[Empire] South Sea Diplomacy

[Aedilred]

The League's fleet had sailed from Krozna, the armada of the South Sea Company, incorporating ships from Krozna, Graynik and the former Grey Empire rendezvousing with the Zol navy off the coast of Aranand, before making the journey to Avonlea. While it sailed under flags of peace, and entered the harbour of Keya's Rest as such, the flagship approaching alone and its delegation disembarking without weapons or overt sign of hostility, the underlying message was clear enough. This was a diplomatic mission, but one underscored by serious concern, with potentially serious consequences.

The factor of the South Sea Company made landfall with only a small entourage, all of them clearly members of one diplomatic corps, including in their number several Ambrosans, a Nend (after all, the kingdom was the principal interested party on the League's side, even if resolution was apparently to be left principally to its allies) and one man in a long flowing green robe with a high bronze collar and shoulders: a Lord Magister of Puldine.

An unmistakeable air of tension was present over the group as it disembarked, for while they had come without soldierly protection - save for the burly oarsmen of their launch, who were unlikely to fashion much resistance against a proper assault - as a sign of diplomatic intent, they were keenly aware that the situation was fractious, and could not be wholly confident of their reception.

[Mary_Sue]

Lavinia (http://i.imgur.com/cGRR0Td.jpg?1) stood on her castle's balcony as the Allied fleet sailed into the harbour, a cruel smile upon her lips. These men understood her not if they believed she would be cowed so easily and within her own Queendom which she had gained by divine right. Her hand drew up to her lips unconsciously as she pondered if she might taste the men's fear in their blood if her wrath could not be appeased. She turned blindly to Sabine (https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/4c/2e/12/4c2e12479ba6d8672eeadd09daef3fb2.jpg) who attended her,

"I will treat with them in my temple. Gather the others." Sabine curtsied obediently as the young crone took her leave to make her way to the temple before her "guests" arrived, and her Aspis shifted on her shoulder to maintain its balance as Sabine bowed to her mistress.

The delegation was met by two Daughters of the Moon, the Council's own sworn guards.

"Please follow us." Their message was without welcome and the guards looked through the foreigners as they spoke, though their manner was polite, if cold and no obvious threat was made to the party.

[Aedilred]

If the delegation were taken aback by the curtness of their greeting there was little outward sign of it. For a factor of Asim abd al-Ghalib's experience this was nothing particularly out of the ordinary, even within the offices of the Company itself at times. His eyes, the colour of embers, seemed to bore into the guards for a moment before he nodded and gave a slight gesture that the rest of his group should follow, leaving their boat behind.

"Will Ambassador Kamran be joining us at our destination?" he asked, as they walked, his tone carefully level.

[Mary_Sue]

So swift did the guards turn to usher the delegation to their Mistress, they must have missed the question, or they had ignored it. Either way there was no answer. They led the group up the plateau, though turned from the castle itself to approach a gracefully arched new stone construction that had been set with high glass windows at intervals. The guards led then up the shallow steps and two of the Daughters stood on each side of the heavy doors and pulled them open, waiting for the foreigners to enter the dim candlelit interior wordlessly.

[Aedilred]

Dim interiors of buildings were anathema to the Nanda, but of rather less concern to Asim, who strode in, hesitating only long enough for the doors to be opened, closely followed by his companions. He did blink once or twice as he entered, trying to encourage his eyes to adjust to the gloom, but was determined not to show any overt sign of weakness as he looked around for their hosts.

[Mary_Sue]

The ambulatory that wound around both sides of the temple entryway led to the large raised apse where High Priestess, Queen Lavinia sat upon a cushioned bench below the great statue of the Mother with her eyes closed, as if in meditation. Her crones sat on pillows in a semi-circle behind her, and Sabine stood behind her left shoulder. The apse was otherwise free of debris but for some dark indiscriminate smudges that led behind the heavy curtains in front of which the statue stood, as though something had been dragged away in a hurry.

"You have come for the Pink Hair and yet have brought nothing in return but the threat of ever more death and sorrow." Lavinia said by way of greeting, her voice held an odd cronish lilt for her apparent years and sounded almost amused though her crones behind her voiced their displeasure with soft hisses.

[Reggiejam]

Though her journey had been much delayed in acquiring the companionship of the Dullahan Lady Autumn arrived with the winter specter in Avonlea upon her personal flagship, The Mask. The two Aeldir quickly made landfall and requested to be presented to either High Queen Aris or her legitimate successor. Lady Autumn presented a letter bearing the seal of the League of Allied Provinces inviting the involvement of the Aeldir to oversee this dispute as within their purview as LAP recognized masters of the southeastern continent. As Avonlea is both a Friend to the Aeldir and a recognized Favored Kingdom ruling within the Demesne's sphere of influence it is the hope that the Rose Courts may assist the Queendom in clearing up any misunderstanding or disagreement with the League.

[Mary_Sue]

The harbour patrol had been quite taken by surprise by the unexpected arrival of the Aeldir ship, and they made haste to both make the dignitaries welcome and alert the Daughters to expect more company at the temple.

"My esteemed Lord and Lady, we will take you to our High Priestess, Queen Lavinia if it pleases you to follow." The harbour guard captain bowed deeply as she spoke, her demeanor deferential and polite. They had been well schooled upon the appropriate manner in which to address Aeldir by the former Queen Aris, and had not heard any different from Lavinia. As they moved through the harbour, the subdued citizens followed them with hooded eyes and whispered to each other as they pondered their arrival and that of the Provinces warships nervously.

[Reggiejam]

Lady Autumn's amber eyes turned to meet the cold black orbs of the Dullahan. High Priestess, Queen Lavinia? The question hung unasked between the two immortal beings. Deirma was silent as she walked with her ghostly companion and she noted the eyes of the people falling upon their entrance. She too had seen the massive League fleet crossed the ocean and floating now off the Avonlean coast and hoped for the sake of the Demesne matters could be resolved easily. As she understood it the Provinces' ambassador had been recalled but was being held against his orders in Avonlea as a response to the violence in Nand which had claimed an Avonlean life. Deirma was unsure who had died in Avonlea though given the arrest of the Nend ambassador she postulated it must have been someone of importance.

