Whither the Crown?

A roleplay transcript by Lyrena Auberan and Iskrin Orin'Darr

:: Lyrena Auberan entered the palace again, clad in full uniform, not long after dawn. The Blood elf looked like she hadn't slept much, reasonably so. It was only yesterday that the King had vanished from the palace without a trace, just a day after a sudden infiltration of the palace by the King's very own brother, resulting in an altercation that no one had witnessed directly, but that Malekith had come out victorious. With Malekith claiming his fraternal attacker was put down for good this time - and the King being riddled with wounds he needed time to recover, it made little sense why the monarch would so suddenly flee the palace without so much as a trace. All of these thoughts raced through Lyrena's mind as she walked around the palace. She was distracted enough that upon entering the throne room, she didn't immediately notice the sole man seated at the council table. The Dame Commander narrowed her eyes. It was Iskrin, and for the first time in a while, not dressed in armor. Lyrena made her way over to her fellow elf, who seemed to be writing in a book. "First Estril.", she tiredly greeted. He could tell her morale was not high, though she came across as focused enough to conduct a meeting with. At first, she said nothing. She peered at the empty throne, and grumbled. "Your AmranKai, have they started the search?", she decided to ask. "My men have been scouring the city. But it is… Clear, that wherever he is, it will not be here, anymore."

:: Iskrin Orin'Darr sat with his brows knitted deep in thought. The reports in front of him fell mainly into three categories: information about Malekith's potential location, reports from AmranKai and others about the events of the days leading up to Malekith's disappearance, and reports on the city and wider kingdom and its current military, financial and emotional situation. None of them were terribly helpful. He had informed the High King of the disappearance and they had yet to respond with orders. He knew what the inevitable first step would be, which was why he had begun the process of picking up the reigns - at least for now. What would happen next was… unpredictable. He rubbed at the coldness in his chest, well-aware of the consequences of managing this situation poorly and concerned that he had already been absent when Caldiin had put in an unexpected appearance. These ruminations caused his frown to deepen until, with an effort, he cleared his mind of unhelpful thoughts. At length, he looked up at the sound of footsteps and the slightly belated announcemenet from Corporal Restogan that the Dame Commander was entering the Throne Room. He watched the Dame Commander trudge over to him, the usual spring gone from her step. He did not stand and barely looked up as she approached. Finally, once she was next to him, he pointedly rolled up the scrolls and parchments he had been studying and pushed them away from him, finally turning slightly to acknowledge her presence and questions. "Dame Commander," he said in response to her greeing. "It seems that things have not gone well in my absence." He let the observation hang in the air for a moment before addressing her questions. "The High King's AmranKai have indeed begun their search, though they will not put too much effort into it. As I have told you before, Lyrena, King's are disposable and feckless kings are rarely worth the effort of rescue. But we shall see." He studied her face to see how she would respond to this news. "I would suggest you call your men off. They would better serve the Crown by being visible on the streets to calm fears and uncertainty about the current power vacuum." He rubbed his temples in thought. "I have read much about the last few days, Lyrena. But I would hear from your lips that which you know of this Caldiin and the events leading up to Malekith's disappearance."

:: Lyrena waited patiently, at first, as the First Estril finished up and set aside his reading materials. He could tell she had expected more urgency than Iskrin displayed, in regards to Malekith specifically. Iskrin's hanging observation was not unnoticed. Lyrena's eyes narrowed, and she huffed quietly through her nose, before looking away for a moment. The man would quickly tell that the Blood elf felt guilty about what had happened, even though she tried to hide it under a guise of sternness expected of a guard commander. Her eyes squinted a bit as Iskrin spoke the way he did of Malekith - as replaceable, not urgent, 'feckless'. She didn't approve of the language, but decided to answer Iskrin's last questions instead. "The palace was infiltrated in the night. Only by him. His brother.", she recalled what she had been told. "It seemed Malekith sensed his brother's coming. Somehow. The air in this room chilled. Until it was freezing enough to kill. One Guardian died.", she said. "I asked the King about it, the day after. Before his disappearance. He wanted the Guardians to leave, knowing Caldiin would kill them. All gates and windows were blocked with thick ice, by the time the battle began. No one saw Caldiin coming, otherwise. As if he showed up once the King was alone. The fight lasted only a few minutes. Flashes of green magic were seen. King Malekith prevailed. By the time I arrived, the battle was over. King Malekith was here. Right here.", she gestured to Iskrin's chair. "He told me only that he had killed his brother for good, this time. And that his body had been taken care of. And… That he had broken his engagement with Queen Etain. He would not say why.", she said, sighing, and rubbing at the ridge of her nose. "…Before disappearing, one Guardian saw the King go to his personal vault, for something. Then, at some point, he simply vanished. No one saw him leaving, or escaping through the streets. My hunch is that he used some magic relic capable of teleportation, from his vault."

