⇨ 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

[lmpatientdefense]

"This iron was found in the stronghold of the Mother of Invention, experimenter for the Winter Court. She had a stash of iron in her labs - a mix of rough blades, and smaller fragments, for testing on the mortals and changelings in her charge."

A polite way of saying, the people that MoI had kidnapped and changed so they'd also be more vulnerable to the metal. The idea that mortals might deserve any agency or respect from the fae's still too much of a sticking point between the Summer monarchs to be worth harping on.

"This wasn't a single piece," Beau instead emphasizes, "found by chance, for some idle curiosity. This was a collection, intentionally gathered over time, for reasons I can only assume were nefarious."

She glances towards the others, those with more scientific background and those with the stored memory, for backup.

[npcarnival]

"Stockpiling iron is usually thought to be forbidden," the Summer Queen says. "Yet, somehow... I do not doubt your words. The Mother of Invention has always been a dangerous and uncouth being. Is there any reason to think that her corruption touches the rest of her Court? It would be simple to conclude that her experiments were independent from her Queen."

[periphrasing]

Converse to her behavior during the council with the Summer Maiden, Peridot is surprisingly together for this meeting. It's a look that she hasn't really worn in front of most of the carnival, but one which she was accustomed to donning for thousands of years when making official reports to her superiors back on Homeworld.

"Your Majesty. Admittedly, we did not find any direct or explicit evidence that the Winter Queen requested the Mother of Invention carry out further experimentation with such forbidden materials," Peridot supplies in the same sort of neutral tone she used to record her audio logs in. "However. There is strong evidence which indicates that the Winter Queen was still in fact in contact with the Mother of Invention, despite having publicly renounced her. We recovered research logs and notes recorded by the Mother herself which cited certain experiments that she believed to be of particular interest to the Queen. Additionally, the Huntsman's involvement with both of the parties in question strongly suggests some sort of link between the two."

[whattaprick]

"The multiverse is a big place -- fae should know that better than anyone. It's too convenient that the Mother of Invention would know exactly where the Huntsman would strike the Carnival, and be there to clean up the mess, unless they'd arranged it." Lambert interjects at this point. He pauses, then goes on, knowing this is a long shot.

"I believe the Huntsman isn't the first time the Winter Queen has used an old enemy of the Ringmaster'sagainst her. The Ringmaster took precautions to conceal the Carnival from a demon it crossed -- but somehow, their servants still tracked us and ambushed us while we were in another realm. Supposedly, a woman with white hair and a grudge against the Ringmaster told them where to find us. They knew to use iron. I wasn't one of the ones captured, but ... I saw what happened to those who were. " He doesn't want to try to have to digress with vampire bullshit, so hopefully demon keeps it generic enough.

"We found out Winter's been keeping an eye on us for a while The Queen's own footman -- Frost -- found a way to latch on to the Carnival's realm. Tracking that trail is, uh, apparently how the Summer Court found us, later." He grimaces in distaste just thinking of the little shit, and the temporary winter he brought. He's also going to try not to look too awkward, since this is technically information they squeezed out of Ignatius under duress.

"I know it might just seem like coincidence ... but like I said before, it's too convenient. What are the chances an enemy of the Ringmaster would just happen to be given the information they need, by someone who matches the description of someone else who'd want the Beast gone? They don't seem big, to me."

[kingsroads]

Strange, who's been noticeably quiet and keeping to himself/the sidelines for all of these conversations with the Summer Queen, does pipe up a little because that whole Frost and sudden winter business was kiiind of his fault and he should at least give a little bit more context here.

"Winter wasn't tracking the carnival from afar. Frost was close enough that he was able to be directly summoned to the carnival by a summoning spell that, in all honesty, should have failed."

And then he goes right back to being quiet and letting everyone else talk!

[npcarnival]

The Queen and some of her courtiers will ask some tedious clarifying questions on some of this information, but nothing that we need to write out. They will otherwise accept this testimony and move on to the next thing.