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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Saga - OT Moonwater Perfume: A Courtesan's Tale---FINISHED 9/16!!!!!!

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction- Before, Saga, and Beyond' started by leiamoody, Jan 2, 2007.

  1. BrentusofGath

    BrentusofGath Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Aug 12, 2005
    Especially if this lifestyle is mandated by those in charge as the only alternative for my existence after the aristocracy has discarded me.

    :( So sad.

    A little "creative bookkeeping" though, and she'd be set for life. ;) Assuming she can get to the books. Josym might be nice enough to help set her up, unless he wants to run away with her. That might shock her, but there are some good guys in the galaxy. :D

    Great update as usual!

    The only problem is...

    Now I want more already!
     
  2. Laine_Snowtrekker

    Laine_Snowtrekker Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Jul 8, 2003
    Awesome post. It's interesting to think how warped their society is, and it doesn't seem as if the men notice!

    Thanks for the PM, as always.
     
  3. piratedreamer

    piratedreamer Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    May 2, 2006
    *sigh* I feel very deeply for Palai. How must it feel to have nothing to live for, with her life coming to a close at so young an age? I hope Josym will see how truly special she is....
    Her world needs a major upset - for the better!

    Thanks for the PM!!!!

    ~piratedreamer
     
  4. divapilot

    divapilot Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 30, 2005
    Poor Niena! Used up and unwanted at the ancient age of 28, displaced by a 16 year old. How do you compete with that dewy face and winsome young body? A woman is no match for a girl in this particular contest when only the body has value.

    And in ten years, the "newcomer" will be replaced herself. Age and experience count for nothing when your only value is the physical. The men don't see the wastefulness because there is always someone new for them. There is no loss as far as they are concerned.

    Your story has such beautiful depth to it. @};-

    Could you please add me to your PM list so I don't miss another? Thanks!
     
  5. Noelie

    Noelie Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 11, 2005
    Hello my friend.

    We miss this lovely story.

    I know you are busy, but we really love this!

    Post as soon as you can!
     
  6. leiamoody

    leiamoody Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 8, 2005
    Written at the Rising Point of Najahal
    It's now three days until Josym's inauguration into the knighthood, and four days until his birthday celebration...and the other notable event of the night. In preparation for the reception, my benefactor, Lord Reunahn, has decided to prepare a grand oration in his nephew's honor. It is supposed to be recited during the banquet, which is an odd return to the great fetes of the past, when this type of entertainment was common.

    For a memorial, there would be hours of speeches about the deceased, from preconception to postmortem. For a birthday, there would be much less material to cover about the individual.

    I am curious to hear about Josym's childhood incidents. I know he couldn't have been the studious and retiring type. He's too interested in doing things, in being active. Sitting still is rather difficult for him, as I've come to notice. When he is getting involved in a serious discussion, he has a tendency to get up start pacing, or moving about the room and trying to adjust things even if they don't need to be fixed. He has a strong kinetic center, to say the least.

    I spent most of the afternoon in the library with Lord Reunahn, pulling out stacks of old datacards to aid in our research. His Lordship gathered up one of the stacks in front of me at the reading table to take across the room to add to the four others on his own table. Which was no problem, as he reads far more quickly than I could ever hope to do in this lifetime.

    I didn't hear from him for some time, until he called out, "I've come across a person who might be appropriate to use in my speech." He had come up with the idea last night to tie in certain stories from the many ancestors of the Di'sallach clan as a way to show the roots from which Josym
    springs. He also decided to weave in some of those ancestors from the Huranz clan, although this breaks tradition, since the heir is only descended from the paternal line according to the law. His maternal heritage should remain unacknowledged except during dowry negotiations.

