A note on Ardoni ages in this fic: I'm working on the assumption that it takes them roughly twice as long as humans to reach adulthood. I figure that since they live so long, they might age slower, too. So just divide an Ardoni kid's age in half to get a comparable human age.

Ok, back to the story.

The Ataraxian leaders arrived at the forge within the hour.

There were three of them, Galleous had told Ingressus. Two Ardoni; a Sendaris and a Nestoris, and a Felina. He hadn't seen any of them yet, but the minute Galleous had gone out to speak with them Ingressus had trailed behind, eavesdropping on their conversation from behind the cave wall.

"You know why we're here," one of them said.

"I do," Galleous replied, calm as ever.

"Well, then… what is your explanation?" A female voice this time, that must've been Heralas Nestoris. Ingressus could almost imagine the look on her face just from her tone: incredulity, disbelief, probably gesturing helplessly at the air.

"There isn't much to explain," Galleous said. "I found the boy washed up at the mouth of the river, unconscious and half-dead from cold. I brought him back here and tended to his injuries."

"The Voltaris looked perfectly fine in the marketplace, by all accounts," the first voice said. "How long ago did you find him?"

"A month and a half ago, roughly."

"A month and a– you've been tending to him and keeping him hidden for a month and a half? Why?"

"Do you know who the current Champion is?" Galleous questioned.

"Yes, your brother," Heralas answered after a pause. "Which makes it even stranger that you would help a Voltaris."

Ingressus imagined Galleous folding his arms at his next words. "On the contrary, that is the reason I did it. This child– and, I am sure, others like him– lost everything he had thanks to my brother's pointless obsession. I felt responsible for Ingressus because of this, and since Thalleous will not see reason, it has fallen to me to make up for his actions."

Heralas gave an incredulous snort. "What, do you intend to take him in as your own?"

"I would not be so presumptuous," Galleous said. "But to abandon Ingressus on the mainland and say 'good luck' would be a death sentence. If I were to do that, then what would be the point of rescuing him in the first place?"

"Your brother will not see reason?" the male voice said. "The Voltaris have been our enemies for centuries! For all you know, he came here as part of an attack. Or maybe he holds you responsible as well. How do you know he didn't come here to get revenge? You have put yourself in danger along with all of Ataraxia!"

Do not punch him, do not punch him—

A third voice spoke up, one that so far had been silent. "I don't claim to be well-versed in Ardoni politics," he said. "But so far, we have been speaking about this Voltaris in the attempt to decide his fate. Yet none of the three of us have even met him, and we know next to nothing about his situation. How can we make a just and informed decision without even speaking to the child in question?"

"The Voltaris—"

"I am sure you know more about this clan than me," the Felina interrupted. (Remus, Galleous had said? Which meant the first voice was Tiris Sendaris.) "Before today, if you had asked me how many Ardoni clans there are, I might not even have known to say five. Yet, it troubles me how quick you are to assume that this Voltaris– this child– has hostile intentions. How can you claim to know this child's nature, or his intentions, purely based on the history of his clan? For all we know, he is a runaway from his clan for the exact reasons you would condemn him for. Galleous, may we meet this child?"

Ingressus retreated silently from the entrance. No need to let them know he'd been listening in. Galleous called his name and he lingered a moment where he was, then walked out.

The three Ataraxian leaders were standing in Galleous's yard, and Ingressus looked them over as they did the same to him. None were visibly armed, which was some comfort, at least. Heralas was the oldest of the three, maybe a hundred and forty or so, her pale yellow markings dotting her shoulders and her right side. Tiris Sendaris's markings were dark blue and reminded Ingressus of cobwebs tangling around him. Remus stood a little ways off to the side, his pupils narrow against the bright sun. The minute he saw Ingressus, he turned and gave his companions the most deadpan look Ingressus had ever seen.

"This is the person you're so afraid of," he said dryly.

Ingressus was mildly offended at that. Heralas looked away, clearing her throat awkwardly, and Tiris muttered something about "caution" and "thought he'd be older."

"By the Jungle's Heart," Remus muttered.

"I can attest that Ingressus is hardly a troublemaker," Galleous said. "If he wanted revenge on me, he's had his chance and didn't take it. Things were rocky at first when he thought I was a Champion, but in retrospect that was unavoidable."

"So I suppose he had nothing to do with the bruise on your face?" Tiris questioned.

Ingressus glanced away guiltily, then glared at Tiris's vindictive look.

"Not his fault," Galleous said. "I woke him from a nightmare, and he thought I was part of the dream. I should've seen it coming. But I learned my lesson, and it hasn't happened again."

Tiris still looked skeptical, and Ingressus snapped at him, "You try dreaming that someone's trying to kill you, and see if you don't lash out."

Remus sighed, breaking in before Tiris or Heralas could respond. "Ingressus, right? Do you plan on causing any trouble in Ataraxia?"

Ingressus shook his head. "No."

Remus nodded. "That's good enough for me."

"It's not that simple," Heralas protested. "For centuries, the Voltaris have warred with our clans, ever since they created the Prime Songs and sabotaged the resonances. They—"

"That wasn't us!" Ingressus retorted. "And what do you mean, we created the Prime Songs? You can't make Songs."

