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 Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2011 9:14 pm
[ AURORA ELA'DALEM ]
Once more in the Pantheon of Dreams, the Fool to assist her, Aurora Ela'Dalem surrendered herself to the visions. Gifted with the sight, but cursed to forget them, Aurora needed her Fool to listen and remember the visions for her. No matter how long she spent in meditation, or what measures she could take on her own, she always needed the Fool.
She had long suspected that this was not always the case, or that it had not been meant to be, but she kept her suspicions to herself. It was not all she kept to herself, as of late, but even though the Fool was a fool, she could not trust anyone with these suspicions.
Just like now, when she whispered a foretelling of death and destruction in the North, and the fall of her King. Aurora remembered nothing as she chanted in hushed tones - blood of the King.. end of the Storm... blood of the King... end of the Storm... - she relied on her Fool to repeat them for her. Now that she was standing, re-dressing, she turned to the white-haired, bell-cladden girl and asked, "Well?" Expectantly.
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Posted: Sat Jul 23, 2011 8:47 am
[ ARCHMAGE FEIRO ]
Feiro nodded, understanding that this guilt was Cali's own, and he respected that. And her strength -- he respected her strength.
The pair of them - the First and Second Learners - buried themselves in the First Library for days on end, leaving the daily business of the Citadel to the Third Learner. (Though that happened as often as the First and the Second locked themselves away for some research or experiment -- which was quite often.)
There was much and more about blood magic in the First library, though surprisingly little about the deeper magics. Feiro read about the use of blood to bind the more demonic of magical creatures, and such, and was beginning to suspect the Storm King used a twisted form of that spell to enthrall his human slaves... for every page Feiro turned, there seemed to be a warning against using blood magic on a sentient being. Namely, humans.
It was late, again, and a few of the candles had guttered out in a pool of wax; "Anything, today?" Feiro asked Cali wearily, settling back in a seat with a promising book of prophecies on his lap.
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haphazardly parked Vice Captain
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Posted: Sat Jul 23, 2011 8:07 pm
[ ARCHMAGE CALEIIL ]
Dark rings circled the Second Learners eyes, but so drawn into the scrolls she had gathered before her she did not rub them or yawn. Even when Fiero spoke to her she hardly heard him, replying in Dhalvian in a mumble. "Yes.. please." Completely focused on the words and symbols before her, it was a few minutes more when she'd completed translating the text that she realized she'd spoken at all.
Blinking back the fatigue from her eyes, she looked up at the First Learner and smiled. Even in this grim task and their grimmer challenge, she still managed to shake her head at herself.
"I'm sorry, Fiero. I'm afraid that I keep finding the same information written in different languages in different books." She let out a slow breath and ran a hand lightly over the paper before her thoughtfully. "I wonder..." Glancing up at the First Learner, she straightened up and tried to recall memories from long, long ago when she was the Storm King's prophetess.
"I understand that my.. situation cannot be the solution for an entire kingdom, but perhaps it is a bread crumb." Thinking of what she'd done made her feel sick, but if it meant it would help then she would do it. Fiero was the closest person she trusted in all the world, if he asked her to then she would relive those memories over and over again.
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Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2011 2:13 pm
[ ARCHMAGE FEIRO ]
"Perhaps it is time we retire for the night," Feiro said wearily as he flipped through the Prophecies of Storm. If he remembered correctly, the book had been smuggled to the Citadel years ago by Cali herself, though it had been sequestered away to the First Library as soon as the previous First had set eyes on it.
And then he saw it.
"No - wait. Perhaps there is no spell, but there is a prophecy... of sorts. No, no prophecy. Look," he turned the book towards Cali. "See the hand it is written in? It is different from the other. Not as elegant; this is not the craft of a scribe, but a warning from someone who perhaps knew too much and needed to convey what they knew as quickly and discreetly as possible."
