Three years before Game Start, in GoldenCircleStateEpirus

LordDiomedes
LordObi

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In the City State of Galata...

"A ship of the Amber Navy I do espy." Diomedes says, putting down the amber spyglass but still looking out the window, down toward the harbor. The ship was making its way past the lighthouse and on its way to make harbor.

"This will be worth investigating. And perhaps, guests." he says aloud to himself

"Michela!" he calls to the woman who manages his villa here in Galata . He waits for her to come at his call and then speaks rapidly, switching his speech to Greek as easily as flowing water.

"We may have guests, relatives from Father's side of the family. Not sure yet, but I want to be ready just in case. Make all the arrangements for the stay of, say one person for now. A light lunch, they'll be fresh off the boat and won't want anything heavy."

After accepting her consent to fulfill his wishes, Diomedes heads out of the house and begins jogging down the high road to the harbor where the ship was pulling in.

By the time he makes the docks, the lines of The Gull are being tied off and the first to disembark is a tall man. Dressed in a white linen chlamys, bordered with crimson, his long strides make short work of the dock. His sandals are of red leather and laced to his knees over his earthy complexion. He holds a staff of black and white with carved red eyes that seem to watch Diomedes as he approaches.

His hair is short and the sea breeze tickles at the feather hanging from his ear. "My Lord Diomedes," he greets formally in Greek. His bow was respectful for the son of a Prince of Amber, but the young man can see the humor in his smile as he rises.

The red haired Diomedes is dressed in more civilian clothing, a tunica, in white, with a coral dalmatica over-tunic trimmed in purple. He smiles upon seeing his cousin.

"Lord Obi, often known here as Hermes, for your speed of flight." Diomedes gazes at the older cousin with green eyes. "It has been too long since you have come to these shores. My house would be the poorer if your duties did not you permit a visit, if not a stay, whilst you were here."

"That depends on many things," Obi answers. "While I arrive with perhaps Hermes' legendary speed, oft times those that sit above me do not respond with such alacrity."

"I've a treaty offer for the perusal of the Avtokrator, which may place demands on my time, but a moment to refresh myself before such a visit would we welcomed," he says beginning the walk toward Diomedes' home. His pace is quick but still lighter than the jog that brought his cousin here. "If I remember correctly, those olive trees on your south lawn should just have borne fruit, yes?"

"Not a full Golden Circle treaty?" Diomedes says, surprising himself with the thought said aloud as he turns to follow Obi. Obi's pace is matched, a slight relief on Diomedes face that he can keep stride for stride with his light footed cousin.

"Hmm, then I am glad I had Michela prepare food in case there was a cousin lurking on board the ship." Diomedes says. "I spied the Gull from my villa and came down to see who was aboard. There should be olives from those trees with our lunch meal, yes." Diomedes says proudly.

"No, not Circle treaty. With Grandfather abroad, I would doubt anything would be decided on such until his return. I'm not sure why, but it's a marriage proposal," Obi explains. "I can't get into more depth than that, you understand, of course." He waves off any hint of an apology by Diomedes.

Diomedes nods. "Of course."

"So, how fares Galata? I've been to Uzoma of late and they seem untouched by the oddities that have troubled Amber of late." He's carrying the walkingstick in his hand, as if it's almost forgotten in his hand.

"Galata for one has been relatively stable and quiet." Diomedes begins as they walk uphill toward his villa. "However, there is a little concern that things have gotten somewhat odder in the interior, but relatively little is known about it that it may just be myth and rumor, you know." Diomedes says. "I already know,. from journeys there, that the wildlife and the terrain are unusual among Golden Circle shadows. So anything out of the ordinary...already is odd to the eye."

"But here, here we have been peaceful. The usual squabbles between the city states, of course. The troubles in Amber have caused a little more perceived social mobility between various factions."

"I've always been keen to hunt the interior," Obi admits. "But somehow they seem to keep me busy enough that it won't happen any time soon."

"Any word from your father recently?" the messenger asks idly.

Diomedes shakes his head, as they make the final turn to the hillside house, among many others, that Obi long since knows belongs to his cousin.

"Both him and Aunt Fiona have been uncharacteristically uncommunicative ever since I heard about Grandfather disappearing." Diomedes explains. "Oh I get trump calls from them now and again, but the frequency has dropped." Diomedes says.

He gives a nod to the footman standing just inside the gate in the wall around the house. At seeing his appraisal of Obi, Diomedes grins.

"You will remember my cousin Lord Obi, Phocas." he says to the middle aged man, who relaxes and gives a bow to both Amberites before opening the gates and allowing them entry.

