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 Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2012 5:50 pm
THE IMPERIAL GUARD
Why?
A final decree by The Imperial Guard's Plague faction on the status of Lord Yizhaq and Lady Hayat bin Saleh.
Whom?
Yizhaq bin Saleh & Hayat (Indubitably)
-&-
The Guard's Table
Where?
Ashcroft, Mishkan.
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Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2012 10:48 pm
Ashcroft.
Huddled just at the crevasse of the Silents, Ashcroft was silent this coming spring, just as the rest of Panymium was. It was a hulking stone of a city, ugly in its exterior and rough-ridden past its gates, but the place could not be called homely. The Guard rested at the very northern corner of Ashcroft with its mass of stables and soldiers, many of them training and some of them squires yet unclaimed by more traditional lords.
It was at the base of the Guard's looming headquarters that the green-eyed lord and his Plague charge were granted an introduction proper. Younger soldiers unraveled the traditional Mishkanite drape an impressive several yards before they reached the heart of the headquarters, the hallcloth a bright and vibrant orange.
The headquarters itself was smaller and less imposing than the capitals, but it was at the entrance that the Guard's heart shown its valorous colors: a great number of Guardsmen stood there, their heads held high to signify their power. At the center was the General Kunze and his Plague, Treatise, their arms held behind their backs.
Treatise smiled and bowed as if they were greeted by a Queen, but General Kunze merely stood, nodding his head as Lord bin Saleh arrived near the entrance. The other Guardsmen behind them moved to the sides without a word, then trailed behind the two nobles silently, eyes pressed to their backs.
It was a ceremony of sullen mood, it seemed, for the headquarter's plaza once filled with training youth remained as empty, and those that remained seemed as dull as the day was today. Treatise impatiently shrugged her way through the front of the crowd, much to the chagrin of Kunze, though she remained silent.
The flag of Mishkan was in plain sight, now, and in front of it a wooden pillar. Kunze walked monotonously towards the side stairs and watched the crowd, then the two newer Guardsmen-- though he hesitated to think of them as such, for their service was called upon many seasons ago.
The General did not beckon for silence, though it seeped the area now anyhow. He watched as his Locos followed his path up the stairway, along with the band of four other Guardsmen, whom stood behind their uppers whilst Treatise walked next to Diedthelm.
They glanced at one another before Treatise took a step forward, glancing at them not with the stifled smile from before, but with a stern frown, brows pressed and stance straight as she did in public.
"Sir Yizhaq bin Saleh, Lady Hayat. My counsel to you will be brief: I'd sent you a letter but months ago requesting your hand by my side, and it is with great pride that the Guard sees you today. But my audience remains skeptical, and rightly so, and I request that you present to us the letter signed by my blood alone."
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Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2012 1:34 am
It was not a beautiful place, but it had a proud, honest strength that Lady Hayat found appealing. They were received with honor, and this time, the room was packed with soldiers, not scholars.
Treatise's smile, proud and restrained, eased any trepidation in Hayat's heart, and her answering curtsy was a deep, formal affair. As the booted steps of the Guard sounded upon the stone, the gryfalcon felt distinct sense of yearning, to stride as they, rather than rest a careful hand on her lord's thumb to hold herself rigidly upright as he moved through the room toward the front.
"It is our honor to be here. It does me no small pleasure to see the faces of those that protect our great Empire." Yizhaq's voice was clear, projected throughout the room in what Hayat recognized as his 'public' tone. Concise, congenial, but to the point. He sounded fairly relaxed, despite the audience, and he rightly should. What was the point of a Lord who could not speak? "We have your missive at hand, Plague General."
The document was held aloft, before it was held out by slim fingers toward the Shield, to declare its authenticity.
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Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2012 5:16 pm
Treatise held her head aloft, and the entirety of her audience waited in silence. The only noteable sound was carried from the wind breezing past the Ashcroft fortress high above their heads, of which some leaked in and combed past the Guardsmen. When Yizhaq held the letter up so they could see, it was difficult to read, given that the loose parchment was fighting against the force of the wind.
It was a formality, to stand between the lower Guardsmen and upper Guardsman and authenticate the letter from there. But Mishkan, ever windy, tested Treatise's patience and she budged from her rightful place on the Guard's pedestal. She climbed down the stairs and Kunze stared, indignant at the bar in tradition, but silent. The Plague took the letter from Yizhaq and read it close and carefully, until she noticed her scrawl in blood at the very foot of the letter.
