The ride from the estate to Shadow Pass was a long one, though it seemed to take forever to get to Shadow Worth once in the pass. The mountain range splitting Gemminia from the rest of the world was both long and wide. This was why for so long no one had invaded the land, one could get lost in these mountains and never be heard of again. Vivari was protective of her youngest children, the mere thought of the Great Mother was enough to cause the Drakken to growl. Why? Maybe it was inbred into the Drakkens when they were created by their gods, the first real godly children. But it mattered little now.

Coming around a large bend the fortress of Shadow Worth came into view. It was a grand sight to behold and one not seen anywhere else but here. It was an amazing feat to carve and build a fortress into the side of a mountain and one two miles above the main road of the pass. From the outside it looked to be of Drakken make with re-enforced outer walls, grand platforms with war machines and a triple gate. But Krone knew that the inside was of Gem design, as it had an elegance that only they seemed to have. Though they did have grand paintings, mosaics and stained glass forms of the Drakken gods. They had the same for their gods and goddesses but they didn't make they as grand as the Drakkens. Most likely out of fear of upsetting them.

How did he know what the inside looked like? He had come once with his father, back when he did not hold any favoritism or power. Back then he was simply one of the many sons of his father. He was sent ahead then to choose a bride or two for his father, that way his father didn't have to make a show or get frustrated with the fact someone else took the one he wanted. Krone would then spend the night outside his father's chamber guarding the door along with one of his brothers.

Now that was what he was doing or had done. He had sent one of his brothers ahead of him to choose a bride or two. None of his sons were old enough to be here, let alone walk.

Krone and his men rode up the twisting road up to the front gate then into the courtyard. Getting off his mount he took a deep breath and slowly turned to give a small calculating smile to his men, who were his brothers and some older than him. None of his father's house (them being an off shoot of the main family D'Veaux.) thought he would rise to power and take his father's place in the D'Veaux family court. His rise to power wasn't full of blood like some of the other families. No, he never did more than he had to and everything he did had a purpose.

Walking into the fortress, he carried himself with a cold calm precision that was off putting to many Drakkens. Most were use to savagery, intolerance and a loudness that only Drakkens could master. But Krone was quiet, calculating and always seemed to know something that others didn't. This usually pissed off others, but he could care less what they thought of him.

Entering into the grand ballroom, or at least that is what it seemed to be anyway, Krone was met with his brother who he had sent ahead to choose his bride. "My lord." said the large Drakken as he placed his right fist over his heart and bowing his head. "I have chosen two beautiful brides for you," He said as he motioned for two of the Shadow Worth Drakken guards to bring forth the two Gem girls. "I hope my choice pleases you, my Lord." The Drakken said slightly nervous.

Krone eyed the two females infront of him, they were indeed beautiful and looked to be of strong build (though compared to Drakken women they were weak, but for Gems they weren't bad). He could feel the nervousness from both the girls and his men, though they had known him for a long time they still weren't use to his calm demeanour.

"They are satisfactory, well done." Krone said in a calm matter sounding like he carefully chosen those words to speak. His brother smiled slightly placed his fist over his heart and bowed,before taking place behind him.

"Your names?" He asked as took off his cloak and passed it to one of his men. He didn't wear armour but his sword did hang from his hip and did have two daggers on his back. But these things were just to let others know that he wasn't easy prey that they could take on.

He knew who had come to take a bride or two, and most were young and brash, killing their entire family in order to gain power. He didn't have to slaughter, yes there was some blood, but only because he saw no other way around it. Though his torture room was enough to get most to stop them from supporting other brothers. None died on his table unless he willed it to be so, no, he let those he tortured live.

Calculating and ruthless, that's who he was.

---

The music the inspired this post.

Zakroti swung open the door to the dull steel plated carriage that had carried out the relatively short distance from his holdings to the Shadow Wroth. He hopped down from it into the frozen dirt of the high mountain pass with a weak sigh, motioning for the footsman to take hitch the horses as he shut the door behind him. He heard the neigh of horses from behind him as carriage was drawn forwards again and slowly faded away into the stables of the Shadow Wroth. The dwarf of a Drakken watched his breath turn to mist in the winters chill and wrapped his cloak around him to block out the biting cold and continued up towards the gates of the Shadow Wroth, glancing up and sparing a moment to run his eyes over the imposing structure in all it's ominous glory.

Here, Zakroti almost seemed out of place. At best, a Drakken of his stature should be serving as a man servant or a footsman to someone of actual note and power. Instead, he seemed to have reversed the position. He let a thin smile grace his face as he continued the line of thought. How had he achieved this?

Through guile and efficiency. And no small amount of brutality either, for that was not contradictory. Brutality fell under guile as far as he was concerned for fear was a weapon that the Drakken had used well. How else could one explain why the Gemminites were giving up so many of their young and beautiful girls each year? Yes, fear was an effective tool and it was one that he had seen work just as well when it was turned inwards; But like all good weapons it had to be used carefully. Plans had to be made carefully and followed through with surgical precision to get him where he was now and the same could be said for getting him where he wanted to go. Now plan was perfect but he had to get it as close to perfect as Drakkenly possible

Taxing but doable... Provided everyone followed the instruction, which was by no means guaranteed. The Drakken loved to war and fight and kill and this meant they weren't always the best at listening to orders when said orders told them not to fight. He couldn't blame them; There was a certain rush when one was in combat, when one was leading a military campaign and the walls of an enemy city came crashing down. Yet he had learnt young that fighting was like drink; It was good in moderation but if one allowed themself to become intoxicated on it they would certainly come to regret it. Choosing a bad fight was like signing ones own death warrant and was not something he intended to fall to, he had seen far too many of the more impulsive Drakken lords waste their power by making such a mistake. He was too patient and diligent for that

Zakroti gave a weak yet lingering smile; Yes, although this felt to him more of a chore than a privilege it reminded him precisely of what he had achieved; a runt saved from death only by the begging of his mother, who could have imagined that he would work his way so high. He could have some pride, surely?

You didn't earn this, a little voice in the back of his head piqued up as if to counter out his ego and destroy his short moment of pride. You cheated. Your "achievements" are built off the deeds of others and knavish tricks. Do you really think you could have slain your father in single combat?

He shook his head suddenly as if to dispel the thoughts, chasing them from his mind and hardening his face again, refilling his mind with visions of grandeur as he composed himself again. Thankfully, a new voice came to force an armistice his mental war

"Milord Zakroti," The gruff voice of the Drakken Warrior before him echoed through his ears. Zakroti ran his eyes slowly along the speaker; A six foot seven Drakken wearing dull grey armour, emblazoned with his families seal. "Lord Nastaki was beginning to fear you had abandoned your duty." The warrior gave a wry smile and Zakroti returned it as an empty gesture

"We could hardly go as the crow flies. Has Lord Nastaki selected the bride for me? Or will I at least get some say in the process?" Zakroti said with a bitterness in his voice. It would be like his grandfather to make an arbitrary imposition to spite the boy. The Warrior tilted his head slightly

"Not precisely. He has selected two brides for you." Zakroti paused for a moment; now there was a hint of annoyance in the warriors voice and Zakroti finally matched it to a name.

"Ah, Poxati, do not concern yourself. Perhaps next year you will have marginal importance, which will be a step towards taking a bride of you own." Zakroti's tone was mocking and he returned the same wry smile Poxati had given him moments before, much to the warriors chagrin. He opened his mouth to speak but Zakroti stepped past him and proceeded towards the shadow wroth without casting so much as a glance backwards. He had no time for that simpering fool, he wouldn't be surprised if one could crack Poxati's skull open and find nothing but dust inside. He cast open the doors and strode inside and past several more warriors, pausing slowly and glancing around the building.

Books could not truly do this place justice. The architecture was clearly Gem in origin and clearly served well as a fitting place for trading off beautiful brides. Zakroti was not sure whether to be impressed or irritated by its extravagance to tell the truth; It was a strange place.

The religious idols around the room made him lean towards irritation. The Gods had shown him not favour and in turn he felt no obligation to worship them; That was not to say he didn't believe in the gods. He believed that they existed and thus were worthy targets for his hate. As for the idols of Gem gods, he barely recognised them. In fact, he doubted he would be able to place a name to Vivari were it not for the link she shared with the Drakken Pantheon. He could name the others and their spheres but that all he knew. Although Zakroti had been close to his mother he had not been given any knowledge about the Gemminite Pantheon from her, for his father would have surely slit her throat if she had so much as mentioned the name of a Gemminite God or Goddess.

To be truthful, had his father not forced him to worship the Drakken pantheon, he doubted he'd know them either.

Zakroti slowly recovered and turned with no lack of deliberation and opened the wooden door before him, heading up the spiralling staircase beyond and up to the chamber in which he had been told to come, stepping through two door and coming out before his grandfather, Nastaki, who was standing behind a desk that was littered with various documents that he was idly scribbling away on. The room was still clearly of Gem design with graceful and flowing struts and small alcoves decorated with shrines or trophies, but his families banners hung down from the walls and on the balcony that attached to the room he could see a large ballista. In the distance, he could vaguely hear a high pitched wailing which he assumed was some poor Gem girl who had, at the last moment, attempted to flee her fate or whose new 'husband' had been rather... eager to get to business.

"My lord," Zakroti bowed to his grandfather. "I answer your summons." His grand father looked up from the letters and have him an icy stare, holding it for a few moments as if to put Zakroti into his place but he stood his ground before his grandfather until he finally broke the stare and nodded once, taking a step in advance.

"You speak like I'm sending you to the block; Show some spirit. Its about time you showed an interest in taking a bride and your exploits leave you far overdue for one. I've had two picked out for you..." The Old Lord paused for a minute before continuing in an even sterner tone, something that one would have initially assumed quite impossible "And do not wrought my meaning by giving them to you. If you would finally take my decisions for what they are instead of searching for some offence in every action, you would do far better for yourself." Nastaki said with a cocked brow, intense ice blue eyes watching Zakroti's every move and scrutinising him. The young Drakken nodded glumly in response and after a few more moments of staring him down, Nataski glanced to one of his honour guard "Lead Lord Zakroti to his brides." He waved dismissively as he returned to the table, taking his quill in hand and scribbling onto the letters again. Zakroti perked his head up slightly in an attempt to see what he was writing, his curiosity piqued, however the large armoured figure of a guardsmen drifted into view and blocked his gaze.

The guardsmen led him up the stairs and held open a door for him. Inside stood two young Gem girls, no doubt his brides. He heard the Drakken step in behind him and held up his left hand in frustration "I can do without the escort. You may return to Lord Nastaki." There was a grunt from behind him and the sound of the door swinging open gain, followed by plate metal boots stomping off into the distance.

Zakroti ignored the pair at first, reaching up and undoing the broach that held his cloak shut around his neck, taking it off and hanging it from a coat hanger in the corner of the room before slowly turning back towards his brides, scanning them up and down slowly in turn. Suddenly, Nastaki's comments about mistaking the intent became all too clear. The first of the girls was so small that she was a foot smaller than even he at the very least. She possessed a rather shy air around her and her nervousness was almost palpable. She was quite clearly afraid and he guessed she would probably do whatever he told her. She was pretty as one would expect from a Gem bride.
The second girl on the other hand, had apparently dismissed the notion of beauty; Her hair was unkempt and her skin was flawed; Where her dress ended he could see her unshaven legs. He ran his eyes back up her slowly and when he came to her eyes he realised that she staring- No, glaring- back into his with a look that could cut flesh.

Ah, at last he understood. One girl seemed as though she might be easy to handle while the other seemed as though she might be trouble. The intentions were now rather clear; He had been given both sides of the equation it would seem, his grandfather had been trying to give him a taste for it. It wouldn't surprise him if this was the case, Nastaki was far from a fool and Zakroti didn't doubt for a minute that he had planned this.