    "Wonderful. Hopefully it's a dashing and colorful figure so we won't have to be bored any longer than necessary." I'll admit a certain attraction to those who are glamorous and unusual. It can only enhance Josym's reputation by attaching his name to that of an established and glorious personage from the past. And I trust him to put on a good show for the evening, yet also provide him with a grand story that blesses his soul with meaning. To know where he is going means that he must know where his roots are planted, to mangle the old saying. (I fear eloquence has escaped me in recent days. Niena's predicament still weighs upon my thoughts. She is doing well at Lord Cirkah's manor, but he has just recovered from a lengthy bout of the Brandy Ague, so his health is precarious. Which only adds to concern that the old boy might pass on sooner rather than later, and that would put her back into limbo once again).

    "Would you please hand me that imager next to your elbow?" The sound of Lord Reunahn's voice interrupted my useless line of thought, thankfully. He's a sneaky sort who can easily scoot across the room without creating a disturbance, which allowed him to stand behind me near the bookcase. Actually, to call that thing a bookcase is incorrect, as it only holds the digital wisps of copies of words rather than the true representations of those solid edifices that are truly books. Despite their scarcity in our present days, there are still weighty tomes hidden in personal collections, or academic fortresses. Rare, yes, but they do still exist.

    "Have you found something diverting?" I gave him the imager without any deference to custom, in that I did not stand up, or curtsy, or perform any other type of honor-thy-overlord nonsense. Fortune has granted me into the custody of someone who dislikes pointless ceremony. It almost seems as if he emerged from stock other than the puffed and rotten aristos. He has morals, for one thing. Now I'm getting a better picture of the origins of Josym's nature. He is a combination of his mother and his father's brother. I wondered for a moment if there was a time before his birth where Lady Casana and...no, not possible. She has always been faithful to her husband, not only in those early days when he still seemed to love her in a limited fashion, but also in the years since then, after the mysterious incident which drew them apart soon after Josym's birth. The Prestatine has spent those long years wrapped in the relative comfort of prayer and contemplation while her husband has used women to pass the time. No, Jos' father is the Prestat, not his uncle.

    "I've come across an old disc that I haven't seen in years."

    "What is it?" This mention of an old disc peaked my curiosity. It reminded me of the small cache of discs and cards I had passed to Josym that night in the wardrobe. I've felt hesitant about bringing up the matter with him since that night. Finding evidence of a lost relative among the stacks of genealogical treasures perhaps was the Force showing its hand. But it still doesn't mean we can talk about it without looking over our proverbial shoulders.

    "It's a memory record." Lord Reunahn turned towards me, with a small blue opaque disc in his right hand. "This one happens to contain various media related to my youngest brother's medal
    ceremony." Then he sighed. I understood why this reaction came from a man usually not prone to a stray walk into melancholy. Lord Kenor was the tenth and last child of the previous leader of House Di'sallach. He made a career for himself in the Republic Navy, eventually taking command of the particularly noteworthy corvette Nyneve. He served with distinction at the Battles of Arbra, Cezno, and Wriestel during the Clone Wars. But it was the unfortunate debacle over Vashti where Lord Kenor lost his vessel and his life when a Trade Federation charger sent forth a laser and turned both the crew and the vessel into permanent dust. Only several weeks before his demise, the Council of Ancients honored Lord Kenor with the highest honor that can be afforded to a member of the Houses, aside from the Lordship itself. The Medal of The Rykos Order was presented to him in a ceremony inside the capital at the Lyorita Great Palace. It was a splendid day for the Di'sallach clan, with all the leading members of the twenty-one Prestatures gathered together on such a rare and august occasion. So this memory record contained media related to that day from footage taken by the official holographer.

    Lord Reunahn inserted the disc into the imager. "Let's see what the past can show us." He took a seat next to me in the empty chair next to me. Then we both leaned forward to watch whatever was about to unfold.

    It took a few seconds for the imager to call up the data; colored opaque lucetene is never the best repository to permanently store information. Soon enough, though, an image flickered, then spread outward from the center, and finally coalesced into something tangible which played just above the
    table's surface. A scene of grandeur in miniature from only twenty years ago, but it could just as easily been from some foreign era several millenniums in the past.

