Adventures in the Far Reaches (for Weiss Ritter)

[Xatarias]

Ilyanna hauls herself from the grimy machine's internals with a huff.

"Oh please, I'm providing young Devin an education. A few knocks here and there are to be expected."

The young man pops to his feet, flushing as he usually does when he is the subject of conversation. You note that his strength bands are flaring brightly. He must have preemptively activated them before impact. Smart.

"I-I'm fine, Ma'am. Really... Oh and appologies for nearly bumping into you, Master Firevein! I wasn't watching where I was going."

Devin is about the only person you know that would apologize for being hurled across a room at someone. Having endured an amputation early in his youth, the aspiring mechanic never excelled in the training expected of every youngling. Placed on the outside of typical peer-groups, he was reduced to a quiet and deferential demeanor.

Ilyanna never explained what prompted her to take him under her wing, but the change it brought had been dramatic to say the least. Under her tutelage, Devin was progressing fast as technical wiz and even displayed aptitude for utilizing his Ta Moko in inventive new ways... Which was fairly useful with a teacher as reckless as Ilyanna.

"I think we'll take this up next week, Devin. Orion and I have some talking to do, so why don't you run on home. Here." She tosses the youth some sort of electronic key. The way Devin cradles the piece of hardware, you'd think it be made out of solid gold. "That'll give you access to the novice archives. The entrance exam is only a few weeks away. You'll want to study up."

Devin somehow manages to trip twice on his way out the door, stammering a nearly unintelligible thank you before exiting.

"I don't know someone with such a deft touch could be such a clutz," Ilyanna says, shaking her head ruefully. "Used to be he only came on his days off. Now it's nearly every evening."

 

[Weiss Ritter]

"You're starting to sound like my grandmother," Whatever Ilyanna's thoughts on the formidable matriarch of the Firevein family, Orion's grin made it abundantly clear he meant it as the compliment most in the clan would have taken it as.

The young warrior moved to offer Devin a hand up, but the young mechanic was tougher than he looked even accounting for his strength bands. Sturdy and clever...no wonder Ilyanna was fond enough of the young man to take him on as her apprentice.

"Unless you can fly and have some eyes on the back of your head that I missed, you've got nothing to apologize for," Orion smiled warmly and gave Devin's hair a gentle ruffle.

"You heard Ilyanna. Study up, kick that test's ass, and don't grow up into a dummy like me," He winked a crimson eye and waved. Amputee or not, Devin sped off faster than some of the hunters he'd seen.

"Might be your charm and good lucks," Orion flashed Ilyanna a grin as he turned to follow her...wherever she felt was secure enough for them to discuss their find in the Warrens. "Of course, you've always had a talent for taking people most of the clan would think are hopeless and turning them into something...more."

The young man tapped the hilt of his sword pointedly. "Maybe not always mechanics, but definitely more."

 

[Xatarias]

"As I recall, I wasn't the one who threw you down a depthmaw's den," Ilyanna quips back.

She turns towards her "office", which in reality is just a corner of the shop with a desk wedged in with a few chairs. Ilyanna's hammock strung up nearby reveals that she has yet again spent a night here instead of at the dormitories.

"I was sorting through some old files at the archives and found something pretty interesting," She says rummaging through the excessive desk clutter.

She hands you a holoplayer. The vast majority of holograms were routine logs during Skyhold's journey through the stars, but some contained treasured pieces of wisdom or even interactive programs. But when the image crackles on, it becomes clear that this is no recording or training software.

You squint as what looks like a valley comes into focus. A warm yellow sun sets upon the horizon, casting its light over rows of vegetation and... People! You realize that the small figures moving on dirt paths and amongst the freakishly regular groupings of plants- why did they grow like that anyway?- were, in fact, humans. Simply wandering out in the open, not even one blade or arc caster among them. Wide eyed, you even spy what appears to be a child climbing a tree! Didn't they have thornapes where.... Wherever this was!?

You nearly expect some predator to burst onto the scene as the ending to a parable about complacency... But the moment never comes. You watch as the sun finally creeps beyond the distant hills and the denizens of this strange world slowly retreat to their bizarre- and utterly unfortified- homes.

"Isn't it beautiful?," Ilyanna murmurs over your shoulder, just as the vid cuts. "Do you understand? That must have been where it all started. Where we come from."

 

[Weiss Ritter]

Orion scanned over Ilyanna's "office" with a slightly raised brow and an equally faint frown. He was well-aware of her reputation as an eccentric at best among a good portion of the clan, but the young warrior could never quite grasp how her fellow techno-shamans didn't seem to value her enough to give her a larger space. Were conditions for their order that cramped? Was it just not possible to favor someone who had not been initiated so? Surely having a front row seat to her brilliance meant they had to view her with some respect!

"Oh yeah?" Orion accepted the holoplayer almost as an afterthought. He was expecting to be bombarded with either technical schematics that would make his eyes sting or a deluge of a work logs that only meant anything to a techno shaman both familiar with the machinery and the dates being mentioned.

The holoplayer disappointed him by not disappointing him. The routine logs passed by in a blur, broken up only by the occasionally insightful exchange or program that demanded his input. Any moment now Ilyanna was going to start excitedly explaining what it all actually mean, probably with an exaggerated sigh and pithy remark about how he needed to read more...

Then the screen flickered and the view changed. Orion watched the alien environment with naked bewilderment, even glancing up at Ilyanna to see if this was all some elaborate prank. But no...these...these people who had only their human appearance in common with his clan were real. Or had been real. The recording ended without their explicit deaths being shown but...it didn't make sense. They didn't seem to have a single hunter or warrior among them. Literally anything could have climbed into those deathtraps they called homes to devour their young while they slept.

"You can't be serious," Orion glanced at Ilyanna, his expression every bit as incredulous as his tone. "You're telling me that those....that the ancients-ancestors of our ancestors, who braved the void between worlds-were...that? How? A hexapuma cub that literally just learned how to walk probably could have killed everyone in that vid, and they're the ones who built Skyhold...?"

The blond warrior pressed a hand to his forehead and halfway chuckled as a tasteless joke about that explaining how Skyhold came to be halfway buried into the ground sprang to mind.

"Okay...okay, just saving all those questions for later now. What you're trying to say is that wherever we came from, it's better than here?" Orion paused just long enough for Ilyanna to get in a quick "yes" or "no". "So, why would they leave...?"

