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| Details |
| Author: | inkie |
| Summary: | The latest style among the society set? In a word, dear readers: War. |
| Rating: | T for Teen |
On the Fashionable Front
One assumes Milady’s readers are aware of the latest vogue sweeping the ranks of the society set, but in case you have only just awakened from a fever — for which my condolences, dear reader — the word is: War. You may have your choice in the trend: Will you be one of those dew-eyed doves fluttering to the relief of the Wrathgate’s bereft, or a hard-eyed hawk with a hankering for Horde blood? Or, like certain ambitious creatures, both at once?
Among the former flock we may number such noble names as the Duchess Esprit, who has poured considerable time and tea — not to mention her new husband’s money — into the cause of aiding the orphans and widows. And naturally one may always rely upon the Countess Thenedain’s extremely public commitment to any sentimental cause. Absolutely everyone is on the list for that Lady’s upcoming Charity Gala (when in doubt as to how best to lend aid, throw a party, my nymphs) so if you haven’t received an invitation, I advise you redouble your own admirable efforts. Anyone serious enough for the soirée is surely bankrupting themselves by benevolence.
Somewhat surprisingly, one may also number the dour Count Tyrrell among the latest gentle hearts, as he has nobly dedicated his Redridge estate to the housing of orphans while he himself is occupied elsewhere with 7th Legion affairs and his newly-created Warlock Ethics Bureau.
Your Moth must not neglect to mention young Lady Dara Tennerow, who has been piously moved by the tragedy to bring solace to the suffering by joining the priesthood. Did she perhaps find herself inspired by the example of her former (?) fiancée, Lady Sophiette Valonforth? (The busy bees of Elwynn tell this Moth that they have been keeping close company of late.) Or is it merely that the Light’s glow does wonders for a young lady’s complexion?
Or perhaps Lady Dara was stirred by the noble example of her brother, Count Tennerow, who has himself been bringing comfort to the bereaved: specifically, to the newly widowed Lady Montall, whose heroic husband fell at the Wrathgate all of one and a half months ago. One must hope a certain silvery maiden is not too terribly heartbroken, as she must understand it is all to a good cause.
As to the hawks of the lot, none of faithful Moth’s readers will be surprised to hear the names Lysander and Fallon bandied about in company with Tennerow and Barfield. Naturally all will tell you that cooperation against the late Menethil Prince in Northrend is paramount, but surely the savvy can hear the preparatory rattling of those sabers. Lord Fallon in particular must be eager not just to avenge his own injuries at the Wrathgate but to prove himself equal to the merit of his latest promotion: not merely the Duke Esprit and a House member but now Vice Admiral, all in a single year! Should one credit the man’s character, or the subtle string-pulling of his new lady wife? Surely the man who professes a passion for a strong Alliance military could not prove such a mercenary himself!
The Martial Maidens
On the topic of trends, Milady supposes her sharp-eyed subscribers have taken note of the military mania that has seized Stormwind’s blue-blooded blossoms: The young ladies Aspenwood, Lysander, Moore, and Hazan have, of course, served with distinction in Count Ference’s Cobalt Company — the mercenaries most à la mode! — for some while, and now we must number not just Lady Dara Tennerow but Lady Sintha Fallon among those committing to the cause. Whereas Lady Dara has taken up the Light’s mantle, however, it is the vaunted 7th Legion which Lady Sintha now graces. (Your mystified Moth is positively agog at this turn of affairs; not even she could have seen it coming. One must wonder whether Commander Wyrmbane’s latest tactic is to prattle the Scourge to an end.) How far will the fad extend, and which battle belles should we expect to learn of next?
A Most Eligible Bachelor
And while still on the subject of Fallons — it is not the Duke Esprit alone who has benefited from his recent wedlock — nor, one must observe, his formerly impoverished bride, who has of late been spotted sporting a star sapphire to whet a queen’s envy — but a certain young man — now gentleman — of the Esprit-Fallon household. The Duchess’s young ward, one Finley Boutille, has found himself elevated by his Lady’s new situation and the favor of his Lord (what manner of favor, one must wonder, Lord Fallon being a rather notorious character?) to a place in the fairer firmament, and may be seen cutting a newly fashionable figure around town.
Young ladies, set your caps: surely House Fallon’s latest gallant will be the prize of next Season — if not for his own name, then for the connections he carries. What harm in cozying so close to the fortunate Fallons? Mr. Boutille rather answers that question himself.
A Nuptial Novelty
And in other Tennerow trivia, your Moth must congratulate Lord Leric Tennerow on his unusual betrothal to a lady of the quel’dorei persuasion: one Lady Kalindra Azuredown of the Silver Covenant. The happy pair have been spotted together everywhere from the Ference-Fallon Gala to the Wrathgate front — and you know what they say about the couple that wages war together!
One might wonder what advantage a high elf would achieve in marrying a human gentleman. Perhaps it is to do with the loss of the lady’s ancestral lands to the sin’dorei — should we expect to see an elven enclave established in our own Redridge hills? But Lord Leric is a younger son of his house, so perhaps, dear readers, it is… love? Your romantic raconteuse supposes it matters not; these things unfolding in their natural course, her handsome human is surely only the first of the long-lived lady’s future husbands.
On the Ethics of Warlocks
And to return to the topic of Count Tyrrell’s Ethics Bureau — members of which proved so instrumental in bringing to justice the killer of the late, unlamented Lord Wishock — one hears that both the Count and Countess Ference are now members of the Bureau’s board of advisors, and Lady Ekorenine Spellbond has recently offered her own services as an arcane advisor to that body, despite the Kirin Tor’s rather passé position on warlocks.
What drew the great lady’s favor? Could it be the recent treatment of her own son Gausanders Spellbond at the hands of a particularly unethical warlock? Your Moth has heard the most shocking tale of that young man’s abduction and injury — not to mention his noble mother’s injury in her efforts to recover him — and supposes it only serves to emphasize the necessity of Count Tyrrell’s Bureau. Milady Moth is all in favor of ethical warlocks.
A Most Reprehensible Rake
It has recently come to your faithful Moth’s attention that, contrary to the old saw, certain young dogs can also not be taught new tricks. Lord Rossig, who will paint himself a gentleman in public but something of a libertine in private boast to his fellows — and who is neither of these, but in fact a rather tedious flirt and tawdry fabricator of tales — has been financing a rather shocking gambling debt with certain investments made recently in his mining concern. The mines, I am grieved to report, have seen not a coin of this currency, but a great deal of it has passed across the card tables at Elmore’s Gentleman’s Club. It is with heavy heart that your Moth must advise any of Lord Rossig’s investors of their misspent hopes — not to mention their misspent money.