Introducing the Royal attendees for...
A Royal Masquerade!
Ladies from far & wide have answered the call for A Royal Masquerade, seeking the hand of Prince Valarr Dayne! Among the attendees are ladies of various standings, stemming from royal, noble, and common houses throughout the lands. For the sake of anonymity, each lady has been assigned a name to which they will be referred to throughout the ball.
It is with great pleasure that we present the first set of attendees - the royals.
Empress Myrisandra of Clan Moon - Lady Lunara
Forged in fire, tempered by honor.
by @queensoflumis (see their post for the event here!)
Myrisandra desires nothing more than to leave a great legacy behind. In her 44th year, the Empress is very competitive, conscious of her political appearance, and possessive of what is hers. She enjoys hawking and sculpting in her free time.
The Empress attends the ball with her good friend, royal guard, advisor, and general - Maranyra of Clan Talora. In her attendance to the ball, she hopes to further political alliances for Clan Moon, and potentially find a consort (or two) for her daughter, Dinah, who remains at home.
Princess Daenora Targaryen of King's Landing- The Gentle Dragon
Fire and Blood.
by @bellevalentim
Daenora was the only daughter of Prince Rhaegel and his beloved wife, Lady Aelys Targaryen. Born after a difficult birth that left her mother sterile, she became the only jewel in their eyes.
Daenora grew up in the Red Keep, alongside her many cousins and uncles, surrounded by privileges and affection. However, she lived a life of overprotection from her parents, which sometimes became suffocating. While her cousins could fight with swords and ride dragons without asking permission, she couldn't go down the stairs alone without holding the hand of a servant or her mother until she was 13.
The invitation to the ball arrived just a few weeks after she her coming of age. With some persistence she finally convinced her mother to allow her to go, but only with the escort of her cousin and betrothed Aerion Targaryen. He was not very pleased with the idea of a masquerade ball, but his father sent him to accompany her, and seeing Daenora so excited about her first and only chance at freedom - even if only for one night, softened the arrogant prince.
Princess Laurelle La Vance - Lady Mirage
by @zelenxa (see their post for the event here!)
The exact situation is very unclear to the public, but a few years ago, news of the murder of Princess Claudia—the firstborn, golden daughter, and expected heir to the crown—by the hands of her sister reached the public. Some accounts say Laurelle murdered Claudia in training gone too far or in a hunt gone wrong. Behind her back, she is referred to as a kinslayer, and question of manslaughter is all but naught in her homeland’s Royal court, which shows in how she’s poorly treated, though legitimate debate is held by citizens outside the court.
In all actuality, there are bits of truth in every rumor. Laurelle and Claudia did go hunting, in the process got into an argument, and, when attacked by a beast, Laurelle did nothing to save her big sister. It was an accident, Laurelle will repeat to herself, though, despite resentment by the court, she holds on tightly to her title as Royal Heir, she wants to be Queen, she likes the power. Silently, she likes not being in second place anymore.
Laurelle is too impatient and resentful enough toward her mother and the court to be willing to wait until the death of her mother to become Queen (as that’s how their laws work). Behind the scenes, she has been building power of her own working with spymasters and fueling rebellion. She wants to overthrow her mother. She wants to prove to an otherwise hateful court that she can and was meant to be Queen.
Spite is really the only thing running her. She has no life outside that goal and what it represents, she hasn’t even allowed herself to think past actually becoming Queen. If she were to become Queen at this point, her reign would be authoritarian.
She wants to control who is royally engaged to, and not have that left in the hands of her mother. House Dayne is far away enough not to be too influenced by the belief that Laurelle intentionally murdered her sister, but powerful enough and out of the clutches of his mother enough that seeking marriage within the family is worth it.
Princess Rhaelora Ysenna dyLiera - Lady Muse
by @starlightpixels
The Princess Rhaelora is an artistic and romantic young woman who loves to dance and play music. She grew up in an opulent but small country of Liera as the spoiled (but kindly and well meaning) only child of the King and his second wife.
Rhaelora attends the ball, chaperoned by her brother and his betrothed, to represent their country and make political and diplomatic alliances - hopefully through Rhaelora's marriage, but friendship and trade agreements are also amenable to the House of dyLiera.
Princess Sonata Fatu of the Forest Glade Kingdom - The Enchantress
Aeternus, infinitus.
by @invisiblequeen (see their post for the event here!)
Princess Sonata Fatu was born of a fae and a wizard and raised in the deep forest kingdom of Fangon, the green side of the Sylvan Glade.
While not sporting wings or a shrinking ability, Sonata's connection to nature led her to alchemy, her greatest passion. A creative, proper and adventurous spellcaster with a penchant for untamed magic, Sonata is attending the ball to forge an alliance with the throne for the sake of her kingdom.
If love should come out of such dealings, she certainly wouldn't be opposed to it. But he'd have to convince her to show him her face first.
Princess Thalassa Seaborn of House Illyria - The Sea Maiden
Wise as serpents.
by @honeysylvan (see their post for the event here!)
Thalassa, now 23, is the bastard daughter of the Aeolian (modern-day Tartosan) king and a commoner woman. She grew up loved but with little money, and witnessed her fellow commoners struggle similarly.
Always enamored with the sea and adventure, she joined a pirate crew at only 15. She quickly rose in the ranks and formed her own crew, becoming a Robin Hood-esque pirate captain who robs corrupt nobles and redistributes wealth to her community (and keeps a hefty sum for herself, of course). Doing so made her quite popular amongst the common folk of Aeolia, and that's when her older half-brother Theron, the crown prince, realized she wasn't just a threat as a pirate - she was a threat to his rule as well. If she rose up against the crown and took control of Aeolia for herself, the people would support her.
Intending to remove her as a threat, he hired a band of mercenaries to kill Thalassa. They threatened her mother, but the woman refused to give up her daughter's location and was killed in her stead. Thalassa immediately suspected foul play, and so Theron, in a strategic move to keep his enemies close, reduce suspicion, and increase his public image, convinced his father to officially welcome Thalassa into the royal line as a princess.
Thalassa has spent the last six months as a princess of Aeolia, and working on her revenge plans: to uncover the truth about her mother's murder, and kill whoever is responsible.
The maiden's day ball invitation was extended to the Aeolian royal family, and Thalassa knows better than anyone that royals and nobles have loose tongues when there's wine and merriment. She jumped at the chance to join the ball under the guise of winning the hand (and heart) of Prince Valarr, though her true intentions are to find her mother's killer.
But while she may be consumed with thoughts of vengeance, beneath all that beats the heart of a romantic - and perhaps she'll find a kindred soul in the prince. Will Thalassa fall in love? And if she does, what will that mean for her plans of revenge?
