aterat | A Winter's Ball

Who; Everyone!
What; Christmas Festivities for all!
Where; The Grand Ballroom, Noble District
When; The Week of Midwinter (December 14th-20th)
Warnings; Positive emotional influence; if anything comes up in threads, please warn where appropriate

A Needed Respite

It's been some time since Halcyn has shown herself, let alone put together festivities for those gathered here from other worlds, but this winter, she's pulled out all the stops. While she's also looking forward to the Festival a kind new resident has requested her aid for, she couldn't very well let this festive season pass by without a Ball.

She's assured all those who may wish to attend have the finest clothing available to enjoy the evenings or provides them with a means to obtain finery from Aterat's premiere seamstress. The invitation arrives at their doorsteps, providing directions to the seamstress and a friendly reminder not to forget a complimenting mask. This is a masquerade ball, after all.

On the evenings of the ball, in the square outside the residential buildings, residents there will find a two-meter pylon, its central crystal pulsing like a beacon. Touching one of the hand targets at its top will immediately teleport you to the pylon's twin in the square outside the ballroom. While still present during the day, the crystal sits dull and inoperable during the day. There also exists a similar pylon outside the orphanage.

For those who live away from the community dwellings, each night, the cabs can be found looking for fares seeking to be taken to the noble district.

A Welcoming Gift

The entrance to the Grand Ballroom is covered is tiny bells, glittering lights, and wreathed in holly and evergreen branches. The foyer is equally decorated, its vaulted ceiling carrying easily the lilting music from the ballroom, and at the center of the foyer is a towering and opulently decorated yule tree, with presents gathered beneath it. Halcyn waits beside the tree to greet all attendees to the ball, to thank them, to welcome them, and to wish them a Merry Yuletide.

Everyone who attends will receive a gift, and she'll assure them while the item within the package they are given is not its true image, it is as close an approximation as she could manage to build from their memories. The packages are small, no larger than a foot square, and within is an item they would recognize from home that has a sentimental value to them. If it's a magical item, it will not possess the magic therein, and it is an item that is tied to a fond and caring memory of theirs. Holding it or wearing it (if applicable) or simply having it with them will fill them with a warm sense of whatever emotion is tied to the item. For example, if it is a ring that belonged to a loving parent, having or wearing the ring will make them feel loved and nurtured. The effect will last throughout the ball in an intense state, and after the ball in a more subdued state, but it will always possess that feeling in some regard.

A Serious Spread; feasting and dancing the nights away

The Ballroom beyond the foyer is dazzling in lights, more holly, and evergreen boughs, and enchanting music from the string quartet playing at the far end of the dance floor. Along one wall, near the stairs leading to the upper atriums and the balconies, is set a cornucopia of foods both familiar and alien. If it is a traditional Yuletide or Winter food from somewhere in the known or unknown worlds, it's available here, and nothing seems to run out.

For those old enough to drink, there is a fully stocked bar with refreshments (and non-alcoholic options for those who abstain), and there are also drink options on the food table as well if you want something lighter or less influential with your meal. Those who wish to dine in a semblance of privacy can ascend the stairs with their plates and have a seat at one of the white and gold decorated tables on the balcony overlooking the dance floor. The music here is muted but still present, affording better means of conversation.

From the vaulted ceiling over the dancefloor falls a light snowfall, reflecting all the glittering lights in the decorations, but never touching the floor, disappearing as though it never existed in the first place. Those who try to catch the falling snowflakes, or simply have them fall upon them, will feel a warmth spread through them and will find themselves immediately more relaxed and open to conversation, no matter the sort.

Those who join the dancing on the floor will find they know whatever dance they may begin participating in, as long as they let their feet do the moving and don't think about it too much. They'll also find they don't tire as easily as they normally would and could dance all night long. This impulse can be resisted, though, and someone might want to pull you away before things get out of hand.

Sky Painting; Outdoor Balconies

Those who truly want for solitude need look no further than the balconies off the upper floor. While they do open onto the outside, open-air fire pits along the balcony keep the area warm enough to be inviting. There are refreshments here as well, warm ciders, hot chocolates, and the like, and the sky above is a display all its own.

Every night until midnight, the sky over the Ballroom will be alight with Auroras, though they seem to only be viewable from the upper outdoor balcony of the Ballroom. Those approaching from outside will see only a night sky lit by stars.

