CassyK

The Sahasian Alliance

The subtleties of court were unlike anything else, Erick found it less than enjoyable but he knew it was necessary nonetheless, weighing up his adversaries however, he believed he could be in with a fair chance of securing the first daughter of Astalia as he’d been instructed.

Although, he did loath to consider the arrangement in such a way, but how should this be different than any other campaign to secure Jörda’s future and protect its people?

Annalise initially seemed distracted when Erick spoke with her, he heard her stomach growl and he wondered perhaps if she was famished.. stressed and overwhelmed? He did always anticipate these daughters to be of a.. finer disposition. He observed as Annalise purposefully took a seat opposing him, harder work than he’d thought, he smiled gently as she teased him, and scanned her eyes deeply when she directed her gaze to him - her eyes were glass, with a colour like the waters of a lagoon. The Jörda prince nodded agreeably as she explained the simple premise of their contest, “that sounds like a fair and I think you will find, interesting prize” he agreed before musing for a moment on his own reward, “and if I win” he paused and stood to grasp a flagon of the Afdan wine which he tipped to fill each of their glasses, “you will take a ride with me tomorrow morning, with my horse”, Erick fully expected to win, of course, so it seemed like the ideal opportunity to ensure they’d spend a little more time together.

Erick’s eyes moved to the Elven prince whom had finally appeared in the courtyard, it was difficult to say if this suitor was yet to pose a challenge for him, although by appearances he was tall and fair and bred for battle, the Elven people had some of the finest manufacture of garments and weapons, magic was woven into their kind and an allure seemed to surround them. Annalise turned her attention to welcome him for a few moments, and Erick couldn’t help but let his gaze slip searching for Loreena, where he’d found her taking a seat - he’d missed her trick with the chalice, but listened as she made her brief address, “Hear hear!” he concurred raising his own vessel.

CassyK/Truepirate

Bump

The Sahasian Alliance

Erick’s smirk widened when Annalise seemed to concur the sentiment, he glanced at Uriah with whom Loreena held a brief interaction - she was free to indulge the festivities this evening, it would seem. The prince scanned Loreena’s jewelled adornments as she described the gems as an aid in harnessing her power, before he looked to that which was wrapped to his wrist, a personal gift indeed.. magic and the soul were one, to him at least, so it was quite right that it had no place other than on his person, “to bond it to me is my honour” he affirmed, giving a thoughtful smile.

Erick flexed his brow and looked about as the last princess and the prince Vyarin arrived to the courtyard. Jinayah greeted them quite informally and made her way to Loreena who was in his company, as was Annalise, as she drew closer he could see she was a little disheveled with some smears of dust about her attire, which he found unusual given her status and the nature of the event, though he concealed his judgment on this observation. He gave a shallow but nonetheless gracious bow with her arrival “Princess Jinayah” he expressed warmly before glancing to the Prozdy prince too to acknowledge him before he arose. Vyarin also seemed quite out of place, if not moreso, which made Erick feel a little better - as he’d shifted to the table and appeared to reel back with the taste of the wine, he felt confident further still… perhaps the Prozdy people preferred the sap and fungi from the forests?

It would certainly make things a little interesting..

Probably not appropriate.

Whilst Loreena engaged the youngest sister upon her arrival, Erick looked back to Annalise - her veil had shifted and the pigmentation of the concealed eye was revealed, but he gave no indication that he had noticed and seemed to examine all features of her face as he spoke, “I think our own competition sounds like a good idea but…perhaps if not a little unfair” he drank deeply from the glass once again which emptied it - it seemed to be the mellow Astalian wine, and he was quite keen to partake of the robust Afdan beverage, “by what standards would you test me.. Annalise?” he made a gesture for her to walk with him to sit at the table, for he did remember why he was here. Sulhana simultaenously made her announcement, which beckoned all attendees to enjoy the abundance of food and drink presented for them.

