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joining the nations(darknessembraced & DK)

After Vanya handed him the glass of wine, she moved to stand off to the side, watching the human as he looked around the hut that the chief lived in. She had been here many times to report to him and many times she'd brought a gift from her travels and it had always been accepted graciously no matter what it was, whether it was an animal skin from the far east or an ornate sculpture from another land that depicted different scenes from oni culture. As the prince's face turned pink with shame, the shadow elf arched an eyebrow at him with a slightly curious look in her eyes before she looked away from him to gaze at one of the sculptures in the hut, loosing herself in her thoughts for a little while. She knew that the oni's were lied about and that the scholars had everything about the honorable people written wrong, just as the shadow elves were believed to be thieves, spies, murderers, assassins and liars with no honor.

When Castiel spoke up, she glanced at him again as he brought up the tales told by scholars and she scoffed with a roll of her eyes. "Scholars." she started with a frown, "Know a lot about nothing and nothing about a lot in this big world." she told him. "Men who are... stuck in their stuffy offices and libraries with their books and scrolls who think that just because they read the written word of their ancestors and they read one side of a story, they know everything." She slowly moved around the hut, running her fingers over a carving here or a fur there. "It would be like me saying that since you're a prince, you're a spoiled, selfish, disgusting human who gets everything you want and has never known the harshness of the outside world and never worked a day in his life. Many believe that about princes and sometimes it's true, but I know that with you it's not."

And she moved around the hut, it would seem like her touching things would be an invasion of privacy to the oni chief since she certainly didn't live there and she wasn't part of the village, but she was close to the chief, it could be seen with the way she was familiar with the hut. "You still have much to learn Prince Castiel." she said, some of her silver-white hair falling in her eyes again as she turned to face him. "The question is, are you willing to learn?"
 
A small sad smile spread across the prince's face as he examined the expert brick work.
"You are quite right on one level, but terribly wrong on so many others..." He turned to the silver haired elf somberly."My Kingdom is one of the poorest in the relm, there is little trade to speak of and my people have either left of forgotten the world." He pointed to one of the many more scandalous sculptures."We have little art of any kind and our coifers are as bare as she is...I have often had to do much work with the so called common people, yet for all of it, most of my knowledge is from a scholars mouth."
He turned away, the barest hints of shame played across his face as he examined another wall scroll.
"I am ready to learn...more than."
----
Ra'sel looked out over his people, drank in their raw strength and desire. "My people, a great war will come, our children will find glory in the blood of the dead and our warriors will be cradled by the old mothers and the gods above! Untill that day we must hold our blades close, we cannot not be tempted by demons and liars!" he roared, knowing that the promise of war would soon be proven true, but not by the prince in his chambers at that moment.
 
Vanya watched him carefully, her eyes like those of a predator watching it's prey. Should he show any sign of hostility, she wouldn't hesitate to take action. Especially if it was against the Oni chief. When he stated that she was terribly wrong on so many other levels, she tilted her head slightly in a curious motion. She was silent as the human told her about where he came from and she nodded slightly. The elf knew of the kingdom he came from. Not even the thieves that she was allies with bothered going there to steal for there was nothing there worth value in their opinions.

"Oh, I know all about your kingdom. Like I said, I could say you were a spoiled prince, but I know it's not true." she told him. "I have visited your kingdom before. I have even seen it before it got as bad as it currently is. After all, I am much older then I look." She smiled slightly as he announced that he was ready to learn and she nodded. "Then there is hope for your kind yet." she told him before hearing the roar of the chief and she turned her head slightly, listening to the chief speak to his people. She smiled slightly before moving to the opening of the hut and looking out at the tribe, her violet eyes bright as she watched Ra'sel speak. Though she had never spoken of it and probably never would, she was fond of the male, more so then that of just an ally and friend.

For a long moment she stood there watching before turning and returning to near where the prince stood. "Prince... be careful and mindful of what you say when the Chief takes audience with you. The Oni are a proud, yet honorable peoples. Nothing like how many describe them. They do night fight and kill just for the sake of doing so." she told him. "Remember this well." With that she moved to a large chair that was obviously the chiefs main seat and she perched herself on the arm to wait for her friend.
 
