XVII. Descending Winters

The sun crested the horizon, illuminating the still form buried under satin sheets of gold and goose down comforters. An autumn birdsong broke the still air, causing the lump to stir. Empty bottles and women’s clothing littered the king’s chambers, and the air was thick with the musk of animalistic passion. The King groaned as he balled himself up into the fetal position, the creaking of melting frost on the windowpane under the sun’s rays and distant birdsong the only sounds in the stone and timber chambers. A gentle rapping came at the large oak doors; he groaned again and covered his head with a pillow. After several seconds of silence, a key turned the heavy lock over with a metallic clunk.

The door opened a crack and a woman of stern face and military posture stepped in, she cleared her throat and stood at attention. Though womanly in figure, she had the stiff carriage of a Rhodarcian, though her arm was toned and forged by pushing a pen rather than swinging a sword. Her eyes projected cold discipline, blue as the deepest ocean, yet with a hint of dry wit and humor just beneath the surface. Her mouth, with full lips lightly painted, curled into a sneer of disgust upon taking in the clutter and general disorganization of the King’s chambers.

Like many soldiers of Rhodarcium, her armor was lamellar, made of dozens of black iron squares woven together. Upon each iron panel was inscribed a rune. Under the armor was a doublet with puffy sleeves, striped in alternating blue and gold. An asymmetrical skirt added to the illusion of feminine sensibilities against the cold pragmatism of her armor. She would be a stunning woman, if not for her hair, dyed in shades of blue and green, it shimmered like an undersea gem in the soft morning light that filtered in through the cracks in the drawn drapes. In addition to be dyed an outlandish color -purportedly to match her elemental alignment as was standard for the mage corps of Rhodarcium- it was cut in the same asymmetrical style as her skirt, with half of her head buzzed like a man’s.

She cleared her throat, and a hand found its way from under the covers to shoo her away.

“I am afraid I cannot leave this time your majesty,” She said with an exasperated sigh, “it is well past ten.”

The shooing hand turned to fist and an obscene gesture before it retreated beneath the covers once again. The woman sighed as she crossed the room, the heels of her knee high riding boots clicked loudly against the tile floor. The thick drapery she had opened an hour before had managed to halfheartedly shut themselves once again. She gripped one in her gloved hand and dragged it across the expanse of its railing, revealing a panoramic view of the city and wilderness below. She paused to take in the sun as it hovered over the Gojira mountain range; its golden rays dancing on the ice covered Silver Lake.

“Could you truly let such beauty go to waste your majesty?” she breathed, truly mesmerized by the grandeur and palette before her.

Laelianus’ head shot from under the covers as he bolted upright, and instantly raised a ring-laden hand to shield his drunkard’s eyes from the glare. When his eyes finally focused on the still dressed woman, he let out an exaggerated groan and fell back into bed. She snorted in disgust at his display, and crossed her arms over her chest as she turned to face him. While his attempts to “conquer” the foreigner in his lands had become less frequent, it was still uncomfortable. Particularly as she was only in his court as a military advisor, not a courtesan.

“I thought you meant to wake me with your womanly embrace Siegrun, if that is not the case then you are dismissed. And close those blasted drapes!”

“There is more to life than what you have sequestered yourself into.” She gently jingled the bracelets upon her wrists, the charms caught the light to shine like stars against the walls. “Though for reasons beyond me, your kind--”

“My kind Siegrun?”

“Men in general,” Siegrun said quickly, “they seek to whore themselves to as many women as possible of disreputable backgrounds to say the least, and drink themselves into a coma. It is your driving force. I can understand this. However, what I do not understand is that once you have obtained these shallow desires, how you cannot grow sick of them. How do you not become sick with yourself?”

Laelianus sat up and regarded Siegrun thoughtfully for several moments. “…You hate men, that’s it! That explains everything!”

“I don’t hate men; I just don’t tolerate unfounded arrogance, your majesty.” Her tone was even, and words spoken quickly in hopes that the king would not catch the slight. “Now please, dress yourself and join me in the library. We’ve much to discuss.”

Laelianus yawned and stretched, wagging his finger at Siegrun. “Not till I’ve eaten, where are my maids with breakfast?”

“It got cold as we encroached upon lunch so they are off preparing that meal. I can have it brought to you in the library.”

“I can’t just get dressed, I need to bathe first;” Laelianus yawned, “I feel grimy.”

“I wonder why…” Siegrun muttered under her breath.

“Just relay it to Orson; he shall inform me after my bath and meal.” Laelianus yawned. “Now please, do leave me in peace.”

“I did not travel all the way from Rhodundal to act as babysitter for some spoiled dictator!” She snapped in irritation, her charms making twinkling sounds as she clenched her fists at her side. “Those were not the terms of your ascension, but listening to me was.”

“Dictator?” Laelianus said with a bemused smirk “How dare you?”

Siegrun dropped to one knee and bowed her head, realizing she had greatly overstepped her boundaries with the king. “Please forgive my outburst, your majesty, but the circumstances warrant immediate attention.”

