Major Thread You are Cordially Invited...

[Talinn Ryalor]

(Set after the events of Fortuna Vitrea Est and The Changes Upon Us).​

Winter had fully arrived in Bully Harbor with the first snow, and, with it, a powerful snow storm that was still ongoing. The Duke of Westisle stared from the office of his fortress down at the port city below struggling to survive the onslaught of such-even with all the experience of countless winters, it never seemed to fully prepare it for another one. Talinn found himself sympathizing with the beasts who inhabited it for once, as he himself was in the middle of such a deluge. No, he was no longer struggling to survive the cold and wondering where his next meal might come from as he done in his youth in Westisle like many in Bouillabaisse, but his problems were not things more money or a blade could solve.

Mina.

The Kitsune seemed to curse him with that name, as it always reminded him of one of his greatest failures, and, just when he finally thought he had found some measure of peace from that following his return from death aboard the Hide, another reminder of his inadequacies had come up.

Mina Rose, my unexpected daughter.

He was in a strange, unsettled mood as he clasped his paws behind his back and continued to walk back and forth from the window to the desk and there and back again. The normally stoic and formal Duke could not calm himself as he reflected upon what to do. He had already failed most of his kits in so many ways, he knew, by being absent from their lives for so long, and the burden that their name carried would put them in danger for quite some time until the narrow path that he had spent his entire life creating to secure his family's legacy was cleared of all obstacles. Yet, even accounting for his failures, and the danger that House was still in, they had survived by closing ranks, sticking together against all the perils of the world despite their flaws. Dusk had done what she had thought best to save their last, and perhaps, only undamaged kit by keeping her secret and sending her so far away, but she had almost died twice now being out of the fold, once in Tookumberry, and once at the Opera House. Even if he took his wife's suggestion, if he could figure out that she was their daughter, other beasts still might, and there were still unsettled matters with Tanya and especially Jeshal given what Dusk had told him about-

*Knock*

“I told you I was not to be disturbed!” Talinn barked, unusually harshly and emotionally.

*Knock, knock*

“Whatever it is can wait!” He snapped, with a cold anger slowly beginning to rise in him far faster than it should.

*Knock, knock, knock, knock, kno-*

Marching over to the door, the Duke flung it open hard, so much so that it crashed into the stone wall with a rather loud bang. A rare flash of anger was visible on his face, and he was more than ready to give whoever had interrupted his contemplation a real tongue-lashing, if not an actual lashing, if it was not of the utmost urgency.

“This had better be good or I swear-” He began, but stopped as he realized it was not one of his aides he was addressing. It was the young Captain Matas, head of his personal household guard, with a rather worried look upon his face, as he bowed in the formal Fyadoran way before saluting him.

“Sir, I know how important it was that you were not to be disturbed, but…”

He held out a sealed envelope with a the golden skull and crossbones of the Imperium on it, and swallowed.

“...and sir, there is a full company of the Stoatorian Guard waiting in our courtyard. They insisted on being let in, as they say it is for your safety. Sent directly from the Empress herself they said.”

The younger fox’s lipped were pursed with worry.

“Sir...we have also just gotten a report that another full company has shown up to Lady Dusk’s office, who arrived at the same moment as they did. This was timed perfectly, sir.”

All the internal fire that Talinn had shown a moment before died instantly as he returned the salute to the younger todd, and it took all of his willpower to not have his paws shake as he held the letter. He knew this had been coming, but he had not expected it to be so forceful or to catch him so flatpawed. He had agents in Amarone to warn him of any such large movements...but they had not. And neither had Dusk’s, apparently. That could only mean one thing had happened to them. He swallowed, and carefully broke the seal on the letter, pulling out the fine parchment beneath, unable to conceal the wince when he instantly recognized the feminine writing.

“My dearest Duke,

You are cordially invited…protected by my own Guardsbeasts... after the unfortunate death of Minister Kilaris, I could not bear if anything were to happen to you or your beloved wife who is like a sister to me...I have taken the liberty of already having the road cleared should you accept...”

With each word Talinn seemed to blanch more and more, and by the time he had finished it, he looked rather ill. He just stood there, staring at the letter, for some time until Captain Matas coughed.

“Sir, I beg your pardon, but they were rather insistent that they receive an answer quickly...and, sir, until you do they have decided to go inspect the armory and the barracks where most of our beasts are relaxing. We only had two squad-.”

Talinn quickly held up a paw, and then walked over to his desk’s brazier and carefully burned the letter. Turning around, his expression ashen, he replied, his voice carefully neutral.

“It is quite all right, Matas. We are, of course, among friends, and I shall accept her Majesty’s invitation in the spirit that it was given. Have my aides pack the finest clothes immediately. I suspect she has provided a carriage for us too which Dusk and I will be sharing. And Captain...” He offered a pained smile to the younger todd “as you get older, you will find many things are better left unsaid, for once said, they cannot be unsaid, and I have found in the reports my researchers have sent me that voices can be heard from a far longer distance than anybeast might reasonably expect. Now, go, you are dismissed and we must not keep the Empress waiting.”

