Private Tales There Will Come A Reckoning

[Kristen Pirian]

"It's there! There! See it?"

"I see it!"

"Loose! Loose arrows!

A volley of arrows streaked under Lessat and Pneria, and the creature spotted at the outskirts of Vel Numera was felled.

* * * * *​

Kristen Pirian, as was quite usual for her, was stressed. Not because she'd been told about this mission with scarcely a warning, not because there would be no Proctor accompanying them, and not because there, supposedly, were undead involved (even if Proctor Magomo described the whole affair as "routine").

It was because where she was meant to go, Vel Numera, was an eastern farming town owned almost entirely by House Pirian. Her House. And she knew one of her cousins would be there. It felt...gosh, it felt like ages since she had last been in the company of those with her own noble blood! There was no way things would be the same, even if it was one of her favorite cousins currently attending to matters in Vel Numera. What would they think of her now? What would she think of them?

No matter. No matter! There's no need to fret over things you're surely making far worse in your mind than they shall be in the world. One step at a time, Kristen! You've not even departed the Academy yet!

Class was dismissed in Basic Battlefield Alchemy, the last class of the day as it were. Kristen had to hurry across the Academy's Building A to find Drastus Tal'deneshaar, the Initiate she would be pairing with on the venture to Vel Numera, and tell him...well, that he'd been assigned on a mission as of one hour ago, same as she had. And that they had to depart by dawn tomorrow. It was all so very sudden.

Still, sudden or not, "routine" mission or not, the leeway, the responsibility, that she and Drastus were being given was extraordinary! Yes, they would have to check in with the Mayor and Guard Captain once they reached Vel Numera, but the trust that came with this mission was unprecedented! It felt so good! She couldn't fail! They couldn't fail! No! It was simply out of the question! In this so-called routine mission, Kristen had the exquisite chance to prove herself in some small (but not insignificant!) way. Okay...so maybe two things were the cause for her being stressed.

Presently, she hurried down the angular hallways of Building A.

Until she saw Initiates spilling out of the classroom she sought, seeing, then, Drastus among them.

"Drastus!" she called out. To her chest she clutched books and notes, her other arm raised high and waving to grab his attention. "Drastus!"

Drastus Tal'deneshaar

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

Drastus couldn't even remember what class he had just left and was still wiping the sleep from his eyes when he heard his name being called. It was a woman's voice. It was her voice. What a coincidence, he had just finished dreaming about her. How weird. The only other bonus was he didn't have detention this weekend. No explanation.

Anyways, back to the girl! His eyes snapped to the source and he did all he could to not look too excited. This had been the first time they had seen each other or talked since the Punishment Game. Since she had seen... basically, all of him. At least he wasn't naked again.

He would roll down his left sleeve to hide the scars. Something that hadn't bothered him for some time. He weaved through the mob before closing the distance. "Hey Kristen." He meant to say it confidently, casually. But this was a first for him. "Fancy seeing you here. Aren't you like across the campus this time of day?" Of course she was, he knew that. But she seemed to be running for him. That was a good sign, right?

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

As was rather normal, most of the other Initiates didn't pay much attention to Kristen's arrival, just filing out from the classroom and heading on their way in that same strict, militaristic sense of order (for fear of punishment otherwise)--this a lingering remnant of the old days.

"That I am," Kristen said, "and I had to make haste to inform you of something. Drastus, you and I have been selected for a mission by Proctor Magomo. Shall we walk and talk?"

She smiled cordially. It was true that her first substantial interaction with Drastus was during Everleigh's secretly conducted "Punishment Game"--and what horrid punishments both of them had been subjected to! Even before the Game, however, Kristen had gotten the impression that Drastus was one of the more approachable Initiates at the Academy. Few seemed to have weathered the tribulations of the old days well, but Drastus seemed very much to be one of them. A shame, then, that she'd nary an occasion to properly make his acquaintance before now!

This mission, however, should serve well enough for it.

Drastus Tal'deneshaar

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

So cute. She had to come up with a fake mission from a Proctor just to talk to him. He couldn't blame her. It would take a lot to erase a flower between cheeks from any memory. He did offer a smile back though, and as a 'gentleman' he would offer his arm politely. "Certainly."

