The Royal Banquet

[Annaloth Amruniel]

You enter the castle, and upon entry, to your right you find two large wooden doors. You push them open to reveal the Great Hall. Inside, there is quite a hustle and bustle already. Servants are generally male, and are prisoners that the dragon queens have taken. They are all dressed in the royal blue. They stand up tall and all seem to have that look about them that they were once of royal blood. But now they are disgraced to this level, the level of the very people who at their homes would bring them their food. It seems almost as if the Queen of the Chhayan lands was teaching them a lesson.
Beyond the servants, your eyes wander to look at the rest of the room. The decorations are simple yet elegant. On the walls that face the outside world, there are dark blue and purple curtains covering the windows, made from satin, devoid of elegant designs or patterns. On one side of the room, there is a long buffet table where there rests a large assortment of food. Meats, vegetables, fruits, several varieties of bread, it is a sight to be seen. On the other side of the room is another table, a bit smaller, that is lined with varieties of drinks. If you have a favourite drink, chances are it is on this table. But be careful with the punch, it is said that a little bit of blood may have dripped in it as one of the prisoners was making it.
In the center of the room is a table that spans nearly the entire length of the room. Like the other tables, it has blue cloth draped over it. Cushioned seats line the length of the table, while in front of each chair, there are silver place settings and crystal glasses. Along the center of the table are sprinkled dark blue and purple rose petals, with matching candles in silver candlesticks.
At the head of the table is a large cushioned armchair, similar to the throne in the lair. On each side of the chair was a seat that was only slightly smaller and looked very similar. In these seats were the Queen and her two daughters, Sarai on the left and Selena on the right. Sarai was dressed in purple while Selena was dressed in blue. The Queen herself was clad in both blue and purple. Her dress was a shimmery purple, while she wore a silver tiara with dark blue stones. She smiles at you and welcomes you to her feast.

Welcome my guests. As you may have guessed, I am the Queen Annaloth Amruniel of these lands. Please take a seat, she says as she waves to one of the many place settings at the table. You may take your plate and serve yourself what you wish from the food table and one of the servants will gladly pour you a drink of your own choosing. While you are here, make yourself comfortable, feel free to make light-hearted conversation. After dinner is finished, we will have traditional music and dancing. If you do not wish to dance, we also will have activities to participate in, but those will remain a surprise. So please enjoy yourselves.
With that she turns and faces the girls and kisses each of her daughters’ heads, while kneeling. She whispers to them, I know you’d much rather play but this a formality we must accommodate. She then stands and introduces her daughters. On my left is Sarai Eleniel and on my right is Selena Moriel. They are twins, but Selena is the older. She smiles and sits down between her girls.

[Verdani]

An unusually tall woman, Verdani, entered the palace, accompanied by two men and another woman. Verdani had curling black hair that fell to the middle of her back, and bright sapphire eyes. She was dressed in a fairly simple cream-colored gown with some silver embroidery embellishing the bodice, hem and sleeves. She did not wear any jewelry. Her female companion, her friend Auren, was about five inches shorter than the other woman's five feet ten inches, with light brown hair pulled back in a formal braid and merry green eyes, and wore a conservative green gown with long sleeves. The two men, Ganin and Wyll, were both tall, as well, Ganin with sandy blond hair and brown eyes, and Wyll with dark brown hair and brown eyes. Both were dressed formally for the occasion.

The four allowed the servants to take their cloaks, and then followed the proscribed path into the great hall. Verdani paused briefly just inside the door and surveyed the decorations and the people inside. Her face showed nothing of what she thought, although she did exchange a brief glance with Auren. Ganin and Wyll were noticeably uncomfortable as they saw the state of the men as servants and slaves in the hall. Wyll, not quite as good at hiding his feelings, grimaced.

There was definitely an abundance of the colors blue and purple, which made Verdani glad that she had not worn either color herself. It wouldn't do to blend into the surroundings. Looking to the other three, she set off toward the head table where Annaloth and her two daughters were seated. Anyone of the male persuasion was conspicuously absent from the table. Hopefully her two companions would be treated respectfully. Her people didn't believe that one gender was superior to the other, but rather that they were equal.

Verdani stopped before Queen Annaloth's throne and bowed to just the right degree. Her three companions did the same. "Greetings, Queen Annaloth. I am Verdani of Pilin en'templa..."
"You forgot to mention the part where you rule Pilin en'templa." Ganin interrupted. He knew that Verdani preferred not to mention that she was the ruler of the valley where magic was taught, and an incredibly powerful mage herself.
Verdani rolled her eyes at him and continued, "Forgive his insolence," she said with a smile, "His name is Ganin, and the other two are Auren and Wyll." Each nodded respectfully to the queen as they were named. They, too, were powerful mages in their own right. "We have come to pay our respects to you and your charming daughters, and to learn about your land and people." She gazed frankly at Annaloth, waiting for her response.