Laelianus stood and began sifting through the pile of clothes at his bedside until he found a suitable pair of trousers. “Stand up woman, you embarrass yourself.”

She quickly rose to her feet and continued to stand stiffly as she waited for him to dress. He pulled a ruffled shirt from between the mattress and put it on, not bothering to button it. He stretched, and vigorously shook his mop of hair with his hands.

“Your boots ar—“

“No need Siegrun, have my bath drawn, I want it to be ready and still steaming when these matters are attended to; and make sure my meal is brought within the hour.”

She hurried after him as he was already out the door by the time he had finished. He paused at a small fountain in the circular node with three hallways that led to different sections of the wing. He splashed his face and scrubbed his underarms before continuing at his notoriously fast stride.

“So what is this urgent message you need to rouse me from my beauty rest for? There had bloody well better be hordes of dusk children at my very gates.”

“In a manner of speaking, yes your majesty.” Siegrun huffed as she jogged to his side.

Laelianus abruptly stopped and spun around to face her. “In a manner of speaking? In what manner?”

“We’ve sent out reconnaissance teams to Ophelia, Sienna, and Port of Romance. All cities save Ophelia are infested with The Dusk, and the citizens who remained are mindless, reanimated corpses. Just weeks ago we saw smoke coming from the Port of Romance, as if it were being razed.”

“Did you not have our men check it out further?”

Siegrun grit her teeth and clenched her fists. Her superiors had sent her to this country to act as an advisor on the current conflict, such had been clearly laid out in the introduction letter and subsequent correspondence. Regardless, Laelianus had insisted on treating her as little more than a lackey in his employ.

“No Sire,” She shook her head as she continued on after Laelianus at a more reasonable pace. “They were forced to withdraw from the affected cities, the forces of Dusk were far superior, er, what I mean is, they were superior in number compared to a small scouting party.”

“Hmm. Someone made port then.” Laelianus stroked his stubble. “The question is who and why. Tell me Siegrun, who uses that port most frequently?”

“Well, there are the people of Vergas living in unincorporated Rhode, trading in goods from the Colby-Nau.”

“Ugh, don’t give the savages names; it humanizes them.” He stopped to check his appearance in a mirror. “Be grateful you have none of their kind in Briternica.”

“Very well your majesty.”

Laelianus frowned as he tried to fix his mess of hair with his fingers to no avail. She shifted her weight with an exaggerated exhalation, and tapped her finger on the opposite arm. Finally conceded to his wild locks, Laelianus motioned for her to follow. Siegrun rounded the corner as Laelianus resumed at his previous stride, she wracked her brain for information regarding the port. There had been reports fairly recently, but she just couldn’t seem to recall them…

“Is that all Siegrun?”

“No your majesty, it is also used to do trade with Rhodarcium and Lyresia, and nations unable to sail the Sea of Sorrow.”

“So that would be all of them, which narrows it down significantly Siegrun thank you.” Laelianus curtly waved his hand at the woman’s words.

“But that may all be irrelevant, there has been signs of camp being made in the Wraith Wood.” Siegrun continued, ignoring his sarcasm. “They currently hold a position about two days’ ride from here. We have seen only smoke, but can tell it is a fair sized army by Runandia’s standards.”

“That information could have been dispensed to begin with and saved a great deal of irritation. Very well Siegrun, you lead a company to investigate. It seems unlikely they are foe, most likely those fool peasants licking their wounds, too prideful or fearful to return with the stench of failure heavy upon them.”

Laelianus rang the bell outside a set of massive, two level high doors. The creaking of gears and winding of chains broke the sober silence of the wing as the doors slowly opened.

“Is there anything else?”

“The displaced Asketillian students are causing a bit of a ruckus, petty theft, property damage and disturbance of the peace mostly.”

“By Dawn, urchins with magic.” Laelianus groaned. “Let them be for now, they can’t be blamed for the world's odd turn of events. See if there is any way they can be employed. I’m certain many store owners would jump at the chance for young teenage strength and vitality.”

“Right away your majesty.” Siegrun bowed and turned to leave.

“Where are you going? Aren’t you a part of this?” Laelianus gestured towards the room as the doors came to a stop with metallic clunks and a heavy thud.

“No, I am.”

Laelianus turned his attention back to the room to see General Izarius and Bishop Leucetius sitting at the great table looking over maps and documents. What little of Laelianus’ good humor was left quickly faded at the sight of his unexpected guests. He straightened his clothes and mustered as much kingly dignity as he could muster and entered the chamber. Leucetius regarded him with hawkish eyes, enough to make even Siegrun uncomfortable by proxy. Nearly a dozen chandeliers illuminated the room in imitation sunlight. The walls were bright white with sky blue molding and gold dentals.

“Light damn it…” Laelianus raised his hand to shield his eyes from the brightness.

“Winter’s come early my friend, " Leucetius raised his mug with a jovial smile; his eyes conveying the warmth of a coiled serpent, "care for some cocoa?”