#i love the idea thoughg...........

[azlovesem]

Fuck. I guess we kind of fo that but theres a language barrier. Plus im a don of a bitch dometimes thats true enough. And i think id be hsppier somewhere elseceith someone else. But then shes cute and ots hars after morevthsn ten years. Shes a worthy person. Looks like im fucked. Great. Again. Ahh the legal problems are nothing that just tales a couple bucks. This chicknif i were 86 her that would takhe a few more bucks.but shes a writing partner too. Shes got good ideas and our shots funny. Omits hard but outs better thsn have no love interest in your life at sll i think. I wanba drive off a cliff but if i get to lonely same thing. So i prefer some company. She ll suddenly know we re fine. Its hard if English is your second lsnguage and no one considers that we te writing a funny book abput it. A lot of citizens can relate. But theres as much humour in it as anything else. Its funny. Like at a funeral one time, shes Japanese, dhe thoughg psll bearers was polar bears. Because we were all big guys who carried the coffin. Then she asked why did you have to be a polar bear is it because yourecall big? I laughed out loud. Yhat angered dome people at the funeral. I didnt explain.

“A healthy relationship is where two independent people just make a deal that they will help the other person be the best version of themselves.”

— Unknown

[theoi-crow]

Hello! Um, idk how to exactly explain what I want to say, but you seem like a really kind person so I think you will understand. So, I am a 14 year-old-girl that has been a Christian for as long as I rememember. The environment I live is quite religious as well. I didn't have a problem with it for, as you see, I was a kid and didn't think too much of religion in general. ~Um, apparently I reached the world limit so please wait to write the rest in an other ask XD *sorry* ~~

~~um, still me XD~~ But since last May or April, I became interested in the ancient greek culture. I actually DO live in Greece, so it was pretty easy to visit many of the gods' temples and other ancient places. I fell in love with them and, I should not lie, I felt like home around them. You have no idea, how much I wanted to touch the exhibits or walk into the temples. Tho, I didn't think too much of it. ~~ ugh, still have a lot to say. Sorry sorry!! :/ ~~

*again me*While I was on Naxos, the sacred island of Dionysus, I visited the temples of Demeter, Apollo and Dionysus. In the temple of Dionysus, I LOVED the aura around me. Even if it was the most plain in comparison to the other two, I had liked it more. Short after, Dionysus' name was popping on my head all the time, alongside Ariadne. Now, I understood the reason I liked Ariadne; I saw a lot of myself in her. But Dionysus? *oof I AM SORRY, i need an other one*

*I don't exactly remember how, but suddenly for some reason, he started feel more "real". To be short, judging from his followers' post on Tumblr, he was "calling me". "Who me?" I thought. I was not a witch. Nor a pagan. Why? And most importantly why me? You see, I was never the girl who partied a lot, the social, extroverted, confident girl. I was always the shy, introverted, sensitive and insecure girl who would much rather stay at home on Saturday night. *ok, AGAIN i am sorry ;-;*

*There was a time that my intuition told me he was present, in some way I did not understand, in my room. I felt he was talking inside my head. He was gentle I have to say, but I was terrified. TERRIFIED. I had read all the stories about his "madness", and while they seemed cool, being REAL had me spooked. I told him in my head to get out and I almost shakily said that I would never be able to work with him, for the reasons I said. I felt I was not worthy enough for someone like him. *oof, again*

*The last thing I heard him saying was "But you do have a flame of madness. And it is ok to be shy". But you see, those things clashed with my religious beliefs and I called him a demon. I didn't know what to do. I felt so young for all of this. Days after, I had to persuade myself that it was not real. I think that he was trying to reach me more slowly but, again, I was terrified. However, I could not refuse that everytime I thoughg of him I felt more confident and that my anxiety was dying. **

*To finish, even I had tried to sweep it off, even if I never had any other episodes, I kind of felt that some gods' like as Dionysus, Apollo and maybe Aphrodite were watching over me (in the good way). Today, I scrolled through your blog, and I read all the asks you had answered to people sharing simiral experiences and you saying "it is ok to feel scared". Something in your tone made me believe you. The gods didn't feel so scary suddenly. And more real.

-------------------------------------

Disclaimer: I am not Greek, have never been to or lived in Greece which is a completely different country than my own with different rules and history, so the only information I can draw from are the internet, articles, Wikipedia and intuitive nudges from my gods.

