votivescholars | The Engagement Ceremony of Viatorus and Ingirun

Welcome to the world of the Durants...

Guests from the Nexus are met by an Isidor who is still dressed for business when she PINpoints them directly to the venue. She is on a mission and pleasantries are swiftly exchanged so that she can give instructions and explain how the day is going to go. The first thing to hit them is that it's hot, and bright. They are now in France, Isidor tells them, her narrative changes appropriately as she leads them from the small stone building, through immaculate gardens and towards a sprawling palace which she insists is small for what it is. This is the home of Gnonyma Durant, her grandmother. A 17th Century French palace once owned by royalty but was gifted to her family as thanks for 'a service' which Isidor says was so private that even the mage's journal doesn't detail what it was.

The air is dry and still, which makes the cool shade of indoors a pleasant relief. Like the ornate facade, the interior of the building is lined with intricate mouldings; decorated with impressive portraits; painted in bright, colourful shades; and filled with flowers and draping fabric. There is plenty of space, a fact emphasised by tiled floors that amplify each step and word. It looks as though almost every room is being used, from the way all the doors are held open for the steady flow of traffic. They are, however, let through the building and out another door. It's the quickest way to where seats sit lined up to face a gazebo decorated with ribbons and flowers that stands in front of a pond that might as well be a lake. Some people might notice the air above them ripple slightly, which certainly has nothing to do with the perfectly ornate poles at each corner of the seating area.

There are already plenty of people milling about. Servants stride from one place to another, expertly staying out of the way of the guests. There are some men and women who are dressed well for the occasion, but like the servants they stay out of the way and scan the area repeatedly, making no attempts to engage with the guests - security, judging by their earpieces. Members of the Durant family are easy to spot. They move in groups or pairs, often getting headed off by people looking to talk to them. A large majority of them also sport sashes of either red or purple with gold trim and ornate pins that vary from person to person. This, Isidor explains, is how you spot a patron and an accomplished scholar, based on the red or purple respectively. Viatorus is not yet an accomplished scholar, which is why they have no sashes. Members of Runa's family are equally easy to spot for those that know her. They would be the large group of tall, golden haired men and women with the distinctive Swedish accents happily talking to anyone and everyone.

After guiding them to their seats she tells them that the ceremony will be another twenty minutes and takes her leave to go and sort out the other numerous things on her endless list. Nobody bothers them while they wait. Everyone is too busy spotting old friends or making their way to their seats. It's a good time to enjoy the scenery. There is a small collection of musicians with harps, violins and flutes to one side. Even the breeze is smelling sweet with the perfume of the bouquets.

Within fifteen minutes Viatorus appears in a tailored suit of light grey and deep purple. He is closely followed by an older, stocky looking man in a black suit and purple tie, and sporting a red and black sash that is even more ornate than any others. Whatever the man is saying to him Viatorus barely gets more of a wave of recognition in to his friends before he's being guided to the gazebo and kept there. Shortly after he's joined by a young man and two women with tanned skin and black hair dressed in simple, but high quality clothes of purple, draping fabric. They look as serious as the man beside Viatorus. That is about the time Isidor reappears in more appropriate attire. She in turn heralds the appearance of a woman who shares her features, dressed in elegant gold and black, who is accompanied by a man whose black suit and purple tie are considerably more simple than his purple sash. Its intricacy matches that of the red one worn by the man standing next to Viatorus. The mood seems to shift at the appearance of these last two guests, becoming quieter, expectant. The Durants gather together, and Viatorus' fidgeting increases tenfold as they exchange words. The men with the sashes and the woman in gold take their seats, many of the guests follow suit.

The ceremony begins...

The young man in purple walks with his staff to stand at the head of the aisle and asks that everyone takes their seats. Exactly twenty minutes after the Nexus guests were shown their seats, the ceremony begins. The young man introduces himself as the high priest of Despoina and welcomes them to the union of the two families Durant and Nyström. As it is a ceremony to mark the union of two families with two sets of tradition and two sets of gods to honour, this will be a merging of these two cultures. It will be a handfasting ceremony of the Old Ways, he explains. This means that the couple will be as man and wife for a year and a day, and after that time they must choose if they wish to marry or separate. The guests now better informed, the priest stands back under the gazebo where a nervous Viatorus and patient Isidor stand waiting. On cue, the musicians start playing unfamiliar, but pleasant music to introduce the arrival of Ingirun dressed in white and accompanied by a rounded, red cheeked man, and followed by a woman who must certainly be one of her sisters. Once she was beside Viatorus, Ingirun's father sat down and the ceremony began.

