The Grey Court
There is no color here.
Everything in The Grey Court is swept in black and white and whirling ever-shifting shades of grey. Lain out out like a a stately French chateau it has many courtyards and hidden alcove's. The interior of the building houses many different sorts of rooms; trophy rooms, gaily designed ball rooms, libraries, parlors, a banquet room, a royal meeting room, and several small hidden meeting places. Because The Grey Court works in shadows many of these hidden places you cannot find unless you know about them or you are invited in by someone else who knows about them.
Those in attendance of the many never-ending parties of The Grey Court are all swept in the same monochrome coloration.
There is only one being that ever shows any color in The Grey Court and that is when The Red Rider decides that she's going to grace her parent's realm. She stands out like a drop of blood against the monotone surroundings.
The Grey Court is a place of intrigue, of secrecy, and of aristocracy.
There has a feeling of both decadence and danger.
There's always a low hum even when there is no music. But of course there is often music in The Grey Court, as VetruVius , the benevolent god of perfection, often lends his muses and virtues to Masque so that they have proper high quality entertainment.
Whenever Masque appears in The Grey Court, they are always attended to by two of their escorts. Most often it is Suidire - The Coveted Courtesan , the Coveted Courtesan or Eridius - The Shadowy Jester . Very rarely will there be a third shadow at Masque's side, the being known as @The Doppleganger, an escort who is rumored to take not only the forms of mortals but the very Divine's at Masque's command.
A true sovereign to their kingdom, no one does anything before they do it first.
There are tall dark wooded trees, said to be a gift from The Wilderbeast themselves, that surround the entire rectangular building. They provide shade at the exterior gardens where many of the attendees will walk in groups as they converse and share secrets of the planes in the mortal realms. The gardens are always full of whispers, and it is always listening.
The interior is a separated into wings.
The north wing is Masque's private quarters. To be invited there means you are going to be allowed to know some of secret knowledge, or be wrapped into a plot of intrigue and secrecy.
The west wing is where you will find Eridius, The Shadowy Jester. He is often entertaining by insulting those in attendance, showing off all manner of parlor tricks, or putting on his favorite play.
In the east wing is where you will find Sudire's wing. It is draped in all manner of decadent and indulgent decoration and behavior. Suidire is Masque's favorite consort and avatar and she is treated like the mistress of a great monarch. It is very similar to Passion's Playhouse , the realm of Alystra , Goddess of Pain, Pleasure, and Prophecy and this is because it was created with the Goddess's consultation. Many unknown beings have spilled secrets they swore to take to their grave on the soft cushions and silk sheets in this wing.
Not many are welcome or wish to enter the hidden rooms beneath the floors of the southern wing, as they are the domain of The Doppleganger. Few who have walked there have ever come back the same, and some believe that is not they who come back at all.
The southern wing is the wing of entertainment. This is where the court holds audience and the location of the very active main ballroom.
In the center of the building is a large courtyard and at the center of this courtyard is a beautiful fountain. The fountains water is white, and it is illuminated by some otherworldly light. Some speculate that this fountain is actually fed with the waters the The Black Rose Garden , the domain of Biance the Goddess of Life, Death, and Reincarnation. It is said that the secrets of those who come back to life are not actually lost, but fed to this fountain for Masque to keep for a rainy day.
The gardens and the courtyard are filled with blooming night flowers, only those that are white keeping their true color while others are washed in a greyscale. The Grey Court stands in perpetual twilight with the winds being reminiscent of the end of spring just before summer falls upon the land.
There's always a feeling of being watched and heard within the realm, as if nothing you say even in the secret hidden places is actually a secret at all. It's pervasive feeling effects divine's as well is it affects mortals.
Many mortals, who by some chance or error, end up at The Grey Court are instantly disoriented by the lack of color. If, by some grand design, a mortal was invited by Masque then they will not experience quite as much disorientation, however it will still exist and should you displease the deity, it will increase. Many mortals who come to The Grey Court, never leave, unless they have some great skill or can be of service to Masque in the mortal world.
Masque is fickle in their sovereignty, and there are favors to which they bestow upon the attendees of their court and the mortals who worship them.
The Grey Court was designed by Masque to always keep everyone off-balancing and guessing. It was never made to be a comfortable place for anyone but them and their avatars and favored servants. Most Divine's for this reason tend to avoid The Grey court, unless requested or heralded for some great event. The only divine to which this is an exception is Nona , the Creator Divine, as Nona will often indulge Masque for tea. They often discuss the affairs of the mortal realm and those of the divines in the planes around them.
You can see all 3 moons at The Gray Court however, The Red Moon is shifted to a shade of gray. It is one of the few planes where the three moons are also in that plane as well as the mortal plane, and it is the only way a mortal would be able to keep time in this place out of time.
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