A Lord's City Towering The Mountains

Author's Note: I will be switching to Khan Baliq instead of Kanbalar from here out. I found that I prefer it.


Wingul did not, in fact, like Khan Baliq.

Oh, it was an imposing city and a nigh impenetrable fortress no less. Auj-Oule did not have a more suitable location for a king's seat, even without accounting for long-standing tradition.

None of that, however, could change the fact that it was cold in Khan Baliq.

Wingul did not like the cold at all.

It was alright in Efreet. Efreet was also very short in and aroundKhan Baliq , unfortunately. Ragnome and Undis were still bearable, at least.

And then there was Lasylph.

Come Lasylph, the entire city would be all but buried in snow, requiring double- or even triple-shifts of shovelling snow, and even with the snow gone, the ground would be icy and slippery. (Wingul liked slipping in public even less than the cold.) It didn't help that Gaius' castle was almost impossible to keep at an acceptable temperature.

Today was a particularly freezing day, even worse than usual. Wingul sat in his office, clad in his trademark coat and an additional cloak draped over his shoulders... and still cold. Even the reports he was reading had to do with the season. Food supplies having to last through Lasylph, the high roads being blocked by snow again, guards getting frostbite... why did Lasylph last so long in this region again?

Sighing, he signed another authorisation for the military to help clear the streets of snow. The recent snow storms had proven to be too much for the regular shovelling schedule.

He was flipping through the rest of the reports - snow chaos, more snow chaos, even more snow chaos, did anything else ever happen in this season? - when the door opened and Gaius entered the room.

Dressed in a simple shirt. No coat, no jacket, just a shirt. Wingul suppressed a groan.

Gaius stopped for a second and looked at Wingul's attire, then chuckled. "Don't you think that's a little over the top, Wingul?"

"I could ask you the same," Wingul retorted. "Is it really necessary that you walk around in a shirt and nothing more? I feel colder just looking at you."

Gaius snorted. "I could walk around without a shirt; I don't anymore simply because it would be inappropriate for me as a king. So no, it's not necessary for me to wear only a shirt. If you want, I could take it off..."

Wingul raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you just say it was inappropriate for you? You contradict yourself, Your Highness."

"Your office door has a lock. Is it still inappropriate if no one but you sees, I wonder?" Gaius reached for the key to turn it.

"Well, now I know why you came here at least. You can unlock the door again. I intend to finish this. Maybe later..." Wingul said, holding up the papers.

"Actually, I merely wanted your opinion on a report that came in just now. You just so happened to give me a cue. I plan to take you up on the offer, by the way. Now finish your reports and then come over to my office so we can discuss mine." Without waiting for a reply, Gaius left the room.

Wingul shook his head as he looked after the king. It was very much like him, spontaneously interrupting whatever he was doing on the spur of the moment...

No time to be lost for musings though, there was more snow chaos to read about, then whatever Gaius had in store for him, and then possibly the other thing Gaius had in store for him...

No, Wingul really didn't like Khan Baliq. But there were some things that reconciled him with the city.