DrowsyPangolin

When the Flames Die

Thanks for that lol.

When the Flames Die

Sorry about that raven, I didn't realize you were posting.

When the Flames Die

Jezin and Sophia arrived just in time to see the end of the last joust. Jezin smiled. It seemed Thomas was doing quite well in the joust. An announcer's voice rang out over the field. It seemed the first melee match would begin soon. Jezin wondered if he would fight so soon. He was ready. No matter who he faced he felt he could pull out a victory. As long as he had the support of his country and his princess he was untouchable as far as he was concerned. Sofia gave Jezin one last nod as she made her way to the stands. She noticed Gareth, the young man she had met at the feast, and took a seat next to him. "Hello there, Gareth, wasn't it? I hope I haven't missed to much of the tournament." She smiled brightly. Truthfully, she was still worried about the fighting.

When the Flames Die

The Lyoki duo reached the room after a few minutes of walking. Jezin opened the door, and walked over to a nearby table where he had placed his polished shield, spear, and helmet the night before. He removed his cloak reached for the helmet, placing it carefully onto his head. The helm's long crimson plume reached his mid-back, and the brilliantly polished bass shimmered in the sunlight that shone through a nearby window. He picked up his spear, examining the blade carefully and slowly twirling the weapon to get a feel for his grip. As he prepared, he noticed Sophia staring out the window, a faint look of sadness on her face. "Milady, is something the matter?" The princess seemed distant, preoccupied with some far-off thought.

Sophia turned, the sunlight illuminating the side of her face, and spoke. "Jezin, do you remember when you were knighted?" The bodyguard looked confused for a moment. "Of course I do, princess." Sophia looked off out the window again. "Five men. Five armed men beating down my door, thirsting for my blood. They would've killed me, and probably worse, if you hadn't been there." Jezin's look of confusion held. He wasn't sure what the princess was getting at. He remembered that night clearly. It was before he was in the Brass Hand. He had recently joined the ranks of the Palace Guard, and had been stationed outside the room of the Empress' youngest daughter. Nothing had seemed wrong that night, but in an instant that peace had been shattered. A group of Tauran soldiers had somehow made their way into the palace. It had been he and one other guard, the Brass Hand had been meeting with the Empress. FIve men had come barreling down the hallway, swords drawn. His comrade had been killed almost immediately, leaving him to fight five men by himself.

Sophia continued. "No one even knew the Taurans were still capable of something like that after the rebellion, but nonetheless, five men were outside my door. I was ten years old, I was terrified. But you saved me, Jezin." She took a deep breath. "You kept fighting. They hurt you, badly, but you kept fighting." Being hurt badly was an understatement, the bastards ran him through twice, by all rights he should've died that night. "I remember, one got past you, and he kicked open my door. I was so scared, but then I saw you. You struck him in the back with your spear." She shook slightly. "I was so scared, because you fell after that. You were bleeding so terribly... But you told me everything would be okay. Here you were practically dying and you were comforting me..." A single tear rolled down her face. "I never want to see you like that again, Jezin."

Jezin stood in silence for a moment. He had nearly died in the assassination attempt, but when it became clear he would survive his wounds he had been summoned by the Empress. She had knighted him for his valor, and he had been offered a position in the Brass Hand as soon as he recovered. It had been the most important event in his life. He looked at the princess, his ordinarily fiery gaze fading into a somber look. "You won't princess. I promise you that. You have nothing to worry about." Sophia wiped the tears from her eyes. "Please be careful out there Jezin. Please." Jezin nodded. "I will. I promise." Sophia forced a smile. "Do you think I prayer would help?" Jezin smiled. "It couldn't hurt."

The two of them knelt, and Sophia spoke aloud. "Oh Eternal Serpent, progenitor of all, mother of all life, protect Jezin this day, shield him from harm and strengthen him so that he may be victorious." She looked up at the bodyguard and reached behind her neck. She unclasped the golden necklace she had been wearing and handed it to the soldier. "And take this, for good luck." Jezin smiled, wrapping the thin gold chain around his neck. "I will not fail you, princess. I will make Lyok proud." Jezin rose, picking up his shield. Sophia turned towards the door. "We should hurry back, we don't want to be late." Jezin nodded, and the two of them began heading towards the fairgrounds.

When the Flames Die

Welcome to the threaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd.