Please understand that the advice are all personal opinions and everyone is free to agree/disagree with it. I don't mean to offend anyone who is actually Greek or was raised in Greece. These are all viewpoints from an outsider who works with Greek gods in the USA. So keep that in mind as you continue...

Hello!

Thank you for calling me a kind person, my goal in life is to become a teacher and help as much as I can, so thank you for that. 🤗

There is no need to be afraid but I understand why you are nervous. The gods are reaching out to you and it's a new experience.

From what I've read, Greece seems to be going through a spiritual transition. We're talking about a place where having "Greek Orthodox" as a religion labeled on your I.D was mandatory until 2001: (LINK)

I also noticed that the separation of church and state has been a very aggressive issue and fought in Greece for the last 10 years. Just a couple of years ago the Hellenic Polytheist religion dubbed Hellenismos was officially recognized by Greece in 2017: (LINK)

Needless to say, things are happening in Greece (and all across Europe, the West and the world.)

This spiritual turmoil is intense. Your feelings are valid.

You are loved and the gods understand.

The reason why it took me so long to reply to this ask was because Apollo wanted me to tread lightly on how I would reply given that you live in Greece and are 14.

I have been told that Greece is a spiritually charged place. You can feel the gods there, but it's not a safe place to be out and about as a Hellenic Polytheist: (LINK)

But there's hope! More and more Greeks are beginning to worship the gods (especially younger Greeks like you): (LINK)

Because you posted a lot of information, I'm going to quote you and reply to that just so I can be sure to really answer any questions that could be bothering you or things you could be wondering about (I apologize if it gets very literal but I want to make sure to give you as much information as possible so you can make a more informed decision):

"since last May or April, I became interested in the ancient greek culture. I actually DO live in Greece, so it was pretty easy to visit many of the gods' temples and other ancient places."

Greece is a very spiritual place and the gods still live and visit their own temples because even though the majority of Greece is now Christian, I'm told they still have a very special place in the Greeks' heart and culture.

The gods know about the religious politics that no longer worship them in a religious setting but they stay with their Greek people through stories and customs.

My classical studies teacher says that although the majority of Greeks no longer worship the gods, they still value them and are defensive of them. She went to the Theater of Epidaurus by Asclepios' Temple. In the theater there is a special section traditionally reserved for the gods and seen as a kind of altar to them. When she was there, one of the actors stepped on it and got booed off of it by the Greek viewers who were deeply offended.

These reactions warm my heart because you can tell that even if they are no longer viewed as a worshipping option, they still care about the gods.

I sense the gods also go to their temples to hangout with, not only the locals, but curious tourists, Mythology fans, history buffs and Hellenic polytheist visitors.

A lot of pagans who worship them go to Greece on a pilgrimage to visit their gods (like me and my wife who will be visiting Athens this coming January.)

"I fell in love with them and, I should not lie, I felt like home around them. You have no idea, how much I wanted to touch the exhibits or walk into the temples."

I sense they have been watching you and as much as you wanted to touch the exhibits and walk in their temples, they wanted to further connect with you.

You are very important to them and feel like you are home because you are, you are connecting with gods who are older than Christianity. Gods who have been around for so long and have been worshipped by your ancestors. Ancestral connections can be very strong.

"While I was on Naxos, the sacred island of Dionysus, I visited the temples of Demeter, Apollo and Dionysus. In the temple of Dionysus, I LOVED the aura around me. Even if it was the most plain in comparison to the other two, I had liked it more."

I feel like Naxos is sacred to him, so it makes sense for him to be more present. A lot of Apollo followers who have visited Greece say they can feel Apollo the most in Delos.

"Short after, Dionysus' name was popping on my head all the time, alongside Ariadne. Now, I understood the reason I liked Ariadne; I saw a lot of myself in her........why me? You see, I was never the girl who partied a lot, the social, extroverted, confident girl. I was always the shy, introverted, sensitive and insecure girl who would much rather stay at home on Saturday night."

You said it yourself: "Now, I understood the reason I liked Ariadne; I saw a lot of myself in her" sometimes the gods like us because we remind them of those they love. For example, I know Aphrodite first began to love me because I reminded her of a tiny version of Ares. I was aggressive and when it came to fight or flight, I always chose to fight.

Sometimes the gods connect with us because we need them and they are trying to help us become a better version of ourselves. When I first met Aphrodite, you could mop the floor with my self esteem. Now, I am better about loving myself and teaching others to love themselves too.