The short Drakken noble straightened himself up in an effort to appear taller than he really was and alternated his gaze between the pair as he spoke.
"We have several things to cover before the morning comes so let us get right to it. First and foremost, your names are?" He slowly folded his arms as he spoke, cocking an eyebrow inquisitively as he regarded the pair of them

Many solid steps echoed upon the cobblestone road leading to Shadow Worth. The spectacle of bridal collection was significant to both factions; accordingly, there were numerous Drakken and Gemminites traveling along the roads to and from Shadow Worth. Among them was a tall figure, tall even when compared to the Drakken people. The man stood in extremely imposing and heavy garbs; Steel guarded his torso and shoulders while he was shrouded in worn leather and thick linen. What was most imposing was the mask, only covering the upper portion of his head with what appeared to be two holes bored into the front, the lower half of his face was shrouded in the shadow of the cloak's high collar.


The large figure of the man was broad shouldered and towered over everyone around him, but at the same time, he could not be considered especially stout, appearing slightly more lean than heavily built. His steps were long, but his tempo was leisurely enough that most traffic passed by him with their eyes cast away, nobody dared make eye contact with such an overbearing presence.

This man went by the name Praeth. Although he had only recently made his debut as the only remaining Falkasius noble, the entirety of the Drakken faction knew his name. It was no lie to say that the entirety of the country believed he had somehow massacred the entirety of the increasingly powerful family. Debates surrounded his existence and rumors were only made more fierce as his very existence had seemed to appear from nothing. Without any evidence of where Praeth had originated from, or what his motives were, the majority of the Drakken race openly opposed his rise to power. The fact that he had managed to procure brides was only due to the fact that he had gained a great deal of power becoming the head of the extinct but wealthy Falkasius nobility.

Eventually, Preath arrived at the gate of the Shadow Worth. Given his appearance, the guards thought it only common sense to stop Praeth before he entered the hall filled with nobles.
"Halt! State your name, position, and purpose." The shorter of the two guards asked while they both held their spears to block his path.
"Praeth" He failed to elaborate, but it would be no exaggeration to say that the imposing presence Praeth maintained nearly caused the Drakken guards' to flee.
"L-lord Praeth, by all means..." The guards made way, but did not welcome Praeth. If the guards had a say, they would not have allowed Praeth passage, but it was a rare occurence for the Drakken Court to push forward an edict to allow nobles a bride on such short notice. Thus, there was nothing to be done.

To solidify his position, he had decided the most straightforward way was brides, not only did they provide status, but offsprings to recreate a family of power. Praeth had arranged for a total of 3 brides. He was not picky, nor was he in any haste to leave with political strife closing in on all sides. Thus, he sent his one and only attendant to select 3 women. Praeth paid his attendant three times the amount of the standard payroll, thus, the attendant was extremely thorough. The brides were in Praeth's hastily assigned chamber, the corridor leading to his holding was barren compared to the other lords. Where nobility heavily guarded their own chambers, Praeth's was guarded only by his attendent. The attendent himself had brought all three of the brides and watched over them with a stern eye, food had been provided while they awaited the Lord's arrival.

Finally, Praeth had arrived, and he softly opened the door without a word, simply sharing a knowing glance with his attendant before the man left the room, leaving Praeth alone with the three brides.

Nadia had spent the time since the choosing trying not to cry. She missed her family and their house in the woods, and being around so many strangers made her even more scared. She had not said anything to anyone since she last saw her parents, had not even spoken to the other Gem girls who had been chosen with her. She had been sitting in a chair by the door when she saw it open and a Drakken stepped in. Running a finger under her eye quickly to make sure that she had not shed any tears she stood and walked over to where the other two girls were standing.

The attendant closed the door behind him and an oppressive silence followed the sounds of the shutting door while Praeth simply looked the brides over, eventually offering forth a subtle nod and began taking off his armor. He unclasped his cloak, letting it fall to the floor as he took off his mask, revealing sharp, but hardened features. Although he had revealed his face, it almost seemed even more difficult to read his emotions following the removal of his mask. Grabbing the chair Nadia has just been sitting on, Praeth spun it around and sat on it, although his eye level remained slightly above those of the brides. His eyes finally wandered to appraise his chamber. It was spartan to say the least as he had not taken anything in preperation. His wealth currently was by no means less than that of other nobles, he merely lacked the experience or manpower to import anything into the solitary room beyond a few beds, a table, a handful of chairs, and a few light fixtures. After a long and terrifying silence, Praeth finally parted his lips.
"I will make one thing clear to the three of you. One: you are, and from now on, will be mine, do as I say and our relationship will be fairly pleasant. Now, I will begin with myself. My name is Praeth, nothing more, nothing less. My history is complicated and perhaps it can be postponed for another day." Praeth looked towards Nadia, she seemed to be the most meek, as well as the smallest of the three, "What about you, little one? What is your name? Tell me a little bit about yourself." Praeth's mannerism of speech was heavily accented, it did not sound Drakkonian either, it was as if his tongue was heavily weighted with numerous languages, to the point that he had no discernable accent but a prominent one nonetheless.

As Praeth introduced himself, Nadia found herself wondering where his accent was from, as she had never heard one like it before. She was not left to wonder long however, as he seemed to single her out to introduce herself next. As a sort of reflex, she looked at the ground between herself and him as she spoke, although at first she was so quiet she could barely hear herself. She repeated her name a few times until she had managed to find an audible volume, and continued from there. I'm Nadia Parnel. I- I like the woods, and quiet." She was silent a moment, wondering what else to say or do until she remembered her manners. "It is, nice to meet you."

Praeth listened without a change in his features, until the very end, his eyes widening slightly before he releases a low chuckle. "I have never heard of a Gemminite greeting a Drakken properly after having just been chosen to be taken from their families. Either you are far too gracious of me, or far too ignorant in what exactly is happening to you right now." He finished with something more of a kindly tone than a scoffing one despite his words. Shifting in his seat, Praeth stood back up with his hands behind his back, examining Nadia before kneeling before her, "Perhaps it is out of pure curiousity, but would you care to show me your power? Of course, do not fear hurting me, go all out, I have yet to experience the extent of Gemminite magic..." Praeth's eyes lit up at the idea of experiencing something new, pleased with having the oppurtunity before him.

Nadia took a step back as Praeth suddenly kneeled before her, bringing himself to the same eye level as her. She listened as he spoke, trying to bring herself to look at his face at least. She didn't want to be rude, but she couldn't manage it. "I- even if you do not think you will get hurt, I'd rather not. My element is fire, and while I am capable of handling it on my own, I do not wish to chance losing control of it and hurting myself or anyone else here." She spoke softly and hoped he would not get angry at her for denying him.

Praeth nodded sagely, "If you are not yet comfortable with your abilities, I will not be so savage as to force your hand. Although if I was unable to quell an elemental fire attack from one so young as you, I believe my esteem would take a rather fatal blow." He had a slight curve of the lips upward, righting himself from his kneeling position. "You are to do as your told, even if you don't think it a good idea. We will work on it over time, but today I will take the policy of leniency for the sake of introductions." Praeth said, turning towards the right of Nadia, Praeth faced Araxie next, his soft smile remaining, "I suppose it is your turn next, my dear~."

Allowing the cold, frosty air of Shadow Worth meet his face, the heir to the Nordiere family stepped out of his carriage and gazed upon the fortress walls, looming in the night sky. Edoric had a personal dislike frozen peaks like those of Shadow Worth, he felt like he was constantly cold or would be stuck in place. It was probably a something relating to his magic, but he wasn't going to pay it any heed tonight. Tonight, Edoric had a mission. After much debate and talks, his family and what close friends he had convinced him it was time to take a gem bride or two.

After walking up the cobbled path to the castle, he mused on how he would control his soon-to-be wives. He knew how to control soldiers and he knew how to control business; outside of his sisters, he never had many dealing with female Drakkens, much less females Gems. Following the words of his brother (who already grew quite powerful as at he head of the family with multiple wives), he guessed that he'd doing something interesting with them.

Lost in his thoughts (which by this point had taken a turn, becoming an internal debate about the professional goat sodimizer his business acquaintance pestered him to hire for some unknown reason), his path was blocked by a pair of Guards. THeir spears crossed as if they wanted to deny him access to such and important (if not annoying) event.
"Halt! Who goes there?" one of the guards shouted at Edoric's general direction, "State name, position and purpose!"
"Edokaluriconus Nordiere, heir to the noble house of Nordiere, now excuse me I have a pair of Gem to meet boys." Edoric pushed his way past the polearms and opened up the doors for himself.

He heard one of the guards debating if he should spear the (in)famous Drakkenn after his legends of his instability had made him other wise a popular figure in some part of Drakken society. Of course this was only one part of him talked about in detail in Drakken social circles; his men in the army had complete faith in him as did his business associates, even with his legendary exploits such as his duel to the death that ended up as a pig tossing contest between him and some other house he forgot about. Looking back, it was probably Edoric who started the fight, dueling over the pig which was soon after thrown through a window.

As he entered the halls of Shadow Worth, he recognized some face for which he'd seen before. Over there was a lord to some plot of land out west, a few feet away was a heir to some pitiful family fortune over yonder, next to him was a man he once insulted in his youth and off in the distance was the person responsible for his fear of fuzzy objects.

Edoric was originally suppose to only have one wife, but after over hearing whispers amongst his servants and receiving a letter from his youngest siblings, he hastily arranged for a second one. It wasn't to hard seeing as he had a hand in the transportation of such Gems, just pick another one who looked pretty enough. Something like that. From what he was initially told, both of them where feisty with one attempting to kill one of his friends as he had his own Choosing alongside several other lords as they walked out of Shadow Worth. This should be fun at any rate, there was bound to be something for Edoric to laugh about in store.

Kicking the door to his private room open where the two Gems, his soon-to-be wives, would be waiting, he cracked a crazed grin, "Hello ladies. As of right now you may call me "master" or "grand ruler of the universe and emperor of war. Let's get along shall we? I believe unpleasant things are in store if you we don't, not that they might not happen to you anyways."

Swing himself around the room he appeared behind the two beautiful Gemmites and pulls out a pair of collars and daggers, present one for each, "Before we start, let me present to you wonderful little morsels a gift from your's truly. Both the items are of high quality, I personally ensure that." Edoric danced his way over to an arm chair where he sat down, legs crossed and head supported by his arm, "Chop chop ladies, you know the drill. We don't have all night you know."

As the two Gems examined their new gifts, Edoric's smile grew as he thought what would they do with their own collars and dagger. People would proablly question his sanity (if they didn't already) at the sight of him gifting out weapons. But he already had precautions, as insane as he was, he still had (something close to at least) a brain. The daggers of course where more ceremonial than pragmatic, having both been horribly unbalanced and improperly tapered; in short, it would take an outstanding warrior to best him using the highly decorated knives which neither of the Gems seemed to be.

Opening his mouth once more, he smiled as the looked into the women, "Let's have some fun, no?"

Ama

To say she was boiling in this room would have been an understatement. But... At the same time, she didn't want him to come. Maybe he wouldn't like her and just leave. That... had been her plan anyway. Become as ugly as possible so that when he looked at her, he'd either just kill her outright or let her leave. She was hoping for the second option but the first was just as comforting a notion.

She hadn't even said anything to the poor girl sitting near her. She couldn't say so much as a word, much less try to comfort the girl. After all, how could someone who also needed comforting comfort someone? Ama grabbed at her dress, forming fists around the fabric. Her thoughts went to that young boy from her village. Though many of her friends and family would have loved to come here to see Shadow Worth, Ama wanted nothing but to be out in the fields again, bare foot and free to play in the mud as she pleased.

As she sat on the floor, legs crossed, Ama could feel the hairs on her legs prickling each other, stabbing into each other leg. It was an uncomfortable feeling and eventually, if she lives through this, she might just shave it to get rid of the feeling. It would be nice to have smooth legs again.

The thought quickly shot away as she heard footsteps near the door. She stood quickly, her fists still balled up around the fabric as she stared daggers at the door. With a faint grunt, the door swung open as a Drakken emerged, surrounded by much taller Drakken. Ama could feel ever fiber of her being tense up but her eyes never moved, still staring daggers at him. She... She was prepared for this!

She closed her eyes as he began to speak but as he went on, her eyes slowly opened again, confusion on her face. He... was going to accept her? Confusion slowly turned into fear and fear turned into hate as a scowl formed on her face yet again.

