WeBuiltThePyrimids and HC-Gal






The forest stretched as far as a the human eye could see. Green covered mountains, farm land and forest shared claim to the valleys. Rivers of clear blue cut along the land connecting back to the sea that bordered three fourths of Dureth. It was mostly a wild land untouched by man. Larger towns, those mainly along the coast and river side, had cut into the vast forest to make room for houses and farming while other less prominent villages had built their homes in the trees or natural clearings. It was a testament to the nomadic ways of their ancestor. Seven generations pass a single woman set out to unite the tribes under a single ruler. To govern them yes but also to protect the people of the land against invading countries. There are many legends that circulate on how she was able to unite the people of Dureth. Some involving her selling her soul and the soul of her off spring to an earth spirit, other claiming that the spirits were the ones who set her on her quest and that to complete it she was given their powers, the more far fetch ones claim she was truly a spirit herself.No matter how it happened the nomads united under her and the stone palace that was built for her still houses those of her blood as the royal family.


The current ruling Queen stood in a room known by very few and even then the only other two people who knew what was inside the room had died some years back.It was a room that only the Queen and the heir to the throne were permitted to enter. Large crystals stretching from wall to ceiling lined the room their faces smoothed imitating a mirror's surface. The crystals at the moment did not reflect young Amaranth but showed her different corners of her kingdom. The town by the northern bank of the Mirror lake was still pulling it's self back together after the mass poisoning of their cattle. Rows of graves could be seen from in between the houses deeper into the mountain. Another crystal looked upon a smaller village that had suffered from strange fires that no one could find the cause of. luckily no one had been lost and she had sent soldier to help with repairing their homes. It was all very very troubling, especially with the older citizens talking about how it was the spirits retaliating against humans craving up the land. Rubbing her temples she waved a single pale hand and the scenes playing out in the crystals wavered then vanished. The room dimmed, the unearthly glow of the crystals fading with the images.

Her mother had explained to her when she was younger that the crystals were not magic by themselves but responded to the magic in their blood. As long as there was a crystal near by they were able to draw out the magic. It was why she now wore the her mothers crystal around her neck, the same crystal every Queen had worn since her ancestor was crowned the first Queen of Dureth. A single knocked signaled that she had been in the room for an hour. The time she had allowed herself to check in on her people before she readied her self for her guest. Opening the large wooden doors just enough so that she could slip out with out a thread of her silver dress getting caught she nodded for the guards to slide the stone lock into place.

" Word from the coast. Our guest will be here shortly ,your Majesty." Bowed Panos the captain of the royal guard. He stood next to a tall dark woman who made no sound but eyes seemed to take in every inch of the dimly lite hallway from her position. The Queen knew that it left Stir feeling uncomfortable that she was not allowed to fallow her into the crystal room. As she saw it as the Queens body guard she should be where ever the Queen was. Especially in these times.

"When they arrive I will see them in the meeting room. Make sure that the chef has something light for them prepared so that they may snack before dinner. I'm sure they will be hungry."





(( The title is kind of odd but I was thinking about how there was a third party they didn't know about and it's what popped into my head as a title. Plus the only reason their are so many links is i wanted to really get the feel of Dureth))

[THat's alright lol.. I'll need to look about more if i want to show what Velfriedt is like lol]

It was at about this time that a stout soldier serving under the royal guard came jogging up, but he looked reasonably out of breath already, face flushed red, having run all the way from the courtyards and along the small lake within the walls. He was half bent over when he finally stopped, hands on his knees as he took deep breaths before looking up at the captain,
"Captain! Its.. The.. King of Velfreidt!" He heaved, taking a deep breath and standing straight to salute to all present company, "The King.. Is here.. Ahead of schedule! He.. Has his sword.. Drawn.. In the courtyard, sir...!" He spoke what he could between half-controlled gasps, trying to maintain dignity in respect to the queen.

And he wasn't lying, no, even now, King Zeid, king of the Velfreidt lands was stood in the castle grounds, being watched nervously by the remaining guards. They'd taken up defensive positions almost as if concerned he was about to attack. Yet his company was no more than two people. As he confidently rested his sword, a zanerium steel long-sword with a four foot long blade, upon the shoulder of his royal plate-mail armour, made of the same Velfreidt metal. That probably was the reason they felt threatened and because he refused to explain his ways to them, especially why he had a sword drawn, they were completely on edge.
Although there had never been a war against Velfreidt, there were still the stories, King Zeid, like all other suitors before him, had been raised almost religiously on combat. He'd tended to rebellions, large raids from foreign powers, even fought across the seas to the north. Some small circles referred to him as a butcher, others called him a monster, and with that confident grin.. That pale unharmed flesh and those stone cold blue eyes, he was a strangely terrifying presence.
But the truth was that many of his people exhibited these pale looks, and many more followed similarly brutal lifestyles. They were a volatile, militaristic people whose forms of combat concentrated on religious beliefs. Few foreigners actually understood that among them it had become tradition to approach a respected ally with sword drawn but rested on their shoulder. If it had been pointed forward at any angle it meant he was approaching a foe for an honourable battle, and if it sat in his sheath it meant he was waiting for a grand battle.

Standing silently to his left, sporting no weapons was an Irrkandan witch, Bellafie Marianard. Irrkandan witches were once a nomadic peoples themselves, not unlike the people of Delmuth, but their ancestors were more willing to use their powers, to kill, to protect, even through the death of others. The solution was simple enough, if they killed bad people, the result was many more lives saved. One of the previous kings had seen this as an admirable trait and gave them a place as honoured protectors of the Velfreidt court.
Their powers were as lethal as their beauty, darker, perhaps too close to the evil energy of demons, but they controlled its purpose well enough.

To his right stood an even more imposing figure. Shade, as was his only known name, had little known history, only a greater range of rumours. The half-cloaked figure stayed almost motionless in the dark skull mask he wore, the only semblance of humanity was the singular tattooed arm, he was a Velfreidt assassin of the Lorres'vaan order. No doubt bathed in blood and combat since he could remember, with strong tenets that forbade killing without the order of the one whom employed him.
After that it was the fear that would follow. Lorres'vaan assassins would stand even in a crowd and only their victim would ever see that skull helm. They would haunt their prey until it was their end. To stand in the open as he did now could only have meant two things. Either he was here to kill everyone, or he was here to kill no-one, willingly revealing himself.

This was easily the most open expression of the kind of people they were. Dangerous, destructive, but disciplined and thrilled by the very idea of combat. The king calmly stood in place. Not talking, just waiting. While it had been arranged for him to be here later, he'd forced plans to go forward, lowering the risk of some form of assassination because of his schedule being revealed. Sure it ruffled some feathers here or there, but he didn't care. Even he knew when to lower risks. He wasn't willing to risk an incident with a kingdom he had no interest in fighting with.

Silence fell over the hallway, the only sound coming from the low ranking guard as he tried to catch his breath. This was the news that Caption Panos had been dreading when Queen Amaranth had informed him that the King of that warmongering country was coming to Dureth. He had heard the rumors, King Zied was a monster on the battle field. And the two that stood by his side were no better. A witch and a demon. No, he had been against this from the beginning.Training exercises became more trying, he pushed his men to their limits preparing for the battle he feared they would face. Turning to the guards at the door he signaled them to unlatch the wooden doors so that their Queen could take shelter.