To him, the fact they had not interacted much at this point was a crime. Thankfully, this 'mission' promised to undo that. "So uhhh.. what about this mission makes them think to send us?"

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

Proctors stood by the open doors along the hallway, some glaring, some not. Apparently even this level of freedom to move of one's own accord from classroom to dining hall to dorm room to wherever else was unprecedented before the Revolution. The utter control over the Initiates had been suffocating.

Still, more freedom or not, Kristen was not so bold as to take the arm offered by Drastus! Such a thing, no matter the context of it, was still sorely frowned upon. Oh, but it was going to be rude to refuse his gentlemanly offer! Alas, what choice did she have, what with the stern eyes of the Proctors upon them (and not to mention the predatory glances of some of their peers, like Bull, should they happen to look their way)?

"Well, so far as I've been told, there was a small worry of rogue necromancy in Vel Numera. Much of the land of Vel Numera happens to be owned by House Pirian, and in my yesteryears I have visited the town with my family. I know a good deal of it."

She glanced over. Edric, Noel, many of the more serious types of the Academy had told her--either explicitly or implicitly--that asking about another Initiate's magic was often...unwise. But the sparring arena revealed enough about everyone to have a general idea of everyone else.

"As for you, Drastus, necromancy is something of a specialty of yours, is it not?"

Drastus Tal'deneshaar

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

Drastus had run out of fucks to give... years ago. And even under the old rule, he never lost that attitude. It was probably why The Box and all the other punishments were never really fear inducing. After all, he had a very special skill, that meant they were willing to give him time. Either time for him to 'get smart' or time for them to break him.

"Vel Numera?" He would repeat as if trying to memorize it. Necromancy. He could feel Ruperts growing interest. Which almost spurred his own. "Huh.. so you're the big shot of Vel Numera?" He should have known she was a noble. "I'm sure it will be nice to go back."

Then she asked about his magic. It was something he was by no means secretive of, at least within the Academy. Hell, it was hard to explain to other students why you ran around with a dead guy in your backpack. "Oh yeah. I dabble a bit." He offered with a shrug. "So should be pretty easy. We'll safeguard your people."

They weren't safeguarding anyone. As if, this was a real mission. Props to her on tricking the Proctors though. "When do we leave and for how long?"

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

"Oh! No, no, no!" Kristen balked at the suggestion that she herself was in charge of Vel Numera, waving her free hand rapidly side-to-side. "'Tis not I! I am no landholder! I-I've no titles to my name! That would be the domain of my Uncle Tobias, Head of House, and stewardship of the land flows between my male cousins. Certainly not to me!"

She made a conscious effort to relax, to just take in a steadying breath and let it out. Gosh, she was acting as though he'd made some scandalous remark rather than simply stating an honest and innocent assumption. Measured responses, Kristen! Measured!

"Proctor Magomo has said that we must depart before dawn on the morrow. Such does not leave us with much time, of that I am aware, but the journey will be an easy one. Vel Numera is not some remote village. It is well within Anirian lands, along main roads and primary trading routes."

She snapped her fingers. Clearly excited.

"Oh! And the best part! It shall be solely you and I, Drastus. No Proctor will be accompanying us!"

Her smile was broad, clenched fist of her free hand tucked in close to her chest, eyes gleaming. Wasn't it wonderful? They were being given this opportunity to prove themselves with distinction. They were capable, they could handle themselves!

What Kristen hadn't considered was the possibility that, maybe, this mission was deemed to be such routine work that it did not warrant a fully-fledged Dreadlord, nor even a chaperoning Proctor for Initiates--busy work of the highest order, obliged by the Academy merely to satisfy the complaints of an insistent noble house.

Drastus Tal'deneshaar

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

Drast would laugh. "Oh no, I didn't mean you personally, I meant your family. But can't you get the lands at some point? Maybe disappear a cousin a two?" He joked with a smirk.

He wasn't sure if he had said something so outrageous that she felt the need to panic, but he almost felt bad that she did. It was definitely not an intention of his.