"The writing is indeed mine," she looked up at Yizhaq, brows stern, as she raised it up in the air. "Proof of my request to see Lady Hayat and her charge, Lord Yizhaq bin Saleh. Imperial mages themselves shall test its truthfulness now, and the Guard will listen to our kinsmen."
Treatise backed away from Yizhaq and Hayat, and a Guardsman wrapped in purple came and took the letter away. Kunze frowned stiffly as his Plague stood still and adamantly at the base of the pedestal, facing eye to eye with the two Guardsmen: it was distant, but he allowed her to continue.
The expression upon the General's face reflected all those in the audience. They were vaguely cautious, of both the Plague and the lord, and of the precession, but Treatise was not completely foreign to their fears, and she continued with guarded lips.
The brunette glanced first to Hayat, then Yizhaq. "Sir Yizhaq. Lady Hayat. Why do you come here today?" She placed her hands behind her back and she paced herself, towards the side of the audience. "Do you come here, like so many nobles, to disgrace the goodwill of the Imperial Guard, with your thirst for revenge and sanctuary?"
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Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2012 9:25 pm
Beyond the particularly fierce stare that General Kunze leveled their direction, the tired lord had no indicator that the ceremony wasn't par for the course. Yizhaq didn't budge as Treatise approached, releasing the letter without any hint of hesitation. He stood, then, as she read it, avoiding any implication of anxiety about the authenticity of the document, lest it make the observers any more on edge than they already were.
With the tension throughout Panymium, the deep rooted betrayals within the Fellowship, and infiltration of the cultists in every aspect of society, it was all to unfortunate to know that both he and the lady gyrfalcon were, at best, equally (if not more so) likely to be treacherous than they were to be true of heart and mind.
Hazel eyes locked on blue when they hit him, but he waited out the remainder of Treatise's inquiry before responding in clear, measured tones. "I have no need for sanctuary, and seek no asylum. I flee no enemy or treachery, including my own past. I answer the call of the Emperor, to whom I owe fealty."
Hayat's own sharp eyes tracked the Plague General without effort, locked on her every movement. When she spoke, her dry, feminine tones had no trouble carrying upon the wind. "My mission remains true and my vision clear. I hunt not vengeance, only justice, and none shall sway me from that path."
"We are here to serve."
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Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2012 10:58 pm
The Locos could not help but laugh, airily, at the two. She paused in her heavy-footed marching around Yizhaq and Hayat and stood akimbo, bright blue eyes locked to the two with an almost playful ferocity.
"To serve... of course. Every Guardsman is here to do that, it is their sworn duty, it is their life. But no need for santuary, no asylum, no enemy: you are a noble, but surely you cannot avoid these things. No, to be able to do so is impossible, if you are a being sworn to Panyma's earth. Do not lie to me here, do not exaggerate your claims: why have you come here, what powers do you have to protect yourself against such cardinal needs?"
She raised her head, "What proof do you have that the Guard might have use of you, lord and lady, whom claim to be so pure of heart?"
Kunze seemed to relax as the tension in Treatise's voice rose. Though the two were politically at feud, and the Guardsmen outside of their towers and everyday live claimed the two had not seen each other for many seasons, it was farther from the truth. They were, in fact, closer and more frequently with each other than ever before, constantly watching their backs and finding their weakest points.
Treatise did not falter in that habit, it seemed, but to Diedthelm the deed hurt him more than he'd ever expected. He was glad that one of the faults he'd found in his Plagues were steadily being upturned: her clumsiness around her men was improved, lessened, and the confidence in her voice echoed that of his own. Despite their disagreements, their emotional disconnect, there was perhaps still hope for Kunze yet to see the Plague General return to old Imperial ways.
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Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2012 12:58 am
"If you will allow, Plague General," It was Hayat, then, who offered a rebuttal, her tone as cool as the brisk winds and a unimpassioned contrast to Treatise's near humor, despite the intensity of her stare. "We have made no argument as to the supposed purity of our hearts, and I cannot fathom a way to offer proof of such a claim, were it true. To be more specific," If the Servos was the type to make jokes, it might've been offered that she was attempting lighten the mood, "I've yet to grow such a thing." She was not.
When the Lady Hayat continued, her lord did an admirable job hiding his surprise, despite the rarity of her speaking at length. "I would instead offer our abilities and our actions. In this form, my talons have been taken away. Though I yearn for such weapons to return to me, so I might serve in a more traditional capacity, I am left with a mind as sharp as my vision remains, the ability to hunt my target, and a way with the wind I share a bond with.
