The Weight of the Crown (JellyFish & Greeneyed23)

Aretha blinked, watching him leave a mystified gaze flooding her. Licking the same lip that had been assaulted, she turned to her parents. King and Queen, who had looked to their daughter, shrugging helplessly. They knew her all too well. They neither had a clue of what the Lord had meant and they wouldn't bother to help her. She had dug herself into a game of wits with a beast of knowledge and let her stand on her own. So they ignored her, presently and quickly.

But she continued to watch them, observing the little shows of adoration they gave for the other. Slight touches, teasing words, and devoted glances. Curious was she, confused and unsure for what reasons. Why hadn't she noticed this? Biting the white nail of her thumb, she stared off into a far off distance with no existence.

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Godric couldn't stop peering at the man before him. What an oddity for anyone to talk to him. Usually left to his own devices without much disturbance, he passed in and out without much thought. But now he had to think and ponder. He looked at the man before him, not paying mind to the short haired woman who brought refreshments.
He clasped his hands together, inspecting the man with watchful gray eyes that seemed to swirl with mixed of black and white.
“Dragon…”. he breathed and frowned sadly. “Did you know my parents were killed by your kind. And accident really and mostly my villages fault, but honestly I've never been able to like dragons much since then.” Catching hold of his emotions and placing them carefully back into his heart, he traced the rim of his cup.
“I’m a Marsh Mage. Queer and different compared to more magicians wanting to learn how to control all elements, but their are many different magic users as you should know. But I practice in keeping the marsh lands, since I've always had a connection with them as to that is where I lived as a child. As to how I use my magic, I would use them as any other magician. Either for good or my own selfish reasons. Luckily enough, I lean towards helping others. But your question is very ...straightforward. Is there a reason why you've even come to speak to me today?”

Nila and Patis took their leave and went off for a walk.

Kurtis tugged his aunt's skirts lightly. "Aunt Aretha you really shouldn't play games with Dragons. Even when you win you lose." Such was a very old proverb that time and again had been proven true.

He smiled. "Hama and his brothers and sisters started that saying." he hugged her leg then walked away without another word.

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Hama smiled. "And Humans, Elves, dwarves, Amgi, Orcs, and every other race in Fital has been killing and hunting my kind since they were created. I've accepted it."

He smiled. "A Marsh Mage is it. I've always admired your kind. The life in swamps and marshes is so much more vital than anywhere else in the land. The focus to to control and protect all of that. Also you have many of my cousins. The alligators and crocodiles there are close relatives to the Sea Dragons. on their behalf I thank you for your services to my people."

He sat back. "i want to know more about your style of magic. And what brings you here. And about your lovely fiancee. In truth Godric I want to drain your mind of all knowledge btu with your help and permission of course."

His eyes widened incredibly. He swallowed at first, licking dry lips and nervously looked between Hama and the floor which had suddenly become all too a point of outmost interest. Tapping his foot, a normal custom, he gave a skittish laugh, unsure of what to make of the man. “You’re all to frank and somehow that is something I’ve never seen in a man other than myself.”

“There’s much to know about it. In fact there might just be too much. I’m honestly a novice at the whole thing, but I had natural drawn talents towards the whole thing. My magic is extensive as to healing those who are poisoned and wounded and to conjuring up spirits that can also protect the forest. I can make certain things grew, things that belong in swamps or marshes. But being this kind of mage has it’s drawbacks. If I think for too long a time, I start turning into a tree or perhaps I start dripping like the rain. I have certain small animals that at times can’t seem to keep their paws off me.”

He chuckled at that, brushing back his shaggy hair. But he then looked up, brows furrowed. “I don’t give out much information of Tivia. She’s a very blunt woman who rather people come to her and ask their questions. That depends on what you want to know of her and how much she would appreciate being told.”

Hama smiled and said very softly. "I'm not a man Godric."

He nodded. "So I see. So how long have you been studying your art?"

He chuckled. "I simply wish to know how you met Godric. I am not attempting to pry into her privacy or yours. Why do i make you so nervous? Have I harmed your or those you care about in any way?"

He waited for the answer his eyes well covered to protect the young man as he doubted the poor devil could handle it. he did wonder if Aretha realized that she was technically a Souled now though he had restrained the changing magic that would make her a full one as she had to remain solely human.

“I’m speaking to a dragon who has openly admitted to wanting to drain me of information. I suppose that doesn’t make the average person nervous then, hm? Very normal occurrence obviously.”

