Blood Red Sunrise: The Path To Oblivion

[Mosaic]

A new day rises, and with the sun comes a hustling of life to Ovoria. Fisherman putting out their boats for the morning gatherings, and farmers feeding the livestock and tending to their crops. Today was no ordinary day however, as today was the day to renew treaties that were made so long ago between Morvant and it's people not within the castle walls. Shandal gave a shiny white smile while wearing his hood to protect his face from the sun, appreciating the time put into bettering Morvant and its people.

As the nobles arrived, so did the knights who swore fealty and had escorted their lords to the castle. Each dressed to match their lord, Shandal greeted them as he greeted the man who bore the treaty to be restored. After all had been gathered inside the castle, they were escorted to the heart of the castle where a table sat in front of the throne of the King and Queen who looked upon their guests and friends, their elegance shining above all others. Shandal eased down to a knee with his head bowed before His Majesty, the rest of the nobles and knights following his action. "My King, the lords have arrived to continue Ovoria's peace."

"Very well Shandal, let us await for Amzesh and Kaleo. They should be here within proper time, they know not to keep such events waiting."

The King looked around the candle lit room. There were no windows, and only one door, guards had been placed around the walls of the room for reassurance sakes. Gathering nobles from around the country and gathering them into one room often spelled disaster, the King took no chances. He had called back several guards from the allied cities to escort the human nobles and reinforce the castle, along with hiring mercenaries from the group. Guards all around the room, outside the doors, and lining and patrolling the hallways and passages of the castle. Dark stone walls, marble floors, pieces of art stood and hung on walls. Pieces not
necessarily bought, more obtained over centuries ranging from simple to extravagant.

The castle itself was no small feat, it had not been built but carved from rock face, protruding from the side of a cliff and the deeper inner workings of the castle tunneled into the rock face to provide its daylight challenged inhabitants refuge to retreat to. Its outer grounds and courtyard graced beautiful gardens tended by humans who had taken residence within the city of the Morvant Clan.

The city housed an numerous population of vampires, lycan, and humans all coexisting, as that was the law of the city, all who enter must not bring harm to one another despite race. A law that was firmly enforced.

However our focus is not on the city, but two young men traveling the outer parts of the castle in the late afternoon, one of light toned skin, blond hair, and a boyish face. The other wrapped in a cloak and shear cloth covering his eyes as he passed the many windows allowing sunlight in, his skin pale, with lips to match, short raven black hair, and nearly a foot taller than the one in the lead. These boys were brothers, of a sort, the blond boy was the adopted human prince of the family Kaleo, and the other Amzesh, the blood prince and elder brother.

"Come brother, your day is coming and you have done nothing to ready yourself for it."

"Truely must we Kaleo? I can do this on my own."

"And we've seen how far it has gotten you, slapped across the face by every girl you speak to. You hide yourself away in the castle, focusing on nothing more than your studies. You must learn how to speak to a woman, to sway her."

"This can be learned by talking with father."

"He's old and been married for centuries, the times have changed, and he is forcing the change by letting us choose our brides after our eighteenth year."

The two boys bantered back and forth as they walked through the corridors approaching a group of fair ladies, daughters of nobles, some human, some vampiress.

"Come Amzesh, I'll show you how it's done."

"Can this wait? We really must be at the council room with father and the noblemen."

"Just a few more minutes Amzesh."

"No, I shouldn't have come. I'm going to go back, you should do the same."

Kaleo folded his arms as the loose sleeve slipped down his forearm.
"Fine, I'll be behind you give me a few minutes at least."

"Don't dally brother, father has no patience for important events such as this."

[Wattz]

“It is an impressive domain, is it not?”

“I beg your pardon, Your Highness?”

“You appear startled.”

Quentin Von Fiore shrugged, unaware that he had dropped his natural composure. Just seeing Morvant over the horizon was enough to make his brown eyes widen ever slightly. The lord he had been assigned to escort to the city was more perceptive than he thought, keeping an unbearably close eye on the knight’s actions.

“Perhaps so, Your Highness.” He remained polite, dimples bared in a charming smile, but his eyebrows raised in annoyance. If this man had been anything lower than royalty he would not have been so kind towards the remark. The knight was always cautious and never overstepped his boundaries, though, and was quite careful to not upset the man. He knew well his place as protector, even if the little upgrade from nobility to royalty caused his chest to swell with pride.

Yet the royal continued to speak, chuckling as if he fancied himself a wise old sage looking down upon the youthful. “It is quite alright. New scenery can be quite overwhelming, especially to one as inexperienced as yourself.”

“That it is, Your Highness.” Quent agreed in civil (though he would be loath to use the term) obedience.

As they trekked through the city, he was more than careful to keep his eyes staring straight ahead, and to not marvel at the spectacle around him.

Inexperienced my ass.

At long last, they were lead inside the castle, stepping into a room dipped in the glow of flickering candlelight. Quent’s blonde locks and other flawless features were not shrouded by the dim lighting, something that (if a mirror had been present) he was quite thankful for. The orange blaze reflected well upon his polished silver armor, his face unconcealed by a helmet. He acted accordingly to the situation, and as his lord took his seat, Quent stood by his right side with immaculate posture. As he awaited further instruction, his eyes wandered to the antique paintings before him, like vain attempts at preserving history. He also eyed the others suspiciously, ever quick to judge their appearances as more filed into the dark room.

[Stryker]

After recieving notice of a job to be brought aboard to assist in the escort for the renewal of the lands treaties, Maes had found himself amongst a large group of people that looked to be in his situation or at least similar in a way that they were not guards or knights but simply mercenaries that were hired to ensure their safety.

"The size of this castle is astonishing..." he thought to himself as his group came upon the kingdom slowly.

Due to him not being aligned within the kingdom and, instead, being a mercenary. He wasn't positioned near the carriage that no doubt carried royalty into the castle walls. Instead he was positioned near the rear of the caravan as they entered into the castle's wide-swept stone walls, undoubtedly he and the few where he strode were considered more-or-less expendable. The sheer size causing almost all to stop and simply stare, awe-struck at it's magnificence.

Once entering it's walls, Maes glanced around at the people that lined the streets, eager to see a face that would ultimately remain hidden from their lesser-priviledged eyes.

"If it weren't for the fact that I'm employed by them, there's no doubt that I'd be side by side with them. Starving to see a face of someone who would no sooner strike me down for treason were it true or for show for the masses." he muttered under his breath as they continued on, soon enough arriving at their destination.

[Higurashi]

At the edge of the forest, a band of Lycan watched the exctement in the city. It disgusted them. They smply couldn't understand how the paleskins lived in the flth that they called homes. WOuldn't they rather test themselves against the Wild, survving by their wits alone? No. They were content to live in their structures, using the Lycan's most vile enemy, Fire, to warm themselves.

Lesina brushed her hand over her comfortable fur, feeling its silkyness. She took great pride in her golden fur. She cleaned it properly, using her raspiing tounge to keep it neat while bathing in a stream or brook. Back home this was a test of strength, to bath. Many dangerous things lurked in those waters, yet Lesina persisted.

Now she was here, the farthest noth she had ever been. In fact, only one of the group had been here before, the leader of the pack, Casa. The female said she had been all over the world in her wanderings, and so far he drections had been correct.

Finally, with a certain reluctance the pack left the shelter of the trees, trotting to the city gates. As they trotted, Lesina looked around herself, noticing the stares of the people nearby. She thought they were staring at the weapons they carried. She never considered that the people might consider them to be exotic beauties. Untouchable, but desirable.

As they neared the gates, they got yet more attention, this time from the guards. One or two cat-called and whistled, but were quickly quieted by theiir wiser elders. When they reached the gates, Casa unrolled a small parchment from a tube she had been carrying. She showed it to a guard, and he let them pass.

