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(( stressed Poor Rai...))

Some people's faces flush when they get angry. Rai was not one of those people. His anger manifisted itself in his already light lips losing even more of their color. And he was very angry indeed as the door slammed in his face for the second time in a matter of moments. How dare they treat him like this?! He had never been treated like that in his entire life! And those guards, what, did they pull any pig they could from the countryside to guard the castle? They had no manners at all...

But a locked door was impossible to argue with. So the tight lipped Rai'ak D'lora turned and picked up his small bundle, his white robes pristinely constrasting with the filth around him. It had been a rather ugly entrance after all. Maybe it was a good thing he hadn't gone through the kitchens. Walking quickly through the night, he had regained his serene and somewhat haughty composure before making it halfway down the street.

No good fortune waited for him in the city however. As he worked his way towards the front entrance, the tiny narrow streets wound in strange patterns, almost losing the young man in their close confines. He had never really been outside the temple, and the perils of the city assaulted him at every curve of the cramped roads. By the time he finally came within sight of the palace's main gates, he had nearly been run down by a loose horse, assaulted by a mob of children asking for blessings, and worst of all, he had almost been sprayed by burning oil from a vendor selling fried dogs tails. They even ate those? Disgusting...

Still, he had managed to keep perfectly clean, and he held himself as if he owned the city while making his way up the long white stone path to the palace's main gate. Not an uncommon sight this near the temple, his silver lined priest's robes flowed to a stop as he politely requested admittance from the guards blocking his way. In the back of his mind, he went back over his short trip through the city, and wondered how people could stand to live like that...

((Ack, sorry it's taken me so long. I just moved out of the dorms and back to my house... Really glad to be back, but already missing college life))

With an incline of his head, Rai swept past the guard and into the palace. His haughty expression faded into a somewhat more pleasant one as the page approached. This suited his taste much better than the filthy rear entrance. The silvery circlet in his hair glinted as he acknowledged the page with a dip of his head and offered the boy his small bundle. Following the boy through the palace, Rai observed the halls he was led through carefully.

The architecture was very similar to that of the temple, but more ornate. A servant passing in front of them caught Rai's dark eyes as he dissapeared into the wall. Upon closer inspection, it was merely a tiny passage hidden behind a tapestry. A frown furrowed the pencil thin brows in his pale face, he didn't like when people could approach unobserved. As they continued through the palace, Rai noticed more and more such passages, and he concluded that a majority of the servant's work must be done without the nobles seeing. Back at the temple, the alcoytes had all taken turns serving for the most part, so there was no need to hide them. Rai was no longer dealing with priests though, rather politicians and nobles. He would have to act accordingly.

When the page finally stopped and left Rai alone, the priest surveyed the foyer. It almost reminded him of Faile's room, with those little things on display all over the walls. Turning around slowly to take in the entire room, the picture of the city brought a humorless smile to his face. It looked so much more simple in the picture. His soft hands raised to ensure the silver circlet was holding his shining black hair in place as he finished surveying the room. The picture above the far door gave him pause. The moon god, giving the queen power. He briefly wondered if it was still the same way now, the queen relying on Lumos for her power. Letting his hands fall behind him, he studied the picture intently. It must have been a brilliant work once, but sadly, now the details were faded and smudged.

Recalling the luminous works of art in the shrine of wonders, Rai tilted his head slowly. He hadn't tried anything like those beautiful forms made purely of light yet, but perhaps now would be a good time. And what more fitting to work on than a picture of Lumos? The reassuring moonlight from the ceiling seemed to whisper a soft yes to him. Stepping back a single pace, Rai's dark eyes became rimmed with gentle blue light.

The food on the table sat untouched, but in the quiet room it underwent an odd transformation. The tarts which had been sitting in a ray of moonlight darkened slowly, until they were in a deep shadow. A crystal glass of water which sat next to them caught the light differently, sending small bright pinpoints from its carved facets. The silver tray which the refreshments were laid out on took on a burnished look, becoming darker, but reflecting light far more clearly, almost like a mirror. Then, the light slowly returned to normal and the food took on its more ordinary look.

