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Imperial Court (12/8/1998)
The log below is of His Majesty's Imperial Court, Tuesday, December 12,
1998. Highlights include:
o A proclamation by the Cardinal of the Imperial Church
o The announcement of the solution to the murder mystery
o The announcement of the Judge of Change for the
Ginaz/Moritani Kanly
Regards,
Christian / Fredhrick
Log edited with Logedit 2.6.9pl on Wed Dec 9 11:35:48 EST 1998
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Fredhrick - Tuesday, December 08, 1998, 9:58 PM
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Selamlik -- Imperial Palace (Kaitain)
This enormous hall makes even the large Noukker guards seem small, but
a trick of the architecture focuses attention on the Golden Lion
Throne sitting on a raised dais at the north end of the room, making
it and its occupant seem larger than life. Fluted columns along the
walls stretch up to the high, vaulted ceilings, which are colorfully
decorated with frescoes of past battlefield victories. Between the
columns hang the long, tapered battle standards of the Corrino
commanders who fought in the Battle of Corrin (and afterward became
Dukes, Counts, and Barons).
Noukkers flood the room through the rounded passageway, clearing space
for the Emperor. As the Emperor ascends the dais, the Noukkers take
their places around the room. Raffen steps forth from the back wall
and ascends the dais to the left of the Emperor's throne.
You sit upon the Lion Throne.
Joral bows deeply as the Emperor enters.
Iason turns to pay his respects to the Emperor.
Niccolo bows
Ivanova bows deeply.
Janus gives a respectful nod to the Emperor and raises his hand in
benediction.
Mahufi slowly falls to one knee, then returns to standing.
Sumter bows deeply before the Emperor.
Miguel bows towards the entering Emperor, careful not to direct his
eyes to the Imperial figure.
Iohannes sweeps into a low bow, holding it.
Filarion bows deeply towards the emperor, observing the respects of
the other nobles.
Raffen smashes the base of his rod into the dais three times. "As Caid
of Kaitain, I call His Majesty's Imperial Court in session. Let all
who have business before His Majesty be heard!"
Fredhrick seats himself softly upon the throne, resting his arms on
the padded sides of the chair. He looks around the room slowly,
pausing upon an occasional face. Upon seeing Ivanova near the
eastern wall, Fredhrick inclines his head.
Mahufi bows unsteadily in respect to Lady Rastanyev.
Ivanova smiles lightly at the Emperor. The smallest nod of her head is
detected.
Janus smiles and places his hand beside him on the right-hand side of
the Lion Throne.
Raffen states loudly, "The Cardinal of the Imperial Church wishes to
be heard in public before His Majesty." He turns to Janus, across
the dais. "Cardinal."
Andrei walks in from Reception Hall through the Vaulted Arch.
Andrei has arrived.
Janus nods to the Caid and turns to the crowd.
Cesare walks in from Reception Hall through the Vaulted Arch.
Cesare has arrived.
Cesare walks in and quickly strides to the eastern gallery.
Cesare stands along the eastern wall.
Fredhrick scowls momentarily as he sees Cesare enter tardily.
Andrei makes his entrance, fashionably late, indeed. He strides in,
arrogance in his face as he quickly makes his way over towards the
eastern wall.
Filarion , upon seeing Andrei entering, looks quite surprised, smiles
and bows. To Cesare, he bows as well.
Janus peers out at the crowds as he addresses both the Emperor and the
court. "Our Imperial Son, and all of the Flock of the Almighty, we
bid you greetings. We have come here this evening to address the
faithful of the Church, both on Kaitain and throughout the Known
Universe. With the same breath we send warnings to the heretics and
heathens who continually beset our divine work. Let all who live
know that starting this very day Holy Mother Church shall be
defended once more!"
Andrei stands along the eastern wall.
With that, His Eminence claps his hands three times quite smartly.
Undeniably on cue, the doors to one of the side galleries opens and
twenty men saunter in and stand in a tight square formation before
the Lion Throne. They are dressed in silvery armour of archaic
design, yet the rippling muscles showing under their chainmail and
overlying white tunics indicate that they are quite capable of
killing, even encumbered by the heavy ceremonial plate and mail.
Iason listens.
Joral stiffens.
Janus sweeps his hawkish gaze from one end of the Selamlik to the
other, examining the reactions of those assembled.
Fredhrick looks upon the ceremonially dressed arrivals with moderate
interest.
The armoured men kneel with perfect military precision, bringing up a
hand and making the signs of the Cross and Spear.
Janus smiles wryly as he raises his hands dramatically, the gleam of
the Ring of Vicars catching brilliantly in the light. "These men are
the Lords Captain of the Templars Ecclesiast. Many more of their
number reside at their barracks within the walls of Kaitain
Cathedral, and many more still at like locations throughout the
Known Universe. They are the new militant branch of the Church, the
sword of righteous judgement by which the Almighty shall cleanse the
sinful weeds of both heretic and heathen from the Kingdom of God.
