Visiting Cyrus

[Darastrix]

Lyra walked up to the palace, looking about curiously. She'd never been there for anything that didn't pertain to the guild, and the last time she'd actually been inside had been some months ago. Even then, she'd not had much opportunity to look around.

"Excuse me?" she said to a palace guard. "I'm meeting a man named Cyrus. He works here in the palace."

She wasn't sure what she thought of him yet, though she had to admit, his reaction when she'd said she had free time and accepted his invitation had been cute.

[Kender Bard]

The guard tried very hard not to suddenly start grinning. He thought the King had been up to some sort of joke but it seems the story was true. Well - this would be interesting. He personally wondered how the lady would react when she learned the truth.

"Right this way m'lady," he replied and led Lyra inside to Sunray's study. Within, the King was pacing and fretting nervously. He'd decided to keep his reveal until the end of the day. When hearing the knock, he yelped and jumped, heart pounding wildly. Swallowing, he opened the door. "M-m-maestra. It's gorgeous to see you again! I mean you're gorgeous! I mean- oh hell..."

The guard walked off, grinning. He'd laugh out of earshot.

[Darastrix]

Lyra put a hand to her lips and bit her tongue lightly to keep from giggling. That really was cute. "It's nice to see you again as well, Cyrus," she said, lowering her hand. She was amused, but didn't seem inclined to make fun of him. "But please, call me Lyra. Usually it's just the students that call me Maestra."

[Kender Bard]

"Right, Lyra," he murmured, blushing crimson. "I, um... Let's start the tour then shall we?" He offered his arm out towards her. "I'll show you the heirloom room where the Flameharts have kept generations of things on display for privileged guests. Naturally quite a bit was lost when Contrasta sank, but there's still some beautiful things there to see. And there's also paintings and sculptures, mostly newly acquired, all about the premises."

[Darastrix]

Lyra smiled and took his arm, tilting her head inquisitively. "Are you sure it'll be all right for us to visit the heirloom room? I wouldn't want you to get in trouble on my account."

[Kender Bard]

"No, no, it's perfectly fine," Sunray assured her, smiling a little now. "The King says so." At times it was hard for him not to giggle. This double identity could be quite useful at times! He led the way, pausing now and then to point out a piece of artwork he thought to be particularly beautiful. Once in the designated room, he made a sweeping motion with his arm. "Here we are."

There was, indeed, not as much as one might expect. There was a sword - huge, likely a bastard sword or greatsword of some kind - that was wrought of the most expert craftsmanship and gleamed silver and gold in the candlelight. A few necklaces and amulents hung on hooks, ranging from bejeweled crests to a simple, but incredibly old looking, amulet of faith to Love.f

There was even a bookshelf that held some books and scrolls that looked as though they might crumble at a touch. Sunray was, naturally, most interested in these. "They chronicle much of our history in Contrasta," he explained. "But the very oldest contain a few records and accounts of life here, on Naruta, prior to our exodus to the other continent."

[Darastrix]

"I still miss Contrasta," Lyra murmured wistfully as she looked around the room. "Naruta was always here to come back to, even if most people eventually forgot it, but nobody will ever see Contrasta again."

[Kender Bard]

"I know," Sunray sighed, walking away from the case to gaze mournfully at a long cape worn by some kingly ancestor of his. "I often think of how I would love to take a ride out to various places in the country only to remember that they are no more."

He shut his eyes, silent for a moment of mourning. Then he seemed to brighten again. "Such gloomy thoughts are ill befitting our day. Is there anything here that catches your fancy?"

[Darastrix]

"Is there a story behind this one?" Lyra asked, pointing out the Love amulet. "It looks generations old."

[Kender Bard]

"Aye," Sunray replied, perking up. "Though Snowflake knows the history behind it better than I, of course. However, I can tell what I know. This once belonged to High Priestess Selene, one of the earliest priests that we can recount. Supposedly, she was the first Contrastan born high priestess. Nonetheless, she did great work for the people. This used to hang within her tomb until the area was flooded. This and a few other, surviving offerings were recovered and given into the care of the royal family for safekeeping."

[Darastrix]

'Snowflake?' Well, perhaps he was close to the High Priestess, since he did work in the palace. She knew the priestess lived in the Moonwing estate now, but Cyrus could have been with them before that.

"What about this one?" Lyra asked, pointing to another, more elaborate necklace. She was genuinely interested in the history behind the items in the room. She didn't usually care much for written history, but when there was an object she could see and touch (theoretically, anyway. She wasn't about to try touching any of the things in this room), it seemed more real.

[Kender Bard]

Sunray grinned, getting much more involved in his role as historian. If only this had been his life's calling!

"That was a very interesting gift," Sunray chuckled. "Several decades ago, the Queen of Anarlina, prior to getting married, had been courted by a noble of Morilanta. Of course, she rebuffed him repeatedly but he was most insistent. How he managed to both keep up his attempts at such a long distance as well as get away with his displays in his own homeland I'll never know. But this was one of the last gifts he sent her in hopes of getting her to accept him. I think the royal family kept it mostly out of sheer amusement that a Morilantan of all people would go to such lengths. I believe she kept some of his letters as well. She had written to him, inviting him to leave his land and embrace Love in Anarlina, but he wrote back with a hasty decline."

[Darastrix]

Lyra laughed softly at that. "Perhaps he was a Mind. If she had accepted him, I wonder what he expected her to do. Leave Anarlina?" She shook her head. "I imagine his letters were most interesting." What words would an unrepentant Morilantan use to attempt to sway Anarlina's Queen into marriage?

[Kender Bard]

Sunray chuckled as well, amused, but mostly he was delighting in his receptive audience. How wonderful it was to have someone to share his lore with!

After gesturing to a couple more bits, relating their stories as well, he held out his arm to her again. "Now, let me show you the garden. Of course, come summer it's far more beautiful with all the flowers. I profess, I am not a man for the cold. But nonetheless, our local Ice artisans did a lovely job."

[Darastrix]

Lyra smiled and took his arm. "I think we Ices were most fortunate with our signs when we settled here. It's still a bit strange to be in a place that gets so cold in winter, but it's not too troublesome."