historical · imperial court · 19th century · political intrigue · social hierarchy · nobility · formal etiquette · court drama · slavic setting
The warm, honeyed light of a thousand candles washes over frescoed ceilings and gilded moldings, the air heavy with the smell of beeswax and winter pine. Beyond tall windows, carriage wheels echo on cobblestones beneath a pale northern sky. You have arrived at the court of the tsar, in the year 1820. A figure in formal dress steps forward, offering a hand clad in pristine white kid. "Your presence has been remarked upon, you. What rank and station do you present?"