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 Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2009 1:22 am
 Mas D'aun had heard of her. A noble of another house higher then his own who was blessed by Lloth. Now, while he normally would have paid little heed to these tales, no matter how true they may be, Mas found himself in a situation where someone with her power would certainly prove useful.
Ilmindia was proving hard for Mas D'aun to plan for. He had only intended on having one child after all. So all of his future plots revolved around the girl. Ilmindia though...he had no plans for really. Aside from useing the boy as a clever double to keep his true daughter safe, he had little thought as to what else to do with her...him. So it was he had written to this Seer, requesting that she might provide a service to House Barrith in return for a favor or even monetary compensation. He had merely outlined that he wished to have the potential of one of his twin children determined, so he might make proper plans in advance for the childs training.
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Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2009 2:35 pm
 Zestyrr'une was always perplexed when she received a request. The letter had laid untouched on her table for two days before she finally replied. A priestess sister of hers had advised that she answer the request positively. The seer quite understood that their mother, the Matron of House Noquaniyl, enjoyed that her seer could sometimes bring in profits and so Zestyrr'une had sent back a short but polite answer.
"Yes, I would be pleased to assist you. The best results will be available if I can meet the child where it is most at ease. A priestess will be accompanying me as is my Matron's wish."
Signed,
Zestyrr'une Noquaniyl
As much as Zestyrr'une would like to make the trip herself, she knew without a doubt one of her sisters would be joining her out of custom. Most drow understood how important a seer was to her house and did not mind any special requests as long as they were advised of the extra company beforehand. She would also be trusting her sister to broker her payment. Zestyrr'une was woefully bad at making any sort of business deal herself.
Zestyrr'une had never before worked with a child directly. Children had been in her visions many times before, but this experience sounded like it would be different. The seer was intrigued to entertain a new request. 'It must be an important child,' the seer mused, 'I know many have balked at the price my Matron requests for sending me.'
The black haired drow knelt on the floor of her private quarters. She liked to attempt a general kind of reading before a meeting, especially when meeting in an unknown House. Her hope was that with some prior familiarity, her requested vision of the child would later come quicker and more detailed. She held an open bottle of enchanted dust, as pale as her eyes, in front of her. Zestyrr'une focused and let her mind commune with the energy of the Underdark. Her Goddess would guide her to the knowledge she sought. She blew a soft warm breath across the lip of the bottle and the dust swirled out in front of her. Her eyes wandered vacantly. The dust neither dissipated nor settled. It danced in a fine hanging cloud for Zestyrr'une's eyes only. The smell in the room was like a crisp breeze. House Barrith..
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Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2009 1:42 am
It was...a ridiculous amount. That was why Mas D'aun intended to pay it. House Barrith had little to it's name right now except insanity and it's coffers. If he was going to brush the dust off his House and make it respectable once again, he needed to edge the reputation of the House away from madness and more towards their wealth. Surely it would not be too hard! Now that Micarreth was out of the House he had no one to contend with. Save his Matron of course, and she would not be a problem much longer. A week more perhaps. He really was hoping the old b***h would die of natural causes. It would just make his life so much easier and less complicated.
So, as his invitation had been accepted, Mas set in motion plans for his visitor. Goddess! It had been years since the House had had a honest to goodness Noble visitor. When it was she would arrive, with her escort it would seem, Mas would be ready to receive her though. The Guard would be informed in advance to be in proper uniform. That being red and black armor styled to appear like a jesters outfit. The servants, in similar jester outfits would be informed to stay out of sight. Mas still was not certain if he was going to change the uniform for his House yet or not. It had become a part of the House image he supposed. The strange jester outfits and their bells. Well..perhaps he could keep it for now...
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Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2009 11:48 am
Today was the day. Zestyrr'une and her sister were on their way, traveling to House Barrith. She had prepared herself as usual, save for one addition. She also carried at her side a fine black bag with two bottles of her enchanted dust. One dust was much denser than the other and Zestyrr would need it to concentrate if the unfamiliarity of House Barrith distracted her.