Written below a prophecy whose future it foretold was probably long past, the words were scrawled in, squeezed between the Dhalvian text and the margin. It was written in Dhalvian, but Feiro knew the language; Kill the Storm King to reverse the blood magic was the simple message.
Feiro was both relieved and worried. They had found the key to undo the Storm King's blood magic, and now had no need of the men Prince Oteryn had sent to be experimented on... But how were they to bring down a man who had lived far longer than any man had the right to? A man who had subjugated dragons, if Prince Oteryn was to believed?
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haphazardly parked Vice Captain
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Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2011 2:20 pm
[ THE FOOL ]
The Fool stood at the edge of the room, eyes on her mistress though her head was tilted to the side. Her bells were silent, as they always were in the Pantheon, but her ears were wide open.
What the Fool heard, the Fool remembered.
And it was only when the Mistress asked for what the Fool heard that the Fool recited.
"'And Blood and Fire will dance,'" the Fool repeated in her silly, sing-song fool's voice, though the prophecy still sounded ominous even on her tongue. "'But when the flame burns cold with Winter's breath, the twice-royal Seeker will break the Storm. The blood of the king, the end of the storm, and frozen fire and dried up blood.'"
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Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2011 7:24 am
[ AURORA ELA'DALEM ]
Aurora stared at the Fool as she recited the prophecy, stunned into silence and unsure if she believed what she had heard. A prophecy that spoke of the death of the Storm King was impossible, his death was impossible, and any telling of it had to be a falsehood. Aurora knew deeper than she knew herself that the Storm King was all powerful, a GOD on earth, and he could never die.
But the Fool could never lie.
And just like that, something shifted. She wouldn't tell the Storm King this prophecy. It was unthinkable to withhold any prophecy, let alone one that would warn of his death, but she would. Something inside of her wouldn't let her tell him, and she wasn't completely sure she wanted to.
She should want to.. but she didn't, and that knowledge troubled her.. and it exhilarated her. More than a small part of her was perfectly comfortable harboring the knowledge of her husband's imminent death, when she should be terrified at the thought. She knew that the other wives would be, either frozen in fear or wailing with the knowledge that Aurora had, but she was not just his wife. Aurora was also his blood.
With a smile for the carved heavens above her, Aurora turned to the Fool. "Fool," She said, her tone every so sweet, "Speak of this prophecy only to me, and only when I ask it." The priestess would have much to do, much to plan for, if she was to make use of this information for herself, and that relied on the Fool keeping these words between the two of them. If she could not.. well, then the Fool could not be kept.
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Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2011 7:26 am
[ ARCHMAGE CALEIIL ]
Caleiil straightened her back and her senses sharpened as Feiro spoke, citing the book that she had so long ago brought from the Dhalvian empire. The book that she, and her ancestors, had long contributed to under the Storm King's rule and supervision of their gifts. Her eyes read the familiar language quickly, and her blood chilled even more quickly.
Kill the Storm King? "Impossible." She whispered, shaking her head at the words before her. The Storm King was as old as the Dhalvian empire, older even, and born of magic - if the legends were true. Even his wives, his closest advisers, knew no weakness to ply him with as ordinary wives often did to men.
Even as the battered woman shield began to rise in denial of the possibility that the Storm King could be defeated, she stopped herself. She had already defeated the Storm King in one, small way, years ago when she freed herself and broke his cycle of bred seers. If he could be defeated on such a small arena, then logic would dictate that a larger defeat was possible as well, given the opportunity.
Letting out a shaky breath, Caleill pushed the rest of her indoctrined, instinctual thoughts aside. She was not Caleill, wife and daughter of the Storm King and Royal Seer, any longer -- she was the Second Learner of the Tower of Magi, Archmage, and she would damn well act like it.
"It appears we have the 'what' to our seeking.. now to determine the 'how.' How will we defeat him?"
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Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2011 6:08 pm
[ THE FOOL ]
"But of course, Mistress!" the Fool said instantly, bringing the clothes of her mistress to her. She only ever told what she heard to her mistress and her mistress's master. There was no need for her mistress to repeat the orders which were a part of very existence...
