• Closed • Sounds Like Burning

[Aelius Callistus]

9th of Saun

It seemed Ymiden came and went faster than Aelius expected. He was another year older, making him 25 years of age now. He didn’t feel any different, but that was to be expected. He chalked it up to his extended age, figuring he would outlive the average human born at the same time as he, yet not as long as the average Eidisi. It was the lonely woe of being a halfblood, but at least he could enjoy his youth for a while, something not many got to do given their short lifespans or haphazard ways of living. Aelius didn’t have a carefree way of going about his life, he was cautious and tactful yet seemed to find himself in situations that would otherwise threaten his very will to draw breath. Somehow he made it out of them alive, and he blamed that on his own ingenuity, his heightened intelligence he was proud of.

He sat in the Blacksmith’s Arms, a place he had never been before. It wasn’t the inn he called home, that was Ye Olde Inn in the same city, Andaris. He wasn’t sure what compelled him to change his scenery but here he was in an early afternoon sitting at the bar by his lonesome. There was conversation happening around him and to his side, though no one sat directly on his flanks. He wasn’t sure if he was grateful no one sat beside him or forlorn because he wasn’t sure if people were avoiding him. His tainted blood made him impure in both the eyes of humans and Eidisi, of which the former made up the majority of Andaris’ population. He refused to slouch and hold his head low though, if the case was him being avoided.

Aelius’ milky white gaze rose up and found the bartender on the opposite side of the bar talking to one of the female servers, who was picking up drinks for a table off on the other side of the lobby. When the woman was gone Aelius raised his hand to garner the barkeep’s attention. Gathered, the man sauntered over to Aelius, revealing himself to the halfblood as a Biqaj, a race Aelius hadn’t seen much of. It was obvious the bartender was decades older than the halfblood, and several seasons more experience than Aelius could perhaps wish to be. The bartender gave off an air of intimidation, making Aelius choose his next words carefully.

“Hello,” he greeted, his ethereal sights drifting across the Biqaj’s features.

“What can I get you?” the bartender asked, cutting right to the chase of the exchange.

He saved Aelius strain in trying to figure out how to exactly ask for a drink from this borderline scary male. “Warm cider, please,” Aelius asked politely, immediately reaching for his coin purse strapped to his belt underneath his cloak.

The bartender turned away, retrieving what Aelius asked for, leaving the halfblood to fish out a gold coin. Upon the tender’s return a mug was slid in front of Aelius, the warm smell of crisp apples reaching his nostrils. He slid the gold coin across the counter in return, giving the bartender pause as he then exchanged the coin for five silver pieces, sliding them back over to Aelius.

“You’re a new face,” the tender asked, leaning over the opposite side of the counter.

Aelius nodded. “I’ve never been here before,” he admitted. “I heard about the cider and wanted to try it.” Aelius was lying, not knowing what else to say to continue this conversation. He was attempting to be more social, something his mother always encouraged despite his father pressuring him with studying constantly. He was glad to be out of Viden, he realized, though he did miss his mother more so than anything in life.

“Well,” the bartender grunted, “welcome to the Blacksmith’s. You’re here during a dead time; we’re livelier at night.” He paused, peering at the halfblood, who was looking down in the depths of his mug. “Though… you don’t look like the lively type.”

Aelius shook his head. “I’m not. I try to stay away from gathering places.”

The bartender nodded, a thoughtful hum coming from him. “I figured as much by looking at you. You’re Eidisi, aren’t you? I can tell by your eyes. Your skin though… you’re a mutt.”

Aelius licked over his plump lips at the word ‘mutt’. He knew better than to say anything in reply to the gruff man, especially if it was obvious he took offense. If anything, the man would only chide him or perhaps tease him for being sensitive. “My father’s Eidisi,” he said instead.

“That explains it.” The bartender’s eyes swept over the premises, falling back to Aelius as the halfblood took a drag from his mug. “They call me Rufus.”

“My name is Aelius.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“You too.”

The conversation dwindled, the saving grace being another party entering the building. Rufus sat up and moved towards the other end of the counter, welcoming the new entries. Aelius nursed his drink, taking another drag from it before setting it down. Both of his hands loosely hugged the frame of the mug, his gaze remaining downward if only to glance upwards towards the end of the bar as the new arrivals took up seats. As predicted, they didn’t seat themselves near him, leaving two open stools on either side of him. He remained, drinking occasionally.

