[center][color=#C84808][h1]Askel Camila[/h1][/color][/center]
Location: Grand Ballroom 
Attire: [url=https://imgur.com/pIXFlLx]Starry Night Attire[/url]
Interactions:[@Infinite Cosmos] Munir [@princess] Assfiz [@AuthenticTomb] Aslam
Mentions:[@Tae] Ranya
[hr]

What an odious creature the Grand Vizier was. Every single word that came out of his mouth made his skin crawl though Askel maintained a veneer of tranquility. How many times had he met such men, cruel and callous with the lives of others for their own means? It would never fail to unnerve him that such men could have been born through mothers rather than crawl out of whatever dark crevice that their souls truly originated from. This, though, he could take. He could listen to Hafiz's threats against his life, he could take the condescension, hell, he could even take the blatant insults. What he could not take were the disparaging comments of Ranya. 

While maintaining that veneer his jaw clenched. Hafiz spoke of her as a [i]thing,[/i] a caricature. 

The inferno that swelled within threatened to consume him and the only thing he could think about was how to unmake Hafiz. He could challenge him to a duel. He could cleave him in two, rend him asunder, break every bone in his body, grind him down until his dust cried for mercy. 

But what would that solve? 

The scandal would not be able to be contained and his relationship with Ranya would have been destroyed anyway. The Sultan would not hear it; the death of his brother would cloud all reason and the threat of war between Varian and Alidasht would loom over the horizon. No, it was a path of destruction that would lead to only ruin. 

No, instead, he let that fire burn within him, but he was its master not the other way around. For Ranya he would turn that fire into a source of power like a flame in a forge to craft a fine blade. For her he would be that blade, sharp and enduring.

In perfect Galazlian Askel said with a pleasant smile, [color=#C84808]"How many lives of men do you think I've trampled upon just to stand here tonight?"[/color] His violet eyes that once shone like the sun breaking through the night bore into Hafiz with something new, something dangerous, but familiar to the prince himself. 

[color=#C84808]"Those without fear are the first to die, Grand Vizier,"[/color] stated the knight-prince with expert authority on the matter. [color=#C84808]"They lack awareness and foresight, strutting like a peacock with thinly veiled threats and implications believing themselves to be hunters when they are in fact the prey. Those with fear, who temper it, are the ones you should be wary of for they are the master of themselves and thus the masters of war, whether it be the backdrop of cannons and rifles or set to the tune of violins."[/color] 

Askel lazily swirled the wine in his glass as he chuckled. [color=#C84808]"I have met a hundred of 'Hafiz' as well; charming, ambitious, and intelligent though they are never as smart as they think they are. They fall all the same for they fail to see their own undoing. The funny thing is that they never realize it until it's too late."[/color]

His smile deepened, but his eyes still had that dangerous quality to them. [color=#C84808]"But that's just the opinion of a foreigner. That's the wonderful thing about being a foreigner though; you can either broaden your horizons or you remain in your hole, foolish and arrogant in your ignorance. Why, if I had not spent all of that time in Alidasht perhaps I would have had 'romantic' notions."[/color] He let out a laugh. It was such a farce.

Askel took another step forward towards the man, unwavering and daring in the face of his foe and yet measured and calculating. [color=#C84808]"A veil is merely a piece of cloth until it isn't just as a blade is only a refined hunk of steel until you bury it in someone's heart."[/color] 

He chuckled dismissively. [color=#C84808]"Although, I doubt you know what the latter is like. The strength of character needed to take another's life with your own hands and the responsibility to shoulder it would be lost on you, which is why your brother is the Sultan and why you never a true candidate. Though I suppose that is why you sided with your brother, is it not? I mean..."[/color]

There was something venomous in his smile, charming as it was. [color=#C84808]"You were afraid that he was going to kill you too, weren't you? You were not the master of yourself, so in the face of true adversity and terror... you blinked."[/color] 

Askel held his gaze with the Grand Vizier until it was broken by the much needed levity brought by Munir who also shared the same feelings about their uncle.

The prince dropped back to the common tongue of the world and said with a very cheeky grin, [color=#C84808]"Oh, I tried that one already, Shehzade Munir. He is quite proud of his position, such as it is,"[/color] 

He lifted the glass up and said, [color=#C84808]"Cheers, to the Sultan and if I were to be so bold I would like to make an addition. May the relationship between Alidasht and Varian grow unencumbered."[/color]