" Your Majesty, please return to your...." The woman responsible for ruling the country he so loved, the Queen he would lay down his life for held up a slender hand to cut off his request for her to seek safety.
" Thank you Captain but I don't believe that will be necessarily. After all King Zied has traveled all the way here from Velfreidt . No I shall go great him myself."
Panos stood from his bow to look down at the woman three years his junior. He understood that there was no one else that could have taken the throne after the passing of Queen Galen. But he agreed with the whispered words of the court elders, Amaranth had been too young, barely into her seventeenth summer and she was being crowned queen. He felt she was too naive on the ways of those out side of Dureth.


It had been some time since Amaranth had seen someone from another land. Dureth stayed out of most wars and so was used as a neutral territory for peace signings and the like. It was the year before she was crowned- when her mother was still alive but bed ridden- that she had accompanied her father to a treaty signing between Velfreidt and a nation from the north that she had first laid eye on someone with such pale features. Unfortunately King Zied was not here to sign a treaty with some land that she had never heard of, today the ruler of their neighboring Kingdom was here because the same strange events had been taking place in Velfreidt.

" Guard, if you would be so kind please inform the kitchen staff that our Guest have arrived earlier then expected." She smiled at the much older man as he gave a quick bow and turned to head back up the stairs leading to the main levels. Hesitating briefly before fallowing him up she glanced side ways to make eye contact with Stir. The bodyguard hadn't shown a single sign that he had heard the guard. The young Queen was envious sometimes of the older woman's ability to show no emotion.

The stones grew warmer under her bare feet as she made her way into the court yard, Stir and Panos at her sides. She hadn't planned on meeting her guest bare foot with her long brown hair trailing down her back instead of up in one of the complicated dos her ladies liked to style for her. It just felt right to have little material things between her and the earth when she was using the crystal room.

" King Zied, you are some hours early, I take this as a sign your journey was a safe one." Guards turned at the sound of her voice coming from the stairwell leading up to the eastern part of the palace. The captain signaled for them to stand down as she descended the stairs. It took her far longer to reach the three foreigner her small steps trying to counsel the fact that she walked barefoot before a visiting king. The time also allowed her to take in her guest. They were all very frightening and like no one one would find in Dureth.

" Please sheath your sword, you will find no enemy within these walls."

Zied grinned a little as the queen finally appeared, his eyes focusing on her calmly as she approached, it was odd but he did remember her too, though obviously she had grown up since then. He chuckled a little after she requested that he sheathed his sword and he simply shook his head,
"I think not.. To sheath my sword in your court would mean that I intend to make war. It is the preparatory stance that says I am ready to engage in warfare. I approach you with my sword drawn as a symbol, that I come to you open-handed," He shifted himself slightly, but the action made a few of the guards shift nervously, Zeid stared at them before grinning again,
"You are meant to take the sword from me." He added, though the way he spoke of it, it sounded like a challenge, even as he stepped forward, it was har dnot to see the threat behind it, considering the more brutal nature of his people but he simply changed his grip on the weapon so that he was holding it by the blade and aiming the handle towards the Queen,
"Please, it is important to entertain proper etiquette or risk giving my own people false signals. And believe me what transpires here will no doubt reach them sooner or later.."

The witch at his side shifting her weight from one side to the other, rolling her eyes and mumbling to herself, something along the lines of how a peace-loving society didn't even have the courtesy to study the cultural aspects of other countries so as not to cause offense. It was a basic principle. She looked, howeve,r over tot he man wearing the skull mask, who'se head turned in her direction and she pursed her lips. It was almost as if they'd had a mental exchange, that was, Shade telling her off, even as he looked towards the king, he began drawing his daggers and knives, one by one placing them on the ground before himself. What made some of the soldiers uneasy was that even after he'd drawn out all the visible blades, he still had to reaching to hidden sections of his armour and clothing to pull additional knives out and place them, all with neat and careful precision, before him.
"I'd put my own weapons down too, but I'm quite attached to them.." The Irrkandan added dryly, wriggling the fingers on her hands towards a couple of nearby guards before resting them calmly on her hips, "Do we really have to go through all of this nonsense..? It's not like these ignorant morons get it anyway.." She added in an almost annoyed sounding whine, but another silent glare from Shade made her groan,
"Stop looking at me like that you creepy freak..! Geeze! I get it! Proper protocol and all that foolishness.."

Taking a breath Amaranth steeled her self not to take a retreating step. She would not let the pinch of fear that had wormed it's way in her grow. The man in front of her was here for peace, he had even said so him self. It didn't matter the rumors about him or the kingdom of Velfreidt. What mattered, she told her self as she reached out to take the handle of the weapon, was that they had a mutual problem and she would not let anything stop her from helping her people. "Please pardon me then. Of course I meant no insult to you or your people."

The sword was awkward and unfamiliar in her hand but as she pulled it away from Zied she noticed it was also very heavy. In an effort to keep the blade from tumbling right out of her hand she was forced to use her left to keep it steady. She had never held a sword quite as heavy as his, not that she had held many swords in her life. Light brown eyes stared along the blade, if the rumors held any truth then this blade had killed more people then where currently standing behind her. She didn't know how she felt about holding something that she knew had taken human life.

Her eyes and mind left the blade when the woman accompanying Zied called her people ignorant morons. The heat that rushed her body now was not of fear but the urge to defend her people, " In Dureth one earns trust by showing trust. We, no I welcomed you into the walls of my home, you return that trust by letting me know what weapons you carry. Approaching someone's home with weapon draw is normally seen as a sign of confrontation her. Your ways are different from our own."Her tone was that of a Queen, not the placating tone she had used earlier to let her guards know she found no danger in their guest. Now she used a voice full of pride but also hinted at the voice a mother would use to chastise a child. Turning her head away from the insulting woman she looked upon the most terrifying of the three, as he is disarmed. " Thank you," She looked back at Zied making sure to meet his eyes. If he too thought her people weak just because they favored peace to bloodshed she would make sure he was corrected. " You can see what my guards are armed with clearly enough. "
with out breaking eye contact She called out to Stir, who had moved closer to her when the other man began showing his weapons. " Please show King Zied and his companions what you carry on you."

Stir pulled out several throwing knives of different size and thickness first, next came the two blade she hide in her gloves fallowed by two blades from her boots and a hand full of long needles from her hair . She placed them all at a pile by her feet. She body tensed waiting for the possible moment when she had to bend down and grab them again. " That is all."

Shifting the hilt of the sword around in her hands she angled it back towards the tall man in front of her. " May I return this to you now?"

"Please, ignore Miss Marianard." The king mentioned, also shotting the witch a glare and she make a jesting defensive motion with her hands, almost as if mocking the very idea of Zied attacking her, the king shook his head and sighed,
"She has a bit of a foul temper and a mouth to match, she's otherwise very loyal and very good at her job." The man explained, resting a hand on his hip and rolling his other shoulder, "We came early to avoid any inconvenience caused if some-one less-favorable happened to see the schedule and timing and saw it as an opportunity.." He phrased the last part rather suggestively, it was only right to worry about assassination attempts, not that they'd have gotten very far with it. He just wanted to avoid the hassle.

Shade watched Stir quietly as she also emptied out her weapons before he knelt to pick up one of the larger throwing daggers he had. It doubled as a combat blade considering it had just the right size to it and he stepped forward slowly, seeming to almost prowl around tot he side, but mostly to keep Stir between himself and the queen. He wasn't sure if the woman could interpret this as his way of showing he was no threat, but he certainly wasn't about to speak to say otherwise. He came to a halt a meter or two away from the bodyguard. The empty, lifeless looking eyes of the skull practically transfixed on her before lowering, looking down at the weapons she'd laid on the ground.
What particularly interested him were the needles. He'd heard of these being used. but his orde rha dnever taken them into practice. They weren't banned from learning though. He knelt by the pile and reached forward to pick up one, examining it quietly before looking up and holding the throwing dagger out to her, an exchange. A piece for a piece.