► Show Spoiler

Moderator Note: -5sn from ledger

[Tristan Venora]

The civil war had barely even begun, and it was already getting on Tristan’s nerves. Oh, he liked speculating about who would win and going through all kinds of crazy scenarios in his mind where he hid the loser in Venora, helped them back to power and was rewarded handsomely. He just wasn’t particularly interested in all the unpleasant side effects that came with a civil war, such as the possibility of a curfew, less food, death, blood and broken bones and people staring at him in suspicion because his cousin had somehow ended up marrying Veljorn Burhan who, for some reason, had decided to gather an army and move against Cassander. Why couldn’t they ask him if he even liked the woman before they passed their judgement?

The Blacksmith Arms that he had already visited quite frequently in the past had become his safe haven, his refuge where he could hide from all the oh so political nobles and their plotting and scheming for a moment and just do what he liked best: drinking alcohol, behaving in a most erratic manner and producing art that nobody really understood while he tried to persuade Rufus to tell him more about his time as a pirate and all the people that he had killed. Sometimes he wished he could run away and become a pirate as well – before he realized that he couldn’t even swim and would just drown if the ship sank.

The tavern was quite crowded for an early afternoon in Saun which surprised him, but perhaps all the people were there for the same reasons as him – they didn’t constantly want to have to think about that damn civil war. He didn’t mind though, the more people were in the tavern, the more of them would watch him as he approached the bar, dressed in a very fashionable yellow suit and carrying a sword cane with a silver dragon head that he never intended to use as anything other than a fashion accessory.

"Hey, Rufus, what’s new?" he called out to his favorite Biqaj in all of Idalos. "The usual, if you please", he continued at which the old man immediately poured him a glass of the finest Venora Rose. A few silvers exchanged hands, and then the young noble took a large gulp (he was thirsty!) before he turned around and looked for a place to sit which was harder than it sounded. Virtually the only two empty barstools were next to a man who judging by his white eyes had Eidisi blood. He’d met a few of them during his time at the University of Rynmere, strange people with a penchant for linguistics and a slight superiority complex.

He’d once thought that since he had a superiority complex as well they would be kindred spirits and become fast friends, but they had just treated him even more condescendingly than the rest of humanity, but still, a seat next to one of them was as good as any other. Tristan had never been particularly interested in prejudices (they bored him!). He cared more about being comfortable than discriminating against certain people, so he slid onto the barstool next to Aelius, took another gulp and wondered aloud, "So why do they avoid you? Is it the eyes or do you suffer from some sort of infectious disease that I don’t know about?"

"If it’s the eyes, then they are idiots and probably believe that you are blind as well even though you haven’t spilled your drink yet or crashed into any tables. If you have a disease on the other hand …" He shrugged his shoulders and drank some more. "… then I hope all the alcohol will act as some sort of disinfectant and keep me from falling seriously ill." He abruptly stuck out his hand, expecting Aelius to shake it.

"I’m Tristan Venora. You can call me 'Lord Venora' if you want to, but you don’t have to because I currently have family problems and am thus not in a noble mood, and I really hope for something that will distract me from all the political nonsense that is going on."

[Aelius Callistus]

Aelius was unsure how much time passed between the first group of people coming in and the next voice breaking the small rumbling chatter going on in the inn. The halfblood had all but slipped away into his own mind, occasionally lifting the mug of cider he was nursing, whittling away sip by sip. A few times his milky gaze went up and surveyed the row of barstools. To his expectations, the stools around him remained empty and he remained unsure if he was being avoided because of his looks or because of his disposition. Either way, they didn’t seem to stop the breaker of silence from taking a seat next to him.

There was no initial introduction from this man, so Aelius gazed up at him blankly as he spoke. The only way Aelius knew it was a male in the first place was because of how deep the speaker’s voice was. It was borderline husky, a tone that would perhaps be more pronounced should he have been whispering instead of talking normally in order to get his words out over a chattering crowd. Aelius noticed that it had been sparsely populated when he arrived. Behind him, the lobby seemed to fill while he drank his drink.

The man before Aelius, the one speaking directly to him, was a pretty man, something on the opposite end of the spectrum from the gruffness that Rufus gave off. There was no air of intimidation coming from this man, but one of grace and elegance, something that made Aelius feel as if he was of higher class and birth. The halfblood’s milky gaze roamed then, taking in the man’s clothing, how it was made up of lavish yellow garments and how there was a well-made walking stick in his grasp; it was topped with a dragon’s head. Aelius had never seen a dragon but saw enough illustrations to recognize what a dragon was supposed to look like. His sights trailed back upwards, observing the man’s lips as they spread in order to let loose words. The man was still talking and Aelius was listening, his observation happening in the meantime. The man’s lips were plump like Aelius’ and his brows were dark, his eyes bright and blue even in the dim orange light of the inn. Aelius could only wonder what they looked like outside in the natural, bright light. The man’s hair was long, shoulder length, and dark. Aelius’ was quite the opposite; his own was closely shaven to his scalp but dark as well, nearly black in this light but burnt brown in the sunlight.

