Fwurg

[Dana Lantria Asillion]

((OOC: This thread follows on [ Mirda ] Dana and Neferti at Sisira Palace))

Dana frowned. Annoyed, she took notice of a slight sense of hunger forming. Putting down the book she was reading in her chambers, she sighed in frustration. She had already eaten yesterday and the day before that, she did not take a vacation to waste her time eating! The bloated feeling she had wasn't helping either.

"Seriously, how do all those races manage to get anything done if they're eating all the time?" She muttered.

"Mistress?" Emma asked. "Perhaps some company would make dining more pleasant?"

That got Dana's attention. She had been trying to think of a way to show some of the noble ladies she was just as refined as they were, if not more so. This would be an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, which would make an excellent dish for the diner.

"Emma, could you go and ask where Miss Shanora is? I would like to speak to her."

Acknowledging the order Emma made a polite bow to her mistress, excusing herself to go and ask Shanora's location.

[Veolian Commonwealth]

Emma quickly learns that Tayu Shanora, as everyone refers to her, is currently practicing her dancing in the south gardens.

Having explored the palace a bit already, the Astrians know that the south gardens are one of a set of four "formal" gardens. This means that it is a very neatly kept garden with low hedges, flowers and plants selected for esthetics and meaning, and large terraces of smooth stone.

[Dana Lantria Asillion]

Emma quickly reported back to her mistress on Tayu Shanora's whereabouts. Fixing her kimono, Dana took a quick look in the mirror to ensure she looked presentable. Satisfied with her appearance, she put on her Zori and left for the south gardens.

In no particular hurry, Dana took her time. She politely greeted any Nobles she encountered along the way.

Once she arrived at the south gardens and had found Shanora, Dana waited patiently for Shanora to finish her practice and notice her.

[Tayu Shanora]

To her surprise, Dana did not meet a single noble on her way to the gardens.

In the gardens, she easily spots Shanora, as the twi'lek is expertly twirling about on the central terrace of the garden. She holds a decorative fan in each hand. The dance is an elegant alternation between slow wide movements and even slower subtle movements. With each wide move, the twi'lek's white and purple dress shifts a little, and she seems poised to expose part of her body normally covered by the dress. Yet, with a subtle flick of her wrist, one of the fans always interposes itself just in time to maintain a level of modesty.

Shanora notices Dana during her practice, and levels her eyes on the Astrian woman with an unexpected intensity. She then continues with her practice, and finishes the whole dance for an audience of one. Afterwards, she flicks both her fans closed, walks over to the edge of the terrace and greets Dana with a bow.

"Thank you for coming, it is nice to practice with an audience. Practising alone is never the same."

If she pays attention to the fans Dana might note that both fans seem to have metal filament edges. It is not clear what kind of metal, but the edges of both fans appear dangerously sharp.

[Dana Lantria Asillion]

As Shanora moved closer to Dana a slight shift could be seen at the hem of Dana's kimono, though only if one paid attention to it.

Dana did, however, not give any sign of being weary of Shanora, despite the clear fact she was armed. But whether this was because she trusted Shanora, simply wasn't afraid or something else entirely, was unclear. Undoubtedly Dana had experienced her fair share of assassination attempts, as anyone in her position has.

"Good to know I didn't intrude." Dana responded, returning the bow. "I was actually hoping to have a moment of your time, if you can spare it. I was thinking to hold a small dinner party and I would like to discuss the details with you."

[Tayu Shanora]

((OOC: As an aside: "weary" means to "feeling or showing tiredness, especially as a result of excessive exertion or lack of sleep."; you probably meant "wary" -> "feeling or showing caution about possible dangers or problems". This threw me off, and led me to my earlier OOC question))

Shanora misses the small movement of Dana's kimono.

"If I wanted privacy, you would not have found out where I was practicing.", Shanora replies with a genuine smile.

"That sounds intriguing", Shanora replies before she sits down on a stone bench, "I can easily spare one. Please, tell me the details."

