Someone Else's Kingdom, BOOK I - Chapter 5
King Dogfael, the King of Tunid, arrived in the Kingdom of Caster to great pomp and fanfare. Visits such as this were always ceremonial occasions, and the harbour was busy with people. Both officials, of varying degree and rank, and casual onlookers. As he came down from the main ship, his most favoured vessel, the Merbird, he was greeted firmly by King Mizmeam, the King of Caster. The two men each surrounded by their crisply-dressed entourages.
As they walked out along the harbour front, waving to the crowds - crowds that were kept a firm distance away - they continued to exchange warm and formal greetings to each other. As well as to some of the more senior dignitaries in each other's retinue. As this all played out, the King of Tunid noted and greeted, in a rather discrete manner, a woman dressed all in black in the King of Caster's assemble. She returned the acknowledgement with a brief period of eye contact, followed by a firm and serious nod. The king then proceeded to chat and exchange pleasantries with the other dignitaries, as the woman silently watched on, from a few paces behind King Mizmeam.
The chit-chat was largely for politeness and show; the standard formal exchanges that usually take place when famous dignitaries meet before onlooking crowds. However, once both kings entered the ornate horse-drawn carriage that awaited them, ready to escort them up to Castle Edvard, they quickly got down to business.
"One thousand years of war by spear tip and sword finally coming to an end," intoned the King of Tunid. A touch of lament in his voice.
"I know ..we're in troubled times".
"Have you mastered the art of this technology yet?"
"We're working - day and night," murmured King Mizmeam in reply, ".. We will get the breakthrough, I'm certain, but it'll take more time. They've kept the secret well guarded."
"Who would've thought the Western Islanders could be so organised," laughed the King of Tunid, his slight lament being supplanted with a gallows humour. "I certainly didn't see this coming. They'll upturn the entire world if we can't get a handle on it."
"Have you mastered the art of this technology yet?"
"We're working - day and night," murmured King Mizmeam in reply, ".. We will get the breakthrough, I'm certain, but it'll take more time. They've kept the secret well guarded."
"Who would've thought the Western Islanders could be so organised," laughed the King of Tunid, his slight lament being supplanted with a gallows humour. "I certainly didn't see this coming. They'll upturn the entire world if we can't get a handle on it."
King Mizmean laughed cautiously in response. The relationship he had with the King of Tunid had always been good, and they shared many similar qualities. Yet, in some ways they were quite different too, with Mizmeam having a little less nuance. Furthermore, King Mizmean was more temperamental and prone to anger than the pensive Tunidan king, so, likewise, he was on his best form for the occasion. Making sure to mask his natural disposition. Well aware that the King of Tunid was now the king, and not just the eldest prince. A new dynamic that unsettled him slightly. Particularly the added gravitas that the King of Tunid now projected. A gravitas that came off as genuine, but that nevertheless was wholly absent in his previous incarnation as the charmed and laidback heir to the throne.
The discussion about the Western Isles continued until their arrival at Castle Edvard, where more formal ceremony awaited them. This time a grand banquet with even more regional dignitaries. The castle itself was very old - hundreds, if not more than a thousand years old - and it was named not for the King of Tunid's father, Edvard, but for an even more distant King Edvard. His father just being the last in a long line of Edvards. Just as the King of Tunid himself was now the latest in a long list of Dogfaels.
Though technically the castle was in the territory of Caster it was generally viewed as being in the possession of the Tunidan kings. As was the harbour town of Eldbee, where the king's ships had arrived. In essence a foothold on the mainland for the Tunidan Kingdom. Though the conventions governing the relationship between the Kingdom of Caster and the Island of Tunida were so old and well established that it neither mattered one way or the other who held actual possession. Making it almost a state unto itself. Its position as a linkway between the two kingdoms giving the inhabitants, especially the merchants and grandees, a prestige and independence that few others in the Kingdom of Caster could lay claim to.
The formal dinner was largely for these attention-hungry dignitaries, though officially it was in honour of the visiting king. In truth though, both kings would've preferred to have just continued discussing their more serious concerns alone. The King of Tunid was especially eager to get first-hand information about the Western Isles. Along with updates about what the general feelings were in the other kingdoms. Ideally, a good night's rest before the long journey north to the capital Keneeshka would also have been welcome. However, a banquet was to be had, so rest had to be put on hold.
The Eldbeean political class were generally viewed by all as a pretentious and self-important people. Nestled in between the two most powerful kingdoms it was very easy for them to grow soft and indulgent in the safety it afforded them. They, of course, viewed themselves as altogether serious and important, but as they were so far removed from any real strife or danger, anything political in nature was but a money-making pastime to them. A topic of conversation that had no real immediate impact on their own lives. Consequently, all formal occasions were bright, glossy affairs, full of superficial glare. Hard for even kings to endure.
