[center] [h1][b]GM Post[/b][/h1] [h2]Gems: Morning (Breakfast); Day ("Lessons"); Night[/h2] [/center] Every year there were a few. A few that thought they were special, that they would be the ones to stand strong. Ones that thought their pride was something of importance. Every year the Gems seemed to grow bolder, more defiant; and every year, their lord husbands seemed to grow meeker. Castle Worth was built as a slap in the face to Vivari herself, and it would treat her daughters no differently. It was there to make the Gems more [i]pliable[/i], to bleed the toxic rebellion from their hearts before they could use it to poison Drakka’s finest. They could come between it's walls with as many grand ideas of freedom and escape as they pleased, but it would only make their fall from grace that much more painful. However, the proud Drakken in charge of Castle Worth had neither the time nor patience to individually break each one. Thus, it was necessary that examples be made. Sek Leon, the Drakkan at the helm of Shadow Worth, personally insisted that such matters were handled swiftly and effectively. The hulking commander looked out at the crowd of mewling Gems before him with hard eyes. In his early years, he had gleefully anticipated the rebellious ones, the ones who so kindly have him a reason to send a message to the rest. But as his years wore on, it became a chore. All the more reason for swift corrections, he supposed. Without a word he descended the dais upon which his prince stood, walking with heavy steps across the stone floor, arms folded behind him as if he were patrolling his own warriors. He took note of which Gems obeyed, and how, and which Gems were so brazen as to refuse. As he walked, a vibrant flash of colour caught his eye in the sea of grey. Abruptly, he halted, turning on his heel to the wearer. She was a pretty thing, with lilac hair and porcelain skin. In the back of his mind, Sek Leon remarked that she would be quite the lovely decoration for a lord’s estate. Her pride, however, was her ugliest feature, and yet she flaunted it so proudly with that fine sash around her waist. Endlessly perplexing, these Gems. [color=gray]“Come.” [/color] His order was not barked, but his calm voice still carried through the room, reverberating off the walls in the shocked silence. The girl approached dutifully (one point in her favour, he noted) and stopped a few feet away from him. Sek Leon gave her a very invasive up-and-down look, examining each curve of her body, before stopping on that brightly coloured sash. Unexpectedly gently, he took hold of one end of the sash, letting the smooth fabric slip through his fingers, the silver bells on the tassels jingling eerily in the cold silence. [color=gray]“Exquisite,”[/color] he muttered. Carefully, he untied the sash from her waist and held it up for the room to see. [color=gray]“I assume you felt like our clothing wasn’t good enough for you,” [/color] he stated in that same calm, reverberating voice. [color=gray] “Very well. Let us relieve you.”[/color] He gave the girl a mere moment to process his words before snapping his fingers. At the sound, two guards came forward through the crowd. One took hold of the girl’s wrists from behind, holding her arms out from her sides. The other grabbed the collar of her tunic and pulled, tearing it down the front and pulling it away, only to move to her trousers and do the same. Soon, all of her clothing was little more than a heap at her feet. Their work done, the Drakkan who stripped her collected her now-ruined clothes and gave them to Sek Leon; the one holding her up cast her to the floor. [color=gray]“Don’t fret,”[/color] cooed the Keeper, “We are not the monsters of your legends. We will not steal your adornments from you.” With that, Sek Leon tossed her sash back, watching as it wafted gracefully down to land on top of its prone owner’s naked form. Looking around, he spotted another Gem who seemed to think herself too good for the clothing they had so generously provided. Thinking his point had been adequately made, he simply threw the ruined clothes at her, hitting the white-clad girl squarely in the face.[color=gray] “I recommend you take advantage of these promptly,”[/color] he threatened,[color=gray] “lest you long for the same treatment.”[/color] Leaving the girls to their…predicament, Sek Leon now turned his attention to the remaining girls. Rebellion, true rebellion was not in the nature of Gems. But this wasn’t rebellion, this was a childish whim that would crumble and fall as all those before them had. This year, only five gems chose to ‘make a stand’. Every step back to the prince echoed around the chamber. Even the soft cries of the gems became muted, trying to avoid his gaze. He could feel the relief of the gems he passed and felt the anxiety of the girls to come grow. He passed by a red-haired gem, her eyes glued to the floor. So...submissive it was almost suspicious. His eyes then drifted to the brown haired gem who stood across the table. Where most of the girls who stood did so hesitantly, this one held herself as though was an equal to the drakken. Shoulders squared and chest puffed, like a kitten trying to fight a lion. It was her eyes that doomed her the most. They stared shamelessly at the prince. A slight that couldn’t be ignored. [color=gray]“There are those who say,” [/color] He announced,[color=gray] “That the defiant Gems breed the strongest sons. Your lord husband will be pleased.”