⇨ THE SUMMER COURT

[ringleaders]

Who: Everyone in the Summer Maiden's entourage.
When: Day 129 - Day 131 (Subjectively experienced as only one day.)
Where: The Summer Court
What: The Summer Maiden returns to the Summer Court for the first time in eons, leading a posse of carnival workers and Summer Fae. The Summer Queen has initiated a peaceful Elysium for discussions to take place, with dozens of the Court in attendance, but the true tone of the negotiations has yet to be unearthed.
Warnings: Fae being bitches.

SUNSET OF AN ERA↴ The phase shift takes few minutes to complete, when it's time. The Summer Maiden gathers everyone together - her guard of Summerland Fae, and her carnival wards - and activates the spell to bring them to the Summer Court. It's been planned with the Summer Queen, she says, and they should have her cooperation. Nothing has been settled in terms of negotiations, but at the very least, the Queen was not willing to shut down the opportunity to see her daughter for the first time eons, along with her lesser children, Ignatius and Gild. The Summer Maiden has recommended that everyone dress formally and conduct themselves with respect, but she is not forcing anyone to do so. It simply seems like the best way to make an impression. When they arrive in the Summer Court, they are in a courtyard. The Maiden's light magic fades and they will see themselves in a garden of alien trees, with golden towers rising up around them in all directions. Two Summer Court fae are waiting for them at an ornate gate, but it isn't until the Summer Maiden has claimed her role as an adjudicator or the present Elysium that she breaks the barrier surrounding her party. She tells everyone that it is safe to go forth but to be cautious. There is no way of knowing what direction negotiations will take. The guard leads them in, and they will find themselves in a spacious and life-filled throne room, with massive trees that function and supporting pillars and the throne itself. A variety of True Fae that the carnival has never seen before are scattered around the room, waiting with a thick air of tension. As the Summer Maiden leads them in, she will announce herself to the Queen, and claim all those present as under her protection. The introductions are brief, and after the Maiden is done, the Queen will ask to speak with her privately. There is a clear nervousness beneath the Queen's veneer of control. As the Maiden joins her at the throne to speak about personal matters, everyone else is free to explore the throne room and mingle - if they dare. ► STICKING OUT: There are some notable reactions going on as the Maiden's entourage arrives. In general, the Court Fae respond strongly to Ignatius's presence - both the fact that he's turned up as an ally to the Maiden, and his curious magical transformation. Ignatius, for his part, holds back and tries to keep to himself, looking like he's trying to hide a significant amount of stress. To the Gilded Mark, there is a particular note of resentment, which she mostly seems to ignore and focuses on staying close to the carnival folk. The Starlight, the Whirling Rainbow, and a few other Summerland Fae have come along, and they all hold back as the Summer Maiden discusses things with the Queen privately. In general, the Court Fae eye the carnival with a mixture of curiousity and disgust. ► TOUGH CROWD: There are dozens of Summer Court Fae here that no one will have seen before. They mill about the room as if this is an uncomfortable formal engagement, eyeing up the Maiden's entourage an gossiping with one another. The opinions they hold of the situation vary wildly - some seem more of the attitude that the Court would be better off if the Summer Maiden were to die and be replaced, where others are openly optimistic and excited about the potential of reparations being made. You are free to make up/NPC any of these fae as long as they aren't doing anything radical, like trying to break the Elysium. Some of them will treat the visitors as threats, while others may even attempt to ask them questions about the situation. ► ACCOMMODATIONS: There is food and drink provided while negotiations endure. Normally you may want to be cautious about accepting this kind of thing, but given that it's part of Elysium, they are obligated to not harm any of those present. So, if you want, you will be able to enjoy faerie ales and other luxury foods that have the capability of being distractingly tantalizing to mortals with low self control. If you need some space, you are free to go back out to the courtyard where you arrived. There are few fae out there, but it is still covered by the Elysium. Take some time to settle in - this could take a while, and there's sure to be drama before it's over. Later on, there will be public discussion.

Comments

[ringleaders]

He'll glance away for a moment, trying to put together a more rational thought. He shakes his head, somberly.

