Races
Darenen
The Darenen are the most 'human' like of the two main races. They live an average of 70 years and worship the god Ishnar, god of warfare, the forge, and progress. They live most densely in the more clement south eastern lands. Think medieval feudal system. They generally have olive or sometimes even darker skin, brown or black hair, brown or hazel eyes. The Darenens are generally accepting of half-breeds, though less so the further south towards "civilization" one travels.

Kaelari
The Kaelari could be equated to 'elves', though they look largely similar to Darenens. They live an average of 250 years and age equally slowly. The centre of their civiliaztion is deep into the dense Naelara Forest to the north-west. They worship the Mother Goddess, goddess of fertility and all living things, plant and animal. All Kaelari are vegetarian as they believe that to take life when there are other options is an afront to the Mother. Having said that, however, they understand the need for warfare and their warriors are highly skilled, especially since they have three times as long as the Darenen to train. However, warfare is always extremely costly to the Kaelari as, also due to their slow aging, they are much slower to breed and usually only have a maximum of two children, where a lot of Darenen have upwards of six. The Kaelari generally have pale skin and blond or red hair with pale green or blue eyes. They are generally disgusted by half-breeds and believe that those born of such unions should be smothered at birth.
Kaelari show status through increasingly complex hair styles so consequently most Kaelari wear their hair very long.
According to the Mother there are 7 stages to life: birth/infancy, toddler, child, youth, adult, elder, death, and after death, new life.

Locations
Naelara
Naelara is the Kaelari capital, deep in the Naelara Forest. At its heart is a huge central tree, so wide that it would take 40 people stretching their arms and touching finger tips to encircle it. The city encircles the tree and rises up its trunk. It has seven levels, one for each of the stages of life.
The ground floor serves as the city's stables and almost a suburb in itself. It is the birth level.
The next level, the toddler level, holds those who hold what many would consider the servant jobs; the farmers, slop collectors, water collectors, and merchants live here, however they are held in regard by most Kaelari with any intelligence as they understand that without these essential services their society would fall apart. It is the largest level and spreads the furthermost away from the central tree. It is also on this level that foreign diplomats are housed, though it has been many generations since this was the case.
The next level, the child level, houses the craftsmen. These are the people who make the items that the Kaelari use, woodworkers, tailors, food processors, weapons etc etc. The market is also held on this level. It is the second largest level spreading away from the central tree.
The next level, the youth level, houses most of the fighting corps, the light fighters. This includes archers, scouts and, discretely, assassins. Each of these corps have their own guild hall with accommodation and dining and meeting rooms are but there is also housing for those who have families and would prefer to live with them.
The next level, the adult level, houses the heavy fighters, swordsmen and horsemen. Often members of this caste are rather proud and arrogant, though is not always the case of course.
The next level, the elder level, is entirely taken up with one building: the palace. The Kaelari monarchy is the head of all justice of their people and their main duties are to act as judge and jury.
The top level of Naelara, the death level, is dominated by four main buildings to the north, south, east and west, and one travels between them by crossing wood and rope bridges. It can be quite a dangerous crossing during storms. To the north is the Seer's dome. This is where those touched with the gift of prophesy live and work and train. To the south is the Interpreter's dome. This is where those interested in the written world work closely with the seers to interpret their prophesies and also act as the city's scribes. To the east is the Mother Goddess's temple where acolytes worship and assist those going to the goddess for guidance. Often the best healers come from here as well, though there are a few healers on the craftsmen level as well. To the west is a general temple where people are welcome to worship any of the other gods and goddesses.

Ellyir
Ellyir is the largest most northern Darenen city and the only one with any kind of friendly relations with Naelara. The oldest of records say that it used to be a Kaelari city, hence the Kaelari style name which was actually the Darenen language bastardizing it, but was lost to the Darenen in a war long past. It is located to the east and slightly north of Naelara on the sea side. It's general entrance is from the west through farmland and then the town which is built on a hill. At the top of the hill is Elliyir castle perched on the cliff-face. It is a strong location for the castle as it commands a good view of not only the countryside around it but the ocean to the other side of it. Any attackers would have to submit to urban warfare in the streets of the city, or scale near sheer cliffs. As such it has never since been successfully taken. A lot of half-breeds live here (at least a lot compared to other towns but still only numbers maybe 50 at the most) as the inhabitants are generally seen to be the most liberal and accepting of anywhere else in the lands, so, so long as they hold their own weight, they are accepted well enough. Inhabitants are often considered as uncivilized frontiersmen by other southern Darenen as they are also the front line of defense against the Kaelari as, even though they are not directly in the way of a march south, it will result in a threat at the attacking party's rear.