Sometimes there's a previous connection. When I first met Ares he told me my ancestors knew him as Mars. My real last name is Roman and it literally translates to "Child of Mars." There is a lot of Roman and some ancient Greek in my ancestry (it's not necessary to have Greek in your ancestry to worship the gods but your ancestry can be the source of your connection).

Ask Dionysus directly and give him time to respond. You may be surprised with what he tells you.

"I don't exactly remember how, but suddenly for some reason, he started feel more "real". To me short, judging from his followers' post on Tumblr, he was "calling me"."

The gods are unique in the sense that they are portrayed as fictional characters because they are in timeless legends and myths, and so beloved that they have been readapted countless times like wheat that has gone through so many processing procedures, that it no longer looks like wheat.

It's easy to forget that these are gods that were once worshipped by Nations, empires and can be found in the Bible as the "false idols" of Kings who tried to get rid of Christ or oppress Jewish people.

The gods became nameless beings in cultural ceremonies you no longer understand but still do because they are now apart of your heritage, for example: in my culture we celebrate day of the Dead which was originally an Aztec tradition that didn't venerate the Dead but worshipped the queen of the underworld. Our own version of Persephone. The Spanish tried to erase her and put a Catholic spin when they couldn't get rid of the tradition and it worked but those who work with La Santa Muerte now, recognize it as her holiday because they know it originally was: (LINK)

So it's not that the gods were once fake but you are now beginning to recognize them in your own culture and traditions.

"There was a time that my intuition told me he was present, in some way I did not understand, in my room. I felt he was talking inside my head."

Those are Godphone moments. Feeling the gods, sensing them with your energy. Hearing them talk in your head. Those are all the methods I use to hear the gods. I sense the energy shift. He was definitely present. And he was definitely talking.

"He was gentle I have to say, but I was terrified. TERRIFIED. I had read all the stories about his "madness", and while they seemed cool, being REAL had me spooked."

The gods always know how to best approach their new or potential followers. Apollo is very gentle when he interacts with my wife because he knows they react best when he's gentle. He's very stern with me because he knows I work best under pressure.

The part about him having you spooked because of his "madness" reminds me of when I was 12 and I learned that my "imaginary friend" was actually the "blood thirsty" god of war, Ares. Him being real had me spooked. Even though he had been teaching me how to fight and survive since I was 5, I called him a demon and told him I didn't want to work with him because of this one dimensional idea I had read about him versus his actual personality as an amazing father and protector. He's playful and very lovable.

The myths can help us with gods but they are written by flawed humans who don't understand the complex nature of the gods. Everything you've learned about Dionysus is 4% of what survived history. And a lot of that 4% has been tainted and rewritten by the Romans and Christian monks trying to demonize the gods or make them look bad.

A lot of Apollo myths will have you believe he is a monster who likes to chase women and smite unfortunate beings who look at him but his actual followers know he's nothing like this. To me, he's cool and collected, loves reason and philosophy. The best way to learn about a god is by researching their information, epithets, followers and working with them.

Here is a list of Dionysus followers compiled by @thepastelpriestess : (LINK)

"I told him in my head to get out and I almost shakily said that I would never be able to work with him, for the reasons I said. I felt I was not worthy enough for someone like him......"

"Not worthy enough" is a problematic feeling a lot of followers have. I see this a lot amongst potential Aphrodite followers who are confused as to why the goddess of beauty would want to work with them when they feel they look ugly. The gods know what they are doing and they know you are worth so much more than you realize.

"The last thing I heard him saying was "But you do have a flame of madness. And it is ok to be shy".

He would! Ahhhhhhhhhhhh I love Dionysus!!! He's such an inspiring god! And he's right. There is something about you he loves and it is 100% okay to be shy.

"But you see, those things clashed with my religious beliefs and I called him a demon. I didn't know what to do. I felt so young for all of this."

He understands you were scared when you called him that. He knows because a lot of gods are portrayed as demons in the Bible. He knows you were scared and if you ever feel like contacting him and working with him, know he is available and will gladly do so.

I called Ares a demon when I was 12 and didn't talk to him for 15+ years. When I finally did, he immediately forgave me, said I was little and ask was forgiven because I was speaking out of fear and fear is confusion. You have every right to go about ignoring the gods and continuing your family's religion but if you change your mind, Dionysus and the gods will be there.

