The queen's open court

The sun was still high in the sky and it was shining through the windows to the throne room of the Parthevia palace just hitting the tip of Fumiko's boots as she was sitting on her throne. The queen held a open court so any people could enter and talk to her about problems, proposals and other matters she held such a day every now and then since she had found out it was a good way to hear what happened around her Empire and to get interesting offers from merchants. Her two giant snow white saber cats was lying on each side of her throne reminding people not to get too close to the queen without she had allowed it first.

Khizar had entered the country earlier in the day and saw there was a short line at the biggest building in this city. He whipped out his notebook and started jotting down things he had seen throughout as he moved his way up the line. When a guard cleared his throat Khizar's attention rose from his notebook to the guard as he was next in line to see the queen. He walked in and looked at her, for a moment he just stared as she was pretty, then his attention turned to her pets. "Woah, I'm definitely getting some of those in my country." Again he started right stuff down, ignorant as to how this process worked.

"That will be very difficult young man even a skilled animal trainer would be killed by single mistake around saber cats as mine" The throne room had been built so when someone sat on the throne could everything in the room easily be heard as a defense against assassins so it was much harder to sneak without being detected. Fumiko did a hand gesture and the guard walked to the side so the young man could come closer "So who do we have here and why have you come here today?" Fumiko was keeping a close eye on the young man something about him did not seem entirely normal but she could not put a finger on what

Khizar although ignorant about royal affairs was not impolite. He quickly put away his pen and paper and stepped closer to the queen giving a slight bow as he did so. "Sorry I did not address you properly M'lady it's just your Saber Cats, was it?" He mentally catalogued it to write it down later. "Are beautiful beast, I shall venture to become strong enough to tame one. I feel all beasts respond to power and nobility." He added. "I come here with no more lofty an aim then to see what this Kingdom was about. I am Dungeon Capturer Khizar Ali and wish to experience what makes each individual kingdom great before building my own. I saw the line to your throne room and thought I'd hop in and see the ruler before going on my way to learn Maogi Manipulation from the Yambala's." Khizar spoke without fear as if he were already an equal to the Queen, such was his confidence. "Now that I see the ruler of this land is a beautiful woman I should extend an alliance to this country once mine is in order." he partially joked at the end not seeing how anyone would take him seriously yet.

Some of the guards laughed quiet when Khizar said he was a Dungeon Capturer and would make his own country but Fumiko looked Khizar straight in the eyes and nodded slightly when she saw there was no lie in his eyes "Dungeon Capturer Khizar Ali it is a pleasure to meet you. I am Queen Fumiko Dikumenowlz Du Parthevia and a Dungeon Capturer myself." She put her hand on the left Saber Cat looking at it "And you are right all beasts respond to power and nobility I have yet to meet a beast who have not surrendered to me after a short time" Fumiko looked back at Khizar she was a little curious what Dungeon Khizar had survived but it could wait "Creating a kingdom from scratch will take a lot and few succeeds why not just work for a kingdom as a Dungeon Capturer and build up your strength from within?" Fumiko was very interested what answer would come from Khizar

"Quite the name Miss Parthevia." He smiled as she said she captured a dungeon too. "It's a fun experience isn't it? You enter a new world, overcome trials, and at the end of it all a big giant is staring you in the face saying it wants to give YOU its powers." He could barely contain his excitement at his reminsicing. He watched as the beast did nothing but accept her touch. "You must be a formidable woman then." He added before answering her question. "Indeed it will, and I know the odds. I have even given thought to the very idea you had. But, I feel that binding myself to one kingdoms services would restrict my freedom to travel and discover, in addition to exposing the foreign kingdoms worst qualities as they would be biased to treat me a certain way because of the Country I represent. The benefit of learning under a ruler and having that Kingdoms protection do not off set the detriments." He looked around at the guards who laughed, simply smiling back at them with a cocky grin as if to say 'try me.'

"It means I come from the Imperial bloodline so my name is something I value deeply" She said as she looked at him he could not be older then seventeen but from his answer was he already wiser than most rulers Fumiko knew and it made her believe that he might be able to make his dream happen "If I did not know better I would say you already were a young king from the way you answer" Fumiko closed her eyes for a moment remembering the three dungeons and what she went through and it made her smile a little "It was a fun experience and I have had the pleasure three times Seere, Vual and Fpras" She touched her ring, weapons and necklace as she said the Djinns names smiling a little more "So what kingdoms have you been to so far Khizar ?"

