Mannorak Estate Auction

[O'Brien]

11th brightening of Cryxatum

Most everyone in Arios knew the Mannorak Estate. It was one of the very few buildings on the entire island not made chiefly of the wood that was so abundant in the nearby forest. Ariosans generally regarded it as the oldest established building of the town, and though it was difficult to vouch for the truth in this statement, it was rarely if ever contested. The estate was similar to many mainland mansions. There was a verdant garden out back and a usually well-kept yard, though in recent years the Mannoraks had mostly ignored the maintenance of the exterior of their home. The building itself was very similar to the Thanal Mansion, which in days gone by would create many a wisecrack about the legitimacy of the thane as the island's real ruler.

The Mannorak Estate house was made mostly of a cream-colored stone, probably some sort of mixture with both marble and granite. The years had turned the stone, which were originally quite white, this color, though it was actually a rather appealing one aesthetically. The building had its occasional iron-framed windows and one centrally located door on the front, and it was crowned by a tasteful mahogany roof. Much of the building's charm, however, came from the creeping ivy vines that kept a firm grip on the sides of the edifice almost symmetrically. Some of the windows on the sides were all but impossible to see into or out of.

The Mannoraks had only been the most recent inhabitants of the great building. It was one with a very interesting history, though it inevitably has its holes in it, gained from various distortions throughout the years. The version told here is the most commonly accepted one. The estate was originally designed as the private retreat of a noble whose name who has been long since forgotten, though many suggest that Arios was named for him. When he died, as the story goes, a few people settled from the mainland and created the town that still stands today. The house was used as a municipal building, a general meeting hall, aedile's office, constabulary, and whatever else was needed. Home of the thane was added to the list of the place's functions when the island grew large enough to warrant such a leader.

In only a few eras thereafter, however, the Thanal Mansion that still remains to this day was built. Over time, the building became abandoned...officially, that is. In actuality, the idea of the building not being used for one thing or another is laughable. Rumor has it that somewhere in the dark basement of the home, there are records of most interesting occurrences from these eras. At any rate, those times too came to an end. The grandiose living place was soon bought up by another noble, and since then it had always been held by one rich entrepreneur or another, all the way up to the Mannoraks in the tenth era post fractum.

Out of all the families who had owned the place, the Mannoraks were among the most interesting. Each and every one of them was a Dracon. Probably having arrived a few eras pre fractum, the Mannoraks sought refuge from the rampant racism they encountered on the mainland, and therefore left for the small, peaceful Arios to start a new life. The then unrelated Dracons, as the story goes, pooled their money together and bought themselves a grand home. Many Ariosan Dracons since have become a part of House Mannorak. Ironically enough, the majority of them, even the founders, were of the Moraden mindset.

By the tenth era post fractum, however, House Mannorak was a fading name. The house had been cursed with generally restless youths, many of which left in favor of a return to the mainland, and elders with lifespans shortened in one way or another. It was in the last cycle of Melora, Era X-PF, that Yiliz Mannorak, already a mature female Dracon, succumbed to some disease and went to meet Jalat. At this time, only Ethalan Mannorak, a Dracon of 332 patterns, lived in the vast manor. He knew that he could not remain there for long, and began making plans for a quiet retirement in High Peak. A move there was never easy, however, even from a place close to the mountainous city, so he also knew that he would have to be rid of many of his possessions. It was somewhat corrupt, but the children of House Mannorak who left were likely to never see the money for them.

Ethalan walked around the town for a while in the first cycle of Cryxatum to spread the word about the auction he would be holding to sell off the many possessions of his estate. Most any Ariosan resident or visitor heard his speech at one point or another. "The time of House Mannorak has come to an end. I am retiring to High Peak and want to line my pockets before I leave. Thus, the vast majority of the contents of my estate will be auctioned to the public. Don't even ask about the estate itself, though. A messenger from High Peak will come when I have gone to be with Yiliz, and only then will the estate fall into non Mannorak hands. Good day to you, sir / madam. I hope to see you on the eleventh."

When the eleventh came, Ethalan had set up a parlor with various objects around the room. The auction would last all brightening and perhaps even into the night. There were comfortable cushioned chairs for the public and a podium and gavel for the old Dracon to direct things. His appearances were deceiving, however. He was in a human form and appeared like a ruggedly handsome young gentleman with a trace of black stubble for a beard. His dark hair was neatly brushed off to one side. One would have never guessed he was an old Dracon if they did not know of the Mannoraks. He was generally quiet as guests arrived, occasionally beckoning for them to have a seat. "The bidding will begin soon," he would say now and then. "Please have a seat for now."

