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7 yrs ago
Current "Þæs ofereode, þisses swa mæg." - Deor.
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9 yrs ago
"Point me out the happy man and I will point you out either egotism, selfishness, evil - or else an absolute ignorance."
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Bio

Hwær cwom mearg? Hwær cwom mago?
Hwær cwom maþþumgyfa?
Hwær cwom symbla gesetu?
Hwær sindon seledreamas?
Eala beorht bune!
Eala byrnwiga!
Eala þeodnes þrym!
Hu seo þrag gewat,
genap under nihthelm,
swa heo no wære.

Most Recent Posts

I... I think I'm alive /me checks his pulse

Yeah, I'm alive.
I will get things in order eventually xD just finished and sent off my university application, so now its into practice for the admissions test... In between excessively long gaming and youtube binges. Because I am a bad student like that...
Zakroti Unalim
Husband of Aymiria Cassiel and Amaryllis Stone

Zakroti smiled as he watched the introductions and quickly caught what Miry was doing. Perhaps that was the safer course than attempting to reconcile Silnor with the idea, for now at least. He opened his mouth to invite Amaryllis to speak but was cut short by the sound of a horn. He cranked his head suddenly towards the gate and closed his jaw. He took several steps forwards as if to position himself between the two parties as he slowly turned his head towards Silnor. He paused for a moment before asking her a one word question "Doon?"

"Ween kala wus jyl e dzi." Silnor replied, causing Zakroti to nod in affirmation

"Stand here." Zakroti said, waving his hand dismissively as he spun in place back towards Amaryllis and Miry. Silnor remained in place, slowly clasping her hands in front of her. "As for those who play instruments, of course there are. A small number of them, but a number none the less. I'm sure they would be as eager as I to know what is played through the pass. And in answer to your first question, there is a library. Its rather large in fact, would you like me to show-"

Just then there was a shout from the gatehouse, and the gates creaked open behind them to allow a cart to roll through. In the back were a bunch of Gems, all laden in chains and looking extremely terrified. Eight men and four females in total, all affluently dressed. The youngest man looked around twenty while the oldest was definitely in his fifties. The youngest female was perhaps twenty six and the oldest was late forties or so.

Zakroti turned towards it with a stone face, but it was quickly replaced by surprised and then annoyance. This shouldn't have been happening already, had the invasion already commenced? He cocked an eyebrow and started walking toward it, raising his arms to the side as he addressed the driver of the cart

"Gais a niz? Nastaki hilyatew!" Zakroti demanded, raising his arms in exasperation at the unexpected shipment.

"Niz a Gemi hilyatez silaigz odadez, Tak. Odzi rot Gemi kusali kros. Gehdzi numeta kros kala jusla hilyatez Mu'Kasi." The driver replied in a gruff voice, casting a glance back to the prisoners before nodding sharply and turning his attention back towards Zakroti, who sighed before speaking.

"Indeed, Lal. Send them to the yard, Kzaar will deal with this."

"By your orders, Tak." The driver whipped the reigns, sending the horse forwards and to the right towards the square before making another abrupt turn and heading towards the barracks. Kzaar followed after it, slowly taking his helmet from under his arm and placing it over his head again.

Zakroti turned to regard the trio but was once more interrupted by another shout from the gate. He turned slowly and adopted a stone face again as a series of knights rode in through the gates. At the front was a man in black steel armour with gold trims and a red cape flowing down around his right shoulder. His hair was white and wispy and his two horns were long and proud above his head. He halted his horse just before Zakroti, looking down to him before glancing up to the two brides

"O taki Nastaki!" Zakroti gave a quick bow to his Grandfather and the remaining members of the blackguard did the same. Silnor curtsied as deeply as she possibly could, her apparent disdain all gone as she looked up towards the great lord. "This is not unexpected but your early."

"I rode ahead of my army. Once you wrote to me about the war, I decided we must move quick. Dismiss your brides and ward." Nastaki dismounted his horse, handing it off to the stable boy as he approached his grandson, towering over him. Zakroti turned his head backwards towards Silnor

"Silnor, hilyatew weli kala math. Kilio, hilyatew Miry e Amaryllis kala math... Kala silyauuj." Zakroti ordered before he cranked his head back to face Nastaki, stopping only to give Miry a reassuring smile.

"Most certainly, Uncle." Silnor's voice was in stark contrast to her previous tone; It was now excessively polite and formal. She curtsied one final time before she turned in place and headed off towards the Workshops, making a face and murmuring "No place for a lady" as she headed towards the blacksmiths.

