A Hunting Lodge Soiree (MT, IC)

[Teressien]

Hello and welcome to A Hunting Lodge Soiree!
Please apply and be accepted on this OOC before posting here. You are of course welcome to read along, too.
Now, let's have a blast!

Nela, Prinzessin von Zieselhaven und Elms.
Terrace of Jagdschloss Rehkitzsprung, Herzogtum von Dorch, Teressien.
The evening was beautiful: Warm, but not hot, allowing for Informal Wear to be applied.
Of course, there were the obligatory cocktail dresses and pantsuits around, as far as women's fashion was concerned, and I, with my long, violet hair and violet eyes, had opted for a white blouse and a deep purple jacket over it, together with a skirt, that reached a bit deeper then the middle of my thighs, in the same colour. A pantyhose and shoes with light heels completed the ensemble, mostly. I also wore a little necklace of silver, the pendant resting on my collarbone, a slight bit above my chest, a sapphire set into it - a gift from our host tonight, Malte, the Herzog of Dorch.
The Jagdschloss Rehkitzsprung was spiffed up quite a bit - and it was a nice place already, mind you. The Klopferwald was a nice scenery and backdrop, the temperate broad-leaf forest with its oaks and elms and maples and so on being in the distance - the Ducal Hiking Trail vanished in there, which I had walked a few times.
Anyway, on the Terrace, a little bridge and a small river separated us from that forest and its animals.
The terrace itself was of flagstones, directly adjacent to both the Main Building and the Guest House. Both buildings, and the majority of the buildings around here, had that rustic charme of timber-framing, wood and brick working together to create a nice atmosphere, that reminded of the Old Towns all over Teressien.
Along one side, there were tables set up with the buffet, as well as a fireplace, Hausmädchen and Butlers were hard at work to put up the finishing touches. A few of them went around and distributed drinks of water and tea, the alcohol would come out after the opening speech. As this was a hunting lodge and the corresponding party, there was also venison, which I might have a taste of later... and there were small tables around for people to sit, some already doing to, a dance floor and a lot of other ways to entertain oneself.
Foreign Hausmädchen, I had, for example, spotted for example at least four Kyrenaian Handmaidens, were either integrated into the existing structure or set to wait onto their employers.
I was chatting a bit with one foreign guest or the other, when someone tapped a glass twice with a small spoon, the ring making people silent and turn towards Malte, the Herzog of Dorch and our host, his wife standing next to him. I also spotted Vin and Heda, his children, nearby.
As it was, the Duke, a blonde man with blue-green eyes in mid- to late-forties, cleared his throat.
"Good evening, everyone.", he began with a smile, "And welcome to Jagdschloss Rehkitzsprung. It's a pleasure to have you all." Agreeing murmurs and expressions of gratitude flowed for a moment, then the small crowd was silent again. "Now, allow me to speak a few words before we start with the fun part of the evening, I'll make it short, I promise!" Giggles and small laughs came. "I just wanted to take this moment to thank the skillful and valiant huntress, who hunted the two rabbits and the fawn, which we will enjoy tonight among other delicacies, it was in fact a young woman from our midst. Miss Saighead, thank you in the name of everyone."
Isla Saighead of the Tribe of Westmeath bowed her head lightly as applause came up, her wearing a cocktail dress and her silver hair bound back, her blue eyes shining - she looked innocent enough to not be the huntress, but the prey, but apparently, she had gotten the job done.
"I also want to thank Miss Leni Horstenau and her staff of Hausmädchen, to my knowledge with some additions tonight, for preparing this feast and all that is in it.", the Duke continued and another round of applause came up for the Hausmädchen and their leader, a woman with black hair and purple eyes in a uniform of maids. "Now, let's raise our glasses..." He said and indeed raised his glass. "...and let's have a toast - to the many lands we came from. To their prosperity and to the health of their people."
"To health!", some repeated, raised their glasses.
I bowed my head lightly and with that, the party was on!

[New Visayan Islands]

Atty. Elizabeth Marie C. Ahn, CPA, LlM
Terrace of Jagdschloss Rehkitzsprung, Herzogtum von Dorch, Teressien
1922 Local Time

The Associate Justice of the Visayan Supreme Court thanked the Chief Justice internally for the opportunity to attend the soiree. Dressed in a sleek black gown, she raised her glass at the prompt before taking a sip from it. A shame I couldn't bring my husband, Elizabeth thought; it was a semi-official visit, and loath she was to leave without Simon, it couldn't be helped at the moment. One, the Chief Justice wasn't able to wrangle a second invitation at all; two, Martin Monte de Ramos was already taking a big risk in sending a recovered COVID-19 patient--sure, the Confederation has recorded no new coronavirus patients for two months, but still; and three, Simon was one of the senior researchers BioGuard Drugs had working on a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, so he couldn't come with her even if he wanted to.
As she took another sip, she kept her distance, nodding her head at those who noticed her. The distancing measures were necessary, even for one such as her. Couldn't hurt to be careful, after all.

[Lillorainen]

Terrace of Jagdschloss Rehkitzsprung, Herzogtum von Dorch, Teressien.
Among the guests of this evening, one could easily spot a man in his early 40s, with short, dark blonde hair and blue eyes - at least, if one was familiar with Lillorainen's business elite, or at least read business magazines or the Yellow Press every now and then. Henning Storström, owner of Lillorainen's biggest haulage company, Storström Logistics Ltd., therefore of almost every third lorry one would pass on a highway, had decided to make his way here, even though rather in a semi-official manner, not with a particular goal - albeit it wasn't unknown to insiders, that he quite did have a nose for new business options, as one could easily have seen with Storström's involvement in various railroad projects planned and constructed by the Lillorainische Bundesbahn, inside and outside the Federation's soil.
Everyone seeing him could easily get envious, as he was accompanied by two women who weren't exactly bad-looking, and also not too unknown, depending on one's interests. Lauren Kimberly Tyrstrup, who had turned thirty last year, was a brunette with dark eyes and an olive skin tone, which was clearly a leftover from her father, who had run a mining company in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, Astares Amauricanum, where Lauren and her two siblings were born as well. When their father had died in a car accident, their mother Birgit had taken them with her back to Lillorainen, her home country. While Birgit was the Federation's Ambassador to Astares Amauricanum now, Lauren had studied International Relationships and Economics, and now was a Member of the Foreign Office's Consulting Staff; her brother Brian had acquired a solid share of the international stock markets by managing various holding companies, and her younger sister Courtney worked for nobody lesser than Storström, as a Head Accountant of the company's East Lillorainian branch. The Tyrstrup Clan had become one of Lillorainen's most influential families over the time; Lauren's original plan to have some extended family meeting with her Astarian relatives this spring, and to bring the Clan together a bit more, had been traversed by the massive COVID-19 outbreak in the Federal Empire, but there would surely be some time in the future. Thus, the flight destination of her ticket now showed Hochheyde, Teressien, instead of Spokane, Columbia.
The other young woman was rather known to horseriding enthusiasts. Saran Kiyat was 29, and born in the Sharulsi Khanate, which was not too hard to guess from her appearance. She had come to Jillich, Lillorainen, as a baby already, going through an unassuming school career. As a result of her parents' lack of interest in animals (beyond edibility), Saran had already been fifteen years old when taking her first riding lesson, but she had caught up tremendously quickly. Now, at almost double the age, she rode in Lillorainen's top-tier league, having been national champion in 2016 and become second, following her ten years younger opponent Hilda Leverdal (whom she, contrary to widespread assumption, only had a friendly rivalry with), last year. Besides that, she was also a Business Consultant, the job Lauren did for the Foreign Office being basically Saran's job for companies - including Storström, not only with parts of the LBB's JATRACO Railway Project in her country of birth which Storström had been interested in getting involved into, but also with possible harbor concessions in the seaports of Lulteca and Camarillo, Carlotina.
On the other side of the Terrace, one would also spot Yamura no Jirou, Prince of Shirayuki, Shikonjima, who wasn't only known for being precisely that, but also for being a gaming enthusiast - who was not only into Minecraft, but also into real-time strategy games, for which, thanks to his Sharulsi-Lillorainian colleague IdreeKhanHD, even video evidence existed. Last year, Jirou had attended a ball at Schloss Zyng, where he, next to many other Royals, had met Heda, Prinzessin von Dorch, whom he had remained in touch with ever since. As her parents' Soiree - namely, this event - had promised to open up a golden opportunity for a reunion, he hadn't hesitated for a second.
And neither had a very distant relative of his, Yamura no Shihori, Duchess of Mikuma - one of the seven Duchies of the Ferinan-Archipelago which had reunited with the Mainland in February, an event with a few consequences Shikonjima would surely remember for many years to come. Shihori, who was only 24 by now, had only spent roughly seven months as a head of state, but she wasn't too sad about passing issues like foreign policy and national defense on to Nashinya. Aside from running Mikuma and some programming, she also spent quite a bit of her time with videogames - whereas this was a detail which was known about in public, only few people were aware of how Jirou and Shihori had already met on some Minecraft server six years ago, having stayed in touch with each other as well.
As Jirou and Shihori weren't too hard to spot in here, they immediately recognized Vin and Heda as well. Jirou had failed to hide his little mischief, as he had recognized Saran Kiyat, for he knew, that his colleague Idree wouldn't have been too uninterested in meeting her once (the Sharulsi-Lillo-connection was surely a part of the reason for this). Jirou would certainly make sure to have a chat with her later on, even if only to brag about having met her before Idree could.
But of course, both Jirou and Shihori, paid more attention to Heda's Father's opening speech, which he explicitly wanted to keep short, but still contained everything important.
When Isla Saighead of the Tribe of Westmeath was praised and thanked for having hunted two rabbits and a fawn, Lauren Tyrstrup had to smile - she was aware, that many wouldn't exactly think about Isla's hunting talent, given her innocent looks, and Lauren could definitely relate to that, for quite a lot of people had been surprised as well when seeing her with some of her toys for the first time.
Everyone, the visitors from Lillorainen as well as those from Shikonjima, raised their glasses upon the Duke's toast.
Time for some good meat and beer!

[Kuronami]

Miss Sirin Canno, wealthy aristocratic heiress to the textiles production and manufacturing so named for the family name. Admittedly it read like a cheap penny novel, a young lady marries an older billionaire who promptly croaks! Well he wasn't THAT old, and she did actually love him it's just the universe can be cruel sometimes. Oh well, that was ancient history but the murmurs and gossip of people is why she took up residence in a stately mansion in the countryside with her daughter and of course lady servant, Eleanore. Eleanore, keeper of the house, proper governess for Isabel and even protector.

What brought Sirin to this quaint lodge? A bit of business a bit of pleasure. No doubt plenty of other high influential people would be there and given Isabel was off at a beach party with her friend, well seemed only fitting she'd go along to another event elsewhere. Really, some days she questioned herself as a mom given she never seemed to spend as much time with her little girl as she probably should. She should have gone along or see if she could but oh well. This should be an enjoyable time, she expected.

"Madam, we have arrived." Eleanore informed her the prior day

"Very good. Oooh quaint lodge!" Sirin had taken in the previous day to really absorb everything about her new home away from home for the next while as the party would really begin. Now the day was really getting going. Eleanore still always firmly at her lady's side.

[Greater Orcadia]

The Terrace bar, Jagdschloss Rehkitzsprung, Shortly after the toast

Sir Nick Warszinski, leaning against the bar had two people with him, one male around 5ft tall, the other a female around 5 feet 10 inches tall, he was also smiling as he was as far away from work as he could get, for him work was an ambassadorial position in Port Ember, a former Orcadian overseas crown colony for Nick is the Orcadian Ambassador to Port Ember. Nick, normally attired in a suit was wearing a pair of trousers and a dinner jacket given the nature of this get together. The young female companion, with a glistening chrome left arm, hair shaved on both sides, and wearing a cocktail dress which being a sleeveless design not only revealed her chrome arm, it also also revealed a pair of chrome legs for this female has been through a rough time and a story to tell, she is also Nick's daughter Stood next to the young girl was Evan Snyder, Penny's husband who has his own story to tell and he is wearing a pair of evening trousers and a shirt.

