Legacy of The Past

I walked into my room and over to my desk. As I had hoped, Cicero had indeed written a report on how he had found Zany Vazzaras, one of our newest members, though I had to sigh at how little detail was put into its construction- though I could tell he at least tried. I sat down at the desk and began to read the paltry but sufficient report:

The great and powerful Listener has ordered Cicero to write a report on how he found the Argonian Zany, so this is what Cicero will do! Cicero found our scaly Brother in Riften, he was actually something of a mercenary for hire. Cicero watched as Zany was given a job, though Cicero did not know the details; Cicero followed and continued to watch. Soon Cicero saw how eagerly the Argonian took to killing any and all that stood in his way. After watching Zany return to his employer and receive his pay, Cicero then approached him with an offer of his own. Zany had proven to Cicero that his skills were sufficient to join the Dark Brotherhood and offered him a place at the Sanctuary, as the Listener instructed us all to begin recruiting, though the Argonian did not seem interested. Cicero then remembered from watching Zany that he seemed to love mead, and asked him if he would think about it over a cup; as the Listener would not accept failure. Cicero then brought Zany to the Sanctuary, knowing that if Cicero could not persuade the Argonian- then surely the Listener could! Then the Listener came into the hall not long after we sat down, and all was well as she skillfully persuaded Zany into joining!

Did Cicero write a good report?

I had to laugh a little at how eager Cicero was to please; he almost reminded me of a puppy… a murderous puppy, but still a puppy none the less. I placed the report in my desk, I would decide what to do with it later, and stood to close my door. Now that my duties as Listener were completed for the moment, I would now have time to grieve for my fallen friends. It had been four days already since we buried them outside the destroyed Falkreath Sanctuary, and I had yet to give the memory of my friends time to bleed and then heal as any ordinary person would be able. I began to wonder if there had been anything I could have done to prevent their deaths.

Three nights earlier…

I ran to the Black Door as Pentus Oculatus agents waited outside for me to arrive, they should have ran but they did not know how enraged I had become knowing the danger to my family; The agents fell dead within moments. I entered the Sanctuary and my eyes burned from the smoke, the agents had set fire to the wooden supports of our cavern as well as the Black Hand tapestries. The first two agents died swiftly and before they had even seen me, then three more came at me from the other side of the blaze. They surprised me and one nearly ran me through, had it not been for Arnbjorn in his werewolf form jumping out of the flames; killing my attacker instantly, but dying soon after- presumably from smoke inhalation and newer injuries in addition to the one Cicero had inflicted. If I had been more cautious, I would not have needed Arnbjorn's help and I could have ordered him to leave immediately after revealing himself. I had been too entirely late to save Gabriella and Festus, who had been slain after putting up a significant fight; as bodies of the agents were strewn about their own. I continued my search through the crumbling tunnels for any survivors and my heart began to sink with each passing second as it became less and less likely that anyone other than myself was still alive.

KLANG-SHING-KLANG. The sound of swords clashing caught my ears and I rushed into the dining hall to see Nazir struggling against another Pentus Oculatus agent on the upper level that once served as sleeping quarters. I dashed to his aid as he fell to one knee, the agent about to finish him off; I barely made it in time to put one of my daggers between the agent's sword and Nazir's neck. I was overjoyed to find at least one of my family members still living, and I began to wonder if Babette was still alive as I ordered Nazir to leave the crumbling Sanctuary while I looked for the Un-child and Astrid. I was unable to find either of them as the tunnels began to give way; the Night Mother speaking to me once again, this time telling me to hide in her iron coffin as my only means of escaping the flames and falling debris. I did as she suggested and was indeed saved, falling asleep inside to be awakened later by Nazir and thankfully Babette as they fished the coffin out of the small pond under what had once been the stained glass window. Seeing both of them alive gave me some form of hope, and the Night Mother informing me of Astrid's survival gave me even more; until Astrid asked me- no pleaded with me to end her life as a living Black Sacrament. I took pity on her, even if she asked that I do not, and did as she wished; it was the least I could do for her after all that had happened. Even if this was her doing, she had done it to protect the others; her family. I probably would have done the same if we had switched places.

