Prologue - New Year's Festival

Watching the dancing Danikle wrestles in a battle with his newly minted perspective on the situation and his jelousy, watching Sahe at times and at others watching anywhere else.
He hangs by the edge of the dance floor neglecting to join in.

Smiling, Shadow tilted his head slightly to the side as he took Blooming Storm's hand. "Honesty is a shield against deception. Besides, they acted in a manner which I fully expected. The normal response one would produce, of course. If they had accepted, I would have suspected intentions to try and utilize what they might see as a whimsical, slightly contrarian supporter of Smithland in a bid to usurp the usurpers, as it were."

"The fact that they did not, means that they are honest, if nothing else. An honest enemy is one who is not beyond redemption, and at least, they simply hate me...Not Smithland.'"

Emreruo takes the first steps as the music is picking up again. "Are we both talking about the big debate, or are you responding about a more narrow, specific context of enmity?"

"The big picture should always be kept in mind, although I suppose I should let myself go a bit as a new student," Shadow mused thoughtfully.

With her hand in Shadow's, Blooming storm brings the other arm into the closed position characteristic of the dance, and takes the first step. And with that action, revealse a fork in the road for Shadow to consider:

Unlike the more traditional dances of the Necklace, the steps of a pair in a waltz are significantly asymmetric, in that one dancer leads and the other is being led. And different students seem to have a different way of dealing with this nuance of the dance: Nightgleam seems content being led by Sahe; the unintroduced Smithlander and the scarred Hvirati noble, and subsequently the former and the scarred Ouvb noble, seem to occasionally flip who leads and be equally comfortable in either role; Ngofu and Midnight Quiet seemed to both try taking the lead, and bicker a bit until settling on the former leading (which probably has to do with their respective ranks); Akkiu and Ceaseless Wheel both seemed to want the other to take the initiative, resulting in indecisive movements.

Blooming Storm is clearly an ambitious individual who wants to be in charge. But will Shadow follow, or try to contest that?

As they settled into the dance, an amused smile touched Shadow's lips as he read her movements, allowing her to lead as he followed along dutifully, playing the role of the professional aide and matching her inch for inch. Although every measured step he took was much slower, he covered twice as much distance, remaining as the anchor to which the dance revolved.

"Ambition is a wonderful thing, it lends fire to the breast and climbs to one's head...Up until doubt shatters it. When the first under your command dies, doubt begins to worm in. Then when the fiftieth dies, a different sort of doubt sets in...Wondering what kind of a leader kills their own in such a cruel manner, salving their fates with something as meaningless as duty. I only hope you find leadership more palatable than I do."

After exchanging brief farewells with Danikle, Art of Stone watches Sahe and Nightgleam pause their dancing during an interlude of the music. It was a clear opportunity to follow up on the body language from the latter earlier. "My dance partner is taking a break. Am I mistaken in thinking you wanted a dance with me?" He says after approaching the two, looking toward Nightgleam.

In the dance, Emreruo manages to combine her usual confidence and poise with a significant lack of familiarity with the dance or physical practice. Which is to say, she looks good until the more complicated steps and spin happen, but she recovers quickly when the tricky part is over. "Nobody taught me that the path of nobility would be a walk in a cosy park. People die, yes. A wise ruler ensures that the sacrifices are less than the deaths should a different ruler were to succeed in contesting the power, whether by invasion or coup.

It is a world where one needs to be as harsh as necessary, but should be no harsher. If one acts too soft, one will be overtaken by a less scrupulous rival; if one engages in pointless cruelty, one risks courting betrayal from within. But even so, the finely balanced position is harsher than the naïve ones would be willing to admit.

And I'm sure, despite your commentary on the burdens of leadership, had the circumstances put one of us above the other in a chain of command, one would doubtlessly sacrifice the other for a sufficiently valuable goal. Or were we to be on opposite sides of a war, one would eschew courtesies and happily kill or capture the other. But luckily, we are neither in one chain of command, nor in command of clashing armies.

Thus, we have little to clash over given the distances between our zones of interest, and much to gain from watching each other's backs in this foreign land amid all the unknowns."

---

Lioru turns to face Art, almost worming his way out of Sahe's embrace, and bows. "Not mistaken at all, Laureate. I know I am of humble origins, but would be indeed grateful for such a splendid opportunity, should you find yourself willing to grace me with it."

Sahe, frowns, but soon seems to accept that she just can't compete against Art for Lioru's attention, and starts looking around the room in search of either a different partner or other activity.She then bows to the Art and walks away from the duo, towards one of the far corners of the room with the snacks.

Art's expression shifts to one of concern or confusion, but it is difficult to discern which. Recognition of his noble rank still wasn't something he was used to, particularly with how infrequent it was. With a slightly furrowed brow, a bow is returned to both Lioru and Sahrethe. "Many would argue my own origins humble. Myself included. I believe there are others with definitively higher standing here than I."

"There certainly are," he glances sideways in the direction of the dancing duo of scarred nobles, perhaps unintentionally. "Even so, my family is humbler still, and odds are high that the Higher Powers would see me become the end of it," he smiles serenely.

"But I do apologise, perhaps I should not brought up this Principle at such a moment, if opportunity for festivities and dancing remains."

Art follows Nightgleam's side-eye, absorbing the implication. Ignoring the apology, he extends his hand out to take the lead on the dance. "Why smile if the topic is not fit for the time?" His eyes have returned to the Thespian's face and remain there, watching with curiosity. Is it an ironic or sad smile? Will I ever be able to confidently tell the two apart?

After some consideration, that seems like a smile of acceptance. Acceptance characteristic of Orderly Endings, when fully understanding what future holds, yet not regretting it.

