Oaths of Dust

by Magnet-Head

Alarant de Lereyne is a knight of Calimdar, a city that used to work to protect the people of the Amber Plains. But after a calamitous winter forced their people to change into living suits of armour to survive, their national identity and chivalrous values start to decline, and as much as Alarant wishes he could stop it, plans are underway to undermine that legacy completely.

5. Gathering

Alarant de Lereyne left Bachoix Prison and returned to the streets, pondering on Casca Goeffels's good nature. The Marquis used people like her for his own ends, innocent people led astray. He imagined that his questions would be relayed to the palace in due time, but his status afforded some protection, as well as the fact that it was his regiment that had captured the creature in the first place. He considered going to the palace and investigating the creature's final hours in more detail but decided against it. That would be playing too close to the fire.

The sun had begun to dip towards the horizon by the time Alarant stood in front of the regimental barracks. The guards let him in without question but he declined a herald; his business was short. He found a group of his knights in the common hall, swapping tales by the side of a table.

"Lord Lereyne!" Randell blurted, being the first one to notice their commander. All four of the knights rose in a flurry and saluted.

Alarant returned the salute and then asked them to take their seats again. "At ease, Randell, Himlarr, Alann, Benthi. Where is Gardt?"

"The lieutenant had some business to attend to. He asked us to reassure you that he would be present tonight, if you passed by." Benthi replied smartly.

"Very well," Alarant said and turned to Benthi, "Benthi, I want you to take your mount and find my wife. I have a message for her."

Even Benthi's sharp mind took a moment to process this. "Of course, sir."

"Tell her she is needed at the estate. Tell her it is urgent."

Benthi saluted again. "Understood, sir. What should I say if she asks what the matter is?"

"Simply say that it is urgent." Alarant said. He would have smiled if he could.

Alarant bid a good day to his knights and set off for the Lereyne estate on his mount. When he arrived, he put his mount in the stable, sat in the study and examined the contents of his satchel as he waited. It did not take long before he heard two mounts gallop up the gravel path that led to the city-side entrance to the estate. He marked his place in the draft and left the study to meet his wife in the hallway. The young knight he had entrusted with summoning Lisabelle de Lereyne stood in the doorway and made to salute.

"I brought your–" Benthi started but was interrupted when Alarant's wife practically bulldozed the younger knight out of the way.

"Husband!" Lisabelle shouted and strode into the hallway. "What's the matter? I was told it was urgent."

When Alarant did not respond immediately, Lisabelle simply continued speaking. "Have you been sent away from the city? Has the Marquis grown angry with you?"

Alarant held up his hands as a way to halt his wife, if only for a moment. "Nay, wife, it is far worse than that, I fear."

Lisabelle stopped in front of him and he could only imagine what scenarios and possibilities his wife was considering. Benthi stood in the doorway awaiting his word.

"I have invited a number of people over for the evening. They should arrive within a few hours." Alarant said.

Lisabelle stood stunned for a moment then slumped forward. Alarant waited with good humour for her reply.

"Alarant de Lereyne, you oaf," Lisabelle said after a long moment then turned to her escort, "Lady Benthi, thank you for bringing my idiot husband's message. You are relieved of your duties for the day."

Benthi looked past Lisabelle at Alarant, her uncertainty as clear as it could be. Alarant nodded back and the knight bowed and hurried out of the hallway.

Lisabelle de Lereyne put a hand to her helmet. "By Auriga, sometimes I question why I accepted when you proposed."

"Out of love and the undying goodness of your heart to help a young man keep to the honourable path." Alarant said with a smile.

Lisabelle simply sighed, but then took his offered hand. "So who did you invite?"

"Sireyl, Weybridge and de Brumlen, among others." Alarant replied.

"De Brumlen? That old dustbin is leaving the palace willingly?" Lisabelle said as they walked into the study together.

"I left it to Gardt to handle who to invite, but I mentioned de Brumlen and Weybridge specifically."

Lisabelle glanced at him. "You got Gardt to do it? And you are sure the man did not take it as a regimental assembly order?"

Alarant nodded. "Gardt does not only live for his knightly duties."

"That might be true, but they certainly get a front-row seat compared to all other pursuits." Lisabelle said with a chuckle.