"Amaryllis." She spoke, a nasty bite to her voice as she continued to scowl at the man before her. Right now, she was honestly more afraid of living through this but certain parts of her mind kept her from doing things she deemed too incredibly stupid. Like... attack him.

---

Ara

He was... a giant. Ara's eyes got wide as he entered the room. She was awestruck by his might and she stared as he took off parts of his armor, namely his cloak and mask. The removal of either did nothing to quell Ara's wonder as her stares continued.

"I will make one thing clear to the three of you. One: you are, and from now on, will be mine, do as I say and our relationship will be fairly pleasant. Now, I will begin with myself. My name is Praeth, nothing more, nothing less. My history is complicated and perhaps it can be postponed for another day."

She felt her insides churn as he spoke. What a deep and marvelous voice befitting such a giant being! She could feel his voice shake through her entire being and she smiled. Praeth... Ara sat, patiently, listening to him talk to one of the gems near her.

I'm Nadia Parnel. I- I like the woods, and quiet."

Nadia... She was very pretty yet seem very frail, like a trickling stream. Ara smiled at her before turning to look at Praeth again, who was speaking again. She closed her eyes as his words shook through her.

"I have never heard of a Gemminite greeting a Drakken properly after having just been chosen to be taken from their families. Either you are far too gracious of me, or far too ignorant in what exactly is happening to you right now."

"Perhaps it is out of pure curiousity, but would you care to show me your power? Of course, do not fear hurting me, go all out, I have yet to experience the extent of Gemminite magic..."

Ara's eyes shot open as she looked over at Nadia, equally as excited to see it as Praeth seemed to be. What wonderful powers would this girl possess? She must be great at whatever she does!

"I- even if you do not think you will get hurt, I'd rather not. My element is fire, and while I am capable of handling it on my own, I do not wish to chance losing control of it and hurting myself or anyone else here."

Ara's face fell as Nadia explained, her excitement swept away by the cold current of the river. But... She was a fire gem! That was so neat! Still, she didn't have to worry about hurting Ara. Though... Ara's eyes turned to Praeth. It would be a shame to hurt his face...

"If you are not yet comfortable with your abilities, I will not be so savage as to force your hand. Although if I was unable to quell an elemental fire attack from one so young as you, I believe my esteem would take a rather fatal blow."

Ara let out a small chuckle, thinking about his esteem being hurt. How could one so magnificent have a low self-esteem? It was laughable.

"You are to do as your told, even if you don't think it a good idea. We will work on it over time, but today I will take the policy of leniency for the sake of introductions."

She shuddered, hearing the sudden change in his voice. Even she could see behind the smile, his voice was enough to cause her fear.

"I suppose it is your turn next, my dear~."

H-He was looking at her! He was looking at her! Ara opened her mouth to speak, but stopped for some reason, wondering how she should piece her introduction together. She looked down at his feet, trying to form the words.

Then, with a sudden gusto, she lifted her head and smiled back at him. "My name is Araxie, s-sir!" She felt silly calling him sir... "But... Most call me Ara because it's easier. Y-You're free to call me as you like, sir!" She explained to him, in a rather loud voice, hoping he would call her as he liked. "I... uhhm..." She continued, trying to think of something she liked like Nadia did... "I like sitting by the rivers and listening to the water rush by." She told him, grinning like she didn't have a care in the world.

Kai stood stiffly among the crowd of other girls, rage, terror, and horror coming off of her in almost tangible waves.

How DARE they! How dare they! Isn’t there a law against taking a betrothed girl... Kai’s thoughts tumbled through her mind as the soon-to-be-brides huddled together like scared sheep. She was not scared. She was furious.

When the Drakken soldier grabbed her arm, her and a very tall girl, Fire by the look of her, she did not aid him. She did not resist him. He was nothing to her, certainly not something to exert herself over to follow or resist. Resistance would be futile, but of course she would try. But only where it might make a difference.

It was only standing before the Drakken who was to be her husband that she allowed herself to consider what course of action she might take. She would not allow him to have his way with her, not when she was promised to another.

She pressed her hand to her throat, to the ring hidden just under the lacy neckline of her dress. Let the strength of it flow through her.

For you, Ridian, I will be strong. I will come back to you one day, as surely as rivers flow to the Great Sea. My love.

Her eyes were icy, totally blank as she looked at her new husband. He asked for her name, of course. She wouldn’t give it to him straight, though.

She’d heard the guards whispering when they’d looked the girls over. Marking who would be given to whom.

“These two for Krone?”
“They’ll last better than any of the others.”
“Hmm…. I suppose. The one is tiny, though.”
“But look at how she carries herself. So confident. And besides. A small water gem and a graceful strong fire gem would make excellent husbands for one so well-placed in our court.

So this must be Krone. She inclined her head slightly, her eyes glittering harshly. “I have many names… my lord.” She let the words hang in the air, sarcasm and hatred turning her pretty voice harsh.“But as for the ones I answer to, well… That remains for you to figure out.” She flashed a sly smile, meeting the man’s eyes. Sure, she was terrified. But she’d push her fear and self-preservation instincts away, she’d let herself suffer, just as long as she could get back to her Ridian someday.

---

They had spent the whole carriage ride holding each other. Miry for protection, Asta to be there for her little sister. But as they got to the massive doors of Shadow Worth, the girls were separated.

The Drakkens assigned to guard Asta were idiots. They didn’t know how dangerous she was; they didn’t check to see that she was practically bristling with daggers under the flowy, yet revealing dress she was forced to wear. She had four knives: One on the back of her neck, one down the front of her dress, one in a sleeve sheath on her forearm, and one strapped to her thigh. The one on her thigh might not be helpful, but it was her favorite knife, and she couldn’t bear to leave home without it.

As she was led into a separate room, she felt a thrill of fear run through her, and quickly quelled it. She would not be afraid.

To take her mind off of it, she sized up the girl next to her. Another Fire, if the golden eyes were anything to go by. A little shorter than Asta, perhaps a bit less muscular. But with fierce alert eyes. Another fighter, not someone to go along meekly.

The man who came in was large, as all Drakken were. But there was something… off about him. She realized he must not be all… there, watching him cavorting around the room.

And then she was presented with a knife and a collar. A collar.

Lord Pyrus save her, she would never wear a collar.

Without being bidden, she picked up the knife, wincing at how poorly-balanced it was and how the ornate engravings dug into her palm. But it would serve the purpose she intended. Making eye contact with the man, she cut the collar into pieces. The knife was sharp, at least.

She had half a mind to stab the Drakken, to teach him to not give her weapons. Instead she simply continued cutting up the collar into little tiny bits, then threw the bits back at the drakken as a macabre sort of confetti. Playing to the unstable, childish part of his mind. Hopefully she wasn’t getting it wrong.

“Are you amused?” she asked simply.

---

Miry was petrified. As she’d watched her sister being pulled away by two guards, she couldn’t stop the tears from trickling down her face. Even as the guards had pulled her away to a small room, stripping her down and putting her into a different dress, her mind was paralyzed with terror. She couldn’t move to cover herself, couldn’t hide, couldn’t even say anything.

When she was led out into the main room to wait for her husband, she could barely breathe, the fear threatening to overwhelm her. A glance at the girl beside her made her blink in confusion: She had a lovely face, sure, but her skin and hair were unkempt and blemished, and her legs… were unshaved? Self-consciously Miry crossed her own legs, shaved smooth and lotioned to make her as, what did they say? As desirable as possible?

Those thoughts were forced out of her mind by the arrival of her husband. He was rather small for a Drakken, though he still towered over Miry by a foot and a half. She flinched as he walked over, inspecting them like they were… like fresh meat.

”Your names are?” the lord asked them.

”Amaryllis.” said the girl next to her, fiercely and bravely. Oh how Miry wished that she could be brave.

“M-my name is, u-um, m-my n-name is Aymir—Aymiria…” she said softly, her high, sweet voice scarcely more than a whisper. “O-of House C-Cassiel.” She flinched at her own stutter and inability to form coherent thoughts, nervously glancing up at the Drakken lord through her thick eyelashes.

Torin Hellsong

Raya T'mivus Kasari Liesma

The journey to Shadow Worth had not been comfortable. Climbing a snowy mountain pass, even in a coach with furs and blankets, was miserably bumpy and unbearably cold. Torin sat wrapped in a heavy fur cloak, his breath frosting the air with each exhalation. He didn't complain, though he wanted to. Complaining wouldn't do any good at this point, and before long he knew he would be treated to warm fires, hot food, and a woman's company. It would be a nice change of pace, and he felt a small swell of pride at his newly achieved status. Even though the core focus of his life was no longer military pursuit, he'd managed to at least make himself deserving of a bride, and at such a young age too. He didn't really care about having a wife as much as he cared about what that symbolized. Although, these days the Geminites were so eager to give away their daughters to Drakken lords that if he had waited a few years, he might have achieved one just by seniority. He was too eager, perhaps, to advance his standing in the realm.

"We're nearly there," a gentle, female voice broke the frozen silence in the cab. Tyrai Hellsong, Torin's twin sister, sat across from him. She was similarly bundled in fur and, like her brother, refused to complain of the cold. She had insisted on accompanying him, having said things like, "I'll get into trouble if you leave me by myself," and "Someone's got to be sure you don't pick an ugly bride." The latter declaration was only partially true. Tyrai was a vain and conceited woman, as many Drakken females tend to be, and since she still lived with Torin in the Hellsong house she wouldn't be able to bear it if his silly Gem wife was more beautiful than she. Tyrai did not care so little for her brother that she'd choose a homely bride for him, but she would be certain that whatever sniveling little girl he got would not match her own lovely appearance. This was the first reason she'd come along, and the only one so far as she'd led Torin to believe. However, there was a second ulterior motive for her accompaniment. She knew full well that Shadow Worth had become a gathering place for all the greatest Drakken warlords, and it was an ideal orchard for her to do some of her own picking.

They arrived at last. The guards at the gate stopped them, as with others, and when Torin announced himself as hailing from the house of Hellsong, they cast uneasy looks at each other. Torin's blindness was not a well known fact, and the guards were confused by the odd headdress -a thick silk mask trimmed with gold- that covered his eyes. He gave no appearance of disability whilst walking though, and they allowed him and his lady to pass inside along with their own bodyguards. Tyrai drew more stares than Torin, she was a rare beauty and while she did not flaunt herself she was nonetheless on display for the hungry eyes of every Drakken present. Her very presence gave Torin the appearance of importance, no doubt many would mistake her for his wife.

They walked arm-in-arm to the choosing. This was also Tyrai's idea, since they could have easily sent a servant and guards to pick just any old one. Tyrai wanted to approve of one in person, and Torin trusted her judgement. He put out a hand to feel the air currents in the room, he sensed many bodies, both men and women. He could feel their individual breaths on the back of his hand. "I'm waiting," he said in a low voice, indicating she had better make up her mind.

Tyrai surveyed the other women present. Many had already been chosen and taken away, the few that remained looked disagreeable. They should have arrived earlier. The lady Hellsong allowed her eyes to settle on a mean-looking girl with long platinum hair that was half-braided along one side of her scalp. She was nice and plump with a plain face and clear complexion, suitable enough. She turned and said as much to Torin, and he ordered the guards to bring her. They dragged her before him, holding her by the arms, and Torin calmly placed a cool hand on her face. He traced the outline of her brow, nose, lips, and chin then moved onto her throat and from there slid his hand over her shoulder and down her side all the way to her hip. He smiled, but it was not a kind expression. He lifted his hand to her face once more, running his fingers over the cornrow braids with some measure of amusement. The image constructed in his mind through touch was not what he expected, but neither was it displeasing. "What's your name?" he asked finally, having come to a decision.

While Torin inspected the girl she again cast her gaze toward the young Gems, narrowing her eyes at one of them in the back, a girl with long dark hair with a bold look about her. She was distracted, however, when Torin directed his next question to her: "Just the one is it, were the rest of them too unsightly Tyrai?"

"No, my lord," she sneered at the girl in the back, "There is another that may be to your liking." She signaled the guards and the brought the second Gem forward.