Zied watched the assassin as he walked, a curiously look on the king's face before he saw what the silent man was up to, which only incited a chuckle,
"Always so curious, Shade.. It seems he would like one, if that wouldn't trouble you." The king stated calmly to Stir before looking to the queen and shaking his head again, "You may hand it off to another to deposit it somewhere you believe is safe. It only returns to my hand if I intend to fight, or to leave, its entrusted to your care so you can trust that I wont use it against you and as a valuable possession of mine beyond even a crown and coffers of gold, I trust that you will take care of it."

Bellafie meanwhile continued to look rather unimpressed by all the proceedings, but both Shade and Zied were getting annoyed with her so it probably was about time to cool it down a bit. She stuck her tongue out at the King when his back was turned but quickly retracted it and looked the other way when he gazed in her direction. If anything she was mostly just mischievous,
"Next thing you know, Shady there will be holding hands with children and dancing through fields.."

The bodyguards eyes watched the masked man lift on of his own throwing knives. Her jaw clenched under her mask, fingers twitching as she pictured the damage any one of her weapons would do if thrown hard and fast enough at his neck. The needles were her best bet, a man didn't carry that many weapons around if he didn't know how to use them, since they were nearly impossible to see if throw right. Stir sifted her feet apart a fraction more gaining a firmer stance. If he was going to attack the Queen she would have to block him with her body till she could grab hold of her own weapons.

When he instead of attacking moved to keep her between him and the Queen she was forced to reevaluate the situation. She had heard about the Lorres'vaan order, a group of assassins unlike any other. That the king travel to what was suppose to be a peaceful meeting had set off warning bells in her mind. She had made sure to keep him in her eyes sight from the moment they entered the court yard. He's focus didn't seem to be on the Queen but on her own pile of weapons. When he lifted a single needle she backed straighten waiting to see what he would do.

She recognized the offering, the trading of his own weapon for one of hers. The knife he offered was longer then her longest throwing knife, about the sizes of one of her short blades. Taking it she tossed it in the air before catching it between her pointer and middle finger. Larger and a slight increase in weight compared to her own but a good blade. Sliding it into one of the many places she kept her other knives she gave single firm nod. He could keep the needle.

Amaranth watched the exchange between Stir and Zied man. It was silent as most of the things Stir did was and fascinating. The woman had been her mother bodyguard as well coming in to serve her family around the time she had reached her tenth summer. In all that time she had never seen anyone tough one of the bodyguards weapons and left untouched. She had also never met anyone who frightened her as much as Stir, it unnerved her to not be able to know what people were feeling.

When the exchange was over and sit had begun collecting her weapons King Zeid informed her of what to do with his sword. At first the safest place she thought to out it was in her crystal room since she was the only one allowed access. The idea of a weapon that she knew had split blood being in such a pure area sent a shiver down her spine. However it was the safest place in the whole palace with no one but her allowed inside. She would place it in the very center of the room away from the crystals she used for viewing.

Calling over the closest guard to her she place the sword in his hands ans gently as she could. "Take this too my rooms for now," she looked over at king Zied when she spoke next. "I will move it to a secure location when I am done here."

As the guard turned and headed to the northern staircase a servant from the kitchen made her way down the stairs. She had drawn the sort straw out of the rest of the kitchen staff and had been forced to be the one to announce that lunch was ready. She had been walking as slowly as she could through the palace halls She had wanted to see these strange guest but at the same time the guard earlier had went on and on about the three visitors from Velfreidt. From the king's oddly pale features to the demon that stood at his side. Where she stood now, at the bottom of the steps her eyes wide and staring at the three strangers standing closest to the Queen, she new he had not lied.

"uh...You...You'e Majesty, lunch is prepared." She bowed staring at the stone walkway. the other girls in the kitchen would never believe her when she told them that they had not been lead on.

"I'm sure you are all hungry after your journey. Come we shall eat and you can rest. Then we will discuses the topic of this visit." She had kept the reason for this visit vague for a reason. Amaranth had told no one of the things that had been happening in in Zied's Kingdom. She would let them think the acts in Dureth were random and a series of bad luck befalling them until they knew why the same things were happening elsewhere.

Shade stood calmly, nodding his head in Stir's direction before he turned away, moving back to his weapons while calmly examining the needle. It was simple, and considering the shape, probably precise if one was well-practiced with it. The length also made it a potential close-range weapon, albeit not as effective as a sword, but quick and sharp. He could see that taking care of several people quickly with this wouldn't be entirely difficult. The needle was taken and shifted then, slid carefully under his left glove, out of sight, secure against his arm, he would find purpose for it in his own arsenal, a hidden weapon, last resort perhaps.
He retrieved his own weapons quietly, slotting them all where they belonged, leaving just the one stray loop where the throwing dagger had been. Once done he was standing once more, fully armed, but form relaxed. He'd however moved his focus to Stir. The hollows of the skull kept on her.

Zied bowed his head calmly as the Queen decided where to place it, so long as it was somewhere she deemed safe, he was pleased, he looked up and smiled appreciatively,
"Thank you," He responded casually, looking aside to Shade. The man seemed pretty focused.. Either the assassin was perceiving Stir as a threat or his curiosity hadn't ended just yet, Zied couldn't blame him, the mysteriousness of the silent woman at Amaranth's side would make most men curious. But not all of them..
As the servant came down the stairs, Zied raised a blow for a moment, she was a curious one too, checking out the three foreigners in the courtyard. This would no doubt end up as confirmed gossip around the castle. What an interesting stir to cause.

"I'm not hungry," Bella mentioned offhandedly, smirking to herself as she looked at a nearby guard, "I ate on the way.. They were tough to chew, but take away the clothes and slow-roast them on a spit-" She almost finished but Zied reached behind her and promptly tapped her across the top of her cranium before burying his hand on her head to ruffle her hair,
"Would you stop that? Irrkandan cannibalism is a myth and they're unsettled enough as it is.." Zied sighed, the woman eventually wrestling his hand away before blowing some strands of hair away from her face,
"Oh come on..! You're being such a bore.." She whined, "It's fun to scare the kiddies..!"
She was met with a dull stare from Zied which suggested she really should stop while she was ahead and again she huffed,
"Oh whatever.. So whats on the menu?" She asked, glaring at Zied as he walked forward calmly, Shade keeping to his side, Bella simply sneered and stuck her tongue out again before following.

Turning to lead the way towards the stairs Amaranth's heart nearly stopped at the words that left Miss Marianard. Was she implying that she had...eaten citizens of Dureth on her way here. Cannibalism was no longer practiced in Dureth though not outlawed the act had simply died away when the tribes became towns and villages. Even then it had been a spiritual ceremony, consuming the heart, brain, and eyes of a dead loved one so that they could live on. Though she could never have imagined herself consuming pieces of her mother she understood that the ceremony had been carried out with the up most respect for the dead. Certainly no spits were involved.

'An Irrkandan, that explains her distaste for our ways. Oh Spirits please grant me patience and strength.' She sent to silent pray to the spirit world. Hopefully she would not be spending an extended amount of time about the witch, She had already insulted her people enough for Amaranth's taste.

