EMPIRE 6! Union of the Crimson Sun Event

[SOSDarkPhoenix]

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It is a time of joy and celebration in Arrakh-Rah! Chepri, the Daughter of Darkness and sister of the reigning Thalaz'ir, is to wed Ceron, prince of the Crimson Kingdom. Visitors from every corner of Mamut are invited personally, be they Uzii or Alqari, Targiz or Scrim, all are welcome.

Herded into the Ziggurat of Dawn for the ceremony, there are rows upon rows of seats and tables, the entire temple decorated more for a raucous occasion than a solemn telling of vows. Regardless, Chepri is dressed in a beautiful flowing white wedding gown, orange lilies in her hair, and sporting a decent-sized baby bump! She looks happier than anyone has seen her in a long time.

Doraan, Gorrn, Haurun and all the others you might expect are of course present in fine attire. Yes, including Gorrn wearing a special sash that covers his fur. It looks a bit itchy, but he seems pleased enough to be included in the festivities!

[mystic1110]

Rose and Nyct arrive to the wedding as mother and daughter, but they could not seem more different. Rose is dressed in white and has, as always, an eerily serene and happy expression on her face. She seems to walk through honey; flies and people trapped by the wake of sweetness. Nyct, on the other hand, looked as she did four years ago, seemingly made of vinegar or spoiled flower wine. Nyct's mouth may as well been made by scoring a clay pot with a knife. It was humorless and stern. Nyct was dressed in a plain black robe that draped over her shoulder and hid all curves and other feature of her body so that she looked almost like a ghost, a flowing dress and a face. Her hair was black and long and like everything else, straight in strict lines. What little skin could be seen was greyish, the coloring of the Targiz, and lined with jewel-like freckles from her grandmother Merine, which also seemed to arrange themselves in rows and columns. Rose, in contrast, seemed like an ethereal curve - inviting and warm. Together, the Odds-Mistress and her heir looked like two sides of a coin which may be flipped in Kursaal and determine one's future fortunes. One being the promises and fantasies of a winning bet, the other the harsh realities of loss.

Greeting the happy couple, Rose comes forward and grabs Ceron by the cheeks with her palms and kisses him on the forehead, bending down and expresses to him her happiness at his union and to give her warmest regards to his father. She does the same to Chepri and tells her wish that all the dice in Kursaal shall land favorably for her child. Nyct meanwhile inclines her head and repeats almost by rote repetition.

The Targiz brings wine and other gifts for your union and we look forward to the strengthening of our mutual cooperation.

***

While Rose and Nyct arrived from the Targiz, Gled arrived with Ceron. He was, after all, the grooms Squire and sworn brother. He stood proudly by Ceron's side, beaming at the fact that Ceron was joining his family in a roundabout way - and that Gled was joining Ceron's own family soon enough. He thought of his liege's youngest daughter, neither the left hand nor the right, but still a beautiful elfish maiden with whom he were to be wed soon after this ceremony. The squire cannot be married before his knight of course.

He inclined his head towards his mother and sister as they entered, his mother embracing him from above, since he was so much shorter than the rest of his family, in a seemingly warm embrace that did not belay the fact that she had shipped him off when he was not yet ten. He did not resent her, he loved his time in the Crimson Kingdom, but he did not mirror her affections. His sister, who he missed seeing at the festival four years ago, was essentially a stranger to him - indeed, the two siblings looked at each other much like foreign dignitaries would look at each other; sizing each other up and taking their measure.

Gled scoffed slightly, his sister did not seem to amount to much. His mother, somehow kept Kursaal balanced on her delicate fingers, the Horned King himself held her in high esteem as Gled knew, but Gled, at this first impression, did not imagine that his sister would be able to do the same. Briefly the idea that he could flashed in his mind.

His sister inclined her head in his direction and he flashed her his perfectly sharp teeth back at her in what could have been a smile.

[TheDarkDM]

It has been a lifetime since last the bronze-armored paladins of the Crimson Kingdom emerged from behind their mountains and descended on the lowlands of eastern Mamut. Some still remember the ravenous horde driven before them, the eerie dispassion of the elves as they took the measure of their newly-discovered neighbors. Those stories have passed from father to son, mother to daughter, but none of it has prepared the lands of the Night Kingdom or the Scions for the procession that wends its way towards Arrakh-Rah. Riders gleam atop antlered mounts like a vision out of legend, riding in slow procession behind the towering majesty of the Horned King himself. At his side rides Ceron, resplendent in bronze armor inlaid with gold and ancient runes, and in his wake pass two figures cloaked in crimson gowns. The parade pauses in every village, no matter the size, distributing gifts of food and cloth from bulging wagons that follow in their wake. The largesse of the Crimson Kingdom is on full display, and does much to dispel the terror that wells up at the first rumors of their approach.

