Ayo, fuck Azazel first and foremost...

Fealty Volitant was created over 10 years ago by Giulio, Mirari and Duarte to serve their own needs as gatherers of information, but it had a large purpose that was more theologically informed.

Fealty Volitant's vaults were built to serve Vellichor. It's complicated, but the vaults were made to be a mirror of Azazel. They collect and hold secrets - not magical ones, just secrets in general. And hidden behind the frivolity of entertainment, gambling and fashion (akin to writing reams of smut in a book before the important stuff) so as not to rouse his or his cult's suspicions.

And now it is time for the vaults to serve their true purpose and deal a blow to the Eater of Stories and Prince of Secrets.

Duarte is not Vellichor's Aspect of Revelation, but he'll wear the hat.

Fealty Volitant for this is going to do a grand, world-shaking sacrifice of secrets. That's right - they're emptying the vaults right into the broad general public. Every illicit affair, every back alley meeting, every Valardin Knight who eats peas with a knife...big or small, likely to cause wars or just evil stares, indiscriminately, everything the vaults has gathered over the past decade is being made public in a massive tidal wave of Revelation. EVERYTHING.

Brought to you by "Perspicacious Owl" - the hero of the beloved Poor Hungry Demon books.

This will likely cause a good amount of CHAOS (which isn't horrible since CHAOS hates Azazel - see? This plan has LAYERS). But to mitigate this, the principals of Fealty Volitant will be flanking this action by playing the roles of concerned diplomats. They are going to attempt to minimize some of the potentially greater fall-out from doing this by giving mediation and leading talks between any rivalries it stirs up.

And of course if any person or group is too much of a salty butthurt asshole about their secrets suddenly floating around the taverns, there is Mirari who has always been good at giving people some...uhh...perspective.

(We got 20k Military to represent protection for the casino and cover for the operatives to keep them anonymous, and we got 20k social to represent the NPC distribution effort)

Katarina DOES feel a little bad about this. Not so much for exposing unjust people as the bastards they are, but for the gossipy stuff, like the poor Valardin knight who eats peas with a knife. He didn't do anything to anyone. All the same, Kat understands the necessity of this vast de-vaulting, and she does her part to make sure that the secrets are properly gossiped about in the Eurusi Quarter and spread out into the greater Eurusi refugee community.

Ferrando has never really been personally concerned with the volume acquisition, storage, and/or retrieval of a mass amount of secrets, but! He's very good at knowing who to talk to around the city to get certain things done, and if you were some organization who wanted to, say, undertake a mass release of (soon to be formerly) secret information to the public, Ferrando can make help link you up with certain smuggling-like operations that will quietly distribute things around the city until one morning, whoa! How did these get there? Never mind that, did you read this!? For what it's worth he also always enjoyed the Perspicacious Owl book series from back when, so that's probably a bit of extra motivation too.

Mirari is a problem solver. A woman with a fondness for chaos, she's curious to see what will happen. It's truly a grand finale, but it's worth it, if it helps people remember. So many secrets, so many squabbles as a result. While others use their political prowess to ease any waves of disconnect, Mirari removes obstacles in their way. There's always someone who decides to make themselves an issue, it's really unfortunate. Mirari will carefully encourage them to make better choices.

Apollo helps distribute these secrets, watching for the fallout but not particularly concerned with it unless it proves as present and existential a threat as Azazel. He doesn't even hold back secrets he finds in Fealty Volitant's stores that might affect how people perceive him, his family, his House: the machinations to ennoble him, various dalliances and affairs.

Mabelle is not very good at gossip but she is good at mitigating damages, acting all innocent and making people think what she wants them to think. Soothing the masses, listening to whatever people have to say and try not to get anyone murdered.

Vitalis is a new recruit to the Fealty Volitant and what a time to join, just as it's being turned inside out. He is good at getting into and out of places he probably shouldn't be in. Who better to get some of these incindiary parcels where the need to go than the Ghost himself?

The joining is a solemn thing for Vitalis, Giulio Corvini was a treasured mentor and is dearly missed. He is proud to be joining the Giulio's storied legacy.

