Bride of Cuwarr Naxremis and Sister-bride to Sorici Amberra
Kalani listened to Cuwarr's story and could feel some sort of tension. He clearly did not view his father in a positive light. The idea of honor, whether to maintain it or restore it, was something Kalani understood well. She did not necessarily pity him but she empathized with him. "And will we have a role in restoring that honor?" she asked quietly, as if she was simply talking to herself.
She was still painting when Cuwarr began to walk around and inspect each of their paintings. She tensed a little as she looked at her own painting. Would it be to his liking? She hoped so.
When he came around to her painting, she surprised by his words and actions. He had sensed her hesitation simply by looking at her painting. She wondered if his interpretation of Sorici's painting was correct as well. She glanced at her sister-bride's painting and indeed saw that streak of crimson. It did look a bit violent for such a dark, quiet scenery. She turned back to Cuwarr who had taken a step back. He had told them to get some rest and had soon laid himself in the large bed.
Kalani had heard horror stories about Drakken men who are quite barbaric with their Gem brides on their first night. But to see Cuwarr, calling them to sleep beside him, she was relieved and grateful. She took his left side as being his second bride, it seemed proper. The bed was comfortable and she realized how tired she was. It was a long day after all.
She thought about her parents, wishing she could let them know that she was doing fine. They must be worried sick about her. And it would be with good reasons too, if she was chosen by a more brutish Drakken. She closed her eyes, hoping that she could send her warmest thoughts to them. Perhaps she would be allowed to write to them.
These were her last thoughts as she began to drift asleep.
”Azilon Dantanath,” murmured Rya tasting the name as she watched the male gem zip around. Trying to attend to, what could only be described as, a very difficult patient. Either that or the man was hurting much more than he was willing to let on. Which, after a few very poor displays of trying to hide it, made her think that the second was probably more correct.
After that, the Drakkon…her ‘husband’ passed out. Had the male gem not been there, Rya would have woken him up to demand more answers. She didn’t like to make big choices without having all of the pieces to the puzzle, and right now she felt as though she only had the pieces she didn’t want. The pieces that didn’t solve the problem.
This ….Azilon seemed very indifferent to their presents, to her and this…Drakkon woman. The girl hadn’t said much, or anything, since they walked away from the main hall. Rya wasn’t sure if it was through fear, indifference, or she was simply…uninterested in making conversation. Or…perhaps she thinks less of you for being a Gem. There was very little information on how female drakkons felt about the whole ‘marriage’ arrangement. From what she could tell, most of the Drakkon’s seemed to think of their brides as pretty little play things. Did they think of their own females in such a way? For Gems, there was such a small chance of being selected that they could dream of living other lives. Was the same true for female Drakkon? Or were they always fated to be the play thing of their males.
That life style seemed too sad to spend much time thinking about.
Trying to banish the thought Rya turned to this male Gem, reaching out to shake his hand. “Well, Scoot, if you ever want me to call you Kushniryk Sol, I will do so,” Rya then looked over to the bed, eyeing with longing. It had been too long since she had had a proper nights sleep on a proper bed. ”Well, there is no reason to make the choice tonight. I doubt I’d get very far at this hour, anyway,” With that, she turned and crawled into the bed, never minding that she was still wearing her families second best dress. But, as tried as she was, sleep did not come as easily as she would have liked. Thoughts kept swirling around her head, trying to find the…correct answer, but it kept escaping her.
On one hand, she knew that she was sent here, no one expected her to return, or to hear from her again. And even if she did, would it be kind of her to ask her family to protect her? What would her life be like, even if she did get home? Rya doubted very much that Gem families who had lost daughters of their own would be…warm towards her, as their own children never came home. And that was if she even made it that far, which seemed less and less likely as each second passed. Besides, the male Gem didn’t seem to hate his life with Azilon. Either that, or the man was so cruel that Scoot was simply mad or too scared to be any thing but loyal.
For leaving, the only argument on that side was that…well…Rya wanted to go home.
It was a restless sleep, full of nightmares and shadows. Once the light in a room was a dull gray color, Rya was up, sitting crisscross by Azilon’s side, waiting for him to awake.
Once the injured Drakkon awoke, the questions started pouring out again. ”If…I choose to stay now, is it a forever choice? Not that the response would change what she was about to say. ”Because, I guess, for now…or…ever, I am staying with you,”
Exon let out a long breath, he had closed his eyes for a moment, enjoying the feeling of the smaller warm bodies next to him. It took a few minuets for him to realize it, but his little wife, Nadia, kept getting warmer. Opening his eyes, he glanced over at the Gem when she spoke up.
Exon kept his face neutral as the Gem spilled her story. He let the silence build before carefully unwrapping his arm from Saisri and grabbing Nadia just below her injury, examining it. In truth, it held no danger, other than a painful, ugly bruise, the girl would heal just fine on her own. No, the problem here was the lie. He rose up from the bed and yanked one of the heavier blankets off of it. Grabbing a pillow, he draped both of the object on one of the couches in front of the fire. It was then that he pointed to a spot directly in front of him where he expected his wife to stand.
”I do not tolerate being lied to, little one, no matter what your intentions might be,” He crossed his arms, a look of…disappointment clear in his eyes. “As my bride, your obligation to me outweighs even your obligation to yourself and however you might feel. When I ask you a question, you will be honest,” He then pointed to the couch. “For now, you have lost my trust, and I will not share my bed or my ears with someone who isn’t worthy. I will also not allow your lying tongue to poison the ears of your sister wife. Had you been my wife for a longer amount of time, the punishment would have been much more physical. Keep that in mind if you ever choose to lie to me again. Your privileges are reduced and you will be silent until I believe you have paid proper penitence. You may nod to show you understand,” he waited for his wife’s response before beginning again.
“Break any more rules during this time of your punishment and I’ll will make that bruise look like nothing,” with that, he left the Nadia without a second glance, crawling back into bed with Saisri, pulling her close.
With any luck, they would be able to get an early start in the morning.
Rya isn't going to try and die and Exon silences Nadia before passing out
It might need fixing in the morning. But I'll deal with it...well...in the morning.
No tears, not now. Nadia flinched slightly as Exon grabbed her wrist, terrified that he hadn't said anything yet. He spent a moment to look at the bruise, judging its severity, and while he did she watched his face to try and gauge his reaction. Soon enough he got off the bed, dragging a pillow and blanket over to a couch with him. He motioned for her to come over then, and she stood where he pointed to before listening to his explanation of her punishment.
She nodded solemnly, keeping her eyes downcast as Exon delivered his final threat and walked away. She was grateful that he'd been merciful, a punishment of silence was not so bad, and as far as privileges go she didn't know she'd had any to begin with. Her life was no longer her own, not since she'd been taken, but now she couldn’t help others? Or even intend to? She watched him get back into his bed with Saisri and decided that she'd done the right thing. It would have been so much worse if he'd found out later. From now on she would be as open as possible, and never lie to anyone, not even to herself.
She stood for a moment, looking at the fire that was still burning warmly in the fireplace, oblivious to the events taking place around it. She thought about what Exon had said. The strangest part of his speech was when he said that he didn't want her poisoning Sisi? She couldn't understand what she'd done to cause that statement. She hoped that Saisri wouldn't get in troubLe at all, and Nadia certainly want going to be one to lead her sister bride into any.
Nadia shook her head slightly and grabbed the blanket off of the couch where Exon had put it. Wrapping it around herself tightly, she lay down on the couch and buried her face in the pillow, carful not to lay on her newly-tattooed shoulder as she tried to get comfortable enough to sleep. She was actually glad not to be sleeping next to Exon and Saisri tonight, and as she started clearing her mind she realized that she'd finally reached her limit. The past few days she'd done nothing but cry and wish that she'd wake up the next day and it'd all turn out to be a nightmare. Now, she only felt tired. So much had happened today that she couldn't cry anymore, and now as she lay staring at the shadows the fire played across the inside of her eyelids, she felt numb. Sleep claimed her in seconds.
Zane Parnel
The night was so far uneventful. The Drakken in the area weren't interested in Gemminite wares it seemed. Only in the Gemminite women who were currently being treated like cattle within the walls of the Worth. Zane fought to keep the grimace off his face, it was scaring off anyone who was even bothering to glance in his direction at the moment. Well, except for this horn-head. A rather large Drakken was approaching him, an extremely frightened looking Gem girl in tow.
“Greetings Geminite curr.” The Drakken smiled and Zane could see he was missing quite a few teeth, some had been replaced with gold or silver and others were just left as open spaces. “Wha’cha sellin’ here?” The Drakken pulled the girl forward to stand in front of him as he waited for Zane to respond. Zane sighed and stepped behind his cart, motioning vaugely at the things he'd put out. Trinkets, mostly. Small things that the girls could take, hide in the palm of their hands until they could put it somewhere safer, or articles they could wear, things they could cling to so they can help keep their sanity and perhaps, find the hidden use of, to help them to freedom.
Whatever freedom they choose to find.
Many of the items could be used as a weapon, though they were just ordinary items. The fact was that if you needed a weapon badly enough, you could find it in whatever's within reach. Zane knew that much from his travels. Of course, the blade he always had concealed on his person was his first choice in any situation. Whether as a weapon to defend oneself or to take one's own life, both paths would lead to freedom in some way.
Another way the items could lead to freedom was the insignia on all of them. Known publicly as his merchant guild’s crest, it doubled as a sign the cult could use as a way to help girls escape back to Gemmina. Showing an agent of the cult this sign, whether one knew what it meant or not, would get them put on watch, and from there the agent would act on their own discretion. Rescuing those needing rescue, destroying those needing destruction, and protecting as many as they could. Zane had already handed out a dozen or so items to girls passing by before the current brute had approached, and he smiled lightly at this next girl before answering.
"Everything you see before you, and some more within the cart if none of these trinkets catch your eye." Zane grimaced slightly at the term as he realized this Drakken was wearing an eyepatch, and now frowning slightly at the merchant. "That, was not meant as a pun at all. Just a term of the trade, I swear. The, uhh… these are just the small things, toys and jewelry and other such items I thought the girls might like to have as one small piece of their past before moving on into Drakka. The rest is mostly fabrics, maps, a few oddities like swords and a painted shield, and imports like food and spices." His smile grew into an all out grin as he reached into a woven basket tied to the side of his cart, and pulled out a native Gemminian fruit. "Care for a Llaka, miss?"
Well that did it, the Drakken placed a hand menacingly on the girl's shoulder and pulled her into him before practically growling at Zane. “No. There was food inside, it's her own fault she didn't eat any of it. Right?” He shook the girl roughly on his last word and she squeaked out a small “yessir” before he stopped. Zane let the sadness he felt show on his face for a split second before putting the fruit back in the basket. He didn't want to cause the girl any trouble she didn't need, though going hungry through the night was a cruel add-on to whatever other horrors she would endure. Vivari give strength to them all.
The Drakken glared at the items on the cart for an uncomfortably long amount of time, long enough that Zane almost spoke up to say he didn't need to buy something. Plenty of jerks come up just to see if they can waste a merchant's time. Before he could say anything though, the Drakken pushed the girl forward before grunting, “You pick something out, and then you,” He paused to indicate Zane, “Name your price.” The Drakken then let go of the girl completely and stepped back a little.
Oh, he’s testing her. Zane nodded calmly to the girl as she stepped forward, picking up a small locket on a chain after a moment. The front had a carving of a bird on it while on the back was the merchant's guild symbol. Zane knew that inside was a small piece of paper listing a three-ingredient poison, that would only fall out if the girl broke the hinge, and otherwise could be taken out by dainty enough fingers. “This, please.” She said after a few seconds. Out of the corner of his eyes, Zane saw the Drakken nod slightly and he mentally let out a sigh of relief. She'd passed his test, she's that much more likely to survive now.
The Drakken looked to him after a second and Zane feigned deep thought. He did actually have to come up with a reasonable price. Normally in Gemmina that kind of locket would go for thirteen or fourteen silver pieces, and in Drakka it would be eight or nine gold peices. So, if five silver is one gold, five gold seems a good price. "Normally it'd be nine, but for five gold pieces and a small promise you can have it." Zane looked the Drakken in the eye as he spoke. "The promise being that you'll never take this away from her. My goal here is to give these girls, no, these women, a small piece of where they're from to remember who they are, and why they're here now."
The three stood in silence for a moment while the Drakken seemed to think about the offer. “Fine then. I promise not to take this trinket from you, Emma. I wish for you to enjoy your life with me. And while I may be strict at times, I shall leave you your past, which ends now.” The Drakken handed him the coins and the two walked away, the girl looking as if she were about to cry.
He looks like a brute, but even the scariest Drakken could be reasonable if given a chance. Zane thought after the two dissapeared into the building. He was sure she would still go through some bad times, but hopefully she had the strength to pull through, and maybe one day return to Gemmina. He hoped that for every Gem here tonight, and for his daughter most of all. She'd always been fragile, and soft spoken, and was still afraid of… Things long past.
She may not ever have the strength needed to fight back.
The night was going by quickly, but every second that passed made Onyx feel more and more like she could be living a story straight out of a book. Kaivor was amazingly well-read, and had a knack for picking out people from the crowd who fit the character of many people from the books they've read. One Gem girl was a dead ringer for Jesaphi out of the old Gemminian folk tale “Jesaphi et Llaka” where the girl Jesaphi was tricked into killing herself by eating a poisonous Llaka flower. Unlike the fruit, which was tart and delicious and very healty, the sweet Llaka bloom was deadly unless you were to boil the sweetness out to create a watery syrup, leaving the sour bloom safe for consumption and the syrup to be boiled down into sugar.
Jesaphi’s childlike belief in the trickster spirit‘s words was what truly brought on her downfall, but the girl they pegged for her was also alike in the way that she altered her actions and habits to accommodate those around her. She was blending in, she was unextraordinary just like Jesaphi had been. And yet the spirit chose her life to ruin, and the Drakken chose this girl.
Kai and Onyx had been eating and talking with each other animatedly, barely even noticing what was going on around them. It wasn't until the sound of a flute rang through the room did they look beyond their bubble of worlds and stories. Both were silent as the girl played, and both jumpped up at the sound of clapping from the table next to theirs after the song had finished. It was the Jesaphi girl, and the flute player had been the spirit. The Drakken that snapped her neck then became the Llaka flower. As the girl's body hit the floor, the Drakken shrugged and looked around, locking his eyes on Onyx.
Of course, Kaivor went to stand between the brute and her, but before he could even say anything the other Drakken stabbed her husband in the neck. He fell to the ground, and Onyx knelt beside him, everything else around her turning into a dim blur of colors until she realized she was crying. She could see the life leaving his eyes as they locked onto hers. He said nothing.
She felt a tug on her head as the Drakken dragged her to her feet by her hair, and bit her lip to keep from yelling every insult she knew at the brute. Once she was standing, he knelt down so he was eye level with her, a cruel, toothy grin on his ugly face. “Well girlie, it seems tha’ I just lost my wife, and seein’s you've just been widowed by this ‘ere man-child, how you feel ‘bout us bein’ together?”
His grip on her shifted from her hair to her shoulders, and as he spoke next she wasnt entirely sure that her arms wouldn’t break under his grip. “Not that you're gettin’ a choice girlie.”
"I could explain exactly how I feel about your offer, but, " His grip tightened, "Heh, given the vocabulary and disposition you've shown yourself to have, you would likely only understand that what I say is directed at you, Gargantuan brute."
She wasn't actually sure what to do next, she was still practically blinded by her tears. This feeling, was love mixed with sadness, though not romantic love. She'd never met anyone before who had such an interest in books and stories as she did, as Kai did. She did love him, though they'd only known each other for a few hours. An hour was an eternity in a story, and though their story together was brief, multiple hours ment more than an eternity had passed for them. May you find peace, Kaivor.
After what must have been only a second but felt like minutes, Onyx realized that the Drakken was about to attack her. As his hands reached for her neck, she prayed to Vivari and stepped back, the floor before her rising up in a spike to stop the Drakken’s hands. Blood dripped down the sides of the spike and onto the floor as Onyx saw that the spike had stabbed through the Drakken’s hand. He roared and reached for her again with his non-injured hand, but she merely summoned another spike beside her, breaking off the tip to use as a weapon of sorts.
She didn't get to use it however, as the Drakken stood and charged at her, lifting her off the ground by her neck and causing her to drop the rock spike. Even though she knew it would be useless, she cried out before his hands could stop her breath. "Help! Please!"
Nadia falls asleep, promising to herself not to ever lie to anyone ever again. She's too tired by the day's events to cry anymore.
Zane sells a thing to a person. Drakken are not always horrible. Plot. Lotsa plot.
Onyx is widowed by the jerk Drakken (who killed his own wife just for clapping) deciding that he needed another wife, and that trying to take her from Kaivor seemed his best bet. Onyx realized that she loved Kai only after he died and plot happened with that… currently she is fighting off jerk Drakken with earth spikes about to die and waiting for her lady to come to her rescue.
Saisri gasped in sympathy as she saw Nadia’s bruised wrist. The poor girl…
What happened next took a moment to get through her sleep-addled brain. Exon had… flung her off the bed, indicating that she was to sleep on the couch and remain silent until instructed otherwise.
