<div class="floatleft">(http://rpgs.chrisbradleywriter.com/images/d/d4/Octavian.jpg)</div><br/><strong>Name:</strong>Octavian Lucius John Augustus, Duke of Ynysia<br/><strong>Location:</strong>Castle, royal presence<br/><strong>Tagged:</strong>Catherine<br/><br/><hr/><br/>Octavian didn't make it into the city with much fanfare.  He arrived with one ship and an honor guard of a dozen men, which was almost nothing compared to what he was owed by rights.  He stopped by a warehouse that the duchy owned.  Octavian had sent ahead loyal people to prepare the way, to make sure that the Ynysians in Freeport were comfortable with the transfer of power.  They were, especially if confirmed in their posts, which Octavian had done.  At the moment, he had no reason to doubt that they were corrupt beyond the usual for people of their breed, after all.<br/><br/>Still, there he bathed and changed into good clothes: a longsword with an ivory hilt carved with floral patterns set with colored enamel in brilliant patterns with gold fittings, set with amber, in a sheath heavily gilt with gold in patterns of the hunt - wolves and stags, that sort of thing - banded with brass and set with more amber, with a matching anelace.  His weapon belt was polished leather with more gold fittings, he wore a long-sleeved linen tunic that went to his knees, a very dark green in color, trimmed with gold and silver thread with generous sleeves.  He wore gartered trousers, a red so deep as to almost be black, and polished leather boots that went up to the knee, were turned down, with pointy gold tips (he also had a worksmanlike knife in one boot, because it always paid to be careful).  His cloak was sable with heavy gold settings, but fairly simple because sable didn't adorement, though all the thread was gold.  His chaperone hat was very dark red linen.  He had on glossy black leather gauntlets with a great deal of gold thread embroidery in the shapes of hawks.<br/><br/>He certainly could have afforded more ornate clothes, but in the end how could one go wrong with sable?  It was an understated way of showing off, of reminding people - of reminding the queen regent - that he had a great deal of money, that every summer ships full of furs sailed into Maegonstat from lands only the Ynysians knew about, but also great quantities of walrus ivory and whalebone, of the far-flung nature of the Ynysian explorations, raiding and trade.<br/><br/>He and his men mounted the provided horses.  A messenger had already been sent ahead so no one would be surprised.  They rode up to the main gates.  They passed the downed soldier with hardly a glance; he would hear soon enough if it was a matter worth his attention, otherwise, cities were always full of murder.<br/><br/>There was the usual fuss with formalities.  Octavian had never been to Freeport before, though the seal of his lands was enough to prove he was who he said he was.  Then there were the usual arguments over weapons in the presence of the queen regent and heir.  Almost no one in the kindgom was allowed to bear arms in the royal presence, but the Ynysians were not bound to that law.  Octavian saw it as a kind of power play by the chamberlain, who certainly knew of the privileges of the Ynysians.  The chamberlain was arguing with Octavian's reeve.<br/><br/>Octavian said to his reeve, "Either bribe him as corrupt or kill him as incompetent and ignornant of the rights of the Duke of Ynysia."<br/><br/>It had the proper effect.  The chamberlain couldn't accept a bribe or appear publicly corrupt and, well, every chamberlain did know the rights of the Duke of Ynysia - by taking insult at the treatment, the chamberlain had to back down.  The Ynysians kept their arms in the castle.<br/><br/>From there, they were announced into Queen Catherine's presence.