darkwolf687

Reboot - Prized Bride

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reboot - Prized Bride

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reboot - Prized Bride

Well, I would of voted shadow wroth but it appears to be a mute point now haha

Reboot - Prized Bride

*looks at Lalia*

The smallest Gem with the smallest Drakken.
Totally not intentional or anything, right? :P

@RomanAria

Totally not, I'm sure that was a complete coincidence...

Reboot - Prized Bride

"I'm really tempted to make a Disney princess Gem who will try to cure the Drakkens with love and kindness! That would totally work! :3"

Totally.

Reboot - Prized Bride

Zakroti Unalim

One could not find a less impressive looking Drakken if they were given a lifetime to search. Easily 6 inches shorter than that most Drakken with short, stubby horns which he commonly covers with a hood or helmet, apparently out of shame. His build is also far less imposing and his arms far thinner than those of his taller brethren, lacking the same degree of muscle when compared to other drakken. At a glance one could be forgiven for not realising he was one of the Drakken and perhaps merely an extremely muscular if dull looking Gem. However, those seemingly mundane brown eyes hide a burning lust for power, supported by an expertise in military strategy and a sound grasp of how to weave his elemental powers into combat. The darkest creatures of the blighted south would be hard pressed match his brutality. - Description of Zakroti Unalim as given by a Gem Representative

Zakroti Unalim "The Usurper"

Race:
Drakken
Age:
82
Element(s):
Fire, Earth
Height:
5'11

Bio:
Zakroti was easily identifiable as a runt upon his birth and in accordance with the wishes of his father, Orstaki Unalim, was to be left out to die in the elements. His mother managed to placate his father and convince him not to have the baby put to death.
His father abhorred him growing up and he was routinely looked down upon by his taller siblings, indeed Zakroti existed as a blot in his immediate families gaze. Outside of his immediate family, his other relations did not care much for him as he was simply another nephew or grandson and were it not for his remarkably small stature he doubted any would even remember his name.

His small size was and in many was still is a source of humiliation for him and as a child he was only able to take solace in his mothers presence, partly due to her being the only person he was taller than. She was one of the very few members of his family to show him any kindness and he was understandably devastated by her death despite her position in Drakken society being little better than a concubine.

On his 15th Birthday Zakroti led a small force of Drakken warriors across the border into the territory of a foreign peoples and sacked two small towns, returning with nearly one hundred and fifty slaves. The fledgling lord sent them off to his father as a gift. Grudglingly, his father acknowledged the achievement and granted the boy the holding of Mu'Fanla, a small fortress situated in the otherwise barren mountains to the south of his families holdings. Although this was somewhat impressive for a first military achievement, given that few expected to see him in any form of leadership role at any point in his life time and certainly not so young, he first rose to true prominence during a conflict in the western lands, in which he saved the life of a prominent noble and was gifted the holding of Mu'Kasi, a large fortress situate overlooking the pass out of Drakka and into the neighbouring territory. Zakroti exacted a toll on armies passing through and raised considerable funds from this, which drew the ire of several nobles.

Mu'Kasi was eventually levelled after the toll fees offended a particularly ill tempered noble, which resulted in a retaliatory campaign that culminated I a siz month siege; The lord agreed to pay for the reconstruction of Mu'Kasi and Zakroti has been careful to ensure that it has a considerable garrison at any given time. By this point, a number of Drakken nobles and even a handful of members within his family had begun to see Zakroti's potential as an ally.

At age 50 an opportunity presented its self that Zakroti could not ignore; His father had fallen out of favour with the family and the king and, as such, Zakroti seized the chance and met in secret with a number of family members and Drakken nobles to hatch an insidious plot

With all the pieces on the board set, Zakroti challenged his father to honourable combat. As expected, his father refused; Consequently, Zakroti led a force of Drakken and mercenaries to sacked his fathers estate, winning in spite of the fact that his army was outnumbered two to one. The young lord had his father thrown into an oubliette where he allegedly remains to this very day.

Zakroti claimed dominion over his fathers lands and vassals by right of conquest and alleged that his father had refused to fight him out of cowardice. This was upheld by the family court which ruled in favour of Zakroti, though not out of any love for the young lord himself but rather so as to avoid invalidating a right of conquest claim that the family's head was pursuing; His father had already fallen out of favour after refusing to commit his forces to a war effort two years prior and so this was considered to be an acceptable trade. Further, two key family members with positions in court had been amongst those who conspired with Zakroti to bring about his fathers downfall.

A considerable number his siblings refused to accept the leadership of their runt of a brother and openly rebelled against him and by extent the ruling of the family court. As such, Zakroti engaged in a decade long internal war of stabilisation with the nominal support of his grandfather. This war was drawn out by repeated outside interference as many Drakken nobles joined the war on various sides simply for the joy of fighting or in order to further their own ambitions. The war ended with the Sack of his brother Lakli's estate, crushing the final credible threat to his rule.