"Okay, so should be an easy trip. I pack light and I can meet you in the stables pretty quickly once we're done here." He offered. "Wonder if we'll pass by my family's lands..." he would muse to himself.

She was even excited it was just the two of them. Shit, guess all it took was seeing him in his rarest of forms at the game. "Okay. So we swing on by, Rupert and I hit em with a little bit of jazz hands, I make them dance a bit, then we banish them back to the shadow realm. Easy peasy Vel Numereezee." Drast said with a grin and a shrug.

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

Oh no, I didn't mean you personally.

See, Kristen? Overreacting in the name of stiff correctness once again--and you'd misread his intention, for shame! It did get her to thinking briefly on it though, the subject of becoming landed. She was quite young still (and female), so in the chain of inheritance she was rather far down. But who knew? She could simply be granted a title by Uncle Tobias, or by one of her other landholding relatives, and become landed that way.

But, at present, all of that was neither here nor there.

Oh! Drastus mentioned his family's lands. Kristen had wondered at that, the surname of Tal'deneshaar sounding northern, Kaliti, in character. She'd make a note of that to bring up later, when they were out upon the road and had a dreadful amount of time to fill in the riding from here to there.

Easy peasy Vel Numereezee.

Kristen burst out with a loud giggle, her shoulders hiking up and head bowing forward, her hand racing up to hide her mouth. "What was that? How did you phrase it? Easy peasy...Vel Numereezee! I rather like that. 'Tis a summation of confidence for the success of our mission!"

They passed through the doors leading out of Building A, filing out with other Initiates who were on their way to their end-of-day tasks and activities.

"Very well!" Kristen said. "I shall gather my possibles and meet you at the stables! I will see you soon, Drastus!"

Waving as she did, Kristen took off across the Academy grounds at an excited jog toward her particular dormitory building.

Drastus Tal'deneshaar

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

He seemed to revel in her laughter. At least in her enjoyment at what he said. It was a definite confidence booster. "Well yeah, there's no way we don't rock it, unless ya know, i die on the way there or something. But ill let ya know how to overcome that once we hit the road." He would say with a wink.

She talked so proper. And despite years of attempts and training, he did not. He left that to his siblings. They were all way too proper for his liking.

As they walked, he would tap on someone's shoulder, farthest from him. Ultimately it would cause a scene as the two initiates devolved into a spat, blocking the hall behind them and giving him and Kristen more space. Another perfect plan.

So perfect, Kristen had plenty of space to race off. "Yeah, sure thing. Any specific time? Don't want to make you wait on me doing my hair or something." He joked. When she raced off, he would just keep his casually paced walk. It was shaping up to be a good week.

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

A clanking and a clattering announced Kristen's imminent arrival to the stables. She was changed out of her Academy fatigues and into her arming garments. She had in one bag her traveling supplies issued by the Academy, and in the other her set of armor, and it was this latter bag which was making the noise. Still, better than wearing it! There was hardly much need for it until they were close to Vel Numera. Oft it was said the roads within central Anirian lands were the safest upon all Arethil.

One of the undeniably good things about the Academy (at least when she was allowed to start going on missions) was that she got to spend more time riding horses than she otherwise would have. She had been allowed some indulgence in equestrian affairs when she was at home, but it certainly did not amount to much--not as much as she would have liked, at any rate. And what she was allowed was a narrow scope, riding for an hour or two and that was all--everything else was attended to by servants.

Nevertheless, this promised to be a pleasant trip! She already checked in with Proctor Magomo, reporting to him that she and Drastus were departing for Vel Numera and that, as instructed, she would subsequently check in with the Mayor and Guard Captain upon arrival, such that they could send word back to the Academy. He had nodded sternly, told her to "Hurry up," and sent her on her way.

Drastus was already in the stables. Wonderful! Kristen walked up to him, momentarily setting down her armor bag and giving her tired arm a shake. "We're all set to depart, Drastus. I've our official papers, a spare map, some of the more choice travel rations from the dining hall--and!--an allotment of coins for billeting should we make good enough time to reach a town with an inn tonight, and a firestarter kit for a campfire should we not. Things are well in order!"

