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Post by Flame on Aug 6, 2020 0:24:57 GMT -5
(Yeah definitely no hurry! I hope they can get the fire contained soon.)
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โโะพฯ
ษดแด แดแด
แดษชแดแดแดษดแดแด แดxแดแดแดแด แดษด แดแดสแดส สแดsษชษดแดss
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Post by โโะพฯ on Aug 7, 2020 16:16:09 GMT -5
Once the initial shock began to wear off, it was time for Lukja to be practical. Whoโs going to feed my cat? This was the first of many questions that sprang to mind. Though he knew it to be a simple problem in the grand scheme of things (now that he was a man of great importance who was expected to care about a great many things), he could not help but worry about the mundane world that he was leaving behind. He was given no time to say goodbye to his small house on the edge of town. No time to write to his mother or to kiss his neighbors on the cheek. There were unfinished projects sprawled across his desk. His whole living space was a mess, and soon there would be royal servants arriving to collect his necessary things. He should have tidied before he left for work that morning. But mostly he worried about his cat.
The carriage jostled along at a brisk pace. He was nearly thrown out of his seat a number of times as it went barrelling over rocks and cobblestone. They had long since left the city of Nasso. It had only occurred to him to look out the window as the carriage charged up into the hills, and the sacred city became a village for ants in the distance. Since then, he had kept his eyes trained on the outside world. The hills and trees wheeled in and then out of view. They passed towns and farms, and at each little outlet there were people waiting with gleaming smiles. They waved handkerchiefs and shouted incoherently. Women shed tears and their husbands pulled them in for hugs. Children danced and leaped, throwing flowers in the path of the carriage. Old women squinted as they tried to get a glimpse of the man who sat behind the window. Lukja smiled and waved back at them as often as he remembered.
The road to Cypra was shorter than he remembered. Rather, time moved more quickly than it ever had before. It only felt like a matter of minutes before the houses grew taller and closer together, and the streets became less bumpy. He slid down the bench to look out the opposite window just in time to see the palace crawl into view on the horizon. It gleamed in the warm evening light. Even from far away, Lukja could make out the famous arches at the front of the structure. They were beautiful to behold, a marvel of modern architecture; smooth, colossal, sturdy as the mountain they stood on.
Soon those arches grew very large, and enormous crowds flooded the streets. Garlands swayed in the breeze above, and littered the ground with a colorful carpet of petals. The rain had ceased, but puddles remained. The people of Cypra paid the moisture no mind. They cheered and screamed at the coming of the carriage. One of ten, Lukja mused. He wondered when his colleagues (if that was the right word) would arrive. Surely he was not the first, for there were several pillars based in the city itself.
The carriage came to a sudden halt. After several seconds, the door was thrown open and Lukja was greeted by a number of burly guards. They shepherded him down and onto the street, where the noise and sights were overwhelming. Lukja was aware of a thousand pairs of eyes burning into him. He scanned the crowds. Most of the faces were gleeful and unquestioning. Some, however, searched his face critically. Who are you? They seemed to ask. What can you do for us?
The guards guided Lukja up a set of beautiful sandstone stairs, through the arches which stood watch overhead like gods.
At the palace doors, they were greeted by more people. Not peasants and working people, however. They were clearly members of an elite class. They wore expensive robes and fine jewelry. Their gazes were prying and judgmental rather than desperate, but they wore gleaming smiles. โYour Highness,โ they cooed as they greeted him. One in particular, a portly man with a bald head blue robes, grabbed him tenderly by the hand.
โWhat an honor it is to welcome you to your new home,โ said the man. His voice was as oily and smooth as butter. โYou must be exhausted from your journey. Unfortunately there is little time to rest, for the coronation has just begun. Tonight you must be formally presented along with your fellow royals.โ Now they were walking down a long, private hall. Lukja felt his mind wander as he took in the beautiful palace. The lines of each wall were clean and crisp. They met in beautiful arching and curving angles. The whole house seemed to glow with the warmth of the sunset, despite there being little direct light. He looked back at the blue-robed man. โMy name is Archer, by the way. I am the royal manager of the house.โ
Lukja nodded politely.
โYour rooms are ready for you, your royal highness, as well as a fresh change of clothes. In the meantime, however, the other royals have begun to gather in the garden.โ
There was a pause. For a moment Lukja awaited further instructions until he realized that it was Archer who was waiting on him. โRight!โ exclaimed Lukja. โAh, okay. Iโll go meet the others, then. These clothes should be fine for now.โ
Archerโs gaze scanned Lukja starting from the scuffed boots and moving up to the patched jacket lined with sheepโs wool. โAs you wish, your highness,โ he said in a saccharine voice. He gestured down the hall for Lukja to lead the way.
