#'operation starfall' should i be worried

[blazingflareon]

so for pokemon sv i said ‘fuck it i had the name star first’ which leads to stuff like this lmao

[my-forgotten-notepad]

Pokemon ScarVio plot line is overall dissapointing; the following will contain spoilers for Pokemon Scarlet & Violet

As mentioned above; I think the overal plotlines of ScarVio are dissapointing, I think Operation Starfall has a rushed an awkward start that feels disconnected from the engrossing and empassioned middle before hitting us with a fake twist reveal before crashing and burning miserably at the end. Victory road is the gold winner here; but it's also not trying to reinvent the wheel, it's just the most consistent from beginning, middle to the ending. Path of Legends I liked and was kinda hooked on as the mystic of massive pokemon with unique powers and terrifying strength that may or may not be fairytales was cool, Arven's growth was cool; but like Operation Starfall, PoL crashed at the end for me.

I will break down my thoughts more thoroughly below.

The way we're introduced to Team Star is by them picking on students to try and brute force them into signing onto the team to fill quotas; this is never addressed nor brought up again. It's literally there for us to go "No, stop; Don't bully people" and then battle them. This is incredibly ironic especially when you start beating the base guards, the grunts and the Star Squad Captains and find out that they were bullied relentlessly in the academy.

Through the captains we are introduced to the Big Boss (a faceless character) who helped them and they instigated the ethos of Team Star, their dress sense, theme songs and prepared to take on every last bully in the academy because they were just so done by the academy letting it happen. They were planning to take justice in their own hands; but in their own words, the bullies never materialised and more importantly they all dropped out quickly and quietly and dissapeared. Perception of Team Star soured and worrying the faces of the Team (the Star Squad Captains) would lose their place; Penny talks to the corrupt former director (Clavell's predeccesor) and willfully goes to Galar for a year to let them stay at the academy.

We also hear from Clavell as Clive the hip rocker student; that it seems the academy buried so much of this and actively deleted or destroyed records to maintain the academy's reputation and image. This was where I was utterly hooked and I was excited to see who B.B was and how Operation Starfall would end.

So after struggling several times to best Eri and her insanely powerful revaroom; I return the academy, where I meet the fake-out twist of Operation Starfall. Director Clavell. Who admits to being Casseopeia via pre-programmable recordings; claiming he started Operation Starfall when an attempt to try and stop the bullies in the Academy went sideways not due to TS members; but the academy itself. Noting how he had been a visiting teacher when he encouraged students to stand up for themselves and was appauled when as director, he found several records were incomplete or just missing. Through his time as director and as Clive and B.B; Clavell was able to pull the truth together and admits the code is the code and you battle.

his team hits hard and fast; it's varied with types and physical/special attackers and he has the starter strong against yours, its an amazing conclusion about the damage failing your students or allowing the legacy and image of history to dominant the truth. A unique talking point running parallel to the opening text about how the academy operates by pulling from the legacies and history of the past to inform the now.

It's only after the battle that Clavell softly and quietly admits he is in fact not Team Star's Big Boss, nor was he Casseopeia and he will strive to make sure such a great blot and shame that led to the situation with Team Star will ever happen again. No faculty member should be able to wipe their sleight clean at the expense of their students.

Then he gets squaked at by the Maths teacher and is told he has to write out apologies to everyone and is carted off. Which leads us to fighting the actual Big Boss of Team Star; Penny.

Penny can best be described as the colour beige hardcut with anxiety; that's it. Unlike Arven and Nemona; she doesn't grow in the slightest from the time we save her from the Team Star grunts who never appear again on the stairs to the academy to our time descending into the Paldean crator. Nothing changes.

So, we meet her at the trainer fields and you can more or less one-shot OHKO her entire Eveelution team (Umbreon, Flareon, Vaporean, Leafeon, Jolteon and Sylveon). There's no grand speech, other than "I was bullied and it sucked and I can't talk to people, so I made Team Star and I guess you know the rest." That's the end of Penny more or less. Outside of kinda being a foil to Arven during the conversations in the crator; Penny just dissapears from the game.

Victory road is okay; the central thing is growing and competing with Nemona. Who is fairly static, but grows to have some restraint but never a lot; both in battling and in conversation. She's fun and spunky and kind of is a strong reminder and motivator for the player to push themselves too. Nemona can be a little forgiving in some battles; but also incredibly punishing if an when you present an opening to her. This leads the player to level up and try to get a fully evolved team ASAP, as well as when to and when not to use the Terra Orb. As you might actually benefit more from your pokemon's dual-typing rather than the attack buff from the Orb. All in all is the generic, tried and true beat 8 gyms narrative; kinda cool you can do them in any order. meaning if you're crazy enough you can try and battle against gym leaders whose entire team sits beyond your trainer level cap just for funsies. That could be a ScarVio hard mode challenge, trying to build teams that can survive against such massive level divides.

