We Are Men Of the South 5/8 :: Morning, Aashiq, Bannermen

[Aashiq Linnet]

Receiving the letter from the King only made his blood begin to boil. First the death of his wife's cousin and now this? They were to be conversing with the King in a council. More and more he was starting to think this whole sign of unity was going to unravel. How could he trust the safety of his own people here if the King couldn't even keep his own people safe while in the capital?

Aashiq had sent word to his banners, including his niece. She was to rule one day and she needed to know what was going on. “I am sure you are all are aware of what happened to the King and Jon Fitzwulf. He has called for a council this morning. But I wanted to discuss with you your opinions on the matter. An assassination on the King and a Province Lord dead. Apparently I have heard rumors that the assassin that tried to kill the king did so on an Ahesteri ship.” He looked at each of his bannermen, waiting to hear what they had to say. His wife was also present- he often did not leave Lorelei out of such things.

[Abrielle Laroche]

Abrielle had quietly approached the table and seated herself next to her uncle. She couldn't find it in her mind to be comfortable with this situation, but she had to try and put on her most grown up face, that is what her mother would have wanted.

She was wearing a basic emerald green gown, her hair back in a time efficient bun, she had met her husband and there was no reason to look attractive anymore. She didn't even curl her lashes on that morning before she left Al behind in her room.

Her uncle spoke with a frankness that she hadn't heard from him before and she sat next to him and absorbed the information with her hands placed neatly in her lap.

[Cyrus SanJar]

Cyrus sat across the room thinking about the issue. “So, Lord Linnet, do they mean to use knowledge of this ship to claim one of us tried to take out the king? Because I fail to see how a ship proves any of us guilty. A hundred ships leave each of our ports every day. We are a hub of trading with many of the kingdoms to the east and the south. People come and go. We cannot be responsible for every stowaway that manages onto a ship leaving our port.”

He paused, “But this leaves me to question the strength of this king and of other the other provinces. And who might be next. Will thy try for Lady Prothero? Or you? Would someone truly be that daring? I’d have to yes, given that they went for the king.

“You must impress upon him that Ahestere has nothing to do with this. Why would we have any quarrel with king or with House Fitzwulf?”

[Lorelei Linnet]

“We wouldn’t,” Lorelei agreed. “Jon is my cousin, and my Lord husband and I would never agree to anything that would hurt him. Attempting to kill the king during a ball is asking for heads on spikes.

“He will know that, see that... But I worry about his council. They will be looking for people to blame. They will want to look strong and take advantage of this. The only Ahesteri on the council is The Keeper and he is far too kind to twist this into some advantage for us.”

[Etienne Fleurant]

He wasn't entirely sure why he had been called to the meeting, but he wasn't about to question it. Someone of the calibur of Etienne Fleurant would never deny the prestige of such an event, or the ability to say that he had been important enough to be part of a meeting of the lords of the south. Whether Renate was running late, or they simply hadn't been able to find him, Etienne was not sure. Maybe that was why he was here. Maybe not. It didn't really matter.

He had, of course, been at the ball. He had been there trying his best to undo the sabotage with Abby. It had gone...well...it had happened and no-one could deny that. But then he had seen the horn fall and the flash of crimson...A small bead of sweat formed on his brow just thinking about it but he shook his head. Those thoughts were not needed her. Etienne quickly got his head back into the right mode, taking in Aashiq's words. A boat from Ahestere, they said? Terribly convenient.

"I noticed some people taking interest in a boat, but I really don't know what all the fuss is about. The man arrived on an Ahesteri boat in Prothero colours, with a Lacharn look and may have organised killings in Arbrecht too. Someone is playing some very clever games here. Too clever, I would think." Etienne winced, thinking about why someone would do that. "Clearly, someone is trying to throw a hundred ropes out to a drowning man, hoping that he won't pull on the one that will drag him in too."

[Aashiq Linnet]

Aashiq had not expected Jon to get killed the way he did. It had been a shameful way for the man to die. “I am of the belief that Jon Fitzwulf was murdered. Whoever killed him attempted to go after the King next.” He agreed about that much. “House Linnet would not harm the Fitzwulfs nor the King. My union with the Fitzwulfs is represented by my union with my wife. I would not harm her cousin.” Aashiq was adamant about that, but he was concerned with the ship. “A ship may be meaningless, but regardless whoever this was wanted to cause suspicion with all the province lords in the capital.”

