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Re: Sharing the Spotlight
Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2025 12:12 pm
by Filaurel
•───────── Gloaming Hapertas ────────•
2nd of Searing, 124th Year of the Age of Steel
It was an agonizing ask, though Filaurel Len'Alen did not let it show on his face. To have a Val wear shelf-stock instead of bespoke wear... it was scandalous, and a prince no less? If that sort of thing got out, every tailor in Silfanore would carry tales of his disgraceful behavior. The wastrel charlatan Len'Alen, who foisted off second-hand cloth on royalty! It was more than enough to end his fledgling hapertas.
Still, one couldn't very well refuse to sell his stock, not without looking churlish in the extreme. The Princess was right, of course, that he didn't have time to make design from scratch in three days- even if the thought of putting off his other clients was much easier to swallow than for this particular duo. No, he would simply have to do his best by them with the tools and time he had.
(And anyway, those kinds of practices mattered mostly if the dress advertised the maker; where the prince was not looking for self-aggrandizement, perhaps there would be no inquiry into where he got his clothing? That made the transaction much more palatable. Safer.)
"Under ordinary circumstances, it would be a grave insult to offer a prince ready-wear..." Filaurel allowed, his voice a bit slow, "...but I do see the practicality of it here. Hm. Appropriate to the court environs, suitable for the subject of an intimate garden party, but unprepossessing..."
If Filaurel could have snapped, he might've, but it wasn't a good idea to fool around with such a precise act of Kinetics when delicate fingerbones were on the line. "Yes, I've a thought." The tailor's excitement was so great that his use of the formal register dropped momentarily, slipping into brogue. He lifted himself hastily from the chair and floated quickly to his storeroom, digging through the material and materiel there, hunting feverishly.
A minute later, he returned, grinning ear-to-ear. With a flourish, he presented an ensemble- or at least, the beginnings of one.
It was three-piece, with cream-white trousers in black trim, secured at the front by six buttons; a dark chiffon shirt, and a trim red coat. They were about Rhydian's size, though some adjustment would obviously be merited, but the cut was strangely archaic, as though the coat had been pulled out of some wardrobe which had sat undisturbed since the Sundering. Filaurel brought attention to this at once, tapping the lapel.
"This I began work on last year and did not finish. It is inspired--though only loosely inspired--by costume worn by his Majesty at the infamous fete in Turoth, when the last Wraithwyrm was finally laid to rest. It fits your Highness' color, suggests your service without centering it, and will give an impression of distinction without being overly formal. Best of all, as the King was said to like it, the lining is smooth and cool to the touch, comfortable even after hours in the heat."
Filaurel's eye turned to the unfinished front of the jacket, and he frowned.
"The historical jacket was finished with a phoenix in golden thread, and I had meant to do the same here when Searing arrived- when it did not arrive, I found I could not bring myself to put the missing bird to thread. Thus, I put it away. A little embroidery along those lines should take no more than a day, if you fancy it."
Re: Sharing the Spotlight
Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2025 4:51 pm
by Rhydian SolKor
Rhydian canted his head vaguely in the direction of the Princess Royal as she spoke, offering greater detail than he had. His eyes snapped to Filaurel’s face as subtle tension expressed itself in the muscles of his visage. His reply immediately gave voice to the source of the tension, which hadn’t occurred to Rhydian based on the physical reaction alone. But when it was voiced, it did rather make sense to him. Reputation was something he understood— another common theme between tailor and solider, he inwardly observed. He parted his lips, prepared to offer an alternative, but the tailor’s expression shifted as he seemed to have a mild eureka moment of sorts, which launched him out of the room briefly.
“I like this one.” He whispered to Akantha, with an approving nod. Filaurel was not doting, cloying or overtly exploitative. For one well-accustomed to flattery and sycophancy, it was a welcome reprieve. He had little doubt that his military background in Aerion had prepared him well to deal with one of its princes.
His pupils dilated as his gaze fell upon the garment, a mild smile tugging his full lips. They parted slightly, as an explanation of the origins of the piece was offered. His face flushed at the description, but his smile spread wider and he nodded.
“Yes, Master Filaurel. Yes, this will do very nicely, indeed!” He bowed his head and bit his lip, as if bashful to wear so broad a smile.
