"We Were Not Born to Sue..."

[Pharaoh]

To: Dns. Finn Farstrider
Residentia Regia
Palatium Umbrarum, Umbrium

From: His Serene Highness Vrædyn Princeps Pontifex
Officia Ministerii Divinitatis
Templum Solis Radiens, Luxium

(The following is written in the Common Tongue in florid, painstakingly intricate calligraphy.)


Dns. Farstrider,

I have not failed to mark the novel commonality that doth tie us twain. It hath come to my attention that thou art withal branded with a sacred bequeathment, the which we alone in all the world do bear. I would invite thee to attend me on the 20th of Final Solstice at the Prædium Vlahos in the Palatine District of the Luxium, there to discuss our newfound bonds. Perchance to learn aught of the novel boons these gifts do confer.

Prithee alert mine offices if thou wouldst fain accept mine invitation.

Majestically thine,

Thalyus Sol'Aværys Vrædyn Princeps Pontifex

[Finn]

20th Final Solstice, 122 Year of Steel
Prædium Vlahos, Palatine District, Luxium

Upon receipt of the prince's missive, Finn had told Arvælyn as a matter of course, and then he had spoken to his superior in the Silver Sentinels to ensure he was free to make the appointment. Only then did he send a prompt reply; a fussy servus rewrote it entirely in careful script for him.

On the appointed day, he was released from his duties, then returned "home" to bathe and outfit him suitably to meet with the crown prince of Solunarium that wasn't his lover. How he comported himself now affected Arvælyn, as well as both his mother's royal line and his draconic father's. Another fussy servus helped him choose his clothes as well as dress and such—this was unnerving, but he was trying to go with the flow. A touch of kohl helped pale eyes not be washed out against fair skin. A bit of light oil made the toss of wavy hair more articulate. But he kept things sober enough—black to remember that he was a Sentinel even out of uniform, and blue because Arvælyn liked the way it brought out his eyes.

Whether it was some natural grace or a touch of Aværys' majesty, the man's face unpinched, pleased with Finn's presentation before he left for the Luxium. There was a minimum of frippery about him; he was not forgetting his place relative to the god-blooded elves even with their deity's favor.

Finn was early, of course, too used to keeping the affluent and influential happy to allow for less. And so he cooled his heels where they bade him wait.

He didn't know what to expect, having seen the prince publically several times, and the once with Phocion and Dæmon. The royal elf was still a mystery, and Finn didn't know yet whether a shared emblem might be a bridge between them or just another element of the rivalry between the Queen and the Sibylla.

[Pharaoh]

The Prædium Vlahos would be a familiar sight to Finn, at least from without. It was one of six structures, rach identical from the outside, that lay in the foreground of the Palatium Furiarum. The sextet of estates seemed to flank the broad, beautifully manicured path leading up to the palace proper, which was festooned with fountains and gardens galore. In fact, the Prædium Vlahos was directly across from the Prædium Phædryn, which were the two farthest situated from the Blazing Palace itself.

Servants received Finn at the front gates, and led him inside. There was no comment on his earliness for good or ill, he was simply led into a sitting room, offered an effervescent glass of Luxian white wine and told the Princeps Pontifex would be along in short order.

The sitting room was beautifully appointed with sculptures that looked like relics, albeit pristine and uneroded by whatever time passed since their construction. The true centrepiece of the room was a grand portrait of the current paterfamilias of Gens Vlahos, and the very fellow Finn had travelled here to meet.

Portrait of Vrædyn Princeps Pontifex
(c. 110 St.) by Tallus of Tertium

By and by, the elf himself appeared in the doorway. His long neck was rounded by a gold and gem-encrusted usekh broad-collar necklace, which covered much of his chest, though his pale torso was otherwise bare to the waist. There a belt of similar design to the usekh circles his slender waist, above the cream-coloured shendyt that ended above his knees. Gold chain anklets hung over his bare feet which, oddly enough, appeared to be wet. Pale kohl-lined eyes regarded Finn.

