Two days after departing the High Capital, Listagan, the caravan escorting Princess Eril Marriph Issea arrived in the City on the Lake, Saha’dryr. The morning was in full swing as she peered between the curtains of her coach. Her fair complexion, mystical blue eyes gazed over her small entourage of knights. Her hair was shoulder length and almost midnight black, layered in tight braids around her ears. Most of them donned the steel platemail, as standard in the Illisean Military but one out of them wore a golden colored mail. Finely forged of a metal known as auginite. The helmet of the same metal was fashioned to appear to be the head of a large, reptilian beast monster known as a basilisk. He was her personal bodyguard, appointed directly by her father, King Mestos Issea IV

  “Sir Atellis?” she called out of the coach’s opening.

  The shimmering golden knight strode over to her, he gave a bow, “Yes milady?” his voice was calm, confident, and the helmet kept his face and emotions a mystery to everyone, including her.

  “How much longer until we reach the Governor’s Estate? It is already getting stuffy in this coach, I never thought the humidity would be so unbearable here in the Low Lands,” her voice was silvery and elegant, as precious as a crystal to him.

  “I have a couple of men seeking out its location now. We won’t be able to take the coach much further anyway, but I shall ensure the citizens here will make way for our company when it is time to escort you.”

  The princess sighed, “Very well. I suppose I can wait a little longer in here. Father did entrust me with trying to negotiate with these unruly savages down here.”

  A figure caught the young knight’s eye, his head turned, and he saw an elf woman and a thin yet quite tall kobold of black fur standing off to the side wearing a blue kamishimo and a long curved sword on his hip. Why does that fellow look familiar? By the gods, he is tall for one of the wolf-folk. A bit over six feet if I wager a guess. He couldn’t take his gaze from the black furred man.

  “Sir Atellis,” the voice of Eril pulled his attention.

  “Yes?”

  “Thank you for being such a diligent and dutiful bodyguard and knight.”

  He nodded and bowed, “It is my highest honor to serve you, Princess Eril.”

  “You said you were raised as a commoner but your attention to detail and commitment to duty makes me wonder if you are merely downplaying your noble spirit.”

  “I spoke the truth to you milady, every word to you and His Majesty who raised me to Knighthood. I want to find the man that killed my father when I was a boy and being a Knight to the Greatest Kingdom in Ellodysia continent gives me such a privilege for that.”

  “You are a noble and pure soul, Sir Atellis.”

  Two of the knights that were sent to scout ahead returned to the caravan with three guards of Saha’dryr. “Sir Chester Atellis, we brought some of the City Guards with information.” One of the knights clasped his right fist into the palm of his left hand. A salute used in Illisea Kingdom.

  Chester gave a nod, “Very well, let’s hear it.”

  The first guard of Saha’dryr was a thin, gilken man, green scaled dressed in cloth with a short bow on his back. “This is an unexpected visit from the High Lands, who is among your party?” the scaly man asked.

  “I am Chester Atellis and within our entourage we have her highness of Listagan, Princess Eril Marriph Issea. We would like to hold conference with Gustav, the Governor of Saha’dryr,” he said respectfully yet almost demanding.

  The gilken man and the two human guards with him exchanged glances, “The Princess of Illisea is here?” one of the men asked.

  Chester opened the door of the coach, and a young, elegant, dark haired human woman emerged from it. Her white dress flowed with each step as Chester remained to her left. “I am Eril Marriph Issea, Princess of Illisea and the Shining Jewel of Listagan. We have traveled far to seek an audience with the Governor of Saha’dryr for diplomatic purposes.”

  The three City Guards gave deep bows as the gilken man answered. “The Governor’s Estate is toward the center of the lake, a round wooden building with a floating garden surrounding it.”

  Being guided by the three Saha’dryr guards, the escort continued on foot through the interconnected city on the lake through its well maintained polished wooden plank pathways and round huts that floated well on the water. When they reached the Governor’s Manor, it was a two story building of fine wood with the emblem of Saha’dryr above the double doors. The emblem was a large lily pad with two leaves engrained, one in the upper left and the other in the lower right and a trident that ran in between them. Thirty paces before the doors though was a long gate of light colored wood and silver enlaced the top and bottom of the wide gate. It was no more than six feet in height and the slats of wood in between allowed visibility of the manor.

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  Two fox-like women guarded the gate, dressed in leather vests and baggy britches of red, with the emblem of Saha’dryr on the right side of the vests told the Illiseans they were personal guards to the Governor. Each of the two women had white and blonde fur and the hair from the top of their head was almost the same; high ponytail but one had green and the other black. They kept spears strapped to their backs ready to defend this place with their lives.

