[Post here first!] The Harbor

She listened to his answer, standing a little in front of him as they made their way through the line, then she laughed boldly at his question, her head tipping back a bit before she smiled more broadly at him. "Sakand," she answered him, gesturing to her face and then to the place they were currently trying to get into.

"A knight? So then, are you answering the Emira's call to arms?" Safi asked. It was the reason she had returned, although she was not as entranced by what had happened here. Then again, she wasn't a part of the nobility, so that might have something to do with her distaste.

They got up to the border, and Safi handed over her paperwork, going through the standard customs.

The men at the gate took their papers and put them through the routine Sakandi customs, taking measure of their faces, their paperwork, the ship they came on and the duration of their stay, their magical prowess and a brief extended conversation abou Cairex's pets that were also catalogued and filed.

Then, they waved the twosome through that bled out into the streets.

After Gustav and his brothers went through customs, the main captain at the sea port looked at him with judgemental dark eyes. Then he sniffed, turned, and spoke in quick Sakandi to two soldiers.

"They take you," the Captain said to Gustav, and gestured for them to go. The soldiers would lead Gustav and his men through the gates, but instead of sticking to the paths, they hailed a gondola on the canals. It was the only way to get to the Emira's palace, short of swimming in the canals yourself.

"Come," said the soldier, and was the first to board. They might have to take two given the amount of people and wait. Then off they'd go, gliding through the city of shimmering lights and magic.

[Exit to the Emira's Palace - Courtyard]

Sir Cairex Forgepyre and @safiya would be stopped, suddenly, from going through. It seemed the Hummingbird guard were speaking amongst each other, and had somehow received a message from the Emira herself.

"Wait," called a guard to them, and gestured them over. "You are to see the Emira. Now," he said, just in case they were going to brook any argument. "The boat will take you directly to her." He gestured to a quiet canal where a boat did indeed wait.

[Exit to the Emira's Palace]

"That sounds excellent to me..." he trailed off as they were stopped by the Guard at the harbor entrance. A rather long history of persecution in very similar circumstances has left him uneasy amongst guards in human nations, for they tended to be a tad less welcoming. Indeed, Alban had been the first place he had been welcome since he left home, and he attributed that to the King's patronage. Even then, the people of Avelius were not overly fond of him.

Cairex suppressed the urge to reach for his sword, rationalizing that there was no way they knew what he was, he just appeared to be a slightly hairy human with strange eyes. So he accepted their orders and got into the boat as instructed.

The sudden approach of magic did indeed put a buzz through the crowd -- and a magical buzz through the Hummingbird Guard of that port gate which they suddenly closed, allowing no one to go through. A shimmering gold veils seemed to drop down upon it, and the lights that fluttered and danced all along the city seemed to shine even brighter.

The captain of the Humming Bird guard looked at the Emissary and felt as if he couldn't believe his own eyes. They had all grown up with tales of the marid, their ancient cousins who took to the water when the Sakandi ancestors took to the land. But everyone had thought them a myth. To see some standing before him...

He didn't quite know how to respond before shaking his head and focusing. "The Emira is not expecting you..." the guard said, his voice cracking at first until he cleared his throat and tried again.

They were even more impressed by the courtier, and things at the dock had completely slowed as ship crews and passengers and merchants and traders all began to stop and stare and whisper at the Marids who had come. The Hummingbird Guard noticed this, however, and a few of the men were sent to go into the crowd, yelling at them to get back to their business, but it was hard for them not to look the marid way.

After all, they'd never seen corporeal djinn before.

They did not have to wait long. Majic and efficiency had the Emira made aware of their presence, and the golden veil upon the port lifted. One of the glowing little lights -- which could be seen to actually be the shape of a hummingbird, seemed to twitter in the captain's ears.

"The Emira is excited to meet with you," he said simply to the Emira and gestured for them to enter the gates. Once inside, they'd see the architectural and artistic marvels of their long-ago ancestors that the Sakandi and the Emira were trying to preserve, as well as the canals and waterways that offered an almost-as-popular method of moving around the enchanted city as walking on the paths and bridges did.

The water levels were low, of course, and constructed stairs and docks had been made which thinned the water ways for passable travel, but it still looked and remained charming. In the far off distance, the Emira's cerulean palace gleamed in the sun, while in the other direction, the Temple of Serenity's golden top glittered. Part way in between, the lush emerald tower of the Bejeweled Garden seemed as fresh as a spring bouquet, and all between were parapets and rooftops and waterfalls and statues.

Messengers and heralds had preceded them this time, giving the Emirate of Sakand ample warning of their approach. Indeed for the last several days, messengers had been traveling back and forth regularly to ensure that everything was in order and that proper preparations had been made. The timing of their arrival had been meticulously planned to allow the Sakandi to set up a proper welcome. And yet, little could prepare the people of Sakand for the arrival of the maridi at their shores.

His August Majesty, Alim al-Rashid, Emir of the Infinite Deep was not a modest man. Displays of wealth and power were his bread and butter, and a state visit was no time to pull punches in that regard. The first sign of the arrival of the maridi was the sound of drums, beating beneath the waves. At first, the low, steady beat would seem an ominous portent, like the steady, relentless march of time. But the maridi moved swiftly over the waves, and soon the drums would be joined by the sound of trumpets and conch shells blowing.

The vanguard marched in the front, below the blue and black banner of the Infinite Deep. Soldiers bearing ornate swords at the hips and wicked-looking polearms in their hands stepped from the sea onto the docks, marching a parade to the gates. Behind them followed a cadre of musicians accompanied by tumblers, dancers, and fire-spinners to entertain and impress the crowds. Following the entertainers, more musicians played, dancing as they marched in perfect precision. And bringing up the rear, another contingent of soldiers. And in the middle of it all, Amir al-Rashid.

The Emir himself rode a whirling vortex, floating ten feet above the dancers and tumblers. From the ground, it might appear that he was a tornado of water from the waist down, bot those looking down from the rooftops or the walls would see that he was in fact sitting on the top of it with his legs crossed. He cast his arms out over the crowds, throwing handfuls of silver coins and necklaces of coral and seashells to the people of Sakand.

The procession marched through the open gates of the city, following the pre-determined route that had been carefully laid out and explained to them beforehand, to the palace of the Emira.

For a guest as important as the Quy, the Emira herself was waiting on the docks. Of course, she had a retinue around her and priestess were waiting to flow toward the Quy guests and wreath them with flowers and kisses as was traditional of a Sakandi greeting.

The Emira was dressed in an ocher orange sash that swept over one shoulder, leaving the other naked and bare. The sash wrapped around her waist, and a decorative gold chain with the occasional small previous stone was around her svelte stomach, the only thing that hindered the nigh-naked view of her back.

She wore her traditional diadem over her brow, and those dancing Jade eyes of hers were outlined in Kohl. She stepped forward, toward the Chosen of the Wavewarden and bowed her dark head.

"Welcome to Sakand," she said to him. The glowing lights of the city sparkled, and it would be very evident to the Chosen that majic was a normal occurrence here. "How is my niece? She has written to me, but I would like to hear how she fares from someone who sees her."