... oh. Oh. It came to the Fool in a rare moment of clarity and her eyes widened even as she stretched out her arms for her mistress.
"Oh," the Fool said, blankly. "Oh."
Then she paused and smiled and nearly set off a bell. "But of course, Mistress."
This was a change in her orders, but the Fool was a simple person and she was only capable of being fully loyal to one person.
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haphazardly parked Vice Captain
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haphazardly parked Vice Captain
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Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2011 6:27 pm
[ ARCHMAGE FEIRO ]
Feiro stood to stretch his legs with a sigh. Pacing in small, tight circles, he made the decision to reveal the secret history of the Citadel to his Second Learner. "The Storm King was but a man, once, and the First Learner of this very Citadel at its founding," Feiro admitted.
The Citadel's founding traced back to the ancient Saayl empire of which the Saayeri kingdom was a remnant of. During its decline, a group of mages disgruntled by how much sway the Icelords held because of their dragon companions had moved south of the Bridge to create a city meant for magic, and magic alone. The Storm King had been among that first group, but after they had elected him as their First Learner and leader, he had betrayed them.
He had taken the books of blood magic that the mages had brought with them from the Saayl libraries and fled further south to create his own empire, which he built on the backs of blood slaves. The hold the Saayl empire had over the western continent had dissolved then, with both the creation of Dhalverra and the death of its last ruler -- a child empress. Saayl had left kingdoms of Saayeri and Talquis as its legacy, while the rest of its people divided themselves into their own kingdoms which soon forgot their Saayl origins.
And the Citadel had grown into something much larger than what the Storm King had left behind. Its library had expanded... but the Storm King knew which books of blood magic the First Library held, because those were the ones he had left behind. It was small wonder that Feiro had yet to have found anything useful, other than this book of prophecies that had been stolen from Dhalverra.
"And he has grown into something more..." Feiro trailed off to think for a moment, before coming to the inevitable conclusion. "We must go to Saayeri. House Sœun remembers its Saayl emperors, and it may be that what we need will be in their libraries. Come, Cali - I fear there is little time to lose. We set out tonight."
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Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2011 6:34 pm
[ SER PERRY ]
Ser Perry rode at Prince Oteryn's request, and hardly stopped to rest the whole of his journey. He'd swapped his stallion out for a sure-footed garron more suited for the cold weather at the beginning of the Ice Bridge, and had passed through many a town, skipping over a warm bed in favor of riding hard for Coryyn.
When he reached the city he road straight for the castle, and though it was the dead of night he roused the castle guards and demanded an audience with the king -- which he was granted.
King Mahaerin met him in a small council chamber with only his lord brother in attendance; though he had likely just been woken, he still looked regal with a bare, uncrowned head and dressed in blue robes.
Ser Perry wasted little breath on an introduction. In the common tongue, he said, "I am Perry Darti, a Knight of Amory and I bear terrible news from Prince Oteryn of Eramiere. Amory lands have been destroyed, our homes and crops razed to the ground by fire-breathing dragons from the North. We beg your aid."
King Mahaerin's eyes narrowed; in the fluid tongue of High Ro'gan, he barked sharp commands to his brother, who departed the room with a hard look on his face.
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haphazardly parked Vice Captain
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Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2011 6:47 pm
[ PRINCESS ELSINA ]
She was woken before dawn by a serving maid, and she felt as though she had hardly slept. When she glanced out the window into the predawn light, she realized she had hardly slept - no more than an hour or two, at most. "Your highness, the king demands your presence in the Great Hall," the maid told Elsina urgently, and it was with great haste that Elsina was helped into a gown of pale yellow with black snakes embroidered up the sleeves and on the bodice. Her hair was plaited, and a thin golden circlet set on her brow and when Elsina left her rooms accompanied by the maid and a set of two guards, she was baffled.
