Arianne VI
"Are you all right Quentyn, is your hand better now?"
"Arianne, I thank you for your concern, but for the umpteenth time, I'm fine," his brother replied somewhat wearily. "My hand is as well as it can be, it's not like I'm going to grow two fingers overnight."
Quentyn shook his right hand, still with bandages hiding the wound. His index and middle fingers were missing, slashed off during the battle of the Honeywine. Because of that, not only would he not be able to wield a sword with ease again for a long time, but he would have to relearn how to handle a quill, a fork, or almost anything else with his left hand. Her brother tried to play it down, but the Silent Sisters had told her that if the wound didn't close soon, they would have to amputate his hand and maybe part of his arm for fear that it would become infected.
"May I ask why so much concern for me, dear sister? Not that I don't appreciate it, but I am curious. It's not a very usual thing for you" Quentyn asked.
"Can't a sister worry about her little brother?" replied Arianne. "Now seriously, I feel somewhat guilty about what has happened to you. After all, this war is somewhat my fault."
Quentyn smiled. "The war is not your fault, Arianne. Your husband would have gone to war one way or another, so you shouldn't try to take all the blame, sister."
If you knew the extent to which it's my fault, you might not be smiling so much, brother.
"Thanks for the advice, little brother. I'll try to put it into practice, but no promises. After all, this doesn't let me stop worrying about the aftermath of the war" Arianne said pointing to the brooch she was wearing.
"A thousand pardons, my Lady Hand. From now on I will not question you when you go to visit your one-armed brother. Surely it is of vital importance to the future of the realm" Quentyn said. He was still smiling, but behind that smile there was no joy or mirth, no matter how much his brother tried to hide it.
"You are excused. By the way, if father asks you tell him it was Ser Garlan who cut off those fingers," Arianne said taking her leave.
"What did you tell him?"
"Nothing, I told her that Nym had told me how brave you had been in battle. You know, how you risked your life to save your dear cousin." She didn't turn around, but she could imagine the look on her brother's face.
She wasn't quite sure her father would buy it, but maybe this way at least he wouldn't get to find out entirely how "brave" her brother had been. And even if he did find out the truth, at least Arianne would see to it that the rest of the Dornish lords didn't. Quentyn might be clumsy and a bit of a nincompoop, but he was still her brother.
Her brother tried not to make a big deal of it, but Arianne knew for a fact that he was deeply ashamed of what had happened. In truth, during the first cavalry charge, her brother had clashed with a squire of house Tyrell, and the squire had slashed his fingers when Quentyn had tried to parry his sword. Due to the pain, his brother had collapsed, falling off his horse and missing the rest of the battle. Truth be told, he had been lucky not to have been crushed by any horses during his unconscious state, but Arianne had preferred not to poke her finger in the wound. She stepped out of her brother's tent and surveyed the war camp for a few moments. It was still as she had left it when she went in to see her brother.
If Arianne had to define in one word the experience of witnessing a siege for the first time, it could not be other than boring. They had only been in front of the castle for a couple of weeks and Arianne already felt like packing her things and going back to Oldtown or Sunspear rather than die of inanition. The first few days had been at least somewhat interesting: Stannis had organized the camp, had trenches dug and watchtowers built. Later, they had begun to build battering rams, siege towers and a few blunderbusses, but for what they had done with them they might as well have left the forest where they had cut the trees down to make them as they were. Except for throwing rocks against the walls a couple of times a day, they had done absolutely nothing else. Of course, whoever had come up with the idea of building a huge stone wall around every fortress in the kingdom deserved to be tortured in the Seven Hells until the end of their days and then some. And worst of all, in front of his army stood not one wall, but three.
The Tyrell fortress stood on a hill surrounded by a vast green field bathed by the waters of the Mander. The river was far more plentiful than the Blackwater and, of course, than the Greenblood or any of Dorne's few rivers. In Dorne, water and vegetation were a precious resource, but since she had arrived in the Reach she had not stopped seeing them everywhere she went. They may not have gold mines, but they have wealth to spare, Arianne thought.
The walls of Highgarden formed three concentric circles and were made of ivory-white stone. Each one was taller and sturdier than the last, so taking the castle would be even more complicated and fierce as they moved deeper into the fortress. The garrison remaining in Highgarden was small, by all the generals' calculations, for Mace Tyrell had taken nearly all of the Reach's remaining soldiers with him when he marched to liberate Oldtown. Despite this, taking the fortress would mean hundreds, if not thousands of casualties from what Stannis had told her. And apparently Lord Mace's son was nothing like his father.
