un: a civil serpent. | audio

[inferus]

( Wrath has heard from his disciples Vannozza plans on summoning or exorcising- a special ritual spell. He means to look into it more, but he would prefer to have some idea of what he may be walking into. He knows the group is exactly that.

They are a team, and while he is not used to relying on others in such a way, this world is making him experience many things he is unaccustomed to. He means to speak to Vannozza himself, but first, he wishes to inquire about those who have already had dealings with her. In exchange, he would be willing to let them know what he has learned and what he will learn.

A Prince of Hell always knows how to bargain. )

Has anyone had interactions with Lady Vannozza thus far? I am curious as to what others may have learned or what their reading of her has been when they've interacted with her.

Comments

un: daozhang | audio

[binghua]

I have spoken to her on one occasion, though I also upset her greatly, so our interaction was colored. That is something to keep in mind.

[And, in hindsight, Xiao Xingchen was in the wrong, even if he doesn't feel that being frustrated with the lack of healing efforts re: the whole poisoning debacle was uncalled for.]

She strikes me as being much colder than her cousin, who at least seems to want to care. Lady Vannozza gives me the impression that she will only lend a hand to those she deems worthy of her time and effort and if anyone is affiliated with Don Macaluso, then she couldn't care less. She termed those of us who are aligned with him as his soldiers. I am not politically minded, so I don't appreciate people who put some matters over others, but she might be considered a stronger leader in that she seems like she wouldn't buckle under pressure.

[inferus]

Can I ask how you upset her?

( Wrath missed some of what happened while he was poisoned, focused on getting his own cure to a sickness that would not have likely killed him but did affect him more than he is accustomed to.

He does not like Macaluso at all. His offer of an impossible 'choice'- die or serve him bothers Wrath immensely. Choice is important- vital, and that was an offer to desperate people which would only serve him in the end. He does not think any higher of Lady Vanozza. They both have goals in mind. As a group, they can only hope they'll find the leader that might benefit the group most, and he doesn't know which one that is yet. )

And yet I am certain she expects the same loyalty from those who follow her. ( So to call the ones who follow her cousin 'soldiers' a strange thing indeed. ) It is unsurprising that both would want to make moves that benefitted themselves the most. That is politics. Never showing your true hand.

[binghua]

I was one of the poisoned and thus unsatisfied with Don Macaluso's suggestion, so I called for her or anyone to make a better effort to help us. She was upset that I didn't contact her privately first.

[And, again, Xingchen should have thought of that just out of common courtesy, but he didn't. There's nothing he can do about it now.]

I am sure she would expect the same loyalty, yes, but considering many, if not all, of our cover stories are those of normal people, I think it's expecting too much. She almost acts militant, which can be dangerous when there are hundreds of civilian lives caught in the middle. Surely neither of them can ask artists or scholars or merchants to choose a side and never waver.

[inferus]

You likely harmed her pride. ( He is familiar given his brother. ) While the move itself was not necessarily wise though understandable in your anger, it does allow us to find a weakness of hers.

( She may have quite a bit of pride. As for the militant angle, Wrath himself is the General of War. Few are more harsh than him, but he understands the lives of mortals are far different from those of demons. )

She is severe. Macaluso's offer was hardly an offer at all to those who were poisoned on his behalf. Two impossible choices, which is no choice at all. ( die or serve him unquestionably when he has reason to call you to action. ) I do not know that I support either of them, but it is clear a choice must be made between the two of them.

[binghua]

You mean to exploit that pride if necessary.

[Xingchen doesn't like that, even if he doesn't particularly like Vannozza, either, but he understands how that kind of thinking can be useful.]

I have found that when it comes to power struggles like this, it's the common people who pay the price. No matter which of the cousins wins, I imagine the other will still be financially capable and not suffer any real consequences while those they rule will have to put up with any decision, good or ill. I'm not sure there's much use trying to find the lesser of the two evils. I only hope there can be someone at the bottom who will have the peoples' interest at heart.

un: absterge

[downswing]

Her forest keeps court for the dead.

[inferus]

You mean those related to the Necromancers here or those like the group we arrived with? ( or both.

he's never seen undead creatures like the ones who joined them on the trip to taravast. )

[downswing]

A different creature.

No ghost. True dead, stirred.

[inferus]

( she keeps undead in the forest, and she seeks necromancers to help her with a ritual of some kind. he did not go to the forests, choosing another route for his cure. while he may spend time with the necromancers, he does not truly like their bringing the dead back to life- it is their other methods that interest him.)

What are they like? How powerful?

un: dappled pearl of the parted sea [voice]

[beitangmoran]

I have not met her in person, but I have spoken at length with many people at court seeking to know the future, and I have observed.

[inferus]

Speaking to those in a person's court gives you a certain glimpse of who they are. ( at least one angle ) What have you observed?

[beitangmoran]

She is seen as more decisive and more in line with the general consensus of staying isolated from outsider nations. People don't necessarily love her, but they trust she can make tough decisions. They'd like it better if she was married, but they can't seem to think of anyone who could be her match.

