Private Tales There Will Come A Reckoning

[Kristen Pirian]

But.. y-you said you wanted to get to Tar'shan tonight?

"We'll go where we can," Kristen said as mildly as she could. The last thing she wanted to do was inspire fear into him by a clumsy choice of words or an inept handling of her tone in delivering them.

In her mind she was already pleading with Aionus, pleading for enough time to at least make it to Paravel.

When he swayed, Kristen reached over (her arm shooting out with all the speed granted from alarm) and steadied him, even if it wasn't strictly necessary to do so.

"Chapter House. Of course. They'll have a swift steed and a skilled rider and you shall know relief before the sun rises, Drastus. Trust me."

A glance ahead.

"It isn't far. 'Tis not far at all. A touch late of hour for the grand welcome we received in Vel Numera, but I've no doubts of Paravel's hospitality!"

And she tried for a smile. All she got was a little twitching of the corners of her mouth.

Drastus Tal'deneshaar

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

Chapter House. Of course. They'll have a swift steed and a skilled rider and you shall know relief before the sun rises, Drastus. Trust me.

This would ellicit a giggle from Drast. "Oh yeah. A steed with the wings." He leaned closer, still being steadied be her. "..that eat other steeds.." he fought to regain his saddle. "I should not have used my flask to clean the wound. Fuck.."

What normally would have taken some time to build up was already flashing heavily in his eyes: hallucinations, brought on from the Basiliskskiss, and the love child it created with pain and blood loss.

"I wouldn't be too sure about the grand welcoming. Most of them probably don't even remember who I am." He offered with a shrug. "No matter.. I got the Darling Daughter.." he mused to himself, loud enough for her to hear. "And that's worth it all.." he then looked straight ahead for a couple of moments going silent, before his gaze shifted to his left and he jumped a bit as if she surprised him.

He noted the twitching corners of her mouth. "Smile Kristen.. you got a beautiful one and uhh.. I'll be fine." A smile of his own to reassure her.

Up ahead, they closed on the lake and Kristen could see that the town was in two parts: the port, which was easily defensible, farmland and then the town itself, which had existing fortifications set. As one of the Northern Houses, the Tal'deneshaar protected the frontiers and were constantly holding the borders alongside the Northern Army and the other Northern houses.

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

And that's worth it all..

A momentary break in her worry for Drastus, in fretting over whether they would even make it Paravel, let alone Tar'shan. A break whose duration could be visibly measured by the flush of her cheeks, there and then gone again.

The small gap of silence was concerning, but he startled and came to, if indeed he was slipping away into unconsciousness there. He glanced over and said she ought to smile.

And she did. Despite all the pain of having next to nothing she could do for him, her magic offering only woe to her enemies instead of aid for her allies, she did.

Because it was something.

"Thank you," she said, very low and very soft, as if she were whispering a secret to herself. She didn't know if he heard or not. And as she brushed back a lock of hair from her face, she discovered that there was a large part of her that wished, that hoped, he did.

Soon, they drew near the outer walls of Paravel itself. Kristen giving encouraging repetitions of, "Almost there...almost there..." all the while.

And Kristen called out to the watchmen standing sentinel high and above the gate, "Hail! Hail! Please, we require aid!"

Drastus Tal'deneshaar

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

Thank you..

Kristen spoke quietly and did that thing with her hair that he loved so much. He would lean over, just as quietly. "You're welcome.. my loovdy.." he said weakly as he reached over and placed a hand on her thigh, if only to steady himself, before taking her hand and giving it a squeeze. "Better be a good view of the lake, yeah?" He asked with a grin.

Her heard her chanting and he would bob his head in tune with it, all the way to her shout out to the guards at the gate.

A voice would ring out. "They look young! I see blood! Open the gates!" There would be shuffling before the gates were pushed aside and a handful of guards surged forward to meet them.

As they approached, Drast looked at Kristen. "Hey Kris.. we're here." He fired off a wink, before he tipped to his right. The rope he had tied would keep him from falling free of the saddle and she could see the slick streak of his arm and torso where the injury must have reopened.

One of the guards hurried to hold him aloft, while another cut the rope. They would both then pull him down from the saddle before setting him down in a stretcher arrived by the last two guards. "We'll fetch a healer. We need to know everything we can about the injuries. Come within our walls and we'll get you food and shelter.." one of the guards started. "Names for recording this entry?" The two with the stretcher would begin to carry Drast to the gate.

