That...wasn't how Renar expected to be recognized. A friend of a friend, because he'd made idle conversation about a novel with the First Princess back during the ball incident? While gratifying to note that evidently he was remembered by name, it also complicated the matter in front of him right this moment. It meant he couldn't just dismiss the Hundi woman offhand, lest his reputation suffer should it leak back to a royal, of all things.

"That would explain much, yes." He replied in an amicable, light tone. "Though I have to confess some surprise that I would be remembered so, when all I did within the First Princess's presence was discuss a novel with her. And briefly, at that." The best part was that it wasn't even a false statement. He was genuinely surprised that all of that had led to what was occurring in front of him. Though Sir Rolan being mistaken for Gerard of all people brought a smirk to his face. Oh, he'd enjoy telling the latter about this at some point.

"Ah, not particularly." Renar interjected, sharing a look with Rolan. "While I'd invite you to guess, t'would be cruel to provide a question to which you have no way to answer, considering this one had never met Her Highness before. Ought I do the honor of introducing you, or are you to do that yourself, Ser?" He posed the question to Rolan, inwardly annoyed at having to entertain any of this. How long was this farce going to have to go on...?

---

Rolan kept a neutral, polite expression even as he processed the almost impressive mis-identification, though if he had heard right Lady Beaux had heard about them through a friend who was friend to the First Princess. Which meant there was basically zero chance she had any idea who he was, even if he let her continue floundering through each name she knew from her gossip. He was tempted to let her guess all the same, but that really would not accomplish much. That, and Ser Renar had elected to, after interjecting that he had not heard anything from the Captain yet, pointed out it would be cruel to have her guess since he had not met Her Highness.

"A fair point, I'll spare you having to make introductions on my behalf."

Rolan could introduce himself, frankly, turning to face Lady Beaux and inclining his head properly before introducing himself. He had some basic understanding of decorum, even if he had avoided having to make any use of it at all reasonable costs. He would keep his own personal introduction brief, let the others of the retinue bear the responsibility of being recognized more readily, including a deflection since Ser Gerard happened to be mentioned.

"Ser Rolan, a more recent addition to the Captain's retinue. Though between the two of us, Ser Gerard remains the more capable by wide margins."

Gertrude grinned uncharacteristically, seemingly pleased that the princesses were taking an interest. She wasn't very socially adept still, but she could at least pull herself together enough to act cordial in front of royalty. Well, that and she had a soft spot for kids around Maletha's age. She scooched a little closer.

"Well, I can't say whether or not any other fairy has self-applied the title, but this one was more than powerful enough for me to believe it. As we would discover, she had her own fey realm and presided over a number of unique subjects. But before we could be granted audience, we had to contend with the gatekeeper," Gertrude said ominously, spreading her arms in a theatrical manner.

"A great serpent with skin of bark and sinew of vine! It lunged with its great fangs, each tooth as big as... well, the mistress, at least. Arken and I flung spells from the rear, shooting for an ever-moving magical core. With each piece blasted off, the weak point became larger. Then, when the other knights had pinned it down, Fionn called upon his newly-awoken magical ability to let loose an enormous slash!"

Yeah, this was sounding good. She would have mentioned the meeting with the sister, but she wasn't there for that, and it would bog down the narrative. She'd let herself editorialize a bit.

"That done, we finally gained access to the realm of The Moonlit Queen."

---

Gretchen nodded along with Yaya's explanation. She hadn't been present for the beginning of the relationship, but her own dealings with the Niyar made it clear that the fairy at least considered herself wedded. And Fionn certainly never disabused her of the notion.

"Yes... I'm certain the wedding would be quite lovely indeed. I'm sure you'll be invited, since you're so well-behaved," Gretchen said, smiling. It wouldn't hurt to latch a little extra incentive onto the woman keeping her cool at the tournament.

"I don't know what everyone plans to do, but if I had to guess... the mistress seems well-suited to a duel. I don't know how well Fionn would do, but he'll probably participate anyway. Gerard is almost a certainty, and I think it will be expected that Renar takes part. Fleuri would likely concentrate on the joust, though who knows? Maybe he'll go for more than one. It doesn't seem Rolan's specialty, so I doubt he will."

Slowly, carefully, Gretchen reached out to pat Haizea's head.

