place.

They have named Julian Regent now. Why can they not understand that he is not my Regent, that only Emrys or Eric himself will be able to hold Weirmonken thus? They have sent us Amber's failure, it is only a matter of time before that effects us. Emrys must be found, the Silverspire with him, and soon.