The crowd roared at their Chief's speech, the promise of war and glory held them for the time. Though the Chief knew their pacification would be fleeting, he also knew that he only needed the briefest of moments to ensure that his armies marched in the correct direction.
Ra'sel stood before his people for a moment and drank in the exuberant energy for a moment before stepping down to greet his esteemed guest properly.

Inside his home, he found the human prince examining his art collection.
"You expected animal bones and weapons?" He asked wryly, knowing that that human tribes saw his people as savages. The prince turned around with a small twitch that made it impossible for the Chief to supress a broad, toothy grin of amusement.
The prince seemed to be at a loss for words, so the large warrior simply raised his red hand in a friendly gesture. "At the very least, you did not insult me to my face, as did you predecessors." He smiled, acknowledging his own bias.
---
The Oni Chief's sudden arrival had caught Castiel by surprise completely, the fact that his english was quite so smooth was similarly shocking to him.
"I appologise for my...people." he said honestly. "Tell me something, and I mean no offence by this, but by what method do you move so many troops yet leave no trail? All reports say that you are the source of all the border attacks, yet I saw no evidence that you moved a single squadron." He asked, hoping that the Chief would understand that he saw the lies his people believed for what they were.
The towering, gravel-skinned oni seemed contemplative for a moment. "I have not yet mastered winged flight, so there is no way I could do such a thing. Let us speak plainly now, there is no time for wordplay, human." He said, visibly annoyed at the obvious nature of the lie levld against his people.
"Very well." Castiel said, the seriousness of the situation finally closed around the room.
"I have no chance to best you in combat, nor do I possess the desire to do so in any event. I suggest that we find a--"
"Comprimise?" The oni chief interrupted.
"Quite."
A strange silence hung in the room as the two nobles eyed eachother.
"There may be a way, but it will be painful for you. It is not in our nature to decieve, so when we do so, it is not a simple undertaking." The chief said as he prepared for a long night of discussion.
"Vanya, please have the chef prepare a boar and bring a cask of wine and a cask of mead, I must know him before he is to kill me." He pronounced with a mirthful grin.
 
Vanya heard the roar of the people and she smiled. The shadow elf loved how charismatic her ally was and how he knew how to pacify them when they were angered. When Ra'sel came to the hut, she knew he was approaching long before he entered and she looked over as he watched the prince examine the art collection. She chuckled lightly when the prince twitched and her eyes glittered brightly in amusement before grinning almost ferally. Her time among Ra'sels people had changed her mannerism a bit from how shadow elves were usually fairly blank when it came to expressing their emotions among others.

Like Ra'sel, she knew humans pictured oni homes to be roughly made huts decorated with the bones of not just animals but humans and other species also, but she also knew it wasn't true. Though, there was one or two pieces of art with animal bone it them. Like a carving that hung upon a wall. It was a tusk to a large pachyderm animal and etchings of war and the gods that Ra'sels people worshiped were carved into it. Vanya had been part of the hunting party that brought down the animal and she had the pictures done by another oni she was on friendly terms with.

She was quiet as she sat there, listening to the two males speak with each other about what has been going on. When she was asked to have the chef prepare a boar and to bring a cask of wine and mead to the hut, she arched an eyebrow before snorting in vague amusement at his comment on the prince killing him. Clearly she didn't believe that Ra'sel could loose, but she could be wrong. "Very well. I'll return shortly with them." she told him.

Standing gracefully, she passed between the two males and exited the hut. Now that the people knew she was there, she didn't bother hiding from them as she moved around, walking through the tribe to where the hut of the chef was. She told the chef what had been ordered by the chief before asking if two onis could bring the two casks to the chiefs hut. While she was strong, she wasn't quite strong enough to carry one cask, let alone two. After two of the chefs workers grabbed the casks, she snagged an apple from a barrel before following the two onis back through the tribe and she entered after them.

