Aftermath 22.

The Summer Palace. The Lands Farque...

Standing just behind the beach off to side of the dock that goes out into the lake.
Lord Farque looks out over the lake, on the edge of which, the Summer Palace is located.
The morning is mild, here at the end of summer in the lands Farque. And the lord and ruler of the lands that are named after his family.
Has come down here as he thinks about things. And what took place in the kingdom of Nastell and the unruled lands north of it.
Where one of his armies was hired to do a job. The first time they've done so in four and half centuries.
The heavily armoured deathlord's thoughts are interrupted. And he looks away to his left. Where a small child hurries up the beach carrying a stick.
She comes up off the beach, and hurries to where her lord is standing. She places the stick on the ground near him, with the other things she's gathered.
A rock, and a handful of sand, a bit of broken stonework from the nearby dock, a piece of wood, and now the stick.
She looks up at the tall figure in black, blue plate armour. Who nods his full helmed head to her.
The young girl, who looks more like her father, than her mother as she looks satisfied, nods in return.
Then she turns, and on her small, three year old legs, hurries back down to the beach, to search for something else to find.
The lord of the death realm who returned to his nation quite a few days ago. Well before the rest of the fleet returning from Nastell has yet to do so.
Faintly smiles behind the faceplate of his full helm, as he watches the young girl searching across the empty beach.
Then he hears her older brother, who he's sensed coming from the Summer Palace, calling out for her, wondering where she is.
Yarren, the oldest of the four Van Der Linden children makes his way out from the covered walkway.
And decides not to call out for his sister again. As a pair of guards are standing nearby on this end of the dock that leads out onto the water.
The nine year old, looks along the lakeshore to the left. And spots his lord not that far from the dock.
Looking a little further along, he finally spots his little sister Saralyn down on the beach.
Yarren winces, and hopes she hasn't been bothering the lord. As his sister can be a bit peculiar to say the least. Even more so than the twins. And the twins aren't even human.
The oldest of the Van Der Linden children nods to the nearby guards in black. Then he makes his way down the steps to the left.
And heads across the grass to the lakeshore. As he sees his sister running up from the water. Clutching something in her hand, as if it's the most precious thing she possesses.
It's a feather, and young Saralyn Van Der Linden shows it in a triumphant manner to her lord, before she gently places it down on the pile of other things she's brought up from the lakeside beach.
A throat clears from behind them, and a young voice says "My lord".
Saralyn peers around her lord, and spots her oldest brother Yarren standing back from the lord and ruler of the lands Farque.
She grins at him, after he slightly winces when he spots the pile of things she's collected and put at the feet of their lord.
"Yes young Yarren?" says lord Farque after he turns to face the oldest Van Der Linden child.
Yarren bows, then says "Little Sara isn't bothering you is she?". "She isn't" replies the undead warlord.
As for little Sara, she's wandered off down to the beach again, in search of something else to find to bring to her lord.
With a slight shake of his head, as he watches his little sister down on the beach, Yarren Van Der Linden says "It's just that it's time for her morning lesson" the nine year old boy continues with "Mother is looking for her".
"Ah well, if your mother wants to take her for her lesson, then off she should go to her" says the lord of the death realm, who after a slight pause, tells the young boy "After she gets this last bit".
Last bit of what? Yarren Van Der Linden thinks to himself, as it looks to him, his sister has just gathered up bits and pieces of nothing from the beach, and deposited them on the ground infront of their lord.
"And how are your studies and training going young Yarren" asks the heavily armoured deathlord who stands well over six and a half foot tall, and is close to three hounded pounds in weight. With barely an ounce of fat on him. As he's exactly as he was when he died, with the exception of his hair. Which went from blond to black when he returned as undead.
"Well, my lord" says the oldest Van Der Linden child, who refrains from rubbing his sore left arm, that was whacked in weapons training earlier this morning.