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

Just in time! The thought gave her some small measure of relief, even if Drastus teetered over in the saddle and only the rope he'd tied kept him on it. That last wink of his before he lost consciousness stuck in her mind vividly—even in the midst of such agony and peril, he was confident and unburdened by it all.

Kristen hopped off of her horse with haste, but the Paravel guards had already come forth and were steadying him, bringing a litter then as well, easing him down and onto it. A hand, curled with worry, hovered just underneath Kristen's chin as she watched.

Someone was talking to her.

"O-Oh! Yes, right. Kristen Pirian and Drastus Tal'deneshaar," she said, saying both with no grand fanfare, as if it were as ordinary as two local residents returning home.

She walked with them, just behind the team of guardsmen carrying the stretcher. "He was shot with a crossbow, and, um...h-he also suffered blunt trauma in a few places, a club and fists—I'm sorry, I cannot remember them all. We were attacked by miscreants as we were passing through the Jades and found ourselves in a harrowing fight with them."

Drastus Tal'deneshaar

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

O-Oh! Yes, right. Kristen Pirian and Drastus Tal'deneshaar.

As the names left her lips, the guards began to move quicker. The youngest lord of the House and the Darling Daughter?! The Sergeant would grit his teeth. "Harald, run ahead and inform Constable Rol, I'm sure she'll send riders to cleanse the Jades."



The clearly veteran Watchman would bow his head as he walked. "Name's Garrix, Watch Sergeant. My condolences that you were set upon. He will be fine." He reassured her as they walked.

The band was through the gates and runners were sent in various directions. Drast would be carried into the Watch Barracks as one of their medics took an early look at the injuries. "You can wait either here or in the pub, lass. Feel free to steal a cot even, you look tired. You won't be bothered."

 

[Kristen Pirian]

Whether Garrix spoke the unvarnished truth or whether he spoke only as a means to put her at ease, still Kristen was glad to hear it. He will be fine. Four simple words to put some of that worry, that anxiety, to rest. Drastus was a Tal'deneshaar, certainly these men of Paravel would be quite invested in seeing to his good health.

The sheer weight of it though, that worry, and even the weight that yet remained in the wake of Garrix's reassurance, was staggering. The amount that she cared for Drastus's well-being was a touch...surprising. Why was it so, the strength of this feeling?

"I shall wait here," Kristen said once they had arrived at the Watch Barracks. And she offered Garrix a quick curtsy. "Thank you for all that you have done, Watch Sergeant."

And she did as he suggested and borrowed a cot, setting it down next to where the medics were examining Drastus. Kristen sat on the edge of it, absentmindedly with regal posture that had been instilled into her. Her fingers tensed and flexed and tensed and flexed into her knees as she watched the Watch medics do their work.

She wouldn't even know when sleep finally did take her at some later hour. Kristen would simply fall asleep as she was, sitting on the edge of the cot, only her head slumped forward and her ponytail dangling off of one shoulder.

She hadn't left his side through it all.

Drastus Tal'deneshaar

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

Something curious she may have noticed, would be that two of the medics weren't speaking common, but something more.. fluid, more like a song. And though they worked diligently and their focus was intense, either of them seemed to smile. The second oddity, would be that they wore hoods, unlike the rest of the watchmen.

I shall wait here, thank you for all that you have done, Watch Sergeant.

Garrix would bow his head before departing the barracks to report to likely a higher up. "You're welcome, Lady Pirian."

The medics would continue to work, time would pass, and before she faded into the darkness, she would hear the faint beating of massive wings.

*****
​

Eventually, Kristen would awaken to the cry of Paravel's cock. She would find that she had been laid down in her bed, any wounds she bore had been treated, and she had been covered with a blanket.

The barracks itself was unnaturally quiet, save the gentle snoring of Drast who had been sleeping on the cot next to hers. His tunic had been removed and his arm had been repaired, the tell-tale sign of magickal healing, seemingly only enough to ensure there was no lasting damage to the limb.

She would also find that one of Drasts hands would be reaching out for her, the arm merely just dangling over the cot.

 

[Kristen Pirian]

The call of a rooster. Piercing, and what more perfect noise to rouse someone from their sleep, especially if their ears were not so used to waking in such a manner?

