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[h3][color=9e0b0f]S A N C  V A L A T I R[/color][/h3]
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"Make yourselves scarce! Clear the street! Move aside, or you will be moved!" The Sanguine Guard at the front of the formation barked at the wavering crowd, his harsh voice ringing from inside his helm.

A procession of some two-dozen persons moved sluggishly through the narrow streets of Sanc Valatir. Nearly all of whom were members of the Blood Host, positioned to keep onlookers and other passerby at bay. They shouted those who stopped to gawk, baring their fangs and drawing their glaives. Nestled in the tight circle formed by the crimson-cloaked guardians were a small handful of eccentric figures. A large woman, dressed in bizarre, white garments, her eyes veiled and the bloodstained pelt of a white lion draped about her shoulders. A boy of no more than sixteen years, white of hair and crimson-eyed, glanced about nervously as he clutched a collection of scrolls. A young man with the same vermilion cloak as the knights about them, ivory hair and piercing blue eyes, his hand resting on the hilt of the weighty sword at his belt. And lastly the Archon of Blood, Lord of Sheol, Kuth Irkalla.

A dour expression rested on Kuth's face. This was hardly ideal. The streets leading up to the fortress where the council was to commence proved much too narrow for a carriage, and so they had been forced to proceed on foot. An irritating end to what had already been a long and tiresome journey. Sailing from Maweth to Ardaza had been a mercifully short and uneventful passage, but the long travel over land that followed was grueling. It could have been shortened, perhaps, by making port further along the coast and closer to the border, but the Coven had sufficient presence in Ardaza to ensure that the [i]Forever Worm[/i] would be safe, and that they could secure a caravan for their travels.

And so there Kuth was, lifting his dark robes like a noble lady so that they would not trail in the shit-covered street, and eyeing passerby as they stared at him wide-eyed and mouths agape. Just in front of him, some rabble refused to move from their path, and the Sanguine Guard at the fore was forced to go through him. With a firm hit from the hilt of his glaive to the man's face, blood sprayed from his mouth and nose and he crumpled to the ground. An errant tooth from the unlucky commoner shot out toward Kuth, who prepared to dodge the unsavory projectile. However, it was plucked from the air like a falling petal by the Herald of the Blood Host, Calistar. The youthful, blue-eyed warrior gave Kuth a knowing look and a reserved smile, and flicked the tooth away into the crowd. The wayward bystander had been kicked into the gutter at this point, and the procession carried on.

One of the Sanguine Guards struck out ahead as they neared the fortress, so that the gates could be opened as they arrived. They likely shared in their Archon's frustration, and any more time spent among the rabble was likely to end in bloodshed. It seemed that the gatekeepers had already heard word of their arrival, and made no fuss as the larger party arrived.

A herald called out their arrival to the fortress, "Honor and welcome, to the Archon of Blood and his procession!"

No sooner did Kuth cross the threshold into the fortress did he begin to call orders to anyone in earshot. "Your Exarch, take us to him! Water for my men! Bring a basin and a cloth as well; the stink of this city clings to me terribly. Where is Soraya? If I arrived sooner than her to a council in [i]her own bloody province[/i]..." Kuth trailed off, muttering irritably.