Historian's Prolog
Originally appearing in the later half of M38, Phildeaux Quakespire's "Rovero and Joliette" was his first play to take place in Hive City and prominently feature the merchant Guild. It is believed that Quakespire had originally planned on using the Spire as the setting for the drama, but the Spire nobility's response to the play "Malgeth" led him to make the change to Veranda. Quakespire received a much warmer response from the Guild after the debut of "Rovero and Joliette." Despite the portrayal of two Guilders as rival families, the Guild itself issued Quakespire a proclamation praising the character of Guilder Prince Engardus.
"Rovero and Joliette" is set in the city-dome of Veranda, which lies in the upper reaches of Hive City. Veranda is well known for it's large windowed balconies, which let in plenty of natural light. These windows also support the extensive gardens, both public and private, that exist in Veranda and other domes and complexes found above the ash clouds on the outer skin of the hive.
"Rovero and Joliette" includes many references to social mores common during M38 that may be lost on modern audiences. The wealthier young men at this time often modified their own clothes to make them more fashionable. This process was known as "cutting" and often involved strategically placed cuts and tears in order to make themselves look tougher or more "down-hive." Another common practice of the wealthy was the bearing of short ornamental swords. However, many of these ornamental blades were actually genuine blades disguised as an accessory to bypass laws on carrying weapons within Hive Primus.
At the time of the drama, the Houses of Hive City were not as separated by enmity as they are in the current millennium. The "Maskers" from Part One were once common at every celebration. By donning elaborate masks, members of other Houses could bypass rivalries and attend parties uninvited. Strong social rules governed the acceptance and behavior of Maskers at festivities. Rovero's friends ignoring the traditional "Entrance Speech" either displays their disdain of the Catalenes or was meant to show that the practice was in decline at this time. Abuses of the practice in late M39 (the assassination of Bern Durg'ga of House Goliath by Delaque posing as Maskers is a prime example) have caused it to vanish from modern society.