"But we'll have to wait and see for sure, won't we? I'm certain spectating will be quite fun."

Unexpectedly, it was Maletha who spoke up this time – quiet, yes, but awe on her voice, "Sir Fionn did that?"

When Gertrude confirmed that, yes, Fionn had destroyed a giant wooded snake with a magical slash, the younger princess giggled, a quiet, "My stalwart ball knight was a good choice after all…"

Well, at least Fionn had one fan in the crowd.

---

"Oh, I plan to officiate it," Haizea said, tail wagging at… well, either the thought of the wedding, or the pats she was receiving. Either way, she didn't seem to mind the taller blonde being so forward, despite her rank and station.

"I do hope Fleuri joins in the duels, it would be nice to see how far the Flower of the North has come. He had promise, but…" the hundi woman raised her hands towards the ceiling, "To be so close to the service of Reon, yet revelling only in the glory of winning – that's no way to maintain the Goddesses' favour."

"Well, he's humbled now, but I hope we don't need too much divine intercession. The Valours Tournament is an entirely worldly affair," Tyaethe said, before tilting her head slightly, "… Don't think this means you can go patting every paladin you meet, okay?"

@Octo

Fleuri Jodeau

So this man came here with a foreign lord Fleuri thought to himself. A warrior retainer, no doubt. The tournament was after all an important part of Thaln's diplomacy, and Fleuri suspected that this foreign warrior would be participating on his lord's behalf.

"I presume you will participate in the tournament? I've seen Akitsushiman swordsmanship before, it was awe-inspiring."

Fleuri wondered if this man might know of Rui. Surely someone of such great skill- and distinct wounds- would be renowned in her homeland.

And of skill, he also wondered just how formidable a fighter this man would be. If Fleuri's hunch was right and this foreigner was brought all this way to Thaln to participate the tournament, there must be great confidence in his fighting ability.

@VitaVitaAR@HereComesTheSnow

---

Fionn frowned, looking over at Fiadh. "Why do you say that like you've already come up with something?" he asked, shaking his head. "Well, whatever the case, so long as you're thinking about it before anything might happen. We should probably go look for some of the others by now...no telling where Gerard or Renar have got off to. Tyaethe's probably busy with the royalty...The captain, maybe? She's probably off somewhere in the middle of it all."

He glanced critically down at his still-soaked tunic. "A quick bath, first," he amended his decision. "And then find the captain. Shall we?" His new sword found its place back in its sheathe, and with a grunt he bent down and picked up the larger of the pair where he had set it down as well.

With a quick look back at the grounds of the tournament proper, he wrinkled his nose at a sudden itch and sneezed as his gaze passed over the royal box. "Do you ever get the feeling that someone's talking about us where we can't hear?"

"Well, I should hope so," Fiadh replied, following along and ignoring the attention that was being garnered by a fairy being so close to the tournament – to the city proper. It was hardly considered welcoming, even the smallest were uncommon… and Fiadh was very green, "If people weren't talking about us, then we must be boring, and what would be worse than that?"

@The Otter

Gerard Segremors

@Crimson Paladin

He nodded. Easy enough.

"Well met then, Takashima." the knight inclined his head. "Sagramore Gellért. In our common tongue, Gerard Segremors. If my companion here has the right of your visit's nature, I would hope to introduce myself more properly soon." He knew little of Akitsushima, less than Fleuri— but trading blows with Rui in the dream-spun world had proven to him the gripping nature of the conversations he favored with people like himself. The language of sparks and steel was universal between swordsmen— to know a man's heart truest, you would find it singing at the end of his arm. That was what Cyrus had told him, when words between them inevitably broke down.

The man argued best by caving your head in. Only fitting that such was the quickest way anyone had found to get Gerard to learn.

His eyes returned to pavilion, resting close to where the foreign dignitary's had drifted after names were exchanged.

"If he's right... Would this be your first foray into the Valours, friend?"

"A... a-ah..."

Upon the clarification that she was, in fact, not correct in her guess that the nearly-arrived Knight was Sir Gerard, the Lady Beaux appeared to briefly go rigid, her cheeks coloring immediately. The hundi girl's tail, which had been wagging nonstop since she encountered Sir Renar, had become completely stiff, an awkward smile frozen on her face.