Next came the preparations for the evening. In the olden days, this would have meant a rush to plan out meals and desserts and bring in ingredients and chefs. Entertainment would have had to be arranged in short order to fill out an evening for the guests, and accommodations would have to be secured for those living too far from the estate for an easy return or for those too inebriated to make the trip. Certainly, not starting the arrangements until a few hours before the guests were to arrive would have been the death knell for any party.

But with their changed bodies, the food and drink that they enjoyed in the past was so much ash now. The sight might bring memories of happier times, but they could not enjoy it nor take it in. Entertainment was unchanged, but there were precious few artists among them that could still practice their art in their new forms. Stringed instruments were difficult to handle with armoured gloves and wind-instruments required exhalation to produce any sound. Like many families in Vallaris, the Lereyne family had gone to lengths to hold parties and celebrations following the dates of the old traditions, though the ways to hold parties now were in flux. It would not be wrong to say that it was a matter of research, even if scholars were not the primary workers in the field.

The large dining table was cleaned and moved into the study, as well as the many dining chairs. Lights were distributed around the table and the study's modest chandelier was cleaned and lit. But the estate's kitchen remained cold and only a few servants aided the work. No wagons of food and drink came to the estate, and all that was laid on the table for the guests were writing implements and paper, should they wish to take down what was said during the evening. Lisabelle instructed that the ballroom was to be cleaned as much as feasible given the short timeframe, but neither member of the Lereyne family expected it to see use. But they hoped, perhaps because it would seem like the old times again.

The sunset was turning the sky pink by the time the guests started to arrive. Gardt Sireyl was first, a deep-blue robe over his armour. But despite his festive garb, the man still saluted Alarant and Lisabelle before entering the estate. De Brumlen made good on Alarant's hope by arriving next alongside Alarant's father. Lisabelle and Ducerain embraced, for it had been weeks since the two had spoken. The guests were all knights and scholars loyal to the Emperor or distrustful of the Marquis's plans and schemes. Lisabelle had, quite rightly, raised the possibility of the Marquis sending agents, and so the true discussions of the evening would be later, when they had had an opportunity to sift through the attendants. Not wanting to outright ask people to leave, as that would both be uncourteous and suspicious, they had settled on producing a small stack of letters that they would hand to the people they trusted. Gardt was handed a letter as he arrived, as was Ducerain.

With some luck, Lisabelle had found an artist that had taught themselves how to play the old instruments with their new armoured bodies. It had taken much practice and hard work, but when familiar songs began playing out over the estate, Alarant would have agreed it had been worth it. The woman stood on one of the stairs to the first floor as they played, the music weaving over the heads of the guests. The seats around the table filled quickly and the discussions moved throughout the topics of recent times; relations with the other empires on the surface of Auriga, the necrophage incursions that had only grown more pervasive since the Calamity and the changes in the imperial society and court. The Marquis's demonstration at the plaza was studiously avoided, even during the topics that by all rights should have brought it up. All the while, the Lereynes moved through the gathering, watching and listening to every attendee, deciding who would be invited to the second gathering.

"While I cannot attest to de Lereyne's story, my regiment has seen similar creatures." Bohenn Legant said. Ser Legant was broad shouldered even for their people and had had horns fashioned onto his face-mask.

Raleigh de Brumlen nodded and stroked an armoured beard that Alarant had not seen at court earlier. With some amusement he assumed the clerk had had the beard 'fashioned' by an artisan as an accessory for occasions such as this.

Legant continued. "Under de Palisar's command, a regiment of ryders ventured to the foot of the Whitecap mountains, via the Gallick Crossing, to assess the situation there. We found multiple villages that had been ransacked by the monsters. What few survivors we found confirmed it and spoke of creatures in their ranks that I believe did not exist when we held them in check in the old times, the most horrific of which was like a worm but massive in size, dwarfing even a mounted ryder."

The 'young' knight indicated the space of the study around him. "I do not believe even one of the creatures could fit inside this space. As for its abilities, we only have what the survivors told us. When we fought it, we determined that it would pose little threat to our new bodies."

"How did they threaten the villagers, then?" Alarant asked. His thoughts quickly passed by his visit to the town on the plains.

