As they entered the throne room the herald leaned in to allow the chamberlain to whisper in his ear. The herald sent a page to relay a message to the king, who looked utterly bored slouching on the throne the way he was. From the door lead a velvet red carpet that ran up the center of the room and climbed the three steps that lead to the throne. To either side of the of the carpet were eight identical pews, made of a dark cherry wood lacquered to a high polished finish. The front two rows on both sides were full of minor lords and petty merchants addressing the king with their asinine complaints, and petty squabbles. As the king listened to the pay speak in his ear he looked up seeing the strange group of people standing inside his throne room. The king nodded his head and shooed the page away with an annoyed wave of his hand. As King Hakinim Alturio watched his herald get the names of the people he was about to announce he hoped this little diversion would be entertaining and break up the tedium of his afternoon.
"I bring you Sir Tiberius Stoneham, Jerry Walker, Vrkane Walker, and Bengala Walker to see his royal highness King Hakinim Alturio!", the herald bellowed in a loud clear voice. Jerry took his time walking down the aisle looking around at the people and the décor. The throne room had four marble columns on either side that supported the domed ceiling. The walls to the left and right each had four floor to ceiling windows that gave a commanding view of the palace grounds. The legendary golden condors could be seen wheeling about in the air above the palace. Large chandeliers hung evenly spaced helped to illuminate the vaulted ceiling which had a mural of angelic scenes. To the left of the throne is a twelve foot tall, fifteen foot wide golden cage with a six foot tall golden condor resting on a perch inside. To the right of the throne area stood a man in very rich garb rivaled only by the king himself. Jerry was sure that his clothing would rival even that of the king if it would offend the king in the process. Next to him stood and elderly gentleman with priestly looking robes, bedecked in a funny conical hat and many jewels all over his person. As Jerry watched the elderly priest got the rich man's attention and began talking to him in hushed tones. Feeling curious as to what they were saying he augmented his hearing so that he could ease-drop on their conversation.
"They glow like the noonday sun my lord!", the priest said
"This could work to our advantage, I'll create some false charges to have them imprisoned and then we will break their wills and turn them to our needs.", the rich man said.
"They are with Tiberius, do you think they have pulled him to their side? If so he can be a problem for us. I knew we should have made sure he was dead before we went along with Stephenos's plan."
"Tiberius has outlasted his usefulness. So has this pathetic king, as soon as I have their power combined with my other captives I will be able to overthrow this buffoon and give this kingdom the king it so rightly deserves."
Jerry was completely shocked, so shocked that he stumbled in his approach to the king. These two gentlemen were standing close enough that he had to have been able to over hear what they were saying, but he seemed oblivious to their conversation. Something didn't make sense to him till he looked at his finger and saw the ring Mel'Imba gave him. Since he could understand any language spoke to him, he forgot that other people couldn't, and he never knew when a different language was spoken around him. But this was information that would be helpful later on.
As they came to the bottom of the dais Tiberius dropped into a bow practically resting his head on his one raised knee. Vrkane and Bengala dropped down to one knee but did not bow their heads. Jerry remained standing but inclined his head to the king.
"Those servants of mine who approach my throne know to kneel before their king!", Hakinim said fuming
"That is definitely true your majesty", Jerry replied calmly trying very hard to keep a smirk off of his face
"Then can you explain to my why you feel you are exempt from showing me such due respect?" Hakinim said thru clenched teeth.
"It is very simple your majesty. I am neither a servant of yours or any other kingdom of this world. As being a member of an otherwise unheard of realm to your planet I am on a mission of divine bearing. I showed you the respect you deserved by inclining my head to you as is appropriate." Jerry said very calm and collected.
"He disrespects you my lord. I say you throw him in the dungeons immediately!", the richly dressed man said striding forward with a condescending smile on his face.
The king looked at his servant and then back at Jerry trying to size up the situation. Jerry sent his senses out to make sure it was safe, and to become familiar with the layout of the palace, just in case things took a turn for the worse. As he did so he felt a pull from outside and his knees grew week and he had to catch himself from falling on the floor. As it was he dropped down to one knee and the king mistook this as him deciding to show him reverence.
"It appears there is no need for such harsh actions Lord Archibald. Apparently our large friend has come to his senses.", the king said feeling he had cowed this divine agent.
As Jerry stood back up he was focused on looking out the window and didn't acknowledge the kings presence. Archibald was talking to the priest again when, while still looking out the window, Jerry spoke, "King Hakinim I didn't come here to be a cause of disturbance for you and your court. Your chamberlain has a letter for you from a mutual friend , Tu'Xanz Walax. I have brought his shipment of weapons for him so that he could stay home and protect his family. I was hoping I could ask a favor of your highness, I am looking for someone who was here maybe a thousand years ago. I was wondering if you would allow me to review your archives to see if there is any mention of him there. It would greatly aid me in my quest."
At this point the King and other members of his court were looking out the window now too, trying to see what had captured Jerry's attention so. When he turned around suddenly and focused on the king again everyone was expecting him to say more or at least mention what he was looking at, but Jerry just stood there waiting for the king to respond to his question. When the king finally caught on that Jerry was waiting for him he waved his chamberlain over asking to see the letter from Tu'Xanz. The king had to read it three times to be sure he had gotten it right. The king had great trust in Tu'Xanz and in his dealings with him they had become close friends. Tu'Xanz said that if he ever needed the King's help for anything life threatening that he would get a message to him. The message said that he needed to talk to this Jerry fellow and it needed to be in private. For Tu'Xanz to send him this request he knew it was of dire importance. Maybe he could use Jerry's request to kill two birds with one stone.