Notable Characters
Tobias (Locky)
Tobias was born Darenen but raised Kaelari. He was obviously caught in the latest war between the Kaelari and Darenen as he was found as a toddler with a severe head injury in the forest where he had obviously wandered. A Kaelari woman found him and figured she would take him home and try to tend to him, if he died it wouldn't matter, she did her best, and if he lived she would take him to the seers for advice on what should be done.
Survive he did, left with only a scar on his head causing his hair to grow through it white and when he was taken to the seers they sensed something within him, something that was important, though they weren't sure exactly what. Deciding that the best thing for him (and for themselves) would be to keep him close, he was allowed to stay with the woman who found him. However, his olive skin and black hair forever marked him as a Darenen in a solely Kaelari world and he experienced a lot of prejudice because of it despite his upbringing. Consequently, he learned to move without being seen in order to avoid such slurs. This skill was soon spotted by Rui'amolite who then took him to the seer's once more. They decided now that he was old enough (seven) to make use of his talents they assigned him to the care of Rui'amolite to train to become an assassin.
He grew up under the tutolage of Rui and learned the arts of stealth, poisons, and killing. An unusual ability also surfaced in that when he touched someone, skin to skin, he could get a sense of what that person was feeling. It was never substantial and was generally more of a distraction than something that could be useful so he started having lessons with the seers to learn how to control and manage it since they also had to learn how to manage a similar thing. He wore gloves to prevent accidental touching when around the city, but removed them when he worked since he needed the fine touch that could not be gained wearing gloves.
He was nineteen when he made his first kill, but that first kill also revealed what it was that the seers could sense in him but not identify. In touching someone's blood, it wasn't just a sense of emotions that he could ignore he was faced with, but visions of what was going through the person's mind shown with such intensity that he was unable to tell himself from his victim until Rui pulled him away.

Rui'amolite (Rui)
A beautiful woman with green eyes and thick curly red hair, Rui'amolite was always one who stuck out. It made her choice of profession that much more unusual but at a young age Rui had discovered that her feminine beauty was just as much a benefit as it was a hinderance as no one ever seemed to assume that a woman like her could be able to kill so mercilessly.
She had been coming into her prime when she was stuck with the Darenen brat and told to raise and teach. Despite her reluctance Tobias proved to be an attentive student, eager to prove himself just as good as any Kaelari apprentice and Rui found herself growing fond of the boy despite herself.
She had planned that his first kill was to be the test that would end his apprenticeship but with the surfacing of his new abilities she needs to be on hand to pull him away, at least until he learns to disengage properly himself.

Louis de Corvac
Louis de Corvac is a Darenen man who grew up in Ellyir, the younger of two brothers. He was also the first Darenen to be allowed in Naelara in centuries and was responsible for ending the most recent war. As such, Ellyir and Naelara now enjoy a mutual trading agreement, though relationships between the two races are often still strained.
Louis is a fun loving man who never married as, being a younger son he had no real land prospects and his wandering ways and Kaelari sympathies, as well as being a border lord, made him an unattractive match for most women. There were even rumours that he may prefer the company of men but, while Louis often laughed at such rumours, he neither agreed nor denied them.
Louis was always somewhat of a brash man, but cunning also, and enjoys practicing with his men much more than the more sedate activities his brother preferred.

Gwain de Corvac
Gwain de Corvac is a Darenen man who grew up in Ellyir, the elder of the two brothers. While prone to anger explosions, he was generally a quiet and shy man. He often prefers his books and maps than training with his soldiers. His men respected him for his just rulership, though they looked to Louis for martial leadership and Gwain knew it. It was the reason he hadn't sent his brother away with a bit of land to manage; Louis was of more use to him here in Ellyir and, while the brothers didn't always see eye to eye, they got along well enough for this to be a mutually beneficial arrangement. Added to this, Gwain's children adored their uncle and he had a feeling they would resent him for sending their hero away.

Tobias and Rui sat in one of the smaller receiving rooms at the palace. Being that the two were assassins, a fact that very few people were aware of even if they had at least seen the Darenen who was raised a Kaelari, meant they didn't need to be impressed by their surrounds. Especially since, even though the heads of each section of society knew of them it was usually only the royal family who hired their services. And even then, it was only recently that Tobias would be included in such assignments. As such the room was relatively plain with very few ornamentations. There was a low dark wooden table in the center surrounded by cushions, upon which Rui, Tobias, and Prince Maerik sat. As the least senior person in attendance, Tobias took the responsibility of pouring everyone's tea and he took a sip as Maerik spoke.

"As you may already know, my sister is being sent on a diplomatic mission to the islanders to the east. Her goal is to secure an alliance with them and this must succeed if we are to defend ourselves against any future Darenen threat," he said. Tobias nodded a little; unlike all but the youngest of children here, he didn't remember the last war between the two people, though it was likely he was a casualty of it. As it was, the Kaelari had barely managed to turn back the Darenen, who had managed to reach and attack Naelara for the first time in centuries and they had only been driven back when the Darenen king had been killed. Tobias privately believed that it was Rui who had killed him as the records were particularly vague on that account, but the woman never spoke of it.

"Naturally, the Darenen do not want us to succeed as then they will be surrounded by enemies on both sides and, after discovering our plans, have gone to some measure to try to prevent it. There was a rather clumsy assassination attempt and we found this on the body," Maerik continued, handing a sheet of paper over to Tobias.

