[hider=Heirloom of Akaiba]

Alasdair was walking through the keep’s garden’s contemplating the past couple months. The once green and colourful gardens were now cold and dead with the only greenery being the short frost covered grass. At the very least the sound and smell of the sea, that were only separated from the gardens by a stone wall, helped soothe Alasdair’s nerves. Things had gone from bad to worse. The Blackwells were getting more powerful by the day, Uzgob in open rebellion, Lanaya’s confession, the south becoming influenced by the teachings of this Rhodanthe and now the imperium was finally making their move after four hundred years. There was also the issue Katriana and what he should do with her. The logical solution would be to have her killed as soon as possible. But Alasdair already knew he wouldn’t be able to bring himself to do it to her. If he kept her safely in the keep then people would become suspicious of her identity and discover the truth. After his meeting with her he had sent a message to Claus, ordering him to keep her out of harm's way only to immediately realized his mistake the day after. Claus would now likely be questioning why Alasdair cared so much for this peasant girl and might even make inquiries. To think that, against all odds, that the bastard daughter of Helyot Remonnet would unknowing and by completely accident cross paths with him. Had she been some random bastard Alasdair would have had her killed there and then. But she wasn’t, she was Anna’s daughter, the only thing of her that still existed in this world. Yet she was also the rightful heir to the throne, the only heir to the throne and the greatest threat to Alasdair’s claim. Alasdair never believed in the gods, but if they did exist they truly had a cruel sense of humour. Alasdair was distracted from his thoughts by the sound of shouting coming from deeper into the garden. The sounds sounded like that of two people having a sparring match, one a woman’s voice and another man's. Alasdair gave a signal to two steel fist guardsmen who stood a dozen meters away, Immediately they rushed to his side without hesitation. Alasdair had to admit he felt a lot safer with them guarding the castle than he ever did with the previous keep’s guardsmen. With his guards following closely behind him Alasdair made his way towards the sound of the shouting. What he found was most surprising; Lady Kanna sparing against one of her guards. The guard himself was particularly focused on maintaining his defence while Kanna, dressed in a kimono and hakama, was delivering swift and precise strikes against her opponent in order to break through. Alasdair decided to watch from a distance, curious to see not only to see how long it would take for her to notice him, but also if he could learn anything about the lady Kanna through observing the way she fought. 

The Akaiban noblewoman pushed into her opponents space, her practice sword striking against her opponents filling the garden with the sounds of their match. All of her guard were experienced and talented samurai, so the match was more of a test of her skill than theirs. Only a handful of the men were dressed for practice, the others were in full armour and had true weapons strapped to their sides. Were they at home, the whole unit could have participated, but on foreign soil within foreign walls, they couldn’t cripple themselves just to spar. Those on duty noticed Alasdair’s approach, but Kanna and her opponent did not. No one would disrupt the match and if either participant were to split their attention, it would be over. Kanna pressed Inoue, all but one of her strikes sliding off his sword. The last one felt... wrong and that was the moment he was looking for. Some mistake in her rhythm or form that would give him the opening he needed to parry or disarm her and his patience paid off. He struck her sword as her arms came down, causing her arm to bounce back from the impact, exposing her chest for him to strike that would result in his victory. 
As he thrusted forward, she stepped backwards commanding her body to follow the momentum of her arms back, giving her enough room to regain her form. It was her turn to be on the defensive. Inoue’s strikes were relentless. It wasn’t long before the jarring impact of his wooden sword against hers was too much for her body to handle causing her grip on her weapon to fail. It flew from her hands and she had moments to react to his next strike.He thrusted his sword forward again to land a strike on her chest, but she stepped into it, turning her body so that their opposite arms were parallel to each other. She grabbed his wrist and pulled it back in a small circle, pulling the rest of his body with him and causing him to fall to the ground, his sword was sent flying across the turf. Using her other hand, she took control of his arm, locking his elbow and pushing his shoulder blade into the ground while the hand that controlled the wrist to help drive his limb downward. If he moved she could break his arm. It was at this moment Toshiro, the Captain of her guard, spoke.