Bohenn nodded. "Against our knights, their spit is vile but mostly an ineffective projectile weapon. Sticky and without a doubt filled with the horrific poisons of the necrophages. But according to the villagers, the spit infests their bodies, rendering them with a persistent illness. If allowed to mature, even the hardiest person would be highly debilitated, if not killed by the sickness. But that is merely a prelude to the true horror."

Bohenn's voice lowered, as if talking to a co-conspirator in some spy-drama. "Upon death, those suffering from the mature illness are molded into the image of a necrophage slave. Dark-green plates grow on their limbs and their head splits into mandibles. Their bones crack as their body is forced into a new shape and their mind a slave to the necrophage hive. They showed us bodies they claimed to be these deformed slaves, and in truth they were little different from the creatures that assault us in waves during any fight with the monsters."

"I do not know whether to take that as indicative of the villagers lying, or if to see it as further proof of their claims." Bohenn Legant finished.

"Quite a few reports of a similar nature have passed through the court." Raleigh said. "Whatever these worm-like creatures are, sightings of them are not limited to a specific region of Auriga, nor a certain climate."

"I would be curious to hear if the capital has reports of sightings as well." Alarant said.

Raleigh nodded, then continued. "What I have not seen any other reports of, Sir Lereyne, would be reports of the four-legged creature you brought to the city."

"The one the Marquis made a show of?" Alarant asked, though he knew full well that was what de Brumlen meant. The real intent was to see Legant's reaction. The young knight, whom Alarant knew had a history similar to Gardt, stood up straighter. What he said next carried a tone of pride that Alarant found troubling.

"The necrophages are but beasts and monsters. That a single one of them possesses intelligence is a freak occurence and should not trouble us." Bohenn Legant said.

"Quite, Legant." Alarant said. Judging by Raleigh de Brumlen's uncomfortable silence, Alarant made a mental note to invite the clerk of the court to their gathering, while Legant seemed too enamoured with the Marquis and his speech, or too used to the old brutish nature of the insectoids, to fit with that particular crowd. Excusing himself, Alarant moved on, talking and debating with the evening's guests, deciding who to invite and who to let go. Out of the corner of his eye he could see his wife doing the same, weaving in and out of discussions with her considerable grace. One by one, the appointed guests were discretely asked to join one of the hosts in the foyer where they were handed an envelope. A few declined the invitation but accepted the host's request to keep it to themselves.

And so the party rolled on close to midnight before the guests began to thin out. Physical tiredness did not touch their new bodies, but the tasks of the day to come still needed to be carried out, and their minds were not as impervious to fatigue. The artist left first, having been paid handsomely for their service, after which Alarant and Lisabelle kept close to the foyer at all times, as guests left alone or in small groups. Some of them would return in short order, but the gathering at large was unaware.

Bohenn Legant was the last guest to leave, for his regiment was without orders at this time and so had all the time in the world to kill. He thanked de Lereynes profusely for the invitation, with hopes that he would be invited again for the next gathering, and left on foot. Even if Alarant considered the man too ensnared by the Marquis to risk inviting, Legant still had his respect. Had things been different, it was quite possible that Bohenn Legant would have been his second-in-command, not Gardt Sireyl. Alarant did not lament his decision in the slightest, but he wished that he did not have to be so careful around his own countrymen.

Less than fifteen minutes later, the second gathering began to assemble. Gardt was the first to arrive, just as he had been for the regular gathering. For secrecy, the guests entered via a servant's entrance round the back of the estate and the study room that Alarant and Lisabelle had re-supplied with paper and ink now had black curtains. Alarant mused that the last time the Lereyne estate had been so alert had been when Emperor Jessaris had held an event within its walls a few years before the Calamity. That horrible winter had only been whispers on the wind back then, and for a moment Alarant wished to return to that time with a feverish intensity. With an effort he cleared his head, scanned the grounds one more time and locked the servant-entrance.

