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Post by astokohai on Mar 10, 2023 1:08:35 GMT
It is a rather cool and calm day in Argentum and, for once, Cecilia's timetable for the day is as blank as a field of snowdrops. She has no officials to meet, guests to host, dances to learn or even her brother to deal with, truly, today is a day of peace and of quiet.
That is until the noise starts. The thud thud of boots against her floor, the rattle of a tea trolley being pushed afore a servant. Due to the relative quiet of the day she can hear it long before the rap of gloved knuckles against her door as one of her maids enters the room with a trolley in front. Cecilia hadn't asked for refreshments so she knew this was more a formality then anything but the maid still handed her a plate of small cakes and made her some coffee before spilling why she was there.
"A letter arrived for you my lady, the courier who brought it was ever so stubborn so we thought it best it be brought to you in case it was important"
Cecilia didn't really care about that, what she did care about is that they didn't recognise the courier, which was rather odd. After some questioning of the maid she learns that not only was the courier most certainly not of Divinian stock but that he bore a notedly Gankands sounding accent. This lead Cecilia to suspicion but she opened the letter none the less, which read as follows:
"Ad amabilia sole, clarissima stella stellarum
Ego sum peregrinus in his terris, et extraneus tibi. Sed tetigerit me tua pulchritudo, et hoc scripsi tibi.
Non sum magnus poeta aut orator, sed spero quod placet usquam.
Ab omnibus expectatur lux
Timete, nolite temere
Sol effulget oculis meis
Non descendit hodie
Sol effulget manibus meis
Potest cremare vos caecare
Et lux effulget ex pugno
Jacet in visu callida
Nec descendit hodie
Huc venit sul
Huc venit mea amilia
Spero te bene
Fidelis Veneficus"
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Post by Emperor Florin von Marcum on Mar 10, 2023 2:51:05 GMT
Cecilia wrinkled her nose. Was this some prank? Someone sends a bizarre foreigner to pour prose into her ear? Likely her brother, the stupid oaf. She had half a mind to ask the emperor to loan her that loathsome bird of his and lock the two in a room. But it wouldn’t do good for her to appear bothered. If he wanted to get a rise out of her, she would not give him the satisfaction. Instead she had a better plan. He’d have egg on his face when she was through.
Folding the note primly, Cecilia looked up to the maid. “Maria, should that courier appear once again, kindly have him brought to me.”
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Post by astokohai on Mar 12, 2023 1:50:41 GMT
Some weeks later, while Cecilia is enjoying a walk through the gardens, Maria comes to her with a rather skittish looking boy following her and it is not hard to guess who he is, even without the slightly crumpled letter in his hands
"My lady, the courier came again, I asked him about his business and he said his master bade him give this letter to you, just as last time. As you requested I have brought him to you myself, although it took rather a lot of convincing"
The boy quickly bows to Lady Cecilia before hurriedly handing her the letter and saying in rather broken Latin "I call Toug lady, I is a..." He thinks, clearly unable to find the right word in Latin as his grasp on the language is rather poor before giving up and saying "Knapir" a word that Cecilia is not familiar with.
The letter itself is more nicely made this time and, aside from the crumples made by Toug, was clearly very carefully designed and put together, its even lightly perfumed. It reads thusly:
"Ad amabilia sole, clarissima stella stellarum
De singulis noctibus nuper somniavi, quia est melodiam quam inveni quae facit ut in mente mea maneas donec tandem obdormino.
Im fandum vel obsessi cogitare debes, et fortasse ego, sed ut ait Ovidius: Militat omnis amans, et habet sua castra Cupido.
Scripsi ad te aliud opus exiguum, oro haec epistula ignem vitat et pro attingit oculos tuos.
Eo umbra est unica res juxta iens, res palp'tans unica st meu cor infirmum, quibusque volo fari: "invenite me!", sed solus eō.
Eo lineam, abs qua mea mens divisa est. finis lineam marginis, in qua solus eo. lege inter versus, quod est laudans, quod pedicans est. vitae signa tempta, sic me viv're scies.
Eo vacuam viam, simul gradiuntur fractae spes. est urbi quies, et sum unicus et solus eo.
Spero te bene
Fidelis Veneficus"
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Post by Emperor Florin von Marcum on Mar 15, 2023 3:17:48 GMT
Cecilia endeavored to maintain a pleasant expression, and tapped her breast lightly in greeting. Quickly realizing the gesture might seem untoward to a foreigner, she played it off as if brushing down her bodice. She gestured for him to follow her as she perused the letter, its cloyingly sweet contents a near assault on her eyes.
Before long they reached a small sitting area underneath a wisteria trellis. She sat and patted the space next to her, inviting the man to sit.
