ough heavy storm-clouds hangin
the kitchen when Kael enters wea
my way. He pours hi
mands sharply. "The Council convenes in one hour. I int
rm teacup. "Kael - what if the
t a harsh mo
You have not the instincts of a warrior. You wou
he table and walks away, leavin
vy iron-barred oak doors seal shut. Spectators, noble attendants and Kael himself are locked o
crystal," announces the Head Elder. Hi
on the central pedestal. Wi
adow-Shrouded Mist from two nights prior. Dense red markers fo
silver lines materializes on the
During those critical forty seconds, my magic a
one by one, carving a narrow safe escape passa
s, you could hear a
his throat and breaks the silence. "The duty-officer's ju
ealizing I had bee
noble Elder closely allied with Elara's powerful
n. She bypassed the commanding Alpha's authority. Much of our northern border military funding comes from noble houses. We cannot permit front-line officers to d
his fist onto the
fe to save those men. And you demand she bow and c
that formal statement acknowledging procedural violation, we freeze her transfer file. She will r
ts outside, counting on noble political support to shore up his military standi
I must go to Winter-Claw terri
my voice eerily calm
e, take rough parchme
gizing for deviating from standard op
stamp it firmly with the officia
inside a confidential archive pouch for the scribes, ensuring
f the scribes' archive and hands it to her. Elara uses the clan messenger network
king public fury, painting the anony
o unrest outside. Passing clansmen snarl angr
ael and Elara lounge on a sofa w
to the coffee-table. "Cold lifeless words. No hint of genuin
. "People like her probably c
t the bottom of the staircase. His expression
w what angers me most?
fe, you could not even spare a private telepathic thought
town square where the angry crowd s
ry," I sa
sorry I could never become what he wanted. As the
rstands nei
mutters and tur
rne's private thought-vo
d approved. The carriage is already at the border sta
u, Elder.
te one final night watch before you
the night-watch
first patrol since th
last time, I wi
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