Than
Than sat at his throne, the Throne of the Tiger it was called. The young prince tried to keep a calm and strong face as the rebel pr… moreince Chien Choq marched to his throne room with handful of armed men. Zador stood on the right side of Than and Taga on the left, both of them silent as grave. Chien Choq walked in front of the throne and gave Than a small and lazy bow.
“Good day, Prince of Tigerport.” Chien said sternly, and Than could hear the man had no respect for him. Of course not. Chien was a warrior, known for his skills in combat, and there he stood in his magnificent armor – it made Than feel like he wasn’t the real authority in this palace.
“Good day to you, Prince Chien Choq.” Than answered, trying to keep his voice calm and determinate. “I heard you broke our trading connections to Jinqi.” Than could see anger flashing in Chien’s eyes and it made him gulp.
“Jinqi will be mine in no time, and the trade between Tigerpo… [view original content]
Saetrus the Blessed held a candle in his hand. The flame was bigger than it should have been, and it was red - like blood.
“Look into it.” Saetrus whispered with mysterious voice. Yu gulped as he took a step closer and looked at the flame.
“I don’t see anything.” He said, feeling almost relieved. Ting sighed behind him, but Saetrus shook his head with a smile on his face.
“You have to look inside.” The old priest said, and reluctantly Yu turned his gaze to the fire again. He tried to look inside, he tried to see something…
Yu's eyes opened. He was in the garden. All his older siblings were bickering with each other while Yu stayed away from it. Soon the bickering turned into fighting and the little children turned into adults. The garden around them was set to fire, but none of them cared as they were too busy clawing and punching each other. Behind Zu was his wife, whispering into his ears. A pale snake was twisted around the right arm of Ting, showing its poisonous teeth to Zu. Chien had his hands full of swords, spears, maces, halberds and warhammers. The siblings wounded each other more and more while the flames around them got closer and closer. Strings of fire tied the hands of Yu’s siblings and made them puppets. Those strings came from the flames around the siblings, but Yu couldn’t see behind them.
“Look inside.” Echoed from the emptiness. Yu walked into the flames and stepped into darkness. First he saw a giant made of gold, trying not to melt in the flames of war. Then he saw a powerful woman rising from the sea, bringing the storms with her. Behind the golden giant and the woman of the sea there was a third figure, but it was in the dark and Yu couldn’t see what it was. It was but a shadow that danced on the walls, but at the same time it was bigger than anything else. Yu stepped closer, trying to see the shadow.
“Who are you?” Yu asked.
“I have many names.” Echoed from the darkness.
-
Yu opened his eyes. He was at the floor, Saetrus and Ting were looking at him from above. Yu stood up quickly, trying to understand what just happened.
“I know what you saw.” Saetrus said quietly. “But perhaps you would like to tell yourself.”
“The garden.” Yu started with confused tone. “The same memory you told about… I saw it, but I saw something else as well. You, and both our brothers were tied, by stronger forces, strings made of fire. You were like… puppets.” Ting looked at Yu with a concerned expression.
“And who was pulling the strings?” She asked with a serious tone. Yu sighed, he felt frustrated. I wish I knew.
“I… I don’t know, there was a giant made of gold, a woman rising from the sea… And some kind of shadow, a huge shadow.” Yu shook his head as he spoke. “It didn’t make sense.”
“It’s often hard to see what the lord’s messages are.” Saetrus said calmly. “Even the most experienced priests make mistakes with their conclusions.”
“So, can this be any help to us?” Ting asked anxiously, and Saetrus nodded to her.
“Yes, my princess. However I can’t give you any answers now, I must think about this for a while… Your brother really saw something interesting.” Saetrus certainly looked to be very excited of this, but Yu himself wasn’t sure how to feel. “I’ll leave you now, my Princess and my Prince… We’ll see later.” The priest said and left the room after bowing to them. As the door was closed Ting slammed her fist to the desk.
“What is it, sister?” Yu asked, surprised of this reaction, but his sister just pressed her lips together and shook her head.
“What you saw… It certainly gave a dark message. This war is going to destroy us, isn’t it?” Ting asked, and Yu could see despair in her eyes.
“No.” Yu answered strictly. “Take what I saw as a warning if you want, but listening too closely to red priests is the way to the doom – we just have to find our way to survive.” For a while they were both silent.
“Golden giant, woman of the sea, a shadow… I have to find out who or what are these.” Ting spoke finally with quiet words. “I hope you don’t mind brother, but I’d like to spend some time alone now.” Yu nodded to his sister, feeling a little concerned about her. Maybe I shouldn’t have looked into the fire. Quietly he left the courtiers of the Princess, his mind still going through what he had just seen.
