Game Opening: May Ball

[undergroundmods]

LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED.

"" (Watch on YouTube)

It had to be done.

Welcome all to the Redbright Institute's May Ball! This evening is a celebration of the Institute's achievements over the past year. Students aged 16 and above can attend on their own, while younger students must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Meanwhile, friends and guests of the Institute are invited as a gesture of friendship and harmony between the various factions.

Rules and etiquette
• This is a black tie event. Formal attire is required.
• No weapons. This is a school, there are children present. Any weapons or objects that could be used as weapons will be confiscated.
• No drugs or alcohol. Obviously. Don't try to sneak any in.
• No violence.

There is security within the school and present at the event. (In fact, if your character is a member of the Redbright Institute, you could have them acting as security if you want.) They will respond to and put a stop to any trouble.

Places to go
The main action takes place in the large Assembly Hall. This is where the Chancellor Sylvia Redbright will give her address. It's also where you can party later on. The disco is family-friendly – not exactly a rave, but the kids will love it.

Drinks and snacks are available in the dining hall. The drinks are non-alcoholic. Vampires, no need to worry about your cravings: blood cocktails are provided! They're given in good faith on the assumption that you won't be snacking on anyone else tonight.

Just off the dining hall, one of the classrooms has been converted into a chill-out area. The lights are off, the desks and chairs have been replaced by beanbags and there's a table in the corner with a chocolate fountain, marshmallows and strawberries. A video of young witches taking part in various night-time rituals (they mostly seem to involve chanting and bonfires) plays silently on the screen.

One of the lecture theatres has been opened up to showcase students' work from the past year. On the screen you can watch a slideshow of notable events and achievements. Strangely enough there aren't many people in this room.

Outside, there is a giant chessboard on the lawn. The pieces are made of plastic and can easily be moved around. Why, you ask? Why not, is the answer.

Finally, a large marquee has been set up in the quad. This is the adults-only area, with wine and cocktails served at the bar, nibbles available at a few high tables dotted around and a sophisticated atmosphere. No children under 18 allowed. (Note that the legal drinking age is 18.)

Timeline of events
20:00 – Doors open.
20:57 – Sunset.
21:15 – Sylvia Redbright makes her address in the Assembly Hall.
22:00 – Disco in the Assembly Hall. The DJ has atrocious taste.
01:00 – Disco stops. The event officially ends.

Comments

[entitles]

[Assembly Hall]

[Balem had little interest in the Redbright Institute itself. All of this talk of various supernatural beings coming together in peace simply bored him - there was so much more to be done with such power than live quietly among humans.

But what he couldn't stand for was Circle Daybreak and the Night Council and the fact that their definition of peace all too often included attempts to limit where fae may pass through and use their magic. He would not allow himself to be ordered about by species he deemed lesser.

To most he would appear as a relatively normal-looking man dressed in a fine suit, those who could see through fae glamours would see a man in a glittery cloak with way too much jewelry, the make and patterns of which clearly marked him as fae. Either way, he would be scowling all throughout the address and continuing to be in a sour mood afterwards.]

[Marquee]

[It took a great deal of alcohol to get Balem anywhere close to drunk, but he enjoyed the taste of wine. And watching others get drunk gave him some level of entertainment; he'd been known to grant a poorly worded wish or two that ended up backfiring on the poor tipsy wish-maker.]

Assembly Hall

[detectiveofthewest]

"Hi!" Rather than showing up under the umbrella of an illusion, Heiji actually was a young man in a neatly-pressed suit. For now, anyway. He'd never actually met Balem, but he had heard of him by association. From all appearances, however, Balem was keeping things low-key... so Heiji would avoid any references to secret identities.

"Some speech. By the way, I don't think we've met -- I'm Heiji."

[entitles]

"Some speech, indeed," he said, not returning any sort of verbal greeting nor offering a name of his own. However, he did reach a hand out - a handshake was the least he could do.

Balem could tell that he was fae even though he was dressed rather plainly, and so he cared about his opinion more than most here, "I'm curious to know what you thought of it."

[detectiveofthewest]

"Human politics," said Heiji, shaking Balem's hand. "That Chancellor Redbright was pretty careful to emphasize inclusiveness. A 'safe zone... where every supernatural and non-supernatural person is welcome'. But that's a little disingenuous, don't ya think? She's tied up with Daybreak, and they seal off the Other Realm when territories come under their control. Not very neighborly, is it?

"She's also tryin' to spin it like we're all part of some big coalition... but they tell me the Night Council here's never had a ghost or fae representative. I heard they been nosing Circle Midnight outta town, too. So it's inclusive -- as long as you're the right kind and play by their rules. But what d'you expect? Humans are always like that. The politicians, anyway."

[entitles]

"I agree," he said, never having much fondness for the politics of witches and vampires and other such beings, especially when they insisted on involving everyone else, "And I think this was very deliberately constructed as a move by the Redbright Institute rather than Circle Daybreak in the hopes of appearing less hostile to our kind. But I am no fool; territory under her control could be thrown to Daybreak at any time, I'd think, or the Night Council, both of whom want more authority over us than I desire to give them."

[detectiveofthewest]

"I'm sure they'd love it if they could shut the fae out, period," Heiji said, putting up a palm as if to say if wishes were horses... "Nah, I take that back. Whatever they say in public, I'm sure there'll always be a few witches at the top summoning us up in the background. Provided it's for the 'right' reasons."

After all, the privileged, well-intentioned or not, always ended up putting themselves as above the rules. It was only the powerless that had to abide by them. Heiji didn't even particularly dislike humans on general principle; it was just that you couldn't argue with history. "So let's assume Redbright wins the board. Who's going to feel that leash first?"

