• Closed • Masked Ball: Slavery

[Pegasus]

Tristan, Andraska & Rey'na

The three of them were led into a side room by their host. They were well looked after, two servants followed and there was food and drink already on display, which they were happy to serve. The high vaulted ceiling gave the already large room a feeling of space and the fire which roared in the hearth kept the room warm. The centre of the room was dominated by a large table which they sat around. The chairs were well upholstered, plush and comfortable.

Their host spoke. His voice was deep and almost melodic. "This first game is a puzzle. You will be given a scenario, which you must address in a certain role. How you do this determines which clues you will get to the second game. There is a prize at the end of the second game." Pausing for a moment, he looked around them and then spoke.

"Your role is written on this card," he produced a small pack of three cards and shuffled them. Then he dealt one card each to the guests. Tristan was the Ruler (King/Queen), Andraska the Head of the Pro Slavery Alliance and Rey'na the Head of the Slave Liberation Front. Underneath their role there were some facts and figures that were unique to them. "It has been brought to the attention of the King that the position of Rynmere on slavery might need reviewing and the suggestion has been put forward that slavery should be abolished, whilst the other side of this is that slaves are necessary for the economy and prosperity of the Kingdom. I am the voice of the people, the scenario is given in more detail on your card. It is your job to determine what will be in the best interests of Rynmere in this decision." He lifted his hand and turned over an hourglass which gave them a time limit. What it was, he did not say.

Off Topic

Please adhere to the following rules:
1. You may post more than once between modposts. HOWEVER, please do not post again until everyone in the group has done so.
2. Please, therefore, stick to a posting order.
3. If you are interacting with an NPC which is not a personal NPC of yours, please do not write their words / actions.
4. I will drop in now and then.
5. Please feel free to make up (reasonable) facts and figures as given on your card.
6. You have four rounds of posting to come to a group consensus.

And, as always, if you've got any questions please drop me a pm. Enjoy, have fun etc!

Please note: This thread is currently CLOSED to new pcs (sorry!)

[Tristan Venora]

Tristan had hoped that the handkerchiefs and fans would be used for something fun, but apparently they would be forced to play some weird kind of game, and games that you were forced to play were rarely enjoyable. He considered running or handing his fan over to the serving girl that he had been dancing with. One of the servants mistook the look on his face for confusion and thought he didn’t know where to go and gently led him into the appropriate side room. Tristan frowned, but he complied because punching the man in front of all those rich and important people wouldn’t be a good idea.

Behind the mask his face had taken on a murderous look, but as he saw all the food and drinks that were on display, his eyes lit up, and as he took his card and realized just what his role in the game would be, he even begin to smile. He got to play king! And what more, they would be debating slavery which was a topic that he was very passionate about, especially since he had freed Faith.

He took a sip from the glass of wine in front of him and looked at the other players. He recognized them instantly despite their masks because their arrival had been announced, just like everybody else’s besides his. He wondered if Andráska knew who he was. He was currently wearing an overly expensive golden mask that was shaped like a dragon, an equally expensive suit of black and gold and a King Cassander wig that he had borrowed from the theatre.

He hoped that he wouldn’t and that he would be racking his brain as he tried to figure out who the mysterious man whose name hadn’t been announced was. He cleared his throat, cleared his throat again and then informed Rey’na and Andráska in a voice that hopefully sounded at least halfway like the king’s who he was kind of pretending to be,

“It has been brought to my attention that Rynmere’s position on slavery might need reviewing. Some even suggested that slavery should be abolished. As you probably know, slavery has been an essential part of our society for centuries. There are three types of slaves in Rynmere: house slaves, fighting slaves and pleasure slaves. House slaves have all the rights of a citizen of Rynmere, they are allowed to leave the house unattended for one break per trial and must be given their own room. Fighting slaves have almost no rights while pleasure slaves are somewhere in between as far as their rights are concerned.”