"I do apologise for keeping you waiting. An unexpected guest prevailed upon my hospitality and..." He took in a deep breath and sighed it out, "Not the sort one turns away. Join us in the thermæ, won't you?" He gestured, and stalked out into the corridor, leading Finn through the ornate byways until the heat of steaming baths moistened the air and Vrædyn rounded a corner to lead Finn to a chamber with several sunken baths. One of these was occupied by a face that was passing familiar to Finn, although it was worn by more than one person, but there was no doubt to whom this version belonged.

"Finn!" Grinned Aværys, who pushed off the submerged bench seat to float to the edge nearest his two Radiant chosen. He rested his arms on the edge of the bath, and beamed up at them with a wry, vulpine smirk. "Come on in! The water be fine."

► Show Spoiler

[Finn]

Finn was admiring the portrait, glass in hand, when the elf himself arrived. He bowed as was proper given their difference in station, though it felt wrong now to bow to anyone, to defer. He supposed it was the influence of Aværys and his emblem; certainly, it almost felt as though it was tightening around his brow in protest. Given the opportunity, he would certainly beg the prince for some knowledge of what was normal in this instance.

"I admired you in your absence, Your Serene Highness," he said. "Thank you."

Finn hadn't grown up ashamed of nudity, but he had lived in Kalzasi proper long enough to wonder when Solunarians casually bathed together with each other. The walk to the thermae was enough time for him to prepare for the idea of lounging in them with Arvælyn's cousin, but not enough to prepare him for the third party.

The emblem on his forehead blazed to life in response to the divine Presence; thankfully that was flashier than the stirring in his loins. That shamed him, and he hoped it was another one of Aværys' games and not a true response. Finn recovered his aplomb faster than most might in the face of Deus Aværys, but certainly his face was an amusing mask of surprise for a moment.

"Your..." He bowed as he would have to the Queen or to Arvælyn's father, but he realized he didn't know the meet honorific for Deus Aværys. Few spoke to Him directly. "...Radiance."

After a steadying breath, he began to disrobe. If a Moritasi and a royal elf would deign to bathe with a common-born human, so be it. His physique had always been surprising for a musician, perhaps, but it came from a youth spent at the forge, and now his muscles were trained to ride a wyvern and wield a blade as much as they were to strumming strings and tapping his heel to the beat. His Rune of Mesmer was hidden under his hair, but Traversion was clear upon his shoulder.

"I did not know I was only the second person thus... honored by Deus Aværys," he admitted as he stepped carefully into the water. Perhaps it would soothe some of the new tension out of him.

[Pharaoh]

"Indeed?" Vrædyn glanced to his portrait and smiled faintly, "Not the most precise depiction, I'll be bound, but a flattering one. There is, I believe, a unique beauty to portraiture that be lost in more exact representations of a subject. It is to see a person through the biased eyes of another. I quite like the way Tallus saw me." He let out a contented sigh, and paused a moment before turning from the portrait to lead the way to the baths. It seemed that Vrædyn spoke the same antiquated dialect of Common as the Founders.

As Finn's Emblem blazed to life, perhaps he would note that Vrædyn's was less a crown and more a bracer. Rather than rounding his brow, it encircled his left wrist.

"Divine Radiance." Vrædyn corrected Finn's address, and Aværys nodded approvingly.

"I was the original Solar Sovereign, after all..." The demi-deity affirmed, as Vrædyn sat at the edge of the bath and pulled up his shendyt as not to soak it as he dipped his feet into the water.

"In this epoch, thou art." Aværys verified, "In so small part due to thy comeliness..." He noted, as his eyes devoured the milky flesh being bared before him. "Beauty is a blessing bestowed by nature that evoketh divinity. I do believe that beauty is an under-appreciated form of Power that may be wielded passing subtly. Ye both bear it. Subjects wish to be led by a figure that pleaseth their eye. They dream of being close to thee... Perchance to touch thee, and be regarded withal as comely as thee." He ran his tongue over his lips, "Beauty is a sceptre." He drew up alongside Vrædyn's legs, turning his back to the wall and seating himself on the submerged tier that served as a bench rounding the bath. His arm snaked behind Vrædyn's calves to draw them together as he leaned over to place a kiss against the nearest knee, before turning to face Finn.