"I-I... I apologize," she stated, after a moment, swiftly bowing her head, her ears drooping slightly, "Yes, er, she had not yet mentioned you in her correspondence, th-though she did mention there were new knights in the order as well! Ah-hahaha..."

The speed at which the hundi girl was speaking made it quite clear she was attempting to cover up her own embarrassment, however unsuccessfully, scratching the back of her head as she seemed to attempt to search for any topic that could allow her the route to compose herself.

"Th-then, er, you..." she trailed off, "Princess Elisandre does quite love novels! I actually recommended a few..."

Lizaelea trailed off again, clearly not escaping from her embarrassment swiftly enough with that topic for her liking.

"... Oh, right, is there anyone you're particularly looking forward to facing in the tournament?!"

That, at last, appeared to be the escape route she so desired, her tail wagging rapidly once again.

@Psyker Landshark@Eisenhorn

---

The Akitsushiman man nodded slowly, in turn, as each of the knights introduced themselves, though his gaze still remained on the field below. Despite his age, his gaze was sharp and portrayed no loss of vision. Perhaps he was looking for those who were likely participants in the tournament, out of curiosity?

After a moment, her turned to face the knights fully once more, a smile finding its way to his lips.

"I am glad to hear your praise for my homeland's techniques," he began, "But I am here as a simple bodyguard. When I first arrived, I had no intention to be anything more than a spectator to my niece's efforts."

He paused for a moment, glancing towards the field below once again.

"---Until I witnessed the preparations, that is," he continued, "It certainly has a way of making one's blood boil, does it not? The meeting of steel and steel, words that can only be exchanged through blades."

His firm gaze returned to Sir Fleuri and Sir Gerard.

"I am honored to meet the warriors of this land in such a competition."

Given the man's words, it appeared that he would not be the only warrior of Akitsushima participating in the Valours tournament today. With the distance between their nations, it was hardly a frequent event.

Perhaps the amount of times it had occurred could be counted on one hand, despite the many occurrences of the Tournament over the years.

@Eisenhorn@HereComesTheSnow

Gertrude winced at the thought that she'd given Fionn more credit than he probably deserved. The stupid git had put his life on the line for a moment of idiot-glory when Gertrude could have finished the thing from range. The main thing stopping her was probably that she thought it would've been funny if the man had been mortally wounded.

But again, she wasn't about to upset a princess. Stories were meant to entertain, after all.

"Aye, Sir Fionn is very-"

Bloody stupid.

"-Brave. But with the guardian defeated, we entered the Fey Realm of The Moonlit Queen and her coterie. Despite her grandiose title, she was actually no taller than you," she related to Maletha, "she was tiny, pale, and beautiful. Dark, enchanting eyes. Hair so long that it pooled like a waterfall. It turned out she had taken the duke's wits because he didn't seem to have time for her any more. Apparently, they had met when he was young and played together. Now an adult with responsibilities, the duke had allowed his friendship to lapse. Needless to say, if either of you befriend a powerful Fey, maintain a good relationship."

---

"Oh? Are you jealous, Yaya?" Gretchen asked, a mischievous grin on her lips, "I don't pat just any paladin. Only the small and cute ones."

Gretchen reached out her other hand to pat Tyaethe.

"Well, Fleuri is the knight I'm least acquainted with, so I look forward to seeing what he's capable of. Still..."

Gretchen frowned slightly in thought.

"Haizea? If not for glory, why would you fight in the tournament if given the chance? Anyone can see that you are eager. Is all of that on behalf of your goddess, or do you desire the pleasure of a good fight? Is it worldly desire, or entirely outside of yourself?"

Gretchen went back to grinning as she looked down at Tyaethe, and thought about how excited she had looked in her fight with Rozenalt. The way she selfishly demanded a duel she wasn't completely certain she would win. Prideful and bloodthirsty in a way Gretchen hadn't seen before or since. She wondered quietly if there were many paladins like that.

He'd already assumed so, but it was still useful in some way to know that Lizaelea's, and by extension, the princess's, information was limited to the time of the ball. While the girl was distracted with whatever went through her head, Renar let the mask slip for just a moment and shot an irritated glance Rolan's way at his deflection, knowing exactly what the other man was going for here. He damned well wasn't leaving Renar to deal with this himself.

