#deepdene

Deepdene

@tullipeony asked if Deepdene (in the Cate & Mycroft stories) is a real place. Well it is, sort of. I saw this property for sale online many years ago and extrapolated my description from the pics. Its RL name is Camilla Lacey and it has quite a history of its own.

I believe the house is once more on the market, if you feel like splurging a few mil. Here's the (pdf) sales brochure from Asprey Estates

The Diamonds from this blog's AU.

Pale : A clear Paragon Diamond that's been created by artificial means. She's obviously unnatural in behaviour, as she lacks the ability to properly express emotions. She's fairly underwhelming in size and keeps to herself. She's not a Court leader and is treated as a civilian Gem. A tiny flaw mars her appearance.

Deepdene : Gold Diamond ; She's teeny-tiny in size but has a heart of, well, gold [and diamond]. She's kind and gentle and leads one of the four Circinian Courts. She's in charge of kindergarten and mining operations, as well as world restoration once her projects are completed. Has a fascination with creating new Gem types. A natural lattice of gold atoms is responsible for the color of her gemstone; this metallic mesh is hypersensetive to aural patterns and allows her to identify any Gem [or material] in the area surrounding her.

DeYoung : Rust Diamond. She's the stubborn lead-engineer for the entire Circinian Empire, and her Court is dedicated to the creation and distribution of technology and architecture. Seems to have some kind of metallic property to her due to the iron deposits in her gemstone, which gives her a pair of wrought iron horns and a ferrous mane. She vaguely resembles an auroch. Her ability allows her to change her own size while retaining proportional strength, making her the largest and physically strongest Diamond of the four Courts.

Wilson : Orange Diamond. She's an unknown Diamond created by accident. She's currently trapped in a duck-shaped body, and is cared for as a pet by a lesser Gem that doesn't realize what she is. Her real name is Boart.

Dresden : Irradiated Diamond. She's the war monarch and one of the four Circinian Court Leaders. She's responsible for battles waged against hostile races or mercenary protection contracts with allied races. Her council of advisors helps plan strategies, and her heavy combat troops are irradiated and are known to be exceptionally dangerous. While many think she is cruel and violent, she's likely the most understanding of the four leaders. The glow from her body can horrifically mutate both living things and other Gems, though it's important not to confuse this effect with true corruption.

Daria-I-Noor : Champagne Diamond. She's the head ambassador for the Circinus Homeworld, responsible for establishing relationships, alliances and trade routes with other sentient species in Circinus.  She's also responsible for biome preservation when a race allows the Circinian Empire to mine a portion of a living planet. Her ability allows her to bend the wills of organic creatures, though most are unaware they're being influenced by her as she acts outwardly kind. Erbium salt impurities in her gemstone give her her characteristic coloration.

Koh-I-Noor : Daria-I-Noor's previous title; some time in the last sixteen thousand years, she and Dresden swapped Courts. Koh-I-Noor was the original general for the Circinian Empire, and a viciously cruel one at that. Dresden challenged her for her position and won, forcing Koh-I-Noor to step down and become Daria-I-Noor.

Tavernier : Dresden's previous title, before becoming the irradiated warlord she is now. Tavernier was the original head ambassador for the Circinian Empire. She chose to take up the mantle of War Monarch after her form became distorted and unusable for interspecies communication. Tavernier was very soft-spoken and gentle-mannered boron blue diamond.

Deepdene / Gold Diamond, one of the four Circinian Court leaders for this blog’s AU Empire.

Doodle of Deepdene / Gold Diamond, from this blog’s AU.

Probably the nicest Diamond you’ll ever meet. Also the smallest. Really, she’s maybe, hip-high to a normal human at best.

She’s asymmetrical and wonky and altogether a complete mess who’s got the weight of the galaxy on her shoulders but she tries to be a good leader as well as she can.

She’s been mistaken for a citrine more times than she can count. Drives her absolutely bonkers. Doesn’t help that she doesn’t have the characteristic diamond-shaped pupils of her class.

She wears glasses; they’re actually a telecom device that constantly reads off information about her flagship’s status.

Gets stepped on a lot by some of her bigger gems but it’s FINE, she’s durable.

Deepdene

Delighted to see this font! First saw it in Esperanza Rising. A delicate and artful font with some of the whimsical touch of a display, but in the right circumstances it can be a neat vessel for colorful storytelling.

Huge elegant gray three-story concrete exterior home photo with a tile roof