"Alas, whiles puissant, beauty is also subjective." He grinned devilishly, "Which is why the first gift of Majesty be Resplendence... a talent which bridgeth the gap betwixt the æsthetic tastes of those who do regard ye."

[Finn]

"Divine Radiance," he corrected, nodding his thanks to the princeps. Waist deep in the water, he listened, and he watched as Aværys treated his many times great-grandson with familiarity and affection.

A slight frown marred his brow. Finn knew he was good-looking; he had caught Arvælyn's eye and held it, even as it changed from gold to draconic. Yet, he hardly thought himself so beautiful as to attract the eye of the divine. But he shrugged it off. His position relative to Arvælyn made whatever beauty was his more strategically placed to be transmuted into power as Aværys wished.

"I had noticed more eyes following me," he noticed. "Even when veiled as a Sentinel. Is there... a way to disappear when I need to? Drawing attention isn't always helpful."

Unsure how or where to situate himself in this audience, he decided directly opposite would be too awkward for something clearly informal. He settled for sitting within arm's reach of the God and His favorite, but not so close as to intrude. Of course, if direction were given otherwise, he didn't want to offend.

"Your beauty isn't subjective," he declared, surprising himself. That had come from nowhere. He was going to have to confess to Arvælyn that he seemed to have an infatuation that he could not control. That the face was also worn by his amatus' father was doubly problematic. Perhaps it was just an effect of the divine mark. Perhaps he would learn how to manage it as with the other powers that surely came from this connection.

Though he wanted to drop his gaze, the emblem wouldn't let him. Either it didn't want him bowing, even to Deus Aværys or it was connected to His will or... Finn didn't truly understand what was going on within his own mind these days. He could only hope this didn't presage a return to the neuroses following the beating he took in a Kalzasern alley.

[Pharaoh]

"My first tenet, Finn... the one through which thy Resplendence be conferred... is Sovereignty. Your Emblem is a subject like any other, and thou must learn to command it. Do not permit thy splendour to run roughshod o'er thy whims against thy will." A seductive smile painted Aværys' lips as his eyes roamed Finn's form with great scrutiny and, perhaps, greater relish.

"You have always attracted attention, and you have always coveted it. Thou art an artist, not a stonemason. Claim it when thou wilt, and when thou wouldst fain be plain, command thy lustre to dim. Mine is not a path of subterfuge, but thou mayest appear as thou didst ere My crown did kiss thy brow." He tsked.

"Sit closer, boy." He lifted his other arm, resting it on the edge of the bath. The command did not compel him through any arcane or divine Craft, but his smile was certainly a welcoming one. "I would embrace My Radiant Ones." Vrædyn, seeming almost nervous to do so, ran a hand delicately through the wet, matted hair of the divine adonis, who glanced up approvingly. They lowered back to Finn, as he chuckled in response to the compliment.

"Consider ye, lads... If My Mark might grant thee universal Resplendence to awe the eyes of all who regard thee, consider what My divinity doth for Me. I am built to be beautiful to the many, the better to sate My Hunger, assuage Mine Ambition and ply My Power. Now then..." He smiled from one of his Radiant to the next.

"Whilst thou hast Mine undivided attention, I expect thou might have queries pertaining to the blessing I did bestow upon ye. I encourage ye to pose them." If Finn drew close enough, Aværys would drape an arm over his broad shoulders.

[Finn]

"Dangerous beauty," he murmured to himself, though he edged closer, tucking himself under Aværys' arm. Experience had taught him he hadn't the willpower nor the craft to resist the divine will, and now he was marked and the two of them were linked. Finn was going to have to learn what that meant and how that would shape his life going forward.

He glanced up at Vrædyn, wondering if they would take the time later to have a tête-à-tête, comparing notes. But it was difficult not to let his eyes follow the more familiar jawline of the Deus beside him, who practically hummed with unknowable power.

