The Chalice

by Jennifer Diewald

with the valuable assistance of Jordan Diewald

The Chalice is a one hour LARP,

of love, loyalty, loss, lies, and leverage,

for two players

Five years ago, the King Consort Alandor, of the Golden Lands, fell in the Final Battle during the War of Revelation of the Subversive Ïarnï. For five years, the beloved Queen Harmony Parëtheliën has grieved over her loss. The love between Queen Harmony and her King Consort Alandor was the love of Legend, a dream made true for an all-to-brief time.

A slim majority of the Council of Nobles, led by the greedy and grasping Lord Samuel, Duke of Blackwater Valley, have used this time to plot and scheme. Queen Harmony has been isolated in a small set of chambers. Eight year old Princess Melody, the only heir, is being held captive, somewhere in the sprawling Castle.

Queen Harmony has been given an ultimatum. She can marry Lord Samuel, name him King Consort, submit to his political power grab, and watch him groom Princess Melody to be his stepchild and pawn. Or, she can renounce the throne and go into exile, taking Melody and nothing else, banished from the Golden Lands forevermore, leaving Lord Samuel and his foul lackeys in complete control.

The good and loyal Lord William Ördïss, Duke of the Danëthë Woods, the Queen's childhood friend and closest advisor, was given a Chalice, filled with wine, on a silver platter, to take to the Queen, to return her decision to the Council of Nobles. She is waiting in the Parëtheliën Garden of the Castle. He has been given one hour.

The fateful cup has been ensorcelled. One of them must drink from it when the Queen makes her decision. Would Lord Samuel dare to poison the wine? While there are always guards watching them, there will be some time to talk privately about this decision.

What will Queen Harmony choose?

Content Warnings: loss of a spouse, child in danger (offscreen)

The Chalice can be played in realspace or virtual space. It does not require a GM to facilitate, as long as there is a bell that can toll at game start and every 15 minutes after that, until the hour is done. While these two characters are written as cisgendered heterosexuals, with gendered titles, this is a fantasy world Fairy Tale — they can and should be played by players of any gender and sexuality.