Tales of Thenroa - Tolerance

Chapter 1

A harsh wind blew through the halls of the towering fortress, its two looming main doors being flung open by the gale. A pair of nearby sentries attempted to shut them again but soon ceased their efforts when they saw a young Woman sprinting towards the doorway at near ludicrous speeds. Clearly she was the one causing the winds to give herself increased momentum, they quickly noted her eyes glowing a pale steel grey and that one of her hands was surrounded by a sphere of clouds. They readied their weapons but noticed her attire was not one for combat, a set of thin cloth clothes and a cloak was all she was really wearing. In her other hand however they spotted that she clung tightly to a scroll which she was waving at them with reckless ambition.

The pair immediately worked out she was a messenger and parted to let her pass, she spat out a ragged thank you to them both before clenching her fist around the clouds in her hand and running onwards without the assistance of the wind. Continuing running she passed into what looked like an immensely long corridor, at the far end of which was a doorway, stopping for a moment she quickly drank from a water skin attached to her belt, gasping with relief as the cooling water gushed into her near arid mouth. Not wasting any more time she resealed the water skin and took off towards the doorway in the distance, her footsteps echoed and bounded as she ran past replicas of the same pottery all the way to the end.

"MADAM VICEROY! VICEROY AXVEIL!" The messenger cried at the top of her now aching lungs as She burst into the room and skidded to a stop. The room she had appeared in was an enormous cylindrical room with a domed roof, similar to a ballroom, but the room itself was just shy of barren spare a few well spaced out tables and chairs. But the main attraction was the large staircase leading to a pedestal raised about thirty feet from the floor. The messenger ran up to the staircase and quickly began to climb it, at one point using all fours to get up them quicker.

As she burst forth onto the pedestal she nearly fell to her knees from exhaustion, but remained standing long enough to see a large couch with the Viceroy laying sideways upon it, gazing out of a vast window taking up a good third of this side of the rooms wall with an immaculate view of the snow covered mountain ranges known locally as the Artisans Gamut. A small side table was to the right bearing a tray with a collection of bottles of wine, mead and brandy and a single crystal glass.

The messenger then focused on the Viceroy. Her attire was seemingly fit for the queen of the gods, a deep indigo robe and hood made of the finest of silk and cottons, trimmed with silver and white gold along the hems to make it an exceptional piece of clothing. The Viceroy remained facing away from the messenger as she spoke.

"Be eased messenger. What words do you bring?" The messenger fumbled the open the letter, still panting, before attempting to begin reading its contents in a very ragged voice. She however just gasped several incomprehensible words before holding her free hand against her chest. The Viceroy just rolled her eyes in response.

"Allow me." She said.

The messenger handed the Viceroy the note with a shaking hand, finally allowing her to read it, but soon after she crushed the note in her hands, a sound not too dissimilar to a dying creatures last breaths erupted from her mouth, ragged exhales of breath as the news sunk in. Soon however she flew into a fit of rage.