"I don't know where my name comes from, was just on my necklace when I washed up on the shores of Balbaad." He said with a smile showing he did not care for pity about his past. "Thank you for the compliment, it is good to know my answering honestly is satisfactory." He said bowing his head so she didn't notice his blush from her praise. He returned his gaze to her as she ran her fingers across her Djinn's metal vessels. "I hope to have the pleasure more times myself, as a matter of fact I was on my way to a nearby dungeon to claim a second friend, I mean Djinn partner. But for now its just me and Buer." He said gripping his sword. "Other than my adopted home country of Balbaad, the very Southern tip of Sindria where I found Buer, and this lovely kingdom of yours, none others."

Fumiko snapped her fingers and an old man entered from a small side door "Look through the archive and see if the name Khizar Ali turn up or someone who are associated to the name from seventeen to fifteen years ago" The old man bowed and left again "All who are born in Parthevia are written down in their town and we get those lists once a year so I can keep track of how many are living in my Empire if we find something it might help you to find your family if they are from Parthevia" Fumiko looked at the sword so that was his metal vessel he had to be a skilled swordsman for the Djinn to go into his sword "A nearby dungeon? Oh you want to go after the temple a day's travel time away I see." Fumiko did a hand gesture again and the guard walked out of the room and closed the door behind them. Fumiko had no interest in other than Dungeon Capturers heard their conversation now "Tell me Khizar how much you can use Buer and what do you know of how the dungeons works?"

Khizar gave an open mouth smile as Fumiko told the old man to check the countries backgrounds. "That would be of great help thank you!" He wanted to appraoch and shake her hand, but he figured he would be overstepping his bounds to touch the Queen. "Yes the nearby one, I figured capturing multiple dungeons at my age would help get my name out there so that when I inevitably get my country off my feet, people will at least know my reputation." He explained his plan to her a bit before answering her question. "I can Djinn Equip his sword, giving me a little bit of his power to use as my own in conjunction with my swordsmanship. Unfortunately I am unable to control my Maogi flow to encompass my whole body to gain a full Equip, that is why I was going to seek out the Yambala's help after I get through the second dungeon." After finishing that part of the question he put his hand on his chin as he thought deep about his dungeon experiences. "It seems trials are the biggest thing in a dungeon. The Djinn puts you through trials, usually trials pertaining to what it is they have domain over. For instance Buer is the Djinn of Honor and Hope, when I displayed I knew what it was to be honorable and was hopeful it would net me a Djinn, I had passed the Dungeon." He paused for a moment. "However...when I assisted a friend of mine in his Dungeon Capture, we were met with several trials of varying nature. Each more dire in circumstance than the last. As far as the dungeons themselves, I do not know how they are structured or made of, but they seem to all be connected somehow and not of this world. Djinn's know of other Djinn's and when you first enter you are floating above the earth looking down at pillars of light that hold some signifcance. Once you are in the dungeon it is as though you too become a part of that world as you can interact with what is found in the dungeon, and when you leave the treasure from the treasure room manifests itself here, a most curious thing as it appears there is a barrier that allows something from one realm to enter the next and vice versa, no doubt the source of us Dungeon Capturers powers." He reached for his notes to see if he had written anything more, but he figured he had rambled on long enough and it would be rude to brandish the notebook once more instead of give the queen his full attention.

