The Erried Visitors

[Call Me Nefret]

It was a rather large room. It could easily hold upwards of 100 people. But only 4 sat in it, on ornate chairs. There was King Thorsten Redfield, his sister Mirabel, and their guests from the kingdom of Orifan: Rosaline Elupmas and her young charge Princess Sydelle Riverpeak. They sat their quietly, hands folded in laps. Sydelle was the first to speak.

"This is boring," she said simply. Rosaline sighed. Her first thought was to lecture the girl. But then she turned to Mirabel. The oracle could get through to Sydelle in ways no one else could. Perhaps it was being a seer.

"I know, but we have to be patient," Mirabel replied. "There are important people milling about. Some of them with fantastic powers. Wouldn't you like to meet the girl with a phoenix inside her?" The young girl's eyes widened.

"Could I read the phoenix's mind?" Sydelle asked excitedly. At this, her adoptive aunt stepped in.

"If you are asking would it be proper or polite to, absolutely not," the woman, who always seemed to look like a fairytale character, responded. "But as for whether or not you're physically able to, well..." Rosaline shrugged. "I cannot say for certain." Sydelle fell silent again. Nothing new or exciting was happening, but she had a happy idea to occupy her mind.

"Perhaps, in this case, a bit of mind reading would help." Thorsten said quietly. Rosaline glared at him. "I've heard there are some...unsavory rulers around." He explained. "Plenty that would see others undone. I would like to know who I can trust." Rosaline sighed. She could not argue with that logic.

"Fine," she replied curtly. She looked back at Sydelle, now staring distractedly at the ceiling. "If King Thorsten looks at you, then and only then may you read someone's mind. You have to give others their privacy. Understand?" Sydelle just nodded, still content to think of all the things a phoenix might think of.

[Poetic-Jessie]

Lumina burst through the doors and stalked into the large room, looking harrassed. She sent a glare over her shoulder at the two culprits following her. Lothaire, a vampire with red eyes, and Milorth, a dragon in human form with sea green eyes strolled into the room after her.

Lumina stopped her progress when she saw the child among the four people ahead of her. "I know I said this before, but I'm saying it again. Don't attack anyone, vampire," she said to Lothaire, sending him a stern look.

Lothaire met her gaze. "I wouldn't worry about that, Phoenix. I'll behave myself." He smirked then, flashing his fangs.

Lumina narowed her eyes at him. "I will chase you to the ends of this world if you so much as look at any of them the wrong way."

"He's not suicidal, Phoenix," said the dragon, inspecting his nails.

Lumina sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Why did you come with me anyway?"

"Because it looked like fun," said Lothaire with a smirk.

Lumina sent him a warining look.

"What's all the fuss about, anyway? They're just puny mortals," said the dragon, green eyes assessing and dismissing each human in the room.

"Well, they're not just mortals, they have lives which are equally as important as your own," said Lumina, staring Milorth down.

"Short lives," muttered Milorth as he shrugged. Green magic shot from his hands and a large, golden throne, encrusted with jewels with a very comfortable looking cushion appeared out of thin air. He sent a bolt of magic through the ceiling so a shaft of sunlight fell on the throne. Milorth smiled and lazed on the throne, looking as if he was gifting the mortals around him with his mere presence.

"There are chairs provided," growled Lumina, going pale as she watched the ceiling to make sure no broken pieces would fall on anyone.

Lothaire offered a chair to her and she took it. She thanked him and kept her eyes on the ceiling.

"But mine is more comfortable and suitable for one such as myself," said Milorth.

Lothaire sat between them and eyed the dragon for a moment. "What will you do when the light moves away from you?"

"Put another hole in the ceiling," said the dragon.

"Don't you dare!" shouted Lumina, finally taking her eyes off the ceiling to glare at the dragon. "The same rules that apply to Lothaire also apply to you, Milo-" the dragon smirked and Lumina gritted her teeth, changing the end of her sentence, "dragon."

Milorth's smirk dropped off his face and it looked like he deflated somewhat.

"So," said the vampire, inspecting the humans around him. "What happens now?"

Lumina looked at the people seated with her. They all seemed to be royals, although the man held himself like a soldier. "We introduce ourselves." She smiled at them all, inclining her head politely. "Hello, my name is Lumina, Crown Princess of the Land of the Phoenix and this is," she tried not to grit her teeth as she gestured to the dragon, "Milorth." The dragon met her eyes and smirked at her. Forgetting her resolve, Lumina clenched her jaw and glared at him. "He's a sea dragon." She gestured to the man with red eyes and hair like the night sky beside her. "And this is Lothaire, he's a vampire."

The royals around her were meeting Lothaire's gaze and she wondered if she should be informing them all to avoid looking him in the eyes, lest he try to mesmerise them and steal their blood.

[Call Me Nefret]

The foursome sat in shock as the three suddenly burst in. The one girl seemed to struggle to contain the others. But Sydelle, upon hearing the word "phoenix" was thrilled. It took another hard glare from Rosaline to remind her of the deal.

"Welcome," Thorsten said stiffly. He was not an easy-going man to begin with and the strange man staring at him as if he was dinner was not making things easier. "I am Thorsten, King of the Land of Sweeping Fields and Blazing Skies. This is my sister Mirabel, our land's oracle. And our allies Rosaline and her niece Sydelle." Each nodded in their turn.

Sydelle had been watching this interaction with some interest, but it was the vampire that caught her mind the most. She leaned toward Mirabel.

"The vampire wants to drink our blood! He wants to hypnotize us!" She had attempted to whisper, but she was not particularly adept at the task and her voice echoed throughout the large room. Rosaline closed her eyes with a sigh.

"He has no plans to," Mirabel replied quietly. "Not at the moment, anyway." She was a bit better at the task, but in such close proximity it seemed impossible to keep any conversation truly secret. Rosaline, however, was the best at diplomacy. However, she still pointedly avoided looking at the vampire.

