[center][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/0199b250-60ad-70f8-a63f-fa2975373b2f.webp[/img][/center][hr][right][sub]Location: Watchpost
Collab with: Aleksi ([@Beard Dad]) 
Mentions: Prince Flynn [/sub][/right][hr]
[indent][indent] [color=#fa8072]“Behave yourself and there won’t be any trouble now,”[/color] [color=#808080]The guard spoke before closing the door, wood compressing against the frame as the latch clinked shut. The room Aleksi had been deposited in was certainly a more spacious cell than he had originally anticipated, although that point felt moot right now.  As soon as that door closed, he became a prisoner, and until he negotiated his people’s safety, he’d remain trapped in this den of wolves. [b]Wolf[/b] felt like an understatement knowing the town was filled with some number of blightborn and one of them coming to interrogate him personally. That made him nervous, made him want to prepare for the worst.[/color]

[color=#808080]As he thought, he sorely wished his weapons hadn’t been confiscated before being put in here. He understood it was a precaution, but the guard’s assurances of safety felt as hollow as his scabbard did. He had alternatives if necessary, smoke for a quick getaway, ice as daggers, but he hoped it wouldn’t come to that. Being cornered in a room with a blightborn was not his idea of a fair fight, but if diplomacy had its day, he wouldn’t need to worry about that. The real question was, would his interrogator even be willing to listen to the barbarian’s plight? Would this advisor even cooperate were he to find out how many blightborn Aleksi had slain? It was all bridges that he’d eventually have to cross as he found himself a comfortable spot behind a table, waiting for the inevitable.[/color]

[color=#808080]Fortunately, he did not have to wait for long as the door swung open and in stepped a man whose presence alone spoke volumes. Tall, straight back, slick-haired with an unnaturally, uncanny visage about him, something that didn’t feel right; feel human.[/color] [color=#eb5406]“So you’re the blighter they sent to take my measure…”[/color] [color=#808080]his words held no malice, only factual curiosity.[/color] [color=#eb5406]“I can’t tell you what I was expecting when I asked for your master, but it wasn’t…this.”[/color] [color=#808080]Aleksi gestured towards the man. The tribal sighed, leaning back in his seat, eyes closed, fingers tapping rhythmically against the table,[/color] [color=#eb5406]“Then again, beggars cannot be choosers.”[/color] [color=#808080]He opened his eyes and made contact with the blightborn’s discerning gaze,[/color] [color=#eb5406]“I am Aleksi.”[/color]

[color=#808080]Orion stepped forward and took the vacant chair opposite the tribal leader, his cloak settling with the motion and his posture effortlessly erect. He did not remove his gloves nor offer a hand in greeting. He simply sat, a monument of calm observation, and began his assessment.[/color]

[color=#808080]The tribesman was clearly a product of a harsh world. His broad shoulders, layered in furs, and the sheer substance of his frame suggested a life defined by conflict and survival. The intricate tattoos winding across his shaved scalp and down one side of his face were not mere decoration; they were a history written in ink, each line a potential testament to either a battle won or a trial endured. A thick beard, streaked with the evidence of a long winter, further armoured a countenance already hardened by exposure. His physique spoke of resilience, of metal tempered in relentless hardship. But his most defining features were his eyes: a pale, penetrating crystalline blue regarding Orion with the vigilant caution of a stag that has just scented a hunter.[/color]

[color=#808080]There was no subservience in his bearing. Even seated in a foreign keep, he projected an aura of command, his body angled in a deliberate show of ease. Yet, the restless cadence of his fingers against his leg betrayed a current of tightly leashed tension. This was a man shaped by command, not compliance; by decree, not petition. Every aspect of his demeanour communicated the gravity of the concession he was being forced to make. He embodied the very image of the wild savage the guards had whispered of, but Orion detected a far more perilous quality beneath: an unbreakable resolve. This was not someone who would plead for mercy; he would negotiate for it, yielding only what was necessary to ensure his people’s survival.[/color]

