章 4: Lords and Ladies
For a moment, no one said anything. Another of the contestants finally took the initiative. He was clothed in green and gold, sporting brown hair pinned in a high knot and held by a golden brooch.
-'You presume too much, beggar. Leave right now.'
Behind Moss, almost all conversation and noises had ceased. It also did not escape his attention that his interlocutor carried a sword. In fact, the peasant might well have been the only one unarmed in the whole place. Still, he advanced and replied.
-'I am not a beggar, my prince. I am here to participate in the trial to come.'
Someone hurried behind him, but the youngster in red lifted a hand. The rushing stopped. All those who stood on the plaza looked at each other. The one who had addressed him however soon resumed the talk.
-'That would be most unexpected. Can you prove it ?'
Now his hand rested on the hilt of his sword. The old man was reluctant to show the token he had been given. He was defenceless here and the luxurious plate he carried was surely worth the trouble of robbing a geezer. But did he have a choice? His hand had just begun to move when the blond young lord interrupted him.
-'Brother Elios, why bother? Whether he is lying or not, surely the sect will not be fooled. Just let him be.'
The other had a cold gaze towards Moss.
-'If brother says so.'
Still, his hand rested on his sword. The young man who had taken his defence bowed lightly towards his comrade.
-'Thank you. As of you...' He was now talking to the peasant. '... I would appreciate if you kept a low profile. You understand that a minimal etiquette must be observed, I am sure.'
Mossed took the final step and bowed gratefully. He dared not speak again and just went on the farther place from the group he could find on the plaza. Discussions and activities resumed at once on the background but the small group did not cease to observe him. The old man had sweated quite a lot and his heart was pumping hard. Still, he was fine, and he thanked the gods for that. He grabbed the token in his jacket. The feeling of it reassured him somehow.
But hardly had he recovered that a new agitation took on the place. A row of cavalrymen came in in a drumming of hoofs from the entrance. Men who were already there came to speak to the firsts in line. Soon all of them dismounted and dispatched themselves while a big carriage advanced to the centre, escorted by lines of spearmen. It stopped at the stairs. Two persons emerged from it with the help of their servant. A man and a woman, both as young as those who stood on the elevated ground. The man wore straight black jet hair and a light leather armour sumptuously engraved with some kind of demon face. Coloured ribbons of red and purple hanged at his waist and distinguished him from a simple warrior. The woman wore a light pink and white silk dress as well as a complex entanglement of braids and soft brown hair that went down to her waist. Her face was most beautiful and her figure splendid. Both of them did not lose in beauty to the young master clothed in red.
This very fellow opened his arms at them.
-'Princess Lauren, welcome! And lord Torim as well, of course. We could hardly wait for your arrival. I hope you had a pleasant trip.'
The princess smiled.
-'Thank you, brother Marchen. It is just so. Have you all been waiting here for long ?'
-'Yes, I am afraid. But let me introduce you to those fellow brothers. This is brother Yu of Greencoast, third child of his house.'
The young man bowed respectfully. He wore black and silver hunting clothes, although high end. He was not handsome but had a healthy look to him and a strong build.
-'I am pleased to make your acquaintance.'
-'Then come brother Elios, second child of house Gale, and brother Menlo, heir to Stonebridge. They both come from the Cehelen realm.'
Those he had named paid their respects.
-'Now friends, I already told you about princess Lauren but you may not know lord Torim. His family has been a strong supporter of the Feyhan royal family for centuries. Your presence here is a pleasant surprise, my lord.'
The interested nodded.
-'A pleasure to meet you all.' He said.
Then the look of the princess fell onto Moss.
-'And who is this man ?'
Marchen had an awkward smile.
-'We do not know. he claims to be a participant.'
Moss did not know where to stand nor what to do. He just bowed at them. The princess had an intrigued look at him but soon reported her attention. Nothing more was said of the matter and the conversation switched to a lower volume.
And so they waited. When the sun got at his highest, A cloud detached itself from the heavy mass that spun around the mountains. No one noticed at first, but after some time a small rumour rose all over the shrine. It soon became clear that it was not a natural phenomenon. The cloud got closer and closer, shining a pure white under the sun. Well, Moss had already seen clouds at close range but not in this kind of scenario. The general excitement was now palpable. Men pointed fingers, shared nervous joke or just stood in awe.
When the cloud got within a hundred meters, all could discern that it was ridden by several people. They landed swiftly. The cloud dissolved against the ground, thus allowing them not to move an inch. They were five. One elder, two middle-aged men and two youngsters. All of them wore white robes and coats. The only accessory that differentiated their outfits was a large piece of cloth tightened against their tights. The elder's was white, one middle-aged and one young man wore it black. The remaining had purple belts. All of those had a different symbol embroidered on.
The elder moved forward and spoke.
-'All of those who have a token, please show it to me.'
He had long silver hair partly tied on top of his head. His eyes were bright and grey, his presence overbearing. Moss and the young nobles all instinctively bowed to him.
Torim walked to him first with his token in hand. Marchen went after him. Their plate looked the same as Moss's, which relieved him a bit. The elder nodded at those. He had a gesture to invite their owners to stand between him and his colleagues. All of the others followed. The peasant was last. He made himself move forward. The older cultivator looked at him straight in the eyes when he came to face him. His face did not betray a single emotion. Behind him, however, young master Yu displayed plain contempt, although he did not utter a single word. It changed to stupefaction when Moss presented his plate. The other old man lowered his gaze on it.
-'Hm.'
He nodded and stood aside to let him pass.
-'No one else ?'
There was no one else.
-'Off we go.'
And so all of them did, the same way the cultivators had come. A soft thing pushed under Moss's feet. All of the contestants struggled to stand for an instant. Soldiers cheered them and shouted goodbyes. The round plaza narrowed in a matter of seconds as they flew higher and higher, going straight for the mountains.
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