Sebastian -- Road from Reinhurst to Conevico -- 2 Frostdawn, 1792 GSE

Some journey, Sebastian thinks to himself. At first, he was under the impression that there would be more to see from what confines the two twins were still kept in. Mostly all there was, was hills of snow, forests as far as one could see, roads and the occasional pilgrim face he's yet to see, poking their face in to pay their respects and greetings to the new youthful additions to the caravan. Mostly what Cassius calls women. Feminine faces who range from ogling, funny faces and outright annoyingly doting. Out of all the pilgrims, it's the women folk who seem most drawn to the newfound babies, at least the Lady Vesna was there for naming along with what she calls Niall, the other brother. Sebastian wasn't sure what a brother was, he was just ... someone who was and is with him since the beginning. He is almost always crying and sometimes a bit bone headed. 'But am I really one to judge?' his mind pondered; Sebastian figured not. There had to be a reason for the two to be grouped together and in the circumstances they were in now.

Whatever the reason might be, it felt like ages since Sebastian was able to see something that wasn't conceptually boring to him. But all the same, he would have to concede, the vastness of the lands, this world was not only incredible, but it also remains a frightening place. Without proper guides, no, proper caretakers, neither he nor Niall wouldn't have survived our first day. From what the child could glean listening in to the travelers, they were in a country named Lothar. A human realm that borders the Elven Forests of Elentárië, The Embershard League, Iberia and Romagnia.

Additionally, he gathered in his perceptive form of eavesdropping, what he could piece together, Elves were a pointy-eared people that look like humans but were of a lithe build, are of a rather sage disposition than that of humans, naturally pre-dispositioned to the arts of magic and come in a greater variety of forms than that of the differing humans I've seen so far in my life. Elves of the forest who mingle and live amongst trees that shroud the earth in shadow by its mere roots! Sea elves who build great dwellings or marble and volcanic glass within the bottom of a sea. Elves who take form to compliment the animals they live amongst as if they were one of their own. A curious, madcap, description indeed!

To hear tell from the pilgrims around Sebastian that 'believing was far more than just seeing' seems to do little to satisfy the desire to see such a concept. Alas as the caravan passes through a village amongst the road, the pilgrims seem to have little interest in the goings on of the community save a few interactions that Sebastian note as worthy. One of the templar levies was warning one of the peasants of the fate of Reinhurst village and seemed to spur action to the informed man but to what extension ... the child could not know. They were to move on and stubbornly so.

Nights by the fire were filled with stories from people all over the world, speaking in different languages and with so many backgrounds. From village to village these pilgrims would buy their food, perform small jobs for needing villagers, trading possessions amongst one another and for those who are downtrodden, there were always alms to give. These pilgrimages seem like a parade of all walks of life, wherever they go they would always help and leave places all the brighter. The fact that Niall is finally at calm and at peace with the previous turmoil is a sign Sebastian takes is that the worst is behind him. Not that life on the road was a particularly pleasant experience, least of all in winter where pickings were slim aside from burrowed roots that harbor and hide within the grounded depths of the forest.

The night ascends upon the world once more with a fire roasting upon the foundation of firewood as Cassius prepares yet another mixture of porridge and wettened bread for us with the Lady Vesna returning from her foraging. Their talks were friendly and though their companionship seems tied to the caravan, they didn't seem much closer than that. Mostly silence. Yet silence was preferable than to the wailings and shrills of the night Reinhurst burned. Perhaps it was in moments like these where nothing should, or even can be said. Contemplation with pensiveness seemed a better dedication.

It was when we finally set off from the third wintry night and into the early dawn would we finally see Conevico.

Cassius -- Forest's Green Tavern -- 3 Frostdawn, 1792 GSE

The night was young, and Cassius had managed with a little luck abundant by his side to secure a room for the children, Sebastian and Niall. 'What dreadful fates the gods must have handed to them.' he had thought to himself after tucking them into bed with a hand smoothing their temples with a caressing thumb. With the basket cleaned out with fresh new blankets and the children tended with a bath and proper clothing for their naked bodies, Cassius felt he had done all that he could to ensure they were healthy and happy. The room was meager, but it had all the amenities he was hoping for. A bed, a desk, a window and a hearth. Even solace from the world outside. 

As the prior sat down Infront of the desk lecture and chronicle my travels, he had begun to wonder what was going on in the lands of Lothar, these lands of mountains, hills and otherwise stoic peoples. And so now with feather quill in hand, he begins to scribe his thoughts ...

The Principality of Lothar was a predominantly human realm, as is many in the lands of Balandaria, the continent which we reside in. Yet one could only describe Lothar as it's people. Rough, like tattered lumber through an unsharpened saw. Theirs is a land set far to the west of the Romagnian heartlands and borders the western-ward Elven Kingdoms of Elentárië, to the north, the dwavern mountains of Embershard. To the south from whence we arrived was the Kingdom of Castillia. But my travels were from a land south of Castillia, within the sands of Sehlaria whereby accounts of the Temple historians humanity had first emerged and settled Balandaria.

My pilgrimage however began from Lycaron, the Capital of the Kingdom of Neustria, a large eastern kingdom, far from across the Romagnian Heartlands and across the expansive mountains that emerge from its center. My home country, known for its prestigious chivalric history in its contestments against threats that hang over the human race and those that threaten Balandaria, it's revolution against the Romagnian Empire and soon enough to join the esteemed Kingdoms of history.

Upon contemplating his scribblings, Cassius looks up to the ceiling with a bit of a smile.

I've made great friends along this road of mine, in service to AVO. To my God. The "Lady Vesna" remains a most capable individual and while I have made great strides and diligent efforts to ensure she returns home safe from this pilgrimage. Her audacity between the risks of the world, or that her lineage be known often leave me worried for the worst that might yet happen. The wrath of her more influential spouse would not be held back by the Temple should I fail in my oath to see her home safe. Yet it was only a matter of time until my travels end, and I am able to rest peacefully back into the service of leading my priory and away from the cares of this world. ...

His expression seemed strained with the concern of the recent local events. These deserters looting and pillaging the serfs of their liege lords. Dabbing his feather quill into its inkwell, Cassius continues the accounts of the journey he'd made.

Lothar was always a nation of considerable troubles. For these lands were not always a land of humans. In ancient times, during the Age of Strife when the world as well as the Gods were sundered, elves had ruled these lands. Primarily the wood elves and dawn elves, one who revered the forests and communed with its trees, while the other built great monuments to foster a gentle sun for harvests and to ward away winter. Now since the War of Banners, the dawn elves had been radicalized and ascended above the clouds where they would often descend to enact their ages old grudge upon humanity. And many wood elves have been displaced, retreating west back to Elentárië.

Once humans and elves lived in harmony within the First Age ... the very first human, king of the First Kingdom, Ardeth, was husband to an elf, the first woman the gods presented to Ardeth. To us humans, she was Zoe, but to the elves they named her Náriel. After the Sundering ... the Age of Strife, our blessed tranquility was shattered by the lack of blessings in our spiritual godliness. Hunger, envy, pride, fear. All of it culminated into bitter resentment that still carries on to this day. Even now in Lothar when the elves, even if perhaps deep counseled with reservations, ally themselves with humans against the threats that seek to threaten Balandaria as a whole -- the resentments still continue.

Years later, during the Age of Banners, the humans of Lothar were treated as slaves to elven-kind, and by some accounts lived lives as detestable as 'fitting blood sport' for the more macabre souls. Generations of Lotharings have instilled this hatred of elves, to the high elves of the west, and the dawn elves specifically, for whom they built monuments for their masters, only for them to serve next as sacrifices to Solariel, the Elven Goddess of the sun and purity. For political or pragmatic reasons, the other elves all but averted their gazes from it, only compelled into conflict when the Temple, my Temple, the Romagnian Orthadox Faith, declared it's crusade against the Elves and for the Romagnian Empire to be given its ancient rights to establish the rule of the First Kingdom. Much blood was spilled that day in that war, but in Lothar, it was particularly the bloodiest theater of conflict within the Banner Wars.

... A look out the window to a growing night sky with a greater half-full moon amidst the trees, a frustrated look filled upon Cassius's expression, feather quill still betwixt his thumb and pointer digits.

'What has changed exactly?' Cassius contemplated. 'Even if the histories are or are not true, we yet never learn from them. It is almost as if hatred is not borne from mere action or words alone ... but as though it were flower seedlings floating upon the winds, looking for hearts to plant root within and grow.'

With a sigh, he dabs the quill into the inkwell and rubs his eyes before glancing towards the children laying comfortably within the single bed, then back to his parchment as he continued to scribe.

Perhaps Reinhurst was just such a village. An isolated elven conclave, targeted by opportunistic soldiers as a 'safe target' by those who share similar resentments even after such conflicts. Yet looking upon the children's ears they bear no resemblance to a common elven ancestor. Even today the half-breed known as half-elves maintain their pointed ears, even if only slightly. I can only speculate for whom these two children were brought into the world, at least for now until we reach the city, we must trek ever onward with great difficulty until the snows have melted. North, to Conevico, we must travel where it will 'ere ever colder the more encroach.

Setting down his pen in the inkwell he would leave his scribe open to allow the ink to dry before walking towards the bed to see to the children who were asleep in their newfound comfort, shrouded in the bed warming blanket whose weight and comfort lulled them to dreaming.

"Well now, I suppose it's about time I settle in with you." Cassius announces, ensuring the corners of the bedsheet blankets were tucked all the way up and the bed next to the children's was close enough to ensure he was within arm's reach of them. "A big day for the both of us." He says leaning across the bed mattresses to blow out the candle-light and begin their evening rest.

Vesna -- Forest's Green Tavern -- 3 Frostdawn, 1792 GSE

'It has been half a year on this road I've walked -- half a year of seeing, breathing and experiencing new things in this world.' wrote Vesna in her journal looking outcast from her candle-lit window reclining beneath it upon her bed whilst in her nightgown. Her tavern room secured with a lock; the fire roaring in a shared chimney from the next room belonging to Cassius. Her desk rather sparse and empty as she enjoyed the curling of blankets around her frame to control the feeling of cold and warmth at her discretion. Her long flowing brown hair unbound and flowing across her caressing blankets.

'Half a year since I have seen my beloved city of Lycaron ... my husband, Gods bless his soul has taken his duties to the Kingdom of Neustria rather seriously for once, giving me ample freedom, but increasing loneliness in his absence. It would be all too easy to say it would have been a trifle to rule on matters of estate and taxes and levies to maintain peace in the land. But the truth is, I have no skill in the art of governance and never have, and I believe even my husband's inner circle knew it too. To them I was the daughter of the local gamekeeper and unfit in my position at my husband's side amidst the gentry. "So be it!" I said back then. "To faraway lands where I'll return with stories to be told and glorious prestige of my own making." 