She supposed she should be grateful that it wasn’t a physical punishment… She doubted Nadia would be able to handle such a thing. But still, it was rather unnecessarily cruel, to keep the girl isolated, unable to speak for herself.
When Exon tucked himself back into bed, Saisri did not snuggle to his side as he intended. Sure, she let him pull her close, but held still—not forming to the shape of his body as he seemed to want. In that momentary altercation with Nadia she’d seen how ruthless Exon really was and now she felt as though she couldn’t trust him.
Lack of trust or not, sleep still called to her. In moments she was breathing deeply, already lost in dreamland.
Sorici Amberra
Bride of Cuwarr Naxremis @Cubix, sister-bride to Kalani Solle @karamonnom
As ever, Sorici listened without saying much – or anything, in this case. She felt a bit of a rush of pity-respect-sorrow for Cuwarr, but did not express it, and did not even look at him.
When he looked at her painting she kept her eyes downcast, not speaking even as he addressed her directly. Her heart gave a little flutter, however – she tried to ignore it but his words kept fluttering around her head. “change her hatred towards him.”
She hated the Drakken people, that much was clear… They’d killed her family, her best friends who weren’t “pretty enough” to be brought here, all the little children. Every single person. She hated them.
But… Did she hate this Drakken who spoke of moonlight and purpose and art?
The Drakken beckoned her to the bed; she waited for Kalani to choose which side she was to sleep on. She was glad that Kalani took the left; she took her place on the right. A warrior always stood to the right of their lord—
The rebels were dead, but… maybe fighting for her new husband’s honor was a suitable cause.
Sia smiled a razor’s smile as the small lord agreed to accompany her. She was glad to have Zakroti’s help, though she was still rather wary of the lord—there was no doubt that he was full of tricks and would stab her in the back without a second thought.
“Three miles north of the divide in the Great Road. If you would like, your household can ride with mine in the morning—we will leave at dawn.” The woman hesitated for a moment, not sure of any other details to impart. As she hesitated she listened to Sorrin and the other bride talking, laughing about the lizard who was apparently named Leo.
The watchmen’s bell began ringing, twelve times. It was the sign of midnight, of course. Sia hesitated for only a moment more. Finally she curtsied slightly to the shorter lord, and turned to leave. “If you will excuse me, my lord; I am going to escort my bride back to my chambers. While I am accustomed to riding on no sleep, I doubt that my lady Sorrin is, and I would rather not make this transition any more stressful for her.”
She couldn’t resist a faint chuckle as she took in the sight of Sorrin and Kasari playing with Leo the Lizard. “Sorrin, come along. You’ll have time to talk with Kasari tomorrow, but we’ll have an early morning.”
The woman took Sorrin by the arm, Sorrin’s right and her left. Her right hand remained on her sword hilt – after all, drunken Drakken didn’t always have a good sense of personal boundaries.
As they passed the great hall, all but deserted, Sia heard a desperate cry for help. She whirled, hand clenching around the hilt of her sword, and peered around the half-closed door, using one hand on the collar of Sorrin’s dress to keep her close. It seemed as though some drakken lord was throwing his bride around – Sia knew she shouldn’t get involved.
Buut…. That desperate cry for help. The spikes where it seemed the very floor had grown up against the Drakken.
Sia hesitated for only a second longer, just long enough to pull Sorrin close and whisper, “When we go into that room, you hide under the first table we pass. Cover your ears and shut your eyes and don’t come out until I come for you.”
With that, she pushed the doors open with a bang. The lord turned to face her, the purple-faced Gem still clutched in his hand. Sia recognized him immediately, and rage caused her eyes to burn gold and flames to dance across her skin. The drakken who’d snapped the girl’s neck because she’d clapped. And she recognized him too—enough to put a face to a name at least. Vilyn Hilevus. Oh, this man was a brute. He’d had a Drakken wife once, and seemingly been too rough with her, killed her on choosing night.
“Lord Hilevus, whatever are you doing to that poor gemminite? Put her down, you’re going to hurt her.”
“Why would I do that?”
Sia was coming close to him, long strides eating up the ground. She stopped a mere few inches away from him, close enough to see the Gem girl’s feeble struggling. That poor thing.
“Because I’d imagine there are more worthy playthings around here.” She thinly smiled up at the brute. As she held his gaze her hand flicked out and slammed into the underside of his elbow. Causing his hand to relax and his entire arm to go numb—also causing him to drop the Gemminite girl, who collapsed in a heap on the floor and sucked in a deep breath, coughing weakly. She’d be alright.
Sia curled herself into the Drakken lord’s arm, eyes half-lidded and smoldering. “Playthings such as me, milord.”
The lord growled with desire as he began clawing at her dress, fumbling with the laces. Sia pulled him close, hand gripping the loose collar of his tunic. She smiled up at him even as she pulled him down, even as the heel of her other hand slammed up into his jaw. The lord’s eyes rolled back in his head and he fell, thumping hard to the floor where he lay motionless. Stunned, if not unconscious.
An indignant shout came from the doorway, and she turned to see four angry berserkers wearing the Hilevus colors charging at her, swords at the ready. She drew her own blade and stepped onto the dais, intent on using whatever extra height advantage she could get – and luring the combatants away from Sorrin’s hiding place and the fallen Drakken and Gem. These guards really were idiots, though she was slightly worried about the fact that there were four of them. Then they were on her, and she quit thinking about anything other than the fight for a moment. One of them, probably still a youth judging by his lack of horns, went down in seconds, having forgotten to block her very first strike. She wrenched her sword out of the body in barely enough time to block an overhand blow that could have split her in two, and then hissed in pain as another combatant’s blade whisked down her back.
She thought she’d be a goner for sure, because they’d closed around her, but then there was a whistling sound and a juicy impact, and a shriek of pain abruptly cut off. She seized the moment of distraction to whip her sword around, driving it through one guard’s heart, then whirled in time to see a glaive take the one remaining guardsman’s head.
“You’re getting sloppy, milady. You’da been a goner, had we not been walking by.” That wry voice came from the pretty, blue-eyed Aldar Drais, one of Sia’s many guardswomen and protégées. She was leaning on her glaive, panting slightly. “Aye she would’ve. Sure a good thing we were here.” The girl’s younger sister, Acadea, said, also leaning on her glaive, absently digging the point of it into the floor.
Sia rolled her eyes. She loved the twins to bits but they were so annoying sometimes. “And dare I ask where you lovely ladies have been all night?”
Aldar shrugged. “Fucking men, drinking ale, collecting secrets, gossiping with the underlings. The usual.” Acadea giggled. “More of the first two than the last two. Well, except for Meiya. Rizan put her in time-out, said that she was too young to be doing such things. Rizan tried to say the same to me but I played deaf.”
Sia snorted, but quickly was serious again. “I know I gave you the night off but since you’re here you might as well help me clean this mess up. Aldar. That lump over there” she jerked her thumb at the collapsed drakken lord. “is my prisoner; take him to camp and chain him somewhere where he won’t cause a ruckus. Gag him and blindfold him, too. When you come back, you lot come up to the room—remember we have an early start tomorrow.”
Aldar hesitated. “Milady… are you sure that’s wise? Taking him prisoner, that is. People won’t be happy that you broke the truce of the night…”
Sia glared at the girl and she fell silent, with only an “of course, milady”, and shuffled off, all but dragging the massive lump of Drakken.
The woman sighed heavily as she looked at the carnage that had become this side of the room. She dimly recognized another fallen Drakken as lord Kaivor Igvrius, then did a bit of a double take. So it hadn’t been a drakken and his bride. It had been a drakken who’d murdered another, more honorable drakken, and stolen his bride. After having killed his own bride. Or at least, that was the impression she got.
“Acadea, have the servants collect Lord Igvrius’s remains and deliver them back to his family—they need to know what happened here.”
Acadea saluted and trotted off, to the kitchens, probably, to find someone to help her.
Sia looked down at the Gem girl she’d just rescued. The girl was still gasping for air and probably too weak to talk, much less walk. So she, with a mumbled apology, scooped the girl up, wrapping one arm around the girl’s back and the other under her knees (and draping her so her arm was around Sia’s neck), and proceeded to walk towards the door on legs that were (quite embarrassingly) shaking. She spoke quietly to the girl in her arms, not sure if she’d be able to hear and process or not.
“My name is Siadamkiru Beneni. I don’t mean to hurt you, child, so stay calm and breathe and gather your strength. That would have killed almost any other Gemminite. Kaivor Igvrius will be laid to rest by his family, and Vilyn Hilevus will be dealt justice – do not worry about them.
She paused by the table beside the door and knocked on the surface, carefully balancing the gem girl to avoid dropping her. “Sorrin, you can come out now, but look right at me, child. Just look at me.” She realized too late that her dress was torn and bloodied. She also realized that the gouge in her back hurt fiercely.
Oh well, nothing to be done about it now, except get up to the rooms and away from all this bloodshed. Sia took Sorrin by the hand and led the girl upstairs, still awkwardly cradling the other Gemminite girl.
Oh, good job, Aery. the girl thought to herself. The Drakken had yanked Talli out of the kiss (Aery forced herself to pretend that she wasn’t at all disappointed by the sudden separation) and then done something to her, before flinging her limp body up to the head of the bed.
When the Drakken reached for her, his massive hands nearly wrapping around the small girl’s body entirely, she went completely limp, mind going blank and eyes going wide. As the Drakken kissed her she weakly pushed at him in a futile effort to make him stop—of course that wouldn’t happen.
The lord gave her a vicious grin as he ripped her dress off, casting it to the floor. The girl whimpered faintly in fear, internally begging her gods to have mercy and let her pass out before things got too painful.
Miry choked, jumping to her feet indignantly as Vain tore the paper in two. She tried to talk back to him but it only resulted in an indignant squeaking. In anger the girl went limp and nearly cried again, but forced herself to stifle it. He’s right, I am acting like a child. But… wait, he says I can actually do something about it… I have that right? No one at court ever said anything about gemminite brides having rights…
The pint-sized girl took a deep breath and wiped at her eyes, reaching for another piece of paper and the pen. She began writing again, though was careful to hold the pen tightly to not let her hands tremble all over the page like they wanted to.
You say that I have power to command people? That I have power to change things? You must forgive me, this is a strange notion. They say that girls aren’t supposed to take an interest in politics, and as a commoner I have almost no exposure to it anyway, so I’m unfortunately not experienced at all with this. So forgive me if I overstep my authority.
Send one guardsman to collect Astrae’s remains and take her to be laid to rest in the gardens. I will bury her myself if need be, unless there’s a Gemminite priest who can be here before morning to do the rites. I will write to my elder brother – he managed the family’s finances – and ask him to use mine and my sister’s savings to provide schooling, food, and a home for Astrae’s family – and bring them under the royal house’s protection if possible.
Send however many you think is necessary to detain the lord who killed her. I want him brought before the justice of, if not the courts, at least someone who’s powerful enough to judge whether to sentence him to death or to lock him away forever.
She read over her words again, then placed the quill back in in the inkwell and handed the paper to Vain. She wiped at her eyes again, and was shocked to realize they were dry—having a purpose was a rather empowering thing, she supposed.
Saisri: sleepyish introspection. Sorici: Also introspection. Siadamkiru: Makes a deal with Zak. Rescues Onyx. Is injured. Introducing some of her guards. Takes both girls up to her rooms to get away from bloodshed. Aerienna: Poor, poor Aery… Aymiria: Miry has a Plan! ™
Valence yanked his knife out of the eye of his third Drakken that night.
The damned, blasted, arrogant motherfucks kept raping people. Why do that? Why not, he didn't know, they just be polite, civil intelligent beings that wooed and tried to impress fair Gems, instead of stealing them away from their homes and shoving their faces into their beds while they had their way with them.
Valence, as he knew, was in a slight bloodrage. That is, a rage to spill Drakken blood because of their injustices against the unalienable rights to any living being. As such, they invalidated their own rights to live. And while the Creator, the Fates, and all other godly entities didn't seem intent on upholding the natural rules- Valence had no mind doing it for them.
He slammed his sword into the Drakken's head, brutally sawing at the beast to cut off one of its' horns. The lady the beast was raping sat curled, naked, desperately trying to cover herself with the sheets, to stem the blood from a few cuts that the Drakken gave her. She watched on fearfully as Valence took his proof of his kill- but she seemed to approve, a little.
Two more girls peeked into the room, from the hallway. Both of them were sort of used to the gore, by now. Valence had already done this once in their presence, each. Where else had he rescued them from? Walking out would be easy, anyhow.
So he dragged the corpse into the beast's washing room, leaving a rather nasty trail of blood on the floor, before beckoning the two well-clothed Gems into the room. They promptly set about helping their fellow, cleaning her up, comforting her, as Valence glared at the bloody floor and cursed the Drakken again.
He hid the horn in an inside pocket, next to four others. Guards were surprisingly lax around here, in the fortress interior.
Having finished his final kill for the night, he approached the three Brides he decided to save. He hadn't asked their names; they hadn't given them. He hadn't offered his own, either. Instead, he knelt down at the bedside, watching the recovering Bride and the two he had already saved sitting on either side of them.
"Alright, ladies. We're heading out. Do any of you want to stay?"
An obvious shake of their heads, vigorous and pleading.
"Anything you want to take with you?"
Again, more shaking of the head.
"Sir, we don't want to stay here any longer than we must," stated the first one he saved, firmly.
"Anywhere is better than here," stated the second, just as resolute.
"Where are you taking us?" asked the whimpering, somewhat cowering one. It seemed that she was a little afraid of males at this point. Understandable enough.
So he gave a grim smile, and then replied, "The mountains. People like me have an outpost there. To prepare for an eventual Drakken attack. To counterattack, even. I'm here, after all. Now wouldn't it be nice to keep other girls from getting kidnapped from their homes to satisfy these beasts' perverse needs?"
Naturally, firm, resolute nods. A little shaky on number three's part.
"Well alright then. Get some cloaks, keep your heads down, and follow me."
It was then that Valence replaced his horns- such a stupid requirement, but one that allowed him to pass right through a Drakken checkpoint- and marched out of the door, shutting it firmly behind him. There was a little blood on his torso, but he covered the majority of it with his own cloak. Pulling his hood up, he lowered his head and started marching.
Three Hours Later
Walking out the gate had been easy.
Walking down the road had been easy.
Keeping three tired, part-raped women going down the road after a couple hours wasn't.
Curse their stamina, or their lack thereof!
So be it, they were far enough away and it was dark enough for it not to matter if there was a fire or not.
This had led the four to sit around a small fire in the wilderness, wrapped in cloaks and huddled about. Incidentally, all three of them had decided that Valence was their savior and had begun treating him like a big brother- respecting him, using him as shelter, bickering with him, and giggling behind his back about the last thing he said. He'd say he found it annoying, but there was something about three Gems in horrible circumstances clinging to something good that left him feeling a bit better.
In addition, all three decided that they'd use him as a heater, and were huddling in towards each other, around him. Valence just hoped no Drakken or mountain lion decided to stumble into their camp- the three bodies using him as a pillow (apparently he was the savior of their lives as well as their sleep) would get in the way. Gah!
But then again, they felt warmer and safer with him. That was good, even if it might be problematic if they really do join the cult.
Should he really describe his own people as a cult? That suggested they were conspiratorial and a little crazy, believing in improbable things. Then again, they believed they could stop a Drakken attack on their homeland. Cult seemed like a good word, now.
He sighed, leaned against his tree, with three women leaning against him, shivering slightly, all of them, and closed his eyes. He listened to the forest, and awaited the night to end so they could continue on.
"H-help..." Onyx’s cry cut out as the Drakken's grip tightened again. She could feel herself losing consciousness.She closed her eyes, giving in to whatever Fate would bring. Sounds around her blurred together until they faded out, and then she was on the floor.
Air filled her lungs again as the world started coming back. For whatever reason the Drakken had dropped her, and she wasn't about to waste this chance. She tried to move away from the Drakken, only managing to scoot herself up against the leg of a table. She concentrated on her breathing, and her groggy mind raced to try and understand what was going on. People were fighting, and the Drakken who'd had her by the neck only a moment before was lying motionless on the ground not far from her. Everything except her seemed to be moving in super speed. After a moment, she was able to pick out words being said nearby, though not connecting them to any meaning.
That was, until she heard her late husband's name said.
She looked back to where his body lay, and found that she didn't want to leave him. She started to try and crawl back to his side, but her efforts were stopped before she could even move by someone picking her up off the ground. Even though she was still struggling to breathe, she tried to protest the sudden capture. "n.. no... I.. wan..to...stay... Kai..." Even the few syllables she could get out were a battle in themselves, and after a second she gave in to her rescuer’s hold as they explained what was going on.
"My name is Siadamkiru Beneni. I don’t mean to hurt you, child, so stay calm and breathe and gather your strength. That would have killed almost any other Gemminite. Kaivor Igvrius will be laid to rest by his family, and Vilyn Hilevus will be dealt justice – do not worry about them.”
From a glance Onyx could tell that her rescuer was a Drakken lady, and as odd as that may have been, she wasn't exactly able to comment on her situation anyway. Her head was still swimming, and so she merely tried to hold on to Lady Sia as best she could as she carried her. "Thank... you..." She whispered, hoping the immense gratitude and sincerity she felt could be heard in the two simple words. She lost consciousness shortly after speaking, falling into a dreamless sleep.