You faithful to Holy Mother Church, rejoice! The fiery sword of
vengeance stands ready to smite the wicked. You vile and
contemptuous demonspawn who continually defy Our will, tremble and
do not endeavour to pray for mercy. All hope of redemption has
passed. You have been weighed in the balance and found wanting. Our
Lord and Saviour commands that you be cast into fiery torment
everlasting."
Joral turns visibly a pale.
Iohannes stares impassively. He does finger his beads rather
unconsciously, though...
Fredhrick turns his head slightly toward Janus but does not fully
address him: "Thank you, Cardinal, for your renewed vigor in the
defense and expansion of Our Imperial Church."
Janus rests a hand on the shoulder of the Emperor as he states in a
crisp, clear voice that resonates through the Selamlik. "Holy Mother
Church is commissioned not only to serve the Almighty, but to guide,
counsel, and strengthen His Annointed, the Sons Corrino."
Joral turns even paler.
Fredhrick sits up straight, almost (accidentally?) throwing off Janus'
hand. "Thank you, Cardinal."
Janus crosses himself in the seven-pointed fashion as he steps back,
slightly behind and to the right of the Lion Throne. He intonates as
he retreats, "Thus is the word of the Cardinal, Thus is the will of
God."
As the assemblage mutter to each other the meaning of Janus' speech
and the templars retreat from the room, Raffen again presses his rod
to the floor.
"His Majesty recognizes Lord Ambassador Iason of the noble House
Atreides," Raffen intones.
Iason moves away from the western wall.
Iason steps away from the wall gracefully, walking over to prostrate
himself before the Emperor.
Iason stands before the Lion Throne.
Niccolo has disconnected.
Iason remains prostrated before the Emperor, awaiting His Majesty's
leisure.
Fredhrick looks upon Iason, examining him for almost a good two
minutes before speaking: "Rise and address Us."
Iason comes to his feet, his eyes on the floor as he addresses His
Majesty. "Your Majesty, I bring word about the mysterious deaths and
the means of its solution."
Fredhrick raises a brow and shifts in his chair. "Indeed? Report, Lord
Ambassador."
Iason takes a deep breath. "The deaths are all linked to the Vonlieben
Hotel, and specifically the rats milord. It appears that the manager
and several others have conspired to keep their failure to
exterminate the rats from the public and the owner of the
extermination company, and an improperly mixed poison has resulted
in the rats surviving long enough to kill the Ambassador Wikkheiser
and several others after they have been bitten or scratched by the
rats, from suffocation as their bodies no longer produce red blood
cells to help them breathe."
Iason says, "The Ambassador from Alvstad and myself have been working
independently to solve the problem, but we believe we have most of
the suspects who covered up the continued existence of the vermin
fingered. The Ambassador Alvstad is continuing to follow other
leads, but I have asked the owner of the extermination company to
accompany me here to bring before you one of the men responsible for
the coverup.""
Raffen looks squarely at Iason, "Bring him forth, then!"
Iohannes nods slighly at the mention of his name.
Iason turns and nods to Miguel, to have him step forward and see the
prisoner in.
Miguel rings his hands before him. He looks about at the people
standing closest to him before stepping forward. He moves towards
the back door and opens it, admitting another man of similar
characteristics as Miguel... only younger. The two then move forward
and join Iason before the throne, both bowing at once.
Miguel moves away from the western wall.
Miguel stands before the Lion Throne.
Mahufi bows slightly and smiles to Count Cesare.
Iason bows again to the Emperor. "Your Majesty, may I present Carlos
Dillar, the person responsible for the Vonlieben Hotel account, and
also a part of the coverup, and Miguel Moreno, the owner of the
company who assisted me in my investigations and helped me detain
the man responsible."
Raffen signals Noukkers to take position behind those before the
throne. Swiftly, three move in. Simultaneously, three others emerge
from the shadows to take the place of the original three.
Miguel bows low towards the Emperor. The man at his side is visiblely
shaking slightly
Iason says, "It appears that the original fault was that of negligence
on the part of Carlos and the man who was mixing the chemicals for
use on the vermin at Vonlieben Hotel, and then the manager of
Vonlieben and Carlos conspired to keep their failure quiet.""
Carlos's head falls forward as if all the life went out of it. Though,
he shakes his head lightly from side to side as if wishing to speak
otherwise.
Iason straightens a bit. "The deaths were due to negligence on the
part of two men, and greed in a third, who wanted to keep his
hotel's prestige. The Ambassador from Alvstad is following up the
last of the leads to see if this is as far as the web extends, Your
Majesty."
Iason says, "But those are my preliminary conclusions. They may change
as more data turns up.""