The consolidation that followed this infighting resulted in Zakroti having five of his brothers and three of his sisters hung, drawn and quartered. Two of his brothers were forced to eat pieces of their own skin as they were flayed alive. Lakli himself was sewn into a bag along with various venomous serpents and diseased animals before being tossed into the river and washing off downstream into the ocean; His body was later found washed up on Gemminite shores, shrivelled up like a prune. Zakroti had two of his sisters publically defiled and enslaved, giving them off to be handed around the Drakken nobles who had supported his side in the rebellion. Initially, Zakroti had planned to engage in a war with the nobles who had supported his brothers cause, however the Drakken Court had been planning a major offensive and did not wish to see their numbers decreased by the infighting and thus passed down an official order to prevent further escalation. This edict officially declared Zakroti to be the rightful successor of his father by right of conflict in order to prevent any further infighting. Asa result both sides reluctantly backed down with neither willing to incur the ire of the Drakken Court or King, knowing that they would be all too willing to crush the weakened lords if given an excuse. The Court, however, did not force the family to accept Zakroti onto its internal council and as such Zakroti was now allowed to claim his fathers seat under the pretence that it still de jure belonged to his living father

Regardless, resistance had been crushed and many had been sent to meet Krenta during these efforts. Any siblings that still harboured misgivings about his position wisely fell silent after this; After all, the strong rule in Drakka. With his position finally secured, Zakroti spent his 60th birthday plotting out reconstruction efforts and rebuilding his power base in preparation for another conflict

Towards the end of his 81st year, Zakroti pledged his armies to his families cause during an invasion of the dreaded south and was elevated in status due his exceptional performance, finally being allowed to claim his fathers seat and thus a member of the family court and gaining significant prestige as a result. With his new station came the privilege (and indeed, the obligation) of taking a bride or several. Zakroti was ordered by his great grand father, the head of the family and one of the powerful Drakken warlords, to take at least one Gem Bride from the next group of selectees, a decision the lord is somewhat reluctantly obeying. Indeed, Zakroti has shown little interest in taking a bride outside of the pure pragmatic value.

Other:
Zakroti's small stance and the humiliation that was derived from it has led to the development of a superiority complex; That is to say, he presents an elevated sense of importance in order to mask his underlying fears of inferiority. As such his primary driving force was to find some validation in the world, to find some way in which he doesn't always feel so... Weak. He found that power and brutality brought him reslect and fear, and has cloaked himself in the two ever since.
Zakroti holds a considerable envy of the Gems due to the condition of their homeland, though purely because he believes Gemminia would serve as a better powerbase than Drakka as it would be able to support more people and in turn field larger armies, though this view has proven to be unpopular among the Drakken and thus he is usually rather quiet about it.

Reboot - Prized Bride

Zakroti Unalim

One could not find a less impressive looking Drakken if they were given a lifetime to search. Easily 6 inches shorter than that most Drakken with short, stubby horns which he commonly covers with a hood or helmet, apparently out of shame. His build is also far less imposing and his arms far thinner than those of his taller brethren, lacking the same degree of muscle when compared to other drakken. At a glance one could be forgiven for not realising he was one of the Drakken and perhaps merely an extremely muscular if dull looking Gem. However, those seemingly mundane brown eyes hide a burning lust for power, supported by an expertise in military strategy and a sound grasp of how to weave his elemental powers into combat. The darkest creatures of the blighted south would be hard pressed match his brutality. - Description of Zakroti Unalim as given by a Gem Representative

Zakroti Unalim "The Usurper"

Race:
Drakken
Age:
82
Element(s):
Fire, Earth
Height:
5'11

Bio:
Zakroti was easily identifiable as a runt upon his birth and in accordance with the wishes of his father, Nagoti Unalim, was to be left out to die in the elements. His mother managed to placate his father and convince him not to have the baby put to death.
His father abhorred him growing up and he was routinely looked down upon by his taller siblings, indeed Zakroti existed as a blot in his immediate families gaze. Outside of his immediate family, his other relations did not care much for him as he was simply another nephew or grandson and were it not for his remarkably small stature he doubted any would even remember his name.

His small size was and in many was still is a source of humiliation for him and as a child he was only able to take solace in his mothers presence, partly due to her being the only person he was taller than. She was one of the very few members of his family to show him any kindness and he was understandably devastated by her death despite her position in Drakken society being little better than a concubine.

On his 15th Birthday Zakroti led a small force of Drakken warriors across the border into the territory of a foreign peoples and sacked two small towns, returning with nearly one hundred and fifty slaves. The fledgling lord sent them off to his father as a gift. Grudglingly, his father acknowledged the achievement and granted the boy the holding of Mu'Fanla, a small fortress situated in the otherwise barren mountains to the south of his families holdings. Although this was somewhat impressive for a first military achievement, given that few expected to see him in any form of leadership role at any point in his life time and certainly not so young, he first rose to true prominence during a conflict in the western lands, in which he saved the life of a prominent noble and was gifted the holding of Mu'Kasi, a large fortress situate overlooking the pass out of Drakka and into the neighbouring territory. Zakroti exacted a toll on armies passing through and raised considerable funds from this, which drew the ire of several nobles.