The study room was occupied for the third time that day. Alarant saw most of the guests he had invited for this secret meeting, and recognised some that Lisabelle must have decided on. Alarant trusted his wife, and saw no reason to doubt the validity of her choices. Gardt, de Brumlen and his father Ducerain sat on one side comparing some notes they had taken at the first gathering, while Gladin Palisar and Ristel de Kelsira sat on the other in a discussion with Lisabelle. His wife sat at the end of the table, still wearing the dress-like robe from the first gathering. The table they had used was wide enough to accommodate two people on either end, and so there was an empty chair at Lisabelle's side, reserved for Alarant.

Alarant put a hand on Lisabelle's shoulder and sat down. The conversations around the table died down as he seated himself and all looked to him. Even if Lisabelle had assisted in the gathering and in handing out the special invitations, all knew that Alarant de Lereyne had initiated the gathering and that it was at his concern that they were gathered.

He took a moment to look around the table and take in the people that had accepted. Gardt, his second-in-command and one of the men in the city that he trusted most. Raleigh de Brumlen, an old friend of the family and privy to much of the business that went on in the citadel. The man was a loyal servant of Emperor Jessaris, and had asked to join in the administration of the Marquis's city for that very reason. Ducerain de Lereyne, his own father and a scholar-appoint by the Emperor. His explanation of the cyclical winters that the people called the Calamity had given Alarant much to think about. Gladin Palisar, wife to another regimental captain and a friend of his wife dating back to before Alarant had even begun to court Lisabelle. Ristel de Kelsira, sole representative of her noble family that once stood for protecting the city and outposts of the region. Unwin Weybridge, the current defense commander, was an interim until Ristel and House Kelsira would again be ready to resume their charge. And finally, last but certainly not least, Lisabelle de Lereyne, his beloved wife and light of his life. He wished that Anna could have been here, but conversely he did not wish for Anna to see her parents plotting against the state, even if the state was the Marquis.

Alarant stood up and, resting his hands on the table, leaned forward. "My fellow countrymen and family," he started, "I thank you for coming here at this late hour."

Alarant was silent for a moment. He had spent his day gathering information and preparing for the gathering, and so had not prepared a speech.

"I consider myself loyal to the Emperor and his family. I respect his decisions about the nation, about its people and about its future. I respect those to whom he confers some of his authority, his chosen governors and vassals."

"But the Marquis has pushed his authority too far and has violated the spirit of our nation and of its people."

Alarant could read no emotions on the armoured masks of those gathered at the table, but they all looked to him intently. Only Lisabelle was focused elsewhere, studying each attendant in turn.

Raleigh de Brumlen was leaning back in his seat and held up a hand for permission to speak.

"Speak, friend, speak." Alarant said and stood up straight. He intended to remain standing until he had explained his findings and his reasons. When the debate started in earnest, he would sit.

The clerk sat up. "These are serious allegations, de Lereyne. On what basis do you make them? To add, I believe I understand your basis on some counts but I would like to hear you present them." With that, Raleigh sat back and looked to Alarant.

"An understandable question, Sir Brumlen," Alarant started and looked around the table again, "I trust you are all aware of what transpired at the central plaza today."

Everyone at the table nodded. To Alarant's knowledge, of the attendants, only Lisabelle and Ducerain had not been present at the Marquis's display, but had been told later.

"First I would like to talk about this event. Or should I say, execution, for that is what transpired. The necrophage creature, for we do not know what else to call it nor if it went by a name, was captured on a patrol of a nearby valley by my regiment. Gardt can attest to this, as he was also present."

Gardt nodded and made to speak, but was interrupted by Raleigh de Brumlen. "But he is also under your command. Is he a reliable witness? Can he be expected to tell the truth, or to say what fits the narrative of his commander?"

Gardt surged from his seat but was again interrupted before he could speak. An armoured fist slammed against the tabletop.

"Unwin Weybridge would be able to confirm this creature's arrival in our city, as can I." Ristel de Kelsira had stood up, a clenched fist on the table. "To help in my preparations for my future position, Sir Weybridge passes some reports by me to get me acquainted with the work. A report of a mysterious creature-prisoner, taken by Alarant de Lereyne, passed by our office at midday yesterday."

Raleigh de Brumlen nodded and sat back in his seat, avoiding Gardt's gaze. The lieutenant sat back down slowly, though his fists remained clenched.