He paused for a moment, looking at his wife and Lord SanJar in turn. “Jon Fitzwulfs death was a murder. I do not see it as anything less. But the fact is who would have much to gain from killing him?” Aashiq asked. “My brother is on the council but even his influence only goes too far.” For once Aashiq was regretting sending Hakim away. “The last Ahesteri ship to leave the harbor was the one had had my brother. And as much as I do not like Hakim, he would sooner plot to kill me than he would the King.” He looked over at Etienne Fleurant. Where had his brother been? Renate must have been running late. As was Lord Iravar.

“I do not think any of my men had anything to do with this. I am however...inclined to believe that the only people who benefited from this is a Lord in Arbrecht.”

[Lorelei Linnet]

Lorelei nodded, “Let us remember, it is no secret that the King went to Elanor’s chambers the night Jon died. And he stayed for quite some time. Could it not be thought that whoever killed Jon was afraid a king smitten with Elanor would stop at nothing to see her succeed? And if so, perhaps they believed that getting rid of him and having Bertram on the throne would be to the benefit of plans in Arbrecht. I agree, my lord husband. Arbrecht is suspect, and we must support House Fitzwulf’s claims with loud voices.”

What she didn’t understand was the ruse of chaos. If Arbrecht wanted the king dead, why not fully blame another province?

[Cyrus SanJar]

“The question I have for you, My Lord, is that if Jon was truly murdered and this was the doings of the Northern lords, do we, as men of the South, truly wish to involve ourselves in their quarrels?” Cyrus asked.

“This is not just a Northern issue if they attempted on the king!” Lorelei spat, “And Jon Fitzwulf my blood!”

“Your blood, My Lady, but not mine.”

Lorelei drew in a deep breath. She had spent the night before being calmed by Aashiq. She had to fight the panick that rose in her gut with Lord SanJar’s words.

“My blood, My Lord. And you serve my husband, who is Kin to Jon Fitzwulf.”

Cyrus’ eyes flicked back to Aashiq. The question had been for him and not his lady wife. She was speaking out, because he allowed at these meetings of the lords, and Cyrus could not wholy object. He had respected Anzira’s opinion above most others. He did not, however, invite her to the meetings. She gave her opinions between their sheets and then he spoke them with his voice. Men respected opinions give better that way, even if they knew their lord took council from his wife.

[Aashiq Linnet]

Aashiq looked between Cyrus and his wife. “Please, be at peace, both of you.” He knew getting Ahestere involved in the squabbles of the north was a precarious thing. But Jon Fitzwulf was his wife's cousin and his children were also of Fitzwulf blood. “My children have Fitzwulf blood. Jon Fitzwulf is my kin by marriage and my daughters are his by blood. My alliance with the Fitzwulf stands because of my marriage to one of their daughters but if they made an attempt on the King- this involves us all.” He looked at Lorelei once more. He trusted her counsel as he had spent much of the night helping her to calm down.

“The King has called a meeting of all the province lords later. I am sure it must be about the attempt on his life. But to involve us in the squabbles of the north would prove teacherous. We would not want the arbrechtians to interfere with matters in the south us nor would be interfere with their matters. The fact is we do not know what is going on in Arbrecht truly. Men may resort to killing each other soon and I do not want my family as targets, my wife included.” He spoke carefully, knowing he was treading on dangerous ground here. “In the end I must protect my family and those who serve me." He hoped that was a good enough answer for Cyrus SanJar.

[Abrielle Laroche]

Abby listened to the conversations, they bordered on argument, but thankfully her uncle didn't let them get that far. She wasn't sure what to say it was true that they were being included in this situation by blood and accusations. There was no way for them to stay out of the situation.

She knew her uncle, Osiris, would do his best to contain the fire that burned within the hearts of the council but he was only one man and he would need support.

The fact that Etienne was at the table with them was a bit strange, she wasn't sure how to handle it. Abrielle had just told herself not to look over at him, to keep her mind on the task at hand.

Even though she had no idea what to say, she paid close attention to what was being said in the absence of her words, her aunt was arguing a great point and she was to agree with her. The Fitzwulf's were family and not to be treated as anything less than such.

She nodded when her uncle brought up the meeting called by the King. It was still so hard to believe that someone had tried to kill him, but as King he probably had plenty of people who weren't fond of him.

Abby was sure fond of him ...

Looking up from her hands, folded on the table, her eyes found her Uncle and she finally spoke out on the subject at hand. "So we must have some sort of evidence proving that the ship was stolen?" Her eyes narrowed in question.

"Other than our word on our non-involvement how can we make them believe that we had nothing to do with this?"

