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Post by ASGEIR THE YOUNG . on Dec 9, 2012 15:05:14 GMT -8
in defense of our dreams  we were kings and queens of promise TAG: Elisif! Words: 696
ONE LAST THING: This was the worst starter anyone's ever seen.
”Jarl Asgeir, Jarl Elisif has nearly arrived.”
Asgeir was greatly mistaken when he thought war and Skald’s followers in the Pale would be his only source of stress for the next few weeks. He glanced at the guard who had spoken, ceasing his inspection of the White Hall as long as he could spare. ”Have the men lined up properly…and remember what I told you. The guards who served Skald…” The guard provided a gesture of assurance. ”Of course, they’ll be placed as far from Jarl Elisif and her party as the rest of us can manage.” Asgeir gave the guard a rather absent-minded nod that signaled that he could leave, giving the jarl a chance to turn his attention back to the hall.
The place was as neat as he could possibly make it and far cleaner than Asgeir had known it could be. He’d wondered a few times already whether or not Skald had ever actually cleaned the place once during his entire thirty-some year reign over the Pale. Asgeir could not think of anything else he should do to make sure the White Hall was in proper shape, but what worried him was that he could not think about something he didn’t know. No training manuals existed – and Asgeir had checked – to teach one jarl how to receive another one, and especially not another jarl who had been the high queen of Skyrim. No more than a couple of people living in the Pale really knew anything about ceremonies for these sorts of meetings, and those that did were the ones who thought they should have been jarl instead of Asgeir. Obviously, they wanted him to make something of a fool of himself. It was the young jarl’s goal to ensure that they were sorely disappointed, and he’d gone to great lengths to ensure that any mistakes made with the actual reception wouldn’t lead to more mistakes with the actual meeting with Jarl Elisif or with the arrangements he’d made to accommodate the length of her stay.
He cringed and rubbed at his eyes, still unsure whether or not he’d done enough to prepare but knowing that if he’d done anymore, the entire town would not have slept for the past few days. Eventually, Asgeir had to stop staring at every single facet of the White Hall and running his fingers across the rest of the arrangements as if searching for a splinter. After a couple more minutes of standing in place and trying to skim over the plans for reception in his mind, he turned and made for the door to exit to the snowy city that he now governed, cuing a few of the women who had agreed to help with the Hall to enter after him. He barely noticed them, as he surveyed the down, and they realized they need not bother him.
Good thing, too, because Asgeir almost immediately spotted what looked to by Jarl Elisif’s party approaching at a distance – a darkened splotch against the otherwise white landscape. Asgeir stared at it for a few moments as if dumbfounded before showing signs of life again. ”She’s on her way,” Asgeir called back anxiously into the longhouse, before trudging his way down the steps in a rather undignified rush that carried him as far as the guards lining up in place. He stopped there, making a brisk inspection that informed him that they were all standing in the correct place, before his eyes shifted to the rest of the town. Everything seemed to be in order…though Asgeir knew that there were troublemakers and naysayers probably waiting around every corner to come out and start their chatter once Jarl Elisif arrived, if only to do their best to discredit him.
Asgeir sighed to himself and turned his eyes back to the approaching party. Right. Saying nothing, since it would do no good to try and explain in detail to one of the guards or the housecarl what he or she should be doing once Jarl Elisif arrived, Asgeir simply took up his place at the end of one of the lines and pray to the gods that everything went smoothly.
the victims of ourselves |
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Post by ELISIF THE FAIR . on Dec 12, 2012 0:22:19 GMT -8
[newclass=.threadpicture]height: 280px; width: 180px; padding: 10px; background-image: url(http://i.imgur.com/mfrgg.png); border:solid 10px #be4b4b;[/newclass] [newclass=.threadinfo]width:180px; height: 280px; opacity: 0; -webkit-transition: 2s ease; -moz-transition: 2s ease; -o-transition: 2s ease; margin-left: -3px;[/newclass] [newclass=.threadinfo:hover]opacity: 0.9; -webkit-transition: 2s ease; -moz-transition: 2s ease; -o-transition: 2s ease;[/newclass] [newclass=.infor]width: 180px; padding: 3px; font-family: open sans condensed; font-size: 10px; text-transform: uppercase; background-color: #222222; margin-bottom: 3px; text-align:center; font-weight: light; color: #efefef;[/newclass] [newclass=.postingtiem]background-color:#dedede; font-family: tahoma; font-size: 9px; line-height: 95%; text-align:justify; width: 200px; height: 300px; padding: 10px; overflow: auto; color: #303030;[/newclass] [newclass=.lyricstiem]background-color:#222222; font-family: open sans condensed; letter-spacing: 0px; font-size: 18px; color: #efefef; width: 434px; padding: 5px; margin-top: -15px; font-weight: normal;[/newclass] [atrb=border,0,true]KENT WITH ASGEIR 757 COMFORTABLY NUMB - PINK FLOYD sorry this is kind of.. bleh. Dx | [atrb=border,0,true] dawnstar was some distance from solitude, but it had always been a journey elisif had enjoyed.
