From the private journal of Aliksandria nó Cereus, Dowanye of Cereus House
I feel as though the world presses on my shoulders more and more every day. Perhaps I was foolish to let Petrea go off on her grand tour, as everything appears to be falling apart at the seams. Thank Elua I have Waldemar to distract me.
The notion of having our seat on the Judiciary is an old one, but a contentious one amongst the guilds and the Dowaynes are, frankly, tired of having to fight for our place as a legitimate guild. We maintain our business operations just as any other guild and have the right to present our views on important issues that affect us. Simply because we use words like adept and Dowayne does not make us any less legitimate than if we called ourselves apprentices and master craftsmen. One pays for the service of a Night Blooming Flower just as one pays for cut gems and dyed silk! I grow more frustrated and angry each time I think of these foolish arguments from these foolish guildsmen.
The Dowaynes met in anticipation of the upcoming Judiciary meeting and it was not a quiet affair. The reactions from the other Houses ranged from dismissive to outraged to fearful. While the general consensus is, of course, that the Night Court must maintain a seat on the Judiciary, the way in which to best present our case is not so simple.
The crux of Monsieur Halceaux’s angry argument lies, of course, in Odilia’s romance with the King. But we are servants of Naamah and Blessed Elua and we follow the tenet of love as thou wilt. To deny Odilia and Gustav their affair would be tantamount to heresy and treason. To hold the threat of removal from the Judiciary if we do not turn away House Courcel is asking us to either step aside as a guild or commit treason! How could any D’Angeline ask this of another?
Their real fear is that a courtesan is influencing the King in matters of state. The idiots. How do I convince these halfwits that the King, while young, is capable of his own thoughts and decisions, that Terre d’Ange is not being ruled from Dahlia House?
Would that I had my Second here to discuss this. Instability at Cereus House reflects poorly upon us all and I fear that they will use this against us. If one cannot keep one’s own House in order, how can one possibly hope to maintain order throughout the other Houses?