Kristen's eyes opened not quite with a jolt, but swiftly enough in any case. Mild confusion at first. Wasn't she outside? No? She thought she had been outside, sitting...it was the last memory her waking mind could readily recall. And now she was laying in a cot, her armor off, the softness of a pillow gracing her head and the warmth of a blanket cradled her. She couldn't remember if she'd done it herself or if she'd had help.

Though her eyes hadn't opened with a jolt, a jolt nevertheless came seconds later. "Drastus!"

She sat up—bolted up—looking.

There. There he was. Next to her in his own cot. Breathing.

Kristen, relieved to some degree, swept the blanket off of herself and swung her legs over the side of the cot. She leaned forward. As if she thought the sight of his breathing might be some kind of hallucination, she reached out and took hold of the hand which hung over the side of his own cot. She turned it about and felt at his wrist. Two slender fingers there.

A pulse. Steady.

And it was only then that she let out a sigh. She sat there, waiting with his hand rested on her knees, a few fingers lightly coiled around his thumb.

Drastus Tal'deneshaar

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

There weren't many things Drast remembered after nearly falling from his saddle, hells, he barely remembered the ride after the skirmish. All he remembered was he got injured in front of the woman he liked and then fainted, like a punk. How, embarrassing.

The black was nice at least. Time away from the flames, feeling the heat, time from Doran. Maybe he would die, like he should, have years ago. No, he couldn't. Kristen needed him.

Drastus!

His name would cut through the black. A voice, a woman's voice, her voice. Kristen. His body decided it needed to wake, to move, to function. Thoughts slowly returned, feeling, even the flicker of light.

He was conscious before he stirred. His hand, was elevated, no it was resting atop of something. Kristen. He then felt her fingers coiled about his thumb, while some of her other fingers brushed along his wrist.

The touch was mystifying, the moment was. "Kris?" He would say weakly as his eyes fluttered open. "Did we make it to Tar'shan?" He asked as his head tilted towards, his eyes were still clouded with a glaze, but the fog was lifting more and more with each passing second.

---

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

There he was.

Kristen smiled, glad to hear his voice again. That frightening weakness, that coldness, that came with excessive loss of blood and teetering on the verge of death. She knew it, and it was something she felt anyone might easily slip into. Like an unsteady balancing act on the edge of a cliff.

"It is I," she said.

And then he asked his question.

"Not quite. But we are safe here in Paravel. A Watch Sergeant named Garrix greeted us, and his help was instrumental in seeing your wounds tended."

She then got a certain bashful look on her face. With a feminine reluctance she wet her lips. Pursed them together as if to keep herself from speaking until she first arranged her thoughts in proper order. Her eyes had trailed away during this pondering, and they stayed averted when at last she did speak.

"I was worried for you, Drastus."

Drastus Tal'deneshaar

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

It is I.

So formal. So classy. He could tell he bore what was in his mind, a dumb looking smile at that. Hells, he could feel the dumb thing plastered onto his face.

"Paravel. Garrix?" Only one of those made sense to him, he'd no idea who this Garrix was, but he may owe the man a charming gift basket. Then again, he figured that would be the case fore most people of import. It had been years since he'd known really any of them.

Then she averted her gaze from him, as if something weighed heavily on her heart, and her mind. It was almost concerning to him. Until finally she did speak.

I was worried for you, Drastus.

He couldn't explain nor understand the relief in his chest when she uttered those words. The happiness. It would translate to one of those grins of his as he started to sit up, wincing at the movement. "Come on, Kris, you know I'd never abandon you or leave ya alone." He said before shooting her one of his winks.

He may have not been one of those two hundred and eighty pound beefcakes, but there wasn't a single ounce of fat on his body, and each shift would bring a little more of his tone and definition to the light. This would also become the second closest she had been to seeing his tattoos since the Punishment Games.. and his scars.

His gaze shifted down to his own torso and he looked away when he saw the scars attained from his last mission. "I uhh, should get a shirt on, and we should go. I've made us late enough." He said with a laugh, before trying to rise back up to his feet.

---

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

Come on, Kris, you know I'd never abandon you or leave ya alone.

A smile, demure and pleased. "I am glad."

