~ADVENTURE~

The guard reluctantly leads Shisho into the castle, his counterpart staying behind to guard the entry. Inside, the castle is far more majestic; a bright red carpet runs the entire length of the entryway, with white, black-speckled tile off to either side. The walls are white and etched with ornate golden patterns, with red banners hanging symmetrically on either side of the path. Printed on each one is the same emblem; that of a white tower-- a Rook chess piece-- wearing a crown. Shisho has little time to muse this as the guard leads him onward.

Slowly a crowd of onlookers begins to form from the various people throughout the castle, all of them wondering what Shisho might have done, especially with his odd looks, to warrant being escorted by a pissed-off-looking guardsman. Finally, with a crowd of at least 20 trailing behind them, Shisho and his escort arrive at a regal-looking set of dark oaken doors, an effigy depicting a pair of sword-crossing knights carved into either door.

Upon the pair's arrival, the two guards at the door quickly salute. "Raitan, sir!" The one on the left says.

"At ease." He responds automatically, glancing at Shisho. "This one is here to see the king about his problem." The two guards begin to start, confused looks on their faces-- "Yes, yes. The gate guards are to blame." He sighs, and the two men at the door nod. "Remember your training! Keep a sword trained on him the entire time he's in there, but do not interfere unless his actions threaten the king." The duo at the door nod, and Raitan turns to leave... and notices the onlookers.

"Away with you, vultures!" He shouts, grabbing his sword and waving it around, still sheathed. The crowd quickly scatters, and Raitan keeps walking.

"...Right then." The guard at the left door says, "Are you ready to head in?" Meanwhile, his counterpart opens the other door and ducks inside for just a moment, then returns with a nod. "The king can see you now if you are."

Shisho was elated; and so was Rini. "Whoaaa! It's a castle! It's white and big! Bigger than my house!" the child operator said excitedly, grabbing the PET closer to her eyes to take a better look. "No Rini, no seeing things up close," Shisho noted automatically his response, not wanting his operator to spoil her eyesight. The Navi himself, however, was simply mesmerised by the effort placed into the castle's architecture and tapestry, wordless by the scenery.

Shisho gave a visible gulp when he saw the swords, but said nothing as the guard-- Raitan-- gave them instructions to "kill if provoked". The Navi wanted to grow slightly shorter than he already was to hopefully avoid those bladed, dangerous items.

He turned when Raitan shooed away the onlookers; so he really DID look weird. Might have to consider taking up a disguise if this continues, Shisho mused idly. Turning back to the door guard and nodded, waiting to be guided in.

Shisho is then shown in by the guards, and is greeted by the largest, most ornate room he has ever seen. In the center of the room is a red carpet leading up a short half-flight of stairs to a large, golden throne with red cushions; a pair of knights, mirror matches for the ones on the doors, are molded onto the sides of the chair, and stand in a pose, real swords gleaming, that suggests they are there to protect whoever sits on the throne with their lives.

Whatever part of the floor isn't covered by the plush red carpet beneath Shisho's feet is covered by more of that marble from outside-- but the marble in here is white and flecked with gold speckles, all of it gleaming in the light like small little gems trapped inside a pane of glass. The walls of the first floor are decorated with paintings, evenly-spaced, of what look like men from the same lineage; each one is denoted with a small plaque below their portrait, but Shisho cannot read them from here.

That is the first floor, however. Shisho finds his eyes drawn by the columns near the edge of the room to the walkway that rings it; several doors lead out of the throne room's second floor to side rooms, and Shisho can swear he sees one door close just as he looks. His eyes are drawn yet further up, however, by the roof; it is patterned, painted and carved with ornate colors and reliefs depicting knights, kings, and other armored figures; the colors of blue and gold are the most frequently used, offsetting the red that is otherwise present nicely.

Finally, Shisho catches himself as he hears someone loudly clear their throat. It is the guard to his left. "Presenting His Majesty, King Johnson III!" At that Shisho finds himself looking to the throne; a figure is seated there that he either didn't see or didn't notice before.

The King, Johnson as it were, is somewhat short, standing only a foot taller than Shisho when Shisho is actually on the ground, but appears to be a man of some age; small, well-worn wrinkles adorn his face and his features, and his jet black hair is going gray near the back roots. The long, flowing, red silk robe he is dressed in appears to be made more for comfort than for regality, but the golden filigree near its' borders and seams speak highly of its' quality. They also offset the gold crown atop Johnson's head nicely.

"So, you have come to hear of my dilemma? And what could a mere lad like you do to help me?" Johnson inquires, the sheer power in his voice nearly overbearing.

He took his time admiring the throne room before being snapped back to focus on the people before him-- the vertically challenged king, and the guards that looked all-too-capable to lop his own head off. Shisho shivered slightly from the thought.