Her noble stature ensured Zestyrr was always going to show a presentable front head to toe when she left her House, but being a seer she could afford leeway with other areas of social convention if needed. If Lolth had blessed Zestyrr'une with such a gift, who was going to argue about details and presentation? Zestyrr'une was quite lucky for this and she knew it. She had an awareness, however vague, that her public interactions were strained and difficult. Sometimes she even heard the unspoken word and responded aloud. Zestyrr'une could not help but feel a burst of worry at the prospect of dealing with strangers.
She spoke quickly to her sister as they finally neared the entrance and were about to leave their spider-drawn carriage. "Are we.. you are getting payment?"
"Yes." Her sister, Olortana, was curt, "I took care of that." The priestess stepped down neatly, keeping her posture as stiff as possible and her head high. Zestyrr followed her sister up towards the Barrith House entrance.
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Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 9:30 pm
They would arrive...sometime...
Mas knew the exact candlemark, but at the moment he wasn't concerned with that. What he was concerned with was how to greet the visitors. Should he be there to meet them? It was a proper males place and...he loathed that. he wanted to put forth more of a strong position to these two nobles. But they were a higher house....
In the end Mas D'aun waited out on the front steps for his honored guest. It irked him to be playing the lower male role again...he had become so utterly spoiled by Tri-no that it was bound to be unhealthy for him. So he stood, tall and proud in his silver trimmed purple mages robes. his beholder eye staff held like a proud flag of his accomplishments. It seemed another had tried to copy his sucess with the eyes and had suffered a nasty accident. His fingers of one hand had become coated in ice and had lost all feeling for the time being. A pity really. Mas would have shattered it to better serve as a example to others not to try and copy him.
So now he stood. Waiting with as much dignety as he could muster at the front gates for the carrige to pull up. Goddess...he hoped his hair was in proper order...
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Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2009 1:39 pm
Their carriage had arrived and Zestyrr'une was waiting for one of their servants to get her door. She ignored the cowering male as he diligently helped her out, her pale eyes already curiously turned towards House Barrith. Good thing her sister was already out of the carriage as well, or Zestyrr may have forgotten all about waiting for her.
The two Noquaniyl sisters made their way up the steps. Zestyrr watched the purple robed male as they approached. She knew he would be the one who sent the letter. Her attention was all curiosity. The seer kept quiet, not at all adept in social situations. It may have occurred to her that her House was different from his, that he indeed was lower and a male on top of that. But these distinctions did not carry the same weight for her that they did for her sister.
Zestyrr meekly waited while Olortana took the first opportunity to speak, almost before she even stopped walking. It was very like her to zero in on business, particularly when only dealing with a male.
Olortana introduced them to their host, "Olortana Noquaniyl." She nodded to Zestyrr'une, "And this is seer Zestyrr'une."
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Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2009 3:13 pm
Ah... MasD'aun's eyes followed the carrige as it drew in past the outer gates. So here had come his guest. In good due time. He felt a small nervouse buzzing begining in the back of his mind as the doors were opened and a pair of females emerged. Well...Now was the time to see if his time spent with Tri-no had done him any good...
As the pair ascended the steps, Mas forced himself to bow himself a little stiffly forwards. He felt the famliar anxiety rising within him as the females grew closer. But... he was able to control it. So long as he kept himself calm he was certain he could remain in control.
"On behalf of House Barrith I welcome the daughters of House Noquaniyl." He greeted the pair, then stood himself back up. It was...a curious thing about the Seer. Mas had to try hard not to stare at her sightless looking eyes. Perhaps her gift obscured one sort of vision to be replaced by another? A pity that he did not dare allow his daughter to follow the path of a priestess. It would have been useful if he could have nudged her along the profitable profession of being a Seer.
