Katherine
**
Anyanka Durkhan
Tay-more Kast-ol
**
Before Jax could comment, Eric and Angelica seemed to make their way back over to them. Angelica had changed from what she had last seen her in, and Anya tilted her head a bit to let her eyes wander over her friend. For someone she'd seen doning blues most of her life, the green, gold, and brown colors of the Stafford house always made her do a double take to assure it was the same woman. Angelica gave a small smile, and moved to take the space closest to Anya, offering a half embrace. 

"This crowd's pretty dull, isn't it?" She mused, raising her hand to summon over a Grunewald servant with a tray of wine. 

"It's not the people I would invite to a party, but I think it's more because this isn't supposed to be a party." Anya reminded her, taking one of the glasses that was brought over. Angelica took one, took a sip, cringed, and placed it back on the tray.

"Maybe you were right about coming here." She murmured, and looked to her husband. "Eric, darling, Keep Anyanka company? I'm going to see if there's anything remotely good being served." With that, Angelica placed her hand on Anya's shoulder, then pressed a soft kiss to her husband before ducking away into the crowd. 

Anya watched her go, then looked to Eric. "Is she alright? She's been strange all afternoon."
Robert
King Gregor Grunewald
Castle Grunewald, Taemar

The guests were beginning to develop a glaze on their eyes and their movements became significantly less coordinated. The blood wine had certainly done its job. King Gregor presumed that now was the time to officially begin the festivities. He looked over to Kenmath for confirmation and the servant smiled widely with a bow. 

"ALRIGHT," Gregor boomed, clapping his enormous hands together to gain the attention of the glittering nobles. He grinned, barring his yellowed teeth once all eyes were on him. "We have a special, Taemarian treat for you, *My distinguished guests*. I am not sure how much you know of Taemarian cuisine, but our finest and most decadent dish is a *Fresh* Hog, born and bred in the boglands. Of course, I have nothing but the best for you all tonight!" He said, enunciating every word with his hands and splashing wine all around his vicinity. "If you will all take your seats, we will begin!" 

"LOWERING THE HOG, YOUR HIGHNESS!" Kenmath cried, untying a rope from the corner and letting it have some give. Gregor motioned up above and four thrashing hooves appeared below the floral garlands that concealed the ceiling. Kenmath's scrawny arms quivered and a whole hog appeared, squealing like mad and dangling high above the center of the dining table. It wore a crown of roses and thistle.

"WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT?!" Gregor yelled in glee. The Romanov clan stared up with mouths agape in horror. Prince Nickles shuddered as the bloodlust poured over his small body. 

Prince Auburn entered the dining hall with his arms full of daggers. He began to pass one to every guest. 

"Everyone will get a chance at the hog! Whomever deals the deadly shot gets to eat the tail!" Gregor explained, taking a dagger for himself, "My son, Auburn, will demonstrate!"

Prince Auburn twirled the dagger in betweeen his fingers before dashing forward and throwing it up at the hog. The hog squealed, a high pitched cry of pain as the dagger sank into its flesh near its ribcage before clattering back down to the table. A stream of blood followed, swirling on the table as the hog was swung around on the rope. 

"WHO'S NEXT?!" Gregor asked, his beady eyes scanning his guests, "I'd hurry! Kenmath hasn't the strength to keep the hog aloft for much longer!" He added, roaring with laughter.
Wyatt
Judas Merrilweather

Castle Grunewald, Vallen

*A knife? What a peculiar thing.* Judas thought to himself as he was gifted the blade. Judas stared at the prince as he walked away on his quest of offering guests their... Dangerous cutlery... Until he disappeared in the ocean of guests. The light of the room glinted off of the blade in his hands, catching the eye of the masked lord as he stared down at it. It seems all they wished was to play games with the pig pinata - well, perhaps it was time to show off a little.

"My king!" Judas spoke up through the mask, bowing humbly in Gregor's direction, "The hog is a mightily generous and gracious gift for us in your presence. I due hope that I speak for everyone here..." Judas gestured his hands widely, looking around the room. "...When I say that such a display requires an equal show of prowess, as Prince Auburn's skill would be impossible to rival with the throwing of the blade." Judas would walk forwards from his corner spot and into the center of the room, setting the knife down on the table with a careful motion. "But as your hog-hoister's strength is dwindling, I will gladly perform the honors in a different variety."