the first time she'd been to the pale was as a girl, when her father met with some distant cousin who owned land there. of course it would have been simpler for the relative to come to them in solitude, but elisif's father had always been the sort to go out of his way for family. so elisif's family had packed up their things, and stayed in their cousin's house. it was a brief visit, considering elisif's mother thought the place stunk of pig. it hadn't been a radical guess. only upon arriving had they realized that their dear cousin was a simple pig farmer. but such was life when you were of a lesser noble family. but her mother was of a slightly finer sort of noble, so they had left only after a week.
elisif's second journey, and the one she remembered most clearly, had been in the company of her husband. torygg had always appeared to be on good terms with the jarls of skyrim, but there had been something about skald the elder that the high king distrusted. visiting the elderly jarl had been torygg's way of saying that he was keeping an eye on skald, though what skald may have been up to was anyone's guess. it was clear now, after skald had thrown his support overeagerly to the stormcloaks. but five years ago, the civil war was in the distant future and crabby old skald had the ability to pose a few problems for torygg.
that journey had been longer than the first, with the royal entourage in tow, along with guards and everything else. it was a distant memory, yet seeing the unchanged landscape around her brought it all back, as clear as the memories elisif had of the day before last, when she had left solitude. they had camped by that rock, the way it jutted out from the ground offering shelter from the icy winds. that thicket of tress had been thinned to provide wood for their fires at night. it pained elisif that, although so much had happened in these past years, skyrim stubbornly remained the same. her rather cheerful memories of that trip ruined this one completely. why, if elisif ignored the handmaidens riding beside her, she could very well imagine torygg riding beside her.
but he was gone now, and elisif had to open her eyes to that fact. it was nearing on months since torygg's death, yet it affected the nord woman no less. she had taken his place as regent of skyrim unofficially, which only made it worse. she found herself questioning every decision she made, wondering if torygg would have done the same. he was her standard, simply because elisif knew he would have proven to be a good ruler, if he had only had the chance.
upon hearing about the pale's change in jarl, elisif knew it was her duty to welcome them to the title. haafingar had little to do with the pale, but elisif saw it as an opportunity. skald had been a staunch supporter of the stormcloaks, but elisif was hoping the new jarl would be wiser. from what she had heard, he was young. it was her hope they would prove as impressionable as skald had been stubborn and bitter.
on the third day, dawnstar was in sight. it was always such a pretty town, though not exactly to elisif's liking. it was too.. small for someone used to the grandeur of solitude. but it was quaint, and as she was secured lodging's in the jarl's residence, elisif knew she would certainly be comfortable.
it wasn't until early evening when they arrived in front of the white hall. it was as elisif remembered it, which set a rather grim expression on her face. she wondered if she'd be sleeping the same quarters set aside for her and torygg in the past. if so, it was to be a very restless night for her. casting aside those thoughts for now, elisif's eyes scanned the line of people outside the hall before calling her greeting.
"hail, people of the pale. which of you is jarl asgeir?" it was hard to tell with them all lined up so, yet elisif's eyes drifted over them once more. when that gave her no more luck, she waited for the jarl to answer. surely he had the decency to meet his former high queen in person? |
THE DREAM IS GONE, I'VE BECOME COMFORTABLY NUMB |
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Post by ASGEIR THE YOUNG . on Dec 18, 2012 15:52:41 GMT -8
in defense of our dreams we were kings and queens of promise TAG: Elisif! Words: 697
ONE LAST THING: Hmmm...I'm mildly pleased with this reply.  Better than the starter. Asgeir knew very little about Jarl Elisif other than the basic facts, and his ignorance worried him as he watched the party slowly proceed towards the edge of Dawnstar. Obviously, the young jarl couldn’t simply ask his predecessor about the personalities of the other jarls and how to treat them when they arrived. All Asgeir really could do was make his own assumptions based on very shaky observances of the goings on in the war and in Solitude. That she had remained the Jarl of Solitude even after her husband’s death made Asgeir figure she was probably a very strong and determined individual to the point of stubbornness. Asgeir couldn’t remember hearing her name too often before the war aside from hearing her assumedly affectionate title of “the Fair.” From the popularity of that given title, Asgeir would have assumed she was an attractive woman. He knew she was several years older than him, but still young. Knowing that he wasn’t meeting with a woman twenty or thirty years his elder gave him some reassurance that they would be able to appreciate one another’s problems as they tried to do right by the people they both served as jarls. Of course, Asgeir couldn’t say he knew much more about young women than he did older women. His stomach stirred a little again at the thought of making a series of mistakes while Jarl Elisif visited, but as the short escort train came to a stop, Asgeir didn’t have time to attend to that stirring, only to stand a bit straighter and angle himself at the end of the line so he could see his guest. Finding the woman who stepped forward in fine dress was not a difficult task.