"If you would follow me." Mas began to speak, his hand shifted to wave the silver tipped fingers invitingly forwards. He turned and, after pauseing long enough for the jester dressed servants to open the wide doors, he began to enter the House itself. "May I offer you the hospitality of House Barrith by means of a drink before the Seer handles the child?"
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Posted: Sat May 02, 2009 3:27 pm
Zestyrr's face was neutral at the greeting. Her mind was too busy with the energy of this House. Her pale eyes were also busy examining the strange staff the male held. She hadn't seen one like it, not even in a vision. They followed the male into the House and Zestyrr'une could feel a positive rush. Today was going to be powerful.
Olortana pursed her lips at the offer from their host, "Your hospitality is appreciated but.."
Her family's continual fear of the seer being harmed should have gone unspoken, but Zestyrr could never restrain her tongue well enough. The seer jerked back into paying attention when she heard the offer of a drink and looked to the purple-clad male, "It's alright Olortana. He isn't going to poison me." She smiled slightly to show she was being cordial. Zestyrr was aware that her eyes could be a little unsettling and make her already flat emotions even harder to read.
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Posted: Thu May 07, 2009 12:03 pm
MasD'aun had been expecting the refusal of his drink offer. It was common courtesy of course to offer a drink, but a wary drow never accepted unless they had some strange confidence in their safty or some hidden means to counter any poison that they may imbibe. So when it was the Seer herself that spoke up, assuring her guard that he meant them no ill in this manner, Mas was only half surprised. She was a Seer after all, he was certain she had some unusual spells and powers.
Mas formed a poilet smile, and gestured for the two ladies to step into a door off the corridor. Within was a very plain looking study. A simple stone table and stone chairs with cushions for comfort. The shelves were only half stocked with books and some scattered spider effigy knick-knacks were placed upon the shelves. Mas stood a little within the room and allowed his guests to enter at their own leisure. A pair of servants would be quick to arrive through the open door soon after. One young male carried a tray with three crystal glasses upon it and two different decanters of colored wine. He set them upon the small study table, and then exited the room. It was Mas himself who stepped over to pour the wine, his head tilting a little to indicate the bottles provided.
"I was uncertain of your preffered tastes. The dark wine has a more smooth and full flavor, while the pink has a sweeter and lighter taste. Which would my guests prefer?" As Mas spoke to the ladies, the second servant moved around to the other side of the table. He gripped the small handles on a golden cornered wooden box, and with a bit of effort he managed to lift it up and clunk the heavy thing onto the table. Reaching within a pocket, he produced a simple stone key, and he laid it beside the box before exiting the room as well.
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Posted: Thu May 07, 2009 2:44 pm
Zestyrr'une and her sister followed their host as he showed them to another room where they would be offered a drink. The servants promptly moved about them and Olortana was careful to be polite yet as attentive as possible. As much as she wanted to trust Zestyrr'une, her countenance was coldly focused on everything else unfolding around them.
This time Zestyrr'une replied quickly to the question, not wanting to give Olortana a chance to speak. "My sister will wait here and have the dark wine. I would like to see the child."
Her quick turn around of the situation broke Olortana's icy composure. The priestess viciously hissed in surprise at the seer, "Zestyrr'une!"
"If you would like to pick the pink wine instead, go ahead sister."
Zestyrr'une very well knew that the issue of the wine choice was far from the problem. Olortana had been sent to watch Zestyrr'une and she was loath to part her company now! The Matron would be displeased if she knew that Zestyrr was obstinately set on viewing the child alone.
The priestess, after nearly popping a blood vessel in her forehead trying to silence her anger, answered politely, "I will trust your decision, Seer."
Zestyrr'une showed no outward response to her sister but turned expectantly towards Mas.
Her intuition always served her best! Olortana no doubt had not dared to argue and make her sister look foolish in front of the client. The dark haired seer had only known that she was intended to meet the child alone. Lolth always provided a way. Her earlier vision about this day had filled her with confidence. Besides, Olortana was terrible at taking instruction and would no doubt follow behind them to await outside of whatever room the child was in.
