Reception Diplomacy

With the ceremonies over, the reception into which Queen Leonora had put such effort began, and the movers and shakers of Alair began to mingle.

For any informed observer it was a fascinating sight. The ebb and flow of quiet conversation, the intricate pattern of who talked to whom and who avoided whom, and the consideration of which posture towards whom was real and which was pretence, was more elegant, complex and deadly than any dance could ever be. The Councillors of the Suryan Council wove the tapestry together, introducing people who would have had to have been braindead not to recognize each other, and over it all presided the new King and Queen of New Tellare.

Hildraft started by speaking to Skufruss, jovially enough, but with a serious undercurrent, advising him against any move against the dwarves despite their weakness. "Flame will never burn stone," he parabled. Skufruss could not resist the word game. ''But acid will dissolve and frost crack," he riposted, "there's a dragon for every occasion." They eyed each other, and then parted with a nod.

Hildraft, feeling the need to relax a bit, siezed a small ale-keg and headed towards Manton Vanechka and his holy knights. On his way, he noticed Yngrid deep in conversation with a very attentive Faldin Axehand, and for a moment a deep frown creased his brow.

Skufruss turned from Hildraft, to meet the gaze of Crixus. The Imperial Crown Prince moved across the room to speak with the Dark Lord of the Kin, and the pair retired to a quiet corner. As with many of the little pools of discussion occurring around the room, other interested parties drifted a little closer to try and pick up a few snippets, but strangely, no matter how close they got, nether Skufruss' nor Crixus' words could be heard at all. To the frustration of many, for these two represented vast power in Alair, and their interaction could be very significant.

They spoke for quite a while, showing no signs of affability or emnity, and then parted, seeking other conversations.

Hildraft, meanwhile, was having some good nasty fun. He'd buttonholed Vanechka's holy knights of the Kordasa, and was trying to persuade them to get drunk with him on theological grounds. Humans and dwarves saw Kord rather differently; the knights, as humans, believed Kord expected purity of faith and dedication of spirit, whereas Hildraft, as a dwarf, viewed Kord in his roistering, chaotic, fight-all-day drink-all-night aspect.

Of course both were right.

But there was a question of relative status here. Hildraft, Hand of Kord, hero of the Sword of Law, Wyrmslayer, Blessed of Kord, was someone to be obeyed in the hierachy. The knights were embarrassed and struggling to cope, their vows conflicting with their desire to impress this favoured servant of their god. Chuckling, Hildraft appealed to Surya, as the host, to settle the argument. Surya grinned wickedly, and replied that of course the knights should not drink. Hildraft laughed, and let it drop, not put out though surprised, and Surya muttered in his ear, "Stop trying to start fights!"

Manton Vanechka chuckled. "What did you expect?" he said. "Your Kord would not work for humans; neither could you stomach ours. We share a faith, but not quite a God."

Surya found himself refilling his glass next to Crixus. "What did you think of Skufruss?" he asked, only fishing a little bit. "He's the first Kin I've ever met," replied the next Emperor of the Erlyid. "and I don't think we'll be going to war any time soon." Surya breathed out gently. A war between the Empire and the Dark Tower would be a holocaust, and his realm lay in the middle.

Crixus had brought young Rolc, now well-groomed and adopted into the Imperial Household, but still alert and sharp. He waved cheerfully at his former companions, pleased to see them, though he looked in vain for Sack the man who'd given him his new life.

Sangr'm, the ruler of Dalaghendor and priest of Shushkrah, made a clear point of avoiding Skufruss - clearly, he expected serious trouble when Tarlanor's borders touched his own. He spent some time talking to Elverandil, who also clearly wanted nothing to do with the Dark Lord, which showed some progress - the elves' initial reaction to the lizardman race had been extermination, and conversation was a definite improvement.

The two orcs - Thend and Shuumash - were also by no means universally popular, with old emnities dying hard in some cases. Surya discovered that the civil war that had ripped Orcland apart after Garkaur's death was over, the orc clan-lords having "settled their differences" as Thend put it. Both named themselves as "of Kishshul", which was of considerable interest to many - Kishshul was one of the ancient orc-holds of the Erean Mountains, and if this were true it meant that the surviving Orc population had somehow managed to reach the ancient ruins without having to fight their way past the three great Dwarfcastles.

More surprises were to follow. Thend and Shuumash asked Surya to broker conversations between themselves and the Kordasa, their nearest neighbors, about opening trade links - and not only them, but the dwarves as well! Trade!

Truly the world was changing....