The princess Sulhana was indeed a gracious and experienced hostess, but Erick was sure there was a sense of detachment, perhaps sadness in the way in which she expressed things - he understood he supposed, their lives were likely to change and far more greatly than that of any of the suitors..

Did she even have a preference? ..he wondered.

The Sahasian Alliance

Gil deployed a hefty grip upon Erick’s shoulder and he rattled him somewhat, likely with unintended force given the size of him, as the half-orc spoke in Orcish, Erick only partially understood the statement with knowing a couple of words ‘brother’ and a concept of quietness or peace depending on context; regardless, Gil’s cheerful disposition made it clear of his intent on reassuring him. The Jörda prince expressed a grin and nodded fondly, responding to Gil with a firm slap on his other arm to acknowledge the sentiment. Gil then turned his attention to the princesses, he accepted the challenge and took a seat - he already seemed at ease.

Erick wasn’t sure from which place within him his tension seemed to arise, though this was a different kind of battlefield he supposed.. there was no thundering cavalry, no clash of metal, no crunching of bones or the slip of a blade through flesh, and yet, somehow, Jörda’s fate still rested upon him. The silence, the peace, the tranquility which, recently, had been foreign to him, was what unnerved him, even before he’d have to begin to woo a bride and with this too, he was also fairly out of touch. If it was any consolation, Astalia’s daughters seemed to be as free-women were; spirited and independent, and the third daughter in particular appeared to enjoy entertaining if not toying with the suitors, whilst Annalise, although seemingly quieter than her younger sibling, observed with a sense of confidence before she had spoken to the princes trying to put them at ease; Erick had met her eyes, smiled and blinked in appreciation of her efforts - he would take her up on this invitation.

Sulhana acknowledged the Afdan prince when he passed her to be seated, she turned her attention to Erick and her playfulness seemed to temper, as though she understood he perhaps needed her compassion, he glanced as she placed her hand on his shoulder before he reconnected with her gaze, he thumbed the rings on his right hand but did not move otherwise. He scanned her eyes as she spoke, and followed them too as she examined him, but as she took a pace back, quite unexpectedly she produced the glass - Erick felt both impressed yet foolish for the trick to deceive him which he could not contain - he bit his lower lip and smirked, “very good” he acknowledged, as Sulhana passed him the wine he raised it to her for a moment in a gesture of praise. He drank deeply from the glass and observed her as she made her way to the prince Gil to continue her mischief, Erick’s hazel eyes slipped from her to Annalise, he approached her and leaned in, looking at her from under his brow he glanced to Sulhana, “do you also drink like your sister?” he remarked, amused, although there was not a tone of disapproval in his voice, he seemed to be resisting yet again another smirk from unfolding across his lips for he did not wish to offend, this concern disappeared as the princess Loreena seemed to apparate to his side - he’d not seen her skim the fringes of the courtyard between the dancing light of the torches before Uriah encouraged her to emerge. She greeted him convincingly in his own language, so well-practiced his mind faltered for a moment he was about to respond in kind before he tumbled back into Astalian, as a result his first few words were something of an amalgamation, he seemed to pause to glance away with some embarrassment; Erick cleared his throat briefly and began again, “we do not have these such items” he gathered together the reply but Loreena’s openness, her touch caught him off-guard. The princess’s words were incredibly exposing, she’d said aloud what the others had also easily perceived as much as he’d tried to mask it, perhaps yet still he could pass it off as some quiet reservedness? Regardless, she’d admitted they too didn’t seem comfortable with the necessary arrangements, but yet they found it within themselves to extend warmth to the foreign suitors in their home, Loreena smiled and he returned one of some kind of gentle sympathy.

You have nothing to prove to anyone here, Erick.

His expression broke into the smirk he’d fought earlier to contain, “oh.. don’t I?” he stifled a laugh as he looked at both the princesses Loreena and Annalise in turn before passing his gaze once again in the direction of Sulhana, whom seemed eager to bait them to her challenges..

Word association Game!

