Arriving in Eremaki

It took some time for the Venta Neptus to dock at the port city. Time for the proper arrangements to be made for the Leia's official arrival in the Nation as part of her Candidate's Journey. Time for a crowd of curious onlookers to gather, wondering who had arrived and what could be happening.

Whether they truly understood the importance of a Summoner Candidate for Astraea… was something few could guess. Even after all this, the isolationist tendencies of Eremaki endured. They were imprinted on the nature of the people, to care about nothing that wasn't of Eremaki. At one point it was a matter of survival.

Now… it meant that the curiosity was possibly the curiosity of the moment. Few expected that the arrival of the Summoner Candidate would change anything for the common people of the land.

While arrangements were being made, Lei'Ahree took advantage of the opportunity to make arrangements of her own. Momotarou and Advocat had reassured some of her fears, true, but she still resented the journey she was being forced on and she still had the lingering sense of doom about her future.

And she really didn't care if everyone knew.

So when she appeared to make her official appearance, she fully expected a reaction… from some members of the welcoming party at least.

She was gowned completely in white.

A white skirt, cut away on the sides to show her hips. A white top, tied in back. A white beaded collar decorated with white shells and white stones. And a white flower in her hair.

Tiernan saw her step out from her room and he smiled at her and bowed in greeting. "You look beautiful, milady Summoner," he said, "as pure and as innocent as the dawning."

Leia had to stifle a smile. The Glaisne man *would* see white as innocence. She fully expected another reaction from those of Eremaki. "Thank you." She took a deep breath and stepped forward to meet whatever sinister destiny awaited her. She really didn't care about her life anymore.

All but facepalming when Crucent saw what Leia had decided to wear she still couldn't help herself, and leaning down, murmuring so quietly only her friend would hear it said "all white? really? despite what you think, and others may have told you, I'm not gonna let them kill you right here."

Standing up again, she took a deep breath and adjusted her own dress* a little then was ready to follow Leia, wondering if Tiernans comments about Eremakians were true, hoping like hell they weren't cause if so, Leia had just given them all the biggest slap in their faces possible from a Summoner Candidate, making things so much worse then they had to be.







* ( click on the word dress, then you'll see it)

The palace was abuzz with activity, Aasera did what she could to help make preparations. She to was also curious to meet the new Summoner and for such an event Aasera was wearing her best court attire, a blue gown with embroidered sleeves and over that was a darker blue silk over coat with floral pattern. Of course Aasera was never known to dress poorly so the compliments she received where not new to her.

Advocat didn't have much to do since a good amount of the work to be done was not anything he could be of use doing, that or a refusal since he wouldn't help unload cargo like a mere ship-hand unless it was critically needed of him to do so. He was focused on getting his group to be ready and after everything was set up it looked like Advocat and them had never even been on the ship, Mala was currently sleeping in the Death Dealer's arms as Laharl had Lenna sleeping in his hair once again. They followed Cru and Leia out though Advocat looked at the young summoner's outfit and said "Interesting fashion statement my dear.....I'm sure the people will be thrilled to death to see you in such a thing...." Advocat was obviously making a joke as he knew what white meant as some cultures on earth used it for the dead as well.

Advocat though did keep his eyes open just in case someone tried anything during this little stop while Laharl sniffed the air for anything weird smelling like poisons or the like. All the while little Eiko was sticking to Advocat's side like a leech but not because of her love struckness toward him but fear of what could happen if she got separated from him here. She might not be fully brainwashed like most of her nation's people, but she was weary of this nation's people enough to be a little scared. Advocat had to focus on being that anchor of sorts for her to keep strong and not be totally scared.

Scanning the crowd by the docks, Crucent's nerves was already wound up a little. Not so much from and physical fear, but more the anticipation, how would Leia behave, what would the Eremakians think etc. and a surefire way of seeing when she was nervous, was that she would fidget with her clothing.
Adjusting the shoulderstraps on her dress, she felt sorely like a fish out of water not to mention alone having not been able to talk to Leia at all during their travel here. Clenching her fists, she was already wishing for this part of the trip to be over with as they started to head down the stairs and onto the port itself.

When the would-be keeper appeared, the crowd went dead silent.

Robing one's self entirely in white was to count one's self among the dead. For this young woman to see herself as such was heavily disquieting.

Soon after, the whispers started. Opinions ran the gamut from pity to disgust, and everything in between. If she'd wanted to make a scene with her arrival, this certainly did it. As more suspicion became whispered, the crowd became louder. Though individuals were lost in the sound, the general disapproval was clear.