"You keep rather strange company for a member of the royal family, princess," the blonde beauty said smoothly. Compared to the plainer-face violet-eyed seers, she was radiant. "How did you meet them?"

[Poetic-Jessie]

"Lothaire will not harm any of you," said Lumina reassuringly, noting the whispered conversation. She wondered about the magic of Sydelle and Mirabel. How did the child speak so certainly about the vampire's lust? How did the princess speak just as certainly about him having no plans? Then she noticed their impossible violet eyes.

Lumina was about to answer beautiful blond's question, but the dragon got there first. He said, "The phoenix burst into flames and melted an office." She glared at him but he either didn't get the message to discontinue, or ignored it. She suspected the latter. "And we, out of the kindness of our hearts, took pity on the poor, volatile and explosive phoenix and taught her how to control her powers."

"Dragon," said Lumina through gritted teeth. "That's not exactly how it went. The office wasn't completely destroyed. The only thing that melted was the window and the carpet was kind of set on fire and the ceiling was charred and General Tullica's desk was smoking..." Feeling like she was digging herself into a hole said added one last thing, "But the books survived." Noting that this didn't look like it reassured the humans, Lumina stopped herself there and answered the rest of Rosaline's question. "They also came to me because they wanted to stop the Lords of the Darkness, one of the reasons I set the room on fire." She raised her hands in front of her, in the surrender position and said, "I won't spontaneously combust. I'm in control now." Lumina sent a glare at Milorth once more. "Something else you forgot to mention."

Milorth shrugged. "It's boring if the humans aren't quivering in fear."

"Mortals don't exist just for your amusement," she said, still glaring. Both the vampire and the dragon just looked at her. Clenching her jaw, she abandoned her attempt to get the dragon to be reasonable and did some damage control. "Please accept my deepest apologies, King Thorsten," said Lumina, flicking her eyes to the king. "They're okay sometimes..." She couldn't really come up with an example when the dragon was easy to get along with. The vampire was okay when he was full. She sent him another warning glare, noting how the mortals weren't looking him in the eyes. She cleared her throat and decided to change the subject. "Will others be joining us?"

[Call Me Nefret]

Sydelle seemed enraptured with the phoenix. Whereas the others had been thinking about the possibility of fire suddenly erupting from the woman, the child seemed completely unaware of the danger. She kept looking at Thorsten repeatedly, hoping he would give the signal that she could read her mind. But Mirabel just put a hand on the girl's shoulder till she finally sighed and slouched against the back of her chair.

"I don't see how humans quivering in fear is all that amusing," Mirabel replied. "I've seen insects bring about the same result. Are you saying you're as scary as a spider?"

"These Lords of Darkness," Thorsten interjected. Mirabel, for all that she had wisdom beyond her years, tending to fight rather than flight. And they did not need to anger a dragon. "They are your enemies, I understand? It sounds very...insidious to fight mere shadows. What are your techniques?"

"You can take the man out of the military..." Mirabel murmured.

"But you can't take the military out of the man," Rosaline finished. Thorsten glanced at both of them, but said nothing.

"I'm sure others will be joining us eventually," Mirabel continued. "There are many different people around. Some with magic, some without. Some other members of royalty, as I understand it."

"If we're not careful, this will turn into a political summit," Rosaline said dryly. At the mention of politics, Sydelle sighed deeply. She didn't understand anything about it, only that it made people angry.

Suddenly the child jumped up and made a beeline for the phoenix. Rosaline called out her name in a sharp reprimand, but the 8 year old paid no heed. She stood in front of the woman and stared up at her with her strange eyes.

"Is it true you have a phoenix inside you?" She asked excitedly. "Can I listen to it?"

[Poetic-Jessie]

The dragon eyed Mirable for a moment, looking as if he wanted to say something to her. Lumina glared a warning at him and he crossed his arms over his chest, but said nothing.

Lumina turned her attention back to Sydelle and blinked at her for a moment, noting that she was the only one who didn't seem wary of her. She smiled and said, "Of course you can." She stood up and moved away from the group, giving herself space for the shift.

"I don't know why you're bothering with space, phoenix," said Lothaire, eyeing her and Sydelle. "You've never harmed anyone when you shift between forms."

"The humans," said Lumina, then looked at the child, "most of the humans are already wary of me as it is. I'm not going to burst into flames when I'm so close to them." It would disprove everything she said about not spontaneously combusting otherwise.

Flames exploded all over her and she raised her arms, asking her blood not to harm anyone or burn anything around her. Feathers sprouted out of her, she grew to seven feet in height, her arms morphed into wings, her mouth and nose formed a beak and her feet became sharp talons.

When the transition was complete, she dowsed her flames, revealing the scarlet feathers with golden tips, similar to her hair colour. She then looked at Thorsten, thinking of answering his question. She trilled that, as far as they knew, the only thing to damage a Lord of the Darkness was magic fire. She was certain that the humans would understand this songbird-like call, she hadn't once met someone who couldn't understand her in this form.

[Call Me Nefret]

Sydelle was staring up at the woman with nothing short of rapture as she changed forms. Mirabel was similarly intrigued. Thorsten and Rosaline were too aware of how they were viewed to let fear show, though they sat in tense silence.

"It's strange," Sydelle said, tilting her head to the side. "It's you....but it's not you. It's inside of you, but not separate. But not the same."

"What do you mean, Sydelle?" Rosaline asked nervously. "That's...not her anymore?"

"No, it's her," the princess shook her head. "But it's also not." Mirabel couldn't help but laugh.

"She's been gifted with reading others and yet struggles to express herself," the oracle said to no one in particular. She stood up slowly and walked over. "This magic fire...I suppose you're one of the few that can supply it." She looked over at Milorth. "And you as well, I would hope."

