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456 ~N 4th Day of High King Howl Solclash's mysterious disappearance, Threat of siege by Bastruf, start of Disharmony between Bastruf and Chalith, and brink of war between the two factions, Kingdom of Clarity, 14th Provenance of the Martyr

Howl reached the city by mid-afternoon, glancing up at the large stone towers that were signature of the mighty fortress. The large city of Bastruf was well-known for its religion of the ancient hero Jaeda, who fought beside the Martyr in the Thousand Arrows War. Therefore, the town was stylized with stone buildings and stained glass windows depicting scenes from the war and Jaeda's triumphs. There were a few churches, but the one by the castle, the largest by far, stood out in its architectural magnificence, and it was this church that Howl stood in front of right now, as it was closest to the gate to the city, and the closest to the castle.

As Howl passed by the large looming towers, making his way to the smaller grandness of the palace, he went across a narrow bridge that went over a small pond. Howl took the time to relax here a little and admire the nice cool weather of a summer odd day.

It was only once in a while that he allowed himself little vacations such as this, although this one was because he had necessity to convince Bastruf to cease their threats. Other than his time he spent with Trillith and his father was he the most happy. Thinking again of his father at this pond brought back memories of the lake back in Serenade, and the times that he and his father shared boating out on the lake. As he stood against the rails, he also couldn't help but remember the time that he stood at the rails of the castle balcony, mourning his father's passing. He was struck by the difference he felt now from when he did that month or so ago. He made a silent prayer to his father, hoping his father could hear him and that he would understand that Howl still remembered, then made his way across the rest of the bridge and entered the gate that lead into the castle.

Entering the castle felt like entering a large mausoleum, or the castle burial chambers back in Serenitir. The fortress was darker than Howl would have expected, and dust seemed to float in the air; a constant cloud of unsettling dust. Despite the darkness, sunlight still shown from the yellowish-tinted glass of the narrow windows that spanned the great hallway. At the far end of the hallway were guards. They stood stationed at what Howl guessed was the great hall and throne room of the king of Bastruf. Howl made his way to these doors.

"I have urgent business I need to address with the King. I'm from Serenade." Howl had forgotten about how dirty he had gotten while travelling, and hated himself for not going to a nearby bathhouse to clean up before speaking with the king.

The guards looked him up and down. Obviously they were thinking something similar. One of the guards curled his lip, as if Howl's current state disgusted him.

"On what urgent business do you have to discuss?"

"I have to converse with the king on grounds of the current situation in Chalith." He did not mention any more, as going into detail with someone other than the king seemed rather dangerous.

The guards looked at each other, than one of them nodded. "You will want to see Overseer Dusk to set up an appointment, over in the next room there." He motioned with his spear to a set of doors on the side of the hallway.

"Please, I need to see him right away." Howl tried to sound convincing.

"The king is in the middle of bathing right now. You will have to set up an appointment with the Overseer. Now please, step away from the door."

Howl did as was told. He didn't have time to wait, as it would no doubt be days before he could gain audience with the king and their council. He turned around and strode over to the door the guard mentioned and knocked.

"Enter." came the short reply.

Howl did so and found himself in a brighter-lit, cozy office room. A raccoon dressed in a regal outfit greeted him.

"Do you wish to see the King?"

"Yes." Howl said brusquely.

"If you will excuse me, I have to get some paperwork from my study. Just give me about ten minutes and I will be with you."

The raccoon left his office out the door that Howl just entered, and Howl was left alone in the sheltered office.

His ears pricked up. He could hear the sound of running water, and a voice coming from the room next door. Howl sneaked over to the door at the end of the room, behind the overseer's desk, and reached for the handle. To Howl's fortune, it wasn't locked. As he opened the door, the sound of water grew louder. A hallway lead the way down to a door at the very end to which the noise was coming from.

Howl sneaked across the long hallway and reached this door. There was no window on the door, so he stood still and listened. Indeed, the sound of a rushing water, a bath, was being prepared just on the other side. Howl couldn't believe his luck.