Soon they arrived in a large atrium. Light flooded in from above as the ceiling gave way to reveal tame storm clouds overhead. The room was lined with adolescent trees and manicured pots of flowers. A pool was in the center of the room, filled with pristine rainwater. But Lukja focused on none of these things. Instead, his eyes were trained on the figures of the people who were scattered around the room. Some stood and some sat on benches. Some wore lavish robes and others were in well-worn travelling clothes.
Lukja dipped his head. โHello,โ he said warmly. It was impossible to hide the apprehension on his face. These were the people with which he would rule a country. These would be his most trusted friends, his rivals, even his lovers if history had anything to say about it. "Well, we certainly have a lot of catching up to do."
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Post by ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ
on Aug 7, 2020 17:44:39 GMT -5
daryn ashwood | house of swans
The carriage ride over was, admittedly, a little more than Daryn had expected. He was used to winsome scenery, of course - he had grown up in the House of Swans.
"So, how were you chosen for this job?" he asked the carriage driver warmly. There was plenty more of the trip in store, he knew, and he wanted to make the most of it, if he could help it. The driver turned his head slowly, his blue eyes meeting Daryn's brown.
"I've worked at the Arch House for decades. I get a slight raise for coming all the way out to the House of Swans, though, so there's that."
That explanation definitely seemed to match up to the mans' appearance. His teeth were slightly crooked, his face was wrinkled with age, and his eyes were as cold as the ice that they were reminiscent of. In fact, earlier, before Daryn had properly gotten into the carriage to begin his new life as a royal, he hadn't dared ask for the driver to help him with his bags; the last thing he wanted was to be the one responsible for a man's back giving out - especially before a day had even passed succeeding his naming as the representative of the House of Swans.
He opened his mouth to try and think of some reply, but shut it rather quickly. That was enough conversation, he decided, and instead opted to spend his time leaning his head out of the window of the carriage walls. There was a somewhat serenity about the way the hills rolled by - a calm that seemed to set about him as the scene of lush forests before him gave way to more open fields, and then returned back to the forestry. Finally, before him was the renowned hill that the ever famous Arch House sat on - otherwise known as his home from now on.
The carriage came to an abrupt stop.
"Well, we're here. Good luck, Your Highness." The driver spoke for the second time, then turned his head back, once again meeting Daryn's gaze. This time, he smiled ever so slightly - a first for their journey, though the House of Swans nominee could see a bitterness behind that smile. The driver turned his head forward again, muttering under his breath, "Not that a person who was spoon fed from silver cutlery from their time of birth would need that luck." Daryn held his tongue sharply; sure, a part of him wanted to engage in verbal combat with this man, but the smart thing to do was certainly just to stay quiet for the time being. Rather, he smiled quickly, and stepped out of the carriage - the door of which had already been opened for him by, who he assumed to be, a guard.
He couldn't help but notice other carriages - some pulling up, some presumably already empty of the Royal that it had delivered to the palace. No matter where they were at the moment, though, he knew that by the end of the day, he'd be acquainted with all of them. Besides, other than the carriages, there was still plenty on his mind. For one, there were hoards of people gathered nearby, but he hardly blamed them. Who wouldn't want to meet the ones representing them for, presumably, the rest of their lives? He flashed a smile and waved to as many onlookers as he could; besides, what else could he do? Mid wave, however, his arm was grabbed rather sharply by a man and the next thing he knew, he was suddenly being tugged a few steps forward - though he was unhanded almost as quickly as he had been grabbed.
"I'm so sorry, Your Highness," the man who had held his arm moments earlier said quietly. "In the past, the towns' people have shown the ability to be... rather harsh when it comes to the House of Swans nominee. You seemed to be fine, but we wouldn't want to take any chances, would we?"
"I-I suppose not," Daryn replied quickly.
Daryn was lead into the palace by the royal manager of the house (Archer, he had said his name was), and had been told exactly what he presumed that the others were; small descriptions on the Arch House, talk of how the coronation was beginning today, how they were now to gather in the garden, and so on. Seeing as though his bags had already taken care of, the royal decided that the best thing to do was probably to make his way to the garden and make acquaintance of the people he was to spend the rest of his life with - as surreal as that sentence sounded.
He took a deep breath as he entered the garden, surprised to see that not too many were there yet. He chose not to begin speaking too quickly, rather choosing to smooth down the silk linen that he was currently dressed in; first impressions were important, and he definitely didn't want the others to think of him as untidy the first time that they met. Suddenly, though, there was a new sound; he turned his head in the direction of the new voice, his gaze being met with the sight of a long limbed man in response. Based off of looks and a simple hello alone, though, him being the representative of which Pillar, Daryn had yet to figure out. He nodded with the request of catching up, deciding to take that as a cue for him finally say something for the first time to these people.