Alarant glanced at his lieutenant, then continued. "We encountered a necrophage herd under the leadership of this creature. I say leadership and not control for it seemed to be directing the creatures, rather than exerting some singular will over them. It injured one of my knights during its capture. I cannot say if it speaks our language or if they have some tongue of their own for it refused to communicate on the journey to the city, and upon our return I had much less time than I thought to interrogate it. I have no doubt that the creature had a more developed mind than that of the necrophages we used to know. How much, I cannot say. But it could feel pain, feel loss and fear," Alarant paused for effect, "Who can say how much we could have learned, if we could have talked with it."

"The Marquis not only acted maliciously and cruelly toward a feeling creature, he also impeded the knights in our mission to safeguard not just the nation, but all of Auriga."

Ristel de Kelsira leaned forward, elbows resting on the tabletop. "Forgive me for interrupting, Sir Lereyne, but it is not just what the Marquis did, it is also how he did it. That heinous technique, well, magic seems to be the only appropriate word."

"It is an ability we all possess, even if none of us here would admit to it or have ever used it." Ducerain de Lereyne said. Light from the chandelier reflected off the Dust-gold threads in his robe as he placed a bundle of papers on the desk from a satchel over his shoulder. "The Marquis had several forms of help to carry out that show."

"I take it you found some information, then?" Alarant said to his father.

Ducerain nodded and indicated a drawing on one of the pages. They had only seen the front of it with their own eyes, but it looked like the glowing circlet that had been on the Marquis's brow during the event. The Marquis would no doubt wish to call it a ceremony, but Alarant would not use a word with such positive connotations. It had been a show and an execution, nothing more.

"I did not bring all the volumes from which I found this information, both to protect the books from wear," Ducerain paused, "And because bringing several history books to a gathering for entertainment seemed conspicuous."

He assembled the documents in a pile again and left them on the table. "I would have written out more copies, but I had a party to go to."

"Could you sum them up?" Alarant asked while de Kelsira began to skim through the documents.

"The circlet is believed to be a relic of the Endless, the people that predate all other civilisations on Auriga. Many of our cities are built on their ruins and much of our technology comes from examinations of their remains. Perhaps most importantly, the artifact that made the Calamity a chapter in our history rather than the end of our nation is of Endless origin as well. The circlet itself was lost during the Calamity, as were so many other relics, both of our own history and of the Endless."

Alarant was stunned by his father's casual talk of the 'pre-Calamity Empire' as if it wasn't still an event that everyone present had lived through, but caught the gist of his father's summary.

Ducerain continued without pausing. "Its purpose and construction were a mystery when it was discovered," Ducerain closed one of his gloved hands. "For all that we lost in the transformation to these bodies, we gained things as well. Senses, abilities. The scholars of the Old Empire did not have access to these senses, and so some aspects of these relics eluded them. They suspected that the circlet had some relation to the 'magical' Dust, a substance we have also gained more knowledge of in the years since."

Lisabelle put down the document she had been studying. "I think I am beginning to see the connection."

Ducerain nodded in her direction and continued to speak to the gathering at large. "To reiterate, all of us, including every citizen in this city and in the capital, even the Emperor in his grace, have the ability to drain the essence of living beings. I have not studied the circlet myself, but I believe that this connection to Dust manifests, for us, in an enhanced ability to drain the essence from living beings and perhaps even pushes one to do so."

Alarant nodded, mostly to himself. "During the execution, I remember seeing something connecting the Marquis, the circlet and the necrophage like a thread of gold. That must have been the essence draining."

Ducerain nodded and sat down. "And on the topic of the Marquis's new guest at the court, I have not found more information since our talk earlier today, Alarant."

"New guest?" Gladin Palisar said and looked at the other guests at the table.

"The one with the red glow." Alarant explained.

Ristel de Kelsira stacked the documents again and put them in the centre of the study table. "I have noticed someone like that around. Whoever they are, they are always accompanied by either de Kirgaan or the Marquis, if not both. I have also never seen them speak. They simply watch."

Alarant produced a stack of documents and put them down next to Ducerain's documents concerning the circlet. "Based on research, I think the person with the crimson glow is Samhane Haligtide." Alarant pointed at the documents concerning the man whose name he had just mentioned and looked around the table for the reactions of the others.

Raleigh nodded in the manner of one whose suspicions have been confirmed, while Gardt seemed taken aback.