It seemed the man had a question for Aelius, one that wasn’t answered as he spoke again, calling those who avoided Aelius because of his eyes idiots. A small smile crept across the halfblood’s face as he agreed. He knew he was often thought blind, a cursed first impression caused by his Eidisi blood. The smile faded as the man’s hand came in welcome suddenly, palm open to allow for a handshake. Aelius retracted one of his hands from his mug and took the man’s, grasping it firmly but not hurtfully in order to greet the man properly. The man introduced himself as Tristan Venora, a lord. Aelius’ presumptions had been confirmed, this man was of higher birth and wealth. Perhaps the halfblood should have felt honored; he didn’t.

“My name is Aelius Callistus, you can call me Aelius,” he said in reply, smiling small and politely. He withdrew his hand from the embrace and wrapped it around his mug’s base loosely once again, still looking at Tristan. “I’m not blind nor diseased. My father’s Eidisi, my mother’s Human.”

He paused, taking a drink from his still warm cider. “You said you were a lord of Venora. That’s to the west. You’re a long way from home, aren’t you?” he asked Tristan, peering at him with iris-less eyes.

To their left came a shallowed grumbling, Rufus engaging with the group of merry men who came in before Tristan. Aelius turned his head, looking down the counter and exposing the streak of a mark on his neck, which trailed down under his tunic’s collar. The halfblood was dressed simply in a beige short-sleeved tunic, dark and short breeches, and simple shoes. A short and light cloak was around his neck, hiding his Seeker’s conduit that was hooked to his belt underneath.

Aelius turned his attention back to Tristan. “Do you come here often? I heard you tell Rufus to give you your usual,” he nodded towards Tristan’s glass, “which is wine, red wine. I assume it’s Venora Red, seeing as that is your patron house.” He looked back up to the man, his brows raising slightly as he sought confirmation on his assumption. “Though, you say you have familial troubles, so I could be wrong. However, telling from what you’re wearing and the cane you’re carrying, you still prefer the more expensive things or hold your status dearly.” He paused, taking a breath. “Why’s it that you wish to avoid this ‘political nonsense’ you speak of? Does it involve you, your house or blood?”

[Tristan Venora]

"Oh, good", Tristan remarked as Aelius informed him that he was neither blind nor diseased, although he hadn’t really believed that such was the case. "So, how did that happen?" he then wanted to know, even though asking a complete stranger about the circumstances of his birth in such a manner might be slightly inappropriate and took another sip from his glass of wine because he was thirsty, and the alcohol made him forget the mistake he had just made. He had come to the Blacksmith Arms to be left alone, so he really shouldn’t have introduced himself as 'Tristan Venora', but alas, it was too late to take that back now – or was it?

"Venora isn’t that far away", he disagreed and looked right back at Aelius as he found the look from those iris-less eyes rather fascinating, and he couldn’t help but wonder how exactly they worked and if he saw the world the same way as everybody else. "Unless you walk, which I usually don’t since walking exhausting, and I don’t need blisters on the soles of my feet either. And of course I come here often. This is the best tavern in Andaris, as far as I am concerned, and I rather like the fact that it’s underground."

Being in an underground tavern made him feel like some sort of nefarious criminal or one of the spies in the stories he’d loved so much when he had been a boy, but he didn’t tell Aelius that as most people unfortunately didn’t understand his interest in the darker elements of society. Instead he drank some more before he turned to answer the half blood’s next question. "My cousin got married – to that Veljorn guy that wants to be king even though we already have a king. Cassander isn’t really a bad king in my opinion."

"It’s currently not the best time to be a Venora – unless Veljorn wins, I suppose which I’m not sure I want to happen", he continued. That was not a lie. Being the cousin of the queen would be nice – very nice, in fact, even though Zvezdana was one of his least favorite relatives, but he’d feel bad for Cassander. He was fond of the boy king even though he mocked him in about half the plays he wrote and had even pretended to be him on one occasion.

He looked towards Rufus because he was seriously tempted to order another drink even though he hadn’t finished his current one yet and he really shouldn’t drink that much. Even mentioning Veljorn’s name put him in a bad mood. The old Biqaj, he observed, looked rather thoughtful which made him wonder what he had previously discussed with the two men. He waved to him to get his attention and hopefully satisfy his curiosity.