The priest talked of uniting the two families, naming the virtues of both, as he got the bride-and-groom-to-be to hold hands which he bound in ribbons. He then took them through their vows before invoking the gods and goddesses to bless the union. The mixture of Greek and Norse deities made for a complicated blessing that might have been compared to seeking the approval of two powerful families. With wishes given, the priest unwrapped their hands and had the betrothed drink from the same cup. All in all it was a short ceremony as ceremonies go. A few more blessings were given and then the couple were prompted to kiss to seal the pact, which a bright red Viatorus did, very timidly. Luckily that only made Runa beam more brightly than she already was.

Dinner was in a large hall with close family at the head of the room and everyone else seated at round tables. Every position was carefully chosen, of course. The inevitable speeches came from the father of the bride (who rambled joyously about how happy he was to see his daughter with such a fine young man) and the mother of the groom (who gently, warmly, welcomed Runa into the family and spoke of how proud she and his father were). Drinks were plentiful, as were the courses. There were six in total with a selection of each: Appetisers, soup, fish, the main course, dessert, and a palate cleanser. No one will be going hungry tonight, that's a certainty.

After dinner it's Isidor who stands to say a few last words. She thanks everyone for coming and instructs them to enjoy the evening and all the festivities which "will go on at least until dawn". With that, guests are bid to go and enjoy the entertainment filling the palace.

And now for the party...

There isn't a single place that isn't being used for the party. The gardens have pleasant music playing in them, chairs and tables laid out with cushions and blankets for people to lounge in. One of the largest halls is set out for dancers and their spectators to enjoy live musicians that will play ballroom music for the first part of the evening and be replaced by a band that plays modern music for the second. There is a small room of bookshelves and leather armchairs where men congregate to sip whiskey. Rooms with couches and chairs have people moving in and out of them joining and starting conversations. The priest tends to three statues of goddesses that stand at the end of one room. Here he collects gifts and offerings for the couple's happy future. A man with a perfect smile enthralls a crowd with stories that are only exciting because of the way he tells them. A demure woman facilitates a conversation between straight backed men with chiseled features and shorter tanned men who look equally as disciplined. Servants are found throughout, bringing drinks and snacks to anyone who asks or so much as looks as if they're considering either.

((Feel free to backtag, threadhop, start threads, look for more NPCs, whatever you like! If you're unsure of something, looking for more details, or want to plot then you know the drill - Send a message my way and we'll chat!

Note about gifts: It will say on your character's invitation that gifts are optional and it is suggested that a gift to the gods/goddesses would be more than suitable instead.))

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

smartass_captain

It's well into the reception before Jim takes a moment to step outside to the gardens. The sheer number of people has made the house warm, and while not oppressively so, a bit of fresh air will do the body some good.

There's also the fact that Jim simply doesn't come from a world where magic is possible and so many of the more esteemed guests and their preferred conversation has gone right over his head all evening. It gets a bit overwhelming.

He'll stop by a rather ornate fountain away from the lights as much as he can be and cast a look up at the sky. To the space beyond.

Edited Date: 2017-06-21 12:48 am (UTC)

From:

chiron_survivor

Wanting to see and be seen, most of the party guests are staying close to the lights, so naturally Adia is over by the fountain as well, quietly taking in her surroundings. She startles a little when she catches sight of the man out of the corner of her eye and prepares to leave him to his star-gazing in peace --

Oh! It's someone she knows!

"...hi, Jim." She waves shyly, not wanting to distract him if he'd rather be alone.

From:

smartass_captain

"?...Adia!"

Jim's smile comes easier than it normally does (and it's normally an easy smile already) thanks to more than a couple of glasses of brandy well stocked servants keep providing him. He sets the empty glass down on the nearby bench and heads over toward his fellow Nexus-ite.

"You're looking lovely." He extends a hand her way as though he's going to shake it in greeting, but when Adia offers it he instead bows to meet it where he's raising it to his face and kisses the back of it gently before letting her go. "Needed to get out for a moment too?"

From:

chiron_survivor

The back of the hand kiss brings about a a smile and a bit of color to her cheeks, but she takes the gesture in stride. When you spend enough time around Reynard, you get used to that sort of thing. "Thanks, you look nice, too."

Rubbing one of her arms, she laughs self-consciously and replies. "More like all the moments. It's a little crowded inside... how about you? Are you having a nice time?"

From:

smartass_captain

"Can't get away with not dressing up, since Felix is dressed to the nines in more ceremonial garb than I thought existed in his place. And since I'm his Plus one, well..."

The captain gives a shrug. What can you do? It's probably a more polite answer than 'I know' because really, a chance to dress up and impress people? Jim's ego can't get enough of the looks he gets. Who is Jim Kirk fooling?

