Getting some sense into the senseless [Leomer/Open]

[Prisca Vea Leitus]

After the unfortunate conversation with the Lenneck king and his council, which had not amounted to anything much, Prisca had felt devastated. Why couldn’t they comprehend that all this nonsense had to cease? Instead, it had gotten into their stubborn heads that what the Lenneck race needed was not peace, or to reach an arrangement: they needed to seek allies. How could the conversation become that bleak?

And so they had begun considering to enlist the echas to their cause, or the elves, or even the humans… to what end, she wondered? That would only drag on the war, produce more loss and distance the realms from each other, regardless of what happened. Thus, the only exit she had seen to all of this was travelling to Guiar, requesting an assembly with the Gui king and his council, and hoping for the best.

She had arrived to the palace with very colourful garment, as she used to, and she received curious glances from the lords and ladies. She was escorted to the main hall in a slow fashion, while she walked timidly behind the guards. It had been a miracle that she had been allowed to see the king: yes, she was the High Priestess, which usually commanded respect and admiration everywhere she went… but still, she was a halfbreed, and in her veins ran Gui and Lenneck blood alike. Will the men and women of this kin despise her? Would they suspect treason of any kind? Prisca knew in her heart that her only allegiance was with the Divine Light, and nothing more.

She finally reached the hall, and as she entered the room suddenly became quiet. It was full of highborn lords and ladies who inspected her intently, some ladies even laughed at her choice of garments. She did not mind in the least. She bowed, kneeling as long as she could, and without daring to look at Leomer (how vicious he looked in his throne! how serious and deadly!) she cleared her throat.

“Good afternoon, Your Majesty. I am thankful that you have accepted my request, may the Divine Light guide our conversation…” what else could she say? She was nervous, she felt foolish for coming here, and she was so young!

[Léomer Elke]

The presence of Leomer had been requested with great haste. Prisca, the High Priestess of the realm’s religion, wanted to have a word with him. Of course, having a word with the King, even if you were a priestess, meant discussing as well with his cousins, his counselors and all the dukes and duchesses of the court. He agreed, on the condition that it was a quick assembly: he had many topics to attend to, many matters which were pressing right now, as the dwarven army planned their next attack on the fauns. 

His garments were not what he had been used lately. He had used a helmet, a chainmail, sandals… garment fit for war. Today, he wore loose clothing, floor-length robes, and a coat of furs. He wore his hair long lately, and his stubble was starting to become prominent. He really did not care about his appearance; all he thought about lately was his realm, his people, his soldiers and victory.

The woman, on the other hand, was dressed in a very exotic fashion. He had only seen such garments being worn by members of the priesthood of the Divine Light, and the king found it diverting to say the least. He could not help but grin as the young girl entered (how old was she? She could not be past 30, this High Priestess everyone spoke about). As she curtsied, he lowered his head in appreciation, containing his amusement as to not offend her. 

There was something to be said about a woman who dedicated her life to the Divine Light… he did not understand it, he had never been a believer, but he admired the commitment it took to life their lives praising something as much as the believers did. Were there believers in the great hall? Did his closest friends follow this religion? He had never asked… maybe he ought to begin enquiring on such things. Religion was, clearly, one more of the pillars of the state and of the realms. 

Sitting on his throne, he raised his voice so that they all could hear. “Welcome to my realm, High Priestess. As you might imagine, we have matters at the very moment which are demanding and of the utmost importance. Thus, I would appreciate if this assembly was hasty… although I would rather prefer to talk lengthily of whatever it is you have come here to discuss. Tell me, why are you in Guiar, Lady Prisca?”

[Larris Elke Túmmia]

It had been a long day. Larris had travelled all the way from the gui camp, in such a haste that he had nearly forgotten his sword, his castle garments, and his companions. They had arrived swiftly, their horses never letting them down, and just in time for the grand assembly with the leader of the Divine Light faith. Larris had never personally seen the high priestess, she was a kind of legend, mainly because of her young age and her exotic beauty.


Larris hurried into the hallway, which was filled to the brim with known faces, and decided to settle in the left ale, were the royals of the Elke family always had their place. He stood close to his sister, Devona, and very close to Ramis Uleken, the King’s counselor and his lifelong friend.


The king had raised his voice and proclaimed that there was not much time for this assembly. He had said it in a polite tone, yet authoritative, and Larris knew that what he said was true. Just after this assembly ended, the closest men and women to the king would reunite in a more private chamber where they would discuss these “pressing matters”. Namely, the strategy for the next battle, and the ways in which they could surprise the lennecks in order to make the next one their last, and definitive, strike.


Larris, thus, turned his head to the High Priestess as soon as the king had inquired on her coming. The entire crowd was looking now at this young girl. What business could she have in the castle? And more importantly, was she a friend or a foe?


And even more relevant yet: how did this young, pristine woman look underneath all of those garments? After all, Larris had this thought with every noble woman who stood in front of him. When would he grow up? He wondered at times. At the end, he was just a loyal friend and a well-known womanizer. He smirked to himself, deep in thought.