Re: Sharing the Spotlight
Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2025 10:50 pm
by Akantha SolEilran
She had expected that reaction from Filaurel, and while Akantha took no pleasure in stressing a Maker out with regard to a request, she felt that the tailor handled himself well. Many of her outfits were bespoke, true, but there were sometimes things made that had caught her interest even though they weren’t made for her specifically. Rhydian was even less particular than she was about attire; so long as it was well-made and suited the occasion, whatever worked. It could be dressed up and styled accordingly, and no one would ever have to know. The redheaded prince was not known for ostentation.
There would have been demurring if someone asked, they would have been directed to Akantha, and there were a number of their cohort that would not risk that encounter when it came to the Princess’s favourite topic.
When he quit the room in a hurry, Akantha raised an eyebrow, but did not question. When Rhydian whispered to her, she smiled at him and nodded in agreement. She quite liked Filaurel’s manner, too. He hadn’t been obsequious when he had waited on her the first time, even though he had not known who she was. But even now that he did, he wasn’t overdoing it like some were prone to, for whatever reasons.
When he came back out with the garment, the Princess's attention was fully on it, taking in the details of the pieces - jacket, shirt, pants. She was listening to the tailor, but every detail was being absorbed as she studied the coat. In the corner of her eye, she watched Rhydian for his reaction. She was glad that he liked it, and quite pleased with the solution that Filaurel had come up with. "That would be perfect," Akantha offered her own bright smile. "I take it now would be as good a time as any to have him try it on and it can be pinned for any adjustments that he needs," she looked to Filaurel. She had faith that he could finish it, and considering Rhydian's connection to her father... this would be well-received indeed.
"There is no rose without a thorn."
Re: Sharing the Spotlight
Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2025 7:17 pm
by Filaurel
•───────── Gloaming Hapertas ────────•
"Yes, absolutely- if your highness would care to try the garments, I will take your measurements and do the pinning all at once." Len'Alen's tone was professional and his face was stone, but one fancied they could hear a touch of happiness in his words, to have his guess so readily confirmed, "I can have them finished and delivered discreetly to the palace by the week's end."
A stroke of unusual good fortune, really, to have had this piece sitting mostly-finished in the back. It wasn't his custom to simply let projects lie and molder; but the Great Eclipse, along with the progression of his ailment, had broken his spirit just a bit. Well. Perhaps it was the agency of some passing Virtue, then, to turn that temporary misery into a later success. Maybe Malgar had finally tired of the taste of Len'Alen tears?
(He didn't linger on that thought, for that kind of whimsy was dangerous.)
Though the Gloaming Hapertas was small, it did have two stalls for changing at the back, just across from his little back-room storage, and underneath the stairwell which led to his lodgings on the building's second story. Filaurel directed the Prince therein to try on the garments, to find if they were to his liking and ready himself for the pinning, the poking and prodding and wrapping of carefully-marked little ropes which was the surgical art of any tailor.
After seeing to Rhydian, the tailor returned to the Princess. As with any craftsman, efficiency was part of the blood.
"It does my heart rather proud to see the Prince has grown so well." he confided to her, "I thought myself entirely quit of Aerion, but it seems the old spirit malingers. I never saw him as a boy myself, but the whole city celebrated his deeds at court."
"The jacket really ought to have an embroidery, but it might be passing strange to use the royal firebird at a party if the King himself is to attend. Have you any notion of a proper crest?"
Re: Sharing the Spotlight
Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2025 4:33 pm
by Rhydian SolKor
Rhydian contented himself to appraise the nuances of the garment, paying particular attention to the jacket. It was, after all, the centrepiece of the look and the cut and colour appealed to him especially. He might have been lost in the details before he was prompted to take the next step and proceed from the visual to the tactile and try the thing on.
“Of course.” The prince inclined his head and followed where he was led to a dressing room. As Filaurel’s footsteps receded, Rhydian took a moment to bask in the silence and solitude before disrobing and transitioning into the formalwear. The trousers were a bit wide at the waist and long at the leg, but the jacket fit like a charm. He fussed over the accents and tugged at the lapels in front to straighten them against his chest.
He stood at a few different angles before the mirror and regarded himself scrutinisingly, before emerging and with catlike tread on stockinged feet, he made his way back to the front of the shoppe.
When you here was a gap in the exchange between Princess and tailor, he would clear his throat quietly and spread his arms demonstrably.
“Here we have it. Just a few bits to tailor, I should think…” He said, reaching down to tug the left leg of the trousers up, so it wasn’t draping into a bunch that swallowed his entire foot. With that displayed, he let it fall back to its prior artless pool of fabric.