Torin's lips parted in a grin that revealed a row of teeth lined up like so many ivory tombstones. He patted Tyrai's cheek affectionately. "You are too kind."

Kalani Solle

Kalani could almost laugh bitterly in the irony of her fate. She had worked so hard to come as close to perfect as she possibly could but failed to realize that her efforts had made her more desirable and more likely to be chosen for the Reaping. She could not benefit from the rewards of her hard work, but instead had it plucked out of her hands while she is forced to be some other man's trophy wife.

The Drakken soldier that chose her and another Gem for their lord was not gentle when grabbing them. While it did not hurt that much, Kalani glared at him for his use of unnecessary roughness. However, she did not get the reaction she was expecting. The soldier simply smiled as if she had done something amusing, which only made her more angry.

She closed her eyes and tried to calm herself down. The Drakkens had always been stronger than Gems. That was the reason why they had this stupid Reaping every year. Whether or not the Drakkens decide to attack her people depended on her and the other Gem brides. Even if this is a waste of her potential, it was for a greater cause so she will try to be the best Gem bride she could be. Also, angering one of them would immediately be a death sentence and some Drakkens are not kind enough to make it a swift, painless one.

Before she knew it, Kalani was in front of the infamous Krone, the Scream Taker. She felt uncomfortable as he looks over at them. It was as if he was reading their minds, seeing right through them, and determining their fates right at this very moment. She did her best to hold her head up high, but could still feel her body trembling from fear.

He had asked for their names but the water Gem besides her had given a sarcastic response. Kalani did not know whether to be impressed or worried for the girl. Was she trying to get herself killed on the first day?

Quickly, Kalani answered in a polite yet unattached tone, "My name is Kalani Solle. It is... an honor to have been chosen for a Drakken of your status." She curtsied, hoping he did not notice the slight hesitation in her voice.

Praeth appraised the girl before him more closely, as he had Nadia. As Nadia had, the girl before him also pleased his aesthetic sense. Where Nadia's features were soft and tender, this girl's features flowed together like a river, every curve and facet adding to her beauty. As he watched her blue eyes fall towards his shoes, he imagined her a water elementalist before she even spoke.

"My name is Araxie, s-sir! But... Most call me Ara because it's easier. Y-You're free to call me as you like, sir! I... uhhm... I like sitting by the rivers and listening to the water rush by."

Praeth winced inwardly initially at the large contrast in volume between Nadia and Araxie, but he quickly became used to her voice, and as he had imagined with her appearance, her voice was similar with a silky texture to it. To his surprise she seemed almost confident, although she did call him sir. In every way, it seemed almost like she was in stark contrast to Nadia, and thus, Praeth was pleased with the diversity, his interest piqued by both brides thus far.

"I see, so your element is water, is it not?"

Praeth asked, rather than waiting for an answer he already knew, Araxie felt his eyes prying into hers with a sort of analytical intensity, his presence becoming many times more oppressive. As Nadia had been fairly straightforward with her personality, Praeth did not feel the need to pry more closely, but for Araxie, he had sensed a bit of a facade. Without yet understanding Araxie's personality, Praeth's curiosity allotted him to try and buckle any form of barrier that would block a full understanding of his bride, in a way that would only be fitting of Praeth, sudden and arbitrary intimidation via overbearing aura.

Ara felt his eyes gaze at her and her eyes went wide. She could feel it in her bones. Fear. Yet... something else was there too. Admiration? That couldn't be right... Awe? No... Not that either. Whatever it was, he didn't really scare her so much as amaze her.

"I... Yes, sir." She began, a smile forming on her face. "You're so smart." She spoke, her voice much softer now, like a gentle spring.

Praeth rose an eyebrow, but offered nothing else forward in his features beyond the ever-present quirk of the lips. His presence relaxed but he continued to stare at Araxie, after a few moments of silence, Praeth finally spoke again,

"Well then Ara, I will offer you the same oppurtunity I offered Nadia, would you care to show me the extent of your power? As a fellow water elementalist, I'm sure you'll give me the honor?"

Each word was enunciated carefully to avoid any misunderstanding, yet his accent was so heavy that 'Ara' rolled off his tongue in something close to a purr. Although those around him understood clearly what he said, it almost sounded like he was speaking a different language entirely.

Ara's body shivered at his words. The way her name rolled off of his tongue made her legs feel like jello. Part of her was excited to be able to show her powers but the other part of her knew he would be disappointed in them. Her face suddenly dropped, the smile gone. She... She didn't want to disappoint him but... She felt the tears welling up in her eyes and blinked to will them away.

"C-Certainly..." She choked, swallowing hard. She took in a deep breath and tried to calm her fast beating heart. For some reason, she did not want to disappoint this man and not because she thought he would hurt her but because for the brief moment she had known him, she had all but made him her idol.

Praeth... forgive me for being such a failure as a water bride....

She swallowed as she lifted a hand and produced a small pool of water in the palm of her hand. It wobbled as it lifted from her palm and shook in a messy orb. Seconds later, it burst and splashed Ara in the face. She let out a shaky breath as she turned to look, her eye wide with fear. He was going to hate her now. He was going to punish her!

Praeth released a low chuckle, it was a sympathetic one that almost said outright, 'Nothing more was expected, do not feel shame'. Watching her eyes widen with fear, an extremely faint ecstatic wrenching feeling formed in the bottom of Praeth's stomach but he only showed a slight nod before rewarding Ara's effort with a more prominent smile, it could be considered a faint smile for most, but it almost seemed like Praeth's facial features had reached their maximum capacity for expression.

"I am familiar with Gemminite's level of power, comparitively, I am very much pleased with your level of potential. On the other hand, it seems your mastery of your power is...poor, even at this age. Of course, I will take part in aiding your training from now on. To make things clear, I want the three of you to be able to use your elements to protect yourselves. Physically, none of you will be able to match a Drakken, it is a mere truth, but you might just be able to take one by surprise with a certain level of expertise."

She could feel her legs turning to jello again at the sound of his voice. His faint smile was enough to cause her to fall to the ground in a heap of weak Gemminite. At first, his words sent her heart skyrocketing but as he continued, she felt her heart drop. Her mastery was... poor? Her eyes went wide as he continued, however.

H-He's going t-to train me?!

She could feel her heart leaping out of her chest. She hadn't been this happy in a very, very long time. Most people just gave up on her the moment they saw her level of mastery...

Praeth began to digress, but it almost seemed like it pained him to be dishonest, pulling his direct attention from Araxie and focusing on the three of them,

"I will explain my current position to the three of you as to avoid blindsiding you all later. The attendent that selected you all, he is my one and only subordinate- don't be fooled, I am not lacking in capital wealth- but the entire Drakken country abhorres my very existence as of now. In turn, I have enlisted the tradition of brides to solidify my power, thus you must never forget your position and be cautious in everything you do. As the three of you are the foundation of my current standing, many people will target you all when they realize they cannot target me."

He had suddenly become extremely straightforward and serious, as if the situation was dire, but he intended to fully imply the danger they were in. Looking back to Araxie, Praeth returned to his earlier face with the slight raising of the lips that seemed more like an apologetic one,
"So, I'm afraid even if you have skirted your training in your element until now, I will ask that you work hard to strengthen your elemental technique."
Although he had said 'ask' , it was obvious that he left little room for objection or slacking.

Ara watched him and hung onto every word. This man was going to kill her just by setting her heart ablaze. "Y-You'll really train me?" She asked, still sitting on the floor with her legs set out on either side. Her eyes sparkled with life and her lips curled into an excited smile. The smile soon faded as she realized something, however. She... She wouldn't be of much use to him... She was a failure as a gem and she'd be a failure to him.

The happiness in her face melted away to reveal a sad and fearful one which soon melted into a fierce expression of determination.
"I'll do my best, sir. Please... I'll do my best!" She shouted, pushing herself up off the floor.

Praeth watched her plethora of expressions, despite all his strength and skills, he envied her wide range of emotions. Perhaps if one could laugh from the stomach, red faced; but also, cry with the most frantic of sobs, one could live a truly fulfilling life. There was a light behind the girl's eyes that had been long absent from Praeth's, perhaps he envied that the most. He felt his stomach swell with something close to admiration, the three girls infront of him were all laughably weak compared to him, small and fragile. Yet, despite their hardship, they never cast aside something that Praeth was desperately missing. Following Araxie's words, Praeth, for a moment, perhaps less than a fraction of a second, flashed an expression of vexation as if he was intensely preplexed, but the moment quickly passed and Praeth collected himself with a low laugh.

"I like the attitude! I look forward to our training... now... that leaves us.."

Praeth looked to his final bride, he had neglected her up until now, but she could feel his gaze appraising her as he had done the others.

"Apologies for the wait, my dear. I suppose it is now your time to shine."

As Amaryllis spoke Zakroti stared back towards her, glaring back into her eyes with the same icy stare that his grandfather had given him just minutes before, his eyes locked on to hers and unmoving though set with a certain authoritative fire. His face was emotionless, conveying neither anger nor displeasure but instead a rather blank look. For a moment it looked almost as if he wasn't paying Miry any attention, but this would be disproven when he broke contact suddenly, snapping his eyes to Miry and running them up and down her at the very mention of her surname.

"Cassiel you say? I know that name. Your sister decided it would be a wise plan to shoot a bow at my cousin." Zakroti let a small smile creep across his face as he spoke, his eyes slightly hinting at a form of nostalgia as he reminisced about the moment an arrow flew past the convey of lords. It had been a glorious moment as the heavily armoured figures a foot taller than him cowered for cover in the face of a girl with a bow. Hilarious, in hindsight, though he supposed at the time none of them really had anyway to tell it wasn't truly an ambush; He vividly remembered thinking for a moment on that day that perhaps a Gem Lord had finally gathered his spirits. "Yes, that amused me to no end..." He trailed off slowly...

Zakroti cleared his throat as he snapped back to the present and paused as he looked over the small girl in front of him, the same thin smile still stuck to his face as he did. She certainly did not have the same determination around her as he sister did. He had seen the bowwomans name being taken after the fact and had heard rumours that the lords were planning on taking her sister as revenge though he had assumed the pair would have been somewhat similar. Apparently not. Now the plot made even more sense. "But you, you lack her... Disposition it seems. Do calm yourself, Aymiria, you needn't be so fearful, I won't harm you without reason." He noted her tearful appearance and paused again. If she had been brought here, then hwr sister almost certainly had been brought here as well. Perhaps the siblings parting of ways had done such? He approached the cloak he had just discarded, rummaging through it until he found a small piece of neatly cut cloth, placing it into her hands "Here. Dry your tears. Take a moment if you must."

Zakroti took a step back away from Aymiria before continuing "Aymiria and Amaryllis; Fine names for fine girls. Do you have a contraction or nickname you would prefer?" He inquired, making sure to watch Amaryllis as he said the words 'fine girls', gouging her reaction with a wry smile on his face before alternating his gaze between the pair once again and speaking "I am Zakroti of Unalim, I am apparently to be your husband and believe me I do not much care for this situation anymore than the pair of you, though I acknowledge I have the somewhat less raw side of the deal I can confirm that it is still rather rotten over here. Not that I wish to imply the pair of you are not satisfying, you shall serve your purposes nicely I am certain, merely that I see this practice as a terrible waste of my time really. Unfortunately, orders are orders and so both sides of this equation must learn to live with it. There are two positions you may take in this scenario; You can be my wives or you can be my concubines and I assure you the first position is a far more desirable and comfortable one than the latter." Zakroti stared directly at Amaryllis as he finished his sentence, making it quite clear exactly who he was directing that little part of his speech to.

The carrot and the stick were wonderful tools when it came to convincing people to do as they were told, though he had a rather irritating feeling that Amaryllis would be resistant to it until he managed to find what it was she cared for and what irked her. He furrowed his brow slightly, considering his next words carefully before speaking. He did not want to give anything away but to instead leave it as ambiguous as possible; Wording was important. "By this I mean; If you are good to me I shall be good to you. If you are bad to me, well, expect only negativity in response. A fair enough state of affairs, I would say, yes?"