[Prisca Vea Leitus]

The assembly hall was crowded; there was no doubt about it. As the King spoke, every single noble man and woman in attendance stood silent, in expectancy. The King saluted Prisca curtly, making a point of the lack of time esteemed for this meeting. She felt disillusioned: she had hoped to speak lengthily with the King. She knew that he was not a simple man, and that communicating with Leomer her concerns would take more time than some minutes. Still, she felt thankful that he had accepted this meeting, in the midst of his demanding agenda.

“…Tell me, why are you in Guiar, Lady Prisca?”

The question resonated, and now everyone laid their eyes on her. She breathed deeply, striving to maintain her demureness and grace. Her garments were heavy and they made her feel very warm in this closed hall, but she chose to pay this no mind. The eyes of men were also on her, especially those from a man to the left of the hall, who observed her with what seemed to be curiosity… and something close to hunger. Prisca shuddered, cleared her throat, and replied respectfully to the King.

“I have come here with a petition, Your Majesty. I know full well that I am in no place to demand or even suggest anything, particularly in terms of war. I am just a girl, and a young one at that, uneducated in the topic of conflict and combat.”

She raised her head and took one step closer to the Kings throne. Her large, penetrating hazel eyes focused on the King, and nothing else.

“So I am just a girl, but I am also the High Priestess of our world. And in the name of the Divine Light, and in the name of everything we hold sacred, I believe I have the responsibility to talk to you, my King. This war… it is nonsense. These deaths, all these children being orphaned every single day… it is unfair. I come here to offer my assistance, in any way possible, in order to begin our path towards peace.”

The halls remained noiseless for a while, until the King decided to retort.

[Léomer Elke]

Léomer had half expected that the message of the High Priestess would be one of peace. The issue with the dwarven king was, mainly, that he saw peace as a synonym of passiveness, of surrender, and those words were unacceptable in his ranks, in the battlefield and in his life. They would never yield, not when they had come this far. Not when victory and domination were so close.

This domination he had seen and that he had nearly grasped since the beginning of his ruling… it was finally initiating. And with it, the rightful role of leadership that the dwarves deserved since the beginning of time. Léomer felt that, for the first time, the elves were stripped of the self-proclaimed supremacy that they thought they had by right… and he was relishing in this feeling.

So, as much as Léomer could understand the young girl’s concerns, he did not feel empathy for her petitions. He snickered, looking around at his counselors, his family and his friends… all his subjects who, he was sure, shared his thoughts and would follow their king to the battlefield at his command.

“Sweet lady… what is this peace you speak of? And how is it that you believe that your mere presence and your pacifist rambling will divert the course of this war? It is a dark time for you and the members of the faith: the dwarves have a king who will never surrender, while the fauns are weak and spineless and clearly losing their pride with every defeat. You see, now, why there will be no appeasement?”

He grinned and he could see members of his family smirking as well at his retort. His blonde hair fell over his eyes, and he stood up shaking his mane. He pointed at her, displeasingly, “I have agreed to see you today, High Priestess, because I respect your beliefs and those of my people. But believe you me, if this is all you have to tell me today, I’d rather have you leave through that door in this very moment. The dwarves don’t talk about peace; we talk about grandeur and victory. If you wish to aid us in this sense, I shall listen.”

[Prisca Vea Leitus]

Prisca could feel her blood boiling for the first time in many, many years. How long has it been, really, since she had felt this furious? She had been a member of the faith for her entire life; she had been left at the footsteps of Belgemíe’s temple and, since that very moment, she had been educated to be a priestess. Thus, anger did not come easily to her. Right now, she felt a mixture of discontent, frustration and anger. For these feelings the High Priestess felt ashamed, but she could not control them.

She tried to ignore this king’s rudeness and the cynical smirks of his ever-supporting family. She firmed her gaze on Léomer, listening intently to every single one of his words in order to better understand his warmongering mind. 

“Your Majesty… this comes as a surprise for me. All these things you say- with all due respect, my King, you ignore the thin threads that are getting sewn at this very moment.” She had already started, and she figured she could not halt now. If she was here to talk to the King and get some sense into him, she would. Whatever the cost.

“And so you tell me that the dwarves discuss only the matters which relate to victory … that is all very well, Your Majesty, but if the time comes when you stop collecting victories, and if you see your days filled with blood because you and your kin have been blinded by pride… then, your Majesty, you will not be able to talk about splendor or opulence or glory. For you all will be under the ground! What is needed is serenity in this realm!”

Prisca had gone too far. She knew it. She had not wanted to sound like she thought that they were doomed… or that she could somehow predict the future. But it had all come across in that way. The Priestess had only wanted to make him understand the futility of it all! The ways in which peace could be achieved! But the king had acted so full of himself, so confident that they would win it all… that she had lost her self-control. But how would the King and his followers respond?

