Ironsides Family/Bowie/Demon in Desert
The Demon in the Desert
Roleplay from Bowie Ironsides
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Setting up the drawing room of a rented apartment, the Lord Imperator makes plans to host the Queen of Luria Nova. He learned that she was not a drinker, which meant it would be unsocial of him to drink...much...and so he made sure to provide a variety to teas. Some were from the Libidizedd Island, others were from the Gaston Farms area. A small variety that he managed to acquire through trade and seeking. He hoped none were to bitter or pungent for her, he did not know her taste.
Roleplay from Silas Kain
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Archmarshal Silas had heard that Queen Alice of Luria Nova was joining them in Balance's Retreat. The woman who was reputed to be blind yet won a duel to the death, against the Grand Duke of Fissoa, which earned Silas a good bit of coin. She who had restored their capital and the North Divide from the act of the traitorous Duke Sevastian.
What to expect he thought? These bare essentials of knowledge led to an image of almost godlikeness. She must be human mustn't she? It will sure be interesting, he thought. Better wear my uniform.
Roleplay from Alice Arundel
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Stories of old speak of Balances Retreat, describing the grand tale that earned the fortress its name. To think a member of the Arundel family was visiting the place, within the mountains they strictly admired from their familial estate, was quite an exciting thought. A meeting with those who occupied the fortress was an even more exciting thought, however. Alice remembered the Divides as remnants of the fallen Aquilegia, save for those few instances Luria held the same territories. To hear that life now sprouted from a place long thought barren was marvelous, especially for those who feared the abominations and their wrath.
Alice smelled the cool fresh air, smiled, and continued forward.
Roleplay from Bowie Ironsides
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Bowie dropped the empty bottle....Warriors charged into battle wearing armour. Diplomats entered the forums prepared with speeches and facts. Men entering the coldest regions of the north wrapped themselves with heavy clothing and blankets. In some way, any way, a person could find a way to wrap themselves with a means to guard their soft person, their core. All of them were protected from what they opposed, all except Bowie. He wore no armour. He prepared no speeches. He was bare naked in the cold. He had zero ability to protect himself from his demon....
Common knowledge of Bowie was that he was a man possessed by a demon, two will powers in one body. That he was prone to outbursts, to erratic and unprovoked behaviour, to antagonism, provocation, cursing and profaning, vulgarity and much more. Common knowledge was that Bowie, the man tormented by a demon, was a danger to other people. Few knew that the sum of all his heinous acts against other nobles amounted to little compared to the amount of torture the demon put him through personally. His life was a private hell best described only by poets.
By this, since Bowie's core was compromised, he tended to escape it via his flesh. In his youth he sought out the cheap satisfactions of easy women, gambling, alcoholism. In his old age, only the drink remained his blanket. For all the endurance a lifetime of suffering taught him to bear with his demon, for all the control he taught himself to exercise, the demon was still rampant. And so he drank....
A servant entered the drawing room that Bowie personally prepared to host his guests the Queen and the Archmarshal, and any other noble interested in visiting. The servant first saw a limp hand hanging down from a chair. Circling the chair he found the unconscious body of his master, drunk unconscious.
"Oh dear." The servant gasped. "Lord Bowie?" The servant lightly slapped Bowie's face. This was not the first time Bowie was found unconscious, but it was one of the most inappropriate times to be in such condition.
"Lord Bowie, you are to receive guests soon...can you hear me?"
Bowie raised his heavy head, "Myess. Let them in when they arrive. I'll be fffine.."
The servant did not believe a word Lord Bowie said, but he wanted to see his master embarrassed and spited. Hopefully the shame would teach him a lesson or two, at least the servant thought.
When the Queen and the Archmarshall arrived, the door man was instructed to let them right in without hesitation.
And, out of reluctant courtesy, the servant also brought Bowie a silver pitcher of water and a goblet.
Roleplay from Alice Arundel
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The drawing room smelled like liquor. That was the first thing that came to Alice's mind. How awful it was, reeking worse than expired corpses. Still, she held a smile, hoping it looked sincere enough for the occasion. "The Lord Imperator before you." John, her guide, mentioned. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, your Highness!" Alice proceeded to exclaim half-sincerely, her nose still under siege by awful smells. "I am humbled to have the opportunity to meet you."
Roleplay from Bowie Ironsides
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The demon-man rose from his chair slowly. When he reached a full stand he clutched the side of the chair with his hand to prevent himself from falling over. Though the Queen could not see him, she could hear his heavy breathing and his slow movements.
"...The pleasure is all mine." He said in the most concentrated and professional way he could under that condition.
He reached out his hand to take hers but he was a few paces away from her. When he realized this he glared at the Queen's attendant and tilted his head in a way to suggest the aide bring the Queen closer to him. John just became the personal aide of two impaired royals, one blind the other inebriated.
Bowie spoke again with great effort, "Care for...something to drink? Or,a,...bite...?" He inhaled a long breath.
Roleplay from Alice Arundel
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An awkward situation would only make things worse. Yet having to stay longer than required would be even worse. "No, no thank you." Alice replied, "I am quite satisfied from the fruit made available to me during my travels through the Alley of Swords. In fact, I still have some with my entourage."
John reacted quickly to Bowie's signal. He knew Alice was repulsed by Bowie, and very unwilling to shake his hand. "Please, take a seat right here, your Majesty." he asked, guiding her to a chair slightly further still from Bowie's hand. "Thank you, John. You may leave us now." Alice demanded. He obliged and left the room, leaving the two rulers.