:: Iskrin steepled his fingers in front of him as he listened to the Dame Commander. He studied her as she spoke, taking in the long, pointed ears, bright red skin, glowing yellow eyes. He made a conscious effort to ignore the more alluring aspects of her physical being - such considerations needed to be made with a clinical eye only. He reflected that she had proven solid and reliable to date and understood - and suspected she understood - that her role in the coming weeks would be vital. Her loyalty to the Crown was still untested, he felt, though her dedication to Ansa`fel itself had been obvious on a few occasions now and her personal loyalty to Malekith had been kindled through their shared experience of Skolvor's ambush. He could see on her face small traces of the discomfort she felt as he spoke dimissively of Malekith, but mostly he heard a degree of guilt and control in her voice. The real question, he felt, was whether she was hungry enough - or fond enough of Malekith - to do something foolish, or wise enough to take the lead of the First Estril. There were powers at play in Sa'Viir-Arin that could make the transition of power to a Regent and then to a new Monarch either easier or much, much harder. He smiled as she spoke, hoping to encourage her to feel at ease. "It sounds as though you could have done very little to prevent the encounter between Malekith and Caldiin, Dame Commander. Blood and magic usually overpower even the best laid plans. And you are not responsible for Malekith's disappearance." He leaned back in his chair and then stood up, moving slowly to the window to look out over the Hollow to the Great Crystal. "Do not think me harsh for dimissing Malekith, Lyrena," he said without turning to look at her, his voice just loud enough for her to hear, but not loud enough to carry to the Corporal at his post. "The truth is, I'm afraid, that he is dead." Now he turned, studying her response to this news. He continued in his hushed tone: "It is Caldiin that we are seeking. This is a hunt. Not a rescue." He stepped closer to her, lowering his voice even further, coming close enough that he sought to grip her by the shoulders and look into her eyes. "And this is a secret you must keep for now. Do you understand?"

:: Lyrena took a step back as the First Estril stood up from his chair. She watched him consider her words as he walked around the large chamber to the windows. "I should have doubled the Guardians in the palace here. After what happened in the woods. After the King told me that he knew his brother would live. And likely come for him again.", the Blood elf said once Iskrin tried to dismiss her blame in the situation. "I thought instead to secure the city. The barracks. Lady Silmariel told me that wretched snake would return with a vengeance. He had promised so.", she said, before shaking her head, and grumbling, dismissing her own words, they were irrelevant now. She looked with more urgency at Iskrin, after taking a deep breath. "You were not fond of him.", she accused, an attempt to be blunt, rather than judgmental. "But if the King can be attacked and go missing without a harsh and loud response from the rest of us, then is this a kingdom to be feared?" That changed when Iskrin stepped closer for a more intimate exchange. At first, the Dame Commander listened without response on her visage, but after a while, Iskrin could tell that she had considered this same theory as well. "…It has crossed my mind.", she replied, quietly. Her eyes closed, and she grumbled softly again. "To what end?", she asked when requested to be secretive. "So that his murderer has a quieter kingdom to escape through? He should be pressed.", she suggested, almost a bit too loudly, near the end. "…And how are you certain?", she asked again, her head tilted. "Have you been speaking with someone I have not?"

:: Iskrin moved a few steps away from her. "Leave us, Corporal," he called and watched as the soldier left the chamber. "I am fed up of whispering," he said, turning back to Lyrena. He listened to her response to the the news of Malekith's death, as well as her preceding accusations about his own feelings toward the king with a calm, thoughtful expression on his face. Once she had finished speaking. He took a few breaths, turning potential answers around in his mind. He decided to address her points in order. "Firstly, it is not my job to like or dislike Malekith or any other King that my master appoints to serve the High Kingdom. They are not usually appointed because they are nice people. My opinion of Malekith," he emphasised the word, "was that he thought too much of himself, acted too rashly and without due consultation, and indulged his own passions too generously. He lacked refinement and control. But that is only my view." He shrugged almost apologetically. "It is not the only view and in many ways he was well-liked, and for good reason. But my job is to assess and mitigate risks to the High Kindom and he was, without doubt, a significant risk." He looked at her, hoping that she could understand the perspective, even though she might not agree with it. "Secondly," he continued after a moment's pause, "you ask the wrong question. It is not whether Sa'Viir-Arin is to be feared, but wether the High Kingdom is strong and to be feared. If we respond in a way that suggests that our Kings and Queens are liabilities, we offer our enemies pressure points to attack. If, however, our response indicates that killing one of our monarchs is as water off a duck's back and that the mechanisms are in place to ensure that such an act has barely any impact on us, then our enemies will give up on the idea that assassinating monarchs for that particular reason is of any practical use." He paused, watching her again. "Of course, I don't think that is why Caldiin murdered his brother. We may assume his motives were hatred, jealousy, rage… one need only study Malekith's rather well-guarded history to know why Caldiin would have sought his death so fervently. I suspect Caldiin has run because he realised that we have ways of knowing whether our monarchs are alive and kicking, or whether they have been replaced by an imposter." He looked at her pointedly. "I will not share those ways with you, I'm afraid. But know that I am certain it was Malekith who died in the fight." He moved to stand behind the dark, wooden chair set at the base of the dias on which the Sa'Viir-Arin throne stood. He gripped it's pointed metal pommels and looked at the crystal hanging in the centre of the throne room for a moment. "Our most important business," he said after a few moments thought, "is to fill this chair with a Regent until a new king or queen is appointed or - as is the custom in Ansa`fel to date - elected. I am open to suggestions," he finished, interested in how she might reply.

