A LOOK AT THE COMINGS AND GOINGS OF THE PEERAGE by Emil van Feder penned March 27, 309 We commonfolk are surrounded by stars—nay, luminaries—each and every day in our lovely City. Amongst us sit those who, by virtue of the blood in their veins, the ancestors before them, or off the merits of their own being, have been entrusted to lead us; to guide us; to administer us and tend to us, so that we may continue on in our lives. It is knowing the power and the privilege that sits at their very fingertips that keeps our eye on these Peers, then, and rightfully so. It is a wonder what many of them do after dark, or truly, where they believe there to be no lurking eyes looming in broad daylight. Despite his well-whispered and painfully obvious upcoming courtship to Lady Anne de Piedmont, Lord Reginald von Falkenreich has been seen outside the estate of the fair Duchess Tuija Viduggla—pining away as he stares up there before drawing away in the dead of night. Indeed, one must only look to the visual similarities of the two women to come to the real reason for Lord von Falkenreich’s courtship: a demure, easy woman to control who is quite able at putting a farce up of her own self-efficacy, but falls quite short of any true effort or beauty unlike her competitor, who lands herself the only position in the Reinard Chancellery thus far—despite at least two if not three weeks in the office. After all, every man must have a secretary, even if only to keep up the appearance of business while he returns to his idle ways; ways that those eighteen votes are undoubtedly oh-so-familiar with, but elected him in spite of such. Perhaps it bears in mind that an absent Chancellor is a weak one; as without the fox at bay, the chickens will surely play. I pray quite fervently our dear Reinard wakes up from his nap soon, lest all his opportunity to make real change slips through his fingers due to his inaction. But the Duchess’s fortunes in love quickly become misfortunes for others. Her Grace entertains the affections of not one but two von Falkenreich men; and much to poor Lord Reginald’s dismay, she carries a torch for his cousin, the Duke of Hinterburg - or perhaps the Duke Mouse, if that all-too-absent Duchess Whistledown’s papers are to be believed. Indeed, they shared a dance at the Debutante Ball, and have been quite close before and since. But the Duke Mouse is not quite as timid or sister-reliant as claimed, or as thought: a passing witness reports seeing his Grace on one knee in the Scholar Academy gardens, which are rumored to be popular amongst young lovers these days due to their relative privacy without conflicting too much with the demands of etiquette and proper comportment. His smile was oh-so-bright—there were worries his face would split apart, even—as the Duchess Viduggla left him with one glove, a lingering look, and then stole away into the sunset. For those of us who are unaware, a glove passed from woman to man before she takes off can only ever mean one thing - a courtship between them, as the woman steps off to leave him wanting ever more in the chase. What an odd ritual! Hopefully Lord Reginald will be happy enough with his own courtship, instead of allowing his bitter jealousy to poison relations with his higher titled cousin - or, worse, leave the City again in a worrying pattern repeated often before. Perhaps these scandals and whispers and all are best left to that: whispers. Still, I’d argue, it is the duty of a newspaper to inform, and thus I pen. We gaze to our stars, up there in their glitter and their glamor; we embrace their light as it shines upon us, and wish desperately to reach up there to join them. But these stars must never forget to cast their light, as our eyes are always trained to them - and as we’ve quite discussed, we do see what happens when they think they’ve stepped into the dark. DUKE DOESN’T PAY HIS DUES by Niklas Sitz Duke Lithuandir Telarel left his noble partners to foot the bill when it came time to pay his half of a trade deal. The goods remained in limbo until the Duke sorted out the shipment's legitimacy with the Measures & Dockweights Bureau, at which point the merchants left with nothing for their troubles and empty hands to show House Viduggla. ANA CERVANTES: CIVIL SERVANT OR SERVANT OF THE VOID? by Lysandra Silveira During off hours if one only listens hard enough they can hear disturbances coming from the clinic, and were one to look further they would find one Ana Cervantes at the center. Miss Cervantes is known for her charitable work overcharging the good people of this city for necessary medical services, and most recently her entanglements with Lord Victane de Piedmont, who has been condemned by the Lifeguard Commissioner and his family alike. Cervantes is a criminal twice over for her repeated vampiric infections and constant disturbances of the peace. So that begs the question, was this not her plan all along? Not only did she ensnare the good Lord Victane, but has likely touched countless people coming in and out of her clinic’s doors. People now know her name, whether because of services she provided or the whispers no doubt running through the underworld that she’s been cured yet again. Who’s to say her clinic isn’t a front for something more sinister, and what proof do we have that this is the end of it all? Her connections and infections have been publicly outed, but is anyone truly safe when who knows how many more of these vampiric fiends walk around uncontested? THE LATEST WITH THE DUKE OF GOTTLIEBERBERG by Emmanuelle MacIver Duke Alaric Keen is well known for his offenses, and he was recently taken to court for crimes that were largely unproven. One must wonder then how a man manages to stay so busy and so reviled yet finds an opportunity to land himself in yet more litigative trouble. This saga has come to an end, not because of the Duke’s untimely death, but because of his sudden departure from the archipelago with his entourage in tow. Regardless of what prompted his leave, one fact remains true. If not the Duke of Gottlieberberg, who will the peerage rally against? What man or woman among them possesses the ability to control so much of their talk? The answer is no one, and there are a large set of shoes to fill for anyone who wishes to play mind games with the peerage. As they say, gossip is all talk, but everyone knows nobles and women love to titter. It’s part of the game, and at the very least this publication will miss Duke Keen quite dearly. Don’t subscribe! Magazines will be linked on each Sunday Scratch release. We’re currently looking for anyone willing to run a fashion column, or anything else you might find in a vaguely period appropriate version of Cosmo. Mentions @nath_n @Annie_Short @Battlebrawn @soggytoenails @_Sundreamer_ @HeyitsNano
