Swordsong [Alex!!]

[Zane]

"Do not apologize. Death is not the end, just the required means to a new beginning, I will see my brothers again. My only prayer is that they were given a proper funeral." As they walked four other guard came to their sides, forming a perimeter around Baldur and Tass. They came up to the main road leading up to the castle, a small river running through the town with bridges running over it in various places.

"The river is fed by a spring on the edge of the mountain, the river feeds an underground lake at about a mile underground, that lake has recently been used to give running water to the castle, our three smith lords really are brilliant."  Baldur said, pointing out the river. The entourage came into the castle, the two rear guard staying at the castle gate. Baldur dismissed the other guard, he knew the way he just didn't want to be swamped by citizens after just having returned. Outside the Queen's Chamber, Baldur turned to Tass, "Wait here."

He was inside the room for a long while, before he came out, another man came out, his face sullen and looked like he was about to cry. "The Queen has died." The man turned and left as Baldur came out. "I'm going to train you myself, but you will have to wait. There are more important matters to deal with now."

[alex_xr]

Tass was overwhelmed again.. She  took in the sights of the town. The river, the idea of how massive this city was.  That was when they arrived at a room, She figured as much and entered reverie as she waited. Not wanting to waste her time waiting, she was fine with however long the man needed with his mother.

Tass got up quickly as the men came out and looked to Baldur. " Of course Baldur, I will do whatever is required of me. "  She was glad, to know that at least there would be some form of stability, She didn't want to be thrown amongst strangers just yet. She wondered if there were any other elves among the people here .  She then looked to Baldur and wondered if he was going to send her off with a guard, or keep her with him. She was new to this whole castle business, having live mostly in the wilderness, this whole idea of royalty and such was overwhelming her to think she was in a castle with the Prince/king where the queen just died. It was a lot to take in and she only hoped she could keep it together. She was just a wanderer the day before.

[Zane]

"Bring your torch and come with me, we are going to the smith lords." On the way out of the hall, Baldur approached one of the guard, "Prepare a nautical pyre for tomorrow." The guard nodded and went off to do is duty. Baldur walked in silence for a while, leading to the Smith's Den at the center of the castle. "We have three smith lords, an Elven smith, a dwarven smith, and a human smith. Each a master in their own respect. My hammer is a combined effort of all three."

Once in the Smith's Den, Baldur knocked on the counter. "Musica! I know your back there, come on out."
After a moment, a man that looked to be in their late twenties came around to the counter, he had three piercings over his right eyebrow and a silver necklace with what looked to be a sword for a pendent. "Well hello Baldur, nice of you to return alive."
Baldur raised an eyebrow, "You never doubted me for a moment."
"Of course not, not in this lifetime at least." The two men clasp hands and grinned at each other.

"Tass, this is Musica, the Human Smith Lord. Also my best friend." Musica eloquently bowed.
"Any friend of Baldur is a friend of mine. Might I see your flame, lass?"

[alex_xr]

Tass shrugged and held out her flame its blue light was something she had learned to accept. " Sure,  I am Tass, It is a pleasure to meet you. "  She looked around at the smith's den. " I will have to get to know your elven smith, and find out where he learned his craft! "  She hoped he was an elf, which was probably likely, seeing how most humans didn't have the time to learn the elven arts.   

Tass looked to Baldur and Musica wondering how they had met, and why she was here.  She wanted to know that most of all, why was she at the human smith lords place, just to meet his best friend?

[Zane]

Musica took a small twig and held it to the flame for a moment. "The Elven smith lord is crafting at the moment and asked not to be distrubed, But I can assure you that she knows her craft like no other, better then her father ever was I promise you that. Your flame is very unique, not much heat and not very bright, we don't see that often. Baldur's is bright and very hot as well as my own." He looked over Tass for a moment, "A bow and a whip huh? Seems to me you need a stealth weapon. Alright I accept. The other lords and myself will craft you a weapon. One worthy of your flame. Come back in, three days time." And with that he was gone.