-
“My Prince!” Yu was surprised by Razi as he walked in the corridor and quickly raised his look up as he heard his voice.
“Oh… Razi, nice to see you again… Um, the ceremony will be tomorrow.” Yu said, referring to Razi’s promotion to the general.
“Yes, I heard.” Razi answered quickly. “However, I have some bad news.” Yu let out a small sigh. What is it this time? “I just got a message from the north that Chien has broken the Tigerport’s trading connection to here with his army. I cannot say for sure, but it also seems that he has taken Tigerport fully under his control.”
“What in the world is he doing?” Yu asked, genuinely baffled about what he heard.
“Supposedly he tries to cut our connections, have us on embargo and that way weaken us.” Razi answered and let out a sigh. Yu shook his head in disbelief.
“Has he gone mad? That could never work! Most our trade comes from the sea, not from the inland.” Yu didn’t know what to think of this. “There has to be something else to this.”
“I don’t know about that, my Prince, but I think I should now go and inform your sister about this.” Razi said with a serious tone.
“She said that she wants to be alone. She might prefer if you leave this for to tomorrow.” Yu said quietly, the fires of Saetrus returning to his mind again. Razi looked at him with questioning eyes.
“But surely she understands how important this is.” Razi insisted, looking Yu straight into the eyes. Yu shrugged, he thought that maybe these news would make his sister forget about golden giants and what not and have her focus on what was important. On the other hand his sister certainly didn’t like to be disturbed when she wanted to be alone.
[Allow Razi to meet Ting][Don't allow Razi to meet Ting]
Yu
Saetrus the Blessed held a candle in his hand. The flame was bigger than it should have been, and it was red - like blood.
“Look in… moreto it.” Saetrus whispered with mysterious voice. Yu gulped as he took a step closer and looked at the flame.
“I don’t see anything.” He said, feeling almost relieved. Ting sighed behind him, but Saetrus shook his head with a smile on his face.
“You have to look inside.” The old priest said, and reluctantly Yu turned his gaze to the fire again. He tried to look inside, he tried to see something…
Yu's eyes opened. He was in the garden. All his older siblings were bickering with each other while Yu stayed away from it. Soon the bickering turned into fighting and the little children turned into adults. The garden around them was set to fire, but none of them cared as they were too busy clawing and punching each other. Behind Zu was his wife, whispering into his ears. A pale snake was twisted around t… [view original content]
Yu
Saetrus the Blessed held a candle in his hand. The flame was bigger than it should have been, and it was red - like blood.
“Look in… moreto it.” Saetrus whispered with mysterious voice. Yu gulped as he took a step closer and looked at the flame.
“I don’t see anything.” He said, feeling almost relieved. Ting sighed behind him, but Saetrus shook his head with a smile on his face.
“You have to look inside.” The old priest said, and reluctantly Yu turned his gaze to the fire again. He tried to look inside, he tried to see something…
Yu's eyes opened. He was in the garden. All his older siblings were bickering with each other while Yu stayed away from it. Soon the bickering turned into fighting and the little children turned into adults. The garden around them was set to fire, but none of them cared as they were too busy clawing and punching each other. Behind Zu was his wife, whispering into his ears. A pale snake was twisted around t… [view original content]
Yu
Saetrus the Blessed held a candle in his hand. The flame was bigger than it should have been, and it was red - like blood.
“Look in… moreto it.” Saetrus whispered with mysterious voice. Yu gulped as he took a step closer and looked at the flame.
“I don’t see anything.” He said, feeling almost relieved. Ting sighed behind him, but Saetrus shook his head with a smile on his face.
“You have to look inside.” The old priest said, and reluctantly Yu turned his gaze to the fire again. He tried to look inside, he tried to see something…
Yu's eyes opened. He was in the garden. All his older siblings were bickering with each other while Yu stayed away from it. Soon the bickering turned into fighting and the little children turned into adults. The garden around them was set to fire, but none of them cared as they were too busy clawing and punching each other. Behind Zu was his wife, whispering into his ears. A pale snake was twisted around t… [view original content]
Giant made of gold, that might be powerfull and rich...something that will controll the war in his favor. Powerful woman rising from the sea, some kind of naval force lead by the woman that might want to make use out of the war in Yi TI, maybe God-Empress from Leng? (Even thought I don't really know is Leng strong naval force or not) And the shadow man, I have nothing coming on my mind at all, and what creeps me the most is that he looks like most powerful of this 3 persons. I assume they are real, but they were just showed unnatural in the vision. This might be interesting theme to discuss.