The group entered the city, still at a trot. People splt like an ocean for the group of seven. One man reached out to touch Lisena as she passed, but pulled back his hand. 'Smart move,' Lisena thought. 'You wouldn't have gotten that hand back.'

After what seemed to bee an eternity of walking and turning corners, the groupo finally reached the Palace. Lesina was thoroughly disgustewd with the city by now, and wanted to leave as soon as possible. Once again the guards let them through at the sight of the parchment. Lesina wondered what that scroll could contain. She had never learned to read, she hadn't needed to. In fact, only the clan Elder and Casa knew how to from their wanderngs.

As they walked into the palace, Casa warned them to make no foul moves, and to stay silent. They attracted many stares, and Lesina could feel lustful eyes upon her. The group quietly in a corner of the main gathering room, and most gave them a respectfully wide berth. There was one flirtatious nobel who came to close, but a glare from Lesina scared him off.

[Repent!]

Shandal's eyes met Amzesh upon his entrance and gave a short nod, hoping to see his brother Kaleo shortly after. As the minutes passed however, and Kaleo was still nowhere to be seen, Shandal grew impatient, though merely smiled to the guests while motioning for a scribe. "Excuse my...curtness, but there is one last issue that needs handling this morning, and I must take a short leave. My scribe will take down any discrepancies you may have during today's business, and I assure you if I have to handle the matter myself, your issue will be addressed. Just speak to this boy here with your name and he will pass it along to me when the day ends." Shandal then passed the ring used for his seal on the treaty to the king giving a look meaning something along the lines of 'I shouldn't be too long', then promtly exited the building.

[Mosaic]

The various noble's of the Morvant clan itself looked on and discussed among themselves the hopes they have for the clan as a whole. They occasionally turned when a new representative came into the room, to be among humans was no uncommon occurrence for them. Each one had hopes for the king and spoke of how they hope his longevity brings further prosperity to the clan and their city, they spoke also of going's on around the land they owned around the outskirts of the city and what they hoped the king would help resolve.

It was no odd sight to see the human nobles discussing with these vampire nobles.

Baron Derchvel stood around with a group of the human nobles who owned land containing mines rich in metals and minerals. He was by far the most successful noble among the clan who owned mining lands. He stood there discussing how he managed to protect his transports and maximize his output of materials from his mines. However lately he himself had been having to hire help from guilds to help protect his mines from day raids since his city was mostly vampires. Few humans traveled as far east as his small city lay.

Duke Graos, a stocky elder vampire, had been with the clan for centuries. He was a younger acquaintance of Shandal, once an apprentice of the Royal adviser. He was not so much a land owner. He owned an impressive estate within the city, and held a business that tracked all those who stepped foot inside the city, and left the city. It was Shandal himself who had helped him establish this small business and earned Graos the position of Duke, though his diluted relation to the old royal family helped sway the decision in his favor.

However when Casa and her escort walked into the room, a few of the vampiric nobles scowled and dismissed the look from their faces. As important as the ceasefires with the lycan were, the Morvant were no more thrilled to have them IN their city, than the lycan were to be here. However for appearances sake and showing that there was no hostility between them, they were given the respective greetings that each representatives deserved. The king himself waited for the greetings to end before approaching Casa and Lesina.

He gave the lycan the space they desired between them and himself. However, he approached close enough for proper conversation to be taken. "Lady Casa, I am pleased to see you accepted our invitation." Human nobles muttered comments to themselves about how amazed they were that the Morvant king had invited 'ferals' into his home. Those Morvant nobles within hearing range of the humans shot them glares to indicate such labels should not be used in this situation. The king, however, continued, "After all, this meeting involves our clans as much as it involves the human clans. Please, come with me so we may speak of anything you desire before all is under way." He gestured to the far side of the room where he and his children would sit, Casa and her escorts seats would not be far from their own. Another gesture that he trusted them enough to keep them close, that and he was confident enough that if they tried anything he could be done with them himself.

Then his son Amzesh entered the room and began removing his cloak and draping it over his right fore arm, along with removing the shroud from his eyes, green eyes darted around the room, putting names with faces. Histories, settlements, political and status standings, he knew everyone in this room, and where they stood with his father.

"Your brother has not arrived behind you." Shandal said to him in a hushed tone. "Where is he, this will not look well on the family."
"The courtyard on the other side of the castle is where I left him. He told me he would be behind me, no doubt he his trying to sway a noble's daughter."


"Excuse my...curtness, but there is one last issue that needs handling this morning, and I must take a short leave. My scribe will take down any discrepancies you may have during today's business, and I assure you if I have to handle the matter myself, your issue will be addressed. Just speak to this boy here with your name and he will pass it along to me when the day ends."

The king looked to his advisor as he spoke and waved his hand in a side motion dismissing Shandal from the room, and would return to the conversation he was having with Casa.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As his brother had said, Kaleo was indeed still in the courtyard. He had not even bothered to think of leaving as he seemed in a trance of a conversation with a young lady by the flower paths in the courtyard. She had red hair that shone in the morning light like the red gemstones of her family ring she wore among her slender fingers on her right hand. He clothing was a simple set, but highly colorful.

Other girls within the courtyard glanced over at the two and seemed to be gossiping, whether it was of the two of them speaking or of one of them, you could not tell.

"Such a beautiful garden your family has my prince. I have been here only once before as a little girl. These gardens have only become more beautiful since." she said taking a lily gently in her hands and raising it back into the row of flowers as it had seemed to have slumped out of place from the morning dew.

"Yes, I have come here many times between my lessons to look on it. This garden as many things, has only become more beautiful. Care and a gentle hand is all that is needed."

"Your family has far more that I expected in such short time. To know such a peace between such different people exists, is reassuring. It gives one hope for the future of this land."

"Yes it does. My brother will be the next to take the legacy our father and his father and those before them have set. He is, and will make for a great man, and when his time comes he will need a great woman beside him."

[Repent!]

Shandal smiled while still walking out of the room with the nobles, though once outside of the room, he took every shortcut he could to get to the courtyard in a timely manner...meaning in the next 30 seconds. When he arrived in the courtyard, he slowed back down to a walking pace and imeadiately found Kaleo flirting with the noble girl who was gigling and blushing. He moved gently towards the two, his poise and cool demeanor overpowering the fact that Shandal had the sudden urge to toss Kaleo over the castle with his bare hands. Nothing and no one was going to ruin this day. He approached the two and slowly peered over Kaleo's shoulder and slowly whispered, "You're late."

Before Kaleo coud respond though, Shandal leaned his head up and looked at the noble's daughter with a smile, and kept it as he picked up on the facial features almost immeadiately. 'Martin Lorenzio's daughter....great.', Shadal thought to himself. Lorenzio was always the snobby one of the humans. One would think living for fifteen hundred years, you could hear all the gloating in the world...

"Pardon me Miss Lorenzio, but I must borrow Kaleo. His attendance at the meeting your father is attending is quite crucial right now." He then looked at Kaleo with a big shiny smile on his face. "Not to mention once this is over, he is just dying to get back to practicing with his warfan."

"A-a warfan?" she quizically replied.

"Yes it is quite and elegant weapon. Though a little effeminate if you ask me."

She giggled again and nodded. "Farewell then Lord Shandal, and farewell to you as well Prince...I hope your skill with your warfan is on par with your words." She then smiled and walked away. Shandal's smile quickly faded as he darted his eyes towards Kaleo's. "Move. Now." Knowing Kaleo his whole life, Shandal knew that his words would bring protest from the boy. All he did though was point in the direction of the meeting hall. "Now."

[Wattz]

Christophe Valen, the noble Quent had been escorting, was surprisingly introverted when surrounded by fellow royals. He was almost too old and tired to carry on much of a conversation, though he did nod politely and give his well-placed praises every once in a while. He still seemed more interested in making casual remarks to Quent, who continued to respond politely but succinctly.

