one | "lament of a broken blade"

[umuwhatsthis]

[ on the afternoon of the 24th, ink begins to appear on the network. first a dip, then a small blot of ink, and suddenly a title in black: ]

Lament of a Broken Blade

[ and then the words begin. they are endless, a single stream of thought from start to finish without any thought of editing or stopping. whoever this person is, they have an axe to grind. ]

Sing to me, O Muses, you daughters of Gaea,
Though I know not which will come.
Shall I call upon Calliope?
Or perhaps Clio?
Your words flow without voice,
Sung silently yet heard by many.

Sing, Muse, of tragedy and travesty,
Of a falsely-named champion and their touted glory.
The words, engraved in brass, weigh heavy on me.
A masterful screw, or so they have declared,
Not yet knowing what it means to gaze upon Venus,
Not yet having grasped the blushing buttocks of Bacchus,
Not yet laid down and held by the strong arms of Vulcan.

Would that only their idol were here,
Standing by this liar's plaque of brass.
Would that I had the strength to stand against them.
Would that my Master had summoned me into a war,
That I might reward such insolence as I saw fit.

But alas, this is no war,
And I am left with no mandate but to protect.
I will put down the pen with a sigh,
And retreat to my thoughts with regret.

[ the writing finally stops, the pen laid down against it. it seems its histrionic wielder has finished what it is they wished to say.

beneath it, an elegant and ornate signature appears in deep red: ]

Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus

Comments

[crimsonlight]

[This is 1) far from the first time a lady has ogled Yenh, 2) today, 3) but it has been a while since someone actually called her beautiful and she believed it, though she totally believed Kaph when he said it, but he was probably lying in retrospect. Not that she sees herself as ugly, but she sees beauty as the province of people like Nero and Aymeric. Plus, that wasn't what the title was meant to describe, but whatever, this is far from the first lunatic she's ever met.]

[Yenh manages to climb over the hill of confusion and is left looking down into the valley of dealing with an Emperor who is insulted that that another tyrant awarded her with empty platitudes. ...And a house. And powers. But it's mostly about the platitudes, isn't it? Politicans.]

[Giving the woman a nod, because it was something and that's worth agreeing with.]

Aye. Would you like to come in for tea before you continue?... [She is hoping Nero isn't planning on sitting out here writing for the next hour or three.]

[umuwhatsthis]

Tea... [ her nose wrinkles a little at that - but only a little. there are far worse things to try than the fragrant brews of the east, after all. ] Indeed. I accept your invitation.

[ and with that she's going to stride right on in like she owns the place. do forgive her demeanor, yenh - she really is on a whole different level of sanity than most people.

emperors, am i right? ]

A humble home, but a well-loved one nonetheless. It will do. [ she seems to have already made herself at home, judging from the way she's standing by a window with her hands on her hips. and, well, the way she's freely offering commentary that wasn't asked for. ] I take it you dwell not under my Praetor's wing?

[crimsonlight]

[Yenh has, at least, met a few emperors before. They were under far different and often supernatural circumstances, including the occasional spot of regicide when they wouldn't settle the hell down and stop summoning demons or whatever. This is exactly the kind of nonsense she expects, so she only makes note of it as she follows Nero into her own home.]

[At once, she starts preparing the tea, feeling a moment of silly regret that she can't put on a magic show to heat the water.]

[However, she does know how to entertain guests in other ways, and pulls out a bottle of liquor. There is a moment where Yenh stares at it, furrowing her eyebrows in mild dismay. Did she really drink that much of it already? Yikes. Swearing to lay off of getting drunk-drunk (and not realizing certain elezen had been dipping in), she sets it aside and focuses on portioning out the tea.]

[Making tea is a lot like alchemy, so she's a deft hand at portioning it out right, checking the leaves to make sure there's no imperfections (or bugs) lurking, waiting until the water is the right temperature... she isn't one to grovel or even bow in the presence of royalty or rulers, but she definitely doesn't mind trying to impress them.]

Oh- thank you. And yes, you are correct. I'm an adventurer by trade, and as such, submitting myself to the rule of another was... hm, repugnant.