When they reached the castle, they discovered that the Tyrells had taken what provisions and supplies they could from nearby villages, and what they could not take they had set on fire. It was not a serious setback for them at all, since they had plenty of supplies from the rest of the taken lands, but it meant that the besieged had enough supplies to hold out for months. And they didn't have that much time.
It had been a couple of days since one of their archers had shot down one of the ravens heading for the fortress, and the news it carried was troubling, very troubling. As expected, Renly had taken King's Landing. Her brother-in-law had begun the siege practically as soon as he was ready and the city had not held out for a single day, though Arianne did not know if that meant Renly's losses had been heavy or not. It also said nothing about whether the Red Keep had fallen along with the city, nor anything about the status of Tywin Lannister, Cersei, Joffrey or any of his siblings, which probably indicated that they were still alive.
At least he still has the remaining Lannisters to deal with, Arianne thought. But it wouldn't be long now.
The war council had already discussed it, and the opinion was unanimous: Renly would pose no threat as long as Lord Tywin remained at Harrenhal, ready to take the city if Renly withdrew his army. Sadly, they would be his next target, of that there was no doubt, so Highgarden had to fall, and it had to fall fast.
Arianne turned her gaze to the white walls of the fortress. Taking it was not going to be easy. A frontal attack would cost too many casualties, and its success was far from guaranteed. Moreover, a defeat would mean that the already dubious loyalty of the houses of the Reach who had joined them would become even more fickle. Stannis had forgiven all those who had bowed the knee after the battle, though she was aware of how much that had annoyed him. In all eyes, those lords were a bunch of self-confessed traitors and turncloacks, and the few troops they had been able to contribute barely made up for the trouble they posed. Many were young lords, who had gained the title because their fathers or brothers had died in battle, but once the shock of defeat had passed, they were more interested in returning to their newly acquired lands, which, of course, Stannis intended to deny them until they had proven their loyalty.
And those were not the worst by far, not having the Florents there. Lord Axell, the new lord of Brightwater Keep after the death of his brother and nephew, had surrendered the fortress and sworn allegiance to her husband as soon as news of the Honeywine reached Brightwater Keep. He was a short, somewhat plump and ugly-nosed man. And what was even worse, he was terribly ambitious, even more so considering that he had become lord by pure chance. He called himself Lord of the Reach and Highgarden, though no fox sigil flew on the fortress before her nose and Stannis had not granted him such titles, nor would he do so if it depended on her. She would rather hand over the Reach to the first soldier that passed by than to that lout.
Of course, the poor fellow still held out hope, and insistently kept reminding both Stannis and her of it every chance he got. For the moment, Arianne had granted him the great honor of pitching his tent in front of the king's, which had made him enormously happy. He had only done it to keep an eye on him in case he thought of plotting something, but for the moment the only thing he had done was to look for a Dornish lord who wanted to marry his daughter to him, and with little success it seemed. Luckily, the only cunning thing in the Florent household was still the fox of its coat of arms.
Arianne greeted Ser Richard Horpe and Ser Archibald Yronwood, sheathed in their white armor as they stood guard in front of their tent despite the fact that there was no one to guard, since Stannis was still reviewing the troops, as did well into the midday hours. Ser Archibald, or Arch as they used to call him, had been one of the first additions to his royal guard. He was bald from childhood and quite fat, but he was six and a half feet tall and had incredible strength. Coupled with his prowess with a hammer, Arch was one of the most dangerous men in Dorne and, although he didn't have the typical knight's appearance, he was one of the best warriors they had. Considering that Darkstar would never take celibacy and since her beloved Areo did not plan to be part of the royal guard as long as he remained in his father's service, they did not have many other options.
Entering her tent, she poured herself a glass of wine and leaned back on one of the cushions. It was one of the few luxuries they had if they could even be considered as such. Despite being king, her husband had not changed his mind about austerity. He preferred a small, practical and functional tent, easy to pick up when they had to break camp. Arianne had managed to convince him to take a few of her jewels with them and although Stannis grumbled somewhat about it, he had accepted it as long as she could carry them on her person. The rest they had left behind in Dorne and, although Stannis had fumbled with the idea of pawning them to pay the mercenaries fighting for them, in the end it seemed that it was not going to be necessary after the loot they had gotten at the Arbor and Oldtown. She didn't even have time to taste the wine, an Arbor gold obtained from the cellars of Redwyne, when Ser Richard burst into the room.
