"My lord"
Each clan leader knelt before the risen throne. They had all arrived promptly and entered in a flourish of black and gold. Not one eye glanced up at their leader.
They had been summoned very suddenly that day and although each Noble swore their allegiance to their great leader, they had to admit the Lord was peculiar to say the very least. The topics of the Lord's summons were not exceptions to his flamboyant personality.
The Lord's black shoed foot toed at the velvet carpet before him, red with the gold trim. It was freezing in the room. Despite it being Summer the guarding energy that was twined into the thick stone around them did little to buffer the faux Winter chill. However, it wasn't as if any of that bothered the nobles. The cold was a novelty to them at first, then it became unnoticeable and irrelevant. He did hope that all of the wonders of life did not eventually become that way.
Looking about the room he noticed that each Noble had donned their formal clothing. Whether there were any embellishments pinned to the lapels or perhaps a casual flair to the front was unknown.
Everyone stared rigidly at the floor.
He sighed, were any of them going to speak or where they going to wait a full day? Again.
Making a long show of adjusting his robes, they were stuffy anyway, he coughed once. Whomever of their forefathers and mothers chose to have high collars that seemed to always be needed to be buttoned... He sighed, that was besides the point. He straightened the cloth beside the gold clasp twice more before groaning -mentally of course. The nobles and their propriety. If he was in less of a rush perhaps he would play with them, lounge in his chair and wait for one to get tired balancing on one knee.
He glared out at them and hopped the weight of his glare would spur them to life. Would one of them snap or would they endure as always? Even when their knuckles, their impervious pale skin, were tinted red from the aggravated pressure, would they continue to wait?
A couple of (awkward) minutes passed before he grew tired of the act. He was an impatient Lord and the news, -or, well, it wasn't actually news per say, it was more of a for-your-information thing- was important. Either way he was sure even if they refused to speak first he would be thoroughly entertained in a couple of minutes.
"Arise." He waved his hand flippantly and noticed a shift in their auras as they slowly stood. Only relief. Where was the agitation, the feeling of wanting to shred his pompous smile –he knew that it was, he chose to bother them with it. Really.
Sighing he waited for the inevitable.
"M'lord, why did you summon us?" That lack of formality, well at least the overdone kind, it was Gejutel.
He grinned. "I will leave for a couple of decades, I want to watch something fun. It's boring here."
"My lord?" Of course only Gejutel replied, the rest were a frozen mess of shock. "What about your duties?"
"They can wait. You all have looked rather restless as of late, why don't you tend to them?"
The Nobles flinched. It was tactfully hidden that they were restless because of their Lord. His hobby of summoning someone simply to talk to had been blown out of proportion recently. It was getting more and more difficult to get their own work done while constantly entertaining their noble and proper leader. A few Nobles had even been chastised by their leaders for foolishly wondering if the Lord was lonely.
"Hahah!." He pointed at several of them, three even had their mouths lightly agape. "You all appear quite shocked." He hummed to himself swinging his legs. "It amuses me."
None of them really appreciated that comment.
The Lord hopped off his throne shrugging the tight lipped collar away from him. "However, I did warn you all. The humans are changing and I would like to see that our charges are progressing well." He managed to leave off the part where all of them had bothered him about his work in the past decade, and he really didn't want to do it at the moment. He would get to it eventually. Just not right now.
One of the clan leaders stepped forward. The leader of the Kravei clan, Roctis. "My Lord, that is not of our concern. We may watch over the humans, but they are not our children or our responsibility."
"I know, Roctis, none of us have children," He shrugged before tacking on: "as of yet."
"Yet?"
"Hahahaha. Oh, Roctis." He shook his head as if that was the most absurd question in the world. Of course 'yet'! The Lord loved children they were so cute and adorable. He would have a couple of his own, however dealing with the other Nobles took so much energy! Add in an antisocial Noblesse and he had his metaphorical plate full. He shook his head again chidingly. "The humans are not our responsibility, I know Roctis, but... I can not help but watch them."