There is something terribly convenient about being viewed as someone who is always willing to help mediate a problem, about being a trustworthy sort. Medeia's reputation for being at the right place at the right time to offer kind advice or to soothe tensions is known throughout noble circles, and so it isn't surprising at all to find her at the Black Fox or Ambassador Salon, speaking carefully with individuals who are upset or hurt by the things revealed. She keeps an eye on the white journals, too, sending well-thought out letters to those who express distress and inviting them to join her for a drink so they might talk about why they're so upset. It's subtle, yet pointed, each interaction whenever the topic comes up, working to turn the populace's view on the revelations neutral if not positive.

It's always hard to tell with something so great in scope and so allegorical it's nature just what tangible effects it has. Certainly they are successful about spreading the word, and certainly a countless number of secrets that would infuriate Azazel are released, but there's not a beam from on high or a sign that can be read without any possible confusion or contradiction.

There are some subtle signs, though.

Without exception, as the refugees come to Arx, it's the Shrine of Vellichor and Great Archive that drives them the most. This certainly wasn't the case before Fealty Volitant acted, but it is without a doubt the case after their secrets spread. Something is drawing people to Vellichor, and it could well be them.

No crows are seen in the city. Not a one. Some farmers comment on it. Could just be migratory patterns.

It must have done something. But precisely what is very hard to say.

Ellani has been weaving webs her entire life, and has become quite good at it. The larger than average sized spider, since moving into the Velenosa estate, has created hundreds of thousands of delicate strands of silk which is usually cleaned weekly and removed from the entire rooms she decorates with her beautiful and intricate designs. It seems like a complete waste of art.

Empowered by the spidersilk baby blanket her son owns, knowing full well the silk can be used to make a strong yet rare material, Jaenelle has sought out to see that the webbing is put to use instead of destroyed. She gets aide in her project from House Tessere, hoping to use their experience in creating a new cloth so that House Velenosa might be known for such themselves. Tailors to work with the threads, apothecaries to assist in making sure they withstand the weaving process, and merchants to see that the resource is spoken about and interest is gathered. House Acheron is tapped due to their experience with spiders, and those of the peerage who have offered aide are welcomed without question to see that this cloth becomes a thing and not just an idea on paper.

Jaenelle promised Ellani that she would show her the beauty the world has to offer, little did the spider know but it would be her who helps to create it.

Berenice once helped House Tessere in their establishment of cloth-of-neodymium, and she is /delighted/ to turn her skills to efforts of her own house. Berenice makes sure that everyone who is needed to convince to invest in this process and project are persuaded to do so: she is one of the foremost fashionistas of Arx, after all, and she will /ensure/ that the end result takes the city by storm. With that in mind, how could someone ever decline to be a part of it?

The finest fabric artists in Arvum dwell in Iriscal and Sabine commits them all. /All/. 10,000 resources worth of all. They are accustomed to her demands to experiment with odd material and they work best under the pressure of the Marquessa's chill, expectant gaze, bringing with them centuries of technique, innovation, and more than a little professional pride, to figure out how to turn spider silk into cloth.

And not one of them, from Sabine down to the most green apprentice, makes any bones about their intentions of taking what they learn from this little experiment back to Iriscal to craft their /own/ unnaturally strong material down the road. This is the test run.

Brianna is using her exceptional skills of organization and delegation to help with the administrative side of these efforts. When there's pretty dresses involved, she is highly motivated.

Lady Tesha Telmar would like to assist in this wonderful venture of spider silk as she has a fondness for them in general, along with most other animals. She is going to use her skills with Propaganda in spreading the properties of spider silk and how wonderous it is and hoping that it becomes a hit.

Mabelle is thrilled to finally practice her alchemical skills on anything other than perfumes and .. perfumes. She intends to test the fabric and assures its durability as well as be one of the models to showcase it around the city once it's finally woven.

Mailys might be a merchant, but it's her skill with textiles that she's bringing to this table. She'll get right into the process, helping with spinning silk, weaving, all of it. She wants to know how it feels in her hands, against her skin. She wants to be able to guide the process, if some technique might be better than the one currently being used.

Apollo could try to apply some novel tanning techniques to some samples of the spider silk produced, just to see if anything changes the properties of the material in interesting or useful ways. But no. He knows that the stuff is going to be in short supply, produced by - apparently - a single spider. His valuable expertise, here, is in understanding how materials with a limited and variable supply can be managed so they reach market smoothly and don't vary wildly in perceived value. He'll study the output and the various factors that go into the production of the spider silk, and determine where there are bottlenecks, places where a likely point of failure would stop production entirely or slow it greatly, and decide in what ways supply should be stored and released to market in order to maximize its value.