However, when a sigil appeared in the sky, the entire crowd became silent as the dead. From the center of the casting circles above, a light-wrapped figure plummeted from the sky, landing on the pier, the wood beneath the figure creaking from the force, and dust being driven from its presence.

The man stood just at six feet. Blue eyes, laced with gray, looked out upon the new arrivals. Kimono and hakama of deepest red, trimmed in gold, sat beneath a similarly-colored haori, the back of which was decorated with a metallic gold, photorealistic chrysanthemum sigil. Such a regal appearance... ...It could only be the Emperor. The quiet was so loud as to be deafening, until he spoke.

"Greetings, friends from abroad! So good of you to visit our fair and majestic land! Please, come down among our people, and sample all that we have to offer!"

Momotarou followed close behind the Emperor, with a smile. He could still remember a time when the would-be Great Keeper would enter into the land amidst a riot, escorted through the raging commoners by armed guards who would barely tolerate their presence, only to meet with a standoffish and snide Emperor, and a sycophantic bakufu.

My, how time changes things.

For his part, the Emperor simply waited for the Great Keeper-to-be, and her entourage, to come down from their airship.

Leia really didn't know how to explain to her friend WHY she had chosen to garb herself in a way that was going to cause such a strong reaction. It was just something she felt she had to do. She was on a path not of her own choice and she knew… KNEW, that her death lay at the end of it. Death, or a slavery that might be worse, she wasn't certain.

What did she care for the lesser threats along the way?

At the arrival of the Emperor, Leia took the first steps forward to greet him, silencing the chuckle in her mind at how he tried to ignore the whale in the room that was her choice of clothing… though she fully expected that she'd get an earful from Crucent as soon as her old friend had a chance to speak to her alone.

She knew what she looked like. She knew that the white would be even brighter against her dark skin. The beadwork on the collar was possibly her best, each bead and stone individually stitched. Yes, she was garbed as a maiden sacrifice. But at least she was a good looking one.

This Emperor, though, was younger than she expected for someone who had sent a kidnapper to carry her away from her home. So much had happened that she had almost forgotten that she was ever angry with him over that.

For a sudden moment she was uncertain of herself, uncertain of what to say, or how to say it. She just wanted him to understand that she was furious beyond belief at her circumstances… not at Eremaki itself.

So as she stepped forward to greet this teenage Emperor, she was silent and chewing nervously on her lower lip. She didn't know whether to bow to him or simply to nod or if she were supposed to do something else entirely. She didn't know what she was doing.

All she knew was that she was actually standing in Eremaki… as she'd dreamed about doing since she was a very small child…

"Uhm… Hello." She kept her voice low out of nervousness. "I'm Lei'Ahree of Neorah. It's… it's good to meet you."

Advocat had expected the populous to react as if they were smacked across the face more or less for while they were dead silent for a little while slowly a dull roar was made by the combined noise of all the different people, all in all nothing to get all worked up about and if trouble broke out Bloodletter or the sisters could easily force even a large crowd of angry civilians to stand down. Thankfully it didn't come to that for they went silent but at the same time pin pricks were felt by Advocat, Laharl, Mala, and Lenna due to the sudden appearance of some rather showy young man.

Advocat had a good guess that it was the Emperor due to how Empires are foolish enough to trust their fate to even a sixteen year old boy or girl if things were to turn out that way, but the real issue Advocat had with the man was not him directly but of what he was connected to.......his soul was as plain as any other but there was something else there that gave out a holy energy and it caused his skin to become uncomfortable as the same for the other demonic beings. Laharl himself was actively showing his annoyance by the fact his fist were tightening as normally in life he beats up or yells at what ever is bothering him, this time though he had to stay his hand and thus forced to endure the constant feeling the energy was giving him.

The two pets were even woken up by this as Mala and Lenna looked around with a pout as they too were not happy to be feeling this, when they saw the source though they settled down enough to not show how uncomfortable this Emperor made them with just being there. Eiko herself though wasn't bothered by the Emperor and even tugged on Advocat's shirt a slight bit to ask "Who is that guy Master Advocat....." "I believe that is the Emperor of this land." "....He younger than I though he be...." "Indeed...lets hush now though." replied Advocat as he gave Eiko a slight pat on her head.

