The Cost of Peace

[Emora Deen]

The sun was just rising, just cresting over the horizon. The sky was a flame with fire and warmth, and in the distance before the sunrise was a cluster of growing black dots. A little while later the Ighten ship was bringing itself along side the flag ship.

They looked very much like the one the ambassador had used. They were large and dark wood, with huge rust and crimson sails. The sailors went to work fast connecting the two ships. They tossed lines over and tied them off, then placed several planks of wood between the two ships to allow for an easier way to cross over.

Tenele was down in the lower levels, hurriedly throwing her possessions back into the trunk she had brought with her. She latched it shut, the attendee ever outside the door telling her that it was time to meet the person the maharaja had sent. She slipped her shoes on and righted herself. “I didn’t expect to meet them this early in the morning...” she muttered as she combed her hands through her hair.

She admired the cluster of ships as she emerged from the lower levels of the deck. The captain was standing next to the planks between the two ships.

Tenele looked around for Vlad, everyone was moving so quickly it was hard to keep track of what was going on.

Across the way, was a long line of soldiers on either side wearing red turbans and dressed much the same as the ambassadors that had visited Ighten. They were in a long line leading towards a group of people standing at the end. There was a tall man, dressed in white with a gold sash around his waist. His hair was shoulder length, and black as night, pulled back into a low ponytail. His face was thin, young, with a well trimmed goatee. His eyes looked down the length of people towards where she stood, and those eyes were black as pitch.

Next to him was a woman, who was young as well. She was dressed in black, with gold embroidery all over the gown she wore. A black sheer veil was wrapped around her head, but it was sheer enough to not conceal her curly black hair. She was beautiful, with ruby lips, dark eyes, and olive skin. Dark eyeshadow with striking gold accent was carefully flared around her eyes. She had her hands close to her heart, holding onto a thick cluster of loose embroidered fabric that hung over her shoulder. Her nails were a glossy black color.

The others seemed unimportant compared to these two, and Tenele wondered what status they held in the Outerlands.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad glided calmly through the chaos of frenzied sailors who were busying themselves making port. Once they had entered the convoy of outland ships, the crew had settled down into the tense understanding that was Vlad's martial law over the vessel.

He smirked slightly as he walked through them and none of them met his eyes. He wondered if they were more excited by the fact they'd reached land or the fact that he would soon be off the ship. Vlad had been taking revenge on them all through a series of perpetual pranks and mischief. Thanks to him, five men had been overboard in the course of three days, the night crew was afraid to perform its work almost to the point of uselessness, and at one point, all the livestock from the lower birth had become loose on deck. He was a bit eager to get off the ship himself. With the excitement out of the way, he'd had time to relocate his extremely green gills, and being unable to vomit made the whole experience interminable and rather degrading.

The no-life king walked to the mouth of the gangplank and surveyed the strange people who had come to meet them. Interesting, he had to admit, but he was hardly feeling nervous. Spying Tenele at what appeared to be the head of the crowd, he strode down to land and managed not to sigh as he stepped onto a solid road paved in flat stones. The ambassadors looked ready to put them through a thorough round of obligatory salutation. Vlad maintained a neutral expression and cut the line to Tenele's side, raising his garnet eyes to the man with the black hair. He'd been through enough diplomacy during his time as a duke to know instinctively who they were there to meet. It wasn't a fancy skill; usually it was whoever was best dressed.

"Lord Vladimir Dracul of Ighten," he introduced himself with his formal name, affording the man a gracious bow. "This is the Lady Tenele Raider, Maiden of the court of Queen Sinead. I come as her escort."

[Emora Deen]

The man was distinguished looking, this was true. He carried himself with the air of royalty. "I am High Prince Atul Ashwatthama, and this is my sister Princess Lalana. Welcome to the Unmesh the capital city of the Outerlands, we are very honored that you excepted out invitation. My father is very ill, and would have liked to greet you himself, but is unable to leave the palace."

The city was large, with a winding road that led into the distance up a large hill. Upon the hill sat a palace that could rival the beauty of Ighten's palace. The sun in the sky made the whole city glow as if it were made of gold. The palace was made of clusters of pillars and large dome shaped buildings. There was a large wall that surrounded it with a pair of bronze doors that remained closed for the moment. It sat off in the distance, looking both formidable and beautiful.