Yu
Saetrus the Blessed held a candle in his hand. The flame was bigger than it should have been, and it was red - like blood.
“Look in… moreto it.” Saetrus whispered with mysterious voice. Yu gulped as he took a step closer and looked at the flame.
“I don’t see anything.” He said, feeling almost relieved. Ting sighed behind him, but Saetrus shook his head with a smile on his face.
“You have to look inside.” The old priest said, and reluctantly Yu turned his gaze to the fire again. He tried to look inside, he tried to see something…
Yu's eyes opened. He was in the garden. All his older siblings were bickering with each other while Yu stayed away from it. Soon the bickering turned into fighting and the little children turned into adults. The garden around them was set to fire, but none of them cared as they were too busy clawing and punching each other. Behind Zu was his wife, whispering into his ears. A pale snake was twisted around t… [view original content]
Yu
Saetrus the Blessed held a candle in his hand. The flame was bigger than it should have been, and it was red - like blood.
“Look in… moreto it.” Saetrus whispered with mysterious voice. Yu gulped as he took a step closer and looked at the flame.
“I don’t see anything.” He said, feeling almost relieved. Ting sighed behind him, but Saetrus shook his head with a smile on his face.
“You have to look inside.” The old priest said, and reluctantly Yu turned his gaze to the fire again. He tried to look inside, he tried to see something…
Yu's eyes opened. He was in the garden. All his older siblings were bickering with each other while Yu stayed away from it. Soon the bickering turned into fighting and the little children turned into adults. The garden around them was set to fire, but none of them cared as they were too busy clawing and punching each other. Behind Zu was his wife, whispering into his ears. A pale snake was twisted around t… [view original content]
[Don't allow Razi to meet Ting]
Giant made of gold, that might be powerfull and rich...something that will controll the war in his favor.… more Powerful woman rising from the sea, some kind of naval force lead by the woman that might want to make use out of the war in Yi TI, maybe God-Empress from Leng? (Even thought I don't really know is Leng strong naval force or not) And the shadow man, I have nothing coming on my mind at all, and what creeps me the most is that he looks like most powerful of this 3 persons. I assume they are real, but they were just showed unnatural in the vision. This might be interesting theme to discuss.
Yu
Saetrus the Blessed held a candle in his hand. The flame was bigger than it should have been, and it was red - like blood.
“Look in… moreto it.” Saetrus whispered with mysterious voice. Yu gulped as he took a step closer and looked at the flame.
“I don’t see anything.” He said, feeling almost relieved. Ting sighed behind him, but Saetrus shook his head with a smile on his face.
“You have to look inside.” The old priest said, and reluctantly Yu turned his gaze to the fire again. He tried to look inside, he tried to see something…
Yu's eyes opened. He was in the garden. All his older siblings were bickering with each other while Yu stayed away from it. Soon the bickering turned into fighting and the little children turned into adults. The garden around them was set to fire, but none of them cared as they were too busy clawing and punching each other. Behind Zu was his wife, whispering into his ears. A pale snake was twisted around t… [view original content]
Vote closed! Yu will not allow Razi to meet his sister now.
The next part will be Arkara part, but I haven't really written much of it yet. So, it's possible that it would be ready tomorrow, but it might take longer.
Sorry for the really long wait! There has been lots of studying and other stuff, and when I have wrote it has mostly been for my other story. However, now I finally finished this Arkara part!
-
Arkara
After more than a week at the sea Arkara was glad to finally see Qarth in front of them. The ship approached the harbor slowly, and Arkara could see her brother looking at the city with a happy smile on his face. Looks like he is just as glad as I am to get out of the sea.
”I think our return to the top will begin at this city, Kara. Qarth is full of possibilities.” Krendak said with a dreaming tone. Arkara shrugged lazily, her brother tended to be overly positive some times.
”I thought father always called Qarth a city of crying mouses.” She said, making Kren chuckle.
”That's true.” He admitted with a smile on his face. ”But even he understood that this city holds great power.”
”What kind of great power can a city of mouses possibly have?” Arkara had a cynical smirk on her face as she spoke.
”I'd say Qartheen are spiders rather than mice.” Kren answered, and now his expression was a little more serious. ”They may look weak, but they constantly build their deadly web around the world.”
”Interesting.” Arkara said, with the most uninterested tone she could. Her brother looked at her and raised an eyebrow.
”Exactly - they are not interesting. And that is the reason why they are so dangerous.” Krendak said and let out a sigh. ”And Qarth... It's a perfect place for these kind. Qarth is the city where the east and the west meet, it's the center of the world.”
