Continuation from "The Emperor's Pleasure: Hero Treatment" for Princess Grace, Ignis of Animi, and Aeria Luxus. Relevant posts quoted below:
Princess Grace carries herself royally and lives up to her name. The enchanting young woman, in a more private setting, seems to have a child-like curiosity bursting to break free from her formal demeanor. Ignis and Aeria are fascinating to her, close to her own age and yet like characters from a fairy tale. Eager to find out more about them and the adventures they've been on, Ignis and Aeria are in a unique position to find out more about the war, including why the emperor seems reluctant to accept help.
Difficulty: 70
100+ Great Success
70+ Success
< 70 Failure
< 50 Critical
Mission Bonuses (Unique to the Mission)
+/-?? - The Upset: The situation resolved in an unexpected way.
+20 - Tale Weaver: Grace was enchanted by one of the tales, something that hasn't been told elsewhere.
+20 - Creative License: An existing tale from earlier writings was retold in a creative way.
+0 - Small Talk: Polite, yet boring.
-20 - TMI: By accident or ignorance, you've said something you shouldn't have.
-20 - Delving Too Deep: Being overly direct in your questioning has killed the mood.
Standard Bonuses (each available once):
+30 - Page-turner: Wrote at least 3000 words.
+5 - Neophyte: Used a novice- or adept-tier ability.
+10 - Veteran: Used a skilled- or master-tier ability.
+20 - Legend: Used a grandmaster-tier ability.
+10 - Great Feats: Used a feat ability of any tier.
+10 - Magnum Performance: Used a magnum or ultimum ability of any type.
Roleplaying Bonuses (subject to reader scrutiny):
+10 - It's Personal: Your PC has a history with one of the characters, which is touched on or fleshed out here.
+10 - Rogues' Gallery: The antagonists were given distinct personalities.
+10 - Playing the Part: You performed actions iconic to your character.
+10 - Assimilation: The overarching plot has been woven into personal plot.
-10 - Mary Sue and Gary Stu: It's 1000 years too early for you to break a sweat.
-30 - Fade to Black: The thread was not completed in a timely manner. Repercussions for the protagonists may follow.
The Geamhess cut gracefully through the sky, wispy clouds parting around the figurehead of Serpens before being drawn toward the humming engines under the protruding wings. Royal and beautiful from the outside, equally immaculate within. The forty-eight guests inside, renowned warriors and heroes from different battles and sponsors, were tended to night and day. The feast of that first night was the largest and most opulent, but none of the guest wanted for wine or spirits, and the tables were always filled with bread and fruit, cold cuts and cheeses, decadent and yet easily preserved. It could easily be mistaken for a pleasure cruise, despite the dire circumstances that had drawn them all together.
The Emperor's two younger children were frequent visitors to the common area; if their older sisters had any complaint, it never came up. Feartu Grace kept to herself, locked away in her own room somewhere else on the large airship; it would be easy to believe she had remained behind in Elata Spiritus. The alluring Venus, however, made sure her presence was known, sauntering through from time to time, always in new and wanton clothing, and always to teasingly slip away not long after. With each visit, the temperature of the room seemed to rise.
Near the same time, an older velen man, smartly-dressed and groomed, makes his way over to Ignis and Aeria, bowing deeply. "My ladies, if it pleases you, our princess Grace would love to speak with you in her chambers. And please, do bring your companion." He flicked his eyes toward the leafy sprite nearby.
There was nothing like the sensation of flying. The Geamhess skimmed along elegantly through the scudding lines of cloud that crossed the deep cerulean of the sky. Aeria's face seemed to be on the edge of a smile at all times as the airship rocketed across the sky. However, she found herself interrupted by the older velen man who requested their presence with the princess.
Aeria glanced across at Ignis, raising an eyebrow and nodding in response to the request. There was a vaguely awkward expression on her face and it took her a moment to reply to the velen. "Of course, it would be our pleasure to have an audience with the princess! Do lead the way."
In spite of herself, the spurii looked rather ill at ease in the elegant surroundings of the airship. The rich fittings and sumptuous atmosphere seemed to put an expression on her face that hovered somewhere between disgust and awe. As they were lead down the corridor, she kept glancing around as though she couldn't believe that she was here.
Ignis stood near her best friend, enjoying the breeze in her face and watching vague shapes the swirls of the clouds suggested to her imagination. Her wine was mostly gone between her idle sips and Amicus' thirst. She turned just after Aeria did, to see the older velen man bowing to her and her friend.
The enlil's brown eyes immediately sought out her friend's gaze, seeking Aeria's reaction to the invitation he issued. What could a princess want with them? Her feathery brows twitched together briefly in confusion before Ignis' expression smoothed. The avian turned back to the smartly dressed velen and smiled guilelessly.
"I've always wanted to meet a princess, I never dreamed I'd get an audience. We would love to meet her."
