The Regular Observer
Feature Article Release #1
MAGISTER XORIET TO BECOME XORIET RAVENCLAW
Infamous Pharaoh Lord Ravenclaw proposes to young socialite, TEP's Magister Xoriet
PRESS GALLERY, HOGWARTS: Some defenders would argue that it is rare to find new beginnings in the remnants of an occupied region. Not least of these occupied regions is Hogwarts, the renowned British school for witches, wizards, and occasional magic creatures. And yet, with the tags of Lone Wolves United flying over the region, it was here that would form the stage of perhaps one of the greatest revelations in high class society since the defender Spartzerium switched sides to be united with his estranged lover.
It was here, in Hogwarts, that Lord Ravenclaw proposed to his rumoured lover, Xoriet of TEP. The Regular Observer's Grim Reaper was privileged to both gain exclusive press access to the event, carefully hidden away at Lord Ravenclaw's behest. With this article comes the official photographic documentation of the moment of the proposal by Ravenclaw, undoctored and unstaged. It is in this raw emotional moment that Xoriet's sudden confusion gave way to ecstasy, and her life, no doubt, changed forever.
Indeed, it is an important proposal for GCR politics. In high class society, the two frequent very different circles - Xoriet belongs to the sphere of non-moralistic defenders (East Pacific Army, and arguably the other defender-leaning independent militaries), and Raven is often ascribed to the Sphere of Malicious-Aligned Raiders (BoM, TBR, TBH, LWU). It has not been very long since Xoriet joined high class society, in fact - despite her membership in TEP's Magisterium, it was only the generous verbal ministrations of fellow Magister Tadeo that introduced her to society at large, including those who frequent the Osirian social scene, including Lord Ravenclaw himself. As a member of said social scene from, arguably, its very beginning, our own Grim Reaper was well poised to take notes of the burgeoning romance between the grizzled war veteran Lord Ravenclaw, perhaps the youngest NSer to play such a key role in so many coups, and Xoriet, just making her way into modern GCR politics.
In fact, he accompanied the duo, under the guise of reporting on the LWU occupation (they're still there, the Pope shits in a gold throne, and bears look remarkably like big dogs), as an old friend and confidante of the Lord Ravenclaw, and an acquaintance of the young Xoriet. He recounts the moments of the proposal with tears in his eyes, holding back laughter as he concurrently reminisces on Tush's myriad of rebuffs by his own long-time romantic interest, Serina.
We asked the Grim Reaper how anyone could take a holiday to a battlefield, and why they would. "In a position like the Pharaoh of Osiris, arguably the most important person in the most significantly raider-leaning GCR in modern politics, you have a lot of clout, and the LWU logistics corp were happy to oblige Ravenclaw when he requested a personal room with two beds. I don't think they knew the significance of the event, but they knew how much it meant to him. Indeed, many people know of Ravenclaw's relationship with the world of Hogwartsian Magic - indeed, Hogwarts itself has a house named after the esteemed Ravenclaw. It is also possible the choice was made as token recognition to the delegate of the South Pacific, Escade, whose practice of magic has had a great influence on the house of Hufflepuff and its long-standing culture, and who is of course a friend of Lord Ravenclaw."
The Grim Reaper proceeded to discuss the moment itself, leaning back in his ivory-framed chaise longue, a crystal glass of diabolo-menthe in one hand.
"It was a very quiet affair. I had arrived in the room to deliver tea, informing the couple - they got up from seperate beds, of course - that I had woken up early to inspect the changing of the guard between the LWU command elements and a late TBR reinforcement contingent. Of course, in reality I had been preparing my staff to handle the occasion with decorem, and used the moment in order to distract Xoriet as I had a staff member assist me in bringing a breakfast trolley into the room, surreptitiously setting up an Equilism-Design micro-camera, and adjusting the lighting to my preference as the pair woke up. She was just making her way to the bathroom when I snuck the ring into Raven's beak - a favour of mine, it was one of the pieces of loot I collected from the very first Osirian government transitions, from Sichuan Pepper to Zaolat. At the time we thought it was near anarchic, but...anyway, it was a particularly important piece for them. It was a present from a Hogwartsian diplomat to one of the many Osirian warlords of pre-Zaolat Osiris. Represents eternal life, even without taking into account the fact that it came to Osiris before even Raven did - it's as timeless as their marriage is, symbolically. We were waiting for her to take a shower, wake herself up, and come back wearing the new clothes Ravenclaw had picked out for her.
She was still mid-step when Raven nearly choked on the damn ring." At this point, the Reaper chuckled. "You should have seen her turn around - a look of tired worry has never spent such a short time on someone's face. She still had her hand up, halfway between steps, ready for him to put the ring on by the time he composed himself and got over to her."
Our editor, [myself, the Grim Reaper], posed the question to the Grim Reaper that this was a carefully calculated move on Lord Ravenclaw's part. "He is a shrewd diplomat, yes - I've known him since he started his Osirian career, really. But, I don't think he'd do this sort of thing for the love of money or power. He's already been burned - as an Osirian, we all have, although historically, he did have a long string of controversies surrounding him. As a friend, I'm overjoyed that he's found someone he's planning to spend the rest of what will be a colourful career with him."
The Grim Reaper then turned the topic to the question of Xoriet. "Ah, would
you marry into Osirian politics? It's hardly worth it at any rate."
We then turned the discussion towards more serious matters. As wonderful as a high-profile marriage is, it is necessary to understand those aspects that could shake the foundations of our society. "In TEP, defenderism has recently become a serious point of contention, with all sorts of opposing views from all camps, including the Defender camp alone with the recent push by Unibot to repeal that act with the boring name, and the push by Prussia to keep it. It's sort of understandable that in such a touch-and-go political situation, with prominent TEP ex-delegate and current viceroy Todd McCloud having posted an extremely controversial formal dissent from the majority view, there are questions to be raised about almost any choice.
This is not one of them.
I feel that Ravenclaw's withdrawal from TEP politics, if anything, soldifies his claim to promoting above all else GCR sovereignty and community rights - allegations that he is 'brainwashing' Xoriet are completely and utterly false. Their love is based on a mutually agreeable base of torture, mutilation, kicking Vac, and general miscreancy."
Note: The Grim Reaper wishes to make a point that the Grim Reaper does not make about the Grim Reaper, that is, the Grim Reaper's bias regarding the TEP's internal politics, due to the Grim Reaper's growing involvement in that area. The Grim Reaper apologises for the ambiguity.
"Xoriet's influence in Osiris, too, will probably be negligible - regardless of his respect and romantic interests, Raven's zeal for diplomatic and political matters is something that has never been questioned. For many long-time Osirians, it is difficult to imagine an Osiris where Raven's thumb is not always on the Foreign Affairs portfolio, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year. She herself has stated that TEP is the only region for her."
We asked the Grim Reaper what he feels this represents for the broader community.
"In short? A stronger, broader community. It's interesting that two people, one a cosmopolitan who acts like a regionalist, and the other a regionalist who sounds like a cosmopolitan, have broken regional bonds in such a way. It speaks well for a new generation of NSers, interestingly enough, currently characterized by Xoriet, Escade, and Kringalia, who are starting to deny the complexities and traditionalism outlined by their predecessors. We see in Lazarus, even, Kazmr taking over from the controversial Chairman Milograd. It's not the rise of cosmopolitans, but it might be the rise of cosmopolitanism. The real question is, though, does it matter?"
It is clear to us that whatever the real motivations behind this marriage, they are neither financial nor political. One must wonder for just a single second if there is a second layer at play - one that denies the existence of our entire political sphere as nothing but a distraction.