[color=#808080]Orion’s own gaze, a deep and unsettling shade of red, remained locked with the tribesman’s pale blue. Two different kinds of winter. He let the term ‘master’ hang in the air without correction. The label was commonplace now, though it carried a specific and unwelcome weight. There had been a time, in a life that felt like a story about another person, when he had been hailed as Lord Nightingale, a commander of soldiers, a leader in his own right and not another man’s instrument. The Blight had shattered that image, or perhaps it had simply given others the courage to voice the fear and disdain they had always felt. [/color]

[color=#808080]If Aleksi chose to perceive him as a mere functionary, Orion would not disabuse him of the notion. He had long since learned that those who presumed him to be less than he was often revealed their own hands far too early.[/color]

[color=#808080]But it was the man’s blunt expectation that gave Orion pause; the assumption that one could simply step from the cold and demand an audience with a prince as though Dawnhaven were a simple chieftain’s hall. A tribal leader like Aleksi was likely accustomed to speaking without intermediaries, where strength met strength and demand met demand directly. Such an approach had its utility in the untamed wilds, but within the walls of a structured settlement, it was dangerously naïve.[/color]

[color=#0054a6]“The prince does not grant audience to every soul who petitions at our gates,”[/color] [color=#808080]Orion stated, his gloved hands forming a steeple upon the table.[/color] [color=#0054a6]“If you hoped to walk in from the snow and claim his ear, then yes, you will find this is not what you expected. You have me because this settlement prioritizes procedure over presumption. Should you wish to speak with Prince Flynn, you will first justify that privilege in this room with verifiable truth and unambiguous intent. Persuade me that your people are what you profess, and you will have your opportunity. Fail, and the gates will be sealed long before you ever lay eyes upon him.”[/color]

[color=#808080]Aleksi’s fingers stilled, his eyes narrowing at the pale creature before him, the ghostly image of the man that once was. He breathed in deeply, then exhaled,[/color] [color=#eb5406]“And how would I go about convincing you, hm?”[/color] [color=#808080]The tribal raised an eyebrow,[/color] [color=#eb5406]“Shall I tell you of the elderly, the children and the sick? The dead we had to leave behind forever buried and preserved in the snow?”[/color] [color=#808080]Aleksi paused, letting the words hang.[/color] [color=#eb5406]“No, I doubt matters of the heart would move you much, you seem more like a man who respects strength,”[/color] [color=#808080]he sat up straighter in his chair,[/color] [color=#eb5406]“Then I’ll tell you about how fierce our warriors are, how one of them could match ten of your [/color][color=#eb5406][i]‘soldiers’[/i][/color][color=#eb5406].”[/color] [color=#808080]Again, he let the words hang like a wet loincloth.[/color]

[color=#eb5406]“How much do you really know about our people?”[/color] [color=#808080]the tribal asked directly,[/color] [color=#eb5406]“Truly know about our lives? Our history? Our struggles against the blight? Against ‘your kind’?”[/color] [color=#808080]His gaze was sharp as glass, never faltering away from this lord advisor,[/color] [color=#eb5406]“When the blight first arrived, when the monsters came from the dark, we were being picked off on our own; one… by… one. One of our leaders rallied the tribes together under one banner, a few thousand of us, all together, all fighting for our survival, and for a while we held our own.”[/color] [color=#808080]Though the tribalman’s face hadn’t shifted all that much, the sharpness in his eyes dulled slightly,[/color][color=#eb5406] “As the years went by, though, and our leaders were felled, a few thousand slowly became a few hundred. Whatever alliance there was, it is no more; what is left of us is scattered to the far winds, and only a few dozen of us remain.”[/color]

[color=#808080]Aleksi’s gaze refocused,[/color] [color=#eb5406]“If you know anything about us, you know how much we pride ourselves on our strength, our resilience, our adaptability. We abhor you outsiders, your gilded halls, your defamation of nature itself, and that’s not to include the crimes committed by the Lunarians against us, the blood that is on their hands. If you know that, then you know that my coming here, requesting safety, goes against everything my people believe in…but it is what is necessary if we are to survive this endless night.”[/color]

[color=#808080]Aleksi leaned back into his seat, seeming exhausted as he brought a hand up to rub his tired eyes,[/color] [color=#eb5406]“You know what I am asking, and I know what I ask comes with a heavy cost,”[/color] [color=#808080]his hand fell away from his face as he refocused on the blightborn,[/color] [color=#eb5406]“so what is it that [/color][color=#eb5406][b]you[/b][/color][color=#eb5406] want in return?”[/color]

