A Recollection of the Rose Valley

The Rose Valley is host to all sorts of aristocratic intrigue—swordswitches embroil themselves in the intricate dance of politics, and princesses issue kindness and cruelty in whimsically equal measure. 

Hello, my lovelies! No story this week, as the Senya Rose Gallery is taking a bit longer than expected to edit, so instead have a little Glowpebble Path lore drop!

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Denied any true political power, the Rose Valley nobility must instead busy themselves with jockeying for social capital. The mountains leave them sheltered from the outside world, untouched by the schemes of the Succubus Queen or the Paladins Dire. They spend most of their time scheming and feuding and gossiping, weaving labyrinthine social structures designed to exclude.

In theory, anyone can ascend to join the nobility, either by marriage or by achieving fame as a great fencer. Similarly, in theory, gender transition and queer relationships are totally accepted in the Rose Valley.

In practice, there's a reason the prestigious flower witches almost never accept offers to join the gentry. There's a reason the only openly queer nobles are those especially skilled at navigating the labyrinth of social norms. The rules to ascension and deviance are complex and layered.

As an example, Princess Anairete is widely known to be exclusively interested in women, and she holds massive social clout, but she managed this by revealing it in a particular prescribed manner. Similarly, coming out as a girl without going through a very particular song-and-dance is likely to risk very specific kinds of teasing, ostracization, and what one might call “pigeonholing”.

In fact, one of the most socially-accepted ways for women to brazenly flirt with other women is by teasing and bullying and toying with those women who came out “clumsily”.

This was part of the path Princess Anairete herself took to revealing her orientation “politely”—she mercilessly preyed on several newly-out noblewomen over the course of multiple seasons by methods ranging from “sliding her foot between a woman's legs under the table to get her hard” to “training a girl who formerly outranked her to call her Mistress in exchange for getting to be called princess”.

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As a quick note, the Rose Valley has dozens of noble families, several members of whom wield a combination of status, bloodline, power, and prestige to declare themselves princes, princesses or princettes. Sometimes they’ll even go so far as to claim to be kings or queens, as in the case of King Alton, but such declarations are usually considered a little bit embarrassing.

The true heir to the throne has not yet been found, and in truth the Rose Valley remains a singular kingdom in name only. The best hope anyone had at unification was probably Princess Lily, the closest living descendant anyone could find of the old royal line who retained the dignity and poise worthy of the station.

Then a minor princess caught Lily alone in a changing room one evening and proceeded to ruin those chances—and Lily herself—forever.

The Countess of Coral-Orchid County
The Countess is a mysterious figure who has never left her castle—out of poor health, her many loyal maids eagerly assure visitors, as they squirm in their dresses, tug at the hems of their short skirts, and sweetly offer to fetch the visitors something to drink while they wait for an audience~

Swordmiss Hiasene
Fencing is the most popular sport in the Rose Valley, and it’s not even close. It’s a sport that can see even serfs elevated to celebrities of mythic status. In some especially flashy Rose Valley sword duels, sharp steel mixes with magic to create terrifying displays of swiftness, guile and grace. Sparks literally fly when two swordswitches face off against one another. Hiasene, third daughter to a wealthy duke, is one of the greatest swordswitches in the Valley. She would say she is the greatest, and the pampered noblewoman has certainly been spoiled for great tutors.

Of course, being a third daughter and reportedly ‘quite unweddable’—an expression reserved for nobles who are widely-suspected of disinterest in the opposite gender but who have not properly ‘come out’—Hiasene’s swordplay is her only real social asset for now. Every match is high-stakes for her, and if she is seen to continue allowing mere sworddaughters such as Elecca to challenge her… There is no greater humiliation for a swordmiss (or, even worse, a swordprincess) than to let a sworddaughter bring her to heel.

She may just have to nip this one in the bud. What many peasants don’t know is there is more to a swordwitch’s magic than pure aggression.

Sworddaughter Elecca
A sworddaughter is the highest rank a peasant can rise to in the Rose Valley, outside of marriage, a level of status approaching—but not quite equal to—the lowest of the landed nobility. A baroness might have more political power, but her prestige will struggle to match that of an exceptional swordson or sworddaughter.

This indignity has led some minor nobles over the years down some deeply unethical roads. One baroness-turned-swordmiss is rumored to have stolen the fencing skill of a cocky swordson, while it’s widely-known (but remains unproven) that a particularly unpopular baroness has imprisoned a sworddaughter beneath her castle out of punishment for repeatedly showing her up in the ring.

Elecca is the latest rising star, a masterful peasant swordswitch whose willingness to challenge nobility has yet to see her humbled. Still, she is never quite allowed to forget her humble roots when rubbing shoulders with her new peers. Her rivalry with Hiasene seems likely to get her into trouble one of these days…

Princess Anairete
Founder and mistress of the Damselfly Knights, Anairete has a name surrounded by a halo hellfire in the eyes of the public. To some, she is a magnificent figure, a radiant maiden of goodness and compassion who cares for even her poorest citizens. To others, she is a monster, a cold-hearted tyrant who abuses her bodyguards to the mental and physical breaking point and beyond and treats her fellow nobles with the exact same calculating malice. Certainly, it is known that one should never get on Anairete’s bad side, and the best way to do that is to show weakness.

There is nothing more dangerous than having a crush on the wickedly spoiled princess. She will use that against you.

Especially if you’re a cute girl.

Or if she can make you a cute girl.

Noblewomen in the process of publicly transitioning—the one-year period referred to as “wearing eggshell white”—are advised to stay far, far away from Princess Anairete. Of course, the Princess will usually be eager to seek them out to offer her “congratulations”.

Few can forget the fate of Princess Lily, who was the closest the realm had ever come to finding an heir to the true throne… up until a then-lowly Princess Anairete cornered her in a changing room~