The House of Estrin had called the Island Palace home since it was founded. Much to Ellanor's surprise, the building was quite humble compared to her expectations.
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There was no glamorous party going on when she entered: no sound of clinking glasses or whispered gossip; the absence of nobility was very confusing to the Eastern born woman – who had been under the impression that the Dominion had multiple noble house and had been wrong about it.
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Her new master was extraordinarily different to Khatun Xarai in almost every way possible – she was not born in the Dominion for a start.
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Ellanor mentally sifted through everything she knew about the incumbent Gur Khani. The title meant the first wife of the heir, who was known as the Gur Khan and was always the oldest male child of the ruler.
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Firstly, her name was Baroness Jennifer Astrai Estrin-Romanakov. Secondly, she was Narcissian in birth and spent most of her childhood in Narcester in the subregion of Worcestershire. However, she frequently took trips to Aurea Urbis and Quiro-upon-Xyber in Chalcrystis and Luxequinox, respectively. Thirdly, her family – at least what remained of it – was more important than the Houses of Orlov and Rostov but less so than the ridiculously named House of Niobite-Tantalite – mostly comprised of Lords and ladies rather than Barons, Baronesses, Rectors, and Rectesses.
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And fourthly? She was approaching Prefect Ellanor Etatè smoothly like a water dancer, almost as if made of silk.
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Northeasterners, she thought and rolled her eyes at the classic Narcissian grandiosity.
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“Ah, thou must be Ellanor!” she said cheerfully.
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Jennifer sort of scooped Ellanor up out of the room and led her to her bedchamber.
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“It is so exciting to have someone new to talk to, and a new Handmaiden as well!.” Jennifer grinned as she spoke, looking very much like an ancestor flirting with a Knight of the Order of the Dragoon, but surely that did not happen in the past.
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They both sat down on the large, four-poster bed.
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“Have thou read today's headlines or perhaps heard it on the radio?” She asked politely.
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“No, was it something big?” Ellanor said back.
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“See for thyself!” she giggled softly to herself and threw that days edition of the Dominion Times – The paper was infamously always a day out of date as news always reached the Estrin Archipelago last.
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It was printed in the tongue of the Void, but the Dominion Times was considerate,- or more than likely, greedy – enough to put an Empyrean Basic translation in subscript for people that struggled with the language, as most did not use it unless addressing a member of the Covenant of the Void. However, Ellanor Etatè had been forced to learn the cultist language to the point of fluency, so it did not matter.
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The headline read:
𐐝𐐲𐐹𐑉𐐨𐑋 Meritocrat Berote 𐐣𐐲𐑉𐐼𐐲𐑉𐐲𐐼!
(Supreme Meritocrat Berote Murdered!)
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In smaller letters below the head, in there was a subheading as well:
𐐜 𐑃𐐲𐑉𐐼 𐐲𐑂 𐑄 𐐗𐐵𐑌𐑅𐐲𐑊 𐐲𐑂 Ætharchs 𐐰𐑌𐐼 𐐂𐑉𐐽-𐐑𐑉𐐨𐑅𐐻 𐐲𐑂 𐐂𐑉𐐻è 𐐶𐐮𐑊 𐐺𐐨 𐐼𐐨𐑉𐑊𐐨 𐑋𐐮𐑅𐐲𐐼 𐐺𐐴 𐐫𐑊 𐐮𐑌 𐑄 𐐝𐐵𐑃𐐨𐑅𐐻.
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(The third of the Council of Ætharchs and Arch-Priest of Artè will be dearly missed by all in the Southeast.)
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Jennifer looked her in the eye and said in a deadpan, monotone voice, “I am sure the Anti-Dysgenist cultist will be missed indeed.”
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She quickly added something on the end in her normal, playful voice, “By the bloody Covenant that is. All the non-cultists in Empyrea shalt not miss that genocidal maniac in the slightest!” Ellanor was surprised to find anti-Æbyss sentiment in the capital of the Estrin Dominion, especially when it came from the wife of ifs Heir...perhaps her task would be easier than she thought.