Mu'Kasi was eventually levelled after the toll fees offended a particularly ill tempered noble, which resulted in a retaliatory campaign that culminated I a siz month siege; The lord agreed to pay for the reconstruction of Mu'Kasi and Zakroti has been careful to ensure that it has a considerable garrison at any given time. By this point, a number of Drakken nobles and even a handful of members within his family had begun to see Zakroti's potential as an ally.

At age 50 an opportunity presented its self that Zakroti could not ignore; His father had fallen out of favour with the family and the king and, as such, Zakroti seized the chance and met in secret with a number of family members and Drakken nobles to hatch an insidious plot

With all the pieces on the board set, Zakroti challenged his father to honourable combat. As expected, his father refused; Consequently, Zakroti led a force of Drakken and mercenaries to sacked his fathers estate, winning in spite of the fact that his army was outnumbered two to one. The young lord had his father thrown into an oubliette where he allegedly remains to this very day.

Zakroti claimed dominion over his fathers lands and vassals by right of conquest and alleged that his father had refused to fight him out of cowardice. This was upheld by the family court which ruled in favour of Zakroti, though not out of any love for the young lord himself but rather so as to avoid invalidating a right of conquest claim that the family's head was pursuing; His father had already fallen out of favour after refusing to commit his forces to a war effort two years prior and so this was considered to be an acceptable trade. Further, two key family members with positions in court had been amongst those who conspired with Zakroti to bring about his fathers downfall.

A considerable number his siblings refused to accept the leadership of their runt of a brother and openly rebelled against him and by extent the ruling of the family court. As such, Zakroti engaged in a decade long internal war of stabilisation with the nominal support of his grandfather. This war was drawn out by repeated outside interference as many Drakken nobles joined the war on various sides simply for the joy of fighting or in order to further their own ambitions. The war ended with the Sack of his brother Lakli's estate, crushing the final credible threat to his rule.

The consolidation that followed this infighting resulted in Zakroti having twelve of his brothers and three of his sisters hung, drawn and quartered. Three of his brothers were forced to eat pieces of their own skin as they were flayed alive. Lakli himself was sewn into a bag along with various venomous serpents and diseased animals before being tossed into the river and washing off downstream into the ocean; His body was later found washed up on Gemminite shores, shrivelled up like a prune. Zakroti had two of his sisters publically defiled and enslaved, giving them off to be handed around the Drakken nobles who had supported his side in the rebellion. Initially, Zakroti had planned to engage in a war with the nobles who had supported his brothers cause, however the Drakken Court had been planning a major offensive and did not wish to see their numbers decreased by the infighting and thus passed down an official order to prevent further escalation. This edict officially declared Zakroti to be the rightful successor of his father by right of conflict in order to prevent any further infighting. Asa result both sides reluctantly backed down with neither willing to incur the ire of the Drakken Court or King, knowing that they would be all too willing to crush the weakened lords if given an excuse. The Court, however, did not force the family to accept Zakroti onto its internal council and as such Zakroti was now allowed to claim his fathers seat under the pretence that it still de jure belonged to his living father

Regardless, resistance had been crushed and many had been sent to meet Krenta during these efforts. Any siblings that still harboured misgivings about his position wisely fell silent after this; After all, the strong rule in Drakka. With his position finally secured, Zakroti spent his 60th birthday plotting out reconstruction efforts and rebuilding his power base in preparation for another conflict

Towards the end of his 81st year, Zakroti pledged his armies to his families cause during an invasion of the dreaded south and was elevated in status due his exceptional performance, finally being allowed to claim his fathers seat and thus a member of the family court and gaining significant prestige as a result. With his new station came the privilege (and indeed, the obligation) of taking a bride or several. Zakroti was ordered by his great grand father, the head of the family and one of the powerful Drakken warlords, to take at least one Gem Bride from the next group of selectees, a decision the lord is somewhat reluctantly obeying. Indeed, Zakroti has shown little interest in taking a bride outside of the pure pragmatic value.

Other:
Zakroti's small stance and the humiliation that was derived from it has led to the development of a superiority complex; That is to say, he presents an elevated sense of importance in order to mask his underlying fears of inferiority. As such his primary driving force was to find some validation in the world, to find some way in which he doesn't always feel so... Weak. He found that power and brutality brought him reslect and fear, and has cloaked himself in the two ever since.
Zakroti holds a considerable envy of the Gems due to the condition of their homeland, though purely because he believes Gemminia would serve as a better powerbase than Drakka as it would be able to support more people and in turn field larger armies, though this view has proven to be unpopular among the Drakken and thus he is usually rather quiet about it.

Reboot - Prized Bride

Ah, I remember seeing this the last time and having my curiosity piqued, but it was already in progress by then. I've honestly never done an RP like this before and it actually seems like it could be a real blast.

Now, finding an image... Always the hard part haha.

Stellvia [Always Accepting] (Hey, these things in parentheses are hip, right?)

Same