Drastus Tal'deneshaar

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

Money for an inn?! Damn she was going all out. He had to struggle to not laugh, shout, whoop in excitement. She was trying to wine and dine him.

His gaze drifted to her gear, he had forgotten how much armor most of them wore. He just went with good old-fashioned reinforced leather armor over chainmail. He could use a sword, but he preferred his knife.

It would probably be cute seeing her in full battle regalia... if there was an actual mission, at least. He also only had two bags: personal items and armor (mixed with Ruperts bones).

"Perfect, perfect, perfect. I acquired us some of the faster horses. And we can take a cart if we need it. I didn't think we would so I hadn't strapped it to our horses yet." Drast would add to her report. "Oh, and most importantly, I have alcohol for after we win. To celebrate."

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

A cart. Kristen visibly considered it, forefinger and thumb caressing her chin and gaze upwardly turned and all. It did sound nice, having a ride all the way to Vel Numera. It did...but, she was probably making something of a faulty comparison between the carriages she was far more accustomed to in her childhood and the rugged, utility-minded cart available here in the Academy stables. No smooth ride in that cart, by Aionus, no smooth ride at all.

She waved off the idea of the cart. "Horseback, I think, will be sufficient for our purposes. And I am rather keen on being in the saddle once more. 'Tis a lovely experience."

Drastus mentioned the spirits, and Kristen quickly glanced around with a heightened vigilance, looking to see if there was anyone else who may have happened in and overheard. Phew! Their luck held. Just them.

"I, um...I will abstain from inquiring where and how you've obtained contraband. Better that I not know! Yet I do find the thought of a little celebration quite appealing." She considered it a moment more, thinking back to a mishap when she had mistakenly partaken of the hard punch at a gala when she was eleven, and a more recent fiasco of being swept up in the festivities at Vel'Yuna and drinking herself into a unseemly stupor. Then she brightened and beamed. "A small, measured toast cannot hurt! And it shall taste all the more sweet, with our earned accomplishment pinned as medals upon our chests!"

Kristen lifted her armor bag with a grunt and went to one of the saddled horses. She clipped one strap to the back of the saddle, went around the clipped the other, then with a foot in the stirrup she swung a long leg over (one of the few times she blessed her height!) and was mounted upon her horse.

Drastus Tal'deneshaar

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

"Horseback it is." He repeated after her. "Oh yeah, riding is a lot of fun." He replied with a sidelong grin. He would laugh at her reaction to the drink. "Well, it's only the flask that was being passed around.." he leaned close to whisper. "..at the game." He would then give her a slow and knowing wink.

He quickly tucked his things into the saddlebags of his horse. "Oh yeah, a few measured toasts should be more than fine to mark our big success." He finished with his gear and headed back to her. "I'll even make us some medals." He joked.

Drast would help her heft the bag, not because he thought she was weak, it just looked like a two person job. He held it aloft as she tightened both buckles, though he didn't offer to help her onto her horse, though he was close if she needed it.

Once she was mounted, he put a foot in the stirrup and with one practiced effort popped upwards and kicked the other leg up and over, before seating in the saddle. "Well, Lady Pirian.. the map and the mission are yours. Lead on."

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

The mention of "the game" (oh but how could she possibly forget which one?) had made Kristen stiffen sharply and laugh nervously. Again she rued the turn of fate which had seen her and Drastus placed there together, such that he might bear witness to all of the thoroughly unbecoming things which transpired. It had all been most un-Lady like!

Yet, Aionus bless his soul, Drastus did not very much seem to mind. So untarnished was her repute in his eyes that he saw fit to call her Lady Pirian. Lady Pirian! My word, how long had it been? One year seemed scarcely the right amount of time, for it seemed to her tenfold too short!

"Very well then, Drastus. Let us be away!"

Typically, Kristen would catch a few sneering looks from other Initiates who happened to see her departing Academy grounds on a mission--word of Vel Acan, the terrible failure of her first mission, had unfortunately spread like a wildfire. Even with the horses as dead giveaways that she and Drastus were doing so now, by some miracle all of the other Initiates across the grounds all minded their own business--or, if they did look, at least did so with apathy or indifference instead. Suited her well enough, it did! She took it as something of a sign even, that this mission would be the one, finally the one, which would go smoothly. An unmitigated success she could, as the vernacular saying went, "have under her belt."