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“You do not have much love for Berote's ideology? I was always neutral as EASP was not much better than it.” Prefect Etatè questioned thoughtfully.
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There was a knock at the door before a woman in a simple white dress appeared. She had high cheekbones and Emerald green eyes.
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“Hello Celeste! This is my new Handmaiden Ellanor Etatè. We were just discussing pan-regional politics, care to join us?” the Gur Khani jokingly batted her eyebrows at the woman called Celeste.
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The woman seemed familiar to Ellanor, but she could not place her face or recall her fill name for the life of her. Celeste was a nans that could come from the Southwest or the Northeast due the religiousness of the Ceruleans and the fondness of the Narcissians for elegant, Celestial names despite the Faith of the Star being a minority belief there compared to Techno-Spiritualism.
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Celeste smiled slightly at both of them. “I am Viscountess Cleleste Aliana Ego of Luxequinox, Concubine-Khani of Jiro. I am the second oldest of Earl Preen and Countess Calliope's children after Malum. I hate him for executing the third child – Viscountess Lyra Charlene Ego of Xyrolith – after she refused to bend to his will. ” She said with more than a trace of bitterness. “I was Gur Khani to Temji because my brother married me off to him, much to the annoyance of many of the older generation.”
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Ellanor did not expect to encounter Narcissian...royalty? Aristocracy? She did not know the word. The Northeasterners would surely forgive her as there was not a term for that.
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Gur Khan Temji had died under what had been slammed as “Suspicious Circumstances” by nearly every paper under the control of the Covenant. On the other hand, the only CATAE publication – The Empyrean Telegraph – claimed that the organisation had nothing to do with it but that it was a cause for celebration nonetheless.
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“Maybe the pair of Narcissians could explain what is going on there with the deployments?” Ellanor knew that it would be a sensitive subject, which was exactly why she asked the question.
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“They art looking for the youngest sister, Viscountess Valerie Reine Ego of Chalcrystis, Malum is not pleased that she fled from Château Ego to help the rebels the day that Lyra was executed. Good for her, I hope she is well.” Celeste's answer was somewhat melancholy and fierce, much like her.
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Ellanor could practically see the tension in the bedchamber, owing to the fact that it was so thick and saturated in the air that one could carve it with a knife like meat in a butcher's shop.
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She changed the topic but not the subject.
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“Alright, but what about the Chancellor disappearing?” She muttered.
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The two friends gazed into each others eyes – Jennifer's were azure blue while Celeste had the emerald green eyes common in her family - for a moment before turning to Ellanor and tutting loudly at her statement.
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“Is that one not obvious?” Remarked Jennifer.
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“Chancellor Eustace Argent de Rutherford is definitely dead: the Covenant did not have much love for the former Adeptus Astrognostic because of his particular area of research having strong links to the Faith of the Star. The same happened to the previous Chancellor. It was just a lot more hush-hush because his Trainee Adeptus became the new one.” Explained Viscountess Celeste of Luxequinox
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“Astrognostic? What in Empyrea is that? And what was his master the Adeptus of?” Jennifer sounded about as confused by the obscure Adepti specialisations as Ellanor was.
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Celeste seemed well versed in the topic for whatever reason, though.
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“It is the study of the connection between human soul/consciousness and celestial realm. His teacher was the Adeptus Esoteric, who studied hidden truths, often involving spiritual or metaphysi-“
“- We know what Escortic means Celeste! How doth thou know so much about this stuff anyway?” interrupted Jennifer.
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“Because I am old yet look young due to the fact I will not age until Malum is killed as his deal with Æonex extends to all of his sisters because he wanted to Victorine by his side forever. I was born in 40 YAP; the same year that the founder of the Executorship of the East, Executor Reinhart Rensiak, died after suffering a stroke and was replaced by Executor Ernst Erzatz. Which was one hundred and two years ago!” Celeste snapped at her far younger friend.
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“Oh.”
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“Oh indeed.”
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