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Post by Maeve on Sept 20, 2022 18:54:02 GMT
It is shortly after the patternfall war. Tension inside the family has subsided and Llewella surprised her family by bringing in her daughter Maeve from shadow, presenting Maeve also to her sister Queen Moire in Rebma.
After all offical things had been said and done, Moire and Llewella left the two cousins alone together, leaving a hint to Lorelei to familiarise Maeve with Rebma.
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Post by Lorelei on Sept 20, 2022 20:06:42 GMT
[OOC: I'm assuming this is shortly before being presented in Amber for both of them.]
Lorelei was in her suite trying to study, but was constantly being disturbed by them traffic out in the hallway. Not just anyone was allowed in the royal wing [tower] of the castle - something was going on... When she tried questioning the servants all she was able to get was that Princess Llewella had returned with a young lady and they were tasked with preparing a suite for her. This didn't make sense to Lorelei. Only the royals and a few trusted servant were allowed here. Mother would know what was going on...
Asking along the way, Lorelei makes her way to the Throne Room. Mother, that is Queen Moire, is seated upon the over-sized and well-padded throne. The queen's sister, auntie Llewella, and a Rebman woman were standing close to throne and speaking in low tones. To Lorelei's 10 year old sensibilities this wasn't adding up to what she was told. The other woman, clearly Rebman, was old... at least 20, give-or-take a year. Still, it's best to gather information straight from the source when possible.
Lorelei walks up to the other edge of the throne and performs the royal dip. Although she is still a bit young for it, she is just wearing scales trunks and matching short wrap-around skirt, black with silver trim, her jewel encrusted necklace, and a filigree tiara. She looks so cute with her long jet-black hair flowing freely about her shoulders, with her jade-colored cat-like eyes, and a pale pinkish complexion... From having seen the Trumps, Maeve can easily tell that this young Rebman royal is of the Faiella bloodline... eerily she has a strong to Moins as well...
The royal sisters make the introductions between their daughter and excuse themselves. Lorelei nods at the suggestion to familiarize Maeve with Rebma. Turning to her cousin, Lorelei says, "Hello. Welcome to Rebma. Is there anything in particular you would like to see first?"
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Post by Maeve on Sept 21, 2022 7:18:14 GMT
Maeve has turned to Lorelei after their elders have left.
She wears knee-length trousers and a cropped sleeveless top, both are made of finely crafted undyed fish leather, tuna Lorelei would be guessing by the pattern. The leather is decorated with pieces of abalone shells.
Maeve has an olive complexion with a tiny green tone to it, now barely visible, her skin tanned by sun. Her purple hair is held back in her neck by woven ribbon of sea silk.
"Hello cousin, thank you for your welcome." Maeve replies.
"This place seems to be huge, I only got a first impression, when Mom.. " She hesitates. " .. when my mother took me down the steps of Faiella-bionin and let me her to the palace."
"I would like to go to the highest tower to see how far the city goes." She continues.
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Post by Lorelei on Sept 21, 2022 20:00:19 GMT
"Oh, that's easy," Lorelei say, a slight excitement rising in her voice. "The servants are preparing your suite right now. It's in the royal wing... well, it's actually the tallest tower, but no-one argues with the queen and she calls it a wing..."
Lorelei reaches out expectantly to take hold of Maeve's hand. "I know the fastest way to get there," she says with a smile and slight tilt of her head that hints she isn't supposed to know and is sharing a secret...
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Post by Maeve on Sept 22, 2022 15:44:54 GMT
Curious Maeve takes Lorelei's Hand and follows along.
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Post by Lorelei on Oct 1, 2022 7:58:16 GMT
As the girls start walking away from the throne room, Lorelei asks, "What's Faiella-bionin like from top-side? Is the beach really stripped like a cat?" ...not that she, at her current age, has ever seen a cat outside of pictures in a book. "I've seen the stairs from the bottom, but I'm not allowed to climb them 'til I'm older."
As they walk, Maeve may notice, if she has been to Castle Amber, that Castle Rebma itself has a mirror-image similarity to Castle Amber in size and layout, but the architecture and appearance is a synthesis of Rebman and Triton design. There seems to be very little wood - the furnishings are made primarily of metal, cloth, or stone... and mirrors everywhere set in no obvious pattern. The walls are decorated with mosaics (many of the scrabble-tile sized pieces are actually tiny mirrors), reliefs, and works of art from many Shadows. The majority of the windows in the Castle Rebma are octagonal or round, and most of them that have glass are tinted in different shades of ochre and blue, but many of the windows are not sealed with glass at all. Instead, they are set with metal gates, ornate bars, and trellises shaped in many patterns both simple and complex. Most of the windows of the castle have cushioned seats or benches at their lower sills, so that the denizens of the keep may look across the majesty of the castle’s grounds, its gardens, the interior courtyards, and the torchlit splendor of the city which slopes above it. Moving along the hallways they pass statues of marble, jade, and other precious stone, as well as ornamental armors trimmed in precious metals of every description in their niches. Other works of art hang on the walls or sit on pedestals along the hallways and stairs.