”I wouldn't go that far.” Arkara answered with skeptical tone, shaking her head subtly, which made her brother shrug and turn his gaze back to the closing harbor.
-
As the ship was anchored Eado – one of Lady Manaessa's men – came to Kren and Kara. They hadn't spoken with the crew of the ship almost at all during the trip and Arkara was glad about that – she didn't trust Manaessa or her lackies.
”Follow me.” Eado said quietly. ”I'll take you to the man you are looking for.” Krendak nodded with a grin on his face as he heard this, but Arkara didn't really see a reason for smiling – not yet at least. For all we know this could be a trap. In her head Arkara decided she wouldn't go down without a fight.
As they walked along the port Arkara had to admit it was more massive than she had ever imagined. It was colorful and full of merchants, mercenaries, warehouses, brothels and stalls selling anything from foods to weapons. Arkara kept turning her head as they walked – there was so much to see in every direction. As she watched all these people that ranged from fat merchants to shady characters in black cloaks she started to think her brother might have been right after all – maybe this really was the center of the world. And as they moved from the port to the city it managed to amaze her even more. Everything reflected the enormous wealth of this city, it felt like walking in a sweet dream as they passed the beautiful buildings in the shades of rose, violet and umber, and glamorous statues made of bronze and fountains that resembled dragons, griffins and manticores. Slaves carried pale men and women who were dressed in fine silks, guards with copper armors and snouted helms rode their camels.
”This city is made to be the dream of a rich and successful man – a garden of pure enjoyment.” Krendak said quietly to Arkara, who couldn't disagree with that.
Finally they arrived to a violet mansion with red door. It was a beautiful building, but not the largest or the most finely decorated Arkara had seen as they had walked. Does the man we look for live here? Eado knocked.
The door was opened by a slave. Eado whispered something to the slave in a language that Arkara didn't understand. The slave nodded and turned around, apparently to fetch his master. And it didn't take long for the slave to return – with a woman. For Arkara's surprise the woman was clearly a Ghiscari, even if she was dressed in the Qartheen fashion, with a light blue dress that left her right breast exposed. The woman was young, but not a girl anymore – the look on her eyes was intense and dangerous, her body was curved, her black hair was on a tight bun and she had golden rings in her ears and her nose.
”Eado.” The woman said quietly with a subtle smile on her face. ”It has been a while. Who are these guests you bring?”
”The survivors of house Noklar from Meereen – Krendak and Arkara.” Eado answered with bored tone, making the woman quickly turn her gaze at Arkara and Krendak.
”Why are they here?” She asked with strict tone, turning her eyes back at Eado – the smile on her face had faded.
”I am only following the orders of Lady Manaessa.” Eado answered, raising his hands up under the hard gaze of this woman. ”Manaessa said that I should bring them to the master, but as you know I have no idea where he is so I brought them to you, Miss Manticore.” For a moment the woman was silent, eyeing Krendak and Arkara.
”Alright then.” She said quietly. ”Come inside, Krendak and Arkara. And Eado, you can leave.” Eado nodded lazily and turned away, leaving Arkara and Krendak alone with this woman. They entered her house, which was decorated with glorious paintings, carpets and sculptures. Soon they entered a small room with green walls, a fireplace and small table with a couple of comfortable chairs around it.
”Take a seat.” Miss Manticore said, and as they did that the slaves started bringing wine, cheese and fruits to the table.
”I am going to make one thing clear from the beginning.” She started with a cold tone. ”My master has not yet decided whether he is interested in helping you or not. Your father was an important connection for him to Meereen and Slaver's Bay, but he was also one of the harder ones – someone who was not easy to keep in control. So you understand that my master might rather want to form a new connection to Meereen than to help you take back your father's place.”
”Who is your master?” Arkara asked – it had bothered her for a while now. Miss Manticore reacted to this question with a slightly surprised expression.
”Apparently your father didn't talk about it much. I suppose that's understandable, he was a proud man after all.” Manticore spoke with a touch of mockery in her words and took a sip of her wine. ”My master's name is Malyx, and that's all you need to know for now.”
”So, Miss Manticore, what does your master expect from us? How can we get his favor?” Krendak asked with polite tone. Manticore didn't look to be sure what to answer, as she took a deep breath and glanced for the roof before turning her eyes to Krendak.
”That remains to be seen, but there are couple things you could for a start.” She said with a pensive tone. ”One option for you would be to meet a man named Riyat Mantos. He is in cooperation with master Malyx and could be interested in you. He is a merchant in the Thirteen and who knows, he might be interested to help you – if you will offer him something in return.”