As the memory of that horrible night finished playing through my mind, the tears I had struggled to keep in check these past few days began to finally break free. I cried like a child as I slumped against my door, sliding down to sit on the cold stone. I wanted to just sit there and cry my eyes out, and for several minutes I did; but I kept my sobs quiet, so no one would have to hear their Listener in a time of weakness. A knocking at my door forced me to dry my eyes and return shakily to my feet.

"Yes, what is it?" I asked simply as I opened the door to see Kestrel with a shocked expression on her face. At first I thought something bad had happened, like Zany had finally killed Cicero or something but when I asked her what was going on all she said was,

"You need to see this Listener, I don't think I can explain it!" and with that she ran off down the passage in the direction of the upper level of the main hall. I followed after her, bewildered of what could possibly have her this riled up. As we turned the last corner into the main hall I could see the others had also gathered and were crowded around The Night Mother's coffin. As I approached they began to realize that I was there and as I got closer they began to make a path for me; revealing what they had been gathered to see. A tall man in black robes was kneeling before the Night Mother as if in prayer.

"You have done well… Listener, to gather this many assassins to replace the ones that were lost not even a fortnight ago. You honor The Night Mother with your tenacity and skill." said the man with a deep yet oddly smooth voice; it was familiar too. The man stood before turning to me, his hood was drawn over his face but I could still see that he was smiling.

"Who the hell are you and how did you gain entry to this Sanctuary?" I asked him with caution, hoping he was not some Pentus Oculatus spy who had followed a member to our door. The man's smile shifted into a smirk and his hand reached up to pull back his hood,

"I am… Lucien Lachance." He stated with a dark gusto, the room fell silent and I began to wonder if this man was crazier than Cicero.

I began to chuckle and slowly it turned into a laugh before becoming an all-out guffaw.

"HAHAHHAHA! That's a good one, tell me another! Lucien Lachance died centuries ago, everyone here knows that; if that's the best alias you could come up with, you might as well have killed yourself." I said with a sneer, curious of the real story behind this man but still wishing to get this encounter over with.

"Do you truly doubt my claim, Listener? Try to summon your 'Spectral Assassin' then; that will be all the proof you will need." The man claiming to be Lucien stated as he crossed his arms impatiently. I willed magicka to my hand, a dark purple aura engulfing it completely before I cast it to the side; the portal appeared… but nothing came out. I was dumbfounded as the portal closed without anything passing its threshold. "You see? While I am indeed… deceased, The Dread Father has granted me some semblance of a new life in The Dark Brotherhood's darkest time of need; though I doubt I will be able to leave this Sanctuary." Lucien explained with a bit of discontent as he murmured his suspicion that he was now confined to Dawnstar. I just shook my head in disbelief… this man really was THE Lucien Lachance! "I can see you have been busy, child." Lucien said plainly as he scanned the crowded room. I chuckled a little at his obvious statement,

"I'm simply doing as the Night Mother bade me, Grandfather." I said with a smile. The whole room went errily silence after that. Though it was Zany who broke the silence,

"Wait just a Sithis damned minute here! The Listener's name is Alyce, and Lucien is her… GRANDFATHER?!" He shouted with surprise. I turned to them all with a sheepish look,

"Great-Great-Grandfather actually. I'm sorry everyone, I guess I forgot to introduce myself when I recruited all of you; my bad. My name is Alyce Lachance."

Some of them began to grumble, others began to whisper among themselves, and some just stayed silent. I began to wonder if maybe my introduction slipping my mind had faulted their loyalty or something. My anxiety only increased as Kestrel stepped forward.

"Listener, I mean, Alyce. Nazir has been explaining the Brotherhood's history to us and I think I speak for all of us when I say: with a descendant of Lucien Lachance as our Listener, not even the Thalmor stand a chance!" She explained with a smirk. I was relieved to hear that they now had more faith in me than before. After a few moments, Lucien clearing his ghostly throat brought our attention back to him.