"Come on, I'll take you to the Hall of Flames now, set up your flame then show you to where you will be staying." He led her our of the Smith's Den and up a few flights of stairs and into a large circular room. Flames of a plethora of colors stood erect all around the room, encompassing a large pedestal where a large version of Baldur's flame rested. He tossed the torch he was holding on to it and brought her over to the outer ring of torches. "See the hole in the ground? Set the butt of your torch there."

[alex_xr]

Tass, nodded and wondered what that meant, She shrugged. " Thank you very much Musica. " She wondered what that meant.. not much heat, and not very bright? was she dying?   Tass looked at baldur, and was glad that he was here at least. Now she knew two people here, it was a start. 

Then the hall of flames, She was astounded by the number of torches, and the large version of Baldur's flame which looked just like hers.  She place the torch into the hole, and looked around. It was impressive.  " Thank you for everything Baldur, I am sort of surprised you have let me in. I did just meet you 4 days ago. "   

[Zane]

"Who would I be to deny you, certainly not someone who is about ascend to kinghood. This mont has always been open to those who seek it, it's like the first king said, 'A closed border makes a fruitless nation.'. Most of all who live here agree with that, though there are those who don't. But still, if you wished, you could take up residence here without going through our training." He looked deeply into his flame. "Oh and about what Musica stated, the lack of heat and brightness, don't worry your fine. the flames are very similar to actual flames, how a cooking flame is high heat but not very bright and a campfire is bright but not that hot, Well a person's Vita Flamma is the same way, the heat and light production are representations of yourself, Musica as well as the other smith lords can read the flames and learn about you, and how to craft the proper weapon for you. If anything was wrong with the flame it would get very small and flicker, so you're healthy."

[alex_xr]

Tass gave a sigh of relief.  " I wonder what sort of weapon it will be, and  I would like to congratulate you on your ascension. Despite the sadness associated with it. "  She toyed with her hair a bit absently.  "So where shall I stay, I would hate to be a burden on you in a time you are obviously very busy." 

Tass looked at Baldur and wondered what must be going through his mind right now.  She was sure he must be full of thoughts with all that was going on in the castle. It would seem that she was here at a bad time. She hoped that she wasn't keeping from doing anything important.

[Zane]

"Death is not a sad thing, as such it should not be mourned. Death should be celebrated, as it marks a being's ascension into something bigger." Though that's not what was going on in his head, he was devastated at the loss of his entire family, the crushing loneliness that marked him as the last descendent of the first king. But he would never let these feelings out, not until he rejoined his family.

Baldur led Tass out of the Hall of Flames and through the halls of the castle until he came to her room, he opened the door to a single bedroom with an adjoining bathroom. "The good news is that the castle has running hot and cold water, no place else in the world has that. The bad news is we start training at dawn, I will knock once before entering so please make sure you're decent." It was speech like that, that often made people forget that he was indeed blind. "Sunrise is in eight hours, best get some rest." Then he left the room, off to prepare for his mother's funeral the following day.

[alex_xr]

Tass nodded and went into her room. It was a simple yet nice thing. It was good to have a room. and a place to rest.  Tass, went and filled the tub with hot water,  and soaked in it before going to bed.  It had been a crazy week. She was now training to be a guildfist.  It was crazy to think she was going to be doing all this on a whim. She wondered if she had made the right choice, but then put that thought away.

She laid down, and went into reverie. It was good to be in reverie.  She woke up with some time to spare and quickly got ready, making sure to have her weapons and gear all in order, she pondered what he meant make sure your decent.  but shrugged as she waited.

[Zane]

True to his word, Baldur knocked exactly once before entering the room. He had on his back the trusted hammer, Animos, and a quiver stocked full of javelins. "Glad to see that you are ready, for the morning we will work on marksmanship. At high noon is the funeral, then afterwards we will work on hand to hand combat. Are you ready for your first day of training?"

[alex_xr]

Tass smiled " Of course I am ready, it sounds good to me. "  She wondered what it was going to be like. She was sure it was going to be hard work. But she was pretty sure she could handle it.   it was always good to train as it paid off in the end.  She prepared to follow him where ever he might lead them. She wondered if she would ever get use to the layout of this place.  It was an legitimate question.  She looked to Baldur and waited for him to lead the way.