Stasolya follows Khal Drogo outside the tent, making sure that Thea is following them. As they muster in the darkness away from the lights, she gazes up at the sky, a feeling of reverence rising up in her breast. She says quietly to Drogo, "My people are great star-gazers, runners over the plains. We know this constellation, though we call it by a different name. Vezzhof. All the stars and moon and the sun itself declare the Order of Hyboria, they map and mirror all the goings and doings of each of us, they guide our steps and frame our stories."
She sighs, her voice full of sorrow. "Greatly have the skies been fragmented since Hyboria's doom came to the horizon." And she nods in answer to his last question. "She is one key, one cornerstone, of that Order. Let us see what may be."
As the Khal walks away, she turns to Thea and smiles. "I do not know what to expect, but I think our task will be made plain to us." She raises her eyes to see the Khal with a young girl, and she stands mystified. A Childlike Empress held the whole of Hyboria in the palm of her hand.
"I don't know either." Thea said, her fingers reaching up to run absentmindedly over the alicorn that had sprouted from her head. "I don't know. But I do not envy you, Stasolya. Whatever you do next...you're doing it with the burden of the both of us."
Thea seems sad as she says this, and finds that she has difficulty turning her gaze to the young girl that walks up with Khal Drogo. She looks...well, as Drogo had described her before, petulant. Upset by her circumstances. Still, the young girl, who is absolutely Princess Zelda as both of them quickly realize, puts on a good show of being polite. She is dressed in a little less regal attire; a green tunic, black pants, some regalia, her long, blonde hair pulled into a bun behind her.
"I tried to get her to braid it, after the fashion of the Dothraki." Drogo said when they see her hair. "But she said it's too hot to have it down. Such is the way of the civilized races. Too accustomed to comfort. Zelda, this is Stasolya and Thea, sent here by Atreyu, under the call of the Childlike Empress. They are in possession of AURYN."
His hand grips her shoulder for a second, then he roughly pushes her toward Stasolya. The Princess stumbles a little, looks irritated, and then attempts something like a curtsy.
As the Princess Zelda is pushed towards her, Stasolya drops down into a reverent bow, which, while looking a bit awkward down on her horse knees with the humanoid torso bent low, at least gives the impression that substantial effort has been put into the gesture. "Your Royal Highness," she says, "I am Stasolya, of the Kiros clan. It is my honor to meet you here during these troubling times. Atreyu of the Childlike Empress bid me seek you out. How may I be of service?"
The Princess looks from Stasolya, to Khal Drogo, and then around to the city. The look of irritation slowly starts to fade from her face as she examines this newcomer, and her overall situation.
"I don't know." She says softly in answer to Stasolya. "I just want to go home. This place is awful. I miss my parents. And my friends."
Stasolya pushes herself back to a standing position with her forefeet and looks sadly at the Princess. "I know. These times are very difficult for all of us. If I could take you home, I would. But I think that your home is not safe for you to return to. Great powers of chaos are looking for you, and your home is in flames."
"I don't understand." The Princess said. She took a moment to look back at Khal Drogo and his hard features, then looked back at Stasolya. Her countenance sank further and further. "I don't...what happened? One moment we were in our home, and then I was being whisked away by the Sheikah. I know something is going on, but daddy...I mean...King Hyrule wouldn't tell me anything. Everything was so secretive. It's so frustrating. Is...is the King okay?"
The air next to Stasolya begins to shimmer, turning vibrant, cold blue before the air tore open. Suddenly, four bodies were spilled out on the ground.
Lelith.
Malenia.
Riair.
Judal.
Multiple Dothraki warriors, summoned by the sudden flash of light and and rumble of the portals appearance and disappearance, gather around, hands on arak hilts and eyes on Khal Drogo, who is standing behind a frightened girl. Her hair is pulled back into a bun, her normally regal attire replaced by a green tunic and black pants. She looks absolutely awestruck at the strangers emerging from the air itself, as does the Khal.
A dark sky presides overhead, while an endless sea of dying grass stretches are far around the strange tent city as they can see.
Next to Stasolya is Thea, who has been with the Centaur since Godzilla fought the Tarrasque at Argos. She looks as shocked as the young girl does.
"Who are you?" Khal Drogo says, pulling his arakh from the sash around his shirtless waist. "State your business in Vaes Dothrak!"