"You can hardly be faulted for not knowing of events that have transpired since your last correspondence." Renar cut in smoothly, having determined that the Hundi had floundered enough. It was getting just a tad annoying, anyway. "A forgiveable mistake, all in all. Worry not."

Her next inquiry brought one very specific face to his mind. And a question, asked only to himself. Was it worth showing any of his hand in this matter? Fleuri knew of Renar's desire to face him, to be certain. But it was almost guaranteed that anything he told this girl would leak. To the First Princess, if nothing else. Was it worth such? Hell, did it even matter? Should Renar be lucky enough to get Fleuri in the draw, the entire damned kingdom would know. Ah, well. Why not let it slip. Better that than feigning humility.

"Sir Fleuri, of course. Also of the Iron Rose. The Flower of the North, as claimed by more avid tourney-goers than you or I. And for that matter," He glanced to Rolan once more. If Renar had to sit thorugh this, he wasn't letting the other knight slip out of it so easily. "Remind me, Sir Rolan. Were you planning to take part in the Valours?"

---

Rolan had not felt an apology was really needed for misidentifying him, especially when he was not even around for the last set of correspondence mentioning the knights at all. Even if her posture had not given her embarrassment away, the sudden freeze of her tail would have at before she said a word beyond stuttering. Though while she was stuttering, Ser Renar fixed him with a look that was, charitably, described as annoyed. Seemed the deflection was not well received, oh well, though after Ser Renar called it a forgivable mistake, Rolan did follow up on that.

"Well said, and accurate as well. I certainly took no offense, nor see a reason to."

Rolan considered the question that Lady Beaux posed next, if there was anyone in particular that was a person of interest to face in the coming tournament. He had not rightly considered whether or not to even participate, something he intended to solve after hearing about the events in particular, given outside of being reasonably accurate with a crossbow, he could not boast any performance worthy talents in a formal event such as this. Ser Renar answered first, that he was interested in facing Ser Fleuri which made sense. Then, perhaps in retaliation for his earlier deflection, turned and asked him if he planned to take part in the Valours or not. Well, shit, there went waiting and seeing.

"I had not decided for certain yet, but given I am here I have little reason not to, even if my personal aptitudes are better suited to outside tournament days. Though that does mean I have no particular opponent that I would wish to face, simply to conduct myself befitting my current position."

Rolan had no delusions on his chances as far as participating went, single combat was not his strong suit, nor were most knightly skills or qualities by his assessment. He had been drilling himself since the Wild Hunt to better protect himself in a melee, but compared to basically any other of the Knights proper? He was not a winning pick, not by a long shot. Still, as long as he did not embarrass himself or the others then he could make an attempt at it, especially if asked to participate.

"Oh, like in Lufen and Igraine!" Elisandre said, referring to a well-known story about a knight and a fairy – one often respun as a romance. "When Lufen rejects or forgets her, he always has to go on some quest to make amends! But... the Moonlit Queen wouldn't let the Duke do it himself?"

"Real fairies seem mean." Maletha said, nodding.

---

Tyaethe's harrumph didn't really dispute the point, nor did the pinkening of her pale cheeks, but there wasn't time to get in more teasing with Haizea enthusiastically answering. "Why, for the challenge! A knight's skills are honed through combat, and how else could we find where we lack than to continue to seek new challenges?

"Tournaments are perfect! Everyone gathering together to test themselves and with the safety of healers on hand..." the priestess was practically bouncing in place as she extolled the virtues of her chosen venue. "And to watch is to see how strong and skilled your protectors are! That reassurance, that balm for the spirit, is exactly what a paladin should be providing."

"If people play safe, or it's not someone scary," Tyaethe interjected.

"Well... yes... and when someone is too concerned with prizes, it spoils it a little, but those are rare!"

@Octo

"Well, there are nice ones and mean ones," Gertrude explained, shrugging, "just like with people. Sometimes it's bloo- er, difficult to tell, though, because they have a different sense of morality. I grew up... around creatures like them, so it made sense to me."

Not wanting to dwell on that line of questioning any longer than she needed to, Gertrude was quick to continue.

"Well, I think she's more childish than mean. She asked for our qualifications when we brought up the Duke's wits, and it was obvious she wanted to be entertained. The knights regaled her with tales of heroic accomplishment. I, on the other hand..."