She felt eyes on her as she turned her back to fallow Amaranth she trusted the assassin. She could trust that he would fallow the orders of King Zied whatever those may be. With him in the palace walls she would have to be extra vigilant. He hadn't tried to slaughter them all while their leaders conversed and had even disarmed. It would be an amateur mistake to believe that that signaled they had no malice intent. Stir ran the pad of her thumb over on of the needles she had slid into her gloves.

" If you would please fallow her to the dinning room. I will take care of moving your sword before I join you there." She signaled to the servant with a wave of her hand. She would tuck the sword away and do a final check on the towns before lunch. She wished to be fully informed on her lands status when King Zied and her sat down to discuss the problems.

" If you would please fallow me your Highness." Raising her head she swallowed hard before turning to guide the three to the small more comfortable dinning hall.

Zied looked about at the decor of the place, it was actually a lot lighter than their own, Velfreidt was a darker, drearier looking place, but it was up tot he viewer to see the beauty behind it all. Zied had always enjoyed the jagged, jutting precipices and the hefty, twisted platemail suits that resided within castle Stormhaven, the seat of the king in Velfreidt. The stories would go that a king would command even the natural disasters of the world, calling tidal waves and demanding hurricanes to devastate their foe, in truth these really were just stories to elevate the position of a king to something of a more ominous god. He didn't buy into it personally, but the stories were amusing..

Everything here seemed so much more.. Smooth.. Almost seamless if it wasn't for the more obvious carvings and the cleaner carpeting and decor. The three of them looked quite out of place here, but the King didn't seem to mind. Bellafie seemed to pull a face at certain things, but that was just the way she was, he'd grown up with her in some regards, she'd been the chosen apprentice of the previous Irrkandan that served his father. Of course no sooner had Zied taken the throne, he'd had that woman put on trial and executed.
He'd seen her talking to his eldest brother, whom had been forsaken the throne, passed over for the younger Zied. He could see the patterns of conspiracy forming between them and his own informants, Shade included at the time, had uncovered a plot to make a coming assassination look like an accident. Shade was obviously the better assassin.
Bella didn't like that Zied had gone to such an extreme measure, but she hated traitors too, before it was over she'd absorbed her mentors powers.
The joys of being from Velfreidt remained bizarre and far too strange for others, but they somehow made it work. Their people were happy enough, fearful half the time, but the Velfreidt guards and soldiers were such a frightful force that crime-rate actually stayed low and they knew they'd be safe so long as they followed the laws.

These attacks ruined that reputation of safety though, and this irritated Zied to no end. If some-one could move about his own kingdom, kill and murder and get away with it, it made his forces look weak. Having to come to discuss this matter with the queen of Amaranth hurt his pride personally, normally this meant that there was no more dangerous a man alive. A king of Velfreidt with his pride harmed was the last thing anyone wanted on their case. So whoever was doing all of this.. They were good at hiding..

Shade followed the king and Bellafie into the dining hall, looking around at the way it was shaped.. Something about it suggested that it was once something of a "last-stand" area. The pillars were the right size for crossbowmen to hid behind and the narrow entry-hall meant that groups of foes had to be funneled into a small space. They could hold out against an army like that for hours, days even. But now it served as a dining hall.. It made sense too.. the enemy soldiers could even have been.. Consumed.. He prized the intelligence of it all, but human meat could only be eaten for so long.. Still, the Dureth people were very clever..
He didn't expect they served anything like that anymore, and he was thankful of it, though he wanted to find a shaded spot, somewhere in the shadows. The pillars mostly had light around them, but there were certain ones where he could sit in darkness and eat. It was important to not reveal ones face but he could hardly eat through his mask.

The walk through the palace to her rooms lead mainly through the open walkways and stair cases. She had always wondered if the openness of the palace was a testament to the tents and wilderness the people use to live in. The Queens rooms had always been at the edge of the palace closest to the pond but also over looking the mountains edge. Though it was a beautiful view the rooms were located there because they were directly above the crystal room.

Amaranth ran her fingers along the grooves in the crystal hanging from her neck.She had thought that the unexplained events going on in Dureth was a lot on her plate she hadn't expected King Zied's visit to come with such complication. When she had informed her council and the guard that they would be welcoming visitors they had voiced their worries and concerns. And she understood where they were coming from. They had never had any conflict with Velfreidt but rumors could be a powerful thing.

She had sworn she was making the right decision when she had ignored her council members, she needed to do what ever it took to stop whatever was happening to her people. She hadn't expected him to show up with a man that looked more like a demon and an Irrkandan. She hoped they could get to the root of this problem quickly and the three could be on their way back to their own kingdom.

Beside her Sitr cleared her throat pointing to the wooded door that Amaranth had been staring at "oh". Opening the door she walked over to the bed where the guard had placed the sword."Guess I was thinking to hard huh?"



In the court yard Panos dismissed his men back to their regular post.He had training he had to over see, and new patrol schedule that needed approval.Other things to worry about then the Queen sitting in a room eating with the Velfreidt guest. Stir could take care of her if anything were to happen. He just couldn't shake the feeling that something was going on that he wasn't aware of. There was no reason for King Zied to be here, here was no treaty with another nation to sign, he knew they were not here to ask for assistant- Dureth was far to different to provide any help to the militaristic nation.

There was one option but he didn't feel like entertaining the impossible. As he walked the halls the groups of servant girls clustered in corners either giggling or covering their mouth were growing as he got closer to the dinning hall. It didn't surprise him most of them had never been out side of the capital city. To them the strangers were probably as fascinating as they were scary. " Should you be getting to work?"

" I agree." Panos turned to find Amaranth and Stir standing behind him. The Queen wore an amused expression when she noticed just what door he was standing near. " Were you coming to inform me of something or just lost?" As playful as the words sounded there was a slight tone of disapproval. Panos had been one of the louder one to object and she knew that he still mistrusted their guest.

"No, I was merely figuring out how to set up the new patrol schedule. Shouldn't you be in lunch?"

Walking past him she reached out to open the door her self, " I had to take care of something first. Good luck with the patrol schedule, caption."

Inside the room smelt of the stew and bread the servants had brought out for lunch. The chef had made a light lunch planning a much larger dinner in honor of the royal guest. " I hope you didn't wait for me."



(( blah I'm unhappy with the post. but school just started so my brain tried really hard to push something half decent out.))

Whilst Zied and Bellafie had taken their places, waiting at the table for the Queen to return, mostly out of etiquette or politeness, however much it had been forced in the case of the witch, it was evident Shade was already eating, at least so much as anyone could tell. He'd picked out his shadow and stayed within in, his vague silhouette slowly working through the bread and the stew. His helmet was off, but in the darkness his features couldn't be made out, there was evidence, however, that he had hair, shoulder-length too, and dark, it reflected no major light.
The skull helmet that frightened people so much sat on the ground, out in the light, as if he were disembodied and still watching them. But the helmet, in the end, was just a helmet, naught more than a symbol and a mask for the true man beneath.

Zied had been watching Shade partially, but was also having to deal with Bella's antics. She really didn't know when to stop even when she seemed ot get the idea that she should, she'd been making fun this time of the strange way everything was laid out, but not once had she mentioned the food, either because she hadn't tasted it yet or perhaps because the smell of it was actually enticing and she didn't want to admit it. Shade certainly didn't have any complaints from his place in the dark, so it really couldn't be all that bad. He'd even taken on the duty of a poison-taster by scooping a small amount from Bella and Zied's bowls.
He'd actually developed an acute defence against poison but he could tell if it was there or not.

