Prologue: Prep Work
Bergum
Capital of Maloria
The Severyn-Tirols had been in Bergum for little over two days, the royal family of South-Ethia graciously accepting their cousins invitation to a family re-union, for Luther it was the first time he had been back in the old country in many years. He was looking forward to seeing his cousin Marten and to meeting distant relations, it seemed like an eternity since he had afforded himself an evening devoted purely to family time. still he found himself becoming nervous in spite of himself, this wa also the first time he would present his heirs to the wider family and also the first time he would be in country without his mother at his side, it promised to be a night of firsts though some were more welcome then others.
Luther adjusted his black bowtie and regarded himself in the mirror, at 36 the emperor of south ethia resembled a college tutor or a particularly serious librarian with his wiry frame and prominent horned rim glasses, he chuckled and reached for his coat. He turned to regard his youngest child; Prince Lucien was presently fidgeting with both his bowtie and carefully smoothed hair, the boy was well and truly living up to his mothers nickname "Little monkey"
“Why do I have to wear these stupid clothes dad!?” the young prince whined as he struggled with his bowtie
At 5 his son was the spitting image of his father, dark of hair and possessing the same grey eyes and thin boned face as the elder Severyn-Tirol. In many ways the family had been split down the middle as far as inheritance was concerned, Emilia took after her mother with russet brown hair and blue eyes, but Lucien bore the same dark features as his dad. Something of the families ancient malorian blood had been retained, the same gaunt faces and dark hair marking them as heirs to the old land.
“When I was a boy your grandmother made me wear shorts!” Luther declared trying to quiet the boys irritated protests
“Yeah, but that was back when dinosaurs roamed the earth!” Lucien quipped in the know-it-all tone that only a five-year-old could possess
Luther couldn’t help but laugh, the Severyn-Tirol penchant for cutting wit was alive and well in his children. He sighed and reached down, gently loosening the tie so that it rested more comfortably about his son’s collar. The boy was only five and unlike many of the stricter houses of Eras, Luther had tried to raise his children with as much normalcy as was possible for royalty.
“Did I mention there was an ice cream boat?” Luther said with a sly grin
“Boat?” Lucien stammered, suddenly forgetting his annoyance with the tie
“Every flavour known to man, perks of being a Severyn” Luther confirmed with an amused wink
“I still think ties should be outlawed, can you do that when we get home?” Lucien muttered
Luther ruffled the boy’s hair and they left the hotel suite, descending the red carpeted stairs to the lobby where Empress Claudia and their eldest child, Emilia, waited. The emperor smiled like a grinning idiot as he regarded his wife, tastefully dressed in a high-backed cream dress with a simple tiara of rose gold, she was the picture of minimalism, and it worked beautifully.
“You look radiant my love” he said kissing his wife’s cheek gently
“You don’t look too bad yourself; I see our little monkey is actually dressed for the occasion” Claudia said regarding her son with a playful look of mock disgust, Lucien sticking his tongue out in response
“Ice cream boats were mentioned” Luther assured his wife
“Bribery, works like a charm” she said with a wry chuckle and roll of her eyes
He turned to regard Emilia, the crown princess of south ethia was presently wearing an ice blue dress with a prominent unicorn emblazoned on the front, she was busy typing away on a Kugen tablet*, at 8 she was already growing into a formidable intelligence, wickedly smart for her age and possessed of the same wit and penchant for insightfulness that seemed to define every branch of the Severyn family.
“Soooooo, unicorn? Interesting” Luther began, trailing off at the end
“Mum says they put unicorns on things all the time” Emilia replied not looking up from her console
“Truuueeee….it will be unique at any rate” Luther admitted
“What do you want dad?” Emilia asked bluntly with a raised eyebrow
“Just checking in, I remember my first family re-union, no one bothered to see how I was managing, your gran just marched me out in front of the family in my lederhosen!” Luther explained once again using the old horror story for effect
Emilia started laughing at the thought of it, it was a pure amused sound that was largely devoid of mockery, Luther suppressed a grin and attempted to retain his serious face.
“Gran is crazy” Emilia replied without hesitation
Katerina Severyn was currently back in the homeland, the white lioness had wanted to visit her relations badly but a bout of bronchitis had prevented that from happening. The matriarch of the Severyn-Tirols had told her son to give his best to the entire clan and to not make an ass of himself.
“Indeed, but I want you to know that tonight isn’t something to worry about, the people we are meeting seem big and imposing but they are family and are for the most part are lovely once you get to know them” Luther said in a re-assuring voice
“Is great aunt Alycia coming?” Emilia asked
“Yes, as well as the Drakosta’s, your cousins from Bergum and I think the king of Prydania is making an appearance as well!” Luther explained, railing off the guest list, half of eras was practically on it
Emilia reached into a satchel and pulled out a book, “Norsia a history” it said in big red letters, a picture of Luscova occupying the middle of the cover.
“If Alycia is coming, I might ask her about Norsia, I have a book report due next week” Emilia said bluntly
“Hmmmmm…. well, I’m sure she won’t mind a few questions, maybe don’t grill her too much though, she might be related but she’s still an empress” Luther explained in a gentle but firm voice
“I’ll try not to be a bother dad” Emilia promised sincerely
“I know, you’ll do fine little cub” Luther said with a warm smile before giving his child a bear hug
They made their way to the waiting car and were soon driving out of the city and toward the countryside. Luther felt a rush of anticipatory fear and excitement as they drew closer to the estate, this would be the first major gathering in quite some time, and they were seldom dull affairs. He took a deep breath and tried to stay focused on the moment. As they drew closer, he realized he had quite forgotten what the venue was called.
*Kugen is a major electronics manufacturer in SE making everything from phones and handheld consoles to personal computers.