My lord possesses a title and wealth, it is true, but more important than that is what he chooses to do with it. Upon the death of his father, he immediately assumed his duties, to his Estate, the Fellowship of Mages, and most importantly, the people. His abilities, to touch and to know others, are foreign to me, but their use cannot be denied. He has only used such in the service of our nation.
When called upon during the riots of the past winter, we harbored those within our lands as well as the displaced from the surrounding provinces. While he responded to the call of the Grand Magnus and the Queen of Shyregoed, the true Lady of our Estate, his wife, and young son were taken by enemies that we believe to have been traitors within the Fellowship.
Orders arrived that enlisted his service as a Guardsman, as all true nobles are, and rather than pursuing a hunt for these kidnappers, we responded to the summons, as is our duty.
A meeting was held, only seasons past, during which my brethren, and myself, were held from our keepers, displayed on stage as we were delivered into the hands of the guardsmen. My lord spoke in defense of an ally, and in turn released into the armed possession of the guard, just as I was released to their care, in a display of confidence in the command before us today.
We are here now, rather than bleeding our enemies until the drip the truth from their bones, and I assure you, if we possessed any less dedication to the cause of all present within this room, we would not have come."
"It is not that we lack enemies," Yizhaq's words held surprising warmth as he spoke into the silence left by Hayat, "Or have no use of a safe harbor. It is that we no longer fear them, and we seek not comfort, but to be of use." An empty home was nothing to return to.
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Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2012 7:09 pm
The Plague General stood tall in front of Yizhaq and Hayat, firm eyes glaring at both of them. She simply nodded, turned, and stepped towards the pedestal once more, marching up its steps without a word and resuming her place next to Kunze. A taller place-- a traditional place.
"Very well, then. Lady Hayat has proved the worth of the esteemed Lord Yizhaq bin Saleh, who has attended to this audience today out of fealty to the Imperial Guard. He has spoken little, yet the measure of his actions have been deemed great by his vassal,"she stared hard at the hazel-eyed lord, "With the highest honors, Lord Yizhaq shall leave us today an Emperor's Corporal."
Treatise frowned. General Kunze remained stiffly in his place while both the actors and its audience stayed in silence. He was ready to speak, to end the precession, this act of seeing a noble through but a stiff and child-like request from Treatise himself. Rarely were privates seen so closely by Panymium's generals, and the act of frequently seeing them for Treatise's little game was beginning to be tiresome and repetitive.
When Diedthelm was ready to dismiss the audience, however, stepping forward on the pedestal to call in the Imperial mages for their approval of the letter, Treatise mimicked his step and took another one forward yet. She went on, a tired tone ringing through her voice.
"That shall be all. Lady Hayat, you have spoke with immeasurable confidence on the depths of immeasurable valor performed by two nobles. You've spoken in length of the suffering endured by one man, and the audience here realizes what irreplaceable experience and power that gives Lord bin Saleh. Tell me, what use have I of you alone, what use do I have of your sharp mind, of your wind and prowess? What good are you when my men here can do the same, young Plague, whose Grimm eclipses all they do? You speak of no individual experience, no change. To me, you remain stagnant, just as so many Plagues are that have tried to prove their worth to the Imperial Guard.
Tell me, are you content in leaving here a private, forever seen as Corporal bin Saleh's shadow, his lesser duplicate, his infant?"
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Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2012 10:09 pm
Despite the honor granted him, due to his plague's defense, the now-Corporal felt his jaw clench in displeasure as Treatise continued, her words just short of mocking, and too public as she deemed Hayat unworthy, nothing more than a whisper at his ear. Carefully reigning in his own outrage, his tone was strained.
"I will not -"
"Yizhaq." The lord lifted his chin, and fell silent at the calm direction of his most constant companion. When Hayat continued, it was quiet, firm. "There is no shame in the rank of private. I am no longer a kept animal, to be hooded and caged when my master is through with me in exchange for food and shelter.
My capacity for thought has increased, and with it, my reason and the strength of my..." Hayat paused as she searched for an appropriate word. She could not find one to explain the cold fire that had flooded her being at Treatise's words, and did not seek to. It had been professed that her desire to pursue justice was born of deep rooted 'feelings,' but they were hard to examine and present, and Hayat was still learning the language to do such a thing. "Convictions. I do not fight for revenge, hate, love, honor, or sadness. There is a code. Law that this chaotic land needs to protect society and its people. I find that something worth defending.
Though I serve, I am no man's servant. I have no need for glory or rank. I am a Lady by fortune, not desire, and do not fear hardship, death, or sacrifice in duty. You command this Guard, and I will march in it however you will have me. If I am unfit, the mission remains my own. It is a path I will walk alone.
