Lion's Roar

[noel]

Queen's Birthday

This week was the Queen's birthday and the citizens of Uantir have thrown a lavish party. This year's fiasco was not who wore the same dress as someone else or even who wore the same costume. It was what happened when the cake rolled out with candles lit. As the entire room filled with anticipating celebrators went to begin the first line of “Happy Birthday” the queen blew out every candle with the force of a hurricane. Just as the flames died from her blow, so too did the chorus in the throats of expectant attendees.

The rest of the entertainment was a combination of singers, dancers and a string quartet that played popular songs revision and remade to classical instruments. “I was so shocked when I heard the melody for Bad Romance come from the harp,” one woman said.

Despite the rich entertainment, Uantir is known for costumes. In fact every second Friday is National Costume Day. In the halls of the castle, everyone showed up in their best. One woman wore stilts and had a cat in a cage hanging from beneath her belly. When people spoke to her, they were speaking more to her cat, “I am surprised she can even walk in those things and how did she even get food?” asked one passerby. The woman was well over 15 feet tall.

Another man wore a skintight black outfit and skulked around, “I am Jealouss,” he told reporters, “I like to creep into people's conversations.” Whether the man was simply a strange citizen looking for attention or a maniac no one knows. He declined further comment on his mental health.

The final costume that won the hearts of many was Princess Kaelyn's costume. She was dressed as a fairy complete with wings and glitter. It was also the first time people could see the Princess whom had her first tooth.

“Her Majesty's most recent birthday party was a resounding success. Besides the thoughtful gifts for winter and the perpetuation of the gag gift war between us and the Huffs the greatest gift Her Majesty received were the friends that arrived,” the King said.

The king's forthright quote demonstrates that the citizens are the most important people and that it's them who make the party more enjoyable.

Riverside – the New Place for Escaping Woes

Thane of Riverside, Noel came to Uantir a few months ago relatively unknown and quiet, doing small bits of art on the side for the King. Then, about a week ago, he claimed the Tier One level of aristocracy and is seeking to create Riverside. A premier shopping, education, entertainment and luxury strip on the riverside. The waters are clean and relaxing and the entertainment world class. It will also be the location for up-and-coming arts and crafts, ranging from painting to fashion and music to jewelry making.

[noel]

There was an uproar over last issue's lack of mentioning the queen's dress. That was because writers here at the Lion's Roar wanted to build anticipation for an entire feature on the Queen's Dress.

First, we will begin with the dress's production. Silk, cotton and valuable jewels were gathered from across the land. But none of it was outsourced, it was created within the realms of Uantir entirely. It was truly a piece of the entire nation.

It was assembled in Riverside, in one of the most illustrious design studio's available. The clothing created there has traveled from shore to shore. The designer, one Quori Aman was pleased to work with the Queen. "When I was told I was doing her dress I was honored and then terrified. I knew she had to have a dress that was fresh and demanding. And she wouldn't accept anything less than perfect."

Construction of the dress took place over the course of six months with only four fittings. The design worked nearly every day, carving each jewel himself, embedding it into her armor turned corset. "The armor was to embody the strength of the woman and especially our queen. I simply had to include it in the design."

The inclusion marks what is probably one of the most jaw dropping combinations. High fashion meets medieval battlefield.

"I remember when she came into the room, with two people carrying the train and the armor that was a couture corset. I almost cried," said one party goer. She said she left the party because her dress was so lack luster.

Anyone's outfit would be lackluster compared to the queen's. With nearly 100 karats worth of diamond and rubies embedded along the bust-line, spine and waistline, the corset alone cost more then 70,000 dollars.

"It was more than the price tag. I wanted something that commemorated this special year in the queen's life. A dress that said, 'Yes I had a child, and I can still look flawless," the designer said when confronted with the price.

The hoop beneath the dress was a collapsible wooden frame, one that was designed so the queen could easily step out of it to sit down and it came with a small cushion for when she wanted to sit down.

This wooden contraption was beneath an ambrosia colored dress that was littered with three different colored roses. The silk used to make the main dress was custom fitted and even without the armor is remarkable. Each tier of the dress has three flowers, each one representing the uniqueness of the royal family.

"We chose each rose by hand from hundreds of other roses the day of the ceremony. We didn't want a single petal out of place," the designer said.

"Blue was to represent the suave grandeur of the king. Blue in my mind is the color of silent power, of electric ecstasy and of calmed primal urges.

"We chose golden to mimic sunlight in the hair of the queen. For the richness of her wisdom and for the luster she shows.

"And finally green for freshness, for nubile prettiness, and for health for the new child Kaelyn. We chose buds because of the hidden potential and to complete the feel of the dress. The colors compliment one another, just as a family should," the designer said. His sense of colors collided expertly onto the ambrosia.

The dress was a showstopper, a true masterpiece and of course the center of much controversy as men now had to contend with a dress that was made in Riverside.

Several pictures were taken, some of them with clear themes hearkening to Aphrodite and Venus. Why these mythical beings?

Aphrodite, the goddess of love, the entity that surrounds passion and desire and the very feelings she inspired when walking down the runway.

Then there is Venus - fertility, love, and purification. As no dress would be complete without a matching perfume that sparked all of these emotions.

The dress warranted its own issue of the Lion's Roar for the same reason the Kingdom has its own castle. Because the royalty, specifically the Queen, demand nothing less than exquisite specificity.

The first and final draft of the queen's dress, drawn by Aman.