Humble Beginnings

Dresdien Valtiere

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He stood by the same window as he had for almost a century now. He took in sight of the gardens and flowers, though his focus was on the palace that loomed far in the distance. Valtiere was a renowned name in Thustran history, and he intended to keep it such. His ancestry included countless lines of nobility, though none had ascended to the seat of King. Dresdien drank from his cup of wine as he imagined himself upon that elusive throne.

“My lord,” Dresdien had heard his guard arriving well before he announced himself. He didn’t look away, his gaze remaining out towards the palace.

“The performers are all here for their auditions.”

Dresdien was silent for a long moment as he sipped from his wine. Was this what it had come down to? He was relegated to selecting entertainment for the King’s grand feast? While his wife was convinced this was a great honor, Dresdien felt no more than a tool to be leveraged by the King. Valtieres were leaders, not tools.

“My lor-”

He raised a hand to silence the guard. Dresdien finished his wine and spun on his heel to make his way towards the main chambers of his manor. He had seen these performances every year, and he had yet to be impressed. This was the first time he was granted the duty of selecting it. The King, like most Sephi, had a keen eye for arts and creativity. He would accept nothing but the best, and coming short could very well impact his career in the royal court.

Dresdien took a seat next to his wife, perching his chin on his slender fingers. His wife, a high ranking duchess from an esteemed family, was chatting with their teenage son next to her. Sevrin was a quiet boy by nature, displaying the traits one would expect of a properly raised noble Sephi. The boy carried himself with confidence and had an aloof air about him very much like his father. Sevrin was, in fact, almost a spitting image of Dresdien.

“Why is he here?” Dresdien asked his wife curtly, his gaze flicking over towards Sevrin and then back at her, “He ought to be studying.”

“I understand, but I though-”

“Aylina,” Dresdien stated curtly. Within moments, Sevrin nodded and left the room. Aylina was quiet after that, much preferring the company of her son than her especially frigid husband. It had been a political marriage. Even then, she had grown to love him but always knew it was never true the other way around. While Sephi were known to have muted outward expressions, she truly believed Dresdien to be incapable of love.

The tall Sephi noble sat through multiple performances, sipping from his wine as he gave a casual wave of his hand to tell performer after performer to get lost. He was about to tell the guards to call it quits and try again another day when the last performer for the evening arrived for her audition.

It was a tall and slender woman, moving with unmatched graze. Her bronze skin with olive undertones was revealed in the exotic attire she wore, golden jewelry lining up along her elegant wrists and on her neck. She wore a thin, chiffon skirt that revealed long legs with golden anklets around her delicate feet. Only her vibrant brown eyes outlined with black kajal and her long, brown locks of hair were revealed. The bottom hemisphere was covered with the similar chiffon material.

“Please, my lord,” The sultry voice called out, “They saved the best for last. Will you not see what Indupar’s best has to offer?”

She chuckled softly before the music filled the room. The woman moved with unparalleled grace, circling and spinning. Her hips rose and fell with hypnotic precision, and she practically glided across the floor, her skirt flaring out all around her. The exotic jewels she wore glinted with her movements and her hair flowed freely. She was in command here, and everyone there knew it. The woman rolled her shoulders back and arched all the way back, tilting her head back upside down to gaze up towards Dresdien. There was defiance and fire in her eyes as she gazed at the frosty lord, lingering there before she moved upright again. She moved with a serpentine sway, her wrists and hands languidly curling through the air to the music.

At some point, a green hue appeared between her hands. The guards began to shift, but Dresdien held up a hand to stay them. The woman drew a long, brilliant emerald arc with her magick, adding it into her dazzling performance. The use of the Force was enough to draw over another curious party. The teenage boy Sevrin returned from his path, peering in through a door as he felt that pulse in the Force. Only his mother knew of his ‘condition’, and now he knew this dancing woman had it too. He watched her curiously.

Aylina watched the performance, but only half her attention was on it. She instead turned to regard her husband. It was the first time she had seen Dresdien transfixed by a performance. It bothered her far more than she would ever admit. Those eyes that always held nothing but frost in them now burned with fire she had never seen before.

The Induparan woman finished her dance and took a dramatic bow. There was nothing but silence for a moment until Dresdien leaned forward in his seat, his silver gaze piercing directly into the woman. Though his face was largely expressionless, there was no hiding the fire in his eyes.

“What is your name?”

“My name is Divya, my lord.”
 
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