The Marquessa of House Igniseri is already seated at the dining table when servants start showing people into the grand hall. Her glass is filled with Igniseri's trademark Peach Blush wine and there's a slice of that chocolate cake on her plate already, suggesting she plans to eat her dessert first.

Ian turns up a little bit early, his attention on his feet as he paces inside. The coat he normally wears is elsewhere, and there's a splint covering his left forearm, visible through the fabric of his loose linen shirt. The lack of a free hand to brace himself if he should start to lose his balance probably has a lot to do with how much care he's talking while walking. A little way into the room he looks up and scans the space, then nods a respectful greeting to Quenia. "Marquessa."

1 Saik Guard, Micana, an efficient assistant arrive, following Lucita.


This is the sort of event that may be better populated by nobility and diplomats, but there is at least one knight in attendance. Sir Filshiar has decided to join the festivities to better know those in Arx who may at some point find themselves in the Palace District. "Marquessa," he says upon entering, offering a slight bow. "Sir Filshiar Shieldborne of the King's Own," he introduces himself with a smile, looks at the table with its ornate settings, and does not make an immediate move for it.

Lucita comes into the Great Hall having left her guard dogs and a guard in the atrium. She reaches up to tug absently at a lock of hair shorter than some of the rest and twist a lock to blend it in with the longer hair. A fading bruise can be seen on one arm. She glances around the room, smiling in greeting of the others. "A good evening to you all. I see the cook has prepared some delightful dishes for us to savor."

Vitalis arrives on Ian's heels, slipping in quietly as he is wont to do, a smile and a bow and presentation of a bottle of mead for the hostess, handed to a servant. "Good evening, Marquessa." He lifts his head to sniff and smiles more broadly, a hand drifting to his belly. "Smells wonderful." Concern and curiosity flicker over him as he takes in Ian's splint and general wobbliness. He selects a seat at some remove from Quenia to let those who rank or those who are closer in oaths or ties better have her ear. Plus, he can see everyone from that spot. He stands behind his chair, snaring a glass of wine from a servant with murmured thanks. "Baroness," Vitalis grins at Lucita, suggesting courtesies with a lift of his glass.

Ian sinks into a chair, and then turns his attention to the familiar faces that arrive in the room. "Baroness Saik. Lord Vitalis." His neutral voice could just as easily be rattling off a list of who's present as greeting them.

Quenia smiles warmly at those who've arrived, once her attention is drawn to the new arrivals. She nods to Ian, though gives him a look of concern when she sees his current state. "Lord Ian. I certainly hope the other person looks worse than you," she tells him. Her gaze then falls on Filshiar and she waves him in. "The King's Own are always welcome to dine at Domus Igniseri. Sir Corban was a frequent guest, and King Alaric has dined here a time or two," she admits. Her gaze brightens as she sees Lucita. "Cousin. I hope you are well," she tells him. "Thank you, Lord Vitalis. The cooks spent all afternoon preparing dinner. I hope it is all as good as it smells." But there she is, sitting with cake in front of her rather than the 'real' food.

Yelana sweeps into the large room not to long after the others, a smile crossing her features, "I had all intention of being early today, and I am still a bit late!" A hand runs though her hair, "Good to see everyone!" She begins a little sidle towards the table with appetizers.

Vitalis turns attention to Filshiar, "Well met, Sir Filshiar. Honor to the King's Own," he nods and lifts his glass in saltue to the knight among them as well. He straightens at the arrival of Yelana, smiling a greeting to her. Though his eyes and attention slip back to Ian. "Are there still," he searches for a word and shakes his head, "Brushfires in the Isles?"


Filshiar approaches the table and takes a seat, looking to those around him with a small smile on his face. "Everything here looks wonderful," he says, waiting for others to take their drinks and appetizers before he helps himself. With wine in hand, he lifts his glass to Vitalis. "And to you, good sir."