Alexio Donatti is a handsome, cunning, and charming man; the merchants know it, both the men and ladies know it, everybody knows it! He also has an uncanny way with words to get people to _do_ what //he// wants them to think //they// want to do. It's incredible, really! This time it is no exception. Once the textile creation is finalized, he begins his work. He makes sure to spread the news vis-a-vis spider-silk a stone's throw away and off the beaten track. News begin to spread thin and wide about the wonderful properties of the strong and rare textile; and, once you get the people's tongue rolling, well...it is very hard to get them to stop. Isn't it? At least that's the hope!

The crafters guild is a powerful guild. Most just never realize it. But Josephine on behalf of the crafters guild has listened to Jaenelle's proposition and is prepared to throw the might of the guild's bank and it's people behind her and Tessere. A good portion of the guild's coffers are emptied, contracts are called in and the crafters of Arx band together. 500,000 silver from the guilds coffers are put forther, 250,000 from Josephine's own personal funds as well. 20,000 economic resources, some of it gathered by it's members, or procured specifically for this project are laid out. And they turn out in numbers to assist. Whether it's the skilled hands of weavers, market specialists who can gather the supplemental materials to make this new fabric and in the amount necessary to ensure no hitch in supplies that might hinder experimentation. Josephine reaches out to the other crafters guilds across the compact to inquire of anyone of their numbers who are willing to travel to the city and lend their expertise or brainstorming to make the Archduchess regent's vision come true and Elloni's silks something to behold and marvel. This is the Crafters Guild and she will show the city and compact that the guild remains as ever, -the- guild, and instrumental in this process.

Nurie has always been focused on spinning her sister's dreams into something tangible, the creation of Tessere's brocade being one pinnacle of such a thing. It's lit a fire within the baseborn tailor to continue on with research and further creativity. The use of spider's silk as a completely new kind of material to incorporate stokes her imagination and excitement (and of course what Sabine wants Sabine gets as far as her aid), and as part of the Tessere delegation she lends her expertise and skill directly in its creation, investing a great deal of her personal time to work with and provide feedback to the team of artisans.

Spider silk cloth is the dream of a certain sort of tailor with a romantic bent and a level of ambition that lesser men and women might call ‘unrealistic’. But Jaenelle is able to gather together people who are determined to make it happen, and who are willing to invest heavily and wager that it can be, will be done. First, they gather the discarded webs made by Ellani, and attempt to spin it into thread. If only it were that easy! Sadly, the old webs are unsuitable and shred to pieces. Ellani - after much persuasion and treats of her favorite insects for days - agrees to hold still and allow Jaenelle to draw out a little bit of fresh silk from her spinnerets. The fresh silk has the strength and flexibility they need, but it’s clear that one spider could never produce enough for cloth. Also, Ellani makes it clear she has better things to do with her time.

Back to the drawing board. The investments by Josephine and Sabine go into buying a warehouse - a very well sealed warehouse - and doing some experiments. With spiders. Big spiders, little spiders, angry spiders (they’re all angry spiders). Mabelle and Nurie work together, with Tesha serving as main spider wrangler, to develop a sort of...spider spinning harness. Lock the spider in at one end, and someone can sit at the other and slowly draw the silk out into a spool. It takes hours every day. It takes thousands of spiders.The spiders bite their handlers, they eat each other, many escape or die, and the warehouse has to be stocked with every fly, beetle, and other bug the local urchins can provide, making for an awkward working environment. Brianna’s meticulous notes help them discover which breeds of spiders have the best silk-to-horrible-arachnid-behavior ratio, and it’s only Alexio’s charm and Josephine’s authority that can keep people from quitting when they realize they’ve been hired to spin silk out of spider butts. Ellani seems interested in the process, in her way, but shows little sympathy for the servitude of her fellows; it’s a spider-eat-spider world.

Eventually, the spiders die, since spider breeding is not, yet, an Arvani branch of animal husbandry. But through blood, sweat, tears, and hundreds of spider bites, the experimenters have enough spools of thread to work with. Mabelle and Apollo brainstorm ways to ensure that the precious, limited thread can be maximized for production. Working together with Mailys and Nurie’s textile expertise, the thread is woven into a single, precious supply of spidersilk cloth, with not even an inch wasted. It feels like cool air on the skin, it’s surprisingly strong, and it takes dyes beautifully. Some varieties of spider even seem to naturally produce lightly colored silk, and now they have documentation about which ones. Without some other breakthrough, this is never going to be a sustainable industry, but for this moment, they have enough cloth to create a few precious outfits. More, thanks to the skillful promotion of Berenice, Tesha, and Alexio, the city realizes that it is these people, and the incomparable House Velenosa, which has done the impossible: spidersilk cloth.