Vesna smiles at this as she looks off-cast, shaking her head at the thoughts of her return home to her ginger-haired husband welcoming her in a frantic embrace. While she had sent plenty of letters throughout her stays within the cities she would explore ... it would be difficult in her travels of pilgrimage for anything to be returned in kind as she was always on the move, and often couriers would have a hard enough time trying to track down someone to keep a low profile.

'My beloved husband of course, before leaving for his visit to the Kingdom of Albion, insisted I take along Father Cassius of St. Noscrim's Priory. A peculiar man but a supposed veteran adventurer in his days as a Holy Knight, the Hospitaller Order to my recollection. Militant healers and guardians of monasteries whose duties of hospice and the healing arts are rather central to their core mission. Thankfully we have yet to have come under attack amidst our pilgrimage, monsters of the feral variety are not common on the roads, and thankfully still in the wilds where my skills as a huntress provided much levity to the pilgrims who gathered upon our caravan. Thankfully my position as nobility through marriage permits my right of hunting, and given my father was the gameskeeper, I have better ability to put better food on the table than anyone we travel with. For once in a long while I feel depended upon and thankful for companions that surround me. After we had reached Sehlaria ... after our travels along the eastern shores of Castillia, we happened upon a village in Lothar that had been burnt down to its foundations. I was afeared pirates or even war with the elves might have ignited with our passage through the country would drive us center into the conflict. Alas, Lothar seems to have a problem within the ranks of its military, deserters have turned to marauders. We have managed to secure two lost children from that village, two human infants for which we managed to save in the aftermath.'

Vesna then leaned her head back against the wall that was tight knit upon the side of her bed giving thought to another matter before writing in her journal. 'Their parents are unknown to us, and their circumstances leave little hope they will ever be known. Cassius believes he might be able to find them, and while I have encouraged such thoughts, I cannot help but express a more sombering conclusion that they will never be found. Provided such things were true, I wonder if I could adopt little Sebastian and Niall into my household. My little ones, Jessarel and Aurélie have grown to the age for which they come into their own independence, so ingrained that my departure would hardly have bothered them, even though I presumed to think this trip of mine to be akin of a test if my little birds could fly from their nest. I am thankfully still in my prime at the time of writing this, thirty-one I'm told is the ripe age for women of my position ... although bringing back a child in these circumstances might seem suspect on my fidelity given my time away. So perhaps we shall elect to adopt them into our home as wards. Provided of course Cassius's savior complex doesn't compel him to promise them to the clergy.'

The hour is late with the wind blowing the candle out as if to signify it was time to turn in, causing Vesna to smile, taking the candle and her journal to lay out upon her empty desk. Closing the window with a locking clasp, it was time to turn in for the evening.

Sebastian -- Conevico -- 4th Wehnsdas, Frostdawn, 1792 GSE

"There it is!" Shouted one of the pilgrims which roused Sebastian from slumber to peek from the opening of the basket he's grown so accustomed to. Today Sebastian, Niall, Cassius and the Lady Vesna would be seated -- or in the case and that of the infants, lain on the bench inside the wagon amidst the caravan. "The city walls of Conevico, we've finally arrived to Romagnia!" Another pilgrim declared.

The caravan roams closer and closer from whence Sebastian could finally see the towering tree-height sized walls, perhaps even bigger than even than that for what perception the child's vision could describe. They were perhaps more like the mountains of white with the stone that founded its height with wooden palisade walls from which guards could gaze down upon the comings and goings of distant travelers. The sounds of voices were getting louder and louder but that was not what perturbed Sebastian's being, it was more of the smell. An awful wrench of the city was striking my senses that repulsed his curiosities. Wasn't long before Niall was fussing, but yet not crying over the sensations that struck the caravan.

"Oh, you two must never been in a city before." Cassius observes aloud yet with an utterly helpless look upon his face. It would appear that this monk, the man who would take care of us has business in the city. "Well at the very least were not walking in the muck of the streets." Lady Vensa jokes as the wagon rolled on with the caravan pushes past the city gates. "Did you already make arrangements with a tavern?" Vesna asks Cassius. 

"Not with a tavern no. I imagine my stay will be at the cathedral, provided they aren't full to bursting this time of year." Cassius admits, it seems his trip was perhaps far less planned than what is normally typical for a pilgrim. Then again, even for people in his circumstances, he has a lot more to consider now with two infants now in his care.

"You could stay with me in the castle if all else fails. It might still be Lothar in territory, but even far-away ... with enough incentive, I'm sure the good Lord here will host us." Vesna offers.

"I prefer you not go flaunting your lineage around so carelessly. ... Although I might just have to take you up on that offer." Cassius conceded with a bit of a chuckle, placing a hand inside the basket to tickle his digits upon the bindings that shrouded us, eliciting laughter and mirth from both of the children. "I still have to provide the news to the Temple and see what comes of it. If the parents for these children are alive. ...I might even have to stay behind to make sure they are returned, safe and sound."

"Of course, provided that does occur, at least be there if you intend to depart from my company. I detest meek goodbyes." Vesna demanded with Cassius laughing with acknowledgement but also concession to the request.

"I promise I will keep you up to date, good woman." Cassius promises with a hand elevated to his chest, across his heart before dipping his head to a bow. "But I also have an obligation to your good self. I promised to return you to Lycaron. My stay wouldn't be that long, I more than likely would rejoin your caravan before you make it half-way across to Theleto."

The sounds of the city were plentiful and almost drowning, even from Sebastian's perceptional limiting view from the basket, he could gaze upon dwellings of stone and wood from where the caravan wagon roamed along its bumpy noisy street. Lines were drawn across the divide between the dwellings with articles of clothes hung and blown in the slight morning breeze like leaves from their branches across a clear blue sky.

An argument over a lost shipment, a hired hand told once again to repeat his list of chores, the gossiping of the townsfolk, the clattering of tools from the craftsmen. It was a vast sea of information, emotion, activity. The smells, and what even can be construed as the 'sights' from the basket was enough to for the children to stick close to what was familiar than in that hotbed of chaos.

The templar commander Reickart returns upon his horse alongside the wagon, keeping pace with the caravan as it makes its way further into the walled town. "The caravan will resume its path to Theleto in about two days' time from now." The holy knight confers. "From there we'll most likely have a much smoother sailing than we did in Iberia."

"I would hope so being the cradle of civilization." Vesna spat with rapier wit causing some distant pilgrims to chuckle.

"You've been very kind in these times, Lady Vesna. On behalf of the men, the Templar Order thanks you." Reickart professes with a bow of his head. Vesna however stands up despite the motioning wagon. It would appear her stop would be closeby and she intended to step off the wagon.

"We've still a week before Theleto. Let's just make sure we survive the day." Vesna reassures the commander that their time isn't quite done yet.

The caravan disperses for the day once the wagons and horses were properly stabled, with Cassius taking basket in arm and leading us around in hand, he departs from the Lady Vesna with Sebastian and Niall making our way through the streets, an alleyway or two before happening upon a peculiar building with colorful windows depicting shapes of human figures in varying poses. Still images that portray an uncanny form of devotion to an unforeseen figure I could not yet discern. The building itself had a tower not too dissimilar from the elevations of the city walls, with its own bell resting in it's heights. There was in fact a wall surrounding the rear of the building, not so tall as the city walls, perhaps half the height of the building's nave, yet it's grand doors at the fore were massive and open to everyone, even the space left open with grandiose fountains of flowing water pour from basin beneath basin.

"Here we are little ones, the cathedral of AVO." Cassius voices aloud. "Let's hope we can find your parents before we have to leave, maybe even find ourselves a good place to stay."

The inside of the building felt clearer, and there was a sense of comfort within its walls. The sound of a choir singing in the distance of the stone corridors could be heard, a benediction of prayer. Cassius moves from the door down the hall in silent and considerate steps than he did in the town square. Perhaps this was a place where such causality was frowned upon?

"Ah, brother." Cassius calls out to a hooded man who emerged from a conjoining corridor yet stopped from Cassius's hushed yet firm expression. The monk slowly quickened his step. "I am Prior Cassius, of St. Avalor's Priory in Lycaron. There's been an emergency, Reinhurst village was burned to the ground."

"Oh goodness gracious." The hooded man recoiled. "Reinhurst? Was it the Elves?" To which Cassius shook his head.

"Lothar deserters, to my awareness they haven't been caught. But I do need access to the Temple records and assets ... our pilgrim's caravan found these two little ones. They're the only survivors we found." Cassius explains as he slowly lifts the basket.

"How terrible. ... Please, a moment if you can, we will soon be done with the Terce prayer, and I will send father Nikodemus for you. I'll also need to confirm your identity before our Ordo Luminary permits you amongst his archives." He insists before bowing his head. "Please, if you like we have an herbal garden you can await within." The hooded man professes before walking down the hall to open a door into an open courtyard that was built inside of this dwelling's perimeter.

"Thank you again." Cassius says with a bowed head and emerges into the door while staying within the open corridor that surrounded the gardens. A roof over the head with torch scones along the wall with a pretty view of the open space. "...See that, little ones? We have a garden like this at home too. But it's much more open, big enough to hold a tree." Cassius says to us in order to pass the time.

A tree, even if the garden was open to the sky -- surrounded by walls? Might as well have a house in a tree of itself. The world seemed full of possibilities, but Sebastian was still quite new into this world for him to think so widely of what and what was not considered 'possible.'

They didn't wait that long either for the choir to fall silent and before Sebastian could even fall asleep, the sound of a door opening followed by two figures, a black robed monk, dressed almost as similarly as Cassius and another in peculiar armor that wasn't nearly as imposing as the templars but a bit more subtle in color, and instead of metal, darkened leather.

"Brother ... Cassius, was it?" The black-robed man asked, causing Cassius to face him fully with both hands upon the basket handle.

"Brother Nikodemus, would I be presuming correctly?" Cassius deduces aloud with the prior nodding. "Thank you for taking your time to see me." Cassius ingratiated with a bow of his head.

"Yes yes, quite. Brother Tybur gave me the details about Reinhurst. Something about needing Temple assets, of the Luminary's domain?" Nikodemus asked.

"That would be correct. I'm trying to ascertain the whereabouts and ... perhaps fate of these two children's parents. They were the only survivors we could find, and our caravan had no luxury of searching for others with deserters prowling the wilds." Cassius explains. "I was wondering if there was an inquiry or possibly even a survivor that made it here."

Nikodemus looked quite shocked at this news ... "By the Blood of the Angels. These are dark days when there is more kindness in winter's cold than there is in men." he beseeched before inhaling and motioned his face upcast before looking towards the armored man. "Brother Algier?" He asked towards the dark leather cladded man.