Lady Deirma knew the Avonleans chose their queens through some ritual of Daen and within the capital itself polygamy dominated the royal bedchambers. She had never known surely the role of a queen's children and knew none save Eirwen and Gavan whose blood was Aeldir. She had seen the children in the Winter Court. She had watched their father depart them and she saw their father now beside her. Quietly she wondered as to the Dullahan's thoughts. Their purpose here was to address the concerns of the Allied Provinces though she feared in sending the Dullahan Lord Winter had forced another path to be taken.

[Mary_Sue]

The Harbour Guards led the Aeldir up the stone steps to the temple where two of the Council's Daughters of the Moon guards flanked the door. The Daughters had seen the delegation coming from a distance from their post, and though the sight of the Dullahan upon their shores was ample cause to quake, the women stood steadfast and opened the heavy doors for the Aeldir, bowing respectfully as they passed through and letting the doors close behind them with a low boom. Once the Harbour Guards had departed, the two Daughters let their eyes find each others, both well aware of what the new Queen and Council held within.

[Aedilred]

The ambulatory that wound around both sides of the temple entryway led to the large raised apse where High Priestess, Queen Lavinia sat upon a cushioned bench below the great statue of the Mother with her eyes closed, as if in meditation. Her crones sat on pillows in a semi-circle behind her, and Sabine stood behind her left shoulder. The apse was otherwise free of debris but for some dark indiscriminate smudges that led behind the heavy curtains in front of which the statue stood, as though something had been dragged away in a hurry.

"You have come for the Pink Hair and yet have brought nothing in return but the threat of ever more death and sorrow." Lavinia said by way of greeting, her voice held an odd cronish lilt for her apparent years and sounded almost amused though her crones behind her voiced their displeasure with soft hisses.

Asim remained silent for a moment. Only part of this was in wondering how to respond. He had had the whole journey to think that over, of course, although it was inevitably difficult to prepare for every eventuality and every question. His briefings had been frustratingly slim, and nobody had been able to provide him with much more: relations with Avonlea had always been good, and open, and dealing with previous regimes had not been a challenge - but they knew nothing of Lavinia. The question of strategy loomed large. This had the air of zealotry about it, and they could not be relied on to respond predictably and rationally. Zealots understood nothing of the give and take of diplomacy and negotiation: they only knew how to push.

"I have come to resolve the misunderstanding between the League and Avonlea," he said, "and to escort Ambassador Kamran home. When will he be joining us?" He kept his tone neutral, but firm.

[Mary_Sue]

"Pray tell me what I am misunderstanding about the situation exactly. From where I sit, it seems you demand much and offer very little. Our poor lost Thalia's own cousin died by your Queen's minion, this you do not deny. And yet when I would seek justice, you would seek intimidation. Let us speak of justice for Linna Darkthorne's murder." Her tone was reasonable, and yet her smile was predatory,

"Your Pink Hair is not being held against his will, you see he is tied to Avonlea by the bonds of love. He grew frightful infatuated with the traitor Queen, though she spurned his every advance, and he refuses to leave as long as she remains alive." Lavinia's smile was made odd by it's unnatural width, as though she was not used to smiling with teeth. The crones behind her cackled at her revelation, though whether they found the ambassador's love or the prospect of the traitorous Queen's death more funny, one could not say.

[TheDarkDM]

The Dullahan walked streets of shadow. A mass of grey, shapeless beings flowed against him, pausing only long enough to regard him with eyes of dead white before flowing away. Bile rose in his throat at their attentions, and the writhing worms of their doughy expressions rising in greeting or lowering in deference. Above them roared a temple in flames, stone crumbling away beneath the weight of impotence and iniquity. And as the heat grew he could control himself no longer. He reached out at the mewling crowd, taking hold of one figure and shoving iron-hard fingers into its throat, grunting in surprise as it solidified into an Avonlean shopkeep before he tore his fingers away and opened wide the wretch's throat. Hot blood sprayed out, staining the Dullahan's white jacket, and the mortal tide screamed in response. They turned to run but slow, far too slow, and he was upon another. Three strikes and its spine was shattered, granting his iron-shod heel easy access to the old woman's head. Another chose to fight and had its eyes gouged out, his screams muffled as the Dullahan's fist collapsed his wind pipe. At once the flow was a maelstrom, grey figures clawing at each other, crushing each other in an attempt to flee down alleyways and side streets. And always the Dullahan at their backs, crushing and tearing with hands of iron. A tireless juggernaut of crimson raining blood in his wake.

He ascended the hill, and finally a shadow detached itself from the throng to challenge him, black-armored and bearing a shining sword. It slashed once, twice, and he flowed around the steel, tearing the offending arm from its socket and claiming the blade for himself. The warrior received a killing blow for her generosity, and the Dullahan continued his joyous harvest, his laugh blotting out screams of battle and screams for mercy as he cut his way to his destination. To the burning temple where lay the heart he longed to devour, the skull he longed to add to the vast collection of his dark home.

He blinked, and returned from his reverie to the present. Black eyes drifted over the guards at the door and to the Lady Autumn. Her authority was paramount in this matter, but if diplomacy failed his Lord had given him clear instruction. And while the Daughters of the Moon made ready their valor against Aeldir lords, their eyes failed to see the mists that crept from the Aeldir longship.

[Aedilred]

"Pray tell me what I am misunderstanding about the situation exactly. From where I sit, it seems you demand much and offer very little. Our poor lost Thalia's own cousin died by your Queen's minion, this you do not deny. And yet when I would seek justice, you would seek intimidation. Let us speak of justice for Linna Darkthorne's murder." Her tone was reasonable, and yet her smile was predatory,

"Your Pink Hair is not being held against his will, you see he is tied to Avonlea by the bonds of love. He grew frightful infatuated with the traitor Queen, though she spurned his every advance, and he refuses to leave as long as she remains alive." Lavinia's smile was made odd by it's unnatural width, as though she was not used to smiling with teeth. The crones behind her cackled at her revelation, though whether they found the ambassador's love or the prospect of the traitorous Queen's death more funny, one could not say.