No sooner had she left than a 6'7 blackguard stepped forwards and beckoned Miry and Amaryllis to follow and leading them off towards the keep. Nastaki began heading towards the Keep and Zakroti followed after him

"'Miry'?" Nastaki asked with a frown. Zakroti nodded slowly, as much to reassure himself as anything.

"That is her name." Zakroti said, earning a glance from Nastaki

"Her name is Aymiria. You will call her such in my presence." Nastaki paused at the gates to the Keep, turning towards Zakroti and waiting for a response before pushing the doors open and stepping in

"Understood Grandfather." Zakroti replied, turning as soon as they reached the inside and heading through the great hall then up the steps, continuing up the stairs until they finally reached the door to the roof. Zakroti flung open the two large double doors and stepped out onto it, crossing it and coming around the side of the dome to the front of the keep. Zakroti glanced towards Nastaki as if awaiting permission and, after receiving a nod, approached the edge and peered over the wall to the grounds below.

"You must name an heir in case you fall in battle, Zakroti. If a holder has no children and he dies, most titles will simply move to the nearest relative, however..." Nastaki began to explain, before being cut off by Zakroti, who quickly wished he had waited given the murderous look in his grandfathers eye.

"The Duchies of Bloodstone and Firestone are exceptions; The ruling Duke must appoint an heir due to the ducal law changes introduced by Ballal Unalim two hundred years ago, as he desired to prevent his titles passing to his sister... I aware of that law."

"Then who do you name?" Nastaki urged

"I wish to make Vain my heir, from now until such a time I have children." Zakroti said as he glanced down towards the statue in the square, catching Nastaki's smirk out of the corner of his eye

"I am not letting the title pass out of house Unalim; Pick someone else."

"Vain. If it needs to be someone in House Unalim, then approve of me adopting him." Zakroti instantly regretted what he had just said, and his face paled slightly as he realised exactly what he had said. That... Was unbelievably stupid even if it was in jest. Perhaps the lack of sleep was affecting him more than he had thought. He could tell from the look of Nastaki's face that he was unamused and Zakroti couldn't help but wonder whether the situation was salvageable

"Adopt him into..." Nastaki said quietly as he clenched his fists tightly, raising his voice to an authoritative and stern pitch. It was not a yell, it was not even close to it; Yet it held all the power and force and then some. "I take back what I said. I was never wrong about you. You are an ignorant whelp with no respect for our great name and would it not disgrace that name I would tear it from you and have you killed! I would hang your corpse from the statue in that square, erected by a man whom you are unworthy to lick the bones of, let alone live in the house he built so many years ago!"

"Kas! Vivpre! I did not mean to... I have not slept in three days, Grandfather, I would not have suggested such in my right mind..." Zakroti quickly searched for what his next words should be, but Nastaki cut him off.

"Then right your mind and be quick about it!" Nastaki barked. Zakroti turned his head and looked back towards the square, nodding "Look at me when I'm talking to you."

"Of course- I" He paused for a moment "I wish my wards to be treated as though they were my children 'til such a time I have any. Upon my death, may the eldest get it." Zakroti looked back towards Nastaki, though did his best to avoid looking him in the eye. He saw Nastaki nod slowly before continuing.

"And on the topic of Vain, what is this I hear about a rebel girl?" Nastaki growled, causing Zakroti to pause for thought before speaking.

"I beg your pardon for acting without consultation, Taki; We can play the two sides off against each other, it makes our eventual task all the easier. Not to mention the intelligence Vain can feed us."

"Oh really? Do you expect them to stand a chance?" Kastaki was slowly returning to a calm state, but Zakroti was careful not to set a toe out of line. He feared his grandfather more than anyone else he had met in his life, such was his hold over him.

"No; I expect them to wear down the other Drakken, paving the war for our plans."

"I see. And Vain will be feeding you information?"

"That is correct; I shall feed it to our family as need be."

"There is another issue. This letter was despatched to the Karstagg family." Nastaki took the rolled up note from within his armour and handed it to Zakroti, who unfurled it and read over it slowly. "It is most unfortunate that your actions drew the attention of the Scream Taker."

"My sincerest apologies, Taki" Zakroti bowed his head slightly as he spoke "Did they lie together?"

"They did, but we know not whether she has a child in her."