"Hey Rufus", he said once the man stood in front of them. "I saw you talking to those two guys, but I couldn’t make out what exactly you were talking about. Did anything happen?" The former pirate leaned over the bar and revealed, "I heard that a couple of Aukari burned down a farm house in Venora last night, and the guards refuse to investigate which is strange, don’t you agree? Makes you wonder what really happened."

Rufus looked around as if he were worried about somebody overhearing the conversation, and then, seeing as Tristan didn’t want anything else from him, he went back to his work and poured one of the other men that sat at the bar a drink. The man in question immediately drained it and demanded more!

"I wonder if this has something to do with my cousin", Tristan murmured as he turned back to Aelius. Since Zvezdana had married the rebel he had become just a little paranoid. Why couldn’t she have married a normal man? "I can’t imagine any other reason for why a bunch Aukari would burn down a farm house in Venora – unless they hate cows or wheat? I should probably go there and try to find out what’s really going on, but I don’t want them to set me on fire as well. Do you think it was really Aukari?"

"Why couldn’t they just burn down a house in Warrick or Krome?" he asked exasperatedly and drank even more because he hated the fact that he still felt an obligation towards his old home, despite everything that was currently going on. "I don’t care about Krome at all!"

[Aelius Callistus]

Telling others the details of his parents’ relationship wasn’t something Aelius was keen on doing. He did, however, admire Tristan’s curiosity and the boldness which allowed it to come out unhindered. “They fell in love,” he told Tristan simply, figuring if the young man yearned to know more then he could pry if he so wanted to. It was no guarantee that he would get to know more; if Tristan was observant he could see Aelius was teasing him, egging him on in more ways than one. As it were, Aelius hardly knew Tristan, they had just met and he was being asked about his parents’ history and relationship, as if he had all the details or knew the exact reason why his father and mother came together to eventually create him and only him. He only knew what his parents told him, and that was all Tristan was going to get if Aelius felt so inclined to humor another invasive question.

The way Tristan talked really told of his highborn ways: how his feet hurt if he walked the distance between Venora and Andaris City. Aelius knew Venora wasn’t far away, but it was distance smallfolk traversed regularly, Aelius having had been one at them at one point in time. His time in Venora was short-lived, however, and he quickly returned to Andaris City before he wore out any welcome there. It was Venora, after all, that failed to enrapture the halfblood’s mind in the same way Andaris had, or even Krom did at one point. At the mention of the tavern being underground Aelius looked up and around, his white eyes seeming as if they were barely moving, though the centers were not directly upon Tristan any longer. He wondered why the tavern being underground was a plus to Tristan, though as much was answered when Tristan answered the questions Aelius had posed.

A nod of understanding came from the half-Eidisi. It didn’t seem as if it was a good time to be of Venora blood, especially now with one of their more prominent members posturing to set herself on the throne. Aelius was glad he kept his nose out of politics, glad that he kept his mindset stuck in the more academic of the studies. He didn’t believe he would be a poor politician, however. It was quite the opposite in fact, he believed he could make an able politician, if not one of some decent power, yet the practice wasn’t something that held his mind. People, in his opinion, were far to exhausting, and he was sure his search of knowledge would clash with what was ‘good for the people’. He couldn’t handle the constant battle of backstabbing either, he was one to hold relations dear and near, each small break was heavy on his heart and mind if they did happen, sending ripples that lasted for quite some time.

“The King is a child,” Aelius said, scorn void from his voice, he was speaking frankly. “He’s not had time to prove himself a good or bad monarch in the eyes of the people. However, adults don’t want to be ruled by a child, someone who doesn’t know how to tie their own laces – not that a king would have to tie their own laces anyway.” A smile came upon his face as he joked. “I think your cousin is truly biting off far more than she can chew, so is ‘that Veljorn guy’ if they think they can take the helm of the kingdom without grave repercussions. They threaten to destabilize an already unstable construct, this kingdom, if they dethrone the child-king. I don’t think they will rule long.”

With that, Aelius drew quiet and picked up his mug of cider, putting his lips on the rim before tipping it back and dragging from its warm, tart contents. It seemed Tristan’s attention was drawn to Rufus and the few men who sat on the other end of the bar. Whatever was on the young man’s mind overcame the silence of his mouth, for he implored Rufus to share the previous conversation. Quietly, Aelius nursed his drink, starry eyes looking between Tristan and Rufus as the latter told of a farmhouse being burned down by a group of Aukari. A shifty look overcame the older Biqaj before he shrugged off away from Tristan and Aelius, leaving them.