“This is my proposal”, he continued and looked at Andráska and Rey’na in a hopefully sufficiently regal manner. “Instead of abolishing slavery, we should overthink the rights we give them. All slaves should be treated more or less equally in my opinion. Furthermore, the brands system should be changed. The first thing that a newly freed slave has to do is to get yet another brand – on their cheek – the so called freedom brand that will remind them of their past for the rest of their lives.” Tristan was and had always been fine with slavery, but that part had always bothered him a bit. He remembered how much Faith had disliked receiving the painful brand on her face. It also didn’t seem right that a former slave would instantly be recognizable as such.

“What do you think?” he asked. He hoped that he was allowed to say what he thought as well and that he wasn’t just supposed to sit there, listen and make a decision, but then again, he had never particularly cared about rules. The king was allowed to have an opinion as well!

[Rey'na]

Rey entered the room, her head pounding with a pain that she hadn't felt for a long time - Denebah. Back then, she had narrowed the feeling down to a love lost. But now she had a better idea of what the feeling was. What she had with Denebah had never been love, it hadn't been anything resembling love. It was desperation. This, with Fridgar, was love. But both desperation and love had one common enemy - betrayal. She'd experienced it once, and now she felt she had experienced it again. But the egg had always been right about who she could and couldn't trust. Perhaps this was a sign.
Rey looked at her card, trying to brush the idea of Fridgar from her mind. Anti-slavery? The irony of that was lost on her, but it was there. After all, she had plans to buy two slaves of her own just to experiment on. Perhaps the dashing rogue had his job pretty easy. Rey had never been one to debate, not with words at least, and poison normally wasn't considered a debate. However, she had to make herself fit in to this, and so she would.

Rey listened as the assigned 'king' spoke, taking his role somewhat seriously - perhaps overly so. However, Rey wasn't one to argue with royalty, so she kept her doubt to herself. The man seemed to propose that we settle for a compromise, which was something that any reasonable person could probably agree with, but she was acting as a person with power - and it was rare that they were reasonable about anything. She paused for a second, before deciding on her answer for the 'king'.
"I think your idea is perhaps one of the worst I've heard on the topic" she replied bluntly. "Please, inform me if I'm wrong, but what you are saying is we give the slaves more rights? So effectively, you suggest we give them false freedom so they feel slightly better about the situation they've been put in?"
Rey glanced between the 'King' and the 'Dashing rogue - what an audience, she thought. "If we refer to someone as a slave, make no mistake - they will never have freedom. The clue is in the name, slave. If you truly want to have these people as equals, then don't have slaves. It's a simple concept to grasp."

Rey paused for a few trills, realizing she'd just vented a fair amount of her anger on the two. She then stepped back uncomfortably, allowing Andras to have his say. In her head, the egg twisted gently and caused what felt like tremors through her head. What was normally a bearable amount of anger became a lust for blood with the egg in her head, and she was lusting. At least she had her poison.
Maybe one of these two would make a good target.

[Andráska Venora]

13th of Cylus, 717

Andras meandered over to the group, releasing a sigh as they were lead away by a man with a blank mask. The group was brought into a cozy room, with a table and plush chairs. He eyed the surroundings, his frown more of a pout at having been taken away from one of the few parties he actually liked. His mind was still focused on the kiss he shared with Olivia Warrick when he entered the room, "Nice voice," he complimented the stoic guide, gliding into his chair and propping his feet upon the table. One slid across the wood and he dropped his stance to swipe it up and resumed his position, turning it over in his hand, "You ever think about public speaking?" He was looking for some sort of reaction, something to make things a bit more interesting, like they had been in the main hall.

Andras' eyes were reviewing the numbrs and facts of his slip, his brows furrowing and he waved away the food and drinks being circled to those around him. He suddenly wasn't hungry, "What?" he tried not to whine, keeping his voice level, and he glanced at his compatriots, "I'm the bad guy?" He craned his neck, trying to get a peek at the woman's card beside him, but the table was too large.

Perhaps bad guy wasn't the right word, but Andras was very... conflicted regarding slavery, seeing its uses but feeling the practice unfair and barbaric... He tried not to pout - not the expression would be seen behind the metal anyway - and scratched the side of his neck. Head of the Pro Slavery Alliance.

The man with the terrible haircut and strange voice spoke first, something about him striking the noble as familiar but he couldn't quite place it. The man was speaking so arrogantly... so royally. ''Someone's taking their role a little too seriously,' he thought, waiting for his spiel to be over. The woman was next to speak up, but by the way she argued, it seemed that she was more pro-slavery than against it. He smirked behind his mask, interested.