[/color] In the next breath, his hand shot out, grabbing a fist full of the girl’s hair, yanking her backwards, into the table. [color=gray]“But that doesn’t mean we can’t work on manners.” [/color] With as much effort has it would take to pull a cloak off a peg, the Keeper of the Brides pulled the girl across the table. Sending dishes crashing to the floor. A jug of juice teetered a moment before spilling over the redhead. But her gasp of distress was muffled by the brown-haired one now being dragged to the front of the room. She was dragged to the front of the hall, up the steps and onto the raised dais where the Crown Prince made way for the Keeper, anticipating a good spectacle. Once in plain view of every gem in the hall, the Keeper threw the girl, hard, onto the stone. [color=gray]“Stand,”[/color] he ordered, having given the girl barely a fraction of a second before grabbing her hair once more and pulling her to her feet again. [color=gray]“I said, [i]stand[/i].” [/color] [color=gray]“You are going to help me teach a very important lesson,” [/color] he said, just loud enough for everyone to hear. [color=gray]“When a drakkan approaches you, you kneel. Like so--”[/color] Raising his knee, he released the girl for a moment before he slammed it into the girl’s stomach. While she was still doubled over, he shoved the girl to her knees.[color=gray] “Knees-- to the floor, hands folded in your lap,” [/color] Grabbing the girls chin, he held her face still. [color=gray]“Never. Look. Your. Betters. In. The. Eye.” [/color] With the final word, he jerked the girls head in a way that forced her to look down. [color=gray]“Now, with royalty, things are a little different,” [/color] He left the girl for a moment to address the crowd. Standing behind her, he raised his boot and pressed it into her back. Once the girl’s back was flat, he moved his boot towards her head until it touched the floor. Leaving it there, he returned his attention to the audience. [color=gray]“You are not worthy to look upon them.” [/color] [color=gray]“Although in the future, when in doubt, defer to your husband’s judgement,” [/color] His eyes narrowed in on the remaining faces of the standing girls. With a nod, a scorn of fire drakken fell upon the girls. [color=gray]“I am not unreasonable, and since you seem to like standing so much. You can stand the rest of the day,” [/color] The cries of the four remaining girls reverberated around the hall as each one received a burn to each heel in turn. One tried to crumple, only to be held up by the fire drakkan behind her. [color=gray]“Unless you want that burn extended, I suggest you stay standing,” [/color] With the sobs of the girls as background noise, he addressed the rest of them. [color=gray]“You will now spend the rest of the day learning the history of the true gods. Following that, there will be a presentation on delivering drakken young. I suggest you pay [i]very[/i] close attention to it,” [/color] He removed his boot from Arden’s head, falling back to the prince as the rest of the guards made a show of ushering the gems out of the hall. [hider=Gem Information] Stripping Adorabella and ordering Kyrena to join her. Arden gets taught a lesson, and some other cute rebels get some fun new burns. After a day of training in god lore and how to have bitey babies, the girls are returned to the hall to recover before another long night. Can they live with the choices they have made? [/hider] [center] [h2]Drakken: Day (Exploration); Night (Preparations)[/h2] [/center] Ehkota made his way from the rather small establishment feeling a particular kind of satisfaction that he got when he knew he had set his brother up for a difficult time. Regardless of how events played out with the kinner and the king, Ehkota was assured quite a spectacle, and if lucky, some leverage. In more recent years, the young prince found his brother to be quite focused on the incoming Gemmenite brides, making sure that all was running smoothly on the front end while simultaneously picking out the best candidates for their war heroes. It was an important task to be sure, but he couldn’t help but feel that he chose himself for it in order to gain favor with certain lords. Certainly he wouldn’t purposely chose less than satisfactory brides for his supporters. Rolling his eyes to himself, the young prince glanced out into the crowds surrounding him and his men as they continued onward to their next destination. From out of the corner of his eye, a quick flash of color caught Ehkota’s attention, alerting him to a presence he was already half-expecting to see. [color=f4a460][i]It’s almost as if she isn’t even trying to hide…[/i][/color] He thought to himself silently, careful to keep moving as he had been previously. Ehkota knew better, however, that the brief flash he had witnessed was meant for his eyes. Ignorance could be feigned all he wanted for it didn’t change a thing about the current situation. He was being followed, and even more so than that… He was being threatened. As if on cue, the woman approached the prince unhindered by any of his now nervous looking guards. “[color=f49ac2]Well if it isn’t my dear uncle Ehkota, what a lovely surprise.