Truth or Dare: The Imperial Court

[madame_de_fer]

WHO: Select Orlesian and Fereldan Nobility and the Inquisition
WHAT: Josephine and Vivienne have orchestrated a good-will soiree in response to this dastardly rumor.
WHEN: Drakonis 15, Evening
WHERE: Skyhold Great Hall
NOTES:
- A list of nobles in attendance can be found here. The list was provided by the mods but there will be no npc support for them. Play away.
- A secondary outside party is being held in the valley in the tent town for anyone who couldn't/wouldn't attend and/or behave in the fancy pansty party.
- The goal of the evening is to clear up a spurious rumor about Cassandra and Leliana, with secondary goals of establishing the Inquisition as a respectable presence in Thedas (and fish for more money). Any major disruptions that would Game Over the court approval should probably be brought to the advisors and/or mods.



To say that Josphine has far outdone herself with this little soiree would be the understatement of the year. The Lady Ambassador has pulled out all the stops in providing a festive and yet elegant stage for this political intervention. Because sometimes gossip can be more deadly than a sword.

The Great Hall of Skyhold has been converted into a grand receiving hall, glittering with hundreds of lights around the room, in addition to the repairs accomplished to the original chandeliers. Of course, there has been artful placement arranged so there are a few shadowy corners for rendezvous of the more suggestive nature. Just in case. The majority of the floor has been cleared for dancing, and a fine troupe of musicians have been installed for the bulk of the evening's entertainments. Some members of the Inquisition have plans to entice attendees with their own artistic performances in addition to the group of mages performing illusory tricks to oohs and aahs.

For those who feel their energy flagging, there are chairs set against the walls, with a few tables interspersed between. Servers hired for the evening circulate the crowds with wine, fine Orlesian and Nevarran reds as well as crisp whites from Antiva. Refreshments are set out on buffet tables, tasteful and extravagant nibbles, including imported cheeses, spicy saucisson, dried fruits and nuts, and the highly sought after deep mushroom and anise petits fours that are all the rage in Orlais.

Comments

[bookish_lioness]

Oh. A Templar. That made Hermione shift a little, not entirely sure whether she should bring up what she'd heard of Templars and their relationship with the mages, or that she was technically a mage at all. It was likely for the best to feel things out before recklessly revealing herself to everyone she came across.

"I'm afraid I don't know who or what the Right Hand of the Divine is," she admitted with a polite smile. "But yes, despite how dire the threat of Corypheus sounds, I haven't heard much about this war the Inquisition is apparently fighting. But then, I'm no one of note, so it's likely no one thinks to keep me abreast of the situation."

[keeperofmagi]

"You do, even if you don't realise you know," Nerva said, clicking her silvered claws together absent-mindedly. "Seeker Cassandra Pentaghast, one of the Inquisition's foremost leaders, was the Right Hand of the Divine. Remains so, until a new Divine is declared."

She frowned slightly, looking down at Hermione, wondering just how little oversight the rifters had, here. They were going to have to do something about that.

"You are not 'no one of note." She said, bluntly, nodding to her hand. "You carry a shard. The shards are all we have, to close the rifts, to keep the demons at bay. They are they only hope we have of closing the sky. By your very nature, you are significant."

[bookish_lioness]

"Oh. I've met Cassandra Pentaghast." She... couldn't say whether or not she'd liked her, since she'd had mixed feelings about the woman. She admired her dedication to her cause, but at the same time, she'd been a little too intimidating to truly be liked, what with forcing Hermione into an interrogation room shortly after her arrival and suggesting she go through a Harrowing before she be allowed to practice magic.

Hermione wasn't sure how to react to the implication that she was "significant", though she could understand it well enough, she supposed. Glancing down at her hand before holding it to her chest, she asked, "So then, your outlook on rifters is a positive one? Many people seem to think we're not to be trusted, given our connection to the Fade. They claim it makes us just as potentially volatile as the mages."

[keeperofmagi]

"Every man and woman has the potential to be volatile." Her statement is blunt. She would not call herself positive.

About anything, really.

"Those that can prove themselves trustworthy should do so. But there are those who refuse, and threaten all of us while they do so. We must remain vigilant."

[bookish_lioness]

While Hermione knows it's probably best that she avoid talking about mages whenever her anger might spike, she carefully asks, "And how would people prove themselves trustworthy? Either the rifters or the mages? It's not always quite so cut and dry."

And besides, vigilance is only a step or two away from paranoia. While she knows that much from experience, she knows better than to say as much.