Sovereign Session

[Richard Price]

If one was going to take the job, they had to take the duties that came with it. The Cadillac had been parked, and the new crowned Red King emerged. He didn’t have any suspicions about what may be a foot, though his mind lingered on what judgments may be tossed his way. He didn’t want to walk in and simply be a usurper, but he would not wilt if there was a challenge when what he sought was the advancement of all those who resided in the city.

The Iron Spear wore a deep red button up shirt with the hints of a white undershirt poking up near the collar, and a straight black dress slack. A simple gold chain around his neck matched the watch, and his ears had a pair of ruby studs. As he moved towards the location of the meeting he slipped off his faux wood trimmed and gold bordered aviators as he stepped inside, not wanting to live the stereotype of wearing shades indoors. He had other trademarks.

Soon he was entering the area where Sasha was, to which he could only stop and offer her a smile with a shrug.

”Remember when I said something about retirement. I don’t think that is happening. May I?”

He spoke, motioning to the pastries and coffee, it would be rude to assume he could just help himself. A quick glance at the board gave him an idea as to what they may be discussing, so he wouldn’t bring that up until the others had arrived, not wanting to make Sasha repeat herself.

[Rhodes]

Footfalls from above ring out clearly in the room. Slowly, methodically, they move across the landing and down the stairs, before the door to the room turns and the Dread Lord of Autumn enters. His mantle whispers through the room, creating net golden and red leaves on the floor. The room had been swept and dusted, but there were still the tell-tale marks of the Autumn King's presence in the leaves that lurked in the corners.

Rhodes gave Sasha a smile and turned to the newest Monarch, raising an eyebrow momentarily before inclining his head to Richard.

"Welcome, both of you. I suppose we have much to discuss. You haven't been to Edna's before, have you?" Rhodes asks Richard, eyeing the board and taking a cup of coffee before pulling a seat from the large oaken table in the room.

[Ingrid]

Ingrid emerges from the darkness. Shadows trail her like sticky tar, tendrils of dark substance unwilling to let her go as she moved into the light. Her potent mantle breathes, the rich scent of plum filling the room; leaves rustle against her skin; green shoots occasionally appear in her footsteps.

"Well... Look at all of you," the Vernal Sovereign purrs.

She pauses before the white board, her eyes lingering on the last entry written in pure gibberish. Her lips quirked into a grin and she snorted.

Turning she joined the other Sovereigns. Her eyebrows lifted as she recognised Richard Price . While she had seen the Elemental at the Coronation - and had a cribbed version of events in the Summer Court provided by Circe - she had not fully appreciated what the change in Crimson Monarch had meant. Until now.

"So. You are in our little club now, huh?" She stopped before the Crimson Sovereign and offered her hand. "Ingrid. We've probably met."

"Rhodes." She offered the Ashen Sovereign a wicked little grin.

"Sasha." Ingrid dipped her head slightly as she passed the Onyx Queen. "This was a good idea. A very good idea."

[Richard Price]

”It most certainly is my first time, haven’t had the chance to get too familiar with all the places in town yet. Still learning the fastest way home from downtown.”

He chuckled as he took some coffee, and a couple of the pastries on a napkin and set them down on the table. It was at this moment that the Darkling made their presence announced. They were an odd mixture, stunning yet unsettling. Ingrid they introduced themselves as.

”Richard, everyone calls me Rich.”

He took her hand, giving a firm squeeze but trying to not be overbearing with his grip as he tended to be with others. It would have been in poor taste to have an ogre moment here and now. Following the handshake he took his seat with his coffee and snack, letting the purpose of the meeting swim in his mind. He had a rough idea as to where he sat on a few of the notes, but was not about to come out of the gate as a rambunctious newcomer. Even if he knew what he wanted he needed to see where the longer term residents were on the fence.

”Once we get past the first couple points I may have some items to bring up, but I don’t see a reason to dance around the first point we have. The biggest being the lack of a Freehold pledge, beyond that are there any other grievances or standing hurdles with the state of swearing oaths or pledges that we need to be aware of?”

The elephant needed to be mentioned, but he also probed to see if there was anything else that needed to be brought up that fell under the banner at this time.

[Rhodes]

The Dread Lord cannot help but return a coy grin to Ingrid as she greets him, topped off by a roguish wink. It had been a long time since they spoke together.

He turns to the Winter Queen as she speaks. "Of course, Lady Sasha. I felt it might give us a little more of a formal space, yet not without comfort."

Rhodes' icy mantle ripples around the room. "Some members of the Freehold seem.... reluctant to swear a Freehold Pledge, but they are in the minority. Sir Norton, for one, announced he would swear to the Vernal Sovereign," a wave of the hand and a nod to Ingrid, "but no other. Since my coronation, in the absence of a Freehold Oath I have taken it upon myself to have new faces I find to swear a pledge of friendship - a simple one to remove the threat of Loyalists between us."

A short pause as the Dread Lord sips his coffee. "Lady Sasha and I have discussed the nature of a Freehold Oath before. I am in favour as it will settle some of our more.... skittish elements that do not have the stomach for Fear. And though I think I know the Onyx Sovereign's mind, I will not assume to speak for her." He offers Sasha a smile, before looking around at the other Monarchs. "I have experience in Pledgecraft and have thrown a few ideas around. I do not feel this needs to be a complicated binding, simply a variation of allegiance to the Freehold. But this also, to a lesser extent, this raises the question of who holds the Freehold. The Monarchs," the Flowering lets the word hang, "or the Director, Notary and as yet still unfulfilled Groundskeeper." The Dread Lord's tone is carefully neutral.

[Ingrid]

"Well... Hello... Rich..." Ingrid breathed as she accepted Richard Price hand. She exchanged a naughty little grin with the Dread Lord, responding to Rhodes wink.

After that, the Vernal Sovereign was down to business.

"I've been burned by Pledges too freely given," Ingrid's mouth pouted in a grimace. "Exactly how would this Freehold Oath work? I'm not carrying the Oath's of transients and copping the backlash every time they leave."

Thomas Land, motley mate, sprang rapidly to the forefront of her mind. A season in a migraine fugue was not pleasant.

"As for the Freehold structure. When this freehold was spun out of the remains of the old there was not enough Court representation to fulfil the cycle of the year. Part of the Director's job was to fill that void. Just as the Director, the Groundskeeper and the Notary were supposed to offer a separate structure to confound the Others. As you can imagine, we envisioned the Court's being much weaker than they are. Apparently."

Ingrid shrugged.

"Times have changed then? You want to place the Courts front and centre of the Freehold once more? What of the other positions? The Notary and the Groundskeeper? Do we want to keep them? Groundskeeper has been vacant for quite some time. I believe there was a suggestion it was going to one of the Onyx? Before we advertised it but no one really put their hand up?"

She looked over the other Sovereigns.

"Well... I guess I have another question to ask. But that can wait till the other stuff gets resolved. Its linked to all of this though. You know, change and all that."

Ingrid scratched at the nape of her neck.