[Tiarela Iceglitter]

Things in this town just continued to get more interesting by the brightening for little miss Tiarela Iceglitter, Fae extrodinare. She'd been around these isles for awhile now, and Arios had been the one she'd stayed in the longest. It was a quiet place, sparse with people and sparser with problems. Kind of one of those homely, quaint places everyone liked to visit to revitalize themselves and feel better about the days ahead of them.

It was probably that and the sheer uniquness of the Eunesian isles that kept the Fae frequenting them. It was like a home away from home.. hmm, and Tiarela was enjoying it, to be honest. She had heard the rumors and the announcements about this auction at the 'Mannorak Estate', whoever those big people were, and decided it was high time a Fae took the initiative and investigated.

So, this was the exact reason Tiarela Iceglitter and her nicely polished, metal capped staff found itself wandering through the doors to this auction thing, being held in the Mannorak Estate. She gave a small nod to the Moraden Dracon (though to her he looked like just another big person, the race of what she suspected was human, or close to it) named Ethalan and fluttered around until she found herself a seat up front.. and proceeded to perch on it's arm rest instead, if it had one. If not, well, Tia would make an attempt to sit on the back of the chair, hoping no one was going to sit on her.. what a horrid end that would make!

The estate was rather large, especially to someone so miniscule in size. Her wings waved lazily behind her, their midnight-hued veins shimmering in the room's lighting as she looked around and waited for all of this to begin. Beautiful blue eyes took in all she could see, and continued to gaze oddly at the man who was apparently a Mannorak. She'd never seen him around, but.. well, Tiarela also hadn't been here forever either, so that might not have been such a surprise. He must be rather well known if he was expecting a good turnout. People know one knew, the little fae assumed, would hardly draw the crowd a rich old man should.
But this guy didn't look terribly old. Why was he retiring? Did he just have such a vast amount of wealth he could do that? How utterly annoying! Hmph!
The little faerie crossed her arms and thinned her lips, shaking her head slightly. Oh well, maybe some interesting things would go up for auction -- and hopefully whoever was auctioning things would be able to see her, if the little faerie decided to put up a bid on something. If not, well, this was Tiarela Iceglitter. She'd get that silly big person's attention, even if she had to bop them on the head with the metal cap on her little staff!

[Paul Tyndal]

Paul had heard of the auction at the mansion which he had seen when he had arrived on this small island but had not been very interested in at the time through the way that one heard most things on Arios - by word of mouth. A local crier had shouted it out in the town square, which Paul had to frequent to buy essential supplies for his long outings in the woods, as the 'News of the Cycle!' and Paul's ears had immediately perked up. He was always on the lookout for a good buy, his mother had taught him thriftiness and how to shop for the best deal. This auction looked like as good a place as any to pick up some top-of-the-line equipment, so Paul decided that he would go, even if only to look around and socialize with other Ariosians.

Upon the day of the auction, Paul left his small room in the tree that his best friend Gareth had built to head to the Mannorak Estate. Since he had time to burn on his way there, and he did not want to interrupt any of the planning and setting up of the auction, he decided to try and sneak up on a deer that he had run across on his frequent walks. Spotting the deer from afar, he put his center of gravity low to the ground and began carefully placing his feet on the ground, careful not to make a sound or clumsily step on a twig or pine needle that would alert the deer to his presence. Slowly advancing on the wild beast, he smiled excitedly, adrenaline coursing through his veins, his mind clear during the hunt.

About ten yards from the deer, as his hunt was about to close, a branch suddenly appeared out of no where and tripped Paul. He fell flat onto his face and the deer quickly leaped away into the forest. Getting up with a sigh and brushing himself off, Paul began to curse at the branch. Cursing quickly gave way to laughter, however, and Paul was soon rolling on his stomach in throes of laughter.

Breathing heavily, the adrenaline having left his blood, he got off of the ground a second time and brushed the leaves off of his tunic and pants. Picking a stray leaf out of his hair, he once again began his journey to the mansion, whistling a tune that the locals liked to call 'Ye Fair Ocean.' He had first heard it in town on one of his sporadic trips to town, and had immediately caught on and it was now his favorite song. It went something like this, though there were several other stanzas that Paul had not caught during the short time in which he had been listening to the tune:

Ye fair Ocean,
so rough and so free!
Oh how I long,
to tumble along,
over yer massive sea!

Ye fair Ocean,
so wild and so blue!
I gasp at the sight,
of the fight,
between ye an' the crew!

Catching sight of the mansion, he stopped his whistling and quickened his pace, not sure if the auction had begun or not, and not wanting to miss anything. He entered the house, a larger one than Paul had ever seen, and was directed to a room bustling with activity. He took a seat in one of the chairs, of better make than he had ever seen, and looked around at the room.

