Ravens and Rats

[Ryker]

Raviel

Fal Moran, Shienar

The man who called himself Raviel walked the austere halls of the Raven Palace in Fal Moran. The name was of his own invention, so called for the ravens he once watched circle overhead above the watch tower. The Shienarans knew the birds for the spies they were and set smoke plumes afire for three days straight to ward them away, but it was Raviel’s machinations that summoned and subsequently banished the birds. Their message was delivered, and he thought of the place as the Raven Palace ever since.

He didn’t fit in. With his black skin and nighttime eyes, he stood out as a foreigner among the Shienarans. The cut of his fine coats and opulence of his apparent sophistication marked him as far from home, though nobody could really tell where exactly that was. The day he arrived in Fal Moran was while delivering a missive from the Dragon Reborn. The true messenger disappeared a month prior when Raviel swooped into his place. Every member of the retinue 'forgot' the appearance of the real man, and simply believed him to be the original all along. The compulsion was as easy as child's play.

Upon arriving, Raviel admired their creative spike-filled moat from the saddle, unable to hide a little head shake at the amusement before being promptly escorted to the king’s presence; a welcome emissary from the Dragon Reborn. He’d been in Fal Moran ever since.

The palace was about as attractive on the inside as it was on the outside, which was to say, it was hideous. Shienar was a hole in the dirt as far as he was concerned, but one thing Raviel enjoyed about palaces were the banquets and the balls. Unfortunately, the latter were non-existent but the former was a plenty. That first night, the envoy were invited to join the king's banquet hall in honor of their long journey and warm welcome. It was while enjoying a leg of lamb when he spied the first truly beautiful woman he'd glimpsed in two months. Hair shiny and black as raven’s feathers, her skin olive and flawless, lips plump and teasing. 
“Who is that?” He asked the person seated next to him.

“Eh?” The other man looked up, juice from his most recent cragged bite running out the corner of his mouth. Raviel could not suppress a look of disgust as soon as he noticed. “That’s King Easar,” the man said mid-mouthful.

Raviel’s gaze was inevitably drawn to the far end of the room. The King was as old an old fart as Raviel had ever seen. The man must be more than a hundred; though honestly he couldn’t tell. It’d been a long time since he could accurately discern the age of non-channelers by appearance. Anything past thirty and they were shriveled up shells anyway.

Raviel grumbled. He’d figure out her identity soon enough, but to his surprise, another voice leaned from the other side.

“Please excuse him, he’s been near blind for twenty years.”

Raviel dabbed his lips and looked just as the man offered a hand. He took it tentatively as the man introduced himself. “Thran Dayori,” he said.

“Garion Toryne. Pleasure,” he said in return. Thran was something that approached middle-aged, though honestly it was a mystery. Raviel only noticed the white strewn throughout his beard. Yet he seemed muscular beneath his fine clothes. He could be a noble or an advisor. Maybe both.

“You’re the Lord Dragon’s emissary?” He asked and Raviel nodded quietly. “It is an immense honor to have you with us, sir. It would be my honor to introduce you to everyone. You’re southern?”

Raviel suppressed a knowing smile. “Isn’t everyone southern to a Shienar man?”

Thran chuckled. “Indeed,” but he didn’t press for further details about their guest since the information wasn’t offered.

“It would be my honor to introduce you to the Lady after the banquet.”

“Thank you, Lord Dayori.” Raviel wasn’t corrected when he guessed the man’s title. Nobles all had that self-important look - even in Shienar. These new agers were ridiculously obsessed with bloodlines and nobility, Raviel found it all absurd. There were so many better reasons to determine who was better than whom. Best was talent and second was looks, both of which Raviel wielded in abundance.

Afterward, Raviel had a woman from his first night in Fal Moran, so at least the entire trip wasn’t miserable.

Following his suggestion that they light pyres to ward away the ravens, Raviel’s advice was trusted, particularly when it came to matters of dark creatures. Not so much as a rat was seen inside the fortress walls, at least not for some months. Every suggestion he made worked like magic, and it was believed that only the goodness of the Dragon Reborn could bring about such a blessing of the light that the very creatures of the shadow retreated. Could people really be that stupid? He thought for certain someone would have probed at the ruse, but they never did. It was generally believed that the efforts of the Great Lord of the Dark were retreating, but Raviel’s whispers moved through the capital like fog, and there were plenty of darkfriends to take their place.

One day he was summoned to a gathering of the King’s advisors. Talk of trollocs gave way to discussions of draghkar, which were seen circling countryside villages. All eyes looked to him in offer of some suggestion that might fend shadowspawn from their skies as easily as ravens, but Raviel was unaware of the movements of the foul creatures. Before he could offer his insights, the battle doors swung wide and a servant carried a letter forth. The King’s son, another old fart who ruled in all but crown only, quickly relayed the word.

“Light’s Blessings. Aid is coming after all.” He continued to read.

Raviel sat up. A question was posed across the table. “From Tar Valon?”

The Lord-Regent high and mighty princely Togita son shook his head. “The Andorans are sending twenty thousand troops! They are in route as we speak.”

The Shienarans released a collective sigh of relief and immediately began to make plans for their disbursement. Raviel joined with the general accolades to the Light and all that nonsense, but he had questions how this came to happen, and he intended to find out.