Lady Elysa... Pirate Queen?

Yes, it's another slow night in Ireem, no slavers are around, and I just couldn't resist the temptation to slip on my favorite pirate wench outfit and pose for a few pictures by the captain's chair on the bow of the slaver ship *chuckles*

~Lady Elysa

Mache and Shev exchange vows

In the most romantic scene I've seen since "Gone With the Wind," the knight Mache captured the undead Shevaunn, threw her over her shoulder and refused to take "no" for an answer. Standing there on the walkway near the knights' camp, they exchanged vows with only myself as witness.... and yes, I had my Kleenex out!!!

Congratulations, Mache and Shev!

Captured by the sandolinistas!

So here is where things get really interesting. I was standing alone on bedu hill and everything was quiet. Suddenly Sando comes out of his tent and comes up to me, and says he’s here to grant my wish. I’m like... oh, nice, you’re here to tell me you’re quitting as bedu leader? But... naturally nothing so fortunate. He tells me that he’s there for me to execute. Standing there saying, I said he should be executed for treason, referencing a comment of mine that was posted in the Chronicle, so I should do it, his throat is bared for me to cut him. Of course, since I don’t have a sword, he wasn’t really putting himself at risk. And all Ireem knows I couldn’t really hurt someone... well, unless I was in a temper and there was a fight already going on, but that never lasts long (and my skill is so low I’m more of a danger to myself than anyone else). Besides, as I told him, whether or not he should be executed is neither my decision to make, nor my responsibility to carry out. I stated my opinion in the Chronicle, which is absolutely my right to state my opinion. It is for Sultana and Lord Kadar to decide his offences and his punishment. But he kept on and on about it, and I’m thinking, geez, go away already. So then Arian comes up on the hill and Sando runs off back down to his tent, even though Arian didn’t attack, he just stood beside me looking all protective and stuff. And the next thing I know, April and Seawater are all over us, and although Arian got away, April capped me, continuing to attack even though it was obvious I didn’t even have a sword!

That’s when things got really, well... interesting. April runs off after Arian, and Cowboy comes running up and discovers I’m capped, and says he’ll buy me from April. You have to understand this is not from any philantropic ideas. He’s been after my hide for a month or more, since we had a kind of... .ummmm... *misunderstanding* ... and he hasn’t been very forgiving about it *grins* So off he goes, and Sando comes over. You know, I’d really had it with his whining and whining that goes on and on endlessly, so I moved away... and he came after me! So I went off the hill and down to the entrance to the bedu camp. Since I was capped, I needed to stay near the camp of course (a matter of honor), but OMG here he comes after me again, typing away. So I put my earplugs on ((i.e., I muted him)) and told him I wasn’t listening.

Finally after a bit, April calls me down to the bedu camp. She puts me on my knees, and tells me I have to obey Sando now. I told her no way in hell was I ever obeying that traitor, which left her kinda stuck as to what she was going to do with me. During all this, Sando keeps coming to stand in front of me, and I would turn my back on him, saying aloud that I wasn’t going to appear like I was kneeling to a traitor. So he’s going in circles around me, and I’m still on my knees, going in circles to keep my back to him.

So Cowboy comes and offers April money for me, and she’s interested in the deal. She asked me if Cowboy and I were friends, and I said no, he’s after me for revenge, so she’s really interested in his deal, until he offers her 100 dinars. She gets offended at the low amount, and attacks Cowboy and off they go into the desert. So here they come back after a bit, and Cowboy is capped by April. By this time, I’d gotten bored being on my knees in camp, and moved up onto one of the camels for a better view, and Cowboy takes the other camel. Arian comes back and is fighting both April and Seawater, and is suddenly joined by Ariberto! And I’m all clapping and cheering them on, when Estella, one of the rebel knights, shows up in camp with another rebel, a new and misguided knight who doesn’t know any better named Zazz. So they enter the fray, and low and behold, here comes Tobi and caps Zazz, and Ariberto gets Seawater. Cowboy informed me, as we sat there on the camels watching all this, that his being capped is my fault and he’s gonna get me for that, too. At some point Arian managed to kill Sando, I don’t know how, because he was in camp near me when he died. Then April was capped by Arian, and I thought by then that would be the end of it, since April was pretty much in charge of the whole aggression operation, when Primo showed up, and managed to cap Ariberto, but Tobi in the meantime had capped Estella.