When Drastus sat up, her eyes, as eyes are wont to do, gravitated toward his scars for a moment. She hadn't gotten too good of a look at them during the Punishment Game (there had been a number of other distractions and goings-on, hadn't there?), and so a mild surprise was still able to arise. Mild, yes, evidenced by merely a minute lift of her brows and nothing more. The burns, the scars...'twas like a tapestry upon which was writ a story, a story whose telling she had yet to hear.

But it would be rude to stare.

Kristen stood, pulling her arming jacket straight, and said, "What was it that you said? We will be getting there to Tar'shan precisely when we mean to?"

Her lips pulled tight, cheeks floating up toward her eyes, as she kept a laugh suppressed within. She went fishing around the barracks room, looking for where Drastus's gear would have been placed so she could hand what he needed to him.

Drastus Tal'deneshaar

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

Having been watching her intently, he noticed her gaze drop to his markings, however briefly they focused there. He knew that it was an uncommon sight around the Academy. Not the scars, but the ink. Definitely the tone.

What was it that you said? We will be getting there to Tar'shan precisely when we mean to?

Cheeky little minx. "Yeah, sounds like something wise i would say." He cracked a grin as he stood, allowing more of the canvas to flit into full-undistracting view. "You can go ahead and ask, you know." He said with a grin. "Pick a mark.. or an ink."

She would find his things piled up in a corner, his blood stained tunic replaced with a clean white one. Everything else seemed to be piled orderly, respectfully, as for the first time she would see Drast treated as the nobility that he was. Even if he had been gone for many years.

The Barracks itself, had a mural painted along the interior walls. It told the story of how a knight arrived, pacifying the borders with his own warriors. The story of Stryfe Tal'deneshaar and the first of his Wardens. At the murals end, there would be a new one being worked on: the Battle of the Blades, the first battle that Rangvaldr, his older brother, had led the Wardens in. She could see the image of Selene somewhere at the fore, with the young Lord and his Wardens soaring overhead, the bodies of enemies clutched between the talons of their mighty Gryphons.

---

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

Kristen collected the clean white tunic from the end table in the corner of the room. Her gaze naturally found the mural painted along the wall, and she had a spare admiring thought for how decorative it was, certainly a far cry from the bland and sterile environs of the Academy's class halls and dormitories. She did, however, see something familiar. A particular scene. A beach, mayhap an indication of a whole island, jagged rocks like blades pointing out of the sea. Soldiers storming across the sand. And above there were Gryphons, flying over the figure at the front of—

Drastus spoke, and it was then that Kristen realized she'd been staring. And not only at the mural! He must have noticed her eyes lingering even for that little moment on him.

She turned back around to face him (quickly so, almost as if she'd been caught red-handed at some mischievous deed) and said, "Oh! Um. A-Any of them, you say? Hmm."

Well. It seemed a touch forward to inquire of his most conspicuous markings, the burns or the scars. So, in that case, a lesser curiosity could suit just fine.

She brought the tunic back to his cot and set it down for him to grasp and looked over what he referred to as the "ink." And she tapped at her throat.

"What of this one? The depiction of a lion on your neck? Was there a special reason for you to adorn yourself so? 'Tis a mighty and fearsome animal nonetheless!"

Drastus Tal'deneshaar

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

She stepped away to retrieve his shirt, pausing to admire the mural that had been started. Drastus, had no idea what battle it was, nor why she was so drawn to it, just that it seemed to enthral her. Then again, the mere sight of gryphons had the same effect on him.

Oh! Um. A-Any of them, you say? Hmm.

He didn't hide the smirk at her apparent case of 'caughtinthecookiejar'. He expected to answer about the recent additions, or the burns, the latter being the main cause for interest.

But, she would bring his shirt back to him, pausing before him to take a deeper look before dropping his tunic for him. A cursory of his shoulder would tell him the arm needed a bit more time to mend, so instead, he would take the knife from his boot.

What of this one? The depiction of a lion on your neck?

The lion. One of the first things people see, and normally the one never asked about. She never failed to surprise him. "That.." he began as he took his knife and guided it along the stitching of his left sleeve. "..is for a family member. A cousin. Never met him, or his family, they died.. but he was my namesake. My dad said they called him the Lion of Noria." Slowly the sleeve would begin to be cut away. "I've tried finding Noria on a map.. no luck. Must be further east then the Shekath Islands. But uh.. guess its a memorial tat. To honor him. My dad never liked to talk about what happened to my cousin, Drast."

