Post by Reyn on Mar 29, 2022 18:10:19 GMT
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[font size="1"][div align="center"]Header art by [url=https://www.artstation.com/artwork/N6d]Sebastian Kowoll[/url]
[break]Scene art from [url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22093255-the-art-of-dragon-age]The Art of Dragon Age Inquisition[/url]
[break]Character art by [url=https://www.deviantart.com/banished-shadow/gallery]Banished Shadow[/url], [url=https://www.artstation.com/artwork/ybeAdn]Park Bum June[/url], and [url=https://www.deviantart.com/lorandesore/art/Ralph-830381502]LoranDeSore[/url][/div][/font]
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[div][attr="class",WhisperTitle]The Court of Whispers[/div]
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[div][attr="class",WhisperQuote]It speaks through the mouths of the many, subtle in its influence, spreading its will like a terrible plague. It sees through the eyes of the obscured, silent in its watch, touching its baleful gaze on every corner of this wretched city. It acts through the hands of the beholden, ruthless in its conquest, striking from the shadows at anyone who opposes its machinations... unless, of course, fate should strike them first.[/div]
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The furtive few know better than to be [i]indiscreet[/i] with their intentions. Praach was built on the backs of the cautious, the [i]criminal[/i]. Secrecy is woven into the fabric of its very being; one needs only to look at its ever-hidden rulers, the [i]Veiled Lords[/i], to understand just how deep this thread runs. For every whisper a man hears, a thousand more go still unnoticed... so it stands to reason, of course, that the best way to get ahead in a city like this is to [i]listen[/i].
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The [i]Court[/i] exists to do just that.
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They are a secretive lot, as one would expect, even amongst themselves. A hidden cabal of silent conspirators, spreading their twisted roots throughout the streets of Praach, answering only to the whims of their ever-unknown master: a man known only as the [i]Muse[/i]. The Court's outer circle, the [i]Jury[/i], knows only the identities of those similarly positioned, with anyone further in remaining hidden behind intricate gold-patterned masks in their presence. The [i]Judgement[/i], then, are also known amongst themselves, and are entrusted to manage and report on the Jury, as well as provide direction from the top. The highest circle of trust within the court are the [i]Museguard[/i]; an unmasked trio, and the Muse's sole confidants: the silver-tongued Vanessa Hawke, the ever-vigilant Gethin Steele, and the curse-wrought Ezekalis Grange.
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Their reach is as deep as it is obscured, with conduits in just about every area of importance, waiting, watching, [i]whispering[/i], in order to ensure its nefarious ends are met. All people know of the Court is that they could be anywhere, any[i]one[/i]. They are commoners. They are noblemen. They are the gold-spun puppet strings slowly wrapping themselves around the city, and they will only continue to [i]constrict.[/i]
[div][attr="class",WhisperQuote]Tell me, do you believe in its justice? Its righteousness? Its façade? Indeed, those who don't would say that the strings are most tightly entwined around those who hold them; an alliance forged in treason, yet so inexorably bound to its Prince. At the very least, it is safer on the inside.[/div]
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[div][attr="class",WhisperSubtitle]The Rumour[/div]
The Court sees all, knows all, [i]hears[/i] all. Should a member within require any information, there is a frighteningly high chance that they'll be able to find it, and be met with little resistance. Unfortunately, some of the wiser folk of Praach have taken the details of their business further underground in an effort to evade the Court, but they usually hear enough. They are quite adaptable, after all.
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Its members are chosen not only for their skill and loyalty, but for their [i]connections[/i] as well. It is rumoured that there is a Court member in every major institution in the city, though such a claim is difficult to verify. What is clear, however, is their influence. Sowing dissent among those who need to hear it is one of their most practised techniques, and, especially when it comes to the paranoid nobility, it tends to carry them a lot further than one might think.[/div][/div]
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[div][attr="class",WhisperSubtitle][div align="right"]The Blade[/div][/div]
Though the Court favours goading outsiders to do their dirty work over the risk of doing it themselves, that doesn't mean that they're incapable of such feats. Much of its membership is comprised of trained assassins, and the Muse is known to be quite [i]discerning[/i] when it comes to the skill of those he selects. This ensures that, should their more subtle plans fall through, the Court is still able to carry out its machinations without much of a sacrifice, though it is viewed as an absolute last resort.