Lelith's mind was still processing the weight of the encounter with the Winter Queen, and it took her a few moments to fully return to the present moment. As she stood up, her senses on high alert, she scanned the surroundings with a vigilant gaze. After a moment, she visibly relaxed, sitting back down with a sigh of relief, her hand absently brushing a strand of hair away from her face.
"We—I am looking for a certain princess, incarnation and reincarnation of a goddess, a pair with the Hero, royal priestess, a blessing to the world," she began, her voice calm but with a hint of frustration and weariness. "That other one," she gestured subtly in the direction of the Winter Eladrin Wizard, Riair, "seems to follow me wherever I go. The other two," she motioned toward Malenia and Judal, "are looking for Stasolya."
Lelith's gaze then landed on the centaur woman, Stasolya, who met her eyes with an intensity that did not go unnoticed. "It is a displeasure to see you again, Stasolya," Lelith said curtly, her features scrunching up as she remembered that sham of a trial. However, her countenance softened as she shifted her attention to Thea, a warmth appearing in her eyes. "And a pleasure to see you, Thea."
"Van Deferenswhatsis?" Judal asks, confused about just where he is.
"Oh hey... A frightened child," Judal notes as he starts to take in his surroundings. "With a bunch of armed men... Nothing very trafficking about that now, is there?"
"Oh hey Stasolya! It's been a while. I've had Vader in my head, chatted with a Rock Chewer, had some Goliaths get way too into me and then, I think, I had a messy break up with the Winter Queen. How's by you?" Judal asks as he climbs to his feet and brushes himself off.
"By the by... This child need rescuing from these half naked guys or....??"
Stasolya is silent for a moment, her head bowed sadly. "My dear Princess," she says, "I am afraid that King Hyrule---"
The figures tumbling from the suddenly appearing portal quickly drown the centaur out, and she stops in mid-sentence, involuntarily making a startled sidewise leap from the portal. As the Dothraki muster to address this new threat, Stasolya's eyes widen and then she smiles in a sudden laugh as she recognizes the hapless and discomfited figures. Most of them people she expected never to see again, but who were meant to be with her and Thea the whole way. Her front hooves nearly dancing, she sways back and forth as she sings a sudden light-hearted melody.
"You've come just in time To make the sun shine In Hyboria's dark shadowed dregs
The Princess we sought Is right here and aught This moment was foretold in the threads!"
She looks from Malenia, to Judal, to Lelith, to the eladrin wizard she does not know. One figure is missing of whom Stasolya sadly wonders the fate of.
The centaur bows politely, if rustically, to Lelith, in response to her greeting. "The displeasure is all yours, Lelith,"she says, still smiling. "I hope you've found some redemption."
The mechanism whirs to life in Malenia's prosthetic, Both hilts ejecting out of the hidden compartment. When the cylindrical handles touches her hands, the weapons roar to life. Two bright burning blade of amber colouration erupt and begin to hum. With the final words spoken to Lelith by the Winter Queen still fresh in her mind, She gave a knowing glance to the Winter Eladrin before her emrald hues set on Stasoyla.
Holding both of her weapons defensively, surrounded by this unfamiliar force who had drawn on her. She grips the reins of the large Bird that was so recently given to her, Glancing to check on the avian creature which she had immedaitely grown attached to. "Sssshhhhhh, Stay calm friend." Her voices carries a VERY unsual tone of compassion, Something those who had spent time with Malenia have never heard from her before. Any of these men that even take a step towards the Kocra would be met with a fierce, furyfilled glare by Malenia. Before her gaze sets onto Thea and Stasoyla. That feeling of guilt and shame, the one that had plagued her since she left her home came roaring back.
Lelith:
(I forgot I could do this) Malenia contacts you Telepathically. AKA Via Discord DM's
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Malenia - [Monk - Way of the Jedi] - Auryn: Princess of Destiny
The little girl, not even quite a teenager, looks around to all the new faces gathered around here in a mixture of apprehension and awe which slowly becomes confusion and fear when Lelith says something about 'incarnation and reincarnation of a god'. Her eyes shift nervously away from the Eladrin, to Stasolya, then to Khal Drogo as she slowly starts to back away from the freshly reassembled band, but the Dothraki Warrior reaches out and places a hand on her shoulder, stalling the retreat.
"These are you people now." Drogo says, roughly guiding her back forward, toward the band. He raises his hands at the Dothraki warriors who are now surrounding them and waves them off, relaying the sense that these strange, uninvited newcomers are not a thread. He addresses them. "It would be good for you to unburden us of this soft child. She was not born to the Great Grass Sea. The Sheikah meant well, but from what we can see, from Vezhof's ceaseless riding..."