Then the two lycan walked in, their glossy fur stunted momentarily by the candlelight. Quent was rather confused to see them in the presence of vampires. He himself was not a big fan of them, finding lycan to be utterly barbaric.

“Strange that the Morvant would invite them….” Valen whispered so lightly to Quent that he almost didn’t catch it. Then the noble added on in an even more hushed tone, as if assuming the knight had never seen a lycan before. “Beautiful things, are they not?”

He had seen lycan before, though quite briefly. Quent was far less impressed by their appearance than he was by the palace exterior, however. He had the tendency to be indifferent when it came to women, no matter how exotic.

But he nodded instead. “Indeed, Your Highness.”

Quent was disheartened that the meeting still had yet to commence, despite the fact that more of the royal family had seeped in to the room. He was eager for it to begin, not only because he grew weary of Valen, but also because he had a nose for politics.

[Tune]

“Eh? A lady is traveling by her lonesome? Are ye wishing ill upon yourself?”

“No, kind sir. My purpose is just. I wish not to burden another soul during these rough times to take time away from their duties to accompany me to Morvant Castle,” said Gabriel with a placid smile.

“Ye should take someone along with you, for protection’s sake. My son, he would gladly escort you to the Castle,” the farmer said, propping his pitchfork up against the rickety wooden fence.

She grimaced, shifting the horse –and herself- away from the fence, “I could not burden your family in such a manner. My Lord will guide me safely to my destination. Can you point me in the direction of the castle? I am needed there on important business.”

The farmer scratched his brow, thinking for a long moment. His shoulders slumped in defeat, and he muttered, “Your Lord had better be watching over you, lady.” He commenced to giving her directions.

“I wish your swine the best of health; may they be plum, and their meat abundant. Thank you for all your help.”

She tugged her cloak’s hood over her head to shadow her pale skin. Even in her travel’s, she had failed to neither get a tan, nor draw much attention from those who commit adultery in their hearts casually for lusting after those they were not wed. As her mare trotted further away from the farm, she casted a glance over her shoulder; the old man was still watching her even as she departed. His concern for her well being must truly be genuine. No lycan would risk an attack on this day. The treaties’ being renewed was too important to incite a war by rash behavior from any side. The Morvant Clan would surely put an end to anyone who dared interrupt.

She arrived hours later with the sun high in the sky, her bottom hurting from the long days she had traveled to aid the call of Reverend Dunshire. She would have arrived the day before the Ovoria treaty renewal. Her horse whined from beneath her, stomping its hooves impatiently.

“Steady, old girl. I will find you a stable to rest in for the duration of my stay,” she assured, patting the brown mane of her mare.
She gave great thanks for the swine farmer who gave her the correct directions. Apparently, members of the church she agreed to pay a visit to hardly ventured pass the Castle walls. Because of them, she lost a whole day’s travel, and ended up at the Castle on one of the most crucial days for the future of Ovoria. After her days of travel, she was aching for a decent meal, and a good night’s sleep. Life on the road was not kind to her, just as Master Dominique warned. How could she possibly say no to a trip to the legendary Castle of the Morvant Clan? She couldn’t, that was for sure. Her journeys might one day be the death of her, though as long as she died for a noble cause, the thought worried her not.

Dismounting her horse, she wrapped the reigns around her wrist, and strolled over towards the guard’s posted at the entrance to the castle. From all the murmurs, gossip was aflutter from some of the noble’s that had entered for the treaty renewal meeting. One of the guards’ held out a hand as she approached.

“Halt! State your purpose here.”

“My purpose is to serve under the Reverend Dunshire, fulfilling the duty of my Lord. I bare no threat,” Gabriel recited, fishing out a rolled up piece of parchment from the folds of her cloak.

“Everything seems in order. Please proceed, but be warned: stepping inside the castle’s grounds, leave all your prejudice behind, or certain doom shall befall you.”

[Mosaic]

Lesina acknowledged the King with a nod. While she wasn't particularly fond of humans, or the King specifically, she recognized his authority and kindness in greeting them himself.

Casa meanwhile waved for the pack to follow her to the area the King had indicated. As they walked towards it, the crowd split a little to let them pass, with many malevolent glares following them.



Though even as displeased as the vampiric nobles were to see Lycan in the castle, let alone the city, they knew all too well how important it was to keep what peace there was between them and lycan tribes. Ruining the ceasefire would eliminate the trade routes they were granted, so long as the caravans stayed on those trails and did not wander off the paths, or linger too long within the territory.

He stood facing Casa, as Lesina and the rest of Casa's escort fell to her flanks and behind her, a simple formation to protect Casa. The king understood this, even though there was a ceasefire between them, and with his laws in place, the escort exercised caution. "Please, speak as you wish Casa, tell me of any concern you have so that we might keep our terms strong between our clans. Your presence here shows that your faith in us has come a ways from those years past." Perhaps it was trust, or a sense of duty to ensure the safety of her whole clan that compelled her to accept the invitation.
When the two clans first clashed, it resulted in a body count on both sides neither wished to repeat.
Casa and the pack finally reached the area indicated. They were by no feeling somewhat nervous to say the least. Most, except Casa and Lesina were edgy, to say the least. Meanwhile the same pesky noble from earlier had returned with some of his friends. Now more confident, he walked over to Lesina and spoke.

"Hello madam lycan! It is wonderful to have you here! If I may, would you mind if I gave you and your pack leader a tour of the general area?"

Lesina wasn't sure how to meet this request. Looking over at Casa out of the corner of her eye, Lesina saw Casa's nod. Lesina then turned back to the noble and accepted his offer, though not without a certain level of doubt.

One of Casa's escort was nothing to worry about or to cause the meeting to be held behind. The young noble was not a concern either as he was the son of one of the other Nobles present. Shandal had left to retrieve the last straggler of the meeting, Kaleo. He at least wanted to show Casa that he meant for peace between them by at least hearing her out before Shandal returned.

"I believe you should have nothing to worry about with your escort. Our laws within the city walls are strict and enforced to full capabilities." Lycan, from what the King had seen in the past, may have been Alpha based in clan structure, but often looked after one another.

He watched as Lesina and the young noble both left the room, and turned his attention back fully to Casa. "Now then, is there any thing that my caravans and their escorts could be of any help along the paths you have allowed us to use? You allow us the use of your trail, it is only right we render any help we can in exchange."


"If your offer is genuine Your Magesty," the words rolled past stinging her lips. She held no ill will to the man himself, but the fact that a Lycan had to refer to a vampire as king was degrading. "Strange disappearances have occured through our territory. They are mainly groups of prey we've tracked, though some of our patrols have gone missing as well." However, she would not be allowed to go into full detail as the doors opened once more as Shandal entered with Kaleo at his side. Casa turned when the young man's name was called to acknowledge his presence. "It seems your advisor is quick on his feet."

"Yes, it seems so. I had hoped he would not return so quickly so I might hear your concerns. However, with my son's presense here, we must begin the council. I assure you, the rest of your concerns will be addressed." He gestured to the chair a few seats down. "Please take a seat with your escort at your side. We will also allow your other escort to rejoin you when she returns."

She had been offered to voice any issues her clan had, and then been told it had to wait. It was no good to draw things out more than needed. However, she was in no place to question how the Morvant conducted their business. She turned, rejoined her escort, and took her place amongst the rest of the council meeting.

[Repent!]

Kaleo stood between Shandal and Lorenzio's daughter, stuck in a state between shock and outrage that one of his teachers would embarrass him before a noble's daughter. A war fan? Is that what his master had come to for diffusing a conversation. "War fans? I would never touch such flimsy and feminine things." the words rang as thoughts as he wanted to make them audible, however he was still left momentarily speechless as Shandal finished the conversation with the young noble-to-be.

"Move. Now." Shandal spoke.

Kaleo's spiteful gaze was enough protest, Shandal had embarrassed him in front of a young lady he was not even trying to woo for himself. His master at this moment wasn't even worth the breath of protest.