"Days after, I had to persuade myself that it was not real. I think that he was trying to reach me more slowly but, again, I was terrified."

Awww he knew you were scared so he was giving you time and reaching out to you occasionally.

"However, I could not refuse that everytime I thoughg of him I felt more confident and that my anxiety was dying."

Dionysus is AMAZING when it comes to fighting anxiety. In ancient Greece he helped people (especially women) overcome societal rules and follow him. Just like how he causes madness,he also helps others heal from it and since anxiety can be a type of madness caused by fear, he is definitely helping. And that may be why he wanted to work with you.

"To finish, even I had tried to sweep it off, even if I never had any other episodes, I kind of felt that some gods' like as Dionysus, Apollo and maybe Aphrodite were watching over me (in the good way)."

They are.

Apollo has been helping me answer this ask because he knows you are nervous and wants to let you know that whatever you choose it's okay. Even if you silently honer the gods in cultural settings with traditional events, they are and will continue to be with you.

They love you.

"Today, I scrolled through your blog, and I read all the asks you had answered to people sharing simiral experiences and you saying "it is ok to feel scared". Something in your tone made me believe you. The gods didn't feel so scary suddenly. And more real."

It is 100% okay to feel scared. And it is okay if you decide you'd rather not work with the gods at this time. They understand. They still love you, but they understand.

Just your curiosity was enough to make them come down and introduce themselves to you. You matter to them and no matter what you choose, they will be there for you.

I hope this helps.

May the gods remind you of your roots, remind you of your power and remind you of their love because they will always be with you.

[jaehyunspeachparty]

Hi I really really love your masterpiece(s) so much! and always checking for updates heheh. i hope you won't feel any pressure every single time people ask you when is the next update. I understand their excitement but I also understand your part as well. Take your time writernim. keep up the good work. and I wish lots of ideas would come to you. Fighting!

Thank you so much ❤️❤️❤️ and no, I don't feel any pressure 😊 but thank you so much for caring 😭😍 actually I have enough ideas and sometimes I wish I could write faster and have more time to write, because I have so many thoughgs and ideas 😂

[m1a1t7t]

A while back me and my friends played the D&D campaign of Waterdeep Dragon Hiest. Honestly it was a blast. It had us guessing one minute, on the edge of our seat the next, and perpetually laughing as we saw what crazy thing our barbarian was going to do next. Naturally I had to draw our little group and share them with you guys. I highly recomend you get the campaign book if you play D&D and need a new game to start. From left to right:The dark elf is known as William and unfortunately he was only there for three sessions. His player had to go back to the Citadel which is too bad I like playing with him. Not sure if the party could handle it thoughg as a lot of the enimies we fought were dark elves....stupid Drow.... Next is the blue dragonborn zelot barbarian, Stitch. Whoo boy, where to begin. I love Kate, Stitch's player. she is the living embodyment of a barbarian if there ever was one. Whenever the chipos were down and there was a big baddie, just toss Stitch at 'em and problem solved. I swear funnies thing she ever did was killing an Axebeak and using it's head as a trowing weapon.....Completely missed, but still scared the crap out of all the bad guys. Below Stitch with the cat ears is our first ranger, Ada. She was played by my sister who had to juggle this and basketball so she didn't get to play as much. But she eventually got herself a panther companion (not pictured here) named Bageera. Wicked with a bow it was nice sometimes to sit back and let her and Arlavon to use the badguys as pin cusions The tall human next to Stitch is our cleric Deltos. If weebs existed in Faerun, Deltos would be #1 on that list. He was absolutely devoted to his god, Helm, and basically covered his room in Helm paraphernalia. Hats posters and even pajamas he had it. But beyond that, he was just as chaotic somtimes as Stitch which was fun to watch him basically force mount a gryphin three times. But at least he was a darn good healer. Next up is our other ranger, the elf Arlivon. It seems like this guy was always getting into trouble. Be it stealing gold from nobles without the party knowing or slipping laxatives into drinks to ruin another party member's date; it was alweays interesting with him. The entire grouop agrees the the funniest thing that ever happened in a session was the "Rat Aids" incedent which specifically focused on Arlavon. It's too long a story so I'll have to share that elsewhere. Beneath Arlavon is our pet baskalisk Sazzy. Stitch apparently thought it was a good idea for us to raise a stone-gazing poison-biteing little monstrosity. But after a rough start, Sazzy is part of the family now and he even managed to kill a Gazer all on his own. (Kinda easy when the creature is all eyes.) Next to Sazzy is our very monkey monk Fei. Fei is super sweet and loads of fun, but without a doubt she and Stitch are out biggest damage dealers. one time the enemy summoned a Zombie beholder. Stitch landed one solid hit and took out half its hp, Fei went all JoJo and "Ora ora ora" the thing so it only had 1 hp left. Then Ada came along and stabbed it with her dagger in the back and ended it all before it could do anything. It was glorius. The half-elf prancing around above Fei is Piper, our bard. Piper was surprisingly veritile character, performing one minute, reading somneone's mind the next, and then killing a giant worm monster by making it's head explode. Her absolute favorite spell was Cloud of Daggers where she would set up an area of floeating daggers that would reduce all caught in it to mince meat. Can't tell you how many times we had to clean off minced bad guy off our clothes. The last player character was my human fighter, Siegmund. Not nessicarily the brightest, he makes up for it by being really nice and the cook of the group which is epecially handy since we own our own bar and tavern. I roll really terribly when it comes to hitting things so thank God I have commanding strike. It was awesome to be able to give my allies an extra shot at hitting the bad guys, especially being able to command our archers from afar. Last but certanly not least the floating eyeball is our DM. Bless this man for putting up with all of our shenanigans. He was amazing at bringing the story to life and even coming up with parts on the fly just for our indiviual charaters. (Not to mention handleing six of us at once.) We truly could not have asked for a better DM. This went a little long so if you're still here. Thanks for reading all of it and I hope you enjoy!