Tobias, having been born Darenen was forced to learn how to pass as his birth race for their last mission and that included being able to understand the Darenen language. He read the note quickly, then said, "It says that this person's task was to kill the princess at the least, her retinue as well if possible. And if he were not to succeed it lists the name of another who was to make the attempt."

"Exactly," Maerik said, taking the page back. "So we are hiring you to track down this other assassin and for you Tobias to use your... abilities to find out what they know and any further attempts, and to end them too."

Tobias frowned and shot a look to Rui; it all sounded too much like an obvious set up but he wasn't senior enough to question it. He hoped his master would catch his look and ask the question herself.

((feel free to control maerik however you want))

Rui sat rigidly in the chair, listening to what her prince was saying, her tea untouched. She remembered well the bloody battles that took place when the Darenen's attacked, and while they had won, Rui still wanted to eliminate any Darenen that threatened her homeland.

Rui caught the look Tobias sent her way, and nodded slightly, reaching for her tea. "I understand the Princess is set to leave at dawn in two days, is that still correct, your highness?"

"Yes. Am I to assume you have a plan, Rui'amolite?" Maerik asked, tucking the folded note back into a pocket.

"Yes, your Highness." Rui stood, setting her teacup onto her saucer, motioning for Tobias to also stand. Saluting the prince, she turned on her heel and left. Once she and Tobias were back in the house they used as their headquarters, Rui turned to her apprentice.

"I realize how much this reeks of a set-up, but we cannot risk the Princess's life. Now, since you were quick to catch that, tell me what else you would do." Rui grabbed the back of a chair and flicked it around, sitting on it backwards, resting her forearms on the back of the chair, her long red locks tumbling down her back, bouncing as she sat, her pale green eyes locked on Tobias, waiting for his assessment of their situation.

Her apprentice may have already made the kill that marks him as a true assassin, no longer an apprentice, but Rui continued on with training him, since he was her charge, no matter how unwilling a thing that had been.

Tobias followed Rui's lead, quickly gulping down the last of his tea - he was never one to pass up free food or drink - bowing and turning to leave, descending the levels of Naelara until they reached their house. Tobias instantly felt the tension between his shoulders that he always felt walking around the city fall off as he entered and closed the door behind them. This had been his home since he was a child, he had grown into a man here, and he knew that here at least he was as safe as anywhere. That wasn't to say perfectly safe however; he was a Darenen in a Kaelari city even if he knew far less about his birth heritage than his adopted one, there would always be someone who would object to his presence and who might decide to try to rid themselves of such distaste. However, with Rui here and the door locked behind them that remained unlikely.

Where Rui sat on a chair Darenen style, Tobias leaned against the wall, arms crossed over his chest. The corner of his mouth lifted in a half smile when Rui asked him what he thought they should do about it. "You're not going to like it," he warned. "Do you still have that blonde wig? I should be able to do a fair imitation of the rank's style, enough to pass to a Darenen's eye at least. I think you should pass as the princess and we should blunder on in to this trap. It's so obvious, let them think that we've dismissed it, if it exists at all."

Pushing himself away from the wall, he pulled his hair over his shoulder. Currently it was in a loose braid just to keep it from his eyes. His nimble fingers quickly undid it and he sat in front of the dresser to run a brush through it and start putting it back in the multiple microbraids he used when working. Kaelari showed their status through their hair styles, the more intricate one's hair was, the more upper class one was considered to be. It meant that most Kaelari had long hair. Of course in retaliation, most Darenen wore their hair short and they were known to cut off any captured Kaelari's hair. Tobias's hair had once been so long it was below his waist but, with his last job where he had to pass as a Darenen he had had to cut it short. He couldn't bare to cut it as short as most Darenen cutting it only to his shoulders instead. It meant he had been considered rather unfashionable for a Darenen but he was told that would only be a problem in the south and most of his work was centered in the north. It was starting to grow out again now, but was still painfully short compared to what he was used to.

"I don't know the princess's exact schedule," he continued as he did so. "But I imagine she would probably have stopped at Ellyir and then moved south. Louis would probably assign a few Darenen guards to her for her safety knowing him," he added with a fond smile. Louis was one of the few Darenen Tobias liked as it was him who had welcomed him into his home as a safe environment where he could learn to pass as a proper Darenen before proceeding with his last job. He actually wanted peace between the two people and worked actively to attain it. Gwain wasn't as determined, but he saw the benefit that peace brought them and he certainly didn't hinder his brother's efforts.

((by microbraids I mean something like this http://collinsfamilycreations.files....d-braids-2.jpg ))

Rui listened to Tobias give his idea, and was pleased to find it mirrored her own. "You're right about me not liking it, but I agree with you. I believe it to be our best option." Rui watched Tobias's fingers as he braided his hair, the familiar pattern a comforting thing to watch as she mulled their plan over in her head.

Ellyir would be a good environment to switch places with the princess, with Tobias passing as one of the guardsmen. Rui's mouth firmed into a thin line; she wasn't excited to talk with more Darenens, even familiar ones like Louis and Gwain. With nary a sound, she stood suddenly and left the room, returning after a beat with a long blonde wig on a wooden carved 'head', placing it on a small table where they held their meals.

