#☼ shrouded in magic ( v. dalaran )

[cloakoflame]

Verath

Verath’s ears twitch at the sound of another voice, he looks up and smiles warmly. “You’re Highness,” he nods his head respectfully.

“I had some paperwork to finish and it’s kept me here.” He sets the book down and meets the princes gaze, “my family is well, Alleria is training to be ranger general, Sylvanas is causing mischief, Vereesa has just been accepted into the farstriders, and my son Lirath has a recital soon.” He said with a voice filled with pride and love for his children. “Oh, my wife got a nap finally.” He laughed.

The second question was answered once the diplomatic Windrunner took a look at his book and smoke of his pipe. “I am, I found this mystery series in the library and I have not been able to put it down.”

“How do you fare?” He asked with a relaxed grin.

“Just as well,” Kael’thas said, understanding fully the responsibilities of the court to concern itself with matters of the crown and of the kingdom. He’d no sooner bother his father’s most trusted advisor if they were not already engaged in conversation. Still, as a close confidante, Kael had to inquire of his well-being.

He waited until the man finished his bit, smiling graciously as he listened. “As I’ve said before, a remarkable family, Verath. I have no doubt they will succeed in whatever they will--beyond all measure.”

“A mystery, is it? I am rather fond of them myself,” he admitted with a chuckle, “and poetry, if I might add. Reading would most certainly prove beneficial for the mind tonight now that I think of it.”

@rangergeneralsylvanas

[cloakoflame]

"Were you able to get the wine out of your robe?" She asked, holding back a giggle.

"Yes," Kael'thas said simply, dusting himself off as if he caught remnants of spilled milk. "And it appears the incident has given way to... stylistic influence." He caught glimpses of several lesser nobles frolicking the Court of the Sun in garments of spilled wine. "I suppose we have Saltheril to thank for this unforseen idea," he concludes with a sigh.

[cloakoflame]

Ahlayn // Continued from here

Nightfall followed Prince Kael’thas into  the ballroom, not standing at his side immediately but instead trailing a  few steps behind and then joining him. The last thing either needed was  an implication of impropriety or closeness beyond what should have been  permitted by their stations. No matter what either of their private  thoughts might have been.

Before them the spacious halls were  decked in the colors of the Quel’dorei, glittering chandeliers dangling  from the ceiling and nobles of all ranks gathered to converse. After  offering his own acknowledgement to Rommath and the Grand Magister,  Ahlayn could feel the steely gaze of Lady Sartura Nightfall upon him, as  well as the soft eyes of his younger brother, Eldris. He briefly made  eye contact with his mother, but then his attention drifted to Eldris,  to whom he offered a gentle smile before resuming his composed but  elegant demeanor, holding his head high.

“As you wish, my prince,”  Ahlayn murmured to Kael’thas, with a  teasing chuckle. “I can only hope  my presence eases some of the tedium.”  Of course, Ahlayn had come to  expect as such from his  companion. Their respective stations and the  bond between House  Nightfall and House Sunstrider had ensured they had  grown up alongside  each other, even if Ahlayn ultimately was expected  to give loyalty and  deference to the crown prince. In private and in  whispers the two often  communicated as equals, however, perhaps given a  mutual distaste for the  lives they had been born into.

“I know  it is your preference to be elsewhere, as is mine. Though, I do have  some news that may interest you. I did inquire with my mother about  leave to visit Dalaran. After all, I believe I should see with my own  eyes.” Ahlayn continued, lowly, eyes scanning the crowds beyond  as the others watched from a distance, hoping to be the next  acknowledged by the Prince.

Whether the noble’s presence alleviated said monotony, Prince Kael’thas did not show it. He allowed himself a moment of gratitude for their solemn individual ability--and perhaps, a yearning--to seek mutual agreement, far from whatever their houses sought best for them.

He floated through the room with poised and long-suffering grace, clad in the resplendent crimson and gold colors of House Sunstrider. The trail of his robe seemed to hover above the tile floor as he kept his head held high. Silky-smooth, golden hair flowed like liquid past his chest, and a pair of deep blue eyes finally scanned the tables, reserved for and filled with members of the elite. As he inched closer, he felt the eyes of both suitor and court alike, ready to throw themselves at the mercy of their future king.

Their current king sat at the head of them all, long snow-white hair flowing down his back, every inch of him in crimson and gold as the family runeblade, Felo’melorn, hung at his waist. Anasterian was deep in conversation with Vandellor and Voren’thal.

He inched closer to a table reserved for himself and guests, such as Ahlayn himself, and turned to the noble. “So you wish to finally set your sights on the magical city. And what did Lady Nightfall suggest?”

@astralfox0893

[cloakoflame]

Anasterian // Continued from here

Anasterian had been going through reports when his son arrived. He let out a sigh and held up a hand for silence as he read through the ranger general’s most recent update on the state of the villages. He shook his head and finally looked up to address the prince.

“I did your Highness, I am pleased you arrived in a timely manner.” He replied, hiding his tiredness.

The king cleared his throat and set down the report.

“As you may have heard the orcish horde came to our doorstep and burned our forests. They also sacked the villages according to Ranger General Windrunner’s report.” He started to explain in a tone befitting his authority as he once again read the report.

“They aligned themselves with our enemy, the Amani and invaded our lands.” He continued on unsure of how much his son had been informed.