Advocat could clearly see how awkward Leia was and mentally bashed himself on not asking her about if she knew how to greet a royal, though for Advocat's sake he does hope he doesn't get said hello to till they are in more private areas. Because he will be damned before he treats this young pup like he is of greater status than Advocat himself, maybe treat him as an equal just to be polite but that was as far as he was going. Though heaven forbid if the man talks to Laharl or they will be executed before they even put one foot on the ground itself.......well they would try anyway.

As the Emperor arrived and greeted them, Crucent had a hard time indeed trying to not show a flicker of what was going through her mind wich was more or less "what the hells? is he Flying??! how is this even possible? .. maybe he just teleported in and miscalculated his landing height badly."
When Leia walked down to him, Crucent remained still, waiting for the rather awkward greetings to get over with before the rest of them would disembark fully and head for wherever they were going. Hearing someone talking quietly behind her, she turned her head a little to see who it was.

As it turned out they seemed to be an entire enourage that was coming ashore to go with Leia.

There was Tiernan, looking less then amused, and as she remembered what he had told her about his cousin and Eremaki, she couldn't exactly blame him. Next to him was the most ruffled-up Samurai Crucent had ever seen, and she couldn't help but wonder what he was doing there. She then saw a young man with dark hair and red eyes that seemingly had been talking to a young girl. Letting her eyes linger on him a bit, she thought to herself "hmm... that must be Advocat if I'm not much mistaken. It just goes to show; you can't trust your own eyes at times. He seems almost friendy..."
A little behind him again she spotted Laharl and Len, making her unwind and smile a little just as she turned back and focused again on what was going on with Leia and the unusual Emperor.

Word traveled the palace like wildfire, the Emperor himself had arrived in the city. he and the would be great keeper would most certainly come to the palace soon. Even if they did not everyone in the palace including the normally calm Aasera where frantically running about to make sure everything was prepared to receive them.

"Good to meet ME? My dear, the pleasure is mine."

...When he, the mighty God-King, the Emperor, bowed humbly to the simple island girl, the crowd, in its entirety, fainted straight away. Momotarou, however, was half-curled over, on his feet, laughing.

"I can't believe that actually worked." Masurao marveled as he rose back to a standing position. With a broad, sweeping motion of his arm, Masurao beckoned the lot of them to follow, as he left the docks. Momo, quickly collecting himself, followed. The Emperor didn't like having a guard; it implied he couldn't take care of himself. But, there is defiance of tradition, and then, there's complete idiocy. As the lot of them left, and set off down the main street in the city of Musashi, Masurao spoke up.

"Well, then, miss Great Keeper... ...I take it you're none too thrilled with the task you've been given?"

Momo sighed. He KNEW Leia wasn't happy, but, did she have to go THAT far?

=====================================================

At the palace, though, the call went out. Run through the palace walls were veins of crystal, which, when spoken at, provided a good means of mass communication.

"The Emperor is en route with the Great Keeper, and her entourage! All preparations must be finished!"

From the chaos that was the palace staff, a young servant girl came up to Aasera.

"Sato-sama? Your presence is requested at the main gate." Said the servant girl, bowing low in respect to the geisha-turned-stateswoman.

(Forgive me if my honorifics are off... I'm afraid the japanese tongue escapes me.)

Leia sighed loudly. "That's putting it mildly," she told the Emperor, so completely uncertain how to speak properly that she lapsed into a manner that would be a touch too familiar... if he were a different sort of ruler. "As I'm sure your friend over there has told you, I'm pretty well certain that my death, or worse, sits at the end of this journey and I don't like being offered up as a sacrifice to a dragon..."

That still bugged her. Of course, there were Sacrifices and then there were Offerings and she really didn't know that she wanted to be either type. No matter WHAT the old Keeper in Mother-of-Pearl had implied...

From the back of the group, Tiernan saw the two speaking, but he couldn't quite make out what they were saying. This Emperor seemed to be a rather relaxed sort, but that could be a facade to curry favor with a young woman who had the potential to hold a great deal of power...

Even though his masters had their own plans for her.

He couldn't afford to let her connect with Eremaki. It would make matters more difficult later. He had to find a way to put walls between her and them... and make it look like it wasn't his doing...

Aasera bowed slightly to the young servant girl and made her way through the bustling crowd toward the main gate. Upon arriving she stood quietly awaiting to receive the Emperor and would be Great Keeper. In this moment her mind drifted and she began to wonder what the would be Great Keeper was like, what does she look like, how old is she and most importantly how does she feel about all of this. Aasera imagined it all must be strange for the girl.