Leaving finally; the Path of Legends storyline.

I like this one the most originally and through the middle; it's the ending that ruins it for me more than anything.

When we start at the lighthouse; we're introduced to Arven, a spiteful and harsh boy with the motorbike lizard. He's intense and awkward and full of a lot of emotions he doesn't quite know how to express or handle. Arven is strongly characterised, like Nemona but in different ways. We beat him in a battle, get motorbike lizard then receive a message from Sada/Turo about caring for it. Arven expresses strong emotions about hearing his parent's voice, more specifically how they don't really address him.

Once we're out of the academy; we venture round fighting the titan pokemon and the Herba Mystica, both of which are things Arven is fascinated in. The original reason given is the Scarlet Book informs that the Titan Pokemon gravitate to certain areas and the Herba Mystica has supposed healing and culinary properties. Arven expresses an interest in the taste and quality of the food; connecting to the picnicking gimmick of ScarVio.

It's only after the second Titan that Arven introduces us to the actual reason; his bestest boi Mobasstif is incredibly ill and needs aid. But Arven's tried everything and nothing works; the Herba Mystica is his last chance to save his first pokemon, his greatest companion. The game hammers this home by adding in the cutscenes of Mobasstif eating the Herba Mystica and slowly regaining his strength and control of his body. Arven often exclaiming how he hasn't seen his dog's eyes or barks in literal years; showing how long Mobasstif has been ill and unwell.

Throughout all of this Sada/Turo has been messaging us to take care of the motorbike lizard.

This all culminates in the final titan and Sada/Turo tells us to take motobike lizard to the Paldean crator; also take Arven I guess. This incenses Arven who demands answers and Sada/Turo admit they cannot leave the crator and to go the lab. That doesn't soothe Arven but we go to the lab, where we're told now that Motorbike lizard is healthy again to come to the crator for all the answers; again Arven demands something substantial and is told no.

As we exit, Arven expresses his anger and his sadness and his confusion by informing us of the thing we kind of already knew; that he's the professor's kid. What we didn't know is that he lived in the research centers in the crator most of his childhood before (at least from his perspective) being sent away. The reason Mobasstif was so unwell and injured was Arven attempted to breach the crator some years ago and was almost done in by smaller versions of the titan pokemon. To prove he's strong enough now we battle (he has all the mon he found on the PoL Titan Pokemon battles + Mobasstif) they are all level 60-62 and they can hit like trucks. It's a strong battle and Arven feels confident in almost beating the player but they still need some muscle (this is where you finish Victory Road and Operation Starfall to get Nemona and Penny open to finish Path of Legends).

Your team gets to the crator and there will be future/savage forms of pokemon from top to bottom more or less. The coolest part of this are the research notes from Sada/Turo, the conversation cutscenes with Sada/Turo AI and the automated dialogue exchanges between research stations. We start with Arven having all his burning emotions boiling to the fore-front; making him come off as a giant dick and Nemona and Penny scold and make jabs at him until we get about halfway down and a savage/future pokemon comes at Penny and the reality sets in and both Nemona and Penny realise that Sada/Turo cared more about their research than Arven.

This is actually backed up by the research notes; which kind of slowly descend into aggressive intensity about acheiving paradise in the now. Noting about how they need more researchers in one lab, to pondering the idea of having two of themselves (leading to the creation of their AI counterparts) but the one that stood out to me was when they referenced the new researcher who was as smart as them; abandoning the project entirely and 'taking the boy too'.

And when we finally came to the Zero Lab; Arven doesn't get more than 3 lines of dialogue with Sada/Turo. It feels rushed, clunky and more importantly there's no closure, no admittance of fault or oversight.

Sada/Turo is a terrifyingly neglectful parent who left a robot who has no actual closure with Arven and then fucks off to the past/future and all Arven has is some bland passed over "Mommy/daddy love you; i'm fucking off now BYEEE!" Like that is literally the biggest exchange Arven and the ghost of his dead parent trapped in a machine have. "oh, they actually did love you." Followed by the AI malfunctioning as the Paradise Protection Protocol triggers and the AI just says at the end of the motorbike lizard vs motorbike lizard (which was the most anti-climatic fight ever, even besting Penny's battle). "The time machine will keep pulling future/savage pokemon through it and cannot be turned off. Only when I enter into the past/future, will it turn off." then just goes.