Shaking his head, he shrugged in acquiesence, "Fine, I'll play," he said, lifting his baby bird from his shoulder and placing him on the table, "Here's how it should be," he glanced at the recorded figures, his mouth moving slightly as he read them. When he had what he was looking for, he cleared his throat, and began his debate, "Rynmere has one of the best economies in all of Idalos," he stressed, "Glory to the KIng, of course." he made a flippant hand motion towards the assigned leader, and pressed on, "But what helps that economy? What brings gold that gives the healthcare? The education?"

"As my brilliant opponent has already pointed out, slavery is not a cruel practice. Not here," A debatable statement, but he had to consider his audience. One woman who seemed for slaves... meaning she was someone who could possibly afford them. Noble? Merchant? And then the other, who's outfit was high fashion. No doubt someone else with money, but perhaps with a heart. He needed to reassure them. An image of his father giving a speech during Andraska's childhood filled his mind, and as much as he hated the man, Kaleb Venora was a good leader - as in, he could get people to do his will, no matter how dubious. Wasn't House Venora known for its persuasive abilities? That fact alone helped spur him on, and he rose from his chair, using his height as an advantage, "Or at least it's not supposed to be," he cleared his throat, "Our slaves do have rights," he pointed to the king, "-to get rid of it completely would be unrealistic. Our entire economy would topple. The same economy that provides so well for its freeborn. Rynmere is a country of opportunity. As for branding..."

How did he feel about that? He found it ugly and cruel, "That can be discussed. Personally, I find it quite atrocious. To each owner their own discretion. For those that were born into slavery, or captured with the chance of freedom, let them remain unmarked. I believe it very possible to climb ranks, just as it is easy for someone to fall from grace. If, however, the slave was taken from war... from betrayal..." Andras chewed his lip, feeling a touch hypocritical, but he knew he had to make a compromise, "Marking them could allow the kingdom to keep track of those who have gone against it. After all, keep your friends close, enemies closer."

[Tristan Venora]

“That’s not what I said!“ Tristan informed Rey’na indignantly and glowered. “I didn’t suggest that we give slaves more rights and treat them as equals, but that we give all slaves the same rights. I find it unacceptable that there are different classes of slaves. Slaves are slaves in my opinion, and just because they belong to you, doesn’t mean that you should be able to rape them and beat them up without suffering any kind of consequences.” As he said that he wondered if King Cassander ever glowered and decided that he didn’t care. He was just too passionate about the topic that they were discussing for him to remain cool and confident and indifferent.

Perhaps he would finally be able to correct the mistake that he had made. He should already have spoken up when Faith had received his family’s brand and then the freedom brand He should have used his famous name to change things, but back then he had been comfortable with the status quo. Looking back, he couldn’t understand how.

Faith. He furrowed his brow a little as he looked at Rey’na. There was something about her that reminded him of the woman he had once loved, of the woman that he still lived in some way. Perhaps it was the color of her hair and the way she held herself. The expression on his face softened for a moment before he sat a little straighter and tried to look regal once more.

Andráska had apparently not recognized him, and he wanted it to stay that way. As his cousin said something about glory to the king, he inclined his head and smiled like he imagined the king would smile, as if he was very proud and sure of himself. It was just then that he noticed the little bird. Were pets allowed at the ball? He wondered if he should have brought Mistral, but came to the conclusion that it would probably have resulted in a catastrophe. Mistral was an evil cat and would probably have tried to kill the bird. Normally he didn't mind him killing birds, but this was Andráska's bird!

“That’s right”, he replied as his cousin pointed out that slavery was not a cruel practice and that the economy would topple if slavery were suddenly abolished. He thought so too, but there was something about what Andráska had said that bothered him. “I agree that traitors should be marked in some way. They are a danger to the kingdom, but those that were captured during a battle often didn’t choose to be there. The average soldier usually only fights in a war because their commander or the king – which would be me – said so.” For a moment he was seriously uncomfortable with his role. He didn’t like playing somebody that sent people to die on a battlefield. But most other aspects of being king, he decided, were fun.