As the banquet began the woman from earlier, who was dressed in black, entered the room. At the formal greeting earlier her black clothing was rather sombre: black boots and trousers; a black jacket with a slight military feel; her dark hair tied up behind her head, but not too high. Now her clothing was equally sombre, but the military-style jacket was replaced by a soft knee-length blouse. Once again black. And her hair, though for the most part styled as earlier, now had a few loose tresses hanging about her neck.
There were many beautiful and elegant women at the large hall, so she slipped in largely unnoticed by the other guests. However, her presence was naturally caught by the King of Tunid. As before, they both shared a brief period of eye contact before sitting down in their respective places. As the food began to be placed by the waiting servants a silence descended. Everyone waiting for King Mizmeam to start the proceedings. A few moments later, by which time every seat was filled by a rotund grandee, finely dressed lady, or some other ostentatious person, he rose to his feet and gave a short toast welcoming the King of Tunid to the mainland. Then, with good cheer, everyone began to tuck in to the dishes so lavishly put on before them. The noise quickly rising to a calamitous din.
Much of the serious talk at the various tables was about 'The Pox.' In fact, in between courses some dignitaries even stood up to give very serious-sounding speeches on the topic. The general tone always being that everything must be done to stop the outbreak, and that no option should be left off the table in the pursuit of extinguishing it. As the evening slowly moved on, and eating transitioned into drinking, this seriousness drizzled away into a merry drunkenness. With people leaving their assigned chairs and tables to mingle in the various rooms and corridors of the castle. As all this happened the King of Tunid finally got an opportunity to speak to the woman in black...
The discussion about the Western Isles continued until their arrival at Castle Edvard, where more formal ceremony awaited them. This time a grand banquet with even more regional dignitaries. The castle itself was very old - hundreds, if not more than a thousand years old - and it was named not for the King of Tunid's father, Edvard, but for an even more distant King Edvard. His father just being the last in a long line of Edvards. Just as the King of Tunid himself was now the latest in a long list of Dogfaels.
Though technically the castle was in the territory of Caster it was generally viewed as being in the possession of the Tunidan kings. As was the harbour town of Eldbee, where the king's ships had arrived. In essence a foothold on the mainland for the Tunidan Kingdom. Though the conventions governing the relationship between the Kingdom of Caster and the Island of Tunida were so old and well established that it neither mattered one way or the other who held actual possession. Making it almost a state unto itself. Its position as a linkway between the two kingdoms giving the inhabitants, especially the merchants and grandees, a prestige and independence that few others in the Kingdom of Caster could lay claim to.
The formal dinner was largely for these attention-hungry dignitaries, though officially it was in honour of the visiting king. In truth though, both kings would've preferred to have just continued discussing their more serious concerns alone. The King of Tunid was especially eager to get first-hand information about the Western Isles. Along with updates about what the general feelings were in the other kingdoms. Ideally, a good night's rest before the long journey north to the capital Keneeshka would also have been welcome. However, a banquet was to be had, so rest had to be put on hold.
The Eldbeean political class were generally viewed by all as a pretentious and self-important people. Nestled in between the two most powerful kingdoms it was very easy for them to grow soft and indulgent in the safety it afforded them. They, of course, viewed themselves as altogether serious and important, but as they were so far removed from any real strife or danger, anything political in nature was but a money-making pastime to them. A topic of conversation that had no real immediate impact on their own lives. Consequently, all formal occasions were bright, glossy affairs, full of superficial glare. Hard for even kings to endure.
As the banquet began the woman from earlier, who was dressed in black, entered the room. At the formal greeting earlier her black clothing was rather sombre: black boots and trousers; a black jacket with a slight military feel; her dark hair tied up behind her head, but not too high. Now her clothing was equally sombre, but the military-style jacket was replaced by a soft knee-length blouse. Once again black. And her hair, though for the most part styled as earlier, now had a few loose tresses hanging about her neck.
There were many beautiful and elegant women at the large hall, so she slipped in largely unnoticed by the other guests. However, her presence was naturally caught by the King of Tunid. As before, they both shared a brief period of eye contact before sitting down in their respective places. As the food began to be placed by the waiting servants a silence descended. Everyone waiting for King Mizmeam to start the proceedings. A few moments later, by which time every seat was filled by a rotund grandee, finely dressed lady, or some other ostentatious person, he rose to his feet and gave a short toast welcoming the King of Tunid to the mainland. Then, with good cheer, everyone began to tuck in to the dishes so lavishly put on before them. The noise quickly rising to a calamitous din.
Much of the serious talk at the various tables was about 'The Pox.' In fact, in between courses some dignitaries even stood up to give very serious-sounding speeches on the topic. The general tone always being that everything must be done to stop the outbreak, and that no option should be left off the table in the pursuit of extinguishing it. As the evening slowly moved on, and eating transitioned into drinking, this seriousness drizzled away into a merry drunkenness. With people leaving their assigned chairs and tables to mingle in the various rooms and corridors of the castle. As all this happened the King of Tunid finally got an opportunity to speak to the woman in black...
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