Standing next to Penny and Evan, between Penny and Nick is Louise Lombard, daughter of Nikki Louise Lombard who owns Avija Valkyr which although operating out of the Aurora Confederacy, is very much an Orcadian airline and now a sister airline to Pulse, Nikki also owns Ocean Concepts. Louise herself is wearing a pair of white trousers, white shirt and a black tie along with shoes that have been polished to within an inch of their life and is here thanks to Penny.

Nick turns to Louise, Evan and Penny,
"Good trip?" he asks

"aye, apart from a snoring passenger in the mini pod next to us" replied Penny with a feint highland twang, placing her remaining flesh arm around Evan, before turning to Evan and Louise "What y'avin?, its on Nick's Tab"

"Sir Nick, a glass of Peroni please Sir" replied Evan. "And im guessing its a Peroni for you Penn?"

it didnt take long for Louise to make her decision up, "make that three Peroni's please"

"No need for honorifics Evan, you're family, oh when you return, William wants ya for something" says Nick before turning to the barman "two Pints of Peroni please" he then turns to Penny "and no adopting the glass" he jokes before taking a sip of his own whiskey

Penny just gives Nick a furrowed look, "Would I...?" she asks to which Evan kissed Penny on her cheek before quipping "yes, you would dear"

[Kenmoria]

Sir James Lewitt
Jagdschloss Rehkitzsprung Terrace

It was a pleasant day, neither too hot nor too cold, though that was of course a fairly subjective measure. Nevertheless, Sir James Lewitt managed to look uncomfortably hot in his suit, which was made of a heavy black fabric and consisted of far too many layers. He was standing in a pose of moderate relaxation, gazing into the sky with the sort of look one might expect from the final few scenes in a television program or film. Almost wistfully, he gently sighed before turning to face the small crowd of attendees for this gathering.

At just under 6 feet tall, Lewitt could see quite clearly over the heads of most of those before him, enabling him a good view of those in attendance. Luckily, a fair few had sufficient reputation to be known in Kenmoria by most with access to the internet, avoiding the often-required guessing at a given individual’s name. Lewitt despised those sorts of social challenges, much as he was starved of them. Having been cooped up for so long in Kenmoria, under the new government measures, he was clearly glad to be out at any social event, let alone one of such quality as this. With a smile, he jolted himself out of reminiscing and thought-complaining, and back into the party atmosphere.

That was the key to any social gathering, Lewitt thought, trying to look as happy and contented as possible. For a person who spent the vast majority of their time at various social events, he still hid a slight tinge of uncomfortableness beneath an exterior of merriment. In all honesty, the stakes weren’t particularly high; this was merely a soirée, albeit a high-class one. However, that imperceptible pang of self-awareness, thinking through responses rather than answering immediately, was still very much present.

Pressing, once again, these thoughts to the corner of one’s mind metaphorically covered in dust, Lewitt regained that smile he had spent so long cultivating. This was a party, and he was determined to enjoy it.

[Greater Orcadia]

Given the evening was pleasant, Louise turned to Nick penny and Evan "lets go to the terrace"

"Aye, sounds like a good idea" replied Penny, and so the foursome headed out onto the terrace deck. Louise, despite being in charge of a mere ferry is actually on the stepping stone for something bigger, her mother owns Avija Valkyr and a ship yard so she is no stranger to the sea or for that matter high society, however Louise is hoping to move into cruise ships. Being in charge of the Meridian Atlantic is however a mere stepping stone, and this young woman is actually very calm.

Out on the terrace, Louise nodded to whoever else is on the terrace in a polite and informal manner and a silent way of saying hello before leaning on the barrier, she scans the horizon then scans the sky as the starts are beginning to show. The calmness put a smile on her face. "looks like its going to be a good evening and they've put this lodge in a nice place"

"ya not wrong there lou" replied Nick, calmly before turning to Sir James Lewitt, "Evening" he says before turning back to Louise, "so where did you graduate?" he asks

"Nixon in Night City, them on to Southampton Naval College for my final ticket before taking the Meridian boat as First officer, last year promoted to captain. Now its a few years on the ferry before getting enough experience to take on something bigger, Meridian are moving into the cruise market soon, thats what I am aiming for"

[Draycora]

Antti und Alea -- Jagdschloss Rehkitzsprung
"To health!" Antti raised the glass in chorus with some other guests from the soiree. Then he took a sip.
Antti Markaa was not only CEO of an internationally known company, he was also the richest man in Draycora. This may have been recognized by the luxurious, golden limousine with which he and his wife were brought up, but his style of dress did not really reveal this. He wore a black stripe suit in the business casual style, which showed a certain higher position, but not in this amount. His dark blonde hair was pinched back and a three-day beard hung around his chin.
Next to him, arm in arm, was his wife: Alea. The origin of the young sophist was only noticed by her dark skin tone and her brown hair. In terms of clothing style, however, it corresponded to the elven upper class. A burgundy cocktail dress nestled around her body. Around her neck was a gold chain set with some emeralds. The neckline below was deep. You couldn't say exactly which of the two should draw attention to the other. Her hair was loose, but combed to the side, so that she released the left ear, which was adorned by a glittering ear jewelry. The couple mingled with the people and tried to chat with some guests from all over the world.

- "How do you like it so far?" The businessman asked his wife in Finnish.
- "It has something," she also replied in Finnish, although you could still clearly hear the Greek accent. "It is not as extravagant and pompous as the soirees at home - but not rustic either."
-"And I bet it's not permeated with intelligence," Antti said maliciously. The Intelligentsia were Draycora's intellectual cultural elite and the CEO didn't like them. "Hey, maybe we can get some other prey besides animals tonight," he continued.
- "Do you think so? That might be easy in Draycora, but people seem to me to be a little more buttoned up here."

The couple made their way to the buffet, perhaps to make some contacts there. Antti has never been to Teressia, which is why he was not fully aware of the customs, but there were hunting parties in his principality. He even belonged to the Halsholm Hunting Club, as this was one of his hobbies. With his wife at his side, he now started this exotic evening.

[Brettenwald]

I tossed my car keys to the valet. "It's a manual, just so you know." Making my way to the terrace, I paused to check my reflection in a window. 26, blonde, tall, curvy in all the right places, wearing a navy blue cocktail dress with jade-inset gold earrings and a matching necklace & bracelet. Looking good, Val. Time to eat, drink, and be merry. I took a glass of champagne from a waitress -wait, maybe not a waitress? What do they call them here? Hausmadchen? That's it, Hausmadchen. "To health!" Glass drained, I survey the area. "Hello, dear daughter." My father emerged from inside the lodge, putting his phone into the pants pocket of his gray suit. "Phone call? Too bad, you missed the toast." He grimaced. "Damn it. That was Arabella, by the way. Nothing that couldn't have waited, sadly." I gave him a smile. "Come on, lighten up. We're not here for business tonight." A deep laugh. "Shouldn't I be telling you that?"

Father sits down & lights a cigar while I get a martini for myself and a whiskey on the rocks for him from the bar. "Wonder who they are?" I gesture to an attractive man and an exotic-looking woman by the buffet. "Well, go introduce yourself, then."
"Obviously." I head over. "I love your necklace. Emeralds, if I'm not mistaken." I bow lightly. "Valentine Teissëdre, and you are?"

[Teressien]

Atty. Elizabeth Marie C. Ahn, CPA, LlM
Terrace of Jagdschloss Rehkitzsprung, Herzogtum von Dorch, Teressien
1922 Local Time

The Associate Justice of the Visayan Supreme Court thanked the Chief Justice internally for the opportunity to attend the soiree. Dressed in a sleek black gown, she raised her glass at the prompt before taking a sip from it. A shame I couldn't bring my husband, Elizabeth thought; it was a semi-official visit, and loath she was to leave without Simon, it couldn't be helped at the moment. One, the Chief Justice wasn't able to wrangle a second invitation at all; two, Martin Monte de Ramos was already taking a big risk in sending a recovered COVID-19 patient--sure, the Confederation has recorded no new coronavirus patients for two months, but still; and three, Simon was one of the senior researchers BioGuard Drugs had working on a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, so he couldn't come with her even if he wanted to.
As she took another sip, she kept her distance, nodding her head at those who noticed her. The distancing measures were necessary, even for one such as her. Couldn't hurt to be careful, after all.

Nela, Prinzessin von Zieselhaven und Elms.
After the toast, the socializing began - I parted ways with whoever I had been chatting with, he had introduced himself as Doctor Taighdeoir, and went to look for hopefully entertaining company.
Who immediately caught my eye was not someone entertaining, but rather curious: A woman in a black gown, who kept her distance from everyone, nodding to those around her silently.
She did not look like a Teressian, I would quite honestly put her more into the direction of a Paisanchera, but that did not stop me.
I approached her, closer then one and a half meters.
"Good evening, Madame.", I greeted and bowed my head lightly, figuring, that she might not be willing to shake hands due to culture, much like the Selkie (granted, they preferred their bows and did not do handshakes, but same difference). "No need to stand here as if you were a leper or something!" I took two glasses from a Hausmädchen, filled with white wine, offering one to the woman. "It's a party, after all. Fancy a drink?"

Terrace of Jagdschloss Rehkitzsprung, Herzogtum von Dorch, Teressien.
Among the guests of this evening, one could easily spot a man in his early 40s, with short, dark blonde hair and blue eyes - at least, if one was familiar with Lillorainen's business elite, or at least read business magazines or the Yellow Press every now and then. Henning Storström, owner of Lillorainen's biggest haulage company, Storström Logistics Ltd., therefore of almost every third lorry one would pass on a highway, had decided to make his way here, even though rather in a semi-official manner, not with a particular goal - albeit it wasn't unknown to insiders, that he quite did have a nose for new business options, as one could easily have seen with Storström's involvement in various railroad projects planned and constructed by the Lillorainische Bundesbahn, inside and outside the Federation's soil.
Everyone seeing him could easily get envious, as he was accompanied by two women who weren't exactly bad-looking, and also not too unknown, depending on one's interests. Lauren Kimberly Tyrstrup, who had turned thirty last year, was a brunette with dark eyes and an olive skin tone, which was clearly a leftover from her father, who had run a mining company in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, Astares Amauricanum, where Lauren and her two siblings were born as well. When their father had died in a car accident, their mother Birgit had taken them with her back to Lillorainen, her home country. While Birgit was the Federation's Ambassador to Astares Amauricanum now, Lauren had studied International Relationships and Economics, and now was a Member of the Foreign Office's Consulting Staff; her brother Brian had acquired a solid share of the international stock markets by managing various holding companies, and her younger sister Courtney worked for nobody lesser than Storström, as a Head Accountant of the company's East Lillorainian branch. The Tyrstrup Clan had become one of Lillorainen's most influential families over the time; Lauren's original plan to have some extended family meeting with her Astarian relatives this spring, and to bring the Clan together a bit more, had been traversed by the massive COVID-19 outbreak in the Federal Empire, but there would surely be some time in the future. Thus, the flight destination of her ticket now showed Hochheyde, Teressien, instead of Spokane, Columbia.
The other young woman was rather known to horseriding enthusiasts. Saran Kiyat was 29, and born in the Sharulsi Khanate, which was not too hard to guess from her appearance. She had come to Jillich, Lillorainen, as a baby already, going through an unassuming school career. As a result of her parents' lack of interest in animals (beyond edibility), Saran had already been fifteen years old when taking her first riding lesson, but she had caught up tremendously quickly. Now, at almost double the age, she rode in Lillorainen's top-tier league, having been national champion in 2016 and become second, following her ten years younger opponent Hilda Leverdal (whom she, contrary to widespread assumption, only had a friendly rivalry with), last year. Besides that, she was also a Business Consultant, the job Lauren did for the Foreign Office being basically Saran's job for companies - including Storström, not only with parts of the LBB's JATRACO Railway Project in her country of birth which Storström had been interested in getting involved into, but also with possible harbor concessions in the seaports of Lulteca and Camarillo, Carlotina.
On the other side of the Terrace, one would also spot Yamura no Jirou, Prince of Shirayuki, Shikonjima, who wasn't only known for being precisely that, but also for being a gaming enthusiast - who was not only into Minecraft, but also into real-time strategy games, for which, thanks to his Sharulsi-Lillorainian colleague IdreeKhanHD, even video evidence existed. Last year, Jirou had attended a ball at Schloss Zyng, where he, next to many other Royals, had met Heda, Prinzessin von Dorch, whom he had remained in touch with ever since. As her parents' Soiree - namely, this event - had promised to open up a golden opportunity for a reunion, he hadn't hesitated for a second.
And neither had a very distant relative of his, Yamura no Shihori, Duchess of Mikuma - one of the seven Duchies of the Ferinan-Archipelago which had reunited with the Mainland in February, an event with a few consequences Shikonjima would surely remember for many years to come. Shihori, who was only 24 by now, had only spent roughly seven months as a head of state, but she wasn't too sad about passing issues like foreign policy and national defense on to Nashinya. Aside from running Mikuma and some programming, she also spent quite a bit of her time with videogames - whereas this was a detail which was known about in public, only few people were aware of how Jirou and Shihori had already met on some Minecraft server six years ago, having stayed in touch with each other as well.
As Jirou and Shihori weren't too hard to spot in here, they immediately recognized Vin and Heda as well. Jirou had failed to hide his little mischief, as he had recognized Saran Kiyat, for he knew, that his colleague Idree wouldn't have been too uninterested in meeting her once (the Sharulsi-Lillo-connection was surely a part of the reason for this). Jirou would certainly make sure to have a chat with her later on, even if only to brag about having met her before Idree could.
But of course, both Jirou and Shihori, paid more attention to Heda's Father's opening speech, which he explicitly wanted to keep short, but still contained everything important.
When Isla Saighead of the Tribe of Westmeath was praised and thanked for having hunted two rabbits and a fawn, Lauren Tyrstrup had to smile - she was aware, that many wouldn't exactly think about Isla's hunting talent, given her innocent looks, and Lauren could definitely relate to that, for quite a lot of people had been surprised as well when seeing her with some of her toys for the first time.
Everyone, the visitors from Lillorainen as well as those from Shikonjima, raised their glasses upon the Duke's toast.
Time for some good meat and beer!

