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Suriya marched into Prince Veric’s throne room. Her stride was the confident march of a trained soldier’s and her booted feet made solid steps on the floor of the throne room. The tanned cloak of the palace guard hung off of one shoulder and her armor glinted in the Merseyr sun that was streaming into the throne room. Her long brown hair was piled on top of her head and it seemed to dance with every step she took, a sharp contrast to the sharp disciplined stride she employed. When she reached the center of the throne room she snapped to attention, she dropped in to a sharp and precise half bow and snapped her arm up so her fist was just in front of her eyes in a sharp salute. Suriya held the position for a few respectful seconds before speakin, “ Lieutenant Suriya Vespire, Prince’s Guard reporting, M’liege” She stood back to attention and then relaxed into an “at ease” stance; her legs shoulder width apart and her hands clasped behind her, resting at the small of her back.

She studied the new prince for a moment, this was the first time that she had been able to see him in person since he took over. He didn’t look like a champion of the people, he looked more like a gruff drunk that goes looking for fights in taverns. But Suriya, of all people, knew how looks could be deceiving. Outside of her armor, for example, she looked like a fragile young girl that would break the moment you started grappling with her and in her armor she looked harmless because she didn’t carry an obvious weapon; but few people knew that her weapon was everywhere. As a Nur’Shareh she could bend light and form it into just about any solid object that she wanted as long as she maintained her concentration. She’d perfected the art of maintaining that concentration in a fight throughout her life. Now she was one of the more deadly members of the Prince’s Guard with her own squadron of men that she made sure were equally deadly and completely loyal to her and her Prince.

That loyalty was one of the few reasons that Suriya and her “dogs” - as she referred to them – were allowed in the new Prince’s throne room. Much of the palace guard was undergoing a massive overhaul as many of the members refused to serve their new Prince. Suriya – on the other hand – pledged her loyalty almost immediately to the man. The old Prince was dead, it was impractical to continue serving a dead man, the new Prince would be maintaining her paycheck, and besides her mother liked the man a lot and if it pleased her mother Suriya was more than happy to serve the new Prince. “M’leige,My dogs and I have successfully quelled a possible revolt amongst the nobles. I'm here to report on what occurred.”


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... For this reason mastery demands all of a person..

OOC: Let's count the number of times I use a form of the word Sharp in this post. XD I should be shot for doing that.

Suriya blinked, she was still unused to the new Prince’s attitude. He was so different from the previous Prince, so….lax. It was difficult to be able to relax around him like he wanted her to, her training on how to act around her liege had practically been beaten into her. She snapped to attention out of habit at his order, “ Yes, M’lie….err Desert king, forgive me, old habits are hard to break.” She took the offered seat, but declined the drink, tossing the flask back to him instead, “ Forgive me if I decline, M’lord? I’m still technically on duty.” She settled into the chair, relaxing some by crossing one leg over the other and resting one her forearms across her thighs. With her other hand she took out a chrome colored canteen. “And no, it wasn’t an easy matter to handle, but it wasn’t particularly difficult and I’m not just being modest. A…little bird – shall we say- informed my Dogs that some of the nobility were plotting to force you out of the Fortress Castle by barricading the streets of the city and preventing the flow of supplies into the castle. We still haven’t completely replenished the Castle’s internal supplies since the castle’s supply rooms were torched last week in the troop uprising, so the plan had the potential to be dangerous, especially since some of the guard’s loyalty is hanging on by thin threads.”

Two days ago Suriya had been standing behind a large table in the Guard’s barracks making marks on a map of the city, trying to figure out how to redo her patrol routes. It was proving to be a rather difficult task, in the time since the new Prince had taken over she’d lost quite a bit of her men to various purges. Suirya nibbled on her bottom lip and furrowed her brows in concentration. She made two more marks on the map and then scribbled a note on a piece of parchment next to her map. She was so focused on her task that she didn’t notice a messenger boy burst into the chambers. “Lieutenant! Lieutenant!” He shouted, waving a piece of parchment, “ M’am! Message from the City Dogs!” Suriya looked up at the boy, accepting the piece of parchment he practically shoved at her. She tossed him a piece of silver and looked down at the parchment, narrowing her eyes as she read over the report. By the time she was finished her eyes were wide and her tanned skin visibly paled.