Roctis subtly pinched the bridge of his nose behind his sleeve. "My Lord, if you wish to know the current state of the humans, the Koraneh clan leader travels throughout the whole world seeking strength, I am sure she would be proud to report her findings."
"As am I. Yet, she seeks strength. I only wish to watch the humans. There will be no need to interrupt her." Plus, he added to himself with a shudder, she rather scared him.
"My Lo-"
"Roctis," Gejutel stepped forward and brushed back his white hair streaked with black points on the sides, " I believe the Lord has made up his mind." He wore a knowing smile as he watched the Lord. He would be immovable on this particular subject. Any argument would only lead to another set of migraines.
"Very well." Roctis bowed his head and brushed back his cloak. He was the only one to wear the sweeping black cape. "My Lord. Do you wish for any preparations for your-" He paused mulling over the word, "departure?"
The Lord grinned. Everyone in the room shuddered, that smile, why couldn't he just show a sadistic glare? He did not mean to scare them, surely, however that cat like grin always meant something quite disturbing.
The Lord began giggling.
"Yes, alert Cadis Etrama Di Raizel that he shall accompany me. This is not a request nor a summon." The Lord's energy spilled out around him, bloody red waves whipped through the chamber. If the Lord wasn't so happy-go-lucky he would most likely be cackling maniacally.
"It will be done, My Lord." Everyone bowed and settled on one knee. What unlucky bastard would have to tell the dreaded Noblesse this news. All but Roctis and Gejutel prayed, and unlike the humans, it was in hope that their lord choose to look them over, and not over them.
"My Lord. Who- " It took all the clan leader had not to stutter over his words, it was ennoble to do so. "-will tell the Noblesse of this," The leader waved his hand through the air searching for the word, "favor?"
The Lord leaned back into his chair before popping up, startling the living hell out of all the nobles in the room. "I will tell Cadis Etrama Di Raizel myself. Ha. Hahaha! Haha!" All eyes were on his tilted back head, laughter echoed throughout the room. He turned away from the nobles and floated away from his throne, no need to walk, he was a cool Lord, he floated. "hahaha."
The Nobles were not prone to gossip or speak without reason. Pleasantries of course were humored for the sake of propriety, however even then there were the subtleties that only they conveyed through mere greetings. It was only after these all too frequent summons that the Nobles dared to participate in 'chit-chat'.
"Landegre, has the Lord been feeling well?" One of the braver nobles inquired.
"You can't tell? He's feeling better than ever."
The noble sighed, "I feared as such." He turned towards the tall corridor the Lord had left through and grimaced. The Lord was beloved. He was a benevolent man who respected those around him and beneath him. Never one to abuse his immense power, every Noble looked up to their leader. Even if very few of them understood his idiosyncrasies.
The Lord's laughter could still be heard echoing against the thick, grey walls.
The Nobles simply stared. It was a sad moment in their history when every single one of them was completely used to this.
The same brave noble turned towards Gejutel again, "Do you think we should warn the Noblesse?"
He shrugged and imagined the Noblesse, the only person, Noble or not, to ever be able to handle their Lord. "He will find out soon enough."
Everyone agreed the Noblesse was a capable man. His ability to handle the Lord only proved that and strengthened their conviction to be terrified of him.
"Cadis Etrama Di Raizel." The Lord nearly sang. He pushed open the door and swept into the dark room without a pause. "I want to show you something."
The Noblesse turned away from the window. Always at the window. He was wearing the same flowing shirt and pressed black pants.
"It has been too long, Cadis Etrama Di Raizel. How long has it been? A decade or two? It seems as if it could have been much longer." The Lord paced across the room and subtly, like an elephant dragging church bells, placed a book upon the Noblesse's shelf. "You could visit."
The Noblesse stepped forward skating past Gentilise. His fingers, long and slim, would have skimmed over flowering white, had the Lord been wearing his casual robes. He placed his forefinger on the new book's spine. How like him to admire a gift immediately after it was received.
