Session Thirty Four: Interrupted by Fireworks

General Summary

Introduction

It is thirty minutes before the fireworks and you all are a strange mixture of emotionally exhausted and wide awake. Tristan, April and Silmer are making their way to the Ishim residence while Malak is being comforted in the arms of his wife.   Meanwhile, Thaen, Griff and Nesza set out to explore Hawk's house. You walk down the dark hallway. Your shoes echo on the stone tiles and there is a heavy scent of dust in the air. At the end of the hallway is another door.   When you open the door, you are greeted with the fresh air of the warm spring evening. You are in a rectangular courtyard. It might have been grand a few decades ago. But whatever paint was on the doors and frescos against the walls have long since faded. The corners have gathered years debris. At the centre of this cobblestoned area is a dried up four feet high water feature made entirely of glass. The glass is fashoined into what seems to be a pile of stones. Strangely, the glass seems almost as if it was cleaned recently as it does not seem dull or dirty from the years of abandonment. It's practically gleaming in the light of the many moons. Thaen, the moment you see it, you recognise it to look very similar to the stone piled shrine to the traveler.  

Snooping in Hawk’s Place

Griff casts produce flame, having no dark vision of his own. Thaen pulls out his googles of night and a moon-touched dagger for the same reason. As the three walk down the corridor, Griff lights the unlit torches.   Further in the house, they find an open courtyard. It hasn't been maintained for a long time. Thaen's attention is caught by a water feature. It’s made of glass and resembles a pile of rocks. He recognises it, but feels something's strange about it.   There's a set of stairs and two more doors connecting to the courtyard. Nesza goes up the stairs as if pulled by an invisible thread. Upstairs they find a dusty bedroom. The furniture is covered in white sheets. Straight ahead they notice a door, a small wash area, a wardrobe and a dresser. Nesza turns towards the door. Griff turns on the lights. Thaen inspects the dresser and finds a stack of letters addressed to “My Beloved”. It's in Cissa’s handwriting. He leaves the letters and covers the dresser back up, telling Griff and Nesza what he found.   Nesza opens the door and enters an armory. Griff lights the torches in the room. In the center is a suit of armor on a headless mannequin. Equipped is a chest plate and a purple cloak made of expensive material. The cloak's clipped to the armor with a pin, depicting a silver arrowhead with a flame inside.   Nesza notices some long swords, short swords and a mace. There's also a pair of handsome-looking boots, rope and a pendant. The pendant’s a 4-inch wide disk, framed with silver wood, attached by a metal chain and displaying a carved rune. Thaen reveals that it says “Be Safe” in Quori. Nesza pulls out the wooden box his map came in and finds it's made of the same wood.   Thaen wonders whether the pendant's special - the writing of the pendant matches that on the front of the door. Griff believes April should analyse it. She figured out where the box came from just by licking it, after all. She, or Malak, might be able to identify it. While Thaen believes neither have displayed the ability to use the identify spell, Griff's sure he's seen at least one of the two use it.   Griff suggests they take the pendant as it's basically Nesza's, right? Nesza's not sure. He doesn't know how the law of the city works. He's not sure if the house, or anything in the house, belongs to the city or Church. It's a good sign, however, that Hawk's belongings are still here. It means noone's found the place.   After some back and forth with Griff, Nesza suggests they take it. They could always put it back. He could even ask for permission during meditation. Thaen puts it in Nesza’s hand, telling him it’s better to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission. Jokingly, Nesza asks how much forgiveness he was asking for as he pops the boots and arrow into his bag.   They notice one more door past the armory. It's a music room. Thaen notices numerous instruments scattered over the floor. A lot of them worn by time. He picks up a beautiful Lyre made from an unknown metal. It’s silver but with a purplish sheen. The Lyre's in good condition but will need some TLC to work. He strums it and Griff applauds how good it sounds. Nesza mentions Griff should hear Vence play. Thaen asks where they think Vence got his talent from. Nesza explains he's unsure how it all works. He's got several names with several talents.   Griff asks Thaen if Vence is 15. Thaen says Vence is 28. Griff brings up that Vence said he'd been around for 15 years. He then brings up Vence's drinking habits and how that might impact Thaen as they share a body. Thaen mentions they don’t drink when Emir is performing. Thaen wonders if there are any bagpipes.   Nesza wants to continue looking but they're running out of time. However, he's not in the mood to see fireworks after witnessing the battlefield. Griff would normally say Nesza should take his time and process things, but believes meeting Malak’s mother is beneficial. He continues, saying she's a lovely lady who's part of Myrons tears.   