A New King's Tour (Open)

[King Redgar Karligar]

Redgar got up that morning in Morith's tower lamenting the state of the town. He had done much since he became its governor. He saved it from being pillaged and plundered by that ass Palejaw, who thought he could just traipse up to the city without asking for his permission. He was the governor, not Palejaw. It was his right to refuse to allow Palejaw's army through. He didn't give a shit what the consequences were. That was especially obvious now that the city had been reduced to a ruin for the most part. The commercial district was more or less unscathed, but some of the fires had burned out many of the buildings. There was a lack of personnel to accomplish many of the tasks required for rebuilding.

But he had accomplished a recent goal of his, he had learned to read. The power it gave him was immense! He managed to put up a bulletin regarding the town's state of affairs and then he declared himself King of Kushfire. Redgar had forgotten to tell Katrina that little fact though, and she had burst into his room screaming at him, asking him how he planned on fighting the might of Cruinthe. They had an argument, it had little to do with what actually happened and was, in Redgar's mind and in realty (The two things rarely coincided), more of Katrina's insane ramblings about how he is a bad brother and how she is a victim to his madness.

Hardly.

This morning was a new dawn and he was going to tour his new city that was wholly his by right atop his mount, Baalrung. A great dire wolf which had earned itself the respect of the townsfolk. He wanted to extend the Karligar motif to Morith. He had no architectural or crafting knowledge to do so, but he knew what he wanted. By mid morning he was in the market, checking over the state of things astride Baalrung. He did not expect to meet anyone important today. His entire plan was to avoid his sister, then perhaps leave for Karligar to set things straight at the duchy. Then return to the city to fix whatever the hell she had ruined in the time he had been away.

He was getting tired of her shit.

[Aethelred]

Smiling as he rode towards King Redgar, Aethelred smiled as his fiance Eomund held him close, riding behind him on the same horse. Yet even with the ruin of the city that lay ahead, nothing could seem to keep the two men down.

"Redgar!" Aethelred called out, grinning from ear to ear as he rode towards him more quickly.

[King Redgar Karligar]

At first he thought someone was shouting his name triumphantly as if to say 'Good job defending the city, please take my daughter for the night as repayment'. Then he thought they were not being formal enough. It had just happened this week. Him naming himself King of Kushfire. Didn't everyone know by now? Where was this? Verenald?

He looked over his shoulder and saw a somewhat familiar face.

Ed? No. Ned. Wait... not ned. Ned was dead. Tim? Cant be tim. He didnt know any tims. That fucker Frank? No, didnt rhyme with ed. ETHEL? But that was a little girl's name. Red. Redgar? That was his name. He hadnt the foggiest. Maybe he knew him from years ago? This guy was astride a horse, and there was another man behind him. It looked to redgar like that other man was trying to wrestle the familiar face to the ground.

By this point he had turned his mount completely and was now facing the two men. He wore the armor that his friend Duke Mardok had bequeathed him. It had a wolf motif. He loved how he looked in it. Of course he was armed, as always.

"Sir... are you aware that man is trying to drag you from your horse? He is doing a terrible job at it..."

Redgar trailed off befuddled that anyone could be so bad at unhorsing someone else from a mounted position.

[Aethelred]

"Redgar? It's me, Aethelred," Aethelred quietly said as he dismounted along with Eomund. "I have some exciting news to tell you." He pulled Redgar into a bear hug for a moment, smiling at him. "Shall we head somewhere more private, or would you want me to tell you here?"

[King Redgar Karligar]

Aethelred. He should have known as soon as he was dragged into a bear hug that he wasn't prepared for, some memory bugged him. He knew this man in some fashion. It was one of those things where nobles children play together at court events while the adults talked about statecraft and whatnot. Redgar didn't realize he was blonde. Maybe he never noticed before. He broke free of the hug, or more like he was let go from it, and was immediately bombarded with more conversation. This was quite overwhleming for him as he had only just realized who he was talking to. He made a face, like his brain was processing things. Then spoke.

"Ah... Aethelred, I remember. You're... someone's son. It's been years. I don't remember your parents. What do you need to tell me?"

Redgar coulnd't fathom someone needing to tell him something in confidence. He wasn't a secret keeper.

[Aethelred]

"Redgar. We grew up together, played together as children. Remember? We would always go riding through the woods." He smiled as his friend mentioned he was someone's son.

"Of course I was, Redgar. You were someone's son as well. My father was a lord. And well, you remember Eomund don't you? Well, Eomund and I are getting married."

[King Redgar Karligar]

"Sounds familiar."

Redgar was going through his limited memory and could only really remember breakfast and arguing with Katrina. Everything else was a basic list of facts and such that didn't have any images attached to them. There were several entries in there regarding riding, and woods, and some in fact with both keywords together. Some names were attached, and some had long lists of people he couldn't be bothered to go through. After his brain shorted trying to find the memory he heard the part about Aethelred and Eomund getting married.

"I don't really remember Eomund, is this him? Looks like a strapping lad. So he's going to be your husband... Wait a minute. He's going to be your husband, and you're a man. So you're both men?"

Come on Redgar, we know your brain has limited processing power, but you can do it.

