Post by mai | nychnymph on Feb 1, 2021 23:10:45 GMT -6
“Warriors suffer their pain silently.”
Time: June 4th, midday,
Before the events of White Wyvern Pt II: Things We Set In Motion
Location: Rosebriar Manor of House Cardea, Sol District, New Valore
Time: June 4th, midday,
Before the events of White Wyvern Pt II: Things We Set In Motion
Location: Rosebriar Manor of House Cardea, Sol District, New Valore
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Adonis lingered at the gates of Rosebriar Manor, grimace on his face as he silently looked up at House Cardea’s estate. He had done this to himself, in retrospect. The manor house gleamed with marble and spattered roses of every color and size creeping in vines across the garden. It was only true to the Greater House’s style that the bricks of cobble underneath his hooves were scrubbed nearly golden and daintily stamped with their emblem in a pattern so delicate and large, it really only would’ve been fully viewable if one had wings. At his side, sun shining on them both, a few of his finest armorers lingered with wide eyes.
“Emin Adonis?” A soft prompt from one of the larger stallions, and he looked meekly at Adonis when he turned his head, “Are… you well, sir?”
Pause. Grimace harder. He sighed and turned forward again, crossing the courtyard swiftly, “Perfectly fine. Don’t drag your hooves.”
And the smithies, true to form, were light on their feet as they passed under a great archway and into only the most beautiful den of snakes.
Servile slaves were not numerous currently in New Valore, but Rosebriar Manor still teemed with life and equines of many statutes. Employees ran to and fro with fine parchment clasped in their teke, while gardeners and cleaners worked meticulously on the Manor at no doubt all hours of the day. Only now and then would he glimpse the bits and chains of labor slaves tasked with the harder work, but even then, House Cardea had them pristine and near glimmering as to not tarnish the estate’s beauty.
Adonis tried not to stamp his hooves impatiently as no courtier met them, instead rolling his eyes to the ceiling to ask Ignacio for patience. Leave it to Rosalba to pettily make him find her.
He grasped a harrowed architect employee mid-run by the back of their rumpled shirt collar, halting them so abruptly their spectacles fell down their face in surprise. Turned slowly by Adonis’ teke, the scholar looked at him with wide eyes which only grew rounder at the menacingly polite grin on Adonis’ face.
Instead of immediately greeting him humbly, the employee just let out a shrill and short squeak. Adonis’ left eye twitched, and he ground out, “Show me to Advisor Rosalba please and quickly.”
That was all it took before the near-trembling employee showed him and his entourage through the halls - briskly trotting too fast multiple times before slowing down at the realization that Adonis refused on principle to go faster than a fierce walk. If New Valore heard of him scampering down the hallways of Rosebriar Manor at the beck and call of Rosalba, not only would his reputation shatter but his personal honor and respect as well. Besides, the more imposing the entrance and presentation, the more regard Rosalba seemed to give. Even if she was bitter and near repulsed when it came to him, he knew that any kiss-assery would just disgust beyond the level they shared now.
Once upon a time that may have been different, when his father Cyrus had sat at the head of House Julius. Cyrus was an impossible stallion, but he had many friends in high places before he subsequently fell ill. Now Adonis was head, and those friendships were gone. He would never allow society to see how perturbed he was from how quickly his father’s friends - and lovers and allies - had disappeared into the shadows once he was known to be sick of the mind, but it disgusted him greatly. At the same time, it was a thankful awakening to know how many faces those peers had as he sat in his father’s place. Never again would baseless and vain comradery plague the Black Estate’s halls. He picked his enemies well but allies much better.
The stuttering pegasus led them to a great expansive drawing-room in one of Rosebriar Manor’s endless atriums - where the marble of archways and balconies were engulfed by blooms of pink and lavender hues. This parlor was lavishly styled, with large crystal windows of stained glass, and embellished as if the garden outside the Manor was brought inside. A desk, in cherry oak with adorned gold trim, sat amongst the parlor with many lounging chaises and elegantly styled sitting areas.
Adonis strode past the employee with a dismissing flick of his tail, and his armors paused at the door - waiting to be greeted in by the Advisor as courtesy demanded. Rosalba didn’t even bother to look up from her work, horns and scales shining in the afternoon light as the sun filtered in through the stained glass.
“The sun shines today, Advisor,” He greeted, flicking his ornamented cloak over a shoulder before bowing his head and tucking in a front hoof, “I have brought my armorers as requested - the finest I employ.”
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