“Well Mr…Toug was it? Shall I assume your master is a foreigner as well? Not many a Divinian would have a foreign manservant. Latin can be a troublesome language, even if it is your mother tongue. And though he seems well acquainted with our greatest of poets, I must admit his approach to introductions is rather unorthodox. What is it he wants with me? Surely not idle flattery. I can’t imagine anyone going to such lengths of mystery for all that. If he has business with me, he need only say so.”
She nodded to Maria, who had returned with a tray of fruit and wine. “Is there anything I can do for you in the meantime? Any directives from your mysterious master? I was just about to work on my auto before you arrived, and being underneath a vehicle isn’t terribly conducive to conversation.”
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Post by astokohai on Mar 30, 2023 1:20:56 GMT
Toug looks at her for a bit, clearly trying to work out the words in his head as his woefully lacking ability to speak, let alone comprehend, Latin fails him. "Um... Domina... Q-Quid? Quid Domina... Vos? Um... Vosunt? Nen nen nen um... Quid Domina Vo...." He spirals off and thinks harder, clearly trying to piece together even the simplest of phrases is hard for him "Quid Domina vult?" He fidgets a bit, not sure if he got the question right at all as he very apprehensively reaches for a fruit, watching both Cecilia's and her maid's face in case he's being rude.
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Post by Emperor Florin von Marcum on Apr 17, 2023 19:04:28 GMT
The two ladies shared a flat look. Cecilia sighed, and attempted once again to communicate in Greek. “Tell your master to visit. My maid will write a note. Deliver it to him, would you please?”
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Post by astokohai on Apr 19, 2023 0:14:48 GMT
Toug perks up a little at hearing Greek "A-Ah, You speak Hellens? Much easier to speak this way!" He smiles slightly before picking up one of the fruits and munching on it "Also he is not mine master, he is mine master's compatriot, I am simply aboding with him while my master is abroad" His Greek is heavily accented and not amazing, but its far more understandable then his absolutely atrocious Latin. He then picks up the note and stands up, bows to the two ladies a little nervously and begins to leave, hoping he isn't being rude by leaving so early.
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Post by Emperor Florin von Marcum on Apr 19, 2023 0:46:02 GMT
Cecilia chuckled at the display, while Maria seemed thoroughly put off by the situation.
“My lady, this is beyond improper! Who sends a man who isn’t even theirs to try and woo a woman. He doesn’t even speak a civilized language! And bowing? What are we? Tholes?”
“Aren’t you from Tanisra, Maria? Surely you can understand cultural differences are not always a negative.”
Maria pursed her lips at the comment. Her skin color may be a reminder of her homeland, but she has always strived to be seen as more than a woman from the outer provinces. “And that, my lady, is all the more reason it is improper! Some of us put in the work to educate ourselves. My father ensured I had the best Divinian education he could afford. I’ll never understand these outsiders, thinking they can just waltz in and act above their station. It sets my teeth on edge.”
“Oh Maria do settle down. There isn’t anything improper about being different. Sometimes you’ll find it makes you more interesting. Now really, I do have business to attend to. I do expect you to let me know when this mystery man shows his face. Regardless of whether you approve.”
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Post by astokohai on Sept 27, 2023 4:18:26 GMT
Cecilia had probably forgotten her strange foreign admirer for some time now, it had been years since those first two letters with not another word from her mysterious "Fidelis Veneficus". Thus, while she was looking through her letters for that day on a bright and sunny diēs Veneris morning, a strange feeling over came her when she saw one of the letters. It was cream-ish coloured and very neatly made and designed, with a soft and subtle perfumed scent, almost like a lemon or perhaps even a grapefruit. Upon opening it, it would read:
"Ad amabilia sole, clarissima stella stellarum
Paenitet me fortuito quietam meam.
Res me ad natalem locum trahunt, sed tandem redeo.
Toug non est mecum, ideo spero tabellarium hoc tuto liberasse.
Furiate, furiate et inops cerebri, periens, ubi eram? Vasta, vasta opera mea sunt.
Furiate, furiate, ero specu in profundo, longum post aevum recluso, cinis et titulus: Quantus artifex jacet!
At hercle certe pro virili fecimus et, di magni, caeli tecta contigi! nisique eos manus retinuit currus, tamen ausis excidisse magnis, gloria est!
Anima post dies innumeros redit, iterum osseo nova corpori, redit mi - quis id credat?
Sic est, sole mi redit!
Maneo, dum mundus patefiat rursus; jamque mente mira fingo, membra quis liquet metus.
Tite, fac quod quis, quia edepol magnum est quod tu quis!
Rebus tempus sit emendandis. Mea pulchra solis.
Spero te bene
Fidelis Veneficus"
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