"I take it you are not referring to some commoner that has taken up the name." Ristel de Kelsira said, looking between Alarant and Ducerain.

"If so, then said commoner has taken up Haligtide's malign appearance as well." Ducerain said.

Raleigh de Brumlen leaned forward. "There was an expedition a few months ago, supported and funded by the Marquis. It was kept out of the eyes of the general public, the expedition leaving and returning at night."

"I heard about this. It was led by Jace de Kirgaan, correct?" Ristel de Kelsira said.

De Brumlen nodded. "Just so, though I do not know the full details of the expedition. I suppose only Kirgaan, the Marquis and Haligtide know the full scope. They ventured to the west, close to the Quneran Steppe."

"What, are you suggesting they bought Haligtide's coffin from the Clanners?" Gladin Palisar said and chuckled.

Raleigh waited a moment for the chuckle to subside before continuing. "That would indeed have been humorous, but no. They hired a guide that knew about a certain cluster of ruins on the north-eastern outskirts of the Old Empire and set out for the selfsame ruins."

De Brumlen turned towards Ducerain. "It is my understanding that the circlet we spoke of was found in these ruins."

Ducerain had leaned back in his chair and was stroking the chin of his mask. "I believe you are right. That cluster of ruins was where we realised that the ruins of the Endless had begun to awaken and change with the onset of the winter. They triggered a resurgence of interest, even as the Calamity worsened and the Empire began to crumble."

Raleigh turned back to the table. "The guide they hired from the Clanners never returned, and to my knowledge they have not seen him since. I believe that they found Samhane Haligtide on this expedition and brought her back to this city. For what purpose, I cannot say."

"Whatever the purpose is, I highly doubt it will be honourable or beneficial to the Empire." Alarant said.

"I thought Haligtide was just a story." Gladin Palisar said and picked up the bundle of documents Alarant had brought.

"If only she were." Ducerain said. "According to my research, she has powers like ours, but of a vastly stronger caliber. Essence draining is as easy to Samhane Haligtide as breathing was to us. As easy to do and as difficult to control or consciously inhibit. If the Marquis dreams of becoming more powerful, of using these new abilities for such ends, Haligtide would be a preeminent teacher."

"And the circlet a powerful tool." Alarant said. Ducerain nodded.

Alarant continued. "I suspect that the 'demonstration' at the plaza was meant to entice the populace with what these powers can do, to more easily sway them with the Marquis's promises. If he intends to confront the Emperor and the capital, he would need much more support, both in popularity, funding and soldiers than he enjoys currently."

Alarant looked to the gathering at large. "And with that, I believe I have presented my evidence." He nodded to de Brumlen.

Raleigh nodded in return, stroking his metal beard. "The question is, then, what does the Marquis intend to do with all these elements?"

"Even if he intends rebellion, the Marquis would need much more than that to topple the Emperor." Gladin Palisar said.

"We cannot rule out that the Marquis has good intentions." Raleigh said.

"Good intentions for himself, I'll bet." Gardt said.

"Even if he only has the good of the Empire at heart, I cannot accept a course that would only benefit us at the expense of the world around us. To quote the Marquis himself, we fought to keep the people of Auriga safe, not just the ones fortunate enough to live within sight of our walls." Alarant stood as he talked, leaning on the table with his fists on the table surface.

"Under the Marquis's rule, the sight of our walls might not be such good fortune any longer." Lisabelle added.

Alarant nodded to his wife and turned to Raleigh. "Besides, you heard his words. With this 'power' we can take what we want. I am sure that the Marquis desires to sit upon the throne and that he intends to use this power to that end. I just wonder how he intends to do it."

"Are you sure you do not have a grudge or bias against the Marquis, de Lereyne? Your loyalty to the throne has always been beyond question, and the Marquis has long been an outspoken critic of Emperor Jessari, as well as being without a knighthood unlike yourself." Raleigh replied, his eyes narrow.

"Yet, I agree with de Lereyne's thoughts on the matter and I myself have criticized Emperor Jessari in the past." Ristel de Kelsira said. She was looking at de Brumlen with her arms crossed over her chest. Alarant silently thanked her for saying so, for de Brumlen's accusation had taken him by surprise.