“Perhaps we could use something other than brands”, he suggested. “Bracelets that they can’t take off without help maybe. Magical bracelets.” That seemed a lot less cruel than branding slaves like cattle to him and also a lot cooler. Having said that, he turned to Rey’na again and looked at her almost challengingly. “As the Head of the Pro Slavery Alliance said slavery is an essential part of our economy, but I agreed to listen to both sides, and thus I have a question for you. I know that you disapprove of slavery, but what do you suggest we do instead? We’d have to replace the slaves that we lost somehow and make sure that our economy doesn’t suffer too much in the process. Surely even the Head of the Slave Liberation Front doesn’t want to plunge our kingdom into an economic depression.”

He wondered how she’d react to that and congratulated himself on his great idea. She’d probably have no idea what to say and relent and accept that slavery was a necessary evil even though it wasn’t really particularly evil in his opinion. Diplomacy, he thought, was fun!

[Pegasus]

Tristan, Andraska & Rey'na

As they debated their host sat and watched, or listened, with care and obvious attention. How it panned out was of great interest to him, after all. It was, although they did not know it, of great interest to them all.

They spoke, then each of them and the host slid a new, folded, piece of parchment to Tristan. "The economic impact you speak of is outlined here, Your Majesty." He then passed two pieces to Andraska, who was nearest to him. "For you and the Lady Rey'na." He spoke.

Then, the host placed his hands once more atop his lap and said no more.

Off Topic

What is written on your piece of parchment has been pm'd to you.....

...... which isn't at all suspicious, I understand

[Rey'na]

Rey listened to the argument that Andras made, curious. She couldn't do this, she didn't have the ability to argue like he did. Sure enough, the king had an input too, saying another statement she couldn't argue with. She knew little of the classes of slaves, nor did she care. To her, they were fodder, a means to experiment with. They were people with nobody that cared about them, meaning they were disposable. Thinking that calmed the egg down a little, but panicked Rey. What did she say to make this argument believable?
For a second, her eyes met the 'kings'. They showed curiosity, wondering why he was looking in her direction to begin with. She put it down to waiting for an argument of some sort, but she didn't feel comfortable about it. His expression changed, causing Rey to assume that he figured she was defeated in this argument. She worried he might be right.

Her gaze turned back to the rogue, who kept it coming with the argument. He was good, and clearly knew a lot of the topic. Perhaps it was assumed that she was a noble,
meaning she was supposed to have some level of understanding of this topic. In truth, she didn't, her only interaction with slaves was something she would never share to this room. She listened intently, before glancing to the king as he replied. Then it was her turn.
"No, she doesn't" Rey replied, clearly in thought. For a few trills, she was silent. What next? "But you are talking about people, your majesty. People like us. I don't know if you're entirely aware of that, but they have as much right as we do - just with a worse upbringing. If you were in that position, I'm sure you would argue that slavery is a curse - not a blessing."
Rey's voice started to fill with some level of passion. But part of it wasn't an act. She'd grown up poor, and could have easily ended up a slave with her lifestyle.
She knew what suffering these attitudes had. Now she had to answer what she suggested we do instead, and that was where she was low on ideas. But she had to try.

"Smaller businesses" she said, bluntly. She glanced up to the king. "If we encourage smaller businesses to thrive, they earn more money, which means more in tax. Instead of forcing people to work for free, let them work for a wage that part of goes to the crown and government. That way we prosper off of people's successes, not off of their poor luck."
Rey then fell silent, eyes falling to Andras - challenging him. Despite not caring for slaves, she hated nobles. Perhaps, she thought, she stood a chance after all.

[Andráska Venora]

13th of Cylus, 717

Andráska had never realized how much he would enjoy a debate, and he found himself crossing his arms and leaning against the wall, watching silently if not with a smirk on his face. Defiance was one of his specialties, and while he didn't truly support the pro-slavery cause, he could play along. This woman was not making it completely easy for him and she came back with some good points. Andráska reviewed the new information he was presented and stepped forward when she looked at him challenging and tucked the card back into his back pocket, “These are indeed people,” he began, clearing his throat and resting both hands on the table, leaning on it as he addressed those in the room, “Which makes it all the more complicated.”