The deathlord of Farque nods, then asks "And languages?". "Well my lord" says Yarren in the elven language, and repeats it again in dwarven.
"Bit more difficult speaking mother's languages" says the nine year old, who then adds in the air elemental language "Very difficult" followed, less assuredly, and a little hesitantly in the earth element language with "Difficult".
The undead warlord nods then says "Better than most" he continues with "Don't worry about having trouble learning the earth elemental language, i struggled with it too" he then adds in a slightly dry tone with "Your father can barely speak it, and he's known your mother for over a dozen years".
"Yes my lord" says Yarren who refrains from grinning, as it's well known his father finds it near impossible to speak one of the languages of his wife.
Considering that all of his children are learning them, even young Saralyn. Who is on the beach, head down, searching for something. What? Yarren isn't exactly sure. Knowing his little sister. It will be of importance to her.
"And your other lessons?" asks lord Farque, who then adds "From your father?".
The young boy, who knows exactly what his lord is referring to. Nods his head, then says "I think they're going well my lord".
Yarren, who knows there's no use holding anything back. As his lord knows everything, about all of his people.
"Well, I'm not exactly certain to be honest my lord" says the oldest of the four Van Der Linden children, who is already showing the height that both his mother and father have.
As he's already taller than most children his age.
"As is the way of all spellcasters who have just come into their power" says the lord of the death realm, who continues with "Especially of mages I'm told".
The undead being, who can sense life and death, as well as magic, says to the boy mage "Well since you haven't blown up parts of the palace yet, I'm guessing it's going fairly well".
Yarren Van Der Linden grins, then says "Yes my lord" he follows that with "I'll continue to do so" he then silently adds, i hope. As he's found it difficult to control his powers at times when he's casting.
The young boy looks down to the beach, where he sees his little sister Saralyn has picked up something, and is carrying it back up here to the grass behind the beach.
The small, three year old child, opens up her hand. And drops something down onto the pile of things she's gathered and placed next to her lord.
Yarren blinks in surprise, as he sees it's a small, clear gem of some kind.
Saralyn looks up at her lord, who nods to her again, this time saying "Thank you little one".
The undead warlord, who when he was alive, was a battlelord, who died at the age of just twenty two, in the most well known battle during the largest war in the history of all the Southlands.
A battle that he turned with his death, when he killed the emperor of the Holy Norstran Empire. Whose armies had come across the Great Western Ocean, and invaded the Southlands.
Says to the small child looking up at him "That will be all this morning" followed by "Go with your brother now, your mother is waiting for you".
"Yes lord" says Saralyn in her quiet voice. Her older brother's eyebrows go up in surprise, as his little sister hardly ever says a word to anyone outside of the family.
The three year old girl, skips over to her brother, who bows and says "My lord".
He slightly nudges his little sister, who turns and bows too, though it's just a nod of the head, and a bend of her knees, in a squat more than anything else, as she says "Lord".
After a nod from their lord, Yarren who slightly winced at how Saralyn addressed their lord, takes his little sister's hand and turns, and the two of them walk away, heading for the covered walkway that leads back into the Summer Palace. The smallest of the residences of the lord and ruler of the lands Farque.
"It's my lord, not lord" quietly says the older brother to the young sister as they walk up the steps.
"His name's not my, it's lord" quietly says little Saralyn Van Der Linden, who then adds "That's just silly Yar".
The boy mage just rolls his eyes, and keeps quiet on the matter. As he knows his youngest sibling is stubborn just like their mother. And it's no use trying to dissuade either of them.
Dealing with the twins, who are three years his junior, making them three years older than little Sara. Is easier to do, and they're not human beings.
They might not be humans, just like their mother. But they're less peculiar than Saralyn and her odd little ways.
Lord Farque faintly smiles as he watches the two Van Der Linden children make their way back into the Summer Palace.
When they're out of sight, back inside. The deathlord of Farque waves over one of the nearby, black clad guards standing at the foot of the dock.