Another sip was taken by Aelius before he set his mug down on the countertop, looking to Tristan as the young man looked at him, murmuring. Aelius licked over his plump lips, listening as Tristan seemed to grow flustered. The halfblood wondered if the alcohol of the wine was getting to him already or if he was truly this excitable.

“They’re known to be a little hotheaded,” Aelius said. “I would know, one of my once better friends was an Aukari. I wouldn’t be surprised if they burned down the farmhouse with little to no reason. Perhaps your people were bothering them? Caused them to go off and burn the farmhouse down. It could have something to do with your cousin, if you say so. I don’t know your cousin. Does she have something against Aukari?”

A short pause overcame the halfblood as his finger traced the rim of his mug. “If you’re worried about being burned alive, I can come with you and make sure that doesn’t happen,” he offered. Truly, he doubted the Aukari would remain in the premises of the ruined farmhouse but he also didn’t know just how far Tristan was going to snoop. If anything, this would give him a chance to further practice his arcana, and for that, this opportunity was too good to pass up.

Aelius set his eyes on Tristan, awaiting the young man’s answer. “If you’re serious, we should leave now so we can make good time while the weather’s nice,” he urged, almost ready to stand should Tristan say the word.

[Tristan Venora]

"That happens to the best of us", Tristan remarked as Aelius told him that his parents had fallen in love and grinned. Personally though the young man had never been particularly interested in falling in love and tying himself to just one person. He had too much fun with the girls at the House of Roses and his Faith who was a really good slave and rather pleasant to look at as well. It didn’t hurt either that his grandmother would totally disapprove of him sleeping with her which made the whole thing even more exciting.

"Well, not all of us", he amended and silently thanked the Immortals for the fact that he came from a secondary branch of the family and his grandmother was thus in no hurry to find a proper noble lady for him that would most likely bore him to death. "My parents were forced to get married because that’s what happens when you are a noble, but fortunately they got along nevertheless. I was totally against arranged marriages until Zvezdana and Veljorn happened. It would have been better if grandmother had found her a husband, then we wouldn’t have all those problems now."

"As for the king being a child", he continued and shrugged his shoulders before he drained his glass completely. Talking about politics tended to frustrate him, and when he was frustrated he craved alcohol. "I actually prefer to be ruled by a child. A child is still able to learn, a child is open to new things while an old man is often too set in his ways. I’d rather have a thousand Cassanders than one Veljorn. And I’m aware that Veljorn would probably not last long if he managed to win the throne, but I’d rather he didn’t oust Cassander in the first place."

"I don’t know any Aukari", he admitted as Aelius spoke of his friend. "I just paint them on occasion because I have a weakness for gingers. As for whether Zvezdana has something against Aukari, I think she has something against everybody that isn’t called Zvezdana or at least marginally useful. She’s not an especially likeable woman. In fact she is the least likeable woman I know even though I probably shouldn’t be saying this. You won’t tell her though, will you?"

"If Veljorn wins, I’ll probably have to try and befriend her." He let out a deep sigh because he really wasn’t looking forward to playing nice with a woman whose presence he could barely stand.

He also wasn’t looking forward to rushing to Venora and finding out what the Aukari had done even though he kind of had to do it because Venora was home – until Aelius offered to come with him which would reduce the risk of something happening to him significantly.

"You would do that?" he asked. "Let’s go then! Do you know how to ride a horse? I could rent us two horses or buy them if buying turns out to be cheaper. We’d be in Venora much sooner. If you don’t know how to ride a horse though, and we’ll be forced to walk all the way, I expect to hear a few interesting story about Eidisi."

"We should probably also discuss what exactly we are going to do once we have arrived", he added because he wasn’t an idiot who rushed head first into an adventure, but was actually sensible – occasionally, at least.

[Aelius Callistus]

“I suppose it does,” Aelius replied.

Love had failed to come to the young halfblood. It wasn’t something he was seeking after all, but it was something he thought frequently about. He wondered how and why it made people do such crazy things, things they wouldn’t have otherwise thought about doing. He wondered why his father would forsake his seemingly pureblooded roots in order to pursue his human mother, a mother who had nothing extraordinary about her. Surely there were other Eidisi women who were smarter than his mother? Taking a breath, he would never know for sure for he did not know the mind of his father, nor would he be able to. He had outcast himself from his family, vowing to return when he was sure he learned something his father would truly be impressed by.