Lorelei prattles on, saying, "Coming down the steps of Faiella-bionin, you obviously came through the Main Gate and must have come down the Great Avenue to the castle. You no doubt saw all manners of shops, businesses, bars, and restaurants along the way. Did you notice how they tend to clump together in rough groupings for the different types of wares?"
Stepping into a side corridor, Lorelei looks in each direction, ignoring the distraction of the small colorful fish swimming past. Seeing no-one she lifts the arm of a suit of armor in its niche and there is a soft 'click'. Taking a step to the side, she swings a floor-to-ceiling painting out just far enough for them to slip behind it before pulling it closed. Behind it there is a cork-screw shaped shaft extending up and down, although its shape prevents one from seeing very far in either direction. Numerous hand and foot holds are set into walls. Lorelei seems to practically fly through the water as she begins to ascend. They pass a few side passages before stopping at the top landing. A quick check reveals that the hallway they exit into is presently unoccupied. Their exit point is also conveniently near the final set of stairs leading up to the royal suites, but beyond the line of sight of the pair of guards at the stairway. Lorelei leads Maeve the remaining short distance to her freshly appointed suite. Aside from the main sitting room and the bedroom, Maeve's suite is current a blank canvas awaiting the artist's touch. Looking out the window, Maeve can see that the city sits in a bowl-like plateau with the castle at its center, that gradually rises around them. The view out the windows is nothing short of spectacular. Thousands of tiny mirrors twinkle like stars as sea-life passes before them, and the glow of the magical lights from the streets and buildings form patterns to pleasure the eye.
"The enchantment in Rebma's waters that enables surface-dwellers to breath underwater extends only as far as most of the Seven Shadow-Sea Kingdoms of the Coral Branch. A short distance beyond the city, the enchantment that holds back the deadly pressure ends - only those of us able to adapt, or shape-shifters, can survive out there..." Lorelei also points out the estates of the noble houses that can be seen from here and describing the locations of the ones that cannot be seen from here...
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Post by Maeve on Oct 1, 2022 12:46:07 GMT
Maeve listen to Loreleis questions.
"The beach above the waves is pink and sable, but not really striped it is more like smaller and greater patches intermingle with each other, changing with ebb and flow." She frowns. " What is a cat. Is it a mammal?" She continues. "The Sand is dry, everything is dry, you can not float in the air, like you can float in water. You have to walk or you ride on a horse. Everything has an odor and the sounds are different then here under the water. Have you been above the water? When the days comes that your mother considers your old enough to walk on dry land we will go up together."
Maeve continues to follow Lorelei. "I saw the shops, a lot if things I have never seen before. Maybe they group so you can compare their wares.? A lot of people live here in the city. Where I grew up we had smaller settlements, the biggest may 1000 people. This here ... so many many people. I hope I do no have to get to know all of them?"
When you come by some fishes Maeves snatches one and looks at it fascinated. "They are not afraid." She pets the fish and releases it. "You do not eat those fish or? They are for decoration? And the mirrors, that's a lot of mirrors. Why do they need so many mirrors here?"
Maeve slips into the hidden path together with Lorelei. "This is exciting, a secret way."
Maeve looks at the City of Rebma and its surroundings with astonishment and takes in the sight. "This is beautiful. I saw, that the city was big, but it is bigger than I thought. I have to go everywhere, where I can without ... shifting? I do no know if I can adapt. This is all new to me."
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Post by Lorelei on Oct 3, 2022 4:39:34 GMT
When asked 'What is a cat?', Lorelei answers, "Yes, a mammal, size determined by type, of the stalk and pounce carnivore variety. The small types can be domesticated, but rarely trained. The larger types can be some-what trained, and those that are often perform in circuses."
She shakes her head when asked if she has ever been to the surface. She isn't particularly impressed with the description of how things are on the surface. "With the family returning from The Courts, I believe we will go to Amber soon to meet with them all..."
When the mirrors are mentioned, Lorelei explains, "We are so below the surface, sunlight does not reach us. The mirrors help scatter the magical light..."
In Maeve's suite, Lorelei is pleased that Maeve is enjoying the view. "You can go ~anywhere~ inside the markers. Shifting... some Rebmans can... same with the Tritons, but all of them go through metamorphosis with extreme age, like THE Kraken..."
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