[i]“Kanna-sama, we have a royal audience.”[/i]

His words snapped her out of the fight and caused her to look up at him. He nodded his head towards something behind her and she turned her head to see what he was referring to. Her dark brown eyes caught Alasdair’s and she immediately released her grip on Inoue. The man got up easily, rotating his shoulder and wristing as he stood. Bowing towards Kanna, he thanked her for the match, though breathing heavily. [i]“I am honored to have been your opponent, Kanna-sama.”[/i]

[i]”The honor is mine, Inoue-san.”[/i] She said, turning back to him with a soft smile and a short bow, she worked to catch her own breath. [i]”I obviously have much more to learn.”[/i] Turning back to the captain she asked for the whereabouts of her translator. She hadn’t seen where the brown haired woman had went to once morning practice started and Kanna hoped she didn’t run off too far. Toshiro motioned towards a bench at the edge of the clearing where Meredith must have taken a seat, but she was already walking halfway to where they stood at a brisk pace. 

Once the Nyhem native woman reached the pair, she bowed and spoke quickly,[i]”My apologies Kanna-sama, I came as soon as I noticed the situation. Would you like to speak with him?”[/i]

Dusting her clothes, Kanna replied, [i]”Yes, let us head over now as we’ve already wasted enough time.”[/i]

Bowing again towards Kanna, Meredith lead them to where Alasdair stood. Meredith curtsied as Kanna bowed in greeting to their host. 

[i]”My apologies if we disturbed your walk, your majesty.”[/i]

“Not at all, if anything you have only served to make it more entertaining. It is most interesting to see a daughter of Akaiba partake in battle. I thought Iba women joining the military was frowned upon? Even here in Formaroth it is certainly uncommon, outside of the church anyway”.

[i]"Indeed, my father was not particularly thrilled when I expressed interest, but once I showed I had an affinity for it, he became less opposed."[/i]

"And how does the emperor of Akaiba fare these days. From what I gather his opinions on Formaroth are apathetic at best" Alasdair replied.

[i]"When I saw him last, he was of sound body and mind, so I would assume that still holds true. As for my father's opinion on foreign nations, I cannot speak on it as I do not know them."[/i]

"His previous interactions with Formaroth haven't been the friendliness, hence my surprise when I learnt he had asked for support from us, even under the circumstances" 

[i]"Would you not have done the same were the roles reversed?"[/i]

"Perhaps, but I'm not a samurai am I" Alasdair smirked "at the very least this invasion will finally wake up the formarothian nobles into realising just how dangerous the imperium is. Had they invaded sooner then perhaps the realm wouldn't of fractured apart. Though with a man as stubborn as Andris, who knows". 

[i]"Protecting a country and its people is the sole responsibility of those who run it. It does not matter if you are Samurai or not."[/i]

“A most noble sentiment” Alasdair responded in a voice that could have been either genuine or mocking “It is a shame, to many rulers are so prideful that they refuse to do what is necessary for fear of hurting their precious honour”.

Kanna took a moment before answering to gather her thoughts. She wasn't sure of his intentions and it made her wary. [i]"And what is your position on the matter? Would you do what is necessary?"[/i]

"Of course" Alasdair said with a cunning smile "Those who are willing to do whatever is necessary to win are the ones who survive. Those who proceed to strangle themselves with codes of honour and chivalry are destined to fail. A simple yet undeniable truth”. 

[i]"I wouldn't go as far as to say that."[/i] the conversation wasn't exactly what Kanna was expecting and she definitely did not wish to spoil the aid she came to retrieve with a discussion over the importance of honor and being a person of worth. Now that she wasn't moving anymore, the crisp breeze that was previously soothing to her warm skin was now freezing and cut through her clothes like a blade. She was not dressed to stand in the cold. Kanna rubbed her arms for heat as she spoke. [i]"May we continue this conversation inside or do you have other commitments to attend to?"[/i]

“I have nothing pressing as of now, let us continue this conversation inside. Walk with me”. He said as he said as he gestured his hand to his side.

Before she followed his lead, she turned to her captain who was standing behind her left shoulder. [i]"The men can choose to either continue to practice or clean up and meet with us indoors. Whether by your decision or theirs those are the two options."[/i] 

She didn't feel the need for the guard to be at full force with her, but she respected their sense of duty and so, offered them a choice. She also didn't wait to see what the captain decided as he simply bowed at her instructions and left. Turning back to Alasdair she offered him a soft smile and a slight bow of her head. [i]"By your leave."[/i]

Alasdair led Kanna through the gardens towards the arched doorway that led back into the keep, the steel fist guards keeping a respectable distance behind them. Kanna was something of an enigma to Alasdair; she held herself up as a warrior rather than a diplomat, yet had more grace and decorum than most of the ambassadors in his service. “While the open air helps me think I must confess in this weather there is only so much I can bear before the chill becomes too much for me”. 