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Of course, not all of their dealings result in bloodshed, but they are more than prepared for when it does. They are the Court of [i]Whispers[/i], not merely of blades. The Muse likes to consider them a little more [i]refined[/i] than a lowly assassins' guild.[/div][/div]
[div][attr="class",WhisperQuote]There is a reason why the Museguard feel no need to obscure themselves before the Jury. It is a matter of trust; not just in the loyalty of others, but in the capability of themselves. After all, what harm can a loose tongue do if the head that contains it has been severed?[/div]
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[div][attr="class",WhisperSubtitle]Vanessa Hawke[/div]
An actress who works at the Oldtown Theatre, many are surprised to learn that a woman as seemingly pleasant as Vanessa could play a role in the Court of Whispers; and take [i]centre stage[/i], no less. From within, she serves as a messenger, ensuring proper communication between the Court and its Muse- or, most often, between the Muse and his Court. As such, she is seen far more frequently than the other Museguards, and is often the only one a Juror may ever see.
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Of course, one should not take her openness to mean weakness, though such a folly is often made by her secret-obsessed subordinates. Vanessa is a talented rogue, with stealth so profound that that there are rumours of her being able to turn completely invisible. She is also an incredible diplomat, so much so that she has had to fend off accusations of enchantment- which, for someone like her, was an ironically easy feat. Her skill in combat of almost all types more than makes up for her limited spellcasting ability. Still, her forte lies in avoiding fights, not engaging in them.
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She is considered the Muse's right hand woman, for matters of the Court, and her loyalty to his cause is unshakable. Many have tried to force information out of her, but none have succeeded; aside from her base determination, Vanessa is notable for being almost impossible to charm.
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This trait, of course, has lead to much speculation on the identity of the Muse. Vanessa, of course, refuses to speak on such matters.[/div][/div]
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[div][attr="class",WhisperSubtitle][div align="right"]Gethin Steele[/div][/div]
The safety of the Muse can be left in no more fitting hands than that of the old guard, Gethin Steele. His retirement from his profession came at the same time as his promotion to Museguard, and his priorities show quite clearly in the way he carries about the Court's business. He is sometimes seen accompanying Vanessa, his gruff demeanour contrasting quite starkly with her laid-back tendencies, though he is more often seen alone, mostly when he needs volunteers to help test something.
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Indeed, though he may have been initially hired as a skilled combatant with connections to the city watch, Gethin has since developed his skills as an artificer, and now mostly serves to infuse magical items to aid in the Court's affairs. Perhaps the most important of such items is the [i]Spellbreak Stone[/i], a small piece of jewellery with the power to weaken any magical effect within its radius, and completely dispel any form of scrying or divination. The Stone is taken to all Museguard meetings and most Judgement meetings, to make sure nobody is listening in on what is being said.
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He is also a talented trap-maker, and has developed security systems for many noblemen, including one [i]Alaric Byrne-Moreau[/i], though none of this has any connection to the Court.
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Well, it does, in one way. It means he knows how to [i]break in.[/i][/div][/div]
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[div][attr="class",WhisperSubtitle]Ezekalis Grange[/div]
A portent of disaster. A sign of the end. An empty, hallowed soul, seen only when someone has to [i]pay[/i]. Ezekalis Grange is a frightening and frightened man, who listens only to the orders of the Muse, and speaks only to incant his twisted magic. He is a powerful wizard, despite his weakened frame, and is the closest the Muse can come to a personal bodyguard- and the closest the Court can come to a personal [i]executioner[/i].
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Nobody knows [i]exactly[/i] what happened to turn him into the monster he became. Some say it was a curse that had afflicted him some years prior, one which he had to cut from his flesh with a curved blade, scarring both his face and mind as the magic exploded from his system. Some say it was the maddening grief that followed the terrible fate of his old friend, Evius Hallow; a promising scholar, driven mad by his studies, who disappeared only after defiling his own body in ways that are inconceivable to a sane man. Some say it was his doomed venture down into the Catacombs of Praach, where he, in his maddened search for Evius, may have stumbled upon the chambers where even ghouls fear to tread, emerging a blighted and horrified man, leaving his old self to rot down there in the darkness.
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It is possible that the Muse knows the truth, but Ezekalis isn't going to say anything about it. Ezekalis isn't going to say [i]anything[/i]; his harrowing past has rendered him mute from fear, and the only words he can bring himself to say are utterances from his spellbook.[/div][/div]
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