"Your Highness," he said solemnly. "Your cousin is waiting in the doorway and begs an audience with you."
How strange, thought Arianne. Obara and Nymeria didn't usually go in for that kind of formality. It would have made sense for them to have shoved Ser Richard and Arch out of the way until they were let in. They hardly ever respected protocol, which more than once had caused more than one... awkward situation. Mostly for Stannis.
"Let her pass, Ser Richard. I don't think she poses any threat" Arianne replied in amusement.
But it was neither Obara nor Nymeria who came through the tent door, but their half-sister Tyene. Seeing her, Arianne cursed Richard Horpe and his lack of concreteness. Throwing her out now would be quite inappropriate, so let's settle this once and for all. She had been trying to avoid her cousin ever since they returned from King's Landing, but this time the encounter was going to be unavoidable.
"Hello Arianne. It's been quite a while since we've spoken," Tyene said with an innocent smile on her face. That smile that had won over so many in the court of the capital and had made Arianne believe she could trust her blindly.
"Hello, Tyene," Arianne said with icy politeness, restraining herself from throwing the cup in her face. "What brings you here? I thought you'd stayed at Sunspear."
"I was going to, but almost all of you are gone and I didn't want to be the only one missing out on the fun. Besides, Hotah doesn't give me much of a topic of conversation, let's just say."
"Yeah, I can imagine. Tell me, when you get out of here will you tell your father about our conversation, or mine?"
"Arianne I..." replied Tyene unable to conceal her surprise at the sudden accusation.
"You what? You thought I was going to act like nothing happened?" cut her off Arianne, though she tried not to raise her voice too high, in case anyone might be listening.
"I didn't mean to betray you, Arianne. I was just afraid, afraid that we were being too reckless, too naive..."
And yet we were. We were stupid little girls playing with a fire we couldn't control.
"That gave you no right, Tyene. I trusted you, more than anyone else" Arianne reproached her. She was furious, furious with her cousin, but also with herself for letting it have affected her so much. She didn't act with malice, I know that, and yet, why can't I forgive her? Why can't I let it go?
"You should have warned me, if you thought we were being reckless we could have discussed it..."
"I tried, Arianne. But you were obsessed. I noticed how you always disdained my warnings, or ignored them as if you hadn't heard them... I'm really sorry, maybe I should have insisted more..."
"No, no... let it go. You did right... It was my fault. Everything... everything was my fault."
"Come on, come on..." replied Tyene embarrassed. "If I'd known you were going to get like this I wouldn't have said anything. It's not like you to get so sad and sentimental."
"It's the truth," Arianne acknowledged. She had known it for a long time, but that didn't make acknowledging it not hurt and frustrate her. "I have provoked a terrible war that could cost us everything...and for what?"
"That throne belonged to you and Stannis anyway, you just advanced the process. Besides, you avenged our aunt."
"Avenged our aunt? She was as much a stranger to you as she was to me. I only remember seeing her once, when I was little more than a child. I don't even remember her face," Arianne said with contempt.
"You shouldn't..."
"What, it's our parents who wanted revenge, we just deluded ourselves into believing that too. And for all I know, Lord Tywin and Ser Gregor's heads are still firmly attached to their necks."
"It won't be long before they fall, the war doesn't look bad at all, we have Oldtown, and Highgarden is in front of you in case you haven't noticed."
"And Renly has King's Landing. Our victories can turn to dust easier than you think."
"My, you sure know how to cheer me up, cousin..." said Tyene lying down next to her.
"Look at me, everyone waging war all around us and here we are, doing nothing at all."
"You could ask the soldiers to let us use one of the trebuchets. Not that they use them much either from what I'm seeing."
"Stannis says the walls are too thick to tear down like that. Besides, it wouldn't make a good impression, though I admit it might be fun," Arianne said, smiling.
"Yeah... the truth is, it's rather ugly of the Tyrells to put up resistance after we've beaten them. Look at them forcing us to take their fortress" Tyene said with a chuckle.