[Poetic-Jessie]

Lumina nodded at Sydelle's words and focused her gaze on both of the violet eyed humans, thinking them wise beyond their years and wondering if it had anything to do with their eye colour.

Milorth narrowed his eyes at Mirabel. "Fire isn't exactly my speciality, pathetic mortal."

Lumina screeched a warning at the dragon to be nice. Milorth met her eyes and held them. Finally, he sighed and looked away, saying, "I can produce magic fire. But to be honest, I'd rather have nothing to do with the Lords of the Darkness and leave it to the Phoenix, who doesn't mind dying when she battles them. She'll just be reborn anyway."

"Many immortals and every human can produce this magic fire," said Lothaire, red eyes focused intently on Mirabel.

The phoenix ruffled her feathers and sent him a warning look, just in case he was thinking of acting on his hunger. Lothaire met Lumina's eyes, as if he understood her warning, and continued, "But humans, with their limited magic, would barely make a scratch on the Lords of the Darkness and would probably kill themselves just to do so." He inspected his sharp nails. "I suppose, death would be preferable to having your soul eaten."

The dragon and the phoenix nodded their agreement.

The vampire was silent for a moment, before he added, "And most immortals, like the dragon and myself, would rather conserve their energy and assist in other ways in this war, letting those who want to fight to go to the front line."

Lumina trilled about how the fae warriors were okay with sacrificing themselves to defend the immortal plane. She then looked at the humans around her and wondered about them. The king was clearly from the military. Was it in a tumultuous region that required that the king to be a soldier?

She carefully whistled a polite query about this to Thorsten.

[Elowen-Astrid]

Mǽrwynn politely knocked on the door to announce their arrival. They were later than she wanted and others had probably already arrived. She looked at her company one more time before opening the doors. She had been excited for an opportunity to dress up but Heliarde and Rainulf had not put as much thought in their attire as she had liked. There was no way she could have talked Heliarde into a dress but she at least wore her hair up. Rainulf, however was wearing his same old dark robes and had put up his hood. His tattoos were visible in in the low neck of his shirt. To be honest she had not expected anything different and she was just happy Oliver listened to her request. She always liked how he dressed, with simplicity and elegance, not the ornamental style she would expect of a prince. 

"Are you done with staring" said Rainulf. "The people inside are probably starting to wonder if the knock they heard was real, if they heard it at all."

"You could at least have worn colour." She replied while putting his hood down. 

"You are still going on about this?" He asked. Mǽrwynn ignored his question. She wanted to add a few remarks on how they should behave but kept them for herself. 

"It is going to be fine" Oliver assured her as he opened the door. She had been waiting too long. 

When they entered the room her gaze was drawn to the golden throne and the 'person' on it. A beam of sunlight shone upon him from a hole in the ceiling. A variety of people was seated and they were looking at a phoenix. 

"A Phoenix!" Exclaimed Heliarde. "I always wanted to see one of those". The red haired woman hurried of to take a closer look. 

Rainulf went after her and grabbed her arm to halt her. "Now is not the time." he said to her curtly. He let Heliarde go and put his hood back on. 

Mǽrwynn shook her head in disbelief. Everything she had tried to avoid happend. And the hadn't even entered the room properly. Why could the two of them never behave.

"Don't let them bother you and just have a good time" Oliver said to her while leaning in a little. He took her arm and led her to a seat. The others followed and took seats as well. "Allow me to introduce ourselves" he said. He was still standing, looked at the company in the room and bowed briefly. "My name is Oliver Damours, Prince of Rovèll. And these are my companions Mǽrwynn Wyvill, Heliarde Thorel and Rainulf Grimault. It is our pleasure to make your aquintance". He took his seat next to Mǽrwynn and looked around the room once more, curious about the diverse company.

[Poetic-Jessie]

Lumina watched the interaction of the exclaiming young woman and the older man. She wondered why the older man put his hood on, it wasn't particularly cold in this room, despite the gaping hole in the ceiling. Although, if it was cold, she probably wouldn't notice the temperature given her connection to her fire magic that kept her warm all year round.

Milorth flicked his eyes, assessed and dismissed each of the new arrivals. He went back to lolling in his chair, looking as smug as a well fed, well cared for cat.

Lumina glared at the dragon, realising he wasn't even going to introduce himself or even acknowledge the newcomers.

The vampire, on the other hand, was leaning forward in his chair and inspecting the new people with an intensity that made Lumina shift on her talons. This movement caught Lothaire's attention and he met her eyes, flicking his gaze over her face. She glared a warning at him, just in case it wasn't obvious what she was trying to tell him. After a moment, he nodded and leaned back into his chair, keeping his red eyes on the new arrivals but not holding their gazes for too long.

Lumina wondered at the wisdom of bringing these rude and potentially dangerous immortals to this meeting, but then sighed, realising they were the ones who followed her here.

Lumina trilled a welcome to the new people and sang a song, introducing herself and the others in the room, deliberately stating that Lothaire was a vampire.

[Call Me Nefret]

Mirabel, for all that she was talking to a dragon, did not seem particularly nervous. More than anything, she was curious. The magic of their land was limited to the seers. Although there had been rumors and legends about greater magic. But she would leave that to the goddess to deal with. Then the woman asked Thorsten about his military experience.

"My ascension to the throne was not exactly planned," the king responded quietly. "I had intended to be in the military for my entire career. There are some northern tribes in our land that would see the kingdom undone. I had been on the front lines of that until...well, until my brother died." His hands tensed slightly at the mention of Frederic's death. Rosaline reached over to place her hand on his.

"I do have a question..." Rosaline began, but Mirabel held up her hand.

"You may want to wait for the newcomers to come in first." Moments later, there was a knock on the door. Thorsten muttered something under his breath that might have been "show off".

Before anyone could say anything futher, four more people walked in. Sydelle turned from staring at the phoenix to look at all of them as Lumina made the introductions.

"Welcome," Thorsten called out. He followed the same introductions as before, with each person nodding in turn.

