Electric Desert - 2022 Governor's Ball - March 18th, 2022

[Strawberry]

(Live event: Friday 3/18 at 8 PM ET)

The Pharaoh Flats -- A playa set at the bottom of the Fragrant Basin, the flats are a region of lava beds named for the ancient civilizations that have long called the Great Desert home. Surrounded by oases of palm trees and the aromatic Cadentian Ghost Roses for which the basin is named, the playa has two easily accessible entrances at the north and west edges. The region is sacred to the tribes of desert nomads that call it home and it is there that they hold biannual festivals to celebrate and pay tribute to the gods. For one night only, outsiders have been given permission to utilize the playa for the annual Governor’s Ball (thanks to a hefty donation from an anonymous source).



The playa’s succulents and desert plants come alive at night thanks to the digital projections of neon lights across the plain. Thousands of neon flowers cover the ground while taller illuminated crystalline flowers tower over seating areas for those catching a break from the night’s festivities. Along the periphery, vendors sell refreshments and festival foods to ball attendees as well as trinkets made of volcanic desert glass and bedouin leather. Food and drink booths sample fare from across the desert as well as Rhydin proper. Neon-lit temporary bathrooms have been erected at the cardinal points of the playa, including at both entrances, for partygoers. Please be sure to utilize them accordingly!



Neon and metal artworks decorate the playa at irregular intervals, providing conversation pieces and even functional resting places for tired feet. Any art that may be for sale will have plaques with more information as well as digital QR codes for interested purchasers. All art will be delivered the week of March 20th after the ball’s conclusion. The remainder of the playa serves as a dance floor, with a metal and glass creation resembling a Cadentian Ghost Rose opens to provide a rotation of DJs a place from which to spin their tracks. Body paint artists roam freely with their kits and carts, offering to paint partygoers for free (though tips are appreciated!) so that they too may glow beneath the neon moon.




Neon or bright colored attire is encouraged but not required. For those seeking assistance in picking out an outfit, the Electric Desert pop-up shop in the Cadentia bazaar can help outfit you!






((Inspiration taken from Burning Man, Electric Forest, and Meow Wolf.

Post your outfits here!))

[Strawberry]

Food Sampling:
Savory
Taameya (Egyptian style falafel made with fava beans instead of chickpeas)
Hawawshi (Traditional baladi bread stuffed with a flavorful mixture of minced meat, vegetables, and various spices)
Kofta kebabs (Minced spiced lamb skewers)
Manakeesh (Round bread sprinkled with either cheese, ground meat or herbs (zaatar). Like pizza but cooler)
Shish Tawook (Chicken and vegetable skewers)
Fatayer (Spinach, meat or cheese pies)
Sweet
Baklava (Sweet pastry made of layers of filo filled with chopped nuts and sweetened and held together with syrup or honey)
Knafah (Spun shredded wheat that is filled with cream, cheese, or nuts and raisins, baked to a golden brown)
Basbousa (Sweet cake made of semolina, soaked in simple sweet syrup flavored with coconut or rose water)
Chebakia (Doughy treats shaped like roses that are fried, slathered in a syrup made from honey and rosewater, and sprinkled with sesame seeds)

Drinks:
Alcoholic
Sumac Martini (sumac-infused vodka, velvet falernum, lime juice, pomegranate juice)
Chile Fino Old-Fashioned (chile-infused sotol, fino sherry, hazelnut liqueur, Angostura)
Saffron Chase (gin, elderflower liqueur, lemon juice, saffron syrup, Champagne)
Pineapple and Sage Martini (roasted pineapple, sage- and cardamom-infused gin, clove syrup, lemon juice)
Non-alcoholic
Sweet almond milkshakes (Almonds, milk, dates and a splash of orange flower water)
Cadentian lemonade (Muddled sugar and mint with lemon juice and orange flower water. Add vodka for alcoholic version)

[Strawberry]

Strung with gold LEDs, the evening's hostess donned a flowing gown made of an eye popping yellow in the daylight. At night, when the dress's lights came to life, she became a swarm of fireflies, small orbs of slowly pulsing gold signaling to all who sought her just where she might be. Though the evening's booths were chock full of fantastic food, indulgent drink, and myriad shinies for her shiny horde, she spent the bulk of her night twirling about the dance floor, flitting to and fro to talk with all the people she could. Catch her at an art installation and she could likely explain just how the piece was made, what materials went into it, and if it was for sale!

