Ultimately, the knowledge of the Razielim involvement in the northern border disputes would come to nothing. By the time I made it back to the sanctuary the Turelim had already pushed their way into Melchium. They annexed all three of the villages I had visited during my brief tour; claiming them in the name of their master. However, they failed to take Asher, whose garrison was better prepared than they had expected. The Turelim found their advance halted, while the Melchium regrouped there, summoned reinforcements and, to the surprise of us all, even themselves I suspect, held the line. The Turelim would not progress and the two sides would be fighting over those three, insignificant villages for centuries to come. The fears of civil war proved to be unfounded, and for Raziel, anti climactic. He had expected war, as had we all, and instead his schemes proved to be fruitless, though I heard he won back some of the vast fortune he had spent from his wagers with my fourth brother.

Every generation or so the Melchium would succeed in pushing the invaders back, only to be forced into retreat some years later. Thankfully it never spilled into open war which appeased Melchiah. Turel to my knowledge never voiced an opinion on the subject. While Melchiah used the constant skirmishes as a training ground for his men once it became clear Turel was not going to press his advantage, Turel himself cared little for the entire situation, leaving his southern commanders to do what they would on the border. As long as the Melchium did not breach the towns and cities that had always lent fealty to the Turelim, my brother was ambivalent to the whole affair, if not a little frosty when dealing with his youngest brother.

Of course I could not have known that the day I returned to the sanctuary. At the time I felt, rather dramatically in hindsight, that all hope was lost and the empire would be plunged into civil wars as my brothers fought to keep each other gaining any kind of dominance or upper hand. I did not know how my lord would take the news, but I knew he would hardly jump for joy. Neither would he command his sons to leave each other be. He had given them their land to rule as they would, he would not interfere unless the skirmishes threaten his own power.

He was lazing at the base of the balance pillar, naturally, when I trudged into the throne room. The spectre of his predecessor danced around him, forever out of reach, her voice the only sound in the otherwise quiet room.

'What hope is there for the land while you remain to pollute it?' Ariel's scorn rang out in the empty space, 'why is it only you who escapes justice while I must remain, forever bound as I am, to the pillars, once pure they are now but a lasting testament to your corrupt and ignoble reign.'

"Can you not ever be silent?!" I shouted up to her as I approached. A wisp of white silk disappeared behind the balance pillar and I glimpsed a narrow eyed look of hatred, at the same time I saw the nearby sentries look up in confusion. As far as they knew no one had spoken.

My lord looked positively relieved, "She has been doing that for hours," he muttered.

"Your thanks are premature. She'll be starting up again in a moment. She never stops for long."

I dropped down to the space beside his throne. Silence descended upon us as I rested my head against his throne and closed my eyes, thoroughly exhausted from both my journey and my discoveries. "You look terrible," my lord said, eventually, betraying no emotion.

"Next time you go and we'll see how you look after crossing the realm in a week."

"I can fly," he pointed out, "besides you only went up to the borders and back." I looked away quickly, something which of course he noted immediately. He sighed heavily, "what happened?"

If anything, I was surprised he had not already heard of it. My lord had spies in every village, town and city. I'm not sure he intended it, but there was always someone willing to bring him information in return for favour. "I had a lead so I went to Dumahim" I hesitated, "and then Razielim."

He frowned, "and how did you manage to cross such a distance?"

"I teleported," I said, unable to stop myself grinning, as I had done when I had successfully made the attempt that landed me in Dumah's palace.

My lord however, was unimpressed and his frown grew deeper, "that far? I suppose that explains your appearance."

I closed my eyes again, "it may have something to do with it."

"I trust you will not be so reckless with your gifts in future?" he was annoyed, but seemed content to drop the subject in favour of more pressing concerns, "what did you find along the border?"

"Conspiracies within conspiracies within conspiracies," I replied, emphatically.

I practically heard my lord's eyes roll in his skull, "you've been to Turelim you say? It certainly doesn't show. I trust we can skip the dramatic poetry in favour of the facts of the matter?"

"Both sides have been riled up with false rumours and armed with Dumahim weapons, covertly supplied by the Razielim."

An intrigued noise escaped the back of his throat, "and what is Raziel's stake in this?" he asked, curiously, "I would not have thought he cared what happened along a border far from his own."

"He doesn't, he's...they're..." I had to tell him. "They're bored."

I couldn't face him, the shame I felt for my brothers' actions was too great to look him in the eye, even though I had played no part in it, "they've become bored with immortality and have taken to petty intrigue to divert themselves."

There was silence, but not the one I had expected. Instead he seemed to process this information with a thoughtful air for some time. "I had a feeling this might happen," he said, at length, "I feared without a common enemy they would turn against each other." He spoke more to himself than to me, which was fine by me for I was beyond wearied and surprisingly comfortable, leaning as I was against the base of his throne. "Perhaps they need a reminder in who they are?"

He thought for a while longer, I could all but hear the cogs turning in his mind. "You!" he shouted, so suddenly and unexpectedly he startled me, I head-butted the throne harshly, a strangled exclamation of pain escaping me as a Rahabim sentry approached the dais briskly. "Fetch your master to me, at once," he added. The Rahabim bowed dutifully and hastened from Kain's presence as quickly as etiquette allowed.

"Do you have a plan?" I asked.

The look he gave me was one I had not seen since the earliest days of our campaign, when he had insisted myself and just three of my brothers, then but fledglings, take an entire town, garrisoned with human guards. "Indeed child, and I would be happy to discuss it at length with you, but right now I think you need to sleep."

"I'm fine," I insisted, already settling back against the base of the pillar.

"Megara, I do not intend for you to make my throne room look shabby by falling asleep in it." I waved his concerns away, though in truth I was probably already asleep. The strain of teleporting across the land, never mind the distance I had crossed in the interim had long caught up with me. The throne was not the most comfortable to sit in, to rest against like this would probably have left me crippled when I woke.
I felt his arms come around me and then there was just a pleasant, floating sensation as he conveyed me to my chambers. By the time I was placed in my bed I was dead to the world and free from worrying about my brothers' plots.