"True, they could have given up by now..." Arianne jumped to her feet, dropping her empty goblet to the ground.
"Arianne?" her cousin asked startled.
"That's it!" exclaimed Arianne, elated. She stormed out of the tent, leaving her perplexed cousin behind. "Arch! Prepare my horse and an escort. Oh, and bring a peace banner too, quick!"
Though somewhat confused, Archibald obeyed the order without complaint and marched off in search of some guards.
"Your Majesty, is everything going... well?" asked Ser Richard, somewhat confused at Arianne's sudden orders.
"Perfectly, Ser. No need to worry" replied Arianne calmly.
"Arianne. what do you plan to do?" asked her cousin in her ear as Arianne waited.
"Make Highgarden surrender" she replied as if it was no big deal. Ser Richard looked at her somewhat quizzically but said nothing.
At last Arch returned with her horse, and Arianne and her escort made their way through the camp and trenches towards the fortress walls.
Maybe I've been a bit hasty, Arianne thought as they approached. Maybe it had been the wine, but at the time it had seemed like a great idea to try to negotiate peace with the Tyrells. Well, at least I'll kill the boredom for a while.
Arch stopped the horse once they had passed the trench closest to the castle.
"My lady, we should wait here. If we get any closer the archers might..."
"They won't". I hope. Truth be told, she had no idea how the new lord of Highgarden would react to the prospect of a negotiation. "Come on, let's get on with it."
Her instincts proved true and the archers stationed on the white battlements didn't fire at them even when they were only a few feet from the fortress gates. Well, I guess that's a good start.
But minutes passed and the gates remained closed. From the walls, none of the lookouts had addressed them, not even when Arch questioned them several times explaining their presence there, in case it had not been clear enough. Time continued to run, although everything there seemed to be at a standstill, except for the whispered comments of some of his guards that he heard from time to time. Maybe we'd better leave before we continue making fools of ourselves, thought Arianne, tired of waiting so long and with beads of sweat running down her face due to the intense sun that had risen that day.
Still, she forced herself to wait a while longer until a loud bang from the opening of the doors brought her out of her thoughts. At last.
Leading the Tyrell retinue was, it seemed, Lord Willas himself, or so it seemed to him as he saw the young man with the staff escorted by half a dozen armed knights. He wore a leather doublet and a green cloak with gold embroidery. At his side, though somewhat behind him, was an old woman of small stature, stooped and gray-haired, who, like the lord of Highgarden, walked with the aid of a cane. Beside her, a pair of tall bodyguards followed with their hands on the hilt of their swords, not taking their eyes off Arianne or her escorts. It was certainly far less spectacular than the one that had surrounded Mace Tyrell at the Honeywine parley.
They stopped a few paces from Arianne and Lord WIllas bowed his head in greeting.
"Princess Arianne Martell, I imagine" said the lord of Highgarden with courtesy and a kindly tone.
"And you must be Wilas Tyrell" Arianne replied. "It is a pleasure to meet you, thank you for coming." She dismounted from her horse, so that it was now Lord Willas who stood above her.
"How disrespectful. I already knew that besides water down there you also lack courtesy, but I didn't expect the princess of Dorne to be rude as well" the old woman said. Her voice was soft, but she did not hide the contempt in her voice.
What a way to start a conversation.
"Forgive my manners" replied Arianne bowing her head, thus trying to hide the irritation the old woman had caused her. "Lady Olenna, I presume."
The old woman continued to look at her with disdain. The tension in the atmosphere was even greater than she had expected.
"Where is your husband? I don't see him around... I suppose dealing with a Tyrell is beneath someone like him? Is that why he sends us his wife?"
"He sends the Hand of the King," Arianne replied, pointing to the golden brooch she wore. "Even if he is not here present, know that you deal with him." The old woman looked at her suspiciously, but said no more.
"I suppose you are not here to surrender?" said Willas Tyrell, breaking the silence. "What have you come for then?"
"To negotiate peace, Lord Willas. The Reach has suffered enough in this war, we need not remain enemies."
"Lord Willas... then my father..."
"He died fighting bravely at the Battle of the Honeywine, my lord, as did your brother."
He fell off his horse and was crushed to death by his men as they tried to escape the encirclement. Anyway, at least about his brother it is true.
"I expected the news, but it is no less painful," said Willas. His voice denoted a certain sadness.
