Herald of Steel

Adhania’s royal courtroom was almost like a separate building, located to the side of the main palace. Thus it took some time for Alexander to make his way from his room. And as he approached the busy building, he could not help but once again admire the sight.

This was not his first time coming here, but that did not diminish any of the wonder.

Sprawling around the complex was a carpet of beautiful gardens and courtyards, paved with stones and filled with vibrant autumn flowers and plump fruit trees that were gently swaying in the breeze.

Many noble lords and ladies could be seen taking walks around the place, picking flowers and fruits as gifts and souvenirs, while others rested and reclined by the benches and soft couches laid out under beautiful, colorful shades.

Alongside them occasionally walked a few priests and smartly dressed slaves, their steps swift and hurried, as they ignored all these highly ranked individuals and simply bolted towards the main door carrying large stacks of scrolls and paper.

That was Alexander’s destination too, hence he followed them with his own pace, until he finally came face to face with the front entrance- a heavy oak door, towering over him like a giant, in laid with magnificent wooden carvings various animals, real and mythological, and large enough to let two elephants pass side by side.

It was guarded by a team of six, armed to the teeth men, carrying heavy shields and shiny, silver plated scabbards, and when they slowly pushed open the door for Alexander after the bow, the heaviness and sturdiness of the structure were laid out to bear for all.

It appeared as if it would not break even if the whole mountain were to fall on it.

The interior of the premises was equally beautiful- consisting of a vast, cathedral like hall, made of solid granite and marble and vaulted with towering dome shaped ceilings.

The walls were carved and painted with even more beautiful murals and designs, while the many enormous stone columns, symmetrical and holding the giant structure with strength and stability, were draped over with exquisite linen and wool tapestry of gold and silver.

These great works of art depicted all kinds of things- retelling of epic battles, the origins of Adhan as a city, stating many foundational laws that made the bedrock of Adhania’s governance, and even the lineage of some of the most ancient and influential ruling houses.

And helping to illuminate these works were enormous transparent glass windows, placed all around the solid walls, thus letting in the golden sunlight and making the whole place glow.

While from up above, the warm glow of the many gleaming chandeliers cast a warm, regal glow down on the polished floor and casting fantastic shadows on the many gold patterns etched around the room.

The enormous room was packed and as soon as Alexander made his entrance, all the finely dressed lords and ladies instantly turned to give him a curious, expectant look. This court had been set up solely for Alexander and thus they were all eager to hear what he had to say.

Alexander only subtly acknowledged the gazes as he steadily made his way over the thick red carpet, until he stood just before the elevated steps.

There his nose became quickly stimulated by the gentle aroma of the burning incense, and his eyes rested on the gilded throne- it was an ornate masterpiece carved from dark wood, inlaid with jewels and crowned with the royal crest.

Alexander would be lying if he said there was not even a small part of him who wished to one day occupy the place. Especially as he quite detested the sight of that very plump man dressed in gaudy clothes sitting on the fluffy red cushions.

“Your Majesty.” Producing a respectful facade, Alexander first greatly bowed to his king, “Your Royal Highness,” before switching his address to the bulging Queen Mother sitting beside the man on a smaller chair, “It is a great honor to be invited here.”

“Lord Alexander. Welcome to Adhan.” Ptolomy gave a gentle smile in response before regally gesturing for Alexander to raise his head and chuckling, “It is a great joy for us that you came. We are all very anticipant to hear tales of great exploits against Tibias.”

Alexander had to try hard not to roll his eyes at these words… because what it really meant was that Ptolomy could not wait to see his presents from Tibias- which was on top of the package Alexander had already sent some years ago.

But Alexander knew this was coming, so without further ado, he kept the subsequent small talk short and let the procession of gifts flow.

The first items to be revealed were several chests filled to the brim with gold and silver cups, utensils, and jewelry, carried by bulging, muscular men, half naked with upper torsos shimmering with oil.

Many noble ladies sent armorous looks at them, biting their lips in anticipation, as traditionally, the carrier of gifts was also part of the package. They were anticipant of tasting the new flesh, and were soon even joined by a few interested men.

Their eyes similarly wandered by the next displays, which were rolls and rolls of expensive clothes, exquisite glass products, and scrolls of beautiful calligraphy done on papyrus, all carried by a small army of beautiful, daintily clad slave women, adorned in beautiful, expensive pearl jewelry.

Penultimately came a few carts of the best weapons and armor from Adhan, dragged by horses of the highest quality and dressed magnificently in golden barding, making many warriors, including the royal bodyguards around Ptolomy glean with amazement. The quality of the steel from Zanzan and its workings were well known by now and thus many hearts itched to get even just a single piece.

Saving the best for the last… came something that caused the already excited court to lose their composure. This was certianly a rare event given the noble lords and ladies were no strangers to spectacles.

Yet when they saw this… numerous sighs of amazement, exclamation and even fear rang out in the huge hall- lumbering towards them side by side were two adult elephants!

“Wh… what!” Even the pretending to be calm and solemn Ptolomy lost his cool, so much so that he abruptly stood up from his throne, his eyes quivering with both fear and excitement.

He had of course never seen such a strange beast before, neither in terms of its huge size or its shape- i.e., something with a trunk and giant white tusks. And thus the thought of possessing such an exotic animal extremely excited the man.

These two were ‘souvenirs’ that Alexander got from Tibias courtesy of the Kaiser family and now fully clad in its battlements, it was indeed a sight to behold.

In fact, even modern day audiences with all their entertainment options would have been taken aback at the amazing wonder, marveling at the heavy, red leather cladding the entire grey body, the menacing steel spikes around those tree stump like feet, the intimidating sharp swords tied around his task, the supple trunk carrying a golden scepter and the red tent pitched atop the humongous animal, where sat a lone man holding a painful looking long whip.

Such a bizarre sight was a first for the nobles and the rounds of amazed words could easily be imagined. Many of the more timid women shirked away from the mammoth beast with great trepidation, almost running towards the end of the hall until they were grabbed and consoled by their significant other.

While on the opposite spectrum, some of the hot blooded, or more accurately foolishly courageous men tried to approach the beast and even touch it, but soon got intimidated, retarded by a sort of invisible pressure that was being exuded by its sheer size.

Thus they simply stood by and watched the most amazing show of their life, where the beasts first sort of bowed by their mahoot’s order, bending their knees and lowering their heads as best they could.

The action instantly caused the plump Ptolomy to give out a giant grin in pride and amazement, while seeing the same thing, Amenheraft frowned with great distaste.

He was too at the court, and naturally he was jealous by this- he wanted that beast to be rather his and much more than that, he wanted to be the host for such a never before seen honor.

However the man’s displeasure soon turned into a bit of wonder as the two elephants, carrying the long, beautiful golden scepters slowly let them go onto a tray carried by a pair of thinly clad slave girls, who then kneeled behind Alexander, still holding the silver tray above their heads.

“Your Majesty, here, I present you the deed to Midshire, the city I took from Sybarsis.” First taking the right scepters, Alexander proved it was hollow by producing a beautifully scrolled paper from it and presenting it to the king with a bent knee.

The deeds, scepter and silver tray were graciously accepted by the minister of rituals who was standing just behind the king, while Ptolomy said a few hackneyed words of praise, royalty and gratitude.

But Alexander hardly paid any attention to much to that, as they were as empty as the man’s sincerity. He simply concentrated on his last scepter, which he now served to Seelima,

“Your Highness, this is a deed to some land in Zanzan for the unborn prince. May the Father bless us all.”