"Damnable thing," Rui muttered under her breath as she resumed her seat and began to follow Tobias's example and braid her thick, red locks around her head, so her natural hair was completely concealed beneath the golden tresses of the wig. It wasn't too long before she had finished, and carefully pulled the wig over her head, adjusting it and tucking in stray ginger curls. Looking over her shoulder, she batted her lashes in the same manner the princess did, turning and giving the new blonde hair a flirty flick, "How do I look?" Having been around the royal family enough, Rui knew the mannerisms and voice cadence well enough to have her own voice pass for that of the princess.

Without really waiting for a reaction from Tobias, Rui broke the act by tearing the wig off her head, exclaiming, "Amin delotha lle!" She placed the wig back onto the wooden head and used all ten fingers to massage her scalp; itching, without disturbing the complicated set of braids.

"We'll switch in Ellyir," Rui stated, resuming her slightly aloof demeanor.

Tobias smirked at his master's impression as he saw it through the mirror; she was good, even if nearly immediately she ripped the wig off and swore. He knew that, when it actually came to pulling off the disguise for real she would be flawless, making it nearly impossible to tell the difference between her and the real princess to all but those who knew the princess best. A little make up would help blend her face to be the same but nothing could change bone structure. Nonetheless, he doubted any Darenen would be skilled enough to know her through that alone.

Tying his freshly braided hair into a loose pony tale at the nape of his neck, he stood and took the wig on its head from her, laughing a little. "Here, let me," he said. For all that it was Rui who had taught him disguises, hair styles, and everything else about their craft, Tobias had nimble fingers and was able to pull off the most intricate of designs with ease. He ran the brush through the blonde locks, contemplating what he should do. It wasn't very often he got to see the princess so he couldn't simply copy what she had done before but Kaelari society was such that the more complicated and intricate a hair style was, the higher station in society one had so he knew he could simply go all out.

Thinking back to the task they were given as his hands worked, he said, "I would also like to speak to Serenah about commandeering a few rangers. They are known for discretion and I'm sure Serenah would like to visit his family in Ellyir as well." Serenah was the name given to the leader of the Ranger Corps when he took the role on, though Tobias knew the man's true name was Jonnas. It was he who had taught him the Darenen language and culture as he had spent the first half of his life living in Southern Darenen. It meant that Tobias had spent a lot of time with him and, while they occassionally had their falling outs, for the most part they got along and both trusted the other completely when it came down to it. "We will need at least what looks like a guard for a princess and the warriors are... well they're not known for subtlety," he said. In truth the warriors tended to be proud and brash and he knew the only way they would be able to keep them onside would be if they truly believed they were escorting the real princess. While he had no doubt Rui would be able to keep up the disguise for that length of time the truth was he just didn't like them and wanted an excuse to not have to travel with them. Besides, if he passed as a ranger he would have a reason to wear a hood and hide his features if he took on the role of a scout and that was important as there was no way a Darenen would be seen escorting a Kaelari princess.

It took a little time but by the time he was done he was satisfied. "What do you think?" he asked. The front of the hair had a kind of criss-cross design that looked like a head band, not practical but pretty and could be adorned with crystals or flowers. There were two braids going across the top of the head, again something that could be decorated further or pin a veil to should Rui decide to wear one. There were yet more strands twisted into twirls at the crown of the head, while leaving some trendles to tumble down around the shoulders. These he twisted slightly to give them a natural looking curl. It was rather beautiful, he thought and he was rather proud of himself.

((sort of like a cross between this: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com...465062ba97.jpg and this: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com...775730c80d.jpg ))

Rui watched somewhat impatiently as Tobias proved his mastery over hair once again. As he held it up for inspection, Rui had to admit she was impressed with his work. "Well done. Now, head over to Serenah, see if there are any rangers to be spared. I will make my way to the palace and speak with the princess, hopefully I'll be able to dissuade her from ordering an entire army of knuckle-headed warriors."

Rui started to head out the door, then turned back. "Be careful," she said. There were dangers everywhere, even here in the relative safety of their beautiful city, that she knew all too well.

Tobias gave a small smile and a nod being told to be careful and headed out. He got the usual stares as he weaved through the streets but he avoided talking or looking directly at anyone as he had learned over the years and he was, in turn, left alone. He had lived here for about fifteen years now, barely leaving the city unless it was with Rui, but still they didn't trust him. While fifteen years was long enough for him to grow into manhood, it was barely a blink for the average Kaelari lifetime, he was still a stranger to them and, what's more, now and adult and capable stranger. Nevermind that he had no loyalty to his Darenen parentage and had done all he could do show it.

With a soft sigh, he pushed such thoughts out of his mind as he approached the Ranger headquarters. Here he got ready smiles and nods of greeting. The rangers, perhaps under Serenah's encouragement, seemed to be more welcoming of oddities like himself and even had a few half breeds in their ranks, though they were mostly stationed outside of Naelara. Had he not been taken in by Rui it was likely he would have approached the Rangers requesting a position with them.

