The Royal Signs V:

The Royal Signs V:

Aries: The King of Sails and Oars. Colony ships across the sea, refugees from a home abandoned.  Nights on the bow in the salt-sewn wind, following the melody from the deep that only he can hear.

Taurus: A king born on horseback. Inheritor to a legacy of blood and empire. Warpaths leveraged into trade routes that flow with silks and silver. New life breathed into an empire that will never truly forget its roots.

Gemini: The Builder. The Queen of Nine Rivers. Highways that cut through the rolling savanna. Gold from the south, salt from the north, but from her court flows knowledge.

Cancer: One more throne to the court. A palanquin in radiant gold carries the new king to his throne. There he sits, the newest addition to the dozens of thrones behind him, all baring the mummies of his predecessors.

Leo: A young prince, playing with the common children in the market square. Free to enjoy the puddles and morning air, safe in the knowledge that the sniper who guards him is watching from the rooftops.

Virgo: A Pirate Queen. War drums haunt the treasure ships. A captured shipment of ancient, enchanted metal, more valuable than any gold or silver.

Libra: A king in willing exile. A king who sought the gentle dark, who made a home in the alien places where his father feared to tread. Scars of rebellion turned to marks of pride.

Scorpio: A queen in silks invites foreign dignitaries to tea in her private garden. As she listens to their words she coos over her pet mantises, secretly relishing the guests discomfort.

Ophiuchus: The clan mother. A woman of great age and wisdom. A banner of patches in a thousand colors and patters. Pipe smoke drifting from the folds of a coat made in similar fashion.

Sagittarius: A Queen of Bone and Honey. An ancient song drifts across the boreal forest. A queen in lush furs, now flanked by a court of extremely fluffy cows. Dull copper bells rattle in time with her song.

Capricorn: A king of unearned radiance. A tyrant in lavish surroundings, cast unceremoniously into a dry well. The priestesses said his blood was spoiled, unfit for the earth.

Aquarius: A queen by title, but not by action.  A childhood friend, a seamstress with a laugh gentle and kind as a warm spring afternoon.

Pisces: A holy king, a king in penance. Inheritor to the sins of his lineage. A gentle hand of iron. Shows of fervor for the world to see. Molten gold scarring flesh.