Aelius was at least happy to know he was not born into a high society where arranged marriages were the norm. Being of relatively common-blood by Rynmere’s comparisons meant he didn’t have to worry about being forced into marriage. He could pursue his desires without hindrance or distraction. The most off center he would get would be when he involved himself in people like Tristan’s business, as he was doing now.

The halfblood pursed his lips as Tristan admitted to perhaps having to befriend his cousin should she become queen of Rynmere. Aelius didn’t like that and it showed in his face, though his eyes’ judgement could hardly be discerned.

“I don’t understand,” he spoke up. “Why would you pretend to like your cousin if she becomes queen? Wouldn’t it be far easier to kill her or, rather, disassociate yourself from her if she does take the crown alongside Veljorn?” He took a small breath, peering at Tristan with penetrating eyes. “It seems to me, while you talk of disliking the noble’s lifestyle, you are drawn to it at the same time. You could disappear if you wanted to, but it really seems as if you don’t.”

After saying he would more or less happily join Tristan in investigating the burned down farm in Venora, Tristan leaped on the offer, even going as far as offering his coin purse up in order to rent or buy them horses so they could make decent time back to Venora. Aelius’ brows perked slightly before he nodded, affirming Tristan heard right, he would help the young noble in this investigation.

“I can tell you stories, if you wish,” Aelius said, picking up his mug in order to drain the last contents of cider. He rose afterwards, pushing his stool in and making sure all of his belongings were still on his person. His coin purse was a tad bit lighter but nothing else seemed to be amiss, he still had his conduit and head, the only things he truly cared about.

“We should be off,” he went, bringing a hand to smooth over his buzzed head, pivoting on his heel to head towards the entrance of the Blacksmith’s.

Once outside of the Blacksmith’s, Aelius looked through the underground nook the tavern hid in. He’d heard very little about the tavern, just that it was resilient, surviving quite a bit and not closing down or being destroyed. He turned towards Tristan, nodding towards the exit of the nook, gesturing for them to go get their horses. As they went, he spoke: “What do you know of my father’s people?”

[Tristan Venora]

"Because I’m not a fool", Tristan replied and rolled his eyes as Aelius asked him why he would pretend to like Zvezdana if she became queen. Was that really so hard to understand? "Zvezdana is a very unpleasant woman and she could cause a lot of trouble for me. I doubt that she would go easy on people that criticize her. I suppose I could try and disappear though. I’d have to leave Rynmere and go to Ne’haer or Viden though because everybody knows the Venoras here. Unless I dyed my hair?" He looked at Aelius thoughtfully and turned his head so that the other man would be able to take a good look at him.. "Do you think I’d look good in blonde?"

"You know me really well for a man that just met me", he remarked and smirked. Even though Aelius‘ words hadn’t been entirely positive, he still enjoyed the conversation and was quite impressed. "But honestly, what would you do in my situation? Can you say that you would give up all the money, the fame and the nice clothes – and the pretty ladies - without hesitation if our roles were reversed? It’s always easier to talk about it in theory …" He peered into his glass, wondering if he should ask Rufus for a refill. "… but I like you anyway. Unlike the lickspittles in my grandmother’s court you say what you think."

"Let’s be off", he agreed and waved Rufus goodbye. The old man smiled and nodded at him (Tristan was one of his most loyal patrons after all!) before he went back to serving drinks. The Blacksmith Arms was getting quite busy and people were starting to complain.

"I know that Eidisi have strange eyes and are very intelligent", he replied as they walked towards the stables and shrugged his shoulders as he wasn’t particularly ashamed about his lack of knowledge. "And that’s about it. By the way, why do you have a shaved head? Is it an Eidisi thing?" As he asked that, he let a hand run through his own long, dark hair. He really liked having all that hair, but of course he would still be gorgeous if he suddenly went bald!

~~~

Before too long the two men arrived at the stables. "I’ve never owned a horse", Tristan murmured as he waited for the proprietor, a woman named Ruth Calder, to come out. "Didn’t think I’d ever own one either. But why rent when you can just buy?" He removed one hundred golden nels from his pouch as if all that money meant nothing to him and smiled at the woman who was of course very eager to do business with the young lord since nobles always had a lot of money.

"Would you like me to buy you a horse as well?" he asked Aelius as a stable boy brought him his new mount, a brown stallion who had a somewhat mean look about him. "I’m really rich. I can afford it. On the other hand, what would you do with a horse? You’d need a stable and servants to feed it. I think I’ll just rent you one."

More money exchanged hands, and Aelius was given a horse as well.

"I think I’ll name you Maxos", Tristan decided as he put his left foot into the left stirrup and climbed onto the horse’s back. "That’s a good name, a noble name." He smirked as he said that. Maxos was one of the names of the heir to the Duchy of Andaris (the other one was Peake).