Obi offers a bow in return, a smile curling his lips. "So, what's kept you here Diomedes? When I was your age it was all my mother could do to keep me from scuttling off into Shadow to explore." His eyes scan the home for changes since last he visited.

Diomedes watches Obi's eyes, and deliberately takes one of the more winding courses around the grounds to the main building, giving Obi a visual tour without it being asked for. The estate has become more elaborate and decorated since he has been here last, the olive trees more extensive in number, a few more statues and other ornaments. Everything shows the care of someone who has spent a fair amount of time here, although not so much as it is stifling.

"Dad and Aunt." Obi knows from long experience that Aunt always means, in Diomedes' speech, Aunt Fiona. "Not in so many words, but they encouraged me to come back to the Golden Circle region after Grandfather disappeared, and stick around here."

"Of course, they themselves have absented themselves from the vicinity." Diomedes says. "Either they want me out of their way with whatever they do in Deep Shadow, or they want a presence here for news. Me."

At this point, they have reached the colummned porch that surrounds the main house. The columns have become more ornate, replaced from the basic ones Obi remembers with scrollwork on both top and bottom.

"And anyway, this shadow has much to offer beyond the cities. Did your mother tell you of the time she visited?" he asks Obi.

"No," Obi answered. "How long ago was it?"

"Not long after I came back into the Golden Circle, so it was a little more than a year ago." Diomedes explains, stepping into the cool darkness of the house and undoing his sandals. He places them by the door and waits for Obi to remove his and set aside anything else before continuing.

The trademark red footware and his staff take up residence, the eyes on the staff watching the door. They may not be doing their job as the soldier's cloak hangs over them. Diomedes was family, and the trappings that made Obi a Royal Messenger weren't needed here.

"I don't think I've shown you the interior of the continent, but your Mom had heard of it, so we took a trip east together, over the mountains. Dangerous, pretty country once you get past the 14,000 foot mountains." Diomedes says. "But once there..." Diomedes eyes widen.

"Well, I can show you, if you like. I drew a couple of pictures. Not as good as the rest of the redheads, but I do okay."

"That would be wonderful," Obi answers, excitement in his voice.

" Anyway, your Mother killed a dire cave bear with her axe that decided to come and harass our camp one night." Diomedes eyes shine in admiration. "She was amazing."

"Yes, she is," Obi agrees. "There was a night in Taomaochan when we were traveling, oh... it must've been nigh on a century ago. A jaguar," he explains, shaking his head in wonder even after all those years. "Without her axe."

"Barehanded." Diomedes says, breathlessly. "I wouldn't believe it, but I've seen your mother's talent. So I do."

"Here." Diomedes turns into the solar where the food has already been laid out for lunch. He nods to Michela.

"Michela, please fetch the drawings from my library, the ones from the interior. The working set, of course. We're eating."

He turns to Obi as Michela acquiesces to his request and departs. "One thing Father always taught me-make duplicates whenever possible. But we can look them over as we eat." Diomedes casts a hand in the direction of the well provided table. "Pita bread, lamb, onions, tomatoes, olives from my garden. Two kinds of sauces if you want to make a gyro. I know I do. And the wine is excellent this year. Not Bayle's, of course, but a good vintage indeed. I'm still a few years away from attempting to raise grapes myself, the climate is a little better further south anyway."

Diomedes chuckles. "I do go on, sometimes. Shall we take our leisure?"

Obi smiles. "You'd be amazed what I can forgive when someone sets such a lovely table."

He begins to build himself a gyro, including some of everything with generous amounts of both sauces. The messenger takes a large bite with eyes shut and seems well pleased.

"Yams."

Diomedes throws himself into assembling a plate for himself, putting it together in a fairly large quantity, and yet with a sense to proportion, color and arrangement.

After his first bite, he looks at Obi, curiously. "Yams, he asks?"

"The extent of my farming," he explains. "Which isn't precisely true, as we had a good stand of palm trees, also."

"Yams are the staple crop of Uzoma. I think I could live here an never tire of the food, but twenty years of yams is more than enough," he chuckles and attacks the gyro withmore gusto, licking his fingers when sauce escaped the pita. The olive are popped into his mouth one at a time and savored.

"This is a wonderful vintage," he commented finishing his first glass of wine. "I should take some home to Mother. Do you plan on visiting Amber any time soon?"

"In a few months." Diomedes confirms.