Hearing the unusual sound of sword fighting coming from the training hall, he followed it and paused at the doorway; as a non-ranger, he wasn't allowed inside but he could watch from the outside. Normally the bow or the long dagger were the preferred ranger weapons but inside he could see Serenah presiding over four youths training with twin swords like the ones Serenah wore crossed over his back. Serenah glanced up, saw Tobias standing there and gave him a nod before returning his attention to the youths. Confident that he would come see him when he was free, Tobias leaned against the outside of the building, content to wait.

Serenah was perhaps only another half hour before first the students then the teacher traipsed out. With a nod of his head, Serenah indicated that Tobias should follow him so he fell into place beside him. "You're bucking tradition a bit there, aren't you?" Tobias said with a teasing smile.

A ghost of a smile twitched over Serenah's lips at that. "Too much, according to Tormeh," he said. Tobias had met Tormeh a few times, he was an older Ranger and Serenah's mentor since the last Serenah had been killed in the war. "But the reason I struggled to pick up the swords was because I had no one to teach me when Serenah died. I don't want my successor to have that problem so I chose the four youths who showed the most promise and decided to teach them. I would rather teach all Rangers the skill but I understand that would be breaking with tradition too much." Traditionally, Tobias knew, only the Serenah was permitted to use the twin swords, it was a mark of rank and prestige, and a skill passed on from Serenah to Serenah. That this Serenah, Jonnas, had been chosen with his upbringing was considered bucking the trend as it was, but he showed enough skill for it to be acceptable. Tobias wasn't sure how this new development would turn out.

"I'm guessing you're here on business rather than a social call?" Serenah said.

"I could be here on pleasure. It doesn't have to be all businiess," Tobias protested

"If it's a social call you always bring a cake, or cookies, or some other baked treat that Rui'amolite has tried to pass off as baking." It was said with a completely serious face but Tobias gave a bark of laughter anyway; it was true enough. "Private business?" Tobias gave a single nod. "We'll speak in my rooms then."

The Serenah's rooms weren't too different from any other in the Ranger's dormitories except he didn't have to share a room with anyone. "Make yourself comfortable. If you don't mind, I'll bathe and change while you tell me what's going on," Serenah said.

Tobias nodded and sat cross-legged at the low table, turned slight to the side of the bath tub to give Serenah the illusion of privacy. Serenah, for his part, was comfortable enough with Tobias's presence that he didn't bother pulling the screen across even as, in pulling his shirt over his head, a network of scars were made visible across his chest and back, even down his arms and legs somewhat. Most of Naelara knew that Serenah had once been Jonnas, a Kaelari boy captured as a slave in Southern Darenen several decades ago in the war before last. He had been cruely treated there and had grown up believing that all Darenens were like his captors until Louis de Corvac had shown up and, quite literally, spirited him away in the middle of the night. It was Louis who had shown Jonnas that not all Darenen were like that and even after Jonnas returned to live in Naelara and eventually became Serenah, the two were still close friends.

To Tobias, Serenah had always been sympathetic, understanding what it was like growing up in a culture that was not your own and being treated differently because of it. He had befriended the boy when he was just a child not understanding why he was different and hated for that difference. Of course, he had grown into a young man since then, but if he couldn't turn to Rui for something, it was to Jonnas he went.

"Rui and I had a meeting with Maerik earlier. There was an assassination attempt on the princess earlier, from a Darenen and a rather clumsy one I'm led to believe. On the would-be assassin was a note giving the name of another who will attempt it should the first fail," Tobias said.

"Surely even someone as pig-headed as Maerik can't believe the Darenen are as stupid to lay their plans out like that," Jonnas said, before he ducked his head under the water, washing out his long coppery hair.

"I don't know. But Rui and I believe if it is legitimate it is only to serve as a trap in order to attack and kill the princess before she has a chance to reach the eastern islands. We can't afford to treat it as anything but a trap. We believe that, should an ambush happen, it will likely happen inside Ellyir, to plant doubt and shake our alliance and before we take ship."

"This failed assassin, do you know anything about him? Her?" Jonnas asked.

Tobias shook his head. "I didn't think to ask. Why?"

"The fops of Southern Darenen are not above using criminals to send on fools errands like that, they did it during the war. 'Oh you are found guilty of murdering your wife? You have a choice, be hanged, or complete this impossible task which, if you succeed, clearly Ishnar is smiling on you and you are proclaimed innocent'," he said. "If it was northern Darenen... well for a start Louis would have been far more cunning about it."

"You truly think Louis could be behind something like that?" Tobias asked in surprise; if so that would throw their plans out somewhat.

"No," Jonnas said, climbing out of the tub, drying, and dressing in a plain green and brown breeches and tunic, silver threading being the only ornamentation that gave away any rank; the rangers were not a showy people by nature. "His sense of honour would not allow it. Gwain would if he thought he could get away with it but his brother holds too much sway. No, I mostly asked to see if it were possible the hit was meant to succeed and didn't or if it were meant to fail. It doesn't matter. So you and Rui are looking to spring this trap. You need rangers for that?"

