Tales around Mirateia 26

Azran cursed the sun as he had been woken up once again as the sun slowly began to rise over the horizon. He was starting to suspect that Ira had arranged that he got the room where the sun would shine during the morning. She knew he was far from what one would call a morning person.
Having twisted and turned and tried to cover his head with his duvet to no avail, Azran conceded defeat and got out of bed. He passed the kitchen, where the kitchen staff made fresh bread for the day. After persuading the baker to give him a bun, Azran thanked the baker and made his way towards the front door, where two city guards were standing guard, who was very surprised to see him this early.
Observing their lord for a moment, it took a moment before one of the guards spoke up, "Morning, my lord."
Still only halfawake mentally, Azran looked in the direction of the guard that had spoken, "Mhmm, oh hi, morning."
Curious as to why their lord was out and about at this time, knowing that he liked to sleep late, "Going anywhere, my lord? Do we need to call for an escort?"
"No, that would not be necessary, but thanks. Just going to visit the temple for Mara," Azran said before saying bye to the two guards and making his way towards the temple close to the city centre. The city was mostly still sleeping, and the only people moving around at this time were the merchants setting up shop and getting ready for the morning rush of people.
Coming up on the temple, the temple was a large structure, possibly the largest in the city. It was constructed out of white marble, unlike all the other structures in the city, which were built with either regular bricks or lime and sandstones.
Entering the temple, Azran was met with a large statue of the goddess Mara made out of beautiful white marble and painted in bright colours. The statue's clothes were painted in a deep blue colour, and the helmet was painted a gold colour.
Looking around him, he noticed he was the only person in the temple. Not even some of the priests were to be seen. Azran looked up at the large statue before turning around to look out over the city.
"Pretty, isn't it?" Azran heard a female voice said coming from behind him. Azran thought it sounded a bit familiar. Turning around, he saw a young blond woman dressed in an outfit very similar to the statue of Mara, and then it hit him. That's why she had sounded so familiar, and now that he looked at her, she also seemed somewhat familiar. It turned out that it had been Mara who had said it and was now approaching him. Azran was about to go down on his knee.
"Stop that. There is no need for this here," Mara said, coming up next to Azran and looking out over the city. They stood there looking for some time before Mara broke the silence.
"What is on your mind?"
"Not much. I can't believe I'm here now, like not long ago, I was just a regular soldier in the legions. Then I randomly met a girl that turned out to be the crown princess of all people, and here I use randomly jokingly as I suspect that you might have had a hand in the game," Azran looked over at Mara.
Mara chuckled. "No comments,"
Azran just shook his head. "Anyway, look at where I'm now. For some reason, I became the personal guard for Ira, and now I'm the governor of a small area of the empire. Had someone asked me at the beginning if I was ready for what is currently going on, I would have said no, but the more I think about it, the more I realise that it doesn't matter where I am, but what matter is Ira is safe and happy."
There was a period of silence before Azran looked towards Mara again.
"Goddess, can I ask about something that has been on my mind recently?"
"Of course"
Thinking over what he wanted to ask one last time, "I get that you intend for me to be around Ira and support her and such, and there is nothing I want more but, and I'm sure you know this, but we are not the same, not just in class but also life... what I mean is that in a comparatively short time, I would be old and gone while she would not even be a third of the way through her lifespan. So I'm curious what is your plan for after that?"
Mara turned to face Azran and looked at him with a severe expression. "I wanted to wait a bit longer before we had this talk, but since you already asked, well, while I can do a lot as a goddess, at the same time, the god of fate is a tricky bastard. While I can choose who gets things like what you call the Blessing of Mara and I could see on the treads of fate that Ira and her successors were destined to lead the empire into greatness. Still, with you, it was a bit more tricky. I could not choose into what family you were born, so I could not make you Crienia from birth."
Not quite sure what to say after receiving this information. "I see... hold on, from birth?"
Mara nodded, "Yes, although it has while I have been around, never been done before. There is a way to change you into a Crienia,"
Azran was silent for some time before he looked towards Mara again with a determined expression. "How?"
"To be honest with you, I don't know. I know there is a way to do it, as the other gods have spoken about something similar. I would have to do some research and ask around. Likewise, if I could get more people researching some of the sources you people might have about it, I already got one but need more."
"You already got people searching for this?"
Mara nodded and looked around the temple, "Indeed, although only one, you know her already."
"Wait, you mean Eza? That's why she had to run off back in Pearlhal." Azran said.
Mara nodded. "Yes, but I must go now as people are starting to enter the temple."
Azran gave the nod and watched as Mara vanished before turning around to see who was entering the temple; as he turned, he saw that the temple high priest was coming up the stairs and when he saw Azran standing in front of the statue of Mara.
The high priest first looked surprised to see this lord standing there alone as he could swear that he had heard two sets of voices but entering the temple, he greeted Azran, who replied before Azran excused himself and began the walk back towards the manor, the streets of the city were a lot busier at this time so it did take him a lot longer to return as he was from time to time stopped by the citizens who would ask about something or tell him a rumour they might think he would find helpful. He must admit that sometimes the rumours they would tell did turn out to be beneficial.