The main street leading up the palace was a busy market. Carts and shops were set up with bustling people moving back and forth, across, and up and down the street. It was a noisy city, but didn't seem to be anything like she had expected. She had thought it to be something more like Arken, since that is where the God of Darkness that saught to conquer to world through the pawn of his daughter Shea had orginated from.

Tenele smiled at them both, bowing her head respectfully. Her eyes swept along the port up one side and then turned to look down the other. That's when she spotted the Arken flag ship. For a moment she was a bit shocked, but then again she had expected this to not go smoothly.

"I see Arken sent ambassadors as well," Tenele spoke gently, keeping her civil tongue. But, to think that the Maharaja would have the audacity to put Ighten and Arken in one room together to debate their views of the war... It was asking for trouble. Or maybe, as they had suspected, this whole venture was nothing but one huge trap.

Atul smiled glancing over towards the large black ships with their colors flapping in the wind. "My father thought it best to hear from both sides at once." Tenele looked at the fact that they were outnumbered by Arken in fleet wise, which meant also in people. While they had left in fear of meeting armada and losing their naval fleet in a stupid attempt at peace, they had brought only one flag ship. Apparently Arken, fearing no naval battle, had brought three fo their own.

Lalana smirked, her dark eyes glancing towards Vlad with the greatest intrest. "A vampire... I did not think Ighten was so open to creatures that were considered... evil." Her tone was patronizing, but her admiration was completely justified.

"We are throwing a grand feast in the honor of our guests, I will escort you to the palace, where I'm sure you will wish to wash and rest before the evening," Atul said, glancing at his sister. He bowed, motioning for Tenele to walk beside him. "Please..."

Lalana's ruby lips tugged into a smile and she stepped forward, slipping an arm around one of Vlad's. Her hand folded over his arm as she cradled his in her's, her long black nails glitting in the morning light. "Come, I shall escort you," she told him, and began to follow her brother and Tenele.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad's eyes dipped briefly to the woman's slender hand on his arm, then rose to meet her eyes. Either casual intimacy was better accepted here than in Ighten, or the women here were just very forward. "Your understanding is correct; I am an exception to the rule," he said calmly as he began walking with her. "A special one." He deliberately glanced over his shoulder at the Arken ships that sat at port. "You are playing a very interesting game. Dangerous, but interesting," he noted smoothly, a faint smirk pulling at his lips.

[Emora Deen]

"The game we play is not a dangerous one, since we have long been allies with Arken. So, maybe the one playing that dangerous game is you..." Her smile was one of geniune facination as she turned her head back towards her brother.

"You have a beautiful city," Tenele said as she passed a market where a man was waving a large flat silver tray of jewlery around. The rings and jewels glistened in the morning light.

"I am sure Ighten is just as beautiful," he replied, his eyes glancing to the side. "I hope the presence of Arken in my city does not offend you, my lady. It is a matter of diplomacy, and Arken has always been welcomed in our ports."

"I do not mind it, as long as acts of war are not prestend," Tenele replied, knowing well that it would be hard for her to keep her tongue in the presence of an Arken ambassador...

Once they reached the large bronze doors to the palace six guards, three for each door, moved forward and pressed their hands against the metal. It groaned and slowly began to open. Obviously they were not worried about needing to get those doors closed quickly encase of an attack. Of course they were not. The largest threat to them was Arken, since they were the only kingdom with the desire to conquer... and Arken was more like an orphan child to them.

In the center of the courtyard was a large statue of a man. Or, rather, a God. Verin was portrayed as a tall broad shouldered man with loose fabric draped all too lowly around his hips. The statue was marble, but the imposing staff that he carried was pure gold. His head was tilted down, staring mercilessly at you as you walked towards him.

"Is it true that the God himself graces your dinner table?" Tenele asked, thinking now was a good time to figure out whether all the rumors she had heard were real or not.

"Mighty Verin graces our table only under the most special of occassions, though he gets invited every night," Lalana said loudly as they passed the satue to move into the palace. Her eyes went to Vlad. "Who knows, he might consider this a special occassion."