"I wish to address the recent return of your regions." she insisted, "I feel dishonored by my lateness. Would you allow me to pay compensation, to easy my woes?"
Roleplay from Bowie Ironsides
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Bowie lowered his hand and guided it to his side. He remained standing. Alice could not see, but Bowie's eyes lit up and concentrated on her intensely.
"Dishonoured? Woes?" He shook his head, "Selena, you have nothing to compensate for. It is I who owe you..." He looked up, and then back to Queen Alice, whom he mistook for his daughter, "I owe you so much." He turned the chair to face her and sat down. "You look younger since I last saw you. Your hair is different." His speech was slowly picking up to a normal pace. "I am sorry, so very sorry that I missed your wedding." He folded his hands together and kept his head down....
"Please forgive me..." his eyes wet, "...forgive me."
Roleplay from Alice Arundel
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"Forgive you for missing my wedding?" Alice questioned with solemn tone, playing the part of who she thought might be Selena. "You have never ceased offering me kindness, even when I was younger. I am the one who owes you for the happiness I enjoy today. Please, smile for me, and you will see the world as I see it: in bright and warm colors, rendered that way by your benevolence and the benevolence of others."
Roleplay from Bowie Ironsides
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Bowie did smile! He smiled and watched in awe at the woman he mistook for his daughter.
"A Queen! A Queen sits before me. I doubt anyone believes that I was capable of producing a being as radiant as you. Selena, Dragon Queen of D'Hara, you are my apology to Dwilight, to all of the people I have hurt in my life, and you are the single act I can claim successful in this pitiful tragedy known as Bowie." It seemed his slur was weakening, but his voice was still hoarse from the hard liquor he favoured.
His smile held strong, his eyes were no longer gray and maudlin. A renewed vigour took hold of him and he once again stood up. Bowie paced to the other side of the room to gaze out the window and then he turned back to Queen Alice.
"My Queen, come and see what I see." Gently, he walked back over and helped her up, ready to guide her to the window. His hand held her arm to lift her off the chair, like a father. No more John as attendant, just the Demon and the Blind Queen.
Roleplay from Alice Arundel
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The Dragon Queen of D'Hara, of course: the Stormrage girl mentioned weeks ago. Alice snickered a moment, unable to contain herself, changing it then to a laughter seemingly full of happiness to keep up appearances.
"And what do you see, father?" she asked, letting him guide her to the window. "All I see is a brave and powerful man, full of courage and valor. He is a demon no longer. Instead he is the Lord Imperator of Swordfell, the ruler of the lands I see below and most importantly my father, whom I love immensely."
Roleplay from Bowie Ironsides
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Bowie nodded to the benign enthusiasm of faux-Selena, "It all sounds so pleasant..." then he took a breath and continued, more gravely, "If you saw what I see out the window you would be terrified, child. Take that mountain," he pointed to the North of the Divides, "does it care that I am a father? That I have responsibility for a population? Feel the wind on your skin, does it notice my struggle? Does it notice your affection for me?"
He looked at her about to make his ultimate point but he suddenly did not recognize her eyes. It made him pause. He continued anyway, "Man faces nature alone. Man faces evil alone. Neither of these forces, the force of nature or the force of evil, have any conscience or mercy. Their will acts and we are forced to submit. And so it is with life itself..." He stepped back a bit and scrutinized her profile. The nose was smaller, the ears did not look familiar, the hair waved in a different way. Who was this? He began to scramble his thoughts in search of the name to this face.
He sidestepped to see her from the back, and continued his little speech, his voice a bit more distant, "Life, like nature and evil, is a force that ruins all men. Have you ever spent time in the Desert of Silhouettes? It is a remarkable place, both in its beauty and its terror. I ventured through it alone long ago, as an exile, a rogue. Many times I nearly died of starvation, of no water, of being cooked by the sun. Many times I almost ended my own life for lack of companionship, even the companionship of scorpions or a cactus! Oh, you should have heard the jokes those creatures told me!"
Bowie returned to his place by Queen Alice and wrapped up his "speech" with more certainty, "In the desert, my Queen, I was all alone against a sun scorched horizon. One man, hexed by an inner demon, no friends, no allies, no company to carry my things or to fight in my stead against enemies. Up against nature, evil and the entirety of life. Do you know what I realized? Do you know the wisdom I gained from that tailspin horror?"
He turned her so she could look straight at him and answered his own rhetorical question, "Once a man falls to the void, he never comes back out. I am present in this castle, in this valley surrounded by these mountains. I wear this title, I command these nobles, and I stand before you staring you right in the face, but I never left the desert - with all its beauty and terror."
Aa! His mind reached it, now he remembered who she was....
Roleplay from Alice Arundel
Message sent to everyone in the region Balance's Retreat
Alice smirked, nearly breaking it for a sincere laugh this time. "Your story sounds all too familiar to me, down to the smallest details, Lord Imperator. Perhaps I will share my version with you someday, when you are slightly less inebriated." She reminisced a moment, before sighing resignedly. "John, guide me back to my entourage; we are going home!" she shouted to the man outside the door, before returning a moment's consideration to Bowie. "I thank you for hosting a most insightful evening, here in your realm. Hopefully we meet again, Lord Imperator."
Roleplay from Bowie Ironsides
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Bowie nodded with acknowledgement and remained standing to watch as the attendant came for the Queen...the Queen of Luria Nova, not the Dragon Queen of D'Hara.