She looked up and saw the messenger boy lurking around the edges of the chamber entranceway, hoping to catch wind of what was going on so he’d have a story to tell. “ Boy!” She snapped, military curtness dominating her tone, “ Boy, gather my dogs, tell them to meet me on the training grounds” She tossed a larger gold piece at him and the boys eyes widened. That gold piece was probably the largest amount of money he’d ever held in his life. “ Go, boy! You’ll get another piece for your troubles when you’ve brought my dogs to me.” The boy’s eyes brightened at the thought and he offered Suriya a half bow before bolting out of the chambers. Suriya barely noticed, instead turning back to the piece of parchment. The noble family Hassir had managed to gather together several members of the nobility along with their own personal guard and started creating barricades in the streets of the city below the fortress castle. If they succeeded then there was the very real possibility that the Fortress Castle might not be able to hold. Supplies were running dangerously low in the castle stores and with all the entrances to the castle blocked there would be no way to replenish them, which would give those b*****d nobles the upper hand in removing the Prince from his newly acquired throne.

Suriya snarled and crushed the piece of parchment in her gloved fist. That wouldn’t happen, not on her watch and not while she still had Dogs willing to fight. She marched out of the barracks, taking long strides to the courtyard training grounds, her mind running a million miles a minute. She was all ready moving her men into various positions around the copy of the city map in her head. If she acted quickly enough she could crush this rebellion before it really even took hold. She turned out into the courtyard training ground, the tan cloak that was hanging off one shoulder snapped behind her. She strode to the center of the courtyard and watched as men fell in around her. Suriya’s own personal squadron line up in front of her and two squadrons of Soldiers fell in behind them. Sixty men came to attention, dropped into half bows and brought their arms up in front of their eyes in a precise salute.

“ DOGS!” She bellowed, “ At ease!” She paused as the loud chorus of soldiers moving in unison resounded throughout the courtyard. The soldiers moved so that their legs were shoulder width apart and their arms were clasped into the smalls of their backs. She nodded to all of them and began pacing, her own arms clasped behind her. The men watched her, following her only with their eyes and the air suddenly became poignant with a tension you could almost taste and collectively they all stiffened like they wanted to jump into action. The messenger boy from before cautiously wandered up to Suriya he had a Hethian* in tow. Suriya turned sharply on the heel of her boot and the boy flinched as she reached out to him, but she was only taking the reins from his hand. She patted him gently on the head and mounted the Hethian then reached down and took two gold pieces from a pouch at her waist. “Take this and run home boy, as fast as you can. Do not delay; this is not a night for children to be out on the streets. Spread the word.” She handed the pieces to the boy who had visibly paled and he gave her the salute of the palace guard before bolting off. A small smile tugged at Suriya’s lips as she watched him leave. Then she shook her head and sat straighter up in the saddle, looking out across her sixty men.

She walked the Hethian forward and resumed pacing again, this time on the beast’s back. “ Dogs! There is trouble afoot, nobles are plotting against our new Prince – a man we all pledged our absolute loyalty to until our last breath. The plot is still fresh and the plans are half baked, but if unstopped the nobles and their guard will pose a serious threat to our master. They plan to blockade the streets of the Fortress City! They plan to start an open and armed resistance against our Prince, but we – our master’s loyal Dogs – will not allow that to happen!” A smirk crossed Suriya’s lips as she paced the Hethian in front of her men. The tension in the air had increased and she could almost imagine that her boys were sixty dogs pulling at their leads, eager to be let free and do their duty.

