Raedas Flau Rath walked out the bathroom with a steady gait, he needed to look presentable and powerful today.
"Brother will be arriving today." He sighed. The hangover from yesterday's merriment still lingered.
"Sir," Moha spoke, snapping Raedas out of his reverie. "There's something on your neck."
He pointed to a lipstick and a hickey Raedas hadn't noticed.
Raedas touched it, and then he remembered the wench from last night. What was her name again? But he had already forgotten.
He wished he didn't forget this one, though. Her hazel eyes and budding breasts, and the way she smiled when they wrestled. He loved the dimples in her cheeks. He loved the clean, fresh smell of her and the way her red hair curled behind her ears.
He even loved her toes. She'd let him rub her feet and play with them, and he'd sucked and licked her soft and fresh and reveled in the fragrance of every toe; it made her giggle. Even the sounds of her laughter were strangely intoxicating.
she was the daughter of some lowborn minister
He wiped the lipstick away and pulled up the collar of his doublet, covering his fair olive skin, before donning a golden neck and shoulder corset with intricate designs.
Then he checked for the healing talisman his mother had crafted for him. Then he picked up the second talisman in the shape of a ring.
The bard's feet, it whispered into his ear as he wore it on his ring finger. Cera had procured it personally for him.
Then he wore his sheathed longsword by his right hip; in his left was the hilt of the demon's flaming sword.
"You look marvelous, my prince." Moha said as he fastened a large flowing velvet cloak with golden embroidery on the back of the corset.
Normally Prud–Raedas' pageboy would be the one helping him get dressed, but he had fallen ill, and the medicine man had disappeared somewhere.
Five guardsmen stood outside the door, clad in full plate legion armor, with gladii, spears, and longsword in their hands.
"Praise the flame and the radiant!" Victonus, Enet, Auhm, Kaloc, and Leotidus all saluted him outside his quarters, "Praise the Flame." He saluted back.
It was a bit ironic; Raedas could kill all of them if they came at him together. How could they possibly protect him?
But they would be able to stop an assassin coming in the dead of the night while I would be in dreams, Raedas thought.
Caution could not be overempathized; that was a lesson his late older brother Priam learned too late.
He climbed down the steps and left the Teeth—the keep he'd taken up in the Serpent den.
The sounds of guards going at it early in the morning greeted him, and he decided then to visit the barracks.
They were well at it again in the yard, blunted swords slamming into shields and ringing against one another.
Two caught his interest. Raedas stopped to watch a moment as one pressed another back toward the well.
Both had the makings of good fighters, he decided. He was in dire need of personal guards.
"They would suffice," he muttered under his breath. Then there came the rattling of metal and the splash of water. A young serving girl was struggling to fill a pail from the well. A hint of recognition ran across his face, but Raedas said nothing.
They left the Serpent's Den rather early and made way for the Red Crown.
Inside the carriage, Readas watched as low citizens and slaves withered out, and Highborn redheads emerged more and more as they got closer to the magnificent Palace looming high above.
To the west he could see the Weeping Mountains; they pierced the blue veil of the sky, almost like a jagged black wall fading into the vast blue.
To the east was the Serpent's Jaw. Two Titanic mountains. Like massive black monoliths, not as wide as the Weeping Mountains but taller. The Nether gate was nestled between the Jaws.
The carriage passed through the southern gate, and the Serpent's grave came into view, awe-inspiring and magnificent. Seven domed temples arranged in a circle with a large dome at the center.
Suddenly, the carriage stopped, and the door opened. An aged servant greeted him with a low bow, and Raedas dismissed him.
He walked briskly to the palace, then he climbed the stairs. Knight Legacii, in intricate scarlet armors, made no move to salute him. His soldiers shifted slightly, but Raedas calmed them. Then walked in.
"Just a little jest." He said to himself as his footsteps echoed down the marble hall. His entourage of personal guards at his heels.
Then the hallway opened up and revealed the large throne room, which was also the Court.
And so Raedas had come striding into the court, well guarded and dressed brilliantly well, to find ministers, lords of small and large lands, and princes and princesses waiting.
The king hadn't appeared yet; Raedas took notice of the very eye-catching large obsidian throne, which, of course, was currently empty.
The throne room was generously spacious. Great marble covered the floor, and in one corner a hundred fabulous beasts cavorted in bright paint on a carved screen from the Western Isles.