He pauses long enough to glance up at the constellation of their horse-god overhead...
"...there is nowhere safe left in this world for a child, especially this child."
The girl, for her part, loses track of everything when Stasolya addresses her and makes an allusion to King Hyrule.
"King Hyrule is what?" She says, her voice rising. A tear streams down her face as she grapples with her composure. "King Hyrule is what?"
Drogo steps forward still, guiding the Princess closer to the gathered band with his hand on her shoulder. He completely ignores Malenia's weapons, either too stupid, too brave, too complacent, or too cocksure of his own abilities to care. The other warriors back away.
"Where will you go next?" The Khal says. "The Great Grass Sea is huge..but it is also empty. Empty for your people, anyway."
He sweeps a hand past everyone except Stasolya.
"But there are great open fields, Vezhof blessed, where you can run without abandon beneath the gaze of the Great Stallion."
"So you're saying protecting the girl is hard so you're giving her to us?" Judal asks, confused. "Umm... thanks?"
"Anyone know what is going on?" Judal asks, looking away from the native dudes who are afraid of tending to a little girl and instead to his companions. "Stasolya?"
"You have protected her for the time that was appointed," Stasolya says to Khal Drogo. "Now it seems the time has come for her destiny to unfold."
As Drogo pushes the girl forward, Stasolya reaches out to reverently take the Princess' hand. Instead of answering the girl's question directly, she begins an old ballad, one that most everyone in Hyboria has heard. Only they will notice the change in words at the end, as Stasolya laments in dirge how the story has unfolded...
"King Hyrule was an elven king Of him the harpers sadly sing The last whose reign was fair and free Between the mountains and the sea.
But darkness came to golden land, The last seed in the Empress' hand: His fair reign ends, his fallen crown, The Lord of Darkness cut him down.
Now Princess Zelda, golden thread Though blood and sorrow rears its head To you the scepter now must come Our hope, a seed in darkness from."
Tears stream down the centaur's face as she sings, and though her practiced bard's voice does not wobble, the keening grief in her tone is apparent.
The Khal hears Stasolya's words, then looks at the Dothraki that have gathered around. Without much more regard for the Centaur, the Princess, or the sudden entourage, he circles his hand in the air and leads the gathered warriors back and away, saying something to them about giving the outlanders space.
A shooting star passes overhead as Stasolya explains through song to Princess Zelda, but the young girl before her hasn't got much to say in response. She stands there, stark still, listening to the song, as her own tears begin to flow.
"My dad is gone?" She says, cutting straight to the chase as her inner courtly manner comes out, even though it doesn't seem to fit her or their situation at the moment. "What about my mother? What about my home? Hyrule? Is anything left?"
Judal is... uncomfortable. Not 'cause of the Dothraki, they seem to be uninterested in the group and they're just fighters anyway. No, Judal is uncomfortable 'cause of the kid. I mean kids... Who can figure them, right? And when they are emotional, crying even? No thank you. Judal looks to Stasolya and Malenia and Lelith and even Riair hoping one of them will deal with the kid. Judal can't even.
"Hyrule was overtaken by the Lord of Darkness," Stasolya says. "I do not know your mother's fate... nor is the fate of Hyrule and its people written to my eyes. But it may be written to yours, and by your hand, Princess. I am so sorry for this calamity, for the loss of your father, the King. It is a terrible burden for you." The centaur bows her head in sorrow at the Princess' tears, and, grasping the AURYN she wears around her neck, she lowers her forequarters on one equine knee, a little awkwardly, before the Princess. "I am at your command, Princess Zelda, however I may be of service to you."
The Princess's lips purse as she fights with her emotions. She's obviously devastated by the news. Tears continue to stream down her face, and she finally raises her arm, pressing it to her eyes.
"What do we do?" She said. It was the only thing she could think of, the only thing that made sense to her. She reaches her hand out as Stasolya kneels, gripping for the Centaur anywhere she can grab, just needing someone, anyone. A little girl, suddenly alone in the world, or presumably alone. Not a Princess. Not the heir of one of the mightiest kingdom's in the known world. Just a scared kid with no idea what to do, no idea where to go, where is even safe to go. The tears that she has been fighting, the tears slowly running down her face suddenly breaking, like a floodgate. She issues a choked sob as the waterworks pour from behind the arm she covers her face with, and then, instead of grabbing for Stasolya with one hand, she grabs with both, trying to pull herself to the Bard, trying to squeeze someone, anyone for some modicum of comfort...