Arven then just spouts off about how his parent must have actually loved him or something; which just rings hollow considering they didn't actually talk, the AI just blurted two lines out at him and then bails forever.

I had thought what we would face at the Zero lab was that the professors had found a way to travel to and from the past/future, but their technology failed and needed us + motorbike lizard to save them. Because they missed Arven and the whole conclusion was gonna tie off all of the issues of Sada/Turo letting work consume their every waking moment to the point they referred to their child as 'The Boy' in their research notes rather than Arven.

... This Installment did a lot; and I think in the end, that scattered focus did more name to the game narratively more than anything else.

Tell me your thoughts on all of this, anyone who has played and finished ScarVio. Am I making a mountain out of a molehill about the storylines?

[spiteweaver]

previous | next

Phantasos’ birth had been a tumultuous one. The union of a dreamwalker and a being of the material plane had never, to anyone’s knowledge, resulted in viable offspring, and so none of them had known what might happen. The entire affair had taken fourteen hours, by Isaiah’s count, and Dreamweaver had been left exhausted, physically, magically, and mentally, afterward.

One had been bad enough, the people thought as they gathered in the square, how in the name of the Eleven was their dear founder meant to manage two?

Dreamweaver’s eyes fluttered open. There was a cool, damp rag pressed against their forehead. Their vision was blurry, but they could just make out Banrai’s smiling face above them. “You did it, Dreamy,” he murmured. “It’s over.”

“Are they...?”

“Perfectly healthy,” Isaiah said, “both of them.”

“And sooooo cute!” Phantasos gushed.

Dreamweaver lolled their head to the side, and Phantasos sat on the edge of the bed, turning so that they could get a better look at the fruits of their labor. Wrapped in his arms were his siblings, their children, yet to take on draconic form--fleshy, and soft, and cranky from all the commotion. The eldest cracked one pale yellow eye open, before rolling in Phantasos’ lap to shield themselves from the dim lamplight.

Tears sprang to Dreamweaver’s eyes, and they let out a strangled sob. “They’re beautiful,” they rasped. “Oh, Banrai, look at them...”

“You’re beautiful,” Banrai replied.

“You did great, dede,” Winter said, for once appearing tender. Phantasos would likely never let him live it down, but for now, they were both preoccupied with their newborn siblings.

“Can I keep holding them?” Phantasos asked. “J-just until you’ve got your strength back!”

“Of course,” Dreamweaver said. “You’ve been training for brotherhood since the news broke; I know they’re in good hands.” Then they sighed. “I want to hold them so badly, though.”

“Once you’ve rested,” Isaiah chided. “You pushed yourself too hard with Phantasos. This time, I’m not leaving your side until I’m satisfied you’re operating at full capacity. That means no getting out of bed, no sacrificing yourself to save your people, no fighting demons from anyone’s pasts, and no--”

“Can we come in?” Junior asked, his head the only part of him visible through the crack in the door. When he caught sight of the twins, his concerned expression brightened. “Oh! They’re so cute!”

“That’s what I said!” Phantasos exclaimed. “They’re the cutest, the most adorable, the most precious--”

“Come in,” Dreamweaver said, “but be gentle with them--and me.”

“--commotion,” Isaiah concluded flatly.

Soon, the founders’ cozy bedroom was full to bursting with guests. Junior and Zo exchanged quiet, sweet words as they cooed over the twins; perhaps, Dreamweaver mused, they were considering finding a younger sibling for Jorah, who was equally taken. Abaddon would have scooped them both up then and there had Phantasos not promised to fight him over it, and Solaire and Hollyhock, who were desperate for little ones of their own, could hardly contain themselves (even though neither of them could actually see the newborns).

Telos only took Dreamweaver’s hand. “You had us worried for a bit,” she said. “That was a very long wait.”

“Was it worth it?” they asked.

“More than.”

Dreamweaver gripped her hand tightly. “I’m so glad that you were here for this,” they said, “and that you’ll be here to watch them grow. I want you to be a part of their life.”

“I will be,” Telos assured, “though I don’t expect you’ll feel the same come Starfall.”

“I will,” Dreamweaver promised. “I could never feel otherwise.”

“Y’know, dede,” Phantasos said, “I never got a formal introduction! You’re supposed to walk out onto the balcony of your palace and announce the birth of your royal children!”

“We don’t have a palace,” Banrai pointed out, “but we do have a balcony. It’s a bit small, but, well, maybe you have a point.”

