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Feverishly, the queen paced the floor. Her anklets danced and tinkled melodically as her feet cut a groove into one of the palatial suites in the most luxurious resort in Four Fronds. Regina's eyes were wide, staring off into the distance and focused on some other reality playing out in her mind's eye. Every now and then, she would stop pacing and raise a hand, fists clenched, index and pinkey finger extended. It was one of her favourite gestures, representing the distinct appearance of her people. The horns. Then she would begin to pace again, her mouth and fingers twitching, mumbled words occasionally slipping out into the room.

"Proud spirit .... rebuild ... fight for our future ... awesome throat punches .... victory!!!"

She could hear the crowds slowly gathering, drifting into the plaza beyond the open doors to her balcony. It was her first official public appearance since her crowning ceremony, and trolls were arriving from as far as Chittentown. The wide-eyed almost dreamy look on her face flickered and disappeared as she re-grounded herself in reality. She had sent her agents out, and they had returned with record-breaking numbers of civilians flocking to hear her speak.

Perhaps it was out of fear, of what would happen if they failed to show proper respect to the new queen, or of the loss of the majority of their great army. Perhaps it was out of curiosity, to see the face of the troll that from this day forward would be deciding the fate of thousands. Maybe there were trolls in the crowd who wanted to see the face they hoped to strike down one day, or simply came to pay homage and proper respect to their new great monarch. Whatever their reason, they came for a show and they'd get one. No one would ever forget her first royal decleration, she'd make sure of that. A slow smile split the queens face from cheek to cheek, and she turned towards the balcony, raising her hands out towards the unseen crowd, fingers curling in pleasure.

"My people, we are gathered here today ...."

Welcome to the December mini-meta! Here your troll can win fame, fortune, and minor permanent scarring, both mental and physical. Feel free to roleplay your trolls gathering in the plaza below, it is early in the evening and the moon has just begun to rise. Regina will be delivering her speech on the 16th of december ooc, and in half an hour ic. If you haven't had time to post, but still want your troll to be here, feel free to assume they had already arrived.

The hum of the event was not news to a certain blueblood's ears. Zeffer stood with arms crossed, almost directly beneath the balcony, and somewhat off to the side. Being a denizen of the forest town himself, he'd been hearing the buzz about the upcoming speech for days. Some trolls would take longer to arrive than others, so of course they'd started to spread the news beforehand. Living out in the middle out nowhere, he supposed, had its advantages sometimes. He'd had to walk for little more than twenty minutes to reach his destination, and here he was, ready to lend their new leader his ears for a while. Zeffer was feeling a mixture of emotions as the plaza began to fill up, and it was really a treat for the young blueblood to see so many different kids of trolls all filtering into town. He was lucky to see even a greenblood around the Four Fronds, unless it was on the outskirts, or in the forest. Now trolls from all shades of the hemospectrum were flocking from every corner of Alternia to see and hear what their queen had to say.

Zeffer couldn't help but feel a pang of disdain for the entire affair, really. Pompous highbloods and authority figures had never really tickled his fancy...on the contrary, they really rather pissed him off. But he would never admit to that, and even though most highbloods were horrid blowhards, you couldn't deny that it was best to stay on their good sides. There could be rewards to be had, and so he was gearing up to pay attention, eyeing the balcony from time to time.

At one point, a scruffy-looking female troll bumped into him in her effort to gain a better vantage point, and he shoved her back half-heartedly with his shoulder before even thinking to see who she was. "Watch yourself." he said in a disarmingly playful tone, not really expecting a reply, but unable to keep himself from taunting anyway.

Back straight, head held high, eyes constantly scanning the crowd, Pyruet slowly made her way into the already packed plaza. She was wearing a holster on her chest like a badge, the hollow point-filled revolver inside practically daring those who saw her to start trouble. She nudged more than a couple trolls out of the way to find a spot where she could keep an eye on as much of the crowd as possible while still having a clear view of the balcony where the queen was due to deliver her speech.

She may not have shown it, but Pyre was almost excited to see the queen. She hadn't made it to the crowning ceremony, and she was fascinated to see what kind of troll had managed to claw her way to the top and inherit the title of empress. She'd heard that the newest successor to the throne was wet behind the ears in more ways than one; that their new queen was incredibly young, couldn't be much older than Pyre herself. To have so much power, to bear so much responsibility at such a young age...it was cause for both awe and concern and--

And why was someone singing? Who even brings a keytar to a royal speech, do they realize how disrespectful that is? She shot a long, fierce glare at the nearby crowd that surrounded Talymn, glowering at him for all she was worth. She wasn't going to create a commotion at such an important event, but damned if that wasn't a disgusting display. She crossed her arms behind her back and continued scanning the crowd as she waited for the event to begin, curling her lip as he began another song.

