[Sodium_noir] Carousel [Dusk]

[Bryce Perry]

On 8/30/06, Spikey <spikey at khaoshq.fsnet.co.uk> wrote:
>
>  *The Isle of Crabs Fun Fair*
>
> *[Closed for repairs]*
>
> *The Isle of Crabs*
>
> *Dusk*
>
> **
> *A hen that's fierce
> And painted blue
> With red eyes
> Wants to swallow you*
>
>
>
> Riva, Mordraines Chimerical hawk, soars above the funfair looking for
> prey, a small mortal bird that it can frighten with a brief glimpse at its
> unreal shape. But Riva is only the Dream of a hunting bird, a wisp of an
> idea of a companion, and so it cannot truly hunt in this land. Most of the
> Autumn worlders will never even see her, but she sees them. Darting through
> the Funfair she spies on the mortal workmen and the Commoner artisans. And
> then once she has surveyed the Kingdom, she wheel about and returns to her
> master.
>

Kast notes the small dot in the sky as it flies far overhead, his predator's
eyesight keen.  He sighs as he walks toward the funfair, wanting nothing
more than to shed his mortal seeming and join the hawk high above the day to
day world.  His face twists in a moue as his wings strain at his loose silk
shirt.

*Their watchful eyes, you start to swoon
> Oh painted vile in lurid hue*
> The paintbox tunes and wild balloons
>
>
>
> The Ogre stands in silence, saving its limited brain power for the job at
> hand. In its giant paws it holds a small lamp, lit from the Balefire at
> Raindog's bar. A Balefire. For the time being the thoughts of murder and
> molestation that usualy occupy its desires are replaced by proximity to the
> balefire. The Dreaming itself elevates him. The Changelings around him gaze
> in awe at the lamp, knowing in their hearts what it represents. The
> awakening of the once dead Freehold, the return of the Dream. The return of
> the Unseelie.
>
>
>
> Mordraine wanders among the crowd, pressing flesh and thanking visitors
> for coming. Ever the politician, the Sidhe surveys his vassals and
> strengthens his ties to the rest of the East Coast Unseelie. Eventually he
> has made a circuit of the thronged crowd, ushered through the ranks by
> murmors of aquisence and respect, and mounts the steps to a carousel. Set
> close to the entrance on the main boardwalk it mixes the old world charm of
> wooden horses with ultra modern technology. Each Horse has neon lights and
> slightly daring harnesses. Each is an individual work of art created by a
> Dreamer or fae.
>

Kast, having now shed his loose, but still confining shirt shakes the
Unseelie lord's hand, his smile thin and his eyes narrow as the two
beautiful men eye each other.  Kast's jet black wings rise behind him like
an angel's, their color matching the dark sheen of his hair, offsetting his
ice chip blue eyes and his model's good looks.  As the meaningless
pleasentries are exchanged, Kast's only outward sign of anything but
complete obeisance to the Sidhe are the gouges his talons lightly dig in the
ground.

"My lord, allow me to pledge myself to our Court on this night of it's
rebirth.  All that I might do to further it's aims is yours for the asking,"
he says, his voice a rich, deep tenor, as intriguing and pleasant as the
rest of him.

*Time stood still
> Roundabout back
> Carousel
> Time stood still
> And you remember it well
> Carousel*
> In sucked out
>
> "My fellow Unseelie, courtiers, noble visitors and guests." His words were
> caught by some cleverly hidden microphone and sounded from the speakers and
> sound system of every ride and stall. "Too long has the Pageant gone
> unobserved. Too long have the Fae of Gotham been without a Court. Too long
> have the Dreams of this city of sin been allowed to fester and go
> unharvested. But the time to mourn is past, the time to hang our heads and
> to resist the turning of the world is over. It is time the children of the
> Dreaming celebrated life once more, time for the Pageant to begin anew."
>
> The Crowd roared and cheered, aided by pre-recorded fevour and echoed
> ardour. In truth, this was just what the Unseelie of Gotham had been hoping
> for, a light at the end of the tunnel. A sign that they could drag
> themselves from past defeat.
>
> "Winter is almost upon us, the season of Samhain is at hand. This is the
> time, in years gone by, that the Unseelie would take over the ruling of the
> worlds and would govern the fae in our half of the year. That ancient pact
> was broken by the Seelie, but here in Gotham where no Seelie rule, we shall
> reinstate it. Come October 31st I swear to you this funfair will be alive
> with people once more. But come morning, I shall have returned to you your
> Freehold!"
>
> Again the cheers and whoops, the release of three years pain and fury.
>
> "With this Balefire I shall reconnect the old Court with its Dream Realm.
> Re-establish our home and our hearth. And with your consent, I shall ascend
> the dark Throne of Gotham and shoulder the responsibility of leadership. For
> a year and a day after this night I will strive to serve you and make you
> whole if you will serve me. After that time, if you are agreed, the choice
> of your leader will be yours to make again. How say you Dreams of the
> Unseelie?"
>
> The cry was almost unanimous. It was mostly positive. They almost begged
> him to be thier Lord. If anybody disagreed with the appointment, they knew
> better than to voice such concerns. Hungry Redcaps and lusty Ogres waited
> for those who bucked the current mood. They all but carried Mordrain into
> the Black Hole ride, followed by the Ogre and the balefire.
>
> Inside, lit by smoky lanterns and white hot braziers was the court.
> Garlands hung from the metalic tracks and supports of the roller coaster,
> pennons of the Unseelie houses and the Black Rose of the Court. Chains and
> hooks dangled from the upper reaches while the walls were bedecked in
> weapons and arms, signs of the old days still remembered by the forward
> looking Unseelie. Unseen by mortal eyes during the day, the inner expanse
> was a riot of ultra modern decor mixed with baroque old world splendour. The
> centre of the vast area, the core of the ride, was a wrought-iron pillar, a
> tube with a holow centre. The foor of which was built around a pit for the
> Balefire and the tip of which supported the ceiling.
>
>  At Mordraines command the Ogre shoved his brand intot hat central edifice
> and relit the Balefire. Its green hued flames dashed the shadows and brought
> the Freehold to life. The gathered Court cheered again.
>

Kast's voice rises along with the others present in cheering the rebirth of
the Unseelie Court of Gotham.  As the ceremony draws to it's conclusion, the
Changeling looks around the cloud, taking in the others of his dark court, a
slow smile spreading across his face, lighting his eyes with a dark
happiness at what he sees.

[Tag to um... anyone else there]
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