McDowell Family/Sorsha McDowell/Dinner

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Roleplay from Sorsha McDowell:

She paced her quarters quietly lost in thought, chewing her thumbnail. The day had been quite eventful, and Sorsha was glad to finally be doing something exciting. Every once in a while, it hit her and she felt the need to hit something and today, she had fulfilled that urge. She had to admit, she missed the exhilaration of battle.

Earlier she found out Duke Conrac had been on the same ship as her and was surprised she had missed him completely. Then again, maybe he just didn’t care to speak with her and had avoided her. She had thought of that for a while but soon forgot, or rather put it in the back of her mind as she readied herself to assist Marshal Colin’s army in ridding Nebel of their current monster problem. It wasn’t until later when she noticed Conrac again, watching from a distance as he pulled out his dagger…her dagger… that she was reminded of it. Realizing she was chewing her nail, she winced and quickly lowered her hand.

It didn’t matter…. Did it? Without realizing it, the hand returned to her mouth and she chewed. And why did she care?

Sighing, she grabbed her cloak, and left the room.


Roleplay from Conrac Amcastra:

The work of a Duke was never finished and although Nebel was not directly ruled underneath him, he still was forced to do civil work and a few other lose ends. Still, he had seen Sorsha that had been pleasant indeed seeing her cut through monsters like a knife through bread. He wondered whether he should meet up with her once all the work was done. He calmly entered his tent.

Three men waited in front of him, each bowing deeply as he entered his small make-shift tent/office/command center. He grimaced inwardly at the notion that they could not even wait for him and had arrived early. Clearly, it was going to be a long and unpleasant day.

"Duke Conrac," a merchant greeted him with an oily grin, "You look wonderful."

"Why thank you." He allowed the barest hint of sarcasm and displeasure to show in his voice, causing the petty little man to shirk slightly from his unwavering gaze. "I have many matters to address today, friends. Nebel has been hit hard by the monster attacks and needs rebuilding quick. I trust you will understand if I must keep your audience brief." He began to make his way outside the tent. "Walk with me, if you please."

"Aye, my duke," A farmer quickly walked beside us. "We appreciate you seeing us when you have so many weightly matters to consider."

"Some of us only trouble the Duke with important matters," the last man, a captain of the watch said curtly.

"My good friend is perfectly correct, of course," the merchant agreed, "My petition is of the utmost importance. A trade caravan we are preparing has had its provisions damaged by the monsters." The merchant's face wrinkled. "The harvest in Nebel has suffered as you well know, and we cannot spare enough to replace them."

"Sir," the captain began with an irritable glance at the merchant, "there is an unacceptable oversight regarding the slum district in Nebel. We have had numerous reports of pick-pocketing an-"

"...none of which are in your district," the merchant grumbled under his breath.

"...we respectfully request more troops." The captain continued unperturbed.

"More?!" the farmer exclaimed. "Duke, the farmers need the troops to help killing off the remaining monsters, not playing around in the slums. We barely have enough food to feed everyone, we can't suffer anymore monster attacks."

The two other men began to reply to this entreaty but Conrac silenced them with a wave of his hand. "Enough," he said calmly. "I will deal with each in turn."

Conrac slowly sighed and looked up... He should have been a priest...


Roleplay from Sorsha McDowell:

She lingered through the camp, looking for a distraction. Some were bunched together laughing, others just talking but they got along it seemed, which was good. Dame Katrina was not there and she was a bit disappointed. She had actually looked forward to exchanging words face to face. Perhaps tomorrow?

Looking ahead she noticed a small huddle of people approaching and blinked, recognizing Conrac being hounded it seemed. She continued to walk as they all but passed her, without even noticing her presence. “Enough,” he said calmly. “I will deal with each in turn.”

Looking over her shoulder, she watched.. Turning once more, she picked up her step. She couldn’t imagine being hounded day in and day out… If she were him, she would seek the first distraction and be off for a moment of peace, the suffocation would drive her mad.


Roleplay from Conrac Amcastra:

"...and that is all you people have to do-" Conrac's eye suddenly caught Sorsha and he spun around and pointed.

"A-hah! Ah yes that happens to be a very important individual, Lady Sorsha is second in command of The Queen's Dragon Guard, I am currently in need of military instructions. Just follow the instructions I set for you three and you'll all be fine." The group nodded somewhat reluctantly.

Conrac crossed over the yard, unfolding his fan with a languid gesture and, and blessed the mob with a small smile. An amused smile touched the corners of his lips as he approached Sorsha. He quietly moved towards her fanning himself lightly, until he reached Sorsha. "Have you eaten yet?"


