Reboot: Veiled Chaos

Elysia raised a hand to her mouth aghast at the story the farmer told. A corpse mangled beyond recognition, could that be Aldric? In truth however, Darkmin was delighted. The fear was spreading, the peasants looked terrified, the Queen's presence was frightening yes, but they had to go home where demons may yet be roaming. If not for the hand Elysia's wide grin may betray her.

Though, the Farmer, Rhysos, had not noted the presence of his wolves. Darkmin knew it was a journey but he wanted them here now! The excitement was pumping in his blood, he wanted to transform and devour the peasants to feel their bones against his teeth. Quickly things were spiraling out of hand, Elysia quietly bit her finger, the pain shocking her back into reality. She had to pay attention.

The Horde of Wolves was surging over the forest border between Gentri and Saga, it had taken them a while to pack provisions for such a grand migration, having left several smaller packs behind to clean up what was left of the inner city they surged through the woods lead by a dark furred Alpha chosen by Darkmin himself, with the White wolf trailing nearly behind him. the alpha barked loudly, signalling the pack to halt, in the shadows there yet unfamiliar wolves emerging. Dark and malnourished they howled greetings from Darkmin, for it had been told that the Gentri wolves would arrive. Thus the two sides met under a common banner.

The queen nodded, slightly distracted as she thought. She vowed to look into this matter herself, as she suspected magic of some kind to be behind the strange behavior of the wolves. It was the wolves, she was sure of it. She dismissed the farmer, who turned back to his companions with a relieved expression. They left the castle amazed at being able to keep their heads attached to their necks.

"What do we do, sister?" Sera asked.
"I'm not sure. It could be a demon has taken up residence in the forest." Haedria answered, leaning back in her throne. "Whatever this is, it is unnatural, possibly magic."

The queen's predictions were frighteningly accurate. Elysia eyed Haedria, the queen was dangerously intelligent. Darkmin needed a plan to deal with her, some half-formed ideas were forming but they needed time to develop. Taking a deep breath Elysia's wicked smile faded from underneath her hand, lowering it slowly as it was no longer needed. Elysia scanned the room, looking for people of note: ministers, powerful nobles, anyone with influence should be here in court with the queen. Darkmin needed to find them and make note for later.

The queen was notoriously suspicious and wary of people getting close to her or her sister, so they had only one adviser, when most other kingdoms would have an entire council. The queen herself handled important matters of trade, foreign relations, and intrigue while Sera took care of the military. The adviser handled the day to day matters of the city and its populace.

The adviser stepped forward. He was a thin man, going bald from worry and stress from being directly addressed by the queen on a daily basis. The began to speak in hushed tones, when the door to the throne room swung open and a large man with a chest like a barrel walked in.

"Hamilcar!" Sera said, beaming.
"Hah! It is good to see you, princess!" The barbarian king said, grinning behind his beard. He turned to the queen and slapped his bare chest with his fist in salute. "My queen."
Haedria smiled, tight lipped, and nodded. "What brings you here?"
"I have gifts for you and the princess, of course." he answered, and waved at his companions. Two of his trusted scouts came forward and dropped large sacks of furs at the foot of the dais. Most were animals of the north like bears and foxes, but quite a few of the skins were wolf.

Wolf skins. Elysia felt her body tightening with anger at the sight of this new man and his 'treasures'. 'Bah, these Sisters have allies then? I bet he is as vicious and cruel as they are to get along so jovially with them.' Darkmin felt the situation becoming more difficult before his very eyes. He realized he knew very little about Sagna's diplomatic relationships, more information he needed to learn, and yet there were possibilities everywhere. The adviser clearly was not as crucial to the Sisters as Darkmin had hoped, Haedria seemed perfectly capable, a worthy opponent for his games of intrigue. Elysia stood in her allotted spot, saying nothing and moving little, but her eyes observed everyone closely.

Sera had begun to sift through the skins. The larger, more impressive ones still had the skull in them. She picked up one of the wolf skins and was moving the jaw of the skull like a puppet, much to Hamilcar's booming delight. Haedria thanked the barbarian king for his offering, and noticed Elysia. The woman simply stayed in her spot, unmoving, but the queen saw how closely she watched.

"Sister." she called out.
Sera back to the throne. "Yes?"
"Take the woman back to her chambers, and let Hamilcar and his men return to their camp."

The princess and the barbarian king gave a groan of dismay in unison at being dismissed. Hamilcar scooped up the knight-princess in a big hug, swords and furs and all, before setting her down and clapping her on the back with enough force to send her staggering forward slightly.

"Visit the camp sometime, princess! Share a drink with me, and bring your hounds for a hunt!" he said with a booming laugh before bidding the Red Sisters goodbye.
Sera likewise sent him off with a smile and wave, before turning back to Elysia and offering her arm. "Shall we, my lady?"

Elysia looked at Sera ad smiled, "Of course your majesty." and took the princess' arm in her own. Haedria had caught her observing rather than watching. She could easily explain it away as wanting to be able to make intelligent conversation, as a proper lady should be able to appear intelligent in matters of court. Though, would the paranoid queen believe her?

"I found court to be interesting today your majesty, I'm sure soon I'll be able to converse intelligently about it soon enough, as a proper lady of Gentri should."

Elysia's posture had become more dignified, and she carried a noble air around herself.

"You and ... Hamiclar was it? Seem to get along very well with one another, if he mayhaps your suitor?"

Elysia perked an eyebrow with interest at the potential gossip.

Sera started coughing, almost violently. "What? Is Hamilcar my suitor? she said in disbelief. "No, no I have no suitors. Hamilcar is a good friend." she explained, reeling at the thought of that large man being 'romantic' and trying to win her hand. She shook her head.

"Both my sister and I had noblemen and royalty asking for our hand in marriage." Sera explained as they walked. "She prefers that we stay independent, to put it lightly."

Catching Sera off guard like that almost made up the wolf puppet she so crassly made earlier, almost.

"Ah I see, forgive me for my assumption your Majesty," Elysia said.

So the Kingdom was essentially without heir, destroying the sisters would most surely cause such an instability that vultures would appear from without and within to feast upon the carcass of Sagna before the first drop of blood hit the floor. Of course, the trick would be killing them both.

"Your Majesty, I have a bit of a bold request for you if I may." Elysia began slowly, as if unsure of how Sera might react to what she has to say.

"I was wondering, if you could perhaps teach me swordplay?" The request hung in the air Elysia's face twisted into one of embarrassment or perhaps concern that she may offend the dear princess.

"You wish me to teach you swordplay?" Sera asked in disbelief. The art of the sword had never been for delicate females, and Sera had regularly been ridiculed by the soldiers she trained with when she was young. She silenced them quickly enough once her skill grew.

"Are you sure? And whatever for?"

Elysia looked thoughtfully into the air as if she had never considered why she wanted to learn the art of the blade, but her swift response revealed otherwise.

"I suppose I'm tired of tragedy your Majesty. The destruction of my house, and that terrible trek through the woods." She paused becoming more solemn and grim of complexion.

"Perhaps if I had been able to take a life when I needed to I would have been able to save the ones that mattered to me. I know it won't bring them back, but I have to try ... for myself if anything."