Out the gates of the Academy they went, and at the crossroads not far from the grounds Kristen turned north. Much of their travel would be north first, and then bearing off to the east to their destination.

She had the map out and unfolded before her, holding it in place by pressing it against the horn of the saddle.

"If we proceed with a modicum of haste," Kristen said, "we should be able to make it to the village of Pinewood Lake before long. Mayhap before the night settles in too deeply."

Drastus Tal'deneshaar

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

Her reaction at the mention of 'the game' was more than enough to earn another laugh from Drastus. He would offer a shrug. "Best thing to come out of that was we actually got to meet. Even if I was in some... questionable positions." He would add with a smirk.

Any look that went her way that was distasteful, Drastus would repay them with a glare tenfold. It didn't help that he had Ruperts head and glowing eyes to aid in the Intimidation. Many initiates were afraid of Drastus merely for the fear of what he would do to their corpses once they had departed this life. He knew, but they didn't know. And in his mind, they foresaw great and terrible things. Either way, he used it to his advantage.

Once they passed through the gates, he would pull up beside her, his elbow resting on his saddle horn. "Pinewood Lake? Shit. That's about a day south west of my family's lands." Drast mused. It had been a long time since he had been home. "So we reach Pinewood and get a room? Maybe some dinner?"

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

Their horses moved along at a nice trot on the outbound road. The sun was descending from its late afternoon apex, and they'd still some good hours of sunlight yet. Mayhap they would even have the luck of a bright night, moons and stars unobscured by clouds, if they needed a touch more time to reach Pinewood Lake.

Oh! A day south west from his family's lands, Drastus had said. She had been meaning to ask him about that, and indeed, what better time than now?

"A room and some dinner, yes. All things in splendid order there." Then she looked over to Drastus, her intrigue plain to see. "I have been quite curious ever since the sound of your surname graced my ears, Drastus. From where does your family hail originally? Tal'deneshaar seems...oh do forgive me if I am incorrect...Kaliti?"

Drastus Tal'deneshaar

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

So far, the ride was pleasant, albeit quiet. He couldn't blame her. After all, she was the epitome of what it meant to be from a Noble family... he.. not so much. Part of him worried that that behavior offset her overall opinion of him.

But then she hit him with a question. One that was accompanied with such a look, that he hoped to the gods he had an answer that would satiate such curiosity. He didn't. It was a profound question. One that he had absolutely no idea how to answer. Kaliti?

So he did what he did best. Deflect with a laugh. He laughed lightly and smirked her way. "If its Kaliti, that's news to me." He leaned forward on the horn. "Honestly? I've no idea where my family is from. There are about two dozen of them that followed my father here from out East, I think they said. They never talk about it.. but when its even mentioned they all get that faraway look. The most I did get out of them was that their home was under attack and they had to flee." He shrugged. "My brother says he once heard the names Tarshan and Paravel, but we've never found them on any map."

He reached down to unhook his waterskin and took a long pull from it. "I've got one uncle in Amol-Kalit though.. and a lot of my parents friends that fill the role of family.. but no direct relations."

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

The shadow of a somber look came over Kristen's expression. The home of the Tal'deneshaars, under attack and forcing them to flee? How ghastly! Sometimes father, in the early evenings of some rainy nights, would recount to her harrowing tales of history, wherein villages or towns or cities or even nations whole would be swallowed up by one manner of tragedy or another. Reminders, he had always said, that the world was dangerous--

(how right he was)

--and that such misfortune always stood ready to menace good, innocent people, and would, if not for the protection of the brave and the strong. He reminded her to feel blessed to live within Vel Anir, the great bastion of humanity, whose strength warded off the tide which swept away many, many a people from Arethil.

Kristen didn't dwell in this somberness. The state of Drastus's family was also one which tugged at her heartstrings, yet...she had a suspicion that many Initiates of the Academy were much the same way, and it was altogether tragic. Still, she didn't dwell.