The book was cloth bound, a rarity, and was delicately soft to the touch. Inside ink danced across the page, however there was substance to it. The intricate weave of the cover was rough yet pleasant to the touch, the indents of each word as it was pressed with the end of a feather or stick was apparent. This was a human book, not the shadowy tomes that culminated in the Nobles' library.
"I am always here." Cadis Etrama Di Raizel replied with a gentle smile.
The book must have been weighty in his hand, balanced on exactly three fingertips, two on one side of the yielding spine, the edge of his thumb resting over the dyed letters of the title. He hadn't picked anything up for years, there was no need when all you ever did was stare out a window until the hours and years blended into light.
"I know Cadis, Etrama Di Raizel." A tiny smile pulled across his face, more sincere than all of his grins. "Well, come on, the humans won't wait forever. You ought to switch what you are wearing, the fabric is too advanced for the times as they are now."
The Noblesse appraised him. No one had alerted him as to what this visit was for, or even that it would happen.
"It's a surprise! It is improper to make your ruler wait. Hurry up and change!"
"..."
He stared at the Lord the edges of his clothes were blurry as if indecisive. Did he not know what to change into?
"I'll show you." Gentilise's clothes whirled into blackness, the ebony cloth replaced with stark white. The material fluttered down wrapping from his shoulder to ankles which ended in simple sandals made from woven grasses. He smiled, "I like the greeks. They do not behave like the other humans."
Ignoring the Lord's outbursts as was proper the Noblesse simply changed. An identical white toga settled around him.
"Good," The Lord nodded, "Very good, although the color does not compliment you as well as your formal attire." The Lord circled around the other man pulling at the flowing fabric. "Perhaps this will do." He waved his hand and the Noblesse's clothes warped. Threads of black wrapped around the robe coiling over each stitch of white and becoming a collage of grey and black. A medallion shuddered into life across the shoulder glittering gold. Three prongs were engraved upon the surface of the clasp and a deep crimson jewel was imbedded in the junction of the three. "Black suits you Cadis Etrama Di Raizel."
The Noblesse nodded and straightened the hem of his robe. He appeared to be deep in thought before he murmured, "I do not like this."
"What are you talking about? Vacations to see the humans are the duty of every Noble. We must watch over our subjects and make sure they are prosperous in our absence. That they may succeed without our constant intervention." The Lord tilted his head admiring his handy work on the other's attire. "It is only proper."
He scowled and picked at the medallion. It weighed between his fingers heavily, the intricate designs even on the edges of the circle grated against his fingers. "It does not have sleeves."
"Oh." Gentilise chuckled. "It is the style of the time. Summer is upon us. However do not fear, Cadis Etrama Di Raizel, you will soon forget your troubles with your wardrobe. The palatial civilizations on Crete are magnificent. The riches and wealth that pass through the lands are developing nicely. Although I do hope they play nicely with the Egyptians." The Lord sighed and clicked his tongue. "Our children play so roughly with each other. If they only got along as wonderfully as we did."
"It does not have sleeves."
Perhaps this would be a problem after all. "I suppose you may have short sleeves. It is Summer so long sleeves are not allowed. This is the first time you have requested something from me after all." Although it wasn't quite a request.
"..."
Gentilise laughed and grabbed Cadis Etrama Di Raizel's arm and pulled him out of the darkened room. The Noblesse's clothes flickered about the shoulders and lengthened as they left. "Sulking does not befit a Noble." He slowly dropped the other man's arm and began to race ahead knowing the other would follow. "Now come on it will be a long trip."
Hearing the soft footsteps of the Noblesse he sped up. The Lord wanted to arrive quickly, there was so much to show the other. He smiled. Gentilise had to admit, the sleeves were a good choice.
A/N:
Yes I added more imaginary names that I will change if they are revealed in canon later. This is a day late as this chapter/update thingy was going to be over 6k words long, and that would be three times as long as the last one, so I decided to split it into two which required a lil' editing. But here it is!