Advocat was relieved to see that only Leia was being talked to at the moment though he mentally shook his head at the fact all the peasants blacked out from their Emperor acting a bit more humble than most. As the peasants went down though Eiko freaked out and clung to Advocat even more as she yelled "AHHH THEY DIED! HE KILLED THEM WITH A BOW!" Advocat sweat dropped a bit and shook his head as even Mala didn't think that happened, then again with how Eiko's nation acts like Eremaki is a place of evil he figured she was suffering a bit of brainwashing.

He reached down and picked up Eiko and held her trying to calm the girl down as Mala grumbled and shared her spot in HER master's arm with Eiko, the little girl was still in a panic over the Emperor but Advocat calmed her down enough that she wasn't trying to run away from him. As Advocat followed the others he simply rubbed Eiko's back as she clung to him while Mala glared daggers of rage at Eiko, Laharl the entire way was laughing his ass off at all this as he found the sight funny as hell and Eiko's freak out was only making it more funny to him. He shut up though when Advocat gave Laharl a withering stare which was a single warning to shut the hell up, seems Advocat was the only one with any sanity in his little group.....joy be-fill his heart.

As they made their way through the crows headed for the palace, Crucent just observed. "Hmm... It seems the Emperor is very open-minded and unusual if Tiernan's judgement is anythhing to go by. I just pray that Leia will realize things aren't so bad as she's made them out to be and will try to behave while we're here."

Looking around she noticed how the People seemed to indeed think of their Emperor like a God, even if he wasn't quite what they expected in a God. They were all smiling and polite as they cheered, but there was a feeling there... She wondered if he knew how much he was rubbing his people the wrong way.

As they arrived at the palace, the cheers quieted down a little, and Crucent saw a young woman standing on the steps ready to greet them.

"Death?" The Emperor began.

"True enough, Bahamut is fond of young maidens, but I've never know him to kill..."

...Perhaps, though, she was correct. Great Keepers seem to have a gift for predestination, and they're rarely wrong. ...Perhaps it would do to keep an escort with her.

"Oi, Leia, I already told ya! Y'got me in your corner; don't get much safer!"

Masurao chuckled, softly, as his friend's well-placed bravado.

"If you've made a friend of Momotarou-san, then, truly, you're safe. Don't let his place as a statesman fool you; he's one of the best Samurai I've had the pleasure of knowing."

As the lot of them arrived at the gates of the palace, Momo bowed slightly to Aasera, as Masurao began.

"Well, despite what some of you may have been led to believe, I'm happy to have you all here. I'm afraid, though, I'm not entirely certain how you wish to proceed.We can, if you like, head for the Crystal now, but, there's no rush."

Aasera bowed deeply to both the Emperor and would be Great keeper. What the person before her was not what she would imagined. She was just a girl, that made Aasera pity her as she was probably feeling lost and confused and she was certain of that considering how the girl was dressed. "Welcome back Emperor and welcome to our city Great Keeper, if there is anything that either of you require I am at your disposal." she said still bowing and gracefully motioning toward the door as some servants opened them.

Leia sighed at Momotarou's attempt to reassure her and his Emperor's full support of the oddly spastic Samurai. She wasn't sure that she believed them, though.

"To be honest," she said, "I am in no great hurry to complete this journey either. The Crystal can wait for at least a day or two if that can be arranged." She sighed as the embarrassed flush rose on her face. "I would like to see this land of yours. I..."

She bit her lip in slight nervousness. "As your walking tin can will probably tell you as soon as he gets back... I've dreamed of Eremaki since I was very small." She let out a slight huff. "And as a word of future warning, sending people to kidnap island girls away from their homes sends a bad impression of your intentions."

Yeah... she was still sore over that run-in with Ichabod.

Advocat listened to Leia and the Emperor talk with Momo making a comment from time to time it was not as interesting as he would like but there was little he could do at the moment, he was still busy with Eiko clinging to him for dear life while Mala had to deal with the little girl burring her face against her master's neck. But soon when the group were much closer to the castle a shot of pain jolted through Mala and Len causing them to jump and let out slight eeps of pain, they quickly moved backward as Mala shook her head like someone had hit her with a bolt of lightning as Lenna rubbed her shoulders a bit.