Suriya sucked in a deep breath, closing her eyes for a split second, marveling in the change of atmosphere as her Dogs got riled up snarling and growling. Suriya’s eyes snapped open and the Hethian reared up. Suriya got the steed under control and raised her arm, her fingers closed into a fist. The soldiers immediately fell silent. “Yosif!” The man standing in front of the Dog’s of the rightmost squadron stepped forward and snapped to attention. “ Yosif, you and your dogs will strike the blockades from the west. Split your men into two units of ten. Attack first from the low road where their defenses are likely to be the weakest and then from the high road while they’re distracted.” Yosif saluted and stepped back into formation. “ Jericho!” A man from the leftmost squadron stepped forward and snapped to attention. “ Jericho, you and yours will strike in from the East. The nobles have the advantage there, the roads are narrow, any sort of phalanx formation won’t hold together, however I know that the people there will lead you through the back alleys. Get in behind the barricade. Take the barricade out quietly and keep the fight there to a minimum. I don’t want the people there caught in the crossfire.” Jericho saluted and stepped crisply back into formation. Suriya nodded, proud of her men, how disciplined they were and especially how dangerous they were. Dogs, every last one of them.

A smirk tugged at her lips. There was a time when referring to a man as a dog was a high insult that would leave you with a fat lip. Now, now it was something to be proud of. It was a title of the highest honor. Suriya only picked the best to become her dogs. “ The rest of you are with me. We’ll be riding straight down the north road and taking out the Hassir’s manor. All of you, keep the nobles alive. Their guard can die, but the nobles I want captured and delivered to the Prince’s dungeons.” She paused for a moment before speaking up again, “ Fight well, Dogs, live well, die well. If you don’t return to me then I wish you long days and pleasant nights in the arms of Maegira.” A loud roar rose up from the throats of sixty men – no, sixty Dogs – and this time a grin did cross Suriya’s lips as she imagined their enemies quaking in fear at the sound.

Stable boys seemed to take the roar as their cue to bring out several more Hethian’s. The steeds tossed their heads and their muscles danced visibly under their living armored frames. The men in charge of the squadrons mounted the steeds. Suriya watched as the rest of the men prepared themselves for battle, it was a chaotic choreography, but one well rehearsed and Suriya relaxed into her saddle as the men prepared themselves and then fell back into formation. When the courtyard fell so quiet you could hear a pin drop Suriya straightened in her seat and raised her fist in the air, “Dogs! Move out!”

~~
The northern streets were surrounded by a cloud of dust. A sword of light cut through the dust with such force that the sand actually cleared from the air for a moment, just enough time to reveal Suriya lobbing the head off of one of the noble’s guards. Her honey brown eyes screwed shut as the man’s arterial blood sprayed over her, matting her already blood soaked hair down further. She reached up to readjust the cloak now covering the lower half of her face, just in time for a new cloud of dust to assault her. All around her the sounds of battle raged, and she winced as one of her Dogs fell. A throwing knife made of light appeared in her hand and she threw it so it struck between the eyes of the guard who had struck down her Dog. The man was dead before he hit the ground and the light dissipated.

Suriya licked her lips, trying to work some moisture into her mouth, she was tired and thirsty and the battle seemed to have worn on for an eternity. She heard a triumphant shout and glanced up at some of her Dogs who had mounted the steps to the main chambers of the manor and were taking down the guards at the very top. Suriya’s Hethian nudged her and mounted the steed with a practiced speed and ease. A silence fell through manor’s main courtyard and the dust settled. “ HASSIR! We have you outmanned!” She shouted, “ Surrender now and you will be delivered to the Prince’s mercy unharmed!”

The silence that followed her statement was pregnant; the tension in the air could be cut with a knife. He Dogs were almost pulling at their leads, practically begging to be allowed to destroy the nobles in hiding. Suriya directed her Hethian to mount the steps leading into the main chambers of the manor. She reached the top of the steps and paused. Several men stumbled out of the manor and fell to the ground at the Hethian’s feet. “ We surrender…please do not harm us…” Suriya sneered at the display, but she directed her men to take the nobles captive and lead them back to the Fortress Castle. Suriya paused to look over her shoulder at the castle, a small smile tugging at her lips over her Dogs’ victory.