"You ask where the misunderstanding lies?" He put his hand out to the side with a snap of his fingers, and in a second a document was thrust into it by one of his entourage. He read from the letter sent by Lavinia: "'Upon receipt, we will release the ambassador Kamran back into your care and only then.' Your own words indicated your intention to hold Kamran here against his will and ours if necessary." He handed the letter back. "Now you tell us that he stays of his own volition and is welcome to leave at any time. I would welcome clarification of these two rather different messages.

"But we may speak of justice, if you wish. Linna Darkthorne was a member of the Nanda royal family and was treated as such in life and in death. In retribution, the leaders of the pagan uprising which caused her death have been slain. A thousand deaths, and the ancient religion of the Nanda people extinguished in Sasanand. The dowager queen has been deposed and imprisoned. The crimes were committed in Nand, against the Nanda people and subjects of the Nanda crown, and where justice has not already been done it will be, according to the laws of that kingdom."

[Mary_Sue]

Lavinia joined her crones in their cackling, as Sabine smirked, it would seem they all found the situation quite amusing,

"To be true, I underestimated the will of the traitor Queen to live. We had all thought her a weak, craven thing who would have the good grace to die by now." Lavinia spread her hands in a placating manner,

"With her dead Kamran would have had little reason to.." Lavinia's words were cut off by the low boom of the door closing. She cocked her head towards the sound, her sly smile suddenly gone,

"It would seem we have more company, our friends, the Aeldir have arrived." The suspicious exclamations from her fellow crones were quickly shushed by a blind glace from Lavinia, Though the Aeldir had plotted with the fallen Queen against them, they knew not yet that Lavinia herself was one of them. Lavinia arose from her cushioned bench slowly, the creaking of her seemingly youthful person belied by her true age.

"I bid you welcome friends of Avonlea." Lavinia finally opened her milky white eyes as the Aeldir approached.

[Reggiejam]

Lady Autumn's painted face was unnaturally still and stoic as she looked towards the welcoming woman she presumed to be the new Queen. She felt a wave of discomfort wash over her even as she contemplated the lack of noticeable flaws. Like the Avonlea Queens before her she appeared youthful and fired with passion but there was something within her complexion that set her apart. She was flawed in some deep nigh imperceptible way. Her eyes took in the whole of the room and saw the League diplomat for the first time. She stared at the mortal man a moment before returning her gaze to Lavinia.

"Thank you for agreeing to host us on such short notice," Lady Autumn answered Lavinia, "We do not desire a reputation for imposing upon our Friends but we were contacted by the League of Allied Provinces regarding this matter."

She paused for a moment and locked eyes with Lavinia.

"Shall High Queen Aris Morningsworn be joining us?"

Lady Deirma was well aware a shift in power had occurred and that Aris no longer reigned but this she knew from channels whose greatest asset was anonymity. Better this new claimant who took the throne in such a quiet way explain themselves in their own words than force them on the defensive.

[Mary_Sue]

Lavinia's lip twitched minutely at Autumn's question and her head turned towards the Dullahan before turning back to Autumn.

"I have the honour of the title of Avonlea, Lady Autumn. I am High Priestess, Queen Lavinia Grimsbane. I am afraid Aris has proven herself traitor and blasphemer of the Mother and has been imprisoned." Her face was apologetic, though her tone was well please at the prospect of Aris's claimed imprisonment and the crones behind her nodded their approval. Sabine ignored the others for The Dullahan, her eyes roving languorously up the much feared man's tall form.

[Reggiejam]

"Forgive me then Your Holiness, I regret in my hurry to the lands of Lord Winter and then south to these lands I must have missed the correspondence informing the Rose Courts of this transition."

Her cool brown-red gaze remained transfixed upon the woman before her.

"You say High Queen Aris Morningsworn is guilty of blasphemy? Before whom did she stand trial?"

She suspected the answer was presented before her. This woman and the crones that echoed her with wicked laughter were orchestrators of a coup. It had happened before, in Ages long ago when the Aeldir were ruled by a mighty King and Queen worthy of the titles. Tales told of ancient mortal kingdoms, whose own history was no doubt lost entirely but for the fragments documented by the Aeldir. Powerful driven individuals would rise from among the rest and enforce order from the top down. For some this was enough, for others they created cults. In time those cults grew too powerful to control. The result was present before her.

[Mary_Sue]

"An understandable mistake, given the circumstances." Her tone was magnanimous, though in truth there had been no correspondence. The longer that she held power before the plotting Winter Court discovered their precious queen's disposal the better, in Lavinia's twisted mind. She only regretted the traitor queen yet lived, likely not for much longer, in her condition. This glad thought put a pleasant smile upon her face and she turned it towards the Aeldir,

"Aris was tried by the Mother's emissaries of the mortal realm." She spread her hands out to either side of her to include the crones who sat behind her grinning hideously.

"I'm afraid she was found unanimously guilty, and I have been ordained by the Mother to take her place." She spoke in the same self-congratulating tone she had used throughout, and the crones smiled with glee.

[Reggiejam]

"Once again I ask your forgiveness for this continued diversion from the issue at hand," she turned and inclined her head towards Asim for a moment, an apologetic look upon her face.

"What is the punishment for treason and blasphemy within Avonlea? Where is High Queen Aris Morningsworn now? Is she alive or dead?"

[Mary_Sue]

Lavinia made a dismissive gesture towards the Nand ambassadors,

"Pah, it is no matter, I had grown tired of their threats and posturing." Lavinia's hand caressed her chin for a moment as if considering,

"The punishment is quite severe I am afraid, though she yet lives. Or did as of this morning. The traitor queen has been made a prisoner, though I have been sure to keep her close. Wouldn't want her wandering off, now would we?" Lavinia's blind eyes turned to the Dullahan as she spoke, a sly smile on her lips, the crones laughed softly at her jest, though they leaned forward as if to glean the Aeldir's mind.