"They all have magic," Sydelle announced. Rosaline stood and marched over to the girl, grabbing her arm.

"Sydelle, we talked about this," Rosaline said stiffly. She led the girl back to her seat and sat down. The girl looked plaintively over her shoulder at the phoenix before reluctantly taking her own seat. Mirabel, seeing that she was one of the few standing, did the same.

[Elowen-Astrid]

The four mages where captured in the gaze of the vampire for a while until Lumina made him stop. 

Rainulf and Heliarde had taken an interest in the vampire, now that he wasn't looking at them as intensely any more they tried to study him. Heliarde out of curiosity without any sense of danger. A smile played in the corners of her mouth. Rainulf looked cautious and distrustful at the vampire, as if he were giving him a warning not to try anything. 

Mǽrwynn felt uncomfortable and shifted in her chair. Even though Lumina's and Thorsten gave them a warm welcome which made her relax a bit more she still distrusted the vampire with his red eyes. She averted her eyes from him and gazed over the company. The woman and child with the purple eyes caught her interest and she wondered what power they held. 

"Are you some sort of seer?" She asked Sydelle. After the child had stated they were mages. She could usually tell if people were mages but Sydelle felt different. 

"She is." Answered Rainulf before any one else had a chance. He had averted his eyes from the vampire and now looked at Sydelle directly. "And I wouldn't be surprised if she could read minds as well" he added.  

Oliver watched the scene as it was unfolding with a smile on his face. Things were never going to change. Finally he said: "Heliarde please stop staring if you would, it is impolite". 

She gave him an annoyed glare and directed her attention to Sydelle and Mǽrwynn

[Poetic-Jessie]

Feeling like she had stuck her talon in her beak, Lumina sang an apology to Thorsten. She was suddenly very glad of the newcomers.

When Rainulf seemed to send Lothaire a warning look, Lumina wondered at his magic. The vampire, however, met his gaze and quirked an eyebrow. He then shifted his red eyes to to Heliarde and looked at her for a moment longer than Lumina liked. Lothaire looked away from the young mage then but Lumina wondered if he was picking Heliarde as an easy target.

Once Oliver got Heliarde to stop looking, the dragon met Lumina's eyes and shook himself. "Eugh," he said. "I can't believe you, an immortal, apologised to a mortal." He brushed himself off as if trying to rid himself of the apology. "Have some pride in your heritage, phoenix. Mortals aren't worth it."

Lumina glared at him for his lack of sensitivity, recognising in herself that she had also been unwittingly insensitive. She screeched that manners and common courtesy were required on the mortal plane and, as they were on the mortal plane, they had to be nice. She sent a pointed look at the dragon to reaffirm her point. Lothaire and Milorth just looked at her again.

Ruffling her feathers, Lumina sang a reminder that mortal lives were just as important as their lives.

Milorth closed his eyes and relaxed into his throne, the sunbeam directly on him. Lothaire inspected his nails. Neither of them giving any acknowledgement that she sang at all.

Lumina focused on the new mages and was suprised and impressed that they had managed to pick that Sydelle was a seer and possibly a mind reader. But then, she supposed, she had very little training in magic and their knowledge of magic would far exceed her own. She focused on the conversation between Sydelle and Mǽrwynn.

[Sophie]

There was a muffled fanfare behind the now closed doors before they swung open to reveal an entourage of very strange looking people. They were dressed in a variety of garb, all highly decorative and foreign, but none more so than the man who was being carried in a gold litter supported on eight lances, a canopy of estate erected over him embroidered with gold Esyrian pear flowers. All of this was being carried by a number of servants sweating in their gold suede şalvar.

The man on the litter himself was dressed in embroidered şalvar, wore a many layered tunic of various fabrics and colours, and was adorned head to toe in gold. His fingers held many rings, and his wrists held many bands, as did his arms, neck and bare ankles. Even his beard was bejewelled; threaded with small gemstones and gold chains. Atop his head was an overly ornate crown that was higher than it was wide. However the man, the king, did not appear to struggle beneath its weight, and instead appeared to relish in it. He was lean, muscled and handsome, and the corners of his mouth tugged up into an always apparent smile.

Beside the grotesque float, a young man with ashen hair was whispering in harsh tones towards the king, who was seemingly ignoring him in favour of a newspaper which was open at his knee. The young man was also wearing a crown although it was much more simple than the other’s; an plain gold circlet that met at his forehead with a large ruby.

Surrounding them was a number of dignitaries, courtiers and guards. The most notable of which were the two guards standing either side of the float, one of them a short, stocky woman who had very red cheeks, and the other a tall, lean dark woman who was grinning excitedly at the other woman.

At the front of the float, the king’s herald stood and announced him, as a fanfare accompanied.

‘Presenting His Majesty, The King of the Twelfth Era, King Remraz Yeth Hound Khor the Third, of Egonia.’

The king glanced up, ‘Oh, are We here already, Teddy? You should have said something.’ He folded away his newspaper and sat up.

The young man grumbled, ‘That’s what I was trying to…’

The horn sounded again. ’And presenting His Grand Advisor, His Royal Highness Prince Thaddeus Kane Siberius Khor the First.’ The man continued to announce, much to Kane’s continued annoyance.

The litter was then carried inside the large room, where the king climbed down out of it, using the back of one of his servants as a kind of step. ’Well, We’re very pleased to have made it here at last.’

He hadn’t noticed the Phoenix standing impressively in the middle of the room, nor had he paid any mind to any of the other strange characters who were milling about, never mind the actual mages. However the Grand Advisor and his guards had. The fanfare trailed off awkwardly. The Grand Advisor shifted uncomfortably, looking between the king and the rest of the courtiers.

The short, stocky guard immediately grabbed her companion and slapped her hands over the taller woman’s mouth, muffling the shouting behind it. ‘Jace, I swear, if you say one word… Don’t forget we’re here as guests.’

