Thread: Burned and Blackened Blood (G23 & loneiysong)

The lift came to a rest and the attendant looked to the King for which door to open. Balroc considered then gestured toward the crowd. The attendant obeyed and pulled a lever and the entire wall facing the city opened up as the staff moved away. Balroc lead his family out to the adulation of the crowd. The people cheered their names, even Tirana's, and oohed and aahhed over the crowns and their fine clothing, and the sweet children who waved and smiled. Marcus was holding his youngest, and she was clutching his collar and waving shyly. Normally she might have her free hand in her mouth, but she was with her Daddy and she knew she was safe. No one would touch her with him around. The carriage pulled into view. It was really just a wheeled platform with seats. Rowena was given the right to sit first, so she drew Tirana with her to the very front where only two seats were and settled herself, waving at the people, and leaning more heavily on Tirana than necessary to help the girl settle herself. Once seated she pointed her cane at Hodgkiss, who had joined them in the lift, and quickly came to stand by her chair. He was the butler for the whole of the Family, but he and Rowena had known each all her life and had been friend throughout. He smiled sweetly. how may i serve you Your Grace? Find yourself a chair and sit with me and my lovely scamp of a granddaughter. But Your Grace I- Her eyes flashed and he bowed. The others took their seats, Damien sitting just below the highest platform and the others extending down before him. Marcus sat beside Damien, not pleased by it, but his high station, and his need for a large number of seats for his children, but none of them would sit near Damien. But his other uncles would. They were under no illusions about how Damien felt about them, and gloried in aggravating him as best they could, blowing loud kisses to the people, and leaning on him to intentionally annoy him. Tarris was place in a seat in the middle, almost out of sight, and once there he did not move, speak, or look about, while his wife and her daughter sat behind Rowena and Tirana. Bethenar was less troubled now, too excited by all the fun, and as soon as her mother was seated she moved forward and leaned against Tirana. Tira? Will you take me to see the wrestling matches? Mommy says she can't. Rowena arched an eyebrow but said nothing, watching as some footmen carefully placed the extra chair for Hodgkiss while Agatha took her place and the Princes kept jumping off to greet old friends who had come to visit. The child pointed at the clear blue sky and spoke the first lines of a poem about Furad. First Lady of the Sky, wings aloft she does fly... She blinked. What does aloft mean? Rowena laughed at that and the girl giggled, her eyes bright as she studied her cousin's face. She might never fear Tirana. She was too like her mother. but she was fascinated by Tirana's bi-colored eyes. Finally Agatha and the rest were seated, so now came Balroc and Willow. They had not moved from the lift, chatting about their own private matters, but now they strode is stately silence up a set of stairs to the high platform where two throne seats awaited them. Balroc helped her sit, waved to the crowd, smiling as they roared LONG LIVE THE KING!!!! Then sat. The stewards moved away as Hodgkiss quickly sat and the sides of the carriage were raised and locked into place, allowing the occupants to lean on the waist high wall and wave, and keeping the smaller children from tumbling out. Bethenar kept her place with Tirana, and Rowena stole a glance at the girl's mother then nudged Tirana. Aretha had settled into the corner of her chair and though her hand was raised and a bright smile plastered on her face, she was clearly sleeping. Rowena laughed. i remember those days myself....Tirana you have good young eyes. What is that before us? On the road ahead was a large wooden construction currently covered by long white sheets. As they neared it the sheets caught aflame and the crowd gasped, then cheered as the construction exploded upward into a massive display of fireworks. Despite the bright day the colors of the display marveled them all and music and singing could now be heard coming from the festival grounds. The crowd was falling in behind the Royals, cheering louder and louder, wishing one and alkl a Happy New Year. The Broken Gate had been forged from the very wall of the mountain itself, begun by a crack, which still made up it's right hand side, it's great hinges hidden within. it had been modified and strengthened, but when it opened it was still an entire mountainside opening to disgorge it's innards. The top of the gate was more than a three hundred feet above the Royal carriage, but the Color Guard atop it and the wall ringing the crater of the mountain all snapped to attention and saluted, fists to their chests as the Royal Family rolled through their gate. The carriage went straight to the largest tent, a rainbow affair, where many more chairs and lounging areas had been prepared for the Royal Family, along with a massive breakfast feast. Rowena shooed Bethenar to wake her mother, then leaned on Tirana again, going straight to the food tables, but allowed Hodgkiss to collect her selections for herself and the girl, and at her order himself. She then sat at a lower table but with an excellent view of the events as before the tent in the main pavilion a rush of dancers, acrobats, jugglers, magicians, and even animals came in to a grand rush of music. A circus, A Royal Command Performance. The people filled the stands and seats surrounding the pavilion and cheered as the show began, laughing at made up funnymen, oohing as men and women flipped through the air, stunned as a massive orc woman lifted a full grown ox off the ground on her shoulders. An troupe of elves were dancing in wild abandon, while severl Hakr were throwing fire, water, earth, metal and other elemants at each other in a simulated battle of great intensity. Two dwarves rode the backs of wolfs taller than Tirana, circling the pavilion looking for all the world as if they would like nothing more to devour all they say. A herd of great cats, and their trainers, cat-men, their brushy ears and fluffy tails looking very fine in the morning sun, all performed a astonishing feats. Three lions dove in and out of fires, weaved through burning snare lines, and chased down simulated prey. Tigers climbed false trees and roared before pushing over other false trees, panthers gleamed in the daylight and leered menacingly at the watchers as they showed their incredible climbing ability on piled boulders. They seemed to find a way to mount the hillocks from places with no possible escape, and were even seen climbing sheer rock faces with their talons. The crowd cheered. Then fell silent as the cats were lead way and the elephants came. Large, lumbering, yet impossibly graceful, these magnificent creatures hurled the boulders, cleaned the tree's remains, and created a pyramid with their bodies higher than even the Royal tent. The clownish funnymen howled with mock terror, feigned soiling and wetting themselves, and rushed to bath. The people laughed as the show went on to much applause. Bethenar and the other children were in a specially sealed off platform. They could see everything up close, but nothing could reach them, and they would not leave it and risk missing anything of the show. Rowena smiled watching a horde of men and women rush in. This should be a treat. The still running monster wolves suddenly paused and howled, and the horde froze, then as one they lurched, buckled, and then transformed into wolves, tigers, lions, bears, monkeys and every other sort of creature. Then they began to race about in a mock hunt of the large wolves. Then the dwarves and their wolves would chase the were. The excitement was building to a crescendo. The acrobats were now high above. One man was standing on his head on an impossibly thin cable, while a woman was whirling her body again and again and again while hanging from one arm, while about them others were flipping and only narrowly being saved from plummeting to the ground. The crowd could not decide what to focus on so simply did not try, cheering for everything and trying to watch it all at once. Rowena leaned back in her chair sipping her coffee and biting into a pastry while Hodgkiss quietly ate his breakfast, his eyes following the circus, but not truly focused on anything specific. Rowena nudged Tirana. You must eat dear one. And try to enjoy yourself.