    In the scene before us, we saw a grand outdoor spectacle. What we beheld was the day when Lord Kenor was awarded his medal. Towers of gaily beribboned fabric swayed in a breeze; twenty-one banners, each with the House glyphs embedded into the fabric. Underneath each banner sat representatives from each Lordship. The men, at least: Prestats, heirs, descendants who would never stood a chance of inheriting a title other the one they received at birth. Rising above the assemblage gathered in the quadrangle, up a wide stack of steps, was a dais. On this platform were the major male members of the Quodris line. I recognized them all from their grim visages left behind for posterity in the portrait gallery. From the far left, I recognized the four doddering uncles, including Cirkah, who looked only slightly less elderly than he does now. After them were the five sons of the past Lord who were still alive at the time of the ceremony. (Of course, the four daughters were all tucked away in the city manse). First in the line was Josym's father, then a particularly dashing young man with a full head of hair and the same flashy dress sense that I had come to know over the years since I was first presented to him as a young cortigia.

    "Sir, you haven't changed a bit."

    "Ah, you flatter a nearly old man. I'm afraid the years have altered me."

    "Not very much."Honestly, except for the certain minor physical changes, Lord Reunahn still appears much the same as the younger man in the holo. The two sons between Reunahn and Kenor werem't memorable. At the far right of this group gathered on the platform were the man of the hour, and his father, Lord Girov.

    These men were all anticipated faces. But my attention was drawn past this group, and past the podium to two individuals who stood at the farthest edge of the dais. They had just come into frame, up the steps from the gathering down in the forecourt. They weren't part of the Di'sallachs. And one of them was a woman. Definitely not a normal face to see at one of the usual male-only ceremonies. Someone who may have been a man, woman, or something else accompanied her. The other being was definitely a Jedi, since they were clad in the brown robe so typical of those mystics, with the hood drawn up around the head, so their face was obscured. But I was able to discern the woman's identity...”Lady Casana!"

    Lord Reunahn peered at the image. "She came with her brother and wished to speak with Father about an urgent matter. We never found out what was so important that she was willing to break protocol."

    I was less interested in the reason for this appearance than the identity of the knight accompanying Josym's mother. It could only be one person. Her brother. This was my first view of Josym Huranz, the last Jedi of his clan.

    "How odd that we should come across his image so near to a certain someone's birthday. Would it not make for an interesting gift if my dear nephew were to see what is contained on this disc?"

    I looked over at him. "You already had the disc hidden away before now."

    He reached out and turned off the imager. "It was tucked away in one of the storage closets. Unused dusty places are a perfect place to hide items of historical interest which also are suppressed by the orders of unenlightened individuals."

    So I wasn't the only one who dared to venture into those spots. I was never consciously searching for anything hidden the day I found the records I handed over to Josym. An unseen force drew me towards the second closet. I wondered if it was the same way for my benefactor.

    Apparently, he either was able to read my mind for the first and last time, or else the mood in the air was such that it was obvious he needed to explain the circumstances surrounding his discovery of the disc. "I could not possibly tell you what prompted my excursion into a storage closet. It was all very strange. I was pulled towards it, barely aware of what I was doing even when I opened the door. And there it was, sitting alone on this shelf that was far less dusty than one might expect to find in a space that has remained behind a locked door for Deity knows how long."

    How odd, as those were the exact circumstances under which I found those items now in Josym's possession. How could things tucked away years ago by someone eager to keep them away from the cut-and-obliterate editing of the Prestat suddenly turn up in such an obvious location? Not once, but twice, within weeks of each occurrence.

    Certain sure, there are strange events afoot.
     
  7. divapilot

    divapilot Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 30, 2005
    @};- Another wonderful update!

    It seems that Lord Reunahn respects her intelligence, allowing her to help him with the research. Perhaps the "research" is just a socially acceptable way for him to tell her things that she needs to know, things that Josym needs to hear.

