Jensa:
Showtime.
The drummers, arranged in a semicircle behind the fire, began slowly, a sleeping giant's heartbeat, an ancient rhythm from before the Sundering. Jensa, demure, face impassive, walked out slowly in time to the beat. She turned, and bowed slowly to Sorelt Fel, and each of the guests in turn. Peleps Daejon and his monk were last, and as she bowed, her troupe lieutenant Sato began a simple melody on her flute, a song that had arrived with the Realm's envoys centuries ago, snugly fitting in with the drums. At the lowest point of the bow, she flashed a cheeky wink and smile at the stone-faced dynast. She began to dance, a slow, reserved series of precise motions common to Realm culture, an obvious nod to Daejon's presence. She could FEEL the disapproval of some of the islanders without looking, but persisted, letting her senses resonate to the drums, glowing as her essence pulsed from the core of her being in time with the music. Their annoyance would be repaid tenfold, when it happened.
The old Realm song neared its end presently, and Jensa's essence came to the point of flaring. She struck a distinctly non-Realm pose as Kato, hulking over the other drummers, stood, faced a drum as big as he was, and ended the song with three hammering beats that could be felt in the lungs as much as heard. He cut into a soft drumroll which grew in volume as Jensa threw back her cloak and let her essence loose. Her paper hair-tie disintegrated, and her hair billowed out on the fiery updrafts of her soul. The troupe seamlessly launched into a Banoron composition, heard at weddings and military victories alike throughout an t-Oileánra. The previous minutes had been a mere tease. This was what Seppish had come to see, Lastland talent and passion unrestrained, and a reminder:
We do not belong to the Realm.
The rhythm began anew, intense, backbeats and time switches introducing themselves in increasing complexity. Jensa's limbs, freed from the cloak, met each beat with certainty and joy. She whirled around the bonfire, leaving a trail of burning spectral petals in her wake, revelling in the gasps, the cheers, the sheer delight of the show. As her essence surged, her rounds shrank in radius, closer to the bonfire and keeping the flames of her power from harming onlookers. Soon enough she was dancing on the great stones marking the bonfire's edge, and then she danced straight up the burning logs and pirouetted at the peak, untouched by the flames. Erubescent Blossom Lash almost leapt into her hand of its own accord, and flared in a dazzling mix of flame and foliage.
She cracked the direlash to and fro in time to her troupe, let it swing from neck, shoulder and leg as an extension of her arm, and traced out smoky symbols in the air as she danced wildly on the ever-decreasing fuel of the bonfire. Then, as the drums reached a deafening crescendo and her essence was almost spent, she leapt off the fire. Her landing coincided with the storm of elemental power surrounding her taking on the shape of some colossal flying creature of legend, unfurling its wings and crying skywards. With a flick of the wrist she wrapped Erubescent Blossom around her waist again.
As one, the troupe cried out and hammered half a dozen final beats, before falling silent.
Jensa and her troop bowed deeply, the performance over. The Hearth bonfire was blazing brighter than ever behind her.
[Dex + Performance(dance), as an Inspire action (Pride/patriotism). 9 basic dice, 3-point stunt adds +2 dice, +2 successes. Spending 10m on Performance Excellency for +5 successes and eliminate penalty for targeting multiple people, spending 4m on Swaying Boughs Arabesque to lower target resolve by 1, spending 4m on Falling Leaves Sway to add +3 Appearance dice and give 1 success to any ally using this inspire action as a basis for social interaction for the scene. Total 14 dice, 8 automatic successes]
[Total successes... 14!]
