Post by Blue on Feb 7, 2019 19:57:35 GMT 10
Title: Look Around The World
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1510
Bingo: First love + Intimacy + Hug + Peace + Enemies to lovers
Summary (and any Warnings): Carthak transitions from war to peace. Kaddar visits Tortall to talk it through. (Part One)
Notes: This got so much longer than I expected so here is the first half! I might have taken some of the bingo prompts too literally...
His Imperial Majesty Kaddar Gazanoi Iliniat, Head of House Khazoi, formerly the Prince of Siraj, Duke of Yamut, Count of Amar, the holder of a half-dozen land-related titles which mattered little now that he ruled the entirety of Carthak, disembarked the ship which had taken him to Tortall's Pirate's Swoop with more curiosity than flourish. He was pleased to note that the Tortallans had brought out some of their greatest representatives to meet him and the procession which followed him, those nobles and advisors from the Royal University of Carthak -- but he was more interested in the lay of the land, eyeing how the seas curved blissfully as if they could hide how difficult it would be to land outside the port.
Military-trained scholar Kaddar was looking around for signs this place had been the site of a twenty-foot dragon, or marks left from an attack from ships at sea.
One could allow him his distraction as he walked into harbour. A subtle cough by one of his fellows reminded him he was expected to greet those waiting. A lady with fiery red hair, purple eyes and gleaming armour stood at the head of his welcome party.
"Welcome to Pirate's Swoop, Your Imperial Majesty," said Alanna, the Champion.
Kaddar clasped her arm, acknowledging they were equals. "We are honoured to stand on your great nation's soil."
He saw respect in that violet gaze. His heart swelled, knowing what lay ahead. The road to real peace, nothing like the farce of their last encounter.
Kaddar thought, with no little spite, Uncle, if you have slithered into an afterlife -- watch me well.
They were to make their ride to Tortall next dawn.
"Where is my horse?" Kaddar asked. He was not an Emperor who wasted the few resources their nation could spare when it was still trying to rebuild itself. He wished to make the ride to Tortall on the back of his beloved horse, as any soldier would, and informed all those around him so.
"In the stables, with the mounts of Tortall's Queen's Riders," one of his scholars responded. Hastily, it was added, "It can be brought around, Ka-- Majesty."
"Don't bother, I will go myself," said Kaddar.
He descended from the observation deck where he had been led, following a young Tortallan boy roped into escorting the Emperor. They wove through corridors and ducked around a wooden door which tried to slam shut on their toes. Finally Kaddar smelled hay and horse and knew he was at his destination.
The Tortallan boy looked nervously at the small crowd behind Kaddar, then nervously at the guards which followed them because Kaddar would be unsafe on foreign soil alone. He promptly bowed and fled so quickly he almost tripped into a wall.
"Majesty, will you reconsider -" said one of Kaddar's guards.
Kaddar waved a hand to dismiss him and walked indoors. A hum of voices filled the space further in.
"Excuse me," he called. Some heads turned; one dog, and two horses. Neither were his. Kaddar strode, keenly aware of the spelled ruby-inlaid gold jewellery on his person, a collection added to since becoming Emperor, and his only protection if anyone turned violent. "Ahem," Kaddar said, closer this time.
The group of people - brown-skinned, tanned, pink, pale - looked at Kaddar. Half of them gaped. One of them, a woman with dark hair, extracted herself and placed her feet soundly in front of him. "How may we be 'ere of service, Your Imperial Majesty?"
Kaddar inclined his head. "I wish to see my horse."
She gave him a strange look, then indicated he should follow.
There was something about her, he thought. Something that made Kaddar think her hair should be curled and her eyes should be blue.
"You... are a sl-- servant?" said Kaddar, slowly.
She gave him another strange look. "No. Horse-mistress of the Queen's Riders. It's Onua Chamtong."
As they rode to the capital, Kaddar grew used to this woman who took the horses, including his own. Whenever they settled for the night, he watched the Tortallan Riders fooling around, laughing raucously when they thought they were out of sight, and marvelled at the broad strokes of deep emerald hills lining the canvas of the sky.