There's a slow realization amongst the reunited band that the Dothraki, while withdrawn, are watching from a distance. They're not being aggressive, not being openly hostile, but are clearly ready for their unwanted guests to leave. Depart. Go elsewhere. Take their issues, take the problems that the Dothraki don't see as their own, and go somewhere else with them.
Princess Zelda sees and perceives none of this. She has her moment with Stasolya, and then reaches her fingers out gingerly to touch the AURYN Medallion.
"My father was so proud of his commitment to AURYN." She said gently, loud enough for the band to hear. "He would always tell me of my duty. He'd talk about the Childlike Empress, and the duty to all of Hyboria to preserve all...all this..."
She pulls away finally, raising her arms as if to indicate everything around them, seen and unseen.
At the sudden appearance of people, Thea blinks and squints as if she’s seeing for the first time through her eyes. Vibrant hues shift and bounce amongst those carrying on the following discussions. There was a lot to take in; a lot to process; and a lot of pressure. Not to mention the tension and tone that accompanied the ‘pleasantries’ exchanged upon arrival.
Thea could only muster a polite smile with a dip of her head in acknowledgement to Lelith’s noticeable warmth towards her, in comparison to others. Though it wasn’t before long that she shifts uncomfortably to the one man’s words and body language towards the emotional young princess. It was like Thea was numb in place, unsure of what she could do to participate or assist in this situation. She just remained like a stunned foal, watching in awe as Stasolya exercises grace, extending the much needed compassion to console a grieving heart. Something she was not brave enough to do in this presence of strangers, and acquaintances, alike. Thea couldn’t help but feel shame in her hesitancy to act, or even speak.
The young woman quietly chews her bottom lip, eyes timidly shifting from one person to the next, as if seeking guidance on their next steps, but not confident enough to speak up.
Stasolya follows Khal Drogo outside the tent, making sure that Thea is following them. As they muster in the darkness away from the lights, she gazes up at the sky, a feeling of reverence rising up in her breast. She says quietly to Drogo, "My people are great star-gazers, runners over the plains. We know this constellation, though we call it by a different name. Vezzhof. All the stars and moon and the sun itself declare the Order of Hyboria, they map and mirror all the goings and doings of each of us, they guide our steps and frame our stories."
She sighs, her voice full of sorrow. "Greatly have the skies been fragmented since Hyboria's doom came to the horizon." And she nods in answer to his last question. "She is one key, one cornerstone, of that Order. Let us see what may be."
As the Khal walks away, she turns to Thea and smiles. "I do not know what to expect, but I think our task will be made plain to us." She raises her eyes to see the Khal with a young girl, and she stands mystified. A Childlike Empress held the whole of Hyboria in the palm of her hand.
"I don't know either." Thea said, her fingers reaching up to run absentmindedly over the alicorn that had sprouted from her head. "I don't know. But I do not envy you, Stasolya. Whatever you do next...you're doing it with the burden of the both of us."
Thea seems sad as she says this, and finds that she has difficulty turning her gaze to the young girl that walks up with Khal Drogo. She looks...well, as Drogo had described her before, petulant. Upset by her circumstances. Still, the young girl, who is absolutely Princess Zelda as both of them quickly realize, puts on a good show of being polite. She is dressed in a little less regal attire; a green tunic, black pants, some regalia, her long, blonde hair pulled into a bun behind her.
"I tried to get her to braid it, after the fashion of the Dothraki." Drogo said when they see her hair. "But she said it's too hot to have it down. Such is the way of the civilized races. Too accustomed to comfort. Zelda, this is Stasolya and Thea, sent here by Atreyu, under the call of the Childlike Empress. They are in possession of AURYN."
His hand grips her shoulder for a second, then he roughly pushes her toward Stasolya. The Princess stumbles a little, looks irritated, and then attempts something like a curtsy.
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
As the Princess Zelda is pushed towards her, Stasolya drops down into a reverent bow, which, while looking a bit awkward down on her horse knees with the humanoid torso bent low, at least gives the impression that substantial effort has been put into the gesture. "Your Royal Highness," she says, "I am Stasolya, of the Kiros clan. It is my honor to meet you here during these troubling times. Atreyu of the Childlike Empress bid me seek you out. How may I be of service?"