Groggily observing everything, can't really comprehend anything. Onyx falls asleep grateful and safe in Sia's arms.
Zakroti watched as Siadamkiru left. How curious; Something was definitely wrong here and he wasn't sure he liked the sound of it; Whoever he was to be meeting must have been unwelcome to be meeting so far from the Wroth; the walls may have had were but even here there were private places, no they must have been either plotting something treasonous - or were a foreign power. She had mentioned flirting with treason...
Zakroti paused to consider the implications; He had heard tell of Gemminite resistances before and there were whispers of a rather well organised group, perhaps Siadamkiru was meeting with someone from said organisation; It would explain why she wanted back up. Zakroti glanced towards his entourage, approaching them and turning towards Gaikus.
"Oeiz una kynd, epe kala o zo rahtankor ad odzi zan vithze." Zakroti said and the Blackguard nodded, leaning in towards him and whispering quietly. Zakroti nodded in response before turning towards the hallway as Ayltam came down with the remaining Blackguard in tow, she looked up towards Zakroti.
"Vivyent sunna wre, Lalyent-Seru. I was just returning to rooms." Ayltam said as she came to a half before him, glancing to Kasari and giving her a warm smile before looking back to her uncle
"Vivyent sunna wre, Seru-Wel." Zakroti replied with a thin smile "It is the middle of the night by now; we should all retire"
He glanced towards Kasari and cocked an eyebrow at the lizard. He motioned for everyone to follow him and set off down the halls before speaking directly to her. "What is that species? I dont think I have encountered it before- And how did you come to have one as a pet, anyway? I would hazard a guess that a lizard is not the usual pet in Gemminia. And what did you think of Lady Siadamkir and her Bride"
***
Vain paused for a moment as he read the piece of paper before nodding and turning his attention towards the door.
"Kaani kree! Hilyat!" Vain barked; There was a racket from outside as the two sentries spun and threw the door open, marching in with spears in hand.
"Gais, Norkaan?" The guard asked as he glanced towards Aymiria, then back towards the Blackguard with a curious look. This one was Aurien, a Buro Za Mishaxi; he had served the house long and faithfully, since before Vain had been born.
"Aymiria gaiarew nit wre shanta wus lal e fathisew Vilyn Hilevus." Vain said as he pointed towards Aurien who gave a swift nod and placed his hand to his chest as he looked towards Aymiria
"Na wre gaiar." He said before turning around and leaving the room, barking some orders into the hallway; The sound of replies and boots on stone could be heard, fading slowly into the distance. The second man at arms waited for his orders patiently as Vain turned to him.
"Astrae Rosalin Silverheart, an bride Lord Vilyn edeoz; Shantaew geheiz dilon e ulven ta zo an cheydinmu odaew..." Vain commanded as he showed the warrior the piece of paper. The soldier looked towards Aymiria and placed his hand against his chest.
"If such is your will; I will send for a priest." He said to her before turning and heading towards the door, closing it behind him. Vain turned towards Aymiria and smiled, nodding to her politely and seating himself into one of the chairs, awaiting the return of the warriors.
Just a small post to ensure that Zakroti and Kasari are going to be ready for the time skip, and to link Zakroti back up with Ayltam and the remaining Blackguard. Also sets up something for the collaboration me and Aria are working on. Zakroti whispers to Gaikus, then asks Kasari about her pet as the group sets off back towards the chambers
Husband of Sorici (@RomanAria), his white lotus, and Kalani (@karamonnom), his auburn rose.
Cuwarr awakens and discovers a murder scene but pays no real attention to it. He returns to his wives before piecing the information together, fully declaring that he would protect them.
With his wives snuggled beside him, Cuwarr took a moment to relapse. Just a few hours ago, he was shooting down some rebels-- spilling blood. But, now, he laid beside two of the most alluring gems he had ever laid his eyes upon. As he heard their breathing slow down, signalling that they were now asleep, the warlord stole some glances at them. Beautiful? Attractive? No. Divine. Before he gave up his consciousness to the much awaited abyss of rest, Cuwarr pulled them flush against him until Kalani's head rested at the soft of his neck and collarbone and Sorici slumbered on his chest. His arms snaked themselves around their curvaceous waist as he breathed out a sigh of contentment. If anyone saw the drakken now, they would clearly think him delirious for being too obviously happy at the presence of two insignificant gems cuddling against him. A goofy smile that stretched across his lips signalled the giddy spirals of emotions churning inside him. It's been too long, far too long since he had felt the authentic warmth of another beside his. Specifically, it has been fifty years. After all, it was his mother who comforted the drakken after his young body was subjected to the wounds of training. And, even if Cuwarr swore that a part of him was lost to the aether after Stezius desecrated the Naxremis name, perhaps, the parts which he were riven lived inside these two gems near him-- to be with them is to be whole again. At least, that's what his mother used to say.
Then, reality spun out of focus as his eyes gave in to the fatigue of the day. His body, wounded and bruised, might have been exhausted but his heart and mind have never been this happy since he lost his mother centuries ago.
---
In the blink of an eye, morning had already came. Cuwarr had already awakened for the day as he finished bathing himself clean. The warlord sat on a stool in front of the window as he began to wear the pieces of his armour. With deft movements, he slipped his hands through the gauntlets and arm guards, securing them to his arms. His greaves and chainmail as well as plate mails were next as he, once again, tied the piece of cloth around his eyes. Cuwarr combed his hair with his hands, avoiding his horns as his golden locks were slicked back. Finally done with his attire, Cuwarr hoisted his longbow from the stand before slinging the quiver over his right shoulder.
Cuwarr strode out of his room, noticing a slight chill in the air and, probably, a sanguine scent. The stench of blood emanated from a room a few blocks away from his. Notching an arrow upon his recurve, Cuwarr swept his gaze side to side, wary of any sign of an assailant. With footsteps as silent as a lion on a prowl, Cuwarr reached the room, kicking it open in one fell swoop before aiming his bow at the area. There was none... except the crimson trail that led to the shower. The drakken was not new to the sight of blood, but there was something about the murder that made him conclude that this was not the work of his kin. The dead bloke was sprawled on the floor, horns and eyes cut from their places. There was also something graceful about the way the drakken was slain: there was purpose to this murder other than just pure bloodlust.
"Not that I care, but..." Cuwarr tilted his head in wonder as he grinned. He had no intention of reporting this event. If anything, this slain drakken was one of his critiques, and a death such as this was fitting for a swine. "Who knew that there were other races capable of this artwork." Gems were the least of his suspicions; they wouldn't even hurt a fly that was stinging them. If anything, these were the rebels that the drakkens had slain from afar. Or, the forces that they repelled from Gemminia. "Rest in pieces, swine."
The warlord closed the door before sauntering off to the dining area. He noted the different viands and treats before grabbing a few bread rolls and heading back to his room. He placed the bread rolls on a wide plate, setting it down on a nearby dresser. As he looked at his wives, he remembered how the slain drakken's wives were nowhere to be found. So, whoever killed the drakken also took the wife. If this was a mere squabble between two drakken lords, the murder scene could not have been that messy. It would have been a quick strike that decapitated. But, the mere fact that the horns were cut, the eyes were pierced, and overall, the body was ruined... would mean that the killer hated the drakkens and sought to liberate the wives. So, were the killers... gems?
"N-no," Cuwarr mumbled. "Unlikely." A pattern had to be seen before he could conclude anything. Even up to now, the gemminites never ceased to pique his interest.
As he swept those problems to the back of his mind, Cuwarr set the plate down as he sat on the bed, smiling at how his wives slept peacefully. A strange, humming sensation filled him; an odd urge to protect these fragile creatures. "I pity the poor soul who would dare hurt the two of you." Cuwarr whispered under his breath before taking a breadroll and softly biting down on it.
Worldbuilding – An exercise in writing by darkwolf687 and RomanAria. Seriously, don’t force yourself to read all the nonsense unless you want to—it has absolutely no bearing on anyone else except for @weepingliberty – and feel free to skip to Part 5, Libby. For anyone who’s interested in getting the information without reading the novella – Read part 1 and then skip to Part 6 – that’s Miry’s journal entry summarizing the rest of the conversation.
Aurien moved down the hall with four men at arms in tow, the sound of their steel boots echoing through the empty stone halls; Each wore a chainmail hauberk and had steel gauntlets and greaves. From their belt hung two scabbards, one with a sword and the other with a small knife. They carried steel tower shields strapped to their left forearm and in their other hand they clutched their spears. On their heads they had a padded chainmail coif and atop that they wore nasal helms.
They were in ill spirits; The men had drawn lots to decide who would stand watch in the night and in truth only one of these men had also drawn the short straw. The others had been roused out of necessity and had grudgingly donned their mail.
No sooner had the lance passed the great hall than they came across an armoured warrior, a female no less, carrying off another Drakken; Aurien quickly made the captive as their mark and then scoured over her armour for an identifying mark and barked an order to the men following him "Lali kree! Evia mishaxi!"
The warriors brought their shields up to cover their bodies and held their spears in front of them, straightening up and standing to attention. Aurien spoke "Warrior, attention! In the name of House Unalim, surrender Lord Vilyn." He commanded.
Aldar grumbled to herself as she stomped down the hallway, the unconscious lord draped over her shoulders throwing her off-balance. This would have been much easier if Acadea had been with her… But of course not. At least it seemed to be rather quiet, so theoretically there wouldn’t be any trouble. Her glaive was strapped across her back in its sheath – not an ideal position if she’d have to fight, but she needed both hands free to deal with the ragdoll of a lord that she was carrying. And she didn’t expect any trouble…
Speak of the devil. Four – no, five – armored guards, with spears and shields, blocking her path. They said they were from house Unalim, but then, anyone could say they were from any house. Besides, what would a bunch of glorified slavers want with this minor lord? He was too fat to be a good soldier, and there couldn’t have been enough of a ransom on him… Then, why did her lady want him, either…?
No matter, not right now, at least. The woman stopped and took a bit of a step back into a somewhat more balanced stance, though she didn’t let go of the sack of potatoes that was lord Hilevus. She figured she might try to talk herself out of this, because if she was to have to fight there would doubtless be bloodshed. A glaive could work well against two or even three swordsmen, but five armed with spears…? Yes, talking would definitely be the best way to avoid becoming a drakken pincushion. “Well met, gentlemen. As always, I’m impressed by your discipline. House Unalim has always had a certain military precision.” She shifted a bit, eyeing the spears. “If you don’t mind me asking, good sirs, will you please put the blades away so that we may discuss this civilly? This prisoner has already been claimed by my lady Beneni. I’m sure this is just a misunderstanding that can be sorted out cordially and calmly.”
"Aye, well met; My lord has spoken favourably of your lady. We are no gentlemen; I am Aurien, Buro Za Mishaxi." Aurien said with a small nod as he stepped out in front of the group of warriors who tightened their ranks behind him. He held his shield at his side rather than between himself and her, but kept his hand around his spear "To whom am I speaking?"
"I am afraid I cannot leave without Lord Vilyn Hilevus. My lady has commanded that he be arrested on the charge of murdering her friend."
Aldar regarded the man evenly, trying not to show that she had no grasp of the terms. Damn those old families that insisted on using their personal dialects and customs. “You are speaking to Aldar Drais, sergeant-at-arms.” She shifted slightly, resettling the still-unconscious lord across her shoulders—gods, he was too heavy. At least it looked like she wasn’t going to have to squirm out from under him to try and fight.
When Aurien indicated why he was here, and trying to steal her prisoner, she couldn’t help but nearly laugh. “Surely it doesn’t really matter whose dungeon Lord Hilevus is left to rot in, so long as he is to rot in a dungeon? My lady commanded that he be detained for the same crime.” Privately she wondered which “lady” it was that Aurien spoke of… Surely not one of lord Zakroti’s brides, to be addressed as “lady”…
Aurien frowned as Aldar Drais spoke, shaking his head slowly in response to her comment on whether it mattered where the lord was rotting. Was she finding this funny? He glanced towards the warriors behind him before looking back to her with a light sigh.
"Something funny? This isn't a joke; I was to have Vilyn Hilevus arrested, presumably pending judgement by the crown's Justice's in this region, or failing that by the Agaialori a an Vivpre." He paused for a moment after speaking to consider before continuing. "But- should neither of these be the case, he was to be judged by someone powerful enough to make that decision. Perhaps your lady would fit that bill though that isn't my decision."
Again Aldar shifted, trying to find a comfortable spot for the lord. He might’ve been squirming a bit, or maybe that was just her own self trembling. She still didn’t want to set him down on the ground lest one of the soldiers just grab him and cart him off that way… but holding him up was starting to get more than a bit uncomfortable.
“And I was assuming my lady would surrender him to the crown’s justice as well. It seems like we got the same orders from two different people.” The young soldier sighed, again shifting the lord, who had again settled into a position where he was pressing on all of her sore spots. She was definitely getting tired of this. “Okay, look. I know you have your orders and I have mine, but if you let me go talk to your lady, maybe we can get all this resolved in a timely manner?”
Aurien noted her movements and deduced that the incredible bulk of Lord Vilyn was proving a great burden for her. "As you wish; if you would follow the men at arms-" Aurien paused for a moment and glanced over his shoulder, nodding to his men who turned in place and began to march forwards; Two of them hung back, waiting for Aldar and Aurien to pass to secure the flank. Aurien looks towards Aldar again "I can carry him for you; surely there's no need to subject yourself to the crushing weight of that boar of a Drakken?"
Aldar looked only slightly scornfully at Aurien. “Thank you, but I’ll manage.” Curses, she wanted to take the offer, but her own pride wouldn’t allow it. She then faced forward, obediently following the guards and doing her best not to tremble. She had to admit, this formation wasn’t doing much to ease her mind… she almost felt like she was the prisoner, not the lord that was still impersonating a sack of potatoes across her shoulders.
Aurien nodded and the group proceeded through the hallways, eventually reaching the room. The sentry nodded and stood aside as they approached, allowing them to pass; Two of the guards turned to join him, standing sentinel by the door and mumbling to each other.
Vain turned to face the door as Aurien entered, cocking an eyebrow when he saw Aldar. Aurien placed his hand to his chest plate again and bowed his head "Norkaan, My Lady. This is Aldar Drais; She serves Lady Siadamkiru who has laid claim to Vilyn Hilevus as her own captive."
Aldar couldn’t help but stare at the odd scene she was greeted with. Another soldier of some sort, staring with a quizzical, almost amused expression – as he hadn’t been addressed as Muth (the only word of the whole dialect she knew, ironically enough), he certainly wasn’t the lord, and she felt like she’d have known Lord Zakroti if she’d laid eyes on him – and… A blond-haired child, who hadn’t looked up, too busy focusing on a small, sharp-looking object that was in her palm. She was clearly too small to be a drakken child, but what on earth would a gemminite child be doing in Shadow Worth, unless there’d been some horrible mistake?
Maybe she was just sickly. Yes, that was probably it, she was one of lord Zakroti’s nieces or nephews but had been ill as an infant and it had taken its toll on her. And she couldn’t have been friends with either the murdered lord, nor the murdered Gem girl… it was probably her mother, who’d been friends with the lord, and the Gem girl entirely unrelated to it all. Right.
She bowed slightly, a move made awkward by the sack-of-potatoes lord, and proceeded to set him down leaning against the wall so that she could face the soldier and the child a little more gracefully. She addressed the child first. “Excuse me, dear, but if you wouldn’t mind fetching your mother for me… I believe we have a matter of a serious nature that needs to be discussed.” She smiled down at the small girl, trying to seem friendly.
Miry almost couldn’t believe her ears. Was she… that idiot soldier, talking to her like she was some child of eight. She pretended not to see the woman, not even looking up, only reaching for a piece of paper and beginning to write.
Forgive me, but if you would like to speak to my mother you would be better off dispatching a rider for Elenath immediately. If you’ve got a fast one they might be able to get there and back before the first snows—but I wouldn’t hold my breath for that.
I suspect your “matter of serious nature” is what Aurien spoke of – you’re here to assert your lady’s claim of Lord Hilevus as her own captive. For that matter, it is not my mother – a common maidservant – that you would do well to speak to, but me. Aymiria Unalim, the first-chosen bride of my lord Zakroti Unalim, Muth a Varlasmoras. I issued a warrant against Lord Vilyn Hilevus for his unprovoked, cold-blooded murder of my friend and colleague Astrae Silverheart.
While your lady might have rank to back her claim, I have the claim of personal interest. Your lady is a third party in this whole affair – Lord Hilevus slaughtered my friend. And as her family is not able to be reached at any time in the near future, when this case would still be relevant, it is my obligation as her friend and a witness of her murder to carry out vengeance for her.
And by the way, Aldar Drais – I would encourage you to never, ever speak to me as though I am a child again. Unless you wish to be treated by appearances as well, in which case you may as well crawl around on your hands and knees and bark and sniff people’s asses.
Miry finally looked up at Aldar, who had been standing motionless, annoyance building up with every passing second as the insolent child had been writing. Wordlessly as ever, Miry handed the paper to Aldar, then went back to scrutinizing the single shard of flute that she’d rescued.