"Wait, wasn't your clan the first to use the Primes?" Galleous asked.

"Yeah, but we found them, we didn't make them."

"If that is true, then where did they come from?" Heralas asked. "And why were none ever found before?"

"I don't know, but we didn't make them," Ingressus said. "If we could, we would've done it again by now, to defend ourselves against your Champions."

"You say you found Ingressus by the water, Galleous?" Remus interrupted, speaking over whatever Tiris was about to say. "Then we can be sure the Guardians would have encountered him first. They would hardly have let him through if he had evil intentions."

He leaned against a tree, studying his claws with a bored expression. "This entire conversation is ridiculous. Unless you have reason to believe that Ingressus has committed a crime since he's been here, then this is completely unnecessary."

Guardians? Ingressus wondered.

"That's true," Galleous noted. "I've never known them to be wrong."

"Nor have I." Remus sheathed his claws and glanced at Ingressus. "So unless the Ardoni consider a child of his age to be a threat or an enemy combatant, I can't think of any reason why he shouldn't be allowed to stay if he wishes."

Ingressus could see Tiris and Heralas trying to come up with an argument. They glanced at each other, at Ingressus, at Galleous, then back at each other. Tiris bit his tongue, and Heralas sighed.

"Fine," she said. "He can stay, as long as he behaves himself." She gave Ingressus a pointed look, and he lifted his chin with a defiant stare.

"Further, he is not to be given access to Songs," Tiris added.

Ingressus's gaze shot to him. "What do you think I'm going to do with them?"

"I can't imagine," Tiris retorted. "But Songs are in short enough supply without letting a Voltaris mess with them, again. Unless you can repair what your clan did to the resonances, this verdict will stand."

They turned and left, Ingressus yelling after them. "I told you, that wasn't us either!"

Neither Ardoni responded, nor even looked back. Ingressus glared seethingly after them.

"I'm sorry about them." Remus said, shaking his head and frowning after the pair as he joined Ingressus and Galleous in the sunlight. "I've never known them to be like that before."

He looked down and met Ingressus's gaze. "Well, welcome to Ataraxia."

Ingressus sighed. "Thank you."

"It's obviously a scandal."

Lyris was kneading dough, preparing to bake the next batch of bread. "Galleous had a fling with a Voltaris lady in his younger years, and the kid's the result. A couple decades down the road, and she sends him here to meet his father."

Delark looked up from his own pile of dough. "But clanless children have white markings."

Lyris shrugged. "So he was initiated at some point."

"And it was after that point that his mom sent him out from their mountain hideaway and alone on a trip across half a continent?"

"Maybe something happened to her and he came on his own," Lyris said. "Or maybe he's a runaway. But why else would Galleous take him in?"

"A hostage," Velos said. "That's the only thing that makes sense."

Kalais leaned on his shovel. "Oh yeah, Galleous's brother has been part of the raids against the Voltaris, hasn't he?"

"I think he's been Champion a few times," Velos said. "He must've nabbed the kid on a raid as collateral against the rest of the clan. Not sure why he'd bring him here, though, to Galleous specifically… I thought they didn't really get along."

Kalais snapped his fingers, pointing at Velos. "The Guardians. If the Voltaris tried to come for him, the Guardians wouldn't let them past. And that's if they could even make it this far."

"They've come this far south before," Velos said. "There was that attack on Birchwood about eight years ago. Nasty thing."

"Oh, yeah." Kalais said. "That wasn't even an Ardoni village."

Velos shrugged. "They don't go after other species as often as they do us, but it does happen."

"But why kidnap a Voltaris now?" Kalais wondered. "After all this time?"

Velos shrugged. "The old Masters vowed eternal war on the Voltaris until they restored the resonances. But that obviously hasn't worked so far. Maybe someone decided it was time to switch tactics."

"Tell me something," Miranda said to her neighbor. "Everyone's talking about this kid Galleous adopted. Which, fine, Ataraxia isn't that big; people notice when someone new shows up. But why is everyone talking like it's such a problem? Does it have to do with his clan? What's the big deal?"

Tryon glanced over his shoulder before answering, causing Miranda to furrow her brow.

"He's a member of the Voltaris clan," Tryon said. "They used to live in the Ardoni provinces with the rest of us, but several centuries ago they began studying the Songs, trying to find out everything they could about where they came from and how they worked."

Miranda arched a brow. "...Is that a bad thing?"

"Maybe not in itself," Tryon admitted. "But we learned later that their supposed curiosity was actually a cover for something worse. They were looking for advantages over the other clans, perverting the Songs with other forms of magic. It's because of them that Songs are so scarce now. And then they created the Prime Songs and used them for war."

At Miranda's blank stare, he elaborated. "An Ardoni can only use one Song from each order, but the Primes contain every Song within the order they represent. They're way more powerful than regular Songs, and they're the most powerful weapons of our kind. The Voltaris used the Primes against the Kaltaris clan and wiped out miles of their own territory in the process, and they didn't even care. The other clans had been at odds before then, but when they realized how dangerous the Voltaris had become, they rallied together to stop them. Even stealing the Prime Songs didn't stop the Voltaris, so in the end we had to drive them out from the provinces altogether."