Zakroti strode past the two girls, heading towards the far side of the room and taking a silver pitcher from the table. He glanced down into it with a small grunt, noting it's contents and swirling it around quickly. There was the distinctive clunk as the ice cubes collided with the silver of the pitcher. Zakroti exhaled softly and poured three drinks, one for himself and one for each of the girls. Then, he placed each of the glasses on to the platter at sat beside the pitcher and took a moment to examine it and its ornate markings, just another sign that no expense had been sparred in the Shadow Wroth. His thoughts went back to the first time this place would have been used for this peace ritual, back when it must have seemed alien rather than an immutable fact of life. Did it look like this then? Or had this only been done later with the express purpose of placating later Drakken Lords? He made a mental note to look for a book on the subject in his library upon returning home

Finally, he lifted the ornate silver platter from the table and rested it in his right hand. Quickly, he turned to the two girls and broight it over to them, motioning to the glasses with his free hand "A drink, if you desire it. Do not be worried, it is merely water. I am not trying to poison you." He held the tray out towards them to offer the glasses to them, glancing to the liquid with a small frown, though it was hard to discern whether he was disappointed with the contents of the glasses or with something else entirely.

"Which does remind me, actually, to ask what elements would be? In fact, share a little about yourselves. The trails will freeze over in the midnight chill so we shall not return home till the next morn, and as three of us are in metaphorical binds now, thanks in no small part to this silly peace agreement and my grandfathers insatiable lust for familial prestige, we may as well become acquainted." He gave another weak smile as he said that, glancing to the door as if expecting someone to come through, frowning slightly when they didn't and returning his attention to the two brides.

"State your intentions, stranger!"

Well this was just plain odd. The same two pikemen who had been guarding the entrance the entire night without incident finally ran out of luck. Before them, clad in muddy cloaks, were two men who just didn't appear to be getting up to any good. Both of their faces were shrouded by the darkness and their hoods, leaving only two empty grins visible to the guardsmen. One shared a look with the other, questions darting between them despite the silence as each shifted uncomfortably.

"If you don't leave then I'll have to run you through." The braver of the two suddenly piped up, turning his sharpened pike on the first of the men, a relatively small fellow compared to the hulking giant beside him. The poor man thought he was poking his pike at the least dangerous of the two. As the tip of his pike poked at the chest of the stranger, the man's grin suddenly dropped as he lifted his hand to his chin, silently rubbing the thin layer of stubble there as if he was contemplating his own existence. The bigger man let out a gruff sigh before taking a slow step backwards. Their breath frosted, dancing in the chill-burdened wind. Leather cracked, bending and breaking as the guard tightened his grip on the weapon in his hands. "I said, state your intentions!" He barked, the whites of his eyes visible from underneath his helmet. The one whom he had his pike pointed at suddenly turned to his companion and gave him a... thumbs up?

The world blinked and the Bloody Prince lashed out. It must have been magic because no blade could ever leap from its scabbard, chop off some poor bloke's hand then return home in the blink of an eye. The clatter of his pike hitting the ground was muffled by the thin layer of snow that quickly ran red as blood splattered out onto its white expanse. The guardsmen could barely even respond as the grin returned, this time bearing some excitement in it.

"You'll probably want to get that looked at, my dear friend! Ah fuck it, I like to think I'm merciful! Yax, hand me that linen cloth thing!" The voice was surprisingly cheery as the bigger man handed the smaller one a roll of white linen. The other guard was too confused to even move as the small man leaned forward, casually wrapping a bandage around where his partner's hand used to be. All along, the smaller man seemed to hum happily to himself before he tied the entire bandage together. Of course, it was a shit bandage and blood dripped through nonetheless.

Strangely, the smaller man pulled his blade out briefly before letting out an exasperated sigh and turning to the giant. "Yax! I thought I told you to clean my blade! There's muck and blood all over it! This poor fellow is probably well fucked now!" The guardsman finally remembered his situation and released a howl of pure agony as he gripped his hand. "Oh great Yax, and now he's crying! We're going to have a very staunch conversation about this afterwards!" The situation was too surreal to even be processed properly. The other guard's eyes were filled with sheer terror as he looked between the two, his pike not moving whatsoever.

"Yax do good?" The bigger man asked, no sign of guilt present in his voice whatsoever as he stared at the smaller man, scratching the back of his head experimentally.

"No Yax! You did very bad! This poor fellow will probably have to get his arm off now! You know how bad getting your arm off is? Well, it's a lot fucking worse than losing your hand, I'll tell you that! Now come along; we wouldn't want to leave my pretty new wife alone! I heard that bastard Edoric was at this and if he's not hanging from the chandelier then he'll be stealing my pretty, little Gem!" Although there was some disapproval in his voice, the man seemed to pass by the screaming guard without much care as his bigger companion trailed after him, lumbering like he was originally some great oak yanked from the ground. The sound of screams followed them as they pushed the heavy doors open and entered the warm embrace of the castle.

"You better watch where you step in here, Yax. I hear rats don't like it when you stamp on their tails." He announced rather loudly as he sauntered down the hallway, his hood still covering his head. After a brief moment, he began to hum a merry tune, only serving to anger those present even more. Despite the angry looks, none seemed to bother him as he made his way into the larger ballroom.

"Well I'll be damned! Yax! The Scream Taker has finally decided that he's going to make some little Gem the happiest girl in the world! By Sorrak's balls; he's taking two!? Did someone hit the old bastard while he was away making war?" Chuckling, the hooded fellow elbowed his stocky companion in the stomach which seemed to do literally nothing. "Better watch yourself around him! He's even more dangerous than no eyes and his little treat of a sister! Oh~ The things I would do if I could get between those legs! What am I talking about? I have a Gem waiting for me! Ever been to a Geminite orgy before, Yax...?"

And thus, their merry conversation continued before the cloaked individual finally found his man who was very closely guarding a silver-haired beauty. The guard seemed to be the double of good ol' Yax. The reasoning? They were twins of course! Like the first time he had met them, their leader briefly questioned what great creature birthed those two behemoths one after the other and if she ever lived to tell the tale. Probably not. Anyways! Gem!

Clapping his hands together in excitement, the estranged man fixed her with a long stare which was mostly hidden by his hood. In the light of the ballroom, it was exceedingly clear that it wasn't just muck that adorned his cloak - a more scarlet coloured stain covered the bottom of it. Approaching the young Geminite, his previous comedy dropped into the void; that's what terrified people about him. He could laugh with you one moment and rip out your spine in the next. Like Yax's single brain cell, the strange man's moods came and went indiscriminately.

He circled her like she was some dying creature that it was momentarily cautious of. When he realised she wouldn't bite, he moved in for the kill. "Well aren't you just delectable." He whispered, his voice dropping to a low and lusty growl. His hands settled on her hips as he took a step closer, pressing his chest up against her back. His hands roamed upwards, following the natural curvature of her body, going where they were mostly unwelcome. Finally, one settled around her stomach, dragging her back against him as the other gently stroked the hair away from her ear. Leaning in, his hot breath found her throat and danced momentarily, almost as if it was deciding whether to lash forward and end her there and then or simply feast on her subtle flesh. Instead, it continued upwards, closing in on her exposed ear. "I would take you here and now if it weren't for our audience." He promised her, his words brutally etched upon his quickened breath.

Almost as a mark of control, his sharpened fangs suddenly cut into the tip of her ear, breaking her perfect skin and drawing a thin sliver of blood which he quickly extracted. Letting the delicious taste of iron fill his senses, he casually smiled. "A little water Gem? Well isn't that just... captivating. You will do wonderfully! Your name, my sweet?"

---

The rock of the carriage suddenly woke Talli from her slumber as her eyes flew open, inspecting her surroundings before making a move. She was alone in the back of the locked carriage. She already knew there was no chance of escape now but she didn't want to escape - everything that lay behind her was meaningless now. She had a job to do and she was going to do it, even if it killed her, which it undoubtedly would.

Letting her eyes fade closed, Atallia inhaled a deep breath, holding it in her lungs before releasing it as she pictured everything from her old life. Her home, her village, the little field next to them. She pictured every last one of them in her mind then she burned them to ashes, spreading the dust of their attachment to the four winds. She had no choice; the Drakkens would bury her home in blood and fire if she and her sisters failed. There was a war coming - although she was a child of fire, she could hear the fires from the deep earth crying out. The Drakken grew impatient with the Geminites and they would simply take what was not given. Or destroy. Either worked.

Surprisingly, she kept mostly tame as she was escorted down from her carriage by two guards. One accidentally tripped and fell into his armoured comrade which caused a series of arguments between the two as Talli padded along behind them, smiling smugly. The Drakken were big but their brains weren't exactly the biggest.

Eventually, she was led directly to a side room which just seemed to confuse her as the majority of the other Gems she spotted had been led into a much larger room. Nevertheless, she wasn't alone in this private room as another Gem already stood waiting for whoever had claimed them. Briefly, Talli examined her, taking note of everything. Although it wasn't outwardly obvious, she could feel the fire flowing through the girl's veins which only seemed to calm her even further - she had an ally. The other Gem looked older and much taller than her as well. That was good though; she'd be perceived as the threat and their so-called husband would drop his defences so that Atallia could break the bastard. A classic diversion tactic.

The man that came through the door, however, was the last thing she expected. Atallia generally hated most of the horned bastards but whoever this man was, he was not something that inspired a great deal of fear so Talli found herself lacking in the hate department. Of course, he gave her all the fuel she needed for that department when he handed a collar and a knife each to the both of them. Did the bastard think that she would willingly put on a collar like she was nothing more than an animal?

It seemed that her companion had the same idea as her as she began to cut it up. Talli chose to be a little more flashy as she extended her hand with the collar in it and fixed the estranged man with a bored raise of her eyebrow. Suddenly, the collar sprouted into a whistling flame and was consumed in mere seconds before the fire disappeared, leaving naught but ash which she subsequently blew in his general direction.

She had no idea what to do with the knife but she imagined it would be useful so she kept it in her other hand and held tight, fixing him with a hateful gaze. If he wished to play games with them, then she would be more than willing to play along and destroy him in the process.

A smile cracked on to the unstable Drakken's face. He got up slowly and trotted around the room like a regal general before his men and hummed a tune. It was some tune he heard from a philosopher from some time ago. He didn't know his name but he knew that he had good food and an easy kill for some more influence on his end.

Chuckling as he made his way behind the two Gemmites, sensing tinges of fear and nervous from them in the tiniest amounts, the leaned down and picked up the remains of the collars, "So this is how you treat my precious gift to you. Throw them away and forget them."

In a sudden, violent outburst, both his hands shot out as fast as thunder at the womens' face, clutching them with a tight grip, using his magic to steal the air out of their lungs just enough so they would drop their daggers, "Shame, I paid good money for those decorations. But don't worry, I'll give you two a gift you won't be forget for a very, very long time."

Edoric's voice grew a nasty, psychotic edge towards the end of his words, soon signaling a small detachment of his own men who had been used as temporary guards for the Reaping. With strong, gruff arms, they picked up the smaller girls with ease and pinned them to the floor. A simple snap from their commander and they tore off the backs of the girls' dresses, revealing their pretty backs to Edoric who was now walking around them, looking down at them with the daggers he present to them in hand.

"I know that all Drakkens have methods of- hmm? What is this? Are those weapons you are concealing?" Edoric began but took note of the knife that was originally hidden behind one the girl's neck, "I'm afraid that will be no good love, its dangerous for novices to be playing around with sharp objects. Strip her."

With a nod, Edoric's men ripped off the rest of the girl's dress, revealing several more daggers hidden underneath her dress (or what little is left). Plucking away the knives, he waved them around a little before throwing them aside which another guard picked up, "Well then, I guess you'll be the first one then. If you don't squirm too much I'll consider giving you some clothes to walk out of here with." Leaning down, he pressed the tip of her former dagger just deep enough into her to draw a trickle of blood, "Don't move, you might hurt yourself."