It was time. The moons hung over the square, their cool pink and green light flooding it washing out the pale sickly glow from the artificial lamps hung from the buildings. Finally tearing herself away from the path cut into the expensive carpet, Regina made for the noise of the square.

There were no guards out on the balcony, though a few drones were stationed throughout the crowds, some in dress uniform, some undercover as plain civilians. She had made a point of having no escort. No one would say she was a coward, or was relying on the remains of a past monarchs military force. She would build the army back up using nothing but her own voice, mind, and fists. Symbolical, of course.

Pushing the heavy curtain aside, the queen stepped out, into the gaze of hundreds of trolls. Some were talking with each other, a few had started small fights or squabbles, and as she stepped out the notes of a keytar were abruptly cut short as it was firmly confiscated from it's owner by a royal drone. Silence, or at least as close to silence as you could get with so many trolls packed into one place, fell on the crowd. The young monarch took a breath, straightened her back, and flung back her head to meet the eyes of her people.

"You have all come here today, for one reason or another, to listen to me. You have come from the tops of mountains, and the bowels of deserts, to stand side by side with your betters, your equals, and your lessors to hear what the future will be. But you have travelled from much farther than your home, you have each pulled yourself up from the very bowls of our planet, and strode forward with every breath, in every waking moment of your life.

Every troll here has fought from birth, has worked to survive in a world where there are no handouts, no coddling, and no room for fools. From the lowest of the low, to the highest of the high, each troll here today has carved their path into life with a strength unknown to lesser races, and there is no other way I would like us to be. We are trolls, we are unstoppable, as individuals and as a whole. Danger and death will only serve to cull out those too weak to continue, and setbacks are only there to force us to push forward with new strength!"

She fell silent, as on cue the plain-clothed drones started up a cheer. It was quickly swept up by the rest of the crowd, and gave her a few seconds to catch her breath and take in the mood of the plaza. Her eyes darted around sharply, watching for faces that didn't fit the mood, for weapons drawn. So far, so good.

The second part of Regina's speech will be up at 10pm, est. If you were planning on posting, your troll can still come in as a late arrival.

It was a challenge to get to Four Fronds for a certain bespectacled orangeblood. Turkeydad was adamantly against the idea of his chick traveling all the way to the resort region, just to see the queen speak to the people of Alternia. Yet, ultimately, Mutuna got her way in the end after some twenty minutes of squabbling. Sometimes you just had to do what you had to do in order to get what you wanted. It wasn’t everynight that the queen made a public appearance to the trolls of Alternia. This could be a once in a lifetime opportunity, and gog dang it, she was going to take it.

Mutuna wasn’t without her reservations, however. The idea of being around so many highbloods made her a bit uneasy. Who knows what would happen if one of them decided to get into an altercation with her. It was always a scenario in the back of her mind, frankly. In a society like the one they lived in, how could it not be? If the queen were speaking, however, perhaps that would cease any roughhousing that may be around, if even just for a little while. She had to hope that would be the case, anyway.

By the time she arrived at the Four Fronds, Regina was already at the end of the first part of her speech. Mutuna couldn’t hear much with all the chatter from the other trolls around. The only words that reached her ears by the time she made it to the back of the crowd were, ”…Force us to push forward with new strength!” New strength, huh? How much new strength the queen would give the everynight troll, well, was left to be seen. Knowing how queens in the past have acted, though, Regina was bound to do a lot of pushing. It’s what dictators did, after all.

For the moment, Mutuna was just keen on standing back, arms folded over her chest, to listen to the rest of what the queen had to say. The less she said to anyone, the better. The less she made a scene, the better. She was perfectly okay with standing there silently and listening to all that was going on around her, as it would be the best way for her to go about unnoticed. Out of sight and out of mind; that’s what she was determined to be as this speech took place.

Heels clicking against the cobblestone pathway, a young highblood strutted her way into the square where the Queen's speech was being held, deliberately knocking anyone out of her way with her small frame. Said frame seemed to bounce off everyone she hit more than move them, but she hadn't seemed to have noticed that minor detail. It was more Frossa's purplish hued blood colour and 'I dare you to mess with me' attitude that seemed to split the crowd; nonetheless Frossa was deluded into thinking she was a badass. However, even the delusional highblood knew better than to actually start a fuss during such an event and instead took her frustration out on the crowd of lowbloods. This was her home. Four Fronds was a nice place; no pathetically short lived lowbloods to stink up the place. And now-- they were everywhere! This was a place they were meant to be kept out of and hunted for sport, yet they roamed freely. Frossa well understood why they were there and she supposed that she could understand; but why couldn't they have held this speech somewhere else? Anywhere else? Letting out a puff of hot air, Frossa crossed her arms in silent defiance.

