Noble Court - June of 622

A welcome cool breeze blows across the port city of Volaire as the sun rises higher into the sky. The normal sounds of the busy town proper are hushed as the weight of the upcoming gathering of the kingdom's nobility looms. The meeting hall, commonly used for public events of community merriment, is instead somber and blanketed with the sober realization that the day's events will have serious and irreversible influence upon the future.

The massive double doors of the meeting hall are propped open with Kingdom Guards posted every few feet. The guards are mostly human and are donned in impeccably polished armor with the kingdom seal emblazoned upon their breastplates. Each carries an ornate sword and a handcrafted shield banded in silver and proudly displaying the Ariadnian Coat of Arms.

Upon entering the Meeting Hall, the walls are lined with sconces each holding aloft a magical blue flame that is cool to the touch, casting an almost eerie sapphire glow across the wooden benches filling the floor of the hall. Atop a platform at the far end of the hall, a large table in the shape of a crescent moon sits sandwiched between two braziers of the same blue flame. Tall scrollworked chairs border the outside edge of the table, facing the benches on the floor below them. In the center of the crescent table stands a podium with chains and shackles secured to a heavy ring at its base.

Servants are busy setting out glasses and pitchers of water and ale as the first of the nobles begin to arrive. As they enter, the Kingdom Nobility exchange greetings and pleasantries as they make their way down the hall and take their seats upon the platform. Guild Second Marquanthis of the Guild of Light sits toward the end of the table, politely sliding the glass of water aside and replacing it with an earthen teacup and saucer. He folds his hands on the table in front of him and waits patiently for the others to arrive.

A young woman with shoulder length brown hair slips into the meeting hall, her green eyes dart around nervously and she wrings her hands like she doesn’t know what to do with them. She wears a white robe lined in gold and a large white and gold favor hangs from her hip. Without a word to anyone and carefully avoiding eye contact, Rachelle takes a seat quietly next to Marquanthis. She watches the room around her and gives a small smile to anyone she accidentally makes eye contact with.

An older man with salt and pepper hair and matching beard makes his way to a seat near the end of the table. Lines crease his face around his eyes and mouth showing his age, but the wide smile, fit physique, and sure stance betray that image. He is wearing a blue tunic lined in gold with black pants. Hanging from his belt is the blue and gold favor of Foresetidale as well as a red and gold Kingdom favor with the head of a dragon at its center. While a blue handled sword with a single blue gem in its pommel hangs from his hip.

Beside him is another knight dressed in blue and gold armor also wearing a favor of Foresetidale. He is a splitting image of Dorian with close cropped brown hair, a stubbled chin, and brown eyes. He wears a permanent frown and keeps his hand at the sword on his hip.

Surrounding the two knights in a tight circle are three other knights in matching blue and gold armor. Their eyes are carefully searching the room and hands are on the pommels of their swords at all times. As Dorian approaches his seat, the circle widens and reshapes around him so that his back is never defenseless. The younger man beside him takes his place directly behind Dorian’s chair.

A female drow with pale grey skin and blue glowing eyes dressed in black and red phases in a few feet from the door and proceeds inside to find her seat without saying a word to anyone gathered.
~~~~

A portal opens up about 20 feet from the front door, and a woman with black fairy wings, horns, and patches of black draconic scales steps through, the portal snapping shut with a noticeable pop as soon as her foot clears the threshold. She carries no expression on her face, except annoyance as she blinks her solid black, sunken-in eyes seemingly trying to adjust to the light, while also adjusting her hood to shade her face more.

She is dressed in the same black and white as the draconian guards scattered about town, with accents of red and gold on the large favor hanging from the front of her belt baring an image of a dragon's head, stars and chevrons. Greetings of "Commander" can be heard accompanied by a salute from each soldier as she passes.

After a few minutes of observing the crowd, she heads inside the meeting hall. She gives a courteous nod to those that favor the light, then turns to go speak with the Baroness Eclipse.

"Hello Baroness. How goes?"

"Very well Knightmaster. The rebuilding of the barony is going quite well thanks to your undead troops." The two women speak for a few more moments, talking about troops and numbers, before Selena noticed the other knights enter the hall. She smiles when she sees Dorian, and excuses herself from Eclipse to head over.

As she approaches she gives a playful shh to his guards and sneaks up right behind him, putting her hand on his shoulder and leaning down to whisper. "Hello old friend."
~~~~

A female elf in the brown and red of the Armorsmith's guild comes out of the guild in a puff of black smoke, coughing, sputtering and cursing as she dusts herself off and heads over to the meeting hall, finding her seat and pulling out a book and quill to scribble in as she waits for the trial to begin.

When Selena approaches the knights, the one she gestures to gives her a smirk and steps aside. When she sneaks up on Dorian he lets out a hearty laugh and turns to embrace the woman. “Selena!” Dorian grins at his guards and gives one of them a playful elbow in the side. “Sir Rolland, you remember Lady Selena?”

The guard with graying red hair and a scar across his left eyebrow and left cheek bows his head to her and his lips curl into that same smirk. “How could I forget. My lady.”

Dorian laughs again and turns his attention back to Selena, meanwhile, the younger knight behind him is frowning deeply and staring directly at Selena. “How have you been, Lady Selena?”

She smiles wide and chuckles as she returns Dorian's hug. "I've been well enough. The usual, fighting with dragons and getting into trouble." She returns the head bow to Sir Roland.

"How have you all been? It's been quite awhile." She turns to the grumpy young knight. "Is this little Theo? A full fledged knight now? Congrats!" She looks back at Dorian and leans in to whisper. "I see he's still not my biggest fan."

Dorian shrugs and whispers back. "I don't know why he's such a grouch. Truly don't know where he got that from."

Theomund barely dips his head and mumbles. "Lady Selena."

Dorian sighs and leans away to speak normally. "Everything is going pretty well on my end. Tristan, Charlotte, and Anna all say hello." He sighs. "They would have come but this isn't exactly a family gathering type of occasion."