This Algier was a lithe, pale and rather wispy in appearance, not so much gangly but certainly someone who has had an upbringing in life that conditioned him to such beggar like apperance. He began holding his chin in deep contemplation, shifting his eyes from the floor to out the side into the garden before his name was uttered, forcing it to lock eyes with Nikodemus. "This is honestly the first I've heard Reinhurst having been burnt down. Usually if there are people who survived it, we would have received word about it by now, if not from the town garrison, then from a local settlement. Your caravan seems to have been the first acknowledgment of it entirely by the sounds of it, Cassius."

"...No." Cassius says looking a bit taken aback by this information. Almost as if he was given the worst possible news.

Algier quickly smoothed his hand up. "That does not mean everything we know is concrete. We have riders learning new things daily, just as we have learned about this now and the Ordo Luminous never sleeps, as they say. Though my archives won't be able to help you, that does not mean the information network the faith has worked so hard to maintain won't fish something up. I presume these children have names?"

"No. At least. Not ones I didn't name for them myself. They were found in a hollowed-out signpost in the dead silence of dawn." Cassius admits. "No note, just the basket and blankets to keep them warm."

Algier sighs at this, hands on his belt, twiddling his thumb upon the span of its hug against his waist. "...I cannot promise anything. The most I can do is make inquiries about missing children, or survivors of Reinhurst." He speaks. "Naturally we'll do everything we can to make light of this, no doubt Grand Prince Ulrich will want to make sure these deserters are subdued before there's chaos in the region. If these bandits took prisoners, they'll help us ascertain their identities or at the very least witness accounts."

Nikodemus nods at this. "Have faith Cassius. You did well, for the faith, and for your new charges." He says with a smile as he held one hand over the other at the fore of his abdomen.

"Of course." Cassius says with a bowed head. "I'm afraid to impose on you as I'm already doing so much already but would there be a place for me and the little ones to stay here in the cathedral? It won't be for too long, just until Fehrdas morning, or once I receive news of their parents."

"Ah, you're still enroute to Theleto?" Nikodemus observes aloud with a hum. "Hm. I suppose this is a bit of a time constraint. Sadly, our monastery is already filled to bursting with pilgrims, the poor and the infirm. The winter is much too harsh for most to be left out in the cold." The prior laments. "But, under the presumption nothing new has turned up during your time here, we'll forward any new information to your lodgings in Theleto." Nikodemus reassures with a bit of an apology in his tone.

Algier makes a motion to turn to the side as if to depart from the conversation. "Which means there needs to a mobilization effort. We'll have to skirt through the forest, the village. Lord Ruberht Arco, needs to be alerted and other villages to be on high alert. If you will excuse me." He says with a bow before making a quick step down the garden corridor.

"A moment, Brother Algier." Cassius says stepping forward causing the Luminary to stop. "If you're headed to the castle, to Lord Frikkeo. Might I join you? I have a friend amidst nobility who would provide me living quarters, it might help if I had someone who can vouch for me at the gates."

"I don't see why not." Algiers concedes. "Come, we must away." He insists, making a much hastier step then what Cassius initially started with upon entering the cathedral.

Cassius -- Conevico -- 4th Wehnsdas, Frostdawn, 1792 GSE

It was quite a steady walk, but unlike from the view on the wagon bench, the concrete hardness of cobblestone and slick from the muck on the streets fills Cassius's foosteps. From out of the cathedral, it was onwards towards the castle, through the marketplace. The houses faced inward towards the center of the market along the faces of the townsfolk with the occasional stall with peddlers praising their goods above the others it competed against.

"So, from what I've gathered on your caravan." Algiers began. "You were on pilgrimage to Sehlaris. ... From Lycaron? You've come a long way prior." He says as he walks around a crowd of gawkers who seem fixated on an ongoing auction. The muck of the streets sticking to the footwear of Cassius and this strange figure by the name of Algiers.

"I would say so, these bones are years older. But it was a most awe-inspiring pleasure." Cassius professes. "The Sacred Sepulcher was everything I thought it would be and more. I only wish I could have afforded to stay the month, but the Sehalarians kept raising the jizyah for me."

"Hm." Algiers grunted in thoughtful consideration. "Would that I were given the time for meaningful travel as you are, I would be tempted to go there as well." 

The group departed from the market stalls towards the walled partition containing the castle of the Arco Family, Conevico's castle. Across a moat that was built in with the river flow that surrounded the castle before flowing out from the city and towards the sea; in order to get across, one must traverse over a stone bridge across the deep moat. A fearful whimper escapes from the basket holding Sebastian and Niall. "Ah, a moment, Ser Algiers." Cassius implored as he sets down the basket to check on his charges.

"Oh heavens, tell me you aren't hungry again?" Cassius hypothesizes with a slight 'hum' to his disposition. "Or is it you're scared of the heights?" He puzzled aloud before picking up the basket again and continuing his way across the bridge. Towards the monument of stone walls erected within the city, across the moat was a form of portcullis with jagged metal teeth, along with bars to prevent entryway, one wrong motion could cause those bars to drop down to the demise of anyone trying to get in, or escape.

The scenery changed from an obscuring wall to a courtyard of withered gardens and trees without leaves, the snow having been freshly shoveled from the pathways and earth where it was left trodden by footsteps. Above the walls were soldiers who patrolled and marched along the top of its heights, as from behind the walls were built in steps along the wall with its ascent starting from the earth to the battlements where the guardsmen traversed its horizon.

"This is a castle, little ones." Cassius explains, slowly turning the basket around for the children to view the courtyard entire, revolving the basket around until Cassius fixated upon a pair of grand doors almost half the size of the gate we traversed, it's ebony wooden shape with iron handles signifying a vain construction to appeal to the superficial. "The ruler of these lands and all the nobles come here." Cassius lectures to the children, knowing full well that they were too little to know better what any of this should mean to them, but all the same -- their bright curious eyes looked on in marvel at the erected castle fortifications and architecture.

Cassius encroached his way from the gatehouse towards the main entrance of the castle interior through the stone paths built in lainment beneath his feet.

"Ah, wait here Prior Cassius." Algiers suddenly instructed before Cassius could reach the steps leading up to the grand doors of the castle, walking on ahead of the monk. "Clergyman or not, my business is more official, let me do you a favor and test the waters before you go asking for Lord Arco's hospitality."

"Ah, that would actually be very appreciated, thank you." Cassius professes with a bowed head.

A castle like this was almost the size of a village given its scale and perimeter of the walls. Given its position upon the Lothar-Romagnian border, it seemed less of a vain design for noble tastes and more of a militaristic intention.

The War of Banners, Cassius concludes, for Conevico used to be a Romagnian Imperial City and a front for their passage into Lothar when the Elves would war for their chance of dominance over Balandaria ... back before the Empire disbanded and the city eventually fell to Lotharing hands, a retreat of their waning influence but monuments of their history still remain in the day.

It was only a quarter to a half of the hour before the grand doors of Conevico Castle opens with Algiers emerging from its "Lord Ruberht Arco will receive you, although I'd brace myself -- he's with a bit of an unwanted guest." Algiers heralds in a bit of concern.

"Guest?" Cassius asks with a face of growing concern. "It's not the Lady Vesna, is it?!" 

"Yes ... and no." Algiers says looking somewhat concerned for the atmospheric state of the castle interior. "Lord Arco is receiving a ... complication but he will receive you once the matter is resolved."

A complication? Just what was it inside that they were about to step into? "I suppose we'll see when we get inside." He says with a sigh of resignation.

The one thing Cassius was not here to do was to play the games of these secular leaders of power and influence. While the details of what lay ahead troubled the traveling, for it was one thing for a Lord to be in a foul mood, it was quite another to make a request of his generosity by the same brush.

The grand doors of the castle part with the assistance of the guards who stand vigilant upon it's enclosure. Welcoming Algiers and Cassius as they entered inside the entrance hall of the castle, taking half a dozen steps down to a flattened seating room with golden embraided indigo blue banners. The furniture made of well carved oak wood from tables to armchairs and benches, a variety of artifacts on display for those who intend to wait their turn to petition the noble family.

Traversing a dozen steps from across the entrance up from the seating arrangement led to a corridor, carved from the sharp shape of the arched top doorway to a much more expansive hall leading onward to a well-lit room that no doubt housed the throne room.

Cassius need not have been too far away from the throne room to hear the tension that transpired within. The sounds of bellowing and argument that was heard -- caused the poor children in the basket to shiver and hide their faces within the blankets that cloaked them. From the opposite end of the door, we emerge from was a wooden throne elevated upon five steps of stairs, shrouded in a carpet of jasmine indigo that reached from the bottoms of the steps to the foot of the throne. The throne itself was of an engraved craft with armrests depicting extended orbs shrouded in vines and grapes, a leather seated cushion built into the seat and upon the backrest of the illustrious chair with depictions of a bountiful vineyard trellises.

The area where the throne was erected was carved inside of the stone wall which accommodated additional stairs along the sides of the stone where it was carved, leading to another level of the castle, most likely where the lord resides -- great banners hung below these encasing stairs from the sides of the throne room, depicting a blade encircled in a grape vine like a serpent would be, with a background of a similar indigo of the carpet.

The man seated upon the throne was a portly sort, a circlet of jade and jeweled amethyst adorned upon his brow, a bushy goateed beard with a balding spot atop of his head with a few strands atop of his head, likely combed over from the shoulder-length flowing locks that circumvented the of the barren dome upon his head. Dressed in furs and vanities of a humbling brown color with an overflowing white wolf pelt scarfing around his neck.

Three figures stood before this noble figure, the lady Vesna whom Cassius recognized immediately, yet to the left, for whom she was flanking two other green haired individuals, the one to the right far smaller than the more adult figure standing betwixt the former. The green-haired individuals were quite bizarre as they wore clothes that were foreign to the aesthetics of Lothar ... or any human culture, the country-side full of dark colors, grey, brown and murk. But the reasons for that became abundantly clear when Cassius caught glimpse of the green haired pair's ears. Rapier pointed and given their assembly ... most likely wood elves of noble stock.

From the backs of the elven adult woman's shoulders was adorned a twin-divided velvety green cape attached to a travel tunic adorned upon her person, the elven woman's hair was tied in a ponytail, yet lengthy enough to resemble that of a horse's tail from its depiction. Beside her, the elven child with flowing hair that looked as though she were attempting to grow it out similar to her mother but not quite there yet. She was dressed in a brown ragged tagged winter top and pants, quite different than her guardian.

"You expect me to offer you hospitality elf?!" Bellowed the human noble. "Hospitality! While your kin stalk the western lands, take my people into slavery and leave behind nothing but burning shambles and broken families!?"

"Herr Arco, this is--" Vesna began to speak before the noble human raised his hand.