Isla Saighead of the Tribe of Westmeath.
I had blushed lightly at the praise - really, a fawn and two rabbits were nothing for me and my crossbow, especially since I lost one larger deer, I think the mother.
Still, it was appreciated and so was Dad's smile at me.
I accompanied my father, who was the main sales representative of Silverport Dockyards Limited, because my Mam was not in the best of health. She had the best medical care available in the Free Lands, so no worries there, but that left me to accompany Dad - I did not mind the free vacations, even if they were paid in additional homework (essentially what my classmates did in regular class), and not many Selkie-Girls could legitimately claim to have danced with a Kyrenaian Ilkhan, the Fürst of Teressien and both the President and the Chancellor of the Aurora-Union.
Chancellor Minin was a terrible dancer, though.
Regardless of that, I had spotted someone and as Dad and I looked for someone to socialize with, I mentioned to him, that I had spotted Saran Kiyat - a horsewoman of an almost legendary reputation, not only due to her quick rise and heritage, but also due to her staying up there.
At a glance, Dad seemed to agree, most likely due to Kiyat's company, Henning Storström, one of Lillorainen's Logistics Magnates - and surely, maybe, hopefully, interested in buying some ships to enlargen his transport empire. And if not, he might be up for a bit of chatting.
Neither of us recognized the third woman.
So, we went and I grinned.
"Good evening!", Dad greeted the group with a smile, bowing his head lightly, as it was custom for us. He wore a good business suit, I a nice summer evening dress, my vambraces still on. "I hope, that we are not interrupting?"

Heda, Prinzessin von Dorch.
Almost immediately after he had finished the toast, Mama and Father had been caught by someone wanting to speak with them, and after saying our hellos as well, we had been allowed to excuse ourselves.
Which was, to be honest, very nice, and absolutely fine by me.
I had spotted my cousin Lone somewhere, but more importantly, I had spotted Jirou.
Jirou was a good friend, a fellow gamer and while I would, admittedly, not push him off my bed, he was not someone I considered boyfriend-material. Sure, he had the looks and the class, but Mama always said, that a few shared interests did not make love.
Something, which Vin had learned the hard way.
And so, the two of us approached Jirou and the young lady with him, me smiling wide and Vin a slightly smaller one. He was glad to see him again, too, but he still crushed on Princess Shiruko a bit and when he heard, that someone from Shikonjima had accepted the invitation, he had been very keen on knowing, who it was.
Well... so much for that.
"Jirou, hi!", I said from a talking-distance, then moved in for an informal hug, "What's new in the world of blocks?"
I was not as busty as my aunt or Cousin Lorena, but I would like to think, that it still felt nice. Dressed in a cocktail dress, with Vin by my side, who bowed his head to Jirou's company and apologized for the intrusion in very broken Shikonmanjese, I felt good.

Miss Sirin Canno, wealthy aristocratic heiress to the textiles production and manufacturing so named for the family name. Admittedly it read like a cheap penny novel, a young lady marries an older billionaire who promptly croaks! Well he wasn't THAT old, and she did actually love him it's just the universe can be cruel sometimes. Oh well, that was ancient history but the murmurs and gossip of people is why she took up residence in a stately mansion in the countryside with her daughter and of course lady servant, Eleanore. Eleanore, keeper of the house, proper governess for Isabel and even protector.

What brought Sirin to this quaint lodge? A bit of business a bit of pleasure. No doubt plenty of other high influential people would be there and given Isabel was off at a beach party with her friend, well seemed only fitting she'd go along to another event elsewhere. Really, some days she questioned herself as a mom given she never seemed to spend as much time with her little girl as she probably should. She should have gone along or see if she could but oh well. This should be an enjoyable time, she expected.

"Madam, we have arrived." Eleanore informed her the prior day

"Very good. Oooh quaint lodge!" Sirin had taken in the previous day to really absorb everything about her new home away from home for the next while as the party would really begin. Now the day was really getting going. Eleanore still always firmly at her lady's side.

Princess Dschamila bint-Fadi.
My Father had once praised me and my beauty as the "Flower of Fenchu", a moniker, which I held to this day - but where people once saw a vibrant, young alqatifa, they now saw a mature rose.
And a red rose at that, dressed in a red dress, which wasn't quite a cocktail dress, but not a gown either, with a modest neckline and a side-slit, which would be of advantage on the dance floor. On my collarbone, the pendant of a necklace rested, an ember, that glowed like a fire, laid in silver.
I liked that one very much.
My Personal Handmaiden, Tariqa Misardia, was around somewhere, too, helping the local Hausmädchen under their direction - that was alright with everyone involved, as it served to broaden everyone's horizons. I saw her, quite a curiosity, as far as other guests were concerned, with a tablet delivering drinks.
And I saw a woman with her own, well, I guessed Hausmädchen, by the looks of it, nearby. I smiled slightly and decided to approach the pair before one of Bucktend's Princes had the idea to try their hand at flirting with a Kyrenaian Princess.
With that in mind, I approached the two, motioned for a Hausmädchen to follow me with her tablet and smiled as I noticed a pair of tall flutes of apple juice on the tablet. Wonderful!
"Good evening.", I greeted politely, "I'm Princess Dschamila bint-Fadi."

The Terrace bar, Jagdschloss Rehkitzsprung, Shortly after the toast

Sir Nick Warszinski, leaning against the bar had two people with him, one male around 5ft tall, the other a female around 5 feet 10 inches tall, he was also smiling as he was as far away from work as he could get, for him work was an ambassadorial position in Port Ember, a former Orcadian overseas crown colony for Nick is the Orcadian Ambassador to Port Ember. Nick, normally attired in a suit was wearing a pair of trousers and a dinner jacket given the nature of this get together. The young female companion, with a glistening chrome left arm, hair shaved on both sides, and wearing a cocktail dress which being a sleeveless design not only revealed her chrome arm, it also also revealed a pair of chrome legs for this female has been through a rough time and a story to tell, she is also Nick's daughter Stood next to the young girl was Evan Snyder, Penny's husband who has his own story to tell and he is wearing a pair of evening trousers and a shirt.

Standing next to Penny and Evan, between Penny and Nick is Louise Lombard, daughter of Nikki Louise Lombard who owns Avija Valkyr which although operating out of the Aurora Confederacy, is very much an Orcadian airline and now a sister airline to Pulse, Nikki also owns Ocean Concepts. Louise herself is wearing a pair of white trousers, white shirt and a black tie along with shoes that have been polished to within an inch of their life and is here thanks to Penny.

Nick turns to Louise, Evan and Penny,
"Good trip?" he asks

"aye, apart from a snoring passenger in the mini pod next to us" replied Penny with a feint highland twang, placing her remaining flesh arm around Evan, before turning to Evan and Louise "What y'avin?, its on Nick's Tab"

"Sir Nick, a glass of Peroni please Sir" replied Evan. "And im guessing its a Peroni for you Penn?"

it didnt take long for Louise to make her decision up, "make that three Peroni's please"

"No need for honorifics Evan, you're family, oh when you return, William wants ya for something" says Nick before turning to the barman "two Pints of Peroni please" he then turns to Penny "and no adopting the glass" he jokes before taking a sip of his own whiskey

Penny just gives Nick a furrowed look, "Would I...?" she asks to which Evan kissed Penny on her cheek before quipping "yes, you would dear"

Given the evening was pleasant, Louise turned to Nick penny and Evan "lets go to the terrace"

"Aye, sounds like a good idea" replied Penny, and so the foursome headed out onto the terrace deck. Louise, despite being in charge of a mere ferry is actually on the stepping stone for something bigger, her mother owns Avija Valkyr and a ship yard so she is no stranger to the sea or for that matter high society, however Louise is hoping to move into cruise ships. Being in charge of the Meridian Atlantic is however a mere stepping stone, and this young woman is actually very calm.

Out on the terrace, Louise nodded to whoever else is on the terrace in a polite and informal manner and a silent way of saying hello before leaning on the barrier, she scans the horizon then scans the sky as the starts are beginning to show. The calmness put a smile on her face. "looks like its going to be a good evening and they've put this lodge in a nice place"

"ya not wrong there lou" replied Nick, calmly before turning to Sir James Lewitt, "Evening" he says before turning back to Louise, "so where did you graduate?" he asks

"Nixon in Night City, them on to Southampton Naval College for my final ticket before taking the Meridian boat as First officer, last year promoted to captain. Now its a few years on the ferry before getting enough experience to take on something bigger, Meridian are moving into the cruise market soon, thats what I am aiming for"

The Hausmädchen manning the bar handed out three Seidel, stoneware pitchers of roundabout a litre, of Teressian Beer to the foreigners, in particular from the Herzogliche Brauerei zum Kupferkessel - in particular the Kupferkessel Miarzer, a light-coloured, sweet beer from Dorch.
In fact, it was one of the favourite beers of Herzog Malte, their host.
The whiskey, on the other hand, was Briach Granny Water, a Selkie-Whiskey, aged for 25 years in oaken caskets. It was a dark whiskey for connoisseurs and gourmets, one with a nice, spicy bristle and a thick texture, which let the ingredients come forth in a mature and beautiful way.
This was a Herzog's party, so one could rightfully expect a bit more then cheap beer and whiskey one wouldn't even give the toilet to drink - not to mention, that it was all on said Herzog's tab.
On the terrace, their reunion with their Captain-Friend went largely unnoticed, but said friend would have a hard time finding and scanning the horizon, considering, that the Jagdschloss was right in the middle of the Klopferwald, a forest, and not built on an outcropping or mountain. Settling for the edge of the forest might have been an idea, considering, that sometimes, rabbits and other forest critters ventured to the edge and maybe even further out.
If she had spotted something was up to her.