"No... I've known all along that coming back would be like this," he says, quietly. "Maybe it would be different if I had managed it sooner, before... all of this." He glances at Rita, and sighs. "But... if I had. If they had welcomed me back... I may have never understood. I may have never changed my mind." He manages to smile faintly. "I'd like to think that's worth something... even if I've paid a price for it."

He pauses, then, to think about her question.

"I trust all of them as much as I ever did. I trust them to follow their own way of being." He stares at the Summer Queen longingly, as she speaks to the Summer Maiden. "The Summer Queen is afraid. She has been since the day I was created. The Summer Maiden... I think she's afraid, too. Both of them are afraid of the consequences of their choices."

[anti_nonsense]

For a few seconds, Rita's staring at Ignatius like he has something on his face. "...You really have changed," she marvels. She knew that, of course... but there were some things she always thought would stay the same. Her expression softens a bit as she lets that sink in, but then she's back to the topic at hand.

"They're scared, huh... They'd have to be crazy not to be. Guess I'm glad they aren't that, at least." Not like a certain other Queen they both know. "Did you ever get to talk to the Queen much before? What's she usually like?"

[ringleaders]

Ignatius frowns - not because it's bad to hear her say that, quite the opposite, but because it makes him a little self-conscious and he isn't sure what to say in response. So, he doesn't say anything, and instead just answers her question.

"I did," he says, with nostalgia lingering in his voice. "Gild, Torch, and I were created by her and a team of her most honored warriors. We were meant to defend the throne against the uprising. The Summer Maiden was sewing dissent, and the Summer Court was preparing for a war." He shakes his head to himself a little. He's starting to think about the whole thing much differently than he did before.

"Grown and handpicked to defend her and her Court. But... it didn't last long. Gild defected before the insurgency ended, and while the Court was still recovering from the divide, Torch's life was taken by the Winter Court. I was the only one left. I'm still considered young for a fae, but the Summer Queen commanded me personally. It was at her request that I went to guard the Rose Queen... whom, herself, could be considered another one of the Summer Throne's wayward children. Made by the touch of a Queen long before this one."

Maybe that's unnecessary backstory, but it's hard to explain: the context of everything, and how it made him feel. How he felt like the Queen relied on him, for so many years. How she's like family to him, but not.

"...She has always been kind to me. Trusted me. But... she was tired. Weary of the throne, weary of what it demanded, and resistant to conflict. She never had a choice, and she never ran from her fate - even as it led her to see threats around every corner." He looks at the ground. "I felt it was my duty to live up to her example. To bear my burdens no matter the cost. To allow the Summer Court to live on as it always had."

[anti_nonsense]

"So it's not just blind loyalty..." Rita murmurs as she mulls over the new information. There was a time when she would have dismissed Ignatius's reverence for his queen as just that, but it looks like he really does know and respect her. She may even be like a mother to him...

"Well, if she knows you that well, maybe she'll still trust you. I mean, even when I hated your guts, I always knew you weren't the deceiving, traitorous type. She should understand that at least as well as I do." They must have centuries of history together, if not more. The Queen has to know that whatever Ignatius has to say, it'll be truthful and sincere, even if the Court might not like it.

[ringleaders]

He snorts softly, finding some humour in that. He gestures helplessly.

"If anything she will simply believe I am foolish and terribly mistaken in my new convictions. She may believe I am honorable, but that doesn't mean she can't think I'm stupid." He sighs with a bit more levity than before. "She'll probably at least listen long enough to determine that, though. So, I have a chance."

[anti_nonsense]

"A chance, huh..." Rita's expression seems to lighten a bit, too. "Seems like a step up from all the hopeless situations we've already somehow gotten out of."

Facing the Summer Queen is daunting... but it can't be as hopeless as, say, getting torn limb from limb by Wyld Fae, or being imprisoned in Polaris. If anything, this should be the easy part of their journey. At least, that's the kind of perspective Rita wants to take.

She turns her head to face away, seemingly reluctant to continue, as if debating whether it's a good idea to say this next part.

"...For what it's worth... I want these talks to succeed, and I hope you can get some part of your life back." Maybe not the changeling-capturing, constant-war-waging bits, but ideally the parts where he had a family, a community, people who trusted and respected him.