 

[Xatarias]

"I'm not sure," Ilyanna says with a frown, clearly surprised by your reaction. "There's no way to tell if the entire planet was like this. For all we know, this might have just been a large enclosure. After all, the ancestors must have had some reason for leaving... But that was earth. I'm sure of it."

Silence lingers between you as Ilyanna stares at the holoplayer clutched in your hands. She bites her lip before abruptly continuing.

"But imagine if it were. Orion, it looked so beautiful. So safe. They didn't have to worry about raids or predators. Those fields? That was all food, Orion. Just growing out of the ground! Things were so secure, they could consider the future. Free to think bravely. Free to build a life- love, have children without worrying that..."

She trails off abruptly before turning and snatching one of her precious books from a nearby shelf.

"Finding that holo, it all made sense. These novels and journals didn't fit a life where you lived in constant fear. Earth didn't bend to humanity's will, it had to be shaped. Our ancestors didn't start civilization with spaceships and arch-casters, they clawed supremacy from a planet full of countless other species..."

She steps closer, musty romance novel clutched to her chest, eyes alive with... Nothing you quite recognize.

"I'm not a dreamer, Orion. I recognize that what's on that holotape isn't something we can achieve tomorrow our anywhere near our lifetimes... But don't you think we should be trying?"

 

[Weiss Ritter]

"I see..." Orion's uncertain frown remained.The vision offered by the holoplayer was still almost too alien and fantastical for him to believe, but Ilyanna did offer a possibility he could grasp. Perhaps there were no thornapes in the trees depthmaws in the ground because the ancients drove or wiped them all out? The security Skyhold's shield offered was still novel to the clan, but it too was an enclosure from which they could train, plan, and build towards goals beyond "mere" survival from one week to the next.

So...perhaps such a vision was possible. But still...why leave such a life? What did that make them to the ancestors? A mistake born of wanderlust or were his grandmother and some of her more conservative right to fear what could happen when a clan grew too dependent on easily broken machines?

"...That you'll have to send those children to their deaths?"

Orion glanced up as Ilyanna trailed off and reached for her book. Whatever she had to say to that, it seemed they were on the same page as far as how the ancients could have come to be.

Even so, the young man's head tilted faintly and his crimson eyes bored into her while the techno-shaman stared. He'd known Ilyanna for most of his life, yet this was the first time he'd seen the ambitious and eccentric young woman with that glint in her eye.

"Well, yeah. Isn't that what we've been doing?" Orion looked back at Ilyanna with a faint smile, yet his eyes continued to inspect her face and posture curiously. "Not everyone trusts them, but Skyhold's shields let us give people chances the clan couldn't have offered before. If we can just keep building off that, hopefully with ship we found in the warrens, then maybe...if what you're saying is true, then the ancients made those lands theirs once even without salvaged arc-casters and skimmers. I'd like to think we can measure up to that."

 

[Xatarias]

"It's not enough," Ilyanna interjects, waving her hand. "Ry Ry, we're still sending people out there with full knowledge that some won't make it back. Ancestors, every year we send out kids. We could be doing more. We need to."

She pulls out her hand console and activates the room's holo projectors. A flickering display Clan Cloudclimber's lands and that of its rivals floats overhead. Ilyanna taps her screen a few more times and several mountainous areas become highlighted.

"Why are we wasting time securing such a small sanctuary when the mountains do most of the work for us. We live in a valley, Orion. Think about if we erected force barriers at these passes. If the clans could just stop fighting one another and work together, we'd have more land than anyone could ever use!"

"Harnessing the vents' heat for power, putting our experiments in the greenhouses into practice on the outside. These are steps we should be taking now, not holing up in this decaying hulk."

 

[Weiss Ritter]

Orion hesitated a moment. He knew better than most exactly what those life-or-death trials could entail. He would have been lying if he said that his gut didn't twist every time he imagined Alec or Syndra suffering through even a fraction of what his grandmother put him through to stabilize the power coursing through his veins. To say nothing what of would happen the day he finally did settle down with a woman and start a family. If his...blessing could be passed along as many no doubt hoped, he would be the one responsible for dangling his own family over a depthmaw's den until they mastered their power or died trying.

...But how many times had Tysera explained why it had to be that way and why she'd acted out of love and simple ambition? It was strength and cunning that had allowed Clan Cloudclimber to endure. Skyhold's shields were a boon, but the machinery was not infallible and every day the techno shamans seemed to struggle more and more just to maintain what they already had. What would happen if the shields dropped or something cast the clan out of Skyhold? Every survivor of those trials was a hunter and warrior who could contribute to and provide for the clan even if the worst came to pass.

"Alright..." Orion spoke cautiously and crossed his arms over his mostly bare chest, but scanned over Ilyanna's holographic map with real interest and not the sort of token attention radical plans from an eccentric priestess might normally have garnered.

Given his experience surviving, hunting, and salvaging in Clan Cloudclimber's territory, the young warrior probably could judge the merits and drawbacks of Ilyanna's claims as far as the terrain went. Off the top of his head, her basic point about being able to control the valley with a few well-placed force barriers was valid. Still, there were the logistics of setting up and maintaining those potentially delicate generators to consider, and it didn't immediately solve the matter of the threats already sharing the valley with them.

Threats that may or may not have included the other clans. How much did he really know on that front? The open wars with them were before his time, weren't they? If so, that just left Orion with stories, rumors, and Tysera's expert opinion that it wasn't in Clan Cloudclimber's interest to provoke Shadowglen at least. Maybe another point in Ilyanna's favor?

But harnessing vents? Relying on the greenhouse experiments as the ancients on another planet entirely had done? They were ideas, perhaps even ingenious ones, but Orion didn't exactly have intimate knowledge of the technology and rituals that kept the great heart of Skyhold beating with power or whether the plants coddled in the greenhouse really had a chance against the harsh wilds of this world even with the clan's help.

"You've put a lot of thought into this...have you already run it by your comrades, or did they or the Council have some problems with it?" Orion asked with a quizzical tilt of his head.

 

[Xatarias]

"I... Haven't told them," Ilyanna, says looking far less animated now, "It's not like it was when I was still a fresh novice. Back then, the skimmers were being completed and the force barrier's generator had just been excavated. Back then, it felt like things were going places. Like we could do anything. The elders were less hung up on the old doctrine and encouraged us to think for ourselves."

She pauses for a moment, hands fluttering for want of occupation. The shamaness seizes a damaged cleaning servo and begins tinkering with a furious energy.

