Aliases are alternative forms of a reference. They can include actual aliases for characters, nicknames, plural variations, gendered versions of some [Classes], and even typos.
Many had never heard of her outside of Terandria, or the closest kingdoms in the south. Yet, of all the [Princesses], even the eldest, 1st Princess, Shardele du Marquin, who was married to one of the highest-ranking [Dukes] of Calanfer, or the 3rd Princess Aielef, who had married into Kaliv’s own extended royal family to affirm ties between the Dawn Concordat—a practice they had honored for countless generations—arguably the most famous of all was the 4th Princess of Calanfer.
The eldest was Shardele, and only in her mid-thirties at that. Each [Princess] had been born roughly two to four years apart, and Shardele, the named successor over her younger brother, the 1st Prince, had been set up to inherit the throne. She had married one of Calanfer’s most powerful [Dukes], and her image as the reliable, intelligent daughter of his Majesty Reclis du Marquin, was firmly in the mind of Calanfer’s people. If any had been at this gathering of the nobility and foreign royalty, they certainly would have flocked to her.
…All except for one of the [Generals] who had been in court during the drama last week. He hesitated. All the logic checked out, as it was presented. If you assumed every fact was as the [Duke] and the [King] had said, it was a confident, yet safe bet to assume House Veltras would be irate at most, but cautious.
So he was mistaken. He definitely was mistaken, and the monarch of the realm and the [Duke] weren’t wrong. But because he was an actually decent [General], the man excused himself, hurried down the palace hallways, and after asking twice, came to a room where two prisoners of state were resting.
Every single one had more than one story about them. Eldertuin the Fortress had held down half a dozen Trolls in single-combat. Viecel had famously killed one of Terandria’s [Dukes] in an honor-duel that had ended a war between Baleros and Terandrian kingdoms.
However—they struck an interesting chord in that their bow to Erin and to Lyonette as Erin introduced her second-in-command was slight. Respectful, but not deferential. They knew who Lyonette was, but the [Princess] got a nod as if they were [Earls] meeting a [Duke]. Not staff members addressing a [Princess]—or even servants in a household.
The [Duke] of one of Taima’s houses was rather impressed by the powerful light magic that was the hallmark of the Oreanius faction; mood lighting covered her estates and gave everything an appropriate glow.
It was quite a lot of fun. For twenty-one seconds. Then, as it sometimes happened, things were over far too quickly. And that, the poor [Duke] felt, had to be the biggest letdown of the night. Especially because he felt like he’d had all the limited fun.
He had known partners to act and pretend he had done better than he had, but even the best of them surely would have had a comment to make for that performance. The [Duke] was so ashamed he scuttled out of the estate anyways and refused to come out of his rooms for two days. But it hadn’t gone that poorly.
Until they were backed into a corner, the nations, all of them, from glorious Erribathe to Calanfer, had tried to play him like a fiddle. [Duke]? You must be joking, Admiral. A knighthood. Minor, unlanded nobility. Citizenship and a pat on the back. A permanent trade contract.