”And are there any other options?” Arkara asked, since she knew they didn't have much to offer – only promises of how they would repay after getting back to their pyramid.
”Well, you could meet Zax, of course. But don't expect him to be interested in helping you – he is the man who Malyx uses as the leader of his forces.” Miss Manticore said and shrugged.
”Your master has an army?” Krendak asked with shocked expression.
”My master has small amount of slave soldiers, he has men from the city guard under his control, he has always sellswords and assassins ready to act, and he has connections that are ready to provide him forces when needed.” Manticore had a wicked smile on her face as she spoke. ”Zax is the one who keeps all this under control the best he can – perhaps you could prove yourselves by working for him.” Arkara noticed Krendak shaking his head subtly, but herself she felt that this was a better option than to meet the merchant – or was it?
Sorry for the really long wait! There has been lots of studying and other stuff, and when I have wrote it has mostly been for my other story… more. However, now I finally finished this Arkara part!
-
Arkara
After more than a week at the sea Arkara was glad to finally see Qarth in front of them. The ship approached the harbor slowly, and Arkara could see her brother looking at the city with a happy smile on his face. Looks like he is just as glad as I am to get out of the sea.
”I think our return to the top will begin at this city, Kara. Qarth is full of possibilities.” Krendak said with a dreaming tone. Arkara shrugged lazily, her brother tended to be overly positive some times.
”I thought father always called Qarth a city of crying mouses.” She said, making Kren chuckle.
”That's true.” He admitted with a smile on his face. ”But even he understood that this city holds great power.”
”What kind of great power can a city of mouse… [view original content]
Sorry for the really long wait! There has been lots of studying and other stuff, and when I have wrote it has mostly been for my other story… more. However, now I finally finished this Arkara part!
-
Arkara
After more than a week at the sea Arkara was glad to finally see Qarth in front of them. The ship approached the harbor slowly, and Arkara could see her brother looking at the city with a happy smile on his face. Looks like he is just as glad as I am to get out of the sea.
”I think our return to the top will begin at this city, Kara. Qarth is full of possibilities.” Krendak said with a dreaming tone. Arkara shrugged lazily, her brother tended to be overly positive some times.
”I thought father always called Qarth a city of crying mouses.” She said, making Kren chuckle.
”That's true.” He admitted with a smile on his face. ”But even he understood that this city holds great power.”
”What kind of great power can a city of mouse… [view original content]
I don't know. Both sound very untrustworthy, but a Qartheen merchant might be even more untrustworthy. At least Zax sounds like someone who is more likely to have straightforward goals.
Sorry for the really long wait! There has been lots of studying and other stuff, and when I have wrote it has mostly been for my other story… more. However, now I finally finished this Arkara part!
-
Arkara
After more than a week at the sea Arkara was glad to finally see Qarth in front of them. The ship approached the harbor slowly, and Arkara could see her brother looking at the city with a happy smile on his face. Looks like he is just as glad as I am to get out of the sea.
”I think our return to the top will begin at this city, Kara. Qarth is full of possibilities.” Krendak said with a dreaming tone. Arkara shrugged lazily, her brother tended to be overly positive some times.
”I thought father always called Qarth a city of crying mouses.” She said, making Kren chuckle.
”That's true.” He admitted with a smile on his face. ”But even he understood that this city holds great power.”
”What kind of great power can a city of mouse… [view original content]
Sorry for the really long wait! There has been lots of studying and other stuff, and when I have wrote it has mostly been for my other story… more. However, now I finally finished this Arkara part!
-
Arkara
After more than a week at the sea Arkara was glad to finally see Qarth in front of them. The ship approached the harbor slowly, and Arkara could see her brother looking at the city with a happy smile on his face. Looks like he is just as glad as I am to get out of the sea.
”I think our return to the top will begin at this city, Kara. Qarth is full of possibilities.” Krendak said with a dreaming tone. Arkara shrugged lazily, her brother tended to be overly positive some times.
”I thought father always called Qarth a city of crying mouses.” She said, making Kren chuckle.
”That's true.” He admitted with a smile on his face. ”But even he understood that this city holds great power.”
”What kind of great power can a city of mouse… [view original content]
Vote closed. And, Arkara and Krendak will meet Zax.
Alright, we'll see if this was a good choice. My next days are pretty busy since I have an exam on Tuesday, but whenever the next part is it'll probably be Than, Yu or maybe Vellera.
Comments
[Accept the offer]
Voting closed! Prince Than will accept the offer of Prince Chien.
