The death of Felixvisitors can't see pics , please
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login The sun was setting on Slezkh village when the doctor discovered his wound. Felix had been trying to hide it ever since the taking of Yruma Castle, thinking it was not a serious wound. He had managed to hide it well, excusing himself when it hurt and skipping out on his check-up every two days. When the doctor finally got frustrated after the second time, he did a surprise visit on Felix, and just as he entered Felix's office in the garrison, Felix had a nasty fit of coughing, opening the partially healed wound. Felix tried to wave the doctor off, but he wouldn't have it. After several painful minutes of coaxing, the doctor finally managed to get Felix into his bed. That's when he found it, the wound was two inches long and two inches deep. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do, Felix was dying. As soon as he learned this, Felix asked the doctor to summon his only child.
Felix's daughter, Echo, was a unique person. First off, her mother had been a beautiful noblewoman from the desert, and father a noble from the tundra. No one knows how they met only that the mother had died giving birth to Echo. It was said Felix named her after her mother, but when he was asked this, his face would show the pain of her loss and the subject was dropped. Secondly, Felix did not have her trained to be a lady-in-waiting. No, he had her trained in just about every form of fighting that was available since she was old enough to lift a sword. Because of this, her muscles, height, and tendency to where armor instead of dresses, not many men found her "desirable", though she did earn the respect of the garrison in Slezkh Village during several bandit raids. When she entered her father's chambers, she was startled to see him in his bed, and the doctor rummaging through his bag, obviously looking for something. Finally noticing her at his bedside, Felix looked up at her and smiled.
"Hello, Echo. Fine weather this afternoon."
"Father what's going on, why is Wallace here?"
"Well, it seems that the wound I took......in the siege of New Yruma Castle is much more.....serious than I originally thought." Felix struggled to say between his coughs.
"Please father, stop speaking. You need to conserve your strength."
"There isn't much.....hope for me now, Echo. Please fetch me a pen and paper and something to place it on."
When she got him the things he requested he started to write.
"What are you writing?" She said as she was studying him closely.
"An official decree that you are to inherit the village from me, and a letter."
"A letter for who?"
Felix looked up and saw her confused face.
"Why, the King of course."
When he finished, he rolled both sheets of paper and sealed them with his signet ring. After this he handed her both the letters and his ring.
"Travel to Nova Slezkh Castle and give them to King James. Because of my long service, he should acknowledge you and meet the request I made of him, but be prepared if he doesn't."
"What should I do, if he doesn't?" She asked, looking at the scrolls and ring.
"Prove yourself, your loyalty, and your skill. Don't fear anyone. And don't let anyone coax you into something you do not feel comfortable doing."
"I will do this for you, father." She clutched what he gave her to her chest, as if afraid they would be taken away from her.
"No. You must do this because you want to, not because I want it." He broke into a fit of coughing. When it subsided, he asked her, "Please, sit down." When she sat down he put a hand to her face and examined her. "You look so much like your mother. May the gods favor your sword, Echo, and may they fear my wrath if they do not."
With those last words, he succumbed to the wound that, at the moment, only her and Wallace knew of. The next day, Echo prepared for her journey to Slezkh Castle and to speak with the King, who no doubt already knew of Felix's death. After making sure she had everything she would need to travel, Jason, her father's steward, caught her attention. When she walked up to him to say her goodbye, he interrupted her.
"Echo, your father wished for you to have these." With a wave of his hands, several servants carried two chests to him. When he opened the first one, she immediately knew what it was.
"Are you sure, this was his."
"Yes, he wrote me a letter two days ago and told me to get it ready. As you can see the first chest is his armor. But in this other one is something he bought for you." He said this as he was opening the second chest. What he lifted out made Echo's eyes widen. It was a heavy crossbow that was used belong to someone in the family that is long since dead.
"Why? He knew I wasn't the best a using a crossbow. So, why give me this?"
"In the letter he sent me he expressed his desire for you to master something that he couldn't. He also told me that it would lessen the chance that you would die on the battlefield."