Roleplay from Sorsha McDowell:

Sorsha was thinking of heading back when she heard his voice, “have you eaten yet?” She was surprised to hear him, and smiled as she realized, he probably did need a distraction as much as she would have in his situation. She turned around and glanced over his shoulder to the men still talking amongst each other, one pointing his hand dramatically in their direction and the other shaking it.

She gave a small lopsided grin and looked at Conrac. “No I have not,” she informed softly. “Seems you can use the presence of fairer company,” she said forwardly and felt her face slightly flush at her words, her shyness hitting her full force and she tried to swallow it down. “I mean, uhm.. if that’s what… you…” she trailed off now seeing his amused expression. What was she doing? Now he would think her a complete idiot. She bit her lip to stop herself further embarrassment and waited.


Roleplay from Conrac Amcastra:

Conrac smiled, raised his fan and tapped her warmly on the shoulder.

"Splendid. I was just about to have dinner, please join me. We must discuss the recent military exploits of the D'hara army in Nebel"

His voice dropped. "...If only to give me an excuse to get rid of these fops...I swear I've already explained to them the why a cautious economic system based on formal fallacy is fundamentally flawed over twenty times and yet they still don't get it.

Conrac's voice picked up again. "I'm pleased to state that I've recently obtained a small amount of White Snow Wine, its apparently quite good.”


Roleplay from Sorsha McDowell:

She grinned with relief, and allowed herself a small smile. “I would love to join you,” she started and voiced a little louder for the benefit of eavesdropping ears, “good battle, I am pleased as will be our Queen, shall we discuss our next movement..” she let trail off and turned, and blushed. To her chagrin she had no idea where to go and started in the one direction trying to keep the ruse going and he reached in to pull her in the other direction. She laughed lightly and shook her head, “battle weary,” she said lamely as her excuse.


Roleplay from Conrac Amcastra:

"Well then as our troops pack up and began moving, lets get something to eat." Conrac began walking beside her.

Two courtiers passed in the snow, whispering behind raised fans. The court fans had been an Amcastra tradition that he had introduced to court. Pity not all were adept at using them. One man, too fat for his elaborate armor, seemed too calm, too sure of himself. The other had a face the red of the sunset, blustering and waving his arm in an exaggerated motion.

Conrac raised his chin, amused at their ineptitude, and quietly whispered to Sorsha.

"The first man, is a minor noble, the captain of some knight's troops. He has every intent of bringing home a rich wife so that his house will prosper."

"The other," he pointed at the calm-looking courtier, "Is actually a minor civil servant. A man with twelve daughters, each uglier than the next. He plans to arrange the marriage with our dear captain without allowing the groom to see the bride before their wedding day."


Roleplay from Sorsha McDowell:

With that information, Sorsha’s eyes wandered inconspicuously in their direction and she smiled politely as they walked by. “How terrible,” she said under her breath, “that poor young woman,” she sounded appalled.

“An arranged marriage…Whether she is ugly or not, he isn’t a catch himself now is he? It seems he may be getting the better end of that arrangement,” she mused smartly and Conrac laughed. She looked up and smiled at the sound of his laughter. He was a handsome man and he had an air of confidence that reminded her of Alec, her brother. She could see why he would laugh away at the entire situation he probably had beautiful women fawning over him daily.

“Then again we can’t all be beautiful my lord,” she added and looked ahead, “some of us must accept our simplicity.”


Roleplay from Conrac Amcastra:

Conrac looked slightly puzzled. "Are arrange marriages not the norm in your homelands? In my own household, its quite a common tradition. Marriage is usually a business matter, and is typically arranged by your parents."

The two finally arrived at a small house. A servant approached and led them to a private room.

The servant bowed quietly. "Duke, dinner shall be served soon."

Conrac motioned to Sorsha to sit. "I must say though I'm starting to regret importing so many Amcathra traditions and filling the duchy of Nebel with them. They've been a time-consuming and often times frustrating ritual. Granted they do give me some huge advantages in court."

He chuckled. "Seeing as these rules of politics was to a large degree created by my ancestors, it is no surprise that I thrive under them. Those who do not follow the rules of court are shamed and ostracized, so the other nobles have no choice but to play the game in the way I desire- to participate in the elaborate, endlessly-ramifying networks of alliances, favors and gifts that the Amcathra family has always cultivated like artisans making a beautiful sword."