The Princess looks from Stasolya, to Khal Drogo, and then around to the city. The look of irritation slowly starts to fade from her face as she examines this newcomer, and her overall situation.
"I don't know." She says softly in answer to Stasolya. "I just want to go home. This place is awful. I miss my parents. And my friends."
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
Stasolya pushes herself back to a standing position with her forefeet and looks sadly at the Princess. "I know. These times are very difficult for all of us. If I could take you home, I would. But I think that your home is not safe for you to return to. Great powers of chaos are looking for you, and your home is in flames."
"I don't understand." The Princess said. She took a moment to look back at Khal Drogo and his hard features, then looked back at Stasolya. Her countenance sank further and further. "I don't...what happened? One moment we were in our home, and then I was being whisked away by the Sheikah. I know something is going on, but daddy...I mean...King Hyrule wouldn't tell me anything. Everything was so secretive. It's so frustrating. Is...is the King okay?"
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
AURYN
Princess of Destiny
Part III
No matter where you go...
...I will find you...
...If it takes a thousand years...
The air next to Stasolya begins to shimmer, turning vibrant, cold blue before the air tore open. Suddenly, four bodies were spilled out on the ground.
Lelith.
Malenia.
Riair.
Judal.
Multiple Dothraki warriors, summoned by the sudden flash of light and and rumble of the portals appearance and disappearance, gather around, hands on arak hilts and eyes on Khal Drogo, who is standing behind a frightened girl. Her hair is pulled back into a bun, her normally regal attire replaced by a green tunic and black pants. She looks absolutely awestruck at the strangers emerging from the air itself, as does the Khal.
A dark sky presides overhead, while an endless sea of dying grass stretches are far around the strange tent city as they can see.
Next to Stasolya is Thea, who has been with the Centaur since Godzilla fought the Tarrasque at Argos. She looks as shocked as the young girl does.
"Who are you?" Khal Drogo says, pulling his arakh from the sash around his shirtless waist. "State your business in Vaes Dothrak!"
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
Lelith's mind was still processing the weight of the encounter with the Winter Queen, and it took her a few moments to fully return to the present moment. As she stood up, her senses on high alert, she scanned the surroundings with a vigilant gaze. After a moment, she visibly relaxed, sitting back down with a sigh of relief, her hand absently brushing a strand of hair away from her face.
"We—I am looking for a certain princess, incarnation and reincarnation of a goddess, a pair with the Hero, royal priestess, a blessing to the world," she began, her voice calm but with a hint of frustration and weariness. "That other one," she gestured subtly in the direction of the Winter Eladrin Wizard, Riair, "seems to follow me wherever I go. The other two," she motioned toward Malenia and Judal, "are looking for Stasolya."
Lelith's gaze then landed on the centaur woman, Stasolya, who met her eyes with an intensity that did not go unnoticed. "It is a displeasure to see you again, Stasolya," Lelith said curtly, her features scrunching up as she remembered that sham of a trial. However, her countenance softened as she shifted her attention to Thea, a warmth appearing in her eyes. "And a pleasure to see you, Thea."
"Van Deferenswhatsis?" Judal asks, confused about just where he is.
"Oh hey... A frightened child," Judal notes as he starts to take in his surroundings. "With a bunch of armed men... Nothing very trafficking about that now, is there?"
"Oh hey Stasolya! It's been a while. I've had Vader in my head, chatted with a Rock Chewer, had some Goliaths get way too into me and then, I think, I had a messy break up with the Winter Queen. How's by you?" Judal asks as he climbs to his feet and brushes himself off.
"By the by... This child need rescuing from these half naked guys or....??"
Stasolya is silent for a moment, her head bowed sadly. "My dear Princess," she says, "I am afraid that King Hyrule---"
The figures tumbling from the suddenly appearing portal quickly drown the centaur out, and she stops in mid-sentence, involuntarily making a startled sidewise leap from the portal. As the Dothraki muster to address this new threat, Stasolya's eyes widen and then she smiles in a sudden laugh as she recognizes the hapless and discomfited figures. Most of them people she expected never to see again, but who were meant to be with her and Thea the whole way. Her front hooves nearly dancing, she sways back and forth as she sings a sudden light-hearted melody.
"You've come just in time
To make the sun shine
In Hyboria's dark shadowed dregs
The Princess we sought
Is right here and aught
This moment was foretold in the threads!"