50 portions have been given to Jaenelle - this is not a mass production process, so you'll need to do further actions to gain more, or refine the process. You also each get a clue proving that you know how to make spidersilk the hard way!

It's a pleasant luncheon in the back green, still winter gray, of Vitalis' residence in the City. The weather is brisk, cold - lingering winter chill held in abeyance by pot-bellied iron stoves and a crackling bonfire. An 'Arxpedition' he's called it, welcoming friends and family and trusted associates to enjoy food and comeraderie as they either have, or might, were they out Exploring.

On the thirteenth day of the month and at the thirteenth hour, the luncheon becomes something else. With brandies and pipes, mugs of cider or tea and amaretto, Vitalis gathers everyone at the bonfire. With a brand from the fire, Vitalis lights thirteen candles in glass shelters. There are objects at his feet, his things, gathered on travels or significant in some way. Some look utterly mundane. He stands there, back to the crackling flames, his voice pitched into is deeper registers and welcomes everyone, "My blood," he nods to family, "My friends and allies," he nods to the others. "Thank you for coming."

He lifts his hands, palms up, voice resonant, with the cadence of ritual: "Primum is the stuff of life itself. Our links to it have been tainted for centuries. You are here to bear witness to my attempt to cleanse my own connection through sacrifice and the sharing of my hopes for the future. Think on what you witness. Give thought to what you would like to see come to pass and share your vision with others so that eventually Primum will be ours once again." A log on the bonfire shifts abruptly, embers exploding upward. Flames lick hungrily over fresh wood. He grins, lopsided, at the bit of added theater as he shrugs out from under the signature snarling pelt he wears draped over his shoulders.

"First. Respect for bravery." Vitalis' brow furrows, "Not mine... hers." He tosses the pelt as carefully as he might into the fire. It will not smell good. "She fought hard defending her own-" He rubs absently at his chest and, then, seems to realize this will take hours if he doesn't move along. "-and deserves rest."

"Vigilance for influences from without-" he slips a mirrored bracelet off, it winks in the firelight, "-and within." On to the fire it goes.

"Curiosity that leads to deeper understanding," a page with angular doodles on it goes into the flame quickly becoming ash.

"Curiosity that leads to hope," he tosses in a strange dried leaf with long blade-like fronds woven cleverly together.

"Curiosity that leads to trust," he grins and tosses a bit of bark onto the flame.

"Love-" represented by a carrot, of course. What else? "-for our friends, wherever we find them." He tosses it in, looking ruefully at everyone, "This is probably the only thing I'll add to the fire that will smell good, my apologies."

"Love for our families - the ones we're born to," he holds up an iris bulb, it looks like an onion, but sadly for the growing pool of scents, is not, "-and the ones we make."

"Moments of joy and simple beauty to lift flagging spirits," said simply, the rattling frame and paper of a brightly painted kite added to the flames, its cheer devoured, crackling.

"Music as a path to resonance, if not harmony, in connecting with those dissimilar," he stoops to flick open the latches of his lute case, running hands along the strings one last time before an old friend goes onto the fire with the rest.

"Dedication to our oaths and our passions freely chosen," his voice is loud, bright, carrying, and this is followed with a tuft of fur fetched from his coat pocket, rolled between fingers to make a thin strand and tossed.

"Passion, for the strength we learn despite our vulnerabilities-" a small leather folio, bearing comb, trimmers, and straight-razor, "-or, rather, because of them."

"Sacrifice, when it is called for." He collects himself a bit and holds up a charm that any who know him recognize it as the one clipped to his belt since Valerio's death. He swallows and adds it to the fire, lips moving silently.

"And above all... purpose." He slips Enigma from its stays at his hip. The whip's slivery coils gleam in the firelight. "Strange familiar echoes brought this weapon to me. Whispers from the Dream?" He shrugs, head shaking, "If you hand me an alaricite blade tomorrow, I'll never hold a weapon more suited to me than this one. We are woven together and without it... I will be less." His lips flatten as he looks hard at it, "It represents no more and no less than my purpose in life - the ones before, this one, and the ones to come." He pauses a moment, silent farewell, "For the Dream." He turns towards the bonfire and with both hands tosses the whip in.

