Always Rhun For One More

[Kay-Larr]

They were more than halfway through to the camp by now. A couple of the more able bodied settlers went on ahead. Not long after they were already being greeted by the other trainees. Kay motioned back towards the farmhouse with her free hand, while the other arm was still wrapped around the injured man. "His Lordship is back there fighting. He told me to lead these settlers to safety. Some of you should ride to him quickly, in case he needs help."

And three of them did just that, as most had arrived on horseback, while the rest helped Kay with the settlers.

[member="Valentinian Alexandrus III"]

 

[Tanith Alde]

Valentinian would be found, still on his knees, bleeding quite profusely. He was still breathing, and more than that conscious when the riders carried him back to the camp, and the royal physicians were called by. The sum of his injuries was 3 stab wounds, a dozen lacerations, two arrow wounds, and a broken arm from a club striking it. The surgery was straight forward, but time consuming, and the pale faced physicians toiled away at it the entire night long.

Eventually, in the wee hours of the morning the word was given out, the Lord of Rhun still drew breath, shallow as it might be

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

The training camp was of course cancelled, given the recent events. Before [member="Valentinian Alexandrus III"] was brought to the camp, many of the settlers were taken care of.

Kay helped where she could, bandaging, aiding with splints, gathering clean cloths and putting the blood soaked ones away in a pile.

As his Lordship was brought in, she stayed out of the way. There was a lot of hustle and bustle as he was tended to. By the time word was said that he was going to be alright, Kay was pacing. She asked for permission to see him so that he knew that her and the settlers were okay. Thankfully she was allowed a few minutes.

She slipped into his tent quietly. His breathing was shallow and he appeared to be sleeping. With no one else there, she approached his bed and gently placed a hand on his side. She closed her eyes and focused on the Force around them, getting a sense of his injuries. The surgeons did a good job as far as she could tell. Kay didn't want to do much, but gave his cells a bit of a boost to regenerate and heal themselves a little quicker, repairing the veins that were cut.

She opened her eyes and stopped when she felt him stir. In a whisper she spoke, "The settlers are recovering. We all got to safety because of your valiant efforts, M'Lord. Rest easy. You'll be going home soon."

 

[Tanith Alde]

He nodded softly, placing a hand on that that she had layed on his arm he gave it a light, reassuring squeeze "Keep Them safe...Focused....Don't let them worry. They have a king thats dying....It can't be risked they worry for the life of their prince as well" He smiled weakly, laying his head back on the soft pillow.

What was it with hospitals and soft beds? They always seemed to be so much more comfotable than his own, though the life sapping wounds and general fatigue might be part of the reason why, the young lord mused to himself.

"I do hope...this hasn't colored your opinion of us....too badly"

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay raised a brow slightly. He wanted her to look after things for him? She hoped the others would listen, given that she was an outsider. Maybe some encouraging words to [member="Valentinian Alexandrus III"] as well as the others was what they needed.

She gave him a warm smile as he questioned whether or not this incident made her dislike his homeworld. "On the contrary, M'Lord, this has been one of the most relaxed diplomatic missions that I've had in a while. The Galaxy is a very violent place.....I shall try to put your people at ease. Perhaps by mid day, you'll be strong enough to be seen and to give them a proper sense of relief."

She wondered if he was even aware of her help, but perhaps not. It was probably better if he didn't.

Kay gave him another smile and then left his side to head out of the tent. It surprised her to see so many people milling about, worried for him. He was very lucky in more ways than one. "His Lordship is resting, but recovering well. Your surgeons ought to be praised, for their quick efforts have saved him. Let him sleep and he could be on his feet by the end of the day." A few cheers rang out as Kay left them to go to her tent. She needed to rest too. She slipped into her bedroll and curled up inside it.

 

[Tanith Alde]

As the day wore on, normal activities slowly resumed. More guards, and a proper supply chain were brought in, and those staying at the camp would be cared after. More tents were erected, including one for showers, a proper mess tent, lauderers and many more. It became essentially a small city. New clothes, and warm food would be brought to her ladyship soon enough.

