Azmir

The wind, that was what he was focusing on. Not the others in the room, not the feeling of coolness towards his brother, not his father’s breathing just to his left or the scratching of a feather pen as one of the assistants took notes. No, Alder was focusing on the wind, it’s free moving currents coursing through the air, twisting and turning randomly as they went along their way. That was what the situation Alder found himself in right now felt like. In flowing with the currents of the wind as they made one of their sharp turns in life. True many would prefer the comparison to the tides of water but Alder prefered to use the wind in this case. He opened his eyes to the hall before him, the grand table made for meetings like the one to come. To his left in the largest chair was his father, King Isadore Sinclair. To the left of him was the Crowned Prince and Alder’s “brother” Veloren Sinclair. They and the rest of the staff were gathered here waiting for the delegation from Dalla to arrive.

Just a few days ago Alder’s father approached him and told him that the country of Dalla had sent a message asking for assistance against Hander, which was threatening to invade them. Now Baldaria did not appreciate what Hander was doing and was prepared to go to war when this message arrived. This only served to benefit Baldaria who was already preparing their armies. As the Commander of the Army Alder would be leading the legions to war so he expected his father to include him in these negotiations. But what he hadn’t expected was when Isadore had told Alder the king had offered not just access to their ports but his daughter in exchange for help protecting Dalla. This came as a surprise to Alder as he was quite familiar with the history between Baldaria and Dalla in a similar deal a little over a hundred years ago. At this Alder had expect to have to be involved in a deal in which Veloren would marry the Dalla princess. This left a sour taste in Alder’s mouth not because of their relationship but because Veloren would have some leverage over Alder’s former home.

But Alder was wrong, as his father told him he had arranged for Alder to marry the Princess. This shocked Alder, he expected for Veloren to have been given her hand due to being the Crowned Prince. But his father explained that with the way things were between him and Veloren he couldn’t risk infighting when Veloren was given the throne. It was just as likely Veloren would use his power to displace or even eliminate Alder. And with the relationship between father and son having degraded over the years, Isadore suspected he wouldn’t be able to keep Veloren in line for much longer. In addition, his father wanted to give back to Alder some connection Dalla. Most of what his father said made sense and though the reason for him giving an Alder some connection to his old home country did not as useful to them it gave Alder a way home if he ever needed or wanted to go home. In short for leveled the field for both princes and widened the gap of conflict between them.

So here he sat, waiting for the final negotiations to commence. Alder gave a small smile to his father who saw it out of the corner of his eye and returned it. Alder then returned to the book he had been reading. In front of him were several books and papers with information regarding Handar. With them ready to go to war Alder was preparing his mind by learning about his enemy before they did battle. Knowing how they lived and thought was just as beneficial as a well trained army. A sigh escaped to his left and a voice spoke, “When are they going to arrive.” Vloren’s voice said in a clearly frustrated tone. After learning Alder would be marrying the Dalla princess Veloren had become quite hard to deal with the last few days. No doubt he saw this as a violation as his right as the crowned prince and believed he himself to be more fit to marry the princess.

“Patience Veloren, they will here soon.” Alder said in a cool voice as he continued reading. Veloran glared at Alder, “I would appreciate it if you would keep such input to yourself, brother!” Veloren spat. Alder ignored him and turned the page to his book, “Alder is right Veloren, have patience. They will arrive soon enough.” Their father said. Veloren huffed and muttered to himself, no doubt obscenities directed at Alder. Alder shook his head, his father was right, Veloren was becoming much harder to control and more unpredictable. Perhaps this marriage would be fore the best, it would give Alder a way to get away from Veloren if the time came and maybe, put the prince at ease. But for now he had a war to prepare for, a negotiation to preside over,

And soon a wedding to attend.

Escorting the royal party into the palace the maid took them through a large set of double doors made from fine oak wood. Above the door writing in arching Belethian was the words “The Spirits welcome you to Soul Hearth”. Beyond the double doors a large elegant hall greeted the party as they entered. The floor was made from polished white marble with a line of black granite leading from the main doors to a set on the other side of the hall. The door on the other side appeared to be made from the same oak wood and had two sets of stairs on either side spiraling to a balcony and walkway above. Triangular pillars spanned from the floor to the ceiling were made from the same marble. Carved inside of the pillars to within a reasonable seeing distance were various figures from humans to animals, some of which appeared to be hybrids of human and animals.

Murals were painted on the walls and ceilings of similar figures and depicted events and stories told in an art format. Arched windows in the walls and a serious of windowed holes in the ceiling served not to just provide light but to also add ambiance to the hall. The maid lead the party through the hall to the door on the other side where the corridor walls were of the same marble as the hall. The floors were lined with with lush carpet of a rich crimson color. More murals along with tapestries continued the art like stories along the corridors while elegant torches provided light where windows were absent. Doors leading to rooms also had carvings in them though they had more focus on creatures and humans more than scenes from a story. While there were suits of armor and weapons the ambiance projected from the palace had a more tranquil feeling about it than a barbaric one.

The maid lead them through the majestic corridors to a set of double doors made from a ebony. Inside was a rather spacious room with a long table of fine wood. Chairs were set at either end of the table but unlike the rest of the room the table and chairs appeared not to be part of this room. The room shared the same decor as the palace with the exception of the carpet which was a deep indigo. But while the room was elegant and had a more relaxed feeling the table appeared to be out of place in this room. Almost as if it had been moved into this room for a purpose.

Inside were a few servants and only two guards were present in the room. But unlike the Valkyries these guards wore a rich robes of blue which fell down to their barley viable boots. Their helmets also shared a blue like tint with T like opening in the front and a horse haired cress adorning the top. Thought the T like opening allowed the guards to see their lower faces were covered with a blue cloth, preventing their identities from being known. From the slit in the side of their robes if one looked closely enough a silver like breastplate was visible, confirming these guards were not just ceremonial in appearance. On the other side two elderly men and two young men present. The two young men were no doubt the princes', Veloran and Alder Sinclair, though it was unknown who was whom for the moment. The Elderly one standing by the one of the young men was unknown but his uniform indicated him to be of great military importance, a captain or greater. The other Elderly man wore no crown but he needed none to be recognized as the King of Baldaria, King Isadore Sinclair.

“M'lord, the royal part of Dalla has arrived, the maid announced as she stepped aside to let them pass. King Isadore and his sons rose as they entered and moved to meet them in person, “King Philip, it is an honor to have you here.” Isadore said as they closed the gap between their two parties.

Double post