Thaen asks what happened at the Church. Griff mentions Malak got in trouble and April was recruited for Myrons tears. Thaen screams out: “She was what?” Griff poorly imitates Sister Merry and says: “Ohh you deary, I’d love you to be part of Myrons tears.” They got to meet Malak's mom and might get a map of Athandra. Griff then asks Thaen if he'll ask forgiveness for the Lyre. Thaen says he will. He mentions knowing who to ask. Nesza's OK with it.   As they leave the music room, Griff taps Thaen on the back and thanks him for all the help. Thaen says: “You’re welcome”. Griff asks if he's the original one. Thaen mentions he's the host. Griff mumbles that he doesn’t know the correct terms. Thaen mentions he is the changeling, so it's his body.   When they walk back, Thaen glances at the water feature and sees a copper cup. They backtrack and Thaen says this damn cup has been showing up everywhere. He asks if they can see or sense anyone. Thaen notices the cup has markings. Nesza looks around. Griff shifts into a dog and starts sniffing. They notice nothing. Griffy dog turns to Nesza, sniffs him and starts barking. Nesza can’t understand what Griff's saying. Griff shifts back and tells him he smells different. As in an entirely different person. Nesza asks if it’s better. Griff mentions that as a kid, Nesza smelled like the forest. When they met in Thrane he smelt like a soldier with blood on his hands. How he smells now is unlike anything he's ever smelled... and he sniffs people often.   Nesza asks if Griff was a snake during the Quori fight. Snakes smell with their tongues. Griff doesn't know how it works. he just does what comes naturally as an animal. Nesza wonders if he smelled like a Quori. He thinks it's time to go to Malak’s house. Thaen takes his copper cup off his belt and swaps it with the one from the fountain, writing T on the bottom. Griff wonders whether Nesza should test out his winged form as it's a pretty safe spot. Nesza suggests doing so with the whole party. He's also not comfortable with it yet. Griff thinks it's not a bad idea having the smart people around. Thaen shifts into Vence. Griff turns off all the fires and after they close the door, Nesza locks it.   As they leave, Nesza asks Vence if he would like to check the statue for a cup. Vence agrees. As they walk to the statue they spot a copper cup near its feet. Nesza asks Thaen if he wants to have a look. Vence tells Nesza to never use that name in public. Nesza apologizes. Vence looks at the cup. It has a T underneath. Vence wonders who's playing games. Nesza asks if he'll put another T on it. Vence says no and makes a tick on the bottom before putting it back.   As they walk towards Malak's house, Griff asks Vence what the copper cup exchange is about. Vence explains the copper cup showed up in Fairhaven, at the shrine of the traveler. He saw it again at the inn as they left town. It was there at the statue of Hawk as they arrived in Flame Keep and then it showed up in Hawk's house. He swapped cups, but now it's back at the statue. He has many questions about who Almentash is. Griff asks what would happen if he takes the cup and leaves something else next time. Nesza suggests putting ale in the cup. Griff laughs and agrees. Nesza calls it a gift for the gods. Vence mentions he didn't put a coin in it. Griff suggests the deity's annoyed and is hassling Vence for the coin. Vence mentions he would definitely know if he did something wrong. Shirts would get too small and socks would go missing.   They find themselves infront of the Isshim residence.  

Malak and Kiasuh

    Malak tries to explain to Kiasuh what happened. She holds him through his re-telling of the events and wipes her tears on his shoulder.   Kiasuh's trying to piece everything together while he explains. She looks particularly mad at the end. He saw their daughter and had the option of stopping all this from happening, but they decided to kill the Quori? "Flame!"   Malak mentions it was Nesza’s choice. Kiasuh disagrees with Nesza’s choice. Her baby is trapped in Dal Quor. She's sleeping upstairs! Malak mentions he doesn’t think banishing the Quori would have saved Myri. There's something else going on. Kiasuh asks how he knows it wouldn’t save her. Malak doesn’t know. Kiasuh asks what would happen if that was their chance.   Myri said it was Nesza’s choice, Malak says, and he wouldn't go against her again. He doesn’t have the will. Kiasuh asks: "But what about us?" Malak says they'll get her back. He swears.   Kiasuh collects herself and asks more about Myri. "Was she fierce?" Malak says she looked amazing. She was amazing. Malak believes they learned more about what is going on in the past 30 minutes than he has in the last 10 years. Kiasuh mentions what a difference 30 minutes makes. She holds Malak and mentions that at least Myri's safe.   She asks where the rest are. Malak doesn’t know. Kiasuh laughs and asks if he just left them there. Malak mentions he was barely keeping it together. Kiasuh thanks him for coming back to her. Malak says he’ll always come back.  