"Now." Shandal pointed in the direction of the doors that would lead them back through the halls towards the council chambers.

He stood his ground for just a moment, and then turned and walked towards the doors, swinging them wide open. He was still young, hot headed, and prone to momentary fits when properly provoked. Shandal knew just how to provoke him too. Even as he walked away from the courtyard in a child's fit, he still retained his posture and broadened his shoulders. He was still growing, even trying to broaden his shoulders, his frame was still that of a young boy's, naive and inexperienced in the world.

Shandal kept pace with the boy through the doors and into the council chambers as he stormed off, keeping his tact about the fact that Shandal just viciously shamed Kaleo, his own student. Of course he felt horrible for how he ended Kaleo's conversation with the girl, but it had to be done. Kaleo had to understand the importance of attendance during important diplomatic matters such as today's. His skirt chasing habits would just have to wait until the days end.

Shandal observed the King conversing with the southern Lycan leader as he entered the room behind Kaleo. 'Damn, why did I have to move so quickly?! Why did it have to be Blood Rift that I would interrupt? Of all the southern Lycan clans in Ovoria, why that one?' Shandal thought to himself as he pressed forward giving a slight nod toward the lycan clan leader before returning to his seated position in the council chambers. Once he saw Kaleo had taken a seat next to his brother, he stood before the lords and spoke,

"Attention all. I greatly thank for your kindness and patience while I handled some, final obligations. Now this meeting of the council will come to order. Today's agenda shall consist of treaty renewals and agreements first, then we will offer you the ability to air your discrepancies, so that we may better aid your towns and villages.
Now let us begin."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shandal would take the time to address each noble present at the meeting and lining out their town's history with Morvant over the last year. At the end of each announcement the King would call for vote to keep the treaty between his son's, Shandal, himself, and the rest of Morvant's councilmen.

"Baron Idell, your mining town to the west has supplied us with valuable minerals and metals over the past five years you have been with us. However, in the last six months your production and delivery to us has waned in an excessive amount that is concerning to our mutual benefit." Shandal walked across the room beside the king. "We have provided you with the all the soldiers we can spare to help you protect your mines and transports." To keep the meeting brief everything was summarized with the necessary details. The king spoke next, "All for the renewal of our treaty with Idell, speak now." Few spoke in favor of giving Idell another chance. "Baron Idell, your request for renewal has been denied. Your soldiers you sent to us will return with you when you leave." "This is an outrage! We have explained to your council our issues!" "Baron Idell, do not speak out of turn. In the next year you will be invited to the next council to petition for a new treaty, that is if you can gather your resources and troops together and protect your lands."

"This is unacceptable! We provide the finest metals for your clan!"

"And other towns vie for the treaty we have with you. We can find other mining towns with equally fine materials. Take your seat Baron, or you will be removed from the council. I advise that it is in your best interest to not find your way to our bad side."

The Council continued on, two more treaties were denied, and representatives from three new towns seeking treaties with Morvant, were granted a year treaty to show that their towns could deliver. Then came for the Bloodrift Clan. Casa stood and explained the situation with their disappearing hunts and hunter groups. Speaking of old legends of the forest, some nobles spoke out against helping calling such beliefs the superstitions of animals. The king showed no interest in their reactions. In fact the King himself spoke with Casa, with Shandal at his back. After proper negotiations, Casa handed over a bone necklace to Shandal. An agreement had been made to allow Morvant to send small armed patrols to stay along the path they had agreed on, to keep an eye out for anything suspicious. Should the patrols see anything, one of the men were to take the necklace and seek the first of Casa's clan they could find. The necklace would signify they had a message that had to be delivered to Casa directly and that they were not violating the agreements.

A couple of hours later the process came to a close and Shandal gave parting words to all the lords and their knights. Kaleo knew his part was over, so Shandal wasn't as perturbed when he saw that they had both disappeared from their seats. He was hoping to have caught Kaleo before he left to explain the earlier events, but it looked like he would not be able to find him till before supper. Despite his size, Kaleo had an appetite the size of a boulder and was known to never skip a meal.

[Jacogos]

Far to the north of the Morvant castle were the mountains of the frozen north, and beyond that lay the lands of the northern lycans. Huge, unsightly beasts that can tear a man limb from limb without breaking a sweat, that prey on humans as appetizers for their unholy meals, that use femurs as toothpicks. Or, so the rumors go. You know how that goes.

We wish you to focus on one lycan in particular, on one clan in particular, on one branch of the lycan race in particular. This man is Rakell Lyrent, of the Taintling clan, a clan completely based off of humans infected by lycanthropy. This clan is at home in the mountains mentioned currently, and the man is off by himself at the point in time we come to him, just after the diplomatic meeting has adjourned far to the south.

Rakell stared out over the foothills with a dull interest as he stood at the top of a mountain. Well, as close to the top as was lycanly possible, far higher than a normal human would go. He was there to contemplate life, as directed by his master and friend, Elder Malo. Truthfully, his disliked this task, seeing it as not too unlike that of the monks of the human kingdoms. However, he was in no place to question his master, so here he was, contemplating. Movement out in the foothills caught his attention, so he looked closer and found a small patrol of men snooping around just barely in sight of his vantage point. He continued to watch and saw one man stoop down to look at something, then beckon at his fellows. They all came and gathered around something, and then, at length, got up and moved off out of sight. Rakell thought a moment, then slowly picked his way down the mountain towards where the men had been.

After he had gotten to the base, he paused, wondering if he should really be going off without telling the camp. He thought a moment, then whistled a birdcall. It was answered, and he repeated the call. At that moment, a medium-sized bird alighted a small shrub nearby and chirruped at him. He smiled and quickly jotted down an excuse on a scrap of paper, tying the message to one of the bird's legs. He quickly asked the spirits to guide the animal to his master, then waited. After a moment, the bird screeched and took off in the general direction of the camp. Satisfied, Rakell set off. In a few hours, Rakell had traveled nearly twice the horizontal distance in vertical miles. Finally, he reached the general area the patrol had been in.

It didn't take him long to find the source of their interest. Sprawled out on the top of one of the lower hills, a man was torn nearly to shreds, to the point where it was hardly recognizable as a man. Grimacing, Rakell cast a simple spell that had the earth take the body into its embrace, giving him a proper, if unorthodox, burial. After a moment, he turned and looked for a place to set up camp, since it would be dark long before he got to the clan. He quickly made a campfire from twigs and dead wood, then laid out himself so that he could take in the heat as it burned. Now he thought again.

Why couldn't the lycans just leave the humans alone? This incident, if not already, would soon be at the villages nearby, and they'd probably send more patrols outs. All those patrols would have only one thing on their mind: killing any lycan they saw. He sighed. The clan would NOT like this one bit. Hell, he didn't like it one bit. He half expected one of those patrols to come upon him as he slept, and kill him right there. No man in their right mind would pass that offer up, he though with another grimace. With no more thoughts, he slipped into sleep, his dreams filled with slaughter and Kilvii.

[Tune]

Gabriel took the rolled up parchment from the guard, and took a few steps into the city before a young boy, possibly a squire, had ran up to the guards. He was almost out of breath, panting with beads of sweat trickling down his foreheads.

"Pardon my interruption, but I was given a message to deliver," the squire said, squaring his shoulders towards the disapproving guards'.

"Well, out with it boy."
"We haven't all day to wait."

The squire flushed, and reached beneath his tunic for what would be the piece of parchment. Unrolling it, he peered down at the ink words scribbled on the paper. He read aloud, "No outsiders are allowed to enter the Castle during the treaty renewals which are now underway. Please direct all whom wish to enter towards the local Inn for accommodations."

Gabriel seemed as shocked as the guards were as they were staring at the young squire as if he was mad. I guess their duties changed, she mused. One of the guards, a burly man with a rugged beard snatched the parchment from the squire who cowered back from the larger man. He couldn't be more than seventeen. He might've been attractive if he did not have a problem with his teeth.

