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Post by Lord Newbury on Dec 6, 2017 20:39:16 GMT
Karywn Carraigh Viscount of Ard Caedwyn, Marshall of the Order of Caedwyn"Take him! Take him!" Karywn bellowed as he drove his hammer down into the final bandit, who collapsed into the ground with a crunch. He swung his hammer back up to his shoulder and put it to rest. A few hours past, the bandits - no more than fifty - had set upon his party, unaware of the army that followed in his wake. They had broken, and Karwyn and his Knights had followed them, running them into the ground just shy of the seat of his soon-to-be Father-in-law, the Duke. A horn went up, and the army came to a halt. In total, 1,000.00 Knights of the Chapter of Ard Caedwyn, of which Karywn was Marshall, came to a halt behind him. He stopped, and turned in his saddle, to see the rest of the army. 10,000.00 infantry, split between bow and spear, drawn from the levies. 2,000.00 men of the Dukes Own Regiment of Foot also stood with them, with 1,500.00 Yeomanry and 500.00 members of the Dukes Regiment of Artillery. The force was ample, enough to serve the needs of his newfound allies and to give pause to would-be invaders, and the Engineers would no doubt be put to good use. "Call a halt, good order and lines, make 'em look smart." he instructed his second-in-command, a Knight drawn from one of the Baronies. The man nodded, and turned his horse, galloping down the command line and giving the orders, a series of horn burst supporting his actions as the army formed a long line of their units behind the knights. Karwyn remained on his horse, and waited for the other party to ride out and meet him.
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Post by TheCalmOne on Dec 7, 2017 3:18:14 GMT
Elric Aquitane watched calmly as the Castillan detachment assembled themselves outside the walls of Thyria. He frowned slightly at the sight of so many soldiers on his soil - a sign of the potential bloodshed to come. Still, Elric was a prudent man, and he knew that even with all his wealth he would likely not survive the current crisis alone. Thus, he needed allies.
He turned towards his eldest daughter, Elize, and spoke, "There he is, Elize, your soon to be husband. Let us ride and out meet him."
The woman in question nodded, tentatively. She wasn't exactly sure what to expect from her betrothed. She had heard from her father that he was a military man, and very religious, but he had left it at that. "Very well, father."
The two of them climbed upon their respective horses, and rode out with a guard of a dozen Silver Guard and a complement of two dozen cavalry. Of course, the guard wasn't needed - both of them were aware of that - but it was more of a display of their wealth - what they were bringing to the table - than an honor guard.
As the Aquitanians reached the Castilles, Elric raised a hand in greeting and called out to his compatriots, "Hail, friends. Welcome to Aquitania."
He gestured towards himself, "I am Elric Aquitane, the Duke," then waved his hand towards Elize, "and this is my eldest, Elize."
He smiled a warm smile, "It is a pleasure to finally meet the great Castillans in person."
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Post by Lord Newbury on Dec 7, 2017 7:55:31 GMT
It struck Karwyn as his soon-to-be family approached, that they most likely had never met him, or his brother - at least not long gone enough to know them by sight alone. As such, he reached into his belt and produced his letter of warrant, and a letter from his brother. Raising his hand in greeting as the other party approached, he smiled as he heard them. "It is a pleasure to finally meet the great Castillans in person."
"The pleasure is ours Lord Aquitaine, and truly, your Cities areas famed as they deserve, for I have rarely seen one so fair," Karwyn replied, with a bow "...I am Lord Karwyn, Brother of the Duke, who sends his best wishes yet cannot be here in person.'' he added, extending the letter to confirm what he said was true. He gestured to the army behind him, and a smile broke across his face "An ample apology for his absence, no?"
He laughed, his second-in-command echoing his mirth as Karwyn finished "Ought to give those bastards on the border something to think about eh!''
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Post by TheCalmOne on Dec 8, 2017 5:16:21 GMT
"No worries about Duke Carraigh's absence, I am soon to head to the conference as well."
He returned Karwyn's bow and offered an earnest chuckle at the other man's joke. As he did so, Elize offered a curtsy behind her father - slightly offput by the absence of her soon-to-be-husband. She was very obviously not as good at hiding her emotions as her father.
Elric spoke, with a degree of mirth and gratitude in his voice, "You give us great praise as well as great gifts. For that I must thank you and your family."
His warm smile grew slightly, "And thus, it will be the least that I can do to at least offer you and your men good ale, and a wonderful meal!"