[Dana Lantria Asillion]

((OOC: Ah yes. One of the more sneaky spelling errors. =S))

Dana sat down on a bench opposite from the one Shanora sat on. To most it would seem Dana merely kept a respectful distance, the more observant viewer would notice the distance was just a bit to large. They would probably also notice that Dana had an easy escape route.

"I was thinking maybe four or five guests, excluding Neferti. Ladies willing to change their opinions if they see their preconceptions are false, would have my preference. Could you recommend a few?" Dana asked. "As for the food, I was thinking some rare delicacies from both Stellaria and Mirda. Something even the upper echelon don't get to eat all that often."

"If ingredients for the Stellarian dishes are a problem, I can have some brought down from my yacht."

[Tayu Shanora]

Shanora suppresses a chuckle, as she knows full well why the astrian woman sits down where she does.

"I can give you the names of some ladies that would be interested, and advocate these new things to those less inclined to think favourably of you. But before I do, might I suggest that you have some share the recipes for these Stellarian delicacies with the palace's chefs?

Only a daring few would be willing to try these dishes if the ingredients are brought directly from your yacht. Mostly for the same reason you sit all the way over there right now...."

Shanora remains silent for a while as she looks at Dana. She seems to expect a reaction, even though she posed no question.

[Dana Lantria Asillion]

"My apologies." Dana said with a smile. "Experience has taught me to be cautious around people who are armed that don't work for me. I'm sure you can understand."

"I'd be happy to have them go through customs or any other inspection deemed necessary. I will have to ask you to buy them though. I believe that will solve most issues, would it not? After all, no one in their right mind would put their name on a box of poisoned ingredients now would they?

And I'll have Emma give the palace's chefs the recipes. Not even the bravest of my staff let me go anywhere near the kitchen. I can heat something, but beyond that I seem to have the tendency to make thing that are more appetising going back out than going in."

From her tone of voice and expression it seemed she wasn't entirely joking with her last sentence.

[Tayu Shanora]

"Well...", Shanora stated with a smile, "I understand. I just don't see how that would applicable in this situation. I have the full might of the commonwealth's military and secret service behind me, to say nothing of my mistress' handmaidens. If I wanted you dead we would not be having this conversation, and I most certainly would not attack you here by myself."

"I have no reason whatsoever to wish you harm. If anything, I'm more inclined to kiss you than to kill you.", Shanora's tone was clearly joking, though with a hint of truth.

"What I do not understand is why you would want me to buy those ingredients. Not only is that a job for someone below my servant's servant's, but doesn't that make it so that the empress is actually throwing the party? After all, those are her ingredients used in the food..."

"Maybe we should let the chefs figure out how they get the ingredients -- that way you instructed them to arrange for it, and it's still your dinner party. And if they happen to buy the ingredients from a visiting Astrian trader, well, that's simply how it is."

Picking up on Dana's remark about cooking, Shanora switched the subject.

"Are you any good mixing drinks? Because compared to other species hemet veolians drink a lot", Shanora emphasises very clearly. "And I don't mean only alcoholic drinks, they simply drink a lot of fluids."

[Dana Lantria Asillion]

"A kiss can be deadlier then a weapon of mass destruction." Dana said only half joking.

Following the change of subject, Dana gave a knowing smile.

"I'm quite confident in my bartending skills. The question is whether we are talking bottles or barrels."

[Tayu Shanora]

Shanora had to laugh at the bottles or barrels statement, which seems to amuse her greatly.

"Well, fluids don't really change in volume because of consumption", she quipped, "So I think it is safe to say bottles."

"Though I must tell you, a little extra practice might not be a bad thing. Veolian beverages have a wide range of viscosity, so some of the bartending techniques you're used too might not work out all that well... Ending up cocktail ingredients dripping down her dress is certainly funnier for the audience than for the bartender."

Shanora pauses for a moment. Maybe because she is visualising Dana with globs of half-finished cocktail in her hair and dress, maybe simply because she spots a servant subtly waiting at the edge of the garden.

