• Closed • [House Burhan] Special Delivery

Valeria Burhan please

The seven Duchies of Central Rynmere and their respective baronies, cities, towns, villages, and landmarks each overseen by a Duke of one of the seven noble families and ultimately controlled by the King of Rynmere.
User avatar
Torqin
Posts: 74
Joined: Tue Dec 19, 2017 1:15 am
Race: Lotharro
Profession: Bodyguard
Renown: 10
Character Sheet
Plot Notes
Partner
Templates
Point Bank Thread
Wealth Tier: Tier 1

Milestones

Miscellaneous

[House Burhan] Special Delivery

Vhalar 1, 706 - Age 14

Torqin sat atop one of the Aestedia Stables' own steeds, one that wasn't directly owned by any member of the Andaris family or a member of the guard and military. It was a pleasant chestnut mare named Farugn. He plodded along the stone streets, looking around at the different style of buildings here in the Burhan Barony. They didn't seem to use the same white stone that the Andaris family preferred to use. The people here were pleasant, but still they stared. It was as if they'd never seen a pair of Lotharro on horses bearing the Andaris Dragon on their horses' tabards.

Torqin looked over at his father, wearing a bright smile, and looking about as well. It wasn't often they traveled together, or even at all. Once or twice a year at most. Torqin's father, Jhorengrier, was representing the Aestedia stables in delivering a special horse to House Burhan. Torqin didn't know all of the specifics behind it, but apparently the young stallion they led between them was the sire of a well known Warrick stallion and a Gawyne mare. There'd been a bunch of politicking around the horse, but it ended up coming down to House Andaris purchasing the horse and now presenting it to House Burhan as a gift. Torqin understood none of it. That level of politics was well above him.

As the Lotharro pair and trio of horses slowly walked through the town, a pair of children pointed at them and waved. Torqin and his father both laughed and waved back. It wasn't long before they arrived at the gates to House Burhan proper. They were stopped by a number of guards, bearing the Burhan crest, a compass. They approached cordially enough, "What business do you gentlemen from Andaris have here at House Burhan?"

The father-son duo bowed their heads, "Good day sers," his dad grabbed a scroll, sealed with the Andaris crest in wax, and handed it over to the guard, "We are delivering this fine colt here to House Burhan, as a gift from House Andaris. I have brought the siring documentation with us as well, provided by both Houses Warrick and Gawyne respectively. We are to deliver this steed, and provide any assistance necessary to assure that the gift is well received, whatever form that may take." Jhoren gestured to the silver coated colt. While many horses were grey, this one seemed to have a true shimmer and shine to his coat, like genuine silver. He was big for his young age, and anyone who truly knew horses could see that he would be a most impressive steed once he finished growing.

Torqin watched as the Head Guard spoke with his subordinates, a couple of whom were sent into the estate. "You both are welcome into the grounds. You must wait there to be received by a member of the Burhan family. Two of my men will escort you. Any weapons must be peace-tied by us before you may enter. If you remove the peace-tie for any reason, it will be considered an act of aggression against the family Burhan and you will be executed for your crimes. Do you understand?"

Both Torqin and Jhorengrier nodded their assent and dismounted. Two guards came forward with bright crimson leather straps. They tied down Torqin's club. He wasn't much use with it anyways, but as they were traveling he carried it. His father's sword was peace-tied as well, but it was a mere decoration, a gift from Torqin's mum. Jhoren preferred to fight with his hands, and couldn't handle that sword any better than a child. Once the peace-ties were in place, the pair remounted.

The head guard indicated the two guards that would be escorting them, "This is Karita, and that is Lorado. You are to obey them while you are with them. Do not attempt to leave their presence. You may proceed inside." The gates were opened, and they were led through. They were led through the grounds, and stopped before the exquisitely carved doors to the Burhan Manor. And there they waited, in silence, to be received by the Burhan family. Torqin knew to not speak until spoken to, to keep his posture straight and eyes forward. This was business. Anything beyond that would be at the Burhan family's instruction.
word count: 744
User avatar
Valeria Burhan
Approved Character
Posts: 220
Joined: Thu Dec 07, 2017 1:44 am
Race: Mixed Race
Renown: 102
Character Sheet
Plot Notes
Templates
Letters
Wealth Tier: Tier 1

Contribution

Milestones

Miscellaneous

[House Burhan] Special Delivery

Age 10
"It's stupid and I don't see the point of it! Why do I have to look at some smelly horse? You know that I don't even like horses," the girl whined to her tutor, pouting in a way that made the woman frown.

"Valeria, stop doing that with your mouth, I don't know how many times I've said it but it isn't attractive and you'll get all these lines around your mouth..." Ulyna began in reprimand.