[Call Me Nefret]

"I am!" Sydelle replied to Mǽrwynn. Then her face fell. "But I'm not supposed to read people's minds unless King Thorsten says it's okay." She looked over at the king again, but he very pointedly avoided looking at her.

"We have to be polite," Rosaline reminded the girl. Sydelle crossed her arms over her chest, pouting.

"Mirabel gets to see the future whenever she wants!" Sydelle whined.

"Mirabel knows when it's appropriate to look for the future." Rosaline replied.

"Like now," Mirabel said quietly. "We have visitors." Sure enough, a grand spectacle entered through the doors. The Erried people sat in silence as the entourage paraded through the doors. The oracle had lived among royalty her entire life, but neither Leopold, nor Frederic, nor Thorsten had chosen to enter a room in such a way.

Thorsten glanced to Mirabel. He didn't so much ask the question as he decided to ask the question. The oracle nodded and stood up.

"Welcome," she said loudly. "I am Mirabel Redfield, adviser to King Thorsten of the land of sweeping fields and blazing skies." She gestured back to Thorsten, still remaining seated. The military man knew how to read a situation at a moment's notice. He knew to introduce himself to such a king would be a poor showing on his part.

While Mirabel was speaking, Thorsten finally looked at Sydelle. The girl nodded and turned to the big king. After a moment, her violet eyes widened. Without warning she jumped up and ran to Mirabel, pulling on her hand until the woman bent to listen. The child cupped a hand around the woman's ear and whispered. Mirabel's eyes widened slightly as well. Without pausing, the child then sprinted over to Mǽrwynn and repeated the gesture.

"He hates magic," she whispered in the mage's ear before sprinting back to her adoptive aunt. She repeated the message yet again. Rosaline nodded and patted her on the hand.

"You'll have to forgive the girl," Rosaline said quietly. "She is rather...shy." The word "shy" was not normally one that could be used about the child, but Rosaline was not about to tell the man an 8 year old had read his mind.

[Poetic-Jessie]

The dragon popped an eye open at the fanfare. A golden float was carried in by a number of humans, judging by their sweat, Lumina judged the float to be rather heavy. The dragon, for once, wasn't assessing and dismissing every new arrival to the room, his sea green eyes were focused on the king who was getting down from the float, using a human as a step.

His eyes took in the golden float again then flicked to and dismissed the entourage around the king. When his eyes focused back on King Remraz, he let out a snort, his upper lip curling slightly. After Mirabel welcomed King Remraz, and Rosaline finished explaining that Sydelle was 'shy', Milorth said, "This king acts more like a dragon than any other human I've seen, even using puny mortals as steps."

Lumina sent him a glare.

"But, he's not a dragon, just a pathetic mortal pretending to be one and going over the top in the use of his power and overstating his grandeur."

Lumina looked at the golden, jewel-encrusted throne which the dragon had produced because he deemed the rest of the ornate and comfortable chairs in the room beneath him. She wondered if Milorth had any self-awareness whatsoever.

"Dragons don't use their own kind like this king does and, for that," he shrugged and leaned back in his chair, looking once more like a cat sleeping in the sun, "he's unworthy of my attention."

The shaft of sunlight had moved across Milorth's body in the time all of these new people had arrived. He was still in the sunbeam, but now only half of the beam rested on him. Lumina wasn't sure what would happen when it moved away from him completely.

Lothaire, however, was eyeing the newcomers. He flicked his red eyes to Heliarde and back to the new king and the people in his entourage. Apparently noticing Lumina's gaze, the vampire looked at her, then pointedly back at King Remraz. The phoenix shook her head and Lothaire flicked his eyes between Heliarde and the new king. Lumina stepped between the vampire and the young mage and Lothaire smirked, eyes settling on the new king.

The phoenix puffed out her feathers, extended her wings somewhat and hissed at him because he clearly had forgotten her repeated warnings about behaving. Lothaire's smirk dropped off his face as he flicked his eyes back to Lumina. He stood and bowed to her, saying, "I apologise, phoenix."

Lumina nodded, allowing her feathers to settle and tucked her wings back into place.

Lothaire sat back next to the dragon, who had opened his eyes at hearing Lumina's hiss and watched the interaction between the immortals with interest. Milorth looked over at King Remraz and said, "I don't see the problem, phoenix. That king reminds me of the Grand Prince Laddiv. Let Lothaire have some food."

Lothaire looked at Lumina with excitement in his eyes and she just glared at the both of them. The vampire's shoulders dropped as he flicked his eyes at King Remraz, almost as if in longing, and went back to looking around at their companions, not meeting anyone's eye for long. The dragon settled back into his chair, moving slightly to the right to stay in the sunbeam.

[Elowen-Astrid]

Rainulf, who usually igonered politics and manners, stood up, lowered his hood and introduced their party politely. He followed Mirabel's and Thorsten's example and thought it better not to let Oliver introduce himself to the pompous king. Oliver looked at him gratefully. Knowing the man in black usually was aware of the situation but rarely choose to act on it they way it was required of him. 
 
Mǽrwynn listened to what the Sydelle had to say, then she leaned in to Oliver and whispered in his ear: "I need to speak with you". 
 
"What is it?" he asked without the usage of actual word, only for her to hear. 
"Sydelle said king Remraz hates mages. Tell Rainulf and Heliarde and tell them to be carfull". 
 
Oliver's eyes met with Heliarde and Rainlulf and he relayed Mǽrwynn message to them. 
 
 Heliarde's eyes met with the vampires and she answered them with a slightly noticable smile. Rainulf had seen the interaction and gave her a warning look. He followed the interaction between Lumina and her companions and then settled his eyes on king Remraz. He did not know what to make of the man. 