"Regardless, I did not ask because you are expected to provide drinks during the dinner. However, after the dinner is another story entirely -- I wouldn't be surprised if the dinner party moves to one of the pools or gardens to enjoy the setting sun."

[Tayu Shanora]

((OOC: Shall we fast-forward to the actual dinner? If you post the setting, I'll post the entry of the empress and several of the invited noblewomen.))

[Dana Lantria Asillion]

((OOC: That's fine. Sorry for the delay with my reaction.))

After a discussion with Tayu Shanora to make the necessary arrangements for the dinner everything was ready.

The room was lit in orange light from Smi setting. The room was mostly empty. Only a bar in the far corner and a large, rectangular table in the centre. There where two seats at the head of the table. One for the Empress, the other for the host, which was Dana. The rest of the seats where arranged by rank. The table still empty.

Aoi and Emma stood on both sides of the door. Both were wearing a three layered kimono, with a modest, yet intricate pattern woven into the fabric. They bowed politely as the guests entered, bidding them welcome.

Dana stood in front of the table, facing the door. She wore her thirteen layered kimono. The light caused ripples of yellow, orange and red to dance across the fabric. All those layers made th ensemble heavy, at least it would have been heavy for a human. Neither Hemet Veolians or Astrians would have any difficulty with the weight.

"Welcome." Dana said making a small bow when the guests entered. "Thank you all for accepting my invitation. If you would be so kind to take your assigned seat."

[Veolian Commonwealth]

As promised, Shanora had given a short list of names. Three of the names are noble veolian houses that Dana did not recognize. The other names jumped out at her as high-profile. Among those invited are duchess Shebi Sundara, an influential member of House Shebi, and archduchess Nehket Sajjana, ruler of Aveire and director of Vaspa Industries and with it managing director of the VAC conglomerate.

Instead of arriving one by one the guests arrive in two small groups. The first group being duchess Shebi Sundara and two other noblewomen. All of them had made at least a passing effort to understand astrian culture, as each went through the motions of a correct bow towards Dana before finding their assigned seats.

The second, and final group, arrived soon after the first group. Archduchess Nehket Sajjana and a noblewoman from a minor noble house enter first, with the empress following. Both the archduchess and the other noblewoman give a small bow to Dana before sitting down. The empress leans in to gently kiss Dana on the lips -- as if signalling, with abundant clarity, to the others in the room that Dana is involved with the empress -- before she too finds her seat.

[Dana Lantria Asillion]

If Dana was taken aback by the Empress' kiss she hid it well. She did try to gauge the reaction of the other women. Curious if the Empress was trying to influence their view of Dana, force them to be polite despite Dana's lack of rank or something else entirely.

After helping the Empress sit down, Emma and Aoi helping the other guests, Dana sat down herself to the left of the Empress. Signalling the Empress was the guest of honour.

Clearing her throat, Dana called for attention.

"Thank you, again, for coming. I hope we will have an enjoyable evening together. Since I do not know if you all know each other, I thought it would be pertinent to start with a Veolian introduction, before we eat. Though before that, I believe drinks are in order."

While Dana spoke Aoi and Emma returned, Aoi carrying seven glasses and Emma carrying a bottle of wine. Aoi set a glass for each guest, starting with the Empress and proceeding counter-clockwise to end at Dana. Emma presented the wine to the host, after a nod she skilfully opened it and poured a small amount into Dana's glass.

Dana pulled a small white handkerchief from her sleeve with her free hand and held it to the back of the glass to evaluate the wine's colour. Next she swirled it around to aerate it. After properly smelling the wine she took a sip, swirling it subtly before swallowing it. She waited a moment, contemplating if the wine was good...

A nod, an acknowledging bow and Emma offered the wine to the Empress before pouring. Proceeding counter-clockwise, Emma waited for each Noblewoman to accept the wine before pouring. She kept the bottle in front of her with her right hand and her left hand behind her back at all times. When she poured the remainder of the wine into Dana's glass, everyone had the exact same amount of wine.

"Empress Saret, would you be so kind as to start?" Dana had considered signalling intimacy to the other women by using the Empress' given name, but had decided against it.