"Yeah, I do suppose we do have a lot of talking to do," Daryn said slowly, eyes beginning to scan around the room properly for the first time, formally taking in the sights of everyone present. "So, who'd like to go first?"
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Post by ๐พ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ on Aug 7, 2020 20:19:09 GMT -5
Cynthia "Reigns" Morrison
A heartbeat later, and the sound of the outside world hit her. She reflexively flinched at the sudden noise assaulting her ears; people were screaming and cheering, reaching forward between the guards that had formed a perimeter around a path to the carriage in an attempt to touch her. One even managed to brush their fingers against the very tips of Reignsโ hair, which was (as it usually was) pulled back into a high ponytail. She winced when their nails snaggled and pulled at her hair painfully; almost instantly the guards swarmed the person, shoving them back into the shouting crowd. People were screaming at her, asking her name, asking her for favors, asking her how she felt about being royal. She didnโt answer; instead, she clenched her jaw, ground her teeth and continued forward, chin slightly jutted in the air. She was ushered into a brilliant white carriage, with its top also decorated with garlands and streamers. Ugh.
The carriage was comfortable inside, and as the door swung shut with a soft, click (almost inaudible over the crowd) the chaotic noise from behind her was deafened a bit. Not by much, though. She sat down heavily on the plush leather seats and pulled her knees to her chest, allowing herself a private moment to break down. Again, she felt tears burning the back of her eyes, and she took several deep breaths to calm herself down. She didnโt pay much attention to the driver, though sheโd given him a nod when she first entered the carriage. With the sound of a whip cracking and a jolt, the carriage began to move. Reigns remained in her position, forehead resting on her knees, as they set out on the journey to the palace.
Sheโd seen the palace many times over her lifetime; often, when she was a child sheโd peer up at the magnificent building and wonder what sort of people lived in there. What did they do for fun? What sort of extravagant meals did they enjoy? Were their beds made of clouds? But, standing in the shadow of royalty, Reigns had never imagined that sheโd live there one day. Even as a child, sheโd known that the palace was far out of her reach. Sheโd wished and wished and wished, and nothing in her life had ever changed. Well, apparently child-Reigns had been wrong. Here she was, a future royal. She let out a sharp, bitter laugh at that. What would life be like in the palace, she wondered? Would it be as glorious as sheโd imaged as a child? Probably not. Child-like innocence was a pretty, imaginative thing, but it was easily shattered.
The journey through Cypra wasnโt very long, considering the guild hall sheโd lived in had been situated near the center of the city. It was probably a twenty-minute ride, no doubt made longer by the crowds of people. Finally, the carriage rolled to a stop and the door was opened. Reigns exhaled, reached for her iron-clad strength, and exited the carriage. She was likely going to meet the other new royals, and sheโd be damned if she showed any ounce of weakness. Sheโd met too many powerful people in her life to doubt that theyโd pounce on any advantage.
She followed her guard into the palace and took a moment to peer around, taking in the extravagant architecture, interior decoration, and design. The heels of her boots clicked softly against the marble flooring. A new person greeted her โ an older man, who had clearly never spent a day hungry, and was dressed in blue robes. He leaned forward as if to touch Reigns, but he froze when he met her icy green gaze. No one touched her without permission. She flexed the fingers of her right hand, itching to grab at the dagger Marcus had given her.
โMy name is Archer, your highness,โ the man said. He spoke with a smooth tone, and it made Reignsโ teeth itch. She didnโt trust him as far as she could throw him. โI am the steward of the palace. It is an honor to welcome you here.โ Reigns simply gave him a nod and he turned, gesturing for Reigns to follow him. โThe rest of the royals have begun to gather in the gardens.โ
More flowers. With a sigh, Reigns followed him to the royal gardens, where he left her after a moment. She paused, letting her gaze scan those who had gathered. She frowned when she realized she was among the shortest there. Great. She curled her upper lip into a half smile and moved forward, ready to get this greeting over with.
The petite woman stepped into view, green-blue gaze scanning the crowd. Her blonde hair, so pale it was almost white, was pulled back into a high ponytail, although it still draped far enough to barely brush the top of her shoulders. She was dressed in dark trousers and a cream-colored tunic, along with a leather jacket. Fine boots adorned her feet, reaching up to end just below her knees. She was silent for a long time, taking in each person.
Someone finally spoke, and Reignsโ gaze immediately snapped to him. โHello,โ the man had said, although there was clear hesitation and worry on his face. Reigns didnโt immediately respond, but she tilted her head in greeting. He seemed very nervous โ not that Reigns wasnโt as well. โWell, we certainly have a lot of catching up to do.โ
Indeed.