"Rui is going to switch places with the princes," Tobias said, only grinning at the snort Jonnas gave to that as he sat at the table with him. "I'll be passing as a guardsman and we would prefer to have some cool-thinking rangers as guards rather than the hot headed swordsmen. Do you think you could spare a few?"

"Wouldn't anyone wishing to attack suspect something if the princess is guarded by rangers instead of her warriors?"

"We'll have to have a few warriors as well, but we don't want them knowing the truth of what's going on - their honour would not allow for subtlty."

"Mmm," Jonnas said, nodding. He leaned forward, elbows on the table, thinking. "How many guards are you thinking total?"

"Small and fast would be best. Though I guess we can't go less than fifteen. Maybe four warriors, ten rangers, and myself?"

Jonnas nodded. "Two rangers can scout ahead, one to the left flank, one to the right, and one behind. The others can dress as much like light warriors as they can. And I'll be going with you."

Tobias's eyes widened at that - Jonnas was Serenah, he was important to the leadership of the rangers especially since he hadn't trained a successor! - "But-" he started but Jonnas spoke over the top of him, using his authoritive voice.

"No buts. If an attack will happen in Ellyir you will need someone there who can corroborate that the de Corvac's are not behind it. I'm going."

Tobias sighed, knowing full well there was no point in arguing. "Very well," he said.

Rui left the apartment, her auburn curls bouncing behind her in that fashion that is both distracting but oddly satisfying. She headed down the winding stairs, careful as always that no one followed her. Even here in her home city, nowhere was ever safe. She knew the route to the palace by heart, in fact, she knew every route to the palace by heart, but that was only to be expected from someone like her.

She whispered through the shadows as no more than a breath, disturbing nothing around her, passing by kinfolk with skill refined by years and years of training. Her feet moved deftly through the streets, winding her way around tree after tree, working up through the levels of her beloved city.

Rui came to the final staircase, passing the guards as easily as she had the common folk earlier, which made her shake her head in slight disappointment. After all, who could fault them for missing her? Rui paused in her steps. That kind of thinking is was makes you mess up, and in her world, a mistake could easily cost her her life, or worse, the lives of those around her. She continued up to the palace, and coming to the large doors that were the final barrier, she came out of the shadows, startling the guards.

"Halt!" They shouted at once, their hands whipping to their hilts to draw their weapons, but before they could, Rui stopped them with a gesture.

"I am Rui'amolite, Her Highness the Princess is expecting me," She stated, her demeanor barred questions, and the guards looked at each other for a scant moment before opening the doors. They of course had heard of her reputation, and despite few knowing what she truly looked like, none were stupid enough to question her and have her dagger introduce itself to their hearts. At least, that's what they assume she would do, and that was how she liked it. Fear was a powerful weapon, and in the realm of shadows and secrets, fear was the ultimate weapon.

She walked through the palace calmly, taking in every detail of the servants around her, recalling their names and stations, and being satisfied that no one new had been added to the staff without her noticing since they were last here, Rui continued her arduous stair climbing journey as she set to climbing the staircase leading to the wing where the Princess was awaiting her. At this point, Rui began to form this conversation in her mind, hashing out possible tactics she could use to her advantage, and educated guesses as to what exactly the Princess was planning.

Passing a few more servants, she returned the common greeting head bow, still keeping a close eye on any oddities. It was never a bad idea to be extra cautious, especially in places you feel you should be comfortable.

Coming to the Princess's room, Rui drew herself up, steeling herself before raising her knuckles to rap on the oaken door, complete with ivy carvings. "Rui'amolite here to answer the Princess's summons."

She was never good with the formal words when it was herself speaking, and even now she sounded contrived and forced to her own ears, making her roll her eyes. She put a quick stop to her self-hatred as the door opened, revealing a short old woman dressed in a starched white gown. She stepped to the side, her wrinkled hand held palm up, as she gestured towards the room, her eyes wide and nearly as white as her dress. Rui had not anticipated that, and held back a squeak of surprise, but barely. She did however, bow, again beating herself for being stupid, then entered the room.

"Princess?" She called, rounding a corner.

The Princess was fetchingly draped over a lounger, half chair half bed, a beautifully carved piece that nearly matched her flawless tanned skin. Her hair tumbled over her shoulder as she stopped mid reach for a strawberry sitting in a bowl on the table before her.

"Oh! Rui! Good!" The Princess perked up, forgetting her berries. "My brother has said that you have a plan for my trip!"

Rui bowed, before taking a seat, "Princess, I-"

"Oh, please, you do not have to call me Princess. Call me Mia." She twinkled, sitting up to pay more attention.

Rui looked skeptical, but continued nonetheless, "Mia, I believe that this mission is far too dangerous for you to risk your safety. I propose a switch, I will travel for you, and attend this meeting in your place."

Mia deflated, the shine in her eyes fading, "Oh. That is quite disappointing. I had thought the whole point was for me to go?"

"You are correct, your highness."