Crumpet (lol)

Ban the Person above you

Banned because of your inferior internet connection

The Sahasian Alliance

The constellation of Aldask hung in the sky above the courtyard, Erick was confident this was a good omen. As one story went, Aldask, the most ancient and powerful of the Gods, often concealed himself as a stag in the realm of the mortal creatures. One day a human happened upon him, he notched an arrow in his hunting bow and let it fly, strong and true it plunged into the chest of the deer-God. As the arrow struck, the figure of the stag shattered into many large, shining shards which slashed deep wounds through the skin of the hunter, miraculously he survived but his sight was taken by the blinding light of Aldask; the human had only a few moments to witness this splendour, as the God’s earthly shell shattered. The hunter somehow stumbled home and told the experience to his kinsfolk which quickly spread throughout his fellow countrymen. It was agreed that from that day forth, a prayer must be uttered to Aldask before striking a deer, bow or otherwise, so the God may grant them exception to their mistake. In many areas of Jörda, this story was often interpreted to extend to any and every kind of animal.

The Court of Flowers appeared almost as if timelessness itself may reside here, where the Gods retired to recite their ballads. As the glow of the sun began to wane, the moon cast its cold and mysterious light in the darker places the torches did not reach, mánibjart as this was called, where the lunar luminance gave for a short time divine and unpredictable power to the spaces otherwise enveloped in darkness, and sometimes, provided a gateway through which to glimpse the other worlds. The old magic was ingrained deeply into the people of Jörda, through tales and stories of the old Gods, but the true knowledge of it had been lost through time as the progress of man - of whom very few knew how to wield such power - dominated the natural and previously wild spaces of their land, and so it faded into myth and legend. Fear, reverence and yet acceptance, of this unpredictable magic, that presented a divide the thickness of a single thread between life and death, decay and rebirth - the domain in which Aldask conducted the fates of all within the mortal realm, remained strong however.

There were only four of them who had yet attended the courtyard, The Princesses Sulhana and the eldest, Annalise seemed to watch them approach from the platform with a collection of silent instruments. Erick had caught up to the Prince Gil, who had dipped his head in greeting the Princesses from a short distance, the Jörda prince addressed him in Orcish, “my friend, strength is upon you” he stated, extending his hand as such that may lock their arms in the way of the Orcish warriors, he met the bright blue eyes of the half-orc with his own of deep hazel. Erick was not fluent in the Orcish language, but was familiar with a few words, statements and greetings (although he wasn’t sure if the dialect was quite the same) from the warriors amongst the ranks of Jörda’s military - how they came to be there however, was a subject of particular tension between the two nations and was a matter of on-going diplomatic effort. Although Erick’s greeting may have been received with some distrust, the Afdan prince responded in kind before they turned their attention to the Princess Sulhana who had stepped forward with her sister to welcome them. Erick approached and he bowed to the Princesses in a similar display; yet his eyes did not avert meeting with their own each of them in turn, “Princesses” he stated in acknowledgement. The Princess Annalise was quiet, reserved, and seemed to allow her younger sister to take the lead, the Princess Sulhana was not unlike someone else he knew - bold, forthcoming…challenging? There was an underlying tone in her voice and gestures that seemed to imply that sometimes, oftentimes, her thoughts and words were misaligned, much like his little sister - a formidable foe…or ally perhaps, yet given their gender this usually was expressed in a far more subtle yet no less unsettling manner. Sulhana’s green eyes burned into him, examining, scrutinising in fine detail - he’d seen it before, her words were lighthearted however, she laughed and winked alluring them to her playful challenge.

Perhaps she’d like to see them try? Disarm them?

Erick knew he’d have to tread carefully, inhibition and.. sense was quite easily lost in this way. “Princess Sulhana, Annalise, please, I would like it that I might drink as the people of Astalia do drink” he pulled a small grin, he would like a drink if nothing less for something simply to hold and channel his nerves should they falter, for he did not have the pommel of his sword to absorb this energy from him, as such he made do with gently gripping a part of his cloak as though it was meant to be gathered, whilst the other palm was folded gently but produced his gestures as he spoke, otherwise he could not help but thumb the heavy rings on his fingers, which he mostly refrained from doing.

