Earl of Purple wrote: ↑Jul 09, 2023 10:20 am
Whispering Sea
"You're royalty, y'highness. I'm not. Ecbatanans don't give their names to royalty unless asked, with the exception of dukes and their immediate families, viziers, generals, the Royal Priests, and the Masters of the Loreguilds. The people powerful enough angry princesses can't order them hanged without really good reason. If someone introduces themselves t' you, they're somebody important or an ambassador representing someone important and foreign. My name is Captain Oswald Arghor, of the Royal Rocketry Brigade." Although technically Oswald is breaking the cultural taboo on name-giving, Aikobaz insinuated she wanted to know it and didn't know the cultural background behind it.
"No, your highness. You can't trust me to keep it in confidence. Until you've sat the throne, if a general orders me to tell them of what we've spoken of, I need to carry out that order. I mean, I don't, but that opens me to punishment. You're a prospective royal, putting you on the same level as a duke. You can order me- and other soldiers- to do any non-military task you wish, so long as it don't conflict with an existing order, but anything a general tells me to do takes precedence." So she can't order the guards escorting the wagon to do anything that would interfere with her safety, most likely.
[Whispering Sea]
"I see. And would I be correct in assuming that, once we reach Ecbatana proper, the officials there would be bound by more or less the same parameters?" Aikobaz asks. If that's the case, then she has some tasks in mind already for when they get there... but no sooner. And if it's not, she would really like to know that before she attempts to throw her proverbial weight onto a noble that outranks her. Nothing undermines authority faster than obviously having no idea what she's doing.
bc56 wrote: ↑Jul 09, 2023 4:36 pm
Detention
"No problem," Mary replies, suppressing a laugh. If she'd known she could win Aiko over by loaning her books, they might not have fought to begin with.
"Good luck on your exams."
[Detention]
"Likewise." Aiko replies sincerely. "...And I would have it known that the offer I made to come over to study is still viable, if you are interested."
With that, the empress turns and walks down the hall, out of the scene.
Keeper wrote: ↑Jul 09, 2023 7:34 pm
Crystal Dorms
"It's a matter of perspective. If multiple people are courting you, sure I guess. But if they're seeing it as a competition, that means that they're seeing it as a thing where the other person is their opponent and what you actually desire isn't nearly as important to the equation. And that SHOULD be the most important part of the equation. That they actually care about that." Mac moves his pawn with a shrug.
Parts Unknown
"Alright, fine. But just know that I wasn't lying about talking to my brother. Or that I called for help. If I don't get back soon, expect to have the place flattened by a Thamar's heel."
Those two facts are actually completely unrelated, but Kol wouldn't be a member of the family without a little healthy lying his claws off.
[Crystal Dorms]
"Really? Is that the nature of a competition?" Aikobaz raises an eyebrow. "A conflict between two or more parties with no ultimate objective, no rules of conduct, no referee? Does approaching it as such make one a skilled competitor?" She reaches down and moves one of her pawns straight from its starting position all the way to home, giving Mac a tight-lipped little smile. "As much as my suitors would be vying for my affections, I would be choosing between them. Why would I crown as victor one who cannot even keep sight of the goal? As both a prospective life partner and a monarch sharing responsibility, that would be a poor choice; choosing no suitor at all would be preferable." She gives a little shrug. "Competition allows me to see them while stress-tested, in a controlled environment. I can see how much they are willing to sacrifice, how creatively they can solve obstacles, how deeply their affections run, and how honorable they are overall. A single courtship leaves room for deception, but this... this brings out the best, and the worst, in people."
[Parts Unknown]
Braeg gives Kol a little smirk. "Is that so? Well, I wouldn't worry about it overmuch." The fiendling raises his hand and snaps his fingers, and once again, the world is caught up in a cloud of earthy green smoke.
Right before it's filled about halfway up Kol's chest with putrid bogwater.
The area immediately around Kol seems to be a marsh of sorts. Tall mangroves grow in every direction, their roots dipping down into the murky water to anchor them against unseen ground. Jumbles of mossy stones poke up through the water's surface, providing the occasional departure from the trees and the muddy, foul-smelling water.
"Oops. Overshot just a tick." Braeg chortles from a nearby cluster of stones. He's sitting with his boots resting on the ground next to him, his feet just barely in the water. "Oh, well. Hope you don't mind taking a brief swim before we go to see your mother." He points back over his shoulder, gesturing to a series of warm lights off in the distance, their source still a bit indistinct. "Don't worry. She won't mind the smell. If anything, I might have done you a favor."
Who're you? ...Don't matter.
Want some rye? Course ya do!
Here's to us!
Who's like us?
Damn few,
And they're aaaaall dead.