We are all shadows when it is dark, Plague General. We thank the Guard for their audience."
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Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2012 11:43 pm
Treatise scoffed.
She turned away from Hayat and thought on the measure of her words, curiosity sparking and the questions formed in her head ever tantamount to change. The riling of Sir Yizhaq had already marked a tentative smile on her face.
The Locos had paid no mind to the glaring Kunze next to her, however, whose amusement had ended long before the precession had even started. He kept his stance rigid, however, as did the somewhat nervous Guardsmen nestled around where Treatise was standing. The silhouette of her tall form had enveloped a few, and while she was thinking, it was very hard to ignore those brightly glowing eyes of hers.
They were as blue as could be. She was enjoying herself, which was rare, given she'd done so many of these petty challenges of loyalty. It was partially due to the annoyance of the General, after all.
Treatise tilted her head back and stared at the Guardsman in front of her. "Miss Hayat speaks of a lone path. What might you think, Lieutenant?"
"Ah," he bumbled, gripping the sword rested against his side, "It is hard to say, Lady Treatise..."
"True enough," Treatise said, simply, her voice clear through silence. She turned back around and knelt at the edge of the pedestal, extending one arm out towards Sir Yizhaq and Lady Hayat.
"Come to the pedestal, Lady Hayat," Treatise said, voice softer, "I cannot have you leave just yet. Please, you lady of little plight, tell us what justice is, and why you walk this ambiguous path of yours. The Imperial Guard might do good to know."
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Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2012 11:52 pm
Every delicate fiber of Hayat's clothing caught wind, and her white-glowing skin started to dim, specks of aura falling off of her like dust.
It did not hurt, but the feeling provoked a strange sense of emptiness. Flecks of silver flittered away first, the embossed embroidery of Hayat's clothing slowly trickling into an obsidian black.
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Posted: Tue Nov 13, 2012 12:57 am
Yizhaq's hazel eyes were guarded as he extended his hand toward the Plague General, though his charge stepped forward without much hesitation, disarmed by Treatise's marked change in demeanor. What was it to be just? To be guided by Truth. Reason. Fairness. To bleed for it.
"It is not law as written by the hand of man, but the reason for order which resonates as just and true within a clear mind and spirit."
Something had begun to change, though Hayat was hard pressed to notice as her skin lost its glow, in favor of Treatise's bright stare. It became pressing, then, to finish her thoughts, as she felt an intensity, a rising of emotion that tightened her throat.
"It is not easy. To be just is not the natural state of men, it is a deliberate act by those dedicated to maintaining order and balance in this world. The just act upon truth, no matter whom it might help or hinder. To act without agenda or bias."
Why were her eyes so bright?
"There is no other path. I must protect my kin."
She was not speaking of the lord who had stepped forward, unconsciously, one half step as his hand fell to a weapon that was no longer at his side, gaze locked on Hayat's form as light flaked and drifted from her into the air, darkness spreading its way over her slight frame.
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Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2013 4:07 am
The Plague General laughed somberly to Hayat's reply, hands bitten with heat as the gyrfalcon's form glowed ever-bright in her palms.
"Ah. Of course..."
Knowingly, Treatise glanced to Yizhaq before gingerly playing the small lady to the ground. There was a hint of worry to her features, surely, for never did she experience something such as this to a performance-- but the Plague General did not back down where the other Guardsmen would, wearily, as precaution.
It was hard to focus on speaking to such a small form, growing smaller, when indeed her body was slowly flaking away and diminishing beneath the thick cloaks of glowing shadow. Still, in all of her marvel, Treatise was able to stop the irritated Kunze from marching too close to the Servos, glancing behind at him with a growing smile on her face.
Just as the Locos looked away, though, the surrounding area nearly whisked away at the harsh hurricane of wind billowing from Lady Hayat-- Guardsmen protected each other while the closest three were left to their own devices. Treatise held her brunette hair closely and shielded herself away from the oncoming duststorm and blinding light, wincing all the while.
The wind itself was not kind to its surroundings, the wood of the fortress around the moaning and cracking beneath each overwhelming gust's force. Yet it was still but a few violent seconds that the wind would last, leaving but the surrounding area touched with chaos, that everything turned to pure silence.
The only one to break it was the shuffling sound of Treatise, still kneeling, who looked up with wonder as she stared up at Lady Hayat, standing still. She chuckled, issuing everyone around her to look onwards.
"What a remarkably grandeur entrance, Milady."
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