With her screams of pain echoing the the room, Edoric carved his family seal on to her exposed back (albeit it a simplified version) before poking out the letters "EN" at the bottom of it. By the time he was done, it seemed like that the poor thing had been whipped by an especially evil torturer, not that Edoric had a lack of experience in that role. Pressing his thumb against the fresh cuts until he had a suitable amount of blood on his fingers, he smeared his thumb onto the hilt of the dagger and threw it into the ground next to her head.

"That is the first one done, I should have been an artist, don't you think boys?" Edoric turned to his men who returned a chuckled as their commander squatted down over the second girl and smiled, "I forgot to introduce you to these kind gentlemen. They are my unit, my Black Orchestra. We create beautiful music of death in war, but we enjoy other music. Like the "music" your friend just gave us." Edoric paused as he twirled the second knife in his bloodied hand and his men tightened their grips, "So, please allow us to indulging in your own cries of pain. Don't worry, soon you won't feel a thing. You might even enjoy it."

The psychotic Drakken once again allowed the dagger to dance along the second girl's back, slicing out a new seal with the initials "EN" at the bottom. Edoric once again pressed a clean thumb against the fresh wounds, indulging the the cries of pain before smearing more blood on the second dagger, landing it next to her ear.

As he washed his hands in a basin, he gave another whistle and his men propped both of the girls up and held them in midair. Wether by their own wish or some hidden order, one of the other guards came over and ripped off the second girl's dress, allowing both Edoric and his men to revel in the sight of two perfect Gems. It was only fair that they both were nude if one already was, wasn't it?

Slowly walking over to the two hanging beauties, he gave a gentle, mocking clap, congratulating the two on making it this far. He circled them several times, looking into their eyes and smiling. This was no where as cruel as what his older brother did to his third wife, but Edoric still enjoyed it thoroughly. Out of no where, a fist was planted in both the girl's stomachs in quick succession, the source was Edoric himself no doubt as he fastened new collars to their necks brought out by another guard.

"I guess I've forgotten the most important part of this whole shebang, your names. Silly me! I must have forgot from all the fun I was having!", lowering himself to their eye levels, he smiled into both of their pained faces, "If you've wondering what about the game, don't worry, this is only level one."

Somehow, silver eyes with bright pink and blue facets managed to look dully over the ornate hall of Shadow Worth as their owner stood, waiting with a creature with all the size and intellectual capabilities of a sperm whale. This mountain of a Drakken had snatched her almost immediately after her arrival and now guarded his charge from even the slightest attention from any other in the room.

The ride from Lienna’s village in the far north had been long and laborious, but as the long journey required earlier leaving time, she had been one of the first Gems to arrive. Like the other early arrivals, she had been whisked off to a private dressing room, stripped out of her fur-lined coat, boots and trousers and treated to a fragrant bath and a new dress. It was simple, really; sheer white lace with a chocolate brown sash and seaglass jewelry to finish it off. It was the first time she’d ever worn a dress, the first time she’d had her legs shaven (an attendant had needed to help her) and the first time she’d ever smelled like flowers (the best she’d had at home were evergreens and seawater). In fact, the only thing that had really remained the same was the ivory owl her mother had given to her, nestled in the bosom of her dress.

She had watched the room steadily flux with attendants; a new ‘shipment’ of sniffling Gems followed by another crowd of hungry Drakken, who would whisk their choices away and restart the cycle. And all the while, Lienna stood watching, like a rock amidst the tide.

She’d done her crying in the carriage. Her lamentation? Long before the dress was on. She saw no point in fretting now, for fighting a riptide would only serve to drown her. She knew from the horror stories that circled the country what she was in for, and while it frightened her, she had made peace with the fact that there was nothing she could do. So, instead of shivering and working herself up over her predicament, she closed her eyes and let the new, soothing smell of her hair calm her.

The strategy must have been working, for by the time the room erupted in one Drakken’s echoing jibes, Lienna was calm. In fact, she almost could have smirked if the jokes she heard weren’t so vile. Should it have surprised her when the very laughing Drakken approached her with a guard that matched her own, clapping and grinning under his hood?

He circled her like a prowling fox, waiting for its prey to falter. He must have made three circles around her by the time he approached her from behind.

”Well aren’t you just delectable.” It was as if he had traded his voice for another, and the carnal tone it carried sent a tremor down Lienna’s spine.

A huge, yet somehow slender hand encircled her waist, followed by another. They made their way over every curve of her body, sending shivers through her flesh and causing her heartbeat to quicken. Lienna could have sworn the now-silent and deadly serious Drakken could smell her blood, feel it pulsing under her skin. It was hard not to feel strangely desired as the man’s hands took in her form, hard to quell the butterflies in her stomach as they travelled to more forbidden places. It was hard to tell if her reactions were of fear or, dare she even think, excitement. Lienna decided upon messy portions of both, but hoped she would be able to somehow resign herself to the latter. Strange as it may seem, why on earth would she want to make things harder on herself than they already were?

Finally, one of those deft hands settled over her stomach, the other moving to clear her hair from one side of her neck. She could feel the unbridled strength in the man’s arms as he pulled her into himself, pulling her slightly up with his towering height. She felt his breath on her skin, bearing an impossible heat that brought a flush to her cheeks. He seemed to pause over the flesh of her throat, and for a moment Lienna thought he was going to bite her. Soon enough though, his mouth moved upward, settling by her ear.

"I would take you here and now if it weren't for our audience.” His words, which with freely borne lust, sounded far more like a threat (or perhaps a vow?) than a passing sentiment.

Lienna jumped as the Drakken’s sharp teeth unexpectedly cut into her ear, and her breathing grew heavy as he suckled the blood from it, her heart quickening as if trying to compensate. She could sense his desire like a thick cloud around him, and it only served to stir a fluttering warmth in her gut and a tingle in her skin. The Drakken paused, savouring, and Lienna noted that this was by far the most intense situation she’d ever experienced. She honestly didn’t know what to make of it.

After a moment, the Drakken purred, "A little water Gem? Well isn't that just... captivating. You will do wonderfully! Your name, my sweet?”

Her chest rose and fell with rattling breath as his words sunk in. But, without any real hesitation, she cooed, “Liena Orhhneaht, if it please you my lord.” Her voice was silk and savoury, coloured by an accent that licked at the edges of her words. “…And your senses are sharp, for I am a daughter of Naia.”

One of her hands found the back of his much larger one across her belly, the other darting to her chest. It lingered long enough to touch the idol resting there before sliding up to cover his other. Moving gently against his grasp, she turned to try and meet her countershaded eyes with his concealed ones, and brought half a grin to her lips. “And by what name may I have the pleasure of calling you?"

@NarcissisticPotato

The small one was full of hate and resentment, which he was expecting. He knew that most did not wish to be here and they let their discontent known to all those that would listen, and unfortunately for him, he had to listen. But he did notice that the small one reached for her neck and lightly stroked her fingers over something under her clothes. It was something that she didn't wish to be known or why else would she hide it?

Krone's eyes were brought back up to her eyes when she spoke. He slowly lifted an eyebrow at her words, but he did not say anything to her. His black eyes stared back at hers, like endless pits were his eyes. It was rumoured that if any stared into his eyes for too long would lose their soul. That was a simple rumours but his eyes did hold an iciness that made many uncomfortable to be around him for too long. His gaze was only taken off the little Gem when the other quickly spoke up and told her name and said how honored she was. But he knew that she was scared, but if she wasn't then she was surely upset with big here. She was simply trying to play it so that his wrath wouldn't be on her. They were already playing against each other and they didn't even realize it yet.

The smallest of smirks came to Krone's lips, if you can even call it a smirk. "Politeness will be rewarded, but I am afraid little one that you will find that I do not tolerate such behavior that you have shown me." He said in a calm voice that held a cold and threatening edge. He hooked his finger under her chin to bring her chin up a little higher. As he did so he made a quick flick and brought up the thing that was hanging from her neck. Pulling the simple chain it came off her neck easily. He eyed the necklace and the ring that dangled from it.

This time a cold smile did actually spread across his lips as he looked at the ring. It was simple and small, but it was that held a promise. No wonder the little one was being stubborn. Taking the ring off the chain he turned to Kalani and gently took her hand and placed the ring on her ring finger, he then gently kissed her hand before dropping it and looking at both of the girls.
"Now if you, Kalani, give that ring back to her, both of you will be flogged. If you, little one, steal the ring both of you will be flogged." He paused to let what he just said sink in. "It must be horrible to have something so close but yet so far.... I can't wait to see how this plays out, to see if you are selfish enough to cause another of your people pain all for a keep sake. I tell you know, little one, who ever gave you that ring will never see you again. And if they do see you it will only be before my axe falls on their necks. He said calmly and with little emotion as he looked at the girls.

It was after that, that he heard the voice slightly the same as the Kings. He turned slightly to see the young prince, he bowed his head slightly to the prince even though he mocked him. Even though the prince was an ass, didn't mean you didn't show some respect.

"Follow me." He said as he silently turned on his heels and began to go up a steep flight of stairs. He took them down a few halls until they came to his assigned chamber, which so happened to be the one his father always got. In truth it was a little weird for him to be using the same room that his father used to deflower his new brides. The chamber was impressive though, with a large fire place a huge bed with its frame made of dark ironwood finely carved.

Taking a seat infront of the large fire place that was lit, he motioned for his two knew brides to sit. There was no where for them to run or hide as he had guards outside the door and the didn't exactly have many places to hide or stay out of sight in. "Now I am Krone, you may call me such or master. But nothing else.... Now tell me about yourself, what are your elements. And little one, there is still time to get in my good graces if you give me your name." He said as he leaned back in his chair and eyed the two girls, his new brides.

---

Raya had been quiet and still the entire journey to Shadow Worth. She did not move when they stopped the few times to let her out to stretch her legs and do anything else. But she wouldn't move and wouldn't talk even when the Drakken threatened her. They finally gave up and just drove on to the infamous fortress of Shadow Worth.

Upon reaching the fortress they took her to get cleaned up and to make her look decent for her knew husband. Though she wouldn't have called the Drakken Lord a husband merely a slave master that wished to have children by her. She knew her roll in Drakken society, she was nothing but a trophy and a baby maker. She didn't wish to be that, but she didn't have a choice as they would kill her family and take her sisters and sell them. Like actually sell them, not like this as this was peace keeping. No they would be taken to Drakka and sold as slaves and any children born of them would be killed as they would be lower than the dirt.

So she was stuck here. Once making her look as pretty as they could, they ushered out to a large hall that was the biggest thing that she was ever seen. She watched as the girls around her began to be taken away, not by the Lord's themselves but their men. Raya hoped that she wouldn't be picked,but her hopes were dashed when she saw a female Drakken on the arm of a male Drakken eye her. He motioned to the guards to grab her.

Raya nearly snarled when the guards went to grab her arms. She struggled to get out of their grasp, which made them think she was trying to get away but she just really didn't want them to touch her. She wasn't going to be their bride after all. Once she was in front of the Drakken Lord he reached out and touched her face. That was when she noticed the odd thing covering his eyes. By the Great Mother! He is blind! I am going to a blind Drakken! She thought as she watched her new master. When his hand reached her hip he smiled, though it wasn't kind. It betrayed what he thought and what he wished to do. She closed her eyes when he reached up to touch her face again, only this time he touched the part of her head that had the braids.

"Raya.... My name is Raya, my Lord." She said softly after he made a comment about wanting another bride along with her. So she wasn't to be alone, but she had to wonder how a blind Drakken was going to handle two Gem girls.

---

In truth Tirza was happy to be away with the orphanage, she was about to be kicked out anyway and she would of had no were to go. She had no parents and her wildness kept most from adopting her, not to mention the story of her mother kept people from wanting her. No one wanted a child born out of wedlock and to a woman who was said to be a homewrecker. There was a belief that such children will being such misfortunes.

So to be taken away from Gemminia where no one wanted her, to a place where she would be at least wanted for something was actually a step forward. She knew she was only wanted as a trophy and someone to carry the family line, but she rather be those things than dirt.

The trip to Shadow Worth was surprisingly short, well for her anyway. It seemed the Gemminites liked to keep their orphanages close to the border, since yeah, might as well take the girls that have no family. Once in the fortress they took her to get ready. She smirked at the Drakken guards when she came out of the bathing room. She was dressed in a long flowing maroon skirt that clung to her hips and a cropped top that pushed up her assets. She could feel their eyes on her and she didn't care, she welcomed it.