Nothing but silence fills the room before the elven woman breaches it. "Lord Arco, the dawn elves are not the wood elves. I, Eirina Gladeleaf, am ambassador of the wood elves to the Kingdom of Neustria. Our own caravan was destroyed along our way through Lothar on our way to the Romagnian border. I wish only to stay the night under your protection so as to leave immediately for Neustria." The elf spoke with a softness that befitted her kind, even more-so with her position as an Ambassador.

"You simply, 'had' to go through Lothar, to go to Neustria? No ships would take you around our borders? For an ambassador you don't seem well aware of the Lotharing opinion of your kind. Or if you were aware, you show complete and utter disregard for it." The Lord Arco states standing up from his throne. "It is not mere dawn elves that debase these lands, but the high elves you swear subservience to! The incidents past this very last year exceed the digits of my hands and feet whereas the dawn elves are considered. Do you think if this were to happen to my people by any other human nation, I would tolerate it? Why is this not the case for you elves!?"

"Herr Arco." The elven woman stated firmly, grasping her hand into a fist as the elven child beside her clung to her tunic. "The Sehlarians of the south are an established enemy of my people. Not only would we risk slavery within their waters, but the northern waters also far beyond the Embershard mountains might as well be seas of ice amidst this time of winter. My appointment is not with yourself, but of Neustria. I do not condone the attacks amidst humanity. The crown I serve, Queen Marvhen Sylvian has done much to try and bridge and account for human concerns amidst the Council of Queens. But I cannot, do not speak for the other elves."

A slam from a raised fist into the armrest of the throne caused a chilling silence that filled the air. "And that, right there. Is my entire problem with your kind." The human noble professes with a sneer, jabbing an accusatory finger in direction of the ambassador. "You speak the words, but it is the ones you represent who make a liar out of you." He states as he rose from his throne before turning away from her with his hands behind his back, staring into a brazier bowl of pitch and fire that illuminated the space around the throne. "Pureblooded elves like you bend knee to the same ilk that bring disorder and despair upon my people. Oh, you might disagree when it's viewed as distasteful, oh you might protest ... when it is safe. But throughout history, upon these very lands when you could exercise it true, you did not stop them, you still carried out their will, enslaved our ancestors, had them killed on whim! Child and parent alike! And it still happens now!" He shouted. Loud enough that his voice echoed the halls of the castle, leaving the room in reverberating silence before he walked back to his throne yet remained in his standing position.

"The high elves still raid our western borders, the dawn elves still descend from the sky to carry off our people, what little they do carry off as we are too accustomed to bury the dead they leave behind ... The way that I see it, even if your words are ... were true. Until someone holds one accountable for the whole, your kind will ever be liars. And I will not be hospitable to a people so disingenuous with mine. It is because I am willing to believe your words, I do not have you imprisoned and ransomed back to the Queens. Find your hospitality in a tavern like everyone else."

The human noble spoke with such a coldness and reserved fury. Cassius could see the hatred within Lord Arco's eyes were an accumulation of hatreds, both ancient and recent over the transgressions of Lothar and Elentárië.

"Herr Arco! There are no taverns left in open reservation. They have nowhere to go." Vesna declares in protest with the ambassador clutching onto her child. "... And that's not even to say what the populace might do--"

"Then they can sleep in the gutter, my decision is--" Arco declares before Cassius clears his throat, taking a step forth past Vesna and the elven parent and her child. "...And who are you? Only the brave or an outright foolish idiot interrupts my court." Arco snides. "Monk, Pilgrim or otherwise."

"Actually, good Herr Arco. I am Prior Cassius of St. Noscrim's Priory in Lycaron. I only caught the tail end of this conversation but. Might I ask you extend the hospitality to myself as well as your elven guests?"

The nobleman looked outright annoyed at Cassius, which frightened Vesna, as well as the elven pair and the two children in the basket he carried. Leaning his arm against his armrest he began to stroke his hand idly across his beard.

"You must not have paid attention to the conversation, history, or any of your books." Arco observed aloud, sitting back in his throne. "Lothar is no place for elves who are not subservient to the realm and by extension, to Grand Prince Ulrich. This woman represents my country's enemy in a time of barely concealed hostility, a heretic to your clergy, and all likeliness a spy for the Elven Council of Queens. Under what delusion do you presume I labor under to tolerate her presence in my home?"

Cassius bows as Vesna and the Elves look in his direction, looking somewhat exasperated at his approach. "Forgive my layman's approach of politics. I would not wish to presume to speak or even presume intentions that neither you or your elven visitors do not hold." He professes. "I merely wish to point out that she is technically already a guest of another household. Just not quite your own." Cassius explains. "While Lothar might not cherish their relations with the elves, Neustria however does. She is ambassador by their pleasure, and it would not make for happy bedfellows if something were to happen to their representatives. Even elves."

Lord Arco was taken aback for a moment, almost as if the words when laid out salved the immediate need for retribution. ... Yet not quite so easily as hoped by the prior.

"The King of Neustria is far away from this place and hardly has to put up with elvish antics our tithes are paid to keep at bay. Unless you presume to tell me, the King will compensate me for this ... " Arco inclined as if trying to resolve to keep his integrity on the matter. Cassius however decides to widen the perspective he laid out. 

"Actually, it is more in a way to maintain your good graces with Grand Prince Ulrich." Cassius proposes with the nobleman leaning his back into his throne with a frown.

"Why would Ulrich care if these two lived or died? Be it in his lands or anywhere else in the world?" asked Lord Arco with his fingers touching the opposites upon his other hand.

Cassius inhales and re-establishes his confidence. "Because it is as you say. If one acts in a way that goes against the wishes of another, that will reflect poorly upon the Grand Prince, should the topic arise in his dealings with Neustria." Cassius points out. "It might seem like an Elven-Lothar matter on the surface but if Neustria were missing their ambassador and it were discovered that you held up her appointment ... or even if the worst should happen that they never arrive to their appointed court."

Lord Arco began to rub his chin along with a change of emotion that seemed to equate into realization. "You're suggesting that I might place Ulrich in an uncomfortable position with Neustria." He summarized.

Algier's voice then spoke next as he stands beside Cassius. "Actually my Lord, it may already be too late for that to be a consideration." The church official stood beside Cassius in support of his direction of the conversation.

"Father Algiers, I am dealing with enough on my plate without the entirety of the Temple crashing down on my authority." Lord Arco huffs. "I have stated I would see to your emergency after--"

"This might be related, Herr Arco, Lady Eirina." Algiers stated looking to the Elven Ambassador who looked stiff and a bit startled. "You stated that your caravan was destroyed and disbanded -- do you know from what?"

Rather profound that Algiers would know the name of a wood elven ambassador, but the Ordo Luminous are dedicated spies and diplomats of the Temple, their eyes and ears are in every Balandarian City, and wherever there was a loose lip. It would make sense they would be in the know of such things, Cassius thought.

"... Lothar Soldiers, they wore their colors and banners." Eirina describes. "But they also extorted us and had more of a roguish air about them. Even after we paid their 'tolls' they set about to kidnapping us ... and ... "

Algiers seemed to think this conversation was going down a dark path and reverted it back to Herr Arco who looked a bit confused. "Herr Arco. I am willing to suspect that the people who attacked the elven caravan might have also razed Reinhurst to the ground. Deserters and criminals under the auspices of your garrison, or that of Lothar."

The portly lord was gripping his beard and showing a bit of irritation for this situation. He seemed stressed but more so as when he heard the news of Reinhurst burning down, and that there was a renegade band of soldiers using his good name to pillage the villages of his fiefdom. Most likely Algiers was quick in his announcement and the idea that a great deal of tension aimed at him between the need to be dealt with a firm hand, or fear of a wrong action might inspire a firm hand from the higher nobility to strike down.

""My caravan's Templar Commander can vouch for the presence of these deserters." Cassius proclaims stepping forward.

"That will not be necessary." Lord Arco professes with a long exhale. "Regardless an investigation is called for and I shall see to it my marshal cracks down on this banditry. ... Meanwhile." His eyes traced back towards Eirina and the child. Cassius however remains resolute.

"The damage has been done by bad actors, but it can still be attributed to Lothar if the wrong understanding comes across to those watching from afar." Cassius sagely advises keeping in line with Arco's accusations upon elven kind. "... As the Temple scripture says." Cassius proclaims with a risen extended hand. "Do not seek to domineer over your charge but be an example amidst the flock."

The human noble hums with a sigh and closed pair of eyes. "..."

"As well as 'Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.' In a city that reflects the piety of pilgrims that come and go through such places, surely you might--" Cassius continues only for the Lord Arco to raise his hand as if hearing enough. Cassius immediately stops not wanting to further annoy the lord.

"Do stop your prattling and lecturing in my hall monk ... Verily well." The portly man states as he leans forward in his throne. "Eirina Gladeleaf." He states looking directly within the elven woman's eyes, who had straightened up with her daughter clung tightly to her. "By the grace, perhaps even serendipity of the Temple your people have mocked for generations, you have been secured in my hospitality. ... But if I discover one trace of malevolent intrigue to your person. I will have your dominant hand for a trophy." He warns "Of course which naturally, monk, you will share the same responsibility. So, I suggest if as virtuous as your advice is ... you be sure to impart it to the good ambassador." Lord Acro curtly explains to Eirina and Cassius.

"Of course, Herr Acro." Cassius professes with a bow of his head to which the elven girls and Vesna do the same.

As Lord Acro rises, he descends the steps from his throne towards a door built into the left section of the wall where we entered the throne room. "For now, your accommodations await you in the guest wing. I bid you await here for the chamberlain who shall show you to your quarters." Arco then looks in direction of Cassius and Algiers. "Father Algiers. I require your full account of these deserters and this incident with Reinhurst. Prior Cassius, I'll endeavor to see you this evening."

"Yes, your grace." Algiers stated before patting a sturdy hand upon Cassius's shoulder before stepping forth to join the nobleman within the recesses of the private sections of the castle. Looks like they would have plenty to discuss while Cassius, Vesna and the elves get settled in.

"Thank you! Lord Arco!" spouted the little elven child for which the only response to her gratitude was the door closing behind the Lord and Algiers with a vague sense of defusing hostility in the air.

"That ... looked like it would have taken a turn for the worst." Eirina the elf professes before turning to Cassius with a suspicious and inquisitive glance. "And to what end would you go out of your way for someone like me?"

Before Cassius could explain himself Vesna interjects. "Oh no, this one is with me. He's part of my pilgrimage caravan." She introduces. "He's a bit of a wet mop where common sense is concerned but a good soul." She then turns to Cassius before glaring at him! "You miserable lout! I had it under control. You already have enough to consider without sticking your neck ... well, now your hand out for others." Vesna points out as she gestures to the children in Cassius's hold. "What good will you be to them if you had lost your hand and had to be on the mend!?"