And with that, you two join the ranks of students dancing in the middle area of the room.

"I smile because frowning would not make anything better. Also because things aren't bad, just that the fortunes I am getting to enjoy right now will not last, and whatever legacy I would leave would almost certainly be . . . different than what I have as of now. A metamorphosis at best. It is almost predetermined that I would not be able to leverage my lifepath through the Seminary and perhaps the Concordat into anything my family could inherit. It is almost predetermined that whatever successor I'd have would be some stranger I may not even meet in life, manipulated by circumstance into advancing my agenda regardless of personal opinion and kinship.

But again, this not all bad. It's just quite the contrast to a dynasty forged purely through mortal effort from the ground up, and one passing on the fruits of its efforts by kinship, even when circumstances conspire against such continuity, like how they tried to in your case. And I think these contrasts and differences are fascinating."

Silence would occupy the air between the two were it not for the music guiding their dance. A pensive expression now occupies the former feral's face. He focuses on the dance, but his mind works in tandem to process his partner's story.

"They are fascinating. There are many contrasts that I am discovering today. I anticipated only the fairly obvious ones," he says after several moments. "Leaving inheritance for the ones I call family is my intended legacy. Your acceptance is admirable. I cannot say I would feel the same."

Art glances over at Danikle resting on the sidelines. "Indeed, I would likely rage against the currents that tried to shape my fate if I did not like the outcome. Even if that Principle you mentioned necessitates that all fortunes and legacies eventually share the same fate."

For his part Danikle catching up to the unfolding dance outside the confines of his thoughts would notice Sahe unnacompanied and make his way over to her to walk beside her towards the food tables.
A slight moment of perhaps uncomfortable silence is broken as he turns towards her.
"I apologize for my outsburst, my imagination has seemed to lead my good sense by the nose."

"It doesn't have to be such a life you lead. Indeed, in Smithland the rule is that of the typical noble line, passed down through generations of indolence and mild incompetence that does not threaten the nation's bottom line. True, I may sound like a hypocrite with the revolution and my family's new standing, but such events are far and few between. I do not expect another in our lifetimes, not with our Autarch."

"Do you desire happiness? You may have it. Children, a long life, hobbies which are neither political nor militaristic nor economically beneficial. A life lived without plotting. There is nothing at the end of the road called Ambition save a mountain-top, a lonely seat where no warmth will touch you. Our Autarch is a smart man, and occupies himself so as to not become miserable...But he is."

Blooming Storm watches Shadow closely, spending many a moment thinking over his words.

"I see. So not only will you exalt the merit of a strong leader, but also warn anyone else of trying to exhibit even remotely similar merits or walking an even remotely similar path.

I thought after the controversy your speech caused, you'd be on the lookout for an ally of convenience who wouldn't be pushed away by your views. Was I wrong to approach you thus?"

---

"Some do rage. That is not necessarily productive. Sometimes it can make things worse, as the tidal wave snaps back.

But I also understand that just giving up is also counterproductive. And yet, it can be difficult to assess one's chances of resisting the tide, to figure out which things to rage against and which ones to accept.

Mortals may have a very hard time opposing Higher Powers, but one who manages to pull that off in a sufficiently . . . worthy manner, can reap uncommon benefits."

In the distance, some of the genteel students - thankfully not from your group - seem to be occasionally staring at the two of you in disapproval and exchanging whispers.

---

Sahrethe freezes for a moment when you catch up, glances at you, smiles with uncertainty, and then resumes looking over a set of biscuits on the table until eventually picking one. She chooses her words carefully.

"It is of little consequence, so all is forgiven. Hopefully anyone who witnessed it will chalk it up to wine and confusion, or better yet forget about it by the start of next year.

And yet I think one cannot hope for good luck to last forever. We are no longer mere same-age children playing in the estate's inner gardens behind the safety of estate walls. We have grown up and entered wide society, standing on its open palm, and we now have our roles to play, and we no longer set our own standards for those roles."

The gentle chastisement lands with a chuckle from Danikle. Plucking up a biscuit he asks her without turning.
"Do you intend to just go along with the demands of the plays director or does any of our childhood rebeliousness remain in you?"
He pivots towards her holding out the treat and a closed hand that he slowly opens to reveal a twin of the biscuit hidden within. His outstretched hands emphasizing the original as he says.
"After all as long as all looks well on the stage, how is anyone to know what happens behind it."
As he pops the biscuits twin into his mouth pretending to chew on the illusion and giving her his best conspiratorial smirk.

Sahrethe seems impressed by the trick. And perhaps a bit concerned. Certainly convinced by the illusion. But then again, the twin bisquit tastes the same as one would expect a snack found at a high society ball to taste, even to Danikle. So perhaps there is nothing unusual in an unchosen mortal treating the little miracle seriously.

"There is some left. But there is also the realisation of how close to the edge I sometimes walked even back then. And the understanding that out here the repercussions can be more swift and more severe, and less avoidable. Out here, even for you. So now that the carefree days are over, it is best to think one's words and actions through."

The confidence crumples a little under the weight of reality but he manages to hold his smile through.
"Some will have to be enough. I will endeavor to keep a wider perspective before I speak and act."

Pausing, Shadow flashed her an apologetic smile. "Hardly. I welcome any ally with open arms, and the Autarch no doubt does as well. However....I speak to you as a student first and foremost, Blooming Storm."

His smile softened slightly, grew slightly sadder. "I do not wish to conscript nor trick those who walk a stony path without warning them of cut soles and blistered feet first. It truly is not an easy path, and one I walk only out of necessity. But if you wish to as well, I will do what I can so we walk that path to its conclusion."