[Empress Saret Neferti]

Dana had some difficulty with gauging the reactions of the assembled noblewomen, as they were all accomplished socialites. She noted that Shebi Sundara seems a bit annoyed at the show of affection, while most others seemed to give it little thought.


The veolian noblewomen looked on with some interest at the unfamiliar wine-pouring ceremony. They all accepted the wine, but it was clear that some did so with some apprehension. At least two of them did not let the bottle leave their eyes between the moment that Dana swallowed the wine and when it was poured into their glass. The fact that the empress had not declined the offered wine made things a bit easier.

The empress looks at Dana with a genuine smile before starting.

"Most of you probably already informed yourselves about several aspects of my life. So in the spirit of introductions, I will share some things of a more personal note."

Neferti eyes the wine for a moment, before simply taken a sip.

"My father is Kamatar Samudree, count of Shrakhala, second son of Kamatar Sabas. My mother is Maaranevaala, first daughter of Rashasi, fourth daughter of Atma."

Dana noticed that, with the exception of Shebi Sundara and an older noblewomen from a small house, the assembled noblewomen were surprised by the stated maternal lineage.

"The story of my second breadth is more violent then most... I took my second breadth in the burning ruins of my home, at the age of nineteen. My father's castle was set upon by assassins. They blocked off most escape routes before setting fire to the castle, leaving us trapped inside as the flames started to make their way inside, consuming everything.

I remember my mother crashing into my room, her left arm badly burnt and her leather armour scorched and covered in burn marks. She handed me her sword and told me to run. So I ran. Faster than I ever ran and, in a blue haze, smashing through a blocked door weakened by the flames. I vaguely remember there being some assassins outside that door, unfortunately for them. Once I calmed down at some distance, the castle was fully ablaze, and there was little I could do to save my family."

"it was a more violent time then, as some of you may remember."

She takes another sip of wine.

"I like to spend free time on practising my sword fighting, and I have recently taken up the study of different kinds of music in the Union. I have also been reading several works by veolian philosophers on slavery and cybernetics, as these topics have suddenly seen much discussion."

She takes another gulp of wine.

"I would like to invite you to go next, miss Asillion.", the empress mirrors Dana's form of address, though the way she says it speaks to their intimacy.

[Dana Lantria Asillion]

A little surprised by the fact the Veolian noblewomen were unfamiliar with standard wine-tasting etiquette, Dana noticed the apprehension of some of them. For a moment she wondered what she had gotten herself into organising a diner for such a paranoid bunch.

Then again, it had been a while she had a challenge. She suppressed a cocky smile, replacing it with a regular one which she returned to the Empress.

Dana places her hand on Neferti's arm, as she speaks of her family's death, as a sign of sympathy.

Dana takes a sip of her wine before starting to speak.

"My father is Gerald Odarian, the second son of William Odarian and Esmiralda Hermitage. My mother was Illiana Asillion, the daughter of Terian Karteros and Nathan Terios.

About twelve years ago my father and I where competing for the same contract. It was minuscule compared to contracts I handle these days, but at the time it was the biggest contracts I had ever handled."

Dana took a sip of her wine.

"My fathers company was bigger then mine, he could offer a much lower price then I could. It wasn't looking too good. Unfortunately for him, I had no plan of backing down." A confident smile appeared on Dana's face. "One of the owners of the contracting company was a regular at a brothel an acquaintance of mine owns. That acquaintance and I have a mutual understanding, so he applied some pressure to the man. He was forced to sell his shares in the contracting company, well bellow their actual value."

"I, of course, was the one that bought the shares. Convincing the other owners to give the contract to my company was easy. The look on my fathers face when he walked into that boardroom and saw me sitting at the contractor's side of the table was priceless." Her face said it all, she revelled in the memory. "I've had many victories since, but few have been that sweet."

Dana's expression settled again.

"In what little free time I have, I enjoy painting and relaxing with one or several of my girlfriends. On a rare occasion I also enjoy mixing drinks."