[Aedilred]

Asim gestured to Lady Autumn graciously, as if to say "take as much time as you need". From what he had heard, the Aeldir were not the only ones with an interest in the fate of Queen Aris. He had to admit to something like relief when the Aeldir had arrived - an unusual reaction - for he got the impression that, even if they were not presenting a wholly united front, their aims at least coincided to the extent they were allies in this matter. And he was especially glad to see Lady Autumn, for the Autumn Court had a reputation as the most reasonable and pragmatic of their kin.

For a moment, following Lavinia's dismissal of him, he half-wished that Prince Ardashir was here in his place. If the Avonleans wished to see threats and posturing, the young prince was the one to provide it: he had a truly chilling manner at times, and his outrage was something to behold. But he was needed to mind his brother, and, for all his qualities, was no diplomat. Still, it seemed Lavinia had no interest in aught but rudeness.

[Reggiejam]

Deirma followed Lavinia's gaze and joined it upon the Dullahan. Though she could not hope to know the mind of the Dullahan she was given to understand he held a fondness for Aris Morningsworn if for no other reason than for the strange connection established between them through Eirwen and Gavan. While the Dullahan was impossible to read he was feared throughout the Demesne not only for the icy cool glare that carried the promise of death but for his reputation as a blizzard of death made flesh. He was perhaps the ultimate raw killer and master of pain among the ageless Aeldir challenged only by Lord Winter as a master of all secrets and by the truly exceptional Lords Summer as masters of combat.

"Dullahan," she addressed her compatriot directly though her voice made clear her intended target was Lavinia, "I fail to recognize Lavinia Grimsbane as anything more than an usurper and a rebel against the Crown of Avonlea, sworn Friend of the Aeldir. On behalf of the Rose Courts and the whole of the Rose Demesne I accuse and convict Lavinia Grimsbane of treason against a Friend of the Aeldir."

She stepped away from the Dullahan and moved closer to Asim.

"I suspect this treason goes no deeper than this room and as such request of you your service in administrating justice expediently and without reservation that order might be restored quickly."

She looped an arm through Asim's, pulling him along with her as she moved them both to a corner of the room with cover and fewer Daughters of the Moon standing close by.

[Aedilred]

Asim was no stranger to cut-throat business practices, but nevertheless the speed with which Lady Autumn judged the situation and found it wanting came as something of a surprise. He had explicitly been given permission to refuse to recognise Lavinia if necessary, and, upon discovering that by implication that was the position of their ambassador in this region, had been minded to do so. But he had been treating it as an ace up his sleeve, and there was something both impressive and alarming at the way Lady Autumn deployed her ultimate diplomatic sanction.

But the implications of that could be considered on the way home. For now, he was content to retreat along with the Aeldir matron, though he turned to her momentarily with an eyebrow raised. "And if their treason goes beyond those present? Have you sufficient troops with you should we need to fight our way out of the city?"

[Mary_Sue]

"How dare you!" Lavinia's voice was outraged as she motioned to Sabine who fled behind the curtain.

"What right have you to determine rightful rule in my own lands?" Lavinia turned her head as they heard something heavy being slowly dragged from out behind the curtain towards them. Two Daughters of the Moon emerged pulling a heavy platform upon which Aris Morningsworn had been bound by a rope from her hands above her head. The queen's head dangled at an awkward angle, her platinum hair obscuring most of her face. What little of her face could be seen was a mask of dried blood. Her form was gaunt and she no sign of breathing or movement could be discerned.

"There is your precious queen. With whom you conspired against us!" Lavinia pointed an accusing finger at the Dullahan, though it had been his Lord and Master who had worked at conspiracy against them.

"Her current state lies on your head." She spoke with venom and merriment in equal measure as the daughters stood in front of Aris, clearly to guard her from any sort of attempted rescue, though in her current state, it was not altogether convincing she was not already dead.

"If you want her, here she is!" She gestured to Sabine who, in a single motion, brandished a sharply honed athame from behind her back and sliced above Aris's head, cutting the ropes with which she had been bound. Aris tumbled to the cold stone floor bonelessly, making no murmurs of pain or other signs she was conscious.

[Aedilred]

Asim laughed, at first, at the sheer hypocrisy of the Avonlean queen. It was a tool he deployed rarely; mockery was rarely appreciated in diplomatic circles, but this audience was disintegrating so quickly he could not resist the opportunity. For her to stand there and express outrage at the Aeldir's interest in the Avonlean succession, after her attempts to interfere in the course of Nanda justice - to say nothing of her insistence that Helaine was a legitimate heir of Isfandir in contravention of every past Nanda law for two centuries - was rich indeed.

But his laugh faded as quickly as it had risen, as his thoughts began to run to concern over the fallen queen. He knew little enough of Avonlean succession and this was not the opportune moment to ask the necessary questions, whether of his Puldine associate or of any of the others in the room better-equipped to know. He gave a glance to the door, where one of his entourage had retreated amidst the distraction of the volatile discussion, almost as if ready to flee. But that was not his intention. He gave Asim a querying look, and the factor raised a hand slightly to forestall any action, waiting to see what was about to unfold. A few seconds' delay would make no difference either way.

[Reggiejam]

Lady Autumn did not respond to the shouting of Lavinia. Her "right" was no right but an obligation and duty as an Aeldir Friend to the Crown of Avonlea. If Lavinia wished to claim legitimate reign she would have been far better served to go about it slowly, more carefully. She was young enough she might bring some young maiden to her side and with her place a proxy upon the throne. Had she been so careful Lady Autumn might have been more cautious herself in proclamation but this was a desperate and greedy woman whose pride would be her undoing. She sought to undo her opposition directly with blood and usurpation of a throne for herself. It was transparent and spoke of a weak mind incapable of withholding a zealous lust for power.

She turned towards Asim as he queried her. Her face remained still and she watched as Aris was brought forth bound and beaten.

"We have the Dullahan."