Aldar read the paper. First her blood went cold as she realized her mistake, then as she read over the bottom paragraph, everything took on a haze of red and she felt like she might explode into flames. A tiny wisp of steam came from her right ear – a fact which Miry noticed and miraculously managed to not laugh about.
“I would advise you not to trivialize my lady.” Aldar began, her hands clenching tightly around the sheet of paper and beginning to singe through it, her voice shaking with barely-contained anger. “She is rather powerful. I also would advise you to not liken her lieutenant captain to a dog, or else things may not turn out so well for your lord and his family. You’re a pretty little thing; I trust he wants to keep you that way. Would be a shame if there was some kind of accident, wouldn’t it?” She took a step forward, fury turning her pretty face ugly, and flung the now-burning bit of paper right at Miry’s face.
Miry pulled a curtain of water from the pitcher on the table and brought it up before her, causing it to freeze into ice a fraction of a second before the flaming ball of paper hit her. It imbedded itself in the thin ice and stuck there, smoking and smoldering, and she doused the whole thing again for good measure.
Miry very carefully lowered the sheet of ice to the floor, hands trembling. In a split second the girl had brought the water back, wrapped in a shimmering, dancing sheet less than a centimeter away from Aldar’s face—if she moved at all she’d be inhaling water.
She put her hand up in a gesture of “wait”, looking at Vain, then slipped off the bed and crossed the few feet to stand before Aldar. Gripping the shattered bit of flute so that the jagged end pointed outwards, she made a single swipe at the crudely embroidered four-pointed star on Aldar’s tunic sleeve (Assumedly the mark of her rank), slashing through all of the threads and leaving the pattern unraveled and unrecognizable.
Then she resumed her perch and wrote again to Vain.
Throw her out – have someone take all of her weapons first. And her boots. Let her go back to her lady and explain what happened here. Well, let her try. I’m sure that in the morning we will be seeing Lady Beneni, even if only in passing. We will see then what she has to say about her guard dog’s ill obedience. And as for the prisoner… I must admit I have no experience in keeping prisoners, but I would imagine there is some protocol that goes with that. See that it is carried out – also make triply sure he has no weapons.
The moment Aldar had made her threat, a series of spears were lowered to point at her and Vain clasped his hand around his sword.
"Careful now, or her lieutenant captain might depend herself fed to the dogs." Vain cautioned with a steely glare before falling silent again as she threw the paper; This time, he drew his sword and took a step in advance, positioning himself closer to Aymiria.
Vain took the note from Aymiria and read over it before speaking
"Surrender your arms, Aldar Drais, and your boots too. One of you seize the prisoner and see to it that he is disarmed and bound. Post two sentries to watch over him." No sooner had Vain spoke than Aurien and one of the men at arms took aim with their spears, ready to submit this woman should she refuse.
'Na wre gaiar." The remaining warrior replied as he placed his spear to the corner of the room and approached Vilyn, lifting him from the floor into a fireman's carry with a grunt of effort, mumbling a silent curse.
Aldar didn’t move for a long moment, trying to decide how best to get out of this. Finally, she sighed, put her hands up in the air, and said, “I’ll strip off my weapons as soon as Lady Aymiria stops threatening to drown me.”
Miry silently giggled – just something about the way Aldar said that, it was absolutely hilarious. She flicked her fingers and called the sheet of water back, instead wrapping the substance around her hand like a glove, so that she could bring it up more quickly in the event of another attack that used fire. Then she settled her gaze on Aldar again, watching the woman carefully.
Aldar slowly reached back, removing her glaive from its sheath, and crouched down to carefully place it on the floor. Then she removed the dagger from the sheath on her hip, and another from the back collar of her tunic, and knelt (slowly as ever, to avoid someone spearing her) and unlaced her boots, leaving them on the floor. Then she clasped her hands in front of her, seemingly waiting for further instruction.
Miry again started writing, though she kept her right hand half-raised in case of a surprise ball of fire or somesuch.
Tell your lady to be grateful that I sent you home free – Men have died for less. Don’t think I’ll forget that fact – and don’t you forget it, either. Or else I might have to remind you.
Oh, and you can see yourself out. My men are too busy to deal with the likes of you.
She held the paper out to Aldar, who took it and read over the words several times. When her blue eyes came up from the paper, Miry was watching her impassively. The drakken sputtered, looking up at Miry, then down to the paper again, then back at Miry, and finally threw the paper down on the floor and turned on her heel and left the room, slamming the door behind her.
Miry raised an eyebrow at the door, then went to writing again.
Well. That was very interesting. What do you advise we do now?
Aurien glanced over to Aymiria as Aldar stormed out "She will remember that." He remarked quietly with a small frown. Vain motioned for the men to leave and they placed their hand to their chest again in salute before turning and heading out. Vain glanced over the paper before looking back up to her.
"I advise you get some rest and try to regain your voice. You can't write instructions forever." Vain said as he sheathed his sword again and shook his head "I suspect our Muth will have to deal with the Lady we just slighted tomorrow. Let us hope she takes it well."
Miry nodded, suddenly stifling a yawn – until Vain had mentioned resting it hadn’t occurred to her how tired she was. But then, given the events of the day, she’d barely been given time to think. The girl set the stack of paper on the table, and made sure the quill was back in the inkwell, and then lay down, curling up into a ball. She lay there motionless for a moment, trying to clear her mind, then abrupty sat bolt upright again, a thought having crossed her mind. A very unpleasant one.
She reached for the paper again, blushing. She scratched many words out, blackening them in to be illegible, but finally passed the paper to Vain.
Wouldn’t it be more proper for me to stay awake? Until Lord Zakroti comes back, that is. I mean. I guess. What I’m asking. Is it not traditional that, after the choosing—Is it not expected for -- brides and their husbands to...
Vain cocked an eyebrow as the girl bolted upright and began to scribble away at the paper again; finally, she showed him her panicked scrawlings. He furrowed his brow as he tried to decipher the message.
"Vivarieiz varlas, calm yourself; I can hardly tell what you are trying to say." Vain said at last, before sighing heavily and shaking his head "It is tradition in Drakka but given the circumstances do you not expect tradition might be put aside? Or do you merely think us to be savage barbarians?"
Miry noticeably relaxed. It wasn’t a complete denial but… In the back of her mind she was still worried – a lamb before slaughter and all – but Vain’s words had calmed her from her initial panic.
Forgive me for judging the few by the many, but all my life I have heard of nothing but the barbaric nature of your people and the horrors that have been inflicted upon mine for almost the entirety of our recorded history.
"Oh? And what have you heard of the western lands? Of the Kalderans west of the westernmost lands? Of the great wordsmith 'Mehkor' and her epic poems? Of old ballads such as Aigzeiz A Narlemae, or An Vorgula A Una Kastaki? Of Zuth Aurkaan An Ien A An Garvasi? Of our folklore? What do you know of our good places and our gods? Of the great Aran Kastaki himself, or Aran Xarxsil or Orth Laloriaka Manalim? Or any of our great people or heroes?" Vain said with a small smile. He reached up to his helmet and removed it from his head, revealing his lack of horns and his obvious Gemminite features. He turned and crossed the room before placing the helmet down onto the table and turning to face her again. "And so what do you know of my people, Aymiria? What do they say beyond the spine?"
Miry kept her eyes on her paper as Vain spoke, not wanting to look up at him lest he see the lack of comprehension in her eyes. All of the names meant absolutely nothing to her, of course. She started writing, naturally, as it would doubtless be a long reply, but was distracted by the clanging sound of metal hitting wood – she looked up in time to see Vain turning back to face her, now with his helmet off.
A rush of confusion nearly swept the girl away, and she was left staring, blinking like an idiot, head tilted to the side and mouth open like a fish’s. She sat there for a second, trying to process things, then finally her brain caught up with what she was seeing and she started scribbling furiously again. The words that came from the pen were nonsensical at best but… it was a start, at least. Though she did hope that Vain wasn’t terribly good at finishing sentences that were stopped halfway through.
What-- Who are you? And why are you, why do you serve lord Zakroti? Wait. These… Your people? You call the drakken your… You turn your back on the people you were born to for the sake of these – Wait no. I don’t mean it. I’m sorry. I’m confused!
"I serve Zakroti because he has done more for me than anyone from Gemminia ever has and ever will. He taught me how to ride, how to fight, how to write and speak; He saved me from becoming a snack for the Karstaggs when I was but a baby and named me Narlemaewel. I became nicknamed Vain by the warriors due to my appearance. I do not call the Drakken my people; Drakka is vast and has many peoples. The Westerlings are my people, whatever they might be." Vain said as he cast a glance towards the floor, leaning against the table before looking back up to her with a weak smile on his face "You're blameless for being confused, truth be told. I imagine the fearsome reputation drowns out everything that doesn't make the Drakken seem like the inexorable emissaries of conquest and destruction."
Miry frowned for a moment. The idea of a Gemminite child being raised by a Drakken was… not a fabulous one – No, that’s not the right way to think of it. She forced herself to stop and take a step back, to “stop fighting the man of straw and actually listen.”
The smile on his face was an almost sad one, as though he was almost unsure of himself… Well that’s just great, Miry, now you want to jump up and hug him. He’ll probably stab you if you try. She turned her attention back to her writing, to avoid looking at the poor vulnerable-looking gem lest she jump up and wrap him up in her arms and try to reassure him.
And which name do you prefer? If you don’t mind my asking- I just don’t want to cause offense. I’ve had nicknames that have hurt before… I do my best to not perpetuate the cycle.
I guess it is kind of irreconcilable – the Drakken people are supposed to be such fierce warriors, war-hardened brutes, the lot of them – disciplined and heartless and not at all thinking for themselves. The perfect war machine, or so the legends say. But then it doesn’t really make sense, does it – if they’re so unstoppable, why not conquer Gemminia once and for all? Burn our libraries, destroy our cities, enslave our people – It would be an easy thing, a logical thing, for such a powerful empire. We have no army, after all, just untrained fathers and brothers in the fields with pitchforks and slings, and the occasional martyrs in forest hideouts with longbows and rocks. Easy work for soldiers. Conquer Gemminia, take our plentiful food, our fertile land, our fertile women, breed an army, and within two generations you could conquer the entire world, and even our gods would be powerless to stop it.
And yet… they haven’t. And I don’t pretend to know why, because clearly what I’ve been told and what the truth is are two very different things, and all I have is speculation.
Miry finally snapped out of writing. Gods, she’d scribbled nearly a whole page. Vain – Narlemaewel, she corrected herself – was probably bored out of his mind waiting for her. Somewhat sheepishly, she passed him the note with all of her speculations and awkward rambling – really, only the first three lines were even relevant, but… eh, she’d written it, she might as well show him.
Vain took the note from her and read over it before chuckling lightly and shrugging his shoulders. In truth, he was not entirely sure why they did not expand; He knew he was not the only one to think that it was foolish, indeed many in the West agreed with him in this count. But alas, they had little choice anymore but to follow the will of the King. The days of conquerers like Kastaki and indeed the days of the earlier Drakken kings who were concerned with carving out an empire and a legacy were past and the old western houses like Unalim and Manalim saw what they considered decadence, complacency and idleness.
"I would guess that you answered your own question in part; It's easy pickings, low hanging fruit. Why invade Gemminia when you can take an army to fight in the south for glory and prestige? Our culture puts a heavy emphasis on the glory of combat. There's little better than the thrill of a good fight; Butchering peasants- That isn't a good fight and there's no glory or honour in it. Great warriors slay fell beasts and crush armies; Just try passing off a group of old farmers with pitchforks as an army, you'd be laughed out of court. It's one of the reasons Drakka doesn't overtake the south; If it wanted to it could, with enough effort and time. But the south is a good source of strong enemies who provide a challenge but aren't a serious threat to the Kingdom itself and Drakka wants to have enemies. It needs enemies-"
"And I suppose that while the Gems are 'free' they do nothing but grow soft. Do you think it would be so easy to control Gemminia if this arrangement was kept under direct rule? As it stands, whenever a girl is taken and given to us, any unrest is the problem of the Gems; if the Drakken ruled directly, that under would be the problem of Drakka- But let us not pretend Gemminia is truly independent; it's closer to a satellite or client kingdom at this point. When Drakka wants something from Gemminia it can click it's fingers-" Vain snapped his fingers to illustrate the point "-And get it. They give up their children, they would give up their food, their gold, their metals and gems... anything really. If our armies walked in and took it we would face resistance and rebellion. As it stands, the royalty of Gemminia it's self does the bidding of Drakka and this legitimises the reaping and the tributes and thus keeps the Gems from rebelling. Drakka did conquer Gemminia- You just didn't notice."
Vain paused for a moment as he glanced back towards the note and then looks back up to her. She was intelligent, there was no doubting that- Ignorant but intelligent. "Vain is fine, Aymiria. 'Arrows and blades may spill my blood but names shall never break me.' As for your 'Gods'- If only the deceivers were powerless. Things would be very different indeed."
Miry frowned, the words replaying through her head. He did have a point – oh, what was she saying, he was exactly right. Why slaughter a people when you can keep them as lapdogs?
That doesn’t seem very pragmatic of them. They might be a good enemy—wait, what were you going to say about “needing enemies?” Aren’t there enough unexplored lands with unknown peoples in the far east and west? What about past the Wastes to the south? Surely there’s bound to be something out there… it doesn’t quite make sense to be so fixated on a known threat when you can exterminate it and move on and explore the wider world…explore things you don’t already know.
Forgive me – I’m probably just missing the point.
-- I suppose the gemminite people have found themselves a sneaky conquerer. These Drakken are all wrapped up in myths… not only do they have some idea of the long run but they’re sneaky about it too. And our people played right into their hand… At court we were all told horror stories, of course. But we were also told that if the Reaping chose us, we weren’t to fight, we were to conduct ourselves with grace and courtesy as befitted dignitaries sent to a foreign court – to do our people proud. At first I thought that was maybe designed as a method of preservation, to make our… husbands more gentle and careful with us. But…
Pardon me, again I’m just rambling with no idea what I’m talking about.
She went over the paper again, then perked up. He’d said something about… deceivers?
Deceivers? I’m afraid I’m not familiar with the allusion you’re making… could you elaborate?
Vain paused after reading over the paper, considering carefully before speaking "To the West of Drakka lies Kalderas; Beyond Kalderas lies the great waters. None have crossed the great waters and returned. Some say it never ends and that if you go out far enough dark things of legend lurk in the waters, great leviathans who do not like the boats out the land dwellers. To the east of Drakka lies your land. We are surrounded by many worthy foes and I guess I just share the view of my lord; the Kings and indeed the Lords of Drakka have grown complacent. They do not wish to conquer and build, nor see the lands that lie beyond our neighbours; they would rather maintain the current state of affairs forever."
"It wasn't always like this; In the days of old before Osh Edehame was part of Drakka, Kastaki the Great built an empire and left a legacy, a challenge for future rulers who might want to call themselves his equal that ended on the words "Naan Aran gais gaiar kala epe geho o meh, oris o hilyatoz, zela geh hilyatew!' None surpassed his accomplishments; But the effort made the difference. We thrived and expanded. It was a time of prosperity for our people but alas eventually it collapsed into a succession crisis and the Westerlings fought each other instead of their true enemies. The second son of Roftaki Unalim, Orstaki Unalim, allied himself with the Drakken and assisted them in conquering Osh Edehame; In return he was allowed to rule over it as Petty King, a vassal of Drakka. With the absorption of Osh Edehame into Drakka,, Kalderas and the Kingdoms southern and northern holdings broke way as independent lands and the West's golden age was lost. At the time, the Drakken Kings still had ambition but over the ages even that faded and was replaced by the decadence and bloodlust you see today."
"Your 'Gods' are the deceivers in our eyes; not in all of Drakka but in the pantheon of West they tricked the mother Vivari into believing her three most successful sons to be evil and treacherous out of spite and jealousy. Despite their protests, she cast her loyal sons and their servants away into the west, cursed the land to be harsh and inhospitable and erected the spine to keep them there; Bitterness seeped into them and they became consumed with a burning hatred for their siblings. The faithful hope for the day when the mother shall be convinced of the treachery and be reunited with her children, that the wrongs might be righted and the deceivers punished for their sins; Drakka shall spring with life anew and the spine shall sink into the ground. One of our holy men could probably explain it better than I." Vain finished with a slight laugh, unsure of how the girl would respond; After all, what he had just said was practically the exact opposite of what she would have been taught as a Gem.
Miry hesitated for a moment, taking in all the information before she could even begin to process it. Her head spun with all the names that Vain had rattled off. It was almost breathtaking, how much knowledge he had, and how freely he was sharing it – she almost wanted to write it down but her hand was starting to ache and she didn’t want to further burden it, as she imagined there would be a lot more writing to be done before the night was over. His comment about religion made her tense slightly, but she did not care to start a fight, not when he was still going to prattle on about history!
Someday I would like to read the histories of your lands, if my lord Zakroti would allow it… There is more knowledge here than I could hope to absorb in any amount of conversation. If I might ask… what do those words translate to? I have heard them uttered twice already tonight and I’m quite confused. Ah, that needs to also be added to the list of things I must learn – I do not like to not understand the dominant tongue.