What threw Shisho off, however, was the king's tone. Having a kingly voice was not something that was common amongst Navis, and Shisho found himself unconsciously cringing ever so slightly from the overbearing tone of the King's voice.
"Y-Yes, your majesty," Shisho started unsteadily, deciding to take the honest route of things. "I can't promise you on how I can help you, at least not until I am informed of your dilemma."

"Oi! The king asked you--" One of the guards starts, taking a step towards Shisho.

The king, irritated, intervenes. "SILENCE!" He shouts, glaring at the guard. He falls back into line as the King leans back in his chair, staring at Shisho. "A bold response, yet still respectful. Interesting. You might just pull it off..." he muses.

"Until just recently, there were three kingdoms in our country. The Ivory, the Ebony, and the Ashen kingdoms. Now only the Ivory and Ebony remain." He grumbles. "There was a natural disaster, or so we assume-- and one day the Ashen kingdom was simply gone. A flat plane, no vegetation, no wildlife. There were..." He pauses.

"There were no survivors, save for one."

Shisho gulped from the sudden response from the guard, taking a step backwards himself. Soon, however, he settled down once more, as the King had calmed the guard down. ... But the words that came from the King's mouth soon after was itself unsettling enough.

"... Well... That hardly sounds like a natural disaster, your majesty," Shisho commented, then blinked as he mentioned of a survivor. "Survivor? But how?" he asked, slightly bewildered. Regrettably, he should've read a bit from the book that he purchased earlier; regardless, it is a bit too late to start reading now.

"We don't know." The king responds, sighing. "The sole survivor, you see, is the princess of the Ashen kingdom. This is confirmed not only by those who see her, but also by a letter she carried. There is a single, particular problem, however."

"You see, historically, the Ebony and Ivory kingdoms were bitter enemies. This changed when the Ashen kingdom intervened; they proposed a truce under a single condition, and it is that condition that has led to peace between our kingdoms for generations. Namely..." The king pauses for a moment, looking to make sure Shisho is listening, then continues.

"...whenever the Ebony and Ivory Kingdoms wish to change rulers, they must offer an heir of a particular gender. This must be done at the same time. These two heirs will then fight not only for their right to rule, but also for the affections of whatever heir the Ashen kingdom puts forward; whichever heir he or she chooses will rule together with him or her over all three kingdoms, primarily their own, with whichever suitor 'lost' acting as a governor of sorts over their own kingdom." The king pauses for a moment. "I, ah, managed to garner the affections of my dear Sophia. We ruled together until she passed some 5 years ago. Raitan, my son-- originally I had him working with the guard to toughen him up a little, make him take some responsibility, but after his mother died, he-"

There's a pause.

"I'm getting off topic. The problem is that both my son, Raitan, and the Ebony kingdom's brat, Merstae, are both claiming that she was in love with them; that could very well be true. But the problem is a single, small thing. She was about to pick her suitor when the Ashen Kingdom was destroyed. When we found her afterward, her memories... were gone. She is the real deal, certainly, but she does not remember who she was going to propose to."

Shisho blinked as he lifted his head slightly upwards in thought as he digested the information. So the King probably wants someone to determine which heir was the one that the Ashen princess chose prior to the disaster, and now they're left with a princess with no memories, but the fate of three (or now, two) kingdoms hung in the balance from the decision of one amnesiatic girl.

Shisho didn't like where the direction of the conversation was going, seeing that suddenly, the King of Ivory was seeking for an independent party. What can an independent party do at this point? Hang out with the princess?

"... Well then, I'm not sure how am I able to be of help, your majesty," Shisho lowered his head with respect slightly, peeking at the responses and body language of the guards in the room. "They say that time will heal everything, so is it not better to wait for the princess to recover her memories?"

"Ordinarily, I might say so." The king nods, "But... with the destruction of the Ashen kingdom, the people are growing... antsy. You see, I-"

...
...
...

As Shisho looks on, the King simply sits there, paused perfectly in mid-action. For a moment it seems as though he should say something... but then a loud, tearing sound-- like a record scratch or ripping paper-- rings out in the air.

All at once the world distorts and bends, and then goes black. Shisho becomes lost in a strange, weightless abyss, a dark space that just seems... empty, devoid of even himself...

...and then he's suddenly right back where he was, feet planted firmly in the air above the net-panels, the book slowly burning on the ground in front of him.

And within the blink of an eye, the fantasy scenery was gone; leaving behind a burning book and a floaty Navigator in a moldy book shop.

Shisho picked up the book, blowing the fire out with a big huff, coughing as the dust threatened to snuff him out, instead. ... Tucking the book into his massive sleeves (and disappearing under it), the Navigator nodded to the bookshop owner, and floated out of the shop... and network.

[[Goto: Netsquare]]