Gertrude gently dropped her broom, but before it hit the ground, it grew limbs and a body and the straw transformed into hair. Trudy, the miniature Gertrude made from wood and soul, began doing a little folk dance. She silently hoped the princesses would find this more entertaining than The Moonlit Queen had, though it had been enough to to get her body transformed.

---

"Someone scary, eh?" Gretchen teased, going in to give Tyaethe's pinkening cheek a gentle pinch, "then it's a shame Yaya isn't competing, she's cute as a button."

Gretchen took a seat and patted her lap, entreating one or both of the paladins to rest somewhere a little nicer. Her smile was kind and gentle as she welcomed the two.

"You too, Haizea. I'm certain you'd be an inspiration, but... I guess that would be a bad idea? Would you tell me about it? I'm starting to understand your love of these events a little bit, but I'm not certain I can help in any way."

"Ah, the Flower of the North," responded Lizaelea, her eyes starry at the mention of yet another Iron Rose Knight and thoroughly distracted from her prior embarrassment, "A duel between two Iron Rose Knights must truly be something to behold..."

She let out a sigh, as if envisioning the moment that steel clashed upon steel and the field was set ablaze with combat.

"I would be lucky to witness such a thing!" she added, brightly, though she paused for a moment, her gaze drifting between each of the knights.

"Though frankly, I would be far more lucky to face one of your number on the field," she continued, one hand placed to her chest. At this point, her tail was wagging so furiously it was a blur at the mere thought of facing one of the knights in a duel. Perhaps such a thing had been the Lady Beaux's goal from the very start. It would hardly be uncommon for a hundi to desire a duel with a knight of renown, after all.

"I think I would be satisfied regardless of the outcome, if that were so!"

@Psyker Landshark@Eisenhorn

From Elisandre's polite clapping and the way Maletha was just staring at the broom, it was clear that this was more well-0received than it had been by the Moonlit Queen. Of course, the distraction could only hold so long before Elisandre politely asked, "And was that it? Your achievements pleased the Queen so much that she returned the Duke's wits?"

---

Tyaethe muttered something that sounded like 'I can be scary too', but slipped into a seat beside Gretchen. Haizea seemed hesitant to sit again until the vampire levelled a sullen-looking glare at her, which was enough for the Hundi to cave and sit at an angle, nervously scratching at her chin.

"Oh, it's just a little illness, Aimada's just overprotective," Despite the confidence with how Haizea said that, paying attention to her tail and how just the tip was twitching gave away her true feelings on the matter. Not that it mattered with Tyaethe sat there, ready to provide the much more blunt explanation.

"It's her heart. Some of it's just from how she was born, some of it is curse damage," the vampire explained, not looking at either of them, "It doesn't beat right and sometimes misses them entirely."

"Yaya…" Now she was pouting.

The paladin was unmoved, though still not looking their way, "What? Gretchen and Gertrude might have an idea how to help, then you could join in. I can't, not in a way Reon would approve of…"

@Octo

Gerard Segremors

@Crimson Paladin

That sounded amply close to "yes" that Gerard would take it as such without much worry of alternatives. In any event, competitors from the far east were rare by design, so fleetingly present as they already were in Thaln every other day of the year. Two or more in the right place and right time could hardly be written off as simple coincidence, with that all understood.

"Niece, eh?" he murmured, idly shifting his weight from heel to heel. "Would I be wrong to hazard the guess that her participation's also part of these 'diplomatic endeavors' of yours, or do we here all serve as a welcome reprieve from something grimmer?" There was a lightness to his tone that suggested he didn't necessarily mind either answer, but given the brewing trouble the Order themselves were dealing with all through the months previous, his curiosities lingered. Were he not trying to be a good host right this minute, Gerard might have produced a dismayed huff—

The dream of the Valours had been proving a welcome reprieve from the ongoing debacle of the scattered shards of Angoron for him, right until he'd found a way to get it back into his head. His first tourney it might have been, but even in lacking experience he knew it to be just like war in at least one key aspect: when you were the man in the arena, on the day sparks flew, having your mind anywhere else was sure to spell defeat.