"M-m-my apologies, Sirs. I was just told to deliver you the message. I was just informed only minutes ago."

She felt sorry for the boy, but, as a visitor, she had no right to intervene in matters not her own. She smiled reassuringly, and rubbed the side of her mare's neck who neighed loudly beside her. The passing of the message went from one guard to the next the crumpled parchment found its self in the hands of the squire. She could not read the expressions of the guards' clearly pass their helms, but if she had to wager, they were not fond of the sudden change. Stiffening their backs, they turned to Gabriel after dismissing the squire who scampered off without a backwards glance.

"I apologize, m'am, for the inconvenience," the younger, more attractive guard said, bowing his head, "you will have to wait in the Inn just pass the castle gates' till we find an escort for you after the treaty renewal is over."

"It seems not everyone is too fond of all the strangers entering the castle today," the burly guard scoffed, "ye better be on yer best behavior, missy."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Wyren's Head Inn was a quaint little place nestled in between other buildings of various uses. She had heard people mentioning the marketplace being further into the city, and she wondered if she could get directions to the church Rev. Dunshire was in. To be honest, she had never even heard of the aging man until her master gave her orders to help him with some ailment he seemed to have. A demonic problem would hardly show up in a place like this. She was sure there were others who could have helped, but since Master Dominique was busy, she had to take his place.

Till the time being, she relaxed at the Inn, waiting for an escort that never came. What was she to do? She heard talk that the treaty renewal was over, and wondered whether or not the consequences of leaving on her own would be worth getting lost. She sighed; this was not what I had planned. She had left her mare at the closest stables she could find, and she hoped her dear horse had rested well in the last couple of hours they had been forced to wait. The meal was good, and the service was decent. She desperately wished for the day’s end. She was in need of a good wash, fresh clothes, and a fitful night’s sleep. The journey wasn’t even worth the hassle. Maybe I should rethink my career as a traveling exorcist. She hated to admit it, even to herself, but maybe Master Dominique was right; traveling was not good for a woman as young as her. Stifling a yawn, she decided to book a room for the night. Traveling to see the Reverend could wait till she was rested.

[Stryker]

Although deep down he knew that some would be there considering the magnitude of the gathering, he had hoped he wouldn't have to see them with his own eyes.

"Lycans..." he muttered under his breath while his hatred for the entire race came bubbling to the surface. He knew that this group wasn't the one responsible for the death of his family, but as far as he was concerned they were all just a blight that should've been taken care of long ago.

"Maes, your hands." a voice spoke up from behind him, belonging to a man he had befriended on the long trek. "They're shaking, have you come down with something?" he asked, a tinge of genuine concern flowing freely in his voice.

"No, Illness isn't what strikes me and causes my hands to stir..."

"Then why?"

Maes wanted to say, but he couldn't due to the possibility of someone hearing and alerting someone that an armed man had escorted royalty and harbored a strong hatred for another race of individuals. "Nerves are what grab me, nothing more Asner."

"Nerves? Why that's the more absurd thing I've heard since getting paid to escort a king to a land meet or whatever this may be!" Asner bellowed, clearly showing that he failed to understand the magnitude of this meeting as well as letting his ignorance shine through his hearty and friendly exterior.

While Asner conjured up more laughter amongst the others that stood with them, Maes simply tuned out the surroundings and started flashing back to that night that his life changed forever.

"One day... My family..." he thought to himself.

[Mosaic]

A small patrol from the city had doubled through the foothills outside of the Morvant's boundary lines. The sun sat low beyond the foothills as the time drew on and the patrol removed their hoods while within the shaded parts of the hills.

"Such an annoyance, but I'd rather be out here than standing by the gates." said one.
"It's our job however. Best for the clan to keep its guard up, with so many visitors within its lines."
"Enough talking." said the one at the head of the group. "Keep your eyes open for movement. If someone is hiding for something I'd rather they not know where we are!" They seemed to walk for several more hours before coming across a sleeping man.

"What in the Hells?" he looked on. "Who sleeps without cover?" He looked to his subordinates. "Follow quietly." He approached with what little light the growing night offered. He caught a full scent all too familiar, yet different. He grimaced, "Form up. We're taking this one back to the clan."

"What? Who is he?"
"Lycan, from the looks of him. And that smell. He's from the north."
They looked bewildered. Lycan from the north? It was rare to see one here, alone.
"I don't like this at all. Form up, I don't want any mistakes tying him up."
He could only tell this man was from the north, but could not determine if he was half breed or not. Such distinctions were difficult to make out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kaleo ran through the halls of the castle, as soon as that damned meeting had been called to end he had bolted for the door. Politics held no interest for him. He was raised for a sword in his hand, and a shield for the other. He sparred with the squires and the fresh knights. Why he was made to sit through such droll meetings was beyond him. Such things were for his brother Amzesh, not for him.

He had been raised as a young child to know the history of great battles and great army leaders. Tactics, styles, weaponry, he was to be the clan's Battle Master with the Knight-Commander at his side one day. This was the plan set in stone by his "father", yet not completely explained to him. All he had been told was that when he became skilled enough, he would be sent into battle as the clan's arm and blade with the rest of it's defenders. He would be the prince to defend his clan with edge, flesh, and blood.

That's all he cared about. He wanted to show he was ready, that he could best anyone. A hot headed fifteen, in his mind he had something to prove. However his hotheadedness is to some degree, what held him back. That and he still couldn't best all the fresh knights right out of the academy.

He bolted across the courtyard in the setting sun. Everyone would be coming out soon. The days were always busy in the markets and the streets, but at night is when everyone took off their hoods and cloaks. It's the time when you could see the city at its most lively. Maybe he could get out into the markets before Shandal or Graos caught him and dragged him back for more studies. To be honest he had enough of this political bull crap, when was he going back to his studies of wartime strategies?

[Repent!]

As Shandal was leaving towards the doors to the courtyard, a young boy in average clothes approached him with a letter from the castle gate guards. 'Evening courier is early...what gives?' Asking the boy to stay put as he read, he slowly shook his head....an excorcist from the chruch? Here?! After readig the letter and placing it in his coat he then looked to the boy. "Do you know which inn this preist stays?"

"Aye, sir. She left her horse at my stable, and went off to the Wyren's Head. The gate guard then told me to give you that letter and this..." The boy then pulled a ruby pendant out of his pocket and gave it to Shandal, signifying he came from the west gate and the only reason this boy made it this far in the castle. Otherwise he would have been held back at the main doors."She?" Shandal cocked an eyebrow as he took the pendant from the boy and handed him a sapphire ring.

"Aye, m'lord."

"On horse back? By herself?"

"Aye, m'lord."

"Was there any mention why?"

"Not that i know of, sir. I was only told to bring those two items straight to you."

'Good, she's at the last stop on my night run anyways...I'll probably bring Kaleo along after supper, show him that it takes more than swords, shields, and strategy to win battles.' Shandal pulled two silver pieces from his pocket and handed them to the boy as well. "The coins are for you boy, give the ring to the guards at the gate by your stable."

"Many thanks sire." the boy then made his way out the way he came.

[Jacogos]

Rakell was a heavy sleeper, probably the heaviest in the entire Taintling Clan, so at first, he didn't even wake up when the men slipped him over and started tying his hands together. Its when they started trying to stand him up that he finally woke up.

When he did finally wake up, it was an instantaneous thing, his eyes popping open and senses scanning the area. A man was standing him up, and his hands were tied behind his back. He growled, startling the man near him, and asked the spirits to aid him as he grasped the ropes and tore them apart. As he did so, roots burst from the ground and grasped three of them men's legs, the man closest and two others randomly. The roots slowly crawled up their bodies as they struggled to free themselves, and after a moment, the living tendrils squeezed and crushed them.