This formality had not been required even when they had first crossed into Saayeri lands -- Elsina had been dressed as a Roseysnake but she had not even worn the crown of a princess... She could not think of what event would call for such stiff, unrelenting ceremony in the early hours of morning.
Elsina was not sure she would like the answer when she entered the Great Hall.
It was reminiscent of the one in Talquis, though it was made of white marble and the main walkway of a pale blue instead of the blues and silvers of Talquis. While the Talquisian throne which served as Madi's seat was made of crystal, the Saayi one was true-ice. A cold throne for kings hardened and made wise by the cold; the circular skylight which served as a ceiling above the Crystal Throne was but a circle cut into the high marble ceilings the Saayi Great Hall, and the reason for it was soon made evident.
King Mahaerin was seated on the Ice Throne, Princess Alloren by his side. The king's brother stood at the edge of the dais, but Prince Alordin was absent. Elsina was stood near the dais, led there by the maid. A young, unfamiliar knight with skin that was fair by Southern standards and brown hair was already there.
"Princess Elsina of Sullaeris," King Mahaerin greeted with unyielding propriety, all cold politeness with none of the warmth of earlier in the night. "Forgive us for the late summons, but there is a very serious matter we must discuss. We wait for our Southron Daughter and the Northern clansmen."
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Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2011 7:02 pm
[ PRINCE ALORDIN ]
Alordin strode into the rooms granted to Prince Ærik and Ser Finn, tight-lipped and flanked by two full squads of five guardsmen each. One of the guards woke both prince and ser from their sleep. "Dress. You are summoned to the Great Hall immediately," Alordin told them harshly, scarcely granting them sufficient time to wake and dress before they were escorted there by the guards, none of whom were very friendly. Alordin did not want to believe that the prince and the ser had lied to him -- neither he nor Alloren had sensed anything but truth and true heartache in their tale - but he had to present a cold face. A cold face was an unbiased one, and the accusation against the Valihiri was no small matter.
When the Saayi prince escorted the Northern clansmen to the Great Hall, stood them at the foot of the dais -- but on the opposite side of the center walkway where Queen Madeira and her knight, Princess Elsina, and Ser Perry stood.
He left the Northern men there and walked up the two steps to stand by the Ice Throne. As soon as Alordin took up his position, the steady beat of powerful wings filled the hall; cold wind displaced by the wings of the great ice dragon Peloras. His father's dragon descended through the circle in the ceiling and landed behind the dais, her tail curling around it so its tip rested in the front, before the Ice Throne.
"What's going on?" Queen Madeira whispered to her knight; Alordin looked to her with as reassuring a look as he could muster. Though a queen, Madi was too young to understand the evil and deception men were capable of, and while Alordin knew her Queensguard was fully capable of defending her, without knowledge of High Ro'gan Ser Stalwart was out of his depth. Knights were never really meant for politics, in any case. He hoped Madi would be spared this unflattering revelation about the character of men... but the evidence presented by Ser Perry was near irrefutable.
He granted Princess Elsina a reassuring look as well -- she looked confused, and Alordin felt guilt. Prince Ærik stood accused, and Princess Elsina, as someone who had vouched for him, was required to be in the Great Hall for this trial of sorts but it was plain she did not know what to expect. Custom required that Alordin, his father who sat sternly upon the throne, and his sister who stood staring straight out with her mask on, treated both the accuser and the accused with frosty distance. It was the Saayi way of being unbiased.
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haphazardly parked Vice Captain
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Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2011 7:09 pm
[ KING MAHAERIN ]
The king sat on the cold Ice Throne, with Peloras wrapped about the dais, her great head resting at the back of it and her spiked tail at the front. He stared down at the group gathered in the predawn light that filtered through the Dragon Ceiling; Princess Elsina looked confused, Ser Perry was glaring angrily at the Northern prince, and Madeira simply looked sleepy -- Mahaerin would have left her out of the matter entirely if he could have... but she had vouched for her northern prince, and needed to know the truth of Ærik's character if it were indeed proved that he had deceived them all.
