An Ordered Realm
Fifth Day of the Eleventh Month 293 AC
The crown upon your head is certainly a mark of kingship, but not one that would be recognized so far from home and so you shift, your form uncoiling in the chamber you imagine was built for just such a transformation. After assuring yourself that neither limbs, wings nor tail can brush against something you do not mean them to you proclaim simply: "Greetings, my lady. I am Viserys Targaryen, a King in the Realm of Balance, recently discovered by the wider Spheres, and in turn discovering them. I am here to deal with matters of trade, though I hope to also bind new ties of fellowship to your fair city."
To her credit Lady Anora does not shift from her seat, as you would expect of one who willingly converses with not only brine dragons, but
unknown dragons, many of them come to seek redress for some issue or another. Still, her eyes widen at the sight of you, her left hand twitching ever so slightly as it lays flat on the desk, the gesture of a sorceress reaching for her magic, if only for an instant.
Is she strong enough to fight a dragon turned foe, you wonder,
or merely to flee?
Curious, you look as deeply as your magic allows... and see nothing at all. While there is a theoretical possibility that someone was told to negotiate with dragons with no ward or enchantment you very much suspect that the city which once fought a successful rebellion against the dominion of dragons has warded her
very well indeed.
"The Dragon Lord who hosted the conclave of Sky and Stone?" the undine mage half-asks. "An honor to meet you, Great One." You catch a moment's hesitation before the word 'Great'. She had likely reached for one of the many draconic words for 'elder' before changing her mind as she could not guess your age. Perhaps to cover the perceived lapse she continues in a formal register. "And it shall doubtlessly be our pleasure to host your business. What manner of trade shall you grace out in the glitter of the ever-mirror?"
Allowing an honest smile to touch your lips you give a brief accounting of the goods you have brought with you, though without going into such detail as to give her or any she might share the knowledge with a chance to profit from it, such gifts are not handed as a courtesy.
"The spices, silks and feycraft are likely to be in much demand..." the sorceress' smile fades slightly as she considers her next words. "Alas that so regal a form as you bear now may serve those profits ill."
"In what way?" your mother interjects to the slight bewilderment of the lady, though not near as much as she had shown when you had made the introductions.
"Beings of flame are rare in Vialesk and those that do choose to dwell here do so near the Glass Forge, rarely emerging into the city at large for their own comfort," the sorceress continued more firmly now that she did not feel she had to pass her concerns through the filter of directly addressing a dragon. "The presence of one so mighty as your... er, son, abroad in his true form would be surely unusual and might cause uncertain trepidation in the populace, which could adversely affect trade."
"Hmm... troublesome," you interject, taking on human form once more. "What do you suggest?"
The simple practicality of the question seems to have taken the Herald momentarily aback, but she rallies quickly. "If you were to make a very public show of your enmity to the efreeti somehow, though without going to far as to hint your presence might draw the ire of the Brazen Throne upon the city, that would likely still the concerns of those who have seen one too many Oil and Ash Plays."
Relath snorts in amusement as much as in understanding. "Such plays usually set in the City of Brass, thinly disguised if the playwright is of particularly timid disposition. The subject matter almost always includes some efreeti's harem and astonishingly improbable romantic entanglements whereby the sea-born hero outwits the dreadful efreeti and all his hosts."
You nod in understanding, Braavosi playwrights have been known to churn out those sorts of plays about the Volantenes and doubtlessly would still for many years to come, no matter that the two cities had been united under one crown. "And on the matter of diplomatic relations?"
"An embassy can be procured either here near the Chamber's Sphere, or besides the Glass Forge, should your servants be more comfortable where they might remain mostly dry. The law of Vialesk permits at most a dozen envoys for each dragon, without dispensation from the Guild Council. Will that be sufficient?"
What do you reply?
[] Yes, that is more than enough for a beginning
[] No, you wish for greater representation, perhaps an extension to Astral Currents offices as well, and the chance to appear before the leaders of Vialesk is welcome
[] Write in
OOC: Not the most exciting update, unfortunately. Hopefully the cultural details prove worthwhile.