The light no longer shown from behind Rai's dark eyes, but it reflected off them as if he were staring at the moon. The light came from the picture of the coronation though, not the moon. The formerly dingy looking crown was now a circlet of pure light, shedding gentle rays throughout the room. Lumos himself seemed more ghostly now, only his outlines were visible, traced in light, and he seemed to be almost an extension of the preistess's soul. More than an extension though, closer to an expansion, a representation of something greater than a mere priestess. The queen had gone from a beautiful woman to a breathtaking one. Soft light caressed her cheeks, and the stern shadows that the original artist had painted were softened by rays of moonlight threading across the picture.

A contented expression lay on Rai's pale face, in the light of the painting a small smile could be seen on his face. The haughty lines around his eyes softened as he stared at the picture, and the smile crept into his eyes as well. Despite his height and imperious white robes, he looked like a little boy, staring in awe at some wonder.

((And, ooc... He just overlaid it with light. Didn't change the painting at all, just made some places emit light, some places are lightened, and a few were darkened.))

Faile'Ania's voice was quiet. She had no wish for the rest of the envoy to hear her words, and years of practice in the cloisters had taught her a tone that didn't carry well. She didn't particularly want to say this anyway, however the poor corporal looked like he was sitting on pins and needles. He kept darting glances around as if every shadow were alive, and she wished to ease his mind a bit. So, with a small gesture, the priestess pulled her escort aside.

"Corpral Vellar. You're far too nervous. Lumos will protect us..."

Trailing off, the young woman's face creased in thought. She had no idea how to say this without either breaking her vows, or sounding outright silly. And saying that Lumos would protect them sounded like something a child might say. But Faile'Ania D'lora, despite the fact she was used to the temple, and was entirely outside her comfort zone, was still a determined woman. Setting her lips into a rather determined line, she spoke again. As she spoke, a slight transformation occured. Her voice filled with sincerity, and her large silvery eyes softened, with an expression of trust. The title of protectress had fallen from her for the time being, for now she was a simple soldier, a person.

"You may or may not be aware corporal, but Lumos has his own soldiers. Although few in number, some priests learn the ways of combat. I am one of these, so please, consider me a soldier while considering our safety. I can fight as well as any of your men, and Lumos protects me. Not just with faith sir, but physically as well. I can protect not only myself, but others. Please, set your mind at ease, the moon god will aid us if need be.

Then, with a smile and a slightly raised tone she spoke again. All the candor in her eyes became veiled as her silvery voice wafted through the night air, and her sincere tones changed into those of respect. It was not a soldier, nor a even a human who addressed the corporal now, but Lady D'lora. She had not changed, more than taken on a new face. She was like the moon. It could go through many phases, from a crescent to a full, yet still remain the moon. Likewise, she could take on many countenances, yet still be herself.

"Thank you for your time good sir"

With that, and a gentle nod, the priestess glided back to the envoy. Houaka awaited her.

Things didn't look to inviting from the air as Vermillion swept over the light hills of Pearle heading for the captial. He knew he was being watched and no doubt word would reach the Queen before he landed in one way or another. However the delegates, along for the ride, needed to get things started in order to bring peace to the two kingdoms no matter how bad the feeling of distrust.

Vermillion caught sight of the palace and began is glide decent for landing, it would be another half hour till touchdown at the courtyard. It was in his best hopes that pitchforks and torches did not greet them, but someone to whom they could at least reason with to get access to the queen to make their full intentions clear. This would be the most critical point of all the negoiations. Convincing the queen to let them stay even for a few days, and those few days would be the most scrutinized from all the people.

Vermillion adjusted for the last time dropping his feet to land, and curved his wings back as well as cupping them a bit to downsweep into a hover above his landing spot. His forward momentum carried him the last few feet before coming to a stop above the courtyard which was now admist a terrrible downdraft that threw up dustclouds and bent the trees.

Vermillion's talons touched the kingdom of pearle after roughly 3 hours flight time. He folded his wings and folded his tail around him to get it off the courtyard wall and he looked awkward to say the least with his feet placed so that his forearms and hind legs didn't end up in what appeared to be well off flower beds.

Vermillion shifted out of his natural form into that of a human appearing person which took up less space then if he stayed as a dragon. He was still rather nervous since they stood on the doorstep of a nation that new all to well of war and infiltration by enemies. It worried him that no one had yet made contact with them, he moved to the only place he had any kind of defensive protection, and leaning against the south wall he waited for someone.