She was picked and taken to room with two other Gem girls. Both looked scared out of their wits, push overs really. Great her bride sisters wimps and she was going to have to make sure that they didn't be complete push overs. She was suddenly pulled out of her thinking when a large Drakken walked in. He looked rather scary in his armor, but she was intrigued at least.

Praeth was the name of her husband and he eyed them all slowly before going to the two shy and scared Gems. Nadia and Araxie, so that was their names. One refused to show off her element out of fear and the other was weak in that department. Nadia seemed to be out right scared and willing to do anything he said, and Araxie seemed like she loved Praeth the instant she saw him. Sure he had an interesting voice and was attractive for a Horn head, but she felt like the Ara was going fan girl or something along those lines.

Tirza looked away and was no longer paying much attention to the others as she looked over the room. Her attention was brought back when Praeth apologized for making her wait, though she was sure he wasn't really sorry.

"I guess it is...... My name is Tirza and my element is Air." She said in an almost boring tone and giving a look to match. "I must say my Lord, you really got it real easy with those two. I'm not too difficult, though my people would say otherwise...... But I guess you will find out if I'm trouble or not." She said as she gave a sultry smile, goddess she was a confusing person.

Torin Hellsong

Raya T'mivus Kasari Liesma

Up until this point Torin's head had not moved from the aloof position that gave him the appearance of looking past you, or Raya's case, over the top of her head. It was a funny thing about sightless people, and it gave the Drakken a certain austerity. Now, however, he stooped low enough that the tip of his nose brushed the Gem girl's hairline, and breathed in deeply. "Let her go," he said to the guards holding her, "She won't run." The ring of certainty in his voice was unnerving. The guards obeyed, freeing Raya's arms and stepping back a few paces, which apparently wasn't far enough because Torin raised his hand in a dismissive gesture and they retreated to their posts.

"Don't be so surprised, Raya," his voice was calm, almost reassuring, and as he straightened once more he took her hands with both of his, tracing her palms with his thumbs, then turning them over and gently squeezing her knuckles. "You're an Earth Gem, aren't you." It wasn't a question. "You spend a lot of time outdoors, in the woods, there's still a bit of tree sap between your fingers. Frasier. And-- tsk-tsk, what's this? Untrimmed fingernails? Well, you'll learn to take better care of yourself I'm sure. These are some strong hands, you must have brothers."

The way he used the present-tense was intentional. Torin was considering the aspects and possible aspects of Raya's disposition. He could simply beat her into submission if she chose to defy him, and while that might work just fine, someone accustomed to the freedom of the wilderness would only resent him, and that resentment would be stored away inside until she reached her limit and tried to kill him or herself. It was all speculation and perhaps a bit extreme, but Torin would prefer it if his wives did not hate him. What was the proverb, a house divided will surely fall? It was just such division that tore the Hellsong clan apart, and he could only hope to scavenge what was left over. Torin had spent far too much time with Tyrai to underestimate a woman's capacity to be coerced. He would persuade her to cooperate rather than act with the fierce brutality that was so common amongst the Drakken. A short-term effort that could save him a lifetime of trouble. However, he would not be lax if discipline was called for.

He waited a moment in case Raya wanted to say anything further before he turned to the other girl. He waved away her captors as he had Raya's and, as before, he put his hand on her face. He knew even as his fingers graced her forehead that her element was Fire. There was a familiar warmth radiating from her flesh that pleased him. Even before he finished evaluating her features he had decided that she'd make an excellent mother to his children, and that together they would beget many flame-wielding Drakken. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he took note of how straight she stood, even in the face of uncertainty, and judged her to have a lot of spirit. If he was kind to her, she would most likely not be difficult.

"Hmmmm." As with Raya, he bent to take in the girl's scent, which was like a heady woodsmoke perfume. "And what would your name be, little fire mistress?"

Astaelin Cassiel

Her lungs felt like they were on fire, and darkness tried to fill her mind, but she fought back, fighting to keep a hold of her knife. The Drakken won, of course, and finally the dagger fell from her hand. He kept her without air for another few moments, then allowed her to take a breath into her aching lungs.

As she was stripped, she felt a slight rush of shame, then anger as her prized daggers were taken from her. “I am NOT a novice, and I’ll show you that!” she said angrily, lunging for the Drakken and trying to get her knives. The move was strong enough that it somewhat surprised one of her restrainers, who had relaxed his grip, and she wrenched her arm from his hold and nearly got to her knives before the massive guard grabbed her again, pulling cruelly on her arm and forcing her down to the floor.

The dagger bit cruelly into her back, sending lightning bolts of pain through her body, but she didn’t scream, not until the Drakken twisted the knife. Then she lost control of herself, yielding her screams for the Drakken’s sadistic pleasure.

Hearing the other girl screaming was worse than experiencing the torture herself. She cringed internally, but kept her face blank.

After they had finally been lifted into the air and collared, Asta made eye contact, her pale violet eyes seeming to smolder with her hatred.

“I don’t tell my name to monsters, Drakken. I am not afraid of you, nor what you can do to me. I despise you, but I do not fear you.” She let a rush of heat into the collar around her neck, even though it somewhat burned her even as she incinerated it. “I will never submit to you.”

She lashed out with her power, intending to set the Drakken on fire, though it was probably suicide. She had one thing that the Drakken could never take away from her: Hope.
~~
“Well. Boys, I hate to bring this subject up, but they’re not going to be happy with this attack. They’ll probably drag me, and Miry too, up to Shadow Worth and give us to some horny old man.” Asta said, grinning somewhat at the insult and innuendo. The young men around her grinned too, one of them playfully slapping her rear.

The five young rabble-rousers lounged in their hand-built clubhouse that had served as a base of operations since they had been little. It was conveniently near to the palace, hidden in the woods just off the main road. From the trees they could snipe anyone coming to it or from it, which was exactly their intention.

The table, which used to be covered in coloring pages and wooden swords, was now covered in maps and real knives and daggers and the remnants of an afternoon spent fletching arrows.

“Asta, we’ll come find you, if you get taken.” Iral said, black eyes snapping. He reached for a dagger, cleaning under his nails with it. “And no one’s going to harm your sister. We’ll gut them if they try.”

“There’s hell to pay for anyone messing with our Stars.” Idasu leaned across the table and gave Asta a one-armed hug. She giggled as she counted the daggers hidden on his person. She could feel thirteen, and that was just in a hug!

Ridel grinned at her. “Just give them hell, Asta. Give them hell, and don’t let them break you. We’ll come get you, and then we’ll storm Drakka together.”

Even stoic Sisur had to crack a smile at that, the five rather small Gems conquering all of Drakka. Confidence bolstered, they gathered their weapons.

“Together forever?” Asta asked, eyes snapping, as she buckled her armguards and adjusted her quiver.

“Until the end of time.”

---

Aymiria Cassiel

Miry flinched as the Drakken stepped closer to her, then looked up at him in surprise as he offered the handkerchief. She mumbled something unintelligible, that vaguely sounded like the words “thank you” and took the cloth, wincing as her hands brushed her new husband’s. ”S-s-sorry, s-sir….” she mumbled, wiping her eyes and trying to calm herself down.

”M-my f-f-friends call m-me Miry, i-if it p-please you, s-sir…” Miry looked down at the floor, not willing to look up at the man.

She took the glass of water, though she nearly dropped it because her hands were shaking so much, and nervously sipped, still expecting some terrible poison or something. Realistically, she knew the Drakken was being quite kind to her, that he perhaps wasn’t such a monster as she had been led to believe. He seemed fairly decent, in any case.

“what elements would you be? In fact, share a little about yourselves.”

“W-well… m-my element is a-air… I u-um…” Her voice trailed off; she was terribly uncertain. So long had she spent in her sister’s shadow that she’d somewhat ceased to have a personality of her own. She was always “the younger Cassiel” or “the shyer Cassiel” or “the less aggressive Cassiel” and never anything on her own.

“I g-guess… I pl-play f-flute but I’m n-not very… n-not v-v-very g-good at it…”

She fell silent, blushing and looking down, ashamed at herself for wasting their time with roundabout explanations.

---

When the necklace was taken from her she lunged for the drakken, blindly, just anything to get her precious ring back. She dimly saw him putting the ring on Kalani’s finger, through oddly blurry eyes—she was crying?!

“You bastard! Give me my ring back! Give it back!” she tried to jump at the man, but of course one of the guards still in the room caught her, twisting her arms up behind her back until she went limp.

”You behave yourself.” the guard spoke into her ear. Limply Kai nodded, and the guard let go of her in time for her to follow Krone.

I am Krone, you may call me such or master. But nothing else.... Now tell me about yourself, what are your elements. And little one, there is still time to get in my good graces if you give me your name."

She would say nothing. Realistically it was best for her to say something, but then, her sense of self-preservation had gone out the door the moment she’d seen Ridian knocked out cold on the ground, blood coming from where he’d hit his head.

“I won’t tell you a damn thing about me, Drakken bastard.” she spoke fiercely, even though she was afraid. She wouldn’t back down, wouldn’t submit. To submit was to be unfaithful, and she would sooner die than be unloyal to Ridian. She would see him again one day, whatever the Drakken said.

She stood, steadfast, as he stared right back at her. She could feel every fiber of her being yelling at her to break away, to run, to do something but she ignored the feeling. This wasn't a dream and it wouldn't go away. If she wanted to survive this with any sort of dignity, she'd have to steel her will. She would have to bury her heart, bury it deeper and deeper so that this bastard could not reach it.

She blinked when his gaze suddenly broke away to look at the other girl. Her eyes narrowed as she watched him speak with her. Shivers went down her spine at his smile, the likes of which would give small gem nightmares for months. She wanted to scream as he continued, telling the girl she wouldn't have to fear him.

No, fear him with all of your might, girl. Never let go of that fear, it will keep you safe and remind you that this is not a dream. She thought, both for herself and the girl who seemed to be the rather frail sort.

She steeled herself as he made his introductions to them, realizing she was now being addressed. He wanted to know her nickname? Fat chance. He'd gotten everything out of her he was going to get. Zakroti... A bastard name if ever there was one.

He doesn't care for this situation? Good, kill me and get it over with then. Then we can both live peacefully, correct? She thought to herself sourly, though she knew that wouldn't be so easy. From the looks of it, he wasn't going to kill her. But then again, maybe she might get lucky.

"There are two positions you may take in this scenario; You can be my wives or you can be my concubines and I assure you the first position is a far more desirable and comfortable one than the latter." He finished, staring at her once again with that same damned blank expression.

"By this I mean; If you are good to me I shall be good to you. If you are bad to me, well, expect only negativity in response. A fair enough state of affairs, I would say, yes?" He added.

A small smile crept onto Ama's lips as she watched him. "Utterly fair, your grace." She spoke, the words pooling from her mouth like honey as he walked away. If she left him alone, he would leave her alone, hm? Certainly seemed fair to her.

He returned with a platter with two glasses of water for each of them. Ama looked at the glass and then back at him. With a sweet smile, she took the glass with one hand. He wanted to know their elements? Hm... Well, the girl Miry might tell him hers.

She sighed, a heavy sigh, as the girl did exactly what he'd asked.

Come on Miry, have a backbone! Oh.. who am I kidding, she looks like she's 12.

As she listened to the girl talk, she could almost feel her body tensing up, getting irritated with her stutter. For Vivari's sake, just... spit it out!! Ama let out a frustrated sigh and looked up at the Drakken before her. Zakroti... Her eyes narrowed once more as she calculated her response. She didn't want to give him what he wanted but some part of her was stopping herself from throwing the water in his face. Instead, she slipped it behind her and let the cool water splash to the floor behind her feet, hitting her ankles gently.

"You seem like the smart type. Why don't you tell me, your grace?" She asked, her words tinged with hatred for this man. She wouldn't make things easy for him just like he wouldn't make things easy for her. She wasn't some horse to be broken and she certainly wasn't anything like this girl beside her. "What, pray tell, element am I? You already know my name. Perhaps from all of your learning you could certainly put two and two together!" She told him, giving him all the hint he could possibly need. After all, she was named for her element. If he was smart, he'd be able to put two and two together quite easily.

