The Journey 18.

Autumn. The Capital City Fanile.

They look away to their right, and draped over another of the broach towers here within the so called real palace.
Is another dragon, this one identical in shape and size to the large black one. Except that it's all white in colour.
They're the twin dragons, Blackflame and Whitefire. Born from the same egg centuries ago. Who are the royal family's dragons. Well, that's a bit of a misnomer. As they're the sovereign's dragons. At this point in time. The king of Terrindim.
Most of the rest of the royal family would like to think the twin dragons are their's.
But the king of Terrindim doesn't. Nor do Blackflame and Whitefire. Who though tolerate to the rest of the royal family to one degree or another.
They definitely don't see themselves as part of the family. Even though, long ago. The current royal family of Terrindim, were of poor noble stock from the western provinces of the kingdom. Who were wild dragon egg hunters.
Who rose to prominence and stature, and took the throne pretty rapidly when the twin dragons came of age.
"So who do you have there with you oh lord of Highsun" asks Blackflame the dragon who snakes his neck and head down towards the path that approaches the broach tower he's draped over.
"This is bosun Cedric, and able airman Orvick formerly of the Dragon's Revenge" says lord Ganulf, the lord of Highsun, and advisor to the prince.
"Formerly eh" says the large black dragon with an arched eye ridge as he looks at the three humans who have stopped on the path, after they've crossed the courtyard.
Courtyard being somewhat of an understatement. As it's more like a very large city square. Almost the size of some of the parade grounds towards the outer sections of the vast complex that's the Royal Palace of Terrindim.
"Sorry to hear that" says the rather talkative dragon, who continues with "I rather liked admiral Halmack, at least he could actually control those ships you lot fly around on".
Blackflame's tone is a pretty clear indication of what he thinks about airships, and what most people refer to flying as.
To say he's a rather dismissive about it, is an understatement in the extreme. He doesn't care for it at all. Infact he thinks it's absolutely ridiculous. And thinks flying should be left to dragons and their riders.
Lord Ganulf who knows the king's large black dragon doesn't think much of airships, and people flying on them, bows to him, and says "Thank you".
The lord of the city of Highsun, then slightly winces, then dryly says "It could be better" in response to Blackflame asking him "How's that war of yours going?".
"Though" says the nobleman from the northern province of Hanamede, who continues with "The dragon Sunbeam and rider Daeliss have killed two of their dragons in the last five days".
By the look on his face, Blackflame is rather impressed. So is Whitefire, for over on the broach tower she's lying all over, she opens one of her eyelids, and looks over at the lord of Highsun, and her twin brother Blackflame.
That's suitably impressed for Whitefire. The opening of an eyelid. That's basically the large white dragon's way of saying, well done indeed.
For as much as Blackflame is rather talkative, who'll talk to any and everyone. From the lowest of servants like the kitchen sculleries and chambermaids. To the king himself. Which he does often.
Whitefire is the complete opposite. Who doesn't say much to anyone. Including the king.
In the years that lord Ganulf has been coming to the capital, and the Royal Palace of Terrindim. And over the last three years, where he's lived here in Fanile. Whitefire has barely said a handful of words to him.
She's like that to everyone. So unlike her twin brother. As the twin dragons are about as opposite as you can get in personalities.
"Well, well, well, isn't that something" says Blackflame the dragon in reference to the dragon Sunbeam and the rider Daeliss Komav killing two dragons in the Golmard faction.
Not exactly an easy feat. Nor has it been done all that often in the faction wars. Especially not within just one week.
Lord Ganulf nods, then quickly as he knows Blackflame will prattle on if you let him, he asks "Is his highness in?".
"Of course" is the reply of the large black dragon, who then chuckles in his deep rumbling way, as he adds "That's him there".
As the sounds of shouting can be heard from within broach tower that Blackflame is draped over.
The shouting can be heard more clearly, as it comes from a window up on one of the higher levels of the broach.
"Move your wing you big lump!" shouts the voice, followed in a dry tone with "I would like some sunlight coming into my offices thank you!".
With a chuckle, Blackflame lifts up his left wing, and folds it across and down his back.
The large black dragon then grunts, then says "Of course" when he hears lord Ganulf quietly say "Don't tell him will you" followed by "I'll do that".
Blackflame lifts his head up and out of the way. Allowing the trio of humans to continue on their way towards the broach.
Both of the airmen, who have seen the two most well known dragons in the kingdom at a distance in the past.
Frankly stare up at Blackflame as they pass beneath his head and neck as he briefly looks over at his twin sister Whitefire, before he goes back to sunning himself as the cool autumn morning finally heats up.
