Urahra ย ย 5359 Popular Post Share Posted March 22, 2021 ย Portrait of Yuliya Styrne-Napier, age 61. Painted in 1804 in honor of her knighthood and winning the Petrine Laurel. ย Dame Yuliya Styrne 13th of the First Seed, 1743 F.A. to 2nd of the Amber Cold, 1812 I.S.T ย ย Dame Yuliya Styrne - also known by her pen name Bianca La Fleur - was found dead today in the La Fleur theater in Providence, Oren. The famed playwright fell to her death from the edge of the stage while overseeing construction on the set of Lorin + Siegmund, a show she had been planning to stage in the upcoming Saint's Weeks. She was, uncharacteristically, without her cane - a fact which is believed to have contributed to her misfortune. Her cause of death, according to doctors who arrived on the scene, was a broken neck. She was 70 years old. ย Yuliya Styrne was born on the 13th of the First Seed, 1743 F.A. She grew up in a small, rural whaling village situated on the northern coast of Haense in Arcas. A tavernkeeper's daughter, she spent her early years learning to cook and brew alongside her father. A house fire in 1756 F.A. gave the Dame her distinctive burn scars, crippling her for life. The accident left her unable to walk without the aid of a cane. ย Styrne was most well known for her achievements in the theater. As a young woman, she wanted to become an actress. Unfortunately, her dramatic scarring and disability prevented her from ever achieving her dream. She instead channeled her love of theater into the written word. Her first play, Lorin + Augustus, reached publication in 1772 F.A. when Styrne was twenty-nine years old. It became an overnight success, winning the Wailer Society's Nikischruwe award and launching an extensive forty-year career in stagecraft for Styrne. She published a total of twelve plays over the course of her life before retiring from writing in 1808, when she began to suffer from arthritis of the hands. She continued to direct theatrical productions up until the day of her death.ย ย Aside from plays, her other works included several academic pieces on history. Styrne was an accomplished historian specializing in the Reformed Kingdom era as well as the Carrion & Chivay empires. Her pen name, Bianca La Fleur, was devised as a cheeky reference to the ancient Order of the White Rose. She was also an advocate for the rights of the disabled. The Styrne Act, a law in Providence which mandated handrails and elevators for public buildings, was named in her honor. A longtime lover of leisurely sports activity, Styrne also published a rulebook for badminton - one of her final publications prior to her retirement.ย ย Styrne is survived by her husband, Edward Napier, and her two adopted children John and Sarah Styrne-Napier. Per her will, she requested that several letters be published alongside her obituary addressed to the people she loved throughout her life.ย ย ย To E.K. - ย Spoiler ย I'm not certain if you recall the first time we met. I was sitting in the Dragon's Rest Tavern in Helena when you wandered in, so pretty in all your frills and ribbons. You asked my group if they might help you in composing a play. Why, of course, I volunteered. You and I traveled to the Novellen palace gardens, where we sat for hours afterward, chatting about stories and their construction. ย Do you recall the day you first played your violin on stage in the La Fleur theater? I remember the moment you looked up and realized you had an audience. The stage lights sparkled in your eyes and I could see a love of performance awakening in your heart. ย My dear, why did you stop? I would have liked to see you perform one more time. But it seems you put your violin away. It seems you never lifted the quill again after our talk in the garden. ย I know tragedy has struck you heavily, sweet girl. I wish it had not. Fate can be cruel. I beg you not to let the sadness paralyze you, though. Use it. Transform your pain into healing and beauty. I'll be watching from the Skies and awaiting your debut. ย ย To E.R. - ย Spoiler ย Beyond a doubt, you are one of the most powerful actresses to ever grace Oren's stage. Your choreography perfect. Your intonations precise. When you stride onto the promenade, we're are all arrested and in awe of the roles you embody. Your performances shake the rafters of the theater and bring whole audiences to their feet in thunderous applause. ย Which is why I hate to see you reduced and humiliated by that man. You know who I'm talking about. Your light shouldn't be dimmed by anyone, least of all him. I've told you before and I shall tell you again - you're far too good for him. Please, I'm begging you. My last wish for you, my lady, is to stop letting that man run roughshod over your brilliant intellect and lovely spirit.