As for your religious philosophy, it is… intriguing. If it is to be allowed, I would like to speak to one of your holy men at some point. I’d like to hear more about the philosophy. I’m not going to outright discount it, not when today has been so full of me being proven wrong... And the things I’ve been taught being shown as wrong.
Thank you for telling me about it, in any case. If you don’t mind me asking so many pointless questions, what lies in Kalderas? We’re really taught nothing at court, “educated young people” we might be… I’ve heard the name, I think, but only rarely and it’s always been called just a “shadowed place” and the subject’s been dropped.
She passed this sheet of paper to Vain, eyes sparkling with all this sudden curiosity. She almost wanted to cry again, this time from happiness… she’d thought, when she’d been sent to Drakka, that she was going to be bored to tears, some plaything for some brutish stupid lord. Not talking to a gemminite who’d grown up in Drakka and had told her in less than an hour more than she’d been taught in her life about the realm – unless he was lying. But surely he wouldn’t lie… right? Surely history was a relatively harmless thing?
"Of course you would be allowed to talk to our holy men and I am certain my lord would have no objection to you reading the many texts contained in his library. The words I spoke are the final sentence of Kastaki's challenge. They translate to 'Any king who wants to call himself my equal, wherever I went, let him go.'"
"A shadowed land is probably an apt description; Kalderas is a vast land of swamps and jungles which have thick canopies, making the paths dark. The seat of the Kalderan high chief, the underground city of Alduris, lies in the north of that land behind impenetrable swamps. In the bowels of Alduris citadel lie bones that, if legends are to be believed, are the remains of a great dragon whom the Kalderans once served."
"The native Kalderans are short creatures of about five foot, they are agile and quiet and navigate their lands with ease. They live in tribal societies but do not let this fool you into thinking that they are unintelligible savages; Many make that judgement and that mistake gives the Kalderans power. The Kalderans herd the powerful Hufari to build their halls and fight in their wars; the Hufari stand some 13 feet and are extremely strong, fully capable of carving the stone halls in which the Kalderans make their home. They are loyal beasts of burden once trained and protect their shorter masters to their last breaths."
"The thick jungles and marshes are filled with all kinds of things; Mushrooms as tall as towers which the Kalderans sometimes hollow out to use as watchtowers, strange aquatic serpents that slither through the swamps’ murky waters and flying lizards that scavenge what they can from the leftovers of the jungles many predators. There are ruins within as well, long forgotten fortresses and keeps which nature has reclaimed. The Kalderans often make their homes underground and inside mountains, though there are a few villages which sit on stilts above the water."
Miry couldn’t help but giggle happily at the mention of the word “library”… Libraries were good. Very good. Who knew, she might even be able to find an old book of music among all the tomes devoted to history and theology, and learn some of the old ballads—
Her smile faded slightly as she realized that even if she could find a book of music, it wouldn’t do her very much good. She quickly shook the thought out of her head and turned her full attention back to Vain.
Okay, she definitely needed to get her hands on a history book as soon as humanly possible. Everyone she’d heard speak today dropped the name “Kastaki” almost casually, as though this man’s accomplishments were so well-known they needed no elaboration…
She frowned at the description of the Kalderans and their Hufari, recoiling faintly at the mention of dragons.
The bones of a dragon? Surely that’s just a fable. According to the old legends – or at least, all the ones I ever heard – dragons were once as common as dogs, all across both Gemminia and Drakka. And yet, real dragon bones have never been found, at least not in our kingdom. At least not that they’ve let us know of…
As far as the Kalderans and their Hufari… what language do they speak? What are their social customs? Have they ever come into contact with us – well, I mean, obviously they must have for us to know they exist but – has a diplomatic endeavor of any sort ever been undertaken?
The girl frowned at the paper for a moment before handing it over. It felt like they’d gotten sidetracked from something important. Well… no matter. If it wasn’t important enough to linger in the front of her mind, it could probably be pushed back for a while in favor of such intriguing things as races of creatures that she’d never even heard of.
"I too suspect it is just a myth but it is one the Kalderans cling to with religious zeal- but then, I have not seen the bones. There are few outsiders who have... Nastaki has, but I imagine you aren't fond of the idea of asking him about them." Vain said with a light chuckle, pouring himself a glass of water from a pitcher before looking up to her again and drinking from it."
"The Hufari do not speak and they have no more social customs than your own pet; Some Hufari occasionally wander from Kalderas if they were displaced by disaster but I doubt it would be common for them to pass to your land. If it did ever happen I imagine that they would have been mistaken by most for something from your own legends , trolls or ogres perhaps. The Kalderans speak Kovaak. In the years they spent as Vassals of the Western Kings their language was influenced by Unakor and vice versa, there are a number of loan words between the two languages. They are a tribal society with Chieftains ruling over cities. Their shamans select a High Chieftain from the ruling chieftains when the High Chief dies and the high chief has great influence over the other tribes, however the chiefs have no obligation to obey him."
"They have no custom of marriage and a different view of family; the tribe is viewed as part of one's family and as such it is common for them to refer to each other as Tribe-Kin. I cannot tell you too much about their culture for in truth I do not understand much of it myself. I know that they have days of the year on which they hold very specific rituals and feasts. They share their religion with us however many of their previous religious beliefs were merged in with our own. For instance, they believe that Kalderas is where Vivari resides, in the trees and the rivers and the swamps. When they die, Vivari takes their life force and melds it into something new before returning it to the world. Death is not the end but the first step in an endless journey. They believe that there was a father, Vahlok, to Vivari's children but that the deceivers tore him apart and cast him into the space between worlds so as to inherit his power and trick Vivari into believing that her loyal children had committed the vile act. The stars in the sky were the tears that were created in fabric of this plane of existence when the deceivers threw the pieces of Vahlok through the barriers. There are six standing stones in Kalderas to which one who wishes to become a Chieftain must make a pilgrimage to; Their names translate to Life, Water, Wind, Earth, Sun and Tree. They represent the gifts of Vahlok and are all that remain of the once numerous shrines to him. Each Chieftain will make an offering at the stone and pray because they believe that the first time a Chieftain does so, the shrine acts as a sort of astral beacon that Vahlok can see in the vast darkness between the worlds for but a fraction of a moment. They hope that eventually Vahlok will find his way back to this world and be reunited with Vivari."
"As for a diplomatic endeavour, I don't believe they have ever been on a diplomatic mission to Gemminia however I do know that your people have indeed met before; There were some, though admittedly not many, Kalderan warriors in the forces of House Unalim during the invasion of your lands by the southern beasts. In fact, the Kalderan high chieftain of the day was present when the decision was made amongst the Drakken lords to demand brides rather than lands from your people at the end of that war. The Petty King at the time left in protest when Oggar suggested it, and the Kalderans went with him. With all that was going on, it's not surprising your people have little knowledge of the Kalderans outside of their name and where they come from; I don't suppose anyone was very interested in the short green people when their homes were being sacked and their children were being stolen and I don't suppose many Gems go travelling west to communicate with the Kalderans given that they know Drakka lies between the two- Those which did, I doubt they would think much of a dark and gloomy swamp filled with dangerous wildlife and disease."
Miry stared at Vain as he spoke, eyebrows furrowing slightly as she tried to pull this information into her already somewhat-overloaded mind.
Hold on, Lord Nastaki’s been to – Alduris? I don’t suppose that someday, after, well, after things have settled down, I might be able to ask him about it?
That’s just lovely, Miry, cause now you want to go pester him about it! He’ll probably have you flogged for impudence if you so much as try to address him, so don’t even think about it, you foolish girl!
I think someday I’d like to go visit their lands.
For a moment she let herself daydream, imagining wandering through these dense swamps and forests and massive mushrooms, watching all the little green people going about their business – Wait. Little green people? She frowned for a minute, then started giggling for the better part of a minute, before she finally calmed down enough to write.
The little green goblin! There’s a set of children’s rhymes about “the little green goblins who fought in the war, the little green goblins at the king’s door.” I always laughed because really, who believes in goblins…? But… hm.
Anyway. The bit about Vivari using the life force – that’s something that some Gems believe. Why Astrae wanted to be buried in the garden, in the embrace of the Great Mother. We’re kind of weird, always putting so much thought, worrying about how it is we are going to leave this world. I suppose it’s reassuring, to know of one thing that for certainty will happen when we die. – I am going to spare you that airheaded “philosophy” for now. I apologize.
I know I’m jumping all over the place, but if you don’t mind me asking, it seems that house Unalim has a very close tie with the vast majority of goings-on in this part of the continent. You all know of the Kalderans, assumedly pretty well if Lord Nastaki has been in their great city. You fought for Gemminia those seven hundred-odd years ago. Judging by our place in the hall, how close we were to the dais, this is a house of some influence. If you don’t mind my asking, what’s the story of this house – how did you climb the ranks
"I imagine you could try if you manage to change his opinion of you enough after that affair earlier." Vain paused in surprise as the girl collapsed into a fit of giggles that lasted almost a full minute before she wrote again. He cocked a brow at her response and gave a short nod
"Sometimes it is difficult to tell what is myth and what is real, though I find a good rule of thumb to be that legends don't burn down villages or swing swords at you." Vain replied with a small smile. “As for visiting yourself- You best not get ill easily and have guides whose knowledge will not fail you; they say that it can be an unforgiving replace, easy to wander into danger or get lost in."
"House Unalim did not climb the ranks of Drakka; It fell. But I know what you mean; Long ago Osh Edehame was not one entity. It shared a culture, a religion and a language but it had no central king. There were almost as many kings as there were counties. The Kingdom of Drakka was a rising power at this time and wished to expand into the western regions. King Qaera of Drakka demanded that they swear fealty to him- or he would kill them all and take the land to himself."
"It was then that a leader rose among the divided kings. He was a lord named "Kastaki". He rallied several of the kings behind him and rode to meet Qaera's host, that was five times larger than his own, on the field of Lattasil. Kastaki had his men feign a retreat, goading Qaera into a charge to run them down; his men broke ranks and gave up the high ground that they had set themselves up on to chase the fleeing Westerlings in a bloodlust... only to find themselves encircled by the cavalry that Kastaki had kept hidden in the forest. Qaera found his own army decimated and he tried to flee. Popular legend is that one of his own men knocked him off his horse and stole it to flee himself, leaving Qaera to his fate. He was captured and beheaded, his severed head wrapped in his own tattered banner and returned to Drakka as a warning.
Kastaki emerged as a hero, an unstoppable juggernaut and military genius. At the moot, the kings who had fought with him gave him their crowns and swore allegiance to him and his descendants. Kastaki became the one to carry out the very threat that Qaera had put forth, uniting the west as a single entity and expanding its borders across the little kingdoms that dotted Drakka and the lands to the north and south of it as this time. The tribes of Kalderas fell to the rule of the West one by one and when Kastaki, in his old age, seized Alduris from them it was the beginning of a bond between the two peoples which has remained strong even though they are no longer united. No one since has ever seized Alduris and no outsider had ever seized it before. He died and successfully passed the throne to his son. At the end of his reign his Kingdom spanned all of Kalderas and the kings of the little kingdoms of the north had sworn allegiance to the West. Even parts of Drakka were absorbed at times, then lost and captured again in endless border disputes; The Karstaggs still do not forgive House Unalim for that. Your own people traded with Kastaki and kept warm relations, as Gemminia often has with those who might otherwise threaten it. His descendants ruled the independent kingdom until the interregnum and in that time parts of the southern waste and the isle of ghosts were added to the Kingdom."
"It was in the dying days of Roftaki Unalim that the fall began. He had fallen gravely ill and his children squabbled over the throne. Before his body was even cold, blood had been spilled in the halls of the kings and the land was fractured into a civil war. The uneasy alliance Roftaki had kept with Drakka collapsed and the east seized its chance to invade and allied it's self with Orstaki Unalim and together they overthrew the proud west and absorbed it into Drakka. They tried to go further west to claim Kalderas but disease defeated them and drove them back. The ever turbulent south broke away and the northern kingdoms sensed the change in fortune and abandoned their oaths. With Kalderas lying between them, the Isle of Ghosts and Drakka quietly broke off contact and the Kingdom of the West was no more. "
"Orstaki remained as Petty King, vassal of Drakka until his death. His son Paska Unalim took the throne and led Osh Edehame in the conflict your people had in the south, calling upon the old alliances in Kalderas to bolster his numbers. A hundred and eighty years later he refused to answer a call to arms against the north and in response the King of Drakka stripped the family of their royal status. As you can imagine, it nearly came to war. But the King was a cunning man and arranged to marry one of his cousins to Silte Unalim, Nastaki's aunt, to create a bond between the two houses and prevent war."
"While it may have prevented war, the bitterness remains to this day. Older members such as Nastaki still remember the events as they occurred and feel cheated; Nastaki is a proud man as you found out, he did not take well to his future titles being torn away by the king. The west of Drakka is one of the most valuable parts; being closer to Kalderas, much of it is fertile enough to grow food and the westernmost parts, the areas that House Unalim controls, have meadows and forests of their own. Osh Edehame, the largest part of the West, belongs to House Unalim and makes it undeniably powerful and influential."
And how would I go about changing Lord Nastaki’s judgment of me? Clearly I’m not doing a great job of it… Miry grinned as she passed that bit of paper, then settled back to listen to the next bit of ramble. Filing away all the names and information to go through later, when she had a second to process.
She shuddered at the mental images of the battle. She’d had a good enough imagination as a child to be able to piece together images of combat based on even the vaguest of detail in a book or story, and the detail Vain provided was more than enough to send rather disturbing images of slaughter into her head.
That said, besides the visceral reaction, part of her was in awe of Kastaki’s – well, all of them, but especially his – achievements. So size and strength wasn’t necessarily all there was, even for a Drakken warrior. They would try to outthink their enemies too, not just bash them into the ground. Good to know, good to know. She started writing before her conscious reactions had quite caught up to her thought process.
Why has lord Nastaki not tried to take the throne, then? Or if not take it, why not – oh, I don’t know the word, but why not try to break away from Drakka and become your own sovereign kingdom again? Clearly you have enough resources that it would be easy to exist as your own kingdom, even with a presumably more dense population. Of course, I’d imagine Osh Edehame is also one of the only “local” suppliers of most food goods – Drakka would do everything in its power to keep those lands affiliated with it, I suppose. Well. I guess I just answered my own question, or at least half of it. But why not try to take it by force?
Miry hesitated for a moment, not sure how that paragraph would be received, and lightly scratched it out. Of course then she internally smacked herself, because now she desperately wanted to know, and quickly passed the paper to Vain.
Vain chuckled lightly and shrugged his shoulders "If you find the trick, be sure to let the rest of us know." He said to her, before falling silent as she wrote again. Finally, she showed him it and he ran his eyes over the words twice before talking
"Again, I am not Nastaki or any other of the magnates. I can offer guesses but that's it; I believe that Nastaki has not attacked because if we attacked Drakka, we would at war with the greatest warrior kingdom in the history of our world. The Karstaggs would oppose us and our pragmatic 'allies' in Isilmur would likely side with Drakka. Orry would stay with us due to the marriage alliance but under a sustained assault from Karstagg, Isilmur and Azinmur they would require assistance, especially once the King of Drakka himself begins to attack, and Orry may even fracture internally as it's vassals would not share the same priorities and might judge Drakka to be the safer bet."
"As such, we would have to divert almost all of our forces to fight in the east and raise our levies, thus leaving ourselves open to attacks from the southern wastes and you can be certain that the southerners will raid. The lords of Drakka would certainly answer the call to arms in the hopes of acquiring our lands. We would be surrounded by enemies and beset on all sides by the tides of war; Kalderas would even the odds but their forces would take time to arrive and as such we would be forced to fight on our own lands rather than take the fight directly to Drakka as they would attack quickly to take advantage of the numerical advantage. Even if we managed to win the war the battlegrounds would be in our homes and our lands and as such our kingdom would be devastated; Our people would suffer for it- and the Drakken are sore losers. I expect they would burn anything they captured should it seem we may take it back and I have no doubts that they would torch the farms, steal our food and scorch the Earth, to say nothing about what the southerners would do. Our people would starve. No; To try and match Drakka strength to strength would be extremely risky. Perhaps if a suitable distraction were to open up it would be possible but there are few enemies or targets that would draw so much of Drakka's forces and attention away." Vain finished with a furrowed brow as he thought about it.
Miry shuddered and shook her head vigorously to dispel the image that came to mind. She’d not expected quite so elaborate of an explanation, though what Vain spoke of made perfect sense. Of course it would be foolish, when surrounded by so many strong enemies, to try to attack one – she should have known that.
Now, she had absolutely no idea what to say in reply. What could one say in response to someone admitting the vulnerability of their own empire…?
She started writing, then crossed it out and started again.
I was about to say Gemminia would come to your aid but we both know they wouldn’t. They’re too afraid of inadvertently siding with the losers in any conflict. I’m sorry I had to ask that – it was kind of a stupid question. Thank you for explaining it so well, though. And not just that, but for being so patient with all of my childish questions.
The girl passed the paper, then hesitated for a moment. Then she slid off the bed and crossed the few steps to be standing next to Vain, and hugged him awkwardly. And then she promptly turned bright red and pulled away, settling back onto the bed and letting her hair fall forward to obscure her face so that maybe her blushing would be a touch less obvious.
Damn you, Miry, stop being so emotional and touchy-feely!