"I just wanted to help! ... I was well within my confidence to leverage this to our favor. I do sit next to your husband on matters of rule, I know how one goes about politicking." Cassius explains to Vesna before looking to Eirina and her child, clearing his throat. "T-that said. However our faiths may differ on the matter of the same Godhead we share. We are still part of this world, and cruelty is too cheaply and thoughtlessly handed out in its time."

Eirina sighs as she loosened her hold on her child and smiles to Cassius. "Well, I know how to act amidst humans. Truthfully our coming here was a last resort with the coming snowstorm. We were almost on the Romagnian border, but we were traveling for five days non-stop to avoid it's coming."

"Snowstorm?" Vesna asks. "And you said something Lothar soldiers ... extorting and trying to kidnap you. What caused that?"

"The snowstorm will soon be breezing in actually. I can see the channeling of the air, the frost. It's building in the west and crawling eastward, given how the wind is pointing; it's going to ravage across the Lothar-Romagnian border." Eirina explains. "As for my caravan ... I want to attribute it to bandits, but ... they wore the banners of Lothar. That would have been bad enough, but we managed to escape only for our hiding to be discovered by one of Herr Arco's patrol. We were escorted here ... and the rest you saw. Me and my little Mahelverhen here have been--"

"I hate that name!" Shouted the little elf spouted! Looking annoyed with puffed up chipmunked cheeks that elicited a childish giggle from the basket Cassius held. Which earned a curious glance from the elves and then to the monk. "Oh! I didn't know human monks could have children." She says skittering over to the basket. Kneeling down she peered within to look at the two residents within it.
"Awh-hahaha~! They're adorable!"

She was a bright faced little one whose joy caused Niall to giggle and wave his hands to her with Sebastian's a wide smile with hands outstretched to her.

"Oh no child, priory monks cannot have children." Elrina corrects her child. "They ... aren't yours, are they?" She inquires looking to Cassius.

"No. But that's yet to be decided. Perhaps over dinner I can explain their situation in full." The prior professes as he sets the basket down, leaving this Mahelverhen girl with the children. The name itself was rather long, and its structure was alien to the human's I've traveled with.

From down the steps behind the throne, emerged a jacketed man with flowing hair, trailing his fingers along a ring of keys and accounting for their purpose. "Madam Vesna, the Lady Gladeleaf ... and you are ..."

Cassius introduces himself with his hands behind his back. "Prior Cassius of Lycaron."

"Yes yes, quite." repeated the jacketed man. "Your living quarters have been arranged. I am Liebehrt, Chamberlain of Conevico Castle. The Lord Arco will be arranging dinner within the next hour or so. It is advised on a courteous brush-up on dining etiquette before being seated at his table."

Well, these people certainly seem to have a high and mighty opinion of themselves, Cassius thinks to myself, Niall and Sebastian were too busy giggling and laughing at the elven child's playful tickling of her fingers. For now, it seems we get to enjoy the luxuries of the castle.

"If you would not mind, we have maidservants to take care of the children." Leibehrt the Chamberlain attests. "Proper food and care will be given to them of course."

The elven child looked poised as if to protest with Vesna chuckling as she arrived beside her. "Come now. The grown-ups have to discuss grown-up things. You'll be stuck to your chair and bored out of your mind otherwise. Can we trust you to look after little Sebastian and Niall?

"... I ... guess." the elf child concedes. "Which one is who again?" she inquires kneeling down with Vesna who pointed to Niall. "This...is Niall." She explains. 

"But he's a human. Why does he have an elven name?" asked Mahelverhen. 

"Who knows for sure if these are human or half-elves? They were found in a basket by the road, we don't know who their parents are." Vesna explains.

"They can't be half-elves, they don't even remotely have pointed ears." Mahelverhen points out.

"Sometimes little leaf, half-elves develop their ears later in life. Some can look outright human in appearance until their teenage years. And some can look like pure blooded elves until their mortality kicks in and reveal that they age faster." Eirina lectures to her child.

"Oh." The little one says in acknowledgement.

"And this one is Sebastian." Vesna introduces, pointing directly to the other child.

"Niall annnnnd Sebastian! Got it." exclaimed the excitable elf child.

"You said you disliked your name. Mahelverhen, was it? Emerald Elven Legacy, it's almost fitting for a princess." Vesna translates and observes aloud. "What did you want your name to be?"

"Mmm, my friends call me Magirou for short." She says with a grin.

"Mah...ge...roh. That's ... not elven. That's almost nonsense even." Vesna giggles with the elven child hoisting her hands to her hips.

"It's easier on the tongue and easier to remember. I don't care for soph-...sophesim..." she fumbles with her words. "For...sophistry~!" She barked with a grin that she realized she got the words right.

Magirou. That was the name she chooses for herself. Cassius could only smile as Eirina looked a bit helpless given that her choice in name was all but rejected by her own child. Just then the door of the western corridor opened with Liebehrt flanked by maid servants.

"The ladies of the house will see to the children, Count Rubehrt Arco has invited the rest to his dinner table."

"Well then, Magirou. Can I count on you?" Vesna asks while Cassius and Eirina looked to have concluded a form of off-handed discussion.

"Alright, you can! Promise." Magirou attests with a friendly smile, walking over to heft up the basket and carry it along as she was escorted by the maid servants, with every-one else following Liebehrt into the castle.

Sebastian -- Castle Conevico -- Night of 4th Wehnsdas, Frostdawn, 1792 GSE

The evening is spent within the warmth and secure cradle of Castle Conevico, the rooms that were given to us were spacious yet humble. The room accommodated two single beds on opposite sides of the wall with a desk closer by the door and a small dining table opposite the desk. The beds were cotton-weaved mattresses adorned with a layer of linen. Magirou would preside as guardian for the children for the evening. It was the first time Sebastian been permitted freedom from the basket without Cassius fussing and worrying over him, as the toddler courses his hands and knees across the blankets of the bed. What fine feeling this is, a bit rough but a beloving if not comfortable feeling. Sebastian's head soon collapses to comfort of the bed sheets with a mirthful comfort running across my body. Niall on the other hand was rolling around and giggling once he was freed from his confines. A spur of energy which I could not bring myself to share given my exhaustion. Only upon examining what was the cause of such delight, it was merely Magirou playing with Niall's arms and feet.

Magirou was a delightful soul who kept our company for the evening while Cassius, Vesna and Eirina were away for their feasting and 'adult' conversations. Whatever that would entail. Magirou was otherwise busy trying to get the both of the infants to be able to utter so much a word past the usual garble and nonsense.

"My name is Magirou!" She speaks. "Mah-ge-roh! Try and say it, either of you. Maaaaaah?" She emphasized much the inability to comprehend what she was trying to accomplish. To their poor under-developed minds, the children could only sense a form of playfulness and nurturing nature, not that of a instructive tutoring.

Sebastian's attention was more divided towards the window outside and the brewing oncoming snowstorm for which I sat under the window to watch as the dark night sky become dotted and scattered with flows of falling crystals of white.

"Ohhh, you like the snow huh?" She asks while holding Niall's feet up while he was laying on his back, eventually laying him down while he wobbles around to play. Smoothing herself over to where I was sitting. "It is very pretty but it can be cold and dangerous if we let it in you know."

Dangerous? ... Sure, it was cold, but it was warm in here. Least that's the way Sebastian logically pieced it.

"It's going to get even more cold as the night goes on, so ..." Magirou continued on, rising from her knees to clasp the wooden window panels shut. Well, if it was dangerous, it was dangerous, Sebastian reasons. But as Sebastian's eye met the wood elf's, she giggles and looked onwards ... but that was when Magirou's face turn from cool friendliness to stark coldness as she shouted and leapt from her spot in the bed.

Sebastian's heart raced so fast and he could barely react in time, following her motions to see Niall leaning down over from the foot of the bed and slowly but surely descending down before disappearing from sight entirely, an auditable thump heard soon afterwards with Magirou quickly leaping off the side of the bed and rushing over to where Niall fell. Horror struck Sebastian still as he had no idea what to do. The sound of Niall's crying was soon heard with Magirou slowly raising him up back onto the bed and looking him over with a bit of relief on her face however not entirely without concern departing from her expression.

"Oh gods, oh ... okay." She manages with a huff of relief. "Just fell on your back with a little bump on the head." She clarifies with a look of an adopted of confidence. 

Sebastian quickly crawls over towards Niall and Magirou but minding the edge of the bed ... a good thing to note, keep to the ground, one would fall otherwise. But upon arriving by his side, Niall's crying only continued with tears streaming down his face.

"Well, there's always a good way to fix this." Magirou proclaims as if speaking to Sebastian. Or maybe perhaps to herself.

Closing her eyes and raising her hands upcast with her palms flat yet directed in direction towards Niall ... the room began to feel charged with energy that Sebastian could feel along the hair's end of my skin. Something that felt like a subtle wind yet the influence was not so much as physical, but something more ... intuitive. Magirou's eyes opened with a look of clenched and sharp determination. 

"Laivë." She stated, almost in the form of a command.

From the ends of her digits to the center of her palm, a cyan form of energy flowed and encircled itself into a sphere of dimly glowing energy that slowly wisps like fog around Niall whose pained expression went from sadness to confusion ... to outright curiosity. The children thought it was so strange, this light. This anomaly, where did it come from? What was it doing? Was it calming Niall? Or was it helping him? Could someone like themselves do such a thing?

The door opens with a maid servant investigating the cries of the crying child Niall. "Is everything alright!?" The maid inquired to which Magirou nodded and hummed in her affirmation.

"Poor Niall fell over, nothing a salve cantrip couldn't fix." She reported to the maid giving a sigh of relief.

"Did you want us to handle things from here? You don't have to handle two children alone by yourself at your age." The maid servant offered but the elven child shook her head.

"Oh no, it's a pleasure. I used to do this sort of things a lot of times with my cousins. Humans sure are energetic though." Magirou explained and observed causing the Maid and one other servant in the hall to chuckle at such words.

What I was most curious was the energy at her fingertips and how it affected Niall for which besides his tears staining his cheeks being evidence to the contrary, looked wholly unaffected by his fall. Even went back to giggling along with the others. I simply had to find out if what Magirou could do was something I could do as well. Raising my hands though perhaps not as defined as the elf emulated, my digits were more pointed towards Niall as I babbled noises from my mouth with little to no result causing Magirou to giggle at my attempts to mirror her.

"Ah! Hahaha! Are you trying to cast magic? Oh, you precious thing." She purrs. "Even for an elven child, magic at your age is impossible to cast. And you're a human." 