"Of course, that was also when the herds had migrated favorably and we had plenty of rain for the distilleries. No one was worried about shortages. Now that things have gotten tough, certain people are whispering... Awful things. Like why are we wasting resources on the new medical ward when we might not be able to feed the healthy? Maybe innovation doesn't coincide with our vow of Maintenance and is actually a thing born of pride."

Ilyanna curses as an errant spark burns one of her hands. For a tense moment, you worry the high-strung inventor might hurl her project across the shop. She takes a deep breath and sets it on a work stand.

"The council isn't the only place with people clinging to the old ways... Let's just say I don't trust everyone within these walls. The longer they remain unaware of our find, the better."

 

[Weiss Ritter]

Orion's brow raised inquisitively Clearly the heir-apparent to Tysera's vast political influence was hoping for a good explanation for why Ilyanna was keeping such potentially revolutionary ideas all to herself. Unfortunately, she gave him one.

"I see..." He said with a long-suffering sigh and frown. By now, a blind man could see that the techno-priestess was all too right about the current mood of the clan. What started as a few dampened moods from those who discovered the first few signs of the shortages had grown into something much greater as soon as people began to realize the council had no quick and guaranteed solutions this time. Orion thought back to the morning and the catcalling Kat and her friends reserved for Ilyanna. Like the tension between Tysera and Donya, it was probably yet another symptom of what these increasingly desperate times were doing to the clan.

"Yeah...I've been in the wilds long enough to call power plays and dominance displays when I see them..."

It wouldn't do for Orion to share the details of every council meeting he eavesdropped on with Ilyanna, but the thought that some of the warriors and hunters might be eager to see themselves be elevated above the shamanic traditions was hardly a new one. Besides, fair was fair and she'd alluded to some of the internal politics of her order.

"Alright..." Orion sucked in a breath and tensed when the sparks flew, slowly releasing both when Ilyanna clearly wasn't hurt and managed to restrain herself. "Points taken. Well, what's your more immediate vision of the future?"

The young man advanced closer to Ilyanna, his crimson eyes looking over her hand where he'd seen the spark ignite with naked concern. There was probably something around here he could try and treat any burns with...right? Not even Ilyanna could possibly be that carele-...He wasn't going to finish that thought.

"Repair that ship and do something amazing with it that'll get the clan to hear you out? That's probably going to take awhile, but..." Orion pointed to his ribs with a wry grin. "I'm probably not going on any expeditions for awhile. Still have to contend with potential marriage entanglements and every young woman in the clan following as many of my moves as they can, but we're both used to that..."

 

[Xatarias]

"I-It's fine. I've had worse..." She protests when you insist upon your examination.

The afflicted area is small, but the skin is enflamed and likely will result in some nasty blistering. Luckily your talk of the ruined space ship distracts Ilyanna long enough for you to locate a somewhat-dusty first aid kit. She practically squirms with excitement as you patiently patch up her injured hand.

"Right! But it might not take half the work you think it would. A lot of the stuff on that ship is meant for fine-tuned navigation and life support for vacuum travel. We just need to get the thing's external flaps rigged to a more mechanical system and then get it airborne.

She nearly undoes all of your hard work leaning over to fetch a schematic of the hanger you plundered earlier today.

"It's not too far from the surface. I bet if we place a few shaped charges at one of those openings, that beauty would see daylight again! A new ship that makes our skimmers look like bath toys, and enough space for an eight district. That would shut the nay-sayers right up!"

Her air of enthusiasm is somewhat dampened by the rueful mention of your marital prospects... Although maybe you find the tightness of her smile encouraging?

 

[Weiss Ritter]

"That doesn't mean it's not bad," Orion chided. It wasn't too surprising that Ilyanna was so cavalier about this sort of thing. Part of it was just her nature, but she wasn't the one who'd fought tooth and nail against the deadliest predators and natural death traps Tysera could find just to make points. He would've barely been able to function as a nurse in one of the medical wards, but the young warrior knew all to well how even tiny wounds could fester and become infected in ways that could kill or cripple a warrior as surely as any claw, fang, or crushing blow if they were not treated fast and well.

And that wasn't even taking into account the many predators that had actual toxins in them.

Those grim thoughts were swift to disperse as Ilyanna spoke, even when her darting off made the young warrior release a disapproving hiss.

"Hold still! Ancestors, you're worse than Syndra and Alec after getting treats sometimes..."

Orion didn't quite follow some of the technical details, but the gist of what Ilyanna was proposing was easily understood.

"Damn right," He said with a grin as he pulled back from treating the eager shamaness's hand. "At the very least, they should be willing to hear you and others like you out. At best...well, we'll have to see. Don't want to count the eggs before they're out of the razorfalcon's nest, you know? Still, that ship could open up so many options...don't want to risk losing it right off the bat, but that thing could carry entire expeditions places we've only dreamed of. Salvage is going to run out sooner or later, and we can't build shields and generators with nothing."

...Maybe he was the one getting ahead of himself now.

Orion's smile shrank when he noticed the subtle change in Ilyanna's own expression. Some small part of him was relieved to see yet again that the idea of some other woman stealing him or Tysera finally twisting his arm into getting tied down agitated the shamaness. Much larger parts hated seeing her upset, and waited with baited breath for her to say or do...anything.

Dammit...how much did he really matter to her if Ilyanna couldn't do that much? How could she ask him to let it all come to a head, to truly fight his grandmother over this if she wasn't prepared to do the same?

"...Anything else you want to talk about? As far as the future and plans go?" His tone was gentler than usual. Ilyanna might have imagined the faintest hint of pleading. "While I'm here...?"

I might not always be...

 

[Xatarias]

Ilyanna's brow furrows in response to your query. Even as the words come out, an awkward tension fills the silence that follows. Your dance of affectionate-yet-platonic companionship had been perpetuating for years... And here you were resolved to end it. As confident as you were that your feelings were entirely one-sided, you can't help but feel some element of resistance. Maybe in Ilyanna's reaction, but perhaps something in yourself as well. What would a real commitment mean?

You are drawn out of your thoughts as Ilyanna's bandaged hand turns over and curls into your own. The stunning priestess's lips had already graced your cheek earlier today, but somehow this feels even more intimate.

"Orion, I think we need to talk-"

The metallic clang of someone knocking on the shop's door interrupts Ilyanna. You both stare at your joined hands for a hearbeat before abruptly separating. Visitors were allowed within the temple, but the privileged wasn't extended to those deemed a distraction from the novices' studies. And depending on how prudish the priest in question was...