:: Lyrena watched the Corporal leave, at which point, the pair had more freedom to discuss this matter at the volume it deserved. She looked back at Iskrin, listening. The First Estril's personal views she seemed to forgive - or disregard, rather. But at the mention of Iskrin's opposite view of how a King's disappearance or murder would make the High Kingdom look, her brows perked. It was the opposite of her own views, and he could tell she wasn't entirely sold on his own, but said nothing of it for now. Upon the mention of studying Malekith's history, her eyes fluttered, as if she remembered something. "The palace Guardians have told me that while some things are missing from Malekith's room, a few of his ledgers and journals remain. For now, they have not been opened, but…", she took a deep breath. "I think they should be. They could give us invaluable clues. That decision I will leave to you. You would better know what to do with what you find on those pages either way.", she conceded. The Blood elf watched Iskrin approach the regent throne, and ask her that fateful question. Her golden eyes met his own, searchingly. "The Lady Silmariel," she began, not as a suggestion, though, as her statement soon resumed. "Has she not proposed herself? Have you spoken with her yet?", she asked, but didn't await an answer. "If not, I think she will. You know I do not trust her fully.", she reminded rhetorically, stepping closer to the First Estril. "If there must be a Regent…", she gritted her teeth. "There could be a council. She would have to be on it, I imagine. I think you must be, too.", she proposed, expecting Iskrin to quickly dismiss that final bit, considering his primary job as a man working in the shadows. "You said it yourself. This concerns the High Kingdom now. You will be the High King's voice, in the council.", the Blood elf reasoned. "If you need a third…", she hummed. "You, I trust. But her, I would like to keep an eye on. My kingdom, back home. In the absence of our King, the leader of the Farstriders, our ranger league, was installed as Regent. But, we… Had more of a need for martial law then, than Ansa'fel does now, here. Either way, I imagine the decision is yours. Or the High King's."

:: Iskrin nodded, deliberating on Lyrena's thoughts and insights. "Thank you," he said with a genuine smile. He did not answer her question about whether he had spoken with Silmariel, but instead focused on her suggestion for a council. "It is a possibility," he conceded, though the doubt was evident in his voice. "My experience has been that decisions made by committees tend to take too long and end up too indecisive." He paused thoughtfully. "It would have its advantages though…" he trailed off, leaving the thought for a moment. "I shall attend to Malekith's chambers and journals. If you happen to enounter Queen Etain in the next hours, please tell her that I would appreciate an audience with her at her convenience." He sat heavily back down in the chair where Lyrena had originally found him and pulled the documents towards himself again with a sigh. "And now you will have to excuse me, Dame Commander. There is much that needs to be done to make it look as though the murder of a king is not a troubling event for the High Kingdom. Please give your guards appropriate orders to show concern that Malekith is missing, but not to behave as though it is a disaster that will have any real impact on the integrity of the kingdom. Also call them off their search duties and reassure them that the AmranKai are better placed to find the king. Their focus should be on the city and its people." He turned from her, his gray eyes focusing on the scroll in front of him, and then added, almost casually: "I appreciate your support and loyalty, Lyrena. Keep a close eye on Silmariel for me. You are dismissed."

:: The Blood elf listened as the First Estril vocally considered her suggestion. That he did not make a decision on the spot, or hint too obviously which option he favored, didn't instil surprise on her face. She then watched as her fellow elf sat back down to return to scouring his reading materials. "Very well, First Estril.", she answered upon her dismissal, with a short delay, as she briefly considered Iskrin's words on loyalty, and keeping an eye on the Lady Silmariel. Lyrena bowed her head, and made her way out of the throne room - perhaps with a bit more vigor than with which she had entered, but with no less on her mind to think about.