[color=808080][center][color=EC983A][h2]Zavala Zeras[/h2][/color][/center]
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All was quiet and still, nary a whisper was to be heard, no sound seemed to pierce the confines of the stone chamber deep beneath the palace. Even the torch Zavala had placed in a holder on the wall made no cracks as the flames licked the air, the brilliant light casting a long shadow that loomed large behind the prince. Within the hallowed halls the prince stood amongst his ancestors, kings and Regia of the past who had been given the greatest of honors, before being laid to rest here, their duty fulfilled. Even now his own father sits upon the throne, the latest host to the great king, yet no time was wasted in constructing a statue declaring his legacy. Zavala's fingertips touched the cool slab of granite, tracing the edges of the casket that would serve as his father's final resting place.

[color=EC983A]"Father..."[/color], Zavala's eyes traced up the length of the statue, to the features that had been painstakingly crafted by artisans and masons to reflect the benevolent nature of their king. To Zavala however, in this moment, he imagined his father staring down at him disapprovingly, disappointedly. How could he not? The storm was going to encroach upon the walls again, wiping away another facet of their civilization, further driving his people into despair. Enemies without was one thing, but with the revolutionists being even more active, dealing with enemies within at the same time was more than arduous. Zavala leaned over the stone slab, his grip tightening hard around the mineral before softening as he raised himself up with poise and grace. Like a child to his father, he addressed the statue as such, [color=EC983A]"Father...I know not what to do..."[/color] he stated aloud, his voice speaking as honestly as he could, [color=EC983A]"The storm encroaches upon our city once more and yet I find myself embroiled within petty politics."[/color] Petty might have been an understatement, but the uprising felt more of a distraction from the true enemy that slowly gorged itself upon them.

[color=EC983A]"I am expected to make a choice, to deal with the revolutionaries, to set an example for those that would follow the path to chaos...this feels not unlike madness. That our people should be so divided when faced against a common enemy, that I cannot walk the streets unaccompanied for fear of my life, that merely greeting another in the street could result with a knife in my back...tis truly madness. Yet am I any better? I am expected to make a choice, to hold another's life in my hand, to condemn their choices with capital punishment..."[/color] Zavala felt weary, his tired eyes gazing up at his father and seeing...understanding and commiseration. [color=EC983A]"Father? How am I to save our people?"[/color] It was an answer that would not come and yet it was a question Zavala wised to prose nonetheless.

The silence in the chamber was broken as the audible clang of steel to stone slowly grew louder, a member of the Regia guard making his way into the chamber called out to Zavala. [color=white]"Your grace, it is time..."[/color]

Zavala sighed audibly, the weariness had not abated, and as he looked up to the statue one final time before leaving the chamber, it's expression was as it always was; one of benevolence.
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The large double doors cracked open as the guards opened the way for Prince Zavala to make his way to the council chambers. His footsteps echoed across the marbled tile, a group of men and women, the council of 12 all present and standing by waiting for him. His eyes quickly scanned the room, but it appeared his mother, the queen regent, was nowhere to be found. The one part of the room he had the most difficulty with looking at was where the Regia sat, where his father's body 'lay', but Zavala knew where he was in relation to the Regia. With practiced motion, down to the final 42nd step, Zavala presented himself before the Regia and kneeled in reverence, his head bowed low. [color=EC983A]"Oh Great King, I do humbly present myself before thee, may I serve forevermore."[/color][/color]