Matas stiffened for a moment, then gave him another parting salute.

“Of course sir, and, sir, thank you for the lesson. I shall take it to heart.”

Talinn returned the salute, then watched him depart with a wan smile before closing the door to his office to get more formally dressed. His pale blue eyes flicked over to Duty’s Burden and his dagger.

No need for those. The Empress is, of course, my dear friend…

@Callisto Bluemoon @Dusk Rainblade @Nicolas of Iron Pit @Neame Grosvenor @Orina Emberkin.

 

[Dusk Rainblade]

By the time that Talinn finished packing, the carriage carrying Dusk had already borne her from her offices at the Ministry of Misanthropy. Given recent events, she'd been expecting a summons to Amarone for a while, and kept a bag packed - either for the trip, or to flee, depending on the nature of the summons. The bag was now loaded onto the back of the beast-drawn carriage, Dusk sat within, clutching her own invitation in her paws. The edges were slightly crumpled where it had been worried between sweating pawfingers. As soon as the door opened to admit Talinn, she smiled a bit tightly, her eyes going to the soldiers surrounding the cart. It was amazing how much a carriage and an escort could feel like a prison wagon and an arrest.

"Welcome, dear husband. At least this time we're making the trip together." It was a slightly unfair barb to throw at him; after all, they were making up with each other, and the plan had been to end Talinn's regular trips. It was just her nerves making her resort to her old habit of setting on edge everyone around her.

 

[Talinn Ryalor]

As Talinn stepped up and entered the carriage, he gave his wife a wry smile in response to her quote and ignored the implied barb-he knew this was likely part of a desperate attempt to convince herself that she had control in this situation, and he was inclined to let her keep that since she would need all the steadiness she could muster. She had never been good at direct confrontations-his wife was always much more subtle, preferring to lurk in the shadows and strike only when she had all her cards in order and there was no escape for her foe. That was, he suspected, why the Empress had decided to move so quickly and in such a decisive fashion, to throw a spotlight on her where there was little or no darkness for her to maneuver in-it threw Dusk far, far out of her element. He reached out a paw and squeezed hers to reassure her as the door closed behind them. There was no point in hiding their rekindled affection now.

Sitting down as the carriage began to move, protected by over two hundred Guardsbeasts, he replied.

“And I am glad to see you too, my dearest. It has been too long since we have taken a carriage ride together.”

He made sure to emphasize the word to let her know whose camp he was finally in this time, and the two rode in silence for a little while before he spoke again.

“I have given some serious thought as you requested to our gardening problem, you know, with that particular species of rose that we wish to replant. Perhaps you are correct that, at least until this cold weather blows over, it is better to keep it where it is, for moving it now could damage it. When spring finally arrives, we can see how it looks then, I suppose.” The words were filled with metaphors, but his wife would know exactly what he was talking about.

While he was doing so, his fingers trailed along the edge of the window, seemingly to idly tap it now and again as he looked out. It was the ancient, secretive sign language of their House, taught only to family members and no outsiders, so that they could communicate even under the most dire of conditions.

We knew this was going to happen to some degree, but I did not expect it to happen like this, not over just Afton alone. My agents in the Palace are likely either turned, dead, or both-I suspect it is the same for you as well. Someone must also have leaked information about our reconciliation as well. She was always smart even before my tutelage, and it seems she learned well. But even then...Dusk, do you have any idea of why she would be so forceful? There must be something I am missing and I do not like to go into battle without knowing as much as I can. We need to be very careful.

@Dusk Rainblade

 

[Dusk Rainblade]

Dusk allowed the tension to seep out of her shoulders as Talinn covertly signaled his agreement on the topic of Mina Rose. She'd been concerned that he would want to move swiftly to bring Mina Rose into the family; it seemed that they at least had some time to figure out a solution in that regard. She wondered if this invitation had spooked him and prompted a last-minute change of heart.

Carefully she signed and tapped her response, taking longer to do so. She'd been out of practice this past decade, during which she'd abrogated her duties as duchess and all but cut off contact with her husband. If the other ministers have been invited, there is less for us to fear. Most likely this is to plan a response to the Vulpinist attack and confirm Orina to replace Kilaris. If it is just us...

She hesitated. She knew that the Empress she knew and the Empress her husband knew were two very different beasts. With Talinn the Empress seemed to be doting, even fawning, constantly soothing his bruised ego with her cooing and flattery. With Dusk she was shrewd, calculating, and even ruthless, out-maneuvering the Minister of Misanthropy at every turn. Dusk sometimes wondered if the Empress put on a different mask with each of her ministers, presenting herself in the way most to her own advantage - and if so, what the true Empress even was like.

She concluded her thoughts. If it is just us, then she knows we have reconciled, which makes us a threat. We've been divided for a decade, unable to move against her. Two ministers in tight accord is a matter for concern. She will need to establish a new balance. She braced herself for her husband to naysay her interpretation. She knew how readily Talinn could excuse a vixen's scheming as well-intentioned, at least when he would otherwise have to recognize that he himself had been manipulated; after all, Dusk had used that selective blindness to her advantage through two decades of their marriage.