"Though the Night Mother has assured me of the validity of your bloodline, I would like some confirmation of my own. The woman for whom you were obviously named: Alyce Delafont, the woman I once loved, was the wielder of an enchanted dagger: Steelheart. While its practical enchantment was that it would cause its target to violently hemorrhage, its passive enchantments allowed it to be wielded only by someone of its creator's bloodline. I would like you to locate this dagger and bring it back to me as proof." He explained as he handed me a slip of paper; there was a hint of sorrow in his voice as he mentioned my namesake. I looked at the paper and read the name of a ruin that I was not familiar with, "Rielle?" I asked Lucien with a raised eyebrow. He chuckled a little as he placed his hands on his hips,

"Yes, your namesake was very fond of Alyeid ruins; I'm guessing that when she retired from her work as an assassin… she hid her equipment deep inside of that ruin." He explained with a slight smirk, and when he mentioned the Alyeids my heart sank. Alyeid ruins were commonly found in Cyrodiil, and with none in Skyrim it was obvious I would need to venture into heavily Thalmor occupied territory. I sighed deeply before walking off to my room to pack; though before I entered the corridor leading out of the hall I could have sworn I heard Lucien mumble: "She is so much like her it's uncanny."

I entered my room, closing the door behind me, and dressed in my common disguise of a simple blue dress before beginning to pack for this dangerous journey. Deciding between my Shrouded Armor and Shrouded Robes was a tricky task: the armor provided physical defense while the robes provided magical defense, I would run the risk of being over-encumbered if I brought both so the need to defend against the magical prowess of the Thalmor worried me more than anything I could find in the ruins so I chose the Robes. It was a very good thing I managed to find a silver dagger several years ago, as using it in conjunction with my standard steel dagger meant that I would be well defended against any ghosts I might encounter inside the ruins. I finished packing by stashing a few potions in my knapsack before walking over to the mirror I had placed on my wall; I stood there and tied my mid-length blood red hair up into a high ponytail. I was now ready for the road and began walking back to the main hall with my knapsack of gear over my shoulder. No one said a word as I left, though I could feel all their eyes on me in a silent wish of good luck. I exited the Black Door and walked up to the beach before I whistled for Shadowmere, the black steed trotting up to me with a light neigh as I began to fasten my knapsack to her saddle.

"LISTENER! WAIT FOR CICERO!" shouted the high pitched whine of the Sanctuary's resident madman. I sighed and turned to him,

"What do you want Cicero? I'm actually rather busy at the moment." I said with disdain, I didn't have time to put up with his raving antics. Cicero grinned like the madman he was before breaking in to one of his iconic and silly dances.

"The Listener is going on a journey, yes? Cicero wishes to accompany you, oh great and powerful Listener!" he explained as he danced, where this man got all this energy will forever be a mystery far greater than where the Dwemer disappeared to.

"Gah, fine! First we make a stop at the Whiterun stables then on to Helgen, from there we can catch a carriage through Pale Pass and into Cyrodiil.

Traveling with Cicero was less than pleasant, as I had expected; and nearly the entire ride to Whiterun, I spaced out just so I didn't have to listen to him. We arrived at the city on the hill, forgoing the town itself and only stopping at the stable to get Cicero his own horse. It was actually quite humorous watching this little man struggle into the saddle of the massive black horse; which was ironically taller than my Shadowmere by several inches. Finally I got so fed up with waiting for him to saddle the horse that I dismounted Shadowmere and pulled him up onto his horse from the opposite side.

"Are you finally ready?" I asked with frustration as I once again saddled Shadowmere. Cicero gave me a grin, and in the blink of an eye he was off in the direction of Riverwood and Helgen beyond. "Is he trying to race us?" I muttered blankly to Shadowmere, who began to stomp her hooves indignantly at the idea of the fool and a mortal horse possibly beating us in a race. I smirked as I ushered Shadowmere into a very willing gallop, "We'll just have to show them they can't beat us now won't we?" I said as we began to quickly catch up; Shadowmere gave her two septims on the matter in the form of a triumphant neigh. Once we hit the high hill behind the farms outside Whiterun, Cicero began to cheat; he would occasionally take short cuts through the wilderness to jump back into the front, I was not pleased with this in the slightest. "So you have to cheat to win? I'm disappointed in you Cicero!" I shouted over the clamor of hooves to the fool as Shadowmere and I once again past him and his horse. As Riverwood came into view, Shadowmere burst into the fastest gallop I have ever seen her attempt; I knew she had a competitive streak but nothing like this, as I was so caught off guard that I was nearly thrown from the saddle! I quickly righted myself and looked back slightly to see that Cicero's horse was now rearing in surprise because of Shadowmere's unnatural speed. When Cicero was then thrown from the saddle, I halted Shadowmere who then whinnied at me for forgoing the race, and ran to check on my annoying friend.