Arriving back at the manor and slipping past the guards, Azran made his way to his bedroom as quickly as possible. As soon as he arrived crawled back into bed and pulled the duvet over his head, and tried to go back to sleep as he was still not ready to begin the day truly, but he was only allowed to sleep for some time before it knocked on the door, at first Azran ignored it. It went quiet for some time before he heard the doors open violently, which could only mean one thing.
"Ira, I'm trying to sleep," Azran said, sounding as if he were barely awake.
"You are terrible at lying, you know that?" Ira said while walking up to the bed and sitting down. "I know that you were at the temple."
Turning so he could see her, "How?"
"Did you expect that nobody would tell me that the lord of these lands comes out of the front door, still half asleep and tells the guards that he is going to visit the temple ALONE"
Smiling and slightly rolling his eyes, Azran looked back at Ira, "Fair, so what brings you here?"
She was leaning against the doorframe. "Well, I just received news that a dust cloud has been spotted outside the city. I have sent scouts out, but they have not returned yet."
Hearing this, Azran decided that everyone was working against him and his sleep, so he got out the bed and took some more suitable clothes on just in case the dust cloud was a sign of ill intent. On his way towards the roof of the manor, where they would be able to get the best view of the approaching dust cloud, Azran would order the Imperial Guards as well as the city guard to form up formation outside the city and for someone to send a runner to gather the mages that could be gathered. Azran could see the dust cloud on the roof, and the size of the cloud surprised him. He was about to ask if anyone had heard from the scouts when one of them returned and informed them that it was a whole legion on the march coming towards them.
As the hours passed, the Legion came closer and closer until it stopped within view of the city. What surprised Azran and Ira was that the Legion didn't form in battle formation as it saw the city's defenders had done it. It didn't take long before a messenger from the Legion arrived and asked to talk to the lord of these lands. Hearing this, Azran went down the roof and, escorted by four Imperials, towards the Legatus Legionis, the Legion's commander. Ira was staying back under massive protest, but Azran insisted it was better for her to stay here just in case.
Shortly after, Azran and his escort met the person he assumed to be the Legatus Legionis, who had red out to meet Azran when Azran emerged from behind the city's troops. Both parties stopped about ten meters from each other, and both sides lifted their hands in greeting.
The Legatus Legionis were the first ones to speak and spoke with a soft but firm voice. "Greetings, lord, my name is Althea Karina Murena. May I ask why you have lined your forces up in battle formation?"
Azran studies the Legatus Legionis for a minute before speaking, "Greetings, My name is Azran, we spotted the dust cloud from your marching, and as he has had some trouble with some visitors, we didn't take any chances should the dust cloud turn out to be hostile, so I'm very curious why you have turned up here with a, judging by the size of the cloud, a full legion at my city?" He looked at the other person with a neutral expression.
The Legatus Legionis looked to be in thought for a minute before she spoke again. "I see. I assume you have not received the letter yet, then?"
"No, we sent a Carrier Falcon carrying a letter to the Emperor three weeks ago, but I have not heard back. Besides merchants, you are the only contacts we have had with the wider imperium since then. If I may ask, what letter are you talking about? Who is it from."
"I can not say what was in the letter as it was sealed, but I assume it was from someone within the Imperial family as it carried their symbol. But I can guarantee with my honour and life that we are not here to harm. Our orders were to gather our families and the belongings we could carry and make our way to Nicia." The Legatus Legionis looked around and then back to her Legion to look at Azran.
"Could we possibly get your permission to set up camp here until we get this sorted out?"
Azran went quiet for some time. His thoughts conflicted. On the one side, if he allowed the Legion to camp outside the city, he could risk the entire town if they turned hostile, as they didn't know who had sent them. On the other side, if they were indeed ordered to pack all and move here, there wasn't much he could do, plus it was not uncommon for legions to relocate from time to time. Looking up from his thoughts, Azran looked directly at the person before him.
"I will allow you and your men to set up camp here on the condition that you don't fortify it yet."
"I accept"
"Good" Azran was about to return to the city when he stopped and turned his horse around. "Oh, I almost forgot. It would be an honour if you would join us at dinner tonight."
"It would be an honour, your lordship." The Legatus Legionis said before also turning around to ride back to her Legion.
Having returned to the city, Azran returned to the roof of the manor where Ira, as well as some advisors.
"So Azran, who are they, and what is their purpose? Ira said, looking towards the Legion slowly beginning to set up camp.
"Well, according to the Legatus Legionis, they were ordered to pack their things and march here, so it's not only a legion out here but also their family, which makes me believe that they don't have any ill intent. Therefore I allowed them to set up a camp until we could get all this sorted out. They also accepted my demand not to fortify the camp as normal."
"That's good, but I still don't trust them. It almost seems too good to be true that a friendly legion will show up without warning, without sending a letter that would warn us, especially considering our last few encounters."
"I agree, which is why I asked the Legatus Legionis to join us for dinner tonight."