"A cask of your aged mead and a cask of that aged elven wine." she told Ra'sel as she watched the oni's set the casks down. "I thought your really good oni wine might be a bit strong for the prince." She grinned at them. If the wines were put on a scale on how strong they were. The humans would be the lowest followed by goblin wine and then elven wine and finally the wine made by oni's. She'd had some of that wine and because of her elven metabolism, she was able to handle herself. But it did have a stronger effect on her than elven wine did and when she had it, she had finally experienced what being drunk was like.
 
As Vanya left, Castiel pondered what the Chief could have meant by his last comment. The curiosity was clear on his face, and Ra'sel picked up on it instantly.
"You wonder how you might slay me?" he asked with what could have been seen as worrying familiarity. The amount of warmth in his voice made the prince worry deeply for his safety since the only time he ever heard such a friendly tone from an opponent was when his mother was murdered before his eyes.
"You have survived as long as you have because you are the superior warrior. Honestly, what hope do I have for victory?" he asked, blunt honesty clear on his features. The room seemed to become smaller, pressing the two warriors together till their body heat became one.
"Humaans..." he smiled sagely. "For all your wit and cleverness, you always look at things so plainly. Unless you mean to tie yourselves in knots of philosophy and demagoguery...." He waved at the various treasures that adorned his home, they human's eyes followed the red hand like a cat might. "Do you think that loot and lucre is all I have amassed?"
The question was as simple as it was obvious. The chief intended to fake his death with sorcery. The realization played across his face as Vanya returned, two oni in tow. He looked on as the casks of wine and mead were tapped and tankards filled, grateful for the liquid courage they held.
"I wouldn't have minded trying some, honestly." he smiled at the lovely elf woman, not realizing that one tankard would have drunken him to a stupor.
"Trust me human, you wouldn't, but let us return to the topic at hand. I do indeed intend to use magic to shape a false death. However, Oni magic is not the same as elf or orc magic--or as they call it Mana crafting. We enchant with action and blood, it is always painful but there is no better illusion than that made by an oni." he said with a grim frown on his gravel crusted face. "It will especially require pain and blood shed on your part." he looked pointedly at the prince, who seemed only to bristle at the idea that he couldn't do what was required."You pain will be the greatest, since you are the one who will present my head to your 'High Royalty'." the disdain for the idea of any kind of king of kinks was clear on his face.
 
Vanya could see a look of realization upon the princes face when she entered and it was only thanks to her excellent hearing that she had an idea of what they had spoken of, having caught part of the conversation both as she left and returned. When he said he honestly wouldn't have minded trying some of the oni wine, she smirked with a soft chuckle, watching as the casks were tapped and tankards were filled. She had some of the mead, filling her tankard before moving to sit down and watch the two males. "The chief is right. You wouldn't." she said with another chuckle, her violet eyes glittering brightly with vague amusement while she took a sip of her drink followed by a bite from the apple she'd grabbed.

The shadow elf was nothing like the other elves that Castiel might of met before. She had the ethereal beauty that the elves were known for and she had the usual coloring for a shadow elf, silver white hair with a purpleish-pink coloring to her skin and she wore dark clothes. But that was where the similarities ended. Where many shadow elves seemed to be rather emotionless, she had something of a predator look to her from spending so much time in the wild and among the oni's. She had what appeared to be pale markings on her skin, like some kind of tattoo. They could be seen on her chest, disappearing beneath her top, and they were on her one arm as well as her cheeks beneath her eyes. She also had piercings in her pointed ears, the silver rings glinting in the light. Some of the earrings were even of oni make and were often seen on oni females.

As Ra'sel spoke of oni magic, she frowned into her tankard but she didn't protest. The chief knew what he was doing. He hadn't survived so many attacks just on brunt strength alone. He was a very clever oni. At the mention of 'high royalty' she snorted and rolled her eyes. She'd seen the 'high royalty' before and they weren't impressive. That had been on one of her missions for Ra'sel and it was the last time she'd been to that kingdom. "Are you willing to go through such a trial?" she asked the prince. She knew that the prince was doing this to save his kingdom.
 
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