And waits.

This is going to be a lot of Apollo standing and watching awkwardly. He doesn't have the background to understand what is going on or why, nor the composure to paper over that fact. What he does have? Is just enough charm to come off more "rituals, am I right?" than a total head case.

Dressed in Ashford colors and leather armor, Rhiannon shows up at the party. She is often out of the way, not what you'd call exceptionally social. But she listens, she observes and she witnesses. Her lips curve a little at the bark and then her eyes go to the fire to watch quietly. She makes note of each one, registering the significance and the sacrifice.

Food and drink are fine lures but Juniper attends in support of their host. With warm eyes and the force of her smile, she silently cheers him through every item cast into the fire, and commiserates with every hesitation. It might seem a difficult thing, to pour support and reassurance into the act of remaining quiet, remaining still, but she's a courtier of no little skill-- and an enthusiastic friend, at that. When Vitalis has finished, and waits, she cups a hand over her heart. Maybe a prayer's said but if so it too is silent.

Fianna is present and dressed in Stormwall's colors as she stands in quiet support of Vitalis' ritual. She watches as each item is given to the fire and smiles faintly at the offering of a carrot in particular. Not because it's the only thing that smells good being burned but because of what is represents as part of the ritual. She watches with curious eyes as Vitalis speaks and can't help the hitch in her breath for that last sacrifice made to the fire. As she exhales a quiet breath, she waits with the everyone else once Vitalis stops speaking.

The Nilanzan Seneschal is not much for Arxpeditions or snow. But friends and amaretto tea? Those she loves. She is a silent observer to the ritual, but the expression that begins curious changes to encouraging as Vitalis's sacrifices grow - and ends dazed by the time Enigma ends on the pyre.

Maja .. doesn't really know what the heck is going on. She doesn't know much about anything! So she's here watching in wide-eyed confusion. Ritual? To cleanse .. whatnow? To say that her mind is being blown is an understatement but she does her best to be silent and keep it together. Hooooboy.

Antea will be attending this 'housewarming' and all it entails. While there, she will observe a ritual of cleansing at the bonfire as Vitalis undertakes it. She is non-participatory, only there to observe and learn.

On the thirteenth day, in the thirteenth hour, Vitalis gathers his friends to perform a rite of cleansing. He lifts his hands, palms up, voice resonant, with the cadence of ritual: "Primum is the stuff of life itself. Our links to it have been tainted for centuries. You are here to bear witness to my attempt to cleanse my own connection through sacrifice and the sharing of my hopes for the future. Think on what you witness. Give thought to what you would like to see come to pass and share your vision with others so that eventually Primum will be ours once again."

And then he begins his sacrifices. Things small and large, mementos and memories. He lists bravery, and vigilance. Curiosity, understanding, hope, trust, love... twelve different things that he would see woven into the dream, and the fire stays steady as it consumes each offering.

And then he holds up a silver whip. "And above all... purpose." He slips Enigma from its stays at his hip. The whip's slivery coils gleam in the firelight. "Strange familiar echoes brought this weapon to me. Whispers from the Dream?" He shrugs, head shaking, "If you hand me an alaricite blade tomorrow, I'll never hold a weapon more suited to me than this one. We are woven together and without it... I will be less." His lips flatten as he looks hard at it, "It represents no more and no less than my purpose in life - the ones before, this one, and the ones to come." He pauses a moment, silent farewell, "For the Dream." He turns towards the bonfire and with both hands tosses the whip in.

Now the fire flares, and for a moment it is as though the fire whips out and lashes each of them in turn - and yet they are not burned. No, instead they are inspired, their hearts burning brightly with the feeling of the future - incipient, coming toward them faster than they can know, and suddenly with that whip-like feeling they know that the primum is closer to being cleansed than ever. That their actions have meaning. That whatever their purpose is, they are moving ever forward, relentlessly seeking a better future for all.

And then a voice echoes in the room, a strange voice with a foreign accent, sounding dry and dusty from disuse. "What spurs change onward, yet never changes itself?"

The question hangs in the air, and then the fire gutters and is out, the ritual complete.