Sir James Lewitt
Jagdschloss Rehkitzsprung Terrace

It was a pleasant day, neither too hot nor too cold, though that was of course a fairly subjective measure. Nevertheless, Sir James Lewitt managed to look uncomfortably hot in his suit, which was made of a heavy black fabric and consisted of far too many layers. He was standing in a pose of moderate relaxation, gazing into the sky with the sort of look one might expect from the final few scenes in a television program or film. Almost wistfully, he gently sighed before turning to face the small crowd of attendees for this gathering.

At just under 6 feet tall, Lewitt could see quite clearly over the heads of most of those before him, enabling him a good view of those in attendance. Luckily, a fair few had sufficient reputation to be known in Kenmoria by most with access to the internet, avoiding the often-required guessing at a given individual’s name. Lewitt despised those sorts of social challenges, much as he was starved of them. Having been cooped up for so long in Kenmoria, under the new government measures, he was clearly glad to be out at any social event, let alone one of such quality as this. With a smile, he jolted himself out of reminiscing and thought-complaining, and back into the party atmosphere.

That was the key to any social gathering, Lewitt thought, trying to look as happy and contented as possible. For a person who spent the vast majority of their time at various social events, he still hid a slight tinge of uncomfortableness beneath an exterior of merriment. In all honesty, the stakes weren’t particularly high; this was merely a soirée, albeit a high-class one. However, that imperceptible pang of self-awareness, thinking through responses rather than answering immediately, was still very much present.

Pressing, once again, these thoughts to the corner of one’s mind metaphorically covered in dust, Lewitt regained that smile he had spent so long cultivating. This was a party, and he was determined to enjoy it.

Alechandro Nieto.
I was not one for social gatherings abroad.
They usually tended to be so stuffy and formal, nothing alike the parties back home, where the Buccania was lit early in the evening and roasted the cow whole, for the lady of the house to serve the starving party-goers with freshly cut meat and other delicacies (including cow brain, boiled in the head).
Making it more bearable was the presence of the woman next to me, my favourite child and daughter Cariba, a Vaquero in her heart and one of the best at that. She wore a modest cocktail dress, but she, too, would feel more comfortable in leather pants and on horseback, I knew that.
Yet, this was not an option tonight. The Ranchos, which I owned and which, one day, my daughter would own, needed new customers for their cattle. The local market was not exactly an option, but exporting was one and a very good one at that.
That was why we were in Teressien.
So far, no luck, except for an invitation to this soiree.
I nodded to a dignitary I did not recognize, politely greeting him silently, but not looking where I was going - and, as luck would have it, I bumped into someone lightly, someone, who was actually taller then me.
I had no idea, that this person was James Lewitt.
"My apologies, Senhor.", I said to him and bowed my head lightly in apology. My English had a bad accent, I knew that, but I was quite confident in my vocabulary. "I hope, that I did not hurt or injure you?"

[Lillorainen]

Isla Saighead of the Tribe of Westmeath.
I had blushed lightly at the praise - really, a fawn and two rabbits were nothing for me and my crossbow, especially since I lost one larger deer, I think the mother.
Still, it was appreciated and so was Dad's smile at me.
I accompanied my father, who was the main sales representative of Silverport Dockyards Limited, because my Mam was not in the best of health. She had the best medical care available in the Free Lands, so no worries there, but that left me to accompany Dad - I did not mind the free vacations, even if they were paid in additional homework (essentially what my classmates did in regular class), and not many Selkie-Girls could legitimately claim to have danced with a Kyrenaian Ilkhan, the Fürst of Teressien and both the President and the Chancellor of the Aurora-Union.
Chancellor Minin was a terrible dancer, though.
Regardless of that, I had spotted someone and as Dad and I looked for someone to socialize with, I mentioned to him, that I had spotted Saran Kiyat - a horsewoman of an almost legendary reputation, not only due to her quick rise and heritage, but also due to her staying up there.
At a glance, Dad seemed to agree, most likely due to Kiyat's company, Henning Storström, one of Lillorainen's Logistics Magnates - and surely, maybe, hopefully, interested in buying some ships to enlargen his transport empire. And if not, he might be up for a bit of chatting.
Neither of us recognized the third woman.
So, we went and I grinned.
"Good evening!", Dad greeted the group with a smile, bowing his head lightly, as it was custom for us. He wore a good business suit, I a nice summer evening dress, my vambraces still on. "I hope, that we are not interrupting?"

It didn't take Storström a lot of time to recognize Yvain Saighead of the Tribe of Westmeath, the representative of Silverport Dockyards Ltd. who had succeeded Gwen Cathlong of the Tribe of Cork due to her pregnancy last year. As his wife could not accompany him, it was up to his daughter to do so, which brought her into the delightful position of earning bragging rights concerning her dance partners, some of which were figureheads running either a country, or a significant part thereof.
Which was another thing Lauren could relate to. While some of her previous dance partners, including President Arafat Ismaili, Count Ichirou of Akebono, El Presidente Guillermo Torrejón Paredes, as well as Atakheer Khan, could look back to a number of dances with ladies from Lillorainen, barely anyone could also legitimately claim to have danced with Clan Chief Jorgovan Nestorović from Konjićevo and Chancellor Hwangmok Haneul of Jeongnam. Emperor Adrean Blachkor was missing on her list as of yet, which she found a pity for obvious reasons, but with the relationships between Lillorainen and Astares Amauricanum being on improvement as of currently, there would surely be some occasion for a nice dance night over in Columbia District somewhere in the future.
Granted, she didn't spend a lot of time bragging about all this, especially not in public.
Lauren kept thinking about that for but a few seconds; as the little ground was approached by Saighead and his daughter, she, Saran, and Storström smiled and bowed their heads lightly as well, following the well-known Selkie-custom.
"Good evening, Mr. Saighead!" - Storström said. "Don't worry, you aren't interrupting at all - on the contrary, it's a pleasure to meet you!" Lauren and Saran nodded in agreement. "How are the ships doing?"

Heda, Prinzessin von Dorch.
Almost immediately after he had finished the toast, Mama and Father had been caught by someone wanting to speak with them, and after saying our hellos as well, we had been allowed to excuse ourselves.
Which was, to be honest, very nice, and absolutely fine by me.
I had spotted my cousin Lone somewhere, but more importantly, I had spotted Jirou.
Jirou was a good friend, a fellow gamer and while I would, admittedly, not push him off my bed, he was not someone I considered boyfriend-material. Sure, he had the looks and the class, but Mama always said, that a few shared interests did not make love.
Something, which Vin had learned the hard way.
And so, the two of us approached Jirou and the young lady with him, me smiling wide and Vin a slightly smaller one. He was glad to see him again, too, but he still crushed on Princess Shiruko a bit and when he heard, that someone from Shikonjima had accepted the invitation, he had been very keen on knowing, who it was.
Well... so much for that.
"Jirou, hi!", I said from a talking-distance, then moved in for an informal hug, "What's new in the world of blocks?"
I was not as busty as my aunt or Cousin Lorena, but I would like to think, that it still felt nice. Dressed in a cocktail dress, with Vin by my side, who bowed his head to Jirou's company and apologized for the intrusion in very broken Shikonmanjese, I felt good.

Jirou and Shihori had kept waiting for a moment, exchanging a few words in Shikonjimanese, clarifying a few details as to what the plan for the next hour might ideally look like - which, unsurprisingly, would, next to having some good venison, involve trying some sorts of Teressian beer. Jirou was already familiar with it due to the last year's ball, but for Shihori, this would be a new taste experience.
Then, Heda and Vin approached them. Heda looked quite nice in her cocktail dress ... Jirou had, actually, never spent much thought about whether or not she would be girlfriend-material, as it was well-known in public (but not truly believed by everyone), that he wasn't looking, anyway. Sure, as the future Count of Shirayuki, continuing the line would certainly be a reasonable thing to do, but there was still a lot of time for that later. For now, maintaining friendships was more of his cuppa. And this worked wonderfully, back in Shikonjima, as well as abroad.
What he hadn't missed back then was the little crush Vin had on 'Speedy', and he was sure, that Vin would have been more happy, if she could have come along tonight.
"Servus, Heda!" - he said, hugging her back. "The blocks are going well! I've finally found a way to optimize my villager farm under the new system and will now produce enough emeralds for the rest of my life! Well, at least, if my automatic chest sorting system survives until then. I've spent a bit of time rebuilding it after some creeper blew parts of it up ... well, I've considered using shulker boxes for my storage anyway. Saves space. How about you?"
Meanwhile, Vin talked to Shihori, apologizing for the intrusion in very broken Shikonjimanese.
"Shimpaishinaide kudasai, sore wa kekkou desu!" - the young Duchess said, smiling, Please don't worry, it's fine! Everyone speaking Shikonjimanese would notice the cadence in her accent, which was typical for a Ferinan-Islander. Since Vin's accent didn't exactly sound, as if he were an expert on Shikonjimanese dialectal nuances, she switched to English. "So, you're Vin, correct? Jirou told a lot about the ball last year - a pity I couldn't be around!" It wasn't exactly unknown, that Shihori, like Jirou, reserved for formalities rather for moments where they were seriously needed, and since she considered Jirou's friends her own friends, she decided to jump in directly. "Well, it's never late to try some beer from these parts, I assume."
"Speaking of which ..." - Jirou now said, grinning. "Anyone else thirsty?"

[New Visayan Islands]

Elizabeth Marie Ahn
Terrace of Jagdschloss Rehkitzsprung

"A good evening to you too, Your Highness," Elizabeth replied, bowing down in respect to the princess. "You'll have to excuse me for the distancing; a few months ago I came down with the disease that defined this year," she explained. "I'm Elizabeth Marie Ahn, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the New Visayan Islands; as you can tell, I'm a coronavirus survivor." Taking the offered glass, she raised it in Nela's honor.

[Greater Orcadia]

The Hausmädchen manning the bar handed out three Seidel, stoneware pitchers of roundabout a litre, of Teressian Beer to the foreigners, in particular from the Herzogliche Brauerei zum Kupferkessel - in particular the Kupferkessel Miarzer, a light-coloured, sweet beer from Dorch.
In fact, it was one of the favourite beers of Herzog Malte, their host.
The whiskey, on the other hand, was Briach Granny Water, a Selkie-Whiskey, aged for 25 years in oaken caskets. It was a dark whiskey for connoisseurs and gourmets, one with a nice, spicy bristle and a thick texture, which let the ingredients come forth in a mature and beautiful way.
This was a Herzog's party, so one could rightfully expect a bit more then cheap beer and whiskey one wouldn't even give the toilet to drink - not to mention, that it was all on said Herzog's tab.
On the terrace, their reunion with their Captain-Friend went largely unnoticed, but said friend would have a hard time finding and scanning the horizon, considering, that the Jagdschloss was right in the middle of the Klopferwald, a forest, and not built on an outcropping or mountain. Settling for the edge of the forest might have been an idea, considering, that sometimes, rabbits and other forest critters ventured to the edge and maybe even further out.
If she had spotted something was up to her.

With the view of the woods, Louise smiled seemingly at ease however she kept her eyes peeled looking for movement whilst taking sips of her beer, "Gotta admit, this is quite sweet" she said, gently swilling the glass, "might have to get Zoe to see about ordering this stuff"

"I think that would be Sir Ian or maybe Robin's realm" replied Penny.

"yes, Lord Mariner of Furness, his father was a right character in the upper chamber, very sharp" commented Nick, "Ian is going to have a hard act to beat"

Evan looked over towards the buffet, "Penny, food, what y'avin?"

"not sure yet, I'll choose something" -

It was at that point where Louise cought sight of Antti, "Might have to slip him a business card, he's the sort of guy who Ocean Concepts takes aim at" she says to Penny.

"Oh, him?" says Nick, quietly, "he's probably got a couple of yachts already, so when you back at sea?",

"A couple of weeks yet, The Atlantic Destiny is laid up due to this Covid malarky but we should be back at sea by the end of June" replied Louise, taking a sip of her beer.