They enter the broach tower, which is the size of a keep pretty much anywhere else in Terrindim.
They're met by a servant, who says "This way" in reply to the lord of Highsun saying to him "Lord Ganulf to see his highness". They follow the servant, who leads to them to some wide curving stairs.
With the servant a bit out infront of them, the nobleman from the mountainous province of Hanamede in the north of the kingdom, quietly says to the airmen following behind him "You two are now on my staff".
The lord of Highsun then dryly adds "Not that I've got much of a staff" followed by "Apart from my household staff, you two are it".
Both able airman Orvick and bosun Cedric are stunned to say the least at this.
"You'd only be reassigned in the fleet anyway" quietly says lord Ganulf as they follow the palace servant at a distance.
"And lets be honest, if you're not posted to one of the better ships in the faction, say like captain Komav's Dragon Flame" continues the advisor to the prince, who follows that with "You're not going to last that much longer in a war like this one".
Both the bosun, and the able airman with the club foot, nod when they hear that. As they know that's a distinct possibility.
"Airman Orvick, just like you did with admiral Halmack, you'll be my aide" quietly says the nobleman from the province of Hanamede, who left his family's faction, the Salmain faction, to join the Balford faction.
"Yes my lord" says able airman Orvick, who at the beginning of the day, before the battle started. Would never of thought he'd end up here in the capital Fanile. In the Royal Palace of Terrindim, in what's called the real palace. Off to see his highness, with lord Ganulf, who he's now an aide to. And all before midmorning too.
"Bosun you know how to use that cutlass?" asks the lord of the city of Highsun.
"Yes my lord" says Cedric the bosun, a man in his mid thirties, who has served in the various Balford fleets, for close to twenty years.
"Boarded nearly thirty enemy ships and fought on them in my almost twenty year career in our fleet my lord" says the bosun, who until just a short time ago, was one of helmsmen of the Dragon's Revenge, the flagship of admiral Halmack.
"Good you're now my offsider" quietly states lord Ganulf, the bosun blinks in surprise at that. As he never thought he'd hold such a position in his career at all.
For the offsider of a nobleman, is often a commoner. Though usually a good friend of the noble in question.
An offsider is many things, typically a confidant, who does a number of tasks for the noble they're serving.
The task most well known concerning an offsider. Is that they're the second for the noble during duels.
Cedric has just realised he might be one of the busiest offsiders in all of Terrindim. For it's a well known fact that lord Ganulf ends up in a lot of duels.
For the simple reason, a lot of people throughout the kingdom want to see him dead.
They fall silent as the palace servant leads them off the stairs, up on the fourth floor of the broach keep.
And as they make their way along a wide hallway, to a set of double doors that are guarded by pair of king's guards.
They stop just before the double doors, and one of the guards knocks, then opens one of the doors when the command of enter can be heard on the otherside.
The palace servant steps forward, and goes through the open door, and announces the nobleman from the mountainous province of Hanamede.
"Lord Ganulf, the lord of Highsun" states the palace servant, there's a pause from inside the room, which is eventually followed by "What the fuck?" in a tone of surprise, and after that is "What the hell is he doing here?".
"His highness can be a little excitable at times" murmurs lord Ganulf to the two airmen who he's just made members of his staff, just before they go through the open door.
Prince Waniq, the crown prince of Terrindim. A man just recently turned thirty. Who for all intensive purposes, is the leader of the Balford faction.
A man at around five foot ten inches in height, who is taller than the average Terrindiam.
Stares in shock as he looks at his advisor lord Ganulf. Who should not be here in the capital, and the Royal Palace of Terrindim. But should be further north in the kingdom. In the central province of Smalsare. With the third fleet. Fighting against the Golmard faction.
Seeing the flecks of dried blood across the face of his advisor, the crown prince gets a sinking feeling in his gut.
He sees two airmen behind the lord of Highsun, and they look a little worse for wear too. Uniforms disheveled, with scuffs and bruising starting to show. The feeling in the crown prince's gut gets even worse.
"I don't want to know do i" says prince Waniq, who then glances at those of his staff in the Balford faction in here with him in his office.
"Not particularly your highness" says lord Ganulf, who walks towards the desk the crown prince is behind.
"But since I'm lucky to even be here, i might as well tell you" adds the nobleman from the province of Hanamede.
The prince sits down in his chair, and sourly says "I'm not going to like this".
Then the crown prince, who can get more than a little excitable at times. Rash, is often a word to describe him. Sits there and listens in stunned silence at what his advisor has to say.