[I]"Back home there are monks who will spend a hundred days in the middle of winter with little food and mostly without a source of heat. These one hundred days are spent in silence, meditation, and performing cold water purification rituals."[/i] Kanna spoke as one would when giving a presentation but when she spoke next, it was in a more playful tone. She turned her face up to him. [i]"So I like to tell myself,''At least I am not them” on days like this. It makes it a little easier to bear."[/i] 

“Most intriguing, though it makes one wonder how many survive such an ordeal” Alasdair replied “Or for what purpose these men decide to it suffer for”

[i]"It is not for the faint of heart and many who think they can pass the ordeal fail. It is a spiritual practice and those who manage to complete the ceremony are highly respected." [/i]

"There are easier ways to earn respect" Alasdair replied "Your own family for example, have garnered respect from across all of Seikatsu. Even here in Formaroth we have heard the fame of house Sadatake and their prowess for combat, statecraft and magical bloodlines. A great reputation, that did not require anyone to freeze themselves to death in order to obtain it". 

[i]"There are easier ways, but as I said, it is more a spiritual journey than one for the sole purpose of gaining popularity. Most monks do not care for the respect it gives as they generally live more simpler, self-less lives. But you honor me with your praise of my family's achievements."[/i] Kanna slightly bowed her head towards Alasdair as she spoke. It is argued that her family had divine right to the roles that they lead and that belief has garnered a lot of leeway with other officials across the country. [i]"Have you ever visited Seikatsu?"[/i]

“I have never had the pleasure. My duties as the head advisor and now as emperor means I rarely leave Sypius. When I do it is usually only to visit my homeland of Cawanor”.

[i]”That is unfortunate.”[/i] she replied. Kanna wasn’t sure if her father would agree to having the foreign monarch visit but maybe if their armies helped to repel the invasion, she could formulate a strong argument.[i]”Would you ever want to see it?”[/i]

“I’m always willing to visit new and interesting places, though my duty as emperor is for life. I expect I will spend the majority of my life here in this keep, such is the burden of a dedicated ruler” Alasdair decided to turn the questioning towards Kanna “How about yourself? I imagine as princess of Akaiba you find little time to travel to other kingdoms”?

[i]"This is the first time I have ever had a desire to leave the country. My brother had more wanderlust…"[/i] Here she paused, plagued by the shadows of her twin's past. Anger and pain flared through her causing her to take a moment to gain control of her voice before continuing. [i]"I am normally very busy traveling the country under the direction of my father."[/i]

Alasdair decided against asking about her brother. He had read reports about his mistreatment at the hands of elven pirates before she had arrived. He imagined it would be in poor taste to talk about him. “I see, though I am sure if you ever wished to explore the world you would be able to?” Alasdair questioned, trying to get a better idea of just how free Kanna truly was in her own kingdom.

[i]"I'm sure I would have an easier time than most if I had wanted to travel, but I am much needed at home."[/i] she replied. [i]"Though, I am intrigued by the culture and would be interested in learning more if time allowed it."[/i] Kanna was not sure if she would ever walk these shores again, but she believed it was a possibility if things were to work smoothly in the future.

“Providing we are not all destroyed by the imperium, I trust this will be the start of a great alliance between our people. For too long had Formaroth kept to it’s own borders, it is time we finally took our place in the wider world, as a nation worthy of both fear and respect. One that both the imperium and sovereignty will have to acknowledge”. 

[i]”One step at a time.”[/i] Kanna stated. She wasn’t one to get too ahead of herself and liked to deal with situations in a systematic order. She hadn’t realized how long they were walking for, as their conversation was going better than anticipated and the young woman wasn’t sure where they were going. With this break in conversation, Kanna had a moment to appreciate the ornate decorations that filled the foreign monarch’s home and she decided that while it spoke of great skill, she wasn’t a fan of the cornucopia of colors and patterns. It was simply overwhelming for Kanna and she must have looked so plain and out of place. The thought brought nearly brought a small smile to her face, but she managed to maintain her composure before speaking again. [i]”May I ask where we are headed?”[/i]

"Just through here" Alasdair said as they turned left into a barren corridor with naught but candlesticks decorating the walls. At the end was a steel door guarded by two steel fist guards, who upon seeing their emperor approach stood at attention before one of them quickly unlocked the door. Before Alasdair even reached the door it had been opened for him allowing him and Kanna to enter the room without  having to slow pace. The room was the crowns relic vault, where the Remmonnet's had kept all their most valued treasures. The room was filled with many items of legend, on one wall hung the sword of queen Ysabelle still shiny and sharp as if it were freshly forged. It was one of the few royal dwarven steel swords that wasn't buried with its owner. In a glass display cabinet lay the golden crown of king Adeland adorned with emeralds and rubies. A suit of armour stood proudly in the center of the room for this had been the armour of King Richard the first and had been worn by him during his conquest of Formaroth near 500 years ago. Still bearing the battle scars it sustained through the countless battles it had seen. Though these were not the items Alasdair wanted to show Kanna. Instead he walked over towards the back of the long room. In the corner stood what he was looking for. The armour of a famed samurai and great grandfather to Kanna Sadatake. 