[color=#808080]Orion listened with unwavering focus. He did not interrupt nor react to the provocation in Aleksi’s tone or the deliberate jab of [/color][i][color=#808080]your kind[/color][/i][color=#808080]. He had endured far deeper cuts from far more powerful lips. When the tribal leader finally leaned back, weariness etched into every line of his face, and posed his question, Orion’s response was immediate yet carried the gravity of long deliberation.[/color]

[color=#0054a6]“I do not want your dead, Aleksi. I have no use for your boasts. And I don’t need convincing of your people’s suffering. I’ve seen enough of the world’s cruelty to know how cheaply it spends lives.”[/color] [color=#808080]He met the other’s gaze unfailingly.[/color] [color=#0054a6]“You say you abhor outsiders and their gilded halls. Very well. This is no gilded hall. It is a settlement clawing itself out of frost and blood. If your people can live by its order, then we will have use for them. If they cannot…” [/color][color=#808080]He let the silence stretch, his voice lowering to a register that demanded attention without ever rising in volume.[/color]

[color=#0054a6]“…then I will bar the gate myself, and no force under this sky will see it reopened.”[/color]

[color=#808080]Orion leaned back, letting the brazier’s glow catch the marble pallor of his face.[/color]

[color=#0054a6]“If Dawnhaven takes you in,”[/color] [color=#808080]he continued,[/color] [color=#0054a6]“your people will abide by its laws, the same as any soul granted refuge here. They will not spill blood over old feuds. They will not raid the food stores. They will not test the walls at night like wolves circling a pen.”[/color] [color=#808080]He let the image remain, to be understood clearly, before driving his point home.[/color] [color=#0054a6]“They will work. Every hand, every back. Hunters, herdsmen, weavers, smiths—whatever skills you carry, you will put them to use for the good of this settlement. Because here, survival is not given so freely, especially not to those who hold ill will toward the very people offering them shelter. It is [/color][color=#0054a6][i]earned[/i][/color][color=#0054a6]. Do I make myself clear?”[/color]

[color=#808080]A small smirk broke the shell over Aleksi as he snorted,[/color] [color=#eb5406]“Perhaps you know us better than I had expected. Frost and blood are something we know and respect well. My people will follow your laws, their feuds shall remain as old as the mountains and just as still, and if any of my people should defy that expectation, then their life would be forfeit.”[/color] [color=#808080]He stared at Orion, serious as sin. [/color][color=#eb5406]“We would not be here had we any other recourse, and the old man with us gave your settlement its’ accolades, therefore I cannot excuse the weak whims of a few to jeopardize the lives of the many. All said, I understand your terms, you take in my people, you will have bodies and hands, warriors and tradesmen all. On my life and the lives of my ancestors come before me, this I swear.”[/color]

[color=#808080]Orion inclined his head once, a small, formal gesture. He rarely wasted motion on empty courtesies.[/color]

[color=#0054a6]“Your word,”[/color] [color=#808080]he replied, his voice low,[/color] [color=#0054a6]“will be tested.”[/color]

[color=#808080]He folded his gloved hands together on the table and laid out what the settlement would require.[/color] 

[color=#0054a6]“You will provide a list of names,”[/color] [color=#808080]he began,[/color] [color=#0054a6]“Every man, woman, and child seeking refuge. Include their ages, skills, and any known wounds or illnesses. You will name a single leader, if it is not yourself, one headman responsible for maintaining order among your people while they remain within Dawnhaven. That headman answers to me, and to the law.” [/color][color=#808080]He paused, allowing the words so far to sink in.[/color] [color=#0054a6]“You will assign us a place to house the most vulnerable first: the elderly, the sick, the children. They will be fed from the common stores as an initial allowance, [/color][color=#0054a6][i]not [/i][/color][color=#0054a6]a permanent handout. In return, your able-bodied will labour alongside us, helping to mend our fences, work the forges under supervision, tend the herds, and stand watch in rotation. Everyone contributes, or no one eats.” [/color]