~~~

The trip to Venora took the better part of three trials. By the end of it Tristan had begun to wonder whether there was a point to it or whether they would arrive too late to find out anything useful. His behind had also started to hurt a little from sitting on a horse all trial long. He wasn’t used to it and readily mentioned it to Aelius, even though discussing sore behinds with an almost complete stranger might be considered slightly inappropriate.

Aelius might also not be very comfortable any more, whether from riding or because of his very eccentric companion who asked him all kinds of questions, in between planning the investigation. Tristan didn’t seem to be aware of the meaning of the term 'personal space' – or maybe he just didn’t care about it. He readily shared his food with Aelius though.

~~~

"We are here!" Tristan informed him and dismounted. In the distance Aelius could see the glorious city of Sabaissant with its palace where Duchess Ebony and her family lived. It had been raining slightly when the two men had left Andaris, but now the sun was shining, and it was just a little hot so that Tristan had taken his cloak off and rolled the sleeves of his shirt up. "This is the place where I grew up. We should start our investigation by asking the people if they have noticed anything unusual and where exactly the house that was burned down is located because I don’t have any idea."

"What do you think?" He took Maxos‘ reins and started to look around. Not too far from where they stood was a small farm house with a garden where a man and two young girls, probably his daughters, were hard at work. More houses could be seen further away, all around Sabaissant. The scenery seemed very peaceful. It was hard to imagine that a crime had happened there only a few short trials earlier. "Shall we ask people or would you rather find out everything yourself? Sometimes people lie, although I don't know why they should lie in this case …"

[Aelius Callistus]

Aelius’ face remained passive as Tristan pointed out it would be foolish to not pretend to be his cousin’s friend should she take the throne. Clearly, the halfblood disagreed. Why do something so out of character simply to hold onto wealth and power if one’s life would be miserable because of it? It was then he considered himself lucky to not have to deal with the same walks of life Tristan had to. At least Aelius was marginally happy at nearly all times and able to disassociate himself with anyone he so pleased without repercussion. It seemed, though, Tristan considered the idea of abandoning it all, asking Aelius how the halfblood thought he’d look with blond hair. Looking between his currently dark locks of hair and his face, Aelius shrugged slightly, not truly able to imagine Tristan with blond hair at all.
“I can,” Aelius answered. “Money, fame, nice clothes, and ‘pretty ladies’ are small in the grand scheme of things, at least they are to me. I could do very well without, unlike yourself, seemingly.” He paused, wondering if Tristan took his words at a slight.
“We’re different people from different places. What you have here hardly exists in Viden, and my father would curse my hide all the more for becoming absorbed in what you deem as ‘important’. To him, and me, knowledge is what matters. You can be the richest fool who accumulates wealth just because it is important to your status, or you can accumulate wealth because you know the value of gold to others and to the world you live in.”
Having said his piece of what was probably a rhetorically asked question, Aelius rose with Tristan and headed for the door. The young noble said he knew very little about the Eidisi, save for them having ‘strange’ eyes and being very intelligent. Aelius nodded to say as much was correct, laughing as Tristan asked if his shaved head was ‘an Eidisi thing.’
“It’s not,” he told the young man. “I just prefer it. My father has long dark blue hair and my mother’s hair is my color, long as well. When I was younger my hair was longer, long like my father’s. Since I got to Rynmere, though, I shaved my head.”

At the stables, Aelius began to fish around for his coin purse, knowing he’d have to be ready to pay for his horse when the time came. Surprisingly though, Tristan offered to rent him one. At first the offer came to purchase one outright but Tristan retracted the offer with sound reason; there was no way Aelius could afford the long term care of a horse. His caracal cat, Flavia, was enough to take care of as it were. He didn’t have an estate or home he could stable the horse either, meaning he’d have to rent space at the stable there. All in all, it wouldn’t be worth it.
The money exchanged hands, Aelius promising to take up at least half the cost of renting his horse for the few days they’d be in Venora, of which they didn’t exactly know. Seven seemed to be enough though, and that was what they agreed upon with the stable owner. Aelius’ horse was already named Dusk. It was a dark mare with white socks and mane. It wasn’t entirely black though, hence the name of approaching night, dusk.
With that, they were on their way to Venora. Before they left the city entirely Aelius doubled back to his apartment, picking up his cat Flavia and letting her store away in one of the satchel bags. The ride there was rather uneventful and towards the end Aelius was beginning to be worn out. Sleeping in inns along the roads was nothing in comparison to his bed in Andaris and Tristan’s company was something he was discovering he could only take in small doses at a time. He spent his nights with Flavia, stowed away in their room away from Tristan in order to give the halfblood some peace for the night. It took half the journey for Aelius to get used to his horse too, as they weren’t something he was exactly used to riding.

