Amiartys rode from dawn, the sun following behind him as he and his Northern Swordsmen arrived to the Elder City of Valeria from the east. Thirty years since the siege of Prague did Amiartys last gaze upon the most opulent and populated city in the world, a time in which he fought alongside many of those who were willing and brave enough to put forth their own lives for a cause that was said to be certain to fail. Though the same could be said against their adversaries during that instant. A grave reminder, as many memories were of battle, written into a person's head as fate is so often written in stone.  

It was an old, almost desolate memory, one like many others he wished to forget had he not remembered the valor of many soldiers who fought during that battle. Though valor and honor were common themes to write about in the many grand tales, poems, and songs of an artist, hardly any names of the many souls who fight and died are seldom mentioned and quite often are those names lost in the sands of time. War is hell, they say, for those willing to risk gain either pretentious fame, or serve as lost and once living voices in the eternal sea of echoes were still nonetheless destined to bare witness the horrors of battle. The Siege of Prague being the most recent and bloody battle that Amiartys was ever a veteran of and many considered Amiartys to be an great and forgotten hero, as he led many company men and men-at-arms when they could not find any shred of motivation to fight in this battle though he was not the only leader of this battle nor the most important. Nonetheless, he did lead, and quite possibly contributed heavily to the victory of this battle.

Amiartys, however, could care less about the historians who chose to not write about him. For only in living so many years and the experience to fill in those many days did he learn and accept modesty as an important developing behavior in contrast to his younger self. So many defeats, and victories, so many distant memories that made him again realize why some vampires and those born 'unnaturally' (as he liked to put it) who are destined to live extended lives sometimes envied humans. Time on this earth for humans and mortals are far more valuable than all the coins or all the valuables in the world, and like currency, it must spend it wisely and meaningfully, something a vampire could easily forget later in the course of his or her unnaturally extended life. 

It was rational therefore that the majority of Amiartys's company members would rather prefer to spend their own time outside the affairs of a typical city council gathering and spend time in the city itself, either visiting family or to find recreation as they typically did when reaching a rather large city. Valeria was certainly no exception. After arriving, Amiartys had almost forgotten how formal and intricate political discussions were, not to mention in a major city like Valeria. Perhaps attending the meeting would teach him something of value in his old age of 120 years, though he did not appear an age over 30 he was quite knowledgeable about the world. 

The council room itself was fairly crowded, though was large enough to house a host of many others who would wish to take part in political discussion. Many of the faces of the nobles who stood among the higher pedestals were recognizable as they were clients of his who had hired Amiartys for several tasks need to be occupied by a mercenary. A mercenary they knew they could depend on and were never disappointed. He looked around the room with his radiant brown eyes until he saw Amelia the Elder who he had not seen in thirty years since the seige and many others including Alenios the Bloody Count, Anriette Argentine, and Arielle Dyrell who seemed to be bored out of her mind and almost fast asleep listening to typical political discussion. There was also a strange-looking, pale human who looked like a veteran of trained combat who Amiartys thought was another mercenary looking for a job. He wore tribal-like armor which Amiartys found to be rather impractical, though it was his height that drew his attention. He was the tallest man he had ever seen! The man certainly could have not been human for he was eight feet tall and had skin even more pale than his own. 

All of Amiartys's five vampire guards remained by his side during the course of the council meeting with the exception of Daramous who needed to attend to a blacksmith in order to purchase ingot for preparations for their next potential job offer. In his place, was a human boy, a fresh recruit to the Northern Swordsmen Company who decided to spend his time in the council hall and remained at Amiartys's side. He was 12, almost 13 in a month and given to Amiartys under certain conditions in which he would not otherwise accept with such meager experience. Although the boy proved that he [i]was[/i] an exceptional fighter, he was still just a boy with all the youth and passion life had so temporarily gave him and the rest of his race. 

[color=7ea7d8]"Have you eva' been ne'er or even seen an Elder before?"[/color], he asked almost excitingly, referring to Amelia. Amiartys could almost see the glow in his eyes through his peripheral vision.   

[color=bc8dbf]"Yes, a few years ago."[/color] He exchanged quietly, almost uninterested in what the boy had to say while still keeping an open ear. 

[color=7ea7d8]"And how long ag'o was tha'?"[/color], the boy asked, knowing that [i]a few years[/i] for a vampire could easily mean more than fifty to a mortal man well past his prime. 

[color=bc8dbf]"Thirty. Since the siege of Prague. Didn't I already tell you?"[/color] 

[color=7ea7d8]"I wasn' ther', rememba'? I was ou' into town fetchin' the rations that we so gladly paid those farmers for. Thos' muffins were quite tasty. Ye rememba' don't y-"[/color]

[color=bc8dbf]"I believe that was Aeros that I intended for that task. Did he make you take his place instead?"[/color] He calmly and quietly groaned to himself, already knowing the answer. 

[color=7ea7d8]"Yes. He tol' me [i]you wanted me[/i] to do it."[/color] Amiartys almost wanted to sigh. [i]That lazy buffoon[/i] he thought to himself. Although the boy was three-months fresh, he was not the only new recruit. Aeros himself had not even been two months introduced to the group when the boy himself was taken in, though he was far more experienced in conflict than most his age. Aeros was also young, being 23 in the height of his own prime. An excellent swordsmen, but an even better bowman who Amiartys could rely on, though not when it came to keeping him in his place as he slowly began to realize within the past month. 

[color=bc8dbf]"If I wanted summon you for a task, I would've sent you myself. Understand"[/color] The boy then nodded. [color=bc8dbf]"You should not always do what others tell you to do."[/color] He said carefully.  

[color=7ea7d8]"Oh. So, doe' tha' mean I shouldn't listen to ye"[/color] He asked, almost sounding like a tease. 

[color=bc8dbf]"Yes boy, only if you wish to go back to Milaria with your five older brothers."[/color] Amiartys smiled playfully with the boy though couldn't quite tell whether or not he was serious. The boy in return gave a shy grin before looking down submissively. Amiartys wanted to just assume the boy was either stupid or foolish, though he wasn't, in fact not even in the slightest - even if he did look and sounded that way. Naïve was the more appropriate term for a young human boy. The boy was of house Dresos, a noble family who had earned their revenue from farming wheat and corn to the west. Amiartys almost forgotten what it was like being young, truly young. The boy was raised by the Dresos who owned a subtle, modest community which Amiartys believed to breed some of the most competent human farmers and peasant in the land, and they were very well-to-do, even as peasants. Commodry was his name, a boy given to him only because Amiartys gave his word to take him under his wing. A skinny and ragged boy with crooked teeth, brown hair to complement his dusty appearance, and an unorganized complexion. From the beginning of this journey, Amiartys just knew he needed to work on this child and make him into a man as he so promised his family. 

In the meantime, there were manners in the council hall that needed to be attended and the conversations transitioned from unimportant, manners to more important and disconcerting ones as the meeting progressed. He could tell just by the looks of Amelia, who always tended to have a poker face. Rumors were beginning to form that Germans just north of the border were patrolling the parameters of Nocturne more frequently and seem to be collaborating with one another. Men of different tribes are often now seen together, sometimes exchanging important conversation in an alarmingly discreet manner, and have been seizing their raids. Dealing with raiders was not uncommon for Amiartys as he dealt with them so many times. So much in fact, he is infamous for slaying many great Germanic warriors though that was long ago even before the battle of Prague. If these rumors were in fact true, he would perhaps be of service as many other mercenaries could be during these potentially troubled times.