The next part will probably come out either today or tomorrow. It's either Yu part or Arkara part, both are under work.
Yu
Saetrus the Blessed held a candle in his hand. The flame was bigger than it should have been, and it was red - like blood.
“Look into it.” Saetrus whispered with mysterious voice. Yu gulped as he took a step closer and looked at the flame.
“I don’t see anything.” He said, feeling almost relieved. Ting sighed behind him, but Saetrus shook his head with a smile on his face.
“You have to look inside.” The old priest said, and reluctantly Yu turned his gaze to the fire again. He tried to look inside, he tried to see something…
Yu's eyes opened. He was in the garden. All his older siblings were bickering with each other while Yu stayed away from it. Soon the bickering turned into fighting and the little children turned into adults. The garden around them was set to fire, but none of them cared as they were too busy clawing and punching each other. Behind Zu was his wife, whispering into his ears. A pale snake was twisted around the right arm of Ting, showing its poisonous teeth to Zu. Chien had his hands full of swords, spears, maces, halberds and warhammers. The siblings wounded each other more and more while the flames around them got closer and closer. Strings of fire tied the hands of Yu’s siblings and made them puppets. Those strings came from the flames around the siblings, but Yu couldn’t see behind them.
“Look inside.” Echoed from the emptiness. Yu walked into the flames and stepped into darkness. First he saw a giant made of gold, trying not to melt in the flames of war. Then he saw a powerful woman rising from the sea, bringing the storms with her. Behind the golden giant and the woman of the sea there was a third figure, but it was in the dark and Yu couldn’t see what it was. It was but a shadow that danced on the walls, but at the same time it was bigger than anything else. Yu stepped closer, trying to see the shadow.
“Who are you?” Yu asked.
“I have many names.” Echoed from the darkness.
-
Yu opened his eyes. He was at the floor, Saetrus and Ting were looking at him from above. Yu stood up quickly, trying to understand what just happened.
“I know what you saw.” Saetrus said quietly. “But perhaps you would like to tell yourself.”
“The garden.” Yu started with confused tone. “The same memory you told about… I saw it, but I saw something else as well. You, and both our brothers were tied, by stronger forces, strings made of fire. You were like… puppets.” Ting looked at Yu with a concerned expression.
“And who was pulling the strings?” She asked with a serious tone. Yu sighed, he felt frustrated. I wish I knew.
“I… I don’t know, there was a giant made of gold, a woman rising from the sea… And some kind of shadow, a huge shadow.” Yu shook his head as he spoke. “It didn’t make sense.”
“It’s often hard to see what the lord’s messages are.” Saetrus said calmly. “Even the most experienced priests make mistakes with their conclusions.”
“So, can this be any help to us?” Ting asked anxiously, and Saetrus nodded to her.
“Yes, my princess. However I can’t give you any answers now, I must think about this for a while… Your brother really saw something interesting.” Saetrus certainly looked to be very excited of this, but Yu himself wasn’t sure how to feel. “I’ll leave you now, my Princess and my Prince… We’ll see later.” The priest said and left the room after bowing to them. As the door was closed Ting slammed her fist to the desk.
“What is it, sister?” Yu asked, surprised of this reaction, but his sister just pressed her lips together and shook her head.
“What you saw… It certainly gave a dark message. This war is going to destroy us, isn’t it?” Ting asked, and Yu could see despair in her eyes.
“No.” Yu answered strictly. “Take what I saw as a warning if you want, but listening too closely to red priests is the way to the doom – we just have to find our way to survive.” For a while they were both silent.
“Golden giant, woman of the sea, a shadow… I have to find out who or what are these.” Ting spoke finally with quiet words. “I hope you don’t mind brother, but I’d like to spend some time alone now.” Yu nodded to his sister, feeling a little concerned about her. Maybe I shouldn’t have looked into the fire. Quietly he left the courtiers of the Princess, his mind still going through what he had just seen.
-
“My Prince!” Yu was surprised by Razi as he walked in the corridor and quickly raised his look up as he heard his voice.
“Oh… Razi, nice to see you again… Um, the ceremony will be tomorrow.” Yu said, referring to Razi’s promotion to the general.
“Yes, I heard.” Razi answered quickly. “However, I have some bad news.” Yu let out a small sigh. What is it this time? “I just got a message from the north that Chien has broken the Tigerport’s trading connection to here with his army. I cannot say for sure, but it also seems that he has taken Tigerport fully under his control.”
“What in the world is he doing?” Yu asked, genuinely baffled about what he heard.
“Supposedly he tries to cut our connections, have us on embargo and that way weaken us.” Razi answered and let out a sigh. Yu shook his head in disbelief.