ย ย Get rid of him and, having disposed of the trash, shine as brightly as your talents will allow. ย ย To S.B. - ย Spoiler ย Immortal Augustus, you were born to act on stage. I will forever regard it as a terrible shame that you missed your calling and ended up as a boring, old statesman. I would have gladly stuck my hand in a fireplace for the opportunity to see you perform just one more time. No one embodied Augustus so adroitly as you. James tried, bless him, and he performed the role well, but it was never going to reach the heights of intensity you delivered. If only you could have lent your prodigious talents to my other roles. You're someone I would have gladly watched on stage forever.ย ย But I mustn't gush. The tone of these letters ought to be somber and reflective. But I can't help it, honestly. I'm a fan.ย ย Please bless Oren with your acting talents at least one more time. Be sure to save a seat for me at the performance. I'll be there in spirit.ย ย ย To E.A.N. - ย Spoiler ย I shall never forget the majesty of seeing you stride on stage in that red velvet gown. We stood together side by side in front of the crowd (a crowd which included your royal mother, may God bless her soul) as I made my very first curtain-speech. My nerves crackled with electric anticipation. My skin, clammy with sweat. In a few hours, I would know by the sound of applause if our efforts were a success or a failure. And it all hinged on you. ย Your performance rocketed me into notoriety and success. Overnight, La Fleur Productions became a household name thanks to you. Even long after that fateful performance, we remained cordial friends. When I was struggling to find work after the Inferi Incursion, you offered me a job at the Imperial University. You accompanied James and me on our many merry outings together. When I dreamed of seeing Lorin + Augustus staged just one more time, you readily assented to resume your old role... and you played it just as adeptly as the first time. ย I wish we could have been closer friends. When your mother died, I recognized in you a pain I understood all too well. I lost my father at a young age - and his absence left me feeling unmoored. I wanted to comfort you and help you navigate the waters of your grief, but... alas. Perhaps our schedules simply never aligned. At best, I only saw you from a distance at balls, where I could not help but notice the lingering sadness behind your otherwise pleasant and smiling face. ย I want you to know that you are not alone. ย I'll give your mother my best when I meet her in the Skies. I know she is proud of you - infinitely proud. ย ย To H.P. - ย Spoiler ย You arrived in Providence like a blessing from Heaven. For years, I prayed for a protรฉgรฉ who might continue the Oren literary and theatrical tradition when I'm gone. Thank God you arrived when you did. Do you recall the moment we first met? You were sitting on the stage at the La Fleur theater, sketching in your notebook under the hot lights. I saw you in that perfect tableau and I thought... him. He's something special. He's just what I've been waiting for. Immediately, I knew. And trust me, I am never wrong. ย It is my prayer that you - and all the other young, promising artists of Oren - shall rise to take the place I've left behind. Your work already shows signs of inimitable brilliance. You are standing on the cusp of greatness and I shall be watching your career with great interest. If I had but one regret, it would be that you and I didn't have an opportunity to collaborate creatively more often.ย ย I take pride in having set you on the course to fame and fortune, things which you richly deserve. Please keep writing. Please keep devoting your life to art, to aesthetics, to literature, to beauty, to nature, to joy. Give your gift wholeheartedly to the world - and I know it shall be appreciated for ages to come. ย ย To S.N. and J.N. - ย Spoiler ย Oh, dear children. Our family has never been a typical one. We've been through a lot of awkward situations that I daresay most other people are not forced to navigate. Regardless, we found our happiness even in the midst of all the difficulties. I have loved and mentored you two as best as I could. I hope I did right by you children. If I can say that, then that will truly be my greatest accomplishment. Better than the awards and knighthoods and recognitions, I want to arrive in Heaven and proclaim that - if nothing else - I was good to you.