Another person spoke โ another male. โYeah, I suppose we do have a lot of talking to do,โ the other person said. โSo, who wants to go first?โ
Well, best to get this over with. She pointed to herself. โReigns,โ she told them. She didnโt elaborate beyond that โ yet.
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Post by Flame on Aug 12, 2020 0:19:58 GMT -5
(Sorry for being slow! Yeah, my replies should be shorter after this. There were some things I didnโt quite get to in the first one.)
- Seraphina -
After Staden had come to tell her the carriage would be arriving soon, the afternoon seemed to fly by for Seraphina. She had spent what little time she had with Meoni and her next closest friend Aros. Meoni and Aros snuck Seraphina down to the the small garden that was their favorite studying spot. The University had all kinds of nooks and crannies that were perfect for quiet study sessions but many of them were inconspicuous and easy to miss if you didnโt know what you were looking for.
It was almost more of a gazebo than a garden. Stone pillars formed a hexagon and the roof overhead provided a comfortable shade during the hot months. The bushes that grew along the edges of the hexagon were dotted with bright flowers and the vines that grew up the pillars blew gently in the breeze. Seraphina knew she would miss this place. No doubt the Arch House had gardens but the people were part of what made this one special. The three had sat on the stone benches chatting and reminiscing until Aros stood up and pointed to an elaborately decorated carriage making its way to the University gates.
Seraphina took that as her cue and reluctantly left the sanctuary of the garden. She walked with Aros and Meoni to the main door and was able to give them each a hug before being ushered outside into the crowd that surrounded the carriage. She couldnโt remember if she smiled and waved or not โ she had planned to but she hadnโt expected such crowds and fanfare and was taken aback by it all โ but soon enough she found herself inside the carriage away from all the prying eyes. She wasnโt completely alone; Staden, it seemed, would be accompanying her on the journey to Cypra. It seemed a little odd to her but she didnโt question it since sheโd never been in this position before and felt she was less familiar with the customs than most since she was for another country.
The carriage began to pull away and she took one last look at the University and her two friends growing smaller as she was carried away. Any notions sheโd had about feeling equal to the task of ruling had vanished and she felt nothing but deflated and exhausted.
The ride to Cypra had taken the better part of the day. Sheโd spent some of it trying to chat with Staden but neither were really in a talkative mood. As the driver carefully navigate the bustling streets of the city, Seraphina pulled back the curtains on the carriage and took in the city as they passed. It was her first time in Cypra and though she knew she had plenty of time to get to know the city, she couldnโt help trying to take everything in. It certainly had a different feel and an even more different look to Nasso which sheโd visited on many occasions.
As they approached the Arch House (she vaguely recalled learning about the home of the Royals in one of her classes) the crowds became even more dense and soon she had to pull her head away from the window to avoid being grabbed at by overly-enthusiastic townsfolk. When the carriage came to a stop, the door was opened and several guards helped Seraphina down and began to escort her toward the monstrous palace that was the Arch House.
Yes, the University was big in itโs own way but the presence of the Arch House was unmistakably regal. It was all Seraphina could do to not just stop and stare and take it all in. This time she remembered to smile at the crowds that cheered as she was lead into the house though it may not have been the most convincing smile. As soon as the doors closed behind her and muffled the cheers and shouts, her brows furrowed and her face fell back into the anxious expression sheโd been wearing for most of the day. It got worse as she looked around at those who were there to greet her and she realized how plain she must look to them in her plain brown dress and a simple braided hairstyle.
The next hour was a blur as she was greeted by Archer, informed that the coronation would be taking place that evening, and shown to the garden where the others were beginning to gather. They had said her rooms were ready and as badly as she wanted to change, she was afraid sheโd lose her nerve if she didnโt go to the garden now. Even so, she slipped into the garden as quietly and inconspicuously as possible. There were a few other there but no one seemed to be talking yet so she became very interested in the flowers growing on the bush next to her, hoping someone else would break the silence.
It was a few minutes before that wish came true. There were a few hellos, some comments about everyone needing to catch up and she learned that the woman with very blonde hair and intense blue-green eyes was called Reigns. It reminded her of the times her professors had divided the class into smaller groups and everyone had to introduce themselves to their new partners. Though it seemed like no one wanted to share and she couldnโt quite understand why.
With a quiet sigh, Seraphina straightened up and stepped forward a little. โHello everyone, Iโm Seraphina DeCalista,โ she said, her clear voice breaking through the silence. โI was chosen to represent the University.โ She hesitated before adding, โIโm not from Ilenfore but It has become my home. I hope I can become a leader the country can be proud of.โ With that she gave a small smile and then stepped back to let them know she was done. Sheโd said a bit more than she had initially intended, some of her own worries slipping out. But they were going to find out eventually that she wasnโt from Ilenfore so it might as well come from her. She just hoped most of her new partners were open-mindedโฆ
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