METTING THE LION OF ROWAIN

Kalen

"Don Kalen I am most grateful that you accepted my request and even more so for the fact that you agreed to meet with me before pressing for the details of this quest"

he said, king Michael Rowain or to his subjects the 804th Lion of Rowain, the kingdom of Rowain had a large fixation with the beast, it was sigil their most treasured animal and the style in which they named their kings with the queen being titled the lioness of Rowain,

He even looked like a lion with dark brown hair fanning his chin and scalp like a mane the parts of his face that were visible were tanned and weathered he looked to be in his fifties with brown eyes that shown with pride and ferocity although much of those was hidden behind apprehension as he looked at me,

'I found the request intriguing and decided I should hear more before coming to a decision'

I said,

we were in a lavishly decorated dinning room, I my entourage and the royal family the king sat at one end of the table while I occupied the other his wife on the left while his heir on the right with his two younger brothers beside him, the queen appeared to be be a few years younger than her husband but still old enough to be my mother yet she didnt seem to realise that as she sent a smile that carried both respect and flirtiness every opportunity she could if her husband noticed he said nothing, she hard the same dark brown hair and proud look with a few wrinkles here and there, she wore a flowing gown of black and white and on her neck hung silver jewels aplenty, the boys on the other hand had not dared to look at me after what happened yesterday,

The king himself had been waiting for us at the castle gates with a royal retinue his family members tight behind him as I alighted from my horse he came forward to greet me we shook hands with him rattling of pleasantries and I as blank faced as usual behind him the boys watched with quiet discontent, at the least the heir and his immediate younger brother, they were feeling disappointed with the fact that the man who held the position all of them wanted most was treating me like he would never amount to half of my worth(he's right though) and were content to watch with their tounge's held back all except the youngest who was only about a year younger than I, it was then I heard him say

"that's a Don, doesn't look like much"

immediately all the guards present jumped to the 3rd princes side in their eyes I saw their willingness to sacrifice their lives to protect him from my wrath the king and queen went on their knees muttering apologies and my own men joined in to beg I spare him, all except Felix who watched with quiet amusement already knowing what my next actions would be, I sighed as I knew what had to be done as keeping up appearances was necessary,

I looked at the ignorant boy and focused a bit of my blood lust on him while letting a meager amount spill out to the surroundings the prince instantly fell on his ass and his guards looked as if their resolve would break barely a second after I acted, my bloodlust spread out encompassing the entire capital i watched as everyone around me felt dread(except Felix who was trying not to laugh) and said the words

'watch your tounge boy'

since then I and the princes haven't had any thing to discuss,

we currently sat eating a lavish breakfast so lavish infact it dwarfed the feast at my coronation, the meal started with custard before trains of maids and butlers began placing trays with toast, fruits, juices made from different sources, oats, several flagons of milk soft wines figs eggs fried and boiled a creamy fish soup and even venison, as different dishes kept being served before we had scarce the time to finish one I attempted to wave the servants away but the king spoke saying

"it would honour me if you eat heartily this fine morning I asked the cooks to prepare food worthy of a Don if you didnt I'd take it to mean this meal didnt satisfy you"

so I let him continue this folly, a few honey tarts, lemon cakes and butter carp soup Felix less reserved than I finally spoke up

"with all due respect your grace but are you stalling or something"

cough

cough

the king was in the middle of a goblet of fresh squeezed orange juice when he heard that and nearly choked, he looked at Felix fury rising in his eyes, Rowain held a not so faint dislike for magic-casters believing them to be cowardly and the weaker class funny considering Felix could clear out all the guards present visible and in hiding with a wave of his hand, Felix matched his stare with an easy going one that said bro what do you even want to do,

'leave us please I said'

i spoke only to my party but the queen and her children followed, the king glanced at his guards and they too retreated out of sight, he spoke saying

"it seems you'd like to hear the details of this request"

'if you please'

I said

"alright, but first I'd like to know for certain that you will help me"

'speak and I'll decide'

"no, I have to know first"

I looked him in the eye his fear was still present but I could tell he would not back down not out of pride or because he suddenly found his spine it was more like the greater part of his fear wasn't directed at me but at something else, I decided no to question it and instead replied

'and what if i played along only to change my mind once I heard your request, what would you do then'

"who you have slander be put on your name so soon after entering such an esteemed position"

I stood up from my seat one hand dangling in the air with my meal levitating as it followed me I walked to his side of the table, i could feel as his heart threatened to burst out of his chest at sound of my footsteps but I was expressionless all the way, I finally got to his right side pushed the dish in front of me out of the way and took a seat my food right where the former lay, I looked at the king, his face had paled considerable and he look to be searching for an escape route as i spoke

'those words would be considered brave in front of someone who cared, but to me those rumours would be something else to ignore'

he had calmed down by now his face moving from relief to a grimace before he eventually sighed and said

"it is as the letter said, my daughter was kidnapped but not just by anyone but by the kingdom of Illiona"

Illiona, another continental superpower but still

"it you're wondering why I called you for something so trivial from your point of veiw its because that girl is my real heir"

'what'

I was visible shocked after all the number of kingdoms with female rulers in its past were extremely few but Rowain wasnt amongst their number hell Rowain was scant with women in places of power, only female knights that were one in a thousand were afforded any position of political significance

'then what was that'

I said referring to the first prince who once occupied the very seat I was in

"a disgrace, since the day he was born he and his brothers had been nothing but disappointments living frivolously and getting the crown into all kinds of trouble they are men ruled by lust and greed expending the royal coffers and participating in the peak of reckless and irresponsible behaviour"

he said this with conviction in his voice as of if the prince were here he would have smacked him but all I could say to that was

'okaaay, but the girl'

"was blessed with a beautiful mind, dutiful as well as diligent she has contributed severely in rectifying the consequences of here brothers if I were to leave my kingdom into the hands of any of those boys nothing but a sharp decline awaits it but in her hands it will flourish"

'I understand that but still why, why request me your kingdom has both the basis and the power to go to war with Illiona and if you spread some tales of your godsent daughter people will come from far and near to ally and assist you in a name of justice'

"because Illiona has a trump card of their own, they are allied with the city of Ageis and all their Don's"

I kept my shock hidden, Ageis and Trident had been bitter enemies for the past few years ever since a conflict between their Don's it is said that Langris and the former first Don Ray had a dispute between the recent first Don of Ageis, someone who neither his identity or power level was known ever since then the two cities had been at odds especially after Langris became first Don,

'Did you come to me in hope's of taking advantage of the dislike between our two cities'

I asked

"no"

the king replied

"i came because I'm a desperate father and even even more desperate king"

After breakfast concluded I met with my people and we began planning our travel route, I had met the lion of Rowain, his words seemed honest but I still couldn't help but doubt, although it would be difficult getting the other Trident Don's on board wouldn't be an impossibility as this could turn into a dispute between cities other than just Don's yet the fear still shown in his eyes like his problems were merely just beginning, when I told Felix he replied

"of course he's scared two or more harbingers of destruction are going to go at it who knows what could happen"

that calmed my fears a little but I still felt like it wasn't that simple.