Zied remained calm as Amaranth arrived, rested quite comfortably in the chair as she approached though he smiled at her statement,
"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint, but we did. Well.. Almost all of us.." He looked over his shoulder at Shade again, chuckled, then turned his gaze to Amaranth, smirking a little, "So, you've grown up since that day.. Father was yelling at that foreign ambassador during that whole treaty agreement," The sudden familiarity in treatment made Bella shoot an odd glare at the King before practically staring daggers at Amaranth. Something about this struck the wrong cord in her, but she pursed her lips and folded her arms, almost like a scolded child.. Or worse..
"You still look a lot like you did back then. I would have said pretty as a child, but now.. If you would permit me to say so; beautiful seems more adequate."

Taking her seat at the head of the small rectangular table Amaranth pointedly ignored the looks being thrown at her from the witch. She had made a promise to herself on the way up from storing his sword that she wouldn't let the other woman get to her. Instead she covered her mouth as she giggled at the memory of his father red faced and yelling at the other man. She was a little surprised he had remembered her considering she had spent most of the time staring out a window wishing to be anywhere else. At the time she hadn't been aware that she would be taking the throne so soon.

She covered up the blush that spread across her face by leaning her head down to take a spoonful of stew.It wasn't like she wasn't use to getting complements but normally they had come from people she had know her whole life. Placing the spoon back into the bowl she turned to smile at Zied, who sat at her right.

"Thank you King Zied. The years have been very kind to you as well I must say." It was the truth not just the polite words that one would use fallowing a complement like his. "You know that day I couldn't stop thinking about who oddly colored your hair was.In my defense though you were the first person I had ever seen with hair the color of snow." What she wouldn't admit was that she thought him an old man at first glance.Taking another spoonful of stew she thought about the rumors about the man sitting next to her. They portrayed him to be far curler then he appeared to be.

Her eyes had scanned the shadows the instant they entered the room.The assassin wasn't seated with the others. The shadowed form under one of the pillars and the mask sitting harmlessly on the floor stopped her from removing one of her knives. But like in the courtyard her eyes stayed trained on him occasionally glancing at the other two.He was the bigger threat in her mind.

At least he was till a the look on the witch's face caused Stir to change targets. These were not the mischievous or annoyed glares she had worn in the court yard. If she choose to use her magic against the Queen there was little the bodyguard could do to protect her. If Amaranth reacted quickly enough she should be able to protect her self against the witch's magic. She could kill the witch which would stop any attack.The Queen would be none to happy, even if the woman was attacking her, but she would be safe which was Stir job. Flexing her wrist she wrapped her fingers around the three needles that slid out into her hand eyes focused on the woman.

Zied paused for a moment, although he had, for a time, had Zied's rapt attention, his eyes spotted the faintest gleam, the movements of Stir's fingers as she prepared her needles. Shade had probably caught onto this by now, but he would act if he needed to. Meanwhile the King then looked at Stir, and saw her focus was not on him but his companion, the witch. He turned to look at her and caught the glimpse of that face she'd been pulling, that irritable, death-glare look she gave people she wanted to kill but never did unless she had good reason or was ordered to do so.

The king sighed, shaking his head as he looked towards Stir again, resting his chin upon his hand,
"Would you mind putting those away..? I'd rather none of us did something any of us would regret. The cold reception should stay at the front door." He stated blandly before looking towards Bella again, "And you, keep that attitude of yours in check. Enough already. I told you why we're here after your insistent hounding this whole trip, you're not making this easy with that temper of yours, damn it."
"But I didn't-" She started, Zied only glared at her in a darker fashion,
"Cut.. It.. Out..! Is that clear?" He warned rather menacingly, the witchbit her tongue and withdrew, looking away and folding her arms, back to sulking as usual.

Zied rubbed the bridge of his nose and leaned back, sighing exasperatedly, it was obvious all of this was wearing on his own mind too. While he didn't feel threatened by anyone it didn't make it any less a burden and a chore to try and deal with all of this,
"We came her because we have mutual problems in our kingdoms. Several of my knights have gone missing or shown up quite dead, there have been vicious attacks on even my civilians. Caravans have been attacked but their goods left behind, which means it isn't bandits."
"So whats that got to do with Dureth?" Bella asked, pouting slightly, and Zied shook his head, ready to knock her upside the head once more,
"As I told you, we have mutual problems, the spies I planted around the kingdom of Dureth have reported exactly the same activity."

The king looked aside to Amaranth, placing one hand in the other and resting them on the table,
"The patterns are there, buried in rumors and stories. While we have never been allies, we have never been enemies. Trade between our kingdoms brings a healthy revenue for both sides, we may have had issues in the past but we are reliant on your overseas and exotic imports to supply us with materials we cant normally get for construction, certain metals that aren't as rich in our ground as elsewhere." He leaned back again, resting his hands, now separate, on the arms of the chair, "Meanwhile we provide a solid barrier for you against invading forces further inland that would think you vulnerable if we weren't there, whilst the politics wouldn't want to admit it out loud, you supply us with the strength to be the impassable wall. Needless to say our kingdoms are linked at the hip in spite of our cultural contrasts." Zied looked across the dining hall and sighed,
"If one of us were to fall, the other would follow. That's the real reason we have never had interest in conquering you. You may not be as militaristic, as combat orientated, but you're valuable to us right where you are, whatever we would do to you would hurt us in return."

He chuckled a little,
"I guess I'm carrying on a bit more than I should, but the bottom line is I don't think its my kingdom staging these attacks.. And given the vicious nature involved.. I don't believe your people are morally capable of such atrocities."

She felt a headache forming and had to stop herself from running her temples, a habit she had picked up a year or two after taking the throne. She had not expected things to go smoothly since the councilmen were so worried but she had expected it to go a little better then this. Stir's mistrust was surprising at at the same time not. The bodyguard never let her guard down but to pull out a weapon with out being provoked was something Amaranth had never known her to do.Of course she wasn't as adept as spotting them on a person as King Zied and his companions must have been.
" Stir you're dismissed." She didn't even glance up at the woman to her left. She would have a long- probably one sided- talk with the woman after her meeting with Zied.


Sliding the needles back into place she bowed to Amaranth and turned for the door. Had she wrongfully perceived the with as a threat? No, she had been right. Whether of not she would have attacked was irreverent to her. The look in the witch's eye held malice intent for her queen. There was an uncomfortable knot forming in her stomach.Leaving Amaranth alone in the room in the basement was one thing, only the Queen or heir where allowed in there. Letting her be alone in a room with three highly skilled fighters from another land was something else entirely.Standing by the door she waited to catch any sound out of place from within the room.


This time she did speak to the witch since it had been her that Stir's action might have offended"I'm truly sorry for that. Stir takes her job very seriously.". Straightening in her seat she looked to both of the people sitting at the table with her, the assassin to far over int eh shadows for her to really see." It is not known to my people that Velfreidt suffers the same random attacks as Dureth. My people are on edge since they can find no reason for your visit." She felt the need to stand, or pace as she often did in her office when going over the newest reports. The stew left in her bowl sat untouched

" The people of Dureth are not involved in this as I am glad you are aware. Even if we were ' morally capable' of attacking in such a way there is no reason to setting fires to our own villages or poisoning our cattle. As well the number of missing people in the larger towns has risen greatly." She hadn't talked to anyone about everything that was going on but her council. She had been trying to make some sort of connection between the attacks. She felt useless not knowing if the next attack would kill more of her people. And no matter how long she stood in that dark room room surrounded by crystals that showed every inch of her land she was still coming up empty.