"Prince Ærik of the Valhiri clans," King Mahaerin began with cold formality. "You stand here accused of treachery and deception, and of invasion of Eramiere. Ser Perry Darti of Amory comes before us bearing witness of Valhiri dragons which have descended upon his home Amory and destroyed it. As the accused, what have you to say in your defense?"
Princess Elsina whispered to Ser Perry in the common tongue, translating the king's words for both the southern knight and Madeira's Queensguard knight. She looked shocked and uncertain, stealing glances at Prince Ærik while she spoke, as though she could not really believe what she had heard and was now translating. Queen Madeira looked equally as shocked, but in her youth had not the grace of Elsina's sideways looks; she stared openly at the Valihiri clansmen with surprise painted on her features.
Mahaerin had been surprised by Ser Perry's tale as well, but there was little he could do but make a summons for a swift trial. The winter kingdom was supposed to be a protector of sorts to the southern kingdoms that had once been a part of the Saayl empire so long ago, and Mahaerin could not ignore a southern knight bearing news of an attack agains southern lands. He had liked Prince Ærik well enough, and admired Ser Finn's heartfelt speech... but now he had to sit as the voice of reason and coolheaded judgement.
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Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2011 4:07 pm
[ AURORA ELA'DALEM ]
Aurora smiled wickedly at the fool's realization as she shrugged on a thing shawl, it's sheer white draping eloquently over her violet shoulders. "Your loyalty will be rewarded, Fool." She turned to the jester and rested a palm over her smooth skin, "But for now.. you have my love."
The priestess placed a tender kiss on the Fool's own before straightening, regaining the cool composure necessary for court politics, and she led the way from the Pantheon. "Do you think we should enlighten our ally, the Poison Prince...?" She purred to the Fool, though she did not anticipate true advice. That was not the Fool's purpose.
And truly, at this stage of the 'game', it would only be for her entertainment if she did. Now she knew something worth knowing, finally, and something had slipped just enough for her to want to use that knowledge. Now, to apply just the correct amount of pressure...
[ ARCHMAGE CALEIIL ]
Cali's head spun and she raised a hand to her temple. All this time Fiero had known this of the Storm King, of the man that had enslaved not only herself but her daughter for all of her life, and he'd known what no Dahlvian even dared to suspect - that the Storm King was but a man. Twisted, dark, corrupted by his own power to be sure, but at his core a man.
Just a man.
With a hint of betrayal in her eyes, Cali closed them and nodded in agreement to Fiero. Yes, even though the Saayi were not the people she would have gone to on her own, being Dahlvian, she would be safe with Fiero. "Yes, First Learner." She said formally, avoiding his eyes.
Of course she understood the necessity of the secrecy and she could not fault him. He was the First Learner, after all, and the tower was his responsibility - its students, its craft, even its secrets - but even then, the sudden knowledge of the man who'd haunted her nightmares all this time made her feel foolish, made her ashamed for her people who were still in fear of the man, and pushed her fast any lingering hesitancy or doubt in their mission.
[ PRINCE ÆRIK & FINN ]
Bereft of a decent night's sleep and now his furs, Prince Ærik was practically growling at the rude summons. While Finn was looking about cautiously, staying close to the Prince's side as it was his duty, Prince Ærik's eyes were on Alordin alone. So much in his attitude had changed since the previous night -- what the hell was going on?
Of course, the moment he was left before the dais and saw the presence and arrangement of the noblemen... "Tribunal." Finn said, and Ærik nodded with a dark glower. Last night he'd believed, for the first time, that the Gods had given him the tools to save his people and he would not be stopped. If he had to kill himself to be free of this court, of these proceedings that now threatened to keep him, then he would.
Seeing Ærik's thoughts in his eyes, Finn took a deep breath. If Ærik fought he would too, but he knew they would both die. A pang of guilt hit him as he thought of Wynne who, also, would die with him, and Shiva. As if his thoughts called to them, he heard the shrieking of the younger dragon broil in fury as she sensed Ærik's thoughts. They couldn't know what was happening, but they knew something was wrong.
