Elemental Thief Part I : Child of Calamity

Iron Oath

Tisaso heard the Queen announced, and lowered her gaze from the same painting that always caught Val's attention to see the same winged woman walk into the room. Those shimmering, colourful wings were open slightly wider than those of the two men who flanked either side of her.

She had seen other pictures of them growing up in Watersbreak, but remembered the first one that her great-great-great uncle had painted, that had ended up copied and placed on barracks walls around Rulin according to family lore. A dark one filled with blood and monsters.

She had seen Rulin more than most in Clairval, owing to her great uncle's connection to the place, but she had never seen the two men from the painting in person before.

For a moment, her breath caught, half expecting to see the rest of the group, Feyshan and Human included, blinking when she realised the uniforms were different than they had been, the faces a little older, though not nearly as old as she had imagined them to look.

Darya walked in on one side of the Queen and paused at the appropriate spot as per protocol, announcing the woman's arrival.

Veranandien paused long enough to accept their bows, before glancing to the Longsword and the picture, and then back down to them with a firm look on her nearly Feyshan features, speaking in accented Clairvalan. "Earth's blessing, Lady Valencia, Duchess Tisaso."

"Majesty, your presence has not graced Morningside in a very long time." Valencia offered, settling into an easy stance.

"I was just talking about that with your sister." The Queen offered a thoughtful smile, before nodding to her companions. "This is General Anzael of Vayana and Commander Lianza of Rulin."

"Queen Veranandein has advised that she is here on an urgent matter." Darya murmured pointedly, watching her sister with care.

"Urgent for Clairval, or urgent for Rulin?" Valencia had decided to be respectful, but stubborn, it would seem.

There had been a time when Rakiers and del Rei had acted privately in cohort with the winged kingdoms, but those friendships had died with their grandparents. There had been mostly silence through Val's and Tisaso's lives, and these people were strangers, when their families had been close decades before.

"I think that we've allowed the time when we believe we are really that separate to go on long enough." Verana said simply, reminding Tisa of the Feysha then, the blunt, appraising look, the musical lilt in her voice. "But it specifically involves a threat to this island."

The Feysha didn't like politics, didn't like the long drawn out dances of protocol and ceremony, and it seemed that this woman who had been raised on this island, then become a Queen elsewhere, still hadn't adopted a Court's penchant for ceremony.

Tisa would have smiled if she hadn't felt the sudden weight of yet another bad piece of news about their kingdom coming. She wondered, then, if this would be a breaking point.

"And why is the message coming to Morningside, and not to the Regent?" Valencia had the wisdom to sound a little more cautious.

"It comes to both Morningside and Watersbreak." The Queen said, pointedly looking at Tisa who had remained mainly quiet thus far, before continuing. "It comes to all of Clairval, but Clairval needs to be whole, not a fractured shadow of itself. We have sent an ambassador to your regent as well, but she's going to have tough decisions to make in the coming weeks, and she's going to need someone to stand with her."

"Gone are the days that we are close confidants with the Regent." Valencia said softly, shaking her head. "There are some who would expect us to do the opposite."