Upon arriving outside of Sabaissant, Tristan announced it dutifully to the halfblood. Of whom simply nodded in agreement. He was more relieved to see the city, knowing they could finally get to what they actually set out to do and Aelius didn't have to answer anymore of the young noble’s questions about Eidisi or his background. They were barely within the city when Tristan was already formulating a plan to be followed in order to get to the root of the reason why the farmhouse was burned down by the group of Aukari. Aelius only hoped any lead they would find wouldn’t lead them to a dead end. Hopefully their trail wasn’t cold.
“I think we should ask around and put together any information we find. Don’t worry about the liars, everyone lies, it’s just a matter of putting the truths together,” he told Tristan. “Let’s get something to drink, some water, then ask around. Maybe we should stable our horses too, just in case?” He looked to Tristan to see what he thought on that matter.
Regardless of if they stabled their horses or not, the two began their investigation. It was mid-afternoon when they arrived in the city initially, and by the time Aelius found a seemingly solid lead, it was early evening. Finding Tristan, he approached.
“From what I’ve been told, there was a large group of Aukari who were travelling through the city. They’ve been intimidating people left and right but left the city. The city thought they were gone but then news of the farmhouse being burned down got around and now the guards are on alert for more news about the Aukari,” he informed Tristan.
Aelius’ white eyes looked over the young noble. “What’d you find out? Anything different from me?”
Standing before Tristan but beside Aelius was but the halfblood’s cat, Flavia. Just as Aelius looked at Tristan with white eyes, the feline looked at the noble with irises of focused gold.

[Tristan Venora]

“Water?“ Tristan asked incredulously as Aelius suggested that they get something to drink and shook his head. “I’ll have a glass of Venora Red, thank you very much. You can drink water though. But I do agree that we should stable our horses. They won’t be of much use here anyway.” Truth to be told, Tristan was already getting tired of Maxos. The stallion had lived up to his name and had turned out to be just as unpredictable as Tristan imagined the real Lord Peake Maxos Andaris to be. If Maxos had a beard, the lord and the horse would probably be indistinguishable from each other.

Once he had successfully gotten rid of his new horse, at least for the time being, rested a bit and gotten something to eat and drink, Tristan was ready to investigate. While Aelius went off in one direction, he went off in the opposite direction, figuring that it wouldn’t make a lot of sense if they questioned people in the same area. When they had ridden into Venora, he had seen a garden where a pretty girl had worked. That, he decided, would be as good a starting point as any. Just because he had decided to play the part of the good samaritan and help his people didn’t mean that he couldn’t have a bit of fun as well.

---

As Tristan approached their meeting point, he was in a much better mood than before as things had gone well. Elisa, the girl in the garden, had been exceptionally friendly once she had realized that he was the grandson of Duchess Ebony and served him cake while she had told him what she knew. He wondered whether he should tell Aelius about that very enjoyable meeting right away, but then decided to listen to the half-blood first. Once the man had relayed what he had heard, Tristan nodded.

“That’s what Elisa said as well”, he said and cast a glance at Flavia, wondering if it would be possible for Mistral and her to have kittens together before he turned back to Aelius. “There were a lot more Aukari than usually in Venora. Elisa’s father didn’t trust them and wanted her to stay at home, but she went dancing in Sabaissant with her girlfriends anyway. I also found out that Elisa currently doesn’t have a boyfriend. Sabaissant is a bit too far from Venora though …”

He let out a sigh, and then he rummaged in a pocket of his pants and removed a crumpled piece of paper with a small sound of triumph. “She also gave me this! Directions to the house that was burned down. She said that we ought to be careful though. Some Aukari might still be in Venora. She said one of the neighbours caught a red haired man trying to steal some food, but managed to scare him away …”

He handed the piece of paper to Aelius, secretly wishing that his family could see him now. They had often complained about his lack of noble traits, such as an interest in combat and heroic deeds, but this here was pretty heroic, wasn’t it?

“I think we should try and find out where exactly the remaining Aukari are hiding”, he suggested. In the beginning he had been quite reluctant to go on that adventure, but the prospect of chasing down Aukari was becoming more and more appealing now. People would praise his bravery (and Aelius’ of course) if he was successful and admire him!

“Are you coming?” he asked as he started walking in the direction of the burned down farm house.