Similarly, the sprite riding her shoulder perked up at being invited as well.
The enlil trailed after Aeria and the still unnamed velen, a hand coming up to run through Amicus' leaves for reassurance. Although not outwardly suspicious, Ignis empathized with Aeria's unease. Everything around her seemed like it had been ripped straight from one of the books of her teenage years and the enlil wasn't sure she liked it. Dragons had been a major disappointment, part of the pale woman wondered if royalty would disillusion her too.
Aeria, Ignis, and Amicus were escorted respectfully through the Geamhess, stopping in front of the ornate white oak doors of Princess Grace's chambers. Even with the paintings and small sculptures in the hallways, the doors themselves stood out as works of art, with intricate carvings of the sea's bounty and matching images of Serpens on each side, her face left blank out of deference, pouring life-giving waters into a central pool. The two escorts, in practiced symmetry, pulled open both sliding doors at once to allow the two women inside.
Grace's room, in contrast to the rest of the ship, was a display in elegance rather than extravagance. The walls were a brighter pink and white rugs lay over the pale wooden floors. The room was not large, and the princess herself perched on the edge of the luxurious divan, it and a small table being the only furniture within. Books and scrolls were piled high on the table, a small mountain threatening to collapse. A single tapestry hung on the rear wall, with the flag of the empire upon it, while the rest of the walls were bare. Bright, warm light filled the room, a clean light clearly created by magic and nothing so plain as fire or electricity. As before, Grace stood to greet her visitors, bare feet upon her rugs, and offered a warm smile. Her long, deep-red 'hair' framed the warmer pink of her face, pristine blue eyes taking in the two women. She wore a sleeveless dress of pale blue, but still adorned herself with no jewelry. She had no guards inside and the escorts who had led Aeria and Ignis to the room remained outside after closing the doors.
"Thank you for accepting our invitation," Grace said, inclining her head ever so slightly and placing a palm to her chest. "We are pleased to welcome you to our humble chambers." The princess then sat on her divan once more and swept an arm toward her guests. "Please introduce yourselves, and your friend." She was smiling charitably; the request was a courtesy, since she clearly knew who they were.
Once again, Aeria had climbed into all of her finery, donning a pair of richly dyed green leather pants, a cream-coloured silk shirt with billowing sleeves over which she wore a green leather vest that had twining patterns tooled into it. The pants were held up by a thin leather belt with an intricately designed brass buckle.
As the little party swept into the elegant room, the ingenarius glanced around, eyes moving across the fine fixtures and over the books that stood as if they had just been left after being consulted. Eventually her gaze settled on Grace as the princess rose to greet the companions.
Aeria bowed as she had been taught, for a contigeri never curtsied. “My name is Aeria Luxus, your highness. It is an honour and a pleasure to meet you.”
After bowing, she returned to a relaxed but formal stance, allowing Ignis to introduce herself and Amicus.
Princess Grace carries herself royally and lives up to her name. The enchanting young woman, in a more private setting, seems to have a child-like curiosity bursting to break free from her formal demeanor. Ignis and Aeria are fascinating to her, close to her own age and yet like characters from a fairy tale. Eager to find out more about them and the adventures they've been on, Ignis and Aeria are in a unique position to find out more about the war, including why the emperor seems reluctant to accept help.
Difficulty: 70
100+ Great Success
70+ Success
< 70 Failure
< 50 Critical
Mission Bonuses (Unique to the Mission)
+/-?? - The Upset: The situation resolved in an unexpected way.
+20 - Tale Weaver: Grace was enchanted by one of the tales, something that hasn't been told elsewhere.
+20 - Creative License: An existing tale from earlier writings was retold in a creative way.
+0 - Small Talk: Polite, yet boring.
-20 - TMI: By accident or ignorance, you've said something you shouldn't have.
-20 - Delving Too Deep: Being overly direct in your questioning has killed the mood.
Standard Bonuses (each available once):
+30 - Page-turner: Wrote at least 3000 words.
+5 - Neophyte: Used a novice- or adept-tier ability.
+10 - Veteran: Used a skilled- or master-tier ability.
+20 - Legend: Used a grandmaster-tier ability.
+10 - Great Feats: Used a feat ability of any tier.
+10 - Magnum Performance: Used a magnum or ultimum ability of any type.
Roleplaying Bonuses (subject to reader scrutiny):
+10 - It's Personal: Your PC has a history with one of the characters, which is touched on or fleshed out here.
+10 - Rogues' Gallery: The antagonists were given distinct personalities.
+10 - Playing the Part: You performed actions iconic to your character.
+10 - Assimilation: The overarching plot has been woven into personal plot.
-10 - Mary Sue and Gary Stu: It's 1000 years too early for you to break a sweat.
-30 - Fade to Black: The thread was not completed in a timely manner. Repercussions for the protagonists may follow.
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