ย ย J. -ย ย You grew up more like your father than I would have anticipated. You have his creative and scientific verve. A passion for truth, for understanding, and for justice. Give the right opportunities, you'll stride forth boldly and set right to all of Oren's wrongs. Unfortunately, my dear, it's not going to be easy. You've got an uphill battle awaiting you, but I have no doubt you shall rise to the occasion and do so admirably. I love you. Be good and strong - and never compromise on those morals that make you, you. ย S. -ย ย If John grew up in the image of your father, then I think that you are likewise a younger reflection of me. Ironic, considering I am not even your real mother. Even so, I recognized in you all the pain and insecurity I suffered as a young person. In you, I saw that same longing for love, for acceptance, for beauty. I saw the pain of exclusion. The agony of people judging your face before they judge your mind and your heart. I wept for you because I knew your anguish and your desires all too well. They were my own. And so I took your hand in mine. I placed that quill between your fingers and I told you to write. My darling girl, you are braver, kinder, stronger, and more brilliant than you realize. My wish is that someday Oren will wake up and see you as I have seen you - a treasure irreplaceable. ย ย To E.N. -ย ย Spoiler ย In another life, if circumstances had been ever so slightly different, I think you and I would have made a good pair. On that night in the Novellen, you called me 'the most brilliant woman in Oren' and it sent my heart into the stratosphere. It comforts me to imagine that you did love me in a platonic and intellectual sense if never a romantic one.ย ย I'm content with that, though. I'm content with the thirty years of friendship we shared. I'm content to have met my intellectual equal and to have enjoyed his company so thoroughly. I'm content to have helped raise your children and guided them toward their successful futures. ย Even so, I can't help but look back on our relationship with some bitterness. Perhaps it's wicked of me, but I do secretly wish it was something different. Something more. I wanted you to love me not just as a friend and an intellectual peer, but as a woman. Trust me, I understand that wish was impossible for you to grant. Yet, even knowing it was impossible did not stop me from wanting it. ย I'm glad that we met and became as close as we did, truly. I don't want you to read this and feel regret for how our relationship transpired. It happened as it did - and in the end, I'm happy with having been part of your life in my small capacity.ย ย I love you very much. Please continue to do right by the children and by Oren. Treat Gragmar with all the care and respect she deserves. In all honesty, the woman's a champion for sticking by you in spite of the cultural differences.ย ย And, if you would be so kind, spare a tender thought for me every now and then. ย ย To J.C. - ย Spoiler ย I thought I would know what to write by the time I reached your letter, James. Instead, I find myself at a loss for words. The bond you and I shared can't be summed up in a few pithy statements. It eludes language, the shape of it. I suppose... the best way I can describe it is... I've always thought of you as my soulmate, in a platonic sense. No one ever understood me quite as well as you. You grasped my thoughts and feelings as effortlessly as if they were your own. ย Many moons ago, in the Augustine palace, I told you that - back when we first met - I had been struck with the bizarre sensation that we'd encountered each other somewhere before. As I leave this world, I find myself struck with that exact same feeling, yet in reverse. I know we'll meet again. Whatever souls are made of, yours and mine are forged from the same stuff. We can't help but find one another across the vast plains of time and space. ย Look for me, James. I don't know what form I'll take next. Yet, when you see me, I am sure you shall know me immediately. Just as I'll know you. I love you dearly, deeply, truly, down to the very darkest depths of my heart. One day, we'll journey together again. I'm looking forward to it. ย Be good. Work hard. Make beautiful art. And know I'll miss you most of all.ย ย ย ย OOC:ย ย A big thank you to everyone who roleplayed with Yuliya and made this character so special!ย 32 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axelu ย ย 3691 Share Posted March 22, 2021 Presumably nestled within the lush territory of Dobrov was the wig-and-spectacle donningย Baroness of Woldzmir, a woman who matured in the luminous company of Dame Yuliya Styrne. The letter delivered to Elizaveta by a young courier that had valiantly ventured into the imposing depths of the Kremlin Anavetย was recognized immediately, and knowing of the playwright's health, she quickly grasped at it.