Legend of Ransera

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.


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."

"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."

"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.

"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."