  The City Guards explained the situation to the fenara women, one; the black haired one opened the gate and slipped inside to make a report to another to alert the Governor. After a few moments, the Illiseans were granted entry inside. The floating garden outside the building had many interesting flowers that Princess Eril had never seen before, a cluster of blue petals with pink interiors growing from a small patch of water-logged soil, the flower was like a giant lilac, as large as her head. Another was red like a rose but only four petals on it. Vegetables and fruit grew here too, most of them were covered in vines that gave a majestic nature, different colored cabbages and melons of pink and green, yellow and purple. Chester was reminded of his youth to a degree, but it was a past so hazy to him now, he knew he was born in the Low Lands, but the memories of his mother raising him in the High Lands obscured the other memories.

  An elderly human man stood at the doorstep; he was thin and looked as if his lifetime had passed some ten years ago but his sunken eyes still had some life left in them and his gray hair was neatly tied into a ponytail. His voice sounded strained and out of breath as he opened the door slowly, “Princess of Illisea, welcome to the Governor’s Estate of Saha’dryr.”

  Eril gave a curtsy while Chester bowed before the servant, “We humbly thank you,” Chester said before addressing the other knights. “Two others and I shall accompany her highness, the rest of you, await us here,” he gestured to two other armored knights to follow.

  Inside the Manor, it was crafted of fine wood with planked floors covered in ornately decorated area rugs of blues and greens. The floor was spotless and had a wax sheen. Support columns led up to a balcony that went around the entry room and two doors were on each side. Wall sconces glowed gently with a tiny flame as sunlight was vibrant through the windows indicating the morning had finally risen above the cliffs of Illisea. A carpeted staircase was ahead with a banister that went up each side and the post was in the likeness of a large fish.

  The thin servant moved ahead of them toward the stairs. “Please, if you would follow me.” He escorted them to the nearest door to the right of the stairs. Opening it, it was a corridor of five paces wide and stretched for nearly twenty paces before a set of double doors.

  A maid exited the room at the other end, bowing her way out and carrying a plate full of half-eaten fish and vegetables. She was a blonde haired elf, her violet eyes expressed meekness. The thin man stopped to ask, “Is the Good Sir available for company?”

  The elf woman curtsied, “I believe so, yes. But his temperament is fickle this day. He has lost contact with one of his consultants and no explanation has been given yet.”

  “I see,” the thin old man said before giving a glance to Chester. “Tact is of the essence and more delicate than ever today.” The maid hurried onto her other duties, after the old servant gave her a nod that excused her.

  A gentle double rap on the double doors, “My Good Sir, I bring our esteemed guests from Illisea to see you.”

  A rough voice was heard within, “Come, come.”

  The room was modest, a large semi-circle desk to the left of the doorway, two tapestries hung on the wall behind it. One being a violet, green, and blue piece and the other was the emblem of Saha’dryr. Sitting behind the desk in a cushioned, oaken high back chair sat a large, rounded man. Sun kissed golden hair to his shoulders with a few scars across his face, his green eyes met the visitors.

  “Welcome to Saha’dryr,” said the large-bellied human as he got up to reach across in a handshake of the knights and gave a bow to Princess Eril. “I am Gustav, Governor of the City on the Lake.”

  “Well met Lord Gustav,” said Chester. “I am Chester Atellis, Knight and bodyguard to her highness, Princess Eril Marriph Issea, Crown Princess of Illisea.”

  Gustav interlocked his hands behind his back as he turned left to gaze toward the window leading outside that had a gorgeous view of the placid waters of the expansive lake. “I take it that the terms of the current peace treaty are coming to an end?” Gustav cut to the heart of the matter.

  Eril placed a hand over her chest and gave a gentle bow, “Lord Gustav, the grand capital, Listagan wants nothing more than to extend our peace to the Low Lands and continue the prosperous relationship we have enjoyed all these last twenty years.”

  Gustav ran a finger over the scars on his brow, “At what cost this time? The last to come here to negotiate terms of the last treaty was one of the advisors to his Majesty after we suffered the tragedy of Osinara and Whastighan.”

  “My Lord, the undead had infested both of those towns and the Low Land Unification Army even declined sending in further aid,” Eril broke in. “I understand that those tragedies happened when I was little more than a babe in my mother’s embrace, but I have been educated by the best scholars of Illisea─”

  “Enough!” Gustav said slamming the flat of his right hand on his desk.

  Eril jumped and Chester gritted his teeth. How dare he raise his tone to Her Highness. Chester’s helmet hid the anger swelling on his face.

  “We both know history is always written by the victor in war. However, seeing the daughter heir appear in person as opposed to a mere Advisor or Chancellor tells me the terms are…going to be interesting this time,” a grin cracked across his scarred face.