Part One: What They've Sown

The Queen of Thorns

It was a heated day at court. The courtesans kept their clothing looser than usual, and the men had slowly started to unravel and take off their traditional headpieces. The women of the court coolly enjoyed their hair in braids or ponytails down their backs - no one considered letting their hair go free under the oppressive heat. The desert winds were blowing hard from the west, and the open air architecture of Duren was too welcoming. All around the Duren hill, the kingdom could be seen in full bloom. Harvests were starting to begin, and full fields of grains were slowly shrinking as they were hacked at by gleaming scythes.

Manu took another sip from a crystal flask under the shadow of an impressive arch. He cast his gaze around the assemblage, watching whom stood with whom, who looked surprised when things were said and who nodded with approval, who stood with their arms crossed, and who refused to look at the small girl who sat cross-legged on the blue satin pillow in the front of the room. He took interest in one group of men and women who stood directly opposite him. They leaned in towards each other whenever someone spoke, clearly confiding their opinions of the topic to each other. Only one man, taller than all the others, and with an expression that could have been chiseled in stone, remained silent and motionless. The group around him seemed eager to garner his attention and repeatedly leaned in and whispered things to him, but he did not acknowledge the attempts with anything more than stoic blinks of his golden eyes.

Manu followed his gaze and noticed that he was, in fact, looking at the small girl. He knew that the look was not one of respect, but one of envy. It seemed almost everyone in the kingdom wanted to sit on the Satin. Over the past year, that had become painfully obvious.

"Queen Aanya," a voice shouted from the back of the hall. Manu turned his attention to watch as a man, wearing the pale green embroidered jacket of a member of House Aaivee, took a few steps forward. "It pains me to say it, but I disagree with your Majesty's choice to turn our backs on our allies in Katolis!"

A murmur of opinions rippled through the great hall. Manu noted who nodded and who shook their heads, as well as who kept their composure neutral. He was more concerned with the nobles who hid their opinions rather than show them outright. Court was a very dangerous place, and the Duren court was a plotter's playground.

"Of course an Aaivee would disagree," a tanned man a few paces from Manu's pillar exclaimed. "You all must grow so tired of sitting at home and trimming your hedges while your winter crops have yet to harvest!"

"I would not hear accusations of laziness," the first man roared, "from a member of House Ankur!"

A polite chuckle appeared in pockets of the royal court, as the more informed courtesans were reminded of how House Ankur had, a few years prior, let an entire field of rich grain rot during a rainy month because one of their younger members refused to give instructions to his workers because he was suffering from what he claimed was a stomach ache. For years after, whenever someone in Duren was looking for an excuse to get out of work, they would often claim to have a case of the "Ankur flu."

The matriarch of House Ankur, Lady Malati Ankur, turned redder than the crimson sari she wore draped around her. She bashed her knotted golden cane against the tiled floor. "And I will not hear anything from a man who cannot keep a wife for longer than one season!"

The court laughed, openly and loudly, and the first man pursed his lips. He looked as though he wished he were anywhere else. Manu could not pity him, for the man had painted the target onto his own back. He watched as the other members of House Aaivee shot murderous glares at Lady Ankur, who raised her nose with the pride of her family.

"Enough." A voice, crisp and stern, came from the Satin. Everyone was silenced by the command, and all turned to look at the young Queen.

She looked around the court with her pale yellow eyes, her expression unreadable. The spaulders on her dress seemed less decorative today, and more armor-like. Queen Aanya was a young girl, but her skin was tanned from time spent in the fields with her people, and her arms were toned from the time she herself dedicated to working alongside them. Manu was reminded, not for the first time, and the Queen was not born of royal blood, but was born from the common folk. She was adopted into the royal House Amin, not born into it. The same thing that enraged the nobles of Duren was that which inspired the commons.

"I decided that enough fighting is done here, in court," Queen Aanya said crisply. "That we do not need to start more fighting with the elves."