"I am sorry for your loss. Know that..."
"You are sorry? Really?" said Lady Olenna. If she felt any hint of sadness at losing a son and grandson, she certainly wasn't showing it. "As far as I know your husband was not exactly my son's friend, quite the opposite. Spare me the empty words, my dear."
Arianne took a deep breath. Indeed, Lady Olenna lived up to her reputation. The Queen of Thorns was not just a nickname, and this negotiation was certainly not going to be an easy one.
"Forgive my grandmother. She is sometimes too direct, but she is certainly not without reason in her words."
Well, if she wants me to be direct, I will be. If I have to go back to camp empty-handed, at least I won't do it humiliated.
"No, my husband hated Lord Mace with all his heart, I cannot deny it, and your nephew, Lord Paxter, and all the Reach lords who besieged Storm's End. That has not stopped him from making peace with those who wanted it, Lady Olenna."
"Yes, I can see their banners from my balcony. Surely the loathsome Florents were the first, were they not? Surely Lord Alester is now your most faithful servant, or is it Lord Alekyne now?" said the Queen of Thorns. This time she did not insult me. One step at a time.
"Lord Axell. And no, you are not mistaken, the new lord of Brightwater Keep is very... obliging."
"I can imagine. I also imagine he's asked you for Highgarden and the Reach, hasn't he?" asked Lord Willas.
"He has," replied Arianne.
"And yet you have the audacity to ask me to surrender? To surrender lands that have belonged to my family for three hundred years?"
"I said nothing of the sort. If you surrender you may keep all your lands and titles, but if you force us to take the fortress by storm you may be sure that the golden flower will never wave over these walls again" Arianne replied firmly.
"Bold words" said the Queen of Thorns. "You have a mighty army out there, true. But your king's brother has one too, much more numerous I must say. Believe me, I saw him leave this very castle some time ago. When he returns I will be able to enjoy the slaughter from my balcony."
"And when will that be? When he has finally sat on the Iron Throne? When Lord Tywin lays down his banners? Or later still, when he has dealt with our allies in the Riverlands?"
"Patience has always been one of the virtues of our house, my dear. And I am in no hurry, believe me."
"Assuming Renly manages to win... Lord Willas, Lady Olenna, tell me honestly, do you truly believe his victory is guaranteed? Would you stake the future of your house on Renly Baratheon's military prowess?"
"No," Willas replied, Arianne thought she sensed some doubt in his countenance. "But I trust Randyll Tarly's, or Mathis Rowan's," he said.
"Renly Baratheon is inept, true", added Lady Olenna. "But lucky for him, he has friends who are not."
"Good and loyal friends, I'm sure. Friends who surely wouldn't take advantage of the current weakness of House Tyrell to try to take advantage of the situation. The Rowans are also descended from the Gardenesr, aren't they?"
"As are the Oakhearts, the Tarlys, and many others, including the Tyrells. I know what you intend to do, you are not as subtle as you think," Lady Olenna said.
"I didn't intend to be. Think about it, if anything were to happen to Lady Margaery, all the power you think you have in Renly's court would be gone. And if it were Lord Renly who was unfortunate... well, I wonder how long it would take for your friends to kneel before Joffrey or my husband. Your old alliances with the Redwynes and the Hightowers are useless now."
Arianne was once again filled with confidence. She knew that what she had just said, while it might prove true, was nothing more than a bluff. She had no idea how volatile the loyalty of the lords of the Reach could be, but given recent events, she anticipated that it was not ironclad enough not to raise doubts in the lord of Highgarden.
She was right.
For the first time in that conversation, Arianne thought she perceived cracks appearing in the total confidence in Renly's cause that Lord WIllas and his grandmother wanted to convey. Willas Tyrell gave her grandmother a sidelong glance. It was only for an instant, but Arianne knew she had succeeded in sowing doubt in the young lord.
"Suppose I buy your arguments, Princess, what terms do you propose?" asked Lord Willas.
I have them, Arianne thought. It had taken her a while to get to this point, but she had gotten the Tyrells to open to negotiate. Now all that remained was to close the deal.
"You will confess your treason to the realm, as well as that of your late father. You will kneel before my husband in our camp and swear allegiance to him, at which time both you and your family will be pardoned. You will also be required a certain amount of gold and silver by way of compensation, nothing serious, as well as the payment of a certain amount of taxes for a few years..."
