And to Know...

4th Maludae, the 26th day of the month of Semens (Sem), the 3672nd year of Salvation's Landing

Woke with a frantic start, Reglin didn't recognize where he was right away. He was on edge as he heard the bells of the twelfth Smallbell toll, covered in sweat and as taut as a rope. He felt like he had just sparred ceaselessly against an unending line of opponents, all doing their best to separate his head from his neck or other similar mutilations. Taking a deep breath to try regaining his bearing. 'Ok. Tabitha's room. I remember that now. But no Tabitha.'

Sitting up to look around, Reglin immediately saw Tabitha's form in shadows from the embers of the fireplace and sighed softly in relief. The sight of her curled up and huddled in her blankets warmed him on the inside, but he wished he could have awoken to her in his arms. 'I guess not all of my fantasies get fulfilled on day one...'. He must have been acting out in his sleep for her to withdraw to the seat.

And then he remembered... Not so much remembered but envisioned. He was a pikeman, standing with his brothers in a wall of a hedgehog, pike lowered to impale any soul unlucky enough to charge into him. He witnessed the carnage unfold as his enemy descended on them in a fury, only to rebuffed brutally. He was the officer of said hedgehog, calling orders to advance ten paces and reform then to the mediciners to gather up and tend to the wounded. He was a dragoon, riding to battle only to quickly dismount and lay waste to the flanks of the enemy. He was a bowman, loosing volleys of arrows in a rain of ****. He was a skirmisher, harasser, infantry, both light and heavy. He was cavalry on swift steeds sent to pinch to forces against you. He was cavalry on massive warhorses that shook the ground as the ran over his adversary. He was a huscarl, armed and armored resplendently and trusted with the life of his king on the battlefield. He fought and fought in just about every scenario. Sometimes he died. Sometimes he lived. Sometimes he bested a noble champion. Sometimes he took an arrow in the leg and bled his life away...

He had no idea how long he had been stuck in those memories. The lack of light disoriented him enough in regards to telling time, but he thought it may have been more than mere moments. Regardless, he had things to do. He filed away those visions and got out of the giant bed as quietly as he could. Having spent the night apparently battling across the ages, Reglin needed to freshen up and so he went to bathchambers, grabbing the lamplighter on the way.

Quickly lighting the room, Reglin assessed what he could use for hygiene. Luckily for him, the bath water was still undrained. It smelled of floral notes, but that was much better than how he smelled from his sweat. He got in as silently as he could and rubbed himself clean, the cold water not feeling particularly great, but it did startle any of the cobwebs out of his head. Before long, he was out and dried. He took a mouthcloth, got it damp and dipped it into a jar of salt crystals and mint leaves, scrubbing his teeth and gums to get rid of his night's breath, and then gargling with water and he was done.

Getting dressed was easy enough and soon the was ready to start his day. Going over to the fireplace and leaning down, Reglin gave Tabitha's **** form a light kiss on the top of her head and made his way out, taking a candle to light his way through the office, library, and the halls. This time of the morning was still somewhat inactive. Only the kitchens were up and going, preparing the meals for the day. He made it to the service stairs at the back of the palace without incident and headed down to his barracks room. Not needing to be there too long, Reglin just grabbed a couple of little things before starting on his way to the Watchroom.

Being early meant that Reglin got to meet some of the Night's shift. Once they let him in, they were more than willing to pile ever-increasing levels of shit on him for smelling like a perfumed whore, even though that was not nearly the case. But Reglin let them laugh at him and rib him for their amusement. That of course, led to speculation as to where the new guard had spent his night. This too Reglin endured with a knowing smile and gave no hints. At least it seemed to lighten the spirits of a crew that was ending their watch.

It was not long before Lim made his way into the Watchroom, and the whole routine started anew and refreshed with the arrival of one of the Day's Watch. In truth, the stoic forbearance of Reglin was also a ruse. Reglin's mind kept reeling back into the visions he experienced in his sleep. He still did not think of them as dreams. There were too many that could recall with vivid clarity for that. Could a person dream thousands of dreams in but a handful of hours?

While getting dressed, it became apparent that his body had not become more vigorous immediately. In light of the locker room, Reglin's muscles had developed further through the night, becoming more thickly muscled, though not overly so. The definition of each of them was clearly visible when they worked, showing the ripples of motion under his forearm when he made a fist. It was intriguing to watch, especially since it didn't even seem like it was his own body from the looks of it.

Finally, everyone of the Day's shift was suited up and ready for passdown when Grahm entered the room. They all formed up as the Master Sergeant came before them. Almost immediately he began to scowl, "Who's the whore?" is all he said.

And that's all that Lim needed, pouncing at yet another opportunity to rake Reglin over the coals, "Youngblood, wouldn't you know, Sergeant. But he's not keen on sharing, the prig." Lim gave Reglin a sneering grin, perhaps hoping that the Sergeant-of-the-Watch would throw his rank into the mix to pull some details out of the new guardsman.

"Reglin, you seem to be finding yourself into something all the time, don't you?" Grahm said, still squinting at him, "I was given a message for pass down regarding you specifically. It seems your presence is demanded by the Steward this morning. And it says to not task you with anything else this day. I don't know what the hell is going on, but you are supposed to be training to relieve Boll. If this keeps up, I'm going to have to have some words with some of the uppity types. I have a palace to protect!" The others on Reglin's crew gave him a mix of grief and sympathies, thinking that it's never a good thing when the muckity-mucks know of your existence. Reglin only gave a subtle grimace at the thought.

Grahm went about the orders of the day. Who was where and what special duties. There weren't many of those besides those passed down to Reglin already, which got him thinking. What would Govren, the steward of the Palace want with him? He had of course interacted with the curt man many times as a messenger, and never got the feeling that he regarded Reglin fondly. In fact, Reglin would venture a guess that the opposite was true from very early on. The steward carried himself much like Princess Katya did around Reglin, like he smelled something foul. But at least the steward didn't go so far to sniff at a kerchief while doing so.

With all matters addressed, the crew was ready to go and relieve the outgoing shift and begin their watch. Lim and Boll were to rove once again, with Lim telling Reglin to come find them once his duties of the day were over, if there was time. Nodding at that and bidding them a good day, Reglin headed of towards the steward's office. 'This should be interesting...' is all he could say to himself, as he was at a total loss as to why he was needed.

And still those visions kept swimming in his mind…

~This is knowledge for the Reader~

The Affection Multiplier

~Mana: 112 (+11) 123~

~Mana Channels: ~Labiae Passionii (Lips of Passion) free, ~ Corpu Vigorii (Vigorous Body) 100, ~ Uirtau Proelium (Martial Prowess) 100, ~Mensu Lucidae (Bright Mind) 100, ~ Tactu Beatae (Blissful Touch) 100, ~Plurem Amatrixae Normalii (The Normalcy of Many Loves) 500

~Tabitha~ Affectionae: 100 Erosii: 63 Libidae: 100 (Effective 19)
~Lim~ A: 26 (+3) 29
~Boll~ A: 15 (+1) 16
~Grahm~ A: 28 (+1) 29
~Lina~ A: 29
~Asha~ A: 25 E: 2 L: 2
~Princess Katya~ A: -63
~Lady Wilmyna~ A: 1
~Princess Katya's Entourage~ A: (+11)
~Night's Shift Guards! A: (+6)