'Wait, what does that mean? Someone like me couldn't do such a thing? Ever!?' Sebastian panicked in his mind, the prospect made him feel frustrated, angst. Enough to make me want to cry as tears began to well under the pools of his eyes. All of it halted by a motion upon the top of his head. A hand which soothed him back to the words and tutelage of Magirou.

"You have to learn the words, like everyone else. But you can't speak yet. Not yet anyway." She says with hope in her eyes. "But I can teach you if you want, is that what you want?" She asks. What Sebastian wanted was to be able to use that form of magic, but it was so alien to him. Things like words didn't matter to him as much as what could be observed, learned but he was far too young to be able to establish what he truly needed at his stage in life. 'I didn't need words I couldn't use! But the ability to calm and to heal as she had.' He thought.

A grumble tore through such moment of consideration, the kind of which forewarns of hunger in the belly, but it did not originate from Sebastian but from my elven guardian who looked down at herself and sighed. Much to the children's newfound laughter which caused her to smile in turn. "Alright, I think that's enough excitement for one night." Magirou concluded standing right up. "It's time for bed and for myself to get some supper." She says before looking to the maid servant. "I think I'll take you up on that offer."

"Of course. We'll tuck them in while you see to your supper." The maidservant promises as Magirou gave us a tickle under our chins before a smooth palmed stroke atop of her charge's heads before skipping out of the room and leaving us to the maid who collected the young charges from the top of the bed and blanketed them within the bed sheets.

Sleep again. Confined within the weight of the blankets next to my comforted and tuckered out brother. Well ... so long as tomorrow provides me more opportunity to practice skills outside of my limitations. Sebastian would settle for whatever training would come my way.

Cassius -- Castle Conevico -- Night of 4th Wehnsdas, Frostdawn, 1792 GSE

The dining hall a largely spaced box shaped room with many trophies and artifacts on display in regards of the achievements of the Arco family. Some were the heads of great elks, wolves, bears and boars. Some were banners of dynastic nobility and crowns from wars waged in its name from histories long ago, with cases of fine carved glass containing weapons from the old times of Lothar and Romagnia. From one end of the room stood 3 long tables in the shape of an unfinished square with the head of the table facing across the other side of the room with a wide hearth-fire rumbling and roaring. Suspended above were chandeliers of candle-lights in varying colors of red, indigo and tannish color of regular wax. The accessory upon the table includes packages of seasoned breads with the scent of garlic upon them, bowls of olives and grapes. Pots of carved stone with wooden handles were carried in to be rested on squares of cloth containing soups of lentil, mutton, basil, carrots, potatoes and celery.

The Lord Arco emerges eventually, dressed in less formal attire and merely a green tunic with black sleeves from a shirt he wore under it. Flanked by a young adult man, adorned in chainmail, leather gloves with similarly crafted riding boots, and a waffenrock bearing the colors of the Conevico military. This particular knight shares the characteristics of the castle's host ... except perhaps the portly body figure and perhaps instead of a balding head, this young man had flowing brown curly hair and the beginnings of a beard. Algiers makes his way around the table and towards Cassius. Eirina and Vesna stood beside me gazing at the foods on display and more that was emerging out from the kitchens, from roasted duck, chicken and lamb. 

"Jovial!" The Lord Arco declares. "You've all taken me up on my offer, even you ... Lady Ambassador." He acknowledges with a hand upon his chest.

This almost took Cassius aback; it felt not a moment ago he was threatening to hack off his hand should something amiss occur between himself or that of his appointed charge. Once Algiers returns to Cassius side, he rests his hand upon Cassius as if to pull the distance between them, while Eirina graciously reciprocates the gesture from their host. "Thank you, Lord Arco."

A laugh could be heard from the Lord. "Please, call me Ruberht. Have you met my nephew, marshal and heir to my estate--?" The conversation went on in increasing distance as Algiers took the time to speak to Cassius when their conversation turned lighter.

"Because of the snowstorm that's on the horizon, we can't quite send detachments out to find these deserters ... or look for the Reinhurst villagers." Algiers declared in whisper, causing Cassius to look horrified. Yet it was an undeniable fact if forced to brave the snows, only more would be in danger. "Take heart brother Cassius. If you could get to civilization, by now they would to. Once the snow clears -- our couriers will resume their information network, and we'll have something more concrete."

Cassius could only inhaled before exhaling with sharpness with a nod. It only strained the monk that he would eat well while warm while the ones he aimed to have found could be starving or freezing in the cold.

"Come friar! You are under my hospitality are you not?" The Lord-- ... No, Ruberht declared beside his nephew along with Vesna and Eirina who all looked at me as if to join in with their conversation.

"Unfortunately, I am needed back at the Temple to ensure our sick and infirm have much needed provisions. Father Nikodemus extends his regards to you, Lord Arco." Algiers placed his hand upon chest with a bow.

"Of course! We shall send our own food to the poor after our feast is concluded. Tell that old grouch of a hermit he's my cleric and has more than enough reasons to join us. You as well goodman." Ruberht declares with his disposition bright. This creates an almost genuine smile upon a usually calloused face on Algiers.

Upon Algiers departure Cassius steps forward with his arms behind his back looking to the young man armored in chain mail, the nephew of Lord Arco. "Forgive me, clergy matters. I did not catch your name young master." Cassius inquires to Ruberht's nephew.

"It's quite alright, father. Ser Heinrik. Marshal of Conevico's levies and soldiery. As well as it's heir." He introduces as he removes his leather gloves, still dressed in chain mail but now with an exposed scarred hand that has seen its fair share of hardships. Cassius gladfully took his hand into his with quite a strength behind its grip in a shake of his hand.

"This is rather unusual -- have you taken no wife for your own Lord Ruberht?" Vesna asks with the question's recipient turning to the table to pour himself a goblet of wine. "Usually, a man of your age would have one by now, with child, son or daughter."

"Once, I had ... yet my previous wife whom I tried for many years, gods rest her soul, never came to such fruition. I fear the matter of my seed will never prosper into a child, or so my physicians tell me. Thus, I remain a consequence-free bachelor." He optimistically puts it which holds a shadow of sadness over the state of his affairs. Rubehrt then plants an affirming hand upon the shoulder of his ward with a playfully shoving motion. "Still, Heinrik is a man I've prided as the son I never had. He is quite capable of ruling by the time I am infirm and long for this world. Such talks of marriage should be reserved for men of his age." He quipped with a joking laugh much to a growing crimson upon the knight's cheeks.

"A most happy day should that come." Vesna declares with Eirina nodding in agreement. Cassius himself could only smile seeing that from behind the veil of business in the throne room, perhaps Ruberht was simply someone who acted in cold-heartedness to protect the things he loves and cherishes.

"Speaking of which, father. I pray those rugrats of yours are not wild-oats of your own gallivanting." Rubehrt points out, speaking of Sebastian and Niall.

"Oh no. They were babes we found amidst Reinhurst's ashes." Cassius attests. "I remain true to my vows of celibacy."

"Oh a pox on such creeds!" Rubehrt declares as he turns and walks to the head of the table and adorns his seat before gesturing with his hand for the others to do the same. Vesna would take the seat beside Rubehrt as well as Heinrik. Eirina would sit furthest away and propped me to sit beside Vesna to ensure she had her distance. Perhaps some wounds haven't quite fully healed. "The Gods created the world, mortals and then granted us the spirit and drive to do as we like, why you would throw away life's greatest pleasures for better claim of their ear I'll never understand." Rubehrt continued.

"With, all respect to the women around me. I don't think I could quite maintain who I was if my mind drifted to such topics, even to those considered most desirable." Cassius explains.

"Pah!" Rubehrt scoffs with good humor. "Many a fishwife would go kissing frogs in hopes for princes that look like you friar. I don't believe for one second you've not been tempted."

"Uncle!" Heinrik protested. "Nikodemus would be clouting our ears with sermons if he heard you speak like this. Tempting a man of the cloth."

Rubehrt planted his goblet down looking to his ward as he spoke. "It's worldly truth my boy. Since the founding of the First Kingdom, between the First Man and Woman, who were as fresh as divine in their creation, their eloping would be as sinful as the friar's." He declares with a grand gestured wave of his hand towards Cassius.

Eirina looked rather intrigued with the conversation. "A scandalous idea in the world of today. The First Human man and The First Elven woman. you mean. Most would come to blow on either side for suggesting such a thing, especially here in Lothar."

"Hmm, I don't think I would mind an elven husband. My father however ..." Vesna commented with a mused smile with Cassius's expression turning into that of deep concern. "Well, let's just say I shall settle with my husband being human." She tactfully emphisizes.

"Our High Elves are like that too." Eirina compares their experiences with Vesna with a return of a look to Cassius who was hoping to avoid a comment ... "Of course, High Elves as we know it are far too vain to flaunt their chastity, despite their beauty. Perhaps a mix of beauty and confidence is his type?"

... The First Kingdom was the origination of mortal kind. Pureblooded elves might be immune to the sharp knives of time, but they perished by steel as any mortal might. When AVO and the Ancient Gods formed the world, it's vegetations, filled its sieves with waters of the seas and gems in the earth, a man was created in AVO's own image. However, flawed and lonely without companion, another was created for the sake of man -- this time with the vestiges of a more divine and noble bearing who would bring about life. Their children would become the inheritors of the First Kingdom until their tragic collapse from grace. ... Eventually with time, humans developed their own women over the years, and for elves their own men. And with the differences concrete, the societies drifted apart due to their differences. To this day there is a great deal of debate who can say for certain who has the right to inherit the First Kingdom, decreed sacrosanct by the Gods. For it is a fight that many of the human kingdoms continue to engage it, but for the elves ... it is the high elves who maintain their solemn and strict claim of the First Kingdom above any other mortal, elven or human.

Just now however the room became quiet, as if the differences of the two species was almost to be discussed which has often come to historical and theological disputes. Especially given Cassius represented the Temple.

"This is all theoretical of course." Cassius declares with a professed smile. "My vows all the same remain sincere." Concluded as he pours himself a goblet of wine amidst the others taking his lead and filling their plates.

"Hm, that's rather disappointing." Vesna playfully chides with a sip of her wine goblet before setting it down for a leg of roasted poultry.

Heinrik is next to speak upon after taking a loaf of garlic bread between his teeth. "Father Cassius, if you don't mind my slight shift of conversation." He says with Cassius stopping amidst his filling of plate and listening to him. "In your work, there are Holy Knights, Paladins and even Crusaders. I simply must ask, what is the difference between the three ... and which of either would permit me to produce heirs for ... well, for whomever would go to rule Conevico, after my passing."