 

[Talinn Ryalor]

Talinn mused on his wife’s theory for some time, and thought about the Amélie that he had grown to know very intimately over the last twelve years. In some ways, Dusk was indeed correct-she would certainly be irritated that they had altered the original deal they had signed all those years ago without consulting her first, but he did not think that she had so little control of her emotions that this reaction would be done out of petty displeasure for that, especially since the core tenets were still intact and she had to know that the only way he would ever move against her was if she became legitimately mad. Nor would this heavy-pawed response be simply to reprimand Dusk for her failure to protect Kilaris. There had to be something more to it.

Glancing out the window, he spoke again, more so to conceal the tapping than any real thoughts.

“If it is snowing this hard here, it will be an equally tough winter back at home. I hope that Valin has stockpiled enough foodstuffs, the merchants will be ruthless this year and thus I would rather not to have import from the rest of the Imperium, or if things get bad enough, mainland Fyador. I know Anastasia has been working to improve our reputation in the latter, in her way, but things there shift so rapidly these days that whoever we negotiate with and pay this year could end up our foe the next. We would still be in the black, but between the infrastructure projects and the need to ramp up some of our coastal patrols and defenses since that Silvertongue told me to expect increased pirate activity in the upcoming year…”

I know that she is not going to be happy about the reconciliation that we have had-we did not consult her before deciding to change some of the terms of the deal. That was a mistake on our part, we should have been proactive, but I do not blame us, we were so focused on ourselves that we might not have looked at the optics. For Kilaris alone, she may have just summoned you and the Minister of Justice to have one of you fall on your swords for that fiasco, likely him since she knows you are connected to me...even with the reconciliation, I don’t think that alone would have provoked such a hard and fast response.

“...of course the Gauntlet protects our core towns and Peltarra, but the outlying settlements on along with Southisle could come under attack, if they were to approach from that direction. The additional forces should most likely be redeployed towards those areas, and new watchtowers constructed and supplied with signal flares so we are not caught off-guard."

With those two factors combined we would have been summoned and chewed out, but forcibly escorted with such coordination? No, there is something else we are not seeing, at least not yet. We have to think from her perspective. What could have possibly happened at the Opera and afterwards that could have led her to do this? Even if we worked together, as far as I know, Neame, Callisto, Rupert, and the most likely candidate to replace Afton, Orina, are neutral to us at best-far from a winning paw to do what Sken did to the Ullyanovs-we would still be outnumbered two to one-not counting the fact that I would not do so because our pact is sealed with something far more than ink or titles unless she went insane. So...what is it that we are missing? Did she catch some of the other Ministers plotting against her, and thinks we are part of it somehow?

“Another matter I wanted to discuss was you was the details of our Giftsgiving feast…”

@Dusk Rainblade

 

[Dusk Rainblade]

Dusk half paid attention to Talinn's mindless nattering about winter provisions and defense of the realm and other such unimportant details, focusing instead on the message he conveyed. Her mind pieced together some of the fragments, coming to a single conclusion: Amélie knew. She somehow knew about Dusk's deal with Orina, even though the deal had been struck in complete secrecy in the confines of Dusk's own home between herself, Orina, and Tanya. Had one of them blabbed? That seemed highly unlikely; both understood the treasonous implications of their actions and knew that they would not be spared if they turned on the others. Then again, Dusk and Orina hadn't been the most circumspect about their friendship over the years. Dusk decided that, absent any other evidence, the Empress had simply done the math and deduced that Dusk had put her paw on the scales to help her friend to politically ascend, especially since Misanthropy had been part of the event security when Kilaris was killed. It wasn't enough to get away with hanging Dusk, but it certainly afforded Amélie an excuse to humiliate her for her failures in front of her peers.

Dusk decided not to mention this to Talinn. The fewer beasts who knew of her involvement with the conspiracy, the better. Besides, her husband had a propensity to imagine himself as an honorable beast, despite a long history of decisions even more morally questionable than her own. Instead she focused on the more personal component of the upcoming meeting. The combined might of Misanthropy, Innovation, and the Duchy of Westisle is nothing to sneeze at. Even just a bid for secession would cripple the Imperium. The Empress has every reason to keep us on a tight leash. Out loud she mused, "Ah yes, now that we're hosting together again, I was hoping that we could invite my side of the family. I've been so wanting to introduce the kits to their cousins. If we send the invitation by gull now, do you think that Ameliya, Alexei, and Anastasia could make the trip from Westisle in time? I know Valin probably won't come, he and that darling wife of his will probably spend it with her family, but we might be able to persuade Amélie to give Mileya one holiday away from Amarone to spend with Daniil and her family."

She hurriedly added a few quick signs. If this goes badly, don't try to save me. Take the kits, including Mina Rose, and flee back to Westisle. I don't want anything happening to them.