[Kuronami]

Princess Dschamila bint-Fadi.
My Father had once praised me and my beauty as the "Flower of Fenchu", a moniker, which I held to this day - but where people once saw a vibrant, young alqatifa, they now saw a mature rose.
And a red rose at that, dressed in a red dress, which wasn't quite a cocktail dress, but not a gown either, with a modest neckline and a side-slit, which would be of advantage on the dance floor. On my collarbone, the pendant of a necklace rested, an ember, that glowed like a fire, laid in silver.
I liked that one very much.
My Personal Handmaiden, Tariqa Misardia, was around somewhere, too, helping the local Hausmädchen under their direction - that was alright with everyone involved, as it served to broaden everyone's horizons. I saw her, quite a curiosity, as far as other guests were concerned, with a tablet delivering drinks.
And I saw a woman with her own, well, I guessed Hausmädchen, by the looks of it, nearby. I smiled slightly and decided to approach the pair before one of Bucktend's Princes had the idea to try their hand at flirting with a Kyrenaian Princess.
With that in mind, I approached the two, motioned for a Hausmädchen to follow me with her tablet and smiled as I noticed a pair of tall flutes of apple juice on the tablet. Wonderful!
"Good evening.", I greeted politely, "I'm Princess Dschamila bint-Fadi."

Sirin had been a bit absorbed in taking in the lodge's character. As she conversed with Eleanore some more about everything they were approached by none other than a Kyrenaian Princess! Impressive, granted Sirin was used to running in high circles given her status in society but this might very well be the first she's been approached by foreign nobility. "Oh, a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty." Sirin curtsied while Eleanore bowed "I'm Sirin Canno and this is Eleanore."

"I am Her Lady's Lady. Her maid servant."

"Well I'd say you're plenty more than just a maid but she's correct about that."

[Menassa]

"Hyrcanus, you've certainly gotten yourself into it this time." Judas Hyrcanus thought to himself as he leaned against one of the railings of the terrace and surveyed the crowd before him. He noticed the buffet, people indulging their hunger, that was something he could get behind. A military man, heck a general, he knew when it was time to eat and how to satiate his belly. Judas noticed mingling, he wasn't much for social formalities but he understood its necessity especially for political reasons. Judas prided himself on action over words, saying little and doing much, perhaps that's why he accepted his King's request to mingle at this soiree for he knew that if he went much would get done and little would be said.

Judas absentmindedly put his hand on his left hip, no sword. Right, he had left it as he was asked to bring weapons. Judas smiled remembering the story of the Judge Ehud who had been asked not to bring weapons into the presences of the Moabite king Eglon. Ehud brought an eighty year peace with a very small weapon that he had been asked not to bring. However Judas knew that with even one hundred smuggled daggers and foreign kings assassinated Menassa would not see an eighty year peace. As long as Judas was leading the war room, and his friend Matthias was the king, there would be no peace in Menassa.

Maybe Judas could take solace in that, maybe he could enjoy the time that he was away from the bickering priests and the shouting rabbis. Yes, that's exactly what he would do, while he was here he would think no more of the homeland and enjoy the time this host had provided him. Speaking of enjoyment, the master of ceremonies had mentioned something of alcohol. Judas had taken some water from a steward when he arrived but that would not satiate his thirst, and it would not make his situation more bearable. Judas reached his hand down on his right side and grasped the small skin that was hanging from a cord around his waste. He took a swig of his dry wine. "Menassa's finest" he thought to himself. He hoped drinking at this time wasn't in bad form, he once attended a peaceful meeting with a southern tribe who claimed to be "Muslim," whatever that meant, and his wine-drinking there was not appreciated.

After consumption, Judas dropped the skin back to his side and folded his arms, his eyes once again surveying the crowd. Suddenly a small itch, he scratched his coarse black beard with his left hand, oil? Judas had forgotten that before he left Menassa a servant had oiled his beard. This beard-oil was a new fashion for Menassans. The Rabbinical party worried that it violated Gods command not to act as a woman does but Judas wasn't to concerned about people mistaking him for a woman. Nope, he did not think there was a feminine quality about him, in fact, Menassan doctors had pronounced that he had absolutely no female hormones in his body. Judas laughed at the thought, how could a single nation be full of such bright people on the one end, and such imbeciles on the other?

"Stop thinking about home." Judas reminded himself. He rubbed his oily hand on the balcony top and remembered something about saying a blessing when you touch hair. "Hair is impure as it was once living when attached to the body and is no longer" Judas remembered someone telling him once. He shrugged the thought off, having seen the heads of men separated from their bodies he doubted hair was any more impure. Judas shook his head violently as if to shake away the thoughts of war, then, he returned to the position of arms folded, back against the balcony, and starred out into the sprawling expanse of socialization and sycophants.

[Danceria]

It had been some time since the Prince of Archades was abroad, doubly so in the case of Lord Vayne. He had always been content to be in the background, only involving himself in the various charities and businesses required to maintain his family's name, wealth, and power.

Teressien was a rather quaint locale, the lodge just rustic enough. While he may protest the drinking, as alcohol and armaments made for a poor mix, it was only because he was uncertain when the actual hunt would take place, and when he would change into something more befitting of an equestrian.

Of course, his attire was humble-a dark blue dress shirt with a nice red necktie, leading into darker trousers and dress shoes, fitting for the warm and lazy weather. The display of Archadean man, long of and dark of hair and eye as influenced by the late Greeks, and by his side a small bag containing his "hunting clothes". His rifle was placed with the others, unloaded, open actioned, and on safety.

Yet neither the venison nor the vintage were the object of Lord Vayne's attention. A wide variety of prestigious businessmen and women, ambitious aristocrats, and the company that he would enjoy keeping. While he had hoped his younger brother would also blossom to a keen and cunning lord in his own right, for now Vayne Carrudas of the Ancient and Asture Household of Solidor must of course aim higher and higher.

Eyeing the position of Lord-Chancellor of Danceria meant that he had to make connections, and as he toasted the health of the host and party present, he looked forward to it.

[Kenmoria]

Sir James Lewitt
Jagdschloss Rehkitzsprung Terrace

It was a pleasant day, neither too hot nor too cold, though that was of course a fairly subjective measure. Nevertheless, Sir James Lewitt managed to look uncomfortably hot in his suit, which was made of a heavy black fabric and consisted of far too many layers. He was standing in a pose of moderate relaxation, gazing into the sky with the sort of look one might expect from the final few scenes in a television program or film. Almost wistfully, he gently sighed before turning to face the small crowd of attendees for this gathering.

At just under 6 feet tall, Lewitt could see quite clearly over the heads of most of those before him, enabling him a good view of those in attendance. Luckily, a fair few had sufficient reputation to be known in Kenmoria by most with access to the internet, avoiding the often-required guessing at a given individual’s name. Lewitt despised those sorts of social challenges, much as he was starved of them. Having been cooped up for so long in Kenmoria, under the new government measures, he was clearly glad to be out at any social event, let alone one of such quality as this. With a smile, he jolted himself out of reminiscing and thought-complaining, and back into the party atmosphere.

That was the key to any social gathering, Lewitt thought, trying to look as happy and contented as possible. For a person who spent the vast majority of their time at various social events, he still hid a slight tinge of uncomfortableness beneath an exterior of merriment. In all honesty, the stakes weren’t particularly high; this was merely a soirée, albeit a high-class one. However, that imperceptible pang of self-awareness, thinking through responses rather than answering immediately, was still very much present.

Pressing, once again, these thoughts to the corner of one’s mind metaphorically covered in dust, Lewitt regained that smile he had spent so long cultivating. This was a party, and he was determined to enjoy it.

Alechandro Nieto.
I was not one for social gatherings abroad.
They usually tended to be so stuffy and formal, nothing alike the parties back home, where the Buccania was lit early in the evening and roasted the cow whole, for the lady of the house to serve the starving party-goers with freshly cut meat and other delicacies (including cow brain, boiled in the head).
Making it more bearable was the presence of the woman next to me, my favourite child and daughter Cariba, a Vaquero in her heart and one of the best at that. She wore a modest cocktail dress, but she, too, would feel more comfortable in leather pants and on horseback, I knew that.
Yet, this was not an option tonight. The Ranchos, which I owned and which, one day, my daughter would own, needed new customers for their cattle. The local market was not exactly an option, but exporting was one and a very good one at that.
That was why we were in Teressien.
So far, no luck, except for an invitation to this soiree.
I nodded to a dignitary I did not recognize, politely greeting him silently, but not looking where I was going - and, as luck would have it, I bumped into someone lightly, someone, who was actually taller then me.
I had no idea, that this person was James Lewitt.
"My apologies, Senhor.", I said to him and bowed my head lightly in apology. My English had a bad accent, I knew that, but I was quite confident in my vocabulary. "I hope, that I did not hurt or injure you?"

James Lewitt barely noticed the slight collision between him and the other man. However, the apology did catch his attention, particularly the strong accent which seemed unusual in a party of such high society. After a brief pause to make sure that he was not, in fact, hurt or injured, Lewitt responded. “Not at all, good sir”. Perhaps too formal, but better to err on the side of politeness than risk a social faux-pas. “I was rather distracted by my thoughts - probably the summer wind - and not looking where I was standing.” He offered a smile, by way of subtle apology.

Pausing for a few moments more and gathering his thoughts, Lewitt asked “How are you finding the soirée? The weather’s lovely, don’t you think?” It was blatant small-talk, the kind of conversation that people pull out from the depths of mundanity when interacting either with those they don’t know or those they don’t like. In this case it was the former, and the question of what a ostensible Spaniard was doing in Teressien intrigued him. Hopefully, the conversation would naturally segue in that direction.

[Draycora]

Antti und Alea -- Jagdschloss Rehkitzsprung

I tossed my car keys to the valet. "It's a manual, just so you know." Making my way to the terrace, I paused to check my reflection in a window. 26, blonde, tall, curvy in all the right places, wearing a navy blue cocktail dress with jade-inset gold earrings and a matching necklace & bracelet. Looking good, Val. Time to eat, drink, and be merry. I took a glass of champagne from a waitress -wait, maybe not a waitress? What do they call them here? Hausmadchen? That's it, Hausmadchen. "To health!" Glass drained, I survey the area. "Hello, dear daughter." My father emerged from inside the lodge, putting his phone into the pants pocket of his gray suit. "Phone call? Too bad, you missed the toast." He grimaced. "Damn it. That was Arabella, by the way. Nothing that couldn't have waited, sadly." I gave him a smile. "Come on, lighten up. We're not here for business tonight." A deep laugh. "Shouldn't I be telling you that?"

Father sits down & lights a cigar while I get a martini for myself and a whiskey on the rocks for him from the bar. "Wonder who they are?" I gesture to an attractive man and an exotic-looking woman by the buffet. "Well, go introduce yourself, then."
"Obviously." I head over. "I love your necklace. Emeralds, if I'm not mistaken." I bow lightly. "Valentine Teissëdre, and you are?"

The couple had arrived at the bar. Antti looked over the buffet, thought for a moment and finally said:
"I'm going to get us a drink, should I get the usual one?"
Alea nodded at this question, but had to laugh inside herself. Her husband and the alcohol had to somehow get that away from him. As she waited for his return and surveyed the buffet a little, a young woman came up to her. She had short blonde hair and was amazingly tall. Her navy blue dress matched her and the earrings sparkled like stars from her ears.
She introduced herself as Valentine Teissëdre. Alea stopped. This was a last name she had heard before.
"Oh, I'm Alea Phloros-Markaa. Delighted," Alea said to the young lady with her warm voice and Greek accent. "In fact, they are emeralds. The gemstones are straight from the Crystal Realm. I have to admit, however, that the earrings are also beautiful."

