Inner Circle Courts
We sit and wait and watch, overlooking the comings and goings of the powerful, feeling their very heartbeats in the vibrations of our webs.
~Emma Frost, NYC White Queen (2000- )
The Black Court
The Black Court stands empty, all its pieces White following the death of Sebastian Shaw.
The White Court
The White Court has been lead by Emma Frost for seven years. She has had her Kings, White and Black, but the White Court is used to a woman's hand. Her hand.
Emma Frost, as Queen of the White Court, prefers to lead by persuasion and subtlety, with a keen eye for the most effective means to motivate each of her pieces. In general, she operates by fostering an atmosphere of trust and benevolence by catering to whatever each person holds most dear: safety for one piece, power for another, and so on. She prefers a piece that serves her out of their own sense of loyalty and love, rather than fear, though she's not afraid to reinforce reverence when necessary. Complete loyalty is required from her ranking pieces, and it is rewarded liberally. Those achieving rank under her are permitted a good deal of leeway and independence, and she is patient enough to see the long-term benefits past a moment's insubordination. As a result of that liberty, she requires her pieces show their capabilities by getting the job done, whatever it takes, and usually without her guidance unless asked or required for facilitation.
The White Court of the Inner Circle has another leader: Magneto, the newly made White King. How the two will get along, and what it will mean for the pieces, has yet to be shown.
The Circle's History
In the fall of 2004, Emma Frost conspired to sway the Circle's balance by manipulating the council into voting to add Warren Worthington, III as White King. This marked a 'vote of no confidence' in Shaw - however, Emma decided to secure her power by arranging Shaw's disappearance before the vote took place. The council voted to add Warren to the monarchs but also re-confirmed Shaw as Black King - thus, Warren became the White King and Shaw (even through his disappearance) retained his title.
When Shaw returned in late spring of 2005, he found the board stacked against him. He sought to restore balance by bringing a Black Queen into the picture. Jean Grey served as the interim Black Queen (a primarily symbolic role as far as club policies went - somewhat more serious as far as the Inner Circle went) until December when she was officially confirmed. This vote was basically a vote of restored confidence in Shaw, as it returned balance to the monarchy.
When Jean Grey was removed from her position after she went insane, the monarchy (and the Circle) was temporarily unbalanced again. Sometime in early spring, as an act of good faith and an olive branch to Shaw, Emma and Shaw together arranged a vote which removed Warren Worthington, III as White King.
From there, Shaw continued along a downward spiral of instability and aggression. Two of Emma's pieces, her current and former Bishop, conspired together to bring about Shaw's death. Magneto delivered it in exchange for a position of power within the Inner Circle of the Hellfire Club, and now stands as White King at Emma's side.