When they finally arrive at Arrakh-Rah, the baggage train of the Horned King is much diminished, but still bounteous enough to feast the city entire. Barley beer flows in rivers as enormous casks are finally tapped, and precious glass bottles of golden mead are presented to the nobility. Some, perhaps, even choose to drink it in the style of their fearsome guests - glistening with drops of freshly-drawn blood. Ceron immediately parts ways with his father to seek out the bride even before their jubilant day, the proud prince flouting a relationship that none in Arrakh-Rah remained ignorant of. Meanwhile, the Scions were treated to two new sights. The first is the vision of youthful beauty that enters the city on Gled's arm, her hair a deep auburn and her forehead pierced by two slight horns. Gwladys was the youngest child of the Horned King, only now entering womanhood, and had grown close to Gled in the many years of his apprenticeship to her brother. The second sends far more ominous ripples through the crowd, as the two crimson specters remove their veils to reveal medusa underneath. Their resemblance to the beloved Merine cannot be denied, but their scales are a glossy black flecked with red, and even their distressing smiles reveal ruby teeth. The sibilant sisters follow closely behind their king as he presents himself to Thalaz'ir Doraan I.

"A happy day indeed, Thalaz'ir. Soon, the blood of my blood joins with yours in holy sacrament, and with love's magic transfigures us to one bloodline. There could be no grander call for celebration."

[mystic1110]

Rose had not seen the Horned King since their private conversation almost twenty years ago. Relations between their nations were good and she certainly entertained Elven delegates and paladins, but her duties kept her west of the Mountains and the Horned King's own duties kept him East. She still remembered the Horned King's private wine - sweet with an undercurrent of bitter salt. His own blood the secret ingredient.

Sometime during the festivities, after they both congratulated the couple she walked towards the King with her palms up to her side in that traditional greeting of her people. She spoke like a flower growing in between encroaching Ivy.

My King, it has been far too long. I pray that my Son has not been too much of an added Burden in your lands.

She smiles comfortably as one does when speaking with a life long friend, even one that hasn't been seen in years - the ease of conversation and the atmosphere of amicability returning to where they once where when you first met, like it was a moment frozen in amber and perhaps seen through wine-fogged pupils.

[Zayuz]

Kylisa had become much more comfortable with the Crimson Kingdom since her first venture into their lands so many years ago. She had proposed a wedding between their people that day (more for her own safety than anything), yet now she felt much more their equal alongside her family across the realms. Naturally, all of her children attended with her to the union and were prepared to mingle with their family old and new to celebrate a new age of safety and prosperity for their lands. The Crimson Kingdom was nothing if not advanced, and Kylisa had every confidence that she could maintain the rapid revolutionizing that she had with the tribal clan Alqar with them at her side; now a proud Kingdom themselves. After having been trusted to negotiate for Arlais's safety on behalf of the Horned King himself, she was proud to show up with his daughter as part of her company... And the agreement that they had come to in hand. Not perfect, perhaps, but one that would ease tensions without breaking the pride of either side - and the added benefit of likely still allowing the Night Kingdom to marry the Crimson Kingdom themselves with Iceno and/or Nylah... Either way, to say that the Night Queen was pleased to be here would be an understatement, and she socialized excitedly for the time that she had away from her Kingdom's issues.

Merine had hidden from the Crimson Kingdom for some time on account of her past with them, but today she was to walk up the aisle in front of them all... And they doubtless had long since heard of her as the mother if the kingdoms that they've cozied up with. No more hiding. She joins the Thalaz'ir and faces the sibilant sisters directly, nodding her head with a defiant sparkle in her eyes. "Indeed... I welcome you to my new home, sisters. It has been some time." 'But perhaps not long enough,' she thought. Standing so close to them, her pale aesthetic is quite unlike theirs; with fangs of standard bone instead of Ruby and patches of scintillating scales across her body. They were alike, but different... No matter how much she wished this union would not go through, she loved and supported her daughter - and was more than willing to face her past and help their kingdoms to prosper alongside the cruel, callous power of the Horned King so long as they did not become like him themselves.