"What like all those wrinkles that you have?" the child sneered, sticking her tongue out at her. "I'm nicer looking than you anyway so I doubt it." She couldn't deny that she enjoyed doing this to the woman, winding her up, especially when that vein started jumping just above her eyebrow when she was really angry but trying not to explode.

"Valeria Paige Burhan, you will remember your manners," Ulyna ordered in clipped tones. Valeria made a face; she hated having her middle name thrown about. She didn't know what had possessed her parents to give her her grandmother's name. Bloody suck-ups! She wasn't even high enough in line for it to be worth a damn. Still, she plastered a sweet smile on her face and batted her eyelashes at her, trying to appear pretty and innocent.

"Of course, Ulyna, I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have been rude," she wheedled, watching her tutor turn her gaze skywards.

"You're always able to be a lady when it suits you. I suppose that that's something at least. Now please, come along. These people have come all the way from Andaris with this horse and they have to be greeted. Your grandparents are going to be there so I'm sure that you'll be on your best behaviour!"

"Oh goody," she muttered. The old farts were going to be there. They seemed ridiculously old to the ten arc old and she didn't think it was a joy to be in their presence. It meant that she had to act all lady-like. Some of it was all right - she enjoyed getting dressed up prettily - but she didn't like having to act as stuffy as her elders. "Yes, Ulyna, I'll be good. Now can you explain the horse thing again?"

As they headed towards the main doors, her tutor explained the purpose of the visit (again) and she felt her eyes glaze over (again) although she smiled and nodded as if she was listening to every word. Once they reached their destination, the tutor hovered anxiously beside Valeria, positioning her behind and to one side of her grandparents. With that done, she noticed that no one else had been roped into this. Her brothers had probably had the opportunity to run off and do something fun. Being a lady wasn't fair at all.

They stepped through the doors, moving down the steps while her elders moved ahead. They were going through some formulaic nonsense, spouting things that they didn't mean at all. However, Valeria was drawn to the men themselves. There were some guards with them bearing Burhan's sigil but the visitors were from Andaris. They were almost like foreigners from a different country, an exotic sight that she didn't often see. These visitors were even more exotic than usual. Their skin was so dark and they were so big! One was a fully grown man while the other seemed to be his son and she didn't think that he could be that many arcs older than her. Still, he already bore some of the strong look of the man mounted on the horse beside him. Her mouth hung open.

She smoothed down the folds of her soft blue dress, watching as her elders wrapped up their politicking, murmured something about hospitality and then went back into the house. Well, that seemed to be that. All the fuss, including having her hair curled, for what was only a few bits of silliness. The child wasn't happy. The men would be treated with respect but they weren't nobility, only their representatives, so they could be dealt with by servants. However, Ulyna thought that she might like to pet the new horse. She knew that Valeria didn't like horses. This was just one of her bloody tests. She couldn't kick off in front of strangers though and they both knew it.

Steeling herself, she approached the men cautiously, smiling prettily at the guards before she drew closer to the mounts, gazing up at the biggest man with wide blue eyes. "Excuse me, but can I pet the horse? Is it okay to just... touch it? Will it bite?" she asked softly.
Last edited by Valeria Burhan on Sun Sep 16, 2018 8:26 pm, edited 2 times in total. word count: 803
User avatar
Torqin
Posts: 74
Joined: Tue Dec 19, 2017 1:15 am
Race: Lotharro
Profession: Bodyguard
Renown: 10
Character Sheet
Plot Notes
Partner
Templates
Point Bank Thread
Wealth Tier: Tier 1

Milestones

Miscellaneous

Re: [House Burhan] Special Delivery

Jhorengrier smiled down at the young girl, "But of course you may, Lady Burhan. He is one of the finest colts we've ever had the pleasure of training at Aestedia. He will not bite, though my son here, Torqin, will introduce you both." Torqin took his father's cue, as he stepped forward, next to the side of the colt's neck. He placed one hand just behind the colt's ears, providing a soft, commanding touch.

"Lady Burhan, a pleasure." Torqin nodded his head submissively at the young girl, "This colt has not yet been named, for we save that honor for the Burhan family. However, he has been trained to greet proper ladies such as yourself." Torqin tapped the back of the colt's neck three times with his fingers. The horse perked its ears, having been primed for the next part of the command. "Good ser, this is Lady Valeria Burhan, of house Burhan."

The colt extended one leg forward, planting it and keeping it straight, while bending the other at the knee and dropping its head, as Torqin pulled his hand away, tucking it behind his back to be grasped by his other. This posture effectively dipped the horse into a bow, lowering his head down to the girl's waist. "My lady, he will not bite, nor startle. You may pet him to your heart's content. He particularly likes being talked to as well."

