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Eye on the Throne (Svaltus)


BlueSlime

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With the rest of his siblings leaving him alone inside the king's bedchamber Svaltus would find himself sitting down on the fireside chair and pondering the loss of his father and what it meant for both himself and the kingdom at large.

Bator had made clear his intent to seize the throne and he had the largest base of support to make good on his claim. His weakest points - as Svaltus knew from his extensive spy network - were within the castle walls, where Jules and Vaelus plotted, and in the southern sea, where Siobhan's ships supported Vivianna.

Ah, his dear older sister Vivianna... unlike anyone else, Svaltus knew that she had already fled into shadow, along with all the ships that supported her and Siobhan. Word from Mystara was that she had already proclaimed herself as Queen in exile, but intended for a swift coup that would see her as the next ruler. It seemed Vivi and Bator were destined for a clash.

That would mean that Vaelus might have enough of an edge to become a third claimant once those two had spent themselves upon one another. And even then there was an outside threat. Prince Even had apparently taken up residency in Chaos. This couldn't be confirmed, but the rumors amongst Shadow were flying and some of his best sources said that he had ties to the Lady Azure - ambassador to Amber from Chaos, and daughter of Lord Cerulean of House Seiryuu in the Courts of Chaos. Now there was an X factor... In all of this, Svaltus did not have an army, but he did have knowledge... knowledge enough to pit his enemies against one another. If he could play sides well enough, he could win this throne war when all was said and done.

His biggest concern was getting through to the mystery of what had killed Olin, and who could be held responsible. Perhaps by identifying the killer and exposing them to the light of day, Svaltus could become the champion of Amber and the name on the lips of the vox populi.

The last sibling of some minor concern was Dubiel. Ever the emotional, unobtrusive one. Usually she would be considered harmless, regulating herself back to some theater in shadow showing love only for her craft. But one of his sources had some disturbing news for him concerning his thespian half-sister. There was a package smuggled out of Amber and into shadow on what was apparently Olin's order - sent directly to Dubiel. It couldn't be confirmed that the King had ordered this for certain, but it had been with his royal seal. And it had come from the Vault. Lord Aiden, the castle's treasurer, had been the co-signer on the order and it worried Svaltus that the Lord Aiden's long association with Dubiel might be more than just a coincidence. Had Dubiel managed to steal something of importance from Amber's vault? If so, he would have to uncover it soon, before Dubiel disappeared into shadow again.
 

Master_Bei_Shun

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Re: Eye on the Throne (Svaltus)

Svaltus felt sickened, Not only greiven by the empty sickbed he sat across from.

But from the rememberence that so many of his bretheren could have done this...

Viv, the news from her lately was almost always bad... She's alot like mother, gotta do things her own way... But the rumors of the Coup? And with Mystaras distance... Who knows just how long those rumors have been out there for? Months? Years? Possibly even before Father grew ill... And with all her resourses down there, it makes her harder to ask about it than one would like...

Even and Bator... In spite of his overeagerness to hop into the role of ruler. Don't really seem to have the nessissary cleverness to do something of this magnatude... Vaelus, maybe... Svaltus was loathe to admit it openly... But he'd never really been able to best his twin in a game of wits... And with the upcoming skirmish between Bator and Viv, would he be seriously plan on blitzing both forces? Could he?


But the largest gnaw in the back of his mind was at Dubiel...

Sweet, innocent Dubiel... Were your tears a farce? Were those years of acting... Molding you into the perfect assassin? The troupe a guild of deciet?
And what of Lord Aidans hand in this?

Is this a greedy ploy to extend his influence?

Svaltus sighs and shakes his head slowly.

No, his suspicions are painting people poorly... But if he only knew what that smuggled item was...

There are countless powerful artifacts put to rest within that vault, troublesome weapons, and darker secrets still that he hadn't uncovered...

If it DID come from THAT Royal Vault... It couldn't be good... And something like that would have to be smuggled out... There would be no way Father would just give permission to Aidan to release anything dangerous...

No... His suspicions are clouding his logic... The best course would be to find out directly what this Mystery Item is... Why it was smuggled, what it does, and confirm it as a piece of evidence to Fathers murder or not...

But how?

He can't just go ask Aiden... And Dubiel is to be expected to be just as evasive...

But there IS something he could try... Svaltus didn't hated the idea of it... And would probably be furious should someone do it to him... But hopefully... Noone will be the wiser...

Svaltus peers out of the window and watches as the threads of pattern part reality for him, creating a small window...

Svaltus focused on a single item, a package... Wrapped, boxed, bagged, He focused his search upon two things:

Dubiel's signature, and the Royal Seal... Hoping that he can Scry the very shadows for the information he needed... Hoping that what he finds won't increase his suspicions...

And praying that those suspicions were unbased...
 
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BlueSlime

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Re: Eye on the Throne (Svaltus)

After searching for many minutes, first clearing the castle and then scoping through the Pattern Lens down into Amber City below at the base of Mount Kolvir, Svaltus' sight homes in on his sweet half sister Dubiel sharing a heated discussion with Princess Wanda. In her hands, Dubiel carries the unmistakable Jewel of Judgement, the token of Olin's power over the Pattern and quite possibly the most powerful artifact known in existence.

There is no question that it is real - the Jewel glows with the reality of Pattern. How this relic ended up in Dubiel's hands is questionable. There seemed no reason for her to have it. She was not a child of the current queen - she was illegitimate to have access to the throne. By what right should she have to the greatest treasure in all of creation?
 
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