"What about Oldtown and the Arbor?" asked Willas Tyrell.
"The Arbor will be given to whomever you indicate, when the war is over, of course. To one of Lord Paxter's twins I presume. The Redwynes remained neutral at first, so there is no reason to punish them any more than has already been done. Lord Davos will swear fealty to you, as is your right as lord of the Reach."
"My vassals will not accept a smuggler as lord of Oldtown. Many are related to the Hightower, my own mother is a Hightower, in case you have forgotten. Do you intend for an ancestral house to pass into oblivion?" protested Lord Willas.
"Many have already accepted it, the rest will soon follow, and more if their lord does. Surely you will find some abandoned castle to give to the Hightower, but Oldtown and the Hightower now belong to the Seaworth" Arianne answered him.
"And you are so naive as to believe they won't try to get it back? Give them to whomever you want, my dear, they won't be able to keep it," Olenna Tyrell said, indifferently.
"The Tyrells have managed to hold their own as lords of the Reach for three hundred years, haven't they? Harlen Tyrell was a steward when he received the title, and Davos Seaworth was an anointed knight - is there much difference?"
"Anything else?" asked Willas.
"Normally some hostage would be required of you, but it seems to me that for this time it will not be strictly necessary. If anything, any of your cousins to serve as page or lady-in-waiting at Sunspear, nothing more. Ah well, we will also leave a small garrison at the fortress when we advance to King's Landing."
"Some soldiers to take me hostage to Dorne in case Renly defeats you, am I right? We will be prisoners in our own house."
"If Renly defeats us then this agreement will be nothing more than a dead letter, and you will serve me to keep my head intact and those of my daughters. At the end of the day, you will remain lord of Highgarden and the Reach come what may."
"And Loras and Margaery, will you offer them such generous treatment as well?" asked the Queen of Thorns. It was the question she had dreaded most. Had the Knight of Flowers and his sister been in Highgarden, negotiating peace would have been much easier, but alas, both were several leagues away.
"To them and the rest of the lords to bow the knee to my husband. The kingdom needs peace, lasting if possible" Arianne said, hoping those vague promises would convince them. She was not so lucky.
"You will forgive them no matter what. I've already lost a brother and a father in this war, I don't plan to lose anyone else" WIllas Tyrell replied firmly.
"If Sir Loras is determined to face us in battle, I cannot guarantee his safety. In battle..."
"My grandson has been quite clear in his conditions, Princess - can you meet them or not?"
"No, I cannot," Arianne said truthfully. Lying wouldn't do her any good, especially not with something as obvious as that. "But I will do my best to do so. My brother will stay in Highgarden with you, as a token of goodwill." She didn't like having to leave Quentyn there, but he might be safer that way than if he insisted on taking part in the coming battle, and perhaps that would serve to allay the Tyrell's doubts.
"And surrounded by guards to protect him, how convenient" snorted the old woman.
"If what I have heard from you is true, Lady Olenna, I am convinced that will be no hindrance to you."
"It is well Princess Arianne," said Lord Willas. "I will ponder your terms. You will hear from me shortly."
Arianne climbed back on her mare and set off on her way back to the lines of her army. She felt all eyes on her, from the Tyrell lookouts on the walls of Highgarden to the Dornish in the watchtowers. They all thought she had failed.
Arianne greatly enjoyed watching their faces when the gates of Highgarden opened the next morning, ushering in a rider with a white banner.
Another chapter up, this time dealing with the aftermath of the Battle of the Honeywine. As always, sorry for the long time between updates, althought this one at least only took me a little bit more than a month. One of the main reasons (apart of my own lazyness and life's distractions) of this slow updates is that I have started to wite a new fanfic, a crossover between ASOIAF and Fire Emblem Three Houses. Yep, clearly a great idea when I still don't have this one wraped up and one that surely will not increase my workload.
At least, with this one and the Battle of King's Landing done we are now heading towards the end of this fanfic. Worry not as I still expect to write about ten or more chapters aproximately till the end of this work. Unbroken Fury will remain my top priority and I won't leave it on hiatus or uncompleted. Sure, the updates will probably remain slow and inconstant but with a bit of luck I'll finish it before the end of 2023.
And last, but not least important, thank you all for your reading this work and for your comments and reviews. See you in the next update!