As food was brought in, Conrac put down his fan and picked up some eating utensils. "That said...I do miss Port Nebel. I've spent quite a bit of time rebuilding the castle and the palace. I've collected books from all over Dwilight and I'm planning on building a library there when the city grows a bit more. I hope that Port Nebel will one day become a center for the ancient courtly and chivalrous traditions that seem to be disappearing day by day."



Roleplay from Sorsha McDowell:

She had been listening attentively and nodded to show her interest in the topic of conversation and picked up her own utensils. “Arranged marriages are not unheard of where I am from, no… But my family is from the East Continent, Fontan to be precise, a true democracy, where every noble has the power and right to decide their own future.” She grew silent for a moment thinking of her family and what she had left behind. “Many marry for love, even though true love is quite rare... and I would choose where to place my love.”

She picked at the crisp salad, and looked up, “being forced to share your life with someone you barely know, but from the lies they’ve told so many times they begin to truly believe in it themselves. To sit across the table from a stranger at dinner and have no desire of their company but to hope that one day the revulsion you feel will fade away and you will simply grow accustomed to your fate. Before you know it what conversation you did have, dies and you are to live with them, but in fact you are truly alone and you have nothing but business matters to relate to.”

She forgot the salad and her voice lowered thinking how she would feel if that were to become her. “How empty would a life be if it was filled with nothing but intrigues day in and day out, the same tiring courtly gossip, which only transforms the further along it gets. Some with no real intelligence to speak of, but to emulate what they see one do, and the next thing you know you have clones walking around simply because of its popularity, with no real idea of its absurdity.” She bit her lip, realizing she had gone too far and let go of her fork. “I mean no disrespect to your traditions my lord,” she apologized softly seeing the quiet calculating gaze he gave her, knowing her tongue had ran away with her again. “I can see in your eyes intelligence, strength, and confidence and none of that should be hidden behind games. You have the power to make them see who you are.” She looked down, truly mortified at what she had said. Even though she tried to salvage it, the damage had already been done. “Forgive me if I’ve insulted your ideals… they are simply not my own.” She looked over to the door, thinking how far it actually seemed from where she sat.

She quietly tried to go back to her food, and the table grew silent.


Roleplay from Conrac Amcastra:

"A democracy how quaint. My family has had bad luck with those, we usually find ourselves with a terrible but popular leader. Democratic governments have led to the death of two of my siblings." He stared thoughtfully for a moment.

"I admire your views on marriage, although quite different from mine. My family often takes a philosophical view on the subject. We tend to believe no matter how we may feel about it, it is our Duty. We've been drilled as young children to understand that we must be prepared to do whatever is required, no matter the cost or danger to ourselves. Indeed my family has not been the most clean."

Conrac tears a small piece of bread and eats it carefully. "We believe that the ability to do what must be done for the realm- even if that is something dishonorable- is the true measure of courage, for it includes the courage to sacrifice one's own purity for the sake of the greater good of the realm."

Conrac tilted his head. "Why apologize? You speak the truth, I am indeed intelligent, strong, confident and did I mention incredibly modest?"

Soft laughter fills the air. "But in all seriousness, I can see why you would dislike the court rituals of the Amcathra family. They were not made for people like you, no offense Lady Sorsha actually they were made to neutralize people like you."

Conrac smiled. "The Amcastra family was once a very weak family in a very strong kingdom, our rivals were the heads of three other duchies. They all were greater then the Amcastra in terms of military and even economic strength, the court rituals were made to neutralize that. We learned to specialize in building power through elaborate networks of favors, gifts, marriage arrangements and other "soft" methods that seemed weak and meaningless to the martial duchies-until that same network of favors brought down massive political and economic pressure on our enemies. So you see, it was through these court rituals that the Amcastra family survived. They were made in order to neutralize the advantage, the richer and more powerful duchies had over us. For ritual is such a strangely abstract idea."

At Sorsha's last words, Conrac smiles. "I like your honesty."


Roleplay from Sorsha McDowell:

She laughed lightly taking up her glass, “well honesty is admirable. You will receive nothing else from me… though it has a tendency to get one into deep water if said at the most inopportune time.”

Taking a sip of wine, she smiled at the taste to show him she was pleased with it. “In any case, you are living proof that your traditions can be effective,” she lowered the glass. “Let’s agree to disagree, but each has merit. As for myself, I won’t be locking my heart in a closet for the sake of advancement and power and you will thrive at court. I do intend to live my life to the fullest but it will be through different ideals. Perhaps in a few years from now, we shall sit across from each other again, and discuss how far they have gotten us.” She smiled with amusement, “maybe our views will have changed.”