"Ah, not much of a party person huh?" Jim moves over to where Adia is sitting and takes a seat so that he's not looking down on her the entire time they're talking. "I'm...yeah, I mean, it's enjoyable."

The captain rubs at the back of his neck though.

"I don't know a thing about magic though, and I gotta be honest, I'm way out of my depth here."

From:

chiron_survivor

It doesn't surprise her that Felix is at the party, too, although she would have been hard pressed to guess who was the Plus one. "Have you met Viatorus before? He's very nice. I'm hoping to meet Runa, but I haven't seen either of them, not since their ceremony."

Considering that she was sitting all by herself until just now, it's probably safe to assume that she didn't bring a Plus one.

"No, not really. At least, not ones full of people I don't know." She hears the hesitation in Jim's reply, and smiles in commiseration. "Yeah, me too. I've read a little bit about the magic in this world, but it's all so foreign to me." Her smile quirks into a small grin and she adds, "Felix must be having a nice time, even if his magic is different. He's like a biologist at a chemistry convention."

She immediately regrets her joke. Jim is probably too cool for nerd humor.

From:

smartass_captain

"I have, yeah. He and Isidor are pretty well known in the Nexus." They aren't the closest of friends, but Jim definitely owes Viatorus for helping him out on at least one occasion. "I haven't met Runa though. She seems nice. Social. Supportive."

"I've done some asking around and reading up on magic, but all of that has been the stuff on Nirn." He gives a helpless shake of his head. "The place Felix is from, I mean. So mostly I've been standing there trying to quietly poke Felix about 'modern Earth' things, but to be honest this is still hundreds of years in my past so....I'm kind of winging it here."

Her joke though, that gets a laugh out of him. A real one even!

"He's loving it, I can tell. Do you do biology or chemistry? I'm more of a physics and engineering background, personally."

From:

chiron_survivor

"She does," Adia agrees. "I think she'll be good for him."

His admission makes her smile. Not because she finds it funny, but because she can so easily relate to feeling like a fish out of water. Still, she's pretty sure Jim's doing a better job of mingling and being social than she is. "When I first met Viatorus, I thought his world was far less modern than it actually is. I'd say the technology is on par with mine. Minus the space travel and sentient robots."

That laugh puts her further at ease. She relaxes her shoulders and keeps her grin. "Biology, microbiology specifically. I study infectious diseases. Do you find your background useful in being a starship captain?"

From:

smartass_captain

"Everything feels a bit antiquated to me no matter where I go, but having been to Felix's world, yeah. This place is much much more modern."

Riding in carriages, dressed in leathers and furs. Fighting bandits and the like. It's a far cry from wealthy mage families having a wedding reception in the south of France like true European elite. He's pretty sure that's still a Thing even in his time.

"Micro--oh my god someone is finally speaking my language." Jim gives a relieved half laugh half sigh and scoots a bit closer. "Now is this for prevention reasons or...?" He really doesn't want to ask if she's involved in bio-terrorism but come on, it's Adia, so surely not. "Are you more geared toward human affecting diseases or that which affects necessary livestock or plant life?"

He nearly pushes right past Adia's question in his curiosity about her own studies but manages to catch himself before he gets too excited.

"It definitely helps. My science officer and CMO handle the chemistry and biology, and my helmsman doubles as a xenobotany expert. I'm much more at home with my chief engineer or in front of a computer terminal."

From:

chiron_survivor

She can only imagine what life is like on ship that is more advanced than anything she's seen. It must be wonderful, not the utilitarian and cramped lifestyle she has aboard the Chiron.

His trailed off question is met with a brief look of bemusement, but she doesn't think much more of it. "Yes, prevention reasons. The Intercolonial Center for Disease Control had a number of facilities, but they liked to put us in out of the way places. My own research is focused on human disease, but there was some work on diseases impacting livestock, too." She smiles, but it doesn't quite reach her eyes. Not much use for the latter anymore.

As he describes the varied work of his crew, her smile grows wistful and a touch envious. "Your ship sounds like a marvel compared to ours. Does your helmsman ever visit the Nexus to look at plants? There was a park I used to frequent that had plants that moved on their own."

From:

smartass_captain

It is very clean. Too clean, really. Lense flares are an occupational hazard aboard the Enterprise. Everyone's got their problems.

"That must keep you gainfully employed. My CMO likes to list off every conceivable way we could all die at any moment in space whenever he gets nervous." Jim rolls his eyes at Bones' rants and gives a tiny shake of his head. "List gets longer every day we're on mission."