Lucita relieved to be back home again. Some rioters decided to 'restyle' my hair a bit but only managed to singe just a bit. Won't take long to grow out." She seems to take for granted that the visible bruises would be naturally explained without further words than the already mentioned 'riots'. She glances toward Ian. "That arm feeling any better? Do you want some of that brandy that helps ease it?" And to Quenia she says. "Think we are done with Escuma, at least for a while."

"He looks pretty bad, I expect," Ian replies to Quenia, with a twist of amusement in his voice. "And smells worse." He gives Vitalis a lopsided shrug, favoring his left arm. "There are going to be brushfires in the Isles for a long time to come. The one Aethan dumped in my lap is dealt with, at least for now." He nods towards Lucita when she mentions Escuma, adds, to her: "Long as I don't hang off of any more carriages, I'll be fine."

"Yelana!" Quenia greets her other cousin enthusiastically. "You would not believe the spar that I witnessed last week. It was absolutely remarkable!" she tells her. "Rocks flying everywhere, a Cardian being encased in stone, and fire ropes being flung about by the Cardian to ensnare someone. I don't quite think I'll ever get the smell of burnt hair out of my nose. It happened all right in the Training Center." It's all really quite exciting. She looks to Filshiar again. "Thank you. Do feel free to partake," she encourages him. She digs into her cake with gusto and starts munching on it, giving Lucita a look of disbelief, "Rioters restyling your hair?" And then she mentions Escuma and Quenia fixes Ian with a look of 'what have you got my cousin into'??

Ian has the grace to look at least a little bit contrite.

Eyes widen, "Rocks and Fire... that does seem like quite the show... I am sorry I missed it." Yelana finds some lobster for her plate and heads towards the table. She smiles at Filshiar as she passes by, and offers a quick introduction, "Hello, I am lady Yelana Igniseri, I dont believe we met."

Lucita says, "Oh, that does sound exciting. Who was it sparring like that, obviously using magic. I would like to have seen that, too."

That's a lot to take in, seems the small talk has gone big quite suddenly! Vitalis grins, it's a buffet of things to eat or listen to and he takes a moment blinking and looking between Lucita, Ian, and Quenia, unsure of where to start with his questions. He tracks Quenia's admonishing look from Ian and then looks to Lucita. Seems he'll look to her for an update first. Rocks and ... fire rope!! ... will wait. "Yes. Mmh. The Whispers are likely a more comfortable for a makeover, Baroness." Now that it seems all are gathered, he settles into his seat ready to dig in. Lucita, is interested in the spar, so rioting makeover news will wait, it seems. His attention slews to Quenia, and he leans forward to sight along the table for her response.


"Thank you, Marquessa," Filshiar says, helping himself to some of the cheese. The story of her encounter in the training yard draws his attention, yet so does Ian's mention of brushfires. Yelena, however, and her introduction has him on his feet. "Ah, Lady Igniseri. So nice to meet you. I am Sir Filshiar Shieldborne," he says, lifting his glass again before retaking his seat.

Ian doesn't seem to have more to say on the subject of the riots, but also doesn't seem especially interested in the tale of the fight in the training center. Just at the moment, he's occupied with fixing up a plate, heavily favoring his left hand as he does so, using it to steady things without asking that arm to bear any weight.

Lucita occupies herself with starting to eat the meal being served and being a good, attentive listener.

"It was quite exciting and frightful at the same time," Quenia admits to Yelana, glancing around to gauge the reactions at the table as she does. "At one point, we weren't even sure if the Cardian would let the other go." Quenia glances to Lucita when she asks who it was. "It was Angelica Sanna and Lady Petraea Livy." She especially waits to see Lucita's reaction given at least one name. "It was Lady Petraea who was wielding fire magic. It was only a spar at first, but as they were working through things, it seemed to escalate to something more. Lady Petraea kept saying she was built for something and suggested she needed to leave to go do something soon, and intimated that whatever it was she was doing, Angelica wouldn't be able to follow her." She blows out a bit of a breath as she mentions this, still looking quite perplexed. "The only thing I can think, given her fire magic, is maybe she meant something to do with the Maw, perhaps? Of the Blizzard that is. But, uh. I admit I was a bit intimidated to ask."