[color=#808080]He watched Aleksi’s face closely, gauging the man’s reactions to each clause.[/color] 

[color=#0054a6]“There will be limits,”[/color] [color=#808080]Orion continued,[/color] [color=#0054a6]“There will be no weapons past the inner ring. All arms will be surrendered to our quartermaster in exchange for a token proving your people are labouring and repaying their debt to this settlement. Any individual caught inciting feuds, raiding stores, or committing violence within our walls will be removed and exiled beyond the palisade or worse if the law demands it.”[/color]

[color=#808080]The following stipulations were the most inflexible, born from the fragile and often fraught union of two kingdoms. Yet, they were non-negotiable.[/color]

[color=#0054a6]“Should you agree to these terms, Langley will be instructed to situate your people in the temporary ring outside the western palisade. A headcount will be taken at the first watch change and again before the evening rations. You will receive food for three days while arrangements are finalized. After that, work or leave.” [/color]

[color=#808080]Then came the most pivotal condition of all.[/color]

[color=#0054a6]“Furthermore, you will reaffirm your oath tomorrow at morning rations, before the priestesses of the Lunarian and Aurelian faiths, and under the eyes of the community. This is how our agreement will be sanctified. Not by private words spoken behind closed doors but publicly in the presence of Dawnhaven’s law and its divine guardians.” [/color]

[color=#808080]Aleksi remained still and quiet for a long while, his eyes closed as he considered the blightborn’s words. In exchange for work, they’d be allowed some room and board, with a grace period to allow them time to set up their camp. A census would be needed, words would need to be spoken to his people before he publicly swore any oaths. Some would understand, while some would need to be forced to [/color][color=#808080][b]understand[/b][/color][color=#808080] the gravity of their situation. His breath condensed in front of him as he exhaled softly, eyes opening to lock with Orion’s once more.[/color]

[color=#eb5406]“Your demands are reasonable and I will ensure that my people follow them to the letter, however…”[/color] [color=#808080]he paused, brow furrowing,[/color] [color=#eb5406]“I understand why I must publicly announce my intentions, my oath as I’ve sworn to you now. I understand it is about building trust, however small a beginning that may be…”[/color] [color=#808080]Aleksi’s eyes closed again briefly,[/color] [color=#eb5406]“not all of my people will see it this way, some will see it as swearing fealty to enemies that have hunted us for years, some decades. They will be difficult, but it is either to accept this new reality, or they can take their chances out in the frost.”[/color]

[color=#808080]The tribal pushed his seat back, standing up,[/color] [color=#eb5406]“As for your headman, I swore to keep those people safe, to lead them, and I will continue to do so in this role. Finally, in regards to swearing, I wish to address both your people and mine in our native tongues. If you’re concerned about the veracity of my words, I invite you to have someone you trust translate for you.”[/color] [color=#808080]His hand extended out, reaching towards the red-haired man on the other side of the table,[/color] [color=#eb5406]“If you are in agreement, then let us strike this pact.”[/color]

[color=#808080]Orion did not stand when Aleksi rose. He remained seated, his unsettling scarlet gaze anchored on the tribesman, assessing each spoken syllable as if it were a weight placed upon some invisible balance.[/color]

[color=#808080]The confession that some of his people would resist, viewing the oath as submission to old foes, was entirely anticipated. Orion had presumed no less. In these circumstances, trust was a fragile thing, something that could only be hardened in the crucible of shared need not born from simple goodwill. That Aleksi had given voice to this dissent, however, was significant. It demonstrated a pragmatic honesty, not a failure of resolve.[/color]

[color=#808080]When Aleksi asserted he would remain as headman, Orion offered a slight, acknowledging tilt of his head. It was the only foreseeable outcome. This was not a figure who relinquished authority, and in truth, it was the most prudent path. If his followers had already trailed him through ice and starvation, it was to his leadership they would look when Dawnhaven’s regulations grew restrictive. It was preferable to have one shoulder bear the burden of command than to let disorder unravel the many.[/color]

[color=#808080]But when Aleksi extended his hand, Orion studied it in silence for a long moment. He knew what the gesture meant: a pact sealed in the old way, man to man, flesh to flesh. Once, in another life, he might have taken it without hesitation. Now, he thought of the whispers, the stares, the subtle recoil when his blight-chilled skin brushed another’s as if corruption could be passed like a rumour.[/color]