She paused and looked to the noblewomen, her gaze settling on Sajjana.

"Archduchess Nehket, may I ask you to tell us something about yourself?"

[Archduchess Nehket Sajjana]

"It would be my pleasure", the archduchess replies with a smile.

She puts down her glass of wine.

"My father is Lord Nehket Purvaj, son of lord Nehket Bujurg and lady Giroh Shikaaree. My mother is Lady Nayaak Mithaee, daughter of Duke Nayaak Deepak and Lady Nehket Aankhi."

"My second breath came upon me on a late mooson day. The days before my father hosted a grand ball, with many of the lords and ladies of the Ghūnghata Isles attending.

I was seventeen at the time, and most pleased that my mother finally allowed me to come to the ball wearing a dress that signalled my availability as a wife. During the ball one of my sisters, two years my superior, made sure that any attention I received was immediately taken over by her or one of her friends. At the end of the ball, I had not had the opportunity to dance with more than two lords. I was displeased to say the least."

"After the ball I was brooding in my room with lights off. Staring out of the open balcony doors as lightning was illuminating the horizon. I was thinking up a way to take revenge on my sister. At some point I noticed that the lighting was unusually loud and unusually bright. Illuminating my whole room every time it struck. It took me a while to realize that it was not the lightning that changed, but myself."

"All thoughts of revenge forgotten, I rushed out to tell my parents -- and proceeded to immediately bump my head against the door in the dark."

She ends her small story with a smile.

"At the moment I have almost no free time between my position as archduchess of Aveire, my work as director of Vaspa Industries and my position as board member of the Vaspa Ahlstorm Conglomerate. The few hours I can spare in a week I like to go swimming or riding."

Sajjana looks at the empress and Dana with a cheeky smile before she knowingly deviates from protocol.

"Miss Asillion, I understand that you are accompanied by miss Jones and miss Harada as your personal attendants. Since you yourself are a very influential person in the ACA, your attendants must surely be of import as well."

She turns her attention to Emma Jones, who just recently poured wine for the ladies.

"Miss Jones, may I ask you to tell us something about yourself?"

[Dana Lantria Asillion]

Emma's posture went rigid. There was an insecure look in her eyes that bordered on fear. She shot a pleading look at Dana.

It was barely visible, but Dana gestured her head towards Duchess Shebi Sundara. She had a reassuring look in her eyes.

"I'm terribly sorry, Archduchess Nehket." Emma spoke with a soft voice. It sounded clear, yet fragile. Like it was made of glass.

"I am merely a maid, dedicated to serving my mistress. Speaking in such a familiar way to you all would not only be presumptuous, but rude of me. I believe Duchess Shebi would be next to introduce herself."

Bowing Emma added: "My sincerest apologies."

Dana looked at her maid with a look of pride, before glancing at Archduchess Nehket with a look that seemed to say: 'Someone of your stature should know the proper protocol.'

[Archduchess Nehket Sajjana]

The archduchess did not seem to be phased in any way by the response of Emma, or by the glance of Dana. In fact, she seems to enjoy herself, and a subtle smile player on her face.

Several of the other ladies were clearly less amused by the whole breach of protocol. Whether this is because they did not like the archduchess going off-script, or whether they were implicitly equated with a mere serving maid was not clear from their reaction.

[Shebi Sundara]

Shebi Sundara was one of the ladies that did not seem at all amused by the stunt of the archduchess. And while she carefully controlled her reaction, it was clear to Dana that she disliked being asked to introduce herself by a servant.

She did seem to switch to a more friendly demeanour to introduce herself though.

"My father is duke Shebi Balavaan, son of lord Shebi Hiyaar and lady Odena Thae. My mother is duchess Shebi Nirani, daughter of field marshall Shebi Sadamē and lady Shebi Mikada."

She sighed softly, before continuing.

"My second breath overcame me while practising close quarters battle, as part of the normal curriculum for all children of house Shebi. We were dropped in an abandoned industrial complex, two teams of eight children between fourteen and eighteen. I was seventeen at the time."