She summoned back her cheer and said, "The Tal'deneshaars have made for themselves some prominence though. What dire circumstances you've escaped in the East has led you to fairer fortunes here in Anirian lands. Why, the Tal'deneshaars are landholders--it's marvelous! Do you think that you might come into the possession of a title or two someday, Drastus?" She smiled and mused, "Lord Drastus Tal'deneshaar. My, how does that sound?"

Drastus Tal'deneshaar

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

His joy faded as he noticed her own joy dissipate. He probably shouldn't have shared such tales, it would only ruin the mood. And then, just like that, she was back. "Yeah, but you would never know it." he said with a laugh. "My father would dress in the same clothes as the 'everyman', he refused to call them peasants, you see. He served them far more than they served him." Unlike his brother, he had made peace with the fact their father had died in a faraway land on a foolhardy quest and they never had a body to bury.

He would shrug at the question. "I.. don't think so. I am the second youngest and I have a few older brothers." the then laughed. "Lord Drastus Tal'deneshaar and Lady Kristen Pirian, how well do they both sound together? Very regal, very profound." he asked with a smirk. "I... have a feeling that Valdr, my oldest brother and Lord of the House will use me to seal in some sort of marriage just to curb my... free ways. That may be the only way I ever see a title." his gaze focused on hers. "I could learn much from you, I think. At least in courtly matters. I'm afraid I act the part of the savage." he said lightly.

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

"A man of the people!" Kristen said with a noted enthusiasm. It was inescapably quaint to her. Father and mother and very much all of House Pirian, whilst styling themselves as champions of the commonbloods more than any of the other six Great Houses, nevertheless maintained a certain degree of separation and retained their airs of noble authority. So yes, quaint, but with an attractive and endearing quality to it. Especially now that Kristen had decided to enroll into the Academy.

Lord and Lady. At this her eyebrows perked up and the tips of her fingers made like a concealing fan to hide her mouth. My, how forward! Drastus didn't linger on it, his smirk suggesting the comment to have been made with some significant measure of facetiousness. Certainly a good thing that he passed right over it--she'd have been tripping over her own flabbergasted tongue in trying to work out a response.

And for that reason, as Drastus went on to state of himself: marriage. Such was no small matter! What his brother Valdr might do for Drastus was not an uncommon solution, the arrangement of marriage despite what wishes Drastus himself might have. Sometimes it did work out splendidly, arranged marriages, yes, very splendidly indeed, but still Kristen could not help but feel that there existed in the act of it a certain loss of agency and self-determination. Of freedom. Her sister Amelia had before expressed the same sentiment in her correspondences.

I'm afraid I act the part of the savage.

"Oh, but you mustn't be so hard on yourself, Drastus!" She'd caught his light tone, and hers was of a similar character, even if there existed underneath a small base of seriousness. What she said next was very much completely lighthearted, though. "You are, of course, a youth and a boy. Boys are expected to practice and hone a certain hardiness in their rough-and-tumble years! Why, for every refined gentleman at a gala, there once existed a rambunctious troublemaker who proceeded him. So father says, and he had said further of it that no man worth his salt hadn't gotten himself into a heap of trouble when he was a boy! Mayhap when the opportunity strikes, your elder brother Valdr could impart tales of his own tomfoolery and mischief, if he has not already."

Drastus Tal'deneshaar

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

"A man of the people indeed." Drastus mused as they rode along. "He started as one.. and died as one." Drast said proudly. It was likely no secret that the Lord Stryfe Tal'deneshaar had departed Vel Anir for lands unknown, to undertake a quest for a people in need, only to never return. There were more than a few instances in which Drastus had given someone a necrotic injury to the arm over a callous word at his fathers behalf.

Her reaction to the Lord and Lady also did not go unnoticed, but he would give her that momentary respite before he circled around. It was a look he had grown to like seeing. There was something innocent about it, but not in the way that carried judgement.

He would laugh at her final response. "Rough-and-tumble years, eh? My father would call that an excuse for poor behavior. From what my mother says, he wasn't born into nobility. He embodied it to his core. We had set ways to act, to not only honor our name, but those around us. If Valdr finds trouble it is because he is defending the honor of one who cannot defend themselves. I don't think he had much time to enact that tomfoolery, he was trained to lead and trained for lordship at sixteen. By eighteen, he was lord."