Fredhrick takes a deep breath and looks momentarily to Raffen, then
back to Iason. He says, "Thank you, Lord Ambassador, for apparently
solving the mystery. The Sardaukar shall take over the investigation
from here." He motions for the Noukkers to take away the
conspirators, leaving only Iason before the throne.
Miguel lets panic race into his eyes. He looks between the guards and
Iason, remaining silent. There doesn't need to be anything spoken
for his eyes say it all... 'you promised'.
Fredhrick descends from the throne and walks toward Iason. He stops
just two paces from Iason and says, "Kneel."
Iason looks up as Miguel moves. "Wait! He is innocent!" he says
quickly, pointing to Miguel.
Fredhrick looks to the Noukkers who have the two previously with
Iason, "Remove them both. Free the one called Miguel and take the
second into custoday."
Fredhrick returns his stare to Iason and places his right hand on the
hilt of his sword.
Iason drops to his knees, head bowed. "I thank you most gratefully for
your wise mercy, Your Majesty."
Fredhrick looks to those assembled, "As We declared, the individual
primarily responsible for solving this terrible crime should be
properly rewarded." He pulls his sword from its sheath and places
its edge upon Iason's left shoulder.
Miguel continues to have the fear set deep into his eyes. Yet he
allows the guards to take him away.. what else could he do? His eyes
flicker down to the uniform and swords at each of their sides.
"We declare Lord Iason of House Atreides the Earl Merx," Fredhrick
states as his moves the blade over Iason's head to his right
shoulder. "Congratulations and you have our gratitude."
Fredhrick returns the sword to its sheath and returns to the throne
matter-of-factly.
Joral begins to applaud the new Earl.
Fredhrick says, "Rise a be recognized, Earl Merx."
Iohannes joins in the applause, obviously considering something...
Miguel walks to the south and passes through the Vaulted Arch.
Miguel has left.
Sumter applauds quietly, gloved hands making no great amount of noise.
Iason rises, newly honored, his expression one of slight surprise and
gratitude as he extends his deepest and most sincere bow to the
EMperor.
Iason says, "Thank you, Your Majesty. You are most kind.""
Cesare adds his own hands to the clapping, giving some order to an
attendant of his, who rushes out of the gallery in a haste as though
he had the devil himself on his heels.
Janus looks down at the newly-appointed Earl and studies him closely.
Smashing his rod into the dais once again, Raffen awaits the cheers to
die down. "His Majesty wishes to address the Court on the matter of
the ongoing Kanly between Houses Ginaz and Moritani."
Andrei applauds with the rest, without any particular expression to
his face.
Iason waits to be dismissed, before stepping back to the wall.
Raffen motions for Iason to retreat.
Iason steps back from before the Lion Throne.
Iason stands along the western wall.
Iason quickly steps back, with as much decorum as he can muster.
Fredhrick takes in a deep breath. "As all are aware, the feud between
Houses Moritani and Ginaz has been without a Judge of Change since
the death of the previous judge. We had hoped Houses Ginaz and
Moritani, in consultation with the Landsraad High Council could
agree on something as simple as the Judge of Change..." Fredhrick
says with disdain in his voice.
Fredhrick says, "We have taken it upon Ourselves to choose the Judge
of Change. We have called Lord Mahufi al-Hussain out of his
retirement to perform this service for the benefit of the Imperium.
Lord al-Hussain, stand forth and be recognized."
Mahufi moves away from the eastern wall.
Iason looks up as the Judge is announced, bowing to him as the man is
recognized.
Cesare grins as though in some private triumph.
Mahufi slowly walks away from the eastern wall to stand before the
throne, his age slows him noticably.
Mahufi stands before the Lion Throne.
Iohannes bows to the judge.
Steffan walks in from Reception Hall through the Vaulted Arch.
Steffan has arrived.
Mahufi slowly kneels down in supplication.
Mahufi says, "I come at your call, Your Majesty."
Steffan bows deeply to his Majesty as he enters.
Steffan stands along the western wall.
Iohannes bows to Steffan as he arrives.
Fredhrick stands and walks to Mahufi, placing his hand upon Mahufi's
shoulder. "Lord al-Hussain shall oversee the Kanly and shall
reinstate balance to the process. Let this be known." He returns to
the throne.
Mahufi's position has been set to 'Judge of Change.'
Mahufi says, "Your Majesty, I wish to say in your presence that on my
life, I will complete this duty to your majesty's satisfaction."
Mahufi slowly, painfully stands.
Mahufi steps back from before the Lion Throne.
Mahufi slowly walks back to the eastern wall, limping.
Mahufi stands along the eastern wall.
Thrusting the rod to the dais for the final time in the evening,
Raffen bellows, "Court is adjourned!"
You descend from the Lion Throne.
---------------------LOG ENDS - STATISTICS----------------