The walls were hung with tapestries from Idnsin and Iwinsk and Hudes, and a pair of obsidian carpets flanked the throne, eyes of polished rubies smoldering in black obsidian faces.
Murals and paintings of various events covered the high marble ceiling. Telling of the deeds of Amarak, the fracturing, and the betrayal.
The throne sat on an elevated platform while the Court lay below on marble floors with great pillars dancing on them.
The Minister, Raedas liked least, the badger, Minister Haim, accosted him the moment he entered. "
The Radiant, I am delighted to see you in full health. Lady Cera did say you had been unavailable when last we met. " There was a light chuckle around the court.
"I am delighted to see you too," Raedas replied with a chill in his voice.
The sly arrogance of the low-born rankled him.
Then he remembered, Yes her name was Milisan "I want you to understand I met your daughter Milisan as well." Minister Sulliam laughed.
"Rather too well," Haim said, then turned to make small talk.
Raedas walked and mingled with the least of courtesies with the least of the ranks in the court.
He checked the clocked candle on one of the walls.
The King will soon arrive.
Suddenly, a set of footsteps echoed off the marble floors from the hall Raedas had just walked through; they were hurried and out of rhythm, too. Then the owner came into view.
The bastard and his retinue of bumbling clowns for guards entered the court with panicky steps.
His brows were sweaty, and his eyes gittered back and forth. Relief flooded his face when he noticed the King hadn't arrived. He stood poised and took a moment to compose himself. Before raising his chin and walking down to the court to mingle with mongrels, bastards, and lowborns.
Then there was the sound of a trumpet, and the royal Praetorians filed out and surrounded the courtroom.
Heavy footsteps could be heard coming from the King's entrance. Then he came into view. Eight feet and ten inches tall, he towered over all. With fair copper skin, vibrant scarlet hair, two golden suns for eyes, and a face worthy of the finest marble sculptures framed by a full scarlet beard.
King Guluny Flau Rath walked in with steady steps, dressed in his full plate Flaming obsidian armor.
His eyes scanned the room with an unknown emotion hiding in their immortal depths. All bowed and knelt before the Demigod of a King.
Keeping their heads low; "We greet His Radiance." They all said in unison. He sat on the humongous obsidian throne, making it seem like a little chair. "You may rise."
"All rise for his Radiance Guluny Flau Rath." The herald shouted. And the members of the court rose in reverence.
Raedas rose and looked to the Throne platform.
To the King's left, his Praetorian commander and the general of the Red Legion, Primus Augustus Flau Rath, with his legendary falchion at his side.
And to the King's Right, Kairus Flau Rath, Head of all non-military affairs.
The Vizier His eyes darted to a figure hidden in the shadow of one of the great pillars.
A dark-skinned beauty with golden threads for hair and pulls of molten gold for eyes. Caramil Ad Errh, the infamous new concubine of the Vizier.
The bitch, Raedas, stopped himself from kissing his teeth in annoyance. She had been given to his father as a way to strengthen the empire's relationship with the Lucedonians. He tried to forget about her and her entourage, focusing on the more important things. like discussions
Then the discussions kicked off. They covered a range of issues, from the rarely treated ones, like the need for more recruits, to the often complained ever threat of Greater Dorum. They also touched the threats of cults like the Host of Skins, the Grafters and others.
Finally, the topic of discussion reached the subjugation and colonial progress of the Western continent—Barbary.
Command had been given to Prince Schim Flau Rath, Raedas' brother. Also known as the dark prince.
"The reports say they are having problems with the central lands." The herald read the contents of the letter loudly: "Prince Schim says he's having issues with the—"
But he was interrupted by the King. "Where is your son, Kairus?"
The vizier was about to reply when the shadows grew wilder and a familiar voice responded from the center of the court.
"Greetings, my king." There was a rustling of weapons when guards realized a man and about six other armed men had appeared in their midst. "I am terribly sorry for my tardiness."
His voice was cold and wailing. His skin was pale and scarred with burn marks and the scars of thunder. His eyes were obsidian gems, and his long hair was the color of darkness. His face was not attractive but grim and long with gaunt features.
Even kneeling, he threw a giant's shadow, immense and black. He was dressed in black wool and matching breeches, with a shadowskin cloak with his hood down.
Expensive, Suddenly Raedas thought of how much it cost. Shadowskin was immensely expensive because it was an arduous ordeal to hunt a shadowman and skin him.
"Schim…" The King studied him with a curious gaze. "You may rise." And rose he did, Schim Flau Rath had descended unto the capital.