Silmer, Tristan and April Arrive

They walk in on Malak and Kiasuh hugging. Kiasuh gives Malak one last squeeze before letting go. Tristan turns to Malak and asks if he's doing OK. Malak says he is. Upon receiving the question back, Tristan said he feels OK-ish. Malak says it's time to grab some drinks.   Kiasuh’s eyes narrow on Tristan. She asks if he was in the warzone. He grabs April's hand tighter and says he was. Kiasuh's eyes soften. She’s sorry he had to see that again. Tristan turns to Malak and thanks him. He never had the chance to say goodbye. Malak mentions it was not why he did what he did. Tristan interrupts and says he knows.   April squeezes Tristan's hand and turns to Silmer, asking if that was "him". April's never seen him this happy before. Silmer mentions it was and tears roll down his face. Kiasuh goes into mom mode. She exits the room and comes back with a blanket. She tells him to sit down and wraps him in the blanket. She asks if he wants hot coco with marshmallows. Silmer would like tea. Kiasuh asks if he’d like marshmallows with that. After Silmer declines, Kiasuh asks him about marshmellows again. Silmer says no. Tristan sighs and mentions that Silmer's an adult. It falls on deaf ears.   Kiasuh returns from the kitchen with tea and a sourcer of marshmallows shaped like dolphins. April and Tristan start sneaking out marshmallows and give them to each other. Kiasuh grins and as she turns to Malak, gives him a big smile and says "kids". Malak asks Kiasuh if there's more food as Tristan has a bear of an appetite. Kiasuh asks if they have another druid in the group.   Tristan glowers at Malak, but agrees it was a funny statement. However, he'd prefer that side of himself be kept private knowledge. Malak mentions he would never but he doesn’t have secrets from Kiasuh.   Silmer asks if it was just him thinking in the Dream Realm, or if he could really do that. Tristan mentions it’s not comfortable but it does help sometimes. Silmer asks if it’s something like what Griff can do. Tristan’s pretty sure it’s not the same. Silmer mentions he's never heard of such a thing and would love to know more. Only if he's comfortable talking about it. Tristan says as long as they're in private they can ask away. Malak says he seems weary about it. Tristan has a long drawn out sigh. He's not a were bear. The explanation should probably wait when everyone's there.   Kiasuh comes back with water, booze, cookies and more marshmallow dolphins.   April turns to Sir Tango with big eyes and asks if he’ll be OK with fireworks. Tristan hadn’t thought of that. April says they could go somewhere quiet. Kiasuh mentions they could stay in the house and watch the fireworks from here.  