She looks from Malenia, to Judal, to Lelith, to the eladrin wizard she does not know. One figure is missing of whom Stasolya sadly wonders the fate of.
The centaur bows politely, if rustically, to Lelith, in response to her greeting. "The displeasure is all yours, Lelith," she says, still smiling. "I hope you've found some redemption."
The mechanism whirs to life in Malenia's prosthetic, Both hilts ejecting out of the hidden compartment. When the cylindrical handles touches her hands, the weapons roar to life. Two bright burning blade of amber colouration erupt and begin to hum. With the final words spoken to Lelith by the Winter Queen still fresh in her mind, She gave a knowing glance to the Winter Eladrin before her emrald hues set on Stasoyla.
Holding both of her weapons defensively, surrounded by this unfamiliar force who had drawn on her. She grips the reins of the large Bird that was so recently given to her, Glancing to check on the avian creature which she had immedaitely grown attached to. "Sssshhhhhh, Stay calm friend." Her voices carries a VERY unsual tone of compassion, Something those who had spent time with Malenia have never heard from her before. Any of these men that even take a step towards the Kocra would be met with a fierce, furyfilled glare by Malenia. Before her gaze sets onto Thea and Stasoyla. That feeling of guilt and shame, the one that had plagued her since she left her home came roaring back.
Lelith:
(I forgot I could do this)
Malenia contacts you Telepathically.
AKA Via Discord DM's
Malenia - [Monk - Way of the Jedi] - Auryn: Princess of Destiny
The little girl, not even quite a teenager, looks around to all the new faces gathered around here in a mixture of apprehension and awe which slowly becomes confusion and fear when Lelith says something about 'incarnation and reincarnation of a god'. Her eyes shift nervously away from the Eladrin, to Stasolya, then to Khal Drogo as she slowly starts to back away from the freshly reassembled band, but the Dothraki Warrior reaches out and places a hand on her shoulder, stalling the retreat.
"These are you people now." Drogo says, roughly guiding her back forward, toward the band. He raises his hands at the Dothraki warriors who are now surrounding them and waves them off, relaying the sense that these strange, uninvited newcomers are not a thread. He addresses them. "It would be good for you to unburden us of this soft child. She was not born to the Great Grass Sea. The Sheikah meant well, but from what we can see, from Vezhof's ceaseless riding..."
He pauses long enough to glance up at the constellation of their horse-god overhead...
"...there is nowhere safe left in this world for a child, especially this child."
The girl, for her part, loses track of everything when Stasolya addresses her and makes an allusion to King Hyrule.
"King Hyrule is what?" She says, her voice rising. A tear streams down her face as she grapples with her composure. "King Hyrule is what?"
Drogo steps forward still, guiding the Princess closer to the gathered band with his hand on her shoulder. He completely ignores Malenia's weapons, either too stupid, too brave, too complacent, or too cocksure of his own abilities to care. The other warriors back away.
"Where will you go next?" The Khal says. "The Great Grass Sea is huge..but it is also empty. Empty for your people, anyway."
He sweeps a hand past everyone except Stasolya.
"But there are great open fields, Vezhof blessed, where you can run without abandon beneath the gaze of the Great Stallion."
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
"So you're saying protecting the girl is hard so you're giving her to us?" Judal asks, confused. "Umm... thanks?"
"Anyone know what is going on?" Judal asks, looking away from the native dudes who are afraid of tending to a little girl and instead to his companions. "Stasolya?"
"I'm saying that she is a burden we don't want." The Khal says, clarifying the problem for Judal and frowning down at the girl.
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
"You have protected her for the time that was appointed," Stasolya says to Khal Drogo. "Now it seems the time has come for her destiny to unfold."
As Drogo pushes the girl forward, Stasolya reaches out to reverently take the Princess' hand. Instead of answering the girl's question directly, she begins an old ballad, one that most everyone in Hyboria has heard. Only they will notice the change in words at the end, as Stasolya laments in dirge how the story has unfolded...
"King Hyrule was an elven king
Of him the harpers sadly sing
The last whose reign was fair and free
Between the mountains and the sea.
But darkness came to golden land,
The last seed in the Empress' hand:
His fair reign ends, his fallen crown,
The Lord of Darkness cut him down.
Now Princess Zelda, golden thread
Though blood and sorrow rears its head
To you the scepter now must come
Our hope, a seed in darkness from."