“By the gods I’m going to get myself killed if I talk so brazen”, he thought. Adjusting in his seat so that he was upright as he spoke, he swept his hands over his shirt as he would do normally. Several thoughts passed through his mind: Why on earth did this dragon actually want to speak with him? He was positive that the creature didn’t just simply want to have the pleasure of talking with him just for the need of having a companion. He then wondered why of all magician was he asked of his magic? It was a simplistic and one of least wanted of magics. More a less the hermit kind of role.

But all the less, Hama did spike his intrigue.

“Tivia and I weren’t the closest of people. If anything she hated me on first sight. This had happened after I left the castle to become something other than the one of the guards sons. I was not fit for the stamina of being a fighter, never mind protecting the royal family. Instead I was the errand boy who was the playmate of the princes and princesses. The princes didn’t mind me much, I was smaller than them at the time weaker while the princesses only want me to be a servant to carry things to a fro. It was only Princess Aretha who actually played games with me. She had a different way of games back then does she plays them now… But that’s getting away from the point. I left because I was fearful of someone’s affections. I was lower under her but she professed her love for me all the same. She said she didn’t care what others would think and her decision was her’s alone. I wish I could have agreed with her… In cowardice, I ran without a second thought to become someone who would be worthy of her.”

Godric’s face fell in a darkened storm of guilt and anger at this moment. He was always ridiculed himself for this action and despised the way he left without even so much as a goodbye. But the past was to be left in the past. Stiffly, he regained the reality of what was around him and continued.

“I knew I wasn’t very strong nor quick, so I went to the more fantastical of routes. I decided I would become a sorcerer. Very regarded men here and that was what I wanted to be regarded with high respect and fear. So I traveled long ways to find a sorcerer and when I did find one he was in the most of unfortunate states. The town I traveled to pointed me to a filthy swamp and when I finally did stumble upon the man, he was dying. He had no son nor apprentice and the souls of sorcerers are very valuable, filled with strong and powerful magic. If a soul was captured in the wrong hands, chaos could spread without much planning. I remember that moment as if it wa yesterday, I walked into his tree dwelling home, which on the outside was smaller than expected. He saw me and as his breath was about to leave his body, he pointed an old, crooked finger to me. I couldn’t move, paralyzed in my own fear! I felt a unrecognizable force pass through me and I fainted right there on the spot. When I awoke, I was staring into eyes filled with black hatred. Thus was how I met Tivia.”

He grimaced in good humor, unable to keep his face from twisting into a smile. “It seemed I was the one who took her rightful place as the next Marsh Mage. That was her grandfather you see. He family is made from generation and generations of magic filled warriors and she had come to take her birthright. Only I had taken it instead. I was lucky that her father burst in through the front door, because she had already gripped her small hand around my neck and was strangling me. I’m not embarrassed to say I was unable to defend myself. She had the strength of a bear, I say! And still does… Her father then had to take me in after prying his daughter’s hands from my neck. I was a young and foolish boy following my own giddy and passion filled desires based on a girl. And that same idiotic boy now had an immersed magic flowing through his very veins. I was not happy. I wanted to be a hero, not a babysitter of swamps where no one even wanted to go. But I was stuck. And Tivia was stuck being my trainer of sorts. She has her own magic, a usage of energies whether it be water, fire, or air and can wield them into an elemental weapon. Her training was more of beating me senseless as an act of revenge than teaching me how to use a basic spell. Thankfully, the old sorcerer held many books with tips and hints. At the age of, hm, let’s say seventeen, I had gained some experience with the arts. Tivia had taught me how to fight and fend for myself and I was able to use some of the magic taught. I was still foolish and thought I could not present myself to the lady who wanted my heart two years back. I left Tivia and her family promising I would return shortly. I was horribly disappointed on my return…. the girl was in courtship with a suitor much more higher than I. She never knew I was there to see her because I automatically left, hurt and bitter.”

He looked away from Hama, glancing to an open window as the sun’s rays filtered in. He was distant for a moment, regret rushing at him like a roaring river. “I never felt so miserable in my life. I didn’t blame her but yet I did. She said she cared but in two years time, she had found someone else. He was better than me I suppose, in ranking. But I now realize how black his heat is just as he name spoke it. I then returned to my home and the marshes and swamps. I went on with my practices and life, still an angry hermit bottling himself up in his own pity. Lest did I know that Tivia had grown soft and had her own love for me. I never saw it when I left, blind by my own excitement I suppose. But as my own thoughts of the girl I cared for fled and Tivia forced herself into my life. Though I can’t say I really tried to push her away. I welcomed it. As the years passed of our flirting and teasing, I asked her to marry me and she, thankfully accepted. At least my self esteem was not crushed though my freedom hangs now in the balance”, he laughed lightly. “In total I was studying my job for eighteen years if not more.”

