[b]King Aral Otharion and Sitara Kalyani[/b]

The new King looked on in approval as more and more volunteers began to stream down from the stands, including the woman he had pointed to before. He was even more impressed when Saeng Yeong-Hualinh-An elected to fight, his informants had depicted him as an arrogant and self-absorbed child so it should have been no surprise that he sought to test his skills in combat. The reports also indicated he was an accomplished warrior, so it would be an educational experience to watch the foreign lord fight. Once enough volunteers had made there way down to the battle grounds, Aral prepared to initiate the next phase in the tournament. This is where they would take positions equally across the stadium, and ready themselves for combat. He was lifting his hand to halt the flow of new volunteers when one young man in the crowd asked what might have been [i]the[/i] stupidest question he could have in a public place.

"Your Majesty! Greetings from an Apprentice Blademaster, for my father is the current Blademaster! Should my father be correct, you will know the title, and know why I am here! However, I have a question that I'm sure others in this crowd would like to know, Your Majesty! I hope you can forgive me for my break in... Royal etiquette and protocol, for I know not of it. I would ask if those of us in possession of Relics may use these Relics with non-lethal force in the Tournament, provided we are ready to accept any consequences that comes with revealing our powers in this dangerous time for the Relic-using kind. I am now finished, Your Majesty, and I would ask if I may have an audience in the foreseeable future concerning the Blademaster and Relic business. Ah... Thank you for your time, Your Majesty." As the young man spoke Aral's expression became steadily more dark with each passing word, the fool had tied a noose and hung himself with it as far as the King was concerned, and the people around him could see that as well for they abruptly stepped away. Some of those in the crown performed a new motion known as a 'facepalm' to express their opinions of the question.

"Young lad, the Kingdom of Othea has no official stance on the possession of relics and the terrible powers that come with them and, for the safety of our citizens, I order you to stand down and prepare to be-" King Aral stopped abruptly, looking around as he and everyone else began to notice a growing shift in the lighting. It was getting darker, but why? It wasn't an eclipse, and there were few clouds. His eyes turned back down towards the young man just as his Knights sprung into action. "[i]Seize the relic user! This is his doing! Get the King to safety![/i]" There cries frightened the nervous crowd which began to flood towards the exits as Grand Master Estyn and several other Knights surrounded the King and began to pull back into the safety of the building, rushing through to the hidden chariot at its back door. The guards, and the knights made a circle around the young man and began to close in, so far his power seemed to relate to darkness and they did not think he could escape if they were shoulder to shoulder.

Meanwhile, Sitara sighed at the fool who thought it was a good idea to use his powers in front of half of Amaryth before jumping back into the crowd and being swept back into the streets. It was out in the streets as the crowd fled the Theatre that she began to grow concerned, she had never seen a relic with this sort of range before and what purpose would that boy have gained from cloaking the city in shadows anyhow? With a smirk she recalled some ambushes in which she would have loved this power...[i]ambushes[/i]. The smirk disappeared from her face. The city could be...no, was under attack of some sort. She heard the neighing of horses from the intersection ahead of her, and began shoving through the crowd forcefully to make it the end of the street before the King's chariot passed by. As soon as the torches of the knights penetrated the thickening gloom she began working up a running start in the direction they were going, the knights drew swords upon seeing her glaive but she shouted to them before they had a chance to strike her down. "IT'S AN ATTACK...THE SHADOWS...YOU'RE UNDER ATTACK!" she was panting from the exertion as the knights and their charge disappeared ahead of her, she hoped they had heard her message.

The king could indeed hear the message, and it did not take much thought to realize the sense it made. He opened the curtains on the chariot window, and shouted to one of the knights riding beside him. "Sir Cedric! Sound the warning bells and seal the gates! Prepare the oil!" Without another word the knight broke off at a side street, riding to the nearest guard tower. Aral closed the curtains and turned to Master Estyn. "I'm going to have to ask you a favor, old friend," he drew a dagger and placed the tip on his [u]own[/u] torso. "Drive this in, it must be deep. I do not have the courage to do it myself," Estyn looked aghast and confused.

"Your Majesty, I would ne-"

"This is an ORDER Estyn, as your King I [i]command[/i] you. It [i]must[/i] be done." Estyn was still hesitant, but the fire in Aral's eyes stirred him to motion. With a grimace, he pushed the knife in as Aral bit down on a silver coin from his pocket. The king grunted and threw his head back against the wood, but did not cry out as the knife pierced his skin. Estyn tried to leave the knife in, to hold back the bleeding, but Aral pulled it out himself. Revealing a surprisingly slow flow of blood. Then, wiping the sweat from his brow, the king plucked the coin from his mouth and forced it into the wound as deep as he could. Tearing a strip of cloth from his robe, he wiped up the blood and began bandaging the wound.

"What in Isurn's name was that?" the Grand Master whispered, visibly shocked by the strange act.

"Something you must never speak of, now let us rally and prepare for an invasion."