[Renate Fleurant]

Renate straightened his tunic as he approached the door to the meeting. He had been waylaid, unfortunately, and did not want to make it seem that he was not endeavouring to participate in discussion of vital importance to Ahestere, and in turn, House Fleurant. Thankfully, he had the forethought to send his brother in his stead.

Entering the room, Renate took a few solemn steps before he bowed his head in respect first towards Lord Aashiq Linnet. Then, even more reverently, he bowed his head to Lorilei and Abrielle in turn.

“I apologize profusely for my deferment,” Renate took a few steps before finding the closest empty seat to Aashiq as he could find, “however, I found myself delayed and could not have arrived any sooner.

Renate gave his brother a look, before giving an apologetic nod to those already gathered.

"Where were we?" and he sat.

[Cyrus SanJar]

“So nice of you to join us. We were speaking about last night’s incident and how we will not be accused of it, although late comers were often busy with cover-ups.”

He didn’t really think Renate Fleurant had anything to do with the attack. House Fleurant benefited from their ties to the crown more than the rest of Ahestere. The two families maybe even shared roots back a thousand or so years ago, even though there was no record of that in the histories. But Cyrus’ tongue couldn’t stop from lashing at the man he despised...

“There is nothing to do but ensure the king our province will help him in any way possible and move on. We have our own troubles at home to deal with.”

[Renate Fleurant]

“It is often the mind that jumps to conclusions, such as cover-ups, that has the most to cover-up Cyrus,” Renate smiled warmly despite his words, “it is, however, wonderful to be in your presence.”

Renate shifted into the very back in his seat, and made himself comfortable: leaning to one side of the chair and folding his hands together with his thumbs pointing upwards into the air.

“Of course we should assure the King our support. That was never in question I’m sure,” Renate flicked his eyes from person to person as he spoke. His words were not forceful, but his tone was firm and he spoke with a certain verve.

“His Majesty must understand that in Ahestere he may find strength – strength of spirit, unity, and might if necessary. He should further understand that he may, if needed, use that to keep the unity of our state whole. This isn’t the time to consider shirking our responsibilities and turning our eyes inward,” that last part, Renate had tossed in Cryus’ direction.

“Instead, we should offer resources to His Majesty, and help to find the traitors who planned and staged this attack. They need to be brought to justice, not just for their treason, but for the memory and peaceful rest of Jon Fitzwulf. We could consider lending ourselves to the Fitzwulfs as well: aid, men, and whatever else that noble house needs in their time of remorse.”

Renate turned his head and faced Aashiq, mirroring Lord Linnet’s posture to better connect with him, “You have my support and fidelity, as you have always had, and will continue to have, my Lord,” a reverent nod reflected his own internal thoughts.

“Whatever you endeavour to do, I have no doubt it will be the correct course. Whatever matters we struggle with internally, we should prevail ourselves to be seen as the strongest pillar upon which the King may rely upon.”

[Aashiq Linnet]

Aashiq only raised a brow when Renate had decided to join them. “Better late than never Lord Fleurant.” That family had been the Linnets steadfast allies for years. At least his brother had the better sense to show up on time. But he noticed the tension between Cyrus and Renate- it was always hard to ignore. “My lords please. We have the issue at hand to discuss. The ships?” He repeated firmly not wanting to argue over petty insults now.

“There is the matter of the ship however that was in the port. I am not sure if it was stolen but we shall have to check our province fleets. There is the possibility that was also a merchants ship which I find to be the more likely culprit. The only ship that has left port recently was the one I sent my brother home on but I do not believe Hakim would be behind something of this nature. Not a threat against the King. But there was something to instigate all the provinces not just our own.” He hated having to deal with all this. The trip had proved a disaster thus far.

But lending aid to Fitzwulf could prove risky. Risky indeed especially with what he was doing in his own province. “Ahestere will give Lady Fitzwulf recognition on her right to rule Arbrecht but I would not be so quick to send our resources there just yet. Not unless it is requested of me. That would involve Ahestere into Arbrechtian politics as much as I would not want to get involved. I am more inclined to believe whoever killed Jon Fitzwulf was from within Arbrecht itself. If we get involved there it could make my wife and daughters threats as well. I will not risk my family or the welfare of all our people Lord Fleurant.” He did see the point however. “But the assassin that came for the King wore Prothero clothing and apparently the blade is from Caelish make. Whoever did this was clever and wanted to cause discord among all the provinces. But we must find out where the ship came from. It could be a clue as to where our would be assassins are from.”

He paused once more to take a sip of wine. “We shall have to account for all our ships. House Linnets, yours as well Lord SanJar and those in Basica.”