Reynard's Second Salon

[Reynard Tisserand]

The salon is decorated in bright blues and dark purples. The furniture is Italian in style, and the walls are decorated with tapestries and hangings.

The room is filled with music, though no musicians can be seen. It would seem that they are stationed in a different room, closed off from the salon itself, for the privacy of the attendees. The music is also distinctively Italian, and any with a trained ear can tell that it is quite a contemporary offering.

A salon attendant is here to greet any Cainites who arrive.

Reynard has not yet arrived.

[Count Morcant]

Morcant arrives, having dressed up for the occasion; though his face remains shrouded in the depths of his hood, his robes and his cloak (unusual for summer's warmth) are both edged with silver. He is carrying a bottle of wine.

[Reynard Tisserand]

The Salon Attendant greets Morcant and ushers him in.

"Reynard should be along shortly, please let me know if I can be of assistance."

[Count Morcant]

Morcant passes along the wine, a rough but bracing vintage. "It is appreciated. There is no need to wait on me."

That said, he begins to browse the chamber.

[Schade]

The steady tap of a walking stick marks the entrance of a twisted and gnarled figure: Gregor Schade, the hunchbacked artificer. He inclines his head to Morcant--an oddly contorted motion, in his case.

"God give you good e'en, Excellency."

[Reynard Tisserand]

The salon attendant Greets Gregor Schade and ushers him in.

"Master Reynard should be along presently, welcome to the Salon. Let me know if I can be of assistance in the mean time."

[Count Morcant]

Morcant moves to briefly grip forearms with Gregor, in a perhaps odd moment of greeting. "Good evening, and good tidings. I trust your travels have been safe?"

[Schade]

"Is travel ever truly safe in these troubled times? Still, the journey was uneventful enough. My Lord Ravenholt sends his greetings, and hopes to discuss your most interesting proposal with you further at your leisure."

[Count Morcant]

"I will attend upon him soon, then. In the meantime, let's enjoy what looks to be a promising evening."

[Etheldred]

Sister Mary Madeline will arrive, on horseback, with several guards, who she will have wait with the horses.

She is dressed in her usual gray robes with a veil covering her hair, and cloth covering her eyes, making her blindness obvious. A simple, but well crafted, rosary hangs around her neck. Her retainer, dressed similarly, guides her to the door.

[Reynard Tisserand]

The salon attendant greets Sister Mary and ushers her in.

"Master Reynard really should be here any moment. Welcome to the Salon. Let me know if I can be of assistance until he arrives."

[Valance]

Valance arrives already in conversation with a Toreador. They are discussing the finer points of leather working.

[Reynard Tisserand]

The salon attendant greets Valance and the Toreador, ushering them in.

"Master Reynard seems to be running late, but I expect him presently. Let me know if I can be of assistance until he arrives."

[Reynard Tisserand]

The doors swing open, as Reynard enters the salon.

"Bon soir, bon soir. My sincere apologies for arriving so late."

The salon attendant takes Reynard's coat, and hands him a small piece of paper. Reynard glances at the paper before handing it back to the salon attendant and nodding.

"I have only just returned from Paris, and my return journey took slightly longer than expected. I trust everyone has arrived safely?"

He turns back to the salon attendant with a broad smile on his face.

"This musical arrangement is delightful. Well done."

Reynard turns back to his guests, and takes stock of who has arrived at the Salon.

[The Listener]

At around this time, Aubrey De Vere enters with his Son, Robert. Robert's hands are at his side and his eyes lowered deferentially. Aubrey says nothing as he enters, nodding respectfully to Reynard first, followed by all those of standing present. He then silently takes a seat.

[Reynard Tisserand]

Reynard steps over to Schade.

"Good Evening. I am so glad you were able to make it to the salon. I regretted not having the pleasure of your acquaintance at court last month. How are you finding Yorkshire?"

[Schade]

"A very different experience from the continent," Schade replies. "But I know little of courtly matters; I am a simple scholar who enjoys discussions of philosophy and the occasional good game of chess."

[Reynard Tisserand]

"A scholar, you say? And what do you study, pray tell?  I haven't the mind for philosophy, sadly, but as you have graced my Salon with your presence, and as I possess neither a chess board nor rudimentary talent for the game, philosophy will have to be our diversion this evening.  I will endeavor to keep up my end of the conversation. And perhaps if I struggle too much, Morcant here can help me out."

[Reynard Tisserand]

"And of course, I agree with you that customs in Yorkshire differ remarkably from those of the continent, but what would life be without such variety?"

[Schade]

"In especial, I have made a study of the works of Plato, and of his theory of forms--the kosmos noetos and the kosmos aisthetikos." Schade's homely face twists into a smile of genuine enthusiasm. "The quest for the unattainable ideal is of great interest to me."

[Reynard Tisserand]

"A Platonist in this day and age? Quelle surprise. I had thought Aristotle's star was burning most brightly these days. Of course, the church scholars all dutifully read their Augustine—devoteé of Plato that he was, but as the Academy gave way to the Lyceum, has not the influence of Augustine been replaced by the ascendency of Aquinas?"

[Schade]

Schade grimaces wryly. Though his face is homely, and his back twisted, his fingers are supple; they gesture elegantly.

"Aristotle, too, has much to say on the topic--particularly on the distinction between the hyle, which Aquinas terms the material prima, and the morphe; his critique of Anaximander is compelling. Aye, and there is value in the idea of the hypokeimenon...but truth is not subject to the modes and vagaries of what is ascendant. We can but approximate true gnosis, arriving at the episteme through the rigorous application of the logos."

[Reynard Tisserand]

"Personally, I've always been quite taken with what I've heard of the views of Protagoras. Man (or Cainite in our case) is the measure of all things. What is knowledge, after all, but perception?"

"I'm sure that marks me as a dullard in your eyes, I know the disciples of Socrates had little respect for Protagoras. But when I heard a schoolman explaining what he took to be a comically erroneous view of knowledge, I could not help but feel that Protagoras had stumbled upon a much deeper truth."

[Schade]

"I would never accuse you of being a dullard, meine Herr.  However, I do believe that, in this, Plato has the more accurate understanding.  I have never perceived a perfectly straight line, yet I understand what a perfectly straight line is.  I have never perceived the Almighty, yet well can I apprehend His power.  What justification, then, for us to claim that knowledge is circumscribed by perception, or that perception defines knowledge?  For surely, perception can be all too faulty and can lead us astray from that which is true--and I do believe that objective truth exists, and can be shown to exist, and that Protagoras is thus mistaken."

[Reynard Tisserand]

"Suppose two Cainites stand in a room and feast upon blood from the same kine. One Cainite relishes the drink. The other retches and her thirst is not slaked. What are we to make of the statement "This kine's blood is nourishing." Surely it is true for the first Cainite, and false for the second. Even were I to get a geometer to tell me which of the two Cainites had stumbled upon the 'objective' truth about the kine's blood; that objective truth matters little to the Cainite whose perception of the blood diverges."

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