You know he's shocked when he doesn't have a word to say. So he just sits there, taking in what lord Ganulf has to say.
Prince Waniq, the crown prince of Terrindim, the oldest child of king Crassil and queen Pania. And effectively the head of the Balford faction, one of the two largest factions in the kingdom.
Is not the heir to the throne. That's someone else. He knew at a fairly young are he wouldn't be the next sovereign, even though he's the oldest of the king's children.
He came to terms with that fairly quickly. Infact he was still a child, when he realised not being the heir. Was actually quite beneficial if you wanted to get things done.
Something his siblings, and most of his cousins never learned. As one by one, they were all passed up as being the heir to king Crassil.
Some of that has built up resentment in the wider royal family. Ending up in a number of faction wars in recent years.
For with the exception of the sovereign, in this case the king. Anyone in the kingdom of Terrindim can belong to a faction. And most of the extended royal family belong to one faction or another.
It makes family gatherings here in the Royal Palace of Terrindim quite lively affairs to say the least. With so many of the wider royal family belonging to rival factions.
The crown prince sighs, and sinks down into his chair as he continues to listen to what his advisor has to say.
As he looks at lord Ganulf, he sees that the lord of Highsun, who he's known for a number of years, even before the nobleman from the province of Hanamede joined the Balford faction three years ago.
May look calm and collected as he tells him what happened earlier this morning with the third fleet up in the province of Smalsare.
But prince Waniq knows him well enough, that he figures the lord of Highsun, is more than likely boiling with rage beneath the surface.
And probably wants to be elsewhere, killing someone in a duel. Than standing here, explaining to the crown prince what's happened in the central districts of the province of Smalsare.
After lord Ganulf finishes speaking, prince Waniq, who can get carried away with things at times, takes a few deep breaths to calm himself down.
"The third?" finally asks the crown prince of Terrindim.
"Apart from those who broke off and fled" says the lord of Highsun, who briefly pauses before he continues on with "I wouldn't expect much of them to survive".
Trying to keep calm, prince Waniq, who like a lot of his family, still has the sun touched, and blond features found throughout the more arid western provinces of the kingdom.
Slightly shakes his head, then he finally mutters "You're fucking family" as he looks at his advisor.
"Tell me about it" sourly says lord Ganulf.
"And i thought my family was dysfunctional" dryly says the crown prince of Terrindim.
Which earns a few grins and smiles from the gathered staff. Including a quirk of the lips from the lord of Highsun.
"My second cousin Yammick?" asks prince Waniq.
"Dead most likely" says lord Ganulf, who rather hopes the senior admiral didn't survive the battle, as he considers him an utter fool.
The crown prince sighs, and not one usually for regrets. He wonders if he made a mistake in making his relative Yammick the senior admiral of the third fleet of the Balford faction.
His advisor lord Ganulf cautioned him not to. And instead have fleet admiral Halmack be the senior admiral of the third fleet.
But family ties within factions must be maintained. So of course he put his second cousin in command of the third fleet of the Balford faction.
In doing so, they've probably lost more than half of that fleet. Along with his second cousin Yammick. As well as admiral Halmack, probably the best fleet admiral in all of the Balford faction.
"Fuck" the crown prince mutters to himself, who shakes his head again, as he realises they're probably now in war against the Salmain faction as well.
The oldest child of the king and queen of Terrindim, is just saying "Well at least we killed another one of their dragons".
When he's interrupted by a deep rumbling voice saying "Is she coming out soon Waniq?".
Looking away to his left, the crown prince yells "Would you move your big head Blackflame!" followed by "Your blocking the light again!".
The large black dragon mutters something in the language of the dragons, before he moves his head away from the windows he's peering through. The dragon Blackflame then says "Well, is she?".
Prince Waniq, who the twin dragons Blackflame and Whitefire tolerate more than anyone else in the royal family apart from the king and one other.
Rolls his eyes, and though he's still angry about learning of the defeat the third fleet has had up in the province of Smalsare, he can't help but smile after he says "She's having her lessons this morning, you know that" and he hears Blackflame loudly mutter "Stupid lessons, she should be here out here with us".
The crown prince then calls out "She'll come out after the midday meal". A satisfied grunt can be heard from Blackflame, followed by "Good".
Prince Waniq wryly smiles as he thinks of his young four year old daughter Sarsha. Who the twin dragons Blackflame and Whitefire absolute adore and dote after.
In doing so, making her the heir to the throne, and the next sovereign of Terrindim . . . . . .