"Didn't seem like the right time to be asking anything," Ian remarks, taking up his fork. "If they want any of us to know what they were talking about, they'll bring it up. It seemed pretty personal." A pause. "Good fight, though."

Yelana finds herself a seat across diagonally from Quenia, and begins to sip on a glass of wine while contimplating her appetizers.

Lucita says, "Lady Sanna uses stone magic? Earth magic? Did she get sick afterward or was she using some .. shaman ability? Does Lord Mirk know?" She stops eating to listen to Quenia and then mention her concerns. She glances toward the King's Own. "It is .. unusual for such to be displayed publicly.""

Vitalis blinks, eyes flickering at mention of Lady Angelica. "Well, that's unhelpfully cryptic." Vitalis scowls and settles back in his seat, thinking. "I am weary of being on the fringe of Things of Import happening. I'm glad, I reckon, that there are allies in what we face, but-" he grumbles, "Don't mind me. I've been battering at these particular mysteries for a decade with little to show for it."


Filshiar finishes a few pieces of cheese, sampling the different varieties on offer, while he listens to the tale. "I admit I do not know of much of what you speak about," he says, looking mildly bashful. "Every day since I arrived here unearths more questions, more mysteries." He gives Lucita a nod, especially. A public display of such would be strange.

Quenia seems to give Vitalis a confused look. "Unhelpfully cryptic?" she asks, tilting her head at him. She looks to Lucita. "She used magic that affected the earth, yeah. Her arms and legs seemed to have an earthen texture when she was making use of it. And, Lady Petraea turned anything rock or stone coming her way into glass, which Angelica then broke with a different way of using it all." She seems to nod quickly to what Lucita says after. "I've only /seen/ magic performed one other time, and that's when that ship of Jaidaral mages blew another ship away from theirs in the harbor when they first got here." She glances back to Ian and nods solemnly. "Their fight did seem a bit intimate, indeed."

Ian looks between Lucita and Vitalis. "I don't think Angelica Sanna's... like us," he says, his voice low and careful. There's a pause while he takes his time with a bite of food, maybe buying himself a moment to compose what he wants to say before saying it. "She's never talked like it was shamanism, and she doesn't get sick that I've ever seen." He looks towards Vitalis. "... And it's probably stretching things to call her an ally to the Compact. At least she doesn't seem to want to do us harm."

Lucita continues to eat her meal thoughtfully, largely listening though she says. "I've encountered another person who says they are a spellsinger. Need to meet with them and talk soon, but that is for another day."

Lucita rises when a messenger appears and excuses herself. "My apologies everyone, seems someone is too impatient to wait till the meal is over.

1 Saik Guard, Micana, an efficient assistant leave, following Lucita.

"I need to talk to you about that sometime too, Lucita. Could be its the same person. Might not be," Quenia replies to her Saik cousin as she rises to leave. She glances over at Filshiar, giving him a curious glance. "You know, I've never asked Corban this but... what sorts of things do the Kings Own do, other than watch the Palace and the royal family?"

In the slight softening of Ian's expression is a suggestion of relief at... something. Something to do with the subject switching from spellsingers to the King's Own.

"Mmh, no, it's presumtuous to suggest either of them are allies. But," Vitalis flicks his eyes to the ceiling, looking for words, "They do not simply *radiate* menace, even if their agenda and aims are not strictly ours." He shrugs, "As you say, not for us to concern ourselves with." He likewise turns attention to Filshiar, grateful - if for different reasons - for the change of subject.


Filshiar continues to fill his plate, a little at a time, so that he keeps busy during this talk of magic and people who may not exactly be friends of the Compact. He'll remember that last one. Then, Quenia has a question for him. Clearing his throat, he says, "Well, naturally our attention on the King and the royal family is a large part of what we do, though our reach does extend to all allies of the compact. I, myself, was away from Arx for a time, guarding an envoy abroad. Hence why I am also on the fringe of important matters here that continue to crop up."

