Towering giants capable of crushing a man's skull with their bare hands, swordsmen faster than lightning and mighty scaled beasts who breathed death were all part of the mythos the dragons and their riders cloaked themselves in. Oh, they acted as though it was all for the greater good but Sabrienne knew better. She had seen the mailed fist inside the velvet glove, and it bore claws. They were dangerous - there was no denying that - but if you looked past the shroud of their lies they were only human and subhuman, to be respected but never feared as anything more than what they were. Mortal threats with mortal weaknesses.<br/><br/>The Queen stood in the shadow of the main entryway until both the riders had dismounted, a compromise she'd reluctantly agreed to. Only then did she walk out to stand at the head of the stairway leading down to where the two pairs waited greet her uninvited guests. "Hail Dragonriders," she called, her voice cool. The protocols said a land's ruler should come out to greet the blessed ones when they favoured the land with a visit. They said nothing about being polite. "What have you come to steal from us today? The tithes are not due for another sixmonth, and it cannot be time again for another choosing." Not so soon. They weren't ready yet for<i>another</i>choosing.<br/><br/>Assuming a commanding posture at the head of the stairs, Sabrienne was every inch the queen she had promised to be in her youth. The potential fully realised, if tinted darkly. Her auburn hair flowed richly down onto the scarlet richness of her ermine where it spread over her shoulders, while beneath its open front she wore a simple yet rich outfit made in crimson and black. Despite its close cut, Jasper could likely see that she'd kept up some kind of training - her body was well developed, and she moved with a predatory grace as she raised a hand... and brought it down with a decisive motion.<br/><br/>From the towers on either side of the courtyard pairs of ballista fired, carrying heavy steel-cored netting across the dragons there with heavy weights attached to the end. Other ballista rolled into view at the tower windows, laden with steel-tipped shot and pointed at the trapped inhuman beasts.<br/><br/>"You are of course welcome in our court," the Queen mouthed the pleasantries as a half-dozen guards joined her, her voice now icy. "We are ready to hear what our esteemed cousins have to say, in a more private setting. Then you will leave, but only with<i>our</i>permission." She wheeled and set her back to the two riders and strode off towards her throne room. In truth she didn't really care who they were or what had finally brought them here. She had her own plans to set in motion, and part of that was to separate them from their mounts.<br/><br/>Second of course was to remind them of their proper place in things. She would receive them in her throne room or not at all - and the guards with lowered crossbows would remind the riders who they were dealing with.<br/><br/>Humanity would have its day.