And golden doorknobs; Kida, any Daleans

[Ramiel]

ghost king of the dale >>

It is troubling that he spends so much time alone, now.

It is quiet. Silence blankets the Dale, covering each little corner of the kingdom with a stillness that is, in truth, too much like death. He lingers anyway. All the time, he hopes he will run into someone he doesn’t know. Perhaps he’s simply missed the arrival of a horde of newcomers, however far-fetched the idea is. Maybe they are a secretive bunch, prone to prowling the new place before revealing themselves to their new herdmates.

Ramiel knows better, but he doesn’t like to dwell on his hidden surety.

There is more than just the silence that disturbs him these days. Unrest has shaken the lands, and he fears it is only the beginning. On all of his recent trips outside of the mountainous kingdom, the grey stallion has heard the rumors each time. He’s heard about the Chamber, heard that their soldiers had rained upon the Gates with disturbing and unwarranted ferocity. He’d heard, too, how they had taken the queen as a live-in prisoner – how they hadn’t returned her even after their successful show of force. So far, the outburst has appeared to quell the violence in the once-dark land’s heart. So far, but likely not forever. More than anything, though, the young king cares only as far as his home and its extended relationships. He worries for the Falls and the Jungle – so long as they remain untouched, the Dale will stay its involvement.

These thoughts are at the forefront of his mind today. As he walks through the woods, (quite literally, as he phases through any blocking trees on his straight-line path) he tries to plan ahead. Their army is pathetically small and wholly untrained, despite the fact that they have very powerful bodies in their midst. That will have to change, he thinks, stepping through an ancient, overlarge oak tree without flinching. He’s grown so used to his second skin that it feels more like the one he was born into. As a ghost, he is as unobtrusive as any other non-breathing entity in his environment. He is soundless and heatless and unobservable; he could disappear and nobody would be the wiser.

It’s as good a defensive strategy as any, and coming across two young girls at the border, Ramiel is thankful to have the ability in his arsenal. It allows him to watch them undetected, at least for a while. They seem harmless enough, of course, but looks can be deceiving. And in this time of uncertainty, he will take no chances. After a time of silence reigning over the scene, Ramiel decides to reveal himself. He comes to visibility slowly, artistically. His feet appear first, his legs rising from the piles of leaf-litter and supporting his charcoal torso. After his neck sprouts from his chest, he considers leaving his head invisible, just to have some fun with the youngsters. But thinking better of it, the king’s face appears with a bemused grin.

“Hello.” The older one seems like the natural leader of the two, but he spares no more attention on her because of it. Instead, his golden gaze flickers between the girls, bright but curious all the same. If they are Chamber spies, the piney kingdom has surely sent the least threatening candidates of all time. “Have you come to the Dale on purpose, or are you just passing through?” He asks gently, looking away further into the kingdom as if to welcome them either way. It will not be the first tour he gives if so, but he’s not entirely sure it’s the reason they’ve come. “I’m Ramiel.”

ramiel