[adder-lykel]

The Love Game (Part 2/?)

The Royal Romance meets The Crown and The Flame! For the sake of a new peace, Kenna must choose between contenders for her future king or queen. Ships: (Eventual Kenna/Raydan, Kenna/Diavolos, Kenna/Val, Kenna/Annelyse, Kenna/Tevan, Kenna/Dominic) (Eventual Underlying Sei/Dominic, Will/Dominic, Val/Annelyse, Zenobia/Tevan, Rowan/Kai) Thanks for all the feedback from part 1! :) Love you guys! Word Count: 2291 Will Jackson stood outside Kenna’s door, waiting for her to finally come out. “You done deciding what to wear?” he groaned. Frankly he completely disagreed with this whole situation. It was unfair for all parties, especially for the contenders. Why couldn't the people just accept that their queen had fought for them for so long and she deserved to love whom she pleased whenever she wanted to. “I can't decide.” a muffled voice came from the door. He scoffed. Oh great. “My queen, you could be wearing peasant clothes and they would still love you, as long as you are not late.” He heard some ruffling before she opened the door, with the small handmaiden they had just hired trying to convince to come back inside. She was wearing her armor. For the gods sake you are a queen, can you not afford a dress? “Ready?” he sighed with a small smile. Who was he kidding, this suited her. “As ready as I’ll ever be. What comes first?” “The presentation of suitors and their gifts. And the game. You have picked out the first game, right?” Will said calmly as he walked by her side towards the throne room. “I have something in mind...Is Raydan back yet? Any word from Dom? And I have not seen Val yet.” Kenna said, trying to hide the concern in her voice. She had not seen her spymaster, weapons master, or her best friend since she made her decision. Would she have loved to hear what they thought about the whole situation. Well, that was a partial lie, she had no excitement for one person to know of her situation. “No, no and actually I have not seen Val…” Will replied as his eyebrows scrunched together in thought. He had not heard back from Dom… He could only pray that this was not because of a potential courter for him. “Very well then, we shall do this with or without them.” Kenna said, unable to hide her nervousness anymore. How bad could it be? She just had to play this game for a few weeks, and then choose who she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. Easy. But what if she did not want any of them? What if she wanted someone else? No. She had to do what was best for her kingdom, and this was it. Before they entered to meet the awaiting the crowd Will clasped a hand on her shoulder. With sincerity lining his voice he said, “Whoever you chose or do not choose Kenna, the people will still love you. You are still their queen, and no consort will change that if you do not allow it. Listen to your heart.” Kenna could not muster to say words in fear that her thoughgs would come out. Instead she just nodded with a thin smile before she followed Will Jackson into the throne room. “I present Queen Kenna of Stormholt.” Will boomed as he stood tall. He loved this part. Cheers filled the room from all who were present for the beloved queen. Kenna smiled as she walked through and sat on her throne. Her eyes scanned the room, looking for anyone. The room was quickly filled with silence as Kenna started to speak. “We shall begin with Fydoria.” Aurynn stepped forward shyly and with a curtsie said, “From our kingdom, we present you King Tevan.” Cheers from Fydorian soldier filled the room with claps and wolf-whistles. Tevan strutted forward pride in his eyes and he bowed. “My queen, I give you a cape made with the finest silk in your colors.” He held out a gorgeous blue cape, right for her size, with a silver lining. Kenna was pleased. She didn't have a cape in her wardrobe yet. “Thank you, King Tevan.” She nodded toward Will and he passed it to one of the soldiers standing next to him. Tevan held her gaze once more as he moved to stand on her other side. Nailed it. “Next we have Thorngate.” A Thorngate foot soldier came forward and wrung out, “We present to you, Queen Rowan.” Kenna’s eyes widened for a moment at this words before she put a smile on her face. I guess I will have a thorn in my side during this process. Rowan pushed forward