Vain paused as he read the girl’s note and was very surprised to suddenly find himself the victim of an awkward hug. He cocked an eyebrow at her as she returned to the bed and spoke "What in Drun's name was that for?" Vain asked before speaking in response to her writings "Gemminia is weak and feeble. I imagine they have not even spent these centuries to build up their own strength against Drakka's might. They always lose because they refuse to play; It is the equivalent to a player skipping all of his turns for fear that he might make the wrong move. Inevitably, his opponents win and he loses. There is cautiousness and then there is cowardice. Gemminia often falls into the latter, it is too scared to even try and make a move; Drakka has enemies that your people could form a coalition with but as you say they are too afraid of losing."
Why wouldn’t I hug you? Miry wrote, still blushing considerably. She hesitated for a moment, then grinned and wrote, And who would those people be? Simply for curiosity’s sake, of course. Then her smirk faded.
In all seriousness, maybe it would be… educational, for Gemminia to be taken directly – as in, by an army, not by whatever political agreement the royals made with the Drakken kings. “I would laugh at a pride of lions led by a sheep, but I would run from a herd of sheep led by a lion.” It might take being conquered by force for them to realize it. Because I guess they do assume they can talk and bribe their way out of everything.
Miry set the pen down abruptly. Perhaps a dangerous thing to say, and an even more dangerous thing to commit to words. Everything she’d written, actually, could have been dangerous to say. But then, she’d not get to go back home where these words could be held against her so… nothing to lose.
Vain stared blankly at her frankly childish behaviour, returning to table to pour himself another drink and downing it in one go. He turned back towards her again and scanned his eyes over what she had written before shrugging his shoulders and speaking again
"Perhaps. I doubt there will be any such invasion in the foreseeable future, however. The Lords seem to be very much in favour of the current arrangement and the Gems- well, it is a very low kind of coward who buys peace with his children's lives." Vain opened his mouth to speak again but was cut off by the sound of the doors to the hallway swinging open.
Zakroti paused at the entrance to his rooms to look at Ayltam, and traded some words with her,
"Norric ien wre, seru-wel." He said to her, earning a small nod from her as she approached the door on the right side of the hallway.
"E wre, lalyent-seru, spanga an arcta laloria." She replied as she unlatched it and entered, vanishing into the room behind. Zakroti turned and entered his own rooms glancing towards Aymiria and Vain for a moment; The Blackguard turned to him and placed his hand over his chest. Miry hastily jumped to her feet and curtsied, being taken entirely by surprise with this whole exchange.
"Muth."
"You're relieved, Vain; get some rest for tomorrow. There may be fighting to be done." Zakroti said; The Blackguard paused for a moment as if trying to work out who they would be fighting - perhaps whether there had already been consequences for the actions this night- before finally nodding and leaving the room, brushing past Zakroti.
Zakroti glanced towards Aymiria and then to Kasari before letting out a quiet sigh and speaking at last "The pair of you should come to whatever arrangements you please for sleeping. I know there is an additional room on this wing that is not in use, I imagine I shall take that room for my own use this might. Norric ien wre spanga an arcta laloria; Vivyent sunna wredzi." And with that he turned on his heel, opened the door and was gone; there was the sound of metal boots on stone as presumably some of the men at arms and the Blackguard followed to stand watch outside his door.
Zak paused as he entered the spare room, glancing around it and checking the closets before finally settling down to sleep. The rising and falling sound of movement gave away that there were a pair of warriors patrolling the wing, occasionally whispering to each other and initially keeping him awake. Before too long, however, he became accustomed to the background noise and drifted into a dreamless sleep.
Miry shifted awkwardly, somewhat taken aback by Lord Zakroti’s sudden entrance and exit. She finally wrote on another sheet of paper and passed it to Kasari, not meeting the much-taller girl’s eyes.
The bed is definitely big enough for us both but if you’d prefer to sleep there alone I can curl up on the couch. Wherever is fine – I’m little. I adapt. Also, if you don’t mind, I’m going to stay up for a bit and write in my journal. So much has happened today that I want to document. Also, I hope you’re not opposed to pets – I’m going to let my Bunny out of her basket; I bet she could use some fresh air.
Miry went to her basket in the corner and took out her battered old notebook, going back to the desk and pulling her single candle close. She opened the cover of the book and settled down, quickly flipping to the first blank page – she was decidedly NOT in the mood for memories. She dipped the quill in the inkwell for what felt like the ten thousandth time, dated the page, and began writing.
Daily Lesson: Just because I am a bride does not mean I am powerless. I have the power to do what I want – or at least, the power to command others to do my bidding.
Note to self: Probably not a wise idea to offend Lieutenant Captain Aldar Drais of Lady Siadamkiru Beneni’s personal bodyguard (Remember those two names!) and definitely not a wise idea to steal her prisoner… Maybe should apologize in the morning? No, don’t do that – You acted on instinct and asserted your authority, now take ownership of it.
Yes, maybe you overreacted. But come on, she called you short. She was pretty much ASKING for it. Just pray you’re not going to get chopped to pieces for your hotheadedness.
ANYWAY.
Vain – Well, his real name is Narlemaewel but everyone just calls him Vain. And he’s a Gemminite but somehow he wound up lost in Drakken lands and taken in by Lord Zakroti. Anyway, he told me a lot of cool things about Drakka today.
He’s kinda cute, in a bit of a gruff soldiery way. Kinda like how Papa was – I miss Papa.
Also, don’t try to hug Vain. Seriously, don’t, or he’ll freeze up and invoke the god of war on you.
Damn you, Miry, FOCUS.
He told me a lot about the great king Kastaki – Kastaki of house Unalim. How Osh Edehame (that’s Lord Zakroti’s family’s holding!) used to be a bunch of allied lands without any clear ruler. Until Kastaki came along and united them, then defeated the ancient king of Drakka in battle despite being outnumbered five to one, and gradually built an empire out of the far western half of what is now Drakka. Roftaki Unalim’s children pulled the lands into a civil war and Drakka conquered them, but they remained as petty kings of Osh Edehame until Paska Unalim refused to answer a call to arms and the whole family was stripped of their titles. Nastaki, who still remembers when this happened (Which according to a bit of mental arithmetic means Nastaki must be about 200, if not older!!) is understandably rather bitter about it.
Oh! OH. I learned about the Kalderans too. The song “The Little Green Goblins” was probably inspired by them, because they fought with the members of house Unalim in the war against the south – they’re from Kalderaas, the country to the west of Drakka. Their capital city is Alduris, which legend says is built around a set of dragon bones. Nastaki has been to the city – Don’t you ask him about it, Miry! After those shenanigans earlier he’ll probably have you flayed or something! Anyway, Kalderaas. Kastaki Unalim was the first and only commander to ever take the city of Alduris – the Kalderans have since held an enormous respect for house Unalim.
Right, what actually IS a Kalderan? Apparently they’re short (5 feet tall, so I guess still taller than me by a lot), vaguely frog-like creatures who tame enormous (13 foot tall) bull-like creatures, and sometimes live in enormous mushrooms in a massive swamp. To the west even further is a place called the Isle of Ghosts – (Make sure to ask Lord Zakroti about it sometime!) They share a religion with house Unalim.
Oh right, religion. The standard religion of Osh Edehame is kind of… odd. The drakken gods were not the cruel children of Vivari – it was the three other Gemminite gods who were. They tricked Vivari into believing their brothers were the cruel, sick ones, poisoning her ears until she cast the sons out in disgust. I… want to reject it, but then I also had flaws in a lot of other ideas I worshipped pointed out to me today. So I’m probably not the best judge of that right now.
I have to ask Lord Zakroti if I might, someday, have a tutor to learn the language his household speaks – Unakor, I think someone said it was called? I also must try to get my hands on the histories of Drakka and of Osh Edehame specifically. And at some point I need to find myself another flute – I’d even take the wooden one I had when I was six years old, but I need a musical instrument.
… Okay, looking back over this, I’m being even more disorganized than usual. The watchmen called the midnight bell what seemed like forever ago, and apparently tomorrow will be a busy day… I should get some rest. Goodnight, Tekte! ~M
In the short time they had gotten to speak the two girls had hit it off quite well, sighing with disappointment when the clock struck midnight. Waving goodbye to each other, Kasari watched after the small blonde with a smile, glad she had been chosen by what seemed like a kind woman. Falling into step beside her own Drakken partner, Kasari felt the small lizard return to his place on her shoulder, staring up at the man cautiously. Leo showed no signs of aggression towards Zakroti but she could tell the critter was worried about his friend, something she wasn't going to leave to chance as his presence was noted. Scooping the lizard up in her hands, Kasari beamed with pride.
"Well, you're not wrong. These little buggars make terrible pets in the more traditional sense of the word. He's what we call a Horn-Crested Desert Dragon... Or Desert Dragon for short. They thrive best in harsher conditions found in deserts, which Gemminia isn't quite known for, however there are a small chain of mountains just a few days ride out from where I grew up. My father used to tell me they were Pyrus' contribution to the physical world, a way for him to turn fire into stone for the Great Mother Vivari to mold into the lands we see today. But despite having not spewed fire in generations, they still give off enough heat to warm the air considerably. It was there that I met Leo, or rather, he made himself comfortable in my food bags..." Kasari laughed as Leo snuggled up to her hand, trying to look as cute as possible.
"I let him go of course, but my brother was adamant about catching the little thing. Saw him chasing Leo around, acting all sorts of mean to the little guy... So I did what any normal person would do, I scooped up the little lizard and kicked my brother's butt. After that we couldn't be separated, he followed me all the way home, and now from home all the way out here. I promise he won't be much trouble." Realizing she had been rambling on about the lizard, Kasari took a moment to think about an answer to his final question about Sorrin and her Drakken bride.
"I didn't have the pleasure of speaking at all with Miss Siadamkiru, however Sorrin seemed comfortable around her. If someone that sweet can be in her company, I don't think she can be all that bad. Why, what's this about?" She then shook her head with a smile, laughing her own question wrong.
"Nevermind. I know a business deal when I see one, if it were something I needed to know you wouldn't have stepped away to speak to her. I can respect that, but if you're trying to gauge how trustworthy a business partner she is... You're asking the wrong person. Follow your gut on that one, relying too much on others opinions can lead to failure and in this territory failure doesn't sound all that safe for anyone." Kasari shrugged, a motion that seemed to say 'but what would I know?'. It didn't take them long to return to the room where they would be staying, Miry already inside speaking to another of the Blackguard. Internally Kasari sighed with relief as it seemed Miry was doing much better now than she had been earlier. Before she knew it Zakroti had disappeared again, leaving her and Miry in the room together to hash out their own sleeping arrangements.
"Goodnight M'lord." She bowed her head respectfully as he left for the evening, then turning to her Gemminite sister with a tired smile. A little surprised by the written speech, Kasari took the paper and read it carefully with a quiet giggle.
"These walls don't do much to keep the warmth inside so it would probably be more comfortable for the both of us to sleep together in the bed. I could sleep through just about anything so just climb up whenever you're done writing in your journal... And don't worry about it, it seems I've brought one of my own as well. I'm sure they'll be great friends, right Leo?" She asked the small lizard who had curled up and fell asleep in her hands.
"Oh, well maybe they can get to know each other some other time. That's alright. You finish writing in your journal, I'm going to try and get some sleep before tomorrow's festivities. Goodnight Miry." Squeezing the girl's shoulder lightly, Kasari climbed up onto the bed with Leo snuggled up right next to her neck. It took less than a few breaths before she was sleeping soundly, obviously wiped from the day's events.
A little disappointed that her meeting with Kasari was being ended already, Sorrin waved her goodbye, though her face lit up at the promise of being able to speak with the Gemminite girl again soon. She giggled as the small lizard ran down her body and scuttled across the floor back to his master, a shiver running down her spine as her now exposed neck met the cool air once again. While she continued to keep pace with Lady Sia, Sorrin began noticing how tired she really was, the excitement that was the last few days finally catching up to her in what could only be described as the squeakiest yawn to ever echo the stone halls they walked. Her fatigue however was broken by a rush of adrenaline, fear striking her as Sia hesitated at the sound of a scream. Glancing up at the tense Drakken, Sorrin nodded her understanding of the instructions.
As soon as the door had been pushed open and Lady Sia had walked inside, Sorrin scurried beneath the closest table she could find. Curling her body up, she folded up neatly beneath the furniture, safe from whatever force might be thrown about in the conflict... However she was far too curious to leave herself completely cut off from the situation, plugging her ears as she had promised, but peeking out from her hiding place to watch the scene unfold. At first everything seemed to be going just how Lady Sia had planned it, or at least within her ability to control, however that changed just as quickly as the lord's own guards arrived, surrounding Sia menacingly. She had to cover her mouth to keep from screaming as they ganged up on her, one of them slicing up her back pretty badly while she was blocking a blow from another. Deciding that she could watch no more, Sorrin withdrew beneath the table waiting for whatever might happen.
What seemed like an eternity later, a knock on the top of the table signaled it was safe for her to come out from hiding. When she emerged she was surprised to see a few other female warriors in the room, a sigh of relief escaping her lips as she pieced the scene together silently. Falling into step, Sorrin kept glancing up at the Gemminite girl being carried in Sia's arms. She could sense her trouble breathing, not all that surprising with the amount of strength a Drakken had in a single hand. Closing her eyes, she let Sia guide her toward the room while she focused on the air entering and leaving the other Gem's lungs. It was jagged, forced, and sounded somewhat painful. Lightly pushing a little more air into each breath, she focused on making the intake a little smoother until her unconscious body corrected itself and began breathing normally. Wanting to be helpful, Sorrin rushed into the room Sia had led them too heading straight for the bag she recognized as being her own.
"We should wrap her neck with some of this ointment my aunt sent with me. It's to prevent swelling and is supposed to help calm the nerves. I think she could use it more than me right now." Sorrin glanced over at the girl, worry etched into her features as she pulled out a small glass jar filled with a yellowish/green paste. She then reached in and withdrew a small leather pouch filled with various flowers. Picking out one of the blue ones, she pulled the roots off and offered them to Lady Siadamkiru with the same worried glance.
"That looks painful, you should chew on these... It'll help a little." She added, feeling bad that she couldn't to much more to help other than offer a few herbs and a warm smile.
Azilon Dantanath
"Husband" of Rya Mira and Aeila Snowblood
He had only been awake for a few short moments before his ears registered that he was being spoken to, hie eyes groggily finding the source of the voice. Naturally the questions were pouring out of the small Geminite girl he vaguely remembered helping him back to the room. It was at that moment that he realized he had passed out on the floor of his own room, a low growl escaping his chest as he raised a hand. Covering the girl's mouth with his hand, he locked sleep filled eyes with her and responded with a curt "shush" before attempting to push himself up. He had made it to a sitting position, working on stretching out his stiff limbs and yawning loudly. Shaking the fog out of his head, he returned his gaze to the small Gem.
"Oh yes, that's right... The Choosing Ceremony was last night." He recalled, running a careful hand over the already healing wound on his back. Shaking his head at the memories flooding in from the previous night, Azilon sighed.
"In a way, I guess it is permanent. After all, Gems caught trying to sneak back across the border are captured and often times killed without a second thought. I can offer you protection seeing as I owe you for not slitting my throat in my sleep, but do not expect any further kindness from me. You'll earn your keep like everyone else in my estate, that goes for you too Sprite." He called out, not seeing her in his line of sight but sensing her presence in the room. Working his way up to his feet, the Drakken lord appeared much steadier on his feet than he had been the night before. It was almost as if the events had never taken place... All except the obvious wound that was still there, but it seemed the rest had done his body wonders, moving almost normally about the room. To those familiar with him he might have come across as quite sluggish, definitely not back to 100% but well enough to impress those that had witnessed the ordeal. Letting loose another large yawn, Azilon glanced at the small girl before cocking his head slightly.
"You didn't get dinner did you? No I suppose not with all that went on. When Scoot shows his face be sure to tell him what you want for breakfast. It's a long way back and you're going to need every ounce of strength if you're unfamiliar with the terrain." And with that he disappeared into the bathing room where a giant tub sat in the center of the room. Filling the thing with hot water, Azilon sunk into it gratefully, the heat pulling all the tension from his muscles. Perhaps it was a little too comfortable, though, seeing as he fell right back asleep in the arms of the soothing heat. Snoring softly, his head barely shifted, hanging only slightly off center.
As was expected, Scoot didn't take very long to show up after Azilon mentioned him. Poking his head in cautiously before letting himself in.
"Oh good, it looks like he's up. I told you he'd be alright, all things considered. I supposed I should collect breakfast for everyone then before it's time to leave. How about it Miss Rya? Would you like to join me, I can show you all the different foods commonly eaten in the Drakken culture. Help you choose one that suits your tastes best?" The small man smiled warmly, oddly chipper for it being so early in the morning.
Lugft sighed happily as he stared out his window into the morning sun... it was good to be him this morning. He turned back to look at his bed, his two brides were there, both still asleep and no doubt recovering from their... nuptials. He chuckled quietly, but did not have the time to wait for them to awake for he was hungry. He quickly dressed, a pair of breeches, a loose and open chested shirt and his boots. Her flung open his door, whistling happily as he walked down the hallways and corridors of Castle Drakenhof. As he did however, he noticed a somewhat higher number of guards than usual, as well as several open rooms, with bloodstains about them. Clearly a few Drakke had decided to attack their enemies during their time with brides, how clever Lugft thought. He supposed they would be at their most vulnerable then... it only made sense. Regardless he moved on, no more than a cursory glance to the guards.