Never had he seen such wealth turned into furnishings and decorations. The walls practically oozed the massive amounts of gold that it must have taken to carve them so intricately. Even the floor was of better quality wood than he had seen spent on such a seemingly mundane task as placing down a place for people to walk upon. His mouth agape, he drunk in the expensive taste that the owner of this mansion must have to so lavishly spend his money. After appraising each and every decoration and piece of furnishing, he looked towards the front of the room, where he assumed the auctioneer would stand, and waited for the auction to begin.

[Gareth Gruven]

Gareth had certainly heard the rumours, and by flying around the town, had easily confirmed them. Obviously, there was to be some sort of sale or auction of some sort, that was going to be selling tons of weird materials and furniture people didn't usually use. In fact, the whole process seemed quite drawn out and very boring to the young Sprite, save the hint to be where the crowd would be and meet newer people. Perhaps even the Thane would show up! 'And then he would theak like thith' Gareth thought with a slight chuckle as he glided easily through the air, in the obvious direction of the Mannorak Estate.

What truthfully bothered him at the moment, was the fact that he had not heard of the Estate before now. Gareth had travelled through most of the city, and had not even caught a glimpse of the Manor, not to mention anyone speaking about it. It wasn't until the abrupt, tremendous spreading of rumours that Gareth had actually given half a mind to check out what was going on.

And so, the small Sprite travelled to the Mannorak Estate, content ot watch and see what random people would buy. He brought only a few crowns, nothing too vast or large that he would have to worry about a theif of some sorts. No, the last thing Gareth wanted was to be robbed. He listened pleasantly to the young human and nodded his head in a firm sort of way. With a grin, he walked over to one of the seats and sat next to his companion Paul Tyndal, not in the least bit suprised to see the man here. "Any idea when this will start?" Gareth whispered into his friend's ear, dark-green almond-like eyes scanning the crowd, if there even was one...

[O'Brien]

Fortunately for little Tiarela, the chairs provided by the Mannoraks indeed had armrests. They were of a stunning mahogany wood, covered on its seat, back, and armrests with light red velvet cushions built onto the chairs. Everyone could relax and enjoy the luxury that Ethalan Mannorak enjoyed daily. There was a small crowd assembled, though by Ariosan standards it was a massive one - there were probably a dozen citizens around of varying races and genders in addition to Paul, Gareth, and Tiarela. Ethalan stepped down from the podium for a moment and gestured to a butler at the door. The butler closed the door to keep gusts of wind out, but would admit any others that arrived tardy.

With a warm smile, the masked Dracon returned to the podium and lightly tapped it with his gavel. "Serale to you all," he greeted them. "It is good to see my fellow Ariosans out here, and I hope all of you will find something that is to your liking. So without further ado, we shall start the bidding." The crowd began chatting amongst themselves as Ethalan left the podium again. He briefly scanned the room, though he already knew what he was auctioning and which order the items were going in. His eyes came to rest on an elegant candlestick, which he reached out to and brought it up to rest on the podium.

The candlestick was of exceptional quality, and appeared to be of solid gold. It had a waxguard reminiscent of a sword's cross guard. The whole thing was a perfect rod adorned with a single white candle straightened absolutely perfectly. "This is verily a fine candlestick," he announced as if it was being offered to him, "but you will soon see that this item is as practical as it is beautiful. Observe!" With that, Ethalan rotated the candlestick about ninety degrees. The base stayed put, but the upper section was loosened. To the delight of the crowd, he then removed the candle, which turned out to be a built-in sheath of sorts, because the candlestick, minus the candle and base, had become a shining short sword!

After swinging it about to show it was real, the Dracon pulled out a small wooden board about a centimeter thick from behind the podium. He placed half of it on the podium, allowing half to sit off the edge. He steadied the board with his left hand and brought down the sword with his right, swiftly cutting through the board and letting half of it fall to the floor. The butler came to remove it as the crowd clapped. Ethalan then replaced the sword into its candlestick form and lit a match, demonstrating that the candle indeed functioned too.

"With a candlestick shell of solid gold and a blade of impressive, light, and durable elven steel," he said with a grin, "this item is equally perfect for illuminating your home or vanquishing your enemies. Bidding for this stunning piece will start at 400 Crowns." With a clap of the gavel, the auction was underway.

Participants will have three days IRL to reply to each item, and if there is no reply, I will assume your character is remaining silent. (Even if you aren't interested in an item, please post if you can to keep things moving.) Extensions can be made if you ask nicely.