Bergum
Capital of Maloria
The Severyn-Tirols had been in Bergum for little over two days, the royal family of South-Ethia graciously accepting their cousins invitation to a family re-union, for Luther it was the first time he had been back in the old country in many years. He was looking forward to seeing his cousin Marten and to meeting distant relations, it seemed like an eternity since he had afforded himself an evening devoted purely to family time. still he found himself becoming nervous in spite of himself, this wa also the first time he would present his heirs to the wider family and also the first time he would be in country without his mother at his side, it promised to be a night of firsts though some were more welcome then others.
Luther adjusted his black bowtie and regarded himself in the mirror, at 36 the emperor of south ethia resembled a college tutor or a particularly serious librarian with his wiry frame and prominent horned rim glasses, he chuckled and reached for his coat. He turned to regard his youngest child; Prince Lucien was presently fidgeting with both his bowtie and carefully smoothed hair, the boy was well and truly living up to his mothers nickname "Little monkey"
“Why do I have to wear these stupid clothes dad!?” the young prince whined as he struggled with his bowtie
At 5 his son was the spitting image of his father, dark of hair and possessing the same grey eyes and thin boned face as the elder Severyn-Tirol. In many ways the family had been split down the middle as far as inheritance was concerned, Emilia took after her mother with russet brown hair and blue eyes, but Lucien bore the same dark features as his dad. Something of the families ancient malorian blood had been retained, the same gaunt faces and dark hair marking them as heirs to the old land.
“When I was a boy your grandmother made me wear shorts!” Luther declared trying to quiet the boys irritated protests
“Yeah, but that was back when dinosaurs roamed the earth!” Lucien quipped in the know-it-all tone that only a five-year-old could possess
Luther couldn’t help but laugh, the Severyn-Tirol penchant for cutting wit was alive and well in his children. He sighed and reached down, gently loosening the tie so that it rested more comfortably about his son’s collar. The boy was only five and unlike many of the stricter houses of Eras, Luther had tried to raise his children with as much normalcy as was possible for royalty.
“Did I mention there was an ice cream boat?” Luther said with a sly grin
“Boat?” Lucien stammered, suddenly forgetting his annoyance with the tie
“Every flavour known to man, perks of being a Severyn” Luther confirmed with an amused wink
“I still think ties should be outlawed, can you do that when we get home?” Lucien muttered
Luther ruffled the boy’s hair and they left the hotel suite, descending the red carpeted stairs to the lobby where Empress Claudia and their eldest child, Emilia, waited. The emperor smiled like a grinning idiot as he regarded his wife, tastefully dressed in a high-backed cream dress with a simple tiara of rose gold, she was the picture of minimalism, and it worked beautifully.
“You look radiant my love” he said kissing his wife’s cheek gently
“You don’t look too bad yourself; I see our little monkey is actually dressed for the occasion” Claudia said regarding her son with a playful look of mock disgust, Lucien sticking his tongue out in response
“Ice cream boats were mentioned” Luther assured his wife
“Bribery, works like a charm” she said with a wry chuckle and roll of her eyes
He turned to regard Emilia, the crown princess of south ethia was presently wearing an ice blue dress with a prominent unicorn emblazoned on the front, she was busy typing away on a Kugen tablet*, at 8 she was already growing into a formidable intelligence, wickedly smart for her age and possessed of the same wit and penchant for insightfulness that seemed to define every branch of the Severyn family.
“Soooooo, unicorn? Interesting” Luther began, trailing off at the end
“Mum says they put unicorns on things all the time” Emilia replied not looking up from her console
“Truuueeee….it will be unique at any rate” Luther admitted
“What do you want dad?” Emilia asked bluntly with a raised eyebrow
“Just checking in, I remember my first family re-union, no one bothered to see how I was managing, your gran just marched me out in front of the family in my lederhosen!” Luther explained once again using the old horror story for effect
Emilia started laughing at the thought of it, it was a pure amused sound that was largely devoid of mockery, Luther suppressed a grin and attempted to retain his serious face.
“Gran is crazy” Emilia replied without hesitation
Katerina Severyn was currently back in the homeland, the white lioness had wanted to visit her relations badly but a bout of bronchitis had prevented that from happening. The matriarch of the Severyn-Tirols had told her son to give his best to the entire clan and to not make an ass of himself.
“Indeed, but I want you to know that tonight isn’t something to worry about, the people we are meeting seem big and imposing but they are family and are for the most part are lovely once you get to know them” Luther said in a re-assuring voice
“Is great aunt Alycia coming?” Emilia asked
“Yes, as well as the Drakosta’s, your cousins from Bergum and I think the king of Prydania is making an appearance as well!” Luther explained, railing off the guest list, half of eras was practically on it
Emilia reached into a satchel and pulled out a book, “Norsia a history” it said in big red letters, a picture of Luscova occupying the middle of the cover.
“If Alycia is coming, I might ask her about Norsia, I have a book report due next week” Emilia said bluntly
“Hmmmmm…. well, I’m sure she won’t mind a few questions, maybe don’t grill her too much though, she might be related but she’s still an empress” Luther explained in a gentle but firm voice
“I’ll try not to be a bother dad” Emilia promised sincerely
“I know, you’ll do fine little cub” Luther said with a warm smile before giving his child a bear hug
They made their way to the waiting car and were soon driving out of the city and toward the countryside. Luther felt a rush of anticipatory fear and excitement as they drew closer to the estate, this would be the first major gathering in quite some time, and they were seldom dull affairs. He took a deep breath and tried to stay focused on the moment. As they drew closer, he realized he had quite forgotten what the venue was called.
*Kugen is a major electronics manufacturer in SE making everything from phones and handheld consoles to personal computers.
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