Uncommon Oaths
Sixteenth Day of the Twelfth Month 293 AC
"Arise Liomond Lashare, once the Lord of Battles, a knight in my service," you proclaim solemnly to the dark haired man with blunt weather-worn features and sharp discerning eyes who had taken the knee before your throne as many others before him had. The hush that had fallen over the audience chamber was deeper than in most such instances, the air alive with dozens of whisper-spells, bound to ring and pendant that had become ever more common of late.
As the newly made knight meets your gaze you add: "Your path to this time and place has been dark indeed, but in my service you will find tasks worthy of your skills of old." No doubt that will spur quite a few questions, but you do not have the time to recount the whole tale now for the curiosity of the court. Xor would be more than happy to give a full account tonight, you know.
Speaking of Xor and the others, their mission had been only half successful. One of the young dragons, a male who had been dwelling in a cave on the borderlands of Valyria, had manged to kill himself activating ritual protections against your companions.
Tiamat keep his idiot soul.
The other dragon Yss had found had proven more cautious and canny, willing to swear oaths to you so long as 'they were not too onerous'. Thankfully though he had not been allied with Jagged Knife's band of horrors, Zerylaz had neither a predilection for hunting and eating the local smallfolk, a desire to rob and pillage at will nor any other habits that would render swearing an oath of fealty to you impossible. That was not to say there was no complication in the swearing of oaths. hH would not be a dragon, much less one of crimson coat, if his presence did not give someone a headache.
"You want to
court Ysandrix?" You keep the suspicion, though not the surprise, out of your voice as you address the young dragon in the privacy of Malarys' solar as High Justice, an opulent enough setting to appeal to his pride without the trouble of witnesses outside your Companions should he prove stubborn.
"Not now obviously," the dragon sniffed, sparks puffing from its nostrils. "We are both still too young, but when we are powerful enough to pass on the gift of life and magic, I desire assurances that I can fly a mating dance with her."
"That you may
attempt a mating dance," Dany corrects none-too-gently. "It takes two to make that decision."
To his credit Zerylaz does not scoff at your sister's interference. He knows her too well by reputation you suspect, better perhaps than he even knows you. "Yes, yes of course, I merely wish to assure myself that I attempt to continue the noble line of..." he pauses, undoubtedly to swallow Tiamat's name. "Our blood."
"You would forswear the Horde Taker?" you ask, your tone only a touch harsher, but enough to make it clear to a dragon's hearing that only one answer is acceptable if he wishes to continue living.
"She has
failed," the young wyrm hisses pridefully. "I will forswear her but never my blood, my lineage."
What do you reply?
[] Assure Zerylaz that his romantic and familial engagements are none if your concern
[] Explain that he must prove himself worthy of the responsibility of caring for young dragons first, but that he will have plenty of time to do so before he is old enough for his first Sky Dance
[] Write in
OOC: The rolls for the dragon who blew himself up had me practically chuckling at the screen. First it was 'oh that's clever, this might be worth an interlude', then the I do the confrontation itself and its a cascade of filigrees with a roll of 3 on wild magic interactions to top it all off.