Judas looked up to the bleeding hog, holding out his arm towards its head as he began to concentrate. He was no good with throwing knives and had no chance in performing a killing blow with such a weapon - but the crown of roses and thistle was perfectly placed in his favor. As he opened his palm, the crown began to twist and grow as if it was still alive, as the plants were likely recently picked they had to be somewhat so. Judas waited a moment or two as the roots grew out like spokes on a wheel, then suddenly clenched his fist shut. The roots whipped down and into the hogs' eyes, nose and ears - causing a momentary squealing of pain before it stopped moving - but the spectacle wasn't over. Judas's hand clenched tighter as the roots continued to embed themselves into the hog, causing a bloody dripping mess over the table until finally, it's head looked like a rose bush, with the tendrils of plant life a colored blood red. During the ordeal he spoke no words, remaining silent until the bush finished it's growth. Turning to the king, Judas's breath was ragged and tired as he did his best to recover, sounding like quiet gasps underneath the mask. "Does that count, my liege?"
John
**King Dennon Bigsby
The Presence of a Poor Sport in Vallen Taemar**

Dennon blinked multiple times with his lips pressed pressed together after the scene was over. "Well, that was fun," Dennon said with annoyed sarcasm, dropping the knife he had only just been handed to the floor. "...For everybody."
Katherine
**Anyanka Durkhan
Not Astoria.**

Her lips had parted in horror at the suspended hog, and at the first throw from Prince Auburn she flinched, taking a step back. Then, some unknown stepped forward. She didn't recognize him, but the scene that played out before her made him unforgettable. Her stomach churned and she turned, her face tucking into Jax's shoulder as she leaned into him. 

"I'm gonna faint." She muttered, closing her eyes tight as she suppressed a gag.
Robert
Kenmath Vaughn
Castle Grunewald, Taemar

The hog had died in a peculiar way. A man magicked its head into a rosebush, from what Kenmath could see. Nonetheless, the servant wailed in grief and let go of the rope. The hog corpse fell onto the table with a large crash, spitting the surface of the wood. Blood pooled around it. Kenmath wept into his hands.
Kathleen
Viola/Valentine Godwin
Castle Grunewald, Vallen

Growing up in Taemar, the tradition of pig slaughter at a party was not entirely alien to the noblewoman, though being handed a dagger and watching the slaughter was not something she had wanted to happen tonight. But her doublet stayed clean with the rather quick sport and she went to find her seat.

Looking for either title of "Lord" Or "Professor" Proved fruitless as she walked around the tables which felt rather like an insult but she thought better than to bring it up and loose any favour she had with the royal family, which already wasn't a lot.

Even more distressing than not having a title on her placard, she seemed to have been sat beside some other women, at least one other Lady. Tonight, she was sure, would bring dull company and worse conversation. Still, as she took her seat she hoped those she shared a table with were pleasing to look at. That always made a dull conversation bearable.
Kari
Captain Sir Lord Doctor Brightwater the III, esquire
Van+Halen

Jax was finding it hard to get a word in about the crowd. Before his reply, the Staffords showed up, even then the King of Butchers decided the most opportune moment for a speech was the first break in their conversation.

The pig, admittedly was impressive. Jax hadn't seen a beast that size this far north since, well ever. The dagger he was given was simple enough for being mass produced for a royal party. In all honesty Jax was very excited to take a turn at the beast, *When in Rome, yaknow?* But unfortunately, that was ruined. Almost as abruptly as the downfall of his disappointment, the hog died at the hands of some stranger.

However Jax is a Lawful person, and lawful people have to abide by the law apparently. When Anya pressed to his shoulder he prepped an arm around her in case she did in fact fall. The knight then turned to the South Feyshore diplomats.

"My Lord, My Lady, would you mind helping me find Her Majesty something to drink that isn't bloodwine?" Jax's spare hand stuck the dagger into his belt.
Rosa
The Pirate King Bradai Maith
Castle Grunewald, Vallen

The Islanders were dumbfounded. They set their daggers on the table beside them. They had been briefed and prepared on the concept of the "Hog Dangle", but Bradai had not once considered that Melsi Witches would provide entertainment. He watched as the head of the hog grew horrendous tumors, shifting and cracking with alien vasculature and shards of sharp, thorny bone. A few drops of viscera, a deep cherry red dotted with specks of white, stained the tablecloth before the hog came slamming down to the table. The candles all flickered at once, ushering a silence to fill the room.

Bradai watched the mass of flesh warble with a confused, wailing energy. The neck came off in a clean, flesh covered stump, and from it sprouted the wicked tendrils of flesh. He watched as they pushed against each other, letting out pained and muffled squeals. The shoddy imitation of pork seemed to come at rest, before Bradai could feel its stare on him. He watched a leg twitch backwards before pushing his seat away from the table. His hand wrapped around the knife.

"It's not fucking dead." His men came off the walls, coming to his side. "Gregor, vhis is a fucking poor joke." Bradai looked to his left and his right, ushering for them to back away. "I do not know what fucking witch magic is legal 'ere, but vhis is—" The body on the table jerked angrily as it rose to its hind legs.
Sarah
Arin Cragton
A fucked up situation, Taemar

Arin watched in horror as the corpse began to twitch. The head slid off, but the body began to move, and stood up. Arin clenched the dagger beside him as the mutilated ball of flesh turned side to side, and Arin could feel nonexistent eyes staring down each of the members in the room. 