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad held back a scoff at that prospect. Verin dining with them. He could hardly picture anything less amusing. "I'm not certain how much you've heard of our culture, but the god of darkness is not regarded as a fortuitous guest in Ighten," he informed her in a polite, even voice. He ignored the ostentatious sculpture as they passed it, studying the movements of their hosts very closely. She had a point; it was dangerous for them to come here without backup. However, something told him that Arken couldn't be too pleased by the idea of their ally holding talks with Sinead's court. Unless this was, in fact, a trap.

[Emora Deen]

The inside of the palace was just as grand and lavish as the outside, proving that the city was indead very wealthy. They came to a large common area with a huge spiral staircase that twined all the way around the room going up into the tower. Along the way several hallways branched off leading to other rooms. Up a head were to doors that Tenele guessed would lead to the throne room.

"Lalana will show you to your quarters, I must see how my father is doing," Atul said, bowing deeply and turning with fluent grace towards the throne room doors. They were hurridly opened by a guard, and he disappeared behind them.

Lalana grinned, "Come," she said, reluctantly removing her hand from Vlad's arm and walking the length of the room to the staircase.

They rounded the tower several times before coming to a massive hallway. Towards the end of the hall she finally stopped, turning to them and motioning on either side of the hallway. "My lady, this is your room. We suspected that your escort would want to be close by, so his quarters are directly across the hall. The attendents will see to anything you need. You are welcomed to look about the castle, but to go down no hallway that has armed guard present. Those areas are restricted to the royal family. You may enter any area of the city, but not the north ward. The feast will begin promptly at dusk. I will see you then."

She bowed, her eyes flickering to Vlad as a smile stretched across her ruby lips.

Alone in the hall now, Tenele gave a sigh of relief. So far so good, they hadn't been cut down or strung up in the streets. No heads had been lopped off and placed on a spike. No, at the moment it seemed to be going rather well.

That was, until the door that was three rooms down opened, and a large robust Arken soldier stepped out wearing the colors of his kingdom, as well as the usual armor. Behind him was a short stout man with a clean shaven head and long black robes. He looked to be a priest or socerer of some sort. They were heading down the hall at a quick, no-nonesense pace, clearly not in the mood to be bothered.

Tenele had to force herself to politely step out of the way before getting trampled over by the brutish soldier as he stepped between she and Vlad. His head tilted towards her and he sneered in the most impolite way before continuing on as the ambassadors escort.

"Oh, this is brilliant. Put us a few doors down from scum," Tenele said, speaking loud enough for them to hear if they cared to pay any attention to her. She clamped her mouth shut, realizing that she was speaking out loud, and that she wasn't in Ighten anymore. Best to keep her mouth shut.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad glanced at Tenele and raised an eyebrow, amused by her undiplomatic outburst. Apparently, the soldiers hadn't heard, or perhaps they just hadn't cared. They probably hadn't even known who Tenele was. "I think, deep down, he was afraid of you," he consoled her teasingly, crossing his arms.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele couldn't help but laugh. It must have been the way he had said it, or maybe the way she had imagined it in her head. "I tend to have that effect on people," she said with a smile as she turned to open up her door. "You know, I get the impression the princess likes you."

The inside was spacious. In the center of the room was a large round bed with sheer gold curtains draped around it. The far end of the room was nothing but open space with long curtains blowing in the wind. It lead to an open baclony. There was no glass, no door, no window, the only thing seperating the outside from the inside were those curtains.

"That's... safe..."

Tenele saw that there was a hall that branched off from the room and lead to another that was lit by sunlight. It had a huge square hole in the floor that was at the moment empty, but could be filled with water at any time for a hot bath. She stepped in to take a peek around and it too was completely open to a balcony and only sperated by sheer curtains.

"Eh..."

Tenele didn't like the fact that there wasn't a door or window. It made her feel safe and comfortable to have those things, but then again, this was a totally different kingdom. There were ornate loung chairs on the balcony and a pile of nothing but large pillows in the center.

"Want to see what your room looks like?" she asked with a grin, wondering if his was any less private. If he had glass windows, she was so going to switch rooms with him.