"I see. Perhaps we should let it through? If it turns out Krone truly suspects us then we can intercept the correspondence... That's if the Karstaggs bite at all; I doubt any of them will wish to give up a chunk of their estate."

"Agreed. I have a final demand; I need you to supply your liege levy. I expect the minimum of 1600 for the war effort."

"I'll go one higher than that; I'll supply 2200 and not a soldier more; The rest I retain for my command when the time comes. Slaves, of course, as most my armies are composed of."

"I see. Anything else?'

"No, that should be all I believe. Give the orders to the Marshall, he'll raise the men- I'll have everything set up for our enterprise." Zakroti paused for a moment, considering. Having displeased Nastaki with his foolish comments, it would be wise to get back onto his good side, lest he find himself being locked away in an oubliette. "I shall have a gift sent down to the gatehouse for you, the guards will turn it over as you leave. Accept my sincerest apologies for my behavior, Taki; I have disgraced our name."

"Oh?" Nastaki replied in an amused tone, the side of his face curling into a thin smile. Zakroti found some comfort in this however found it quickly ebb away when Nastaki continued. "Then we shall see whether your gift is appropriate repayment."

Zakroti nodded slowly in response and turned, watching Nastaki head back across the balcony and standing in place for several minutes before heading back down from the roof.

***


The Blackguard led the pair down the hallways, parting servants as he passed. They turned west off the entrance and proceeded down several corridors before turning south and heading down towards the back. Finally, they came to a large oak door. Runes were carved into the door and dead center, parted down the middle by the opening of the doors, was the carving or a Drakken in a robe. In one hand he bore a scroll in the other he held a torch.

Kilio reached out and pushed open the door, stepping into it and holding it open, motioning for the pair of them to pass. The room beyond was large and encompassed two floors. On the ground floor there were five rows of bookshelves with more set against the walls. On the far side of the room were two winding staircases to the second floor, tucked neatly away in each corner. The bookshelves were labeled in a similar runic carving as that which inscribed the door. Given that each appeared to have a different symbol, it was easy to guess that it was an alphabet.

The blackguard stepped in after them, glancing over the room before raising his hands up and removing his helmet, holding it under one arm and slowly looking around the room before turning his head back towards the pair before brushing past them and leaning against the door frame.

Vain Norkaan
Captain of the Blackguard

"A wise choice to arm the slaves, assuming you don't arm the wrong ones." Vain replied matter of factly, folding his arms slowly in front of him. He couldn't help but dismiss their thoughts as being somewhat naive

"Every fort which was holding the border of Gemminia has emptied and are marching back to Drakka. Once those from beyond your border learn the Drakken have withdrawn their Protection, and I'm sure the Drakken were not quiet about it, it will be open season on the Marchlands at the least. Have you considered this? How many strong are you?"

Vain shifted in place as he thought. Zakroti and he had planned a theoretical invasion of Gemminia many times over but never had they expected it to actually come to fruition; The warlords were much too happy shoving their cocks into little Gem girls to do something worthwhile. And yet here they were now.

And yet here he was now, standing on very much the wrong side of the mountain range. He knew the plan but he couldn't help but feel that he was far less useful here than he would have been in an army.

"I have some advice that I don't think you are going to like, but- its a necessary evil. Will you hear me out?"
Drakkens are anything but unorganized when it comes to war.
The King basically gives an order to invade and leaves it up to his warlords to dictate over their houses on how they want to go about it. The King basically is there to make sure his warlords don't squabble too much.

Order, even chaotic order, is highly valued by Drakkens.


Well, Zakroti is about to get a visit from Nastaki then... XD
But... But... I want to crush some webuls... :(

I'm wondering if the Drakken are going to have the King giving orders or a war council or something, or whether its going to end up with every warlord running around sacking and raping whatever he wants.
Yay! :D
Done.

@RomanAria@HylianRose

Zakroti was struggling to keep his eyes open, truth be told; He had not slept in the past few days and he did not trust Amaryllis enough to sleep in the carriage. The sun had risen a few hours ago and he guessed it was probably around half past ten. Zakroti listened with disinterest to the exchange of voices outside. After about half a minute and after the password had been given correctly, there was a loud screech as the large gates opened and the carriage passed through the walls.