"Ah, I've brought back samples for them to study, however for the time being access to the Nexus directly is restricted to myself, my Chief Medical Officer, and my First Officer. An incident occurred a couple of years ago where a Starfleet admiral deliberately tried to provoke a war between the Federation planets and outside species."

Jim gets very quiet when he mentions the first Khan event. It didn't end very well for him.

"Since then, we've been a lot more careful about discoveries such at the Nexus. In the wrong hands, the Nexus could easily be used as a tool for warfare. I can't let that happen."

Edited Date: 2017-06-22 10:53 pm (UTC)

From:

chiron_survivor

"If I ever meet him, I'll try not to give him anything else to worry about," she says, amused and sympathetic to his CMO's point of view.

"Oh... oh, that's right. You told me about that when you answered my question about keeping the Nexus a secret..." She falls silent when Jim explains why he has to be so careful. She doesn't miss how quiet he gets. That incident must have hurt him somehow. It reminds her of what he's been through recently, too. How much worse it could have been if his ship had been dragged into it.

Gently, she places a hand on his arm. "I'm sorry that your universe is still touched by war. It's why I still haven't told anyone in my fleet about the Nexus. It could give our enemy an advantage... or spread our war to other worlds. I don't want anyone else to suffer the way we have."

From:

smartass_captain

As always Adia is sensitive to the plights of others as though they were her own troubles. Jim looks down at the hand on his arm and after only a few seconds a soft smile begins to tug at the corners of his mouth.

She's so very kind. Jim wishes he could do more for her.

"That's....that's similar to how I feel. I wish I didn't have to mistrust my own people, but...the risks are too great." And he's been wrong before. Had been wrong about Admiral Marcus. "But you can ask your friends for help, if..if you ever need it. I'd be more than willing to hop over with you to lend a hand."

From:

chiron_survivor

She's glad to see him start to smile. He's been through so much recently, and a party should be a happy occasion. But his offer to help is met with a sad shake of her head. "No, I... I couldn't ask you to do that. I'd never ask someone to come to my world. It's too risky."

It's a touching offer, though, and she pats his arm once before withdrawing her hand. "I have had others help me in the Nexus, though. Many times over..." Her gaze drifts over to the mansion where Felix is no doubt working the room. "People are so generous. I'm very lucky to have the friends that I do."

From:

smartass_captain

"You're not asking, Adia. I'm offering. It's something to hold on to in the back of your head, if a situation ever arises."

This time his smile is a bit wider. Why shouldn't it be? Jim Kirk would do nearly anything for his friends, and Adia counts among them. She's always looking out for others. Someone needs to look out for her as well.

"Well, that's kind of how the Nexus is though. You think I haven't been helped on numerous occasions there? That's half of why I'm here tonight. Viatorus helped me out quite a bit during the body swapping fiasco a ways back. I've kept in touch since."

From:

chiron_survivor

How to articulate that as powerful as his ship likely is, it would be no match to multiple Cylon basestars? Or maybe it would, but it's not his war. She decides it's not worth arguing her point. What's more important is his generosity. "I appreciate it, Jim. Thank you."

She sits up a bit straighter at the mention of body swapping. "Blaze told me about that... well, Isidor, too, actually. I'm sorry you were affected by that, too. Um... is it to personal to ask whose body you switched with?" Blaze was cheerfully forthcoming about her swap with Hughes, but she still doesn't know whose Viatorus switched with, just that it was terribly inconvenient.

From:

smartass_captain

Adia may need to alert the press. Jim Kirk actually looks embarrassed about something. He flushes a bit and drops his gaze to the side for a good half a minute while he ponders how to delicately put this.

"It was..I.." He keeps starting the sentence and then half shaking his head, as though rejecting his own words.

"It was ah..Ixis Naugus."

From:

chiron_survivor

Adia immediately regrets asking. It's obviously too embarrassing to share. But before she can apologize, he's working on a reply. It appears that he wants to tell her regardless, so she holds her tongue and waits for him to answer.

And what an answer it is! She cringes in sympathy. "Oh, Jim, I'm so sorry, that must have been awful. Naugus is so... well, that claw of his. And his tail! How long were you stuck in his body?"

From:

smartass_captain

"If I'm being honest...? Being stuck in his body wasn't half as bad as watching him in mine."

Jim winces in memory. The flirting with Felix, the...invasion of his personal space in so many ways that Jim cannot begin to quantify in polite conversation (you don't start shaving hair off another man's body without permission, even if you're the one in it ok). It had certainly been...an experience.

At the same time though, it sort of helped bring them together and stop fighting nearly so much as they used to. Things have been weird between them ever since that whole thing went down.