[TheDarkDM]

The Dullahan's face was impassive at the sight of Aris' limp form, the command of Lady Autumn still echoing in the air between him and the Prophetess Council. Then, as the former High Queen tumbled to the floor, a terrible smile began to rise up the Dullahan's face. The terrible quiet of a coming storm grew in the audience chamber, but it was not the Dullahan that gave it release. No, the first explosion of thunderous violence came as Sabine was thrown bodily through the air to land at the Dullahan's feet. Cold fog erupted from behind the curtain from whence Aris had emerged, and as it cleared two new figures were revealed. Each were clearly female, their hair a pale golden blonde, clothed in diaphanous gowns that moved in a wind all their own. Each held one of the Daughters of the Moon by the throat, and as they did the skin of the guards grew pale as chalk, their veins popping against their skin, icy blue and sluggish. Before either could do more than scrabble helplessly against the iron grip of the mysterious figures, their breath ceased, and they fell to the ground dead.

The two figures laughed lightly to each other, and turned to face the room as one. There was a moment of disbelief, for the eyes that stared out across the room were no human eyes, their irises alight with sapphire fire. But it was soon apparent that these were no strangers, for the faces of Thalia Darkthorne and Helia Whitstone were not so easily forgotten, even returned as they were by some miracle to the prime of life.

"Apologies, Lord Dullahan. We thought it best to wait until they'd retrieved Aris for us."

Thalia's attention slid towards Lavinia, a cruel smile etched on her marble-pale face.

"Greetings, Lavinia. This is a reunion I had long feared impossible."

As her former queen spoke, Helia drifted towards Sabine, feet brushing lightly on the floor and trailing mist in her wake. She arrived as the zealot regained her senses, only to find Helia's bare foot on her neck.

"It's strange, how long I spent fearing you. Were you always this frail?"

The Dullahan laughed at the baobhan sith's jests, spreading wide his hands as he stepped towards the Prophetess Council.

<"It would seem, High Priestess, that the time of judgement has arrived. Will your Mother save you now, from the reckoning you have so long cultivated?">

A single step closer turned to six in a blur of deadly speed, and the Dullahan's fist met the temple of one of the kneeling crones, sending her sprawling onto the stone floor with the sickening crack of shattered bone.

"I think not."

[Mary_Sue]

Lavinia gaped as Sabine was thrown through the air. As the misty figures coalesced into Thalia and Helia, The witch queen shrieked, her piecing screech sending the remaining crones to scatter in fear and confusion, though even in their great haste their old bones did not move quickly. They cried out as one as one of their own was fallen by the fist of the Dullahan. Several of the Daughters moved to rush the apse in defense of their High Priestess, though not all. Some gaped at the spectacle, mute with horror and yet others looked on impassively, no longer hiding their loathing of the usurper crone. There were four guarding the heavy stone doors with uncertain looks upon their faces, as if unsure as to who's escape they were to thwart. Amidst the chaos, Lavinia pulled out her own athame from deep within her purple robes and lunged for still queen, seeking to plunge the blade deep within the traitor queen's soft neck.

"She will not live!" Lavinia cackled madly as something within her snapped and she made her move to end Aris's life once and for all.

[TheDarkDM]

Sabine's neck snapped like a twig as Helia turned to meet the onrushing guards, Sabine's discarded athame crawling up Helia's living gown until it came to rest in her waiting hand. Frost wreathed the steel blade as she crouched in a ready stance, and frost was all that remained a moment later as she flowed into the Daughters of the Moon like water. Blood flew from nicked arteries and severed tendons as they were enshrouded in a cloud of mist, each puff seemingly an afterimage of the former Avonlean maid. Only the blazing light of her eyes and the cold glint of the steel blade betrayed her presence. Yet some Daughters, brave or foolish, managed to escape the billowing wall and rush towards the Dullahan, as he laid hands on a second Crone and nearly decapitated her with a twist on her neck. The Aeldir lord dodged a sword thrust from the lead Daughter, catching her arm as she sailed past him and crushing her knee with a swift kick. Claiming her sword was a simple matter afterwards, and in a fluid motion he slid through the onrushing blades of two more Daughters, leaving them clutching at their innards with but a few new scratches on the leather of his jerkin. As they fell, he retrieved a long awl from one of their belts, and sent it flying into the fleeing back of another crone. Lavinia's screech seemed not to phase him, and he dropped into a dead sprint after the last fleeing Prophetess.

Yet the true drama would play out elsewhere, as Livinia flew towards Aris, blade unsheathed. Only Thalia remained alongside the fallen queen. Thalia, whose small rebellions had seen her banished from her homeland. Thalia, who had been forced to find new purpose in the arms of the immortal. Thalia, whose hand closed over Lavinia's wrist even as she dove forward to deliver the killing blow. The Prophetess Queen had been endowed with the strength of her youth, strength beyond even the mortal queen Thalia, but Thalia had drunk of the power of the storm. And as she pulled the lethal weapon further from Aris' throat and lifted Lavinia into the air, it became clear that hers was no mortal strength. Supernal blue eyes regarded the blind orbs of the seer with a poisonous blend of loathing and contempt, and Thalia's words escaped her lips in a hiss.

"I have long desired this."

Thalia's free hand shot out, striking the youthful crone hard across the face and returning for a jarring backhand.

"When you stole youth, Lavinia, it seems you abandoned subtlety. If I recall correctly, you have harshly chastised others for such failings."

She clenched her hand, sending a numbing chill along the Prophetess' arm, and the athame clattered dully to the floor.

[Mary_Sue]

Lavinia bared her teeth unconsciously as she heard Thalia's voice and she moved quickly to escape the spectre's grasp but she was too slow and her head rocked backwards with the force of her blow, the witch reeled though her respite was only momentary as Thalia struck her again and clamped her cold vise-like grip around the Priestess's wrist and she was suddenly disarmed. She grunted with the force of the impact though Thalia's words were biting as she realized the truth in them. It seemed along with the vitality of youth ingested along with Aris's blood, came also the impetuousness of her youth. The long years she had lain in wait to gain ultimate control of Avonlea had suddenly become to great a weight to bear, as if one more second spent in wait would crush her under the weight of those long years. She knew then she had acted not as herself, but foolishly and of the very queen she had sought to dispose. She had unwittingly become victim to her own prey. She screeched then in fury and frustration of her machinations gone to waste. She struggled violently then, aware the end must be near and she bit at Thalia's cold arm and kicked at Aris's prone form. Aris finally gave a pained moan, the first sign that she yet lived and the Prophetess sought to kick out again, desperate to deal what damage she might before the day was through.