ย ย It felt as though all had grown dimmer - the torchlights, the sunlight that was suggested by the crevice produced between the curtains on the windowsill of her bedchambers, her heart. Elizaveta had lost the woman who hadย throughout her lifeย been a constant guide and - in some capacity- a surrogate mother. She remembered the first time, aged eighteen, when she performedย upon a stage, the fiery applause her characterization of Queen Anabel had elicited rousing in her something foreign and magnificent. Forty years later, she was a different woman yetย her passion for the stage had not faltered. ย "The First of many to come - such is the travesty of my predicament,"ย she voiced to one who lurked in the shadows as she rose, either limber hand of hers grasping the missive with ferocity. ย "My dearest, Madame," she spoke, meandering toward herย balcony.ย "You shall be remembered upon the vast tapestry of man, your mind and its fruits of profound literary importance displayed upon banners and within ivory bastions of knowledge. Your advise to me has never been forgotten - and indeed, I have achieved freedom beyond imaginations... for a price, perhaps, but what change for the better is gratuitous?" ย "The first of the greats, you were. I am confident your pupils will honor your legacy as I will, forevermore."ย ย ย 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivoreyy ย ย 2182 Share Posted March 22, 2021 The Princess Imperialย received her letterย within her own Estate, Rosemoor House, seated alongside her daughter. The news of Yuliya's death was a profound shock to a woman who of late had feared for the safety and security of her own family - never sparing a moment to imagine that the loss she could anticipate, perhaps, would come from beyond her husband andย children. ย She read over her letter with fond smile, herself recalling the events ofย Lorin + Augustus' debut. It had been a youngย Elizabeth's waking dreamย toย portray a character of her own ancestry, crafted in a masterful use of language that brought even theย most stoic of audiences to aย hushed anticipation. A defining moment in the Princess' life, as she stood on stage alongside her mentor of many years and told the ancient story of compassion. Her favoured line amongst the four acts told a story in and of itself -ย allowing that young Princess to harness the strength of that same Lady to which she portrayed. ย My words grant me fine wings with which to fly And dream that I am in a distant place. ย Perhaps, Yuliya's life had ended in the same way as one of her own classic tragedies. A Styrnian-esque tale of her rise to success, and an end imbued with the audience'sย lingering wish that one more of her plays - just one, could haveย graced the stageย of Providence. ย "She was the brightest of women. One that history shall remember.ย She told her daughter then.ย 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LithiumSedai ย ย 4837 Share Posted March 22, 2021 It took some time for the emotional weight of the obituary to hit Corwin - far longer than it had takenย the elder to conclude studying its text, even with an unwieldy contraption loaded with lenses which allowed his ruined sight to discern small print. "Seventy, eh? Far too young. And she still looked better than I did at five-and-twenty!" he whispered to the paper, part in jest and part in disbelief, stricken by the news. ย Without delay he departed to light a candle in the Krรคhenstadt cathedral, throughout his journey reminiscing warmly of his correspondence with Bianca and her column, and the stroke of fate that allowed them to meet in person. His unlikely casting granted the man some insight on a very personal struggle - as he acted out the role of his people's once most hated figure, the ancient Waldenian came to terms with his own religious feelings. Much as he admired the woman, however, his grief would soon grow beyond his mourning for Yuliya at the grim news of another friend's death... ย ย The gaunt figure known as Percy L. trudged across the sleet-coated streets of Providence. Ignorant as he were of the accident, he spared a brief thought for the only woman besides the late Empress who had shaken him to his core, her sole eye stripping his shivering figure to its very soul as vividly in his mind as it had been in person. The thought was fleeting; his unlucky encounter with a mailed rebel soon occupied his psyche, and the man considered taking up the blade for the first time in his life... ย 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DahStalker ย ย 2856 Share Posted March 22, 2021 (edited) Emerentiaย sat silently within her chambers for the remainder of the evening once discovering the death of her beloved mentor. Once she had read of the contents of the note given to her she hoisted a hand to cup her mouth with a muffled sob, teary gaze flickering toward the lone violin pivoted away in the isolated corner of her room. Edited March 22, 2021 by DahStalker 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