"When Wind turns East and blows into the Sea And filled sails propel ships into the Sun. I will board a ship and feel wind in my hair And return to the City Eternal"

"So, if you want to send it to Aunt Deirdre sooner, I'd be happy to supply some." Diomedes finishes.

"No, no. I'm sure that will be fine," he answers. "Depending on the answers I get here, who knows what corners I'll be cutting to deliver answers or invitations or what the next trip might be."

"Odds are in favor of you seeing her sooner than I," Obi admitted. "It's one of the drawbacks of the job and one of it's joys." He chuckles softly, and pops another olive in his mouth.

"I do wish I were half the poet you are, cousin," he admitted. "But even when inspired by classic beauty, I find myself spouting nothing better than ribald limericks and often worse."

Diomedes shakes his head, adding a bit of sauce to the remainder of his plate before continuing to eat it in the precise manner seen before.

"I'm not even a tenth of the poet that I wish I was. Sure, I know my Homer and Virgil, and all the rest, and can turn out verse at need...but compared to professional orators, its a thin reed."

"But, then sometimes we don't turn out quite what our parents desire or expect...or even what we desire or expect."

Diomedes looks thoughtful, takes a sip of wine and then continues.

"Tell me, cousin. Your talents are eminently suited for the role of Herald and Diplomat, it is no small thing that you are named Hermes here. Was it ever thus, what you sought to carve out for yourself among our family?'

"No," Obi answers after a bit of thought. "I thought that I'd be knighted after some years as Eric's squire. That I might find a place among the Palace Guards, or fighting in Shadow against grandfather's foes.

"I enjoy traveling, though, and my mother knew that, so my role after leaving Eric's service was really suited to my talents. But after a century, one becomes the other," he admits.

Diomedes considers this for a moment and then nods.

"It is said by those who that in such matters are wise That man's defined by where his talents he applies."

Diomedes considers this for a moment and then nods.

"It is said by those who that in such matters are wise That man's defined by where his talents he applies."

Obi inclines his head in a nod of acknowledgement to another fine verse.

"I wondered if it was thus with our family." he says. "As you likely know, being the observant sort, my talents are not as focused solely into certain areas as one might expect, given my bloodline."

"On the other hand, even given that, it seems that like the rest of the family, there are abilities which seem to be solely my bailiwick, at least among our generation. I wonder, given a century of my own, where I shall wind up."

"Will I solely turn to the esoteric, since that is what is impressed on me so fully by my Father and Aunt? Or will I keep my diffuse and multiple interests? I sought to look at your experience as a clue, Eldest." Diomedes finishes.

"Heh," Obi smiles. "I don't know where I'll be in another century, let alone my cousin the sorcerer."

"A clue? That perhaps I'll accept, but never as a guide," he chuckles. "Even in Uzoma, I prefer to let my charges make their own paths rather than follow even mine."

"Oh, I wasn't looking to follow your path, cousin." Diomedes says, finishing a sip of wine begun with Obi's response.

"Good," he laughs with a wink. "I've never liked competition."

"Miho, Rosalind and I are the juniors of our generation and each have different pressures and problems. Sometimes I fear the Scylla and Charybdis that we face in growing to true adulthood, and wonder what routes our elders took to get where they are."

"Not to copy, but to reassure myself that it can and will be done, especially since I resist being set into a path that the two people who most influence my life would have me take."

"But I didn't mean to lay these troubles on your mind and if you wish, we can speak on lighter and easier subjects." Diomedes finishes, offering a smile.

"No, it's fine," Obi answers, pouring himself another drink and taking a handful of olives. "So, you've a Zeus and Circe, too? I'm not sure my uncle or aunt would appreciate the comparisons."

"What course would the gods set for you?"

Diomedes chuckles. "I will have to send a bottle of oil with you, when you leave, since you find favor with my olives." He takes one himself and eats it before responding.

"If I were to follow that course, it would be to abandon the material for the more esoteric. Concentrate on those studies, as heir and junior partner. Forget swordplay, even if I am decent at it. But I am stubborn. I favor Uncle Bleys' multisided approach. I have many interests, not just the esoteric. I do like swordplay."

"Did I tell you how I found it? Pagono, that is?" Diomedes asks Obi.

"No," Obi answers. "I'm sure it's an epic worthy of Virgil." He looks at the angle of the sun through the windows and decides. "I'd love to..."

Diomedes smiles, relaxes and after closing his eyes a second, begins.

"Arms, and the man I sing, who, forc'd by fate,

Traveled deep shadow to find sword to take

On such a mission, he left Amber shore

Long labors, both by sea and land, he bore"
...