Around early evening, a group of dark robed individuals approached the camp, passing easily by the guards. There were a half dozen, their faces hidden in their deep robes. Their hands were folded before them, and they refused to speak or gaze upon anyong, making a line for the Prince's tent

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

She got enough rest at least. And upon waking she was surprised at all of the activity. Instead of getting ready to head back to the palace, everyone built more tents. That was very strange.

Kay showered, changed and ate a warm bowl of stew. Afterwards she headed towards [member="Valentinian Alexandrus III"] 's tent to check on him. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the robed figures moving in the same direction that she was. A brow was raised as no one seemed to do anything to stop them. Were they religious leaders of some kind? She slipped into his Lordship's tent first before they got to it, glancing over her shoulder when she got in. "Some men are approaching..."

 

[Tanith Alde]

Valentinian propped himself up "Men? What kind of men?" He asked in a soft murrmurred, glancing out of the tent. The men in question would file in around the tent , forming a semi circle around the prince. They removed their hoods, revealling grey, blinded eyes, that managed to fix on the prince despite their obvious lack of sight. Disconcerting to be certain

"Men from Sorcere" He explained softly to Kay, recognizing the robes

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay stepped back towards [member="Valentinian Alexandrus III"] as the robed figures walked in. She had only heard of these men in passing and their blind eyes was a bit unnerving to say the least. Her eyes were grey too, but at least she could see.

She was going to ask what they wanted, but chose just to wait instead. Could they even speak? She wasn't sure. But his Lordship didn't seem that worried, nor did he reach for a weapon. So Kay held her ground.

 

[Tanith Alde]

One spoke, and the words flowed through the mouths of all the men in a strange, slightly off putting echo

"Take succor in His strength ,Steel thy soul with His word, Armor thy personage in faith , Arm thy self with His will"

They chanted as they raised their hands, holding them above the prince. A sense of power flowed through them, but no indidually. They were connected, their powers shared, that was what made them powerful. Together they weaved the force into a wave of healing, though not knowingly so, instead formed by ancient traditions and misunderstandings as they wove the prince's wounds back together.

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay blinked as she watched [member="Valentinian Alexandrus III"] as he was being healed. She could feel the Force as it was channelled. It was strange as she'd never seen people use the Force in unison like that before. They had finished what she had started. Did they realize that she had helped in a similar manner? If they didn't that could be a good thing.

When they were finished, she quietly spoke up, "Thank you...."

 

[Tanith Alde]

"We do what we must. The covenant is kept. Our duties are over" The apparent leader said. It could be guessed that he was the leader, do to him standing in the middle of the group, and the silver trimming of his dark robe. They once again lowered the hoods over their heads, giving the lady one final questioning look, before turning toward the exit of the tent

Once they were out of earshot, teh somewhat mended Valentinian sat up completely "Strange Men, those of Sorcere. One can never tell exactly where one stands with them, or what they are thinking. " Though they were familliar sights to him, the strange scholars did always put him ill at ease

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

She saw that lingering look and she knew that they were curious. Well, she would be if she was them. Kay half wondered if there was any point in going to see them now, as that was going to be part of her cultural exposure. Circumstances brought the men to them.

Even now that they had healed [member="Valentinian Alexandrus III"] , she couldn't help but feel a bit protective over him still. "Have they ever harmed anyone? Or are they just healers?" Something that she had to ask, to try to determine which side of the Force they served.

 

[Tanith Alde]

"They are dangerous, very dangerous but, Sorcerers represent Humanity's future, the ideal creature into which mankind will evolve; a more powerful, more intelligent and more capable life form. As yet this race is weak, its members lacking the mental strength needed to face the dangers of the universe. Were the new race of sorcerers permitted to develop free and unprotected, the whole of Humanity would soon be destroyed. We few who are privy to this truth have guarded it selflessly for nigh on four millennia, since the end of the great schism from which our Empire was born "

Valentinian summarized, moving over somewhat, his legs hanging over the edge of the bed. He shook his head, clearing it before slowly, carefullly moving onto his feet

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay helped [member="Valentinian Alexandrus III"]
to his feet, though her eyes still stayed on the entrance to the tent. They were dangerous? She wondered if Mantic saw her in that way. She had training, but acted on impulse. He told her that she was partly the reason that the Galaxy was in chaos. But she was working on getting better and accepting herself more.