[Soran Nightblade]

One look at Tenele's room was enough to know he wouldn't be leaving her alone here at night. However, he had to acknowledge that he liked the architecture of the room and its openness. There was little that Vlad perceived as a threat to himself at night. "Yes, let us go across the hall," he said bemusedly, shaking his head at the enormous room and turned back to the door. He crossed the hallway and, just for the old fashion of it, used the doorknob to his room.

Upon entering, several things became immediately clear. The first was obvious: there were no windows. In a building this large, clearly opposite sides of a corridor would not have equally scenic views. There were some thin panes of stained glass running across the high ceiling of the room, allowing sunlight in streams of gold and orange and green that blended with each other. The floor was a dark wood, almost black, and a large multicolored rug spread thick and plush across the center of the over-large room. A circular mattress low enough to kneel down on stood in the middle of the rug, dressed in brown satin sheets. It was an odd aesthetic; normally the bed would go in the corner or against the wall, not in the middle like a centerpiece. What WAS against the wall, oddly enough, was a semicircular tub lined with black marble tile. Right there, in the same room. It was set into the ground where it could easily be stepped into from the hardwood floor. The edges of the room were supported with decorative ivory pillars painted with gold-leafed designs. In the corner was a basket of fruit and a bottle of wine, resting on a circular stand - evidence that they hadn't been aware of Vlad's race.

The vampire took in the lavish scenery with interest. It was a strange room. He walked to the basket of fruit and studied it blandly. "If they serve Verin here, perhaps they will be willing to bring me room service," he said with a sudden smirk.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele leaned against the wall. "I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't have some poor soul strapped to your plate at the diner table..." She stepped further into the room, her hands running through the soft fabric of the curtains. She stepped through onto the balcony. She could see a wonderful landscape before her, but just off to the side, easily visible to where they were was a tower that had the same large open areas and balconies.

"If we weren't in hostile territory, this would be a wonderful place to visit when you needed time off. Its relaxing, despite the fact someone could barge in and kill us without so much as a threat of being arrested." The wind grew and tossed her silver hair around her face, so she pushed it behind an ear. "Well, are you going to secretly sneak into my room at night, or do I dare to brave the night alone?" she asked with a grin as she glided towards him, taking the front of his shirt in her hands and tilting her head up for kiss.

[Soran Nightblade]

"That should be obvious," Vlad said, grinning as he arched his neck to kiss her. "Truthfully, you would be safer in this room. But I believe exchanging rooms would seem off color to our hosts."

[Emora Deen]

"Yes," she admitted, glancing around. "I think, no matter where we go in this place, no where is safe. We've been in ridiuclous situations before, but this one... I didn't realize until we got here how way over our heads we might be." She looked around the room again, admiring the fine things. Her attention was suddenly caught by the sound of commotion outside. She opened the door to find that her belongings were being taken into her room, and there was a shirtless turbaned man waiting to carry Vlad's things into his room. He didn't seem particularly happy about it, so she made an effort to get out of his way as quickly as possible.

She was beginning to notice one trend that seemed very common between Arken and the Outerlanders... They didn't like to move for anyone. Her green eyes flickered to Vlad, and she made and exasperated expression. "How would you like to kill time?"

She backed into the hall, not really looking where she was going. It just so happened, that against her better judgment, she backed into the hall at the exact moment that the preivious Arken ambassadors were coming back down.

"Get out of my way," the broad soldier grumbled.

Tenele narrowed her eyes, still facing Vlad, but she decided to ignore him. He would learn the art of walking around an obsticle.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad's lips spread in a dark grin that held no real amusement as the Arken men passed. Though there was a black energy in his eyes, he didn't make a move to provoke them. This was a diplomatic situation, and he knew the rules. What he didn't appreciate was that he hadn't chosen the game. "This palace seems a bit cramped," he observed quietly to Tenele as the Arken men passed. "I believe it's time we played with the locals."

[Emora Deen]

"By playing with the locals, you mean in a non antagonistic way, right?" she asked, backing into the hall and walking towards the staircase. "I know you Vladimir, and I know that you can't leave well enough alone..." She pointed a warning finger at him, but her soft smile never faded. "Do you remember what side of town he said to not go to?"