He spent some evenings with Queen Thayet of Conte, the Lioness, and the other members of their delegations. They spoke of friendships and constellations and music and of their futures once peace talks met success. Kaddar spoke his mind, as that had been what garnered him the powerful Tortallan allies who set him on the throne. Judging by the candid nature of his responses, he deemed his approach to these gatherings to be correct.
Kaddar also discovered the Queen's Riders were trained in bow-shooting.
One of Kaddar's small luxuries was taking care of his own horse. He commented about the things he'd learned to the steed as he brushed down the neck and sides. Inevitably he ended up reminiscing about Daine Sarrasri, and then her dislike of Carthak's history of slavery.
"Anyone would," said a woman's voice.
Kaddar spun around. Onua Chamtong had walked up to him carrying a half-empty sack.
"I understand your nation has a dislike for the practice, and we are prepared to discuss it during the matters." Kaddar fed his horse when it whickered at the Horse-mistress, once she offered them some of her oats. "Yet slaves have been a sign of power in Carthak for decades. No, centuries. Should your rulers request for absolute dissolution, Carthak will dissolve into chaos. Even I cannot stop the fallout if you strip us naked like you are taking us to bed."
Very deliberately, Onua's eyes trailed up and down to the open collar at Kaddar's chest, where a thick necklace sat. Something unmistakably the snout of his horse nipped at his hair so close he could feel spittle. At the sound of a wolf-whistle, Kaddar realised that an invisible audience had heard the tail end of his conversation.
When Onua's gaze returned to his face, she had a strange look in her eyes again, a different one that made Kaddar's mouth twitch as he fought a flush. By then the audience was close enough to see who their Horse-mistress was speaking to. They squeaked or bowed or blurted apologies or fled. Kaddar returned to grooming his horse and wished the Rider group would have split from their procession today, not tomorrow.
Only a couple of days passed at the Palace before Kaddar's emotions got the better of him. It was on a visit to Numair Salmalín's rooms when he found it was not only Daine who gave him loose lips, but her lover too.
"What is with the women of this nation?" Kaddar demanded incredulously.
Seeing Numair pause and blink in the middle of a tale on how he obtained an item that Kaddar was curious about, Kaddar promptly apologised for the interruption so the mage could finish.
But Numair, a man of curiosity in his own right, did ask Kaddar for more.
"Is there not supposed to be one Wildmage and one Woman Who Rides Like A Man?" Kaddar said dryly. "How many women here are horse-people? How many draw bows? And they are unafraid to laugh at an Emperor." Never before had Kaddar seen so much independence when the women of his homeland were expected to bow and cloak themselves with veils.
Kaddar was young, and - if there was anyone he could trust - it would be this mage who spent more years dodging his uncle's vengeance than Kaddar could ever imagine. In the absence of Daine, or Lindhall, Kaddar ended up divulging how frustrations were involved when becoming Emperor. He'd thought it difficult, of course, but it went beyond it. People looked to him for trivial things like what colour shirts to wear from their wardrobes, and if he told them a colour they didn't own, they would pale and look at Kaddar as if he were going to behead them for wrongly dressing!
Numair listened to all this, as Kaddar's stories jumped from Court to House to Warriors and Sea with more patience than Kaddar thought he deserved. Sometime during this, Kaddar might have mentioned his bumping into Onua, and her weird glances. Once or twice.
"Your uncle," Numair began. He paused, looking at Kaddar, as if worried his comments would be taken wrongly. "Your uncle ruled with a blade of terror. And few understand the truth when the castle was destroyed. They see you, taking the throne. They see the rains which fell by the hands of gods. Your people understand the power you had at your back, and they fear it."
"I know," said Kaddar. "And I will not rule with it."
"You won't. That the Riders like you is proof enough. It is not meant in mockery."
Kaddar scoffed.
Numair sighed. "The rulers of this country insist on their people being casual with them. They rule by becoming friends. It's hard to get used to, I know, I think it was ultimately Alanna - the Lioness - who beat it into my bird skull."
"If I rule like a friend, I'd be waved to my own grave," Kaddar pointed out.
"Well," said Numair, "Don't let your Carthak see you doing it then."