[Poetic-Jessie]

In trying to keep the dragon from setting the vampire on King Remraz, Lumina had completely forgotten about introductions. She eyed her fellow immortals for a moment, noting that the royals in the room were being introduced by their companions. She wondered at the wisdom of asking the dragon to introduce her. This new king probably wouldn't appreciate being insulted. Well, King Thorsten probably hadn't appreciated the insults or the hole in his roof either, but had put up with the dragon rather well.

She looked at the vampire, thinking he might be her best option. Lothaire, having once been human and certainly very good with humans, when he wanted to be, could potentially introduce her without provoking King Remraz. Given how she had stopped him from feeding, she wondered if he would agree.

She shifted towards him, gaining his attention, and whistled a quiet request that he introduce her. She made sure that no one would hear this.

The vampire looked up at her for a moment, then back to the king decked out in gold. "I supposed the mortals are right in doing things this way." He looked at Lumina and nodded.

Lumina raised her eyebrows that he was obliging her. She then narrowed her eyes at him, wondering why he was so willing to do this.

Lothaire stood and said, "This is Lumina, Crown Princess of the Land of the Phoenix." She inclined her head politely. The vampire continued and gestured to the dragon basking in the sun. "And this is Milorth, a sea dragon of the eastern oceans." Milorth didn't even bother acknowledging the new king. Lumina shot him a glare that the dragon either ignored or wasn't aware of. "And my name is Lothaire."

Understanding dawned on Lumina as to why Lothaire was all too happy to introduce her when she noted that he didn't add that he was a vampire. She wondered if he still thought of King Remraz as a meal. Lothaire flicked his red eyes to Heliarde and smirked at her for a moment too long then looked away.

[Sophie]

After a minute’s struggle, Jace finally wrenched the other guard’s hands from her mouth, panting breathlessly. ‘But they’re..! Look, Yahra! They’re-!’

‘-Yes! I can see that.’ She elbowed her companion in the ribs, hissing as quietly as she could manage. ‘Now behave. And please, for the love of Yerius, don’t break anything.’

King Remraz laughed jovially as the young seeress stared at him with her wide, violet eyes. ‘Not to worry, We know how young girls can be. Why We remember when Our Teddy was a young lad, running about with endless energy. Of course he was a bit of a fat child growing up so it was more of a waddle, really.’

He waved his hands dismissively and turned to Mirabel and the other guests.

‘Sea Dragon and a Phoenix? Now that’s interesting! Foreign Dignitaries have such interesting titles, don’t they, Teddy?’ He said, completely oblivious, to which the Grand Advisor looked deeply nervous; a nervousness that was only exacerbated when King Remraz continued, ‘Even for their pets, it seems.’

‘Your Majesty…’ He began, but stopped, knowing he was impossible to reason with.

‘We are glad to make your acquaintance. We had thought the Kingdom might be a little grander, but We are very pleased nevertheless.

‘Oh yes, almost forgot. Completely slipped the mind. We have brought you a present.’

Two servants then staggered forward, struggling to hold up the enormous gold-plated statue they were carrying. Depicted was King Remraz himself riding atop an alligator with bat-like wings. Though the artist was undoubtedly skilled, they had no apparent talent when it came to imagining mythical creatures. The servants lowered it to the floor in front of the neighbouring king and the ground groaned beneath its weight.

Kane gestured to Yahra who shuffled obediently over to him. ‘Do not let him out of your sight, Captain Thorne. If Adhaneh has any love for us at all, we won’t start a war with these people. That would be the last thing we need. Ugh, I knew it was a bad idea to accept this invitation.’

Captain Yahra Thorne saluted him. ‘Yes, sir. Won’t let you down.’

Beside them Remraz continued to speak on to Thorsten, ‘So do you do much mining here? Lots of good materials to be had - although not gold, We assume.

‘Construction, now there’s a good industry. Plenty of things to build. You do much building here? We have the most fabulous architect, We should really give you his number - 17 Friwth Alley 4682 - of course he’s rather busy now. You understand how it is. Not to mention the travel time! Took Us almost two weeks just to get here.

‘Anyway, We’ve got him building a great big Stopping Station for our Underships - the next big thing since Landships! Imagine it! Travel on land… except it’s underground! It’ll be a world marvel when it’s done, let Us tell you. We simply must invite you when it’s completed.’

[Poetic-Jessie]

Lumina dropped her lower beak and stared at King Remraz.

Pet. PET. 'Pet?!' she squawked. Fire started burning within her, her blood thundered in her ears and she thought she that if this king had come to her kingdom, speaking in such a way, she'd be lighting the surrounding area ablaze to show him she was no mere pet!

The air heated around Lumina, heatwaves rippled off her as she glared at King Remraz. Then she remembered she was a guest in this kingdom.

Squashing the temptation to hiss at King Remraz like she had the vampire, she closed her eyes instead and took deep, calming breaths. When that didn't work, she reminded herself, once more, that she was a guest in this kingdom and that the immortals had already caused enough trouble. She ruminated on that for a moment, feeling the fire within her, that was roaring for release, settle somewhat. The heatwaves coming off her lessened.

After a moment more, she ruffled her feathers and wondered if this was how General Tullica felt when the dragon called him Lumina's pet. She thought that if General Tullica could be called a 'pet' and not cause an international incident, then so could she. She took another breath and relaxed her wings.

She opened her eyes and focused on King Remraz, understanding Milorth's words about this king having the personality of a dragon.

The vampire was glaring at the king decked in gold and so was the dragon, who was now standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Lothaire. Both of them balling their hands into fists, shoulders stiff.

"You dare to call the Phoenix Princess a pet," growled Milorth. Then his sea green eyes landed on the large, golden statue of this king riding what could only be a dragon. He dropped his jaw and stared at the statue for a moment. His eyes flashed as he said, "Is that you riding a dragon?! There's no chance a pathetic mortal like you would ever ride a dragon! And I'll show you what a dragon truly looks like!"