Ira just shook her head, and the group dispersed to begin the preparation for the dinner tonight. Meanwhile, the Imperial Guard and the city guard that had stood ready were told to stand down, but a small group were told to keep an eye on the Legion. As the day passed, the Legion seemed to adhere to the agreement. After the camp had been set, a few groups of soldiers arrived, asking for permission to visit the market in the city to buy new supplies and maybe have some of their tools repaired by the blacksmiths and around the evening, a servant announced that the Legatus Legionis had arrived and had been escorted into the dining room.
Azran moved to greet the Legatus Legionis, "Greetings, Legatus Legionis; glad that you would come. We are only waiting for the last person to join us."
The Legatus Legionis bowed."I'm honoured to be here. If it is alright with your lordship, you can call me Althea or Murena if you want to. I have not commanded a legion long enough to be comfortable to have other people call me by the title."
Azran smiled, "Alright, Althea, I know the feeling well. I may have been in charge of this land for some time now, but sometimes it's still weird when people call me lord, so likewise, you can call me Azran if you want."
Althea looked around, and her gaze fell on the table with three plates set up for dinner. "If I may ask your lord... I mean, Azran, there have been rumours at the camp that there a woman with silver-white hair should live in this city, and you as well as I know that those with that colour is blessed with the Blessing of Mara, I would like to meet them if possible"
Azran tried not to chuckle. "I see the talks didn't take long to spread. Sure, we can arrange for you to meet her." Almost as if on cue, the door to the room opened, and both Azran and Althea turned to look who opened the door. Ira was emerging from the entrance wearing a light blue dress, and her hair was made into two braids running down the side of her head, with the rest hanging loose.
"Ah, speaking of the sun," Azran said before making a slightly overdramatic bow towards Ira, "Legatus Legionis Althea Karina Murena, may I present to you the silver-white haired woman you wanted to meet, Crown princess Ira Valeria Astalles."
"Hold on, WHAT?" Althea managed to say before she made a proper bow as was custom towards royals. "Please forgive my outburst, your highness."
Azran, thinking for a second, rubbing his chin, "Hmm, that's the second time people have reacted like that when I introduce them to a member of your family Ira."
Rubbing her forehead and letting off a deep sigh, Ira just looked at Azran and shook her head with a slight smile before focusing back on Althea.
"Don't mind him. It's a pleasure to meet you, Legatus Legionis. I look forward to hearing about the reason for your visit, and you must forgive us for the unfriendly welcome, but we have had some unfortunate visits before, so.."
The three of them sat down, and soon enough, some servants carried in the dinner for that evening, steamed Oxen with Coriander and Dried Olive. Azran discreetly sorted the olive from his plate and placed them on a smaller one. Shortly after Althea was distracted by one of the servants asking what she would like to drink, he pushed the small plate across to Ira, where she grabbed the olives.
After retrieving the plate again, Azran looked at Althea, who looked nervous. "Maybe you could tell us what you know about your orders?"
Althea looked at her plate for some time before speaking up. "Like I mentioned out on the field this morning, I don't know what the letter said as it was sealed with the seal of the imperial family, so I can only assume that the orders are legit. If I may say one thing, personally, I find it a bit strange that the emperor would permit the creation of a new legion and then send it here without it receiving either a name only a number. At the same time, new legions don't normally get a brand new Legatus Legionis. Normally a new legion gets one with some years of experience."
The room was quiet for some time before Althea said, "If I may, but you don't seem like the typical governor, at least not any I have met before."
Ira couldn't help but giggle loudly and looked over at Azran. "Don't worry. I'm going to take this one. You see Legatus Legionis"
"Please, just call me Althea, your highness."
"Althea, you are right about Azran not being the typical governor. To explain better, he started as a regular soldier in the legions. It turned out that he was pretty good at it, so he got promoted to the 9th Legion, then later on, he was transferred to the Imperial Guard . Then you could say I fell into his arms, stumbling out of the carriage, and he caught me. I must admit that I found him a bit interesting. Hence, I brought him on as my personal guard. I'm sure you already know about things that happened, as everybody was looking for me" Althea nodded. She had heard the stories. "Sometime after that, well, my father made him a governor of this small province and, by extension, made him a lord. I guess that more or less covers why Azran isn't like all the other lords."
"Thank you, your highness, I'm sure we can form a good work relationship."
The rest of the dinner continued with plenty of talks, and the three learned something about each other. Three days after the dinner, a carrier falcon arrived with a letter explaining why a legion would come shortly after this letter had arrived. The emperor had raised the Legion to secure the region, as bandits had been more active lately. The Legion could finally set up a proper camp after receiving the letter. However, Azran instructed them that instead of upgrading the temporary camp, they should move it to the city's southern side and make the camp along the main road. This way, the camp could guard the major road into the city. Within a few days, the new camp was set with a palisade and guard towers, and the space between the town and the camp was quickly filled with temporary homes for the soldiers' families as more permanent housing was being constructed. Azran suggested that the legion took the name Nicia, after the city and after a short vote between the soldiers, the name was adopted, and the 8th Legion, Casa Nicia were formally created.