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The Cracked Throne: Volume One


Prifter
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I was but a beardling when Queen Brunna hired me as a fledgling footman at her summer palace. My experience with the ways of the highborn clans was very limited before that day. There were wealthy merchants, traders, diplomats and officials who had operations in the nearby hold, and impressive fortresses hewn into the flanks of the mountains, but those of my clan were all far from those social circles.

 

There was no real family business to join up for me once I reached adulthood, but my cousin Burlok heard that an estate far from the hold required servants. It was so remotely located that there were unlikely to be many applicants for the positions and so I decided to try my luck. I traveled for four days across the mountains, around steep cliffs and jagged peaks before I met a group of travelers huddled over a flickering fire. The five were dwarves, two women and the three remaining men, all of them artisans from the look of them.

 

Are you going to Hafak?” asked Vala, one of the women after we had made our introductions.

I do not know what that is,” I replied. “I’m seeking a position as guard within Queen Brunna’s retinue.

We’ll gladly take you to her gate,” said Morgrim while adjusting his backpack. “But you would be wise not to tell her students from Hafak escorted you, unless you really dont want the position in her service.

 

Morgrim explained himself as we moved on. Hafak was the closest village to the Queen’s palace, where a great and renowned stone carver had retired after a long and successful career. He was named Baragor, and though he was effectively retired, he had begun to accept students who wished to learn the art of stone carving. In time, word spread of the great teacher, and students from across the land journeyed to apprentice under his care. Vala, and the other woman, had come down all the way from the western lands. Morgrim himself had journeyed across the continent from his home near the great volcano in Myrdin. He showed me his treasured chisel, a family relic passed down through generations. It was made from a pitch black metal, and exceedingly heavy on top of that. I had never seen anything so black in my life.

 

From what we’ve heard,” said one of the dwarves. “The Queen’s family has reigned for centuries from within this fortress, so you’d think that she would be in good terms with the people from Hafak. Nothing could be further from the truth. She despises the village, and master Baragor along with his school most of all.

 

I accepted the information with gratitude, and started dreading more and more my first meeting with the intolerant Queen. My fears were not quelled upon laying eyes on the fortress as it revealed itself from behind a hill. As one could expect, it was a vast edifice of stone and iron, with rows of carved battlements like the jaws of a great beast. The trees before the palace had been hewn centuries ago, and nothing seemed to have grown ever since aside from a few shrubs dotted around moss-covered stones.

 

As we reached the top of the hill, the dwarves halted their march. “There is bound to have guards at the gates, so we’ll leave you here. It would be best if you weren’t damned by association with us, doesn’t it?” I replied with a nod and began thanking my companions, and wished them good luck with their apprenticeship under Baragor. They turned and trekked away in the direction of Hafak as I did the same for the palace. In a few minutes' time, I was at the front gate. When the gate-keeper understood that I was there to inquire about the guard position, he allowed me in without rebuttal.

 

I was given passage into the huge gloomy gray stone palace, and soon after, Her Grace greeted me within her halls. She seemed thin and her skin was like wrinkled leather, cloaked in a chainmail vest and swathed in dark furs. 

 

Do you know anything about being a guardsman in the employment of a queen?” She asked in a contemptuous tone.

 

No, your Grace.

 

Good. No servant ever understands what needs to be done, and I despise those who think they do. You’re employed.

 

Life at the fortress was joyless, but my position was very undemanding. I had nothing to accomplish on most days except to avoid the Queen’s gaze. At such times, I oft travelled to the village, Hafak, to entertain myself and watch the apprentices carve large blocks of stone at master Baragor’s school while munching my rations. I became close to Vala and Morgrim, two of the travelers I had met on the way to the Queen’s domain. With Morgrim, the subjects of discussion rarely strayed away from stone carving, but still, I was fond of him. I found Vala a more enchanting companion, not only because she was pretty, but because she seemed to have interests outside of the realm of stone carving.

 

A few days later, I had to return early from the village. It was one of the very rare occasions when I had work to do. Whenever Queen Brunna welcomed guests to her halls, I had to be seen standing at attention in the dinning room as the stewards worked hard breaking the ale casks open and to bring in the food. The footmen such as myself were purely decorative, a display.

 

But at least I was a witness for what was to come.  

 

 

Spoiler

OOC: I dont have much time to roleplay but I still retain a deep love for stories and everything dwarven so I have written this small piece for fun. In roleplay, the story was written by Gromki the lowborn, a character I might eventually play on the server.

 

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