"There are many like them in the Galaxy. But not all of them are dangerous, M'Lord. Some use their gifts to help others and do not cause harm."

 

[Tanith Alde]

He thought on her words for a moment before he responded

" Here on our world, this power, and it's abuse is like a tree. It's roots lie in the darkness whilst its leaves wave in the sun and to those who suspect nothing, it has an attractive and pleasing appearance. Truly, you can prune away its branches, or even cut the tree to the ground, but it will grow up again ever the stronger and ever more comely. Yet all awhile the root grows thick and black, gnawing at the bitter soil, drawing its nourishment from the darkness, and growing even greater and more deeply entrenched.Such is the nature of sorcery, and this is why it is so hard to control once it has been abused, for then it must be eradicated leaf, branch, trunk and root. It must be exorcised utterly or it will return all the stronger, time and time again, until it is too great to destroy. Then we are doomed."

Such was the way Valentinian had been raised, and the time he had spent alive had proven this attitude to be true more often than not

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay swallowed, nodding to his points as though she was leaning towards agreeing with him. Yet she wasn't. She never abused her gifts, but his words caused her to firmly stick to her decision to not tell him about herself. There had been others with the same line of thinking that she had come across. It was partly why she hid her abilities. She didn't want to be feared or hated because of it.

"They did well for you, M'Lord and helped you recover quicker. They could have even saved your life if they had healed something that your surgeons might have missed." Kay stopped herself. She was defending them a bit too much.

"Your people have set up more tents to enlargen this camp. I had figured that they would have packed up to help bring you home. But instead....only more had gathered."

[member="Valentinian Alexandrus III"]

 

[Tanith Alde]

"I know quite well what they can do, and what they have done. Those of the Blood Royale have always been linked closely to the men and women of Sorcere " Another hint to the planet's history but, he was unsure weather he should tell or not. It was best to speak openly, he decided, than keep things in the shadow

"For as long as we've kept records, those of the Blood Royale have always held special gifts....powers. It is why the nobility is such an entrenched, permanent part of our culture and history. Our daily work brings us closer and closer to the dark, increases our understanding of orderless powers. Gradually, without noticing it, even the most puritanical and rod-stiff scion becomes seduced... The first step is the knowledge.We must understand the basic traits of Dark Sorcery in order to fight it. In a few years, we knows more about sorcery than most dare to dream. Then the second step: the moment we breaks the rules and allows some aspect of the dark to survive or remain so that we can study it and learn from it... The third step... the third step is the line itself. When we become radicals, using the weapons of the great enemy against it. That, is when we have truly fallen"

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

[member="Valentinian Alexandrus III"] didn't change the subject as she did. Instead he remained on it. Kay clenched her jaw a bit as she listened. Through some of it he sounded like Mantic, but in other parts, she couldn't agree with him at all.

Yet his mention that those if royal blood had those gifts, it made her wonder...Did he have them too? And if so, could he of sensed it in her as well? Was that why he wanted her to see the robed sorcerers? It was worthy of asking.

"Do you have their gifts as well, M'Lord?.."

 

[Tanith Alde]

The prince sensed her unease, saw the rigid clenching of her jaw. Had he struck a nerve? He had hoped not, perhaps it would be best to steer away from this course, that is, once they had finished speaking of it "I -am- Of the Blood Royale" He answered simply, though some could argue it needlessly cryptic. Then again, the people of Rhun were known for nothing if not their sense for grandeur and such fine things in life.

"It is Mandatory, that all scions spend some years studying at both Sorcere and Melee-Magthere before they may devote themselves to one or the other. Some are inclined to scholarly bends, and persue a life in sorcere, others are drawn to the Blade, and take the path of the warrior. But each has knowledge of the other"

[member="Lady Kay"]