    Uncanny that she and Lord Reunahn were both inexplicably drawn to those documents. And Josym's maternal uncle was a Jedi? Strange things, indeed!
     
  8. LLL

    LLL Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 16, 2000
    This is really, really beautiful work. So richly imagined, and a character with such a delicate soul!

    I only *wish* I could imagine a world in such heartfelt detail as this.

    Great job.

    @};-
     
  9. Noelie

    Noelie Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 11, 2005
    That was a moment of interesting depth and camaraderie between the man of power and the courtesan.

    Yes it is interesting that those items have shown up and at this time.

     
  10. BrentusofGath

    BrentusofGath Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Aug 12, 2005
    It almost seems as if he emerged from stock other than the puffed and rotten aristos. He has morals, for one thing. Now I'm getting a better picture of the origins of Josym's nature. He is a combination of his mother and his father's brother. I wondered for a moment if there was a time before his birth where Lady Casana and...no, not possible.

    Anything's possible. [face_batting]


    "It was tucked away in one of the storage closets. Unused dusty places are a perfect place to hide items of historical interest which also are suppressed by the orders of unenlightened individuals."

    Hey now, that's nearly treason, speaking that way about everybody's favorite Emperor. :p

    Great update! Well worth the wait. And the plot thickens. I wonder what's going on that they keep finding historically significant items? [face_thinking]
     
  11. piratedreamer

    piratedreamer Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    May 2, 2006
    Nice update! I can't wait to see what will happen with the Jedi uncle and possible Casana/Reunahn relationship! plots are twisting!!! (and we're all loving it ;))

    ~piratedreamer

    (thanks for the PM!!!)
     
  12. VaderLVR64

    VaderLVR64 Manager Emeritus star 8 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Feb 5, 2004
    I was less interested in the reason for this appearance than the identity of the knight accompanying Josym?s mother. It could only be one person. Her brother, the one who shares the name of her son. This was my first view of Josym Huranz, the last Jedi of his clan.

    Time is truly circular.


    Once again, you've transported me to another place and time! [face_love] Lovely! =D=
     
  13. dianethx

    dianethx Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Mar 1, 2002
    Lord Reunahn seems to understand about what is going on, both spoken and unspoken. Is he on their side or not? I can't tell. He seems friendly enough. That Josym is named after a Jedi might be considered dangerous in these times and genetics might tell.

    Great job. Still loving the whole society and the way people are moving in it. Looking forward to more.
     
  14. Laine_Snowtrekker

    Laine_Snowtrekker Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Jul 8, 2003
    Hmmm...

    Twists are afoot!

    I really enjoy this story. Thanks for posting. I'd say more, but what I read is still sinking in. Your grasp of language is beautiful.

    Thanks for the PM.
     
  15. Golden_Jedi

    Golden_Jedi Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 10, 2005
    ?How odd that we should come across his image so near to a certain someone?s birthday.

    Yes, how curious... [face_thinking]


    (Sorry I didn't reply earlier! [face_blush] )

    Can't wait for the next! :)
     
  16. arkham618

    arkham618 Jedi Master star 1

    Registered:
    Apr 27, 2007
    Very evocative and poignant, leiamoody. And the format is interesting, as well. I did not think, going in, that I'd be terribly engaged by what seemed at first glance to be a series of episodic diary entries written by a prostitute (however euphemistically titled), but you really drew me with the captivating cultural milieu. It is a character in itself, and the rather perverse institutions it encompasses drive the story in fascinating ways. Very, very good. =D=
     
  17. leiamoody

    leiamoody Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 8, 2005
    Written at Najahal's Crowning
    Tomorrow night, the knighting ceremony takes place. Josym becomes part of a false order of paperboard warriors who never actually fight in a battle, who are not chivalric or heroic. But it is the brotherhood of the brave, at least in the minds of the older men who enjoy waxing poetic about that glorious moment when all eyes were focused upon them, and there were no expectations placed upon their heads of being good husbands and fathers, and leaders of our society. It's all so ridiculous.

