Chapter: 663 – To the Duel!

Tala strode forth from the House of Blood’s hold, Rane and Lea at her flanks, Terry on her shoulder, and a squad of House guards in tow.

The last weeks had been filled with glad-handing and settling back into life within arcane society. They wouldn’t be staying long term—relatively speaking—but they would be there long enough, and their purpose was important enough, that it was critical to not be seen as ‘sojourners’ or people to simply bear through until they were gone.

The House of the Fated Clash has officially declared that a clash with the House of Blood was not fated. Moreover, if the House of Blood was fated to fight a worthy foe, they would gladly join forces toward that clash.

It was a lot of poetic posturing that all together reduced down to the other house kowtowing to the House of Blood’s influence within Platoiri. The City Lord was seemingly a bit irked, as he’d specifically invited in the new Houses, hoping to counter the House of Blood’s growing power in the wake of Eskau Meallain’s actions and despite her banishment and the House’s continued refusal to defer to his authority, he didn’t seem to feel a need to act on his disgruntlement further than he already had.

The duel that Tala was supposed to oversee had been postponed one more time, but the day for her oversight had finally arrived. The issue on the table seemed to be that the House of the Steep Mountain and the House of the Little Leader had a dispute having to do with their respective heirs.

They were older, hereditary Houses, and they had never really gotten along despite both Houses being composed of similar species, mainly dwarves, gnomes, badger-kin, and several other traditionally underground folk. They were, in fact, the only Major Houses to have a presence in the undercity of Platoiri, a place that Tala had never had occasion to visit, but which was apparently just as sprawling as that which was above ground.

But that was beside the point. The issue between the Houses was stated to be that their heirs wished to marry, and while that would seemingly be a good thing, unifying the Houses and ending the long-standing, low-level feud, there was no agreement upon which House would rise to prominence.

As such, the heads of house, themselves, would be fighting, hence, the need for one such as Tala to oversee the clash.

As Tala and her party walked through the streets, most cleared out of the way of the clearly powerful, official group.

Even so, Tala saw more than a few confused or disparaging looks sent Rane’s way. Those who noticed Lea’s gate seemed to be more intrigued than hostile, thus marking themselves quite easily to Tala’s perception.

Of those who regarded Rane though, many put hands on weapons of various kinds.

Finally, when they were about half-way to the dueling arena, an Honored wolf-kin man stepped out in front of them, forcing a halt even as he bowed deeply to Tala. “Revered Eskau, I apologize for my intrusion, but I must inquire.”

The party shifted in trepidation as Tala regarded the wolf-kin, the guards forming up behind, but not interfering. After all, they were each only Elder in advancement, thus making this an ‘Eskau’ issue. Still, they would ensure no one came from behind in the unlikely event that this was some sort of distraction.

The wolf-kin rose and pointed at Rane. “Is he your slave?”

Tala stiffened, instantly understanding. Rane was not of the House of Blood, yet he walked in front of guards of that House, in a place of honor beside an Eskau. If he was her slave, if she claimed ownership over him, then his position would be accepted, even if it still violated social customs.

Otherwise, the very act of a gated being in such a position within an official delegation was an affront to social customs and norms of society.

Once again, Tala’s nature as gated was essentially ignored due to her position as Eskau taking precedence. Even the City Lord’s symbol didn’t grant Rane social standing. It simply prevented him from being treated as a law breaker. “He is not.”

She could have stated that he was her husband or ‘official guard,’ but that might have actually made things worse. The wolf nodded before turning to regard Rane. “Your actions are disgraceful, and even if no other will do so, I will put you in your place.”

Rane sighed. He was aware of the background which likely led to this occurrence, even if he still found it ridiculous. “I am in my place, Honored one.”

The man growled in return. “My honor is my own, and none of yours. I challenge you to official combat. I would demand that it be to the death, but a corpse cannot learn, and my aim is to instruct.”

Rane took a deep breath, and nodded. “Send the particulars to the hold of the House of Blood. I will attend.”

“See that you do.” The wolf-kin nodded once in acknowledgement, turned and bowed to Tala, then strode back into the crowd, where he was received with clear approval by many of the onlookers.

Tala sighed, giving a small shake of her head before striding forward once more.

It didn’t take too long for them to reach the arena, and they were able to hear the crowds around it far before they arrived.

The duel wasn’t for an hour yet, but already people were gathering, both from the Houses, and from the general populace.

The massive compound was draped in the colors and banners of the two Houses, those banners having far more detail than the simplified symbols usually worn by Eskau or Pillars.

The House of the Steep Mountains banner was a sapphire and emerald, each picked out in silver, resting on a field of deep, richest purple. The banner of the House of the Little Leader was a ruby, resting upon an orange and black bed of coals, all contained upon a similar field of dark purple.

Funnily enough, due to the racial composition of those moving toward the arena, Tala was actually on the taller side, with Rane, Lea, and the House of Blood guards practically towering over the average.

There were, of course, other attendees of a more ‘standard’ height moving through the crowd, but the majority were what would be considered short.

-That majority includes you, Tala.-

Hush you, Alat. Let me have this. I’m finally in the ‘taller’ group.

-Fine…-

As they moved forward, the crowd continued to part for them, though now it was due to which House they were from, more than the fact that they were an official group from a House.

The symbol of the House of Blood stood out prominently at the top of each display of banners around the arena, serving as the upper point on the triangle, and declaring that the House of Blood would be overseeing portions of the main event.

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They navigated to a side entrance and were immediately within the underbelly of the arena. Attendants greeted them with appropriate honors and led them through a veritable maze and out to an overseer’s box, down near the sand of the great oval floor.

At the moment, there were various other entertainments going on, all with a festive air. This was, after all, a wedding.

What an odd way to get married.

-Yeah… it’s certainly different.-

As is most of the culture though, I suppose.

Even if the Houses were in agreement as to which would be in prominence upon their union, there would still be mock combat, and other martial festivities within the arena, through which the House or Houses would display their worth both to each other and to the guests.

Toward that end, there were sparring melees currently going on, and even though they were using blunted weapons, their clashes were no less vehement.