"I have little experience dealing with matter's of war and violence. The spirits blessed my mother and grandmother with peaceful times on the throne. I was hoping you had some knowledge that would help at least finding a pattern to the attacks."

When Amaranth apologized for Stir's behaviour he shook his head and chuckled a little,
"Yes.. I noticed, Miss Marianard could learn a thing or two from her. But we are all acting on misconceptions and superstitions. Mistrust that is very ill-placed. I understand how we can unsettle your people, make them worry. We live in a violent, but disciplined culture, we welcome our darker sides and unfortunately develop as a rather unfriendly seeming people." He stood calmly, rolling his shoulders a moment, then turned to Amaranth,
"For example, to teach our soldiers the value of fear and how to understand it, how to use it, we train them in a practice called Taé'den, which roughly translates to common tongue as the application of terror."

He sat down once more, obviously just stretching a little, Bella had reduced herself to eating her meal in a glum fashion, annoyed by having been told off, annoyed by the conversation, the queen, and the king, being so friendly with each other. It made her want to gag. Frankly she just wanted to leave the room, but with no guarantee that she wasn't going to get stabbed in he back randomly she preferred to stick with Zied and Shade.
The assassin had actually finished his small meal first. the bowl laying abandoned in the open, but his silhouette was gone. As was his nature, he had vanished. Leaving them to their deliberations. he had more confidence in his capabilities, in the King being safe, in that Bella would control her temper, or otherwise be scolded by the king for flaring up again.

It was when Stir was outside that Shade finally appeared again, seeming to practically walk out of the shadows of another pillar, standing in plain sight for the silent woman to see. For some reason he felt like there was a sort of understanding between himself and the bodyguard. They were both trained to be the most efficient killers by the standards of their kingdoms, they understood the necessity of a life taken.
At least that was what he thought. He stared at her for brief seconds before looking along the hallway in a direction he had not been yet, then to her again and motioned with one arm in that same direction. It wasn't a challenge, more like his silent way of asking to see more.

"Yes, as is the same for my own people. In some measure. It is more sense of, a dead man produces no more functionality. A dead farmer cannot tend to fields, a dead tailor cannot make more clothes. We lose production, it harms our economy. Especially the attacks on caravan routes.." Zied started on the small stew, smiling a little. It really was quite good. It would be interesting to dine on Dureth's meals in the homeland itself,
"I figured that whoever is doing this is being smart, but also being foolish. They are trying to rouse issues between our kingdoms, but at the same time, I think their precision may hold a flaw. The attacks on Velfreidt are aimed to confuse us and we find very little, yet when I got reports about attacks in your kingdom, I got information found by your people but my spies also investigated the scenes and found further evidence of their own.. I think whoever is attacking us is focusing on us individually. Attacking one way for you, and another for us." He smirked a little, "It's for this reason I brought Shade.. As a Lorres'vaan assassin he has an eye for detail, he can understand the scene of an attack far better than anyone and can track any prey to its source.. And from what I can tell if that woman were to assist him, your bodyguard I believe? The two may uncover the true culprits. That's the first of my proposals here. I have two more.."

Amaranth sat taking in Zied's news she would have to find a time, when all of this was worked out or at least closer to getting figured out,to talk to him about these spies he had in her lands.Of course there were far more important matters to deal with now. "The older citizens believe we are being punished for colonizing the land. Straying from our roots." She would have liked to put their minds at ease. tell them that there was another country being attacked. That this was not retribution from enraged spirits. Would the idea of being attack by another country really put their fear to rest or just cause new ones.

She stirred her stew not really feeling hungry anymore talking about the attacks. She spooned a little forcing her self to eat it anyway. It would not only seem rude to the chef but it would be such a waste.

"Stir." She thought about it for a few seconds. Stir would do it, even if she didn't fully trust anyone she was a citizen of Dureth. She would help. " I'll plan for us to travel to the latest village in a days. That should give you time to rest before we travel again and for them to be notified that we are coming. I must inform you though that it is a smaller village and it suffered a great fire.

Amaranth had been hoping to get down there since the day she found out about the fire.They would probably be camping, she didn't plan to let the people give up any of the few building they might have had rebuilt. She hoped Zied and company had no problem with that.

"In the mean time what other things do you propose?"


Dark eyes lingered down the hall that the masked assassin was indicating. There was nothing truly down the hall it was one of the many halls that would eventually overlook the side of the mountain before breaking off into two other halls. One would lead over to the royal bed chambers along with the special guest rooms an the other out to one of the courtyards. Glancing at the dark wooden door at her back one last time she nodded. Pushing away from the wall she headed down the hall, waiting at the entrance for him.

"Well.." The king smirked a little, taking in a little more soup before he looked to the Queen, swallowing the mouthful calmly and chuckling, "Number two is Bella here.. While your magic allows you a keen connection with your kingdom, there may be elements you are unfamiliar with that is either cloaking itself or hiding itself. If its dark magic, then Bella would more easily notice this.. Since the Irrkandan's communicate with, and even summon lesser demons to do their bidding, I believe the only one capable of controlling the greater devils would be perfect for spotting the dark magics and their users. However this means she will need a focus point, a room with mirrors or crystals to focus herself through and comb the land. The better nature of your kingdom and your people would make her search far easier." He ooked aside to the witch then,
"There would be a condition attached too.. Anything and everything, even unrelated matters of dark magic would be recorded and reported to you, letting you root out those illegal activities that would cause harm in the midst of the already awakening chaos." The King looked back to the Queen, placing his hands on his knees and relaxing slightly,
"We can afford the cost of setting up such a room. If she tried it from our own kingdom she'd have to fight through the veil between our two sides and get mixed readings because of our own people, needless to say its all troublesome."

"Waait a second, are you volunteering me for paperwork? Do you have any idea jus thow many illegal dark magic activities their could be out here??" Bella groaned, rubbing her head, "Atleast in Velfredit I have Sisters to scribe everything we find not including what our Spellswords and Felcasters are doing at the time. And entire kingdom on my own?" She added, frowning at the king, but he simply chuckled,
"Yes. Bella. But like I said, it will be easier for you to determine what happens in this kingdom because there's so much less. I've spent a long time reading your lore and listening to the reports."
"Can't I just find them all and kill them there and then?" She questioned, grinning slightly,
"No.. You'd cause so much unrest in this kingdom that you'd send it into a full-scale panic, we don't need that." Zied replied sternly, rubbing his brow, the response simply made Bella huff and fold her arms again,
"Alright fine, but I better get a nice reward for it..!"
"That is only if the Queen accepts it. Bella, don't get ahead of yourself."

The king turned his attention tot he queen one more time,
"The last proposal is a fail-safe.. And I don't.. Want to say it out-loud just yet." He rubbed the back of his head softly, "I'd rather leave it as a last resort and try to solve the issue first.. But if it comes to it, I'll warn you now.. It is extreme and will cause a great deal of confusion for both kingdoms. Whether either of our people will understand, let alone accept it is beyond me, but my mentor taught me that the greatest way to imbalance an opponent is to do something truly unexpected.." He chuckled a little, though frowned, realizing that didn't sound entirely good, "Where the enemy is whoever is causing these attacks.. That is.. Not you.. Like.. I mean.. Er.." He began to stutter, stumbling over his words.
"You're blowing it, king.." Bella rolled her eyes, "What Mr. Silver-tongue here is trying to say is; whoever is trying to get us to fight it out will get confused, probably be forced to reveal themselves or back away entirely." She droned the explanation, Zied pulling an odd face and looking back at her before looking to Amaranth and nodding,
"That about sums it up.."