At this Echo sighed knowing her father meant well, but couldn't help being disappointed. Shrugging of the feeling of sadness that suddenly overcame her, she accepted the gifts. Instead of going to King James in a dress, or even a tunic, she decided that she would wear the armor that her father had given her and made the resolve that she would master the use of the crossbow, just as Felix wanted. She would honor her father to the fullest that she could.
Fortunately, the weather for the next several days was actually good for traveling. As soon as she reached the gates of Slezkh Castle, she was halted by the guard there. When she told him who she was, the guard let her in, apologizing, saying that he had not recognized her. When Echo reached the stables, a stablehand took her horse. As she was walking through the keep, she drew many a look from minor nobles and men-at-arms. It wasn't really a surprise, not many women chose the path of fighting over the leisurely life of a noblewoman.
When she reached the doors to the throne room, the guard stopped her.
"The King is in counsel with his lords. If you can wait, they will be done shortly, and I will inform him that you are here."
Instead of creating a big ruckus, Echo decided to wait. Two hours passed before the doors opened and the six lords walked out, each whispering to one another. Seeing this, the guard entered. When he came back out, he motioned to the still open doors.
"The King will see you know."
Echo entered the room cautiously. There in the middle of the room James stood over several maps of the tundra, obviously deep in thought. As she approached, he looked up to see who came in.
"I had heard...." James whispered, obviously shocked.
When she reached the table, Echo took out the two scrolls and the signet ring her father had given her. James looked at them and immediately knew what she was there for. He picked up the decree first and unsealed it. Then, after reading this he set it down and unsealed the letter. While reading this one though, his eyebrows furrowed. Finally, after reading this as well, he set it on the table.
"My, my." He said, shaking his head. "Your father sure asked a lot of me. Because Reinhardt entrusted the care of Slezkh Village to your family, I will allow you to inherit its titles. But what he asked of me in this letter....." He tapped the letter several times and shook his head and thought for several minutes.
"If I may ask, my King, what did my father ask of you?" Echo asked.
"Please, no need to be formal." He said. When Echo nodded, he continued, " He asked that you be accepted into the Royal Guard, which in its self I would agree to. But he also asked that I install you as the Captain, which I do not know if that would sit very well with the nobility. I cannot have unrest, especially not now, do you understand?" When she nodded, he frowned. "Speak. Please."
"I understand." She said. At this James nodded and the silence stretched for several minutes more.
"Because we were friends, I will accept his requests." He said finally, " I will also agree to his request for you being Captain, but you won't have full control until you've proven yourself, as your father had." He paused looking at Echo's face, looking for her reaction. When he did not see anything, he took his pen and a piece of paper and wrote a note on it. " Take this to the Quartermaster, Saint. He'll get a room for you so you can recover from your journey. Also,"He said as she was about to leave,"go to the royal gardens tomarrow so that I may inform you of your duties as the Captain of the Royal Guard."
When she left the room, she turned to the guard and asked where she could find the Quartermaster. As she walked through the keep, once again, people stared. She thought about why they would, not once had anyone in the village ever given her a second glance, much less stared at her. When she reached the office of the Quartermaster, she gave him the note the King had given her. After reading it he wrote another note and told her to go to the Lorimbagh Inn, in the castle town and to give the note to the innkeeper.
As she was walking to the inn, the same people were staring yet again. Echo puzzled over this right up until she entered the gardens, the next day, where James was sitting on a bench, waiting. As she was walking toward him he looked up.
"Do you wear your armor everywhere you go, Echo?" He asked, smiling.
Echo looked at him, confused. Then as if it suddenly dawned on her, she looked down surprised. "I, well, uh...." As she struggled to respond, James started laughing.
"It's quite alright. Your father did that as well. All he ever packed when we went on a campaign was a night shirt and his armor and weapons." He laughed at her surprised look. "Well, where did you think you learned that habit. Anyway, the reason I summoned you here today was to talk about your duties as Captain, not your father. That's for another day. Please, sit down." He motioned to the spot next to him. When she sat down, he leaned against the pine tree that was behind the bench. " Now, where to start."