“Where would you like me, Master Filaurel?” He inquired, with a glance about the immediate surroundings.
Re: Sharing the Spotlight
Posted: Fri Mar 14, 2025 10:20 pm
by Akantha SolEilran
"As they should," Akantha smiled at Filaurel's words. "He is a testament to Aerion, House Val'Kor, and to Sol'Valen." The Prince may not have been one to draw attention to himself, but the Princess of Thorns had no problem whatsoever talking her friend up. He had earned all of that, and more. There was something to be said for the fact that he had earned his place on her Father's Council. "We grew up together, him and I." He doubtless knew that Rhydian had come to Silfanore as her King Ailuin's cupbearer, and he was quite close in age to the Phoenix King's firstborn.
Besides... he had also tolerated her playing dress-up with him over the years, and had been stuck in more dresses than anyone might ever admit.
She considered his question. "My father will be there, so what I would suspect what Prince Rhydian might like is a design featuring katana swords and nightshade flowers," Akantha was thoughtful. "Barring that, he might like a dragon motif, perhaps, as Val'Kor is the House of the Red Dragon... but I think that the katanas and nightshades would be more stylized to him, personally." And it would represent his nickname from the King.
When Rhydian came back out, she turned her attention to him and looked him over. This was going to go quite well, if her experienced and discerning eyes were not deceiving her. Her head canted slightly as she inspected him, and then turned the other way. This was going to be quite close to Rhydian's measurements, and as he said, it just needed some taking in and taking up, particularly in the trousers. However, she would let Filaurel take the lead here - this was his atelier, and they were here for him and his expertise, and this would be perfect for the party in a few days' time. "This suits you."
Once he was measured, she was going to ask that that dress she had her eye on be put in the back until she could come try it on and see if it needed anything for herself, but that was, of course, later.
"There is no rose without a thorn."
Re: Sharing the Spotlight
Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2025 9:42 am
by Filaurel
•───────── Gloaming Hapertas ────────•
The tailor fell silent as he turned to observe Rhydian, his eyes narrowed to slits as he scoured the ensemble for imperfections. At last, a hand moved, reaching to gesture towards a slightly raised area on the main floor, surrounded by several standing mirrors.
"Highness, you complete the outfit just as I had imagined it." Filaurel's words were simple and his tone was not overwrought, but he had to fight to contain the pride it brought him, to see his work so appropriately furnished, "Please, but stand here with your arms raised and I shall endeavor to finish the pinning with an absolute minimum of poking and prodding, and so forth."
Filaurel set to work, although it would have been difficult for an observer outside the shop to know how. As soon as Rhydian took the spot indicated, he was set upon by implements of destruction; a veritable swarm of levitating pins and measuring-sticks, colored ropes and markers. Len'Alen himself remained relatively stationary, moving only as needed to get a better angle on some sagging sleeve or long bit of legging. In this he was aided by the three standing mirrors, which captured the prince at many angles and delivered their reports to him at a glance.
Once the flurry of initial measurements was done, Filaurel looked over to the notebook on his desk, which began to furiously inscribe upon itself the measurements and fittings which would need to happen once the Hapertas' guests had taken their leave. Akantha's guess that the outfit fit was--by and large--correct, but the makers of Sol'Valen were never content with "by and large". Dozens of notes, tweaks and adjustments so minor that even sophisticated fashionistas would have missed them; all of these things went into Filaurel's little book, to become his labors in the coming days.
After a few short minutes of this, the various tools of measurement disentangled themselves from Prince Rhydian's clothes and returned to their shelves and sconces and secluded lairs, to slumber until the next hapless victim arrived. Len'Alen gave the Prince another careful once-over, then nodded, satisfied with his efforts.
"Thank you for your indulgence. I believe I have all the measures we will need- indeed, I can make the adjustments and have a final delivery to you well within our timeframe. All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well."
There was only the barest ghost of satisfaction in Filaurel's voice; he wore professionalism like a suit of armor, and did what he could to present few openings. Nevertheless, he was pleased, and that was a rare enough thing for the tailor these days.
"Is there aught else I can do for the pair of you today?"