"Mia." She twinkled again.

Rui took a breath to hide the annoyance before opening her mouth to speak again, "Yes, you are correct, Mia. However, after careful consideration of all of the factors regarding this meeting, my colleagues and I have come to an agreement that this is a set-up to take your life."

Mia stood up then, eyes wide in doe-like fear, "W-what?! You can't be serious. These are peace meetings!"

Rui also stood, though much slower than Mia had, "I realize it is a lot to take in, but you must not allow wishful thinking to be your demise."

Mia crossed her arms and sank back to the lounger, clearly pouting as if she were a child. In a way, Rui thought, Mia was very much like a child, having been sheltered in a place like this and having been treated as a child for much of her royal life.

"Princess," Mia shot Rui a glare, "Mia. Please, if I were to go in your stead, we would be able to bring only a small command of rangers, instead of the entire royal army retinue that you had requested previously. In addition, bringing only a few soldiers to a peace meeting would show that you have considerable faith in these meetings to go well to bring such small numbers. If you were to have brought the entirety of your armies, how would that look?"

Mia sighed, giving in, plopping a strawberry in her mouth in defeat, but still talking around it, "Mnot goodph," she mumbled.

Rui sighed in victory internally, but instead bowed, adding, "I only think of your safety, Mia. Thank you."

Mia smiled then, and waved her hand, dismissing Rui, who turned on her heel and nearly ran from the room, excited to get back to Tobias and tell him the good news. As she excited Mia's chamber, she thought about where he would be right now. She smiled in affectionate smugness, he would of course still be with Serenah, they were nearly inseparable, those two.

Rui headed out of the palace, and sticking to the shadows once again, she made her way over to where the rangers housed themselves, and where she knew her little minion to be.

For all that they were close, work was one thing Tobias never spoke of to anyone except Rui. He knew that Jonnas had heard about his less that stellar performance on his last job, how his master had had to pull him away from the body and the visions that had captured him and he was unable to break free from, and was likely wanting to ask, but Tobias said nothing. One of the first things he had learned as a child was to never speak of a job to anyone who doesn't share your profession. Which right now meant only Rui. Tell someone who hadn't experienced killing for money or because a superior ordered it only led for them to look at you in a different light.

So it was that when Rui tapped on the door it was Jonnas's most recent job they were talking about, a scouting mission to the south. Jonnas didn't often get to leave Naelara - his responsibilities kept him here - so it was with some enthusiasm that he was relating the story to Tobias.

As Rui entered, both men stood, Tobias bowed slightly and Jonnas inclined his head; Kaelari rarely touched unless they were romantically involved, something Tobias had had to get used to when he had visited Elyir to learn of his heritage and their customs. With a hand motion, Jonnas invited Rui to sit with them.

"Tobias tells me you wish for a compliment of rangers to act as guards on this mission," Jonnas said. He relayed his thoughts on the number and placing of them, then said, "I'll be coming too," and waited to see what kind of reaction he got.

Rui knocked politely before entering the room, catching enough of their conversation to discern what they were discussing before she interrupted their exchange. She returned Jonnas's head tilt, with an added smile. She truly did enjoy his company, and she considered him as close to a friend as she got in relationships. Joining them, she took a seat herself, her grin growing larger as Jonnas confirmed that he already knew that her plan to persuade the princess was successful.

That is, until the words "I'll be coming, too," tumbled from his mouth. Rui sat frozen in her chair, stunned, before her mind kicked into gear.

"Absolutely not. You are Serenah, we can't risk your life any more than we can risk the princess's," she stated matter-of-factly, standing and crossing to the small fireplace against the far wall. She pushed the kettle over the small fire after checking that there was water in it. "Would anyone else like a cup of tea?"

"I would," Tobias said quickly to the offer of tea, hoping to ward off what he knew would be a rather vocal confrontation.

Jonnas simply ignored him. "I am Serenah," he said. "And as Serenah it is my decision where I go and when, not yours. And I have decided that I have not visited my friends in Ellyir for far to long. More than that, if there is a plot that seeks to make us victims and implicate said friends then I will be there to get to the bottom of it. And finally, as if I need another reason, you will not always be there to pull Locky here back from whatever trance he finds himself in so it will be helpful for another person to be around who knows what's going on."

"Wait, how did you know about that?" Tobias demanded. He had thought the only ones who knew about it were Rui, and the seers and interpreters who had been meddling in his life since he was a child.

"You're not the only ones with informants," Jonnas said with a mysterious smile and Tobias simply sighed, knowing he wouldn't get any more out of him about it.

Jonnas stood and, going to a cupboard, took out a tray of sweet biscuits. "So, I'm going. When do we leave?" he said.

Rui began to bristle as Jonnas argued with her, but before she could form her mouth around the words to rebut him, he tossed in Tobias as an very valid reason, and it was only then that Rui visibly sank. Nowhere else would she have allowed such a wanton display of vulnerability, but the sinking feeling in her heart told her Jonnas was right. And she hated him for it.