"If... it is similar to a Rune, then I ought to be able to learn to master Your gift with time and effort. It reacts to Your presence. It reacted to Dæmon's..." He tried to relax into that part of himself that seemed to align with the physical manifestation on his brow. He tried to let the power flow, to blossom and beckon. "Does it work upon Gods and men?" His eyes opened, curious to see if the emblem had any effect upon Aværys Himself, or upon Vrædyn. Finn didn't seek to manipulate with it, but was curious whether their marks would resonate with Deux Aværys, harmonize with His presence.

"I suppose what I'm most curious about is how I fit into Your plans for Solunarium. I grow weary of being an unwitting pawn in the political plans of others. I would at least like to be a lieutenant... to have some agency, some awareness. I think perhaps that is one aspect... one part of why You chose me for this."

The Queen had her plans. The luminaries who preferred the status quo to active dragons and divinities. Cithæra had her plans. Zalkyriax his own, most likely, though many aligned with Arvælyn's mother. If Solunarium was to be his new home, he wanted to be able to make a home of it for himself and his amatus.

[Pharaoh]

"The most enticing kind in My reckoning..." Aværys noted with relish, as one of his hands began to knead Finn's shoulder and the other massaged Vrædyn's foot.

"There are commonalities, aye, 'twixt the Arcane and the Divine Crafts. However, where thy Runes advance through effort alone, there be checkpoints along the path to mastering an Emblem, and I stand Magister o'er those trials. For now thou art both acolytes in Mine eyes. I have entrusted thee with pow'r to practise. Ply it well, and perchance I might append thy Mark to that of an Avowed. And so on and so forth." He paused the pulse of his hand upon Finn's shoulder.

"It doth, aye, but if thou wouldst play with a Sire, be thou cautious. I would bide against it ere thou art further advanced in my sight. Gods are better equipped to recognise... perchance to resist Our pow'r. That resistance can, in some cases, be deadly." He chuckled at the brazenness of Finn's next, and tilted his head to let his smooth cheek rest against the pale shoulder nearest it.

"I'faith, boy, My Ambitions for thee are not restricted to Solunarium. My current concern with this realm..." And now he looked up to Vrædyn, though his head was still tilted against Finn's flesh. "Is its stagnancy. In antiquity, I expanded the borders of My influence through conquest... a Solunarian Empire. I intend to explore other avenues in this epoch, which is why My first two Radiant exemplars are not warlords or kings, but a priest..." He looked from Vrædyn to Finn, "...and an artist."

"Interesting..." Vrædyn arched a brow, picking up on some of the inherent implications. "And You would have us use these disciplines to expand Your influence outside of Solunarium?"

"That decision rests with ye, lads. For now I prefer to observe what thou dost pursue of thine own volition."

[Finn]

Finn grew thoughtful as Aværys shared with them. When the divine head leaned to rest upon his shoulder, he looked up at the prince, eyes wide. Then, cautiously, he rested his cheek against the crown of the demigod's head. His arm slipped around the small of Aværys' back. This wasn't terrible. He wanted to ask about Varvara's plans for Arvælyn, but thought it best not to ask in front of one who might be his rival. Finn would be overjoyed to have a trustworthy ally in the moonborn prince, but time would tell.

It certainly interested him to know that he wasn't considered a priest for all that the only other person with Aværys' favor at the moment was.

"The prelate and the poet," he murmured to himself. It must have been the heat of the water, but he was relaxing.

The music he had already created for the Twins played through his mind. If this wasn't divine inspiration, he didn't know what was. Certainly, he could expand upon it, bringing some glory to Them even as he did for himself. He chuckled thoughtfully; there was an art to twining mesmeric magic into music, but many artists in Solunarium used it as a crutch to his mind. Finn would master that, but also know when its omission made for better art.

And nobody would be able to replicate quite perfectly the emotional responses people would have to the crown Aværys had writ upon his brow.

"I'm going to bring back the Leh'anafel," he declared, a thought reaching outward to be expressed. "I researched them for years before I came. There are those who claim the lineage here, but... no, I want to bring it back. Under my leadership." He rubbed his cheek against Aværys' hair, laid a kiss upon his crown. His arm tightened around the elven seeming of the Old God. "Do You have any complaint against this plan, Your Divine Radiance?"