"We were in the fifth hour of the exercise, and my team was losing pretty badly. We were down to three, while they still had five conscious. I suggested an all-or-nothing gambit to distract and flank, and I drew the short straw. I was to be the distraction, offered up to achieve victory for my team."

"So, when my team-mates were ready to execute the gambit, with me hidden behind a box while they were moving around, I shot one of my team-mates instead. He went down, confusing my other team-mate into revealing their position. With my opponents distracted I rushed out. I felt a rush of power and I was able to surprise them by jumping clean over them while peppering their position with stun shots."

"In the end, I was the only one still standing, but my side was victorious. Of course, when my team-mates came to they were rather angry with me for while."

Sundara takes a sip of wine.

"In my free time I like to spend time planning and strategizing with my slave Dewa Sonali. I also like to play Dejarik and Go. And of course combat and flight practice."

Shebi Sundara smoothyl turns to the next veolian lady, in rank, and invites her to introduce herself.

[Veolian Commonwealth]

((OOC: This whole introduction business is a lot of work for me. Since you only have one character that is actually introducing themselves, I'm going to fast-forward through the other introductions by nameless veolian ladies.))

The other ladies introduced themselves one-by-one, no introduction jumps out as being special when compared to what had been heard so far. It quickly becomes clear that veolian ladies have very different tastes on how to spend their free time, and that their second breadth usually seems to involve some kind of tension, and mostly around later puberty.

With the final lady finishing her introduction, most of them looked at Dana. As the host, they clearly expected her to guide the dinner.

[Dana Lantria Asillion]

"Well now that we all have introduced ourselves, we can start our meal." Dana spoke and right on cue seven servants each carrying a covered plate walked in. Each plate had been prepared by the personal chef of each noblewoman.

Cracking noises could be heard from underneath the covers of the plates.

"This first dish is a very rare delicacy from Stellaria. This is, in fact, the first time Queen Python hatchlings are served on foreign soil. I hope you will all enjoy this refined dish to the fullest." She said with a smile.

Right as she finished speaking the servants removed the covers from the plates. Revealing a cracked egg, slightly larger then a grown man's fist, sitting in a puddle of a reddish sauce. A baby snake, about 20 centimetres in length, was trying to get out of the egg. The snakes were all clearly still alive. Some of the fluids from the egg were mixing with the sauce. From the way it looked the cracking sounds earlier were the eggs hatching.

"Traditionally Queen Python hatchlings are eaten alive, fresh from the egg. After that you can take your time to enjoy the crunchy taste of the eggshell. Please, enjoy them to the fullest." Dana observed the reaction from the Veolian women as she spoke.

She then picked up her chopsticks. She grabbed the hatchling snake right behind its head. She dragged it through the sauce before placing its head inside her mouth. Proceeding by quietly slurping up the rest of its body. Then she started chewing. Closing her eyes, Dana's expression made it clear she was enjoying the taste. She took her time chewing.

After swallowing and taking a sip of wine. She turned to Duchess Shebi Sundara.

"Duchess Shebi, could you tell me something about Dejarik? I'm afraid I'm not very familiar with that particular game."

((OOC: I wanted to showcase this Astrian dish, feel free to showcase a Veolian dish or several (or none, of course ;)). I'm going to skip past other Astrian dishes because this was the only one I really wanted to do. :)))

[Veolian Commonwealth]

Dana noted that the reactions of the noblewomen ranged from interest, to slight surprise to supressed disgust. Of note was the fact that the "older" hemet veolians seem to have no problem at all considering the dish. The empress herself seems surprised at the dish, but not in any way moved by it's ingrdients.

Nehket Sajjana neatly imitated Dana's actions without much ado. Shebi Sundara let the snake wiggle about a bit before carefully slurping it up with some help of the chopsticks. She clearly enjoyed the meal. The empress slurped up the snake as well, after staring into the little creature's eyes for a moment.

The other ladies followed, after seeing others eat the little snakes. Though not all with an expression of enjoyment.