Lasahr'celeb Hal-uilde's Story

(For ye old speech.)

Aldric Valens' eyes snapped open, blinded momentarily by the light from the lamp stands in the corners of the room, three of them to be exact. Gilt affairs, the lamps stood as high as a man, the cage containing the candle wick lined with mirrors to reflect the light in multiple directions, increasing the brightness of the room without increasing the size of the flame. A rather old trick that had been used for hundreds of years by his reckoning. Someone would have thought of it at some point; it really was quite useful. Sighing softly as he thought of the day ahead, Aldric stood up slowly so as to not wake the Queen; no sense in disturbing rest that didn't need to end.

Making his way to the dressing room, he scanned the array of clothes available to him. It really was too much for any one person, especially him. He preferred items to be elegant yet simple. Despite resolving to do so multiple times, he had never converted the clothes to more usable materials. Memories of his parents were attached to many of the garments, ones that were not pleasant. Maybe that stayed his hand as much as the lack of time.

Supple leather boots of various colors and thickness lay arranged along the wall closest to the door. The differences were minimal as well would serve well in court yet be serviceable in battle, albeit for a short time. Selecting a pair of knee-height boots of light brown leather, he continued on with a tunic of green silk with scroll-work running along the seams, brown-dyed cotton pants that extended into his boots, and a cloak of ruddy-brown secured by a thing gold chain. Donning the attire, he retrieved the King's Crown from it's position in the dressing room. The frame was a simple gold circlet, made unique by the platinum-secured sapphires and rubies set into the crown. For whatever reason regalia seemed to inspire people.

Stepping through the door leading to the hall outside his chamber, Aldric nodded to Vyri Veyer, captain of the Royal Guard and one of his most trusted companions. Looking through one of the arrow slits to the outside sky, he was pleasantly surprised to find a clear blue with a scattering of clouds. "A fine day for a speech, I would say. Or a battle. Or peace. Peace is what we seek," Aldric muttered to himself, trying to convince himself of that statement.

Striding through the hallways, he greeted the various servants and guardsmen that were awake at the moment. When he had first done so, many had been shocked by his association with those not of rank. By this point all took it as normal from him. Approaching a door that would open out to the main courtyard of Castle Valens, Aldric took a deep breath and steeled himself for the coming moments. The people needed inspiration and it was up to him to give it to them. But could he provide it? The war was tiring him, aging him beyond his years, sapping his will to fight. Every day was a struggle to survive, encroached upon on all sides by the forces of the Demon Lord. Yet he had a duty to the people and he must fulfill it.

As he stepped onto the balcony, he was greeted by the sight of hundreds of people looking up at him, milling about. Upon seeing him both cheers and insults roared from the crowd. Aldric looked on wearily before steeling his mind and voice.

"Citizen's of Enri, dark times are upon us, have been upon us for the past twelve years. In the 840th year of the Rift, armies of Demon's poured forth from the Moors, aided by humans that would destroy the sacred peace that had been built by the blood of our forefathers, blood spilt so that we would not have to spill our own. But such measures were not effective. Somehow, someway, the Wall was breached by the forces of Evil. Meot Acer, blessed be his name, was one of the first to give his life to ensure the safety of the people of Enri. His sacrifice, along with those of his knights, allowed the survival of countless people, providing the time needed for them to escape. But as many as we saved, we lost more. In their desire to wipe from the face of this planet, the Demonic forces pillaged and massacred as they advanced through the continent. Families were butchered in front of each other, whole companies of soldiers tortured for the amusement of demons, prisoners hunted and then cooked alive for sport and hunger. Our soldiers have valiantly given their lives to stem the flow but yet again it was not enough. We are surrounded in Acatia with our forces, those in Inae are similarly trapped." Aldric stood quiet for a few moments, the rage of countless losses spilling over, driving him to more. "You see what they do to us, treat us like animals. Are we animals? No, we are not! We are human, fey, castanic, we are brothers and sisters bonded in the fires of war and suffering. They think that they have made us weak as they push us back, our numbers dwindling. Some say that those with nothing to lose will fight the hardest in war, giving their all in battle. I would like to challenge that claim. It is those that have family at home, friends waiting for your return, patrons and customers that admire you; those are the people that will fight the hardest! Do we not have a home around us? Do we not have friends and family gathered here and Inae? Do not those that we have known look upon us from the heavens, willing us to avenge them? I say we do! The night always seems blackest before the dawn. Well I tell you, people of Enri, our dawn has come! No longer will we hide behind our stone walls, cowering in hopes that they will deter the force of the Demon Lord! No longer shall we bend knee to those that would treat us as slaves, kill us as cattle! No, we are free men, women! No longer! From this day forth we shall drive back the darkness! We shall bring the light forth! We are the dawn that we have been waiting for! Our cause is just, our intentions true, our morals noble. So I call to you, unite! Unite and push back this darkness! Our victory awaits us! Our time has come!"

Vyri stood solemnly by the king from the moment he left his chambers only returning the greeting he was given by the admirable warrior that had aged so terribly from these trying times. He had walked and served this King since being sent here by his parents whose trust in him had been formidable. Now he was placed in high esteem by a king as the captain of his personal guard, serving well before this in the Imminatis Regiment now taken over by his predecessor Rowan Vescis with the lost of his eye.

He continued with his solemn expression expression never breaking the stoic appearance he held, a lack of discipline it would be to him and on his parents. Now they finally made it to the balcony leading into the courtyard. The same courtyard that hosted more than refugee camps and the forlorn faces of feeble families torn by loss, strife and utter despair. Vyri had encountered his own amount just like these folks but he refused to show it at all with his only visible scar being the silver eye patch he wore covering the empty socket. This was the kings attempt at rallying the people giving them hope for the future a very bleak future that did not contain much by current appearances.

Vyri sat and listened as the speech began listening thoughtfully carefully ensuring he absorbed every word. This wasn't some lesson by his parents on the dangers of the wilderness or a school lesson he did not wish to learn. No this was much more than any of that. This was the leader of the faithful country standing on the doorstep of hell staring down a rancid beast that was knocking viciously at a gate it could not budge. That gate was not only a physical one as much as it was a metaphor for the resilience the people continued to show by living on.

The speech came to an end Vyri taking the moment with the words resounding through the courtyard to walk forward his hand already on his sword hilt his other fist striking into the air in a pose of victory.

"All hail the Aldric Valens, King of Enri, and the one who will lead us to victory against the darkness! Witness now the judgement of the righteous!" The elves words rang loud through the courtyard his own tone harsh and clear no melodic tone just the strong words ringing from his mouth as he led the war cry.

He sat down, not with content or worry but just with the focus of a hawk that he needed to take care of business. Sharpening his two daggers and plucking his bow, Lasahr'celeb then began to pray to Merida, muttering, "Oh please, Merida, bless me positively in this battle, my luck being my best asset. After he was done with prayer, he moved on to the tactical gear he had prepared for the journey ahead of him. Rations were already passed out and he placed them into his knapsack, placing his hood on his head as he pushed forward and out of the barracks. He was given orders to rendezvous in the region of Hath to taking care of the back line of enemies, pick off the major threats and do recon on enemy camps. I took the mount provided for me, a horse, and let out a small grunt, kicking my steed in the side and she jumped forward, blasting down to the south.