The Rest Arrives

As Nesza, Vence and Griff arrive, they notice a lady in front of the door wearing a blue cloak. She greets Griff, who introduces her as Daellean, Malak's mother. She then knocks and Malak opens the door.   Everyone greets each other. Tristan, holding his cup of tea in one hand and April's hand in the other, says: "It's nice to see you again Mrs Isshim." Daellean corrects Tristan, its Miss Isshim, not Mrs. Tristan apologizes. Vence takes note.   Griff tries to inconspicuously move toward Tristan. He feels very stealthy, but everyone can see him. He moves behind Tristan and gives him a big hug. During this time, Vence walks up to April and gives her a hug, whispering in her ear that Thaen would like a word before tomorrow. He gives a squeeze and says he’s glad she’s good. Vence looks at Silmer and asks him if he’s OK. Silmer nods from his blanket fort.   Daellean doesn’t understand why everyone's acting like they haven't seen each other in a while. Malak mentions having had a taxing evening and asks if they could watch the fireworks from the house instead. Daellean is pleased. She didn't feel like heading out either. She takes off her hood.   Malak apologises to Vence. He let something slip about one of his friends. He wanted him to be aware of that. Vence replies in Dwarvish, asking if the others could speak the language. Daellean can. Vence tells her she’s better at it than Malak. She asks him where he thinks Malak learned it. Daellean turns to Kiasuh and asks for one of her famous teas.   Silmer asks if the in-house hat rule still applies. Malak leaves it up to him to decide. He mentions, while looking at Vence, that his mom can be trusted. Silmer takes off his hat. Daellean notices Silmer turning into a turtle and says its nice to meet him. Vence gives Malak a hard look and turns into a changeling version of Vence. He sits down and starts pouring himself ale and doesn’t say a word. Nesza mentions, while speaking of trust, he doesn’t know her very well, but she seems to have done well with Malak. He mentions that as she can see he was a soldier and he has some issues with loud noises and bad memories. It’s been a very long day and he would request that everyone stay away from him. He's not entirely sure he can keep his emotions or fears in check if he hears and sees fireworks.   Silmer says they can handle it. He feels they have proven that today. They're a team that sticks together. Tristan gives Nesza a pensive look and asks if it’s still a problem. Nesza doesn't know. He's just trying to make sure noone gets hurt. Tristan asks him if it’s something he can trigger on purpose. Nesza mentions he could.   Daellean asks Malak if he’s another Assimar. Malak mentions it’s true, but he's having challenges. Daellean says everyone in this group seems to have challenges. That tortle over there was disguising himself to look like a hunchback with a blanket. There's a changeling in the group trying to hide the fact he's a changeling. She didn't appreciate how he was trying to reveal that fact. She says: "I saw you this afternoon and everything seemed fine, what’s going on?"   Malak explains that Nesza's Baxon Hawk’s nephew. They went into Hawk's house and walked into a magical area that transported them to Dal Quor. They fought a Quori. Griff mentions that time moved a lot slower there. While they were only gone for 30 minutes, they were actually there for hours. They fought a kraken, saw Cyre and were part of a bloodbath. Kiasuh pets Daellean on her shoulders and says she knows. She knows.   Daellean tells Nesza he's not the only Assimar in this room and that if anyone can handle his emotional imbalance it would be her and Malak. She thinks he's in a safer place to deal with it and that he's among ex-soldiers. Malak's the only exception. Tristan points out that Silmer and April are also not soldiers. He doesn't know about Vence. Daellean looks at April and agrees she's not of soldier age. She would have been 9 when the war ended.   Daellean asks who'll be joining her outside for the fireworks? April asks Tristan if they can look from the window. Tristan agrees. Griff tells April that what they saw today was bad, but the fireworks were going to be beautiful. She needed to get back on the horse or she'd struggle to get up later. He wants her to realise she's amongst people that love her. Tristan says he appreciates what Griff is doing, but it’s not that simple. Watching it at all, even through the window is getting back on the horse. He mentions Griff should not underestimate what these things can do to a person. Griff says he has seen more of it than Tristan is aware of. Tristan realizes this, and believes that's why it affects Griff less, which is probably a good thing in this circumstance.   Silmer offers April to join him under the blanket. She looks very tempted but squeezes Tristan's hand. She’s sticking to Tristan.   Daellean moves to April and sees how hard she's squeezing Tristan's hand. She believes April has never seen war before. Neither has Silmer. Then to have been thrust into the worst battle recorded in history... She understands what Griff's trying to do and believes he's right. Maybe he should give them a day to process what they saw though. Griff agrees. He says he’s sorry. He’s used to people going back into the fight the next day. He tells April to take all the blankets she needs. He can be a dog the whole day if she needs to pet something. Back in the war they didn't have the opportunity to take a day. Daellean mentions that's why so many came back damaged.   April thanks Silmer for the offer of the blanket. She thanks Griff for the offer of him being a dog.   Daellean explains they’ll keep the doors, windows and curtains open. A good vantage point would be the living room.   Tristan looks uncomfortable when she mentions people coming back damaged but doesn’t respond. After the talks are done he gives April's hand a squeeze and tells her whatever she prefers is fine.   As the first fireworks go off, Nesza grabs a piece of rope and heads into the garden. He clasps onto the piece of rope and watches the fireworks. Kiasuh sits next to Nesza with a tray of mashmellows.   Griff looks to Silmer and tells him "he" looked exactly the same as he remembered him. He tells Silmer to make sure he doesn’t forget about "him". Griff then eagerly runs outside. Vence turns to Silmer and tells him that if he wants he can always bring him up. For if there's anything Silmer ever wanted to say, but couldn't. To give closure. He mentions it’s a standing offer all around. Silmer mentions he’ll think about it. He actually has some questions and those might not be as light hearted as people expect.   Tristan looks confused. He asks Vence if he can talk to dead people. Vence laughs and says he can’t speak to dead folk. He can just look like them and seem like them quite convincingly. Tristan sees how that could be helpful, but it doesn’t fit what he had in mind. He thanks Vence.   Daellean and Malak head outside.   As everyone is finding their place, April hears Corvus’ voice in her head.