a dipped her head without any sort of reverence. What? They were both queens and they were equal. “I give you weapons, made out of thorns, free of charge this time.” she mumbled the last part but the message was still clear for Kenna. “Thank you queen Rowan.” She watched as Rowan took the liberty to have her soldier carefully give the weapons to the Stormholt ones. She held back a sigh as she heard one yelp from pricking their thumb. Kenna’s attention was then drawn to Noa as he trudged forward. He seemed excited. “From Erimel, we give you, my sister...Kai.” Noa said unenthusiastically. Kai strode forward, a smile on her face as she bowed. She started rather confidently and loudly, “Queen Kenna, pleasure to see you again! I give you a strong boat fit for a Queen who wants to spend her spare time sailing.” “Thank you Kai.” Kenna said warmly as she looked up at Jackson. Where would they put a boat? Who knew, she was grateful for the gift anyway. She looked backed to see some of Kai’s friends pulling a small boat towards them. Oh shoot, where would they put a boat? She took in a deep breath and said quickly, “Guards, please show them the way towards the uh…” She shared a look with Will who also had no idea where to put a boat, “Um...oh yes...the garden.” Well, it wasn't much of a garden anyway after all the battles that had happened here. Kai held back a laugh as she went and stood beside Rowan. But suddenly something caught her attention. Rowan was beautiful...Oh no. Will watched as they went to try and fit the boat in the garden before he announced, “Next we have Aurelia.” Annelyse walked forward, her eyes never leaving Kenna as her guard announced. “We present to you, our ruler, Annelyse.” Annelyse’s smile was as warm and bright as anything she had ever known as her gaze locked with Kenna’s. Kenna could not help but smile when she realized her dear friend was here. She nodded as Annelyse curtsied with elegance and said smoothly as if her voice was honey, “Kenna Rys, my gift to you is a gold necklace made by Aurelians.” She stuck her hands out, which present a simple, but gorgeous string with a sapphire in the middle. Kenna did not need flashy, she was fine the way she was now. Kenna took the necklace and said with warmth in her voice, “Thank you, Annelyse.” She did not give the necklace to Will to hold. She almost considered putting it around her neck right then until Will nudged, indicating that she had to hand it over to be fair to the other suitors. She did so, but with some caution, as if once it will touch someone else’s fingers it would dissipate. Annelyse stood up straight and strode to stand next to Kailani. She was a bit proud of herself, but she still felt butterflies in her stomach. “May the presenters and the suitor from the Blackspine Mountains come forward.” Will said, but suddenly his voice faltered as he saw Sei and Dom come forward. Please be Sei. Kill two birds with one stone. Sei hesitated before she straightened herself and said, “From our tribe we give you Dominic Hunter, your ambassador.” She quickly looked away and stepped back, not bearing to see what was going to happen in front of her. Lucky her Will, she did not get to see the pain filling his eyes as well. Dom stepped forward confidently a bowed comically as he said, “Queen Kenna, it is my pleasure to give you this tapestry, signifying the start of a friendship between the tribe and kingdom.” He held up the cloth that showed two dragons next to a woman wearing a crown and holding the sword. It wasn't his idea, but he had to admire the artistry. He met her gaze and winked. She was gorgeous. Kenna seemed pleased and said softly, “Thank you Dom” The tapestry was passed and Will let out a cough and said with almost some bitterness from the events that had just transpired, “May the Foundry come forward and present their suitor.” Whitlock scurried forward and said rather quickly, “So uh, we were kind of busy so… I give you, uh, Valentina Greaves!” Some gasps came from the Stormholt soldiers as they saw their weapons master come forward in a red dress. Kenna would be lying if she was holding one back too. Val took in a deep breath and said rather awkwardly, with no formal acknowledgement of the queen, “Uh...from the Foundry…we give you this--wait Whitlock what is this thing?” She turned back