“Has he gone mad? That could never work! Most our trade comes from the sea, not from the inland.” Yu didn’t know what to think of this. “There has to be something else to this.”
“I don’t know about that, my Prince, but I think I should now go and inform your sister about this.” Razi said with a serious tone.
“She said that she wants to be alone. She might prefer if you leave this for to tomorrow.” Yu said quietly, the fires of Saetrus returning to his mind again. Razi looked at him with questioning eyes.
“But surely she understands how important this is.” Razi insisted, looking Yu straight into the eyes. Yu shrugged, he thought that maybe these news would make his sister forget about golden giants and what not and have her focus on what was important. On the other hand his sister certainly didn’t like to be disturbed when she wanted to be alone.
[Allow Razi to meet Ting] [Don't allow Razi to meet Ting]
[Don't allow Razi to meet Ting]
[Don't allow Razi to meet Ting]
[Don't allow Razi to meet Ting]
I think it's better not to burden Ting any more, at least for the moment.
[Don't allow Razi to meet Ting]
Giant made of gold, that might be powerfull and rich...something that will controll the war in his favor. Powerful woman rising from the sea, some kind of naval force lead by the woman that might want to make use out of the war in Yi TI, maybe God-Empress from Leng? (Even thought I don't really know is Leng strong naval force or not) And the shadow man, I have nothing coming on my mind at all, and what creeps me the most is that he looks like most powerful of this 3 persons. I assume they are real, but they were just showed unnatural in the vision. This might be interesting theme to discuss.
[Don't allow Razi to meet Ting]
Well, I don't want to spoil anything, but I can say that they are indeed real persons who were in unnatural forms in this vision.
[Don't allow Razi to meet Ting]
Vote closed! Yu will not allow Razi to meet his sister now.
The next part will be Arkara part, but I haven't really written much of it yet. So, it's possible that it would be ready tomorrow, but it might take longer.
Sorry for the really long wait! There has been lots of studying and other stuff, and when I have wrote it has mostly been for my other story. However, now I finally finished this Arkara part!
-
Arkara
After more than a week at the sea Arkara was glad to finally see Qarth in front of them. The ship approached the harbor slowly, and Arkara could see her brother looking at the city with a happy smile on his face. Looks like he is just as glad as I am to get out of the sea.
”I think our return to the top will begin at this city, Kara. Qarth is full of possibilities.” Krendak said with a dreaming tone. Arkara shrugged lazily, her brother tended to be overly positive some times.
”I thought father always called Qarth a city of crying mouses.” She said, making Kren chuckle.
”That's true.” He admitted with a smile on his face. ”But even he understood that this city holds great power.”
”What kind of great power can a city of mouses possibly have?” Arkara had a cynical smirk on her face as she spoke.
”I'd say Qartheen are spiders rather than mice.” Kren answered, and now his expression was a little more serious. ”They may look weak, but they constantly build their deadly web around the world.”
”Interesting.” Arkara said, with the most uninterested tone she could. Her brother looked at her and raised an eyebrow.
”Exactly - they are not interesting. And that is the reason why they are so dangerous.” Krendak said and let out a sigh. ”And Qarth... It's a perfect place for these kind. Qarth is the city where the east and the west meet, it's the center of the world.”
”I wouldn't go that far.” Arkara answered with skeptical tone, shaking her head subtly, which made her brother shrug and turn his gaze back to the closing harbor.
-
As the ship was anchored Eado – one of Lady Manaessa's men – came to Kren and Kara. They hadn't spoken with the crew of the ship almost at all during the trip and Arkara was glad about that – she didn't trust Manaessa or her lackies.
”Follow me.” Eado said quietly. ”I'll take you to the man you are looking for.” Krendak nodded with a grin on his face as he heard this, but Arkara didn't really see a reason for smiling – not yet at least. For all we know this could be a trap. In her head Arkara decided she wouldn't go down without a fight.
As they walked along the port Arkara had to admit it was more massive than she had ever imagined. It was colorful and full of merchants, mercenaries, warehouses, brothels and stalls selling anything from foods to weapons. Arkara kept turning her head as they walked – there was so much to see in every direction. As she watched all these people that ranged from fat merchants to shady characters in black cloaks she started to think her brother might have been right after all – maybe this really was the center of the world. And as they moved from the port to the city it managed to amaze her even more. Everything reflected the enormous wealth of this city, it felt like walking in a sweet dream as they passed the beautiful buildings in the shades of rose, violet and umber, and glamorous statues made of bronze and fountains that resembled dragons, griffins and manticores. Slaves carried pale men and women who were dressed in fine silks, guards with copper armors and snouted helms rode their camels.
