Red Cloak (Introduction)

It was dark outside.  But the type of darkness that still held a beautiful deep blue in the fading sky.  There was a light, wispy sort of mist that hung in the air just high enough to surround the scene that was playing out in the manor and the courtyard.  It was on the cool, damp stone street at the end of the drive for that manner, the Connele estate, which echoed the hard sound of footsteps.  A black coat and hat blended gently into the dusk-lit sky as the sounds of the party drifted gently down across the grass and to the ears of the mysterious man that stopped with a slight grind of his hard leather boots on the street-side.  His long silky white hair gently danced in the wind, contrasting his black long coat and elegant frock, but complimenting his oddly pale complexion.  His face was split by a smile as he turned and walked through the large open iron gate and slowly up the drive towards the flickering candle lit party.  The sounds and sights of high society living in sin were glowing across the lawn and in through the well lit hall of the manor, which was bustling with activity.  He blended well enough with the elegantly dressed well to do people who swarmed slowly around him, but he seemed to remain separate from them all at the same time, but he was awash in an ocean of life.  The scents of perfumes and kisses wafted around him in a sea of sensation as he slowly found himself a seat in the corner, quietly watching the crowd lurch like the ocean waves on an otherwise silent night.  Then he saw her.  A single beacon in the sea of people weaving around in a wine induced haze, she was there, a light buzzing in her head as well, but smoothly sliding through the crowd towards his table.  Her black and crimson dress flowing elegantly off her figure, accenting her raven black hair and fair complexion.  He rose as she arrived at his table, and motioned for her to sit.  She smiled and complied, nodding at him with her dazzling green eyes glistening in the light of candle and crystal.  The party had become a background for the meeting of two people.1