Rakell finally managed to free himself just before the roots began to squeeze, which gave the other guards time to react. Two rushed him, and Rakel swing and miss, then drew his own short sword and stabbed one in the neck and lopped the other's arm off before sending him flying with a gust of wind. The last man alive managed to stab Rakell in the leg, and he hissed in pain before turning and grabbing the man by the neck and shoving him against a tree.

"Alright, why tie me up, huh? Much easier to simply kill me as I slept, wouldn't it? So why try it? Surly you must know something." He growled out as he held the man there. He sheathed his sword for the moment, and switched hands to grab the man by the front of his cuiress, so he could speak uninterrupted.

[Higurashi]

Lesina returned from her tour of the castle to find that the meeting was over. She wasn't at all happy with how things had gone. It was in her personal intrest to be at the meeting. Afterall, she had wondered what happened at these type of meetings for awhile. To say the least, it had irritated her to be dragged off on some useless venture while such important things were being discussed. She supposed that was how things went though.

Walking over to Casa, Lesina left the nobleman far behind. She gathered up with her group, which appeared to be waiting for her. Casa nodded as she got back into the group. This let Lesina know that she had done something important. She immeadiantly put the castle tour into her more permenant memories. If the castle's layout was important, she would remember.

As the group started heading out of the castle, Lesina took one last look around. It still seemed imposing to her, like an an would feel about a rival anthill. Taking in the smell of the place, she expected it to smell of life. In reality, all it smelled like was a hub of vampires to her. Shaking her head, she followed her pack leader out the castle doors.

In the city, the pack was forced to make a stop. The castle gates had already shut for the night. Looking at the sky, Lesina confirmed that it was indeed sundown. She had not realized that the meeting had take so long. She stood uncomfortabely as Casa worked out some sleeping arrangements with an inkeeper. The cobblestones made her feet sore. It was getting cold too. THe icy air was creeping into her fur and mouth, making her shiver.

Finally, after much arguement, Casa arranged for a set of three rooms for all of the pack members. Entering the inn, Lesina felt strangely out of place. She could still feel malicious stares on her back, even as she walked up to her room. Sitting down on the bed, she and four others were occupying this room.

[Wattz]

Quent listened with the utmost intent to every word uttered at the meeting. He was quite responsive, scoffing inwardly when he did not agree and blinking subtly when he did. The Lord at his side seemed almost uncaring at some points, not at all fully at attention. He was more than a little nervous for the end of the meeting; what would it be like, serving under the command of the Morvant, of vampires?

With all technicalities done and with the meeting at a close, Quent filtered out of the room with the rest of the knights at Valen’s side. He glanced sideways at the Morvant knights that would be taking his position, weary of their trust. After they had formally traded positions, Quent stood amongst his own kind in a strange, dark palace, watching the noble be escorted out by the vampire knights.

It was strange to him, serving the Morvant. He had much more respect for vampires than he did lycan, but he still had his prejudices. Quent could clearly see the political advantage of it all, this charade of good-will amongst the races. He intended on serving his role well in this situation, hoping for the best. At least the Morvant weren’t as savage as they could have been.

[Mosaic]

Kaleo made his way out of the castle after the council was over. So they just renewed the treaties, turned a few away, and they got a few new knights in the name of peace and prosperity. This political bullshit was never of any interest to him. He was constantly made to attend things like that, why was beyond him.

He walked down the paved stone streets of the noble district surrounding the castle gates. Here is where nobles owned their own buildings and homes inside the city away from the land that they watched over. Farther down the street were the well decorated and comfortable Inns, a few high class taverns, and the mandatory brothels scattered about the district.

The city's districts were split up simply. You had the castle against the cliff face, the Noble district spanning out, then the district for the upper middle class, a large expanse that was the Markets, the lower middle class, then there were the slums that expanded the rest of the city that was not the main entrance (after all it would not do well to walk in and immediately see the desolation that was the slums). The main entrance was kept clean, well maintained, and lead straight to the noble district. The paved path was made of white river stone, smooth and beautiful, beautiful archways periodically along the path. As you walked along this path you did not see any trace of the poor of the city, only those who lived in the small homes but lived well enough to be presentable to visitors.

Surrounding the slums, the entrance, and arching all the way around the city were the large stone walls that provided protection, and a barracks for all the soldiers who guarded the city gates.

Kaleo was headed for the markets, he could have made a straight shot through the alleyways rather than follow the twisting roads. However guild rats, children who "lived" in a guild fighting and stealing money to pay for protection and shelter, from the slums often hid along the alleyways looking for anyone from the higher districts to take shortcut. Kaleo however was confident in his chances of not running into such a group, and of course beating them in a fight if he did.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The man had drawn a small dagger from his back before he was slammed against the trunk of a tree. The lycan, magic aside, seemed a brute just as all the rest of the scum. He kept the knife low and pointed at the man's side. "We're just a patrol, you're on lands that belong to a royal family." he spat in his face. "Northern taint, should stay in the mountains where they belong." he tried to push back, but damnit the strength of the Northern lycan was true enough to the stories. If one got their hands on you, human or vampire, you would have trouble breaking loose.

He was slammed against the tree again, "That doesn't answer my question. Why, not, kill me." he said through gritted teeth.

