Whistledown Paper #1: A Letter From Mother Goose

[babaMP3]

Spoiler

The midmorning sun stretched herself up in a desperate rise towards her midday throne while the frigid morning winds of the Crown Isle's northeastern tip subsided. The countryside that housed the likes of the Bancroft family and the Solistis seemed to rarely see traffic, until some two or so weeks ago, what with the family's constant haranguing for visitors and callings. Though much like the sudden change two weeks ago, another odd sight decorated the exterior courtyards of the Solisti family home. A dozen or so carriages, emblazoned proudly with their Calemberber Oober Carriage-Share signs over their windows, lined the roadway towards the city, ready to depart. An army of scrappy orphans flooded out the gates of the Belmont Estate--familiar ne'er-do-well childish faces from anyone who often bought their cheap ciggs from them on the city's corners. Ceremoniously and summarily cramming into the carriages, the Oobers began to trot off. Soon, every smoker in the city would have a pamphlet, and eventually, those of the nobility as well.​

To the Most Noble & Esteemed Peerage of our Capital,

I have galavanted amongst your ranks for more than a month now, and I find myself so… Dissatisfied. Droll, grey and sluggish are the dispositions of my gracious peers in this most glorious city, so unspirited and dejectedly lost in the apparent cataclysmic petty dramas that enrapture our nobility ever-so. Indeed, the only lights of excitement that tickle me since being in this city have been observing these little vignettes of theater--guards of and from most noble houses enraptured in degeneracy-tinted love triangles, Duchesses finding scaly favor in the privacy of dimmed gardens, men of title being wantonly captured by criminals--the list goes on. And as much as I adore a fanciful show in drama that remains a comfortable distance from myself, I've only recently come to a sort of epiphany: Heavens, you all need help.

It has come to my attention that this city has gone lacking for months in a particular aged wisdom, and consequently my most noble peers prance about these holy streets as though it were a carnival to base their games of war and politics and scandal within. And certainly, that can remain true--after all, what should I have to write about if this weren't the case? I digress. I ultimately mean to convey the simple fact that. Well. I AM WHISTLEDOWN NOW (as we all knew for days now, truly), AND THIS IS HOW THE BALL SHALL ROLL!

Hark! A new social season strides toward our fair city like the warm sighs of Madam Springtime--can you smell the Sweethand fruit, doth thou feel the hot kiss of a new epoch's sun? And while the dawn of this new season eagerly approaches, I pause for a breath: I must meet with each head of each noble house residing in the capital--a frivolous tea, nothing more. I should expect a fine, quick moment of exchange and discussion, as to ascertain each family's present position in the upcoming season. At any rate, should any family fail to find time to meet with MOI, I will at any rate OBLIGATE each house head to send me a list of presently SINGLE members of their family. Their willingness to courtship or marriage is irrelevant. Send their name, age, and relation on your FINEST parchment, with EXPEDITED delivery via pigeon or courier.

You'll hear from me again soon in the coming days. I rather feel there's QUITE the amount of INFRASTRUCTURE to build before Mother Goose's little geeselings can galavant their courtly favor.

Regards,
Mistress of WHISTLEDOWN,
Maria Céline of the House Solisti

OOC:
The Mistress of Whistledown is calling on all family heads of the nobility to send a comprehensive list of each debutante or bachelor of their family in the capital. Whether they want to be included in the list or not is irrelevant. This list can be sent via the forums or Discord. Moreover, the Mistress of Whistledown is eager to meet with each family head. Feel free to PM on the forums or Discord to arrange a specific time. Otherwise, I'll be pinging high-society-events on Discord for spontaneous open hours through the next few days.