He opened the door a crack and peered inside. An orange tiger was just slipping into the hot water in a grand tub just beyond the door. This must be the king of Bastruf.

Howl waited until the guards had left the room before pushing open the door and entering the bath.

"Hey, what are you doing here!" The king of Bastruf proclaimed, trying to hide himself with his hands. "Oh, it's just you." Howl did not understand what the King meant by this. Did he know Howl perhaps, and Howl just couldn't recognize him.

The king looked thoughtful for a moment, then pulled himself out of the water. Howl didn't have time to look away and Howl could feel his sheath tighten as he stared at the king's nakedness.

"I'm guessing you're here on news of my militia's march on the faction Chalith." The tiger produced a towel and wrapped it around himself, to Howl's relief. Howl nodded again. "You look like you could use a bath, what happened to you?"

"It's a long story." Howl breathed. The vapor in the air mixed with the tiger's musk was nearly suffocating.

The king motioned to the bath. "Why don't you join me then. It's not proper for a king, especially the High King, to address a king in such a state."

Howl did not know that Allin had succeeded his father, and he was rather young to be king, just like Howl, and Howl suspected that the title was passed to him recently as well. This might in fact be the reason for the beginning of the Fade between the two factions. Howl was not certain though of the details behind Allin's religious and political views, and he was even more confused by how the king knew of him so closely.

The king brought him a towel and Howl accepted it awkwardly. He did need a bath, and there didn't seem to be much harm in bathing with the king. For a moment Howl imagined that the king might be gay, but that probably wasn't the case, and Howl tried to force his fur to relax as he undressed.

"As you know, my stance on Threamony has gotten strict. Jaedas was said to be the sole and most devout follower of the Martyr. It is therefore blasphemy to consider Thearis as a lover and a Goddess of Fairclash. Fairclash was a god, and the gods do not feel love. What Jaedas felt for the Martyr was respect, admiration, and envy, those three characteristics, as well as loyalty, are what define this kingdom and the lay of the land. As a follower of Merr, I would have expected you to adhere to this policy."

Howl had finally undressed and wrapped the towel around his waist, then climbed in. He sat across from the king. He hoped the closeness of this situation would play to his advantage. He spoke, choosing his words carefully. "I understand why the worship of Thearis would bring about your people's distrust, yet Thearis was known to possess a mark of the Martyr, the third eye on her forehead, and only those mortal who were close to Fairclash, such as Jaedas, were given such marks. Supposedly those were the only two marks given, and no one really knows why Thearis possessed the mark. It's not unreasonable to assume that they were in fact lovers."

"Strange of you to change your stance, what about King Daret as we discussed? How can a person be idolized if there was no evidence that he had an involvement with the Martyr?"

Howl tried to remember what King Daret's affiliation with the Threa presented. He knew that he was an idol, but his mind, to his frustration, was not working all that well. His mind glanced back to the image of the naked king in front of him and he pushed himself farther into the water. He struggled to think of the right words to say.

"I believe... wasn't King Daret the one who blanketed the written iterations on religious sanctimony? Such things are more worthy of blasphemy, don't you agree? He was after all an outspoken heretic. In which case couldn't that be used in Merr's defense? She was Goddess to the Martyr."

King Allin gestured to Howl, "But that's just it! King Deret was a heretic to Merr, and when Merr afflicted on him the curse, it was to pass on the curse from generation to generation. As Thearis was his daughter, she was afflicted. Her wooing of the Martyr gained her his sympathy, but only because she wanted to remove the affliction! She and her family had no loyalty to the pantheon, such as Jaedas possessed. The worship of heretics is just that, an affliction."

Howl understood how the king could be stubborn on such an issue, but he didn't need Allin to be stubborn right now. The king of Bastruf needed to see that the worship of Thearis was nothing more than a people's free grace to the gods. Such things were not admonished by open worship of the aldemer. Howl did not believe any of the Aldemer were against such worship, despite it being worship to a mortal, and probably saw this conflict as just another hill to climb over.

Howl directed these thoughts in a subtler manner. "Well, you believe those that worship heretics to be an affliction, but the Martyr was kind enough to give the daughter his mark. I don't believe they were lover's, and such misinterpretations may be the reason of the gathering tensions."