[Teressien]

Isla Saighead of the Tribe of Westmeath.
I had blushed lightly at the praise - really, a fawn and two rabbits were nothing for me and my crossbow, especially since I lost one larger deer, I think the mother.
Still, it was appreciated and so was Dad's smile at me.
I accompanied my father, who was the main sales representative of Silverport Dockyards Limited, because my Mam was not in the best of health. She had the best medical care available in the Free Lands, so no worries there, but that left me to accompany Dad - I did not mind the free vacations, even if they were paid in additional homework (essentially what my classmates did in regular class), and not many Selkie-Girls could legitimately claim to have danced with a Kyrenaian Ilkhan, the Fürst of Teressien and both the President and the Chancellor of the Aurora-Union.
Chancellor Minin was a terrible dancer, though.
Regardless of that, I had spotted someone and as Dad and I looked for someone to socialize with, I mentioned to him, that I had spotted Saran Kiyat - a horsewoman of an almost legendary reputation, not only due to her quick rise and heritage, but also due to her staying up there.
At a glance, Dad seemed to agree, most likely due to Kiyat's company, Henning Storström, one of Lillorainen's Logistics Magnates - and surely, maybe, hopefully, interested in buying some ships to enlargen his transport empire. And if not, he might be up for a bit of chatting.
Neither of us recognized the third woman.
So, we went and I grinned.
"Good evening!", Dad greeted the group with a smile, bowing his head lightly, as it was custom for us. He wore a good business suit, I a nice summer evening dress, my vambraces still on. "I hope, that we are not interrupting?"

It didn't take Storström a lot of time to recognize Yvain Saighead of the Tribe of Westmeath, the representative of Silverport Dockyards Ltd. who had succeeded Gwen Cathlong of the Tribe of Cork due to her pregnancy last year. As his wife could not accompany him, it was up to his daughter to do so, which brought her into the delightful position of earning bragging rights concerning her dance partners, some of which were figureheads running either a country, or a significant part thereof.
Which was another thing Lauren could relate to. While some of her previous dance partners, including President Arafat Ismaili, Count Ichirou of Akebono, El Presidente Guillermo Torrejón Paredes, as well as Atakheer Khan, could look back to a number of dances with ladies from Lillorainen, barely anyone could also legitimately claim to have danced with Clan Chief Jorgovan Nestorović from Konjićevo and Chancellor Hwangmok Haneul of Jeongnam. Emperor Adrean Blachkor was missing on her list as of yet, which she found a pity for obvious reasons, but with the relationships between Lillorainen and Astares Amauricanum being on improvement as of currently, there would surely be some occasion for a nice dance night over in Columbia District somewhere in the future.
Granted, she didn't spend a lot of time bragging about all this, especially not in public.
Lauren kept thinking about that for but a few seconds; as the little ground was approached by Saighead and his daughter, she, Saran, and Storström smiled and bowed their heads lightly as well, following the well-known Selkie-custom.
"Good evening, Mr. Saighead!" - Storström said. "Don't worry, you aren't interrupting at all - on the contrary, it's a pleasure to meet you!" Lauren and Saran nodded in agreement. "How are the ships doing?"

Heda, Prinzessin von Dorch.
Almost immediately after he had finished the toast, Mama and Father had been caught by someone wanting to speak with them, and after saying our hellos as well, we had been allowed to excuse ourselves.
Which was, to be honest, very nice, and absolutely fine by me.
I had spotted my cousin Lone somewhere, but more importantly, I had spotted Jirou.
Jirou was a good friend, a fellow gamer and while I would, admittedly, not push him off my bed, he was not someone I considered boyfriend-material. Sure, he had the looks and the class, but Mama always said, that a few shared interests did not make love.
Something, which Vin had learned the hard way.
And so, the two of us approached Jirou and the young lady with him, me smiling wide and Vin a slightly smaller one. He was glad to see him again, too, but he still crushed on Princess Shiruko a bit and when he heard, that someone from Shikonjima had accepted the invitation, he had been very keen on knowing, who it was.
Well... so much for that.
"Jirou, hi!", I said from a talking-distance, then moved in for an informal hug, "What's new in the world of blocks?"
I was not as busty as my aunt or Cousin Lorena, but I would like to think, that it still felt nice. Dressed in a cocktail dress, with Vin by my side, who bowed his head to Jirou's company and apologized for the intrusion in very broken Shikonmanjese, I felt good.

Jirou and Shihori had kept waiting for a moment, exchanging a few words in Shikonjimanese, clarifying a few details as to what the plan for the next hour might ideally look like - which, unsurprisingly, would, next to having some good venison, involve trying some sorts of Teressian beer. Jirou was already familiar with it due to the last year's ball, but for Shihori, this would be a new taste experience.
Then, Heda and Vin approached them. Heda looked quite nice in her cocktail dress ... Jirou had, actually, never spent much thought about whether or not she would be girlfriend-material, as it was well-known in public (but not truly believed by everyone), that he wasn't looking, anyway. Sure, as the future Count of Shirayuki, continuing the line would certainly be a reasonable thing to do, but there was still a lot of time for that later. For now, maintaining friendships was more of his cuppa. And this worked wonderfully, back in Shikonjima, as well as abroad.
What he hadn't missed back then was the little crush Vin had on 'Speedy', and he was sure, that Vin would have been more happy, if she could have come along tonight.
"Servus, Heda!" - he said, hugging her back. "The blocks are going well! I've finally found a way to optimize my villager farm under the new system and will now produce enough emeralds for the rest of my life! Well, at least, if my automatic chest sorting system survives until then. I've spent a bit of time rebuilding it after some creeper blew parts of it up ... well, I've considered using shulker boxes for my storage anyway. Saves space. How about you?"
Meanwhile, Vin talked to Shihori, apologizing for the intrusion in very broken Shikonjimanese.
"Shimpaishinaide kudasai, sore wa kekkou desu!" - the young Duchess said, smiling, Please don't worry, it's fine! Everyone speaking Shikonjimanese would notice the cadence in her accent, which was typical for a Ferinan-Islander. Since Vin's accent didn't exactly sound, as if he were an expert on Shikonjimanese dialectal nuances, she switched to English. "So, you're Vin, correct? Jirou told a lot about the ball last year - a pity I couldn't be around!" It wasn't exactly unknown, that Shihori, like Jirou, reserved for formalities rather for moments where they were seriously needed, and since she considered Jirou's friends her own friends, she decided to jump in directly. "Well, it's never late to try some beer from these parts, I assume."
"Speaking of which ..." - Jirou now said, grinning. "Anyone else thirsty?"

Note: Quote modified by removal of spoiler-tags.

Isla Saighead of the Tribe of Westmeath.
"Getting laid down, built, launched, equipped and sent off to serve their purpose dutifully for whoever paid for them.", Dad replied and smiled, "To be honest, with how many vessels we currently have on the slipways we need more Priests and Priestesses to dedicate them to their purposes, but that is another problem entirely."
Indeed, I knew, that business was going quite well for SDY, not only thanks to my Father, but also because of the recent reorientation towards more civilian shipbuilding.
"Judging by how many freighters we launched as of late, the Logistics Business is going quite well as well.", Dad added, "And of course with JATRACO." He put a hand on my shoulder. "If I remember your tales correctly, Isla, there's an after-school club at your school, which is quite interested in that, right?"
I nodded with a smile.
"Yep, that's true, Dad.", I said and looked at Storström before adding: "The Railway Club of the Doire Girls' High School in Riverwood. A charming bunch of lassies very interested in rail-transportation - and while we have the classics, they are also looking for more modern examples."

Heda, Prinzessin von Dorch.
I had no idea, that Jirou didn't even think about such things, but ultimately, that would be his decision and his alone. Still...
...the hug felt nice.
"I'm currently roving again.", I told him, "Ya know, seeing the sights, leaving waypoints, noting down coordinates in hopes of finding them again... and taking the program apart in my studies." I then added: "And I got myself a rival!"

Meanwhile, my brother was conversing with Jirou's friend and quite glad, that he didn't call anyone a donkey for a change.
"Indeed, I am Vin, Heda's older brother.", he said and it felt so normal to hear him introduce himself like that. He took her hand and softly breathed a kiss onto its back. "And I must agree, it indeed is never too late."
That was, when Jirou announced his thirst for a drink and I smiled.
"Yes, I could go for a Aoswoater.", I said with a smile and offered him my arm to link. "And I know right the spot as to where to get some."
"The drinks tables?", Vin asked from the side.
"Better.", I replied, before turning to Jirou and Shihori, "Say, wanna see a bit of the inside?"

Elizabeth Marie Ahn
Terrace of Jagdschloss Rehkitzsprung

"A good evening to you too, Your Highness," Elizabeth replied, bowing down in respect to the princess. "You'll have to excuse me for the distancing; a few months ago I came down with the disease that defined this year," she explained. "I'm Elizabeth Marie Ahn, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the New Visayan Islands; as you can tell, I'm a coronavirus survivor." Taking the offered glass, she raised it in Nela's honor.

Nela, Prinzessin von Zieselhaven und Elms.
I smiled slightly.
"It is my pleasure to meet you.", I said and returned the toast, "And I understand fully. Better be safe then sorry."
We had a few cases in Teressien, a couple dozen in fact, but so far, no dead - they had been isolated quickly and the Teressian Healthcare System did what proved to be effective elsewhere. Being remote had given us quite a bit of time to prepare.
"If I may be so bold and ask, Madame Ahn, what brings you here?", I asked.

With the view of the woods, Louise smiled seemingly at ease however she kept her eyes peeled looking for movement whilst taking sips of her beer, "Gotta admit, this is quite sweet" she said, gently swilling the glass, "might have to get Zoe to see about ordering this stuff"

"I think that would be Sir Ian or maybe Robin's realm" replied Penny.

"yes, Lord Mariner of Furness, his father was a right character in the upper chamber, very sharp" commented Nick, "Ian is going to have a hard act to beat"

Evan looked over towards the buffet, "Penny, food, what y'avin?"

"not sure yet, I'll choose something" -

It was at that point where Louise cought sight of Antti, "Might have to slip him a business card, he's the sort of guy who Ocean Concepts takes aim at" she says to Penny.

"Oh, him?" says Nick, quietly, "he's probably got a couple of yachts already, so when you back at sea?",

"A couple of weeks yet, The Atlantic Destiny is laid up due to this Covid malarky but we should be back at sea by the end of June" replied Louise, taking a sip of her beer.

The buffet was quite large and for so early in the evening, quite a few people were already attacking it with reckless abandon. Those in the know of yellow press outlets would recognize Baronin Wilrun, Sunna and Rena, the two Princesses of the Wißenthenland, Alwina von Sykane getting hit on by Bodo, Prinz von Bucktend, Beyeha Fadwa Faris chatting with a tall, blonde man mostly known for being a Professor, who had been arrested as a pirate while on a test cruise with a rebuilt pirate frigate, and his wife.
The buffet was not exactly a simple affair either: Aside from the meat, there were sweets abound, from Schokobomben over Strudel to pieces of cake, while salads (which were prepared using pumpkin oil, which gave it a nutty flavour) were also prepared for those more concerned with their figures. Fried dumplings were kept hot and supervised by a Hausmädchen on the stove, just like the fried meat balls.
It was a delicious spread, completed by a huge variety of breads and breadrolls and cheese and ham and butter.
And for those still concerned with their figure, there were also fruits available, both the actual ones as well as the ones made of marzipan in their image.
No one would go hungry tonight unless she or he chose so...

"Hyrcanus, you've certainly gotten yourself into it this time." Judas Hyrcanus thought to himself as he leaned against one of the railings of the terrace and surveyed the crowd before him. He noticed the buffet, people indulging their hunger, that was something he could get behind. A military man, heck a general, he knew when it was time to eat and how to satiate his belly. Judas noticed mingling, he wasn't much for social formalities but he understood its necessity especially for political reasons. Judas prided himself on action over words, saying little and doing much, perhaps that's why he accepted his King's request to mingle at this soiree for he knew that if he went much would get done and little would be said.