Shade followed after stir. In spite of his large form he was remarkably quiet. Even his footsteps were barely noticeable. There were men smaller than him who made more noise breathing. The assassin found it interesting to walk with another who was just as quiet and no doubt just as deadly. He had already heard of the kings plan to have him search out the places of attacks before they'd come to this kingdom, so it would be a good idea to act in a polite, friendly manner to the queens bodyguard. It certainly wasn't beyond him.
Perhaps he could even convince her to show him a few techniques with the needle he'd claimed, if they could grow an understanding even through their silence, then they could doubtless be a deadly pair to deal with. Both their leaders were here, co-operating, talking, not fighting. By that example; he was happy to work with Stir. Not that the helmet did much to show the smile underneath.

The conversation between the King and his witch faded to white noise in Amaranth's mind after he mentioned needed a room of mirrors or crystals. Of course he couldn't know about the room, it has been a secret passed down from mother to daughter an no one else. To be the first one to break that secrecy, even in the name of helping her people, left a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. Gripping the table's edge she forced herself to focus on the rest of what King Zied was saying. Rising from her chair she rested her palms flat on the table in front of her. It was the stance she used when dealing with the more stubborn members of council.
" The room you say she'll need exist with in these walls. It is however a closely guarded secret of the throne. And though my people come first in all other matters, the location of this room has stayed unknown as a protection to them as well. Please, I would like to see if Stir and your Shade uncover anything first. If not I will escort...Bella was it? I will escort you to the room myself. I will of course have to stay in there with you. I assume that will not be a problem"

The third proposal sounded far better at the moment. But that could change when she found out just what it was. It did unnerve Amaranth that he was not willing to tell her now so that she could be prepared should the first to proposals fail. Was it something bad, something she would be against completely? Was that why he was waiting to tell her, so she had no choice but to go along with it when the time came?

"I will respect your desire to keep the third plan to your self.I would however ask for a warning before it is put into effect." She remained standing her apatite completely lost to her now.


The sun soaked valley at sat tucked into the valley of the palace's mountain appeared to be nothing more then toy houses from the walkway. Stir stood staring out over the town. The scenery was lovely here and Amaranth would sometimes stray to this walk way to stare out at the capital from time to time. She stayed a few second taking in the view before moving on. Preferring to make use of the time she was forced to be away from the Queen she took the hallway that would lead them to the open court yard. from there it was a short walk to where the soldiers trained. Panos had encouraged her to come by when she could to practice saying it would knock the new recruits down a few pegs. The sight of the assassin should work just fine for putting " rookie's " as Panos called them in their place. Tilting her head to stare at the eye's of the mask her voice muffled by her own, " Train?"

"Woah.. Hold on a moment." The queen responded, staring in the Queen's direction. There was an odd look of disbelief on his face, mixed with concern, but he clenched his jaw and shook his head then, "No. No-no, I will not violate a secret of your kingdom. Whether Stir and Shade fail is inconsequential, I did not come here to uproot your secrets. Such things are hidden for a reason. Such things can make and break entire kingdoms and I would rather take it to an immediate grave." He replied, standing with the queen and raising a hand as if to make a stopping motion,
"Please.. I think there is enough discomfort for now.. Lets sit, enjoy the meal, talk of other things. Mundane things. I find the light of simple conversation is far less trying on the nerves."

"Well, it looks like I'm off the hook then, can I leave now..?" Bella asked, grinning at the King, but the man only smirked, turning to gaze at her calmly,
"Oh I'll have use for you yet.. You don't get away that easily.." He replied, the Woman's face falling, that sunken look setting in, but she knew complaining would do any good. She finally stood and shifted further down the table.
Zied turned to Amaranth once more, sitting again and motioning to her seat,
"So.. Tell me more about your kingdom, I hear many biased stories from my own people so often that I never get to hear it from your side."


Shade kept pace with Stir, taking in the surroundings and even stopping with her at the walkway. The view certainly was oddly spectacular, they obviously didn't stay long though as the two carried on further. It wasn't long before Shade could hear the sounds of training, young soldiers with wooden swords thumping against shields or armour. It was a surprising amount of military force to have within the castle walls instead of in a training camp or garrison, these ones were probably hopefuls to be castle guards.
He looked aside to Stir when she spoke, and for a moment made no response before shifting slightly. She reached into his glove and drew out the needle he'd traded for, holding it up between his fingers so that it was obvious,
"Show me." He responded. In spite of his dark appearance the voice seemed normal enough, perhaps a little gruff, but this may have been because of the mask. But nonetheless it did show that he wasn't entirely mute. He was interested to see how she used the needles so that he could try to adapt the technique.

Taking her seat once more Amaranth took a breath to calm her self. "Thank you."Relief flooded through every pore of her body. Had it been necessarily, and even know if the need arose, she would have broken the unwritten rule and showed the witch where the room was. Her people would come before any silly old tradition. Still she hadn't wanted to break it, her mother had stressed the importance of the room and it's secrecy, "Should the need arise, however, I will not let both of our kingdoms suffer when there is a chance to protect them right in my own palace."

That was the last she would say on the matter for the rest of lunch and would try to push it past her mind. It would be a subject to dwell on latter in her office.Lighter subject were for the dining area let. Though the steam had stopped rising from her stew she took a small bite before

"I understand, in a way, why many other kingdoms do not fully understand our ways. While most other kingdoms had already formed a type of government and land boarders Dureth was still broken up into nomadic tribes. We were, and still are in many ways, a people with a great love for the land and respect for the spirits. By the time my ancestor untied the tribes and took the title of Queen there had been kings ruling the world for generations. We were...behind on the times."

Leaning forward she smile at Zied, talking about her people and their history was much more preferred then thinking about what was going on at the moment." Do you want to know why Dureth favors peace?" It was also one of the more favored legends among the people and she would have to admit it held have more accuracy then some of the others.




Panos walked among the young faces as they practice. More liked showed off. Normally he would humor them let them have a little fun before he off handedly commented about them being good enough to spar with the Queens body guard. Normally the Queen wasn't sitting in a room eating lunch with the King of Velfreidt. Since he couldn't take any of the aggravation he had at the situation out on the one causing it, he had come too close to calling the Queen a trusting fool far to many times in the last month. So he took it out on the rookie guards gathered in the court yard.
"Rhys a real opponent would break through the weak defense in an instance." Turning to face the young man he caught sight of Stir entering the training yard. Though it wasn't uncommon, very rare true, that the Queen stop by to check on the new recruits he had figured she would be busy with their guest.


The thin piece of steel caught the sunlight the weapon seemed strange in the hands of someone else.Nodding her head Stir lead him the rest of the short distance to the training area.

The sight of Stir walking towards him made his spin straighten and a tiny glint of suspicious enter his eyes. In place of the Queen, who's side she never left, there stood the masked man that had traveled with the king.
"Where is Queen Amaranth?"
Her eyes took in the teens at had stopped there practice and were now openly gawking at the assassin at her side. " Eating."
"What, get kicked out?"
The glare she sent his way was enough of an answer for him.
"I take it you want to spar with a few of them ."
Shaking her head Stir simple pointed to the man at her side her left hand sliding out one of her larger knives from it's place at her side.
Casting a single glance at the masked face he gritted his teeth but at least the man wasn't in the room with the Queen. " Leave my men out of it and you can do as you please Miss Stir."