Is anybody confused yet? OMG. I almost fell off my camel a dozen times from laughing so hard! Oh, and April told me later, about 10 preys, all in all, were capped throughout the course of all this, which certainly took well over an hour!

So here’s the final score, not necessarily in order:
April capped me
April capped Cowboy
Tobi capped Zazz
Ariberto capped Seawater
Arian killed Sando
Primo capped Ariberto
Arian capped April
Tobi capped Estella

At the end of it all... we all went up to the auction area and everyone was uncapped... and OMG wasn’t this a blast, from beginning to end!!!!! By this time, it was 6:30 a.m., and I finally headed to bed... after this very long, very exciting night... and laughed myself to sleep!

~Lady Elysa

Sandolina captured!

Wow! My Sunday started out (well... Saturday ended, lol) with a real bang! I was actually headed to bed in the very wee hours of the night when I saw Sando, the bedu leader, arrive. So I thoughtfully sent a falcon courier to Raiden to let him know, and naturally, stayed to watch. Raiden came charging across the sands in a way which was marvelous to see. Well, Sando was *not* away, but basically he just stood there and watched while April and Seawater fought with Raiden (2 to 1, btw). Some leader, huh, to stand and let his "family" do his fighting for him. No more than I would have expected from "Sandolina," pah! Anyway... Raiden succeeded in capturing Sando, but Seawater captured Raiden. Shaka and Merlin came, and some others, and someone (I think it was Raiden) also capped Seawater, and there was a bit of fighting all over the desert between bedu and slavers, but in the meantime, since 2 weeks before, Sultana had said that Sando was to be arrested and brought before her, I sent out a falcon courier to Arian, who was in the auction area, to let him know. At some point MasterJ showed up and joined the fight (against the sandolinistas, I hasten to add), but so did Primo. MasterJ cappedPrimo but didn't get away in time so Primo capped him also. Then Sando absolutely refused to be taken into custody by Arian, so the upshot was that everyone was freed and went on their way. In the meantime, I got this *lovely* picture of Sandolina face down in the sand, that makes my heart sing with joy!

~Lady Elysa

ummm... oopsies?

Sooo I came wandering up to the city gates one evening, to discover that Leo had capped Chris, who is now a slaver. And was planning on giving him over to Phox to work at the Inn. I *so* did not think that was a good idea, as I explained to the boys. Phox asked why, and I was kind of at a loss, until I noticed olive, kneeling nearby. I told them that would make it hard for Olive, to see her Master serving in an inn, whereby Phox said that she could work there too! *laughs* So finally after a bit, Chris is freed, and everyone wanders off.

But then, a little later, here comes Chris while I’m walking along toward the auction area, and attacks me and caps me! He takes me off to the bedu camp for some reason, where I discover that Leo and Phox are there before me, capped by MasterJ and Cara, one of the bedu. And our captors are now gloating that they have all 3 of us. Ummmm, oopies? So there we are with Leo being silent and Phox mouthing off (I gotta have a talk with that boy about how to behave when capped and in imminent peril).

So Chris finally settles down to talk terms of release. He wants an apology from Leo and Phox for attacking him when he first arrived in Ireem and hadn’t been able to see yet. Which I thought perfectly reasonable and appropriate. And 200 dinars from each of us. Phox says, he’s not going to pay anything and they can kick his teeth in if they want to. I really gotta have a talk with that boy. Anyway, so Chris nods, and says, if they don’t meet his terms, he’ll sell me to MJ for 600 dinars. Okay, that’s a serious wrong turn. MJ has been kinda after me for a couple months now, but recently he’s gotten pretty determined. In fact, that very morning we’d been standing outside the city gates with a bunch of other people when he ordered me to kneel to him. I laughed in his face and walked off, and he came after me swinging his sword and said if I wouldn’t kneel willingly, he’d make me! I managed to get to auction reasonably safely, but it’s put a whole new aspect on things and I’d determined to be very, very careful when MJ was loose in Ireem. So I was like, "gaaahh!" and said I’d be happy to pay my ransom and Phox’s too. So they freed Leo and Phox, who both apologized, and Chris took me up to the auction area to be safe before he freed me.