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Posted: Sun May 10, 2009 9:53 pm
Mas had to admitt that he was a touch surprised. The payment had not even been inspected yet and she already wished to see the child? Well... Despite the protests of the sister, Mas was more then willing to move the transaction along.
"As you wish. The child is this way." He explained with a small wave of his hand. Mas turned, still mildly bewildered at the unexpected exchange between the females, and he led the way out of the room he had just taken them to. He supposed his hospitality was really un-nessary, and as soon as the Seer helped him determin what sort of training his child should have the better to usher them out with their gold.
Mas spoke no words during the tip through the halls. Imindia was only a level above them, so reaching the temporary playroom was only a matter of minutes. Mas could not help but glance from time to time at the blind seeming female. Though he felt that she could get herself around very well without aid, he still felt a little uneasy not offering her some form of guidance. Shaking off this uncomfortable feeling, Mas opened a second door and presented the room to the Seer.
It was a simple guest bedroom in truth, but for the sake of the children it had been converted into a play room for this particular occassion. Small soft toys littered the floor, and instead of a bed two rocking cradles were set to either corner of the room. A older female sat in a chair, rocking a wrapped bundle and humming softly to it until it was that the door opened. Looking up, Mas gestured once and the female rose.
"This is the Nanny. The child she is tending to is Sinatra, but she is not the one you are here to see." Mas explained to Zest as the female hurried herself past a joined door. Mas waited until Zest had fully entered the room before he closed the door, and approched one of the rocking cribs. Peering within, he dismissed the empty crib and crossed the room to a second crib...and blinked as this one too revealed itself to be empty.
"Ah..the child is...hmmm..." Mas stumbled for a explanation as he cast his sight around the room. There were not many placed for the babe to be! The toys were scattered, but there was a pile of them in a corner, and as Mas swept his worried gaze about the room, Ilmindia choose to make his presence known.
The baby had managed to crawl itself between the wall and it's stuffed toy's. With the appearance of the stranger and Mas, it slowly fumbled itself out from amid the toys. Bright blue eyes under a fall of silvery white hair peered up at Zest. Her many adornments having caught the little tykes attention for certain. He was well groomed, with two blue bow's in his hair by his ears, and a rather expensive blue dress trimmed with spider lace and white ribbons bunched around his fat little legs. His white tights had dirtied some from crawling on the floor, and somewhere he had lost one of the two blue spider silk slippers trimmed with tiny pearls.
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Posted: Tue May 12, 2009 6:03 pm
Zestyrr'une walked along, following with eager curiosity to see the child. She knew her sister would remember the things she paid no mind to. Olortana was in charge of all the responsibilities such as payment, Zestyrr'une had only attention for her visions. Nonetheless, she hoped her one track mind did not bother their host. Her work may be the only motivation the drow felt but she was genuinely aware of the importance of what this would mean for the child. Even a male child could one day gain great power to the serve his House with.
There was a female child as well and Zestyrr was not surprised that she was being hummed to and rocked while the male child had been found lost in a corner. Typical. It was interesting to her even that the male's future warranted the needs of a seer. It made her all the more intrigued to attempt her vision.
The male child had popped out of a pile of toys and Zestyrr could not resist a small smile at the sight. He was very well dressed and cared for despite the fact that drow could never resist showing neglect in order to favor the female sibling.
"What is his name?" The seer sat down in the middle of the floor and opened up the black silken bag she carried. Her hands paused on the bag as another thought came to mind, "My sister will handle anything about the transaction if she hasn't already. I don't concern myself with that. But if there is anything else you would like to tell me about the child and your questions about his future, please do."
From the bag, Zestyrr'une withdrew two bottles and sat them out on the floor in front of her. Each delicate glass bottle held a blend of her enchanted dust.
