"We of Quris know a lot of the thing you call magic, noble King," Noburo spoke, his face still hidden behind his leering mask as it was for the entirety of the feast. Samurai took the seat at the table and remained there for the most part, making no comments nor speaking a single word until this moment. "The energy flows through us all and we all can benefit from it, however only those trained in the ways of the chikara can harness it properly. Sadly, I'm not one of those, my interests lied elsewhere."

Ori was bored. Throughout the ceremony he kept laughing outloud, and making bawdy jokes. He was a dubious worshiper of his own religion, he thought these formal celebrations were dog shit. He guessed it was his turn to perform the necessary courtesies. Ori stood infront of the king and just stood, he didn't kneel. He never knelt. He planted his spear on the ground, making an audible plump sound. Ori looked at the ancient king in the eyes "My kingdom sends greetings towards you old king, my honor is to fight in your wars in the promise of friendship between our two great kingdoms". He nodded his head in respect and went to his seat.

Shaila watched from her position towards the back of the room as Elisa produced the ball of light. That would be handy. She thought to herself. Once Elisa was finished with her display Shaila stepped forward as well. She perhaps wasn't the most skilled in the art, but she knew of it and that was enough to answer the King's question.

She stopped next to Elisa and gave a low bow before she spoke. "I know of magic your highness... and can even harness it if needed. I am not as proficient as Elisa here, but I can wield it and am always looking to improve. It would be an honor to lend you... my blade and my abilities for whatever task you deem fit."

Gunter let everyone do their thing at the ceremony and chatted with a few people but he had no place in a grand hall of a king but him being what he was did apparently. Gunther spoke looking at the king. "As a Guardian of Josephine I have faced many types of magic. King Ludvig why do you ask this? Do the Easterners have an army of Magi?"

The Mighty Benjamin had managed to slip off the trolley & out of sight, eventually snaking his way between guest's feet - his small size and the attention upon the King made it rather easy to stay out of sight before sliding under a dress, only his face peeking out to look around. Hm... He saw that the group was here for--- 'Magic'?

The ferret gawked mentally at the thought - admittedly he knew that him talking was no normal thing, but he figured it was simply a quirk. But 'magic'? He hadn't heard that w---

And so, the Light appeared. And to say the least, the ferret was both bewildered and in awe at this, his tiny mouth dropping a bit for a moment. This is 'magic'? He wondered what it could do; or if it was just some... Circus trick, a replacement for the usage of candles and the like.

@Vlayden
Ori was indeed looking at the noble women, he compared them to the women in his kingdom, and for other reasons as well, he then noticed a peculiar face underneath one of the thick skirts the noble women wore. He was horrified it was some kind of horrified mutation but then he noticed it had two beady black eyes, it was some kind of animal. He clicked his tongue at the creatures and snapped his fingers at the furry thing.

...It waved.
The little damned thing took out a tiny, furry paw and waved back at the man, before sliding his head back under the dress and carefully sneaking out the other side. Benjamin knew that if one man saw him, he definitely was risking being caught by less understanding people - and skipped about to the edge of the room, trying to find some other place to hide (perhaps under a low-hanging table, if there was any, or cupboards. Or dresses, or... Well. Preferably things like cupboards, really. At least then he could relax and not worry of being caught.

Ferdinand, who was still wondering about which of the stories that old man that took care of the order's grand library were true, noticed a small skittering noise upon the hard floor. Looking towards the noise he saw a small furry creature running about going under chairs and through unsuspecting people's legs. He simply watched it go unnoticed by others who were still paying attention to the ancient king or the woman using the magic. A little confused as to how it got in here considering it was too large to simply be a pest living in the walls. Perhaps it was someone's pet and it was simply let out to wander while it's master listened to the king? For now he choose to let it be, it wasn't harming anyone and it also seemed to be trying to get away from the crowd.

Ludvig smiled as Elisa made her demonstration. "Yes, yes, decent enough...You will be a worthy addition.." He mused, inspecting the quality of her magic. Ulrich's expression remained neutral, his dour gaze on Elisa, he was mentally debating if she were more beneficial or hindrance. Some of the nobles gasped in awe, while the knights stood still, imitating their knight commander.
Gwyneth also appraised Elisa's magic, albeit to herself and didn't say anything. She only smiled at the light and soon after began opening the many gifts she had been given.

Meanwhile Benjamin's search for a good hiding place would be found under a big tower shield propped against a wall. It was in a dark corner and had good view of the throne room. None would see him here.

All of that was interrupted by Urghak. The king at first looked confused to the barbarian's vow. Ulrich's eyes widened in mild anger but held himself back. The royal court was no place for barbaric customs. Nobles either chuckled silently or were taken aback by the sudden bloody face paint.
Ludvig on the other hand smiled warmly.
"This was unexpected, but not unwelcome. I accept your oath, warrior and shall honor it."
The display had left Ludvig in an amused mood, apparently Urghak had managed to cheer up his day. Ulrich's shoulders slumped slightly, it barely showed in his stature, in resignation.

