open audience; the alderwood emperor

[alderwood]

Characters: The Alderwood Emperor and anyone who seek to speak with him
Date: January 8th
Location: The Palace of Landed Sky
Situation: The expected holding of an audience for any that care to speak with the newly appointed Alderwood Emperor.
Warnings/Rating: N/A; to be updated if necessary

The hall is stark and black, lit with softly glowing lanterns that are strung up high beyond reach. Outside, the sun is at its zenith, and it filters down through the cloudy glass roof to warm the dark room.

The floor is marble, inlaid with mother-of-pearl and ruby quartz. It catches the light, and casts strange patterns on the walls.

There is beauty to it, but the room has been repurposed to function moreso than form. Weapons racks line the walls and there are officers stationed at regular intervals to ensure the safety of their assets and, of course, the Emperor himself. It is but one sign of heightened security, another being that all attendees must be escorted in with the attendance of a pair of armed guards. The rein of Alderwood begins in caution and will not be made victim of as Ironwood's did in its end.

The Emperor himself is seated at a broad table and working his way through cleaning a variety of firearms that range from elegant handguns to heavy muskets. He works with swift precision, dismantling each in turn before proceeding with cleaning and reassembling, then he moves to the next. Like the weapons upon the racks, these vary in age from rudimentary to advanced technology reminiscent of the spectre weapons. He knows each of them as spoils of war gathered over the centuries and now he seeks to repurpose them. To use them against the enemy that had him fight in the first place.

He is dressed in his familiar military cut, having no mind or pleasure in anything of ornamentation or to further denote his rank, and greets each attendee with the curt statement: "Speak to your purpose."

[Actionspam or prose are both acceptable!

Characters will only be admitted into the hall one by one, so there won't be anyone present for anyone else's conversations, and there won't be any 'mingling' in the chamber itself.

By popular demand, we will continue to allow mingling for those waiting for an audience in an antechamber. There is a thread header below to allow for that!]

Audience | Canon Updates | Antechamber

Comments

[bindsthedead]

[Sabriel came in unarmed, though her eyes traveled over the weapons around the room for a moment as she bows, then brings herself ramrod straight.]

Emperor. I am here to offer my services as a Charter Mage and Abhorsen. I have been trained in the use of binding spells, necromancy and other uses for magic.

I would also like to speak to you about the cemetery where those soldiers who died lay.

[alderwood]

[Evandau has heard many offers of service in the wake of Eshai's reign and it's enough to embitter him as to why they were not so generous with their service beforehand, but he knows better than to look a gift Kirin in the mouth.]

Hold.

[His eyes narrow at the mention of a cemetery and he raises a hand to match the order inherent in that word.]

When and where did you discover this cemetary?

[bindsthedead]

During the time when the turtle was ill- I and several others were sent there to investigate some odd occurrences. [And with a surprising amount of detail, Sabriel recounts the events of several months ago, leaving out Ossah's name. Just in case.]

[alderwood]

[The expression he bears grows still over time, though not cold. He knows of this cemetery and of the soldiers buried there, but he did not think the dead so restless as to give up the peace found when their lives were lost. Peace in death; so many of them sought that, but apparently it was a lie.]

How many have you spoken of this with? How many others have trespassed?

[bindsthedead]

I've spoken of this handful of others- they know that the dead there are restless, but I didn't tell them the location.

And I don't think anyone beside myself has visited since then. I went once, when my powers returned, because I have the ability to give the dead back their voices.

[Sabriel meets his eye.] Do you want me to ward the cemetery? Maintaining the boundary between Life and Death is part of my duty.

[alderwood]

[Evandau thinks on that, taking more care than he ought. Comrades are buried there and the idea that they are restless brings up the old grief. Momentary when he heard of their deaths, but mounted with their numbers. He does not want them bothered, but if they would protect against Malicant?]

No. I would have you learn what you could from them, if that is what a Charter Mage or an Abhorsen could do.

[It's strange. He does not embrace magic, but without Eshai? He is learning to accept it. Hard though that is.]

What causes them to rise now?

[bindsthedead]

I can talk to them because I'm the Abhorsen. [Sabriel nods, hands at her sides.] Give me questions you want answered, and I will ask them. Although I don't think they have much knowledge about things that happened in Life since their death- none of them could tell me anything about the jiangshi

[Sabriel frowns, her expression grim.] Their duty has not been completed. They will not rest while the Enemy lingers in life, death, or dreaming, and the idiots [And there is genuine venom in that word. Sabriel may not have asked to be here, but she sees Malicant as a threat that must be stopped before it touches other worlds.] who spoke that thing's name and summoned it have undone what they had managed to accomplish.

[alderwood]

What they know about it would be adequate. They are dead and so might have some insights into Death for us.

[Here, Evandau pauses. There are many other questions he would have her ask, but personal preference takes little preference. One, however, stands out and to address that, he takes a charm from his pocket. It is small and simple, but recognisable as one which allows him to speak of the greater evil without fear of summoning it.]

There is one buried there by the name Achavielle. She also bore the title Ashwood. She fought directly against the creature knows as Malicant and was there when Bysaliat fell. Debriefing her would gain you the most intel.

(ooc; feel free to shoot me a PM for details on what she would find when you decide to pursue this <3)

[bindsthedead]

Achavielle. [Sabriel pauses, committing the name and title to memory.] I will ask them, and report back to you what I find.

Sir, what was Bysaliat, and how did it fall? ['Shred him as he shredded Bysaliat' was what the journal had said.]

And also- If you require anything to be magically warded or bound, I will do it.

[alderwood]

Bysaliat was a Foreigner.

[Evandau recalls him. Large. Massive, in body and mind; none had expected him to fall, but he did.]

Dead, at the hands of Malicant. [He grips the charm more tightly in his hand.] It took one of our own and used her to rip his mind to shreds. The body came second, but we knew then that he was lost.

[bindsthedead]

One of your people had the ability to affect the mind? [Sabriel's mind is whirling. She had assumed it was Bysaliat was a location, or possibly one of the turtles. But a Foreigner... Sabriel had assumed the person who'd written the journal was a kedan, or one of Eshai's people. Now it seemed it might have been another Foreigner.

She keeps her expression steady.]

What happened to Bysaliat's body?

[alderwood]

Magic makes anything possible. [That is his understanding. His experience.] Lesser magicians existed once, though none have survived. We used them to verify that the Foreigner's thoughts were their own, however. [A break. A silence. He knows that Malicant covered its tracks, but that instance is one where they failed to notice until it was too late. Like with Eshai.] It sought out the weaknesses and exploited them until it took control.

[Evandau looks to the table, to the work he has yet to do so that he may be ready.]

As to the body, there was little enough left. The ground was burned and what remained became cremated.

[bindsthedead]

Almost anything, in my experience. [Anything except restoring the dead to true life. Sabriel pauses, thinking of Belgaer. The bell can restore minds and memories, or shatter them. What would happen if something took control of her- or simply took the bell?]

I see. Then we will need to watch our own thoughts carefully. [Sabriel turns to leave, to try to make sense of what she's learned- and to visit the cemetary. But another question occurs to her, even though it's almost trivial.

Sir, your titles... Ironwood, Alderwood, Ashwood, Hazelwood, what do they mean? They don't seem to indicate rank- are they like surnames?

[alderwood]

Guard them from without and within. That is the only hope to keep it at bay.

[Evandau raises his hand to her, an old salute offered to a soldier from their officer at dismissal from a briefing. Her query, however, bids him pause.]

They are honorifics that represent our strengths.

[And rare are they in the giving.]

[bindsthedead]

I will. [Sabriel nods respectfully in acknowledgement before asking one last question.]

Then what does Alderwood represent?

[alderwood]

Strength and battle.

[It is a simple, straightforward answer.]

Alderwood is the soldier that represents all soldiers. It is the shield and foundation of the military, as well as the sword of the campaigns. [And, once, the sword to protect the Emperor.]

[bindsthedead]

I see. And what did Ashwood and Ironwood mean?

['Strength and battle.' It makes sense, particularly given Evandau's previous position as commander.]

[alderwood]

Ashwood represents mastery of power, though the last bearer did not have the same strength as the first that carried it.

[Evandau pauses, always slow to reply to any question that refers to Eshai.]

Ironwood is the ladder between the realms. [That, in his mind, should provide answer enough.]

[bindsthedead]

Thank you. I should go. I will fulfill your request as soon as I am able.

[Sabriel gives him a small bow, then leaves.]