It wasn't long before he arrived in the banquet hall, smiling as he sat down at one of the large tables, the servants quickly moving to provide him with a morning meal. He smiled, drinking th wine they provided him. Today he would take his brides back to Huron manor, their new home for the rest of their lives. He leaned back in his chair, and wondered if the other Lords were as satisified as he was with their choice of brides.
Bride of Cuwarr Naxremis and Sister-bride to Sorici Amberra
When Kalani woke up, she was surprised by how rested she felt. One would think that spending the night with a Drakken would be a lot more fear-inducing or stressful or even painful. She opened her eyes slowly, and was facing Sorici, her sister-bride. It seemed that her husband was already up and about. She rose up and stretched her arms, soothing the tensions that were built up in her neck and shoulders. She let out a loud sigh of relief. She could not deny that so far, it was a good morning.
It took a moment before she realized that her husband was standing in front of the bed. Had he seen her entire display? No matter, they were husband and wife now. There was no need to feel embarrassed. She offered him a gentle smile and said, "Good morning, mi'lord. Did you sleep well?"
After greeting her husband, Kalani got off the bed and went into the wash room to clean herself up and prepare herself for the day. It was going to be the start of her new life at a new, strange place. She had put on a airy dress that was nice but practical enough. There was no point in being uncomfortable throughout the entire journey. She combed her hair and tied it up in a loose side ponytail. Satisfied with her appearance, she returned back to the bedroom.
"So, mi'lord, are we going back to your home today? Will it be a long trip?" she asked, walking up beside him. She placed a hand on his shoulder. She let her hand feel his shoulder before running it down his arm until it reached his hand. She intertwined their fingers. His hands were much larger than her own. But it was not uncomfortable at all.
Bride of Cuwarr Naxremis @Cubix, sister-bride to Kalani Solle @karamonnom
Sorici awoke, slightly confused as she realized she was alone in the massive bed. She feigned sleep for a moment while she tried to get her bearings. So Kalani was awake already, as was Cuwarr… Both were standing at the foot of the bed, talking quietly.
She sat up, sleepily stretching and yawning, and rose to her feet, walking to Cuwarr’s other side. Taking her cues from Kalani, she folded her fingers into Cuwarr’s other hand, though the move was not nearly so graceful and natural as Kalani’s had been. She kept her face carefully blank, listening to Kalani questioning Lord Cuwarr.
Sia had applied the salve that Sorrin had offered to Onyx’s neck, then taken and chewed the leaves offered to her. Instantly the pain had dulled, then gone away entirely. She gave a smile of thanks to the little Gem girl. “Thank you, Sorrin. I will have Meiva look us over in the morning, when we regroup, but I’m sure your sister-bride will rest easier thanks to your medicine. As will I. It is a very useful skill you have – I will do my best to get you an instructor in medicine, if you would like.” Her eyes were suddenly finding it hard to focus.
Sia couldn’t help but yawn. “Sleep now, Sorrin. You two could share the bed, if you wanted? I’ll take the sofa. We have an early start tomorrow.”
~~
It was just past dawn when Sia’s eyes snapped open. She quickly dressed in breeches and a soft wool tunic, donned her mail armor, fastened her cloak, and then went to rouse the girls, gently shaking their shoulders. First Sorrin, then Onyx.
“Girls, it’s time to wake up. We’ll go to the great hall and grab raisin bread and turnovers to take on our way, but then we must leave.”
Aery rolled over groggily, trying to free herself from the tendrils of sleep. Of course, then pain shot through her and she jolted fully awake, choking on a cry. It took a moment for things to catch up to her, at which point she curled back over on her side, tears streaming down her face. Hazy thoughts of the previous night were filtering back in through her head. Very unpleasant ones.
She shifted, cringing as her bruised body folded, and squinted at her sister bride who was seemingly still passed out. Lugft was nowhere to be seen but –
Wait. Nowhere to be seen…
She dragged herself off the bed, legs crumpling under her and sending her down onto the flagstones. Faintly crying, though she bit her lip to muffle the sound, the girl pulled herself back to some semblance of standing, wobbling to her basket of clothing. She quickly pulled on the softest sweater and skirt she had, cringing as the gray wool chafed and stuck against the raw, burned-in handprint on her stomach.
As quietly as she could, she picked up her basket and wobbled to the door, easing it open. She looked back to Tal’s sleeping form, tears coming to her eyes. “I’m sorry, Tal…” she whispered, and then slipped out the door. “I will come back and set you free.”
She hurried down the hallway as well as she was able, stockinged feet making little sound. If it wasn’t for the bloodstain on her sweater top, or the panicked, wild look in her eyes, one might have mistaken her for a bride simply sent to fetch breakfast.
She somewhat had no idea where she was going, but she headed away from the thick smell of blood, and away from the noise in the great hall. Up flights of stairs, looking back and making absolutely certain there was no one following her. She darted around in the shadows, finally ducking into another corridor, and breathing a sigh of relief, slumping against the wall.
Then she was startled by a loud voice saying “Who goes there?”
She whirled, stumbling and nearly falling, as she turned to face the guard who’d spoken. He seemed to do a bit of a double-take. “Lady Aymiria? How in Drun’s name did you get past me?!”
Er… wha? “I’m n-not Miry.” Wait, that wasn’t what she was supposed to say. “Erm, I am Miry. Yes. Totally so.” Her brain was not cooperating.
The guardsman frowned, suddenly suspicious, but was saved from answering by the door to the girls’ room bursting open.
Miry woke up, a little disoriented. She was snuggled against something warm, a bit larger than her. Then the events of the previous night caught up to her and she panicked for a moment, then relaxed as a little lizard opened one eye and grumbled at her.
Right. She was sharing a bed with Kasari and must have snuggled up to the taller girl in her sleep. It was awfully warm and cosy, what with Bunny pressed between them and Leo draped across both of them. She couldn’t seem to think of what had woken her up so suddenly –
Oh. A sharp insistent… tugging at the back of her mind. Wait. Tugging? That meant… Aery was either nearby, or in danger. Or both. Another tug and Miry carefully extricated herself from Kasari and Leo and hurried to the door. Another tug, sharper than the last one, as she heard the raised voice of a guardsman and what sounded like – her sister’s voice?
Miry flung the door open, entirely not expecting to see her sister. She shoved past the dumbstruck guard, adrenaline making her motions a lot stronger than usual. Then she flung her arms around her sister, which caused the slightly-bigger twin to cry in pain and stumble against the wall.
In horror Miry recoiled, terrified of hurting her sister, and then wrapped her arms around her again, more gently, taking the basket and carefully guiding Aery into the room. She glared at the guard, who had moved as though he was going to argue. “Do not disturb us until my lord Zakroti comes.” The words surprised her, and apparently surprised the man-at-arms too. She took advantage of that stricken moment to slam the door shut in the guard’s face.
The moment they were inside the room, Aery broke down, sobs wracking her small frame. Miry caught her, carefully holding her twin, taking the few steps to the couch before helping Aery down onto it, curling her body so that she was still cradling the bigger twin. She inadvertently trailed her fingers over Aery’s burned stomach, who choked, biting her lip to stifle the cry.
Miry tensed, hands going to the faintly damp fabric at Aery’s stomach, carefully starting to undo the buttons. Aery shook her head, whole body trembling, but Miry was insistent at undoing the buttons. When she was confronted by the burned area, she just stared for a long moment, rage making her go pale. Finally with a flick of her hand she called the remaining water from the pitcher, spreading it over the wound which caused Aery to tense up, but then relax as the area numbed itself.
Miry carefully buttoned her twin’s blouse again, then wrapped her arms around Aery slowly, pressing her lips against her sister’s forehead in a tender way, carefully rocking her. Aery whimpered again, nuzzling against Miry’s chest as though trying to hide.
Miry didn’t know what to do, there was nothing she could say… well…
She started humming a tune, the lilting melody that had been the theme of the girls’ favorite play. Aery fell asleep sometime during it, thankfully, but Miry just kept humming and rocking her, waiting for the inevitable knock on the door and the need to explain herself. And plotting, of course – always plotting. That burn on her sister’s stomach, the tears and the way she’d folded herself up… whoever had hurt her so badly would need to pay. In blood and tears.
Sorici:Wakes up disoriented, mechanically forces self to appear to be romantically attached to Cuwarr. Siadamkiru:Thanks Sorrin for her medicine and offers to find a mentor for her. Sleepsleep, then waking-up montage. Not going to puppet anyone through. Aerienna:Takes her chances and runs – as luck would have it, finds Zakroti’s people. Aymiria: Rescues Aery, sweeping her away from the prying of guardsmen, and calms her down. Plots revenge on Lugft.
Husband of Sorici (@RomanAria), his white lotus, and Kalani (@karamonnom), his auburn rose.
Cuwarr informs his wives of their imminent departure to the east after their banquet. He suddenly begins playing the fanfare of Gemminia's royal family much to his confusion. Feelings of rebellion and change are instigated within the warlord, but he erases it from his mind.
"Hrm, yes." Cuwarr hummed in response as Kalani asked about his rest. And, indeed, he enjoyed his sleep which was probably the best one in a long time. "A bright morning to you, too, Kalani. I see that the two of you also enjoyed your rest." A slight chuckle escaped Cuwarr's lips before tracing Kalani's steps towards the washroom where, he assumed, she would change for the day. As he watched his wife vanish behind the door, Cuwarr let out an amused sigh before turning to Sorici who had just recently fluttered her eyes awake to the morning sun. "A bright morning to you, Sorici." Cuwarr grinned, happy that, perhaps, his wives hadn't heard the brutality of last night's symphony. If anything, when they would go down to meet the other lords, they might, no, will see the bruises that their sisters have sustained during the moon's bloody light. Cuwarr twisted around, grabbing the plate of raisin bread rolls before handing it to Sorici. "Come, eat while your sister is preparing. Then, she can also eat while you get yourself ready for the day. After the both of you are done, we shall descend and partake in the banquet prepared for us below."
After a few minutes, Kalani came out of the washroom. The bright gem chose to wore a white, airy dress that fluttered softly upon the winds' whispers. Whenever the gale swept by, the dress would be lifted just enough to quickly flash a spot of her smooth legs, just below her thighs, before the dress brushed down again. A unique mix of innocence and seduction that had Cuwarr skip on a breath once his covered eyes landed on her figure. In fact, he had to pull up his eye-cloth just to get an eyeful of her luscious form. "My, my," Cuwarr smirked, pulling down the eye-cloth once more. "At this rate, I might have competition." Cuwarr tilted his head as Kalani went over to him, sliding her fingers between the spaces of his left hand. "You do not disappoint, my dear rose. You will forgive me, however, if I am forced to use violence against some lecherous stares." The warlord lifted their interlocked hands, gliding the back of Kalani's palm against his face before planting a soft kiss in the centre. Then, even Sorici walked over to him, taking his other hand in hers in the same manner as Kalani. And, although he sensed a split-seconds' worth of hesitation, a warm tug strummed at Cuwarr's heart to know that this stubborn lotus is really trying her best. So, he squeezed her hand gently before also planting a kiss on it.
Mind you, he learned the gesture from observing these gems. In Drakka, there was no such thing as kissing the hand of others for that meant being subjugated. But, in Gemminia, it meant that 'you treasure them'. And, Cuwarr does. He really does.
Then again, he wasn't used to such 'mushy' and emotional moments. Thus, Cuwarr deftly stood up and patted the top of his wives' heads. "Yes, we shall be going home to my fortress in the east. My domain as warlord extends to the eastern side of Drakka where I am currently tasked with suppressing the rebels there. This will not be an easy journey, my dears. My fortress is carved into the mountain there where the harsh and biting winds blow for a good portion of the day. It is only warm during the sun's initial rise, the point where the sun is closest. But, worry not. I assure you, you will get used to it." He smiled at them before kissing their foreheads as his finger traced the outline of the mark that forked near their ear. "Now, go on, prepare for the day. Once you're done, meet me in the banquet hall." He playfully shooed them off before he went over to one of the side tables and pulled out an ornate, wooden flute which he placed near his lips. As he blew on the embouchure, his fingers pressing on one note after the other, a familiar melody filled the room as Cuwarr faced the open window which spilled the melody upon the meadows that lay in front of him. Although raspy, broken and a few shrill sounds pierced, Cuwarr mimicked the same symphony of the Gemminite royal family. Why he suddenly began playing it from memory, even Cuwarr himself didn't know. But, the crisp staccato notes that blended with the upbeat melody gave a sense of rebellion and change within him. However, like every song, it ends with the silence of an unchanged reality.
The warlord turned around, his lips still playing the same fanfare albeit now soft and stuck in a rondo. His absent-minded steps led him to the banquet hall, not minding the stares of the other drakkens who found it weird for a drakken of his status to be doing this.
Aeila hadn't slept one single second that entire night. After the events of the day, sleep would have been a welcome release and it would have allowed her to recharge most of the energy that had been spent travelling to the castle and then unsuccessfully fighting off a trained Drakken. Most of the night, in fact, was spent beating herself up over the fact that she couldn't just get rid of him herself. She needed her older brother to even stand a chance. And now, he was gone, and the Drakken who had claimed her was quickly healing up which naturally meant a great deal of trouble for her. The serated dagger she had silently placed in her belt was a quiet reminder that she still had a choice but she knew she would never use it. Killing was something she could never do, even if it meant escaping from a horribly inevitable fate.
And so, when the dawn brought the other Gem girl to life, she sat quietly in the chair that she had claimed as her own. The girl herself seemed a gentle thing with way too much curiosity. Oddly, she reminded Aeila of herself, or the half-cast girl that had entered the castle only a day previous. That girl held on but Aeila knew she would have to drop her soon. She was permitted to be weak because the strong protected her but now, she had no protection.
Shifting in her seat, her hand ran through her red tufts of hair as she watched the other girl. She seemed much more... hopeful. It was completely irregular in her position but Aeila understood why it was there. If she didn't have hope then she would break. Content that there was no clear threat around her, Aeila'a defences slipped and her eyes slowly blinked closed.
She must have slept for only an hour or so before a familiar voice woke her from her slumber. "In a way, I guess it is permanent. After all, Gems caught trying to sneak back across the border are captured and often times killed without a second thought. I can offer you protection seeing as I owe you for not slitting my throat in my sleep, but do not expect any further kindness from me. You'll earn your keep like everyone else in my estate, that goes for you too Sprite." Her eyes widened as she looked up to find Azilon in relatively good health. Rynek had practically left him for dead. How he evaded that death was beyond her but she began to feel her heart pound in her chest. She was practically useless - how could she earn her keep? Naturally, her mind took her back to the day previous when he had grabbed her hair and for a second, his eyes were filled with a dark lust to slit her throat before anger took over and his lust changed utterly. She had a feeling her work wouldn't be a physical one.
Shivering at that thought, her eyeshaking narrowed at his back, constantly watching as he disappeared into another room to run a bath for himself.
The other Gem had disappeared in the meantime, taken off by the strange man who had spent his night healing Azilon. Aeila knew that she had a window and she could do something with it.
Slipping up onto her bare feet, she stretched lightly before carefully withdrawing the serated dagger her brother had left with her. Her breath became shaky and she remembered the fear she had the day before. She remembered how they slowly surrounded her and closed in, baying like wolves. He saved her but he was dangerous. She knew it wouldn't take much to kill her and he wouldn't be above it. Plus there was the other girl - he would hurt her too. Throwing her earlier thoughts out the window, she gently edged the door open and peered through to find him asleep in the bath. It would only take one quick slice.
Holding the knife in her two hands, pointing in front of her, she advanced slowly, her feet barely even producing sound as she padded towards him. In no time, she was on him and her heart was beating so fast she was beginning to worry it was audible. She had to do it. He would kill her just like he had made that man deaf. He would beat her and humiliate her. She didn't want to do this and tears formed in her eyes but her hand slowly advanced forward, finding a good position to press it into his throat.
Golden eyes flickered open, capturing the soft light of the room and savouring the silence of the world around her. Then reality came crashing back to her, shattering every semblance of peace inside her. Her mind went back to the night before. She was trying to knock Aery out but the girl was stubborn and the last thing she remembered was... Her vision going black. She let out a choked splutter, her eyes going wide as she reached down between her legs. No pain, no numbness. She hadn't been touched by Lugft. But Aery. Aery didn't blackout.
She sat up, her eyes hunting the bed sheets for any sign of the other girl. What she found was a small spot on the sheets; so small she nearly missed it but it was clear what it was upon further inspection. Her stomach curled at the realisation that what caught her eye was no less than dried blood. She felt the sudden urge to throw up.
A short time later, she was curled up against a wall, her eyes already dulled. She had one reason for her existence, one simple job - to protect the innocent. And yet, she wasn't even capable of that. Aery had been defiled while Atallia slept peacefully. While she wept and screamed, Atallia was dreaming of home. Her breaths were shaky, her mind too full of panic. What use was she? She was meant to be strong, to sacrifice her life so her people could be happy and here she was, thoroughly untouched in place of a weaker girl.
