@Angelpalm @Neesa @CanadianDstryr
Castle Cheyde Lore (what you know, anyhow)
[details=Spoiler]Long ago, in the days of Many Kings. The ruler of this country, then part of the so-called Cheyde Empire, had two daughters who were as kind-hearted and good as they were beautiful. The oldest daughter, meant one day to be a queen and betrothed in marriage to a duke from a nearby land, had been given a tiara, the symbol of her rightful claim to the throne. Her sister, also betrothed to a nearby nobleman, was given no tiara and no throne, but kindhearted as she was, desired nothing more than to marry the nobleman whom she had come to love, so she harbored no jealousy against her sister, nor animosity for her father.
The oldest daughter, however, never found romance to be of any particular interest, and therefore thought little of her betrothal, beyond its necessity for strengthening the empire. She was indifferent to her betrothed and met his courtly advances warmly, but with that same dignified disinterest. Her interest in romance, however, came to fruition when she some how became close to the court jester, of all persons.
The Jester and the princess began a romantic tryst, which was eventually discovered by her betrothed duke. He, of course, was furious, and set in motion a plan to have the silly man removed from the picture entirely. While the princess was secretly away with her jester, the duke stole the royal tiara and used it to implicate him in its theft. When the princess found out, she was devastated, knowing it to be a ploy by her jealous duke. When the lord found out, he had the jester hanged outside the castle, and for her insolence, for having so stupidly fallen in with commoners and jeopardizing the kingdom, set to have her married to the duke immediately. She refused, however, to cooperate, utilizing an assortment of tricks - learned from the jester no doubt - in order to delay the inevitable wedding, by running away.
When she was captured and set to be married that very day, she made the final act of defiance by slitting her own throat with a jeweled broach.
The king, saddened, gave the tiara to the duke and reluctantly with it his youngest daughter as queen, despite her betrothal to the other duke from a land nearby. This insolent act sparked war, The Garden Wars, they were called, that eventually lead to the destruction of the Castle and ultimately the Cheyde empire altogether.
In order to retrieve both her and his dignity, the betrayed duke laid a year-long siege against Castle Cheyde, eventually destroying it and all within it. He died in combat. Rumor has it that it was in a duel with the evil duke, whereupon they both landed mortal blows upon each other, and died, both of them clutching with one hand their weapon, and the other one madly grasping upon the disputed tiara. The princess committed suicide in her chambers immediately upon hearing the dreadful news.
The tiara was never found, although it is rumored that hidden within the castle grounds was the royal crypt where a kind person thoughtfully placed the bodies, most likely during an escape from the besieged castle. The entrance has been lost as the duke’s final command was to crush the castle to the ground should he not return from the duel with his rival. The men did just that, and Castle Cheyde remains to this day a ruin. [/details]
@RockBogart the weapons master of Marast works quickly, already delivering to you (via messenger) a schematic, on parchment, of the item you commissioned for your perusal:
Spoiler
http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/4231/s5lu.jpg
Associated with it, of course, is a price in gold coins; negotiable upon receipt.
XP totals for roleplaying are coming soon.
:tup:
