A herald called out, "The emissary of the independent Aerician province of Aruslan, Azara Elefthera."

One bow when entering the room, walk forward the length up to the throne, and then a second bow upon walking within about ten feet of the throne. That was the routine Azara had been instructed in. She followed it with as much grace as she could muster. Regardless, the tension in the room grew as she did so. After the final bow, there was a moment of pause, before she spoke.

"It is my great honor and pleasure to be allowed to act as a representative on behalf of Aruslan to your majesty."

As she spoke Azara did not look up to the king or make eye contact, but rather she kept her eyes downward, focused on his feet. This would make any normal conversation difficult, but in this instance, it was a sign of respect. For her, it felt crippling. Looking into a person's eyes was said to be a means of reading their soul, and in Azara's case this was quite literal, but she honored the tradition regardless. The fact that it was a tradition in Ursulam, made her wonder where it had come from.

The king spoke, shocking her out of the absentminded thoughts. "Your words are appreciated. I greet you cordially, but it must be said that I am confused regarding the cause of your visit. It is my understanding that Aruslan is a province of Aericia. Why then, does the crown of Aericia not send its own emissaries?"

The gruff voice of the king was that of an older man. Azara knew that the king was somewhere in his late forties, but his voice betrayed an even older man at heart. He had been a fighter in his youth, Azara knew that much. She wondered if she were to look towards his eyes -she had been told they were blue- if she'd see just age and memories or the soul of a king that was still strong. The whole exchange was too impersonal for her, but she knew that was the purpose. The king had to be a symbol of the kingdom, not a person.

"Aruslan acts independently of Aethera and the crown now. While Aruslan is still a province of Aericia as a whole, it no longer answers to the demands of the Magi or the crown." she explained, trying to sound as impartial and even-toned as possible.

"So the rumors speak true. Aruslan has broken away from the crown of Aericia because the king of Aericia has become nothing more than a servant of the Magi. Aericia is tearing itself apart. That land which the she-bear of the North built, is crumbling under its ambition." He said.

Spiteful and haughty, that could describe those words. The tone and language caused Azara to pause. It was part of a king to be a diplomat almost as much as it was hers. Yet he was not acting polite towards her. He had even taken some pleasure in this apparent revelation, and that did not help Azara at all. Worse, she didn't want him getting the wrong impression of what was going on in the country.

"Aruslan has no intention of damaging the sovereignty of the crown, nor destroying the great nation which Queen Aericia created from her conquests. We mean only peaceful and cordial separation from the Magi’s religion, and in doing so would ask you respect our sovereignty and accept us as friends and allies."

Silence followed for a short time. The king was thinking. She heard an adviser step to the king's side and whisper something in his ear. Azara realized that it could be within the king's interest to declare friendly terms with Aruslan, even if it was just stated within a meeting, rather than a written non-aggression pact or treaty. If he wanted Aericia to fall into more chaos, then this could be beneficial to him. At the same time, if she caused him to perceive Aruslan's secession as a rebellion against the Aetheran crown, he could also see the potential threat in even acknowledging an emissary, lest the entire country of Aericia turns upon Ursulam. The result of such a conflict had already been seen a couple of generations prior, and Ursulam still suffered from it. The king then spoke again.

"It is not fitting that we be enemies, there is no enmity between the North and Aruslan. It is not in our interests to be anything to Aruslan. We are neighbors and shall be nothing more. Is this then, the conclusion of our meeting?"

Perfect, almost. Now she needed to justify the next part, the real pitch. What she needed.

"Indeed, no enmity or friendship is necessary, and we are grateful that Ursulam does not see an enemy in Aruslan. What we wish is that the long-held lands of the Veyorn, particularly of Northrive, be officially acknowledged as territory of Aruslan, as has long been held in tradition and in times past. In exchange, Aruslan shall take responsibility for the bandits which have infested the land. We will also drop the tariffs on Ursulan furs and wool coming into our province"

Again the king did not respond but took time to think, and Azara could feel the small droplets of sweat forming on her brow and the back of her neck. While the lands had long been neutral since the war, Ursulam had always exercised a great deal of influence in them. In ceding them to Aruslan they would not only be acknowledging some of Aruslan’s independence but losing the buffer zone of land between Aericia and Ursulam. However, the counterbalance to these potential losses was that the lands were not rich, and filled with either nomads or raiders. Aericia had always blamed much of its northern border troubles on Ursulam harboring bandits in these lands, and not governing them at all. Ursulam had always claimed the bandits were Aericia’s, and specifically Aruslan’s, responsibility. So Azara was hopeful that the king would see this as a very neutral move, and take it as upholding Ursulam foreign policy for many past decades - that is, staying out of Aerician business.

