Letter to L, 12/01/2006
L --
The weather in Sonoma has turned as it usually does - suddenly, without warning, it has gone from a balmy mediterranean warmth to near freezing temperatures. It rains occasionally, usually once or twice a week. The rest of the time, the sky is clear, and if I drive out into the hills (not such a long trip as it might otherwise sound - but then, you remember Eureka: it is much like that) I can lie on the roof of the car and look at the stars, while jockeying for good parking on those hills with teenaged lovers, who, I can only imagine, are not looking at the stars.
Can you believe that they are still doing that? I'd have thought it to be an outmoded tradition, but some things, I suppose, are not so easily changed.
Bodega Bay, Carthian stronghold and training ground for the Carthian Self Defense Force, is lovely - a small fishing town that brings more tourists than fish these days. Saltwater taffy shops line the street with little sushi restaurants, a french restaurant of some renown, and bed and breakfasts. The Alex Wolf house, the Haven of M. Lafayette and Ms. Bristol, open to any Carthian (and sometimes, I think, any lick with a wad of cash in his pocket and a wink for Ms. Bristol) masquerades as another B&B, but houses every modern convenience that Lafayette has managed to stuff inside. M. Lafayette, despite the great age he professes, is a technophile of the highest order. His love of gaming consoles is second only to his love of his shooting range, as he is a gunsmith of, I suppose, some skill.
The pair of them (one never far from the other, I assure you) spend their nights trying to accomplish great things for the Movement (just ask them), but generally only result in insulting the local court. The Lord Steward Simon Ambrose, Circle of the Crone, and Mekhet, I believe, is the Prince figure of the city. There is some talk that this is an Invictus held domain, that Mr. Ambrose only sits as Steward for the Duke, who is an Invictus Nosferatu, but the reality is that the First Estate is generally held in lower regard than we are (although not for lack of M. Lafayette and Ms. Bristol trying to enact improvements).
Mr. Ambrose is not well liked by anyone, but I am given to understand that his position was a tenuous one when it was first given into his hands, and he seems a man who is trying to do the best he can with the tools provided to him. Being the only Acolyte worth mentioning within the domain and having been handed the single largest bullseye available at the time, cannot have been an easy position. His methods are coarse, at times, but effective - strength through military might. I cannot fault him that, and the methods that M. Lafayette and Ms. Bristol are using, in conjunction with the Lance, if I am not mistaken, will only get half the Movement and most of the Lance killed if they are not careful.
Mr. Ambrose seems a reasonable man if he is presented with reasonable requests. As ever, the trick of diplomacy is knowing what the other man wants without ever revealing that you know it. I suspect that Mr. Ambrose is looking for a method of retaining his power without having to rely on his military. The military, especially this one (led by one, Brick; the name says it all), can be particularly unwieldy in a coup, which is, I believe, what the Lance and Movement are angling for, but have done so exceedingly poorly. If I am aware of the impending coup d'etat, we can be assured that the Steward likely knows as well. I am hoping to dissuade M. Lafayette and Mr. Jacob Stararewski (of the Lance) from following a course of action that will likely get them both killed.
As ever, lately, my thoughts have turned quickly from other concerns to politics. I cannot be certain when I became a political creature, and I'm not entirely sure I like it. On the other hand, I'm not sure I dislike it, either.
Yours, fondly,
A.
The weather in Sonoma has turned as it usually does - suddenly, without warning, it has gone from a balmy mediterranean warmth to near freezing temperatures. It rains occasionally, usually once or twice a week. The rest of the time, the sky is clear, and if I drive out into the hills (not such a long trip as it might otherwise sound - but then, you remember Eureka: it is much like that) I can lie on the roof of the car and look at the stars, while jockeying for good parking on those hills with teenaged lovers, who, I can only imagine, are not looking at the stars.
Can you believe that they are still doing that? I'd have thought it to be an outmoded tradition, but some things, I suppose, are not so easily changed.
Bodega Bay, Carthian stronghold and training ground for the Carthian Self Defense Force, is lovely - a small fishing town that brings more tourists than fish these days. Saltwater taffy shops line the street with little sushi restaurants, a french restaurant of some renown, and bed and breakfasts. The Alex Wolf house, the Haven of M. Lafayette and Ms. Bristol, open to any Carthian (and sometimes, I think, any lick with a wad of cash in his pocket and a wink for Ms. Bristol) masquerades as another B&B, but houses every modern convenience that Lafayette has managed to stuff inside. M. Lafayette, despite the great age he professes, is a technophile of the highest order. His love of gaming consoles is second only to his love of his shooting range, as he is a gunsmith of, I suppose, some skill.
The pair of them (one never far from the other, I assure you) spend their nights trying to accomplish great things for the Movement (just ask them), but generally only result in insulting the local court. The Lord Steward Simon Ambrose, Circle of the Crone, and Mekhet, I believe, is the Prince figure of the city. There is some talk that this is an Invictus held domain, that Mr. Ambrose only sits as Steward for the Duke, who is an Invictus Nosferatu, but the reality is that the First Estate is generally held in lower regard than we are (although not for lack of M. Lafayette and Ms. Bristol trying to enact improvements).
Mr. Ambrose is not well liked by anyone, but I am given to understand that his position was a tenuous one when it was first given into his hands, and he seems a man who is trying to do the best he can with the tools provided to him. Being the only Acolyte worth mentioning within the domain and having been handed the single largest bullseye available at the time, cannot have been an easy position. His methods are coarse, at times, but effective - strength through military might. I cannot fault him that, and the methods that M. Lafayette and Ms. Bristol are using, in conjunction with the Lance, if I am not mistaken, will only get half the Movement and most of the Lance killed if they are not careful.
Mr. Ambrose seems a reasonable man if he is presented with reasonable requests. As ever, the trick of diplomacy is knowing what the other man wants without ever revealing that you know it. I suspect that Mr. Ambrose is looking for a method of retaining his power without having to rely on his military. The military, especially this one (led by one, Brick; the name says it all), can be particularly unwieldy in a coup, which is, I believe, what the Lance and Movement are angling for, but have done so exceedingly poorly. If I am aware of the impending coup d'etat, we can be assured that the Steward likely knows as well. I am hoping to dissuade M. Lafayette and Mr. Jacob Stararewski (of the Lance) from following a course of action that will likely get them both killed.
As ever, lately, my thoughts have turned quickly from other concerns to politics. I cannot be certain when I became a political creature, and I'm not entirely sure I like it. On the other hand, I'm not sure I dislike it, either.
Yours, fondly,
A.