Judas absentmindedly put his hand on his left hip, no sword. Right, he had left it as he was asked to bring weapons. Judas smiled remembering the story of the Judge Ehud who had been asked not to bring weapons into the presences of the Moabite king Eglon. Ehud brought an eighty year peace with a very small weapon that he had been asked not to bring. However Judas knew that with even one hundred smuggled daggers and foreign kings assassinated Menassa would not see an eighty year peace. As long as Judas was leading the war room, and his friend Matthias was the king, there would be no peace in Menassa.

Maybe Judas could take solace in that, maybe he could enjoy the time that he was away from the bickering priests and the shouting rabbis. Yes, that's exactly what he would do, while he was here he would think no more of the homeland and enjoy the time this host had provided him. Speaking of enjoyment, the master of ceremonies had mentioned something of alcohol. Judas had taken some water from a steward when he arrived but that would not satiate his thirst, and it would not make his situation more bearable. Judas reached his hand down on his right side and grasped the small skin that was hanging from a cord around his waste. He took a swig of his dry wine. "Menassa's finest" he thought to himself. He hoped drinking at this time wasn't in bad form, he once attended a peaceful meeting with a southern tribe who claimed to be "Muslim," whatever that meant, and his wine-drinking there was not appreciated.

After consumption, Judas dropped the skin back to his side and folded his arms, his eyes once again surveying the crowd. Suddenly a small itch, he scratched his coarse black beard with his left hand, oil? Judas had forgotten that before he left Menassa a servant had oiled his beard. This beard-oil was a new fashion for Menassans. The Rabbinical party worried that it violated Gods command not to act as a woman does but Judas wasn't to concerned about people mistaking him for a woman. Nope, he did not think there was a feminine quality about him, in fact, Menassan doctors had pronounced that he had absolutely no female hormones in his body. Judas laughed at the thought, how could a single nation be full of such bright people on the one end, and such imbeciles on the other?

"Stop thinking about home." Judas reminded himself. He rubbed his oily hand on the balcony top and remembered something about saying a blessing when you touch hair. "Hair is impure as it was once living when attached to the body and is no longer" Judas remembered someone telling him once. He shrugged the thought off, having seen the heads of men separated from their bodies he doubted hair was any more impure. Judas shook his head violently as if to shake away the thoughts of war, then, he returned to the position of arms folded, back against the balcony, and starred out into the sprawling expanse of socialization and sycophants.

Alma Haffer.
...which brings me to the gentleman in leather and cloth, who stood by his lonesome by the railing.
I should introduce myself, maybe: I am Alma Haffer, one of the Hausmädchen of the Stadtschloss Dorch, which has been sent here in preparation for this soiree. Usually, only 46 people kept the place running, but reinforcements were needed for such a large and important occasion.
And part of these reinforcements was me, of course dressed in the full uniform of a maid of the House of Dorch.
I carried a tablet with drinks, apple juice, flutes of wine and champagne, but also water, on one hand, passed him by and inclined my head lightly - if he wished for a drink or wanted to make an order for something to eat, now was the time.
And, if you allow me to be this direct, that gentleman in question would look better without the beard, if I were to be honest, but he seemed alright - if a bit stuffy.

Princess Dschamila bint-Fadi.
My Father had once praised me and my beauty as the "Flower of Fenchu", a moniker, which I held to this day - but where people once saw a vibrant, young alqatifa, they now saw a mature rose.
And a red rose at that, dressed in a red dress, which wasn't quite a cocktail dress, but not a gown either, with a modest neckline and a side-slit, which would be of advantage on the dance floor. On my collarbone, the pendant of a necklace rested, an ember, that glowed like a fire, laid in silver.
I liked that one very much.
My Personal Handmaiden, Tariqa Misardia, was around somewhere, too, helping the local Hausmädchen under their direction - that was alright with everyone involved, as it served to broaden everyone's horizons. I saw her, quite a curiosity, as far as other guests were concerned, with a tablet delivering drinks.
And I saw a woman with her own, well, I guessed Hausmädchen, by the looks of it, nearby. I smiled slightly and decided to approach the pair before one of Bucktend's Princes had the idea to try their hand at flirting with a Kyrenaian Princess.
With that in mind, I approached the two, motioned for a Hausmädchen to follow me with her tablet and smiled as I noticed a pair of tall flutes of apple juice on the tablet. Wonderful!
"Good evening.", I greeted politely, "I'm Princess Dschamila bint-Fadi."

Sirin had been a bit absorbed in taking in the lodge's character. As she conversed with Eleanore some more about everything they were approached by none other than a Kyrenaian Princess! Impressive, granted Sirin was used to running in high circles given her status in society but this might very well be the first she's been approached by foreign nobility. "Oh, a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty." Sirin curtsied while Eleanore bowed "I'm Sirin Canno and this is Eleanore."

"I am Her Lady's Lady. Her maid servant."

"Well I'd say you're plenty more than just a maid but she's correct about that."

Princess Dschamila bint-Fadi.
I bowed my head lightly to both.
"Ah, a Lady and her Personal Handmaiden.", I said with a small smile, "I would introduce you to my faithful right hand Tariqa, but she is exchanging tricks and talking shop with the Hausmädchen."
I looked at Sirin.
"Canno...", I repeated, "You are from Kuronami, right? Clothes industry, if I remember correctly?"
I did study Economics and while the clothes manufacturing industry was not my strong suit, I thought, that I knew the name from there.
Either that or the yellow press.
Both were possible.

It had been some time since the Prince of Archades was abroad, doubly so in the case of Lord Vayne. He had always been content to be in the background, only involving himself in the various charities and businesses required to maintain his family's name, wealth, and power.

Teressien was a rather quaint locale, the lodge just rustic enough. While he may protest the drinking, as alcohol and armaments made for a poor mix, it was only because he was uncertain when the actual hunt would take place, and when he would change into something more befitting of an equestrian.

Of course, his attire was humble-a dark blue dress shirt with a nice red necktie, leading into darker trousers and dress shoes, fitting for the warm and lazy weather. The display of Archadean man, long of and dark of hair and eye as influenced by the late Greeks, and by his side a small bag containing his "hunting clothes". His rifle was placed with the others, unloaded, open actioned, and on safety.

Yet neither the venison nor the vintage were the object of Lord Vayne's attention. A wide variety of prestigious businessmen and women, ambitious aristocrats, and the company that he would enjoy keeping. While he had hoped his younger brother would also blossom to a keen and cunning lord in his own right, for now Vayne Carrudas of the Ancient and Asture Household of Solidor must of course aim higher and higher.

Eyeing the position of Lord-Chancellor of Danceria meant that he had to make connections, and as he toasted the health of the host and party present, he looked forward to it.

Naya, Prinzessin von Bucktend.
I wore a black dress with a nice neckline, which did not show too much of my chest, the dress itself reaching past my calf - the dress was also backless, at least a bit, playing mischievously with the fact, that I wore my brown hair long and open, thus showing skin without showing skin, the observer being able to catch a glimmer of it every now and again.
I also wore a flower in my hair, a deep red rose, which also accentuated my blue eyes.
And, what was not exactly known to everyone, I was not keen on settling being the later-born Princess, laying hen for the next generation - don't get me wrong, I would love to have children one day, when Mister Right came around, but it was the later-born-part, which raised my hackles.
My brothers were far from incompetent, at least unless one talked about Bodo and women, but... I wanted more. And while my ambitions weren't as high as Nela's or those of other women, I still had quite a few.
And, from the corner of my eye, I spotted someone, who looked like someone, who had ambitions as well - interesting.
I motioned for a Hausmädchen and asked her to deliver a glass of apple juice to him, together with a friendly invitation to join me here - here being at the railing, overlooking the small river, which separated the terrace from the other side, where the Greenhouse stood and, shortly after that, the forest.
I had no idea, that I invited a Dancerian Lord, Vayne Carrudas of the Ancient and Asture Household of Solidor.

James Lewitt barely noticed the slight collision between him and the other man. However, the apology did catch his attention, particularly the strong accent which seemed unusual in a party of such high society. After a brief pause to make sure that he was not, in fact, hurt or injured, Lewitt responded. “Not at all, good sir”. Perhaps too formal, but better to err on the side of politeness than risk a social faux-pas. “I was rather distracted by my thoughts - probably the summer wind - and not looking where I was standing.” He offered a smile, by way of subtle apology.

Pausing for a few moments more and gathering his thoughts, Lewitt asked “How are you finding the soirée? The weather’s lovely, don’t you think?” It was blatant small-talk, the kind of conversation that people pull out from the depths of mundanity when interacting either with those they don’t know or those they don’t like. In this case it was the former, and the question of what a ostensible Spaniard was doing in Teressien intrigued him. Hopefully, the conversation would naturally segue in that direction.

Alechandro Nieto.
I smiled, relieved, that I did not hurt him.
And I recognized the small talk as small talk.
"Indeed it is quite a nice weather.", I replied with my accent still in full force, "Very different from the plains of our native land." I offered my hand for a shake. "I am Alechandro Nieto, from Paísancho. This..." I motioned to the young woman at my side. "...is my daughter Cariba."
She did a small curtsy, then replied in English, which had a far lighter accent, a charming melody: "It is a pleasure, Senhor."
I smiled, proud of my daughter - and I knew, how Prince Damir felt.

[Menassa]

Judas continued to scan the crowd, his eyes narrowed as his head moved from side to side. I can't recognize anyone, he thought to himself. Not that it would matter, with the number of foreign nations to which Menassa was allied being rather small, it was unlikely that anyone he actually knew would be here. In addition to that, him being the head of the War Room meant that if he was to come in contact with foreign leaders it was not a pleasant situation in which he intended to remember faces.

Judas stood at six feet and seven inches tall, a veritable giant in Menassa, towering at least a head and shoulders over his peers, sometimes two heads when the hunchbacked scholars were in question, their bodies permanently disfigured from the amount of time they spent peering over books and scrolls. So much for God, 'freeing the bound' Judas often thought. so he was used to looking down on people, not the pejorative sense more in the biological reality sense, yet

With his arms still folded, he noticed that some sort of person with a tray of drinks was approaching him. "She seems rather oddly dressed," he thought to himself. Then he remembered that servitude in foreign lands often came with different entire. Whereas in Menassa you could usually tell a bondsman or a bondswoman by a certain pierced ear or a foreign slave by their gait, in other locales it was not so simple. When she inclined his head to him he grinned slightly, inadvertently flashing one of his metal teeth. Grabbing a small glass of water Judas said "That will be all for me, thank you" and then resumed peering at the crowd.

[Brettenwald]

Antti und Alea -- Jagdschloss Rehkitzsprung

I tossed my car keys to the valet. "It's a manual, just so you know." Making my way to the terrace, I paused to check my reflection in a window. 26, blonde, tall, curvy in all the right places, wearing a navy blue cocktail dress with jade-inset gold earrings and a matching necklace & bracelet. Looking good, Val. Time to eat, drink, and be merry. I took a glass of champagne from a waitress -wait, maybe not a waitress? What do they call them here? Hausmadchen? That's it, Hausmadchen. "To health!" Glass drained, I survey the area. "Hello, dear daughter." My father emerged from inside the lodge, putting his phone into the pants pocket of his gray suit. "Phone call? Too bad, you missed the toast." He grimaced. "Damn it. That was Arabella, by the way. Nothing that couldn't have waited, sadly." I gave him a smile. "Come on, lighten up. We're not here for business tonight." A deep laugh. "Shouldn't I be telling you that?"

Father sits down & lights a cigar while I get a martini for myself and a whiskey on the rocks for him from the bar. "Wonder who they are?" I gesture to an attractive man and an exotic-looking woman by the buffet. "Well, go introduce yourself, then."
"Obviously." I head over. "I love your necklace. Emeralds, if I'm not mistaken." I bow lightly. "Valentine Teissëdre, and you are?"

The couple had arrived at the bar. Antti looked over the buffet, thought for a moment and finally said:
"I'm going to get us a drink, should I get the usual one?"
Alea nodded at this question, but had to laugh inside herself. Her husband and the alcohol had to somehow get that away from him. As she waited for his return and surveyed the buffet a little, a young woman came up to her. She had short blonde hair and was amazingly tall. Her navy blue dress matched her and the earrings sparkled like stars from her ears.
She introduced herself as Valentine Teissëdre. Alea stopped. This was a last name she had heard before.
"Oh, I'm Alea Phloros-Markaa. Delighted," Alea said to the young lady with her warm voice and Greek accent. "In fact, they are emeralds. The gemstones are straight from the Crystal Realm. I have to admit, however, that the earrings are also beautiful."