---

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

Kristen prided herself on her geographical knowledge, and though it was certainly not perfect she would quite confidently say that it was extensive. This Noria, however, did not strike her as familiar. Mayhap it did lie far to the east, further than any map depicted. Was it not true though that an entirely new land, Malakath, had been discovered to the far east? What if Noria could be found upon or around there?

Oh but that wasn't the more important thing.

"The Lion of Noria," she said, musing over the title. "Your cousin must have been a great man who achieved impressive feats, to have earned himself so illustrious and enduring a title. An honor indeed to be named after him."

She'd noticed the tenderness in his arm, the unfinished recovery of it. Drastus had mentioned that they needed to reach Tar'shan for proper healing. The fine people of Paravel did their best with what they had available.

Watching as he cut loose the sleeves of the tunic (mildly curious at that as well), she said, "How is it? Your arm."

Drastus Tal'deneshaar

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

The Lion of Noria.. Your cousin must have been a great man who achieved impressive feats, to have earned himself so illustrious and enduring a title. An honor indeed to be named after him.

Kristen finally spoke up, and for some reason her words would make Drast smile, before the inevitable wane. His cousin might have been a great man.. but had he been? It was a sudden loch of worry and doubt of his own self-worth.

Once more it would be her words that pulled him from his own thoughts.

How is it? Your arm?

He smiled up at her. "Oh, ya know. Itll need some more healing before I can fight with it, but I'm not dying." A laugh as he discarded the left sleeve of his tunic and then pulled it on. There would much less discomfort on his features as he did so and once done, he would rise to his feet. "Well.. we should probably get moving, yeah?"

---

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

TAR'SHAN​

The sun was still high and watchful in the sky when the first glimpses of Tar'shan were available to them. The River Road had led them there from Paravel, and they hadn't another incident with harriers to slow them down. Worrying, still, that they had had one to begin with, a targeted incident, at that. Yet hardly was this the time to worry of some man named Bleesk or some town named Vel Poro. All of Vel Numera was counting on them.

Their horses trotted along the road, the calming sound of the flowing river a constant.

"We ought to have your arm mended first upon our arrival," Kristen said. "Mayhap we could even have a runner go to summon a translator for us? While your arm is being tended?"

Drastus Tal'deneshaar

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

TAR'SHAN

​

Tar'shan would slide into view as they trekked along the River Road. Like Paravel and Ragnarra, it was also a port city and was the gateway north for trade from Vel Anir to the northern borders. On the river itself, trade cogs sailed upstream towards Paravel, and likely to Ragnarra beyond.

We ought to have your arm mended first upon our arrival. Mayhap we could even have a runner go to summon a translator for us? While your arm is being tended?

Drasts gaze shifted to Kristen, the peace of this leg of the trip settled upon his face. "Yeah, we could do that. Though I'm sure Paravel already sent a rider ahead."

The main gate sifted into sight and commoners came and went, but the mood was fairly jovial. Their horses would canter past a line of elves walking freely to enter the town. It would be a whole family, each carrying something for sale at the market.

Drast would guide his courser closer to Kristen. "My father established these towns under the promise of protection, equality, and fairness.. for all races. They hated him for it.. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the more xenophobic Houses had him killed. You're going to see elves, dwarves, orcs.. all manner. They've lived alongside each other for some time here. Same thing is in S'agara."

A large shadow raced overhead, it bore some resemblance to a bird. If Kristen cautioned a look up, she would see several Gryphons and their riders flying overhead. Some broke off to patrol, while others continued to glide high above the town.

---

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

Just as it was in Ostia Anir during the Canal campaign, it was quite novel to see elves walking about the streets of an Anirian settlement, even if it was one on the fringes of Anirian land. Kristen was aware that she was openly gawking but she couldn't help it. Elves were the ancient enemy of Vel Anir, the conflict spanning back far into ages long ago. Peace had always been tenuous at best, and frankly she was still surprised—as Alistair had been in Ostia Anir—that lingering resentments didn't keep the elves from settling here in Tar'shan or the residents of Tar'shan from disallowing such.

Drastus went on to explain. Still, the idea was in no small amount foreign to her. Kristen simply had never reckoned with the concept of humans living with non-humans. The idea that Drastus's father could have been killed over it though, that was truly appalling, and her expression told that tale well.