He turned his head to the window and peered out onto the grounds as they passed. The wall they just passed through was his own addition to the estate of his father. It acted as an outer wall some 70 meters from the inner wall, which was significantly taller. From its position on the tallest hill, Mu'Jupostat had excellent sightlines over the surrounding lands. Down below in the valleys lay the farms and villages that produced the majority of the tax income for this county. At the base of this hill lay the county town of Laloriayl, which was a moderately large town whose mayorship was currently held by Norlal, a veteran warrior who had used his spoils of war to invest in an array of businesses in the town and was now the towns richest (de facto) resident. This county composed part of the Duchy of Bloodstone (Muth a Varlasmorlas) , which in turn was part of the Grand Duchy of the West Marchlands (Muthseran a Osh Edehame)

Zakroti's alterations to his fathers estate did not halt at the addition of the outer wall; he had made a number of upgrades to the estate after he had exposed its weaknesses in seizing it and this outer wall. Some were simple and others were somewhat complex; He had adopted many ideas and recruited some of the greatest architects in the land to build his keep. That was, perhaps, a notable problem; while he did his best to feed the architects only what they individually needed to know, they inevitably has considerable knowledge about his upgrades. Ever a pragmatic man, Zakroti offered them a permanent contract at the end of the construction... And hung those who refused it.

That aside, it was certainly one of his proudest accomplishments. Even if an attacker breached or seized the outer wall, they still had to climb the steep hill in order to reach the inner wall; As the two were not connected, it basically sent the attacker back to square one. What's more, the gate was not large enough to allow for the passing of siege towers meaning that an attacker would have to knock out an entire section of the wall or reassemble these dreaded machines on the other side; A great boon for the defenders. Zakroti had used siege towers to great affect in storming the sturdy walls previously and correctly identified them to be one of the best counters to his fathers holdings; Unbelievably, the Keep had been constructed in such a way that it was connected to the wall by two walls meaning that after seizing the wall the attacker could quite literally walk to roof of the Keep and storm it from there. The first thing Zakroti did when altering the estate was sever this connection and had it replaced by two shot Garden walls with iron gates instead.

The moat was not yet finished, but Zakroti believed it would be done before long; It was a large project and the cost had been considerable but the slaves were slowly yet surely getting it done. The drawbridge had already been installed, though as it was not yet connected to the moat it looked rather out of place.

One of the architects had devised a rather nasty surprise for an attacker who seized the outer wall and began to climb the bill towards the inner wall. Zakroti had been remarkably pleased with it and as a reward he had given the Barony of Mu'Nortam to the man.

They reached the second gateway and after another short exchange, it too creaked open to let them pass. To the left of here the Blacksmith, Fletcher and other workshops were visible, along with a couple of small houses built for the artisans families. To the right lay the drill grounds and the large barracks. Some 1000 warriors were currently having a formation hammered into them. Central before them lay the courtyard of the Manor, the keep of the stronghold. Around the courtyard lay a number of buildings; A granary, a dozen or so houses, an inn and a small market in the center, erected around the tall statue of Kastaki Unalim, the original founder of this holding. In one hand lay the sword and in the other a long scroll. The inscription, Zakroti remembered read "Mitta a fafana a doon dzi gua e lown jyl e lang Kastaki, wel a Naska, mittaze a Qaera, Muth a Varlasmoras e Seranze Aran a osh Edehame" which could be loosely translated as "Built in the spring of the Year three hundred and thirty two by Kastaki, son of Naska, bane of Qaera, Duke of Bloodstone and Petty King of the West Marchlands."

Beyond the courtyard lay the Keep, the crowning gem of the estate. It was very large and from the front appeared to be a rectangle, though Zakroti knew the back was not shaped as such. Tall towers on each corner crowned it, standing tall and proud; The towers of the outer and inner walls had Ballistae atop them, but these towers had no such engines. The roof was open and a handful of guardsmen were patrolling it in pair; In the center of the roof lay a dome structure, the tip of which was just visible from the carriage. Inside this keep lay the remaining facilities of the castle; Kitchens, servants quarters, dungeons. The Manor had not initially been built how it was now; Although impossible to tell from this distance if one walked along the wall and inspected it closely they could tell where the individual projects had ended and map out a basic timeline of the Manors evolution. Its thick stone bricks were neatly cut and several sections of it appeared almost monolithic. The main entrance to the Keep had two heavy oak wood doors that were braced with steel and the surrounding frame was decoratively carved.