The air around the table was tense, like a powderkeg about to blow.

"Bias and intentions and ideals aside, at present we have no evidence of any actions on the Marquis's part against the throne." Lisabelle said, hands out towards the assembly in a placating gesture. "I propose we adjourn our meeting and see what the Marquis does from here with our eyes and ears wide open. We can use a similar method to arrange a further meeting if events continue."

Ristel de Kelsira stood up. "I have business at my family's estate in the capital. I can relay our worries to the Emperor if need be."

"Please do. Do not mention any of those gathered here by name. I trust your discretion, Lady Kelsira." Alarant said.

Everyone stood and gathered in smaller conversations for a few moments before leaving one by one. Just like the earlier gathering, Alarant and Lisabelle stood by the exit of the study room as the guests left by the servant's entrance they had used earlier in the night.

Raleigh de Brumlen stopped in the doorway and turned back to Alarant. "Forgive me if I seemed obstinant and quarrelsome, Alarant. I merely wanted to ensure that you could defend yourself and your cause against the inevitable criticisms that would arise during this course. I intended no ill will, especially not towards Sir Sireyl."

"I will ask Gardt to pass by your quarters in the citadel, then you can apologise to the man yourself. I am sure he will accept." Alarant said with as warm a tone as he could and guided the man out.

As Alarant returned to the study, he found Ducerain remaining at the table with Lisabelle at his side. It seemed to Alarant that his father was looking at some of the documents presented during the gathering, but he noticed that the bundles on Haligtide and the circlet were still lying in the centre of the table. Ducerain must have had a second bundle with him. Lisabelle was sat glancing through her own notes of the evening.

Alarant came in and sat down next to him. During the gathering, Gardt had held this seat. "I can arrange for a room to be prepared, father, if you wish to stay the night."

Ducerain looked up from the documents and looked at Alarant for a long moment, as if in thought. "Ah, no, that will not be needed."

"Are you sure? Lisabelle would love it, I am sure." His wife had always loved the company of Ducerain, and among the Lereyne house, their friendship had only been rivalled by the man's affection for his granddaughter Anna. With Anna still unformed, the friendship of Lisabelle and Ducerain de Lereyne had only grown, as if they were helping each other persevere until the beloved child could return to them. Alarant loved his daughter dearly, but grimaced at the thought that she would return to them in the same armoured form as the rest of their people. Gone would be their daughter's rosy cheeks and raven-black hair, replaced by cold, golden armour. Alarant shook himself from his reverie.

"I already posed the selfsame proposition, Alarant, to no awail. Your fathe has business in his tower in the morning." Lisabelle said and put her pen aside.

Ducerain nodded, then took the bundle of papers and laid them in front of Alarant. "I wanted to show this to you before I left."

Alarant looked at the first page. Without context, he mostly saw a lot of equations and numbers. "What is it?"

Ducerain leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "It's meteorology data sent down by our embassy in Valnograd. I am going to present it at the meeting tomorrow. These documents are a simplified version."

His father paused for a moment. "It implies that we have a new winter coming."

"An early winter? Is it going to be like…" Alarant said, worry evident in his voice.

"It won't be like the Calamity." Ducerain said. His voice sounded assured but his pose did not follow suit. "Even if we leave aside our changed bodies, comparing the data to what survived the onset of the Calamity in the closing days of the Old Empire indicates that it will not be nearly as brutal."

"Not as brutal for our people, you mean." Alarant said and put the papers back onto the table.

"If the settlements on the plains know it's coming, they should come out on the other side. They must have survived winters before." Ducerain said. He gathered up the papers then left them beside the other piles that had been presented during the gathering.

"Do you think we should warn them?" Alarant said and stood.

Ducerain did not answer right away, instead allowing himself to be led to the exit by Lisabelle.

"Do so if you wish, my son." Ducerain said as he stood at the threshold. "Just be careful. The Marquis is not a merciful man and I do not wish to see anyone die over this, no matter what Martin de Suluzzo has planned."

"Neither do I, father. Good night. I will keep you abreast of my decisions."

Alarant and Lisabelle held hands as they watched Ducerain de Lereyne walk into the night, back towards the city centre and the citadel.