"Look at me Thalia!" Lavinia commanded with her old crone's voice,

"Am I as you remember? See the power of the Mother within me! I am favoured of her! To kill me would be to seek her wrath! Dare not to provoke Her! I am Her vessel! I am Her favourite!" Lavinia thrashed and screeched her impotent rage against the cold unknowable being that Thalia had become.

The Daughters of the Moon that remained living yet turned their heads to the raised aspe as Lavinia shrieked her fury, looking amongst each other in horror at the scene. As the moan escaped Aris's lips, many of them threw down their weapons, though two had sprinted after the Dullahan and remained in pursuit even as he pursued their final Prophetess aside from Lavinia.

[Aedilred]

When the delegation had prepared to come ashore, they had pointedly left any military escort behind, as a gesture of trust. The League might have come here with a warfleet, but they were prepared to make an honest fist of diplomacy, and allowing their leaders to walk into the city unarmed and undefended was intended to be symbolic of their desire to settle things peacefully. Nevertheless, Asim was not a moron, and only an idiot would subject himself to such without a contingency plan.

Every member of the delegation, save the Nend who had nowhere to conceal it, carried a small stick around six inches in length. These were Spark Sticks, modified with a small flint device to give them the initial ignition, upon which they would, within a few seconds, burst with a series of bright sparks and a loud bang. They were harmless, unless you happened to be holding one in your hand when it went off, in which case you could expect some nasty burns, but spectacular, and generally used for decoration at celebration events. Following the SSC's occupation of Halfisland, it hadn't taken long for those of a more pragmatic mindset to come up with alternative uses for them, though. The intention here was that if there was foul play, they could - hopefully - be used to signal the fleet to send reinforcements immediately rather than wait for their scheduled return. The man standing at the door was waiting for exactly that. It was clear, though, that even if he sent for troops, there was no way they were going to arrive in time - although he wasn't entirely sure he shouldn't deploy them regardless to hold back the Aeldir, with all that was going on in front of him. And he still wasn't quite sure what he was watching.

He twitched the fingers on his hand, still raised as he watched the butchery in fascinated horror, to indicate not to raise the alarm, and put his own hand inside his robe. He withdrew his own spark stick and hurled it to the floor in front of him, in the hope that the shock would put a momentary halt to proceedings and at least allow for the reinstatement of some sort of sanity.

"ENOUGH!" he roared, as the smoke cleared. "Stop this mindless slaughter!"

[Mary_Sue]

Pandemonium broke out as Asim set loose his spark sticks, those few Daughters who had been on the fence throwing down their weapons but for the two who had run in pursuit of The Dullahan, the blood lust was upon them, and though they were sorely startled by the commotion, they soon recovered and, leaving their doomed Prophetess to The Dullahan, they leaped off of the apse towards the newly perceived threat and cornered him with their swords raised.

[TheDarkDM]

Thalia snarled in response to Lavinia's protestations, wrenching the false queen's arm and drawing her close.

"I have a new Mother, hag! Her womb is the storm, and by its might I have awakened to a glorious destiny. A destiny beyond you!"

Her last words were spat as poison, and before Lavinia could respond Thalia took a deep breath and screamed. But it was no mortal scream, no cry of anguish or pain, but a wail that carried with it the full might of an ocean tempest. Bitter cold buffeted Lavinia's body, crackling with the static charge of midnight stormclouds, scouring her flesh red and raw and reducing her robe to windblown tatters. It was a scream that drowned out the sound of the Nanda explosive, the cries of the dying, and the moans of Aris Morningsworn all. Then it ended, and madness rushed in to fill the void. Only briefly, though, as the last of the elder crones was pushed out of the mist surrounding the battlefield, crawling on useless stumps that once held hands and feet.

<"Well spoken, Factor. There is no need for further slaughter.">

The Dullahan emerged behind the Prophetess, his face a ghastly mask of spattered blood atop a mad smile.

"Stand down, you fools, lest you lose the last of your dear priestesses."

He gestured to Thalia, who threw down Lavinia to land at his feet. A knife appeared in his hands, its coldblood edge unsullied, and he seized Lavinia by her hair and brought it to her neck.

"Were I you, I would fetch the esteemed ambassador of the Allied Provinces before they unleash the strength they have thus far held in check."

[Mary_Sue]

The two Daughters who had menaced Asim spun around as Thalia let loose her ghastly cry. They dropped their weapons and covered their ears to protect themselves from the shrieking horror their former queen had become. It was too much for many of them and several of them likewise covered their ears or dropped to the ground, desperate to muffle the otherworldly cry. Lavinia's cries of pain and terror were drowned out by Thalia's shriek, though her screams were silenced as her rough landing at the feet of The Dullahan knocked the breath from her body. As he threatened her with his knife her hands went instinctively to his arm, though his grip was like steel, unrelenting and immovable. The Daughters that had been hesitantly guarding the door suddenly burst through it, whether to obey The Dullahan or to flee, one could not be certain. Their purpose was soon made known as the pink haired ambassador entered the temple, though hesitantly and horror stricken by the gory sight. His face was a mask of shock and he spoke not until he spied Aris's still form upon the apse and he ran to her, slipping in the spilled blood and gore that covered the temple floor. Aris moaned again as he took her hand, his daze evaporating as he found a new purpose.

"Somebody help her, please!" He begged the assemblage helplessly as he looked upon the room full of only half recognized and gore spattered strangers. The look upon his face was wounded then, as if in a dream, he heard a mad voice cackle from the shadows and looked to see the ruined visage of Lavinia cackling maniacally.

Lavinia had watched the Pink Hair go to his beloved Queen from inside the grasp of The Dullahan, her hands still gripping his arms uselessly. As he begged for the life of his Queen, Lavinia could feel the unstoppable mirth bubble from within. As long as Lavinia was alive, Aris would never regain her full vitality. Still laughing uproariously, Lavinia loosened her grasp and raised her hands to show she was not a threat.