By which he meant that if Sylvia Redbright ever did get control of London, he assumed she'd begin restricting or driving out those members of her own coalition that were most problematic. Consolidating power, in other words. The werewolves already had no representation in the Night Council. Then again, vampire killing sprees were pretty bad PR...

[entitles]

"The werewolves, I imagine. Especially with the support Islington gets from the Night Council. I'd be surprised if they weren't driven out of London entirely, and unlike us they've got nowhere else to go," he said, "Then, perhaps, the witches that don't agree to Redbright's rules, and then us."

He wasn't particularly fond of either witches or werewolves, but he was even less fond of Redbright's witches and vampires and the rest of the Night Council crew, so there was a lesser of two evils to be chosen here.

"If the issue escalates and we need support," he says, being careful to use the word 'support' instead of 'allies', "We know where to start looking."

[detectiveofthewest]

Heiji made a slight face despite himself. He wasn't too fond of vampires as a general rule. "Strange bedfellows, if ya ask me. But I guess they're willing to overlook a little bloodletting or two as long as they get what they want. I assume they gotta get Islington to police their own since they don't have the muscle to do it themselves?"

Suddenly, he brightened. "Oh, that's right. Since we're sort of going to be neighbors, I have somethin' for you. It's a bit of a tradition where I come from."

[entitles]

"I imagine they will police their own willingly if it means protection from hunters," he said, "Although I wonder what the hunters will think if one of their own falls to that clan. Hm."

But Balem's mood, too, lightens a bit at the thought of a gift. As regal and detached as he acted, he did love getting new things. "How thoughtful. I'd love to see it."

[detectiveofthewest]

"I'll be right back with it, then!" Might as well retrieve it now, since there wasn't much else going on at the party. After a brief nip out to Faery, Heiji returned with a slender-necked stringed instrument. Its neck was fretless and made of polished wood; the three strings stretched across its body were similarly unmarked.

He held it out to Balem, along with a smooth, fan-shaped plectrum. "It's a shamisen. You pluck the strings with the bachi, of course."

Marquee

[eyeforaneye]

He'd noticed the well-adorned man throughout the speech but more notably had seen his expression, the deep frown that accompanied words of tolerance and peace. Definitely curious. So when Sasuke spots him later under the marquee he chooses to linger close by, waiting for the right moment to inject his own commentary.

"Seems like alcohol is a dangerous way to get people to bond. Especially people like these. One slip of a temper and it'd ruin what she's trying to accomplish with all this, or what she says she is."

[entitles]

"And wouldn't that be a shame."

He took another sip of his wine, kind of hoping that a fight would break out now even though he wasn't one to incite or participate in such brutishness.

[eyeforaneye]

"With how disdainful you looked throughout the whole speech I'd say your sarcasm is pretty heavy-handed. You dislike the idea of peace or just the ones trying to institute it?"

[entitles]

"Peace does not simply happen on its own. It requires some form of control, somebody in charge, and obedience from others," he said, "Everyone has a right to defend themselves and their own, but I have no interest in the numerous restrictions placed upon us that peace would require."

[eyeforaneye]

"I'll take that as the latter, though it doesn't sound like that's a general 'us'. You'd be fine with that control if it were your group and whoever you associate with in charge, right?"

[entitles]

"I'd be fine with that control if it didn't extend to my kind and others who would prefer to have nothing to do with it," he said, "I have no interest in war, but neither do I have any interest in being bound to peace."

[eyeforaneye]

"Some people are comforted by the idea of a governing body if it means that their needs are met and they're kept safe. I'd have to agree with you that right now I'd rather take care of myself. It's not going to be an option if Redbright keeps expanding, though."

[entitles]

"It will always be an option, although perhaps not one that comes easily," he said.

The fae have never really been involved in all this territory business, they had their own realm after all, but while Balem didn't particularly care about owning any part of this city, he didn't want to let anyone push him around and decide where he could come and go.

[eyeforaneye]

"Perhaps so." He takes the time to actually look the man over again, with his various expensive accoutrements and equally refined affectations.

"Who are you?"

Marquee

[acrookedchild]

[Part of any speech like the one Sylvia made was noticing the crowd, and Abigail had done her fair share of glancing around, born from an uncertainty in herself. After all, her family depended on certain types of dark magic to keep themselves alive. She would depend on it soon herself.

Which was why she approached him later in the evening with a fresh glass of red wine in hand. Her second, carefully spaced through the night. She wouldn't give any of them the satisfaction of seeing her drunk.

She offered her hand politely.]

Abigail Widdowson.

Forgive me for bothering you, but I recognize you from the front hall. You didn't seem too taken by our hostess's speech.

[entitles]

[Widdowson. He recognized that name, and while he wasn't intimately familiar with that particular family he knew they had some dealings with fae - dealings the very woman who gave the speech would no doubt disapprove of.]

At my age, I am no longer charmed by nice-sounding words. Forget speeches; I'll reserve judgement for actions.

[acrookedchild]

Those do speak louder.

[Speeches were... somewhat informative, yes, but what mattered was the intention behind them. She knew enough about the politics of society to know that, and that mattered.

But she had to see what came of it.]

[entitles]

Do you believe it's truly possible? Peace, I mean.

[Maybe everyone here was an optimist and his words would accomplish nothing, but if he could start planting seeds of dissent, he would.]

[acrookedchild]

Completely? No. Too many different people want too many different things.

[Daybreak and Midnight, for instance. A conflict which she was all too aware of.]

But it's not a bad idea to try.

[entitles]

It may very well be a bad idea to try, if she doesn't already have the cooperation of the people she is trying to limit.

[Mostly fae, but he guesses some witches and werewolves won't be all that pleased.]