I just looooove Ireem!!!!!! heehee

~Lady Elysa

Well... it is official now

As of Sunday, Jun 14, I am no longer Royal Scribe. It’s not like there was a lot to do on the official end... one staff meeting and a notecard or 2 a week, and the occasional audience, was about it, and I could have *easily* done that as well as my Magi studies. And... hello? The Magi are the learned ones, the ones who read and write and actively seek knowledge. Doesn’t it make *sense* that a Magi might be the scribe? But, apparently, loyalty, efficiency and a willingness to knock myself out for the palace, do indeed only come with the Citizen tag. I gave them *everything* 100%. I CARED, dammit. I tried to hold the palace and hell, even sometimes the whole country, together singlehandedly, because the people whose jobs it were to do that, weren’t freaking *there* ...oh, excuse me... they *were* there in Ireem... running around having fun on their alts. You know, if everyone who was supposed to be palace, would actually be there in the palace and around and about Ireem with their citizen tags and RP’ing and interacting as Palace members, the palace would not *be* the dead place it is. Nor would the "palace" be so completely separate from the rest of the population that not only do most people in Ireem have no clue what goes on in the palace (nothing, anyway), but there is absolutely no interaction between the palace and the rest of the country. I at least, the *only* one of *all* the members of the palace, was out and about, day and night, under *my own* name, interacting with others. I tried so hard. I was careful about my dress, my speech, my behavior, because everything I said and did reflected on the palace. No, I’m not perfect, and I had varying degrees of success in being a credit to the palace, but for God’s sake, at least I *tried!* And I kept my eye on things... I reported, to people who were never there, things I thought they should know, things that were happening outside the pretty palace walls, things that may or may not need action on an official level. In the absence of a harem mistress, I did my best to protect the harem ladies; I payed 1100 dinars out of my own pocket to save a harem lady at auction; I was capped by MasterJ himself trying to protect another harem lady and get her to safety. I really threw myself into the role, and took on the responsibilities, and knocked myself out trying to do what was right and best. You’d think that would have counted for something. But... apparently it didn’t mean anything, in the end.

Lord Kadar told me that they were probably doing me a favor, and I even knew at the time that he was right. There was a lot of stress, too many days I sat crying, too many nights I went to bed crying myself to sleep, or worrying so much about what was happening that sleep was impossible at all. But you know what? Yeah, maybe he’s right. Okay, I know he’s right. But... to know that everything I did, and everything I tried to do, counted for so little, that they could just throw me away like that.

~Lady Elysa

A big change in my life

Yesterday I had a very long discussion with the interim Magi leader, Tim Speiser. Both he and KCEE have for some time wanted me to join the Magi, only I didn't see very clearly what purpose that would serve... I knew little about Magi and didn't see what I could do, as a Magi. And my position as scribe is very dear to me, and it does give me a purpose, even though there is little for me to actually do as scribe. But Tim said he could teach me magic, as well as the healing magic that I am learning under KCEE. Because of my djinn blood I have natural magical abilities, although I don't know much about this, or how to control my magic; indeed, it was only 2 months ago that I knew that I was half djinn... I just thought I was... well... peculiar, with these strange things that I could sometimes do (and generally tried not to do). But I would be able to learn more about my natural abilities as well, and to call and use them.

Since Indigo found out that I was part djinn she has wanted me to join the Djinn group, and so I felt torn between Palace, Magi and Djinn. So Tim and I met yesterday with Indigo and we worked it out between us that I would become Magi and study under KCEE and Tim, but because of my blood tie to the djinn I would be the perfect choice as bridge, or liaison, between the two magical groups of Ireem, the Magi and Djinn. Pretty cool, huh?

We are hoping that Sultana will permit me to remain as royal scribe as well... my loyalty remains to Sultana above all, and that has not changed, no matter what. Hopefully she will be able to understand that. Tim spoke to the Great Goddess Kora, who said it was okay with her if Sultana approved. Tim and I then spoke to Lord Kadar, who is not happy... but hopefully he will calm down and come around by the time Sultana returns from her travels this weekend. I really want to remain the scribe, but I haven't been happy for a long time, because there is so little to do in the palace, and most of my time I spend wandering around more or less aimlessly. As scribe, my duties are to attend official functions and the weekly staff meetings, and write up any scrolls to be delivered to the populace or to the Chronicle, all of which I can do that just as easily as Magi. So, basically, if they do not approve, it would be because my loyalty was in question... and if they believe so little in my loyalty to Sultana, that is very hard for me, I could not have stayed in the palace anyway knowing that.

~Lady Elysa