"I hope I'm not interrupting..."

A shiver runs down your spine as the too-polished tone reaches your ears. A man in shamanic garb enters, smile perfectly apologetic while his eyes remain cold as ice. A few years your senior, Renser Donya had never interacted with you much- a rarity among your bullying peers. Before your own prodigal rise, it was said his gifts were seen only once in a generation and many were dismayed when he forewent the Trials and entered the priesthood.

Ilyanna stands, casually setting aside her tool belt so it obscures the ship schematics on the workbench.

"Brother Renser, what a pleasure," She says, her expression implying anything but. "What can I do for you?"

"Oh I heard that Master Firevein was visiting and thought I'd drop by with a message for his Grandmother... Of course I don't want to end whatever business you had planned. You seemed... Engaged."

He gestures at the flickering hologram overhead and looks expectantly at you. A quick glance at Ilyanna's desperate face imparts one expressed command:

Lie

 

[Weiss Ritter]

The silence was almost deafening and only now that he spoke the words did their impact truly register with Orion. It was "just" a heavy hint, but if anyone was qualified to read beyond them, it was Ilyanna. The young warrior could feel his heart skip a beat before pounding swiftly again as the shamaness considered the question. Ancestors...had he just ruined what they had or incorrectly took the years of teasing and strange possessiveness to see feelings where there were none? Maybe she was just now really considering all the obstacles in their way and deciding he just wasn't worth it.

...Damnation, all he wanted was a straight answer he could live his life by, and it'd turned into...this because he let fear get the better of him. Orion was just about to try and pass it off as a joke or make up some excuse to leave when he felt Ilyanna's hand gently grip his.

The young man's eyes scanned over her tanned and muscular form for any hint of revealing body language before locking onto her eyes. From the gesture alone, Orion couldn't quite guess whether Ilyanna was about to let him down gently or work with him to unravel the lifetime of ambiguity and tension that had colored their friendship.

And then cosmos decided to remind Orion why he so often suspected it hated him.

The young warrior's jaw clenched and his crimson eyes flared in a way that would have been lethal to almost anything or anyone that walked this world. He did managed to keep the bulk of any suspect tensions in his actual body concealed, though. Hopefully enough for whatever priest or priestess about to walk in to think he was merely surprised and not perilously close to throwing something straight through that door.

A good thing too, once Orion realized who it was.

The way Ilyanna's hackles rose was not assuring, but Renser was one of the peers who had presumably decided it wasn't worth getting attached to the poor cripple all but marked for death. In a world where Ilyanna and his family were the only things that kept him from...doing some stupid things, being left alone was something the young man was thankful for. He was also a Donya. Priest or not, Tysera would be right to have his hide over antagonizing that family over a horomone-addled mood.

"Not really. Ilyanna was giving me a reminder of the perils of climbing in exotic terrain and how to avoid them..." Orion shrugged and spoke with as casual a tone as he could manage. He carefully crossed his arms over his chest and put less effort into concealing any pain it caused him. If Renser didn't know already, news of his injury would probably spread fairly quickly...at least among those like the Donya who wanted him out in the field for one reason or another.

"How important-and private-" Orion glanced pointedly to Ilyanna. No doubt she'd be grateful to have Renser out of her hair long enough to cover up her work. "is this message? I needed to get going anyway, if you're up for a walk."

Preferably to one of the training chambers graced by the spirits of their ancestors. They had to know he really could have used even spectral foes to kill about now.

 

[Xatarias]

"Oh I think we could consider Sister Ilyanna safe company," Renser says with his perfect smile and a conspiratory wink in Ilyanna's direction. The shamaness blanches. "But I wouldn't want to keep you from a previous engagement. By all means, lead the way."

Renser is infuriatingly chatty as you exit the dormitories, directing the conversation seemingly everywhere but his supposed message for Tysera. It reminds you all too much of the back-speak that flows freely within the council chambers. Was he maneuvering you for a favor, or perhaps trying to get you to slip up and reveal something you shouldn't? Maybe-

"Ah the archives," The young Donya says brightly. "I was in the place constantly as a youngling. Come to think of it, you spent some time here as well... Although I suppose we had our different reasons."

He says it breezily, but somehow it feels like an insult. Your pride bristles at the mention of your weaker years, stuggling futilely with the training simulations... Then again, it had happened. And you distinctly remember seeing Renser pouring over ship's logs during that time.

"It's been awhile since I tried one of these," Renser says as your cross to the holo-chamber. "You wouldn't be interested in a friendly match?... It would give some time to discuss our business."

You could tell him that there was ample time to have a discussion on the way here. Or ask when the business between you suddenly didn't involve your grandmother. It's hard to tell whether that shark-like grin is making you paranoid, or if Renser was actually up to something.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

Orion suppressed the urge to raise a brow at Renser's smile and wink. A jab at Ilyanna? He wasn't intimately familiar with the internal politics of the priesthood, but they may well have been working at cross-purposes if her mistrust of the man and his family name were any indication.

"I appreciate it," The young warrior offered a superficially warm and casual smile before turning to the exit.

Orion didn't consider himself a politician yet despite his role as one of Tysera's confidants. Even so, he'd been exposed to the council enough to recognize that "idle" talk was rarely idle where politics was concerned. Renser had him at a bit of a disadvantage while the frustration over the man's interruption still lingered-this close to finally having a real discussion!-, but Orion had some experience with those kinds of games as well.

"Hm. I suppose that depends on how high your ambitions were back then," Orion's crimson gaze flickered over Renser a bit too long and sharply to be casual. The hunter doubted a simple remark would be enough to crack that oily mask of Renser's, but just thinking about that time in his life was making him half-regret not insisting that he finish speaking with Ilyanna first. Tysera's training was more hellish than anything mere simulations could offer, but no matter how demanding or lethal it was there was always some hope by the end of it.

As a youngling, all this place had offered was despair and pity from his peers at best.

"Not that my ambitions at the time set a very high bar,"

Yet, despite all the pain and torment, the holo-chamber was a welcome sight. What was once a monument to his failures and a place of torment at the hands of uncontrolled "gifts" was now something of a sanctuary for Orion.

"Our business? You need me to do a bit more than pass on a message, then?" The young man feigned mild amusement and raised a brow. He really had to wonder if Resner thought his act was a smooth and disarming one, or if the man really was just confident enough in his games to hardly bother with actual charm.