"Oww oww wow… stupid horse, Cicero should stabby stab it and eat it for dinner!" complained Cicero as he lay on the ground cradling his arm, I knelt beside him and gently examined what looked to be his only injury; and when he practically screamed in pain by just moving his arm slightly, I knew it was broken.

"Calm down, your arm is broken. I'll help you stand and we can walk the rest of the way to Riverwood, we can get you bandaged up once we get to the Inn." I said as I stood to walk around to his uninjured side and helped him to stand.

We walked into the Sleeping Giant Inn and the barmaid rushed to us asking what had happened, mostly worried that it had been a bandit attack, I assured her it was just a horse accident and she sighed in relief as she went to fetch the makings of a sling for Cicero's arm. She soon returned she offered to tend to his arm for us, though I thanked her I said I could do it myself… more for her sake than Cicero's; as I didn't think he would let anyone he didn't know, let alone trust, treat his injury. I sat down on one of the tavern benches beside him and began to inspect the break more closely after giving Cicero something to bite down on should the pain be too much for him; though I knew he had masochistic tendencies, a broken arm is something different that no one could ever enjoy. The break was to his lower arm and seemed only minor and did not require setting so a simple sling would be sufficient, so I started to wrap his arm in bandages to prevent the sling from chaffing his arm and for extra stability, once that was done I used the two small planks the barmaid had provided and wrapped them onto either side of his arm before I used the stronger of the cloth bandages to make the actual sling.

"There, now you should be like that for at least a month or two; by the way Cicero, which hand do you fight with?" I asked him out of curiosity, if memory served: Cicero was right handed. Cicero grinned, though I could tell he was still in pain,

"Cicero is ambidextrous, though better at stabbing with his right." He said, though he slowly began to understand what I was implying. If we encountered a situation where we would need to fight, Cicero would be nearly useless and more of a liability than anything. I had half a mind to send him back to Dawnstar right there and then… but he would have to ride back alone, and I couldn't bring myself to let him leave alone and run the risk of being attacked and nearly defenseless. I couldn't very well leave him here in Riverwood either, or he might slaughter the whole town out of boredom. I sighed and talked to the Innkeeper about renting two rooms for the night, 20 gold later we settled in for the night; and come morning we were ready to continue on to Helgen.

I helped Cicero onto Shadowmere carefully, as his horse had run off yesterday after throwing him; Climbing up and into the saddle myself after I had firmly scolded Shadowmere for yesterday's debauchery and given her strict instruction to be careful so as not to jostle Cicero's arm… too much impact on it could permanently injure it; and not being able to kill anything ever again could very well break what little sanity Cicero had left. We soon were on our way, following the riverside road past a set of standing stones and what looked to be a cave. When we finally reached Helgen, I did not expect to find it in ruins.

"What in Sithis happened here?" I asked in breathless awe of the carnage, the scorch marks everywhere meant either a very large group of Flame Atronach had stormed through… or the claims of dragons returning were more than simply half-witted stories. The doors to the town were closed, and we could still see smoke rising from beyond the wall- so we skirted the destroyed town and decided we would have to go on to Cyrodiil riding Shadowmere, much to her dismay. We climbed the mountain and I soon began to remember how Pale Pass had gotten its name, for the bewildering snowstorms that often made crossing to and from Cyrodiil nearly impossible. We decided to camp for the night in a leeward stone overhang, that would shelter us from the snow as well as the wind, that was not far from the border gate. I set up the bedrolls and helped Cicero down from the saddle and over to one so he could wait for me to get a fire going. It didn't take me long to start a fire after I had collected the wood, a basic fire spell was sufficient to get the wet tinder started. While I was no mage of high skill, I had taken the time to learn the basics of the Destruction School as well as the fundamentals of Restoration.

We sat down to our dinner of traveling provisions and ate in surprising silence. Though I wasn't surprised that it didn't last long,

"Why does the Listener treat Cicero with such kindness?" blurted Cicero with a tone of sincere curiosity as he turned his head to look at me. I really didn't know how to answer, I always treated everyone from the Brotherhood with as much kindness as they individually deserved… though I didn't think I had shown Cicero that much more than anyone else.

"What makes you think I treat you any different than any of our other Brothers and Sisters?" I asked him, truly wondering what I had done to give him that impression. Cicero smiled, though oddly it wasn't a deranged one that I had become so used to; he seemed almost sane, though I had never known him before the loneliness of being the Night Mother's Keeper had warped his mind into what it was today.