[Annaloth Amruniel]

Not too much time had passed before people had entered the room. There were two males and two females. She smiled at her guests, thinking about why Verdani had the gall to bring men with her. Not that it mattered. They were guests. As long as they didn’t irritate her in anyway, they’d be fine. She was not too keen on making her race of people be seen as a discourteous people. It was bad enough that they were seen by the rest of the world as evil. Well, sure they had their faults, but did not every race? And was it not fair to treat men as they had treated women for so many years?
Greetings to you fair Verdani, once more. She gave Ganin a death look when he introduced her as the queen. She looked at Verdani, I shall forgive him this once like you ask, but if he were my acquaintance, I believe you call them friends, no? he would be punished for his insolence. She then looked at Ganin. As for you, I already knew who the woman was. She smiled. Verdani and I have met before, and then, though she did not reveal it, I knew who she was. As for me, I think she knew who I was as well. Is that so, my lady? she addressed to Verdani.
Do take a seat, my friend. It is always nice to be in the presence of a fellow ruler. As for information, was is it you wish to know? I do not pretend that I can answer all of your questions, as like you said in Silmataurea, it would not do to spill everything out all at once. But I do promise to answer what I can. She then noticed Wyll’s grimace at the state of the men in the room.
I believe your name was Wyll, am I correct? Ganin, you may want to listen to, since I sense you are ill at ease as well. I shall tell you of these men you see before you. They were once royalty. Your people may call them great, but we here in the Chhaya Lands saw in them injustice. These were of royal blood, who took advantage of their people. We saw them take their food, their money, even the clothes off their backs. And yet they ruled their kingdom as many would see just. So you see, we are just reversing the roles they once played. I don’t know if that sets your minds at ease, but at least we haven’t killed them. She nodded and then thought, …yet. Then continuing she said, Which pretty merciful, since many of these murdered people, and I don’t just mean physically, but mentally as well. Many murdered peoples hearts too.

[Verdani]

Verdani smiled serenely and listened to Annaloth's response. Her smile faded for a moment when she saw the queen's reaction to what Ganin had said, and replied in kind. "Yes, I do call them friends. Thank you for withholding your punishment on him. It would certainly cast a pall on our meeting, especially since he is also a member of my ruling council." She met Annaloth's eye meaningfully, but said nothing more for the present, instead watching Ganin's reaction. The man raised one eyebrow, but was sensible enough to remain silent. Wyll required a warning look from Auren to stay quiet. Not all of Verdani's companions were diplomats. It had taken a handful of promises of good behavior from Wyll before he had been allowed to come along.

Verdani smiled knowingly as Annaloth directed a question to her about their last meaning. "Just so, your majesty." She replied. Hearing the offer to take a seat, Verdani nodded elegantly and moved to take a seat, Auren, Ganin and Wyll following suit. Once seated, she turned to Annaloth and her offer to answer her questions. The corners of her lips twitched upward as she responded. "Who am I to go against my own advice? I will try not to ask anything I myself would not answer. But... What exactly is the position of regular men here, and not those that are being... taught a lesson?"

A few seats down, Auren smiled warmly at Sarai and Selena as she helped herself to food and drink. Ganin and Wyll were situating themselves when Annaloth began to speak again, addressing them about the other men in the room. Ganin went still and put a polite listening expression on his face, while Wyll bristled noticeably. This time Verdani issued his warning look, and he tried to appear calm as he listened. Pilin en'templa's ruler listened to the dragon queen as well, her face expressionless.

Certainly she had seen the likes of the men Annaloth described. Being very long-lived, she had seen many rulers, good and bad. Suppressing a sigh, she tried to find a way to put her thoughts into words without offending the queen.

Eventually she decided not to try. "I see." She said. "What lands were they formerly rulers of?" Verdani settled for that one question, her thoughts wandering. How many lands had been thrown into disorder or civil war when their rulers suddenly disappeared? Or had the dragon queen and her comrades replaced them? Now, would that mean that the replacements were puppet rulers, and that they were really nothing more than vassals of the Chhaya lands? That would be a bad development for Pilin en'templa, as it would disturb the balance between kingdoms that they so prized. Ganin, meeting her eye surreptitiously, seemed to guess what she was thinking. Once home again, they would send out people to investigate.