open | The Emperor's (?) Audience at the Palace of Landed Sky

[alderwood]

Characters: The Ironwood Emperor Alderwood Commander and anyone who came to speak with the Ironwood Emperor.
Date: January 12th
Location: The Palace of Landed Sky
Situation: The expected holding of an audience for any that care to speak with the Ironwood Emperor, though they will be met instead by the Alderwood Commander.
Warnings/Rating: N/A; to be updated if necessary

The hall is still and white, strung with softly glowing lanterns that are strung up high beyond reach. Outside, the sun is at its zenith, and it filters down through the cloudy glass roof to create a brilliant, nearly blinding ambiance.

The floor is marble, inlaid with mother-of-pearl and ruby quartz. It catches the light, and casts strange patterns on the walls.

The room itself is almost eerily silent. No noise, no echoes. No one and nothing vaguely human, excepting the presence of Evandau. The commander of all law enforcement in Keeliai and its surrounding areas stands before the Emperor's empty throne with patient expression and posture reminiscent to the at-ease bearing of a soldier. He waits to receive the petitioners, kedan and Foreigner alike, in Eshai's place this one day. As with her audiences, those wishing to make their case must approach him and he will make not move to shorten the distance between the grand entryway and the throne that he defends.

The 'audience' is an open one, and no one will be turned away. So come one, come all, to the Palace of Landed Sky.

[Actionspam or prose are both acceptable! The Emperor has delegated the audience to Evandau this month and he has been temporarily granted many of the authorities that she naturally holds. Why is that? Well, telling y'all would be too easy, wouldn't it?

Characters will only be admitted into the hall one by one, so there won't be anyone present for anyone else's conversations, and there won't be any 'mingling' in the chamber itself.

By popular demand, we will continue to allow mingling for those waiting for an audience in an antechamber. There is a thread header below to allow for that!]

Comments

[neverleftharlan]

[He stations himself in a corner against the far wall so he can at the very least watch who comes and goes through the doors to the audience chamber and the antechamber - and keep his back against something, though the latter is pure habit. He'll be there before and after his own audience, as approachable as he ever tends to be.]

[tendnottoweep]

[ Natasha's been looking for a valid reason to find herself in the palace since Clint disappeared - this is good enough, and though she'd rather be exploring other parts of the palace, she should probably make an appearance here. At the very least, it's interesting to see who has business with the emperor, who's motivated enough to come out here in the first place.

As she walks in, she notes the man in the corner with a faint, wry smile, meeting his eyes briefly - she recognizes that posture as the one Clint would take in a similar situation. It's the one she would take too, if she didn't mind being noticed doing it. ]

[neverleftharlan]

[That particular signal is all Raylan requires to initiate a conversation, at least in their current surroundings. He detaches himself from the wall and meanders in her direction, for all the world a man seeking a different kind of audience.] Ma'am. I suppose it's rude to hope you aren't a native, but I've found to date that wondering if I'm looking at face or just a semblance of it makes for awkward conversation.

[tendnottoweep]

[ Her smile warms - her whole demeanour, really - as she turns toward Raylan, tilting her head to look up at him. There's still weary tension in her face, but it's an ordinary tension, not the look of someone scanning the room for threats and weighing everyone's tiniest gestures and expressions in her head. ]

No, I am... definitely not from around here. You don't exactly sound native either, Mr...?

[neverleftharlan]

Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens. [A brief, contemplative silence. She has the air of someone involved in something, the bearing of someone who knows how to handle herself and doesn't care who else knows it. And the active attention to her surroundings that Raylan usually associates with law enforcement or violent criminals - though she doesn't seem to fit in either slot.] Who might you be?

[tendnottoweep]

Deputy U.S. Marshal. Do you always introduce yourself like that?

[ A pause, and then her smile quirks a little. ] I'm Natalie.

[neverleftharlan]

When I feel I've cause to. [There is an implied you are full of crap in there.]

[tendnottoweep]

[ What implication? She sees no implication. There is honest confusion here. ]

And what cause would that be? Impressing women? [ Because it's not working at the moment. ]

[neverleftharlan]

[A prolonged silence from his end, though it angles into amusement rather than chilliness. It's the result of mood and not much else.] Usually that's the gun, not the title.

[tendnottoweep]

Really? That's all it takes?

[neverleftharlan]

Sometimes, but they're usually the uninteresting sort. [A small smile.] You here for a word with the powers that be, or here to scope out who else might want one?

[tendnottoweep]

[ Her smile slips a little, not entirely unintentionally. ] I wanted to ask what happened to a friend of mine.

[ She's still not sure if she's actually going to ask and draw attention to herself, or find out what she can without any official interference, but it makes a good excuse. ]