CassyK/Truepirate

Bumping

The Sahasian Alliance

Once the introductions and brief mingling came to an end, Erick was sure it was now the appropriate time to leave as did his council concur; they had travelled not too far but the remainder of their journey had taken them from daybreak that morning - enough as such that he sought to refresh himself and his company also would be of a similar mindset. The invitation to The Court of Flowers seemed by all accounts as though it was to be a private affair, Erick knew his men, his council, could not follow him there and he anticipated the event would certainly be a world apart from the halls and tents full of warriors, drinking and rough-housing as to which he was far more accustomed. The Jörda prince had somewhat limited associations with women too, and the kind that might have circulated the camps were unlike this kind, the wholesome women of Jörda also, were unlike this kind - he wasn’t sure what to expect but, he wasn’t the only one he supposed.

Erick had requested he’d be directed to his chamber, his company too, which was modest in number, had some accommodations in the palace grounds and they’d dispersed to eat, drink and rest. “Try to remember, son of Henrick, why you are here” said his council, a much older man with dark hair heavily dusted with grey, it was loosely braided as was his medium length beard; he had spoke in the Jörda tongue, gripping Erick’s shoulder and giving the prince a firm, intense look, before he then patted it heftily. The man passed Loreena’s gift back to Erick, raising his eyebrows for a second and pulling a smile before making his leave for refreshment, the prince watched him as he disappeared along the empty corridor.

When the Jörda prince finally found himself alone in his room, it came as great relief, although he knew it couldn’t last as he’d have to prepare himself for the evening - his belongings had already been delivered here. Erick sat heavily on the bed, letting a deep sigh from his nose, he wondered exactly how soon the marriages were to take place and how long too before he (presumedly) would return to Jörda with one of them, or were the alliances to stay centrally within Astalia for the time being? He hoped this would not be the case. He played with the small box in his palms, pulling a thoughtful pout before he opened it slowly, producing the deep yellow jewel; it appeared almost as liquid gold when the light rebounded upon it, the jewel enrobed within the black, grey and golden ribbon reflected the colours of his house, it was truly beautiful.. ‘a symbol of loyalty and trust’, had the Princess Loreena meant those words, or was it the talk of court? In any case, Jörda needed the military clout of Astalia, and perhaps some mages, too.

Erick, after a short time of contemplation, refreshed and readied himself for the evening to come, for he likely smelled of the horses, speaking of which, he’d be sure to check on Sinir later this evening. The prince had swapped his blue cloak for one much lighter in weight, it had no fur but a detailed golden trim, this was slung and pinned over one shoulder with a formal appearance, and he’d changed into a similar outfit although he’d removed the quilted tunic and wore only a light coloured, mid-length long sleeved shirt, belted, it had some fine and subtle embroidery at its front fastenings at the chest - it was fairly simple but more comfortable attire, as Astalia was comparatively warmer. Erick still wore the variety of heavy golden rings, he had a dense cuffed golden bangle of a serpentine design on his right wrist, whilst on the left a robust leather bracelet with beaded silver charms was wrapped firmly with a few rotations before it was tied, Loreena’s jewel was compact in size that it could be woven and secured into the bracelet, and presented itself as the most illustrious charm amongst the adornments.

The Jörda prince now ready to attend was escorted by an Astalian attendant who led the prince without a word through the maze (and magnificence) of the palace before finally slowing to a halt, they directed him along a hall to the door to the court. Erick arrived in time to see the half-orc prince linger for a few moments before moving on into the courtyard, he could hear the noise of the powerful waves reverberate through the stone. He made his way to follow in the wake of the Afdan prince - into the mild evening air and the setting sun bouncing around a warm, dream-like glow within the opulent surroundings of the courtyard.

