Vienna, Austria: 1821
On why you should have been there and why you won’t be next time:
Grandiose. Opulent. It hardly needs to be said that the debut of
the Ligeia Almalthea was the event of the century. Kindred traveled from all corners of the
globe to be part of the night’s festivities.
Esteemed Prince Alexander Konrad even made the trek from the New World just for the occasion! This was not an evening to miss.
Anyone who is anyone was in attendance.
Those who decided it wasn’t worth their time or the distance will find
that they won’t be anyone much
longer! Considering our hostess was the
illustrious Elder Viveka von Daun, it shouldn’t have been a surprise that we
were treated to such splendor. Honestly,
those who don’t know the Elder von Daun well enough to be surprised probably weren’t invited to begin with.
On what you missed and why you
should be sorely cross that you did:
The performance was beyond words--or at least that is what a Harpy less
gifted than myself might say.
Ligeia stepped onto the stage with all the timbre and delicate beauty
of a butterfly. Her nervousness was
written on her face but when she sang she transformed. And so, in turn, were
we. Before our eyes, the young artist
filled with the confidence of her art.
Her voice was soft but it floated across the ballroom with exquisite
clarity. As her notes rose and fell, the
audience rose and fell with them--swept away with the emotion of the
music. We were captives to her song…
until she released us in one final crescendo.
Elder von Daun’s faith was well placed and we were all witness to the
reward. It was difficult not to feel
honored. There is no doubt that Ligeia
Almalthea is a star in the making. She certainly shone brighter than any other
that night.
Nearly every attending party wished to personally congratulate and
praise the young ingénue.
Michael Cayhill of House Constantinian presented Ligeia with a gift-- surpassing
all of us in his thoughtfulness.
Despite the overwhelming number of new faces, Ligeia patiently received
each and every one with a polite grace well beyond her years.
On restless neonates and the
consequences of their actions:
Yet even her gentle nature could not please everyone.
Ezra Thompson, not blessed with the same manners as our delightful
debutante, was seen sulking away to the gardens when he tired of waiting in
line with all the upstanding Elders and Ancillae of the Ivory Tower. It was an exceptionally Childish display if one
has ever occurred. One can only hope
that he outgrows the impatient haste of youth.
On the gardens and what
transpired there:
As though the night could get anymore splendid—for really, what could
follow Legia’s inspired performance—we were shown to the gardens. And how absolutely stunning they were!
I can’t imagine what Elder von Daun had to undertake to get all of those
flowers to bloom out of season… but it was an absolutely astonishing sight to
behold; the perfect backdrop for all of
those elegant kindred. After all of the
necessary meeting and greeting, even Ligeia managed to steal some time among
the lovely scenery.
I imagine she saw a lot more of them than most people as she stormed
deep into the garden after some unpleasantness passed between she and Elder
Viktor Cantemir. It is hard to imagine
anything that could have upset our darling siren so deeply… but imagine we must since whatever words were exchanged
stayed between the two of them!
Unfortunately for Elder Cantemir (but fortunately for you, my dear
readers) I have a terribly vivid imagination.
On discussions of the future and
America’s place in it:
The Americas seemed to be quite the hot topic. Some wanted to know more about them and there
were certainly enough individuals in attendance who have made the leap to
fulfill their desires. With the number
of respected Kindred venturing across the sea to establish themselves it is
sure to become quite the seat of power in the near future. Some might even argue that we are already in
that future.
All I have to say on the matter is that we all traveled to Vienna for
this grand event. There is no denying
the growing influence of the United States of America but perhaps it isn’t
quite at its height yet. With the
guidance of those Princes who have begun to invest in its wellbeing we can only
expect great things.
Elder von Daun, I look forward to witnessing the debut of your next
protégé, though they will have an exceptional amount of work to do if they
expect to come close to the example set by Miss Almalthea.
Bisou, Bisou
Desi
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