Advocat wasn't nearly as effected but he too felt the slight burning sensation that comes to being near holy locations and even Laharl didn't enjoy it that much, they turned to look at their pets and Advocat said "You two go back to the ship, this is no place for demonic beings sadly. We will contact you if we go to a place other than here." "Ya Len go back to the ship with Mala......and keep her out of trouble okay." replied Laharl.

The two pets thought about it for a moment then nodded their heads but not before giving their respected owners a slight hug before running off, the two men then turned to look at the group and follow once more though Advocat was not looking forward to going into that castle now. Laharl wasn't happy about going in there himself either........this.......will become awkward.

As they entered the Palace itself, Crucent looked around.
There were some nobility, all lined up to meet and greet the New Keeper and behind them there were two open doors, with music and laughter emanating. Presumably a party in Leias honor was about to start, it seemed they were all just waiting for the star of the show to arrive.

The room they were standing in was tall under the ceiling, and it looked just as impressive as you'd expect, tall and excuisite vases stood with regular intervals. Low tables with pillows instead of chairs placed about the corners of the room and eager servants everywhere. As the black-haired lady bowed to them, clearly expecting some reaction and Leia was talking to the Emperor, Crucent walked up to her. Bowing slightly first, she said "Thank you for this wonderful welcome. I'm certain everything will be fine, but perhaps we should meet with the nobility first, then enjoy an evening of fun and relaxation." Touching Leia's arm to get her attention, Crucent addressed the Emperor and said more quietly "If your Grace won't mind, I think Leia has some people to meet before the party. After she's done that I'm sure she would love to talk with you again." Leading Leia gently but firmly away to the group of nobles that wanted to meet her she said "Look, you can be as upset as you like, just PLEASE try not to antagonize the entire nobility by ignoring them. As far as I have gathered, this society is big on tradition, and that means, you meeeting them now as a show of respect. Also, you might need their goodwill down the line so Be kind. Just introduce yourself, get their names and smalltalk a little then move on to the next one. After that, we can go to the party and you can relax a little. in the meantime I'll make sure your things are taken to your rooms so that you can retire when you feel like it, okay?" Smiling down at Leia, she gently shooed her towards the nobles, as she stood a little back, not to seem impudent and also for moral support for her friend.

Aasera spoke as she rose "Of course feel free to join in the festivities they are of course held in the Great Keepers honor and I would imagine you would want to relax after such a long journey so do please enjoy yourselves." Although she would not admit it out loud she to was ready to relax now that all the chaos of the preparations for the Gear Keepers arrival where over with, but for now that would have to wait until the Emperor gave her leave.At that moment she was caught up in everything that she failed to introduce herself, she hoped her slip of etiquette would not be noticed. "I am Aasera Sato, if you have need of anything please let me know."

(NECROBUMP!!!!)

Crucent's worries were, thankfuly, unfounded.

Masurao had made certain the various nobles treated Lei'Ahree with respect like unto that they paid him. Regardless of what they got back in kind. And, who were they to defy an Imperial Order?

For his part, the Emperor stood well aside of most of the madhouse his palace had become. He wasn't certain what to make of his new guests, yet, and found he always learned the most by peoplewatching.

Momo, for his part, quickly approached the young Death Dealer.

"Okay, I know... ...What difficulties you and yours have. Just, try and keep it under wraps. Trust me, I'm LIBERAL compared to most other statesmen, and, I think we can both agree we don't need a scene here."

Following a breif meet and greet, Masurao then bid the massive courtyard silent. With all eyes on him, he began.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for coming. Thus far, I have been wholly impressed with your hospitality toward our foreign guests, and commend your acceptance, tolerance, and kindness. With the arrival of the Great Keeper-elect, Lady Lei'Ahree, I can now announce a wondrous occurence."

Murmurs began to spread. What could be so important as to be triggered by the arrival of the Great Keeper?

"I am pleased to announce that, after centuries of rule under the Genji Bakufu, the last vestiges of our Isolationism will come crumbling down, with the unsealing of the Light Crystal!"

At this, cheers went up. The policy of sealing the Crystal had been an unpopular one. especially among the religious folk. Allowing the power to return would only bring good things.

[Leave the undead dealing to me =w=....okay bad attempt at joke at 4 in the morning so sue me..............anyway I would post in this but considering how it grizz turn and she is sort of a major part of this topic........I think we can consider this topic dead unless Grizz is still active and I just haven't seen her in a long time is all. =\]

i agree with Dark, kinda hard to beat a dead horse when the jockey is AWOL anyway :\