“I do like the idea of some sort of bracelets. After all, branding is so...” Pick a work, Andráska, “Barbaric, and as a nation, are we not as good as our less fortunate? Magic if that's what you want,” He briefly thought of his brother and cast said thoughts from his mind as quickly as they came, “Could work until you enslave a mage who finds a loophole.” Andras shrugged, his eyes lowering to watch his bird hop around the table, “That is not my forte, my grace. Something to be discussed with others, perhaps?”

“There is no black and white, but sometimes hard decisions must be made. We could discuss war and the ethical nature of it, but I have seen it. And no matter who gives the orders, there is always a choice.” Had his own family not gone against the kingdom? His smirk faded, and a darkness settled into his eyes as bloody memories crept into his mind.

“When Veljorn Burhan and my own sister stood to take the crown, I joined the Iron Hand and I fought along side the knights, not the rebels. You can't blame a man for trying to survive, but you can if he follows blindly. I would follow no one-” he said the last words sharply and then paused, realizing that the 'king' was supposedly in front of him, “if I felt they were in the wrong. I stand by my convictions, and if I was willing to die on the battlefield, I'd be willing to give my life marked as someone who didn't. So if you can survive war, you can survive a brand.”

Andráska's voice had risen, more passionate than it had been. He had not fought just for the country – but for what he had believed to be right. He had seen the king as little more than a boy, and Veljorn's move nothing but a power grab on someone he saw as an easy target. Perhaps he was wrong, but perhaps not.

'There are plenty of things in this life we can't choose,' he thought, taking deep breaths and trying to gather his next argument 'But our loyalties are one. Wouldn't you want to be someone who fought for what they believed in and were marked as such than to hide behind simple bracelets and forget it ever happened? People all over the nation had been killed, so to see whoever this was playing king squirm uncomfortably at the idea of even pretending to give those sorts of orders... it frustrated him. War wasn't supposed to be pleasant.

He gripped the back of a chair, closing his eyes and finally clearing his throat, “Forgive me,” he muttered, shaking his head and hopefully what had been plaguing him, “I've gotten off topic –“ He had to remind himself he was likely among nobles, maybe commoners but their experiences would be much different than his own, “How we choose to mark any remaining slaves is ultimately up to you, but as the Pro-Slavery alliance, I do believe they have value.”

The Venora knight retrieved the card out of his pocket and skimmed it, remembering Rey'na's argument, “It would be redundant to push small business – in fact, most of our business are smaller – run by families and the like. We could push them, but because these are people and not inventory, expecting them to fill the void financially is unrealistic. Think of it:” He looked to the masked woman, “Even after we pay off the owners to release the slaves, they have to be employed by someone, which would put more financial strain on those who are barely scrapping by as is - shop owners – or these 'small businesses' as you like to call them.”

Then to the king, “Economically, keeping slaves would be the best option. Period. But-” he ran a hand over his face, trying to compromise, “If we release the slave born, but keep those captured in war – it would be more gradual, safer for the people, and less strain on the city, immediate and otherwise.”

[Tristan Venora]

“I agree that slaves are people like us that just didn’t have a lot of luck in their lives“, Tristan replied. “I never claimed anything else.” There were some people that treated slaves like pieces of furniture. Faith had told him that she had been forced to sleep in a room full of corpses, and eat from the floor. When he had bought her, she had been wearing rags, and she had also been kind of thin. She had been honestly surprised when he had insisted that she was a person as well and treated her with kindness.

He wanted to say more, but it was just then that the host handed him a piece of parchment. He accepted it, took a look at it and narrowed his eyes before he abruptly returned it, straightened himself and looked at Rey’na once more. “Economically”, he informed her in a hopefully sufficiently regal tone of voice. “The best thing is to keep slavery, but the impact of abolishing slavery won’t be that bad. But”, he continued. “Where would we put all those slaves that are suddenly free? They might not want to stay with their former owners anymore, and their former owners might not want them anymore either!”

“We’d have a housing crisis – if those suddenly freed slaves were actually able to afford a place to stay. We would probably be more likely to create a population of homeless. True, we could give them jobs and encourage small businesses, but they would have to earn the money to afford an apartment or at least a room at an inn first!” He resisted the urge to give himself a pat on the back because he had thought of that.