The Sahasian Alliance

So it transpired that Erick was indeed the first to arrive at the Astalian palace, the others however, weren’t far behind him much to his relief - he gathered they too had perhaps made camp on the periphery throughout the lands so that they may arrive at the proper time of the invitation. The second suitor, a Prozdy warrior of immense size, heralded his arrival with the battering of metal which indeed caught Erick’s attention, it was not a noise he was unaccustomed to, in fact, quite the contrary. When the figure of Vyarin emerged into the spaces of the palace, the Jörda prince surveyed him with discretion; each and every man would surely be looking to secure their hold on Astalia by means of the eldest daughter as Erick too, had been advised. He wondered if she, in her particular misfortune, would at least have any say to whom she was to be wed.

The third prince, an elf, lean but too appeared to be well trained, moved with the grace and aura that the people of his realm seemed to do so. The elven prince acknowledged him, and Erick had blinked and dipped his head slightly in due response.

The final prince, for there were four daughters of King Harold, was the half-orc prince of Afdan, the desert country at the far-flung reaches of the continent, the climate far different from that of Jörda. The Afdan prince had a handsome appearance, his heavy orcish features somewhat subdued by what Erick assumed was human blood, his demeanour seemed fairer too than what the reputations spoke of the orcish race. Erick it seemed, standing only at an average height for his people, was the shortest in stature amongst the princes; it didn’t faze him however, and he held his space just as the other suitors.

The group of princes, now assembled, were ushered into the main hall where the Astalian King was prepared to greet them, the princesses were also waiting for their arrival. A smaller division of Erick’s entourage had followed with him into the hall, each of them knelt to one knee and bowed their heads to the King, not dissimilar but certainly different from the Prozdy gesture, Erick uttered a bold “Your Grace” before they once again arose. Erick understood the Astalian language fairly well, for they were neighbours across the great river, but he spoke with a thick accent of his native tongue. The Jörda prince regarded the King’s greeting in his own language to be an expression of deep respect, despite the slight falter in pronunciations. King Harold went on to describe the events that were to occur and confirmed his daughters would indeed take a suitor of their choosing, or at least, within the constraints of what little choice there was. Erick feared given the arrangement, that his spouse regardless would have little association with him outside the scope of the marriage contract; would they be the kind of woman, wives that would make themselves scarce save for their nuptial duties, as perhaps their culture and their kingdom demanded? He could think of almost nothing more miserable. He examined the daughters each in turn as they were introduced, all very beautiful in their own way, and noted that Annalise was the eldest.

As the King concluded his speech, giving the guests permission to disperse (this admittedly was a great desire Erick had to resist), one of the daughters stepped forward to speak before addressing each of the princes in turn. She was small and particularly slender with dark features, despite her small frame, her voice and demeanour had a presence that would not be ignored. Erick wasn’t sure how to describe it, besides the creeping feeling of a bad dream that you couldn’t quite remember once you awoke. When Sulhana spoke to him directly however, he could detect the sincerity in her condolences and he received her remarks with appreciation, “thank you for your kind words Princess Sulhana, my brother has brought great honour to our House, he will dine well with the Gods at their table” he expressed, suppressing the flicker that threatened to cross his brow, as such he could not muster a smile for the princess, but tightened his jaw and nodded gently before she turned to take the platform. The Princess made her announcement - Erick would have some Court games to play it seemed.

Another daughter, Loreena, stepped forward. Erick sensed a gentleness in her character and, as she presented the thoughtful gifts to each suitor in turn, also some enthusiasm in meeting with them. He received the gift from her with both palms, meeting her gaze, “Princess Loreena, you have my gratitude, I already feel most welcomed” he bowed his head modestly clasping the gift but not yet examining it, as he was not sure if it was quite appropriate to do so. As the Princess moved on, he passed the item with particular care to one of his attendants for safe keeping - he would open it later that evening.