"Well for one, the Listener does not get irritated with Cicero as often as others do; the Listener seems to tolerate Cicero more than she does others as well." he said with a slight laugh, and I began to wonder when I had been less tolerant with someone… oh right- that time I became angry with Festus. That had been an interesting day: Cicero had been harassing everyone, including myself, the entire day; I was minding my own business talking to Babette about what we could do to possibly get Cicero to calm down his mischievous antics when Festus butted in and told me to stop my whining about the fool and get over it. This did not go over well with me and I am ashamed to say I knocked the old man out cold, though I remedied my shame with the fact that the old grump had it coming for quite a while. Word had gotten back to Astrid about it and as I was not yet the Listener by then, I was punished and had to tend to Babette's Frostbite Spider for a week… needless to say I kept my nose clean and my temper in check after that. Remembering this I realized I did show more tolerance for Cicero's antics than others, it was probably due to the fact that frankly he reminded me of someone when he acts the way he does.

"You know, when you act like a child- parading around and dancing like a fool- you remind me of someone… very dear to me." I said, my voice slowly decreasing to a mere whisper as the painful memory came flooding back to me. I shook it off, as remembering that now would reduce me to tears- something I didn't want anyone from the Brotherhood to ever see.

"Who does Cicero remind the Listener of? An old friend? Or a former… lover perhaps?" Cicero said with a sly and teasing tone, but I just sighed and lay down to go to sleep. Cicero then huffed and grumbled before I heard him do the same.

"My little brother, you remind me of him." I murmured before I drifted off into sleep.

The sun shone in my eyes, waking me from my dreamless slumber. I sat up to see Cicero was gone from his bedroll and wondered where he could have disappeared to- though probably off to answer the call of nature. I rolled up the bedrolls and fastened them back onto Shadowmere's saddle before kicking dirt and snow onto the last embers of our campfire. I waited nearly twenty minutes before I became impatient waiting for the fool; ten minutes more, and I became worried. Nothing takes this long, and I began to fear the worst. The snowfall had covered any and all tracks, but something barely visible under a light dusting of snow caught my eye… blood. My head spun and my stomach lurched, something had taken Cicero in the night; though judging by the snow over the blood it had only happened maybe an hour before I woke up. The fact that I had not awakened from the disturbance meant that either Cicero had gone somewhat willingly, or that he was no longer conscious to protest. I gathered my weapons and maneuvered Shadowmere into the overhang so I could change into my Shrouded Robes. Once I was ready I set off following the blood to a small clearing not far from our camp, there I could easily see the dark yet colorful jester tied to a post in the middle of a bandit camp. Why they had taken Cicero and left me behind was a mystery to me… though somehow I suspected Shadowmere had given them a "touch my master and I shall devour your souls" look when they tried to come near me; and had snagged Cicero instead. I crept into the camp quietly, hiding behind a couple of barrels and waited for the right moment to sneak over to my captive friend. After several moments, a branch snapping behind me made me go rigid and I turned on a dime just in time to see a rather nasty looking Orc swing an equally nasty looking war hammer that collided squarely with my shoulder; I went flying and rolled across the ground before stopping not far from Cicero.

"So much for my rescue plan." I said to him with a half-hearted smile, my attempts at a joke caused me to realize that my shoulder had been popped out of place; great, that would be a bitch to pop back. Now both of us were defenseless, we would surely die… well Cicero would for certain, though my fate at the hands of these uncouth bandits would likely be far less pleasant. I struggled to my feet through the pain in my shoulder, thankfully it was my left and not my right- though the pain shot across my torso and into my other arm making it feel almost like both had popped out. "I refuse to go down like this." I said as I panted from the pain and fought to stay conscious as I brandished one of my two daggers; the Orc and his bandit brothers laughed and snickered at my bravado as they closed in around us. I quickly cut Cicero loose, though in his condition he barely made up for my now useless arm as I did for his.

