A Meeting with royalty
the next morning found Ragnos dressed in his homelands formal attire an assortment of cloth and leather in black red and gold the boots were halfway to his knees and were a shiny black his pants were black with red and gold trim and were made of a cloth similar to silk something very expensive to them his shirt was the same material but it was a deep dark red with a crest over his heart and to complete the look was a leather coat that came down to his ankles and had the same crest on the back to say the clothes were both very expensive looking and very unique would be an understatement his hair was neatly combed and he smelled slightly of lavender to say she was blushing as she took in his appearance would be an understatement "Well, Louise you ready to go?" Louise could only nod and follow only to stop dead in her tracks on the open balcony stood the massive dragon of his in intricate and seemingly glowing armor with a chest on the back of a two-person saddle "w..whats in the chest" Ragnos chuckled "that?, just some gold a few astral diamonds and a Sword of my own crafting inside as a gift" Louise was shocked "Why would a noble work as a blacksmith it's so filthy" Ragnos smirked "Learning to make and repair my own weapons and armor as well as enchanting them has saved my life more times then you have drawn breaths" Ragnos then helped Louise up into the saddle then took his place
"Hold on tight" the next she knew they were in the air and flying faster than any wind dragon she had ever seen within minutes they were approaching the capital and moments later they were landing in the square outside the castle gates both Ragnos and Ivyrth chuckled as the guards and townspeople were gaping in awe ragnos then hoped down helped Louise down and grabbed the chest carrying it like it weighed nothing
as they approached the gates Louise informed the guard of both who she and wh Ragnos were and they were quickly shown to the throne room as the doors opened a guard announced them "Announcing Lady Louise 'le blanc' De La Vallière of Tristain and Lord Ragnos Highvalor of Daggerford, Highlord of the Order of the Astral Shield and Duke of the kingdom of Fjordsvain" as Louise took a knee before her longtime friend and princess Ragnos bowed before a smile found its way to its face "Princess, it is a pleasure to meet you on such short notice and I hope you are well " Princess Henrietta smiled as she greeted him "Greetings Duke Ragnos Highvalor and welcome to the kingdom of Tristain" Ragnos motioned for the guard to bring the chest he had brought with him forward "A gift from my personal vault a blade made by my own hand and several jewels of high quality along with some of my nations coin I doubt you will find the blades equal save my own." he then lifted the lid of the chest and smirked at the collective gasps as he lifted the blade and sunk to a knee as he offered it up for inspection
Agnes stepped forward at the princesses nod and lifted the sword before unsheathing it to find it nearly weightless and emitted a blue aura from tip to the guard looked like it was brilliant shimmering golden and held large black gem pulsing rhythmically with power the gem embedded in the center of the guard stretching from just above the pommel to just below the blade,and while the pommel was an orb of what looked to be diamond her eyes widened as the blade began to draw water from the very air around them and she quickly resheathed the blade and walked to the princess and took a knee offering the blade to the princess who smiled as she took it "It is exquisite though what kind of enchantment lies on it ?" Ragnos rose and smiled "The blade enhances all magics channeled through that use wind and water with a lesser enhancement to healing spells the Astral diamond in the guard powers this enchantment should it run dry replace it, " Henrietta looked at the sword and felt a small tug at her magic before water coalesced on the blade and she smiled "I will accept it gladly though I assume such generosity comes with attachments" Ragnos chuckled "I would like permission to start up a branch of my order in tristain, As well as to open a potential trade agreement between our nations so figuring out how currency can be exchanged would be helpful... " Ragnos paused as he felt someone trying to sneak into the room "Come out, I sensed you the second you entered."
They heard chuckling as a short man came out from behind a pillar before he spoke "My apologies but I came to give a message to the princess, and a few others." Ragnos raised an eyebrow before prepping a fey step silently "Very well then, Speak." the shifty man took several steps forward before kneeling "Fair princess, Reconquista sends their regards" as the man drew a blade and rushed forward the, Ragnos fey stepped into his path and as the short sword pierced his gut he slammed a fist into the assassins face knocking him several feet back and onto the floor as the assassin sits up his eyes grow wide as Ragnos pulls the blade from his stomach and chuckles as blood splashes to the floor before the wound closes almost instantly "You know,...I really should have remembered I am not wearing my armor, I Felt That." he then smirks as he steps forward closing the distance "Then again,... an attack like that is the least of what I expect, now let's see if you can handle my equivalent" The assassin begins to panic "what are you no one should survive a poisoned blade to the gut like that" Ragnos laughs at that "you compare me to the men you've bested not the ones who have bested you, cease this and surrender, I will not ask again " the assassin just tried for a second stab, trying to get at the paladin as he spoke, Ragnos, wasn't having it bringing his blade about and with a whisper of wind the blade barely missing the assassin by less than an inch the assassin rolled backward a trio of daggers flung out and struck home, only to make a metallic *TING* as they bounced from the floor as Ragnos laughed haughtily " going to need more than that child, step it up" .
