In the heart of downtown Sacramento there is a place of intrigue, excitement and entertainment. The modern flare of this venue is host to exclusive parties. The seduction of this establishment may take you away as you drink, dance and socialize. There are private services available upon request. The best DJ’s in town are in line to play a wide variety of music. Some of you may dine…as long as you have your VIP pass.
As Kindred arrive at Nox, they are discreetly met and led to the back of the club; some may recognize the area leading to rear stairs upward. The space downstairs is decorated in dark, rich woods and expensive furniture. There's a coat room that will also hold one's 'unmentionables'; namely, weapons, at the foot of the stairs. There are also private areas, dark, and furnished with soft couches, as well as meeting rooms with conference tables and chairs, and an area with several televisions. The Court area is decorated with long black and purple silken drapes cascading from floor to ceiling. The lighting is intentionally low, and the dull throb of music upstairs creates a low, rumbling pulse. Small symbols note areas for Kindred only that branch off of the Commons, which will be necessary once those Kine privileged enough to see behind the Masquerade filter in: ghouls, herd members, or even devotees.
The decor has changed again.
Now the Commons are home but to one seat - a simple, yet elegant, black chair with beautifully tooled green leather upholstery. The only other furniture are the strategically placed easels. Two easels are placed to the left and the right (and slightly behind) this lone seat. To the right, a spare man with a reptilian gaze stares out haughtily from a plush leather seat; to the right, a shadowy horror hugs the dark enshrouded depths of an alley, illuminated only by the slash of light from a street lamp; his pose is reflective. These figures are nameless now, for only a select few would recognise Tobias Straiphen and Freddrick, previous Princes of Sacramento.
Paintings, framed and unframed, now dot the landscape of the Court Commons. They depict sunrises and sunsets; a witches sabbat; an interrupted meeting in a baroque and smokey room where business men and glamourous molls stare hard at the viewer. They depict stranger things too: a maiden in medieval garb combs her hair, staring longingly into the mirror and at the monstrous visage reflected there; blood splatters across a background of white, grey and cream; light cast on a wall throws a monstrous shadow - the viewer's own if they study the angles properly; a close up of a pair of lips with an elegant chin and neck, upon which a mosquito sips, supping on the blood red lips with lascivious discretion.
No doubt these works could do well in exhibition at the museum or city hall.
Here among the hungry dead, the works have... A different meaning.
The Commons is empty for now. Soon the players will appear and weave their Danse upon the floor. For some it will their first, for some it shall be their last. After all, this is the Prince's Elysium, and subject to the Laws of the Domain.
This is a Formal Court. Its also a good place to get Acknowledged and mingle without ripping each other to shreds. We hope.