Lumina shrieked for him to stop, but sea green scales grew all over him. His body lengthened to thirty-four meters (or 37 yards), his goatee grew and lengthened, sea green eyes glaring at King Remraz. His snake-like body had powerful legs and no wings. He bared his meter (or 1.09 yards) long, sharp teeth, smoke curling out of his mouth.

Lumina screeched that he was not to harm anyone.

Milorth met her eyes for a moment, then turned his gaze on the statue. He breathed fire at it and it started to melt. Lumina sang, with a note of panic, that it wasn't his statue to melt and reminded him they were in another kingdom.

Admittedly, she really couldn't blame him for wanting to destroy the statue.

The dragon stopped melting the statue, green magic forming around him and the golden statue. It creaked and groaned. The golden king riding on top was moved to underneath the golden dragon, his back bent. It looked as if the dragon was now stepping on the king, similar to how the king had stepped on his servant earlier.

Milorth turned back into his human form and nodded at the golden statue. "That's better," he said, his rage apparently abated by this one action.

Lumina let out a breath, relaxing her wings at the fact that the dragon wasn't taking this further.

"Can I feed on King Remraz now?" whispered Lothaire to Lumina. She glared at him and shook her head.

[Elowen-Astrid]

The mages felt the heat coming from Lumina. She seemed to have calmed herself down after a moment. Mǽrwynn thought it was very understandable. She just had been called a pet, which must have been quite the insult to her. She wanted to say something to ease the situation but then, before she even realized it, Milord had changed in a full sized dragon. She stared in shock to what was happening before her eyes. The others made no efforts to hide their surprise as well. Even Rainulf seemed quite affected by this.

‘Poor king Thorsten’ thought Oliver. There was already a hole in the ceiling and he had made a guess of its origin but now he was quite sure it was the dragon who was responsible for it. The man had been kind enough to offer them hospitality. He didn’t deserve this commotion.

Heliarde started laughing uncontrollably once the main shock was over.  She had been bored since she got here. Staring at the vampire had posed a pleasant distraction, but this, this was hilarious.

Mǽrwynn and Oliver looked at her with disapproval opening their mouths to stop her, but Rainulf already took care of it.

“Heliarde, stop laughing.” said Rainulf once he regained his composure.

 “I can’t”. It took her a considerable amount of effort to get those words out.  She was crying with laughter.

“You will.” He replied. “ I am serious.” His eyes were gleaming dangerously.

“Fine” she said still snickering but annoyed. “You always take the fun out of anything.”

[Call Me Nefret]

Everyone in the Erried group was beyond tense. How were they to deal with a king that seemed to despise magic when there were so many other people that could use it. Even Mirabel, who would usually be throwing back quips to what was obviously a stupid leader, could not find a sarcastic comment to say.

"We are mainly agricultural," Thorsten replied. "The breadbasket for our lands. Any metal we mine is split between tools for fieldwork and supplies for our military." He spoke matter of factly. In truth, he was one of the few people that had nothing to fear from the pompous king. But he had grown up with his adoptive sister and her visions had saved Erried more than once. Anyone that would hold her in low esteem, he held likewise.

But then things went crazy. The statue the odious king presented (which Thorsten had immediately intended to melt down and turn to jewelry for the goddess' festival) was suddenly under attack by the dragon.

"So he does produce fire," Mirabel murmured quietly. She watched as the horrible piece of art started to melt. Just as quickly, the dragon rearranged it so the king was now being stepped on in his own statue. She had to press her lips together to keep from laughing. Behind her, she could hear Sydelle giggling. Rosaline quickly hushed the child.

"Well," Thorsten said quietly. "This is a bit awkward."

[Sophie]

Kane had known that present would be a terrible idea. He had argued with him that it wasn’t necessary or couldn’t they just give the other kingdom a more traditional gift? Like Netnak chutney. No one would turn their nose up at that. But the king had insisted and as usual he had succumbed to the will of his king. Now there was a dragon bearing down on them both, brilliant green scales flashing in the lamp light, smoke curling out of its mouth in thick, dark tendrils.

King Remraz hadn’t noticed the indignation at the word “pet” as he rarely noticed when anyone was upset at anything he had said or done. He did, however notice the 100 foot dragon in the room.

Or he would have not he been suddenly tackled to the ground. ‘Oh military! Now there’s a g-oof!’

The red-headed woman, who had thankfully been standing right beside him when she first noticed the green scales materialising, and who also had a second sense when it came to preserving her king’s delusions so as not to incur his terrible wrath, dove suddenly at him. ‘Your Highness, look out!’

Their servants and other courtiers did not have the luxury of such a manoeuvre. They were now shrieking and streaming out of the hallway in frantic masses. Terrified for their lives at the sight of a real, fire-breathing dragon.

Limbs sprawled everywhere. ‘What are you doing, Captain?! What on Anea is going on?!’ The King bellowed as he struggled to free his cloak which had become tangled around his head. ‘Right Us this once!’

Yahra struggled on the ground purposefully, ‘Forgive me, sire!’ she said, gaping up at the dragon who still loomed over them.

Only when Milorth had assumed his human form again did she stop her charade, now apologising profusely and helping her king to his feet. ‘I thought there was a, uh, a, some kind of hornet, I think. It’s gone now though.’

‘A hornet?!’ He wrenched back his cloak finally, his once perfectly coiffured locks now sticking up at odd angles, ‘Well. We suppose being stung would have caused Us a rather unpleasant reaction… But expect at least twenty-seven ear pinches when We return home for such raucousness!’

'Yes, sire.' Yahra saluted.

A hand smoothed over his hair and he straightened the crown on his head, huffing. ‘Now…’ He screamed again, as he turned back to the now changed statue, ‘Now how did that happen?! Our most valuable statue has been disgraced! What sorcery is this?!’

'N-no sorcery sire!' Yahra commented reflexively.