He stomped the train of thought back down, hoping he'd not shown the slip up on his face. Not like any of it was this Takashima's fault, it would hardly be fair to let that turbulence bubble over onto him unless he stirred the pot himself.

And that would be handled at the end of their blades, as a show of good friendship.

"I suppose the festivities are a good locale for people in high places to rub shoulders with one another, while we're all down here having the real fun..."

"I bloody wish," Gertrude blurted before she could remember to tone her language down, "I mean, a bloody wish! Er, The Moonlit Queen's desire was bloody. Aye. Her initial questioning was never going to bring the Duke's wits back to us. She merely wished to know if we were equal to the task she would ask in exchange."

Trudy stopped dancing, and took a seat next to the princesses. The narrative weight of the next statement shouldn't be dulled by her performance.

"She wanted the Roses to vanquish The Midnight Hunt."

---

Gretchen wasn't too put off by the fact that neither pint-sized paladin took her up on the offer of sitting on her lap, and simply accepted their company beside her. Hearing about Haizea's illness struck a chord, and knowing that Tyaethe also dealt with health problems, it felt a little cozy that they were all seated together in this way.

That despite their troubles, they were all here, even if Haizea would rather be out there. Well, it's not as if Gretchen couldn't understand her body not letting her do something she really wanted to do. Due to her own health problems, she ended up reading and memorizing a lot of books about magical healthcare. It never really occurred to her to use those spells on other people, because it meant less magic for her if she needed it, but it would probably earn her some favor if she helped.

And she didn't really have to use her own mana, did she? Tyaethe had enough for all three of them.

"Well, I don't think I can do something permanent. Not right here and now, at least. But I might be able to help regulate her for one bout? I'll need to borrow Yaya's mana."

She looked down at Tyaethe and tilted her head.

"You mentioned you grew up with health issues, too. Was it a heart issue, or something else?"

Fleuri Jodeau

Fleuri's thoughts turned to the recent events of the matter of the shard at mention of "something grimmer". It was unfortunate that the Valours Tournament of this year was set during a time when very dark conspiracies were stirring in the background. Most of the kingdom no doubt knew of the assassination attempt on the princess and the destruction of the Fort Daelantine garrison, but were blissfully ignorant of the efforts to gather the shards of Angroron.

Of course, as a new arrival to the Iron Roses, Fleuri had only recently found himself in a position where he'd be privy to this knowledge. Perhaps such crises and conspiracies behind the scenes were more common than he thought, and dealt with just as quietly. Regardless, he was confident that the tournament would be one of the most secure gatherings in the kingdom. Between the Crown Knights, the Twin Churches, the College, and the Iron Roses, not to mention the foreign dignitaries, it was probably safer there than in the halls of Candaeln.

For now it'd be best to focus on more pleasant matters...

One such matter in particular that had caught Fleuri's interest was the revelation that not one but two Akitsushiman warriors would be competing. He was curious to see if these foreign fighters would be demonstrating techniques that he had not seen before in his time training with Rui. He also hoping that this would be a chance to see what Akitsushiman armor looked like- assuming that they wore armor at all when competing.

"If I might ask, Takashima, in your homeland have you ever met or heard of a rabbit-eared swordswoman with one arm?" This might be the only chance he would get to ask another Akitsushiman about her.

@VitaVitaAR@HereComesTheSnow

"T-The M-M-Midnight Hunt?" The difference in reaction between the two sisters was immediate – Maletha paled and immediately clung onto Elisandre for dear life, with the elder princess leaning forward eagerly. When she noticed that her younger sister had latched onto her side, she sat back a little, sheepish and pulling her close.

"Um… this isn't going to be a scary story, is it?" Elisandre belatedly asked – the idea that, this far in, it could have been a disastrous battle only just occurring to her.

Which might make working around some of the actions taken in the fighting a little difficult.

---

Haizea was practically vibrating in place at the idea of being able to take part again – even briefly. "Really? You really think you can do it? Everything Aimada tried or everyone she asked couldn't do anything…"

Likely because of the complexity of the problem, and maybe just the inability to throw more mana at the problem.

"Heart, lungs, whatever…" Tyaethe shrugged, voice carefully level even while her body was turned away, "… It's not like it's gone away, you could come over here and listen if you wanted. It's just not a problem any more."

@Octo