"Does it—OH!"

The shadow and the speed at which he glided over her shocked Kristen. She snapped her gaze up, seeing a winged beast the like of which she had not seen before with her eyes. No. No, that was wrong. She had seen their like before. Years ago. Seven years ago. On the isle of The Blades. Her upward gaze was filled momentarily with an expansive wonder.

The surprise and wonder wearing off, Kristen finished her question. "Does it...work?" She sighed with mild frustration and said, "I know that the question is inelegantly posed, but..."

The sight of a dwarf stole her attention as they rode by. A stout figure, he was carrying out a barrel of leather scraps from his small leatherworking workshop. And she was reminded of the dwarves aboard the Kammerund, the sailors and the Arragoth Marines. Their hospitality was quite welcoming, and a far cry from the uncouth manner in which she was treated by the men of the Allirian vessel.

"Hmm. Well. Dwarves are good people," she said in an offhand comment.

Drastus Tal'deneshaar

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

Drast couldn't help but look up with her as the shadow raced by. It was a glimpse into the life he would have had, had he never been discovered. Perhaps one day, he would earn his place as a Tal'deneshaar by riding a gryphon.

Does it...work? I know that the question is inelegantly posed, but..

"From what I remember? Yes. I guess it helped that most of the original people here were from the east. Of the new people, many were tired of the constant hate, probably were just relieved they could know peace." He guided his horse closer to hers to make way for the Dwarf. "If you want to know if we can live hate-free, Vel Ehn is your proof."

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

"There are those who would scoff at such a sentiment," Kristen admitted. Oh, the things she'd heard at various soirees and galas. Hideous things spoken so casually. "But I for one shall say that a friend of Vel Anir's is a friend of mine."

Along they went. And one of the more striking features of Tar'shan was that they made ample room for greenery to liven the environment. Plants of all kinds grew from window sills, crisscrossed the cobbles of the streets, hung from ledges overhead and from the connecting bridges of buildings. Quite vertical as well, Tar'shan, which made the abundant greenery all the more exciting to see.

"Did you spend much time here before you went to the Academy, Drastus? 'Tis gorgeous here. Cozy, much like Vel Numera."

And certainly no dense, urban labyrinth like the city of Vel Anir itself. Though she did love the city and indeed grew up there, its starkness simply fell short of the smaller, quieter towns of the countryside.

Drastus Tal'deneshaar

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

He smiled in approval as Kristen responded in her expected non-xenophobic way. It was a great relief to him. Perhaps he was worried she would be against it, against the ways of his House.

Did you spend much time here before you went to the Academy, Drastus? 'Tis gorgeous here. Cozy, much like Vel Numera.

"Uhhh.. I did not. I was either at the Manor House in Vel Anir or at the Caer in S'agara." He responded as their horses drew ever closer to the gate.

A line had formed and guards were waving people through. It was slow, yet orderly. "Paravel is where the crime in Vel Ehn is, Tar'shan is where Dusty is." He commented with a laugh. "That kept me away from both, whether i wanted it or not. So, would you want to live in Vel Anir after graduation? Or something like this?"

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

Crime in Paravel? Such a claim seemed ludicrous. Granted, though, their stay had not been for long.

His last question was thought-provoking, and by the look of things at the gate she'd have a moment to ponder it. Vague notions of the future were one thing, pinning down specifics another. She weighed the ideas of both.

"Hmm. Well, mostly certainly do I love the city of Vel Anir itself, and it is there that the beating heart of nobility and politics lie. Yet...what are those to me? Nobility and politics? Other than the coined title of 'Darling Daughter' I have no prominent standing even within my own House. And as for politics, such an arena does not cater to the young, and mayhap even when I come into my more experienced years, will I still have a taste for it? I suppose time will tell."

Kristen patted her chin with a finger.

"I think I should like to petition my father, or perhaps my Uncle Tobias, for a tenure of Ladyship of Vel Numera. An elegant solution, wouldn't you agree, Drastus? I could serve my House as a Dreadlord still, I could gain crucial experience and support for any political aspirations of mine, and, perhaps best of all, I could live out in the beauty of the pristine countryside."

She ended her musing with a broad smile, and there was a satisfied glint in her eye as she glanced over to Drastus.

Drastus Tal'deneshaar