"I submit. I abdicate my power." She sneered as she spoke between her cackles, her ruined eyes fixed upon the fallen queen as she smiled malignantly. She might yet see Aris's death.

[Reggiejam]

Lady Autumn watched as the slaughter unfolded before her. She watched as the League ambassador attempted to restore order. She watched through squinted eyes of pain as the ghastly form of Thalia Darkthorne screamed an unnatural scream. She watched the Nanda ambassador, face streaked with shock and horror running to the barely moving form of Aris Morningsworn. Her face remained impassive through it all.

She moved to answer Kamran's call for aid, joining him by the side of Aris Morningsworn. Then she heard the words of Lavinia. Her eyes narrowed and she leaned in close to Aris' face searching for life in her eyes. Seeing a hopeful spark she turned so she addressed the mad woman the Dullahan held at knifepoint.

"The High Queen Aris Morningsworn shall judge you for your crimes Priestess Lavinia Grimsbane," she returned her attentions to Aris.

The broken queen was badly treated and weak. Deirma did not know how much she could understand or recognize but she hoped it was enough, or would at least appear to be. With the League present no reliance could be had of the details within these halls would remain as such. To execute this pretender unilaterally might be to push too far and trigger greater paranoia from the Provinces. Aris would need to say it.

"Aris, can you understand me?"

[TheDarkDM]

The mists around Helia Whitstone's stand cleared as the last of the Daughter's submitted, revealing a pile of half a dozen warriors dead from hundreds of shallow cuts. She stood at the center of all, unstained and unarmed, the athame buried in the eye socket of the last Daughter to fall. Alighting to the air, she floated down to stand before the Kroznat Factor, bowing respectfully.

"Sir, are there any physicians in your number? Aris Morningsworn is gravely afflicted, and I do not trust my former countrymen in this matter."

[Aedilred]

Asim, dazed as he was, took the opportunity to retrieve one of the weapons dropped by the Daughters. He had no intentions of using it, and let it hang by his side in as unthreatening a manner as possible, but if violence erupted again he would at least be able to defend himself. He suspected Kamran would not appreciate being informed at this moment of the lengths the League had gone to to assure his safe return. Instead he nodded respectfully to Helia and gestured towards the green-robed man in his party.

"I believe Lord Vytauta has had some training in medicine," he said, but the man did not respond, staring into the middle distance in shock after Thalia's outburst.

"jani-smaanarunam," he whispered, as if in a daze.

"Lord Magister," Asim repeated, more firmly this time, and the man's eyes refocussed slightly. "See to the queen." He gestured with his newfound sword.

Vytauta walked over to where Aris lay next to the ambassador, subconsciously flicking back his sleeves to free his hands. He knelt next to the fallen queen and reached for her, then almost immediately flinched before his hands even touched her.

"What sorcery is this?" he said aloud, his face a picture of surprise and disgust. He looked up. "I can tend to her physical injuries, but that is not her only affliction. I believe she has been the victim of witchcraft."

[TheDarkDM]

The Dullahan hissed, his eyes flicking between his prey and Lady Autumn.

<"Lady Autumn, if what he says is true there is little hope of receiving an answer until the curse is lifted. Please, give me leave to carry out the proper sentence on this...insect.">

[Mary_Sue]

Lavinia's smile of triumph was a gruesome sight to behold, even if Aris was capable of speaking, the crone knew the gentle queen would never command her execution. Cackles of victorious mirth escaped from her lips unbidden as Aris merely moaned incoherently at Autumn's questioning. Her smile faded somewhat at the Province's healer's canny perception of witchcraft, and wriggled futilely in The Dullahan's iron grasp.

[Reggiejam]

Lady Autumn stood from where she had knelt by Aris' side. Silently she wished the chamber were empty save herself, the Dullahan, and Lavinia. A far easier decision then. She looked again towards Aris whose incoherent form lay curled and weak upon the ground. She turned towards Lavinia and her voice rang with ancient power.

"Lavinia Grimsbane, for the crimes of treason against the Queendom of Avonlea and in the name of High Queens Thalia Darkthorne and Aris Morningsworn I sentence you to death. Dullahan."

[TheDarkDM]

At Lady Autumn's command, the Dullahan wrenched Lavinia's blind orbs away from the comatose Aris and up to meet his own black eyes. His blade flashed down, not to her neck, but to her navel. The blade passed easily though her ensorcelled flesh, and with a smooth motion he pulled it up, gutting the false queen like a prize sow. She had just enough time to recover from the inferno of pain that exploded through her before the Dullahan's hand plunged into her mouth, tearing free her tongue and tossing it aside to wriggle like a malignant worm. He held her upright as she died, drowning on her own blood as her steaming innards dropped to the gore-strewn floor, and at the moment when life finally readied to leave her he hacked down a final time with his knife, severing her head with a wet shearing. He held her face aloft, a rictus of pain and terror, before tying it securely to his belt by the hair.

<"Your will be done, Lady.">

He turned his attention to the Lord Magister, Lavinia's remains seemingly forgotten.

"What do you believe must need be done to revive her?"

[Mary_Sue]

Lavinia had a bare moment of terror before the cold blade of The Dullahan pierced her flesh and she knew nothing but the painful scalding as her hot blood drowned her lungs. The old, evil witch died then, by the hands of her enemy's lover, blindly staring up at the graceful arched ceiling of her cherished temple. As the malignant forces which had sustained the old witch all of these years left her pitifully ruined mortal form, a bright mist could be seen evacuating its host's mouth, as if the crone took one last exhalation. The mist shone brightly with a pure, clear light and was seen by all to drift slowly over to where Aris still lay motionless upon the ground. Before the Magister could respond to The Dullahan's question, the mysterious mist settled around Aris and encompassed her within its warm glow. The mist seemed to sink down into her flesh, and for a split second, Aris was aglow with an otherworldly aura before it settled and blinked out of existence. The fallen Queen's breath became steady and her sky blue eyes blinked open slowly.