Talli didn't remember picking herself up off the ground. She didn't quite remember slipping on her shoes and leaving the room. Nor did she remember the long walk towards nowhere but she did remember wandering into a large dining room and picking him out easily from the crowd. A frown etched into her features. Where was Aery?
Stumbling forward, her eyes went wide before a rumbling fire began to form in them and the gold suddenly became molten hot. Her fists began to heat and a single spark would have been enough to ignite her.
Finally, she rounded on him, her eyes dark and fiery as she curled her hands into fists. "What did you do to her!? Where is she!?" She exclaimed and the tables around her went silent as she stared down at him, unflinching and not caring that nearly every eye was on her.
The Man At Arms turned to his comrades patrolling the hall and approached them, calling out for their attention. They came to a halt and turned to face him as he approached
"Acta Gemminite hilyatoz, O ulma geh a Aymiriaeiz seru." He said, causing the other two to look at each other for a moment before one turned towards the blackguard at Zakroti's door
"Kilio, runisze Muth Zakroti, Aymiriaeiz seru a hilyatoz." One of them called out; Kilio nodded and turned, opening the door and stepping inside. Zakroti awoke with a start as the door swung open, jumping to his feet.
"Muth, Aymiriaeiz seru a hilyatoz, geh a zo an uuj." Kilio reported to Zak, who nodded in response and waved his hand to dismiss him. He approached the bedside table and lifted his sword, placing it into his bed as he dropped his clothing on, fastening the sheath of his sword to his belt with a heavy sigh.
The rest of the household was not idle from the disturbance, however. But a few moments later, Ayltam exited her own room and, after a short exchange with one of the guards, opened the door to the girls room and stepped inside. She examined the sight before her silently for a few moments before speaking
"Vivarieiz varlas, what happened?" She asked as she approached the pair, reaching out to offer a small cloth for the newcomer to dry her tears on. A pair of figures appeared in the doorway, a hastily clothed Zakroti and a half dressed Qeynate looking in on the scene. The pair exchanged looks before Zakroti entered the room and stood silently as if awaiting an explanation.
Qeynate entered behind him and spoke directly to Aery with a stern tone, glancing to Zakroti out of the corner of his eye "Who's your husband?"
Bride of Cuwarr Naxremis @Cubix and Sister-bride to Sorici Amberra @RomanAria
"Mi'lord, you are flattering me," said Kalani, a slight blush reaching her cheeks. She never courted back in her homeland, so she was not used to being looked at with such desire. And now she was already married to a Drakken. When she writes her parents back home, they probably would not believe how quickly she learned to care for her husband. She did not sigh or show any signs of emotion when she thought about her parents, but she felt a slight pang of sorrow. It has only been a day, but she missed them as she may never see them again. She must embrace the new life ahead of her.
When Sorici got up and took her place beside Cuwarr, Kalani offered her a smile. "Good morning, Sorici," she said politely. The gem was a quiet one, but Kalani saw no faults in her. Perhaps they will learn to be friends soon. Kalani would love to have another gem to talk to.
Her husband began to tell them about the journey to come. It did sound like a rough one and a land where there is little sun did not sound very pleasant. But as he said, she will probably learn to get used to it. "I look forward to seeing y-.. our new home." she said, correcting herself mid-sentence.
She was caught off-guard by the sound of a flute. Her husband was playing the Royal Gemminite fanfare that the gem from the night before was playing. She was impressed by his abilities to play the flute, but was unsure of how to feel about his song choice. He then waltzed out of the room. Her husband was a strange one... but it was better to have a strange husband than a cruel husband, right?
She turned to Sorici who must have also witnessed the scene. "He is charming in a way, isn't he?" she said with a small smile. "The washroom is all yours, Sorici. I will wait for you to finish getting ready so we can both head down together. Even though our husband is gentle, doesn't mean the other Drakkens in this buiding are. We should stick together."
She then walked over to the wardrobe and began to pack her things. It seemed these past few days are all about packing and unpacking. Once she was finished, she noticed the plate of breads that Cuwarr had gotten for them. She grabbed one and began to eat a little. It would be a waste just to leave it there anyways.
Azilon's nap was short lived as movement behind him alerted him to danger. He had plenty of time to react to the intruder, but he could tell right away who it was and why they had come. Curious as to what she would do, Azilon continued to feign sleep until she had all but pressed the blade into his flesh.
"That brother of yours has quite the grip on you, doesn't he Sprite?" He asked as he slid his eyes open slowly. Azilon didn't look at Aeila directly, keeping tabs on her out of the corner of his eyes as he directed his gaze toward the ceiling. He could smell the salt of her tears, the air vibrating with the trembling of her hands. He couldn't blame her for being afraid, after all the crowned prince of Drakka wasn't exactly known for being the most chivalrous of guys... He was Drakken after all. But somehow, he had his talons sunk so deep in this girl that she stood behind him ready to kill him with the blade he had given her as he had abandoned her. Exhaling slowly, Azilon sighed, finally tilting his head to look at Aeila.
"Let me give you a little bit of advice that might help you survive this wretched world. If you are going to kill something, you shouldn't falter for even a moment when facing them. If you are weaker than your intended target then your attack should fall swiftly and without hesitation. It is only if you are stronger than your target that you can afford to take your time, which is why from the moment you stepped into this room you lost." The whole time he spoke Azilon's features maintained a neutral expression, his voice calm even as he threatened the girl that stood armed behind him.
As the last word slipped past his lips, the water from his bath sprung to life under his command. Swirling around in a snake like pattern, the mass of water launched itself in an arch over Azilon's head to Aeila's where it dropped over her like a waterfall. Chuckling to himself, the Drakken stood up from his empty bath tub and turned to face the girl.
"I have no intentions of harming you... To be honest I couldn't care less about you and that Gem girl if I tried. However, if you're going to kill me then it had better be your decision and your decision alone. And you had better be prepared for whatever comes next." He stood for a moment longer, looking at her now soaked clothing.
"I have an extra cloth tunic that you can wear if you want to change out of that. It'll keep you from getting sick while we're still in the mountains." He didn't even wait for a response, but instead exited the room and returned with the mentioned shirt in hand, offering it to her. Despite it being just a shirt, the sheer size difference between him and her would have made even the smallest of his shirts fit her loosely as a dress.
///
Scoot scurried along at a quick, and unusually energetic pace for such an early hour. Walking beside Rya he chattered on about trivial things, such as Drakka's weather patterns and various food dishes commonly served in the country. It was his hope that Rya would find comfort in the home had had lived in for the past 30 years, so he was trying his best to shine some light on the better things about Drakka. He was quite nervous, though, seeing as Azilon had never taken brides before but considering he didn't seem to see either woman as such he was confident they would be allowed to integrate to the house with minimal strife. That all depended on the girls however.
At the pace he had set, it didn't take very long for the pair to reach the dining hall where the previous night's banquet had been held. There were a few Drakken lords already seated around the table enjoying breakfast while their brides recovered from the night's "festivities" but there were just as many servants flocking to the room to bring their masters breakfast in bed like he was. He was quick to begin putting a few plates together, gratefully accepting a serving tray offered by one of the manor's servants, and urging Rya to do the same for herself.
"So Miss Rya, if you don't mind my intrusion... How are you feeling after all of this? I know it must have been very stressful for you, being dragged into all of this, so I'm sure you're still processing things... But I wanted to hear in your own words how you were holding up. And don't worry, you don't have to hold anything back. I may serve m'lord Dantanath but even us servants are allowed our privacy." He chuckled as he loaded up the tray with foods he knew to be to Azilon's liking. Somewhere off to the side of the room a small commotion was being made by a Gemminite bride, screaming something at one of the lords he suspected to be her husband... From what he could tell someone had gone missing in the night, which wasn't at all unusual, but Kushnyrik knew that it wasn't any of his business so chose to tune the ordeal out as he finished filling up the tray and awaited Rya's response to his question.
Bride of Siadamkiru Beneni; Sister-Bride to Onyx Briyll
Nodding her head vigorously, Sorrin's eyes sparkled at the offer. She had a basic grasp of medicine, as it was necessary to know how to take care of one's self when living so far from larger populations... But she had never had any sort of formal training. She wondered what amazing things she could learn from a proper instructor, and was doubly excited to learn specifically about the foreign flora that existed in Sia's country. Despite her excitement, sleep was quick to weigh the small girl down. Skipping merrily over to the bed, Sorrin climbed in and gently snuggled up close to the other girl for extra warmth.
~~~
Sorrin groaned as she was roused from a dreamless slumber. Sleep clung to her like moss to a rock, disorienting the small Gem in the unfamiliar space. The low light didn't help her either as she forced herself to her feet and shuffled over to her stuff. Mouth opened wide with a yawn, Sorrin clumsily changed out of the dress that she had worn the day before and into a pair of leggings. She slipped on a long sleeved tunic that draped down to her mid-thigh, the belled sleeves swishing with ever motion. Tying the small leather pouch around her waist Sorrin then completed her outfit with a pair of flats. Stuffing everything else she owned into her luggage, Sorrin turned to Sia with a sleepy grin.
"Are we really meeting with those people? Not that I'm against it... Just why does it have to be so early in the morning?" Her words were punctuated with another large yawn, a tiny squeak escaping at its peak.
Snuggled up to Leo, Bunny, and Miry had allowed for Kasari to sleep peacefully, void of ill dreams that might have plagued her like so many others that night. Her mind had transported her to a beautiful landscape unlike any she had ever seen before. Jagged rocks jutted up from the ground like teeth creating a circle around the centerpiece, but rather than seeming imposing each piece was decorated with carvings and offerings dedicated to each of the gods of Gemmenia. It was here that she felt at piece surrounded by wild flora and fauna, the most connected to her heritage than she had ever been before. She could have stayed like that forever had something not been nagging at her to return to reality. Drawn to the center structure, she gazed into a jewel encrusted mirror embedded in the rock. Moving of its own accord, Kasari's reflection held out her hand to her as if to beckon her forward. Passing through the mirror as if it were not but rippling water, Kasari found herself falling through the darkness.
~~~
Eyes fluttering open, Kasari was quick to note that the bed beside her was empty of her sister bride. Pushing herself up to a sitting position she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, squinting to focus her vision before her.
"What's going on?" She groaned groggily shifting her gaze between Miry, who held a familiar looking girl in her arms, and her new husband who looked as stern as ever. Even in her fatigued state, Kasari was able to make a couple of connections for herself. From what she could tell, the girl in Miry's arms must have been her twin sister that had been chosen by the brute at the previous night's ceremony. Her heart went out to the poor girl, seeing as something must have happened to her for her to have ended up where she did. She sensed that the girl was in great pain, but this only made her worry more considering Zakroti's locked gaze on her. Kasari doubted the sister had any sort of permission to be in their room, let alone one belonging to another Drakken lord. No matter how one looked at it, this was trouble.
Doubtful of either girl's ability to explain the situation, Kasari slid to the edge of the bed and hopped down with a yawn. She moved to approach the two girls to ask what happened but stopped dead in her tracks before she made it too close. It was faint, but Kasari was sure that she could feel the heat of Pyrus radiating from the sleeping one's skin. Biting back bile, Kasari took a step back instead, knowing that her own aura would only cause the girl more pain.
"I'm sure this is all just a misunderstanding, right Miry?" She turned concerned eyes toward her sister bride, urging her to cooperate. Miry wasn't a fool, naïve maybe, but no fool. She had to have known that her sister's being there could spell trouble for the whole lot of them. Should her sister's husband find her missing and track her down to a room belonging to Zakroti, his life could be at risk... Meaning their lives could also be in jeopardy... Or at least their physical well being. The last thing either of them wanted was an angry Drakken taking revenge by taking one or both of them away to do with whatever he wished. The thought alone was enough to send a shiver down her spine.
Miry glanced up to Ayltam for only a moment before focusing on Aery again, taking the handkerchief and gently dabbing at the tear tracks on her sleeping sister’s face. “I don’t know. All I know is that she’s here, and she’s hurt…” she murmured.
At Qeynate’s harsh question she tensed, arms tightening around Aery and pulling her close. Her eyes flashed up to Qeynate and she snapped, “It doesn’t matter who he is because she’s NOT going back to him!” The noise and motion was enough to startle the sleeping twin awake and she flailed for a moment, eyes going wide as her gaze settled on Zak and Qeynate, before she looked back to Miry and went limp again with a quiet whimper, snuggling closer to her twin and trying to hide her face.
Anger completely forgotten, Miry ran her fingers down her sister’s cheek, trying to get Aery to look at her. Purely for everyone else’s benefit she asked the question out loud, “Can you tell me what happened, Aery?”
Aery shook her head violently no, but she spoke weakly, her voice breaking and raw.
“His n-name is Lugft. Lugft H-Huron.” She said first, to answer Qeynate’s question. “He… hurt me. B-both of us, maybe, but I don’t know, I—I p-passed out, after he… after he marked me. Her hands went to her stomach, over the burned-in handprint, and she winced as though remembering the pain. "But w-when I woke up he, he was gone, and the d-door was open, and there w-weren’t any guards, so I just… left.” Her voice cracked and she pressed her face into Miry’s shoulder. “I.. left. I l-left her. Miry, I l-left Tal there with the b-brute who hurt us and he’s going to k-kill her or worse. H-He’s g-going to…” and then her words dissolved into sobs, Miry wrapping her arms around her protectively and rubbing her back, whispering soothing words.
Still possessively clutching her sister, Miry looked up to hear Kasari’s words. So the commotion had woken her up, too. It took a second for the girl’s statement to process. A… misunderstanding? Is that what she called it?
Miry knew as well as anyone how risky this situation was. Lugft could break down the door any second, demanding his bride back. Assuming he knew where they were, of course – though he might just kill /everyone/ until he found the party who took his bride. And even though Zakroti had a number of guards with him, he was so small, as compared to most drakken, and Lugft was so unbelievably large…. It would not end well if it came to a fight of brute force.
Miry kissed her sister on the forehead again and then shifted her, settling the injured girl down on the couch and rising to her feet to face the four others in the room. She kept her eyes away from Kasari and Ayltam, looking between Qeynate and Zak as she spoke.
“Lord Huron will not be pleased, I know, Kasari. But I’m not letting Aery go back to him either.” She focused her gaze on Zak, scrutinizing his reactions as she said, “If it will make it so that no blood is spilled, I intend to go in Aery’s stead.”
"If you do that then believe me, your sister will be no better off with my brother. Lugft will get his brides arms and legs back; We need her womb but that's it. Do not press is." Qeynate replied menacingly, glaring down at them with a look that could cut
"Vivpre, vivpre. (Peace, peace.)" Zakroti said with a heavy sigh, turning towards Kilio "Runiszeew Kzaar a Vain. (Wake Kzaar and Vain)"
"Na wre gaiar, Muth. (As you desire, Muth)." Kilio replied before turning and dashing towards the door and down the hallway, calling out. Zakroti turned towards Aurien as the Drakken entered the room, casting a concerned glance towards the twins before looking to his lord
"Buro Za Mishaxi, shantaew dzi kaani e kaan an torzeivre a an regak. (Serjeant At Arms, take two guards and guard the bottom of the stairs)." Zakroti ordered. Aurien nodded and placed his hand against his chest before marching out of the room, gesturing to the two men patrolling the halls to follow him down the stairs and closing the rooms door behind him. The trio arrived at the bottom the two guardsmen with their two speeds flanking the entry way to the stairs with Aurien standing a few places behind them, blocking access to the stairs.
Qeynate gave Zakroti a disapproving look before taking a step forward towards the two twins and reaching out to seize Aery from her twin "Come on. This is not the Unalim Shelter for Run Away Brides."
"Give her a moment for pity's sake!" Ayltam cut in, stepping in front of her uncle and raising her arms in exasperation "The pair of you can't seriously give her back."
"What do you expect us to do, start a fight?" Qeynate said with a heavy sigh. The door opened behind him as Kilio reentered with Vain and Kzaar in tow, already wearing their armour as they observed the scene before them. They were deathly quiet as Vain shut the door behind them and approached Zakroti. Vain carried his helmet in his hand and although he was silent his face quite clearly read 'You have got to be taking the piss.'
"A niz... (Is this...)" Vain began, only to be cut off by Zakroti
"Aymiriaeiz seru. (Aymiria's sibling.) " Zakroti confirmed as he shrugged his shoulders and spoke again "Lugfteiz bride. (Lugft's bride.)""
"Vivarieiz varlas, gais zara wre jusla o roew? (Vivari's blood, what would you have me do?)" Vain asked as he placed his helmet over his head. Zakroti paused for a few moments before replying
"Zelaew doon kros. (Let time leave.)" Zakroti said. Vain nodded and stepped to the side, watching the other occupants of the room. With that he sighed and spoke again "Kilio, take Ayltam back to her room and bolt the door. There's no need for her to get caught up in this." He turned his head towards Kasari "Kasari, given that this is not your mess and that it could get bloody, if you wish to move as well, so be it."
"I am not leaving." Ayltam said defiantly, folding his arms and remaining rooted to the spot as the blackguard approached her. Zakroti let out a heavy sigh and shook his head, looking up to the twins and murmuring an expletive to himself.