‘Gideon!’ He spun around wildly, looking at the other guests and his fleeing courtiers accusingly. ‘Where are you going?! Apologise to Our host for this most unbecoming behaviour!’

His herald, who was currently trying to force himself out the door, froze. His head span back around and he stared at King Remraz with terrified, pinpricked pupils. Like Yahra, he too seemed to understand that the king’s wrath was not worth his own life and came rushing up to Thorton, bowing so deeply his nose touched his trembling knees.

‘I would like to sincerely apologise for this terrible slight, your most royal Highness.’ He said, his voice a quaking rope bridge over a gaping canyon, threatening to break.

[Poetic-Jessie]

"Hornet?" asked Milorth, glaring at the guard who tackled King Remraz. "I am no mere hornet!"

Lumina whistled to him that he had already defaced a statue, scared the majority of the servants and courtiers of this king, and put a hole in the ceiling. She sang that if she could put up with being called a pet, then he could put up with being called a hornet.

Milorth glared at Lumina and she glared right back at him.

"Think, Milorth, there must be a reason for the mortals to lie to their king," said Lothaire quietly, inspecting the valiant but untruthful guard.

"I don't care if there's a reason, I'm not a hornet!" growled the dragon.

Lumina narrowed her eyes at Milorth and whistled a query of whether or not he would allow a mortal to define who he was.

The dragon blinked at her for a moment, as if taken aback by the question. He frowned then sent a glare at the guard. "No, I will not allow a pathetic mortal to do such a thing. My magnificence could never be defined by a mortal." He focused on King Remraz and his entourage. "But I will not put up with being called a hornet again. I am a dragon and always will be a dragon."

He moved back to his chair and sat back in what little was left of the sun ray still shining on the throne. After a moment, he closed his eyes, appearing to bask in the sun once more.

At hearing King Remraz's servant apologise to King Thorsten, Lumina knew that she should be doing the same. She was about to whistle an apology but remembered Lothaire's warning to the dragon about why these mortals were lying to their king. She thought about why she or any of her friends lied to her father, the king. They did it was because he would be dangerous if he found out the truth.

She focused on King Remraz and wondered what, apart from his pompous nature, made him dangerous. The guard had deliberately avoided saying that there was a dragon in the room. Did this king dislike immortals? She looked at the golden statue that once depicted King Remraz riding a dragon and wondered if she revealed herself to be a phoenix, an immortal, would he try to subdue her in some way? He wouldn't succeed, if he tried, especially with the dragon and vampire beside her.

Ruffling her feathers, she eyed this king and what was left of his entourage. She didn't want to start a war, especially not here. Outside maybe, but not in here. Clenching her beak, she thought that she had pretended to be less than she was in the past to her father, perhaps she could do the same now. She reminded herself of her words to the dragon, no mortal could define who she was, even if she had to pretend to be a 'pet.'

A vein popped in her head and heatwaves radiated from her once more. She chanted over and over in her head that she was a guest.

After a long moment, the heatwaves receded and she sidled over to Lothaire, communicating her plan to him in quiet trills.

He gaped at her. "You want him to continue thinking you're a pet?" he whispered furiously.

The dragon opened his eyes and frowned at her. "Don't deny your true heritage because of a pathetic, odious, arrogant, obtuse, gullible, mortal king, phoenix."

Lumina sent him a glare, knowing that all of her plans would be destroyed if King Remraz heard any of that. She quietly trilled that she wasn't denying her heritage, just keeping it a secret until they knew more about King Remraz.

"Hmm..." was all the dragon said. He sent a glare at the odious king then closed his eyes, relaxing back into his chair, the frown still on his face.

Lumina stiffened her shoulders and whistled a quiet query that Lothaire be her intermediary until she could reveal herself once more.

The vampire flicked his eyes between her, the dragon and King Remraz. "I suppose, I could do that for you, phoenix."

She whistled a request that he apologise to King Thorsten about what just happened and he nodded. Lothaire turned to the king hosting this gathering and bowed low. "We would also like to extend our deepest apologies, King Thorsten."

"Hardly," said Milorth from his chair. "I hold absolutely no regrets." He shuddered and brushed himself off, as if once more brushing off the apology.

Lumina shot him a glare.

[Elowen-Astrid]

Heliarde finally managed to contain herself, but almost broke out into laughter again when the herald bowed for king Thorsten and made his apologies. She knew, as well as the others, that the king Remraz was dangerous. Even though she found the way his servants and company acted very funny, she was worried about what he was capable of. 

Rainulf looked at the red-haired women beside him, she had finally contained herself and had a slight frown on her face. Good he thought. She finally sees the danger of this situation. He still did not understand the pompous king. Was he really oblivious to the situation? What would he do if he found out they were mages and Lumina and her company were immortals? What would he do if he found out about the abilities of Mirabel and Sydelle. He could try to read his thoughts, but if king Remraz was sensitive to magic or more aware than he thought he could be noticed when he tried to read him. He looked at the purple eyed girl. She had found out they were mages without them noticing it. He decided to take a risk and reached out the girl while carefully making sure no one would see his glowing eyes by projecting an illusion in the minds of the gathered company if they were to look his way. Which cost him more effort than he liked since the company had grown quite big.

“Sydelle” he said to her. “You alone can hear me, please don’t answer out loud. I know you are not allowed to read thoughts, but I need to know what king Remraz is capable of. If I try to read his mind he might know it, but your powers are different from mine. If you want to talk to me, just reach out to me in your thoughts, I will now it.”

He made sure he did not make eye contact too long and he let his eyes wander on the peculiar company.

Mǽrwynn softly touched Oliver’s arm. “What is it?” he asked her privately.

“I don’t like this king Remraz” she let him know. “He somehow seems worse than Tedwin and I did not think that was possible.”

“I get what you mean” He replied. “Rainulf is up to something. He can’t fool me with those illusions. He used magic, but I don’t know exactly what he did.”

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