Zakroti gave a kind smile towards Miry as she spoke and nodded slowly "Well, while I realise that I am not going to be regarded as a friend, if you will let me I would be glad to call you Miry." His said with a nod, his voice more relaxed than the authoritative tone it had taken before

He took his own glass from the platter and laid the silverware platter on the set of chest of drawers next to him. He raised the glass carefully and placed the crystalline edge to his lip and tilting it upwards to drink the cold water, letting it run past his tongue and down his throat. Better, he thought to himself, at least my throat no longer feels like a desert.

He glanced towards Amaryllis as she spoke. He hated to admit to but he was beginning to rather enjoy her attitude. He found it more amusing than annoying, truth be told, though oddly he couldn't quite place why that was. With a slow nod, he turned his attention back towards Miry.

"Do not say that, I am sure you play beautifully, Miry. If you would, perhaps you would care to play for me at some point the future? I would very much like to hear what music you know from across the mountains." Zakroti kept a soft smile on his face as he spoke to her in an almost friendly voice. He looked down to the empty glass in his hand and glanced to the platter, but decided against putting it down.

Slowly, Zakroti turned towards Amaryllis. He kept the same soft smile on his face as he watched her pour the water down onto the floor behind her "Well, that's not quite what I had in mind when I offered you the glass but yes, I suppose the floor could do with a wash." He found himself unable to supress a smirk at her antics. He wasn't entirely sure on whether he wanted to break her, he would very well enjoy having someone around who wouldn't resign themselves to whatever order he gave, he had Miry for that it seemed... Though on the other hand, unpredictability could prove infuriating as well as amusing given the right circumstances.

He shook his head slowly. He'd leave that decision for another day. For now, he may as well enjoy her as she came.

"You wish me to guess? Very well. Let me first say that, when last I checked, the Amaryllis did not have thorns." His smile changed from being friendly to being wry and his head perked up slightly. There was a subtle change in his eyes as the pupils dilated slightly and his right brow cocked upwards in amusement. If there was one thing he enjoyed, it was having his mind stimulated, even if it was in such a minor way. He was glad of the challenge

"You, my dear, are as stubborn as that which you claim as your own. Good, determination shall serve you well, but you would also do well to remember that with a shovel dirt is drawn from the ground, wood gives way to the axe and with the right tools even the rocky roots of the world will crumble."

Zakroti paused for a moment in consideration and opened his mouth to speak, but thought better of the comment and closed it again. He would save that for another day.

"I would return the favour, Amaryllis, but I doubt you would play the game. If either of you cared, which I would understand if you didn't, I am of fire and earth." He approached the small table in the corner of the room once more and sat down on a wooden chair beside it. He reached across and grabbed the pitcher from the table, pouring himself another glass of water before carefully replacing the pitcher and holding the glass firmly in his right hand. He took a small sip before continuing.

"Now girls, there will be a gathering tonight here in the Wroth. Miry, I understand you will likely wish to take it to see your sister one last time. You may do so of course, but be careful not to slip from my sight; If my memory serves correctly the one who has your sister is called Edoric and from what I know of him I believe he would not hesitate to steal you away simply to butcher in front of Astaelin. I don't want to see that happen and I am willing to wager an entire castle that neither you nor your sister would like to see you gutted either." He grimaced slightly in consideration "Other than that I cut the pair of you lose to talk and to do whatever you please. Enjoy tonight, I am afraid to sat that after tonight you will not see many more Gems for a while."

Zakroti glanced to the small pool of water just behind Amaryllis heels and after a moment of consideration, took the cloth from the table and examined it for a moment. He shrugged slowly and balled it up, taking the pitcher and pouring the icy water on the small table cloth to damp it, tossing it to her and setting the now empty pitcher down onto the table "Well, as you have started the job I suppose you should finish it. Thank you for offering to clean it, I will ensure the staff know to thank you as we leave." He motioned to the chair opposite his the glass in his hand before drawing it back slowly "Miry, would you like a seat while Amaryllis finishes up? After this I will take you both down to the great hall to regroup with the others for the feast."

"I guess it is...... My name is Tirza and my element is Air. I must say my Lord, you really got it real easy with those two. I'm not too difficult, though my people would say otherwise...... But I guess you will find out if I'm trouble or not."
Praeth closely observed every movement and feature of Tirza, her face, her voice, her composure. He did not look closely due to need, but rather, out of curiosity as to who would accompany him for the next part of his life and onward.
"I see. She's bored, so bored, she is playing games with that...smile. Perhaps I have appeared far too lenient... or simply too boring. Well, I need her loyalty by the banquet as to be able to focus on other things. Seems she is the orphan that Averus wrote me about, perhaps in her eyes, her position now is preferable to being shunned by her own people. Humiliation and rejection is many times more painful than mere physical tortures perhaps. If that's the case, harsh discipline will be too slow. I suppose, at the least, I'll get her under the shadow of loyalty with something less savage...how problematic."
A quick train of thought ran through Praeth's head. It was a plethora of information processing that was instantaneous and an extremely direct line of thought. His features turned into an ever-so-slight smirk that exuded confidence, it had a domineering effect and it almost seemed like his eyes leered at Tirza.

"You are correct, compared to the other two, you seem to be slightly more troublesome. Are you, perhaps, bored?"

Before Tirza even had half a second to answer, Praeth's head appeared right beside her ear, his form almost in a kneeling position despite the fact that nobody had seen him actually move or tense a muscle for that matter. His broad back blocked the view of Tirza from the other 2 girls in the room. In a voice that resonated deeply throughout the entire room, yet minute enough that only Tirza could understand him, his manner of speech sped up slightly

"There is a banquet this evening in which the nobles showcase their prizes. To be frank, you are the only one I believe would misbehave at such an opportune time, thus I will give you this now as entertainment, should you misbehave, you will keep it for the night. Behave and I will release it from you, you lose the moment someone finds out what exactly you are using to entertain yourself. Be careful of the games you play."

Rather than threatening words, the tone of his voice was that more of a father admonishing his child halfheartedly. While he spoke, Tirza felt an undulating volume of water seeping in under her dress and crop-top. The thin, ever changing forms of water left no trail of water, yet they left the exquisite feeling of the element's smoothness running across the skin, as if they were skilled hands with an odd texture, they continuously moved under the cloth with the intention of sensual pleasure, yet not being prominent enough to leave any visible undulations in cloth or skin. It failed to provide any sort of release, but it was extremely obvious that the intention was to build carnal desire, and the speed at which it build for most was usually overwhelming. Preath played her game, but he played to overpower, he had no intention of finding out whether or not she was trouble at the banquet.

Just as quickly as he had bent forward, Praeth returned to his original stance with his hands behind his back as if nothing had happened. Looking at the three of them he took on an appearance of having just remembered something.
"Ah, just to make sure we're all on the same page, there will be a banquet with all the other nobles and brides. I expect all of you to behave at your utmost and be cautious of what you say. Drakken in general may be savages, but the nobles are fairly skilled in trickery, it is something I can barely keep a grasp on myself, thus, neutrality and caution is among the best policies."

Looking back to Tirza he smiled knowingly, meeting her eyes.

"It would be unfair to withhold the same chance I gave the other two, would you also like to reveal your magic to me?"

Praeth asked, he understood her distraction, but he treated her the same nonetheless. It seemed he was more enjoying the game he had set up for himself as well as watching Tirza's expression.

Amaryllis

Ama turned her sights to the girl next to her, such a small thing. Ama's expression softened as her smile faded into a softer version of one. She imagined the girl played quite beautifully. She would like to hear it from time to time provided they were given that opportunity.

"Well, that's not quite what I had in mind when I offered you the glass but yes, I suppose the floor could do with a wash."

Her heart skipped a beat as her head spun around from Miry to face her new husband, her soft expression gone once again. Her eyes narrowed as she kept her eyes on him again. The girl had distracted her, she needed to keep alert around this man. She'd heard the stories, she knew what they were capable of and what they had done to Gem brides.

"You wish me to guess? Very well. Let me first say that, when last I checked, the Amaryllis did not have thorns."

Her expression changed once again, what once shown the fierceness of a lioness, now held confusion in it's midst. However, it didn't last very long as the information sunk in. So he was well informed. Then he would know that this flower can grow in sand or dirt. Ama wasn't a frail flower that needed protecting. She, unlike her namesake, had formed her own thorns.

"You, my dear, are as stubborn as that which you claim as your own. Good, determination shall serve you well, but you would also do well to remember that with a shovel dirt is drawn from the ground, wood gives way to the axe and with the right tools even the rocky roots of the world will crumble."

She wanted to retort, but she knew (yes even the stubbornest of fools know when to stop doing stupid things) that it was in her best interest just to keep her mouth closed. She would be careful with her jabs at him. But still... A smile formed on her face.

Even a fool knows that underneath those rocky roots of the world lie diamonds ready to retaliate against the hard hand that strikes their earth. And diamonds, my friend, are the sharpest of them all. Well... besides obsidian...

She narrowed her eyes again as he told them his elements. Fire and Earth. A small smile grew on her lips. Both elements that with a little breeze would easily be bested. She looked down at her sister bride. Too bad the Air Gem was so shy.

Ama watched Zakroti carefully as he walked over to a small table in the corner of the room and sat down, drinking leisurely. Ama had to admit she was rather thirsty, but she wasn't going to take anything from him. She'd starve herself before doing anything for him. A small chuckle escaped her lips at the thought. At least then her death would be at her own hands, on her own terms.

She listened as he spoke of this banquet. She felt a giddy sensation in her stomach as laughter moved its way up her throat. A small chuckle escaped her lips. What a joke he was telling her. He would let her be on her own? Dead Gems don't have freedoms. Well, it didn't really matter. She had no interest in the other gems, much less her sister bride either. Though, she did feel a strong urge to protect the girl. But on the same token, she also felt no need to live much longer anyway. What was the point of it? To let a Drakken man control her?

Lost in her own silly thoughts, Ama jumped as a ball of cloth bounced off of her chest and tumbled down to the floor, near the puddle of water she'd created. She blinked at it for a moment, her own thoughts having dulled her emotions. She would have been frightened previously but her latest thoughts left her numb and cold.

"Well, as you have started the job I suppose you should finish it. Thank you for offering to clean it, I will ensure the staff know to thank you as we leave."

She blinked, looking up at him from the cloth when her emotions slowly began to return. There, on her lips, one could see a small twitch as the corner of her mouth lifted into a smirk. Her eyes narrowed into an expression not unlike a sly snake. She put a mock smile on her face before answering him.

"Why, of course, your grace." She told him, a certain bite to her words despite her best efforts to hide it. She bent down towards the cloth and picked it up. Turning on her heels, she stayed low to the ground and let the cloth soak up the water, being sure to scrub the floor as she did. She took her time with this, picking up the cloth to see the dirt it had collected. Once she was satisfied that she'd picked up a good amount of dirt, she let the cloth soak up with the cold water once again.

Her wicked smile returned once again as she slowly raised up and turned to look back at Zakroti, who was still sipping his water. It was actually a rather tough decision to make... pour the water on him? Throw the cloth at him? Pour the dirty water into his drink? Into the pitcher? There were so many options! She honestly didn't know which she liked more. Throwing the wet cloth at him sounded nice, but he'd probably easily be able to dry off with both Miry's air and his own fire. Hmm...

Her decision made, Ama slowly made way for Zakroti's table, sending him a wide and toothy grin. "Your grace, I've done as you asked." She told him, lifting the cloth over the water pitcher. She wrung the cloth out over the pitcher, a calm expression on her face, and then dunked it down, as if washing the cloth in the water basin. When she was done, she lifted the cloth out of the pitcher and slung it into Zakroti's face.

"Sorry about that. It just slipped." She told him with a deadpan voice as she walked back to her original spot. She'd probably catch hell for that, but at this point, she didn't care. What could he do to her, an already dead gemminite woman? Nothing.