The equivalent of one person with a two daggers against what seemed to be at least twenty well-armed bandits… not good odds. Cicero and I exchanged glances of hopelessness and stood ready for the bandits to attack; though I sent a silent prayer to Sithis,

'Dread Father, please help your children… we need your aid.' I thought to myself as I closed my eyes for a moment. At first I thought it was a pointless effort, but a small voice chimed into my mind that made my hopes soar,

"Now is not your time to join me in the Void, child… your aid has arrived." said the voice, smooth as silk but sharp as a knife. My eyes shot open as I heard one of the bandits scream and fall to the ground. Where he had once stood was now a young woman with short-cut hair, that was such a light shade of grey that it almost appeared to be white; an illusion spell that had once concealed her was dissipating like mist as she stood between us and the bandits. Another bandit soon fell, though not by the silver-haired woman's hand; another young woman who appeared to be slightly older with shoulder-length black hair had snuck behind one of the other bandits in their confusion, sinking a dagger deep into his back.

"Tsk- Yuki these guys are fucking weak! Why did I expect more of bandits? Hey lady, we can deal with these goons- you should tend to your injuries unless you WANT to die." said the black-haired woman brashly. Despite her attitude, she had a point; though I would need to wait to heal my arm, I could at least tend to Cicero- the bandits has beaten him up pretty badly, not even considering to show him mercy due to his still broken arm. I cast a few healing spells his way and he flopped down onto the ground, obviously exhausted from holding himself up through the pain; for a madman and a fool, he was a stubborn one. I turned from Cicero to the fight between the two women and the bandits, I was impressed by their skill with daggers- the black-haired one's dual bladed style was much like my own; while the silver-haired one seemed like more of a support mage, in tandem they definitely worked well together. It was while watching them that I realized that Sithis had brought these two to us. Perhaps I should attempt to recruit them? As the last man fell, the girls began to walk up to us. "What the hell are you two still doing here? We killed the bandits, shouldn't you and your freaky husband be running off to gods know where?" asked the black-haired woman. I nearly snorted from surprise that they would think something like that.

"We aren't married. We are simply travelers, though we are normally able to fend off bandits on our own." I said as I motioned toward Cicero who was now attempting to stand himself while still babying his broken arm.

"So what the hell are you two doing out here anyway? Or where you looking to get killed?" She asked again, her silver-haired friend gazing at us emotionlessly- though I could almost see the cold aura that seethed around her; not one of ice, but one of hatred or perhaps indifference for the world around her, I had seen many people like this- but never of this degree.

"We were journeying to Cyrodiil, to a specific ruin. Though in our current state, doing so will be quite difficult; perhaps you could be troubled to join us? We could make it worth it for you?" I asked them, I wanted to see more of how these women fought, learn more about them… and maybe persuade them into joining the Brotherhood.

"Sure whatever, the ruins in Cyrodiil are chock full of treasure; that should be payment enough. My names Luna, and this is Yuki." Luna, the black-haired one who had been doing all the talking, explained; while Yuki, the silent but foreboding silver-haired one, simply stood there.

"I am glad we could come to an agreement so quickly, my name is Alyce Lachance and my friend here is Cicero… if he has a last name I am not aware of it." I explained; not hearing Cicero chime in meant that he probably didn't have or know his last name, which wasn't really that uncommon since the war several years ago left many with no idea who their family was.

While Yuki and Luna went to fetch their gear from their own camp, Cicero sitting not far from me; wanting to help with what I was about to do- but likely too afraid to ask. I had found a small piece of wood to use as a bit and a sturdy tree to lean on… trying to pop my arm back on my own was going to hurt something fierce. I was mentally cursing myself for not asking for help but as I leaned my back on the tree, preparing to slam my weight into my shoulder; Yuki and Luna returned.

"What are you some kind of dumbass? If you do it like that, you'll ruin your arm!" Luna grumbled as she sat down her gear and came over to assist me. I sat down on the tree roots and sighed, I knew she was right. "Alright this is gonna smart; just try not to pass out." Luna said as she took my upper arm in one hand and placed the other on my shoulder. After a sickening crack and a scream of pain muffled by my wooden bit, my arm was now back where it belonged; I panted away the pain and felt like I was going to vomit, but instead I just slumped over… and passed out.

Cicero's P.O.V.

"Lightweight." said the dark haired woman named Luna as the Listener slumped to the side; she was quite brash and very rude towards the Listener. Cicero did not like her very much, thought he had only just met them… Yuki seemed alright- though her will to kill anything in her path that crossed her was obvious even if she never spoke. This was going to be an interesting journey indeed, and Cicero would have much to tell their loving Night Mother when he returned to Dawnstar; yes, indeed he would.