Her large eyes met Tobias's as she handed him his cup of steaming tea, the smoke curling through the air between them. She hated Jonnas for speaking her fear so plainly, and broke contact with Tobias to fix her disgruntled gaze on the Serenah. She watched him bring the tray of sweets and mirrored him as he reseated himself. She ignored the banter between her friends, staring into her tea, thinking.

"So, I'm going. When do we leave?" He asked, breaking the small silence that had felt like years to Rui as she turned over his last reason in her mind.

Tossing her tea back like a shot of hard mead with a practiced hand, while very much wishing it was, she then snatched a biscuit from the tray, "Two days," biting into it, she continued around a mouthful of sweet dough, "I really hate you, Jonnas," though neither her voice or eyes corroborated her statement.

Jonnas simply smiled. "No you don't, you're grateful for the help. But it's ok, I won't force you to admit it," he said, taking a bite out of the pastry. They spent a few hours planning the expidition and generally chatting before Rui and Tobias took their leave.

Back in their own rooms, Tobias said, "This could be fun. I've never travelled with rangers before, it will be interesting to see how they work." He started moving about the room to make dinner for them. "Do you suppose one of them might let me try to pull one of those huge bows they carry?" he asked. As an assassin he had learned how to use a bow, but it was always the small short bow, low range but easy to carry and break into pieces to hide. The range of the long bows had always fascinated him.

Rui smiled indulgently through Tobias's excited babble, still in a good mood from the banter earlier. It was true she was thankful Jonnas decided to join them, but it didn't cancel out all of her worry. She came back to attention as Tobias talked of bows.

"Oh I'm sure Serenah will teach you a trick or two while we are on the road and not needing to be in full costume," She laughed lightly, "You're really quite excited aren't you?" She watched him make dinner, still impressed with his culinary skills.



((Blaaarg, sorry, I tried to make it longer but my brain got stuck.))

"Excited to be travelling, excited to get away from Naelara for a change, sure. Not so excited to be going back to Darenen territory and their ways," Tobias replied. He liked Louis and his family, and they had taken him in and been very patient in teaching him of his heritage, and he knew that as he was trusted with more he would be sent into Darenen lands more and more often - no one would suspect him of spying for the Kaelari - but that didn't mean he had to like their ways. They were so unsophisticated and brutish to his mind.

"I'm kind of hoping this attack happens. Imagine their faces when the very helpless princess they've come to kill turns around and stabs them," he said with a grin. Unlike Tobias's hair skills, his culinary skills were average at best, the food he made more suited to travel fare. It was Rui who was good at the fancy work, the sweets and cookies, all perfectly decorated and only sometimes a little burnt. But he felt the need to keep busy to do something. Maybe afterwards they could train or something, just to get rid of some nervous energy.

Rui shared Tobias' distaste for Darenen culture, it was hard not to feel superior to such a willfully ignorant populace. She also shared his desire to be out of the city for a while; it went against her defensive instincts to be in one place too long. She nibbled on a leftover biscuit, listening to him continue.

"I'm kind of hoping this attack happens. Imagine their faces when the very helpless princess they've come to kill turns around and stabs them,"

Rui hid her mouth behind her hand to keep her biscuit from exploding out with her burst of laughter. Though she'd absolutely never admit it, sometimes she thought Tobias knew her a little too well; what with his uncanny ability to say aloud what she was thinking.

"That would be quite the spectacle," she said after swallowing her mouthful. "I'm hoping you are preparing for such an event, rather than just daydreaming about it," Rui teased, while still being somewhat serious. She knew Tobias was an excellent fighter, he had learned from the best after all, but this assignment was much more delicate than he might realize, and that's what worried her. He was still merely a child by Kaelari standards, and children were wont to act boldly, not always in the smartest fashion.

"Of course," Tobias replied. "I've a couple poisons ready to coat my blades with before we go. I have my gloves too, but I haven't decided if I should wear them yet," he said. Tobias was required to wear gloves most of the time to prevent accidental touches. The casual touch didn't do much, just distract him, but it was annoying and gloves ensured that wouldn't happen. He had thought that it would be best not to wear them on his last job - he needed the fine touch to be able to pick locks and even while fighting it was easiest to feel the impact of the dagger so he knew if he struck something vital or just a bone - but the touch of blood had rendered him unconscious. Wearing blood should stop that so long as it didn't spray on his face, but his fighting ability would be hindered.

Serving up their dinner he sighed irritated, "Why the gods seemed to think this was something that any person should be able to do, I have no idea," he muttered, annoyed. He hated his so-called 'gift'. While sure, it could be considered useful, it was far too inconvenient for Tobias.

"Have you ever been to Ellyir?" Tobias asked, changing the subject as they sat down to their meal. When he had gone to learn of his heritage, Jonnas had taken him. And even that had been several years ago.

Rui wisely followed the change in topic, finishing her biscuit and reaching for her mug of tea, "I've been a few times, generally for work however. The castle is quite a magnificent sight in the morning dawn, though stories say it was grander in times under Kaelari rule."

She sipped her tea, enjoying the warmth that spread through her belly.


((Not done. I has questions.))