With this, he nodded towards one of his guards, who in turn raised a ornate horn to his lips and sounded for a procession of wagons containing various foodstuffs and alcohol native to Aquitania - obviously meant for the soldiers who had accompanied Karwyn on their trip to Thyria. "If you would be so kind as to dine with us in the palace, I would be grateful."
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Post by Lord Newbury on Dec 8, 2017 11:52:26 GMT
There was a loud cheer across the lines of the assembled men as they saw the wagons of food arrive. Let is not be said that the men shall go hungry whilst here, he laughed to himself. Nor I for that matter it would seem, he thought as the invitation to the feast was extended to him. "Lead on," he began, turning to instruct the army to make camp for the evening, posting sentries in the normal manner "I shall return after the feast, and call my council - wherin we might make plans for the coming weeks - but until then, we eat and drink!"
He kicked his horse forwards, and together with his second and a handful of knights, rode for the City.
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Post by TheCalmOne on Dec 13, 2017 3:23:41 GMT
Elric smiled and moved his horse to lead the both the Castillan and Aquitanian entourages back into the city. The Duke was a rather popular man amongst his people - the wealth he had brought in for Aquitania had made all of them wealthier, for he was considered a benevolent and caring ruler. However, it was mainly curiosity for the famed Carraigh family that drove out the populace to line the streets.
As they rode, the Duke of Aquitania regaled his guest with the stories behind each statue, major building, and plaza that they passed. Each had been built to commemorate a person or event that had done great deeds for Aquitania. Of course, many of them were about House Aquitane, but a fair amount included minor nobility and commoners who had risen to the top through the freedom of the market.
They continued through the city until they reached the palace, a grandiose golden building that almost seemed to glow with a golden light. While the palace's courtyard was huge, however, there were very few people in site. Only the most important of the nobility had been invited to this particular feast.
As servants approached to take the horses to the stable, Elric dismounted and addressed Karywn, "I must say though, Karywn, your name precedes you. Your exploits against the Horse Lords are famed in this area. Please, I would be honored if you would tell me of some of your experiences.
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Post by Lord Newbury on Dec 14, 2017 16:40:55 GMT
"I thank you, however, I fear that there has been much exaggeration," he laughed "...taking care of savages it not all that hard after all." he added, his somewhat elite viewpoints coming across all to easily. He waved to the locals as he rode past them, giving the commoners something to cheer about as he did so; it was clear that Karwyn was enjoying himself. "Maybe we will see you on one of the facades soon eh?" he noted to the statues. It was Karwyns hope that, no matter how things turned out in the Valdez Crisis, the union between their families would continue and serve for both of them, regardless of which side of the line they ended being on.
Alongside this, Karwyn was acutely aware of his Brothers plan, to either fall into step with Luska, or go it alone - forging a Kingdom of his own between Valdez and Luska. The trade with Aquitania would serve to bolster that greatly, or at least that was his brothers hope. Dismounting, he followed his soon to be father in law...
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Post by TheCalmOne on Dec 19, 2017 7:00:45 GMT
Elric chuckled slightly at Karwyn's suggestion that he may one day appear as one of the numerous statues that littered Thyria. "Perhaps one of my descendants will deem my achievements in life to be worthy, but as long as I am alive - I will not waste good money on mere stone."
The duke waited until both his daughter and Karwyn dismounted, then led them into the dining hall. The grand table was already bedecked with food of the highest quality; peacocks, turkey, boar, as well as oven-baked bread and pastries lined the ornate piece of furniture.
He offered Karwyn a seat at his right side, while Elize took a seat on the other side of the Castillan man. It was only after this that the few high-ranking members of the Aquitanian nobility filed in and took their own seats. Despite the high-scale of the location, the mood was jovial and much banter was exchanged between the nobles.
One of them quickly approached and, after giving a salute of acknowledgement to his Duke, held his hand out to shake while introducing himself. "Viscount Carraigh, it is a pleasure to finally meet you. My name is Dederyn Agathos, the Count of Morningdale."
Elric smiled and interjected, "Old friend, quit being humble." He turned towards Karwyn, "Dederyn is the mastermind behind Aquitania's military reforms under my rule. He's done a prodigious job, if I do say so myself."
Dederyn waved aside the praise and saluted the two men once more, then bowed to Elize. He then moved aside and took a seat among the other nobles present.
With that, Elric raised a goblet in a toast, "To newfound friends and family!" He paused, then looked at Karwyn, "And with that, let us feast."
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