Zakroti knew that behind this structure lay the gardens in which plants taken from all over the continent had been transplanted during various conflicts. He remembered how it was dotted with fountains and statues that had also been taken from the other nations during war; One of the few things he had shared with his father was a fondness for pillaging the works of other cultures and bringing them here and this extended to flora and indeed crops, as many a farmer below could attest.

"I trust my home does not disappoint you." Zakroti commented as he cast a glance towards Miry and Amaryllis. "I fear I must quickly lay the ground rules The second floor east wing is out of bounds, as are the dungeons and the barracks. My chambers too are out of bounds unless accompanied by myself or an officer of the guard. Do not attempt to pass the inner wall." Zakroti opened the carriage door and stepped down from it, motioning for the passengers to disembark before sending it on its way. "Breakfast is at 9, Dinner at 1, Tea at 5. I shall show you to your rooms once inside; As you will soon find it is quite a large building, but the 'servants' would be glad to point you in the right direction I am sure of it."

"Uncle!" A voice called as a young girl scurried over, her face red with rage. Black locks fell around the shoulders of her red dress, scandalously short cut to her knees! She was very young; Not to the Gems of course, she was almost 30 of their years after all, but when you considered that the Drakken lived for centuries- She was little more than an adolescent girl. A few more years and she would grow into a lady; He'd ensure that, at least. "Jubal just insulted me... Publically!" Zakroti cocked an eyebrow as he turned to regard her

"Silnor, Gais kor jusla tre ro?"

"Tre kor 'No one would marry you, you're an ugly cow'!" Silnor pointed her arm towards the market to signal out where Jubal was. Zakroti was hardly surprised at this, Jubal had made it quite clear he disliked his sister from the day the pair had first met. He sighed weakly before speaking

"Silnor, te odad wre jusla filok rof. Jubal..."

"Wre kor zu tre kor..." Silnor began, trailing off and looking at Zakroti with expectant eyes

"Vivpre; o jusla Gaikus kor kala tre. Kree Silnor, wre jusla filok rof." Zakroti sighed again, glancing towards Gaikus and nodding with his head toward the market. The blackguard grunted lightly and moved off swiftly. Zakroti turned his gaze back down to the young Drakken. "Silnor, where are the others?"

"Jubal is in the market as I just said. Ayltam was painting in the gallery when I left her, Roftaki is training with the Marshall, I don't know where Silte is; Probably with the blacksmiths boy again, she is so infatuated with him."

"She is too young."

"You are as astute as Father Rags when it comes to our age." Silnor mentioned her head towards the Manor as she said that. Father Rags was the name given to the Priest of the Chapel here by his nieces and nephews when they were still children. His real name and title was Bishop Krepre. Even then he was old, by now the man was ancient. He was well over 600 years old and always dressed in the same tattered old robe. Not to mention, Krepre had lost most of his teeth and his hair, with only a handful of wispy white clumps remaining on his wrinkled skin. Half blind, and quickly losing his grip on reality as age took him; He looked more like a tramp than a priest. Zakroti should probably have made him retire to a monastery years ago, but he had a feeling old Father Rags would put up a bigger fight than any of his previous foes ever had if Zakroti tried to remove him from his little chapel. Thankfully, his two laymen seemed content to guide and care for the old man, if only because each wanted to be named his successor. He'd give it a few years, surely Krepre couldn't cling to life much longer.

"Bishop Krepre." Zakroti corrected, causing Silnor to nod in resignation "Silnor, norze wre." The young woman nodded weakly once more and turned herself towards the two Gems, eying them indignantly.

"My name is Silnor of Unalim, pleasured to make your acquaintance." The words were civil enough but her tone certainly wasn't. Zakroti grimaced; Silnor hadn't the fondest experiences with Gem women in the past and he couldn't help but suspect that could cause him some trouble. On the other hand, it may lead them to avoid each other all together, which he wasn't at all opposed to; Drakken rarely left things alone, however. "And you two- Ladies, are...?" The girl trailed off, a somewhat disdainful tone slipping into her voice as she called them "ladies"

"Silnor, kas." Zakroti grunted, catching Silnor's glance and cutting in. The young girl rolled her eyes lightly, secure in the knowledge that her uncle could not see her face, before putting on the politest tone she could muster

"I did not mean to sound as such; I am sure you will both make wonderful ladies of the court and I apologise for any offence I might have caused." The look on her face, however implied that she truly wanted to beat everyone present half to death.
Huzzah! At long last /me runs off to make up a post while also getting ready for sixth form...
A work in progress, feedback appreciated. I may still have to drop



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