The Assassin and The Paladin stood apart the assassin stood deathly still considering his options as his adrenaline rattled psyche trying to comprehend the paladin's regeneration and speed, the young zealot set his mind and acted, charging to the side trading distance for time as he closed on the princes,... or so he tried, ragnos was upon him in an instant fey stepping again shoulder checking the assassin with a guttural chuckle, "you tried that already, another, and this time try something new, I'm getting bored." the assassin dragged himself up coughing up some blood from the harsh impact of Ragnos's well-placed fey step. Ragnos then brings the blade of the assassin down and with a whisper of "Thunderous Smite" bright light fills the room alongside the sound of a roaring thunderclap.
As the light fades they see the assassin laying there covered in burns and a face twisted in horror unmoving aside from spasms that looked quite painful they then heard the hilt of the bladeless short sword hit the ground amidst ash "Looks like I overestimated the quality of the blade it turned to ash despite me using so little magic" Henrietta could only stare she had seen the blade go through him had even seen the blade exit the back of his coat she expected him to have at least been in pain from what was normally a fatal blow yet to him it was nothing?" Are you okay lord Ragnos?" she heard a chuckle from Louise before her oldest friend spoke "considering he can take on four of the academies best teachers at the academy and not break a sweat I doubt that would even register to him" Agnes couldn't help the beads of sweat that formed on her forehead at the display as Ragnos turned and smiled "Seems I may need to offer a bit of military aid for now though shall we get back on task"
Later that day, Unknown location
in a darkened room sat the priestly form of Reconquista's leader the man had been somewhat panicked by the report on his desk detailing a foreign noble that used some unknown magic and could shrug off what would normally be a mortal wound with ease along with various reports detailing his spar with four academy instructors and the odd report about him summoning a massive tower with a library full of tomes on foreign magics of all kinds he stops and begins writing down a message before storming out of his office and down to a messenger "Take this to viscount wardes quickly we can not risk an unknown variable to the plan at this time"
that night, Tristain Academy of magic
Ragnos sighed as he walked into his tower the day had gone somewhat as expected he had worked out a decent rate of exchange for currency along with gaining permission to teach volunteers to be paladins from among noble families but there was several snags on a trade agreement and concerns over an offer of military aid being made but he couldn't help but chuckle he had gained more than enough, for now, he stopped in front of an archway in the middle of a room in the upper tower "Lets hope they succeeded in sealing Lloth or I may be opening a doorway to a massive headache" he then placed a massive gem into a slot in the center on the room and stepped back as the archway connected to one in his brothers castle and opened a portal he then waited a moment before stepping through and smiling at an old friend and his brother "I see we succeeded brother, now how would you like to meet my new 'friends'" both brothers were wearing a smile as they greeted each other while off to the side an intrigued tiefling was smiling at his oldest friends return Ragnos then smiled as he took in the four members of his order present "Graahl, Shera good to see you both and is that Ingrid and Brother Bruno with you?"
Graahl was a massive Dragonborn standing at eight foot tall and weighing close to six hundred pounds of muscle unarmored while Shera was a tiger shifter that generally wore chain and cloth rather than plate armor to compliment her natural agility and lithe build Ingrid was around six foot tall and was a rather beautiful half-elf she had her mothers coloring but her fathers features in most regards while brother Bruno stood in his cloth robes and a massive maul on his back he was the orders scholar and saw to giving the younger members an education all four greeted him with a salute before smiles lit their faces
Ragnos chuckled "Care to help me get a new chapter of the order started you four?" they couldn't help but laugh before agreeing and stepping through the gateway "now Fenrus, my brother care to join me for negotiating a few treaties with a new world?" Fenrus smirked "Fill me tomorrow when I come to visit after making some arrangements for now take Heinrick with you to help get things started"