The air burst out of his lungs leaving him gasping for air, he had seen his patrol killed in barely a minute, and he was faced alone with one from the North. He knew his chances of survival were slim if he didn't say anything. "Morvant, you are on Morvant soil. There are patrols all over tonight, as today was the meeting of the noble council for the Morvant Treaties." the previous hit against the tree had made him drop his dagger, now he had no means of to get himself free without cooperating. "We've been sent out to watch the outer lands, if we found anyone that was not supposed to be here, we were to bring them back to the city to be questioned. Many people would like to see certain nobles dead, that's why we're out here. You were to be brought back to be questioned, and perhaps given a chance to avoid a war between the Morvant and the North."

~~~~~~~~~~~

Well shit, he was damn near the markets too. Kaleo found himself blocked off by about six kids, two about his age, the others younger than him. Only one of them was about Kaleo's size in height, but they all had small builds.
"Come on, make it easy kid, just hand over your coin purse and we'll be on our way." said the taller of the six. Kaleo refused, causing him to repeat his statement a few more times only to be given the same rebuttal. These kids were obviously out of the loop, uneducated. How could they know he was part of the royal family, would they even know how to tell? After all these kids probably live in nothing but the slums, anyone who isn't poor ever goes there. The older spat at the ground "Fine we do this the hard way then. Pull everything off him you can guys." One of the smaller kids from behind Kaleo ran up and jumped on his back. Normally he was against fighting smaller children, but as the Knight-Commander once told him, once you take a weapon of any kind, the lines of age, creed, and gender no longer apply. Everyone becomes equal with a weapon, everyone with a weapon becomes a threat.

Kaleo didn't hesitate, he turned to the side and began backing up to a wall and slammed the kid into it, and did a backwards headbutt to the kid's head slamming it between the wall and Kaleo's head. The shock made him unweave his legs and arms from Kaleo's body. It was short, it ended with Kaleo having two of them hesitating to come forward, and Kaleo having a small dagger in his hand. "Fack it!" said the small one, "We need to get the Bigs in here." The older nodded and whistled, and four large boys, two on each end, in height and build walked into the alley way. "Pin him down and take what you can."

They moved in quickly with the two boys scooting aside to let the bigger ones by. There was a crate in the alleyway between him and the big kids in front of him. He dropped the knife and ran for the crate, unlike his older brother, Kaleo had good physical performance at his age. He jumped up lifting his legs high to get onto the crate, moving one foot to the edge once he was on top, and launched himself forward as the kids got close. He landed on the other side of them, "Ah to hell with it, just beat the shit out of the little fuck!" the older said in sheer frustration.

Kaleo bolted for it with the four large boys in tow, how the hell were these fat kids fast enough to chase him down. He made it to the markets and they were still after him, persistent little bastards. His running however became interrupted when he ran into a young lady carrying fresh produce from the market, sending it all over the ground bruising most of it. They both hit the ground hard, and the man with the young lady looked at Kaleo on the ground, "You should watch were your going young...man." His eyes widened a bit, "Come Leila, get up and apologize to this young man for bumping into him."

[Jacogos]

Finally given his answer, Rakell held the man there for a few moments, pondering what he had said. Taking prisoners for questioning... Seemed like the Morvant way, oddly. "Hmmph. Seems like a poor way to prevent war." With that, Rakell lifted the man, still with only one arm, and tossed him to the side about five feet, where he rolled down the rest of the hill. Not enough to harm him, but it would rattle him. Without further speech, Rakell turned off towards the mountains. Before heading out, though, he paused.

He was only maybe a few miles out from Morvant castle... he could go there himself and, with a little bit of stealth, figure out what the vampires want Northern Lycans for. Surely a mere treaty conference wasn't enough to start taking Lycans prisoner. The idea of assassinating nobles wasn't too far-fetched for him to understand, but why send out patrols when the nobles were in your castle? The thoughts started to make Rakell's head hurt, so he sped off towards the mountains where the Taintlings were camped. Hopefully, they would give him something to do to take his mind off of it, or maybe, if he was lucky, be a part of the investigation.

As he loped along the foothills, Rakell continued to think. Who else was so important that the Morvants wanted to protect them? Rakell was certainly not a political follower, especially of the vampires, but it struck him as odd that they would need to do treaties like this. Surely if someone has been proving themselves to you, they're reliable, and if not, then that is not so, right? Bah, if there was anything he was glad about being a Lycan over, it was the lack of poilitics.

[Wattz]

They wasted no time in giving Quent his orders, along with the other knights that had been traded over. They promptly set him off to patrol the town. He was still quite unfamiliar with the territory, though he did not let this faze him. It wasn’t easy to intimidate Quent, and he walked the streets with the utmost of authority. With his head held high and his hand on his sword, he looked the citizens in the eyes without faltering. Some glanced nervously at him, others ignored him, and some seemed to stare. He wasn’t exactly a familiar face.

Quent passed through the markets, just as he was told. It was not exactly difficult to find them as he made his way along the streets. Common sense, really. So far, his route had been uneventful, with not a single citizen out of place or a dispute to be heard. That is, until he heard the yelling and saw a mob of young people scrambling after another.

Oh, children. Of course, it would be children that would cause a ruckus, and uneducated lowly children besides. He rolled his eyes and took in a deep breath, causing his shoulders to rise and lower as he exhaled. Brushing a stray blonde lock into place, he took broad strides over towards the urchins just in time to see one of them collide with a girl and knock her produce from her hands.

God. Damn. Children.

“Is there a problem?” he chimed in, watching the four chubby children that had been chasing the other. Quent resisted the urge to sneer in disgust, instead allowing his face to be overtaken by one of his more charming facial expressions. He was about to chastise the young man on the ground, but he suddenly recognized his face. Quent saw the noble at the meeting, and despite his age, he was a figure of authority.

“Forgive me, your lordship. Would you like me to escort you back to the castle?” he said with a modest bow.

[CALYPSO]

It was another boring day at the market. Leila dragged her feet as she followed her grandfather, carrying bags of fruit and bread. As he stopped in front of another table with produce, Leila slouched and gave an exasperated sigh feeling overwhelmed with the heavy bags.

“Are we done yet, Pa?” She asked impatiently, but her grandfather only ignored her as he began asking questions to the person behind the table. She sucked her teeth and shifted the weight on her feet to provide more comfort while she held onto the groceries. While Pa talked, she glanced around the market, obviously staring at the people who were better dressed than her. It was obvious she was in a lower class with her dingy colored dress and her dirty skin. Her hair didn’t even have life as it was always knotted and wrapped in a bonnet (to save her the trouble of getting the knots out). The more she stared, the more she drifted off from reality, forgetting to notice that someone was running towards her path.

And before she realized it, she was on the ground with produce everywhere. “Ow!” She rubbed her bottom, “Watch where ya going! Idiot!” She called out.

"Come Leila, get up and apologize to this young man for bumping into him."

She quickly got up to face her grandfather, “What?! Apologize?” she snarled. “He bumped into me!” She defended herself.

He only shook his head in disappointment and turned her around to face the boy. She frowned down at him, refusing to even apologize to some stupid boy. Her eyes met with a strange pendant around his neck and she raised a brow. ‘That looks familiar,’ she thought. Then it hit her—it was the Royal Families crest. She looked back at his face and gave a small jump, “Oh! You’re the--! Oh, crap!” She quickly fell to her knees and gave a deep bow to the Prince. “I apologize for getting in your way, Sir…” She trailed off; she honestly didn’t even know his name.

Kaleo looked to the elder man, giving a light sigh at her initial lack of manners as he brought himself to his feet, dusting himself off, freeing his cloths from the dirt of the market ground. He looked at her, her gaze seemed to fall to his chest, he glanced down to the pendant realizing it had come loose, and she was on the ground quickly apologizing.

A sigh of amusement, he lowered himself into a crouch and lifted her face to meet his gaze so she no longer faced the ground. "It is good to see you have manners," she looked older than him, "but there is no need to bring yourself to the same level as the dirt. A simple apology would have sufficed." He outstretched his hand to help her up, however she pushed herself up ignoring his gesture. "It seems I have caused you to soil your produce. Please, allow me to compensate you. She may not have been watching her surroundings, however it is my doing that she dropped them sir."

"My Lord it is not necessary!" implored the grandfather.

"Ah, but it is, and I insist." he said bluntly.

She shrugged and placed her arms at the back of her head, "Ahh, let him do it, Pa," she responded. "What's a better way for royalty to waste their money?"

"Leila!" Her grandfather shouted, but Leila only laughed for she knew it was just a little joke. "Please be respectful to the Royal Family. He is here to help us!"

Leila scoffed, "Hmph, after he bumped into me."

"Stubborn child," he muttered under his breath. Leila looked back at Kaleo and gave him a mischievous grin, as if telling him she didn't care if he was royalty, she was still going to pick on him. Even if she was sixteen, her grandfather was convinced that she remained twelve from her lack of maturity. He sighed, "Well, I suppose we should get fresh produce. We have a long day ahead of us." He bowed to Kaleo, "We thank you for your assistance, My Lord."

Kaleo had not payed much attention to the knight behind run off the larger boys by his appearance. He wasn't sure what to think of this girl, if the situation were different he'd normally consider leaving. However he had been raised better. He turned around with the Knight, Quent now in his vision. He reeled back for a moment caught in surprise from his appearance.

