Dwarves were not the most charismatic of races. Nor were they the most subtle. Nor did they suffer a surfeit of female members - quite the opposite on this last point.
Therefore it was not surprising that the dwarven nominee was not a dwarf.
Nor would it be surprising that the dwarven nominee was not an elf. Even though a number of dwarves got along quite well with a number of elves, the priestesses of Eilistraee included, elves and dwarves generally did not see eye to eye.
The dwarves had chosen to back someone of a third race, a genasi, a child of the elemental planes. Specifically in the case of the dwarven candidate, they'd chosen Zelda - who was a genasi of Earth.
It was easy to see what the somewhat roguish armor-skinned adventurer would offer the dwarves in return for their support. She'd likely been approached by them in fact as she rarely settled in one place for long.
Zelda was an adventuress who loved to travel and quest and do all sorts of things that might sometimes skate the law, but were for the greater good. If chosen as a bride, Rowan could see that Zelda would come frequently to castle and husband - only to hear the siren call of the road again and quietly vanish again to find some wrongs to right and acts of heroism to perform. She might grow out of it when she reached middle age. Otherwise she'd preserve the status quo by her lack of presence.
She thought the prince cute, and refusing the suits of others by pleading off that she had a handsome prince at home had some merit, but Zelda had no driving emotion pushing her to win this battle.
So the Rowan was amused, but also knew that Zelda would not win the competition here. All it would take was a tale of some unjust society and oppressed people, and she'd tip her plumed hat and be off on her spelljammer to swashbuckle her way through another grand adventure.
With that done the Rowan turned her attention to the Guild of Engineers, Shipwrights, and Builders.
If it was built in Rangard, and bigger than a carriage, it was likely the Guild who had a hand in its construction. They were big and they were powerful and they were anxious to have more say in the rule.
Their nominee reflected much of this. There had been a more "sweet & innocent" candidate, a shipwright apprentice named Nadia Velkirk, daughter of one of the established shipwrights. She had been pulled and another put in her place.
The Rowan frowned as she made fleeting mental contact with the new candidate. Pride, arrogance, and a manipulative nature. The haughty and well-to-do Alyssande Nightwarder was beautiful enough - physically. Inside was another matter altogether. She loved herself entirely too much to love another. Intelligent, but that intellect was cold.
No, she'd never do.
The Rowan sent her mind flitting along to the next candidate, hoping that she'd find something that would wash the mental taste from her.
What she found had her rolling her eyes and wondering why such oddities ended up in Rangard.
Kepeskixen, "Firestorm", was a red dragon. Arrogant yes. Prideful yes. Violent - that too. She had a love of battle. However, there were a few differences from a typical red dragon's attitude. What she craved were difficult battles, fights that would test everything she had against a worthy foe. A nearly even playing field, her strength and magic pitted against another's - what could be finer? Other than her victory of course?
The red dragon Kepeskixen, who had once been trapped in human form by an artifact she'd tried to add to her hoard. The spell had been broken, but she'd spent two centuries as a human and no longer considered humans "mere" anything. She'd seen how foul and petty they could be, and she'd seen the better side of them as well. "For creatures with such short lives and frail bodies, look at the strength within them."
Kepeskixen wanted one thing to try and further understand these beings. A half-dragon would do nicely. Some commingling of her own power and a human drive? THAT would be a creature to fear, and therefore a proper legacy to continue. Of course, only the best would do - and she had settled on the Prince as the mate to have for that experience.
Due to the centuries in human form she'd spent, she was fairly comfortable in human form. Especially as she could take her real form, that of a young adult red dragon, whenever she felt it necessary.
Kepeskixen stopped as she walked down the marbled hallway, her eyes seeking around her as she felt the presence of another. The Rowan gently withdrew her presence. Dragons were not easily spied on without their knowledge. To be sure, the powers of her mind were such that she could have probed deeply. To do so against Kepeskixen would end in a battle between the two, and while Rowan was sure that she could leave the red dragon convinced she was a flower and needed watering - it was not the proper time or place for such a confrontation.
The red dragon was a viable candidate, and one that had not violated any rules as yet. If she threatened to eat any of her rivals, perhaps then.
The Rowan poured herself a cup of steaming kaav as she considered who next to observe. Kepeskixen represented herself, no specific faction. While the dragon rationalized her desire to mate with the Prince, the Rowan knew that she was in fact a somewhat lusty dragon with an eye for human males due to her time as a human herself. Her motives were a tangle, even to the dragon herself.
Deciding on one more probe for now, the Rowan sent her mind winging towards:
Read the comments on this episode
(Posted Tue, 18 May 2004 07:50)
Questions? Problems? Suggestions?
Send a mail to addventure@bast-enterprises.de
or use the contact form.
らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
All other series and their characters are © by their respective creators or owners. No claims of ownership of these characters are implied by the authors of this Addventure, or should be inferred.
The Anime Addventure is a non-profit site.