"Good morning, readers! After last night's tumult at Love, Death and Magic, I'd love to claim that things have been peaceful. ...oh, who am I fooling, no I wouldn't. Fortunately, I don't need to, as things have only gotten more complicated. So grab a seat and a drink - this doesn't seem to be going away so it's time for a Staredown."

— An Introductory Passage in The Daily Drama by "Van Veta"



Overview

It may be a universal truth that people will always seek out gossip regardless of where they are or what it's about. It is a yearning to know what is happening in the lives of others - at times as a point of comparison and at other times as a means of vicarious living.

This desire is no less present in Empirica Sin or, in particular, in Incaendium, where the sometimes extreme class hierarchies can leave even relatively well-off persons feeling as though the upper echelons of society exist in an alternate world.

Little wonder that this desire gave rise to the Daily Drama, a mysterious gossip column relating the controversial and salacious activity of high society, distributed via Living Books.

Who is the writer?

Who's to say?

But that could be a great subject for a column, couldn't it?

Contents

Structure

At least three times a week, an article appears in the receptive end of a specific Living Book network. This article will include any interesting, important or generally noteworthy information witnessed or uncovered by the books' anonymous author - the more embarrassing, controversial or generally salacious the better.

Broadly speaking, there are two types of articles:

The Quick Look Report

This is a things have have occurred since the previous Quick Look presented in list form. Each list item will have a few sentences/paragraph giving a cursory look at the event being reported on. These are not indepth - more of a shallow telling in broad strokes, and reserved for things deemed interesting but largely unimportant.

 

The Staredown

If something particularly noteworthy occurs, the article may be dedicated to a single piece of "newsworthy" gossip. These articles will include a brief history of the subject and an extensive report on whatever is known about the topic. Photos may or may not be included, but often hand-sketched maps will be included, portraying any locations or routes described therein.

The penultimate paragraph of this kind of article will include speculation and thoughts - what the author thinks this means, what might happen next, what consequences may occur as a result of whatever it is that just happened.

Finally, the author wraps up the report with their personal thoughts and judgments.

 

Themes

Generally, Daily Drama reports focus on interpersonal drama and court politics. They will only cover serious news as it relates to those things - for example, it won't report on a declared war unless the war was declared because of interpersonal issues such as breakups or personal feuds.

 

In the World

Distribution

The Daily Drama is distributed to readers via Living Book networks. A new book is required each year on the anniversary of the network's first publication. For more information about Living Book networks, see Living Books.

 

History

Originally released only a scarce handful of years after Living Books were first announced to the world at large, the Daily Drama was founded seemingly as a distraction from the reports of war and destruction that had been coming out of the Endless War for ages. It has been continuously since and is currently on its 612th annual volume.

 

Public Reaction

For many, the Daily Drama is a welcome respite from the pressures of Demon society - and a reminder that those who succeed at court politics are little different than the rest of society apart from accidents of birth and personal connections.

One might think that it would offend the highest circles of society to have so much of their lives and doings reported to the masses on an ongoing basis... and in some cases, that is true. However for the most part, the aristocracy and royalty do not seem to care very much - some even openly read reports on their own doings for amusement.

 

Legacy

The original Daily Drama focused on the Amayan court in Ruavine, limiting its cast of "characters" to courtiers and royals. However, the success of the original book network has spawned several variations focusing on either other specific Courts or the doings of Incaendium as a whole. It is unclear whether these all have the same author, although that would be difficult to manage without abnormally high talent and skill in Extra-Sensory/Clairvoyance abilities.