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1510
Bingo: First love + Intimacy + Hug + Peace + Enemies to lovers
Summary (and any Warnings): Carthak transitions from war to peace. Kaddar visits Tortall to talk it through. (Part One)
Notes: This got so much longer than I expected so here is the first half! I might have taken some of the bingo prompts too literally...
His Imperial Majesty Kaddar Gazanoi Iliniat, Head of House Khazoi, formerly the Prince of Siraj, Duke of Yamut, Count of Amar, the holder of a half-dozen land-related titles which mattered little now that he ruled the entirety of Carthak, disembarked the ship which had taken him to Tortall's Pirate's Swoop with more curiosity than flourish. He was pleased to note that the Tortallans had brought out some of their greatest representatives to meet him and the procession which followed him, those nobles and advisors from the Royal University of Carthak -- but he was more interested in the lay of the land, eyeing how the seas curved blissfully as if they could hide how difficult it would be to land outside the port.
Military-trained scholar Kaddar was looking around for signs this place had been the site of a twenty-foot dragon, or marks left from an attack from ships at sea.
One could allow him his distraction as he walked into harbour. A subtle cough by one of his fellows reminded him he was expected to greet those waiting. A lady with fiery red hair, purple eyes and gleaming armour stood at the head of his welcome party.
"Welcome to Pirate's Swoop, Your Imperial Majesty," said Alanna, the Champion.
Kaddar clasped her arm, acknowledging they were equals. "We are honoured to stand on your great nation's soil."
He saw respect in that violet gaze. His heart swelled, knowing what lay ahead. The road to real peace, nothing like the farce of their last encounter.
Kaddar thought, with no little spite, Uncle, if you have slithered into an afterlife -- watch me well.
They were to make their ride to Tortall next dawn.
"Where is my horse?" Kaddar asked. He was not an Emperor who wasted the few resources their nation could spare when it was still trying to rebuild itself. He wished to make the ride to Tortall on the back of his beloved horse, as any soldier would, and informed all those around him so.
"In the stables, with the mounts of Tortall's Queen's Riders," one of his scholars responded. Hastily, it was added, "It can be brought around, Ka-- Majesty."
"Don't bother, I will go myself," said Kaddar.
He descended from the observation deck where he had been led, following a young Tortallan boy roped into escorting the Emperor. They wove through corridors and ducked around a wooden door which tried to slam shut on their toes. Finally Kaddar smelled hay and horse and knew he was at his destination.
The Tortallan boy looked nervously at the small crowd behind Kaddar, then nervously at the guards which followed them because Kaddar would be unsafe on foreign soil alone. He promptly bowed and fled so quickly he almost tripped into a wall.
"Majesty, will you reconsider -" said one of Kaddar's guards.
Kaddar waved a hand to dismiss him and walked indoors. A hum of voices filled the space further in.
"Excuse me," he called. Some heads turned; one dog, and two horses. Neither were his. Kaddar strode, keenly aware of the spelled ruby-inlaid gold jewellery on his person, a collection added to since becoming Emperor, and his only protection if anyone turned violent. "Ahem," Kaddar said, closer this time.
The group of people - brown-skinned, tanned, pink, pale - looked at Kaddar. Half of them gaped. One of them, a woman with dark hair, extracted herself and placed her feet soundly in front of him. "How may we be 'ere of service, Your Imperial Majesty?"
Kaddar inclined his head. "I wish to see my horse."
She gave him a strange look, then indicated he should follow.
There was something about her, he thought. Something that made Kaddar think her hair should be curled and her eyes should be blue.
"You... are a sl-- servant?" said Kaddar, slowly.
She gave him another strange look. "No. Horse-mistress of the Queen's Riders. It's Onua Chamtong."
As they rode to the capital, Kaddar grew used to this woman who took the horses, including his own. Whenever they settled for the night, he watched the Tortallan Riders fooling around, laughing raucously when they thought they were out of sight, and marvelled at the broad strokes of deep emerald hills lining the canvas of the sky.