Manu listened as about half the court laughed, and the other half could not resist but smirk. The Queen's sharp wit was famous throughout the five kingdoms, and she had acquired the moniker of "Queen of Thorns" behind her back. It was well deserved.

"We need our men and women here," she continued, "For the harvests. House Aaivee will agree with me, I am sure, as they have late year harvests. An extended campaign in Xadia would mean that your crops would have to go untouched."

Manu wondered, briefly, if the young Queen was making a subtle gibe at the expense of House Ankur, staunch allies of the Crown.

"It is true that I made the decision without advisers present, but you must believe me when I tell you I looked into the eyes of Lord Viren of Katolis and I was concerned with what I saw there. The other Kingdoms were in agreement, as well."

Queen Aanya looked around the court as though she was silently daring anyone else to challenge her. When she had shared her report of the meeting with the privy council, there had been a surprising amount of support for her decision. Even the most bloodthirsty members of the most glory-seeking Houses had agreed it would be foolish to follow a clearly deranged warlock into battle against the combined forces of the elves. Only Manu was told of the attempts by the Lord Viren to manipulate the Queen with stories of her mothers.

The Queen looked at him for a moment, and then looked away. He could tell she wanted to be done with court for the day. He considered, for a moment, summoning an illusion to present an excuse for the Queen to make a swift departure, but her retinue had loose lips and would reveal the deception to the rest of the court. For the sake of appearances, the Queen had to remain. It was an important function to preside over the royal court, as the nobles had to feel as though they could have their grievances heard.

"Your Majesty," a voice said from across the room. It was one of the group that Manu had noticed earlier. He recognized the speaker as Lord Chanda of House Sher, whose loose golden and brown robes were embroidered with orange designs. "I wish that you had taken your Crown Regent with you into the Pentarchy-"

Manu caught the glance of the Queen, and tried to keep from sighing as he realized it was an appropriate time for him to break his silence.

"As former Crown Regent," He said, trying to keep his annoyance out of his voice. "I came with the Queen to the summit of the Pentarchy, but I remained outside with the other dignitaries while the Kings and Queens of the Kingdoms discussed the matters at hand."

"So you had no input into the summit, whatsoever?" Lord Chanda continued. Manu's focus changed to that of the taller man to Lord Chanda's right, who still was staring at Queen Aanya. Manu felt a slight pain on the top of his head: an intuition that he never ignored.

"Queen Aanya asked for my insight before the summit, and I told her that to move our troops to the border now," Manu recounted, pushing a strand of silver-blonde hair behind his ear. "So soon after the assassination of King Harrow, would be nothing more than an invitation to Xadia that our doors were open for a surprise attack."

The court grew quiet. It bothered Manu how his voice and opinion was more respected than that of the Queen. He served as Regent for the seven years it took for Aanya to reach an age from which she could rule. He was only fourteen when he was given the title, willed to him by the former Queens. It was clearly an oversight on their parts, as they had expected he would be at least a decade older if the need for him to take the regency ever arose, but their wills were law.

During those seven years, Manu grew up from a quiet, stubborn young teenager who ignored advice into a patient and fair regent who listened to everyone and ruled fairly. The nobles appreciated his fairness and unwillingness to intercede in the internal power struggles between the Great Houses, and the common people welcomed his candor.

Manu was now the twenty-year old Court Magister of the Royal Court, the official representative of the Magisterial College of scholars and magic practitioners of the kingdom of Duren. He was of average height and lithe build, but stood out from the other people of Duren with his silver-blonde hair and pale green eyes. Others described his face as feline, even borderline elven, which amused him to no end.

Much like Aanya, Manu was adopted by the previous Queens, but his story was significantly different. Whereas Aanya was the orphaned daughter of a longtime friend of the Queens, Manu was the sole survivor of a Duren raiding party. After the combat, the Queens found him hiding up in a tree. Rather than leave him to starve in the wilderness on his own, they took him in, and raised him like he was one of their own. He was too young to remember any of it, but not a day went by that he was not incredibly grateful to the Queens of House Amin for welcoming him.

No one else had ever adopted a Moonshadow Elf.