The hog's head lied still in a bloody puddle as the main body of the beast began pawing the shards of the table. Its muscles began to ripple as it geared up for a charge, and turned towards the object of its demise, the man who had killed it. It ran, leaving a trail of blood and sweat in its path as it charged, causing some of the people at the party to back up. Arin clenched his jaw and aimed quickly, before releasing the dagger. It whistled through the air and lodged itself between the ribs, and if it had been a normal hog it would have been a clean kill, piercing the heart. But it only seemed to piss the hog off. The hog spun and began staring at Arin. The people around him backed up quickly, and Arin stood frozen. The hog began to charge the young man. 

"Oh fuck."
Kevin
A somewhat amusing situation from an outsider's point of view
Vallen, Taemar

Danico took the dagger with a curious brow, before eagerly finding his position at the small table he was sat at, tucked away near the corner of the room. An invitation to distance from the crowd and be surrounded by less people was surely accepted.

Once it had been made clear the daggers purpose, Danico stuck his into a crack on the wood of his table, standing at attention like a royal guard. Though deciding that sitting by and simply observing the actions (and reactions) to the observably barbaric feast opener would be all he would do at this moment, he couldn't help but feel like the way in which the hog ended up being slaughtered- through replacing it's facial cavities with plant matter- was oddly familiar. A certain swamp witch from danico's recent history performed a similar magic trick, a trick that turned his insides from the thought of such. Looking down at the jade necklace around his neck, Danico sighs deeply at the thought, though his adventure on the thought train was abruptly interrupted by the screaming of a certain pirate king, followed by the presumed-dead hog charging through the crowd with renewed vitality. A couple of nobles trip up on his table as they scurry out of the way of the hog, forcing Danico to his feet once more or risk being battered by the table getting pushed. 

"Great.." He muttered, had he had his apothecary satchel he might have had a solution to this.
John
**King Dennon Bigsby
Vallen, Taemar**

Dennon discreetly picked up the knife he had dropped and inched a bit closer to Kirk, whispering. "I read in Cleburn's journals that he re-animated the head of a dead woman that severed at the neck and chased him around the room. I thought he was just exaggerating until tonight."
Wyatt
**Judas Merrilweather

An event that needs the Ghostbusters, Vallen**

The spectacle has fooled Judas's eyes for a moment, in fact he was dumbfounded enough that he almost got hit by the falling body. He had attempted to kill the hog... But apparently, his magic had latched onto something else entirely - as when the body fell, that obviously was *Not* A rose bush. Judas hurried back and away from the beast, looked around wildly to spot what the magic had actually affected until he spotted the gift he had brought in the first place. The jar was now cracked and broken in several places as roots had grown out and around it like a basket, and the petals grew into a moonlit whitecaps, though it was terribly cramped and squished over.

"Oh, bollocks. I grew the wrong plant!" He stepped back into the crowd in order to make his way over to his original spot. Judas huddled near the jar with hushed mumbling, scooping it up with his hands as well as fallen glass shards. As the pig-thing prepped whatever it was to do, he hid against the wall and slowly attempted to piece the gift back into a presentable piece of art. "Oh dear, Oh dear... I hope they can deal with that thing." Judas's task was simple and he was, as usual, talking to himself.
Heather
Cecilia Lyanah
Castle Grunewald, Vallen

Cecilia parted her ways with Heath the moment King Gregor announced for everyone to take their seats, taking advantage of the hog that thrashed against the ropes it had been bound to while lowered towards the table. It took no more than a few minutes to find the pirate king as he took his seat amongst the nobles and royalty, noticing how his men were forced to remain by the wall a distance away from the table. The shifter eyed the empty chair on his right, cocking her head slightly in thought. She waited as the hog's squeals were silenced when an unknown man used some ability he should have harboured, supposedly murdering the animal. Even though she was dying to look at the scene unravelling, Cecilia kept a focused eye on the empty chair, waiting for someone to take ownership of their place by King Bradai. 

When the corpse began to mutate, the shifter kept watch of the king and his men as they reacted towards the magic shown in a gruesome manner. It amused her when he shouted at Gregory for the hilarious stunt he pulled, motioning away his men. It was that moment Cecilia rushed towards the unclaimed spot by Bradai's side as the mutated hog began to rise on its hind legs. 

"Don't tell me you're frightened by some *Animal*, King Bradai." The shifter chuckled as she stepped in from behind and took her seat, acting as if there was no danger currently present. She kept her gaze towards the headless hog, keeping herself from facing the pirate king while noticing how many were running from the beast as it terrorised the dining hall.