to Whitlock as he coughed, “Moving jewelry box.” She didn't seem to catch that as she said, “Whatever this thing-a-mbob.” Her hands were shaking as she presented a box and opened it. Out sprung a mechanical butterfly that flew around before landing back in the back. Kenna couldn’t help but smile at the gift and reassured Val, “I love it Val, thank you.” Val gulped and nodded, trudging towards the line of suitors. Annelyse reached for her hands behind Dom and gave her fingers a squeeze with a reassuring smile. Annelyse would not bring other suitors down for her advantage, especially since Val was her friend. Will sighed, this is great. He quickly faced towards the room and said, “May Abanthus come forward and present their suitor.” Zenobia, Adder, and Diavolos walked forward, almost in unison before stopping. There was a look of hesitation from Adder until she noticed she wasn't the only one hiding something. She followed Zenobia’s gaze and much to her surprise she saw it painfully locked on Tevan. Serves her right, I suppose. Zenobia regained her composure as she announced coolly, “From Abanthus we give you Prince Diavolos.” Diavolos walked forward, exuding confidence. He would be lying if he said he wasn't nervous right now. He kneeled before Kenna as he said shakily, “My Queen…” he gazed into her eyes that showed no hints of judgement--he then continued rather smoothly from there, “I give you my sword.” Will tensed and almost stepped forward as Diavolos pulled out his sword and presented it to Kenna. He only stepped back when he realized the Nevrakis was not trying to kill her. Kenna was rather surprised, well, speechless really. His sword? Well, she could give it back to him later. “Thank you, Prince Diavolos, I am honored.” She said as she nodded towards Wil. Diavolos dipped his head before walking confidently to stand next to Val. “Last but not least...Marossi.” Will said with exhaustion as he handed Kenna goblet of water to drink. Lia bounded forward with Jorrin following behind. “Hello! Thank you for inviting us, this is really lovely.” The girl was beaming, she could have talked all day if she wanted to, it was only until Jorrin nudged her that she remembered what they were here for. “Oh yes! Well, here’s a nice story! I present to you, the new noble… Lord Raydan.” Kenna was cool until that moment. Until that moment she was fine. At that moment she was drinking water, which was a bad thing to do when you were going to be surprised. So could she be blamed for almost killing herself by choking on water? No. Once Will saw what had happened he came forward and rubbed her back. “Are you okay my Queen?” He was shocked as well, but he had prayed this would hold together. Kenna nodded as she tried to regain her composure. Her eyes never left Raydan as he went forward rather shyly, avoiding making eye contact with the whispering crowd. He was not wearing his usual black attire that kept them in the shadows. He, by kingdom tradition, wore Marossi’s colors. All attention was brought to the raven haired man in white, light blue, and silver. Traitor Spy Scoundrel Bastard All Raydan had to do was focus on her. It all went by slowly as he finally made his way toward her. He was speechless as well for a moment before he bowed a placed a kiss on her hand. He decided to ignore the excited squeal from Lia too as he finally found his words. He took in a deep breath before saying, “Kenna Rys...no flower from any corner of the world rivals your beauty. They are too temporary to rival you… I give you seeds from the gardens of Marossi in hopes that the bond between all of our nations will blossom. I know it is not much, or as...lasting as the other gifts, but I hope you enjoy it. ” From his back he pulled the same flowers he gave her that night in Aurelia with a white sack heavy with seeds. Kenna could not stop the smile spreading onto her face. All this time and he still found a way to surprise her. “Thank you, Lord Raydan.” Raydan nodded as he strode to stand next to Diavolos who scoffed. The spymaster’s gaze met his sister’s who was smirking rather proudly. She was enjoying this, wasn’t she. Kenna stood up and announced, “Thank you for witnessing your contenders, one of which will be your future King or Queen of Stormholt. Now we shall begin our first challenge...a duel.”