[/color]” The woman purred with a tone of voice that could make a lesser man tremble. Glancing over at her, the prince took in the sight of his brother’s pride and joy: Evienna. While she was an unusual sight, there was never a doubt in anyone’s mind about who she was. In a freak combination, the daughter of the eldest prince had inherited rosey pink hair through what was assumed to be silver much like her uncle’s. Mixed with her Gem like complexion it was feared that when she was born, the royal family had witnessed the birth of a true Gem to a drakkan bloodline. Luckily for her, the nubs of what would grow into horns were quite visible and already beginning to sharpen, sparing her from what could have been a terrible fate. Her upbringing brought out the best in her creating a force as vicious as she was beautiful; a loyal enforcer of her father’s will. “[color=f49ac2]I see you’re slacking off, same as ever. Do you not have work you should be doing instead of playing with the youngbloods?[/color]” She asked, easily keeping pace with her unamused uncle. Ehkota had to fight the urge to sigh, not caring to show his annoyance and definitely not his relief. It didn’t seem like his niece knew anything of his new “friend’s” identity, which meant his plans would remain secret from his brother for a little while longer. “[color=f4a460]Oh, how you wound me.[/color]” He responded shortly, almost mockingly in nature. Hiding his displeasure with her visit wasn’t anywhere near the top of his concerns at the moment, or ever really. “[color=f49ac2]Well then, I must have been mistaken. My apologies. Since you clearly have everything under control, I’ll leave you to it.[/color]” The female drakken turned as though to walk away, pausing close enough to his youngest guard that the strands of her hair brush his shoulder. “[color=f49ac2] I am [i]so[/i] looking forward to tomorrow's tournament. It’s always so much fun to watch the men spilling blood over a tiny portion of glory. Don’t you gentlemen think so?[/color]” She taunted, turning a piercing gaze back toward her uncle. “[color=f49ac2]Do be a dear, and don’t forget to invite our distinguished guests. Father deems their attendance important for morale, after all, they might begin to question the prizes if they never get to see the winners. I hope you don’t mind, but I have already seen to organizing some… entertainment for the lords that attend. Should they not want to partake in the fighting, the palace girls are under my orders to keep them distracted from their troubles. Either way, it’ll be worth their time.[/color]” She cooed, taking passing glances at the men surrounding her kin. “[color=f49ac2]And, I know I said to make sure to invite the distinguished guests specifically, but you should be sure to invite your young [i]friend[/i] from before as well.”[/color] Her voice was kept light and playful, however, there was a clear line of perspirant cross the young drakkan guard as she spoke, his underlying panic becoming clear. “[color=f49ac2]” You know how much I love to become better acquainted with the important people in your life.[/color]” Evienna laughed, her attention hovering on the overly nervous guard. “[color=f49ac2]Don’t worry darling, you are most definitely invited too. You may even sit with me if you so desire.[/color]” She could feel the man tense as she licked her lips, chuckling to herself as she took her leave. As much as she would have enjoyed toying with the children for a little while longer, she did have work to do. After all, she was the one in charge of welcoming the city’s new arrivals, a good first impression had to be made. Dancers, musicians, jesters, among a few other professionals had been hired by her family to satiate every desire. Even she herself would be making an appearance on behalf of her father, welcoming in person those that she knew to be of importance. Ehkota was left behind with his guards, eyes fixated on the spiteful woman until she could be seen no more. There was plenty he wanted to say, but he kept his mouth shut out of self-preservation. Whatever he said about her in the next few moments were sure to make it back to her. An issue he would rather not deal with in addition to the trouble she was attempting to cause. “[color=f4a460]Never a private moment. You heard the woman, we have work to do. Every individual receiving a bride this week is to receive a summons to the Pit. Tournament will start at midday, it is suggested that if they are going to participate to make their preparations tonight. Otherwise they will have all the comforts of home provided while they spectate.[/color]” The prince waved the majority of his group away to follow their new orders, keeping only a couple just in case. His destination was set for home where he planned to spend the rest of his afternoon planning his next moves. [hider=Drakkan Notes] A little bit of royal drama, don’t you mind that. What is important is that there is a tournament starting tomorrow (in game time). Preparations should be made and the rest of the evening should be enjoyed. Make merry, explore a little, or rest up for tomorrow’s festivities. We’ll see ya at the Pit. Picture of the Princess: [img] https://pre00.deviantart.net/2f29/th/pre/f/2016/352/b/f/deceiving_eyes_by_arhiee_by_arhiee-das0mnp.jpg [/img][/hider]