"Believe me we share the problem of other kingdoms not understand our ways." Zied chuckled, he could easily identify the militant attitude of his own people when comparing it against others. There were larger kingdoms to there that didn't dare try to provoke Velfreidt, "Back then our leaders found difficulty trying to deal with your tribes simply because we were struggling for our foothold, it was easier to deal with those outside of our kingdoms and your people knew this land a lot better. That advantage made raid attempts rather clumsy.. By the time we had the capability, we were already in a trade agreement with your kingdom. Attacking you would have looked like we were essentially stabbing you in the back. We are not barbarians and it would have reflected most poorly on our honor."

The king smiled a bit and leaned on the one side of the chair, resting his head on a hand, the question of their peace-favoring ways was certainly something that baffled the better minds of Velfredit,
"Please, go on," He insisted, grinning slightly, "I suppose one part is certainly that it keeps your faces much cleaner? Imagine my surprise when I learned you weren't even married! Surely with your looks men would be at your feet out of more than just loyalty..?" The king chuckled a little at the soft jest. Among his people it was said Ju'ra, the Angel of Pacifism, was such a beauty as Amaranth. And while he'd never met any higher beings, he certainly could imagine some-one with Amaranth's face taking such a role. With beauty that could make even the most warlike man drop to his knees and beg forgiveness.


Shade watched the exchange between Panos and Stir for a little while, thinking about it. The two seemed to be at odds.. Or perhaps it was just his presence and that of the king. He stared dully through the dark of his mask at the captain of the guards but said nothing, though he then looked in the direction of the younger soldiers. He would never waste his time on one of these children unless they actually posed a threat or were a named target.. And he doubted the king would ever order one of these boys to be assassinated, there wouldn't be any reason to.
No instead he looked to Stir then one of the distant training dummies away from the others being used. He shifted calmly, pointing over at it. Clearly choosing the one to use before he began walking over to it, sliding the needle back into his glove.
"The captain seems.. Tense.." Shade stated plainly, before the slightest, almost cruel chuckle came from the hollow helm, "I think he needs more fiber in his diet..."

" Yes well the...uh... thank you again."Leaning back away from him the same blush that had coated her cheek earlier on in the meal was back. He had called her beautiful then to. Amaranth had to admit it was nice to be complemented by someone who looked liked Zied.


"Now the story, It's about the first Queen and in a way it's one of the story's of how Iorwen became Queen. It's said that she was in love with a man from a rival tribe, though she was already married. When her husband found out about the affair he killed her lover. Heartbroken she prayed to the spirits to take her life as well.Instead, and this of course is word of mouth, they showed her what all the tribes fighting had done to the land. it was then that they charged her with uniting the people of Dureth.So she left her tribe, her home and set out to do something never thought of before. And back then women were seen as...less then men.It's in honor of the sacrifices she made to uphold the Spirits wishes that we try to find peaceful ends." It was very close to what really happened, or at least the story that had been passed down in her family. Shortened of course but it was better then the silly legend that her family were really spirits themselves or half or whatever it was.

" It is also thanks to my ancestor that my council had not been able to force me to marriage. Now marriage is the choice of the two people involved and no one else.What's your excuse for still being unattached?"
Taking a spoonful of her stew she tried to make it look as if it was a simple question, as if she wasn't curious as to why someone as handsome as the king in front of her had manged to stay unmarried.



Watching as Panos walked away the recruits went back to doing what they had been doing before. A few straggling behind to stare between the silent woman and their captain.

Selecting her own dummy Stir let a single thin steel knife cut through the air and embed it's self in it's wooden head.It was the closet thing to her showing her frustration at the red head. She did not like Panos taking his issue out on her. They had always been civil to each other both having the same goal of the Queen safety. Moving towards the dummy she removed the knife, "He doesn't like you." It was one of her longer ones. Not the length of the blade he had given with was tucked into her right boot. Now wold be a good time to get use it weights.After of course she showed him of to use the needle. Tucking the knife back into place she let four needle slid in between her fingers hold her hand up for the assassin to see.

Zied chuckled a little, shaking his head, for a moment he wasn't sure how to answer her but perhaps something blunt, he'd certainly been honest so far, he didn't see why he needed to stop,
"My reputation precedes me, making it difficult to find a suitable wife who isn't terrified by me or just happy to be my loving, devoted, well-pampered wench." He sneered as he expressed his slight irritation, "I'd prefer some-one honest, fair on the eyes, of course, what lonely man doesn't kindle the thought in their mind that they want a beautiful wife..? Some-one with the smarts to take over should something happen to me, and the guts to stand up to me when I'm wrong about something. I'd like that.." The king nodded to himself and sighed, looking up blankly at the ceiling,
"To be honest I think I may have to pass the kingdom to my only remaining brother should anything happen to me. No Queen to look after it and our heir till he's of age, it would fall to him, I imagine it would be quite the reprieve for him." Zied looked over at Amaranth and smiled,
"I'd say you have things a little easier here than I do, I'm a little envious of that."

Shade chuckled just a little as he looked aside to Stir,
"Still.. Fiber wouldn't hurt him.." He pressed, chuckling once again before following her to her chosen training dummy and folding his arms. The throw had been quiet impressive though fueled by obvious annoyance. He looked to her a little more adamantly when she revealed the needles. This was what he'd been waiting for, however he did, for a moment, spy the throwing knife he'd traded in return for the needle he'd taken,
"I was glad.." The man stated suddenly, looking towards the target, "That you understood me." Shade added, drawing up one of the throwing knives and calmly held it between two fingers,
"No-one has to like me. That's not my purpose.. But to be understood is good enough. My brother values me, that is all I require."

She understood where he was coming from. It was hard to find someone who could be a king to her people and a husband to her. "It is hard to find the person you want to spend your life with that can also step up to the responsibility that comes with being with people of our positions . " She found that most men were either what she wanted and couldn't handle ruling a country or had been everything her people needed in a king but she couldn't handle being around them.

Sighing Amaranth stared into the cooled bowl of stew. "It seems that not very many men out side of Dureth can handle a woman in a seat of power. At least not many that hold the qualities that I prefer in a man." It was a little lonely but she hadn't had much time to think about a husband since she took the throne, and she had been too young to worry about it before.



Checking over his grip Stir flicked her wrist in the direction of her dummy. The movement was slow and she kept her fingers tight about the little pieces of steel."Basic, same as throwing a knife only you can throw more at once." She had never taught anyone before, the fighters around the castle preferring swords or hand to hand combat. She agreed with him, it did feel good to have someone around that understood her. Though the Queen understood her words with out her having to speak much Amaranth didn't understand anything that had to do with fighting.

Shifting one of the needles to rest against her pointer finger she gave it a small flick with her thumb using just enough pressure to embed it in the dummy." More precise but you can only use one at a time." Sliding the needles back into her hand she let the head of the needles rest against her palms. The points sticking out from between her fingers, "They're also good for close combat." In one movement she turned her body sending her fist at the stomach area of the wooden dummy. When her fist connected she slid her fingers up and slammed her palm down pushing the needles into the wood. It only worked because of the material her gloves were made of using her bare palm against wood would have pushed the metal into her own skin.