When the Flames Die

Sophia was startled by the sudden blast of the trumpets. It seemed the tournament would be starting soon. She had finished her fish. The princess rose from the table, giving a slight bow to all those remaining before heading towards the door. She was met halfway by her bodyguard. "Well, did you register?" Jezin nodded as he and the princess walked out the doors of the great hall. "Yes, I put my name in for the melee." Sophia grimaced slightly. She was still a bit worried about her bodyguard. Jezin noticed the expression, but chose not to mention it. Sophia had always been uncomfortable around combat, but he supposed that was only fair. "I need to get my shield and spear, if you'd like to accompany me." Sophia nodded and the pair turned away from the fairgrounds and back towards their rooms.

When the Flames Die

After Thomas left, Jezin began meandering back towards the great hall. He needed to prepare for the tournament, but Sophia was still his top priority. She was probably in little danger during the feast, the knight thought, but even so it was his duty to protect her. He doubted he would need a great deal of preparation time, anyway. He walked through the gates of the hall and began scanning the room. His eyes came to a rest when he saw the familiar streak of brilliant white hair. Sophia seemed to be safe, enjoying the feast as he was sure she would. He kept his distance, leaning against a nearby wall. He saw no need to impose on the princess' interactions. The tournament still sat in the back of his mind. Thomas and Redwyne Cole were likely to be fierce opponents, and there was no way of telling who else would be involved.

Sophia listened, quietly enjoying her fish as the men talked around her. The bearded man introduced himself as Hal Berning, and began talking about the north. Another man mentioned Lachne. Sophia gathered from the conversation that this land was a source of problems for Keilaudrin. She knew very little about Keilaudrin's politics, outside of the basic necessities. Her eyes glanced over to the edge of the room, where she noticed that Jezin had returned. He had probably already signed up for the tournament. Jezin was a skilled warrior, she had witnessed that much firsthand, but she still couldn't help but feel a tinge of worry for her guardian. She took another bite of fish, silently pondering what drove men to want to bash each other half to death for a bit of glory.

When the Flames Die

Jezin made no reply to Thomas' observation about the state of things, only a firm nod. It seemed they had found who they were looking for, however. A young clerk was jotting something down on a piece of parchment. The duo approached him. He gave a greeting to Sir Thomas, unsurprisingly. Jezin stepped forward as the young man asked him what portion of the tournament he intended to participate in. "Yes, I will. Jezin Tremora of Lyok. Melee." That was it. He would fight in the tournament now. A tinge of nervousness and excitement washed over him. He reminded himself that he would be fighting for the honor of Lyok.

Sophia looked up as Gareth rose from his seat. He seemed to want to enter the tournament, but had no idea where the fairgrounds were. The princes finished her orange and pulled over a plate of fish, which she began slowly breaking up and eating with a fork. She looked back to Gareth. "I'm not sure, my... escort went to go join up though." She directly avoided calling Jezin a bodyguard by name. Everyone around her seemed personable enough, but mentioning that her bodyguard had left her undefended was still a dangerous prospect. She took another bite of fish. It was delicious. Clearly the cook who prepared it had been especially skilled.

When the Flames Die

The smile on Jezin's face turned into a look of solemn respect. He was right not to judge Sir Redwyne on his appearance. The was clearly quite skilled, and if Thomas was any indication, he was likely well respected amongst the other men as well. If he took down sixteen men by himself he'd be quite the opponent. Jezin nodded. "He sounds like an honorable man indeed. I look forward to this tournament." It seemed they had reached their destination. Jezin glanced around for the tournament director. He pondered Thomas' tale a bit more. It was clear Keilaudrin had had some problems in it's past. Jezin gave a respectful look towards Thomas. "From one knight to another, I hope your kingdom's troubles have come to an end." Even for men who had been trained to fight their entire lives, peace was preferable to chaos. He occasionally had been forced to remind himself of that fact.

When the Flames Die

Jezin nodded along as Thomas described the rules of the tournament. He quietly hoped he wouldn't end up killing anyone. Even if it were within the confines of the rules, he imagined a foreigner who killed a man in a tournament would be looked down upon. "Sounds fair enough, I suppose." For a moment Jezin thought over how the tournament could go. As of now, he knew of two other combatants: Thomas and Redwyne Cole. Jezin glanced around the fairgrounds. "So, you know this Redwyne Cole fellow, right? WHat kind of man is he?" Jezin was still curious about the king's champion.

Sophia smiled as Gareth introduced both himself and the man across the table. "A pleasure to meet you Gareth, and you too, Karl." She looked between the two men, still eating the orange. "So you two are from nearby, I take it?" Sophia maintained her smile, quite enjoying herself so far. The two of them seemed to be talking about the tournament. It appeared nearly everyone would be involved. As she listened to the two men go back and forth about the tournament, she noticed another man take a seat nearby. He was tall and bearded, and seemed a bit older. Karl introduced himself first.