[Strawberry]

Please note:
New Date: March 18th

[BardGallant]

Dris arrived in the company of his boyfriend, Rhys Germain, as if anybody expected otherwise. The bard had borrowed his partner's color scheme of wearing mostly black for the evening, but his suit jacket made him look like a starry night sky. When it got too warm for that, he removed it and switched on his tie so that he could be easily found in the crowd and not get lost. Not that he and Rhys were ever far apart from one another. While walking hand-in-hand and perusing the decorations, Dris found himself incredibly enamored by the LED rainbow art installation, and immediately purchased it to be later delivered to their home in Dragon's Gate. Of course they made sure to compliment Karma on a job well done putting this shindig together, and spent some time admiring her dress, too. They stayed long into the night, available for dancing and gossiping, and had a very good time.

[Rhys Germain]

Rhys arrived with Dris and remained at his side for most of the night, never out of sight. As was his way, he had dressed to allow his partner to shine, but had still managed to stick with the theme. His leather jacket bore LED stripes on the chest, back, and sleeves. The jacket stayed on all evening, but as things got warmer, he unzipped it to show off the plain black tank underneath, as well as a hint of the tattoos on his chest.

Rhys had a great deal of admiration for the metal and neon artworks displayed. He chatted with the artists when he could catch up with them, talking about the techniques they’d used. And he was quite pleased to come away the owner of one of those pieces before the night was through.

Once he and Dris caught up with Karma, Rhys tried to coax her into taking a trip around the dance floor with him. He was also amenable to dancing with just about anyone else who asked, though his bard made up the majority of his dance card.

[Reign]

The whole theme had Reign more than willing to venture to the far reaches of Cadentia for a party. Rather than wear something that lit up on its own, she elected an outfit made of reflective material that reflected a rainbow of colors any time light hit it.

[Hyejin Ri]

Hye-jin was excited to attend the ball with Yuri, and proud of the nice suit she had bought for the occasion - that is until she realized she hadn't paid attention to the theme. Then she was embarrased, until Yuri told her that it was fine and to just have fun. She was able to follow that advice easily, and was eager to see if Yuri had been serious about being able to dance as they went to the dance floor.


Hye-jin's outfit


Yuri's outfit

[Morgan LaLuna]

Morgan LaFey, Minister of Foreign Affairs, arrived at the Electric Desert Ball to hobnob, fraternize, and generally socialize with the other party-goers. He of course made time for ambassadors and the like, showing them the wonders of Rhydin, and the surrounding areas and cities, with the best of each being on full display tonight.

[Flowing Tears]

Rhydin's best girl band, TRASH, had their drummer out for the evening and she was happy to party under the open desert sky. Spending most of the night dancing with friends under the neon moons, her breaks to catch her breath and hydrate would be spent wandering amongst the lit plants on the playa. If Misery was recognized by any fans, she was more than happy to pose for selfies or sign autographs.

[Jackie Von Tombs]

Shiny? SHINY.

Fresh from some oddball family fights, Jackie appeared in a gloriously shiny gown...



Little Desdenova accompanied her, because Shiny, in a bizarre but bright cartoon suit.

[Delahada]

Karma had asked Salvador if he was coming to her ball, and he said yes, especially for her. After telling her that he wasn't going to dress up, he had been easily encouraged to not even wear a shirt at all, and so he did not. Though to protect his back and keep people from being tempted to touch his exposed spikes, he did throw on a long, sleeveless white open front cardigan vest. He paired this with black pants and his boots. In the company of his gatito, they found the body paint artists and helped themselves to some of their paint, because Salvador refused to let strangers touch him.



Smeared in color, the pair of them prowled the desert dance floor for the entirety of the evening. For the most part, Salvador stuck to the fringes and did his mingling from the sidelines. Though it was entirely possible one or two very few people convinced him to oblige them a dance. The most surprising thing of all was that he actually gave Karma a hug, too.

[Partly Cloudy]

The gatito wouldn’t have missed the ball for the world. He had promised Karma he’d be there, after all. He arrived in Salvador’s company, dressed as an Eighties rock fantasy in a cropped leather jacket, thigh-high boots, and a tiny skirt made of rhinestoned tassels (which he wore over a bit of dancewear to keep things suitable for the public). And before long, he was covered in neon paint.

He was ready to mingle and dance the night away, but he never gravitated too far from the Spaniard’s side.

[Mairead Harker]

Maggie came out for the Ball in something sparkly.

[Senka Tihomir]

Outfit: electric ice blue caged bodysuit that is see through except the bra/underwear areas which are flesh toned. The lines are all sparkling fiber optics. Weaves through the cage lines is a sheer fabric draped around to resemble a grecian style dress. The look is club-wear meets elegance. On her head sits a crown of pink, purple, and blue raw cut crystals that seem to be glowing. Her wings are visible tonight in shades of red, oranges, pinks, and purples. The feathers resemble that of a peacock and each “eye” holds a golden glow that lights around her.