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Posted: Tue May 12, 2009 6:29 pm
MasD'aun turned when he spied the movement in the corner, and he released a small sigh at where his child had been hiding. Well, he supposed it made no difference... While Zest would settle herself down upon the floor, Mas would cross over to the babe and pluck it from the floor. He took a moment to brush the dust from Ilmindia's dress before he took took up sitting upon the floor.
Ilmindia accepted the lifting and the brushing with no fuss. He had dragged a small silk elf doll with him from the toys, and as Mas sat him down upon his lap, he lifted the doll to his face and pushed it's silk surface to his cheek. His blue eyes remained fixed on Zest, and slowly one pudgy hand lifted to open and close it's fingers at the many dangleing pretty thing Zest wore.
"Her name is Ilmindia." MasD'aun gently corrected Zest as he pointedly fixed the blue bow's in Ilmindia's hair and gave her the female name. Mas lifted his eyes to glance over at where Zest sat, seeking to see what sort of reaction she might betray over the obvious gender slight.
"In accordance to my wishes, Ilmindia is a second born daughter. As the pair look remarkably alike it is my hope that if anyone seeks to harm my first born they will mistakenly target this babe and the other will have time to be secreted away." Mas gently stroked his fingers over Ilmindia's hair, watching as the babe fussed at the touch and twisted it's head to look up at him. "If she performs her duty and serves her sister well, I have the means to reward her and make her a true female. I tell you this because, obviously, you would know the truth no matter how hard I tried to hide it. I hope that you will keep this information to yourself however..." Mas lifted his head. She bloody well ought to, with the amount that he was paying for her service!
"I need to know what potential Ilmindia has. I can not risk letting her take her time figureing out what skills she has due to the part she plays. I do not want to take a risk in someone finding out her true gender by waiting too long. If there is a trainer that would best suit her I would know this as well."
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Posted: Wed May 13, 2009 8:12 pm
That was an unexpected turn. Zestyrr'une felt nothing so strong as shock or surprise wash over her at the news of the little male Ilmindia being raised as a female. She accepted her host's words immediately, as if he was confirming something her subconscious had been rattling to tell her. A glimmer of intrigue still raised her eyebrows as her mind took in this new alternative. There were so many possibilities in the world and this was yet another wondrous twist! This child had a unique path already, so early in life. And how would this all be affected by her vision?
"I see the importance she has to you then." Zestyrr'une made sure to correct herself on the gender this time.
Thoughtfully the seer watched the child and his (her?) father interact. "It is a good thing I trusted my intuition about keeping my sister out of the room. My services are for you only, no one else will know a word of anything that happens here."
She opened the bottle of the denser dust and pushed the black bag aside. The seer took a deep breath. "I hope it should be detailed." The seer caught herself in a moment of confusion and hurried to explain what she had thought she was communicating, "I will try to make the reading detailed. Dust," She tapped the lid of the bottle, "will probably have a subtle effect on you and the child. Not harmful, but calming. I do not have to hold the child, but if you would like.. I can only think it would help."
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Posted: Thu May 14, 2009 1:59 am
She was not a easy drow to read. Then again..MasD'aun was terrible at the subtlties of such intrigue. The babe in his lap shifted, but made nor more effort to crawl out of his grip. Ilmindia had been something of a subdued child since her birth, a sign of her true gender Mas had simply assumed. but..who knew? This Seer may provide him with more information about the curious calmness of the baby.
MasD'aun's lips curled into a faint smile as Zest would not show any signs other then acceptance of his intentions concerning the child. "I was a bit concerned to tell the truth. It is easier to keep a secret between two then it is between three...." Mas paused as Zest would explain the features of the dust she was to use...and he glanced down into the blue eyes of the child in his lap. Mas gave a unconcerned shrug and lifted Ilmindia to hand her over to Zest.
"Careful...the child seems to like shiney things and she may attempt to grab hold of your earrings or something." Mas cautioned Zest before she would take the child.
To his credit, Ilmindia did reach eagerly for Zest. His bright blue eyes wide and his fingers wiggling towards the pretty baubles she wore.
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