• Corvus: Hello my protégé. Your grandmother says hi. She said you had questions. She has no answers, but I might.
• April: Corvus Senpai. How have you been? Say hi to Gran. What can you tell me about birds?
• Corvus: Too much to tell you within the spellslots I have. Can you get to a Sivis station within the next hour? It is in flamekeep.
• April: If I do, where do I contact?
• Corvus: I can book a conference room. As I would like to talk to my friend and Nesza also. Just ask the representative for Corvus.
• April: For all three of us to be present we might need to do tomorrow. An hour is not possible, we went through much.
• Corvus: I leave the first thing in the morning. I don’t know when I will have this opportunity again. I also have one spellslot.
• April: Can I bring another person that you don’t know yet? Up to you.
• Corvus: Anyone you trust, I trust. Jurian will also be there. I think the room holds up to 8 people. I understand if Mia doesn’t show.
• April: I will be there. I'll see what I can do about others. See you in an hour.

  April stays quiet a little longer. Silmer and Tristan notice that April has been staring into space. Tristan asks if she's OK. She mentions hearing from Corvus. At the same time, she's still trying to count the number of words she's using. Tristan asks her why she is counting. Vence mentions that’s sending. She just heard from Corvus and he has answers to questions she had for her grandma. He mentioned wanting to see some of the others as well. But it has to be within an hour.   April asks Tristan how he would feel about coming with. Tristan already told her that as long as she needs him he’ll go wherever she goes. April says "yeah", and enthusiasticly sputters. She mentions 8 people can come to the call. April looks outside to how far away Malak is. She asks whether Silmer can get him. He goes to call for Malak. Daellean frowns as he gets up and follows him inside.   April rehashes the information, mentioning that he specifically asked for Malak and Nesza. Tristan moves outside to pick up Nesza and Griff. Nesza, Griff and Kiasuh all move inside.   April asks the others if they're all up for it and if everyone will be alright walking through town with the fireworks. Nesza says he'll be OK. He expected the fireworks to have more of an effect on him to be honest. Vence mentions they were told Nesza’d feel better if the Quori was killed. Nesza mentions that over the last couple of years he learned to not trust how he felt because it even surprised him sometimes. Vence tells him to learn to trust it. Why not start trusting it now? Griff mentions he’ll see them all tomorrow. He would like to talk to Daellean. He looks at Kiasuh and mentions he’ll watch the house with Daellean.   April asks Griff if he’s sure. Griff mentions he doesn’t see much use for this bird stuff. Daellean mentions there is a lot he can learn from her. Griff hopes so. Tristan turns to Daellean and asks her if there wasn’t information that she still had to share. Daellean will tell it all to Griff. Silmer suggests staying behind so the information gets remembered.  

Outside in the Fireworks

April takes a deep breath and latches her arm around Tristan. Tristan does the same and they walk as quickly as possible. Vence asks if anyone would like to fly. Nesza says it sounds tempting but he’s not sure if he’s willing to tempt fate. He mentions he’s fine with the explosions on the ground but unsure if he’ll be OK with the explosions in the air. Kiasuh hits Vence over the head and tells him to behave. Vence tells her she’s not his mother, she can’t do that. Tristan Chuckles. Malak tells Vence he finds that it’s usually best to just listen to her. Vence stomps off slightly ahead of them, annoyed.  