“What I have brought you here for is the runestones protecting our lands, I need to know if they’ve been weakened. There will be meetings on those matters and more, but first I would have you speak with the other magister’s.” He said and then allowed some warmth into his voice, “other than this dire reason I brought you here, I am pleased to see you my son.”

Kael’thas watched the king set down the missive, seeming to falter in his resolve, but any hint of possible fatigue Kael could even begin to analyze was gone in an instant as Anasterian found his authoritarian voice again.

As he read the missive, Kael failed to hide the slight annoyance cracking in his otherwise passive countenance. Of course the Amani would seek an alliance with these green-skinned savages. No wonder they broke into Quel’Thalas so easily. Between the Amani’s knowledge of their millennia-old enemy and the red dragons that carried them to victory, the orcs seemed hell-bent on destruction.

And now he had come to survey the damage done, to look much more closely upon the once-glorious everbark trees, now cindered to smoke and ash. If they wanted to start a forest fire, they would no doubt fight fire with fire.

And not a moment too soon.

“I will gather information from Grand Magister Belo’vir and the Farstriders. They will know best what transpired here. Until then--”

He felt an odd sensation in the core of his chest when his father responded with a warmth that Kael had not heard in a long time. He wanted to, and didn’t want to, welcome it--half-wanted to treat the sentiment as matters of the crown to save face and half-wanted this to be a personal, heart-to-heart, father to son. He would never admit that perhaps he, too, missed the father in the king.

“It is good to see you, too, Father,” he said. “I... trust you have been well?”

@rangergeneralsylvanas

[cloakoflame]

Lirath // Continued from here

Lirath watched with eyes widened, he should be used to magical displays but this demonstration felt different. “I suppose that give one’s fingers a break.” He smirked and looked down at his own that would play a harp or other stringed instrument until the bled.

“I like that song.”

Lirath had a thought for a moment but wasn’t sure he should ask. His parents would never go for it, “Dalaran sounds even more wonderful with music, even the enchanted kind.”

Kael’thas chuckled at something Lirath would never had thought possible. He nodded simply in acknowledgement of the compliment and watched the emotion ebb and flow in the musician’s face. The look of wonder returned, the question earning him a smirk in return.

“You would be certain to find more of this caliber were you to venture to Silvermoon where the finest before you inhabit the Artists’ Quarters. Mind, they are not all magi and do prefer to use physical prowess over the arcane. You will surely find common ground in that regard.”

Kael’thas willed the violin to Lirath’s side and took up his glass of wine again. “You may forgive my presumption, but is it Dalaran you wish to visit? If it is within my power, I can vouch for an invitation of your talents--with consent from your father, who tells me you are remarkable, and sure enough, he is not wrong.”

@rangergeneralsylvanas

[cloakoflame]

"We'll get through this, love. Chin up. I will be at your side if you will it." (from @astralfox0893, Ahlayn Bloodwing)

Kael'thas entered through the doors of the ballroom. It was yet another one of his father's hosted events, although not comparable to the annual Remembrance social or even the kingdom's most highly anticipated Midsummer Fire Festival parties. The prince supposed he could be thankful for this notion; although he was used to gatherings of all sizes, it certainly did not mean he enjoyed them. Not in the slightest. He would much rather see himself back in Dalaran behind a book or innovating his spellwork.

Ahlayn Nightfall hailed from a noble family, one so prominent that the dwindling number of their members were not lost on the Crown. In fact, the Lady Nightfall was quick to name Ahlayn head of the estate. In between his studies in Dalaran and political affairs here in Quel'Thalas, Kael hardly allowed the time to wonder how Ahlayn was handling such news. Some of the social circles whispered that his friend, a well-known alchemist, had borne many burdens in the eventual taking of both estate and name for himself. Others had known Madam Nightfall to be quite cold and calculating as to maintain an ever stern look upon her son.

At a public event like this, Kael would be wise not to find out the ramifications of his childhood friend's misfortune. He caught the brusque eye of another good friend, Rommath beside his master, Grand Magister Belo'vir, and nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"I do will it," Kael'thas said in reply to Ahlayn's earlier sentiment. "Especially since parties like this one do not propose any sort of enjoyment. It is but mere banter."

[cloakoflame]

From Lirath:

"I wrote a new a song! If you're in Silvermoon I'll play if for you."

Kael'thas keeps his amusement to himself. He dips his quill and takes out a piece of parchment when the courier who delivered his letter stepped in.

"Shall I write on your behalf, my liege?" he asked, his body language giving off an air of awkwardness and newness. The boy looked to be about the same age as his recipient and less experienced than some of the Crown's other, much older couriers.

Kael shoots him a polite smile. "No, I can manage one myself. Thank you kindly." He resumes his letter with the following:

"Lirath,

"I am presently in Dalaran for the moment, but am scheduled to represent His Majesty at a meeting with the convocation in the upcoming days. As your hymns always seem to inspire a sense of lightness about me, I will make time to visit you--and of course, give Lord Saltheril my regards.

Respectfully, Kael'thas."

He secures the letter and dabs the red of his signet ring into the frontal crease, stamped with the official seal of the Sunstrider name. He then sends it off with the courier to be delivered to the aspiring Windrunner musician within the day. Magic always ways of communicating as efficiently and quickly as possible.

[cloakoflame]

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