A Lord's welcome

[Jacque]

"Things are relatively stable in the Domain," he offers. "Hunters are a vermin. You can never really rid yourself of all of them, all the time. The quiet stability is all the more reason to be diligent in our efforts to uphold the first."

He nodded as Gage recognized the extent of his error, "Alternatively, you can choose your words carefully to say the same things without risking a breach." He paused as he glanced at the text he had received, "My name is Gage. I'm new in town and figured since you were family you could show me around and provide some introductions." He placed the phone back in his pocket before adding, "You would have received a response that there was a hot nightclub we could meet up at and provided the address to this place."

Returning to the business at hand, "The Three Traditions will be kept in full, do not violate another's Haven, if a Blood Hunt is called, you will be expected to participate. None are allowed to inflict Final Death upon another, only Her Majesty, the Prince can grant that privilege. Treason is of course, forbidden. Do not feed on emergency personal. Your attendance is expected in all formally announced courts, and of course, do not approach the Prince without first approaching members of Her Court first with whatever business you have, or gaining Her permission first."

"Her Majesty's word upon weapons and their allowance has not changed. You are not to use Disciplines within Elysium, barring the Mask of Tranquility, and Aspect of the Predator." Twice read, and once spoken to him. The Priscus of Lords was much more at ease with progressing forward with acknowledgement, "Now, do you Mister Gage Lioncourt swear loyalty to Prince Alessandra Antinori, and to the the officers of her Court, and to abide by the Prince's laws as set forth by her hand?" A keen eye fell on the Lord to measure his credence.

3 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2020-12-02 09:28:01	Jacque rolls 7 to detect lies/deception (WIT+SUB) (10 Again)	3, 10, 6, 4, 6, 4, 10, 8, 5	3 successes

[Gage Lioncourt]

Gage clears his throat, and maintains a professional demeanor, no humor or mockery whatsoever in his voice, and replies, "I, Gage Lioncourt, do swear loyalty to Prince Alessandra Antinori, and to the officers of her court. I will abide by the Prince's laws as set forth by her hand." No amount of glee or joy crosses Gage's face, as such an oath carries more responsibility and weight than anything else. Still, its a definite step up from the common, faceless rabble who aren't recognized by anyone of import. All the same, Gage's affirmation was with integrity, and whether he chooses to or not, Jacque can feel confident that Gage spoke with sincerity and honesty.

[Jacque]

"Very good, Mister Lioncourt. You are hereby Acknowledged, you may now set up a basic Haven, and you are free to feed within the communal areas of the city."

He pauses before adding, "Since it is unclear how versed you are with First Estate decorum, until you acquire an Au Pair I will offer you two important practices that should help guide you past pitfalls." A slender finger rose to bullet the points, "First, if you're not certain how to address one of your covenant-mates, ask. Typically there is an introduction or they will introduce themselves. Whatever you do, do not guess. Ask."

A second finger, "The most common offense for anyone, is the use of the word 'my'. This typically comes up in old submissive addresses from mortal nobility. 'My prince', 'my Priscus', 'my grace' and so forth. For the Invictus, this implies a possessive function and unless that is true and accepted- it is viewed as a challenge or insult."

​You can update your Domain status to 1!

[Gage Lioncourt]

"My thanks, Priscus Jack."

"Sound practices. Simple to follow, and immeasurable in value. I shall not forget it. What is standard practice regarding titles outside of court? Should I encounter another covenant-mate in the city, do we address each other the same way the Kine would? I would believe that using formal titles in the city might strain the masquerade, which is certainly not something I intend on repeating. Similarly, I wouldn't want to assume a level of intimacy that has yet to be gained."

[Jacque]

"You'll find that most Kindred have two sides to their Danses. If you have not yet met a Kindred in a public setting, you introduce yourself by whatever alias you may have established for yourself as if that is the first time you've ever seen them. This allows them to introduce themselves by theirs and prevents unnecessary mistakes and confusion. Our aliases do not typically follow the Invictus decorum because they are a tool to insulate ourselves from our immortal identities and uphold the Masquerade."