He spent some evenings with Queen Thayet of Conte, the Lioness, and the other members of their delegations. They spoke of friendships and constellations and music and of their futures once peace talks met success. Kaddar spoke his mind, as that had been what garnered him the powerful Tortallan allies who set him on the throne. Judging by the candid nature of his responses, he deemed his approach to these gatherings to be correct.
Kaddar also discovered the Queen's Riders were trained in bow-shooting.
One of Kaddar's small luxuries was taking care of his own horse. He commented about the things he'd learned to the steed as he brushed down the neck and sides. Inevitably he ended up reminiscing about Daine Sarrasri, and then her dislike of Carthak's history of slavery.
"Anyone would," said a woman's voice.
Kaddar spun around. Onua Chamtong had walked up to him carrying a half-empty sack.
"I understand your nation has a dislike for the practice, and we are prepared to discuss it during the matters." Kaddar fed his horse when it whickered at the Horse-mistress, once she offered them some of her oats. "Yet slaves have been a sign of power in Carthak for decades. No, centuries. Should your rulers request for absolute dissolution, Carthak will dissolve into chaos. Even I cannot stop the fallout if you strip us naked like you are taking us to bed."
Very deliberately, Onua's eyes trailed up and down to the open collar at Kaddar's chest, where a thick necklace sat. Something unmistakably the snout of his horse nipped at his hair so close he could feel spittle. At the sound of a wolf-whistle, Kaddar realised that an invisible audience had heard the tail end of his conversation.
When Onua's gaze returned to his face, she had a strange look in her eyes again, a different one that made Kaddar's mouth twitch as he fought a flush. By then the audience was close enough to see who their Horse-mistress was speaking to. They squeaked or bowed or blurted apologies or fled. Kaddar returned to grooming his horse and wished the Rider group would have split from their procession today, not tomorrow.
Only a couple of days passed at the Palace before Kaddar's emotions got the better of him. It was on a visit to Numair Salmalín's rooms when he found it was not only Daine who gave him loose lips, but her lover too.
"What is with the women of this nation?" Kaddar demanded incredulously.
Seeing Numair pause and blink in the middle of a tale on how he obtained an item that Kaddar was curious about, Kaddar promptly apologised for the interruption so the mage could finish.
But Numair, a man of curiosity in his own right, did ask Kaddar for more.
"Is there not supposed to be one Wildmage and one Woman Who Rides Like A Man?" Kaddar said dryly. "How many women here are horse-people? How many draw bows? And they are unafraid to laugh at an Emperor." Never before had Kaddar seen so much independence when the women of his homeland were expected to bow and cloak themselves with veils.
Kaddar was young, and - if there was anyone he could trust - it would be this mage who spent more years dodging his uncle's vengeance than Kaddar could ever imagine. In the absence of Daine, or Lindhall, Kaddar ended up divulging how frustrations were involved when becoming Emperor. He'd thought it difficult, of course, but it went beyond it. People looked to him for trivial things like what colour shirts to wear from their wardrobes, and if he told them a colour they didn't own, they would pale and look at Kaddar as if he were going to behead them for wrongly dressing!
Numair listened to all this, as Kaddar's stories jumped from Court to House to Warriors and Sea with more patience than Kaddar thought he deserved. Sometime during this, Kaddar might have mentioned his bumping into Onua, and her weird glances. Once or twice.
"Your uncle," Numair began. He paused, looking at Kaddar, as if worried his comments would be taken wrongly. "Your uncle ruled with a blade of terror. And few understand the truth when the castle was destroyed. They see you, taking the throne. They see the rains which fell by the hands of gods. Your people understand the power you had at your back, and they fear it."
"I know," said Kaddar. "And I will not rule with it."
"You won't. That the Riders like you is proof enough. It is not meant in mockery."
Kaddar scoffed.
Numair sighed. "The rulers of this country insist on their people being casual with them. They rule by becoming friends. It's hard to get used to, I know, I think it was ultimately Alanna - the Lioness - who beat it into my bird skull."
"If I rule like a friend, I'd be waved to my own grave," Kaddar pointed out.
"Well," said Numair, "Don't let your Carthak see you doing it then."
Maybe once we'd have seen it during Smackdown!