[color=#808080]He rose slowly, cloak shifting around him.[/color]

[color=#0054a6]“You will speak in your tongue and in ours,”[/color] [color=#808080]he said evenly.[/color] [color=#0054a6]“Let your people hear you, and let mine understand you. I will appoint a translator to ensure the words are faithfully rendered for all.”[/color]

[color=#808080]Then, at last, he accepted the proffered hand. His grasp was colder than Aleksi’s, carrying the stone-like chill of the blight’s legacy, yet it was firm and resolute.[/color]

[color=#0054a6]“Then let it be struck,”[/color] [color=#808080]Orion said.[/color] [color=#0054a6]“You and yours will be tested. Break your oath, and you will answer to me first.”[/color]

[color=#808080]He released his grip, stepped away, and delivered a single, curt nod.[/color] [color=#0054a6]“Until the oath is sworn before the priestesses, consider this accord conditional. It becomes binding at tomorrow’s gathering.”[/color]

[color=#eb5406]“I would say you have nothing to worry about, but that would be a lie,” [/color][color=#808080]The barbarian exhaled sharply through his nose.[/color] [color=#eb5406]“Once they arrive, I will tell them of what is to come, but first, I need to signal them. If you would allow it, I would borrow one of your men and have them loose a flaming arrow beyond the wall. My people will know to come, and I will be there to greet them in peace.”[/color]

[color=#0054a6]“You mean for the flare to be fired from our parapet so your people see it beyond the outer ring,”[/color] [color=#808080]Orion confirmed, his voice level and analytical. The request was tactical, and he appreciated clarity born of necessity.[/color] [color=#0054a6]“That, I can allow. It removes the risk of them being mistaken for moving targets in the dark. It also ensures the action takes place in a location we can control.”[/color]

[color=#808080]He paused, allowing the practicality of the concession to be acknowledged. Then he set forth the one condition he had, his tone retaining the same even patience he had maintained throughout their negotiation.[/color]

[color=#0054a6]“Langley will choose the archer who fires the shot,”[/color] [color=#808080]Orion stated.[/color] [color=#0054a6]“It will be one of ours, and he will be unarmed except for the bow required for this task. He will light the arrow here, on the parapet, under our direct supervision. You will not touch his equipment.”[/color] [color=#808080]His gaze held Aleksi’s, leaving no room for ambiguity.[/color] [color=#0054a6]“Are these conditions clear?”[/color]

[color=#808080]Aleksi nodded, slowly and deliberately.[/color] [color=#eb5406]“Clearly, you and your people are in control here. I am watching and waiting,”[/color] [color=#808080]as if to emphasize he folded his arms over, tucking his hands deep in between his sides and arms.[/color] [color=#eb5406]“Now then, shall we get on with it? It’s cold as sin, and the damned require succor.”[/color]

[color=#808080]An almost imperceptible, inscrutable tug touched the corner of Orion’s mouth. The man’s restiveness was justified; the biting cold eroded patience, and desperation shortened all fuses. Yet he knew that haste was a double-edged sword, and this was a moment for precision, not carelessness. He modulated his voice, each word chosen to narrow the divide between them.[/color]

[color=#0054a6]“Very well,”[/color] [color=#808080]he assented, the statement final.[/color] [color=#0054a6]“We proceed, but on our terms, not yours. You will have your signal. You will have your chance. But it will be done in a manner that does not cost lives through recklessness.”[/color]

[color=#808080]He turned, his cloak sweeping about his shoulders in a single, fluid motion that spoke of economy and intent. At the door, he paused and looked back, his stance communicating what required no speech: the discussion was over, and the time for action had begun.[/color]

[color=#0054a6]“You will meet Langley and two witnesses at the parapet in ten minutes. Prepare your people. I will alert the watch and instruct the archers to stand down.”[/color] [color=#808080]His gaze was steady and intent.[/color] [color=#0054a6]“Do not squander this opportunity.”[/color]

[color=#808080]Then, without further ceremony, he departed, leaving the chill of the room to settle in his wake as he moved to make good on his word.[/color]
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