“Forgive me, your lordship. Would you like me to escort you back to the castle?” he said with a modest bow.

"Ahhh, hemmm." he cleared his throat and regained himself. He recognized the man, one of the good faith Knights his father received from the meeting. "Ahh, my father sent for me I assume?" he ran his hand through his hair for a moment not giving Quent time to properly respond. "If it what he wishes then yes, but please allow me to buy these people the food that I have soiled. Should take no more than a few minutes." he had hoped for more time in the open air. Though the chase had been fair excitement for one evening.

[Wattz]

"Ahh, my father sent for me I assume? If it what he wishes then yes, but please allow me to buy these people the food that I have soiled. Should take no more than a few minutes."

Quent had not heard that Kaleo’s father had sent for him, but the knight wouldn’t be surprised if there were other knights on the lookout. To think he’d just up and leave the castle! He wanted terribly to tell the prince that it wasn’t proper of him to be playing out in the streets, but who was he to advise royalty? Especially royalty whom he had little to no reputation with. Then again, was the prince’s opinion more important than the king’s? Hardly. In the end, he decided to hold his tongue. The last thing he wanted to do was cause a disturbance.

“Yes, of course your lordship,” he said with a gleaming smile and another bow. “I would be more than happy to escort you. But it would be greatly appreciated if you could make haste. I’m sure your father is quite worried about you.”

He glanced over to the girl and her father. Quent felt that he wasn't the type to judge based on class status (everyone had a place, right?) but he was always appalled by how uncleanly some of them were. Tragic, really.

[Repent!]

The sun had fell below the mountains quite a while before Rakell had finally reached the camp again. Nestled into a plateau within the mountain chain, the Taintlings had taken all necessary defensive precautions that weren't already provided by the mountains themselves. Mostly this involved patrols in the nearby peaks, one of which had came across Rakell while he was still about a mile out.

The meeting was quite short and to the point, as the Lycans preferred. The squad of three appeared our of the mountain brush quite suddenly, as their training required them to be masters at moving silently. Of course, Rakell had smelled them long before they had appeared. After a short conversation about where he had been, they sent him off with one of their own, a female named Jainetta, while the other two continued their rounds.

Rakell had talked to Jainetta before, and could be considered acquaintances. They spoke idly as the two loped toward the camp, mostly of small things. "Hows life?" "Fine." "See anything interesting lately?" "You have no idea." And so on.

As Rakell entered the camp, he was almost instantly greeted by his brother, the second oldest, Keiv. Regarding him cooly, the elder sibling dismissed Jainetta with a flick of his wrist.

"Thank you, Scout. I'll take it from here." Scoffing slightly at the dismissal from someone she felt was lesser than she, Jainetta tossed her hair as she turned away and walked back out of the camp. The brothers watched her go, Rakell wondering why the need for her to leave. Keiv answered his unasked question post haste.

"Elder Malo was quite displeased with you. You were supposed-" Rakell cut him off with a growl.

"Save it. I need to see the Chief." Keiv blinked at his younger brother's words, but nodded slightly and gestured towards the center of camp. Rakell, with a slight air of importance, then moved off to the Chief's tent.

"What do do you want runt?" were the words that spilled from the mouth of Phobos, one of the two members of the Taintling clan who were standing between Rakell and the passage into the Alpha's hut. Phobos had proven once before that he was stronger and faster than Rakell, and he had done it very convincingly with the same snide little smirk he carried now. "Chief Farthing is busy makling decisons for the clan." These words came from Demos, Phobos's brother. The two were the perfect team when it came to winning a fight, which the Alpha saw and decided to make them part of his personal entourage, which included deciding who entered to see him.

"I have news about the Morvant's that I'm sure Chief Farthing will appreciate." He spoke with a slight tone of submissiveness, just enough for the brothers. He knew they were confident in their abilities, and they had every right since Phobos had nearly creamed him last time they fought, but Rakell's Shamanistic abilities have improved as well since last time.

"Of course, though, you can keep me from the chief, and risk another of our own being kidnapped by the humans." This time, he spoke with more of an undertone of foresight, a vague idea that Elder Malo had taught him the Shaman must utilize to have the clan listen to him, when he was Elder.

The two brothers looked at each other in a very stoic fashion and then back to Rakell in the same way. Then Phobos nudged his brother, jerking his head to the side after he did so to signify letting the shaman in. "He's been real testy as of late what with all the vampire movement below...watch your words in there, lest he rip them from your throat." With those final words, the brothers parted and allowed Rakel passage inside.

Rakell nodded slightly at their warning, meaning to take full heed of it, despite not liking those who gave it. He was no fool. With their allowance, he moved into the tent, heart beating slightly faster as it always did when he had to stand before their chief. Once inside, Rakell peered around for a moment. Then, the chief entered from the back room, and Rakell fell to a knee, fist down on the ground and other arm crossed over his chest. He may be a shaman, but he was still only apprentice, and far lesser than this great man.

"Rise child and be quick with your words. I have a clan to lead, and a city of leeches frantically crawling beneath me, and they tread dangerously next to my land." Chief Farthing ( http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/hero2/Farthing.jpg) stood tall and strong before Rakell, as any rightful Chief over his clan should. His open leather vest showed the battle scars on his chest from a time long passed, leading up to his right shoulder. His golden eyes were filled with a love for his people as well as the determination to save every last one of the lives in this clan, even if he has to give his own in exchange.

Rakell rose as commanded and locked his eyes on the wall directly behind his Chieftain, as was what he did normally. It was foolhardy to meet the Chief's eyes, if only for the disrespect, and Rakell was no fool. He respected this man more than even his senior shaman, though he would never say that out loud. They both commanded respect, and Rakell was honored to be able to say he might soon serve a place nearly on par with this powerful man.

"My chieftain, I actually have come to you about that very subject." He spoke shortly, to the point. He did not want to waste Farthing's time. "I saw a patrol in the foothills of these mountains, and went down close to see why they were so near our lands. They were gone by the time I got there, and it was late, so I stopped for the night. I was woken up when either another patrol or the same started tying me up. I managed to get myself free and was forced to defend myself to the point of killing the group, minus one. Apparently, the Morvants are rounding up anyone on 'their' lands and bringing them to the castle for questioning. They say it is in the name of... diplomacy (He had to search for the word). I spared the man and got back here as fast as I could."

Taking a breath, Rakell waited for his Chieftain to speak. After a few seconds, he swallowed nervously. He hoped that he had not overreacted to this.

Ronalde sighed as he took in Rakell's words, and then turned his back to the young shaman in contemplation. He took two steps away, and then stopped and turned his head to the side. "Phobos! Deimos!" The brothers swarmed hands on their weapons and began to draw them. "HOLD!" The two stopped dead in their tracks. "You are needed, but not here. It appears the maggots below have taken a liking to our flesh. Send them a message...remind them that our flesh is rather sour to the taste."

He then looked to Rakell as the brothers left, smiling their disgusting smiles. "Join them if you wish child. Though be warned now, steel yourself, for your eyes will not like the actions they will witness this day if you do so."

Rakell couldn't help but have his hand fly to his sword when the Chief called in the brothers. The former's firm "HOLD!" stopped him as coldly as it did the latter. Rakell relaxed as the two left, looking back 'towards' Farthing, nodding slightly at his words.

"I need to make sure they don't get themselves killed, you know." He smiled slightly, then looked down, knowing there was a little too much familiarity there. "I will see them safely back, Chieftain. By your leave." With that, he bowed again and turned out to exit the tent. Outside, he caught sight of the retreating forms of the brothers and quickly picked up his pace to catch up. As he ran, his mind raced with thoughts of what might happen... He steeled himself, though, as his Chief had said, and raced on.

[Mosaic]

The sun fell on the horizon allowing the edges to be lit with a very dim amber glow as the sun turned to the other side of the world beyond. Allowing the dark of the night to pull along the sky as a curtain, the waxing half moon illuminating the night sky, with the pinpricks of light that were the stars scattered across the veil of darkness.

The people of the city flourished the streets with Quent sticking close to Kaleo so that the young prince would not be engulfed by the growing crowds. He had taken their small group to the finer parts of the markets paying for the finer produce upon insisting upon it to the elder of the young lady. It was his way of apologizing for ruining what they spent for, he said that he felt that he needed to better compensate for what he caused them to lose.

The boys that had been chasing him, well they were long gone now that there was a grown, and armed, man following the young man. The elder and the young lady had removed their hoods long ago now that the sun posed no threat to their health. They were dirty to be sure, but in a way better kept than most of the commoners, a thought that helped Kaleo stand being around them a bit better.

He gave them their final produce and they were on their way. The lack of their presence was followed by Kaleo's stomach turning, it was near supper and he was growing hungry. As much as he wished to continue walking the night streets, he needed to return home. He turned to Quent with a hand over his stomach, "I believe I am ready to return home, surely the servants have prepared supper for the family." He however wasn't looking forward to Shandal berating him for leaving the meeting so quickly. He surely hoped it wouldn't be like the last time he left a meeting where Shandal found him before supper. Lectures before a full belly put him in a foul mood.