Furthermore, if he ceded the lands to Aruslan he would not have to worry about the lawless bands who found their home there, raiding his own towns and villages, and would forfeit all responsibility for sending soldiers to deal with them. The tariffs vanishing just sweetened the deal enough to be acceptable. This would anger a few merchants in Aerician, those from Verum and Brustius for certain, but it was an acceptable cost. Besides, Arusland didn’t care what much of Aericia thought anymore.

"No."

"Your highness?" Azara asked, before inadvertently looking up to him, confused and shocked by the answer, even though it had always been a potential possibility. What greeted her was not quite what she expected. The angry face of the king was that of a man who had drunk too much the night before. His face was also scarred, and his black hair was now graying. However, Azara could also see a face that must have been very handsome in youth, and blue eyes that were angry now as the ocean in a storm.

"I said no, beautiful little thing." the king replied. "I, Orvaar Flamebreather, king of Ursulam, do not cede the Veyorn territories to you, or your mother, The Red Mage."

Azara realized that the meeting was over, her chance was done. If anything, she had just caused that to be the case through her disrespectful gesture - looking at the king. That did not mean she would leave just like that though. Anger boiled inside of her, a fire of annoyance. She wanted an explanation. The glare in her golden eyes and furrowed brow said that much. The king obliged her.

"I have kept an eye on Lady Elefthera. I know that she was once a Veyorn herself, a lost one. I will not sully my place as king, by having Ursulam acknowledge the wanting of those vagabonds in any manner. Now leave, before I have my guards throw you out."

Some would have become angry, and Azara could not help but wish to lash out at the king. Her pride demanded a response. However, something else kept her interest and turned her mind from anger. Certainly, it could be bigotry that caused the king to make this decision. The Veyorn were a people who had been discriminated against, and trampled upon, by both Ursulam and Aericia, for years. It was another reason for the manner in which their lands had been treated for so long.

However, simple bigotry seemed too shallow for a king in this decision, particularly a king who rarely had shown any hate for the Veyorn. Indeed, he had done nothing but ignore them. Some kings had resorted to ethnic cleansing within Ursulan cities in the past, and pogroms in Veyorn land. Perhaps there was a piece to the puzzle Azara was missing, information she did not have. Then there was the other matter. How he had known that her mother was of Veyorn ancestry? It wasn't a well-known fact. Spies? Or was he simply good at keeping tabs on the leaders of other countries?

Thus, when Azara spoke next she was careful but pointed. She made eye contact with the king again, wanting a second look to see if she could read anything else from him that she hadn’t seen before.

"Well then, your highness, I shall leave your presence. I am certain that you would not want one such as I, the descendant of such a Veyorn woman, to grace your court."

She then backed away, bowed, backed away further, and then bowed again, before turning to leave. The second look had been worth violating etiquette. Something else had been in the king's in his soul on her second look. A sense of great loss that didn't show itself in his outward expressions. This decision was more personal than racism, even if that is what he was hiding behind. She just had to find out what the issue was.

Azara was not able to exit before a young man strode past her in a hurry. He was just a bit taller than Azara, which surprised her. Azara stood very tall for a woman, at five-foot eleven-inches, and usually towered over other people - men and women alike. She caught a glimpse of the young man’s face and his blue eyes and was reminded of the king. Indeed, to her surprise, his features at a glance favored the king a great deal.

"Would you really rebuff so fine an offer over such a petty reason?", he yelled. "Are you so hateful of me, that you would cease a diplomatic meeting and deny a fair arrangement over it?"

"GET OUT OF HERE!" The king bellowed as he rose from his throne to confront the young man.