"Ærik." He said quietly, a hand on his arm. When Æril appeared to ignore him, he hissed, "You'll kill her!"
The inkling of sense formed in Ærik's eyes, and Finn let go when he saw the rage of red fade back to their pale color.
What anger abated under Finn's council rose again, coloring Ærik's features ugly as he leveled a dangerous glare at his accused. If he had the means, he might have struck him dead on the spot. Again, Shiva screamed, and his eyes glazed over fully orange-red as he reached for her. Wynne was holding her down in the embers, much the way Finn was restraining him, but he did not know how much longer either of them could hold the youngers. He almost did not care.
Then he caught Elsina's eyes and something in him stopped. Smoothing over his features as calmly as he could, Ærik turned to Finn and lowered his voice to speak quickly and quietly in their own dialect. Formalities be damned, if he was accused and treated as a prisoner so hastily then he owed the Winter court nothing in return.
"<Is there any truth in this?>" Ærik asked his second, carefully reigning in his temper. Finn had been the last to be among the rest of the surviving Valhiri, only he knew their whereabouts for certain.
But Finn shook his head, growing more concerned and confused. "<Impossible. The Valhiri are sworn to you, as am I. They wouldn't even have the time to get to Eremeire from where I left them... even I barely made it here in time to you.>"
Ærik stared at his brother while he weighed his words. "<Then how is this possible.>"
Finn shook his head and a shadow fell over his features. Though he'd been bonded to an aging dragon, though he had been prepared for this for more years than even Ærik, he didn't want to die but, Gods be damned, he could not think his way out of this. Finn glanced once up to the Princess Alloren but knew no aid would come from there, not from any of the Winter court. He winced as Ærik spoke again, this time more clearly and dangerously calm to the King.
"Only that this man either lies, or he doesn't know of what he speaks." Prince Ærik said brazenly, his chin held high in pride and defiance. "If Invasion had been my intent I would not be here, in your lands, where I am obviously easily subdued." He glowered once more at the Knight, clenching his fists at his side as he stood against the accusatory looks in the room.
He was a Prince, the leader of his people. This accusation was cowardly, or idiotic, and he would not be bullied into subjugation. He became aware of Finn saying his name, though trying not to attract attention, and he turned his glare on him. "No. I will not be calm."
Turning so that he faced all of them, he continued. "I am tired of these formalities. My people suffer and die, and friends that I have gone on my knees and humbled myself before now accuse me of such dishonor. It is not time for me to be calm - it is time for me to be a Prince."
Turning away from Finn, Ærik faced the King directly. "Delay me with this no longer. You may believe what you wish and investigate his claims, but I will not stand by and do nothing for my people while you decide what is right and what is fair. I will go to my people, with or without your dragons."
Finn sighed, but he could not argue with his brother. Not only because of Ærik's temperament or title, but because he, too, was restless. Another day spent idle would buy nothing but death for their mother and their clansmen. The bond of the Valhiri demanded that if they were to die, then they would die with them.
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haphazardly parked Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2011 9:58 pm
[ THE FOOL ]
The Fool leaned into Aurora's kiss and fairly preened, a single bell daring to chime. Loyalty and rewards and leal service and gold -- none of that meant anything to the Fool, who was too simple to really understand how any of it worked. Love though... Love was something baser, something that the Fool didn't quite understand but was compelled by the rules of anyway. She didn't have to know to do.
She jingled after her mistress, hardly registering her mistress's words when the rhyme came to her, as rhymes sometimes did. The Fool had never been considered one of the best of Fools, but now and then she broke into song.
"Poison's not patience, not so not so not so
and quiet is clever
because silence's cleverer, I know I know I know,"
the Fool sang. "Not so, not so, not so," she repeated, more softly. "I know, I know, I know."
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