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< Courts N Politics | Political Nonsense | The Summer Court >

The Spring Court

In terms of numbers and raw political power, Boston's Emerald Courtiers are strong contenders for the cities strongest court. Despite that, the Court lacks the Summer Courts impressive unity or the Autumn Courts dedication to power, which results in the Antler Crown only getting their way when they're able to both agree on a course of action and actually make an effort to push their agenda. This is part happy coincidence, and part due to the relatively laissez-faire attitude of Spring Queen Augustina Valen, and tends to make relations between the Spring Court and Boston's other Courts easier than in some other freeholds. In other words - the Spring Court has the power to accomplish the goals it feels most strongly about, while the other Courts don't feel pushed to the sidelines. The Court generally ignores troublemakers that want to shake things up.

The Court At A Glance

The Spring Court's main power base in the city consists of The Scene, one of the largest motleys in the city, and previously a positively huge power base within the Court before the death of Leopold King and the fragmentation of the Motley. It's unsure how things will develop with the end of the rivalry between Ferguson and Alicia and the rise of Lolita as the leader of the dissenting faction. The Spring Motley tends to be less political than the Scene, but definitely has an influence on the Court as a whole, while Jordans Motley has a very sizable Spring Contingent (and its leader a fair amount of respect in the Court) and Mercedes Motley is much more eclectic but is lead around by the nose by its leader (and, to a lesser degree, by Natalya Loveless, who is very high in the Emerald Courts esteem). The Family has recently appeared as a force within the Court as well, though the full effects of that motleys influence have yet to be felt.

Many motleys that aren't predominately Spring in makeup or outlook enjoy the membership of Spring Court members, from Carter Brockson and Valiant in the Fags to Louis Tinnley of Harnley Industries, and of course Sky. There is no appreciable stigma attached to being in a "non-Springy" motley, though it does makes ones mercurial status within the Court just a little bit more unstable, as its easy for the actions of ones motley members to blacken your reputation. This is even known to affect Augustina herself, except that she scarcely notices it, having given up caring about what others thought of her even before she was taken by the Gentry.

Titles and Roles

• The generally well-loved and respected Spring Queen, Augustina Valen, watches over the Antler Crown when she isn't doing anything else but generally trusts Courtiers to look after their own desires as they will. This restricts her influence to the periods when she serves as Vernal Sovereign, and is thus forced to put more effort into things, and when things get bad enough that she has to take action. While not the most efficient means of leadership, the Spring Court usually prefers it this way.
• While she's served as the Queen a time or two, Jordan usually functions as a Searce for the Court and assists Augustina with running the Court whenever necessary, as well as serving the Freehold as a whole as a Counselor. Generally well regarded among the Courts, most suspect that Jordan will step up to fill Augustina's shoes when the inevitable finally occurs.
• The court hasn't really had a Sylvan Emissary for most of its history, the position only lasting a short time during the '50s and 60s. Timmy now serves that position, which mostly deals with doing odd jobs for the Court and taking the occasional trip.
• Both Ferguson Walsh and Melinda serve as Sage Escorts, largely independently of oversight (occasionally getting into trouble as such), each offering assistance to the Court and to various Changelings that might need a bit of intimacy in dark times. Naturally, the sexual aptitude of both Changelings is much whispered throughout the Court, and there's more than a little rumor mongering about their exploits.
• Mercedes is well known to the Freehold as a whole, serving as Verdant Advocate to the all-comers, but erring on the side of her fellow Emerald Courtiers when this conflicts. In fact, Mercedes is particularly known for her ability to play the Legal System like a finely tuned instrument, using all the skills at her disposal. She's also been known to serve as a Sage Escort, particularly when asked to perform a task of questionable morality by Augustina.
• The Courts Claviger's mostly consist of Tony Longfinger, Valiant, and Gabrielle Velas, with Karait occasionally lending a hand when necessary or pulling off low-key missions for Augustina or Jordan. When the Spring Court must go to war, these Changelings are at the forefront, fighting side by side with the Iron Spear. Frank Little once held this position as well, serving as Augustina's chief bodyguard, but that position broke apart some years ago when the Blackbird caused the Queen no end of trouble.
• The Courts Archivists are generally regarded as the most important role in the Court, as they're responsible for organizing the celebrations and parties that help keep the Freehold as a whole safe from the Gentry. Ferguson still maintains this position, though Sky has eclipsed him in importance since the Scene nearly ruined the Revel in '67. Lolita and Larry Smile are currently in disfavor, mostly in regards to Larry's consistent attitude with Ferguson, though the two are still noted for their ability to throw one hell of a party when they wish it.
• The Spring Motleys' Lordykin is the most renowned Archivist of the Court, considered an Avant Guard and a Social Coordinator for the entire Freehold, though he tends to have eccentric tastes and a tweaked sense of aesthetics. When Lordykin takes an interest in something, its sure to be interesting, and the Court as a whole pays especial attention to it. More mundane endeavors he leaves to the other Archivists, unless approached for help.
• Alicia Dimble is also well regarded as an Avant Guard, as well as a Patron of the local Music Scene in a way unseen since Augustina was much younger, and she is also known to act as a Searce and Archivist on occasion as well, though as a younger and less trusted Changeling, she took slightly more of the blame for the debacle of '97 than Ferguson and her reputation still suffers to some degree.
• The Court has many Changelings that would describe themselves as Joyeux, but only a few that are widely considered such by the Court at large. These include Ferguson, of course, as well as Sky, Louis Tinnley, and Carter Brockson. Ferguson and Carter tend to focus on making sure people are happy and enjoying life, Louis tends to more mundane joys in life, while Sky is somewhere in the middle. All are relatively unselfish, though both Louis and Fergy have a bit of a ego.