Corvus

They enter the Spire and are greeted by Molly. They mention having a conference room to talk to Corvus. Once seated, the speaking stone starts to illuminate blue, indicating that Corvus is there.   Corvus says: "Alright, you have questions April Highthorne?" April greets Corvus and asks how he is. Corvus mentions that under the circumstances it could be better. But he is moving forward. He’s glad to be talking to her. Jurian chimes in to ask if Malak's there. Malak greets him. The group exchanges greetings and introduce the new faces.   Corvus mentions they are leaving tomorrow to fix the trail. He thinks he found a way to resolve matters. He fixed some loose ends yesterday and April’s grandmother helped him. She helped him insure that Cygnus' and Attritus' belongings get to Wren in Sarlona. He explains that this was per the request of Cygnus and in return April’s grandmother asked Corvus to talk to April and help her with a list of questions.   April asks how she is doing. Corvus says she’s doing fine. He mentions that after this is all over they're going to work on a book together. He likes her writing style in A is for Assimar. Kiasuh pulls on Malaks arm and wonders whether Julliona Godfried is April's grandmother. April mentions she is indeed, and that she’s proud of it.   Corvus asks April what questions she had. April wants to know what the birds are, as well as more about the Duchess. Birds are keepers of history. They record events and sing songs of them to the Duchess. They are often songs of tragic events. Most birds carry a certain magic in their song. When they perform for the Duchess, she takes the darkness from them to make sure they aren't susceptible to Mabar. For him and his mother it's different. He collects pebbles and she receives them. But the process for him to be cleansed from Mabar is more intense and eventually will kill him.   April asks what he means with Mabar and why it will kill him. Mabar is a plane of existence, a plane of darkness, a plane of death and decay and it's where your soul travels through when you die. He doesn’t know why they are bound to it. It seems to be the opposite plane to what Malak is bound to and the same plane Nesza is bound to. Birds get assigned places to stay and they go there and perform in courts. He mentions the only ones he knows of that are different are Cissa, although she did perform in courts for a long time and his mother.   Nesza doesn't really understand what that means. The group has, however, made progress, he explains. They visited Dal Quor and fought a Quori that was trying to exert control over him. He could stand outside in the fireworks without the feeling of dread or anxiety. So he's not sure if his darkness or his broken nature was actually from Mabar. Maybe a Quori had attached itself to him.   Corvus asks what Dal Quor or Quori are. Nesza summarizes that they had a nap and fought a Quori. Nesza believes he put a bandaid on and the bleeding stopped for a while, but it might come back worse just like Sunny Baxon Hawk said. He can now also confirm his relation to Hawk.   Corvus asks how he's sure he met Hawk. Nesza felt he prepared a trail for Nesza to follow with stuff only he could find. Or at least blood-related people. Vence mentionsHawk knew things about Cissa only a couple of people should.   Corvus spoke to the keeper, the one from the song about Hawk. She told Corvus wat happened 60 years ago. She caused him to go dark as she was in love with Hawk. One day she walked in on him and Cissa together. She asked Tira for advice but it was not Tira who responded. This led to the story you know. The only addition he has is that the artifacts they brought in were not what they thought they where supposed to be. They did not bring a gem, it was a Quattl egg. The torch was actually the hilt of Cloinger. They where presented to the flame so they can strengthen Tira in the flame in her fight against the shadow in the flame. The shadows spoke to her and they are the ones who made Hawk suffer and go dark. It seems it was their plan all along.   Jurian explains there's a way to assure it’s Hawk. He has to reveal the last words he told Josea Mir were before he was infected. Corvus mentions that the darkness took Hawk in his entirety. They might know what he knows and he might still even be dark. Corvus has no idea how these things work, and he did not have much time to study it. He just wanted to warn them. The group went into a cave where they found the items. All these items have previously belonged to Tira Myron herself. Corvus mentions that if they mean to win the fight against the shadow of the flame, they need to return her things to her.   April asks what he can tell them about feathers, and how they are related to the birds. The inception of the feathers is related to his father. It started before the war. His parents were the birds of Cyre at that time the King went mad. He went paranoid. He started taking children, specifically Kalasthari. There was a big rebellion. His father was heartbroken and his mother was pregnant. The feather was that of his father. The feathers are executing his will. He has no idea what they are, but he is planning to study them. It’s key to what made the kind go mad and started to end the 100 year war. He mentions his father wanted to end this suffering.   April mentions there is somewhat of a correlation between the war and birds and feathers. Corvus believes it’s the inception. He thinks the feathers are what his father stood for. He wanted to end the suffering of his friends. He mentions it's likely related to something his parents uncovered. In anger his father took from the Duchess. He sang about the rebellion to the Duchess and when he got angry he took power from her. His mother and father ran, they fled and hid for 5 years until they were found and Corvus was taken home. His father died in the process.   April asks if Corvus has been able to find out more about him. She knows he’s been looking. It seems his mother wiped his memory clean, which is why he couldn't recall. The Duchess has undone this. He mentions slowly trying to piece things together.   April wonders if he made any progress on anything related to the sporing and the sickness. Corvus knows his mother cured someone. He's unsure how or why but feels it has something to do with the heart of inspiration. She is the keeper of the heart of inspiration. April asks what that is. Each spire has a heart. Wrogar is the keeper of the heart of knowledge. The previous keeper of the hart of inspiration of Cyre was Luscinia. Vence adds that Cissa is the keeper of the tower of inspiration in Fairhaven.   Corvus plans to take Attritus’ place. He knows his mother will try and harm the Duchess. What his father stood for is worthwhile. But he needs to find a better way to do this. Not to sacrifice all the birds to end suffering.   April asks why there must be a sacrifice. If the Duchess is dead all their darkness will accumulate and they will start fueling the shadows within the flame. The Duchess is not evil. She just oversees the realm of life and death. Without her taking the darkness from them the birds will succumb to that darkness. Luscinia has so much darkness inside of her. Just imagine having your son torn from your arms and not being able to see him for 145 years.   April mentions that no child should be taken away from their parent. Corvus says that’s complicated. All birds are raised in the rookery, there are no exceptions. The only reasons birds came to collect him is because of something his parents had done. The death of his father was an accident. There are only 3 rules for birds:

1. You may not be the cause of suffering
2. You may not kill another bird
3. You may not reproduce with a non-elf

  The Duchess would not strike against Luscinia as she isn't breaking a rule.   Corvus asks if Malak has been at the spire, he left a package there for him. Malak has. Corvus asks April how far she is with the work. April's confused. Malak explains he hasn't had time to share yet. Only Vence has his letters. Corvus tells April he is giving her a continuation of his work, see it as a homework assignment.   He gives April and Malak the first verse to the song of Myranna. What feathers stand for is trying to save Myranna and at the other end Corvus believes April is the personification of the feathers. He tells them that the next time they see Cissa, they should sing this song to Cissa and she might be able to provide them with a feather. This does not mean they must follow the trail. For that is only reserved for bards.   Corvus asks April how her mother is doing. April mentions she is still doing the same, but they have clues. Corvus tells her to go the house Deneith station and ask for Hal d’Deineith. He explains that while he was in Flamekeep he worked to uncover what had happened with him. He is still in touch with him. He can also tell Malak what happened in Thaliost. He saw Myri fight. He mentions he taught him a lot about Myranna.   Corvus mentions that he also helped two birds settle in Flamekeep. Gruss and Ornatta. They are quite powerfull and clearly allies. You can always ask them for aid.   Tristan introduces himself and asks if he's familiar with a General Gazeer Len.He's the man who's got April's mum. Corvus can tell he's Vallenar.   Malak mentions that Myri and Tira Myron were in Dal Quor. Corvus mentions it would imply Dal Quor is within the Silver Flame. Malak explains those in the group with a soldiers marks had a string attached to them while in Dal Quor that led into the dreaming dark or Illasthafar.   Jurian takes this moment to reveal he's finally going on an adventure. He'll be going on a train with the one he loves. Aprils nods to herself knowingly. Corvus mentions Wrogar and Corinne were already aware of the two of them were together. Vence congratulates them.   Corvus mentions having been in FlameKeep recently. Nesza unveils they already knew that. He'd been seen by some people. Corvus explains they were performing the song wrong and he had to correct them. There were 7 people at the statue when he performed. It was not a grandious event. No one seemed to care about Hawk. He mentions that on the day of his death, knowing Cissa was in so much pain he just couldn’t let it slide. Nesza mentions he could understand that. Corvus mentions he just created an illusion of Cissa and Hawk dancing as they used to.   Corvus asks Vence if he could relay a message to Emir if he speaks to him. "When she comes back she won’t be the same. She’ll flutter less and be grounded. A lot more static. Make her a lot of tea, chamomile or jasmine. Eventually she’ll flutter up again but it might take a while." Vence asks if he is talking days, hours or centuries. The latter of which is a bit of a problem. Corvus mentions that she and her father did not have the best relationship. Still it’s not nothing.   Corvus mentions to Nesza that Josea Mer and Conrad would love to meet him when he’s back in Fairhaven. Nesza mentions he’ll keep that in mind the next time he’s there. Corvus mentions that his uncle was quite essential to their lives. Without Hawk Conrad would have never been born. They would have never ended up there if not for a guy in a purple hat, but he mentions he doesn’t know his name. Vence says his name was Elijah.   Corvus asks Malak if Myri has a mark. Kiasuh says she does. Corvus asks if he saw her in Dal Quor. Malak says they did. Corvus asks if she had a red string also. Malak says hers was Silver.   They all say their goodbyes and wish each other a good journey. Vence asks the group if they should have told Corvus that the general wants Mia as a hostage. Nesza mentions he is not sure if that changes anything. Tristan asks him why he is asking this literally 5 seconds after the connection is broken.  