Tears stream down the centaur's face as she sings, and though her practiced bard's voice does not wobble, the keening grief in her tone is apparent.
The Khal hears Stasolya's words, then looks at the Dothraki that have gathered around. Without much more regard for the Centaur, the Princess, or the sudden entourage, he circles his hand in the air and leads the gathered warriors back and away, saying something to them about giving the outlanders space.
A shooting star passes overhead as Stasolya explains through song to Princess Zelda, but the young girl before her hasn't got much to say in response. She stands there, stark still, listening to the song, as her own tears begin to flow.
"My dad is gone?" She says, cutting straight to the chase as her inner courtly manner comes out, even though it doesn't seem to fit her or their situation at the moment. "What about my mother? What about my home? Hyrule? Is anything left?"
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
Judal is... uncomfortable. Not 'cause of the Dothraki, they seem to be uninterested in the group and they're just fighters anyway. No, Judal is uncomfortable 'cause of the kid. I mean kids... Who can figure them, right? And when they are emotional, crying even? No thank you. Judal looks to Stasolya and Malenia and Lelith and even Riair hoping one of them will deal with the kid. Judal can't even.
"Hyrule was overtaken by the Lord of Darkness," Stasolya says. "I do not know your mother's fate... nor is the fate of Hyrule and its people written to my eyes. But it may be written to yours, and by your hand, Princess. I am so sorry for this calamity, for the loss of your father, the King. It is a terrible burden for you." The centaur bows her head in sorrow at the Princess' tears, and, grasping the AURYN she wears around her neck, she lowers her forequarters on one equine knee, a little awkwardly, before the Princess. "I am at your command, Princess Zelda, however I may be of service to you."
The Princess's lips purse as she fights with her emotions. She's obviously devastated by the news. Tears continue to stream down her face, and she finally raises her arm, pressing it to her eyes.
"What do we do?" She said. It was the only thing she could think of, the only thing that made sense to her. She reaches her hand out as Stasolya kneels, gripping for the Centaur anywhere she can grab, just needing someone, anyone. A little girl, suddenly alone in the world, or presumably alone. Not a Princess. Not the heir of one of the mightiest kingdom's in the known world. Just a scared kid with no idea what to do, no idea where to go, where is even safe to go. The tears that she has been fighting, the tears slowly running down her face suddenly breaking, like a floodgate. She issues a choked sob as the waterworks pour from behind the arm she covers her face with, and then, instead of grabbing for Stasolya with one hand, she grabs with both, trying to pull herself to the Bard, trying to squeeze someone, anyone for some modicum of comfort...
There's a slow realization amongst the reunited band that the Dothraki, while withdrawn, are watching from a distance. They're not being aggressive, not being openly hostile, but are clearly ready for their unwanted guests to leave. Depart. Go elsewhere. Take their issues, take the problems that the Dothraki don't see as their own, and go somewhere else with them.
Princess Zelda sees and perceives none of this. She has her moment with Stasolya, and then reaches her fingers out gingerly to touch the AURYN Medallion.
"My father was so proud of his commitment to AURYN." She said gently, loud enough for the band to hear. "He would always tell me of my duty. He'd talk about the Childlike Empress, and the duty to all of Hyboria to preserve all...all this..."
She pulls away finally, raising her arms as if to indicate everything around them, seen and unseen.
"Where do we go first?"
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
At the sudden appearance of people, Thea blinks and squints as if she’s seeing for the first time through her eyes. Vibrant hues shift and bounce amongst those carrying on the following discussions. There was a lot to take in; a lot to process; and a lot of pressure. Not to mention the tension and tone that accompanied the ‘pleasantries’ exchanged upon arrival.
Thea could only muster a polite smile with a dip of her head in acknowledgement to Lelith’s noticeable warmth towards her, in comparison to others. Though it wasn’t before long that she shifts uncomfortably to the one man’s words and body language towards the emotional young princess. It was like Thea was numb in place, unsure of what she could do to participate or assist in this situation. She just remained like a stunned foal, watching in awe as Stasolya exercises grace, extending the much needed compassion to console a grieving heart. Something she was not brave enough to do in this presence of strangers, and acquaintances, alike. Thea couldn’t help but feel shame in her hesitancy to act, or even speak.
The young woman quietly chews her bottom lip, eyes timidly shifting from one person to the next, as if seeking guidance on their next steps, but not confident enough to speak up.
just an unstable unicorn.