Thread: United We Stand (Yenpointfive & Moon Struck Fox)

Lord Rylan Corwin was more than a little apprehensive about the marriage pacts. It wasn't that humans had a bad relationship with the anthros, at least not here. Every now and then one of their hunters would get lost in the woods only to be guided home by an anthro and every now and then one of the anthros would wind up at a human homestead after a hunt gone bad and was always greeted as company. No one went looking for them and no one ran afoul of them on the roads. This was how it had been since House Corwin was granted stewardship of the northern woods. But with the armies of Vandor caught at the great bridge far to the south there weren't many other ways to cross the mountains, and the emperor of the Vandor empire would have loved another route through, and that was pretty much limited to the Northwoods unless he felt like running his army all the way down to the beach which would have been suicide. Say what you would about Croswell's military, the empire had a hell of a navy. The lord had two legitimate children. Khale, his eldest, should have, by birthright, been the one to remain at their keep. But while the anthros could have beaten any small force that wandered into their homes they'd fare a good bit worse against the kind of massed forces that would just as soon uproot the forest than wander through it. So he'd be expected to play adviser to the queen of the tribes in addition to husband to her daughter. Truth be told, he wouldn't be far from home, and their new alliance would have the Corwins and their new allies close at all times. In truth, the lord was more worried about his daughter, Alyssa. It had been the queen's choice as to who she'd marry and she'd apparently picked a woman. He'd protested the choice as strange but had been assured that anthro royalty had ways to make this pairing work. Magic, he expected. He didn't really relish the idea of finding out what was planned but having Alyssa remain within her home made him certain that no harm could have come to her. Khale said his goodbyes to his father and sister, as well as to those around the keep who had been his whole world while he was growing up. He looked a bit older than his eighteen years when dressed in his traveling cloak and furs. He'd need to be since he'd be on the road for a day and a half. No horse could make the trek through the roots and snags that lay between him and his new home. He looked the part of the handsome new husband. Tall and broad in the shoulders with deep brown hair and icy blue eyes. It was no wonder where he got his looks from. Put add twenty years to Khale, set him next to his lord father and you'd never be able to tell the difference save for the fact that Rylan Corwin could have probably passed for 8 years younger than he was if you ignored the fact that his stubble had a bit of gray in it. Khale's last goodbye was the one that probably shouldn't have made the list. Sam Wright, the cook's son. Only about a year younger than his sister Alyssa, the boy was quick witted, sweet, and could have probably passed for a girl in the right light. Now, there were a few problems with Sam. First of all The cook was a red head, his wife a brunette, Sam a blond. Second of all The older members of the keep remembered a time when the husband and wife had been trying fruitlessly for a child but never any news of success until a proud Mr. Wright showed up with a son in his arms. Third, and probably most important Sam's eyes were an icy blue shade that Khale could have most easily seen in a mirror. Khale had been friends with the boy for what seemed like forever and was certain that if he were to call Sam brother he'd have been half right. Their mother had passed shortly after Alyssa was born so a bastard wasn't out of the question by any means. After making the boy promise to keep an eye on his sister Khale took off, heading further north. He'd pass his sisters new... bride? to be on the way north. He took with him around 10 servants and bodyguards, and was to understand that there would be several anthros coming south as well. The idea was to help familiarize the new allies with each other so that any difficulties could be gotten out of the way before they were to stand beside each other in battle