Torqin stood there, watching the pride of Aestedia act precisely to his training. He watched every detail of the exchange between young Valeria and the colt. He waited for the girl to be finished with the horse, one way or another, "We will be taking him to your stables, if you would care to join us? He will need to be fed and cleaned and introduced to his new home. I'm sure he would feel much calmer in the presence of your grace."

The estate guards were ready to guide Torqin and Jhorengrier to the stables, regardless of whether Valeria was joining them or not. The guards were happy to at least have something to do beyond staring at the same amount of space on the estate. This broke up the monotony. And once the nobles were gone, they could talk to these men from Andaris, catch up on the news of the time, under the guise of work.

Note
Heyo Val,

I know this was looooooooong overdue, just getting back into the swing of things. So I wrote in an out for you if you don't want to continue the thread. Totally understand. If you do, I'll do my best to be more consistent.

Thanks!
word count: 449
User avatar
Valeria Burhan
Approved Character
Posts: 220
Joined: Thu Dec 07, 2017 1:44 am
Race: Mixed Race
Renown: 102
Character Sheet
Plot Notes
Templates
Letters
Wealth Tier: Tier 1

Contribution

Milestones

Miscellaneous

Re: [House Burhan] Special Delivery

The girl wished the horse was a biter. If he'd said that she needed to be wary then she would have had a great opportunity to back off, Ulyna be damned. But no, it had to be nice. She resisted the urge to huff and roll her eyes, instead maintaining the sweet smile as the man's son stepped forward. The child groaned inwardly. Was she going to be stuck with the infernal beast? Sure, she was curious about these exotic men, curious about what gossip she could glean about Andaris but she didn't want anything to do with the stupid animal.

"Hello," she murmured to Torqin, suddenly shy as she found herself at a loss of what to do. She gave an awkward little waggle of her fingers, wondering what that was meant to achieve when he was mere feet from her. Waving at someone only made sense when they were far off, not up close. However, she didn't know his name and he was basically a servant in any case so she had no notion of how to greet him. How was she supposed to talk with him? How did ladies react in this sort of situation? She wasn't even a proper lady so how could she know? It was even weirder because she was being introduced to a horse like it was a person. This was just too strange.

Then the colt bowed and her mouth dropped open anew.

Stinky beasts weren't meant to be clever enough to do things like that, especially not when they were horse-shaped. It was definitely bowing though. Was she meant to curtsy in response? To a horse? She didn't know but she did realise belatedly that she had her mouth wide open, something that Ulyna told her was common and uncouth. Admittedly, she could see her point about it; it was like she was giving a Jacadon space to fly in.

"Oh! It does tricks!" Valeria gasped out, neither caring nor noticing that she was stating the obvious. "So it isn't a big stupid beast after all. Even if it looks it."

"Valeria!" her tutor hissed, the disapproval quiet but clear. She shot a quick glance back at the woman, noting the firm and unhappy press of her lips. What? The last bit had just slipped out. She was allowed have opinions, wasn't she? Oh wait, no, she wasn't. Ladies who thought too much and let their mouths run away with them weren't very good sorts and nobody thought they were cute or pretty, even if they were only little girls. So she'd been told and she was pretty. Everyone should think she was pretty and she didn't want to jeopardise that by saying the wrong things in front of people.

"Sorry, horse," she mumbled, reaching out to give it a tentative rub on the nose, drawing her hand back again, fingers twitching nervously. She went in for another careful pet.

When Torqin addressed her as 'your grace', the little blonde's head whipped around, expecting her grandmother to be right behind her but there was no one but Ulyna. Her brows tugged together in puzzlement, her tutor subtly gesturing that the girl should smooth her forehead. Wrinkles again. The child rolled her eyes before turning her gaze back to the dark-skinned men, pupils huge and rimmed in silvery blue.

"You called me 'your grace' but... I'm not a duchess - that's my grandmother," she explained softly. Although she liked the sound of it. Oh she did like the title but that was because of the deference that was always shown to her grandmother, to her grandfather, the duke. They'd both reached a level where they could technically do what they liked; no one could tell them what to do because they were too high for them. Of course, they chose to be all political about it and stuffy but if she was duchess-

She would never be duchess; there was no point in dreaming about it.

She sighed softly, drawing her hand away from the colt and absently rubbing her hand on her dress.

"I could come with you," she mused, glancing back at her tutor. If she went with these men then she might hear about Andaris and it would give her longer to wear her nice clothing, give them a proper airing. It also meant that Ulyna couldn't chastise her for awhile, not while they were in company, although she'd shown that she still had her ways. Well... Valeria might just have a way to get rid of her for awhile.