Crossing his arms and moving his stare from the window, he rose a brow as a thought struck him. “I now do wonder where Blackard is honestly. I thought I would see him wondering about the castle, begging for Aretha’s forgiveness. His family has a streak for becoming drunk and doing reckless things, but last time I was here he was giving Aretha all of his attentions. They should be getting married soon, no?”
Godric, was certainly behind in the times. From where he lived, news of what happened in the capital rarely reached his dwelling and it seemed the none of the recent gossip had reached his ears in the short time of his stay.

Hama did not speak nor even move letting Godric tell his tale. Even when the mage finished speaking he held his tongue for a long while then he slowly smiled. "First of all Blackard was not drunk. When you rescued her she had long since broken off the courtship. Secondly she did not forget you my friend. But you know Aretha. She has made it hard to approach her. So after you Blackard was the only one who dared and she did not send running."

He smiled more. "But she saw the truth of him and sent him on his way. Aretha is my betrothed now."

Before Godric could speak Hama leaned forward. "I wish to help you my friend. First igl Rte Cwx. Say those to the alligators and crocodiles in your swamp and they will give you what aid and wisdom they can. Secondly Twe Ikqa Uir Xcer. Speak those words when you are alone communing with the Winds and they shall give you their own aid. But remember to be respectful."

He reached over and lifted his cup taking a sip. "Now tell me something else my young friend. Do you have the suitable fortune to support Tivia. I mean no offense but she is a fine woman and i would not see you unhappy. And even if you do perhaps you would be interesting in a relic. The Teeth of Callow da Rathau have been located but no one dares touch them. As a magician you need fear them. I can give you their location if you wish. I expect no reward or cut. I have no need of it. Call it a gesture of peace."

Godric blinked, stunned and mystified. "Uh - ... Oh! Tivia and I are fine when it comes down to finances. My family and her own are blessed in stable circumstances. And I've made a name for myself with many people who come to me for help in cases that they themselves can't control. But the relic itself sounds interesting and I would like to find it... thank you for the help. I am sure to go hunting for it when I return back home." He smiled, but still was in shock. Most likely his feelings hadn't kept in pace with his expressions.

Swallowing, he tapped his finger tips against his leg. "Might it be alright if I ask me own questions?"

Curiosity was playing it's role, pushing him to find the answers he didn't yet know. He wasn't sure how to say the most bothersome question without saying the wrong thing. His tongue had slipped up before on to many occasions to count. "I'm glad that she no longer is with Blackard, it would bring ruin to the royal blood line. They have a terrible rivalry with one another. But how exactly did you even gain her favor? As a child she held much disdain for dragons. I find it funny that her opinions have switched so quickly. And futher more how did you know it was me she liked so long ago? I gave no names which I spoke."

Hama took a parchment and a quill and wrote for a few minutes then handed it over. "You will find the directions and some key elements to finding the correct relic."

"You may ask."

He smiled. "I know. And i can assure you its true. And i can see you want to believe. Please do. As to what I did? Rather simple. I didnt run away and i presented a challenge she couldn't just wave away. And as to my people i set her right. And yes you did. You said you loved her. And i know she loved you in her way. But your fate was never to be hers my young friend."

Godric snorted a laugh, nodding his head in understanding. "Aretha never backs away from a challenge. That's how she always gets herself in trouble." He sighed, leaning his head onto his hand studying the dragon before him. Aretha...and a dragon. It was a very interesting thought and he wondered if she would be able to handle the kind of pressure from being with one. He had never know dragons to be gentle creatures but then again Aretha herself wasn't very gentle either.

"How is it your fate to be with her? Aretha is like the passing breeze, she blows from this way and that. How can you even be certain she won't grow bored of you? She has a tendency for that one. Do you even know if she truly loves you?"

Hama smiled. "I know it because it is. And i know she loves me because of the way her mind heart and body react to me. And do you really think anyone could grow bored with a dragon? Just learning my past will take her a hundred years if that is all she does and it won't be. I present her with something she cannot have with any other race. A loving and eternal challenge who can present any aspect of the masculine at will."

He smiled more sitting back. "Also i know because i did not force it. She came to me. I did nothing actively to lure her but she still came. The wedding is to be after the war is over. I am sure she will want you there."