Prince Tarkus Vasquen walked out of his father's chambers with a scowl on his face. The sultan had been beseeched by his advisor for a private word, and apparently even the prince was not worthy enough to hear his words.<br/><br/>"Ugly bastard." Prince Vasquen muttered to himself out loud before thinking to himself:  "When I rule, he'll the first person that gets thrown into the dungeon. Maybe I'll release a few of the people he's had tossed in there for meager crimes. I'll let them give him a kick before letting them go." It was a weightless threat,  but sweet all the same.<br/><br/>It was not as though he was unthankful for the advisor's assistance. He knew that without Kydul's guidance, their family would not have a third of their current wealth and influence. He was brilliant, but preached a special brand of iron-cladded rule to his father, Sultan Middek Vasquen. Tarkus had watched his father devolve from a cheerful, fair ruler to a cold, calculating miser.<br/><br/>Tarkus had little desire to be sultan, that was, he hadn't until he saw how far his father had fallen. He still thought he'd be a lousy ruler, but he certainly did not hate the perks. He loved good food, though his thin, toned figure did not speak much to it. He also enjoyed the acting troupes that competed to perform for the palace. Both theatre and books were absorbed obsessively by the youth of twenty-two years. Tarkus had shoulder length jet black hair, with light brown eyes and lightly tanned skin. He was tall with long fingers and toned arms and legs, though he did not put enough menial labor to them to build any immensity of bulk on his limbs.<br/><br/>He also enjoyed being assigned a beautiful consort from the day he turned twenty, and even more so the promise of a full harem in the years to come. He was a man of carnal desires, and while his consort had come to understand his wants almost entirely, sometimes his lustful stamina was too much for even her.<br/><br/>"I could use another woman or two right now." He thought to himself, as he often took out any number of emotions in the form of sexual release.<br/><br/>It was honored custom for a man of royal birth to accumulate consorts and to build a harem to see to his every need. Every woman in his harem added to his perceived power, as it was the man's duty to see to their well being and general happiness. While it was far removed from a man's duty to a wife, which royalty took later in life, it was still considered bad form to neglect a consort, or to retain one when he did not have the use for her.<br/><br/>Despite the fact that they were glorified concubines, the position of consort was desperately sought after, even for a lesser man, much less to a prince. The women of the harem lived a life of relative leisure, with their future secured with a pension payment when they outgrew their master. They had to give their bodies and at least the semblance of their devotion to their lovers, yet few who wished for the life of a consort regretted their decision.<br/><br/>He rounded the corner of the second story and walked to a balcony outside his immense chambers, leaning on the railing, looking out to the sprawling capital below.<br/><br/>