I have interacted with Lord Macaluso. Unless he is a fantastic actor, he is a wet blanket. He might be perfectly personable, but the weight of carrying a nation on his shoulder is clearly too much for him. Pity he doesn't seem to realize it. He's not stupid, or at least, not completely - one would need more than luck to survive this long in this court with his status - but he lacks insight and depth of thought.

[inferus]

( Of course, marriage is important regardless of the realm, regardless of the world. Marriage adds power to a House even in Hell. He is bound to Emilia in marriage-to-be, but she chose his brother- Pride, and chose is incredibly important to Wrath. )

It is less important to blindly love a ruler and far more important to trust a ruler to do what is necessary.

( He smirks at the bluntness of the views the man holds toward the other cousin. ) I have made a similar assessment of him though I have yet to speak with him myself. From what I have heard and seen, it was enough to paint the same picture. His 'offer' to those who were poisoned colored my opinion of him further.

un: teamzero | voice

[gladiokinesis]

(diego has talked to her and the threat she made about his sister still sits in the pit of his stomach but he's not going to risk allison's safety.)

are you sure this is the safest way to have this conversation? what if she sees what you're doing?

[inferus]

I am certain she cannot view this or hear any messages spoken here in the privacy of our little.. group. I have little control over someone running off to tell her of what was spoken here, but I have reason to believe she may need me.

I take it your interactions with her have not been pleasant?

[gladiokinesis]

I'm just making sure.

Cause yeah. It kinda went to shit pretty quickly.

[inferus]

Care to elaborate?

We could speak in person if you would prefer to keep the information private.

@taken for granite | text

[rumorate]

[She only really responds to this because she knows/cares about Emilia and knows that he also cares about Emilia:]

Be careful about letting her find out what you care about.

Re: @taken for granite | text

[inferus]

I am always careful of that. ( Allison happened to catch them in a time when it was difficult to hide, but his brothers make him aware of how important it is to never show what he cares about- who he cares about, to never show an ounce of vulnerability.

He will not even think of Emilia in her presence. )

She has threatened someone you care about then? Or done something to them?

[rumorate]

I was the one threatened. And from the impression I was given, it was rather horrific.

[There's not much that Diego won't put into words, for better or for worse.]

[inferus]

( Wrath can fill in the blanks especially with Diego also contacting him to speak about Vannozza. It is well within the lines of what many in power would do. His brothers are included. Wrath has made threats of his own when necessary to secure his House. Sometimes that requires following through. Still he has no intentions of letting anything happen to Allison after she helped him and helped Emilia. )

The more horrifically specific the threat, the more likely someone will be to listen to it.

It seems unwise to cross her. Have you interacted with her yourself?

action.

[valeas]

( the true tests come at nightfall.

schemes must be laid to rest, if only for the time being, and emilia is left to the silence of an unfamiliar room.

the room itself is bigger than anything she's accustomed to, and far more lavish. and still, she'd give anything to be back in sea&vine. she'd do anything to return to those nights she spent huddled in a small and rickety bed with her twin, sharing secrets and dreams for their future. unafraid.

before that heaviness can weigh down her eyelids, emilia steps out to the balcony. with a quiet sigh, she looks up.

a crescent moon. she thinks she should have known. )

[inferus]

( wrath leaves vannozza's, thinking of the best way to determine the affliction of death that she revealed to him. the strategic mind already trying to figure out the best way to proceed with what little he knows and how unaccustomed he is to knowing so little.

he walks across the grass late at night, but he senses her- he feels her.

emilia.

he lifts his gaze toward the balcony and sees her standing there, staring up at the sky. even from here, due to their connection, he can feel the emotions she has now (homesick, aching, grief- something so heavy he has little experience with). still his heart aches too to know she is feeling this way, a weight rests upon his shoulders.

his dark gaze rests upon the balcony for a long moment before he reaches for the stone near him to lift it up, stopping, leaning against a tree nearby. )

...the crescent moon seems especially bright tonight.

[valeas]

( the sound of his voice startles her.

wrath and emilia were assigned to different teams not long after finding themselves in this strange new world. it's made interactions between them scarce, beyond the personal reasons that leave them at an impasse. she'd be loathe to admit that she misses any of it, much less to admit this is a welcome distraction.

eyes narrowed in suspicion, she looks down and around, and finds him leaning against the tree in question.

he looks ... good. it's frankly upsetting. )

I wouldn't have taken you for the kind to notice. ( or to make small talk. )

[inferus]

( wrath knows no one can realize who he is speaking to, no one else but her would know he is there in front of her balcony. because of how much she means to him. he is aware that he cannot let anyone in this city know how much he cares about her, because they would use her first.

he smiles slightly, feeling her gaze on him, knowing she has noticed him as he stands there. he does not dare glance up at her again in case anyone does notice, in case anyone has followed him from vannozza's.

she is beautiful especially in the moonlight so it is difficult to resist temptation to look again, to stare at her. )

And why is that?