Alea had a lovely voice with a Greek accent. Valentine blushed faintly at the compliment.
"Thank you very much. They're jade, I bought them on a trip to India several years ago." She took a sip of her martini. "Markaa . . . is your husband the candy tycoon?"

[Danceria]

Naya, Prinzessin von Bucktend.
I wore a black dress with a nice neckline, which did not show too much of my chest, the dress itself reaching past my calf - the dress was also backless, at least a bit, playing mischievously with the fact, that I wore my brown hair long and open, thus showing skin without showing skin, the observer being able to catch a glimmer of it every now and again.
I also wore a flower in my hair, a deep red rose, which also accentuated my blue eyes.
And, what was not exactly known to everyone, I was not keen on settling being the later-born Princess, laying hen for the next generation - don't get me wrong, I would love to have children one day, when Mister Right came around, but it was the later-born-part, which raised my hackles.
My brothers were far from incompetent, at least unless one talked about Bodo and women, but... I wanted more. And while my ambitions weren't as high as Nela's or those of other women, I still had quite a few.
And, from the corner of my eye, I spotted someone, who looked like someone, who had ambitions as well - interesting.
I motioned for a Hausmädchen and asked her to deliver a glass of apple juice to him, together with a friendly invitation to join me here - here being at the railing, overlooking the small river, which separated the terrace from the other side, where the Greenhouse stood and, shortly after that, the forest.
I had no idea, that I invited a Dancerian Lord, Vayne Carrudas of the Ancient and Asture Household of Solidor.

It is amazing how the most asinine things could change a person's life, nor how one may reflect on such things at a later date. Perhaps it was Lady Fortuna, or one making one's own luck, that the Dancerian met the gaze of the Hausmädchen, and then to the woman who sent her.

While Lord Vayne kept a low profile outside of Danceria, he knew very much of the Princess von Bucktend. In fact, she was on Vayne's "short list" of persons he would enjoy speaking at length with.

Ghosting across the group, the Menassan would inwardly scoff at the Dancerian from his high perch. Perhaps the long haired man looked far too effeminate for his stoutly Semitic disposition, perhaps he might recall the mixed reputation of the Greeks-Septuagint, Alexander, and John Chrysostom came from their ilk. Perhaps he, or others may note the calm almost panther-like gait as he waded through the crowds with an absentminded and practiced prowl. One who kept to heart that all war was based on deception. Or perhaps not, perhaps nobody other than the good Princess would notice the arrival of Lord Vayne.

"Madam." he began, a slight bow when addressing the woman. He knew very well who he was dealing with, but wanted to see how she would deal with him and "the game" as he would state had begun. The drink had been swiftly downed, but a servant was petitioned for some harder apple cider for the two of them "when appropriate". "I appreciate sampling the local specialty." he concluded, smiling gently at her but observing her.

[New Visayan Islands]

Elizabeth Marie Ahn
Terrace of Jagdschloss Rehkitzsprung

At the mention of cases in Teressien, Elizabeth nodded sagely; the Confederation had seen twenty-seven cases of COVID-19, four of which ended up in death for the patients involved.
"Your Highness," Elizabeth began in response to Nela's question, "officially I'm here as the Visayan delegation; it was seen as prudent to have a coronavirus survivor sent out on international missions, and since I'm one of only two high-profile Visayan government officials who fell ill with the virus--the other is a member of our Federal Council, and she's been assigned to represent the Confederation at a different occasion next month--the Chief Justice and the Council agreed on sending me here." Which was true: Allison Sanchez, the Secretary of Finance, was the other high-profile coronavirus survivor; she would represent the Confederation in Kuronami's Winter Ball, an event scheduled for the following month.

[Greater Orcadia]

The buffet was quite large and for so early in the evening, quite a few people were already attacking it with reckless abandon. Those in the know of yellow press outlets would recognize Baronin Wilrun, Sunna and Rena, the two Princesses of the Wißenthenland, Alwina von Sykane getting hit on by Bodo, Prinz von Bucktend, Beyeha Fadwa Faris chatting with a tall, blonde man mostly known for being a Professor, who had been arrested as a pirate while on a test cruise with a rebuilt pirate frigate, and his wife.
The buffet was not exactly a simple affair either: Aside from the meat, there were sweets abound, from Schokobomben over Strudel to pieces of cake, while salads (which were prepared using pumpkin oil, which gave it a nutty flavour) were also prepared for those more concerned with their figures. Fried dumplings were kept hot and supervised by a Hausmädchen on the stove, just like the fried meat balls.
It was a delicious spread, completed by a huge variety of breads and breadrolls and cheese and ham and butter.
And for those still concerned with their figure, there were also fruits available, both the actual ones as well as the ones made of marzipan in their image.
No one would go hungry tonight unless she or he chose so...

Approching the buffet, Louise scanned it before her eyes caught sight of the professor who had the run in with the law, she then turns to Penny before turning her eyes slightly towards said professor "Is that who i think it is?" she asks Penny, picking up a plate where she then begins loading the plate up, meat in the middle, items on cocktail sticks around the edge, everything has a place and there is a place for everything as when she has finished loading stuff onto her plate you could in fact get away with photographing the plate for a food blog due to how it has been presented!

"oh yes, that professor - rebuilds a ship and gets arrested, imagine the diplomatic who-har it might of caused..." replied Penny, "...in some contries now its still an offence to fly the skull and cross bones flag". Penny also takes a plate, then holding it with her natural hand she then points to Evan what she fancies with her cybernetic limb, which thanks to the more temperate climate is actually functioning. Due to the sweat caused by the tropical heat of Port Ember, the indirect neural interface which uses electrodes in the socket to detect the biologically generated micro electric signals were not able to detect the signals they should have done, rendering the arm useless. As Penny points, Evan puts the items onto the plate, which is then handed to Evan and so Penny and Evan share off the same plate.

[Lillorainen]

Isla Saighead of the Tribe of Westmeath.
"Getting laid down, built, launched, equipped and sent off to serve their purpose dutifully for whoever paid for them.", Dad replied and smiled, "To be honest, with how many vessels we currently have on the slipways we need more Priests and Priestesses to dedicate them to their purposes, but that is another problem entirely."
Indeed, I knew, that business was going quite well for SDY, not only thanks to my Father, but also because of the recent reorientation towards more civilian shipbuilding.
"Judging by how many freighters we launched as of late, the Logistics Business is going quite well as well.", Dad added, "And of course with JATRACO." He put a hand on my shoulder. "If I remember your tales correctly, Isla, there's an after-school club at your school, which is quite interested in that, right?"
I nodded with a smile.
"Yep, that's true, Dad.", I said and looked at Storström before adding: "The Railway Club of the Doire Girls' High School in Riverwood. A charming bunch of lassies very interested in rail-transportation - and while we have the classics, they are also looking for more modern examples."

Storström had nodded upon Mr. Saighead's brief explanation as to how well SDY's business was going - which he quite wasn't unaware of, especially since the major reorganization and reorientation SDY had undergone last year. It was also known, that the Lillorainian Federal Police operated 200 Corrán-class Offshore Patrol Vessels at their outpost in Nienhagen-Muerrath.
He also mentioned the Logistics business, as well as the JATRACO project, whereupon he mentioned the Railway Club of his daughter's high school, which Isla confirmed immediately.
And indeed, JATRACO was a huge thing, an El Dorado for railroad enthusiasts. For starters, JATRACO, the acronym meaning 'Janilaima Transport Corridor', was a trunk route connecting the seaports of Roefonteyn, Chaamerland, and Ulaanels, Sharulsi Khanate, thus running over the entire continent of Janilaima in east-west direction over thousands of kilometers, connecting four countries. The track consisted of six to ten parallel railways. While there had already been previous routes in Chaamerland and Saressidia which only had needed to be connected properly, the tracks in the Sharulsi Khanate and Tangrusia had required a bit more planning - especially in the latter, since Tangrusia, unlike its neighbors, didn't use the standard rail gauge of 1655 mm. Therefore, in order to avoid regauging at the borders, a completely new track with this gauge had been planned and built, as well as various new stations connecting the track with the rest of the Tangrusian railroad system properly in order to make it function. In the Sharulsi Khanate, the planning involved connections to the huge number of mining facilities all over the country, as well as a number of bridges, subways, and elevated sections in the territories known for being frequented by nomadic tribes - the part where Saran had come into play back then.
As the last section, a Tangrusian part close to the Sharulsi border, would go operational this summer, not only goods would be transported over the track, but also passenger trains, including high-speed trains mostly consisting of (you guessed it) LBB models, at least for the intercontinental express planned. But there were also Chaamerlandic, Sharulsi, and Saresside models involved, which used parts of the track to connect their own cities. Tangrusia, with said problem of using a different rail gauge, planned to regauge some of its trains, too, next to developing a new type specifically dedicated to usage on the JATRACO track.
Storström smiled. "JATRACO is quite a huge thing one could spend hours about - doesn't surprise me, that it's talked about in your school's club!" - he said. "I happen to know a high school in Luisensiel, Rigesöer, with a club similarly dedicated to classic as well as modern means of rail transportation, and I'd be surprised to not find a similar club in schools such as Vartrup."
That Storström had a son and a daughter in their mid-teens, from his now ex-girlfriend, that was well-known in public, at least within the circles dedicated to searching the Yellow Press for such information.
"As someone who grew up with the iconic yellow trams in Jillich, I can definitely relate to that ambition" - Saran Kiyat said, grinning. "I'll also never forget my first ride with an Interregio train - until then, I'd have assumed, that I would go crazy, given the high speed, but in fact, you stop noticing it once you get used to it."
"Although going with the classic ones is fun as well!" - Lauren now interjected. "I once went with a vintage train of the Visholmer State Railway, from 1905, if memory serves me right, one of Lillorainen's oldest inter-city high-speed trains still operating. From the era when 80 km/h were still considered an insane speed." She had to grin.

Heda, Prinzessin von Dorch.
I had no idea, that Jirou didn't even think about such things, but ultimately, that would be his decision and his alone. Still...
...the hug felt nice.
"I'm currently roving again.", I told him, "Ya know, seeing the sights, leaving waypoints, noting down coordinates in hopes of finding them again... and taking the program apart in my studies." I then added: "And I got myself a rival!"

Meanwhile, my brother was conversing with Jirou's friend and quite glad, that he didn't call anyone a donkey for a change.
"Indeed, I am Vin, Heda's older brother.", he said and it felt so normal to hear him introduce himself like that. He took her hand and softly breathed a kiss onto its back. "And I must agree, it indeed is never too late."
That was, when Jirou announced his thirst for a drink and I smiled.
"Yes, I could go for a Aoswoater.", I said with a smile and offered him my arm to link. "And I know right the spot as to where to get some."
"The drinks tables?", Vin asked from the side.
"Better.", I replied, before turning to Jirou and Shihori, "Say, wanna see a bit of the inside?"

Upon Jirou's inquiry as to if anyone was as thirsty as he was, Heda suggested going for an Aoswoater, a term that didn't wish to ring a bell with him, but sounded promising enough to just go for it.
Shihori, who had bowed her head upon Vin's kiss on the back of her hand, now replied to Heda, "Whatever on earth an ... Aoswoater might be, it sounds quite enjoyable, so consider me aboard!"
Jirou nodded and accepted Heda's offer to link arms with him. "Then, let's go, I'd say!" As they would certainly move on in a moment, Jirou asked Heda, "So basically, you start the game, press F3 - unless you've altered the control key for the debug screen -, and march into any direction, I take?"
"And start rivalries, obviously" - Shihori added, grinning.
"Obviously so." Jirou nodded. "May I inquire as to whom you got yourself as a rival?"