Cassius muses as he leans back in his chair. "Depends on what you mean by 'holy knights.' By what order and by what function they serve the faith, it is only the Crusaders who relinquish their chastity with the Holy Knights." Cassius explains. "Holy Knights are devout orders who work outside of the Temple's authority but with its blessing and cooperation. Crusaders are the Temple's army in name and in purpose." Cassius provides a general layout between the two, before moving onto the third item. "Paladins ... are a discipline of fighting. They wield divine magic in the form of martial fighting as most knights of the realm do. Although their magic is a bit unusual than you might find with wizards, sorcerers and clerics like myself."

"Different how so?" Heinrik inquires as he leans in, as the table seemed to lean in to consider his insights.

"Well, I am not a paladin myself, only a cleric. But I do have the good fortune of a vast amount of tomes on the subject. Paladins differ based on the integrity of their person ... to the oaths they swear and their honest dedication to them."

Rubehrt looks to Heinrik almost as if he disapproves of the direction of the conversation, nevertheless Heinrik continues on. "I've always just been confused between the differences between Holy Knights, Crusaders who work closely with the Temple and folk who train to become paladins. I was interested ... was interested ... " He states as if to correct his uncle's misconceptions. "In service to AVO and the good gods to achieve my military training."

Cassius brightens up at this. "Well for one thing, holy knights by technicality aren't an official arm of the church. They're more ... religious mercenaries." Cassius interprets by comparison. "They serve the Temple in their own way and unlike the Crusaders of the Ordo Praesidium, aren't always answerable to the Arch-Cleric of the Temple. It is the Ordo Praesidium that demands full dedication and allegiance to the Temple, to be denied inheritances and spouses."

Eirina looked almost like she pitied the descriptions of the members of the Ordo Praesidium whilst fiddling with her spoon amidst her lentil soup. "Such rigid restrictions ... the clerics of our Chantry never enforce such vows of chastity or even to take away inheritances. Elentárië is far too small in territory."

"I suppose the Temple doesn't want to set unfair precedents between noble and peasants, they are after all a different sphere within our world, and our race seems to inhabit most of the breadbaskets of Balandaria." He explains to Eirina who nodded with such assessment. "Ah, but to finish your question. Paladins are a discipline of knights that fight with martial prowess alongside the power of vows. Not all paladins serve a religious function, some can be secular in their vows. Swearing to the law, a crown, or even in service to the people. All who undergo such training tend to keep true to their word to a fanatical degree, but they must in order to maintain their augmented powers. Be it to lord or deity."

"So there are paladins that can work on the side of evil as well." Henrik deduces sharply. "Vows merely imply a promise, that can include any manner of thing from larceny to outright vengeance."

"Well, training to be a paladin assuredly is not so easy as focusing on vows. Although I'm not entirely familiar with how they train them. I'm a cleric in my training, not a paladin." Cassius reminds in his establishes. "But for certain there are those of evil in their hearts who can take on more malevolent goals. Oaths of vengeance can turn into frightfully awful messes of people. Things such as conquest, and

"Ahhh, is THAT where your vows come in?" Rubehrt theorizes suddenly with a raise of his goblet of wine to the conversation. "Your vows as a cleric to AVO."

"Yes." Cassius chuckles. "My abilities with divine magic are however not my own but AVO's. In exchange for such powers, I must keep true to his teachings. Not quite the same as a Paladin, but the dedication required is still the same."

"I suppose it's just as well." The portly lord smirks. "Would have to be quite some woman to stand between you and the creator of the world."

Eirina muses at this. "Considering AVO is a woman, I most imagine her to be a much more appealing alternative."

"...No, AVO is verily much a man. For man he made in HIS own image." Rubehrt objected with a furrowed brow that was reciprocated with Eirina.

For yet another difference between the human and elven faiths is the matter of how the head of the pantheons of the human Temple and elven Chantry are perceived. The debate could not be blacker and whiter. For the human Temple expresses a masculine dominant culture with AVO as a male in that he created life from the clay of stars. For the elven Chantry, a feminine dominant culture is eschewed with AVO as an elven woman where she brings about life from the womb.

Human. Elf. Man. Woman. These are the canticle debates known as "The Four Corners" in the foundational aspects of society and life are debated amidst religions pertaining to AVO's faith. Should humans be dominant? Elves? Should a man rule his household and lands? Or that of a woman?

"In any case." Vesna interjects as an ice breaker ... or fire stopper in this case, raising her goblet to comment. "This wine is rather spectacular. I've noticed your banner is shrouded in grapes and vines."

The portly lord looks to Vesna with an eager look to change the subject before it gets heated with his elven guest. "In vino veritas." Rubehrt decries. "The Arco Family words, In wine there is truth." He bemuses. "Back during the War of Banners this used to be a Romagnian city. Back when the Romagnian Empire was still around and could maintain their influence in Lothar."

Looking chilled by Vesna's interjection Eirina sighed and moved on from her previous subject. "How did the city find itself in Lotharing hands?"

Henrik sets down his goblet after a draught. "That's a ... tale of some complexity." He states with a shared look with Rubehrt of a growing shadow of ... guilt? Sadness?

Vesna shrugs at this with her digits idling the direction of her fork amidst the roast poultry on her plate. "I'm not one to judge, and we won't get bored at the very least."

"Very well." Rubehrt acquiesces. "My ancestor, Rudolf Arco was among the recruits of the famous Romagnian Imperial Black Legions that headed the vanguard of the western campaigns against the elves, this was around ... after that time Lothar was in a very uneasy transition from an independent Kingdom ... to vassalage with the Romagnian Empire. Our people hosts some of the world's greatest schools of martial combat in the human world from longsword, to fists, we've learned from our more ancient and traverse ancestors of Saphyrheim Vikings." He muses.

"We had more than decent soldiers amidst our ranks, Battlemasters ... or Kampfmeister as they say in the Lotharing tongue. Our lands would become a heavy contested buffer between the elves and the Romagnian Empire." Henrik adds on to the point for which Eirina nods.

"Given that Conevico was a vital port town amidst the border between Lothar and Romagnia with sea lanes reaching to Sehlaria, there was a lot of traffic that came through, but a lot of Romagnian soldiers that were leaving for the front lines. The Black Legions made Conevico their base of operations at one point when they were fighting the elves, but that was before the Kingdom of Castillia became the main theater of war once the Sehlarians entered the mix with that damnedable jihad of their declared. Castillia was inbetween Lothar, the elven queendoms and Sehlaria, and given you just came from Castillia, you would know they were right on our doorstep at that time. And soon after, the entirety of Balandaria was engulfed in war." Rubehrt recounts. "Thats when Rudolf received quite a promotion out of necessity. Despite the change of events, Conevico remained an important centralized position of resources and strategical traffic flow in the western campaigns. So, from quartermaster to Military Governor of Conevico ... the Arco Family became vassal-direct to the Emperor of Kings."

"That sounds like a mixed blessing." Vesna points out. "Your family was elevated to an imperial noble status, but in exchange the war was everywhere, and your family had a bigger portion of conflict to put up with."

"For certain." Henrik professes. "The Romagnian Empire was seeking to use this opportunity to expand their own empire from all over, just as the elves were, as was Sehlaria." the marshal nodded. "Castillia was still an independent kingdom at the time, which three other contenders were trying to tear apart like ravenous dogs. They were our allies but ... how should I put it?"

Eirina muses next. "They were thankful for the help but didn't feel they owed themselves to be vassalized. I believe that was Lothar's position at the time when the same happened to them." the elven ambassador recounts.

Vesna nods to this. "For certain ... when the Romagnian Empire declared that theirs would be the Empire to reunify Balandaria and reestablished the First Kingdom, they called upon Neustria, Albion and Avalon to honor their treaties of alliance with them." She says with a musing smile. "But, they turned their back on Romagnia. The Three-Crown Concordat who opted to stay out of the war and protest the Romagnian expansion."

Cassius nods. "Albion led that particular coalition after their schism with the Temple. Arch-Cleric Gregorius III, of the Romagnian Orthodox Temple was far too eager to use the precedent on Crusades in the past against them with their alliance with the fey. I guess at the time the wounds were still too fresh and they were not so eager to allow the Temple's influence to encroach on their lands again."

"True. It's not an easy thing to let a foreign nation be the one to have their thumb over you for the next few generations, but ... " He says. "Your queens back then gave us little choice with how they lived." Rubehrt.

Eirina nods at this. "For certain. The dawn elves were the worst of the perpetrators and the high elves who claimed dominion and leadership over all elves did nothing, worse ... even participated in their barbarity." She huffs. "It's a shameful time of our history."

Henrik leans forward. "Why had the dawn elves taken humans for slaughter and sacrifice? That was the initial issue, but then the high elves declared that humans must be enslaved for their own good. That I cannot fathom."

Eirina looked a mixed between troubled and considerate of her next words, keeping a pressed digit against her wineglass. "Do you want the elvish account of the reason or ... a more sensible reason?" 

"Wouldn't hurt to look through both sides of the glass lens." Cassius reasons with his hands interlocking their own fingers upon his lap.

Eirina sighs and looks upcast as she leans back into her seat. "The dawn elves declared that it was our sun goddess, Solariel, who spurred them into their anti-human crusade, when the discrimination of elven kind occurred under her gaze. Solariel is often responsible for the realms of the Chantry, such of that of Light, the Day, but also that of searing justice and enflamed vengeance. She's associated often with providing fields of harvest to those who do good, and burning chaff filled fields in fire to those who live sinfully. Elves making offerings to her is not an unheard-of practice, sometimes an animal is sacrificed as a form of penitence to sustain Solariel's hotblooded temperament with a more chilled and tender blood as a form of penitence." She says before taking a rather sizeable draught of the wine she drank from.

"Sounds very traditional." Vesna reasons. "But that's quite a leap from animals to humans." For which the Lotharing nobles agreed with a hum in their throats and careful eyes upon the Elven Ambassador.

"Yes." Eirina professes. "And even they took it further than that. According to the Orthodox Elven Chantry at the time ... Solariel's contempt for human disregard of elven lives and traditions spurned them to believe that humanity as a whole must be chaff separated from wheat, and that the only penitence is sacrifices of their own, willingly, or not. The high elves and dawn elves led this initiative, I will not deny ... but there were plenty of accounts amidst the other elves, especially us wood elves that questioned such edicts. Still, they persisted, the high elves declared that humanity has descended into decadence and purposeless barbarity amidst others and their own kind. That they must be shakled and made obedient for their new world. The dawn elves descended from the skies and ... as you Lotharings know ..." Eirina says looking to Rubehrt and Henrik who looked solemn and quiet. "Families were enslaved, cruelty on those who could not act to defend themselves, and only horrid memories took place after. Soon enough Lothar begged their allies of Romagnia, of Caesar Titus Darmarxus, to save them ... thus beginning the Banner Wars."