    Once, in days long hidden by the misty past, the knighting ceremony would have taken place outdoors, on a cliff overlooking the glorious expanse of the Northern Sea. But that was when Ysonesse was still a home, rather than a planet of near-legend. And then, the ritual was actually a golden moment, taking place under the natural light of the setting sun. Now, it's performed indoors under the relatively subdued lighting of one hundred candescent torches placed in abnormal arrangements in variously strewn candelabrum perched around the Induction Chamber like golden birds wearing fiery feathered hats. There's incense, tons of it according to Lord Reunahn, all utilized in a vain attempt to mask the smell of smoke blending together into one mass of choking scent. Also... Holy Amhrita, I already know that almost every woman in that chamber will be wearing some type of artificial scents. Perfume beads are traditionally woven into the massive shimmersilk skirts of the wives, daughters, nieces, and courtesans...or at least most of them. Oh, that dreadful stench on a day that is already going to be burdensome, and it will only be made worse when my allergies kick in. I'll have to speak with the house physician and pray he won't try to argue with me when I ask for a double set of prevention shots.

    It's strange to feel melancholic for a place one has never seen. Under certain circumstances, a cynical commentator would suggest that I'm suffering from depression over my present environment. Perhaps they would be right. But an observer inclined towards pessimism should easily be able to notice that what is going to take place less than twenty hours from now is pathetic. Many centuries after the Great Deluge and the Resettlement, the cycle of mock pageantry continues.

    It wasn't always like this, of course. Once upon a time, the Chatos Knighthood actually stood for something important. It wasn't just a silly birthday present for an heir and yet another excuse for the aristos to gather in a manse and have a celebration. It was an esteemed group of knights, both male and female. Originally, it was known as the Chatos Academy. Founded during the flourishing years of our ancestral home, the academy was intended as a finishing school for those children of the nobility who were gifted with sensitivity to the Universal Energy. Eventually, all those who were Force sensitive were allowed to attend the school, either rich or poor.

    Back then, all the ceremonies held true meaning. In the present, everything grand is artificial, including the rituals. Something needs to be done to change things. I don't know how or who will do this, but one can hope for better days.
     
  18. Golden_Jedi

    Golden_Jedi Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 10, 2005
    Wow! Loved your explanation of how this place has come to be like it is... :)
     
  19. Noelie

    Noelie Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 11, 2005
    Interesting history. The funny thing is I do have some historical reference for ending the cortigiamira. Believe it or not MOST men are relieved at the ending of such a thing, it is only a few that fight it for whatever reason. Of course part of that is the history I am talking is the ability to have more than one wife, meaning that the said man was responsible for the housing, the food, the clothing, the children of any of the women his wife. It was about responsibility, and not play, which is all most people think it is about.

    I can't speak to what a "concubine" would think, because unlike someone else mentioning a concubine being a "prostitute", they really are not, not even in our Judeo-Christian history. They had a position and their offspring were very much recognized as legitimate, even if having a secondary position to the off-spring of a rightful wife. Hence all the fun in the Abrahamic families. And a concubine in this society seems to have degenerated from being another vehicle for creating legitimate offspring in a decimated society, but down to the "play thing" of being a mistress.

    I can see this girl's frustration, and yet some of it is that she is fitted by nature for a greater role than she has been given in this society. She is bright, she is learned, she has an inkling of what she really wants, but has given into the idea she cannot have it, or does not have the right to have it. I am not sure which, at this point.

    That the knights are no longer real has such application to our day, where courage is becoming a trait that is in severe short supply. And those few that actually have it, and are ready to behave as such, there are others that would do everything they can do undermine or destroy that strength. When you have pomp and show, but no ability to actually DO something, when a society has gone that far, and into pretense that pomp, show and words are strength, your story shows how clearly how a society becomes all idiot words, and big shows, but no ability to see a tough thing through.