"Tu'Xanz is a very good friend of mine and an honored guest in my hall. I will gladly extend to you any courtesy I would give my good friend, since he vouches for you. It says here in his letter that you brought weapons for me to inspect?", Hakinim said
"Yes your majesty. I have apprenticed under him for a couple months now and he deemed the work I helped him with worthy of your appreciation and acceptance.", Jerry said happy to see things working out.
"Excellent let us adjourn until tomorrow and I will inspect these new weapons to see if the quality is as good as you say." Hakinim left the throne room being hounded by a throng of people yelling it wasn't fair that they haven't been able to have their chance to speak to him. But he just chuckle and left knowing his guards would block the annoying crowd from following him. As they entered the great hall the packs of weapons were still where Jerry and his companions had left them. The king looked over the different swords, shields, short spears, bucklers, and barbed arrows and was very satisfied with the high quality of craftsmanship. Hakinim turned around to thank Jerry for his efforts on his behalf but stopped wide eyed in shock. Jerry wasn't wearing his armor anymore but was dressed in a metallic navy blue silk shirt with a light gray stripe running from his neck over his shoulders and down his sleeves. He wore a vest and pants of the same light gray color as the stripe on his shirt. His shoes were a shiny navy blue alligator shoes. Bengala now had on a sea-foam green gown with a modestly plunging neckline. She noticed the stares she received in her armor and like how uncomfortable her body made people feel. Vrkane was now wearing a black silk shirt, black linen pants, and black leather boots polished to a high shine. Jerry was also holding a package out to the king.
"This is a gift for you. Tu'Xanz told me what weapon you fought with and I made this one especially for you.", Jerry said handing over the wrapped bundle. The king quickly threw back the burlap cloth covering the weapon. As soon as his hand made contact with the weapon he felt a jolt of energy shoot up his arm. When the energy reached his shoulder it split in two, one settling in his head, and the other settling in his heart. Suddenly he knew this weapon intimately as if it was with him from the day he was born. It was segmented into three parts that folded neat and could be placed into the leather harness that was also on the burlap cloth. With nothing more than a mental thought it sprang open with the blade flipping up ninety degrees and locking into place, while the bottom of the handle rotated out one hundred-eighty degrees to reach its full height of six feet tall. Hakinim was as giddy as a kid in a candy store, he started spinning his scythe weapon in intricate circular patterns moving from one form to the next. He paced around the great hall displaying his exceptional skill with this weapon. When Jerry and Tu'Xanz discussed making this for the king Jerry assumed it to be impractical in combat and more of a show piece than anything else. As he watched Hakinim maneuver about he was surprised at how versatile this weapon actually was. He knew that the spell he put on the weapon to bond it to the king would also allow him to know all its secrets. It healed minor wounds instantly, gave him and increase in speed and stamina, and could only be wielded by him.
As the king was finishing his practicing and was panting covered in sweat the queen came down the curved stairs with two of her ladies in waiting. The king removed his crown to wipe his brow and Jerry saw something he didn't expect. Hakinim's hair was down in very intricate corn rows, that crisscrossed in thick and thin X's that went down each row and combined together at the back of his head. He has a dark complexion and as Jerry remembered the King's history as Tu'Xanz had told him he remembered the king was of mixed decent.
Hakinim's mother was actually from Lavancia, she was a princess of the warrior nation and her marriage to his father was intended to ally the two nations together and give Sforn two fronts to have to battle. Even though it was a marriage of convenience the couple actually fell in love shortly after meeting. Tamerlia was known for her exceptional beauty and her athletic physique made her appealing to any man she met. Hendrick Alturio was from a great warrior-king line. His long record in combat against the Sforn gave him a reputation on and off the battlefield. Unbeknownst to their families the night they met they escaped to the east gardens and there they sparred with each other. Tamerlia could never love a man she could beat in a fight, and because of Hendrick's reputation she was itching to see if he lived up to the stories. Hendrick toyed with her at first feeling it was not proper for a man to use force against a woman, especially not this goddess in front of him. He stopped paying attention to her fighting moves and started focusing too much on her body. Big mistake, he was snapped back to reality by a punch to his face he didn't see coming. From that point on he took the fight more seriously. At the end they both were covered in sweat and leaning on their weapons exhausted. They stared across at each other and as they looked in each other's eyes they started laughing. They had each lived up to their reputations and within the first year of their marriage Hakinim was born. He was trained by both his parents in combat from the time that he could walk and grew strong and wise under his parents tutelage. He was just entering his teenage years when an ambush somehow got to his parents carriage as they returned from a visit to Tamerlia's family in Lavancia. Not having his parents protection, life in the palace became very hard for Hakinim. Many of the older families who opposed his father's marriage questioned his right to rule, calling him the bastard heir. One family that had always been his families greatest supporters helped him make it to the age required to assume the throne. The day he assumed the kingship he strode into the throne amongst loud debates of people who felt they would be better suited to rule. Hakinim walked right up to the golden condor and stuck him arm into the cage. The golden condor lowered its head and allowed him to pet its feathers. As all of them stared at him and as the room quieted Hakinim simply stated, "Any one of you who feels he has a better right to that throne then me, please walk up to this cage and do as I am doing right now." With that he walked up to the throne picked up the crown, placed it on his head, and sat in the throne. As he looked out over the crowd of older men with a very stern countenance, slowly all the knees in the room bowed to him and from that day forward no one questioned his right to rule.
As the king looked up at his lovely wife Priscilla, Jerry smiled to see the love they shared in that one glance. But soon Jerry had his breath taken away, time seemed to slow down as his Lisa walked down the stairs right behind the queen.