Those who seek the refuge of the outdoor balcony will find themselves blanketed in an inner peace they may find foreign. So much so, in fact, that they may even notice its artificial, and if they step far enough away from the glowing fire pits, it fades at the same rate the warmth of the fire does from their limbs, also as though that inner peace were coming from within the flames.

Halcyn certainly wanted everyone to enjoy the evenings without care or concern, didn't she?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Looking up at the familiar voice, the knight nodded. "It is a relic from home seemingly sent through the worlds to appear here." Thinking of how very precious this particular thing was to him made him wish that things had gone differently even though he knew they hadn't and wouldn't even if he could go back in time unless he had been more aware of things far sooner.

"But you must be here to have a good time."

"I see." He was not one to question the motives of a goddess, and to him, that is what Halcyn was, but on the other hand, giving them things constructed from their memories seemed...invasive and unsettling to him, even as the presence of the small dagger in his coat pocket warmed him. "It is a replica, is it not? A heirloom or some such?"

"I do not believe it is a replica." Hendrik answered. "But perhaps it is."

Of course he'd have no way of knowing.

Sighing, the knight shook his head. "It was a gift to my oldest friend and I on a day we met our King's daughter."

They'd been playing with swords and practicing and Jasper still seemed a bit salty about being knocked down. So Hendrik always tried to be courteous and help his friend back up.

"It doesn't matter in the end, does it? What matters is the importance of the object." Drizzt had precious few possessions from his youth that reminded him of happy things; his childhood was a tragedy-ridden thing he is happy to say he remembers very little of the beginning of, but there were moments he was fond of.

"I see. An honor bestowed upon you, then?"

Hendrik nodded solemnly and held the token of fealty in his hand a little tigter than he planned. But he looked down at it when the last words were spoken after opening his hand back up.

"Bestowed upon us both, to be defending knights of the realm."

And after that, a sacred pact had been made privately between them.

"A brother, then." Bonds of faith and of companionship were far stronger than any by blood and none could argue this point with Drizzt Do'Urden.

"Has...he fallen?"

Hendrik nodded wordlessly to the brother. Jasper had been his only family and the only light in his life as he struggled with being the only survivor of the attack on Zwaardsrust that he knew of.

The last was painful to say, but the knight managed it. "Yes he has. But his soul now knows peace."

Unlike in life.

"I see." Drizzt didn't know their history, of course, but he could see how much the other man's loss pained his new friend.

"May his feet walk greener pastures than these."

The knight heard the words and looked up at the man with a nod. Hendrik of course hoped that Jasper's soul would rest even if it was supposed to be fighting alongside his.

At least Jasper wouldn't be in the darkness any longer.

"Thank you for your kind words."

He inclined his head in a short bow.

"I don't think our hostess intended this to be a sad affair, though."

The knight nodded. "I am certain that what you say is true. This gift simply caught me off guard."

And it really had.

"I understand. I don't know how I would react if something similar were gifted to me, though Halcyn at least seems to be a benevolent goddess."

If goddess was truly what she was. "have you been in this place long?"

"I have ascertained as such even with having such a brief meeting with her." Hendrik recalled her as patient and kind, and he was more than sure that she got the same questions as he'd given her when people were new here.

The last had him shake his head. "No, I am afraid that I have only been here a short time."

"She does seem to mean well, at least, though something about her strikes me as...inexperienced?" Or perhaps it was more accurate to say 'over-eager', but he hadn't spoken with her long, himself.

"As have I. It would seem we have many surprises in store for us."

The tall knight nodded. "She does seem to mean well." She did seem to have a good heart, and the man was right, inexperience had shone through their interaction as well. Hendrik had wondered if it was perhaps just his perception during their meeting, but apparently Drizzt had picked that up as well.

At hearing there were many surprises in store, Hendrik nodded.

"If that is true, then we had best be prepared."

For anything.

"I am." He nodded to confirm the fact.

Halcyn's inexperience was obvious, and he found himself wondering from time to time what it was like be born a god. Did they simply spring into being or did they grow, just as mortals did?

He smiled, though, unable to hide his anticipation. It may have been dangerous, but Drizzt thrived in such environments.

"And I'm excited for it."

Hendrik nodded with a smile. "Then I will leave you for the evening to enjoy yourself my friend, while we all still have the time to."

He'd heard the stories from the villagers about beasts that had prowled here.

A Winter's Ball

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