Rather than obeying, the young prince stood his ground and glared back. While it did not seem to be the case, Azara was concerned the prince was trying to defend her, something not only unnecessary but threatening to her situation and future diplomatic relations. It would not have been the first time some young nobleman had made some inappropriate gesture on her behalf, only to be far more trouble than help.

"Do you not want to appear weak in a time of crisis father? Are you so frightened that you think the secession of a strip of land which we’ve never even claimed as ours and which we have never benefited from, will cause panic?"

Orvaar shook his head. "And what are you doing but aiding that, prince Valerius? I am not a fool, boy. I know of the veritable army you've amassed in Souster! Do you plan on tearing this country apart, like the Magi, with their religion and their puppet king do to Aericia now?"

"You know that I only take the necessary precautions that I must, to protect our people from growing threats. Your lax hand wastes time, it prepares for nothing, and even now you simply try to pretend as if nothing is happening - as if it will help. You don't want a panic for any reason, to appear weak even in caution. War could spill over to us from Aericia, and will you be prepared? We should be choosing our allies now."

"War may come but I will not let your recklessness start it! Such an act would cripple the - bah! I am not to have this discussion with you, much less with a foreign diplomat within our presence. Leave! NOW!" he shouted, as several guards moved in on the prince. Valerius threw up his hands to make them back off. Fuming, he turned and walked out of the room. Azara began to follow but was stopped by Orvaar speaking.

"I apologize for that interruption, Lady Elefthera. I will give your proposal more consideration for a couple of weeks as recompense. Please, enjoy the city and any luxuries you should desire in the meantime. I wouldn't want your trip here to be without purpose, and unenjoyed. You may go now." he said, his tone still so commanding and angry that it did not seem like a kind offer.

"Certainly." she said, curtsied and turned to leave.

The large doors of the throne room shut behind her with a loud slam that caused her a slight start. She wondered if the noise had been intentional. She looked around, and sure enough, standing a short distance off was the young prince who had just caused the disastrous stir.

After a brief moment of quiet, in which both of them scrutinized the other, wondering whether or not to even speak to the other, he spoke. "I apologize for the inconvenience that I may have caused. I am Prince Valerius, I take it you are Azara Elefthera? The ambassador from Aruslan?"

Nodding, Azara extended her hand out, and he, much to her chagrin, knelt and kissed it. She had hoped for a handshake, but those were merchant manners, she reminded herself, not the manners of nobility and courts.

"Yes, I am. I was hoping that my meeting with the king would be peaceful and that I would be invited to another cordial meeting sometime in the coming month. I question my chances at how cordial it will be now."

Valerius shrugged. "I do not know if you would have received it anyway. My father does not allow many audiences, particularly upon the same issues twice. Furthermore, with the current threats to the country, I do not think he would be so inclined to do as you want."

The mention of a ‘threat’ piqued her interest. Who, or what, was it? The brewing conflict between Aruslan and Aericia? Civil strife? With Aerician focusing on internal troubles, and no other strong power near Ursulam, there were hardly any other threats she could think of.

"And what threat would that be?"

"Well, actually, that is the interesting part...You know, there is a noble’s ball in the great hall of west Ursus tomorrow, in celebration of spring's arrival - at last. It is the beginning of the Faerise, a time here in Ursulam when we say the old spirits drive out the cold and bring spring with every sunrise. I'm extending an invitation to you now for that event." he said, pulling a small piece of metal from his pocket. It was a small coin-like disk with a crest upon it. "This will act as a token of mine, my seal if you will. Present it and say who sent you, and you will be allowed entry. We can talk more then, as this may pertain to you more than you think - both as a mage, the daughter of Lady Ezmeralda Elefthera of Aruslan and as a diplomat."

"That is all well and good, but, could you at least tell me what is going on so I know I am not wasting any time in this pursuit," she said, as she took the coin. This was getting more and more strange, but she liked it because it was also just a bit exciting.

"Hmmm....alright, I think you do have a right to know if I'm to consult your opinion.” he said, but seemed hesitant as he continued.” You see there have been rumors from Issawast, and by that I mean confirmed reports from soldiers, of a creature roaming the North. It appears to be slowly coming further south. A couple of small villages in the mountains have completely vanished - burnt to a crisp. A most unusual creature is responsible, not seen for many centuries now. A -"

"- A dragon."