"I'd say that Angelica is a likely friend of the people of Arvum." Quenia's words are chosen carefully. "I was in a group who helped her with a task or two a few times, and she in turn aided my group." That's all Quenia seems to be willing to say on the matter. She pauses a moment as Filshiar explains what he does, and inclines his head in his direction. "All of that is noble work," she assures him. There's a faint pause before she says, "Speaking of tasks, I'll be leaving the city again at the end of the next week. Whether or not I come back will depend on if what I'm helping others to do will succeed." This is addressed in Yelana's direction. "I'll try to have my affairs in order if things go... awry."

Ian's mouth twitches into a smile that's almost closer to a spasm of his face at '*radiate* menace', and he gets pretty close to choking on the sip of wine he just took.

Vitalis stills, movement of fork to mouth aborted as he *looks* at Quenia. He frowns, blinks, and then turns that look to Ian. He makes a sound in his throat and listens politely to Filshiar, brows lifting as he chews. He swallows and pauses, "My compliments to your kitchen, Marquessa. This is incredible." He looks back to Filshiar, interested, "Abroad?" There's an invitation to say more, but then Quenia is laying out a last will and testament, and he blinks again. It's not clear what to say on the heels of that and he takes up his glass, a long sip of one, two, bobs of his throat.

Ian's spasm of dark humor seems to have mostly insulated him against both the look he earns in response from Vitalis, and also the implications of whatever Quenia just said. He clears his throat a couple of times, and takes a drink of wine once he's sure he's not going to accidentally inhale it.

Quenia seems obliquely confused at Vitalis's look and blinks back at him. She looks around her to make sure the look was truly directed at herself and then looks back to him, raising a brow. However, she directs a question to Ian rather than ask Vitalis about it. "Lord Ian, now that the Thrax War is behind you, what will you be filling your time with now?"


"Well, outside of Arx," Filshiar clarifies to Vitalis. "My travels have not taken me anywhere terribly exotic as of yet." He cuts into a piece of meat and watches the reactions to what Quenia announces. Interesting, though he does not query further.

Yelana recieves a messenger of her own, and stands, "Sorry, I got some news I was waiting for, it was good to see you all." She smoothes out her skirts and heads towards the door.

Ian gives Quenia a lopsided shrug. "There's a trip Wash and I have been wanting to take. Maybe we take it, if I can ever pry him away from Stormward." Maybe it's a trip to Disneyland. "Probably won't be long before the next crisis hits, though. One way or another."

"You'll pardon me, I hope." Vitalis clears his throat and a napkin appears briefly in his hands to police his beard. "I've been told my face betrays my every thought." He tucks the napkin back in his lap, tonguing his teeth, "A liability in the Lyceum, to be certain." He sniffs and lifts his eyes back to Quenia, "I hope your endeavors are concluded to your satisfaction and with your swift return, Marquessa." It's sincere, and he subsides to eat and listen to what transpires in the Isles. Sir Filshiar's answer gets a small 'aha' expression and a nod, his sharp curiosity satisied. Vitalis half-rises at Yelana's departure, spotty in his etiquette this evening. Maybe a little off balance.

3 Scarlet Phoenix Guard leaves, following Yelana.


Filshiar nods at Vitalis's words and turns to Quenia. "Yes, may you return well and in good spirits," he says, before looking to Ian. "Where is it you are looking to go?"

Quenia nods after Yelana, but turns her attention back to Ian when he speaks. "Try to take some time to do something fun," she suggests to him. Yes. Disneyland! She looks back to Vitalis and emits a slight hmmm. "It's not me who has to be satisfied, but the people I'm helping. We're trying to make the impossible possible and I'm not quite sure how we're going to be able to manage that." She nods to Filshiar. "Thank you." She is noticing the time however, and lets out a soft sigh. "I must make my own pardons. It is getting late, but you are all welcome to stay and continue to enjoy each other's company and eat for as long as you might like."