"Lugh?" Her whisper was a question and her hand weakly reached out to The Dullahan. Kamran backed away in anguish, though he was well relieved to see Aris's consciousness return. The pink haired ambassador was near sick with the horrors he had just witnessed, and heart sick at how his gentle queen could speak of the man who had callously wrought much of the destruction, with such familiarly and longing. The very same longing he held in his heart for her. Kamran backed off the apse away from Aris and the Dullahan, trying not to look at the temple painted pink and red with carnage. Fighting against sickness, he closed his eyes and thought he might faint.

"Lugh?" Aris's question again as she sought to beckon her lover near.

[TheDarkDM]

Brushing past the shattered ambassador, Lugh Annan sank to one knee before the Avonlean queen, cupping her face with hands still stained with blood.

<"I am here, my flower of morning. What would you have me do?">

[Mary_Sue]

Aris shook her head as if to say she required nothing else from her Dullahan. She weakly placed her hands over his and looked up at Lugh Annan. With all of the strength she could muster she spoke to her lover,

"I knew you would come." Still exhausted, her eyes fluttered closed, tears leaking from beneath her eyelids and painting clean lines over the Dullahan's bloody hands as he held her face. She quietly sobbed her grief, though not for her own suffering, but for that of her Queendom and its people. She knew she had much to do to set right the horrors that Lavinia had set loose, but for now she lay before her love, secure in her safety and survival within the hands of one of the greatest killers the Aeldir had ever known.

[Aedilred]

At Lady Autumn's command, the Dullahan wrenched Lavinia's blind orbs away from the comatose Aris and up to meet his own black eyes. His blade flashed down, not to her neck, but to her navel. The blade passed easily though her ensorcelled flesh, and with a smooth motion he pulled it up, gutting the false queen like a prize sow. She had just enough time to recover from the inferno of pain that exploded through her before the Dullahan's hand plunged into her mouth, tearing free her tongue and tossing it aside to wriggle like a malignant worm. He held her upright as she died, drowning on her own blood as her steaming innards dropped to the gore-strewn floor, and at the moment when life finally readied to leave her he hacked down a final time with his knife, severing her head with a wet shearing. He held her face aloft, a rictus of pain and terror, before tying it securely to his belt by the hair.

<"Your will be done, Lady.">

He turned his attention to the Lord Magister, Lavinia's remains seemingly forgotten.

"What do you believe must need be done to revive her?"

"I don't know. I'm not-" Vytauta paused as he considered how to finish that sentence. He had been quietly hoping that, with the abilities he'd already seen displayed, the Aeldir would have more of an idea. Of course, perhaps the simplest way to have discovered what had happened would have been to question one of the Council, but that ship had long sailed. As it was, he was hopelessly out of his depth. His attunement to his surroundings was sufficient to notice the aura surrounding Aris, but he had no idea what it was beyond that it was unnatural.

As she began to stir he moved back slightly, hoping that the death of Lavinia had somehow ended the curse.

[Reggiejam]

Deirma watched as the haunting figure of the Dullahan, freshly adorned with the head of Lavinia at his waist, comforted and cooed to the mortal queen of Avonlea. It was a bizarre sight and one she suspected no Lady Autumn had ever before thought to see. The fresh memory of the Dullahan's demonstration upon the Prophetess Council banished any thoughts of his weakening or softening yet to see him now in this servile mode of a man enamored did something to lessen his terrible reputation. She would dare not speak such thoughts aloud nor did she have occasion or time to. The throne room was secured but much remained to be done.

"Fetch the court physician," she commanded a surrendered Daughter of the Moon.

Her eyes turned towards the array of dead crones and the gutted mess that had once been Lavinia. Almost automatically she found herself tallying the dead and her eyes widened as her count returned short one Prophetess. She turned towards the Dullahan but was struck again by his frailty before Aris and the Queen's own attachment to the merciless Winter lord. Whatever afflicted Queen Aris seemed assuaged by the presence of the Dullahan and Deirma calculated the risk of an escaped Prophetess against the risk of a dead Aris. She remained silent about the matter.

She approached the representatives of the Allied Provinces.

"I suspect the Queen will need time to recover more fully but if you are willing to extend your visit I have no doubt you will find the rightful Queen of Avonlea willing to amicably discuss the matter of your ambassador."

Her voice was as it always was. The Aeldir matron seemed wholly unaffected by the slaughter she had just witnessed or the pungent smell of death that permeated the throne room.

[Mary_Sue]

The Daughter of the Moon which Lady Autumn addressed wrenched her eyes from the gruesome scene and staggered to her feet, her legs and arms a gory splatter of blood from her fallen sisters in arms.

"Right away, My Lady" The woman stammered dazedly and ran out of the temple.

Aris lay silent those long moments, clutched in the grasp of her Dullahan, his cold hands soothing her wounds and calming her. At length, an old woman dressed in the green robes of an Avonlean healer entered the temple. Her countenance may have given those still within the temple pause, for she was old and wrinkled as a crone, though her eyes were clear and blue and she looked upon the dread scene sharply and with clarity. Her attention finally settled upon her Queen and she walked carefully over the stone floor, slippery with blood and entrails, leaning heavily on a tall wooden staff as she ascended the apse. The old medicine woman lowered herself with some difficulty and began to examine Aris's wounds. Finally she sat back and began to order people about in a surprisingly commanding tone for one so old and frail.

"You there," She spoke to the Daughter who fetched her,

"Go fill the Queen's bath. And you," She pointed at another Daughter who had been standing about trying to look invisible,

"Tell the cooks we will need a hot broth for the Queen and fetch it to her chambers. And you," She gestured at The Dullahan with the imperiousness of age and authority,

"See the Queen to her bath. You could use one as well. This whole place smells like a slaughtered pig." And with that she arose slowly from her kneeling position and began to make her way from the temple which had turned into a tomb. On her way out, she gestured at some Daughters who were milling about aimlessly,

"Clean this mess up would you? useless..." She muttered as she left the temple to prepare her ointments and salves for Aris while the Queen bathed.