”This city is made to be the dream of a rich and successful man – a garden of pure enjoyment.” Krendak said quietly to Arkara, who couldn't disagree with that.
Finally they arrived to a violet mansion with red door. It was a beautiful building, but not the largest or the most finely decorated Arkara had seen as they had walked. Does the man we look for live here? Eado knocked.
The door was opened by a slave. Eado whispered something to the slave in a language that Arkara didn't understand. The slave nodded and turned around, apparently to fetch his master. And it didn't take long for the slave to return – with a woman. For Arkara's surprise the woman was clearly a Ghiscari, even if she was dressed in the Qartheen fashion, with a light blue dress that left her right breast exposed. The woman was young, but not a girl anymore – the look on her eyes was intense and dangerous, her body was curved, her black hair was on a tight bun and she had golden rings in her ears and her nose.
”Eado.” The woman said quietly with a subtle smile on her face. ”It has been a while. Who are these guests you bring?”
”The survivors of house Noklar from Meereen – Krendak and Arkara.” Eado answered with bored tone, making the woman quickly turn her gaze at Arkara and Krendak.
”Why are they here?” She asked with strict tone, turning her eyes back at Eado – the smile on her face had faded.
”I am only following the orders of Lady Manaessa.” Eado answered, raising his hands up under the hard gaze of this woman. ”Manaessa said that I should bring them to the master, but as you know I have no idea where he is so I brought them to you, Miss Manticore.” For a moment the woman was silent, eyeing Krendak and Arkara.
”Alright then.” She said quietly. ”Come inside, Krendak and Arkara. And Eado, you can leave.” Eado nodded lazily and turned away, leaving Arkara and Krendak alone with this woman. They entered her house, which was decorated with glorious paintings, carpets and sculptures. Soon they entered a small room with green walls, a fireplace and small table with a couple of comfortable chairs around it.
”Take a seat.” Miss Manticore said, and as they did that the slaves started bringing wine, cheese and fruits to the table.
”I am going to make one thing clear from the beginning.” She started with a cold tone. ”My master has not yet decided whether he is interested in helping you or not. Your father was an important connection for him to Meereen and Slaver's Bay, but he was also one of the harder ones – someone who was not easy to keep in control. So you understand that my master might rather want to form a new connection to Meereen than to help you take back your father's place.”
”Who is your master?” Arkara asked – it had bothered her for a while now. Miss Manticore reacted to this question with a slightly surprised expression.
”Apparently your father didn't talk about it much. I suppose that's understandable, he was a proud man after all.” Manticore spoke with a touch of mockery in her words and took a sip of her wine. ”My master's name is Malyx, and that's all you need to know for now.”
”So, Miss Manticore, what does your master expect from us? How can we get his favor?” Krendak asked with polite tone. Manticore didn't look to be sure what to answer, as she took a deep breath and glanced for the roof before turning her eyes to Krendak.
”That remains to be seen, but there are couple things you could for a start.” She said with a pensive tone. ”One option for you would be to meet a man named Riyat Mantos. He is in cooperation with master Malyx and could be interested in you. He is a merchant in the Thirteen and who knows, he might be interested to help you – if you will offer him something in return.”
”And are there any other options?” Arkara asked, since she knew they didn't have much to offer – only promises of how they would repay after getting back to their pyramid.
”Well, you could meet Zax, of course. But don't expect him to be interested in helping you – he is the man who Malyx uses as the leader of his forces.” Miss Manticore said and shrugged.
”Your master has an army?” Krendak asked with shocked expression.
”My master has small amount of slave soldiers, he has men from the city guard under his control, he has always sellswords and assassins ready to act, and he has connections that are ready to provide him forces when needed.” Manticore had a wicked smile on her face as she spoke. ”Zax is the one who keeps all this under control the best he can – perhaps you could prove yourselves by working for him.” Arkara noticed Krendak shaking his head subtly, but herself she felt that this was a better option than to meet the merchant – or was it?
[Riyat Mantos] [Zax]
[Zax]
[Zax]
[Zax]
[Zax]
I don't know. Both sound very untrustworthy, but a Qartheen merchant might be even more untrustworthy. At least Zax sounds like someone who is more likely to have straightforward goals.
[Riyat Mantos]
Vote closed. And, Arkara and Krendak will meet Zax.
Alright, we'll see if this was a good choice. My next days are pretty busy since I have an exam on Tuesday, but whenever the next part is it'll probably be Than, Yu or maybe Vellera.