Griff, Silmer and Daellean

As the group leaves, Daellean starts cleaning up. She tells Silmer and Griff to sit down. She’ll explain everything in a moment. Griff and Silmer insist on helping. Daellean mentions they don’t know where anything is.   Silmer asks Griff if he recalled anything about Shellon yet. Griff thinks hard. He doesn't exactly remember at what battle it was. It was somewhere when he was still a wing, flying beside Jossac. They escorted a lot of D'Lyrander ships. There wasone ship called the Gust. Griff says they named it poorly as it had nothing to do with wind. It had everything to do with electricity. He mentions he has always been intrigued by airships but this one stood out. It had a spark to it. No other ship in the fleet had an electric elemental charging it. At night it was like the color of the moon.   Godric had to see it up close. One night while they were escorting, Godric landed in the middle of the deck. The captain back then was a younger Shellon than was seen in Dal Quor. Usually captains chased Griff off their ships and it looked like Shellon was about to when a young girl ran up to Godric. Her hair was bright red. She gave the Griffon a hug. After that, Shellon offered Griff a drink in exchange for removing Godric. Every time after that whenever he escorted the Gust, Griff would grab a drink with Shellon.   Silmer asks if he was drinking wine. Griff mentions he was. Silmer asks him what type of wine. Griff doesn't remember. Silmer recalls that Shellon sometimes brought a bottle over which he did not share as he was underaged. They both try to remember but can’t picture what the bottle looked like. Griff mentions he was a kind man. But suddenly he was no longer there. Silmer asks when this was. Maybe 20 years ago? Silmer says it must've been before he himself met Shellon. Silmer asks Griff if Tatalla would know. Did he ever ask her?   Griff's mind is swirling and he's trying to focus but he keeps being brought back to Dal Quor. Maybe it's related to the memory he saw there? He mentions he’ll think about it some more. Silmer asks if he saw the Gust again. Griff didn’t. He explains that’s why he was excited to learn Silmer knew the current captain.   Silmer wants to sent his sister a postcard. He doesn't want to get slapped again. Griff mentions that house Lyrander is not a big fan of house Orien’s services. Silmer mentions he can just send a message from the Lyrander house.   Daellean comes in and gives them a map of Athandra. She explains it's not exactly what it looks like right now. It’s the closest they have within Myrons tears. This is what Athandra looked like just before they left.   Some of the trees were replaced with farms. There's a large keep with a moat around it. The keep is above a keep. There's a river that goes out of town. There's a large forest around the area. She explains that how Myrons tears got to Athandra without being seen. She points to a marking on the map, indicating a cave system that leads under the keep.   The keeper mentioned that Griff could fly his Griffon in Thrane. Daellean confirms this. Griff wonders if there's a way to make it more official. Daellean mentions she can have her sign a document. Griff takes off his coat, folds it up and puts it down. He tells her she was somewhat right about Jossac. He mentions he isn’t going home any time soon and the Sky Kings serve princess Corinne, who is in Thrane. He proposes for the time being besides having a document, that he fly their colours. Griff mentions that if he goes past house Vadalis in town they might be able to whip something up for Godric quickly.   Daellean explains she'll send a request to house Vadalis to arrange some gear for him and the griffon. Upon asking if the two guards with the princess wold be able to pass the items on, Griff asks if she can arrange something for them too. Daellean says she'll think about it. Daellean bids them goodbye and leaves.   Silmer pours him and Griff an actual drink. Griff says he hasn’t really told anyone about this yet, but it seems Jossac, the Griffon rider the group met and his commanding officer, is being forced to work with the Eyes. Silmer asks if the people in Windshire are helpomg. The people rebuilding Windshire are still the same people. Griff mentions asking Jossac questions and she told him that the next time she’ll see him, she’ll kill him. Silmer asks if there is a way to help. Griff thinks it’s related to the mark. She’s doing it against her will.   Griff currently can’t ask any sky kings or his connections in Aundair for intelt. He mentions he doesn't know how deep this goes within the military. Silmer asks what this means for Cody and Grace. Griff mentions Cody and Grace will be fine. Griff really wants to help him with Shellon, he really does, but he can’t ask Jossac. He knows, however she would remember.  

They return

The group returns and Kiasuh is a bit upset Daellean just left. Griff and Silmer mention they told Daellean they were afraid to touch the door in fear of her wrath and Daellean though that was adequate. Kiasuh chuckles.