The blonde beamed, a new excited gleam in her gaze as honey tones flashed through it, something that hadn't occurred over the horse. "Oh I'd love to! Ulyna, you can tell everyone where I'm going. Bye!" she announced, definite glee in her features as she went to march off, not seeing how the woman's face blanched.

"Wait, my lady! I'll send one of the guards, I'm sure that's more proper," the woman responded, grasping her skirts so she could trot after the child as her shock subsided.

The Senlin heiress turned a sweet, innocent face her way, blinking in feigned bewilderment that was definitely overdone, especially when the corners of her mouth were twitching to rise; she wasn't that good of an actress. "Do you want them to think something's wrong by having a guard barge in? Guards don't usually go into the house to say where members of the household have gone, not unless they've gone in a bad way," the child remarked. "They can look after me if I need it but... I definitely don't need you. Except to tell my mother where I've gone, of course. I don't need a tutor in the stables, not one like you. You handle ladies, not horses."

Their was the jumping vein and a look that seemed to suggest that the child before her was no lady but a beast. The woman curtsied woodenly.

"Of course, m'lady. As you say," she murmured before turning and marching back towards the house. Oh she was going to talk to her mother all right, she didn't doubt that but it would likely be another talk about what a spirited, impertinent little brat she could be. The blonde didn't care. She was basically ready to start skipping. Not that she would in front of these men. Little girls skipped and she wasn't that little anymore. She was quite grown up for her age. She knew how to swear and everything!

She turned her attention back to the men with a bright smile. "We're off to the stables then! Off we go, she won't be back!" she assured them, clasping her hands together and leaving them to bounce against the front of her dress as she walked. "So... what news of Andaris? You're from the Barony that the capital's in, aren't you?" she questioned eagerly, her eyes dancing with honeyed browns as they swivelled between the two strangers.

"Have you always lived there?" the child added, thinking she was very clever for not asking directly where they'd originated from to have such dark skin.
word count: 1233
User avatar
Torqin
Posts: 74
Joined: Tue Dec 19, 2017 1:15 am
Race: Lotharro
Profession: Bodyguard
Renown: 10
Character Sheet
Plot Notes
Partner
Templates
Point Bank Thread
Wealth Tier: Tier 1

Milestones

Miscellaneous

Re: [House Burhan] Special Delivery


Torqin maintained his smile for the chatterbox of a noble lass. "Apologies on your title, young miss. I'm still learning all the different one's myself. I do hope you can forgive me." Once she was done speaking to her minder in quite the authoritative manner, they followed the other guards, who were way off ahead of them, leading the horse that way.

Torqin was amused at the girls change in demeanor. She had seemed rather reluctant at first, but at this moment of freedom for her, she quickly perked up, and was actively asking questions. Questions that all girls seemed to be interested in, at least in Torqin's limited experience. Gossip. At her desire to know of gossip, Torqin looked over at his father, not sure if he should indulge in what he'd heard. With a smirk, he gave a small head nod.

"Oh, well young miss, Andaris is doing quite well, and yes, we are. Lady Celeste turned 10 arcs last season, there was quite a big party. Her uncle gave her a ship named after her. Drakengard is about to host the festival of fire, with many shows of fire and skill, and lots of food. Many young couples like to use the festival to show everyone that they are together."

He smiled at this next bit, "Just the other day, Master Leeson was beaten up by one of the young Krome ladies, though I cannot recall which. Poor boy was inconsolable, since Master Peake is away on training. Master Daliane just recently left to go stay at House Venora." He side eyed his dad, who just chuckled, "Because he's really pretty."

Torqin saw as the stables came into sight, and felt a bit of pride at their own stables. This one was simple, wooden, well crafted, albeit small. Astedia's Stables were massive and of the white stone their barony was known for. "Yes, I was born there, though my father and mother are from Uthaldria, far to the west in the jungles. I do hope to visit one trial, father says it is beautiful. He tells me there are beasts there the size of the castle, though I find it difficult to believe him." At that his father let loose a single, loud laugh.

They caught up with the guards who led them into the stables, when Torqin realized he should reciprocate, out of politeness. "What news of Burhan? I bet you know all the good stuff." They led the horse to the stall, and his father set to work, bringing out the feed they brought with them, and the many grooming brushes to maintain it. Torqin stood at the front of the stall, while his father worked. He had an inkling that Valeria wasn't interested in actually feeding and cleaning, and would much rather talk. And he knew his father would want him to entertain her instead of getting her in the way.

So, small talk with the young girl it was.
word count: 503
Locked Request an XP Review Claim Wealth Thread

Return to “Duchies”