Andráska apparently approved of his suggestion of using bracelets to mark slaves (or at least didn’t think it was completely stupid), so he smiled. “Maybe there is a way to find out if somebody is a mage or not”, he mused. “But you are right, I’d better discuss that with somebody else.” As he said that, he wondered if the real king had any magic experts advising him. Maybe there was even a Minister of Magic? He’d have to ask Cassander when he saw him next.

As his cousin spoke of Veljorn and Zvezdana, Tristan stopped being excited and somewhat childish, and was suddenly completely serious. He had never fought in a war. He had gone to Treidhart, but he had fallen over a corpse, lost consciousness and missed most of the battle, so it didn’t really count. Was his cousin criticizing him because of that? What would he do if he felt that those that were ruling the country were in the wrong? Would he act the same or support them, simply because they were his friends?

He didn’t know, and he didn’t know what to say either, so he just nodded to let his cousin know that he had understood what he had said. He had gotten the message. He couldn’t help but be impressed. Andráska, he realized, was more than just an alcoholic and a drug addict and a fun-loving knight who had stopped an assassin once. He was a man with strong convictions who was quite possibly ready to die for what he believed.

“You are right”, he said as his cousin mentioned the strain that Rey’na’s suggestion would put on small businesses. “I hadn’t considered that. Keeping the slaves that were captured in war might be a good compromise.” He turned to Rey’na. “What do you say?” Normally he wouldn’t have suggested such a thing – he still believed that keeping all slaves would be the best option - but he was playing a role now, and a king occasionally had to make a compromise to keep the various groups in the kingdom from rebelling.

He was even more impressed with Cassander than he had been before now. Diplomacy was fun, but it was also really complicated sometimes, and Cassander was only a teenager!

[Andráska Venora]

13th of Cylus, 717

The king nodded and agreed to his suggestion and Andráska found himself relaxing, if still in a mood. He glanced the masked figure in a corner and returned to his chair. The woman had been addressed to see if she had any further comments, but when she remained quiet, Andraska lifted a hand, “The housing crisis…” he began, scooting forward in his chair and recollecting the tiny bird that bad begun to hop around the table. He realized how unprofessional that could be and while he normally wouldn’t have cared, he was trying to prove a point and was starting to take the games seriously, “Can be solved without putting pressures on small businesses to pay their wage. The cities can compensate…”

He realized how it must have sounded; perhaps even being understood as him suggesting it come from noble pockets but he held up a hand quickly to dismiss those doubts, “We invest in infrastructure,” he glanced at the woman and then turned his attention fully on his cousin, “Merchants and nobles can use their wealth and resources in having new, proper housing built. They would pay initial costs, but it would allow for slaves – even unskilled ones who are familiar with manual labor – to work for an honest, living wage.”

“And I mean a living wage,” he emphasized, “Those unable to feed their families grow desperate, and the last thing we need is a rise of crime, or anyone to join the bandits on the outskirts of the city just because they’re not being paid fairly…” Pause, “Our taxes would greatly cover the compensation, and both parties benefit. The freed will end up with new homes, and the investors will later receive rent. And once these structures are built, the jobs won’t cease to exist. They can be moved to roads, improving existing buildings, thus making every city in Rynmere more grandiose… Tourism would rise, and we would be a wonder to the rest of Idalos.”

Andraska’s mind was filling rapidly with this new vision, of a Rynmere where cruel practices of slavery could be abolished and the city’s wealth overflowed. There was so much benefit from it all – to new technologies and practices from other cultures being introduced that could maybe even improve the quality of life. Their whole life would become open-minded and cohesive... Maybe….

He cleared his throat, realizing his place and the part he was supposed to be playing, “Or we could keep slavery. After all… less work in the long run.” The young man couldn’t keep the faint smile that started to pull at his lips. Under the mask and note cards – he was still who he had always been: A revolutionary. A rebel. And no matter what he was supposed to do, he couldn’t fight his instincts. He ran a long finger along Pride’s neck and nuzzled the avian.

“Have we come to a decision?”