"Sure...though mind if I set the parameters and all that?" Orion was already moving to make the adjustments to the controls and offer the traditional prayers to their ancestors. As appealing on the primal level as the thought of using Renser as a human training dummy was, the more rational parts of his mind were aware that mauling the rising star of the Donya family wouldn't go over well. At the very least, there was an easy-on-the-eyes niece he didn't want to upset too much.

"That would probably be best if you haven't been in here for awhile. I've practically lived in here some weeks, so I have a few good ideas for a friendly match..."

There was no way in hell that Orion was going to let Renser dictate the field of battle or whatever rules they played by if they competed using simulated foes instead. Especially not with those mending but still potentially agonizing ribs of his. Something that wouldn't necessitate a lot of acrobatics would be ideal.

...Actually, he might have been able to do one better than that. Orion may have done a lot of training alone, but there were team-building scenarios in here somewhere. Unless Resner wanted to insist on a duel, one of those might work nicely.

 

[Xatarias]

With a few practiced motions, you summon the holographic interface to the center of the cavernous holo-chamber. Several younglings scurry from the far walls to the viewing balconies. While no one was willing to stay on the floor while the legendary Firevein was practicing, it didn't mean they wouldn't pass up the chance for a good show. Already you can hear the hushed chatter, speculating on your selection as well as Renser's involvement.

A few groans crop up when you settle on an intermediate team hunting scenario. Evidently your spectators were hoping for something more confrontational. Still, their excitement can only be somewhat curbed as the projectors blaze to life and rocky canyon walls replace the smooth contours of the temple chamber. The confines of the chamber were formed of countless hexagonal sections that could extend and contract in a fair approximation of the holographic landscape. A blanket of violet sky forms overhead and you begin to the hear the cries of your quarry: razorbeaks

The object of the game was fairly basic. Using a selection of simulated weapons, you would try to bag as many razorbeaks as possible while avoiding the avian's sickle-like beaks. Using the terrain to your advantage while coordinating with your partner were critical to your success. Since no one survived coming into full contact with a berserking razorbeak, a single hit would end the simulation. The most common tactic was for one player to snipe at distant birds while the other defended his shooter from incoming threats.

"An excellent choice," Tenser murmurs, kicking up a nearby training spear. Evidently, the priest intended to be the defender. Bizarre considering your fearsome reputation as a melee combatant, but maybe Tenser was an inferior marksman?

 

[Weiss Ritter]

Orion wasn't at all surprised when his and Renser's audience groaned at his decision. It must have seemed downright cruel to tease them with the possibility of the Donya prodigy-turned-priest and the legendary Firevein testing their mettle against each other in a duel worthy of song. Right now, though, Orion had much more to be concerned about than the crowd's feelings. If Renser was hoping to bait him into a duel for one reason or another, then the man was going to be disappointed.

Even if he wasn't, this would still serve Orion better. In his experience, these scenarios based on teamwork were often far more informative about the participants than any duel. Unlike simple duels, you got to see who had tunnel-vision, distaste and concern for their allies, or enough of a glory-hound streak to be willing to leave comrades to the razorbeaks if it meant a better personal score.

"I'm glad you agree," Orion murmured back, his crimson eyes scanning over Renser rapidly for any facial or bodily tic that might have hinted at whether his words were sincere or not. He'd half-expected the man to make a thinly-veiled and superficially polite accusation of cowardice, or at least request that they use something approximating Shadowglen warriors for opponents.

The young prodigy reached for a simulated arc caster and, if one was available, a blade typically wielded one-handed as backup weapon. Tension at more than just the approaching swarm of murderous avians laced Orion's muscles as he assumed a position just behind Renser. Was this a mind-game, or did the man have legitimate reason to take up the spear?

...No matter. This was exactly why Orion had chosen this in favor of a duel. If Renser wished to be as treacherous as a corpseviper, then better he suffer some minor humiliation in a simulation than in the real world where it would actually matter.

 

[Xatarias]

(corpseviper? Look at you, adding to the canonical wildlife. Using that for later )

The coarse cries of the deadly avians grow louder as they draw closer. The largest adults are a fearsome sight, having wingspans longer than you are tall, but experience has taught you that the fledglings were a far greater threat. Relying on strong thermals and laborious wingflaps made the largest razorbeaks' movements easy to predict. Even if it took several shots to bring them down, you could avoid them with relative ease.

The juveniles are another story all together. They have devilish habit of scrabbling along canyon walls and darting between boulders, lurking in the periphery until an opportune moment presented itself. This of course was mitigated by the tested tactic of positioning in open ground with the defender in front and the sniper...

Your thoughts trail off as Tenser begins climbing the simulated terrain, leaving you utterly exposed and making himself a perfect target. Spear tucked in the crook of one arm, the Donya shoots you a carefree smile while ascending towards a outcropping several yards up.

A fledgling quickly diverts course, flying straight towards the brazen priest. You half expect the simulation to end then and there, but a spear tip snaps outward with lazy precision, skewering the marauding bird and causing it to disintegrate in a shower of pixels. Tenser brushes himself off after reaching his precarious perch and stretches into a ready position, eyeing the surrounding predators like a child chasing butterflies.

"Figured I'd try my luck up here," He calls amiably, casting his pole arm in a wide arch that fells two birds at once. "I trust you'll be alright?"

There is a excited chatter from the spectators above. The audience no doubt has picked up on the not-so-subtle challenge issued by Tenser: keep up.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

(Nothing ominous about that! But yes, like I said, I do worry about not contributing enough to the creative burden. So, I am glad it's worth keeping )

There was something vaguely amusing about the largest razorbeaks being the least dangerous, but then perhaps that was the point. How many of their fellow predators' first instinct would be to go straight for the largest target and mistake the fledglings and juveniles for semi-harmless pests?

Orion shot Renser a sharp look when the Donyan prodigy broke the customary formation without warning. The carefree, smug, the man wore as he climbed made him want to bristle and grind his teeth even more than the remark in the archives and almost as much as when the Donya just happened to pick the worst possible time to barge in on he and Ilyanna. To Orion's eyes, there was more to it than mere pride. The man who was just...born great, who evaded having pay even a fraction of the blood, sweat, pain, and despair the young Firevein had for his gifts was trying to sport with him.

On the bright side, picking this simulation had indeed given him some much-needed insight on Renser. Any lingering doubts Orion had were gone.

