Sparnas

Huvila

"Oh Liath, why do you like traipsing around Morsterra? It's a dirty, dusty place. Go take a bath and wear something nice because we're having a dinner with the Roois family tonight."

Liath was lying down on her suspended bed, lightly swaying, reading a book. Her mother flew into her room alongside a flurry of chambermaids. Liath jumped down from her bed. She forgot to change out of her flying breeches.

Lady Grisa Cinza came from the established GrayWing line of Cinza. She was slight like Lord Harmaa. Like Liath, their wings were bigger than their body, broad and plain gray with gray tribal lines that would only show when the lights reflected off of them at the right angle.

Sparnas had a rainbow of colors and patterns that showed their ancestry and their trade. The colors would emerge with lines or spirals as they intermarry and when they took a trade different from what their forefathers had done. The otherWings had a kaleidoscope of options. A BlackWing could join the military and become a BlueWing, with blue patterns on his wings. A WhiteWing could intermarry with a RedWing and their descendants would have a red wing base with white lines or dots. So the GrayWings had only grey and nothing else. They were a tight bunch of clans, no matter how much they could not stand each other.

So the GrayWings had only grey and nothing else. They were a tight bunch of clans, no matter how much they could not stand each other. They had a lot of children just to ensure their GrayWing clan would survive wars or internal squabbles, the latter which were frequent. Liath was the Cinza - Harmaa only heir, and she had come of age to bear babbies a few years ago. Private dinner invites tripled between the five GrayWing clans and several RedWings family.

Lady Cinza herded Liath into her bath chamber, with one hand on a goblet of red wine. Her maid was stirring the hot tub. Her bath chamber was spacious with marble tiled floor. Liath lowered herself in the huge tub. The warm water felt so good against her body and soothing lavender scent filled the air. She relaxed as her maids gave her a bath.

"The sneaky Lord Rooi has been asking for your father's time since forever. Most probably to marry off the plain daughter of theirs to one of our cousins, or to ask your father for donations for whatever the Senate is doing. You would think the taxes we pay is enough. So your father requested our presence in order to hold off any boring propositions. Behave tonight, my love," Lady Cinza said as she chose a pink-colored off shoulder dress for Liath and a necklace of the brightest rubies. "Demure, but not closed off for anything suggestive." She mused.

Her mother stayed waiting for Liath to bath, pretending to help Liath get dressed while she continued to talk about the dinner. She always briefed Liath before any engagements. The Cinza-Harmaa maids flitted around, taking gowns and accessories for Lady Cinza's approval.

"Lord Rooi is somebody at the Senate. He can be bought, of course. Lady Rooi is a stereotypical stuck up RedWing lady. Be civil, you don't need to flatter her. Rosso is five years older than you. He is spoilt. Liab is a sweet girl but she tries so hard. She's tall and big boned. You might recognize the Rooi, they wear red all the time to all the functions they are invited to."

The dinner bell rang sharply as Grisa pinned the last stray hair up to Liath's messy bun. "You behave, please. Don't pout, sulk, sigh or Atavus forbids roll your eyes. The only face you will have on tonight is shy but interested. But don't fall for that Rooi boy, he's a cock."

"Yes, mother."

The Rooi party arrived a few minutes after the dinner bell in a wave of red. Lord Rooi and his heir, Rosso wore bespoke suits. Lady Rooi wore a red silk dress, dyed red, Lady Cinza noted. Liab Rooi, Rosso's younger but taller sister wore a red blouse and a red skirt. They were escorted by four guards on pegasus riding alongside their carriage.

At the dinner table, Liath's father, Lord Grar Harmaa sat at the table head. Her mother sat at his right and Lord Rooi sat on his left-hand side. Lady Rooi on her husband's left. Next to her sat her perpetually smug-faced son, Rosso. Liab Rooi, Rosso's elder sister rounded up the small group and was seated beside Liath.

"A toast! For the longevity of health and wealth of the Cinza-Harmaa!" Rosso stood up and raised his glass. The blood-red wine swirled in the tall flute. "May the Cinza-Harmaa be prosperous and strong until the last of the moon! And may the moon be as lovely as Lady Liath" He gave his most charming smile which repulsed Liath so much she flinched.

Lord Harmaa nodded. "Thank you. It would be pleasant if the moon smiles a little. Let's eat," he said tersely. The footmen who were waiting behind each seat came forward and took off the cover off their gold plates in unison. They had a seven-course meal and Liath ate her plate clean.

Rosso Rooi kept glancing at his father. Lord Rooi had wanted to broker a match between him and the Lady Liath, the sole heir to the Cinza-Harmaa wealth and title. His father seemed to forget about it as soon as Lord Harmaa started to talk about their business affairs in Morsterra. Rosso wanted it to be over with as he wanted no part in climbing the Senate ladder like his father, he wanted to live life in luxury all his life, doing nothing but sit on a plush leather chair and be entertained all day. He wanted to marry into a GrayWing clan. All his worries would be over.

The Cinza-Harmaa was a fairly new clan, but it was powerful. A merger between the Cinza and the Harmaa merely twenty-eight years ago, it had grown to an enormous proportion. Their collective wealth tripled under the enterprising Lord Harmaa steel fist and the inexhaustible wealth of the Cinza clan. A few more years, the Cinza-Harmaa could be richer than the Pilkas, the utmost GrayWing clan. The lesser GrayWing maintained their wealth by following the two larger clans foraying into Morsterra mineral mining. They were all still more affluent than any of RedWings families.

Liath seemed to be the easiest choice for Rosso. She was an only child, no sly siblings to worry about. Her cousins from the Cinza clan, numerous as they were, had enough to last seven generations, as her cousins from the Harmaa clan. Rosso never considered the Pilkas. The Pilkas was a bunch of snobs with their noses so high in the air they couldn't smell their own farts. Worse, their matriarch, the fearsome Dowager Pilkas was a sour, disproving old dame with a poisonous tongue, and she seemed to live forever. Her daughters were plain faced and having the same mood as their mother, was very unbecoming. They would not even consider any otherWings for a match to their numerous sons and daughters anyway. One more generation of inbreeding and they would all have underbites and weak chins.

Though not the prettiest GrayWing maiden, Liath was a better choice than any of Boz or Sery daughters. A lone child, she would be used to getting whatever she wanted, and when they get married, whatever he wanted too. He would never have to work again, though currently, his work was just sitting at his table outside his father's office in the Senate for a few hours daily. The Boz had angelic looking daughters with a body like the best BlackWing whore, but they were also the poorest by the GrayWing standards. The Sery was forgettable, they played safe in everything. Rosso could already imagine how his life would be, living luxuriously like the Cinza-Harmaa.

He stole glances towards her during the dinner. She went out of her way to not look at him. She laughed at whatever the ladies said, agreed with whatever his father said but she never acknowledged him since his toast. He thought of himself as handsome, with a body that could rival the Boz's sons. Of course, theirs were genetics, they had toned muscles without having to workout for it, or as he did, drank potions for it. The only thing lacking was his wings. He had the typical RedWings wings, smaller than average sparnas. He always wore large cloaks no matter the weather. He thought of himself as charming, with considerable intellect. He considered himself a catch. So he could not figure out why Liath was snubbing him. Maybe she liked softer feathers?