So “the Fair” really was fitting.
She was a striking woman. She did look a few years older than Asgeir, but if he, at his age, could be one to judge, still youthful-looking. Or…she would have likely been more youthful-looking, if Asgeir could bypass the slightly worrying expression on her face that he hoped wasn’t some displeasure at the greeting; to tell the truth, the Pale was too laden in snow for residents to have come from miles around to visit Dawnstar and greet the Jarl of Solitude, but the group that had gathered somewhere behind Asgeir and his troops seemed to be a warm enough welcoming committee to break through the cold, if Elisif didn’t break through it herself.
Wanting to be respectful of the manner with which she wanted to announce herself, as Asgeir waited – perhaps too long – in his position on the end of the line before the other jarl said something. Time to fill his role as jarl and prove to someone that he wasn’t completely out of his means. He took in a breath before stepping forward, suddenly unaware of how close he should be. He settled on only close enough so that he could reach across the distance to reach her hand if she made the same motion. His voice came out crisply and, to his relief, confidently, but he bowed his head low to her as he responded. ”That would be me, Jarl Elisif.” Only once Asgeir’s head and shoulders moved back up did he continue. ”I know I speak for all of us in the Pale when I say that it’s an honor to have your company.” Except for Skald, but most people disowned him by now anyway. Again, Asgeir hoped in the back of his mind that the old man would stay away.
But Skald wasn’t worth occupying Asgeir’s mind from the here and now. ”If you would like, we have food inside, away from all of this snow. It’s the freshest we can manage at this time of year, but the women who prepared it are the best cooks in the area.” Now came the issue of knowing how to walk alongside her or before her or behind her or in any other position if Elisif accepted his offer to step inside. Hopefully, her first move would decide the question for him.
But, Asgeir had to admit, he hadn’t seemed to get anything wrong yet...pending Elisif's reaction to him.
the victims of ourselves |
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Post by ELISIF THE FAIR . on Dec 20, 2012 14:22:27 GMT -8
[newclass=.threadpicture]height: 280px; width: 180px; padding: 10px; background-image: url(http://i.imgur.com/mfrgg.png); border:solid 10px #be4b4b;[/newclass] [newclass=.threadinfo]width:180px; height: 280px; opacity: 0; -webkit-transition: 2s ease; -moz-transition: 2s ease; -o-transition: 2s ease; margin-left: -3px;[/newclass] [newclass=.threadinfo:hover]opacity: 0.9; -webkit-transition: 2s ease; -moz-transition: 2s ease; -o-transition: 2s ease;[/newclass] [newclass=.infor]width: 180px; padding: 3px; font-family: open sans condensed; font-size: 10px; text-transform: uppercase; background-color: #222222; margin-bottom: 3px; text-align:center; font-weight: light; color: #efefef;[/newclass] [newclass=.postingtiem]background-color:#dedede; font-family: tahoma; font-size: 9px; line-height: 95%; text-align:justify; width: 200px; height: 300px; padding: 10px; overflow: auto; color: #303030;[/newclass] [newclass=.lyricstiem]background-color:#222222; font-family: open sans condensed; letter-spacing: 0px; font-size: 18px; color: #efefef; width: 434px; padding: 5px; margin-top: -15px; font-weight: normal;[/newclass] [atrb=border,0,true]KENT WITH ASGEIR 539 COMFORTABLY NUMB - PINK FLOYD kinda short. DD: | [atrb=border,0,true] quite simply, elisif had no idea what awaited her in the pale. overthrowing skald the elder had been big news, and elisif was grateful for it. skald had been zealous in his support for the stormcloaks, practically kissing ulfric's rear end from what elisif had heard. his being overthrown might have been taken as a godly sign, if elisif had been a more pious woman. but she wasn't, and all she had felt upon hearing the news was immense satisfaction.
but hearing of skald's replacement had diminished that almost as easily. to put a man, no, boy, in the jarl's seat during wartime? the people of the pale must have been mad. half of solitude were unhappy with elisif taking her husband's seat because of her age and inexperience, so what they'd think when she brought back her report of this asgeir character was going to be very interesting.
when the pale's new jarl finally stepped forward, elisif couldn't exactly say that he cut an impressive figure. but she took that as a good sign. better to look unimportant and be a decent ruler, than to be the opposite. out of habit, she almost offered her hand for him to bow over, as she would have done when she was queen, but she stopped herself before she did so. instead, she bowed her head. elisif was not named queen yet, and as such, she greeted asgeir as an equal.