"Huh... I'm not sure if I've ever heard of this before. Why would you marry a man? I know why one gets married normally, to unite houses in an alliance and to produce offspring to inherit the land and such."

Redgar genuinely didn't understand the concept of love, or marrying for love. Of course he thought of marriage as a political tool and something that he'd have to go through sooner rather than later. So he was more baffled than anything.

[Aethelred]

Smiling at Redgar, Aethelred chuckled. "Yes, this is Eomund. And of course we're both men - he was a captain of the guard for me, and soon he will be my husband - I didn't care about any sort of alliance."

[King Redgar Karligar]

"Hmmm. Well alright then. Congratulations on your nuptial arrangements. Did you come all the way to Morith to inform me? That's quite a journey, where is your land located again?"

Redgar didn't know the answers to these questions, therefore he had to ask them. He was just that sort of person. If he had thought about questions like "who would inherit your land when you are both dead" and such, he'd have asked those questions. Katrina would say something along the lines of this house being doomed, but she was a bitch and no one liked her anyway. Redgar would have liked to have nothing to do with Katrina until she shaped up and stopped being such a terrible bitch. he knew she was ambitious, and that she wanted the Dukedom and possibly now the Kingdom to herself. The best way to end that problem was to either kill her, or marry her off. The first option the most realistic.

The King of Kushfire wondered to himself what his friend Duke Mardok would do in this situation. He could come up with nothing. The discussions about his cousin's arranged marriage to Duke Mardok had fled his mind. He knew they had happened, but not the contents of such talks. He couldn't remember. It was probably committed to paper. Redgar thought of Tyr as a thorough person.

Deep down, Redgar was still confused. He couldn't fathom the need to marry a man. What could be gained from such an action?

It was puzzling to him.

Baalrung took the moment to get more comfortable, the wolf laid down in a straightforward position, ready to get up at his master's command. The huge direwolf yawned. It was bored.

[Aethelred]

"Redgar..." Aethelred chuckled as he sighed. "Our lands are close to here - less than a day's travel. It was not much of a journey, a few hours or so. And we did come to Morith to tell you, though it wasn't much of a journey," he laughed. He reached his hand out to the direwolf, letting it sniff him before he would attempt to pet it.

[King Redgar Karligar]

Baalrung sniffed the man and then growled at him. He did not like anyone much other than Redgar. The creature was bound to its master. Redgar patted the beast on the head, reassuring it.

"So it is nearby? A days ride. Less than sixty miles. That would make you my subjects depending on the direction. So when is your ceremony, and where are you having it?"

Redgar was now curiouis in the minutia of the details regarding the wedding. If such an occasion was occuring on his land on his watch he wanted to be sure that it was protected and properly attended. That was a lord's duty after all. To make sure that the realm did the things it was supposed to do according to the ancient traditions and what not. Not that Redgar was entirely sure what those were. He just sort of did things as they came into his head at times. Usually before thoughts had even occurred to him.

[Aethelred]

"The ceremony will be on our lands east-by-southeast of here. As for what it will look like, well, hopefully as traditional as it can be," Aethelred chuckled. "The ceremony is less than a month away - two weeks from yesterday, to be precise."

[King Redgar Karligar]

"Ah, perhaps not my subjects then. I'll be there then. I shall bring my entourage as well. And of course a wedding gift as is fitting and proper. I'm sure you were looking to invite others too. Do you need directions to find them? Or perhaps letters to them would work fine too, I suppose. This whole writing thing is new to me."

Redgar started moving again, beaconing for the pair of men to follow him. He was in the middle of inspecting the market after all. There were things to look at, shops to discover. He had been there before, but his memory was terrible. Then he realized that he could likely get Katrina to come along to this wedding with him. He wasn't sure about Mina, she was busy being courted. Well, Duke Tyr Mardok hadn't really refused him of anything before. Why would he refuse an invitation for his cousin to a wedding? That was insane. But then again, the man was as busy as he was.

For once in his life Redgar was semi-lost in thought.

"This market is in a sad state. So few shops. And this one stall here is entirely abandoned. A&F Ventures, they'll hear about this. Hmm. Was there anything else? Two weeks time, correct?"

[Aethelred]

"I do not think I will need directions, though sending letters would be much appreciated." Aethelred chuckled, smiling at Redgar. "It is unfortunately in a sad state, hopefully it can be fixed. And yes, two weeks time."

[King Redgar Karligar]

Redgar nodded his head. He had come to the understanding that Aethelred would be sending letters to his friends and acquaintances for the wedding. Redgar himself didn't know who Aethelred's friends were. Of course he considered inviting some of his own subjects. Not that he had any that stood out in his mind. That would require him going to meet them. The whole ordeal suddenly seemed to be a lot of work. Work that might take him well and away from his bitch of a sister.

Which reminded him, he had to do something about her. She was getting to be problematic.

"Yes, well. I'll see if there are any subjects of mine that would be suitible to bring along as part of my entourage. Do you have any other business here on this visit? I mean, since the shopping district here is in shambles I can't imagine why anyone would want to stay here. I don't want to stay here."

The King was obviously curious. He was also honest. He didn't want to stay in Morith very long. It wasn't the seat of his power.