"It's the least I can do not knowing where you come from or who your family are must be horrible" Fumiko who had always known her family and where she came from could not imagine how it would be not knowing such things "It is a good plan and the treasures from the dungeons would be good for any country and the rare things from a dungeon is a strong piece when negotiating with other countries remember that and there is nothing wrong with writing things even when you talk to me" Fumiko had seen his notebook when he first entered and how he was about to take after it "You have understood more than most about the dungeons but there is a very important detail you need to know before you go after your second dungeon" Fumiko remembered back when she was half through her second dungeon and when she discovered that little secret "The Djinn who created the Dungeon you are in has almost infinite power as long as you are inside their Dungeon so they create a Dungeon to match the challengers utmost strength" Fumiko looked very seriously at Khizar "So if you can't use your Djinns full power and the Dungeon expects you to use its full power you will be dead without getting a chance to use your other abilities"

"Eh, I had my friends at the orphanage to make it bearable. It would just be good information to have." He replied. He wrote down as she spoke about the treasures being bargaining chips and the importance of reputation being verified like he thought. "I figured you desreved my full attention, especially since you have been so kind." He said peering over his notebook as he continued writing, then he stopped as she revealed the secret. After he finished writing it down he pondered what she had said for a brief moment before asking. "So you are saying the Dungeon recognizes our latent potential and creates a dungeon to match that? Or it merely creates itself to be a challenge for our current level, thus making us stronger each subsequent Dungeon?" He was worried she would say the first one was correct, in that case his plan would be no good and he would have to hold out on the Dungeon until he could Full Body Equip.

"Kind that is something I have not been called for a long time everyone says it just to be polite after I became the Queen" Fumiko sighed a little as she touched her weapon "It depends on the Djinn Vual forced me into using my Extreme Magic before I had learned how to use properly and it almost killed me but when I stood in Fpras Dungeon I was under pressure all the time but only a little more difficult than I could handle so I could become stronger" Fumiko looked at Khizar with a hopefully smile "So it depends on the Djinn and when the Djinn acknowledge you as its King"

Khizar let out a breath, as long as there was a chance he could make it then he would have to try. Besides he had the Djinn of Hope on his side, what could go wrong? "You are Kind, I imagine being Queen is stressful though and people only get to see you when you are ruling, not when you are helping. Comes with the territory I presume. An honor I'll enjoy anyway when I rule." Khizar said confidently. "I should train regardless a bit before entering though. Just to make sure I doubt I'll get Full Equip but maybe some more techniques with Buer's sword." He said to himself but aloud.

"If everyone understood that it would make my responsibilities much easier but yes it comes with the territory" Fumiko nodded slightly when he talked about training some more and that give her an idea "Khizar I think maybe I have a deal which could benefit us both" She held out her hand towards the city "I want you to spend a day or two in my city and then tell me how it all is as an impartial person you may see something that my people can't so I can make my Empire better" Fumiko put her hand back down again "And when you come back we will have looked the archive through and I will have time to show how to use a Djinns full power and train with you so you can better handle the Dungeon. What do you say to my little deal"

"A generous deal. I will be able to help your empire and thus the people, learn a little bit more about the culture and delicacy's. I have written down a good deal of the swordsmanship I have seen as I plan to incorporate it into my original style I'm creating but more practice of its basics couldn't hurt." He said listing all the positives "And of course I get to train with a Queen about how to use Buer more effectively. I accept whole heartedly." Khizar responded with a smile. "I'll spread the word on how kind you are as well......now....where does one find a Saber Cat, are they indenginous to this land?"

Fumiko nodded and smiled "Then it is a deal" But when he asked about the Saber Cat she needs to think it was so long ago that she had met them "I will not say they are indigenous to Parthevia they are living in small groups throughout the world and can be hard to find but if you ever go til the Dark Continent you should be able to find someone but white ones like mine probably lives closer the Imuchakk and the Iceland if I remember correctly"

Khizar returned his notebook to his pocket and took out some coins counting out what he thought would be sufficient for a few nights stay. "There are different colors? I'll have to get one of each kind then." He said matter of factly like it wouldn't be a problem. "I will take my leave than Miss Parthevia, you can call me back when you have free time to train or if you feel like being around someone who knows you are kind." He spun on his heel before turning his head back around "Oh yeah, if its not too much trouble, the guards who laughed should have a sparring match with me sometime. Strictly so I can pick up on their swordsmanship of course." He smiled.

Fumiko smiled and could not help but laugh just a little "Of course only so you can pick up on their swordsmanship and nothing else" Fumiko clapped and the doors got opened again so Khizar could get out again "As I said come back in two days the guards will know where I am and lead you to me" The guards started entering and finding their places again the same ones that laughed gave Khizar an annoyed look as they walked past him