There was a moment of quiet before Cassius spoke next. "And what was the other accountancy of this?" He inquired. To which Eirina could only look down cast.

"The majority of the queens were dissatisfied with the state of Balandaria and that of humans. They live long natural lives and often that longevity produces a bitterness that culminates into harsher perspectives. Mortals live short enough lives as it is, they don't have the constitution to enjoy the vastness of what life offers and so they are often reckless, ambitious ... or seek solace in fleeting comforts." Eirina explains. "I'm not as old as the queens of old from back then, but if I would imagine it to what I was raised with ... it would be like living in a world where the most of Balandaria were raised by unweened children, raised by similarly raised children."

"Terrifying." Rubehrt admits. "And yet to do such things--"

"On the contrary, Lord Rubehrt." Eirina professes. "It is actually because yours were a terrifying species in a more pragmatic sense. Humans have taken much land and expand upon it rather well. Short-sightedness can seem plenty childish to someone who lives their lives presuming events in the long-term simply because a mind tends to be too mired in paradox. It's been a blessing for you in a way I believe most elves would not want to admit. They believed they could outlive human ambition and that it would come crumbling down and that a time-weathered humanity could never stand against a time-resistant species such as ours. Something you and your kind were more than able to prove wrong."

Such a statement almost made Rubehrt chuckle and smile. "Well, I suppose when you say it like that ..." He says trailing his words off to be interpreted however the listeners would like. "But to answer my lineage's place in Conevico ... I presume you know that the end of the Banner Wars was chaotic, yes?"

Eirina nods. "Yes. Caesar Titus Damarxus invited the elven queens, and monarchs in his camp to a summit to discuss the end of the war. To free the humans and put a stop to the calamity. Our Queen even attended that meeting ..." She said looking concerned.

"Right." Rubehrt nods. "The summit was more of a shouting fest of the same grievances that was going nowhere. Double-standards, coy concessions and usual politicking. ... It was only upon the seventh day of that summit that ... it happened." Rubehrt recounts upon sipping his wine. "Titus went mad and drew his sword into the dawn elven queen. He became a man possessed screaming obscenities before ordering his soldiers to kill the elves."

Cassius recalled these details, especially the part that would emerge next. "There was a particular name that he screamed wasn't there?"

Rubehrt nods grimly. "Satanael."

Cassius recalls from his studies within the monasteries in his youth that Satanael was a celestial turned malevolent trickster against mortal-kind. He inspires trickery, disorder and destruction upon AVO's divine order upon the world. To this very day, his influence unified monster-kind to the far-east of Balandaria's shores, to the continent of Myrathis where his imperium was established, where he and his ilk plot against AVO and his subjects.

Rubehrt continues with his account of history. "He screamed the name of that bloody devil like he was calling upon ancient rights to kill them in his place. Suffice it to say ... the high elven queen never escaped that summit alive. Yours ..." He gestures his chalice to Eirina. "thankfully made it alive. But many died that day, most of the leadership that would have had the ability or influence to carry on for the elves were killed. It would seem like the humans would have the upper hand until ... Titus relinquished his crown ... and departed from the world and was never seen again."

Eirina frowns at this. "This part confuses me greatly. He just ... left!? Why would he do all of this? He was by far a most competent general, he was even considered a brilliant genius of his time both as an ambassador and a leader." She looks to Rubehrt for a human perspective only for the lord to slam his chalice down upon the table looking rather stumped.

"No one knew!" Rubehrt declared throwing his hands over his head. "Not even the Temple whom many called upon to demand a man-hunt and an exorcism upon him." Rubehrt declares. "Many had feared an elven counter-attack on account of the summit, or worse an attack from the Three-Crown Concordat. But ... he just ... disappeared. Leaving no discernable successor and throwing Romagnia and it's empire into disarray. Some say that Satanael really did possess Titus, for the sole purpose of sewing chaos into the land. ... But ... strangely ... it did and then it didn't."

Henrik was next to speak. "That's when the elves surrendered fully upon their efforts of expansion, I believe the elves had something of a civil war themselves?"

Eirina nods. "Yes. A cultural issue that finally came to rear its head, elven males had desired a more elevated place within our society, but ... that is a subject unrelated to Rubehrt's lineage." She says as if trying to politely keep them on track. 

"Ah yes." Rubehrt clears his throat. "Just as Henrik said, the surrender was made and talks were made. ... And with Titus's sudden disappearance and the war now more focused on Sehlaria ... Lothar began to question it's own future as a vassal-state to an Empire that was crumbling down around them." He states. "The Arco Family served proudly in the Romagnian Black Legions ... married into Romagnian nobility ... but we never forgot our roots in Lothar. We took the name, the culture ... and even the land when our independence when it was called upon by our first Grand Prince Wilkas."

"My ancestors betrayed their own comrades that day ... we fought for our land, we died for it. That it was side by another for a time, were good times. ... But brother against brother." He says with a sigh. "Such things leave such bitter wisdom, for such sweet grapes."

So, the Arco Family gained their land a title through an opportunistic flourish of independence against the Romagnian Empire, during its downfall well after taking advantage of their alliance to fend off the elven aggression. Cassius only now realizes why such things are sad affairs for the Arco, their family has a proud history of Romagnian military service and Lothar roots. It's a betrayal of sorts that would tarnish their honor by anyone from the future looking in.

Eirina gave it a consideration before smiling as she rose to her feet, taking a hold of her chalice and holding it up to Rubehrt. "

Sebastian -- Castle Conevico -- 6th Fehrdas, Frostdawn, 1792 GSE

The early morning came and the tight knit group that surrounded us was packing to leave the castle, before I knew it, I was returned back to the prison confines of the blanketed basket I found myself within upon coming into the world. Of course our departure has conjured the portly balding Lord of Conevico out of his seclusion ... long enough to bid his farewells and good wishes upon us. Although I've perhaps never had a good first opinion of the Lord, perhaps I was too quick to establish him to be a wrathful figure in nature. A hand upon his crest a look of closed eye'd sincerity and a voice of reverence sent us away with the blessings of AVO.

Magirou, once out of ear of Lord Arco, jests that it was her smile and good manner that changed his heart, eliciting a half-hearted scoff and chuckle from Eirina as she smoothed her hand upon her hair to smooth it. back over and behind her pointed ears.

Whatever the reasons, the city was blanketed in a new layer of snow with many of the burghers shoveling, pitching and hauling the snow out by the wagon from the urban walls. Yet no matter the snow that plied itself in its layers, the retch of the city was repulsive as ever. 

"Well, no sense waiting. Let us away." Cassius declares as Vesna smiles with reassurance as she takes her side beside Cassius, next to the basket, Niall and I nestle within.

It was an easy traverse from the castle towards the city gates. The sun was beginning to shine across the horizon and the caravan was beginning to assemble with the Templar Guard saddling and packing their equipment into the carts along with the pilgrims. Commander Reickart, Templar Commander of our caravan was surveying the troupe on foot with his visored bascinet helmet under his arm. Directing free hand to assist those who were tagging along before coming across Vesna and Cassius. 

"AVO be praised, glad you've not been snowed in." The Templar commander professes with a half joke. His hair was a shaven yet what little was growing exposed a dirty blonde influence of color pallet. "I take it the children will be coming along with us then?" He inquires.

"To Theleto? Yes." Cassius professes. "From there ... Well, I will wait for a month before moving on to take ship to Lycaron." A professed sad look grew upon the knight's expression with Vesna thumbing her jawline in utter wordlessness. 

"It is in the hands of the Gods." Reickart assures with his gauntleted hand clasped onto Cassius's shoulder. "And yours." The last words on the subject that left it with a weighted sense 

"We'll have some new tag-alongs." Vesna professes to clear the subject as she turns her body to Cassius but looks opposite of Reickart where Eirina and Magirou step forth to present themselves to the Templar Commander.

"Elves ... amidst a human pilgrimage?" Reickart inquires looking a bit taken aback.

"...Is our presence a problem, Knight Commander?" Eirina asks, keeping an arm close around her daughter.

"Merely two extra mouths to feed and that's about the extent of it in my perspective. Elves and Humans might have a rocky history and Theleto is the sacred city of the Human Clergy." He explains. "I can get you there but..."

"We have an embassy there regardless of our Chantry's ... disagreements with the Temple." She reassures. "Once I am given quarter there, I will not be a factor to you in the least." Eirina assures.

"... True." Reickart concedes. "Nevertheless, you'll be protected on the road as if you were an ordained faithful yourself." He promises with a fist clamped across his breastplate with a lowered head.

"Eirina can help us trek through the snow using her magic, hopefully that might dispel issues of dissent with her presence if it makes the caravan go a bit faster." Vesna explains.

"I'll feign deny any help to see us through this blasted snow." Reickart chuckles fitting his helmet upon his head. "We'll be moving out within the half an hour. Until then." He explains marching to the head of the traveling procession.

"He was rather amenable." Eirina observed aloud with Magirou looking curious if a bit star-eyed towards the human knights of yore.

Cassius snickers with one hand to the basket "Vesna's influence no doubt." The prior jokes with the noblewoman's sigh.

"Laugh it up all you want. It'll be most likely a month, maybe a month and a half before we reach Theleto. With only three cities in-between our travels." Vesna states. "First up is Roccia." She recalls with her fingers to her forehead, raising and descending them across her brow.

"Better in Romagnia then in Lothar. Supposedly the more eloquent and sophisticated side of human cultures." Magirou boasts looking forward to the trip with two clenched fists against her chest as she rubs them together to combat the cold.

"Wait until you see Neustria." Cassius motions to impress Magirou. "Our Knights, the tourneys and our beautiful countryside is a treasured pride of my country." He boasts while hefting the basket and walking ahead towards one of the wagons to place the basket within before stepping up onto the benches before tucking the basket containing myself and Niall upon his lap.

"For now!" Vesna declares. "You'll be in my home country, enjoying my cooking for a change." She boasts as she clambers up into the wagon with a helping hand from Cassius as Vesna gives a helping hand to Magirou. 'Vesna was a native Romagnian?' Well, at least we'll have someone comfortable to refer to in their natural homeland.

"I'm moving to the head of the caravan to melt away the snow. You stay with Vesna and Cassius now you hear?" Eirina asks Magirou who nodded with affirmative intention. "Good, I'll be back later in the day, so you behave yourself."

"Sure thing mother!" Magirou called out as Eirina marches her boots through the mucked snowy ground towards the gates of the city, and before long the wagons and the people began to move, ushering out of the city and began into the wilderness.

More to see, more to explore. A city named Roccia was next. It's more of a shame I explored so little of Conevico aside from the brief visit of the chapel, a few streets of the city and all but three rooms of a castle. Would that I could wander aimlessly as this caravan does. Maybe one day I'll get my chance.

One day.