>>5423883She will not be convinced. You will not be deterred. One of you must relent… But a dragon does not submit so readily! With a hiss of frustration, you pull the moon-sword from your belt and lay it upon the table. Still swaddled in silk, it provokes an arched eyebrow, but no other reaction from the Elf Queen.
“Fine,” you say through hostile grin. “That doesn’t convince you, Myrymma?”
She simply watches as, with dramatic flourish, you unwrap the blade…
>17And then, her silver eyes go wide, and her deep-purple lips part with a gasp of genuine shock. For the second time, and far more dramatic than the first, you see this Queen-for-the-Season’s cultivated calmness broken by a burst of true, irrepressible emotion.
“That is—”
“The sword of Endymion,” you say, with small satisfaction. “The blade of a king, of a false God of Light before him!”
“It was lost,” The Queen murmurs, reaching out to caress the broad blade of the elven sabre, her pitch-dark fingers smoothly gliding over the faintly-glowing white of its untarnished stone.
“The Dark Gods found it,” you assert, with some embellishment, “and guided me to it. From the throat of the Devourer, your other ancient enemy, I drew it forth! I slew two of your greatest threats, liberating your people, and I did it under the protection of the True Faith. I am an Antipaladin of the Dark Gods, Queen Myrymma… And perhaps, now, you understand what that means!”
You stand tall and proud, having (you now realize) risen from your seat to loom above the others in the room. You worry for a moment that this might be perceived as a threat, and your gaze drifts to Myrymma’s attendant… But he, too, so too stunned by the moon-sword of Endymion to do much but stare.
“I… I understand,” the Queen says, looking to you with renewed wonder and respect. “You are…”
She stops herself, shakes her head.
