eachdraidh | 005 / Seelie + Unseelie / (Video + Action)

{ Locket - Video }

[The image shows a hard looking man, dark green of skin and fiery red in beard and hair. The rough lines of his features show his age and a lifetime of hard living, though he richly decorates himself in gold and jewels that adorn his forehead, his spiked crown, and earrings. There was no kindness wrote in his eyes and his bearing was that of a general and a king. Every word he utters is precisely mean.

His is a name that is known throughout the Drabwurld, despite not yet having lived in this world for a full year.]

I am Ganondorf Dragmire, Lord of both Mair and Maupertius. Both I have won through battle and conquest and that alone should tell you all you need know of me. A battle is coming that will make our previous conflicts look like squabbles. In light of recent aggressions within Unseelie territory by Seelie shardholders, I will no longer tolerate Seelie shardholders within my city without my express authorization. I issued this warning once, but now I make it law. All Seelie shardholders will leave my lands or they will be considered spies and be treated thusly. I will allow one week for any such individuals to make their arrangements and leave. After that week, they will no longer be tolerated. Neither Mair nor Maupertius will provide a safe haven for you, regardless of whether you think to claim neutrality to this conflict. Your word is meaningless next to the safety of my people.

Do not trouble me with your objections or accusations. I have no use for them.

{ The City of Mair }

Inside the city, Ganondorf was busy. There might yet be those in the city who could see his preparations, but let them. He had been hard at work. During the days he would drill his soldiers for hours. They were trained in mounted combat, archery, swordplay, and all those skills that were born to the Gerudo warrior. These were his personal elite guard and selected from the soldiers for which is native commanders and lieutenants commanded. They were men and women both, of races of human and elf and dwarf and orc and trowe. They were trained to their strengths and made to be deft of hand, hard of body, and quick of mind. But even that was not the highest honor. When each day's drill was completed, Ganondorf would select among the women the strongest and best of the elite. She would follow him to his tower and then...

Most could not say. All knew not to ask. All that mattered was that the next day, Ganondorf's small force of Iron Knuckles would grow by one. They would become like statues that were given a key part of the city's defense to guard. They did not move and they did not speak, but they waited. They did not train, but all knew that their strength was fearsome to behold. They carried war hammer or battle axe or greatsword and each one was heavier than what any man or woman should be able to carry.

In the city, nothing escaped his notice. It was common knowledge that eyes of Ganon are everywhere. On the tops of buildings, his gargoyles watched as silent sentinels that kept the peace and enforced his law. In the skies above, kargarocs patrolled the skies when they were not busy in petty disputes over a plump pigeon or stray cat. His own agents were elsewhere, always listening. The people knew this and they did not love him for it, though they had also not forgotten the old Lord Magister who had been brutal and cruel. They might not have been watched, but they felt secure behind the walls. Ariadne's builders had made the city strong and Ganon's soldiers had made them fortified. Even mages were paid to enchant the stones so that it could not be so easily breached as it had been when Ganondorf took the city with a few hundred men and his shardholder companions.

Those who sought Lord Dragmire would not have difficulty in finding him. He paraded his soldiers out of the city and into the wide open country outside the walls of Mair. It was important that his presence always be felt, so he often led patrols himself inside and outside the city. Within the castle, he permitted any to come to his audience chamber where justice was dispatched. He kept no council but himself, but he did listen and a shardholder always came first to his attentions. Those who came to the city were treated gently, given rich accommodations, and freedom to explore all parts of the city save for his own black tower in the center of the castle.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Pity that people can't keep their manners. But I suppose with war coming, your choice would be inevitable.

It is a necessary precaution. An unfortunate one, as well. There are those in the Seelie court that are not without value.

I would not disagree.

[She has friends there, after all.]

Still, one bad apple can ruin the entire barrel.

The Seelie court has a number of bad apples. Many have made reputations for themselves with their reckless actions.

I'm sure we have our own, but they tend to be...highly self-righteous.

Or some merely mad. It is often a wonder that any of these men and women are joined to common cause.

Necessity always makes strange bedfellows.

Indeed. How do you fare? You have had time to acclimate to this world now. What think you of your bedfellows?

Well, I am a Baroness now, of one of the Spires. So I suppose I need more bedfellows than I have, currently.

All politics and the like. Not something I'm overly fond of.

But I am enjoying the people here. I have found more understanding here than I have found in most of my years at home.

A baroness already? How fortunate for you. [He wonders if they simply gave a spire to anyone willing. He's seen quite enough of that Archer fellow to guess such is the case.]

This world is well accustomed to all manner of life. There is little here that does not pass beyond their understanding. Even I feel almost at home.

Morla seems to have deemed me worthy. I am slightly surprised, but people have often thought me meant for greater and grander things than I thought. [The mother of all evil...

...Archer though, she would agree with. Complete idiot.]

Is your home so accepting?

My home is a brutal place and one for which I struggled to assert my proper place. This world is more accommodating than that. I'm certain you must agree if your apparent greatness has landed you this honor.

I do not know if I have greatness.

Some would say what I have is something terrible, instead.

But curses can be blessings, as well.

And blessings can be curses. This spire will not be easily held. Our general may have fanned out our defenses to watch all possible points of invasion, but none are strong enough to truly hold their ground for long. It is a shield of glass you maintain now. No more.

I will do what is necessary to hold it. While glass may shatter, the steel around it can remain.

[She is already making plans...]

And where do you intend to find this steel?

Within myself. I've been cultivating it for years.

Your own steel. I suppose I deserve as much for speaking in metaphors. My concern is not for your ability as a commander, but for the area and garrison you must command.

And while I appreciate your concern, I would ask you to have faith. Or if you are still concerned after such an entreaty, you could always provide troops to me, to ensure my success.

[He chuckles.]

Perhaps I might, though I do not claim to be a charitable man. What does it gain me to spare you troops that I might have on my own walls insteady?

I would owe you.

And debts that can be called in at a later date, are powerful currency.

And you think it is wise to be in my debt, do you?

Perhaps it is not wise. Or perhaps I have a longer gambit. Sometimes foolish moves are the most wise.

Very well. Consider your loan approved. I will send you men, supplies, and gold to reinforce your spire. I would like to see how this gambit of yours plays out.

And I would thank you, but as I am now in debt, perhaps such a polite thing is not needed.

But still, I will put these things to good use.

Video; locked

dragmire - 2015-02-15 13:12 (UTC) - Expand

huntedby - 2015-02-16 02:28 (UTC) - Expand