"i am honored you agreed to receive me." elisif responded courteously. "i am aware it was short notice, but i had to ensure the pale was in good hands." the gaze she fixed him with then made it clear elisif would be watching his every move. but in an instant, it was gone, and elisif smiled at him. at least this asgeir was polite. though he did look terribly young. the former high queen just hoped he knew what he was in for. being jarl was difficult even during peace time, elisif knew from being wed to one. but during war time, that difficulty was multiplied tenfold. she found herself sympathizing with asgeir, hoping the young nord had it in him to keep the pale under control with ulfric beating down on him. elisif knew the kingkiller would not take kindly to his biggest supporter being tossed from his seat of power.
"food would be wonderful, thank you." elisif spoke, grateful to hear food was available. she hadn't noticed it quite so much, but she was hungry. she'd been skipping meals unintentionally since torygg had passed, but the travelling and now standing in the snow made her hunger more prominent than ever. "i'm sure it's more than sufficient. even in solitude, we are feeling the effects of winter." and the war, elisif added as an afterthought, but she kept it to herself. there was time later to bring up the war, the main reason she had traveled all this way, and she would not tarnish her first meeting with asgeir by bringing it up as soon as she arrived on his doorstep. doing so would be discourteous, and more than anything, elisif just wanted to sit down and relax, even just for five minutes, before attending to such serious matters. |
THE DREAM IS GONE, I'VE BECOME COMFORTABLY NUMB |
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Post by ASGEIR THE YOUNG . on Dec 28, 2012 11:51:22 GMT -8
in defense of our dreams we were kings and queens of promise TAG: Elisif! Words: 702
ONE LAST THING: Happy with this one too! But Elisif had to ensure that the Pale was in good hands. Asgeir wasn’t sure whether or not there was an obvious hitch, perhaps a sign of regret to anyone who knew the young man well, in the respectful nod that he provided his fellow jarl at her words. He had faced doubt on top of doubt ever since he voiced his agreement to do away with Skald like everyone wanted. Not necessarily everyone – what everyone else wanted. While the results of the challenge to Skald did please Asgeir, sitting back in a fancy chair day by day and having to deal with problems in ways that would make no one happy was not his idea of entertainment. Everyone seemed to have their own ideas on how he should be running the Pale, and though Asgeir would have loved to combine those ideas into a policy that could make everyone happy, it was proving to be impossible. The knowledge that Elisif might only be visiting to intimidate him into joining her Imperial camp had made Asgeir anxious long before today had approached on the calendar. Hearing her words only made him more anxious, though he was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt for the time being. He’d only ever heard good things about her from the Pale citizens who had half a brain. After all, she might have only wanted his support in being named queen. Considering Jarl Ulfric seemed to already think he was Skyrim’s high king, Asgeir didn’t have any trouble supporting a woman in sitting on a throne that didn’t matter during the war if that support would keep her from poking and prodding the Pale incessantly.
Already he was thinking about politics. Perhaps he was more comfortable than he’d first believed.
With none of those thoughts mattering at the moment and no interest in expressing any sort of reservations to his guest, Asgeir thought it best to totally move the focus towards the reception and the food that was prepared inside. Though he felt as if he wasn’t saying enough, Asgeir knew nothing of Solitude and couldn’t think of much to say about her comment until he’d motioned for a pair of troops to escort the two of them inside and ultimately settled on walking only slightly in front of Elisif on the way to the door. Once up the stairs and with a guard pushing the door open, Asgeir looked to his guest again. ”Does Solitude usually have much snowfall?” It was a question to try and generate more of an easy conversation, yes, but Asgeir was also curious. If he was going to be a part of the leadership of Skyrim, he needed to know more about the different parts of Skyrim. Solitude wasn’t his responsibility, but it would still be nice to know about the climate there. What if the war started to truly go sour, and suddenly there were people there who were struggling with the cold and a lack of food? Asgeir would want to send some supplies in that case, whether Solitude was his ally or enemy. It was sentiments like that that likely displeased everyone, but Nords were Nords and Skyrim was Skyrim. Asgeir saw it as his job to make sure those two entities survived this war.
Stepping aside to let Elisif enter the building first, Asgeir followed and found the women inside, already in the process of bowing to the visiting jarl. He was proud to see that their finishing touches on the dinner table had turned out nicely, and let them both introduce themselves and make their greetings before saying anything further. Asgeir was certainly glad both of them leaned towards the Imperial cause in addition to being the two best cooks he knew. He hoped that they were correct to say that the guest should sit on the immediate right of the host…as that was the chair that Asgeir rested his hand on in preparation to pull it out from the table once they were both done speaking. ”If you’re ready, Jarl Elisif, we can go ahead and eat. Your aides can join us if they’d like – we should have plenty for everyone.”
the victims of ourselves |
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Better than the starter.