A hand flipped to the side as he continued,"For example. If you were to refer to me as Jack, let alone Priscus Jack in a public setting I can assure you there would be dire consequences. It is a tedious task to establish a mortal identity that can withstand the most rigorous scrutiny. Such a simple error on your part would unravel years of work."

"Any other questions?" he asked with curiosity.

[Gage Lioncourt]

"One final question; now that I've been formally acknowledged by you, is there any responsibility on my part to seek out the Seneschal for any other formalities, or perhaps the head of the head of the Invictus for any Oaths?"

Seryna said that you might be putting me in touch with Jennifer for a blood oath, but I'm not going to reach out meta

[Jacque]

"Your requirements to the First Estate, including Oaths, will likely be detailed when you petition Alder Judex Twist for an Au Pair." He thought for a moment before responding to the earlier portion of his question, "I'll let the Seneschal know I've facilitated your presentation in advance and provide you with introductions during Court."

He hummed as he thought of something, "Through what medium do you plan to reach out and request a meeting to discuss your education and obligations?"

[Gage Lioncourt]

"Duly noted."

"In my previous Domain, my Sire was the acting Secretary. Due to his own violation of the domain's decrees, he was cordially invited to watch his last sunrise. It was made clear that if he should decline the invitation, he'd be given over to the Uratha... I wasn't entirely sure what that meant at the time, but he voluntarily allowed himself to be staked in front of an eastern facing floor to ceiling window. I digress; in the absence of an acting Secretary, the Notary was the closest in position to take up the responsibilities created in the vacuum. My research which brought me your information, also turned up that there is a Notary, but no Secretary. I was of the notion that that'd be the best starting point. If things work differently here, I'd be more than willing to re-adjust my aim, of course."

[Jacque]

A corner of his lip twisted downward as Gage detailed the fate of his Sire, "Given the nature of the outreach, I would recommend a letter penned directly to Her Grace, Alder Judex Twist. Keep it brief, and to the point about being directed her way for the purpose of assimilating with the Sacramento Invictus and leave the detail for your actual meeting." He smiles as he adds, "Her full title is Her Grace, Alder Twist, Duchess of Sacramento, Judex, Hound and Priscus of Daevas. Quite the mouthful, but well deserved."

"May I suggest practicing omitting the word 'my' from your vocabulary regardless of its intended use?" The Lord's face fell softly into seriousness. Where he gave a kind warning earlier, the tone of the suggestion cut with a lack of confidence that it was truly heeded.

[Gage Lioncourt]

A look of concern crosses his face, Gage thinks back carefully on his previous statement.
"Within the Domain I previously inhabited, the one who Sired me was acting Secretary," Gage corrected himself.

"Sincerest apologies, I misunderstood; I was of the notion that my was only to be excluded from titles, and when addressing another kindred. I'll be more cognisant on using my only when it specifically relates to ownership; my research, my aim." Gage pays careful attention to how Jacque reacts to this statement.

1 success

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2020-12-04 10:33:30	Gage Lioncourt rolls 5 to WIT+EMP to detect reaction (10 Again)	7, 2, 7, 9, 4	1 success

I'm curious what his leadership type is; will he concede to my probe, and allow the altering of his statement, accepting that my statement fits the spirit of his lesson, or will he make a mountain out of a molehill, and demand that I follow his instruction to the letter? We shall see.

"Regarding penning a letter to Her Grace, Alder Twist, Duchess of Sacramento, Judex, Hound, and Priscus of Daevas," Gage repeated it back with a deliberateness to confirm he spoke it correctly, "that is an art unto itself. Practiced as I am in law, I'm well versed in formatting letters. However, this is of course an entirely new circuit, one with drastically different customs and courtesies. In the current absence of an Au Paire, does there exist an example correspondence that I might utilize to effectively execute a flawless letter, so that I shouldn't bring embarrassment to the Blood of the Lord in something as permanent as an official request to the Judex of Sacramento?" Gage spoke only a beat slower, yet it was more nuanced with caution and forethought before the words escaped his lips.