garentoft ย ย 8353 Share Posted March 22, 2021 "Adalia!" Harren exclaimed with teary eyes as he learned of Yuliya's death, "Badminton woman died." He murmured with a frown, dramatically turning to one of the books laid on his desk,ย Badminton, the Sport of Gentlemen - A Rules Handbook. He brought a hand up to wipe his tears, "Badminton woman... I will finish what vy started." @shay ย ย ย 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malins Welcome ย ย 739 Share Posted March 22, 2021 The news reached James in a letter after he had finished his daily woodcutting and had begun to cook his breakfast. The opening words stuck him numb. He sank to his seat toย read the rest of the announcement, then stared at the cane- her cane- leaning against the corner of the kitchen where he had left it the previous night. ย With a decisive finality,ย but no plan, he snatched the cane in hand and began a march toward Providence which lost steam before he reached the gates to leave Karosgrad. A few minutes saw him meander back into the house and slump over the kitchen table. Tears burned in his eyes as his eggs and bacon burned in the pan. He struck the pan with the tip of her cane and sent his breakfast into the kitchen coals. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shay ย ย 2200 Share Posted March 22, 2021 4 hours ago, Gusano said: "Adalia!" Harren exclaimed with teary eyes as he learned of Yuliya's death, "Badminton woman died." He murmured with a frown, dramatically turning to one of the books laid on his desk,ย Badminton, the Sport of Gentlemen - A Rules Handbook. He brought a hand up to wipe his tears, "Badminton woman... I will finish what vy started." @shay Adalia rummaged through her things in the corner of Harren's room, pulling out the trusty racquet she won the esteemed badminton tournament with "This is a catastrophe, we'll never forget vy badmanton lady." she frowned, shedding a single tear before temporarily removing a picture of Harren and Adalia on the wall to hang the racquet in respect. ย 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharmingCavalier ย ย 1723 Share Posted March 22, 2021 Henry Penton wore black that day. His usual color was missing from his clothing and face. In the blustering wind, he stood in the gardens, which seemed to have been drained of their once prominent beauty too. From his pocket, he retrieved a small envelope which he placed on the ground. ย It was that morning when he had written it, stored up in his home offices with nothing but sorrow on his mind. He put his thoughts to paper, as well as he could, and figured he would write one last thing to the Madame Directress. ย โIf I had known the last time we spoke would be the last time we spoke, I would have asked so many more questions. I have needed your direction a million times, and I will need it one million more. For the short time I knew you, I saw a woman devoted to the arts and enjoying life. Believe it or not, many people go throughout their lives knowing nothing of the delights or sorrows you have endured. ย I shall publish every poem, direct every production, and write every word with the belief that you watch over me. I have resolved that I cannot control what has already occurred, so I am devoted to ensuring what little charge I have is used properly. If I have any say in the matter your name shall reign as one of my inspirations and motivations. Most certainly, however, you will be recognized as a preeminent figure of exceptional literature by all. ย Words will always fail me when it comes to describing this grief. Therefore I regrettably have to say goodbye, in this letter, to a good mentor and friend. May we meet one day again. ย Signed, Your Friend, Henry Pentonโ ย As he stood and watched the letter blow up into the air, his mind convinced itselfย of closure, but a few tears managed to stride down his face. He would write on, but not without the weighty heart of a man who had lost something so dear: A brilliantย and remarkable mentor. 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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