"It wasn't that bad, being him. Awkward, but once I got used to it..." He shrugs. "It was...nice. To get a full night's sleep for a change. To be able to eat things I can't normally have. Plus, Naugus is ripped. So not fair." Hard to believe, but under all those robes is a six pack that won't quit.

From:

chiron_survivor

Thinking over his words, she nods soberly. "That does sound worse, to see your body from the outside, controlled by someone else. And by Naugus, no less." Her tone suggests a less than ideal opinion of him; is it possible that she has met a Nexus-goer that she doesn't like? Someone alert the press a second time! "I hope he didn't offend anyone on your behalf."

Adia does not want to think about what's hiding under all those robes, but it is a relief to know that it wasn't all bad for Jim. "I'm glad you got something good out of it," she says, her smile returning. "All the same, I'd rather have your body than his."

And then she turns bright red, a hand flying up to her mouth. "Oh," she squeaks. "Oh, I didn't mean it like that! Sorry!"

From:

smartass_captain

"It's Naugus. He offends people just by existing." Jim snorts and shakes his head. "We fought a lot, but we always do. Learned a lot about each other though, so it wasn't all bad." He relaxes quite a bit at the less than stellar review Adia's voice has about the Mobian. He knows how you feel, Adia. He's not much of a fan either.

"But no, no lasting harm done. Felix did flirt with him quite a lot before he caught on that wasn't me though." It's not even funny in retrospect. Still the same kind of slightly horrifying. Though, an eyebrow shoots up at Adia's phrasing and hasty backpedaling.

"I know what you meant." He grins a bit and then shakes his head. "It's fine. I didn't take it that way, and even if it was? I'm flattered you'd think so. But let's be honest here, it's really not like it's much of a choice, right?"

From:

chiron_survivor

"It sure seems that way. He managed to insult two of my friends within a few minutes of speaking with him." She fidgets with the clasp on her purse as her look of vague annoyance turns a shade guilty. "He did tell me that he plans to look into why the anti-violence field stopped working, so I appreciate that, at least."

Adia seems to share Jim's sentiment over Felix's misstep, wrinkling her nose in distaste. "Naugus didn't tell him right away that he wasn't you? That's terrible." And kind of gross. But mostly terrible.

Relieved that he didn't misinterpret her, it still takes some time for her blush to fade. The last thing she wants Jim to think is that she's flirting, especially after telling her about the Felix fiasco. But he does have a point. She smiles sheepishly. "No, not really a choice,"

From:

smartass_captain

"Oddly enough, he and I are working together on that. I'm going to be devising some evacuation protocols and turning in a building design to one of the construction companies in the Underbelly to get a shelter and an armory constructed. Naugus is going to ward them once it's done."

Despite not getting along, some things are more important than their long lasting pissing contest the two of them have had since they met.

The safety of the Nexus at large is one of them

"Don't worry none, I won't tell anyone you had an even slightly sexy thought about me." He only teases for a moment and then gives her a wink before mercifully moving on from the topic. He really doesn't want to make her feel uncomfortable, but Jim is a vain man even at his most polite.

"Anyway, it's better that you missed out on that whole fiasco. This is a much better outing to be a part of, you know? Supporting Viatorus and his fiance, enjoying a night out. Much less stressful."

From:

chiron_survivor

"Oh, Jim, that's a wonderful thing to do." Finally, some sort of constructive plan to help make the Nexus a safer place. "I'd rather the AV field didn't fail in the first place, but this is a great back-up plan. Have you talked to Blaze yet about it? I know she and Ghost are looking for a way to help improve safety." That vague look of annoyance returns, but only briefly. "I suggested the same thing to Naugus, but he, um... isn't a fan of robots."

Three guesses which of her friends he managed to insult, and the first two don't count. (Unless Jim guesses Reynard, and then that also counts.)

His wink makes her giggle, although truthfully, Jim isn't really her type. She's more than happy to leave that topic behind, and she nods happily in agreement to the assessment of the evening. "A good excuse to get off my ship," she says, then laughs lightly. "For you, too, although I imagine your ship is far nicer than mine."

From:

smartass_captain

"Oh, Blaze? I know her. She and Ghost are probably the best soldiers in the Nexus that I know of. I'll have to hit her up if she's on the same page."

The eyeroll Jim gives says all it needs to about his opinion of Naugus' eternal struggle with anything remotely scientific or technology based. He's the worst kind of stubborn grandfather.

"Adia." Jim takes a sharp breath and shakes his head. "There are universal truths in the world. And one of them is, you never talk shit about another person's ship. We're from entirely different universes. Mine's bound to be different from yours. But I'd wager your captain thinks the world of it, just as I do mine."