Starcatch

'''Layer upon layer of the softest crocheted violet lace nestle together to form the body of this ballgown. Leaving the arms bare, this garment has a snug bodice cut modestly to show only a slender glimpse of the wearer's breasts above. Cut in princess style, the gown gathers tightly just below the bodice and falls in gauzy layer upon layer of violet shimmer to the floor, where it puddles very slightly around the wearer's feet. More striking than the construction of the gown, however, or of the work that has gone into handbuilding more than a dozen layers of lace into full, flowing opacity, the Starcatch is sewn with a multitude of tiny fragments of the clear Light's Eye gems. Caught in every layer of lace, and all over the sleeveless gown, these rich bright specks against and inside the dark violet cloth do true justice to the gown's name: Starcatch.' The Shadow District has always been a place of broken dreams. For one Ianna Mush, daughter of a poor peasant tavernkeeper, keeping her dreams unshattered became am obsession which was to result in a brief moment of ecstasy which ended her life. Ianna's father's tavern was located next to one of the more prominent brothels in the district, and so from childhood Ianna had been exposed to nobility and to the play nobility of some of the prostitutes there. She wanted, more than anything, to be a noble someday. Spending her last penny on thread, and gathering up and then stealing any jewellery which held Light's Eyes, she spent the entirety of her teenage years crafting this exquisite gown. Each layer of lace was crocheted and re-crocheted by hand until it was perfect; each Light's Eye was set in exactly the right place.%r%tWhen she was twenty-one Ianna Mush finally finished her long task, and taking up her gown and her facepaints she left the Shadow District to attend the Emperor's Ball. She passed for a noble that night for almost the whole evening; graceless and clumsy she was still lovely, and many young men were struck by her. When her deception was uncovered late that night, one of those men was so moved to rage that he struck her down. Ianna's gown was returned to her father upon her death, and he sold it to the prostitutes across the way. From there it climbed through the ranks to eventually be owned by various noble houses through the years, only to be sold when its current owner lost interest.''


 * Status: Retired