[i]”How do you have this?”[/i] Kanna asked firmly, doing her best to keep it from being a demanding question. This particular set of armour has been engraved in her skull since she was a child. The two golden curved horns that sat atop the black helmet and the blood red oni half mask were a dead giveaway to the suit that was worn by her great grandfather, Oda Sadatake. The rest of the armour was black with red accent stitching. It was a treasure for her family and had been presumed to be lost and only existed in paintings, until now. 

“It was recovered when Emperor Oda’s body was found” Alasdair replied calmly, ignoring the accusational tone in Kanna’s voice. “As I am sure you know he was ambushed by his enemies while travelling to Nyhem on a diplomatic mission. King Richard the third however wasn’t the most...” Alasdair paused for a moment as he tried his best not to insult the previous monarch “diplomatic. Instead of returning it to it’s rightful owner he kept it safely locked away here. After his brief time as high king I am ashamed to say the armour was forgotten about. Afterall relations between the Iba and the crown were not exactly close in those days. Something I plan to change. By returning this-“ Alasdair said as he extended his arm towards the armour “to its original owner, I hope to take us one step closer to a more permanent alliance.” 

The young noblewoman stepped towards the suit, her footsteps silent against the marbled floors, and raised her right hand to touch the chest piece of the treasured heirloom. Her pale fingers gently brushed against cool metal plates which she noticed were highly polished. Though forgotten by previous monarchs of this country, whomever had the task of upkeeping the treasures of this foreign vault did not neglect the foreign work that graced the room with its presence and she greatly appreciated the care that person, or persons, took. While she did admire everything else the vault had to show, the small piece of home that was displayed in front of her simply held more value to her than anything else that Alasdair could show her. 

[i]”It is definitely a start..[/i] Kanna spoke softly, her attention still focused on the armour in front of her while she moved to touch the face mask designed with the idea to strike fear into the enemies of its wearer. [i]”...in the right direction.”[/i]

“I am glad to hear it” Alasdair said with a smug smile, it seemed she had not noticed. “I will have the imperial guard carry it down to your ship, I am sure your father will be happy to lays his eyes upon it. Alas, as much as I have enjoyed our conversation I must attend to my duties at once. I pray you enjoy your remaining time here in Formaroth.” Alasdair said with a wide smile.

The young Iban woman turned to give the foreign ruler her full attention as he spoke. While she wanted in her heart for this armor to be authentic and proudly present it to her family, she simply knew better. Collecting herself, she bowed to Alasdair before speaking. [i]"Thank you for taking the time to speak with me and returning this armor to my family. If time allows, I hope we have the opportunity to speak again as it was both informative and enjoyable."[/i]

“Likewise”, Alasdair replied as he turned around and headed towards the door. It had taken the smiths a great deal of time to forge the armour, and the scholars even longer to ensure it bore an identical resemblance to the original. The real armour had been lost over a decade ago when Cawanorian soldiers sieged Nyhem. Now Alasdair hoped that neither Kanna nor her family would realise it was a duplicate. Though even if they did, they could hardly accuse their new ally of being a liar.

Turning to Meredith, who had been graciously translating, Kanna thanked the other woman for her services and dismissed her for the rest of the morning. She also invited her for some tea over some Formarothian lessons later in the afternoon. While she had grown to like her native translator and trusted her enough to learn foreign languages from, Kanna did not want her to overhear what she said next. [i]”Toshiro-san, has Sora returned from his journey home?”[/i] 

Sora was the name of the messenger hawk they had sent shortly after her initial talk with the Emperor, sending her father news of the alliance. Shaking his head, the captain spoke, his deep voice rumbling in his chest. [i]”No Kanna-sama, it will be another day or two before he returns and he will need to rest. I hope by his return, we will be heading home ourselves.”[/i]

[i]”Only time will tell. In the meantime, once he returns I will need him to go back again, however this time he will go to my brother.”[/i] 

With her instructions given, they departed from the relic vault, leaving the black and red Akaiban armour to stand alone amongst foreign treasures once more. 

[/hider]