Allin looked affronted. "You believe that I'm misunderstood!" His voice was getting sharper, but he carried a relatively calm composure, which Howl found odd.

"I believe that both factions are misunderstood. Threamony is just a worship to a family who was touched by the Martyr's forgiveness. It's that forgiveness that Jaedas would append on the family had he had the right to do so."

Allin didn't speak up. He looked confused, and Howl could tell his words were getting through to him. He wondered if he should tell the king of his plans to informally induct Jaedas into the pantheon of Merr. Such a thing would be considered though perhaps overwrought, but he didn't think Chalith would object. After all, Threamony was just another branch off the worship of Merr. If it could resolved the tensions between the two factions, then perhaps such actions should be taken.

"My advisor, Fier, had told me just before he died that it is time for the induction of Jaedas into the pantheon. This is only a matter of idols, not a formal induction, and such things would look lighter in way of the God's wish for harmony and unity in the lands."

Allin looked away. Howl could tell he was thinking seriously about this alternative. Howl knew it played to the king's favor, and he hoped that he wasn't giving Bastruf two much religious influence. However, an informal induction to the pantheon was something that would happen someday, so why not now, when they could end the Fade.

"Why reconsider what we've already discussed? But what you've proposed might be more noble. I will reconsider it with my council and the church. Let's end our talk of religion at the moment and finish our bath. We can discuss this rite of induction at a later time, once I have convened with my other advisors. I do accept your angle of peace, however, and consider it an act in favor of Jaedas. For now, I will keep my men at standstill."

Howl relaxed. He had just convinced the king to stop his siege. He quickly went about washing himself to prevent further arguing. The tiger changed the subject, "You should scrub that gunk out of the fur on your eyes, it's getting in the water. I never did understand why you wore that, is it a religious thing?"

Howl had just taken water to splash on his face and forgot about the sootiness of his condition. This brought an interesting thought to Howl. Was this the mark that the Martyr passed down onto those he favored? He didn't understand. Unless the God's had control of time or clairvoyance, why would Howl be given such a gift? But Grim had said he was descended from Fairclash. That had to be a mistake.

Howl stopped splashing water in his eyes and thought up an explanation for the makeup. He used the one he took for mourning, and Allin nodded.

"When my father passed away, I was upset too. For a long time I didn't know how I could fill my father's footsteps. It was you who helped me determine my stance and niche in the world, earlier when you spoke of Jaedas. When you resume the throne, Athera, I would expect you to understand my views more fully."

This made Howl stop his washings and look up.

"What? Is something the matter Athera?"

Howl quickly corrected himself. "Nothing is the matter. I believe such things should first be dealt with in council, before making hasty decisions that would disrupt the peace..."

He should have known. His brother had escaped, and they said he would come back. Now he was back, and he had fled to Bastruf, taking over as councilman and close advisor to the King. All he had to do was pretend he was Howl, after news of the High King's disappearance. Of course, if he used Howl's name, then that would complicate things once Howl returned. Now... he didn't know what to do anymore.

The king continued washing himself. "I find it strange that you would change your mind, but I rather like the newer proposition. It is fair and honest, like Jaedas himself. He would have forgiven the afflicted if the Martyr had indeed done so. Though whether he did or did not is just a matter of speculation..." The king trailed off. There was a moment's silence as the two finished washing themselves, then the king stepped out of the bath and called in a servant to dress his clothes. Howl stepped out and dried himself with a towel. He would have to get out of the castle quickly if he were to go undetected. If his brother showed up, there were certainly be problems, ones that Howl wanted to avoid now that he had convinced the king to keep his army at a standstill.

Once he had finished dressing himself, Howl excused himself from the King's presence and headed back out the door into an unfamiliar hallway. He had to navigate his way back out of the castle, and fortunately did so without encountering sight of his brother.

When he was at last at the main gate, he headed for a small inn on the outskirts of town. He had to find a way to make himself discrete while his brother was influencing Bastruf's king. More importantly he had to find a way to stop Athera.