Re: Sharing the Spotlight
Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2025 4:45 pm
by Rhydian SolKor
“Of course, Master Filaurel.” Rhydian replied with an easy nod as he lifted his arms per the tailor’s request. For all his peccadilloes, the Prince of Aerion was not quick to boredom and was very content navigating the labyrinth of his own mind. While the tailor went about his work, Rhydian zoned out and pondered the rest of his day, and week. There were things he was excited about and he was able to focus on those things to maintain the good mood that the garment selections had already instilled in him.
“It does.” Rhydian emerged from his meditative meanderings to respond to Akantha’s assessment in the affirmative, albeit delivered through his typical stoic softness.
“I am content. More than content.” He answered Filaurel, conjuring another specimen of his rarely seen smile. “I have nothing further to ask of you, if Her Royal Highness does not…” He trailed off, with a vague gesture in the princess’ direction.
“I will leave you to it whilst I get back into the garment in which I arrived. I will send someone later to see about the rest of it.” Rhydian had been raised to deem vulgar to discuss money, so he tended to have such matters handled through an intermediary who acted as his business representative and spared him such low discourse. It was no coincidence that he hadn’t even explicitly broached that ‘the rest of it’, as he’d said, meant remuneration.
He found his way back to the dressing room and made much quicker work of returning to his own clothes. He didn’t linger this time, returning to the showroom in a matter of moments with hard soled boots clicking against the floor once more.
“I left the piece hanging in the dressing room.”
Re: Sharing the Spotlight
Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2025 11:59 am
by Akantha SolEilran
Akantha looked on as Filaurel accomplished with kinetics what many tailors did by hand. He had already done her measurements for her own gown that was in progress, and so she had already witnessed his methods, but it was different to be able to observe from the side rather than being in the middle and watching from the mirrors. The Princess stayed out of them so as not to detract from the work being done for Rhydian. This gave her different vantage points anyway, and she was certainly interested in following the method - this gave her some more insight into the tailor's methods, and those were as interesting to her as the finished results and pieces. There had been more than one tailor who had had her attentions while they were working, and while she didn't frequently ask questions while they did, some got nervous indeed under her gaze.
When Rhydian went to get changed, Akantha returned her attention to the dress she had been admiring earlier, and she found her way back over to it. Rhydian's attire had been procured and it would be taken care of, so she could go back to studying the dress and adding to her own wardrobe. When Filaurel asked if there was anything else he could do for them, the fingertips capped with delicately painted nails touched the silvery material of the garment on the mannequin. "I would like this put away in the back for now, and I will come back for it next week. I don't think it would need too many adjustments to fit it to me, and Prince Rhydian's outfit is more time-sensitive than this lovely raiment." She came back over towards them, her aerolyth keeping her train off of the floor of the atelier. "Thank you for your time, Master Filaurel. It was a pleasure as always, and I will see you soon."
"There is no rose without a thorn."
Re: Sharing the Spotlight
Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2025 11:04 pm
by Filaurel
•───────── Gloaming Hapertas ────────•
Filaurel had to force himself to breathe regularly, to keep a pleasant and professional face instead of beaming like a total fool. He hoped in his heart of hearts that neither of the royals was the sort of mage who could observe his emotions- either directly or simply by overhearing the thumping of his racing heart.
Instead, he nodded thoughtfully at the Prince's timetable, raising no objection to it. He did not broach the topic of payment himself; though he had not previously done much business with the royal family he knew from others that they paid in full. It was the provenance of base tinkers and haberdashers to try to bargain with clients, the sort of thing which produced a few extra coins but lowered your reputation. In the long run, that sort of thing hurt a lot more than it could ever help.
"Then it shall be done, Highness." It would be a simple matter to make the alterations, with the sole exception of the embroidery work. But he would see to that too, so he would. He was busy, but nothing save the direct intervention of Wraeden Himself would stop him from getting this done on time.
When Akantha spoke up, the tailor returned his attention to the silvery dress. It would look good on her, of course, but he expected that absolutely anything would. No, the bigger consideration was that if the Rose Princess was seen anywhere wearing that dress, other people would want the same.
And he was, for the moment, the only shop in the city which could make it.
"...you do me too much honor, Princess. I will certainly hold it. Indeed, I still have your measurements, and so I may be able to complete most of the adjustments before you next arrive."
Though it was a painstaking (and slightly dangerous) affair, Filaurel felt compelled to bend himself over, lowering his body into a proper-if-utilitarian bow, and then rose.
"It was a pleasure to meet you, Prince Rhydian, and to see you again, your Highness. May your family be forever blessed by the great dragons."