"I'm not the one planning to rely on luck..." Orion spoke with superficial playfulness and an even more superficial grin as he holstered the arc caster in favor of his blade. "I guess you'll just have to raise your voice if you want to discuss that message or business or...whatever you hoped to accomplish here."

This training sword was lighter than his personal blade, but Orion hefted it with practiced ease all the same. It wouldn't give an extraordinary amount of reach or cutting power, but with his strength and prodigious skill, Orion could adjust his tactics easily enough. Speed would be a great boon against the swarm and too much reach on a weapon had the potential to backfire depending on the environment or positioning of the enemy.

The Firevein shifted into a martial stance with a flourish, but unlike Renser, there was no playful air or feigned casualness to the rest of his movements. The moment his prey came within striking distance, Orion's blade would have arced through the air too swiftly for most eyes to even perceive. Broad slashes and precise thrusts were used in equal measure, with the occasional stroke using the flat of his training weapon to simply hammer one member of the razorbeak swarm into another.

 

[Xatarias]

Spoiler

"That doesn't mean it's not bad," Orion chided. It wasn't too surprising that Ilyanna was so cavalier about this sort of thing. Part of it was just her nature, but she wasn't the one who'd fought tooth and nail against the deadliest predators and natural death traps Tysera could find just to make points. He would've barely been able to function as a nurse in one of the medical wards, but the young warrior knew all to well how even tiny wounds could fester and become infected in ways that could kill or cripple a warrior as surely as any claw, fang, or crushing blow if they were not treated fast and well.

And that wasn't even taking into account the many predators that had actual toxins in them.

Those grim thoughts were swift to disperse as Ilyanna spoke, even when her darting off made the young warrior release a disapproving hiss.

"Hold still! Ancestors, you're worse than Syndra and Alec after getting treats sometimes..."

Orion didn't quite follow some of the technical details, but the gist of what Ilyanna was proposing was easily understood.

"Damn right," He said with a grin as he pulled back from treating the eager shamaness's hand. "At the very least, they should be willing to hear you and others like you out. At best...well, we'll have to see. Don't want to count the eggs before they're out of the razorfalcon's nest, you know? Still, that ship could open up so many options...don't want to risk losing it right off the bat, but that thing could carry entire expeditions places we've only dreamed of. Salvage is going to run out sooner or later, and we can't build shields and generators with nothing."

...Maybe he was the one getting ahead of himself now.

Orion's smile shrank when he noticed the subtle change in Ilyanna's own expression. Some small part of him was relieved to see yet again that the idea of some other woman stealing him or Tysera finally twisting his arm into getting tied down agitated the shamaness. Much larger parts hated seeing her upset, and waited with baited breath for her to say or do...anything.

Dammit...how much did he really matter to her if Ilyanna couldn't do that much? How could she ask him to let it all come to a head, to truly fight his grandmother over this if she wasn't prepared to do the same?

"...Anything else you want to talk about? As far as the future and plans go?" His tone was gentler than usual. Ilyanna might have imagined the faintest hint of pleading. "While I'm here...?"

I might not always be...

Ilyanna locks eyes with you and her injured hand curls over, squeezing yours. The simple action somehow seems so intimate, bringing the memory of those soft lips gracing yours- and every other errant fantasy you might have harbored over the years. The shamaness of you dreams bites her lip every so slightly before firmly tugging your hand in a companionable grip.

"I want you to take me on the outside. Not some day trip, but an actual hunt. One of your solo runs... Well I guess it won't be solo with me along, but still~"

Her grin wavers as she catches your expression.

"Come on, Ry Ry! I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt and believing all those stories you ply the huntresses with at the canteena. You know more about this valley than anyone- your gran excluded. All those bits and bobs you bring me have to come from somewhere- we're never getting that ship off the ground without a premier salvage spot!"

She's not wrong. You did know the terrain surrounding Skyhold better than anyone- Tysera excluded. Trouble was, nearly all the salvage you had cajoled Ilyanna with were the result of numerous clandestine detours during your solo patrols. Many were in disputed territory- more blatantly within the borders of rival clans. The lone Scion of Clan Firevein risking life and limb was one thing, but taking Ilyanna along...

 

[Weiss Ritter]

Orion's heart skipped a beat when he felt Ilyanna's hands squeeze his. Such a simple gesture had no right to paralyze the champion of Clan Cloudclimber so, yet for a tension-filled instant every nerve in the young man's body was prickled by pins and time moved slowly enough for him to wonder if his Insight band was burning.

Whatever disappointment he felt when Ilyanna shifted her grip and left the uncertain tension to churn between them for yet another day was instantly crushed by a wave of shock and panic.

"Ily!" Orion hissed. He tore his hands from her grip and regarded the shamaness with eyes so wide he may as well have been in the collapsing starship grappling with a hexapuma matriarch. A dozen ways everything could go wrong instantly sprang to mind. A dozen ways Ilyanna could end up crippled or even dead. The moment it took for Orion to pick just one gruesome example gave his childhood friend all the time she needed to go for the killing blow.

"That's...it's not like the Warrens, Ily..." Orion's resolve was wavering before dusky-skinned shamness said another word. The rational part of his mind was catching up to the blind fear. She was right. If they wanted to do this and keep it a secret, the salvage would have to come from somewhere the clan's routine patrols wouldn't have picked clean or had surveyed enough to notice anything of value missing. And Ilyanna was the one with the training and brilliance to tell the difference between a mere valuable prize and a piece of lost technology that could breath life back into one of their Ancestors' greatest works.

"...Alright," Orion pressed a hand to his face and exhaled a resigned breath. "There's a few spots in some of the disputed territories I can think of. Grandma will probably agree it's worth the risk, but any deeper than that and we risk provoking the other clans,"

Tension crept into Orion's tone and body. That wasn't an option. Shadowglen poison had stolen his father from him even after the fighting was over. Whatever his and Tysera's...personal feelings on the matter, the elderly matriarch of the Fireveins had made it clear the price another war would cost could not be afforded.

"Ilyanna?" The hunter rested his hands on her shoulders. His crimson eyes bored into her own. "Promise you won't take any risks while we're out there. I know this means the world to you, to the clan, and to...to both of us, but don't put yourself in any more danger than you have to no matter what. I joked about it before, but when that ship fell...Ancestors, Ily, if that wire snapped through the air a little higher or a little faster, you would have had to drag me back as a legless cripple or watch me bleed out. Sometimes, the whole wilderness is like that."