He would take another pull from his waterskin before offering his to her. She had her own, but it was the polite thing to do. "Enough about me, tell me about your family, Lady Pirian."

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

Some boys had to mature faster than others, that much was true, and it was cruel that dire circumstances robbed them of the one childhood they had. And the loss of one's beloved father was tragic indeed. Drastus spoke brightly of him, and perhaps it had been many years hence; all she could think of, though, was that she would weep her eyes dry for weeks should such awful news reach her ears concerning her own father.

"Valdr sounds like quite the remarkable man," Kristen said. "He left his sons much to which they can gallantly aspire."

She accepted the gesture of the waterskin with a grateful smile and took a small sip, handing it back across the gap between their horses.

"Very well. Oh, there is so very much I could tell. House Pirian has a long and storied history as one of the seven Great Houses of Vel Anir. As it happens, each House over the centuries has found itself a certain niche, some facet of Anirian society in which it excels, and for us Pirians it is agriculture. I daresay that House Pirian, in terms of sheer acres and not number of titles, holds the most land of any other House. And for good reason! Vel Anir is a large city, a large and hungry city, which itself is surrounded by plenty of other smaller cities, towns, villages, each hungry in their own right, and we are the so-called 'bread basket' for the whole Kingdom. Oh, Republic, excuse me, I am just so very used to saying Kingdom. Ah, yes! And that is yet another point of Pirian pride! We were the first House to support the Revolution, and why not? Always have we thought ourselves champions of the common folk, and thus we aided firmly the effort to transfer power to them. It is my sincere belief that the Revolution will bring bright horizons to Vel Anir that shall light the way for many years to come."

She added with a small laugh, "And this is all to say nothing of my actual family within House Pirian!"

Drastus Tal'deneshaar

 

[Drastus Tal'deneshaar]

Drast should have specified. Her actual family not the history, or their imports and exports. But he couldn't help but smile at her own pride in her family. It was important to be proud in your roots. "Ah yes, Great Lady Kristen Pirian of the Great House Pirian." He would muse in the most posh accent he could muster with a grin.

"Do you.. actually think the regime change benefits the people?" He would ask curiously. "I know when it happened, my brother strengthened our lands borders as it quickly became volatile, but he was more concerned with protecting the people then forcing a regime to change. So I just wonder.. does it actually benefit the people or do they even notice? Or does it just not matter to them who sits in the chair?" It was an earnest question.

He took the waterskin back and tucked it away. "We can circle back to that, though. No more history lesson, tell me about your parents or any siblings you have."

Kristen Pirian

 

[Kristen Pirian]

My, was she glad that Drastus did not pursue his original question! She feared that, with only her inexpert knowledge of the Revolution, just the broad strokes available to her through second and third-hand information, she would have mishandled the answer. Still she held a great optimism for the Republic and the impact it would ultimately have on Vel Anir, but she as well wanted to acknowledge that such an ordeal had been executed in a manner far from perfect. No thing as great as the Revolution could be executed without flaw.

Certainly, time to collect what thoughts she could properly muster on so expansive a question was appreciated.

She laughed a little, a soft sound. "Right. Now that I've concluded the introduction for House Pirian as a whole, I shall delve into my immediate relations therein."

And it was enough to pass the time splendidly.

* * * * *

PINEWOOD LAKE​

With the onset of night, what Kristen saw first of the village was its shimmering silver lake, the stars painted upon it even as a few small clouds hid the moons from being among this company. A few firelights from the village--torches, hearthfires glowing from windows--splashed a small dose of orange amongst the celestial reflections in the lake. The road she and Drastus were on winded in a long and lazy curve around the bank of the lake and to the quaint village wherein they could purchase a good night's sleep.

Kristen clapped her hands together. "Wonderful! We needn't unfurl our bedrolls tonight! A properly cooked meal and a warm bed will make for the perfect punctuation to the day."

Drastus Tal'deneshaar