    I think the other hard part for our girl, is that she loves her man. She wants him to be more than he is being given.

    Thanks so much for the PM! You are doing an amazing job.
     
  20. VaderLVR64

    VaderLVR64 Manager Emeritus star 8 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Feb 5, 2004
    What a lovely and haunting world you've created here! :eek:

    Once, in days hidden in the mists of the past, the knighting ceremony would have taken place outdoors, on a cliff overlooking the glorious expanse of the Northern Sea. But that was when Ysonesse was still a home, rather than a planet of near-legend. And then, the ritual was actually a golden moment, taking place under the natural light of the setting sun. Now, it?s performed indoors under the relatively subdued lighting of one hundred candescent torches placed in abnormal arrangements in variously strewn candelabrum perched around the Induction Chamber like golden birds wearing fiery feathered hats. And there?s?incense, tons of it according to Lord Reunahn, all utilized in a vain attempt to mask the smell of smoke blending together into one mass of choking scent. And Holy Amhrita, I already know that almost every woman in that chamber will be wearing some type of artificial scents. Perfume beads are traditionally woven into the massive shimmersilk skirts of the wives, daughters, nieces, and courtesans?or at least most of them. Oh, that dreadful stench on a day that is already going to be burdensome, and it will only be made worse when my allergies kick in. I?ll have to speak with the house physician and pray he won?t try to argue with me when I ask for a double set of prevention shots.

    It?s strange to feel melancholic for a place one has never seen. Under certain circumstances, a cynical commentator would suggest that I?m suffering from depression over my present environment. Perhaps they would be right. But an observer inclined towards pessimism should easily be able to notice that what is going to take place less than twenty hours from now is pathetic. Yet, it makes a bizarre kind of sense, since our people have been stuck on this dusty orb with twin rivers and little else in the way of natural water sources for over twelve thousand years. Many centuries after the Great Deluge and the Resettlement, the cycle of mock pageantry continues.


    Absolutely stunning. =D=
     
  21. MsLanna

    MsLanna Jedi Master star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 8, 2005
    Well, she certainly had much time to learn about her history. But then I imagine that time is one of the things you get in abundance in that kind of life. She just used it for something 'more useful'. If a concubine pondering the state of society and its upcoming changes is of any use. (Except for telling us this great story.)

    In the present, everything grand is artificial.

    Never heard a word more true. :_|
     
  22. dianethx

    dianethx Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Mar 1, 2002
    Loved the background. The explanation about why there are courtisans and why the society is the way it is is quite intricate and grand. Loved that they had to move and yet were now less than they were before and it marked them.

    Just beautiful.

    Looking forward to more.
     
  23. divapilot

    divapilot Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 30, 2005
    Your narrator is insightful and intelligent, and she can usher us into this incredible world. This reminded me of the elaborate aristocracy of the Dune novels.

    Your descriptions are just exquisite. =D=
     
  24. BrentusofGath

    BrentusofGath Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Aug 12, 2005
    Many centuries after the Great Deluge and the Resettlement, the cycle of mock pageantry continues.

    I love the way she deflates those pompous windbags, lol.


    the academy was intended as a finishing school for the children of the nobility.

    You know, I've often wondered what makes someone 'noble'? I always thought it was deeds, not birth, but the privileged few see things differently. :rolleyes:


    and what they now viewed as their deity appointed privilege.

    Ugh. Dirt bags will always be dirtbags whether they have power or not. But the dirt bags with power are the ones you need to string from a sour apple tree. :D


    =D= Great update as usual!
     
  25. piratedreamer

    piratedreamer Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    May 2, 2006
    Absolutely beuatiful update! The history you've woven together is quite stunning and obviously well thought out. I can only continue to say that I am stunned by the beauty you show us everytime you post. She is in such a hard position, and I feel for her deeply. Perhaps she can help to bring about that change she so desperately seeks...

    ~piratedreamer