As the guard makes his way over, the undead warlord picks up the gem from the pile of things that Saralyn Van Der Linden gathered off the beach.
It's an empty spell gem, that was lost in the lake centuries ago. Which only resurfaced and washed ashore recently.
Once the guard reaches him, and after he bows, the heavily armoured deathlord points at the other things young Saralyn Van Der Linden gathered, and says "Return these to the beach" followed by "Scatter them along it".
Not bothering to ask his lord about the unusual request, the guard says "Yes my lord" then bows, and starts picking up the small pile of things the young child gathered.
And as the guard heads down to the beach, the lord and ruler of the lands Farque makes his way to the Summer Palace and into it.
Kreece Van Der Linden makes his way along a hallway in one of the upper levels of the lakeshore palace. Looking out the glass windows to his left, which offers a view of the large lake, which the Summer Palace is on the north side of.
The powerful mage, probably the most powerful one in all the Southlands at this time, has just left his family's suite. Where little Saralyn has finally turned up after her oldest brother Yarren found her. As she had wandered off again, as she often does.
The mage Van Der Linden, who is the new chancellor of the lands Farque after his father passed away due to a heart attack in the spring.
Slightly shakes his head at the antics of his youngest child. She might be human unlike the twins. And he's been reliably told she won't be a spellcaster like her oldest brother Yarren.
But without doubt she's the most peculiar of his four children. And that's saying something considering who her parents are.
For though he's a powerful human mage in his early thirties, his wife Sephiryn isn't human. She's an elemental. And not just an ordinary elemental. She's both an air and earth elemental. Two opposing elements. The only elemental in the world who is of two opposing elements.
The chancellor, who is not in his half plate armour, or wearing his sword as he makes his way around a corner. Left his family's suite after receiving a message via mindspeech from hundreds a miles away in the very north of the lands Farque. Only one type of spellcaster can do that. A navigator in the Krean Protectorate.
Kreece Van Der Linden, who has turned into an empty corridor. Makes his way to the end of it, where a closed door is. Infront of which, lies a massive shape.
The undead wardog Hammer cracks an eyelid, and looks at the powerful mage. Then his master's voice comes from within the room behind the door, in a language that only he and his fellow wardogs understand.
The massive undead canine, gets up, and moves out of the way of the door.
"Thank you Hammer" quietly says the chancellor of the lands Farque, who steps forward and knocks upon the door. And after hearing enter from the otherside of it. He opens the door, and makes his way inside.
The powerful mage waits for the undead wardog Axe, who has just got up and is walking away from the doorway.
The spellcaster closes the door behind him, and makes his way over to the large bay windows, where his lord is standing, looking out at the lake.
"My lord" says Kreece Van Der Linden the mage, the undead warlord nods, then says "You received a message from one of the senior navigators up in the Krean Protectorate" says the undead warlord.
"I did my lord" says the chancellor, who chairs the personal council to his lord "The rest of the fleet have started to return from further north" says the spellcaster who a couple of inches over six foot himself, has to look up at the large, heavily armoured figure that is his lord.
The deathlord of Farque, who returned quite a while ago on the krean strikeship, the Fídiablo by way of a few ship rifts.
Nods his full helmed head for the mage Van Der Linden to continue, and the spellcaster who also happens to be a blademaster, says "One of the ships was attacked one night flying over the Kaldel Plains" he then adds "It went down".
Noticing the pause from his chancellor, the lord and ruler of the lands Farque says "And?".
"There were a number of people onboard it" says Kreece Van Der Linden, who then names them, and tells his lord that they survived the warship going down, as did most of the crew and passengers onboard.
Then the powerful mage informs his lord, what those he named, have set out to do.
After rolling his eyes, lord Farque mutters "Fucking hell" as he knows that those Kreece have named, are more than capable. But they are also highly capable of getting themselves into trouble.
The undead warlord thinks about it for a few moments, then tells his chancellor what he wants done . . . . . .