"Okay, but you said this was hundreds of years ago?" Miranda said. "I know your people live longer than Humans, but do you live that long?"

"No, six centuries is beyond our lifespan," Tryon said. "But ever since, the Voltaris have been seeking revenge. They attack our villages, burn our farms, raid our convoys– listen, there's a reason you won't find many Ardoni in Northwind. The routes through the Barrier Mountains are the most dangerous places on the continent for us to travel."

"Maybe the plan is to get him on our side?" Raylis wondered.

Rana poked her head down from the oak she was climbing. "Who, Galleous's Voltaris?"

"Yeah," Raylis said, taking the apple she handed down to him. "Maybe they'll have him be a spy when he's older, tell us where Voltaris military camps are or warn us of attacks or whatever."

Rana shifted to sit on her branch, looking down at him. "Or maybe, they'll have him tear apart their forces from the inside. Sneak into their camps and take out their generals until they're in no shape to attack us anymore, and they'll finally leave the rest of us alone."

"Rana…"

"What?" Rana asked. "They know what they did. What they're still doing. They should've just accepted their exile as punishment for their crimes. Then they'd be better off and so would we."

Raylis sighed and Rana, taking that as a win, hopped back up to the higher branches to harvest more apples.

"It worries me," he said. "How badly you seem to want an entire clan dead."

Rana snorted, dropping an apple that Raylis barely caught in time. "I don't want them all dead; I'm not genocidal. I don't care what happens to the civilian Voltaris, as long as they aren't attacking the rest of us. Galleous's rescue project isn't my problem unless he's planning to burn Ataraxia to the ground."

"And if he is?"

"Then if it falls to me to stop him, I'll do it."

"Leave me out of this," Nathan said.

Antares blinked. "You don't even know what–"

"Yeah, I do," Nathan said. "I could hear you two talking about it. You're terrible at whispering."

Sevorin looked abashed. Antares cleared his throat awkwardly.

Nathan folded his arms. "I'm not getting involved in your species' politics. I have better things to do than keeping tabs on a twelve-year-old."

"Twenty-four."

"Same thing, in Human years."

"Listen," Sevorin implored. "Maybe he is young, but this kid could know no end of dark magic. When I was young, the Voltaris mounted an attack on a village in Granite Canyon. One of them summoned a flood and wiped the entire town off the map. Three survivors, out of nearly a hundred people. They're ruthless and dangerous, and him being here can only mean trouble for us."

"If this kid can flood Ataraxia, then he should be the lead mage in Etherea," Nathan said. "I told you, I'm not getting involved. Good day, sirs, I have tanning to do."

"Moooommm! Luciren stole my fishing rod!"

They've been home for ten seconds.

Kittrian set her things down and stepped into the twins' room. Luciren was indeed holding her brother's toy rod, holding it behind her and out of reach as Volerik tried to grab it from her.

"If he didn't want me to take it, he should've hidden it better!" she said. "Ow, get oooofff!"

"Volerik, let go of your sister's ear," Kittrian said. "Luciren, what's the rule about taking other people's things?"

"Ask first," Luciren recited, backing out of her brother's reach.

"And wait for them to say yes," Kittrian told her. "So if you want to play with Volerik's fishing rod, what should you have said?"

"'Volerik, can I play with your fighting rod?'"

"That's right," Kittrian said. "Volerik, what's your answer?"

Volerik sulked. "Okay. Just don't break it!"

"Luciren will be careful," Kittrian said, giving her daughter a pointed look. "Now, come here kids, there's something I want to tell you."

She crouched down as the twins ran up and stopped in front of her. "What is it?" Luciren asked.

"We have a new neighbor," Kittrian told them. "His name is Ingressus, and he lives with Galleous, the blacksmith. I met him today at the market."

"Cool!" Luciren said, bouncing up and down at the news. "How old is he? Can we be his friends?"

"I think he's between twenty and twenty-five," Kittrian told them.

"Oh." Volerik slumped. "That's old."

"You could still be his friends if you and he both wanted," Kittrian said. "I think that would be a good thing. But listen to me."

She rested a hand on each of their shoulders, looking into their white eyes in turn. "He's from a different clan: the Voltaris. And a lot of people don't like them. So I want you two to make sure that you're nice to him when you see him around, okay? Other people might be mean to him, but that doesn't mean it's okay."

Luciren stuck her tongue out. "Some of the kids are mean to us because we're clanless. Don't worry, we won't let them be mean to him, too."

"I'm glad to hear that," Kittrian said, holding up a finger. "But, no fighting."

Volerik nodded in agreement with his sister. "But why don't people like the Vol– the Vetar– his clan?"

"Voltaris," Kittrian reminded him. "And well, their clan and ours fought against each other a long time ago. Some people just never let go of those old grudges."

"That's dumb," Volerik said. "Don't worry, Mom, we'll be nice to him."

(2946 words)

Why the heck was coming up with all these names the hardest part of this chapter? I may not even use most of them again!