[Larris Elke Túmmia]

Larris felt enraged with the half breed’s words, and so did the rest of his family. How did this girl even dare to speak to their king in this manner? Religion was indeed respected in Guiar, but if this high priestess thought that she would get immunity to disrespect their King , she was very much mistaken. 

As Prisca ended her indictments, which seemed very much like threats, the entire hallway filled with hissing which soon rose to loud mutterings. Larris eyed her with more suspicion than ever, and he swiftly moved from the column against which he rested and pushed forward through the multitude. He moved past his cousins, his sister, his parents… and there he stood in the middle between his king, Leomer, and the bronzed girl.  

He raised his voice so that the entire gallery could hear his retort. “Who do you think you are, speaking to His Majesty the King like this? Let me remind you, Prisca Vea Leitus, that it is known in all the land and by the entirety of this court that you are half Gui. Thus, you must pay respect to the King, especially since he has has not accepted your intromission in these political matters.” Murmurs re-emerged and echoed all over the vast room, and rage was evident in his face. Larris could be very careless, but when someone threatened the throne he protected his king ruthlessly. 

“And what is this you say of blood spilling in our realm!? These words sound much more like the concoctions of a witch than that of a High Priestess!” with this, the crowd roared, infuriated. 

[Raɱis Uleken]

Ramis Uleken, the grand counselor of the Gui realm, had been silently listening from a corner of the room; from Prisca’s ingenuous pleadings to his King’s irate retorts, to the girl’s threats. Or were they, really? Now Larris, a lifelong friend and cousin to the king, had raised his voice and chimed in with a piece of his mind. He had stated cold facts, mostly regarding the threats and menaces that the high priestess had apparently unleashed on the entire gui army… but Ramis could not help but wonder if they were all jumping to conclusions.

As Larris spoke, the entire hallway roared in approval; dozens of dwarves enraged with the seemingly innocent half-breed girl who stood before them. Perhaps the girl was being impertinent… or, maybe, she had simply chosen inappropriate words in the midst of her frustration, in order to prove her point. Whatever it was, you only got one chance to meet the King of the Gui, and in those minutes you had to be eloquent and precise. Either this girl wanted to intimidate them in the name of peace, which seemed counterintuitive, or she simply had wanted them to consider her side of things: armistice. Anyhow, the words had been said.

As much as Ramis wanted to give Prisca the benefit of the doubt, the crowd was now encouraging their King on, and Léomer seemed irritated by the entire situation. But how his king really felt, Ramis could not tell. He shifted in his seat, which was located in close proximity to Léomer and the royal guard. In between the commotion of the audience, Ramis moved closer to the King who was also sitting in his throne, and whispered.

"I suggest that we closely observe this girl, your majesty, and that we give her the benefit of the doubt."

[Léomer Elke]

The King observed the commotion, and felt pleased. It felt reassuring that this multitude was on his part and, mostly, that all these people were willing to defend their race and their realm. As his cousin Larris approached the podium and expressed his angry thoughts, Léomer smiled and assented. Indeed, his friend was right! For the King had not accepted this meeting with politics in mind. Rather, he had thought that Prisca would speak in the name of the church… but, after all, wasn’t the Divine Light the eternal mediator, the seeker of truth and peace? Prisca’s demands were not that unexpected.

However, the King was made of flesh and bones, and his pride had been affected. Who did she think she was, indeed? And why did this girl, this young naïve girl, come here and unleash all kinds of threats? Léomer was sure of it: her choosing of words had been carefully planned out. Prisca Vea Leitus had seek him and his court to speak this very same words, and now there was no turning back.

His family, friends and the highborn lords and ladies assembled in the hall still muttered and discussed between them, all of them furious and expectant of the King’s retort. He could not let them down. As he devised his next move, his Grand Counselor Ramis Uleken approached him. Both were sitting next to each other, Ramis in a smaller chair, Léomer in an enormous throne which made him look otherworldly and regal. And Ramis spoke of observing and giving this girl the benefit of the doubt…

Oh Ramis, innocent Ramis! Always seeing the best of people, eternally observing and not acting! He was the greatest counselor Léomer could ask for; his good judgement had saved them from many impulsive decisions. But Léomer was impetuous and, this time, he knew he had to act… and to do it swiftly and without looking back. Thus, he looked at Ramis and whispered, so that only he could hear: “Ramis, my friend, look at our audience. This has gone out of hand… if I do not act like a King and discipline this girl, they will all think I am feeble and malleable. That will not be.”

With that, he stood up, raising his hand so as to appease and quieten the vast room. He took a couple of steps forward, towering over the half-breed girl who remained in the hallway. Was she shaking, or was it just in his mind?

“Prisca Vea Leitus, you have dishonored me with your words. As my cousin Larris has said, these threats will not be admitted! Who do you think you are, girl? You are merely a High Priestess, supposedly referring to me in the name of the Divine Light, and yet all I hear from you are menaces and prophecies. Are you a witch, perhaps? What do you have to say in your defense?”

He sounded as furious as he had been in many months, because he was. No one would stand in Guiar and menace their realm. Not while he was alive.