One of her Dogs ran up to the steps to her. Suriya dismounted so she could speak to him. “ M’am, Yosif reports the all clear, he’s moving his prisoners back to the fortress castle right now. ”

Suriya nodded and clasped the man’s arm, “Good man. Congratulations on your victory. ” A second man ran up to her to report Jericho’s success. She nodded and clasped his arm as well, wishing them both long days and pleasant nights before walking out to the edge of the landing she was on. She surveyed the damage and sighed as she counted her dead; five men – Five Dogs – out of twenty. A low growl rose up in her throat as the temptation to kill Hassir in retaliation for her Dogs’ deaths. But instead she closed her eyes and wished them all a safe journey into their eternity.

~~

" Total death toll was twelve out of my sixty dogs, but the nobles were captured unharmed. They're in your dungeons right now, M'lord. I believe crushing Hassir and his cronies will keep your throne safe for...." Suriya paused, glancing down into the canteen, narrowing her eyes as a reflection caught her attention. A man...an Assassin was perched into one of the high alcoves of the throne room. He palmed something from his boot and Suriya paled before leaping to her feet, the chair clattering to the ground behind her. " M'liege, get down!" She jumped at Veric and grabbed the front of his shirt to throw him to the ground, summoning a shield made of light at the same time. The Assassin's knife bounced harmlessly off the shield and Suriya summoned a throwing knife of her own, tossing it at the Assassin before he could comprehend that he'd missed. Suriya cringed as she watched the man fall and impact on the throne room floor with a sickening thud.

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... For this reason mastery demands all of a person..

*Hethian is a type of War steed, will put it in the bestiary later. :3

Suriya stared blankly at Veric. It took her a few long seconds to process his thanks, but she did acknowledge it with a modest nod before rising gracefully to her feet. She held her hand out to the side and clenched her fist in such a way that it looked like she was holding the hilt of an invisible sword. Light danced around her hand and formed a simple Cold steel Makhaira. Her brown eyes scanned the throne room, making note of anything that could be a threat, but nothing seemed out of place. But still she motioned to two guards at the other end of the throne room. The guards nodded and one of them left the throne room, presumably to alert Suriya’s dogs about a security breech in the palace.

Suriya watched Veric as he turned to the throne, silently inspecting him for any damage she might have caused him, but she could find none. She nodded to herself, satisfied that he was uninjured, but she didn’t completely relax. The Desert Prince’s throne room was one massive security risk and it bothered her. She stood to one side, scanning the room as best she could until she noticed her dogs moving around the rafters and scaffolding of the upper portions of the throne room. She was all at once both grateful and angry at the previous prince for building positions for men to hide up there. The previous prince had been so paranoid that he’d placed a constant guard in the upper levels of the throne room, hidden in strategic alcoves; of course the guard was there less for the Prince’s protection and more as a means for the Prince to execute those that displeased him. Suriya made a note to place a full time guard there.

Suriya came back to herself and snapped to a precise attention as Veric began speaking to her again. A small smile crossed her lips as he expressed his sorrow for the loss of her dogs. “ Thank you, my lord, I will make sure their wives and daughters are well looked after. But please forgive me if I refuse the seat, I’m currently very concerned for your safety and wish to be ready to move if need be.” She half watched her liege as gears in his head turned, the rest of her attention she focused on her scouts; they had all ready given her an “all clear” report, but she was still half expecting another security breech to occur at any second. A smirk tugged at her lips Mom used to be so concerned with how paranoid I am, now it just may save the life of the best Prince Merseyr has ever seen.

Veric’s eyes brightened as he seemed to complete his thought process and Suriya refocused on him. He grinned as he gave her orders to bring Hassir to him and send out messengers. Suriya’s tan skin drained of color. “ M..my liege…” She stammered, forgetting his previous order not to call him that, “ Forgive me for speaking freely, but are you insane? Hosting an even without a proper guard? My Prince, that is suicide! As a member of your high guard I cannot in good conscience allow you to do that.”


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... For this reason mastery demands all of a person..