She barely caught the last bit of Regina's speech, most of it falling to deaf ears as the sadistic little s**t had been to busy smashing into warmbloods. The crowd seemed the be riled up from whatever she had said. Something about the best surviving? Well, she certainly agreed with that. Frossa took a moment to gaze up at their new Queen. Like the whispered rumors she had heard, this new Queen was fairly young. Was that an issue? Frossa hadn't the faintest idea; such concepts were beyond her obstinate little mind.

Frossa's dark eyes flickered back to the crowd. This spot was no good, she needed a better vantage point of where Regina stood. Spinning around forcefully, the small troll barreled her way through the crowd once more. All was good, until she smashed into the back of an unsuspecting troll. Frossa's face smashed square into the other troll's back, painfully squashing her nose. Frossa swiftly jumped back, clutching her nose with both hands. "Get out of my way now, or you'll pay for that!" Frossa snarled, face growing indigo with embarrassment.

ooc: if someone wants to have Frossa bump into their character, please go for it! that's what i'm aiming for <3

After a suitable pause, and when the cheers had died down, Regina spoke again. Now however, a smile began to creep up her mouth. The first part of the speech had been standard crowd-pleasing drivel, something she had whipped together to capture romantic, easily-swayed hearts and maybe cement a few loyalties. It was time to get to the point, and show everyone what they had travelled so far to see.

"The amount of death that has recently befallen our race has the chance to make us stronger than ever. A new generation is rising, and unlike the others, we will not be held down by the heavy hands of our elders. We will surpass them, and grow beyond any expectations. We will be the most vivacious, cunning and powerful generation yet, and today we are gathered here to honour this new generation! And for that reason, I call on you, young trolls from all castes and all walks of life, to show your spirit and strength in single combat in the new Four Fronds Royal Arena!"

Regina turned and gestured with a flourish across the plaza, to a large scaffolding that had been covering what was once a smaller hotel. The sheets dropped, and where the old building had been was a large, sparkling grey coliseum, it's walls still new enough to gleam in the light of the two moons.

"Every troll gathered here tonight has a chance to make a name for his or herself infront of hundreds of other trolls, to win glory for himself and his caste. You can enter yourself in a gamble where strength replaces luck, and if you come out on top you will reap the rewards fit for a champion! Come on, show all Alternia what you're made of!"

Your trolls may now sign up for arena bouts with each other on the list pinned to the doors of the new coliseum. Sign ups will be open until 1 pm est on the 20th. A few large rules are printed beside the sign up list. Feel free to roleplay your troll signing up, or just post their name. Latecomers are welcome to sign up or hang around, and all trolls are encouraged to chat among each other in the plaza (this thread) before and during the battles.

1) Lusus are not allowed to join in the combat. Trolls are supposed to be showing their own combat prowess, not their guardian's! OOC, this means your troll will not be allowed their one block with their lusus.

2) Battles will be till knockout, surrender, or first bell. OOC, this means battles will be limited to one week each, then if any are still going the troll with the most health remaining will be declared winner.

When sign ups finish, trolls will be paired off to fight each other and the mule will post threads for the combat to take place in. Then the winners of those combats will pair off with each other until one winner remains! Prizes will be in-character, but users will get event points and all battles will count towards growths. If you're still uncertain about how battles work, don't forget to brush up reading the battle rp information thread.

If you have any questions about this event, feel free to pm the mule.

Brows furrowed and lips pulled back in a snarl Minist said nothing. She wouldn't dare make the first move, not here at least. Still prickling with anger she returned her gaze upwards to the balcony. Her face lost all its tension as she she listened. A chance to prove oneself? Battles to weed out the weak? Perfect. She stole a glance at the highblood that had run into her. It would seem she had already forgotten about their little squabble and was looking around earnestly with shining eyes.

Minist scoffed, hopefully someone would rip off that pretty face if the oh so powerful highblood could find the wits to discover the location of the sign-ups. She didn't particularly wish for revenge, but the fact that she obviously too caught up in her own hubris to pay attention irritated her to no end. Straightening herself up she began to follow the crowd to the coliseum. It certainly was in impressive building. No doubt its gleaming surface would soon be stained with blood, looking like a subjugglator's walls. Maybe the subjugglators will even use it as their new headquarters. Minist shook her head. She really would rather not to think about that fearsome group. Only those with egos bigger than their heads would think of them without a tinge of fear. Someone like Ms. Freckles.

When she finally reached the sign-up sheets she confidently scrawled out her name and passed the pen on to some other troll. Now only to wait. Wait for her opponent to be announced and to face off. Smiling she made her way back to the plaza. The tiredness she had felt upon arrival had completely vanished as her blood pumped with excitement. She scanned the faces around her, maybe she would be facing off with one of them? Whether or not she would meet her adversary she cared little, she wanted to pester someone. Her fingers twitched at her sides. She wanted to have some fun.