After Urghak, it was Noburo who spoke.
"Ah, I am not surprised that you know of it. Quris' knowledge is impressive on many subjects. Magic is not a healthy interest to speak the truth, so I do not blame you."
It was hard to get a read on this diplomat. Ludvig hadn't had the pleasure of meeting many Qurisians.

Ori spoke next. Ludvig did not wear a smile this time. He only nodded the greeting back.
"Indeed, greetings from the desert kingdoms are welcome. The sincerity of all your words are in doubt. We shall see how true is your honor."
As Ori walked back to his seat, Ulrich stared daggers at him. Looks like his behavior had been noticed by the king and knight commander during the ceremony.

When Shaila spoke up, the warm smile creeped its way back to the king's face. Before Ludvig could say anything, to the surprise of many, Gwyneth spoke up, her silver eyes gleaming with warmth and kindness.
"Hello, Shaila. I know of the Kind Wayfarers, you are a welcome sight in these trying times."
Her voice was soothing and soft. When she spoke, near everyone turned their heads to look at her.
Ludvig nodded in agreement.

After Gunther's words Ludvig came to the point of his earlier query.
"Not that I know of, such a thing sounds impossible in these times, but you are going to nowhere near Quris. This crusade is going to need magical knowledge and understanding. I am going to send you all with Lady Gwyneth to Yuurl's End and to confirm possible Acralacan troops within Ostyakan soil. My network of spies revealed this information to me, and soon after the people at our shores grew restless and rebellious. They have not revealed themselves fully or if it even is proper to consider it to be an invasion force. After this is done, you will take a ship for Acralaca."

Ludvig paused in his words, as if to recover from some mental image.
"Horrifying things are rumored to prowl the countryside. Reports of blasphemous rituals that border madness. There is anger in my homeland and it is just waiting for an excuse to erupt into a bloody civil war. What we need from Yuurl's End is a holy artifact, we will need it to achieve victory and those heathens cannot be allowed to lay their hands on it."
Ludvig seemed to be a little out of breath for talking so much. Ulrich seemed it fit for him to continue instead.
"Yuurl's End is a cursed place. It's one of the biggest ruins near the coast. Many expeditions have not returned from that place. This...artifact is supposedly buried in there somewhere. We do not know what this artifact actually is. According to lady Gwyneth she needs to be present to truly determine it's nature and location."
Ulrich looked at Lady Gwyneth with a side glance, apparently something was stretching his faith.
"Saint Gwyneth has had visions of that place. That's all we know for now."
Gwyneth shrank a little and was about to say something but fell silent instead. Ulrich sighed.
"Anyway, the point is, we go east first and keep our eyes open for anything suspicious. I won't return from war to see my homeland in fire and anarchy."

With that, Ulrich bowed to the king and left the throne room to prepare for travel.
The king drew in a deep breath.
"Ulrich will lead this group. He will wait for you in the castle's courtyard. If you don't have a horse, ask one from the stables, if you don't want to walk. You have three hours to make ready, then it will be time to depart."
Ludvig slumped in his throne, seemingly tired. Gwyneth drew in a deep breath and fiddled her icon of Elusine in her hands nervously.

@Colapse @TuskatheDaemonKilla @Maleth @OgrynLord @Shadhunter @GrimFritz @BloodySoulStealer @Valonox @Vlayden

(OOC: You have some time to yourselves, to interact with each other and talk to the king or Gwyneth or explore the castle a bit. You can also just go to the courtyard and wait for the journey to begin.)

"We shall find this artifact you speak of sire, and all of your enemies, be it heretics, yaksha or domestic traitors will be dealt with in swift fashion, this I swear to you," Noburo spoke, nodding towards the king and the lady besides him. His strict discipline prevented him from interrupting the lord before he was finished and patiently waited for either the king or the rest of the hall's occupants to finish before he spoke again.

@Wata

"King Ludvig of Ostyaka," he approached the throne and knelt before it in supplication, his nodachi resting on the floor besides him, "I am Kensei Noburo Murakami, Daimyo of the Clan Satake, and I have come on behalf of my Shogun, His Divine Eminence Lord Tokugawa. He wishes to extend his hand and shake yours, the reasons for it I believe are known to you," the Samurai said, not wanting to go into detail as to how Qyris was a land ravaged by war and the shogunate he belonged to was besieged by all sides from multiple enemies, not in front of these many strangers. Not to mention that Shogun and the King probably already exchanged some official correspondence before he even got here.

"As a token of his trust he sent me to represent my shogunate and serve you in all things," Noburo said and pulled out tanto knife from his back in one swift motion, simultaneously kneeling forward. He then proceeded to remove the gauntlet on his left hand, after which he placed his hand in front of him (but sideways to the throne), singling out his ring finger and placing the knife against the upper knuckle.

"I swear that me Noburo, Sword-sage of Qyris, will serve the King Ludvig of Ostyaka and will obey your every command, no matter its content. I will be there for you in war and peace, my life and more importantly, my honor I place in your hands for you to use them as you see fit. I will hold to this oath until you release me from it or the death embraces me."

He looked Ludvig in the eyes throughout the entire proceeding, this thing obviously very important to him. "Do you accept my oath?"