Orion's strong hands squeezed Ilyanna tightly. "I don't have many people in my life who I know love me for who I am and not what I can do. I don't want to lose any more of them."

 

[Xatarias]

Ilyanna's gaze locked on your joined hands, but not before you detected a softened expression.

"Ry Ry... What we do here- the ship, Skyhold, it's all a risk. So... So you can't ask me to..."

She bit her lip, no snarky quip forthcoming. The silence stretches for what feels like eternity- you might have thought yourself dismissed were it not for the shamaness's steely grip. When she lifts her head, her eyes glint softly in the flickered lighting.

"What do you think I want to say every time you head outside on patrol? Or are assigned to one of your Grandmother's missions? It tears me up inside. I want to scream, to tie you down or follow you into the woods and keep you safe... But I can't do any of those things. We all have things we can't bear to lose, and yet we have to acknowledge the possibility. I'm committed to giving Alec, Syndra, and the rest of the younglings something better than what we have now- no matter the cost to myself."

She clasped your hand to her chest, her heart thrumming a steady beat against your flesh.

"This world only has room for either love or fear. Love freely and with courage... Remember your catechisms?" She gives you a wry smile, kissing your knuckles. "I love you Ry Ry, but it's not going to stop me from doing what I think is right."

 

[Weiss Ritter]

And there it is...

Orion thought when Ilyanna looked back at him with fire in her eyes. The strength and determination that eclipsed so many of his fellow hunters and warriors that they refused to see.

He thought he knew what the shamaness intended to say even while she remained unsure and unwilling to look him in the eye. Little could have prepared him for the words that followed once the shamaness gathered her thoughts,The young man had expected a reminder on the nature of duty and the greater good of the clan. A powerful argument echoing many of his grandmother's own lectures on its own, yet he found himself physically flinching under Ilyanna's gaze.

"I'm...I'm sorry..." Orion averted his gaze with a frown. Now it was his turn to be at a loss for words long enough for Ilyanna to start getting concerned. "...It gave me nightmares when my grandmother took me into the wilds to heal and train me,"

The young man's frown remained firmly in place when he was able to meet Ilyanna's gaze again. For once, there was little pride or fire to be found in the crimson gaze of Clan Cloudclimber's living legend. "Imagining how you and the rest of my family would react if gran brought back a chewed up corpse because I was too weak or just...couldn't be fixed. I never really stopped thinking about that, but...I guess it's easier to talk and think about endangering or even sacrificing yourself. You don't have to live with the consequences then. You just move on to be with our ancestors..."

Orion took a calming breath as Ilyanna pressed his hand over her heart. He didn't fully understand why, but there was something soothing about the rhythmatic beat.

"Ha..." His laugh was a short and hollow one, but there was a note of sincerity in the wry smile he offered back to Ilyanna and a bit more life in Orion's thoughtful gaze. "I know, and you know I love that about you. I guess what I should be saying is to be careful about unnecessary risks out there."

Orion gently adjusted Ilyanna's grip to raise the hand she'd lightly burned wrangling with her projector. "You can't repair a starship from the infirmary, after all,"

Finally, reluctantly, the blond pulled out of his childhood friend's grip and took a step back. "Start thinking about what you'll want to pack for the trip. I'll be conferring with Grandmother. We can count on her support to a degree, but she made it clear we'll have to plan around my normal duties."

The young man halfway turned to leave only to pause abruptly. A slight frown tugged at his lips.

This world only has room for either love or fear. Love freely and with courage.

"Hey, Ily?" Orion slowly turned back around. "Once we make enough progress on this to see where it might be go, could we...have that talk? About the future, us...everything?"

He stared silently for a moment and then smiled faintly. "I know what you just told me, but I think today's been exciting enough already for me to skip the 'love freely' part of my usual 'glad to be alive' celebrations. Would you mind if I borrowed one of your books to spend the evening with instead?"

 

[Xatarias]

"Spending the night with a book? My my, Orion, either that knock hit something other than your ribs, or you're trying to impress me... Then again, I suppose a near death might put a damper on anyone's enthusiasm." Her hand darted out to one of the nearby shelves, plucking out a dog-eared paperback and pressing it to your chest. "Don't let Alec draw on this one~"

She spun you around, steering you towards the door. Maybe that kiss earlier was just the result of temporary euphoria?... Or at least that's what you think until the object of your childhood fantasies pauses hauling the large shop door shut.

"As for the future... I don't think it's all that complicated, Ry Ry. More of the same... Only better."

She leaned around the door, planting a sly kiss on your lips before retracting and slamming the rusty blast door closed. You were left to contemplate the sudden outburst of affection with only a slab of riveted steel for company. You looked down at the book Ilyanna loaned you "Much Ado about Nothing". As ambiguous as the current situation...

Sneaking out of the clerical residence seemed like a prudent measure. You already had a certain reputation and the grizzled matrons that enforced quiet hours among the acolytes were all but immune to your charming personality. After a quick escape, it would be a long trek back to the upper levels. If you had some other business on temple grounds or elsewhere, now was the time to get it done.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

"That's it exactly. If staring down the biggest hexapuma I've ever seen isn't enough to impress you, then I'm sure doing a bit of reading will get your heart fluttering and your jaw dropping," Orion smirked as he reached for the paperback. "My ribs are still aching a bit too, and I am a little curious since you showed me that holorecording of some of our ancestors."

He allowed Ilyanna to guide him towards the exit. The fact that she seemed intent on answering him only once he stood on the threshold was not lost upon Orion. "More of the sa-?"

The shamaness silenced him with a kiss. The dismay that had begun to dominate his expression gave way to shock that lingered even once the slammed shut. Orion's heart fluttered and his mind went blank for an instant. If not for the lingering warmth of his closest confidant's lips upon his own, the warrior would have wondered if the kiss had been nothing more than an especially vivid fantasy. The euphoria didn't last forever, though. "More of the same"...? Did Ilyanna even know what that truly meant? Was she too entertaining thoughts that this technological marvel they discovered could finally be the key to winning even Tysera's grudging acceptance of the shamaness being more than a family friend? Ilyanna wouldn't just kiss him and frown at the idea of him spending time in the arms of other women if she didn't truly want more, would she...?

Orion looked down at the book she'd given him for a sign. He read the title, blinked, and then slowly looked back at the rusty yet still imposing blast door.

Ancestors shun you, Ilyanna...!

The young man sighed and jammed the book tightly under his arm. It was about time he took his leave, least the acolytes' humorless guardians give him something to really sulk about. Who knew? Maybe the book Ilyanna gave him would have at least one epic battle against some clan-devastating monstrosity in it. The women in those stories tended to be much too passive for his tastes, probably Ilyanna's as well, but there had to be at least one warrior among them to have given descent to Clan Cloudclimber.

Orion turned on his heel to find another porthole he could make his escape through back to the upper levels. The day had been full enough for the time being, and he'd overstayed his welcome at the temple already. Orion did make a mental note to check up on Devin the next time he visited, though. The young man had a soft spot for the younglings in general, but it didn't take a genius to see why the formerly crippled Firevein might have seen more than a little of himself in Ilyanna's apprentice.

 

[Xatarias]

Telva has already slipped below the horizon with her sister sun soon to follow. Skyhold and the surrounding outcropping of volcanic rock are cast in a bluish hue. The lighting makes it difficult to see handholds, but your numerous completions of this particular climbing route made every nook and cranny familiar to your calloused hands. You ascend easily- a far cry from the first time you had ascended after the first of many visits to Ilyanna. Back then you would have burnt Strength for the entire ascent, whereas now you only activated your Ta Moko for balance and to compensate for your blasted ribs.

Hooking a sensor array with your legs, you swing over to a upper level hatch. A few fiddles with its rusted fastening, and you were were walking in along the courtyard behind your family home. The twins are bickering amiably as they help your mother with the evening meal. Tysera sits cross legged in the corner, puffing a pipe of flintweed.

"Visit your priestess? But you don't have the look of a randy buck fixed with frustration." The matriarch chomped on the stem of her pipe with grim amusement. "I'm not going to have the matron's beating down my door because you made their most promising initiate fat with child, am I?"

 

[Weiss Ritter]

(Made a very minor edit to Orion's banter )

"Hmph," Orion snorted with bemusement and moved to take a seat opposite of Tysera. He sat the book Ilyanna had loaned him down at his side, tilted at just the right angle that his grandmother would have to strain a tiny bit to read the ironic cover.

"I just move and fight like a hexapuma, Grandmother. I don't breed like one. Like I said before when you brought up Donya's niece: I take precautions." The young man grinned. "...Besides, my ribs aren't quite ready for an evening of bouncing and thrusting. If you're that interested, I'll let you know how tomorrow goes."

His casual tone, expression, and even posture remained, but a deeper than average breath hinted that the warrior was about to shift from pleasure to business. He leaned in and spoke more quietly, least the twins overheard and innocently blurt out something they would all regret. "We did spend some time talking, though. Ilyanna wants to accompany me into the wilds to collect the salvage she'll need for this project of our's. I don't have the training the pick out the parts she'll need to make any real progress, but most of the places I think of that would be worth looking into are in the disputed territories...or deeper."

Orion couldn't stop a little tension from creeping into his body at that. Tysera had probably had her fill of chewing out her youngers for brashly risking war with the other clans for the week. Whatever adventures the legendary warrioress had in her maiden years, he doubted she would be amused by the mere reminder of her grandson's own adventures off the beaten path.

"I made it clear we're not going deep into the other clans' territories," He offered quickly. "But we can't do this by stealing out from under our own expeditions' hunting grounds with the current shortages."

 

[Xatarias]

"Salvaging in disputed territory? You're talking like a Donya, although I'm sure you had something more stealthy in mind. Tell me, where does the part of avoiding detection come in? Before or after you start hauling ship parts out of the jungle?" Tysera shook her head with an expression shaded with exasperation. "This is what I worry most about that girl- she puts ideas in your head and drives you to recklessness. Is this excursion truly a necessity or something she suggested because of expediency?... That's what I thought."

The matriarch let out a weak little cough and feigned interest in your loaned book while taking the time to recover. Her eyes softened reading the cover.

"I understand what it's like to be in love, Orion. Grizzled as I might be, I still found the time to have your father. Suddenly your world stops being about the next moment and a long, winding road becomes clear. You want to travel down it fast, but there's no surer way of losing the path than gazing at the horizon. Keep your footing, grandson."

She flipped open a ledger covered in time tables and jotted a note, clearly trying to steer her train of thought from your never-mentioned grandfather.

"You are scheduled with the younglings tomorrow at midday. The temple archives are being used, but I trust you'll find some useful bit of training to impart. Oh, and Orion? Keep an eye out for any promising youngsters. Our numbers have dwindle and the Donyas are starting to take notice. If we must rejuvenate this tree with new grafts, they might as well be of highest quality."

Adoption? Things must be truly dire for Tysera to consider it. The other families would see it as the Firevein bloodline weakening. Then again, with the rabbit-like Donyas on the rise, recruiting from the lower ranks might become commonplace for more than just your beleaguered family.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

"Definitely before, preferably after too," Orion couldn't help but flinch under his grandmother's disapproving gaze. He'd definitely imagined a more stealthy and cautious approach than the Donya would have favored, and it might have even worked out for the smaller components Ilyanna required. Beyond that, however, he had few answers to her objections. "It's not...entirely about expediency. You said the council would vote to scrap the entire ship the moment they learn of it. I didn't want to leave a trail for our clan to question or follow either,"

The young man sighed and massaged his temple. Whatever the potential benefits of this grand vessel Ilyanna wanted to resurrect, he doubted they could ever outweigh any risk of another war to Tysera. Maybe if he wracked his brain hard enough, he could think of another, safer salvaging spot that could appease both women. At least in the short term...

"I..." The young man tried to speak but wound up averting his gaze. Orion's heartbeat quickened and his body tensed at what Tysera said next. He'd only meant for the book to be a way to lightly return the matriarch's grandmotherly ribbing. "You're right, grandmother, but...I've been living in present with little thought to the future since we returned from the wilds. Things are changing now. It doesn't feel like a road anymore. It's more like a river whose currents will drag me places I may not want to go if I don't act in time."

Orion perked up a bit at the mention of the younglings and adoption. The former would have been a welcome break from the tension and uncertainty that had begun to creep into so much of his life lately. The latter was a notion that gave him pause.

"I will, grandmother," The young man struggled to suppress a frown. Even the possibility that all the great families save the Donya might need to resort to adoption just to avoid fading away was of little comfort. It would merely mean things were growing even more desperate for Clan Cloudclimber than he thought. That desperate times would make desperate-reckless in Tysera's eyes-action more appealing than ever.