“You should see the crowd gathered in the square!” Solaire said, then chuckled. “Not that I could, but you catch my meaning! The whole clan’s come out for the occasion!”

“It’s a madhouse,” Abaddon agreed. “I had to beat Europa back with a stick.”

“As if you could beat Europa back with anything,” Phantasos quipped.

“All that can wait,” Isaiah insisted. “I swear, it’s like I’m talking to a bunch of brick walls--Dreamweaver needs rest. Tomorrow, if they’re feeling up to it, you can do whatever you’d like, but today, they’re not leaving this room--no, this bed. Not on my watch.”

“What’s wrong with that one’s eyes?” Junior asked.

Before anyone could even think to calm them, Dreamweaver had scrambled upright, reaching frantically for their children. Phantasos handed the eldest over tentatively. Their eyes were open fully now, their gaze lingering on each face present, as wickedly intelligent as their progenitor’s. However, rather than the warm champagne color of a typical Light dragon’s, their eyes were almost white.

“Isaiah...?”

Dreamweaver looked to the doctor for an explanation, but he could offer none. “They’re perfectly healthy,” he reiterated. “Whatever’s caused their eye color to differ from the norm, it doesn’t appear to have harmed them at all.”

“What about Phobetor?”

“You’ve named them already?” Junior asked.

“Morpheus and Phobetor,” Phantasos replied proudly. “I helped pick the names! Um, Pho’s eyes look normal...”

“It could be a naturally occurring variation,” Telos suggested, giving Dreamweaver’s shoulder a gentle squeeze.

“Yes,” Dreamweaver said. They sank back into their pillows, but kept their protective hold on Morpheus. “Yes, of course. I suppose I--I overreacted. My, that certainly takes me back.”

“You just wanted to hold them,” Winter accused.

Dreamweaver smiled, and offered Morpheus to him. “Your turn, big brother,” they teased.

“I-I’ll mess it up,” Winter mumbled. When Dreamweaver insisted, he had no choice but to accept Morpheus from them. His posture was awkward, but he supported them well. “Ugh,” he said, “they really are cute, but aren’t I too old to be a big brother?”

“You’re never too old,” Junior replied.

“Then where’s my little sibling?” Jorah asked, as deadpan as ever.

Junior’s cheeks flushed, and the assembly burst into laughter--all except Isaiah, who still thought this was far too much excitement for someone who’d just spent the past day in labor. Clucking his tongue, he moved to the window, peering out at the crowd in the square. It was as Abaddon had said; he could hardly see the ground beneath so many shuffling feet.

What he could see was Atsushi pushing through the throng toward them, looking like the Shade was on his heels. “Uh oh,” he said, “that can’t be good.”

“What’s wrong?”

Isaiah winced. He’d hoped Dreamweaver was too distracted to hear him. “Nothing,” he replied, but now Phantasos and Junior had joined him at the window. “Nothing Dreamweaver needs to worry about, right, boys?” he clarified.

“Right,” Phantasos agreed. “Here, take Pho. Junior, you’re with me.”

“What is it?” Dreamweaver asked. “Phantasos, what--?”

“It’s probably just some Arcanite business,” Phantasos soothed, kissing his parent’s cheek sweetly as he passed. “Junior and I can handle it. I’m the heir to the throne, and he’s the smartest Arcanite in the clan; we’ll be back in, like, ten minutes.”

“Maybe twenty,” Junior added meekly.

“Be safe,” Zo said.

Junior touched his fiance’s hand fleetingly, before Phantasos ushered him from the room. No one wanted to say it, not in front of Dreamweaver, but they were all wondering the same thing: what did Atsushi’s sudden arrival have to do with Morpheus’ abnormality, and how were they going to fix it?

[shardclan]

The Sunbeam Citizen - Thundercrack Report

Sun sets on morning queen Telos, rises anew on Heiress Rebis!

The end of Brightshine during the previous cycle was the time when the clan was finally beginning to settle into its new life. The Seat had been moved successfully, Queen Telos had returned from her first vacation renewed, Archmage Lutia had been formally appointed as the Keeper of the Seat, and the Starlight Museum was well on its way to being completed. It was not a wonder that the clan chose the Jubilee as a time to make an anniversary celebration to cheer up the queen.

However, this good will was met with a clan-stopping announcement from Her Majesty that she would not be wearing the crown much longer. Come Starfall, she will return to the Isles to join the ranks of the previous dynasty in exaltation. In the mean time, Rebis has been named official Heir to the Aphaster throne.

This announcement has drawn mixed feelings from the clan--most dominantly worry as the young Heiress was placed into critical care at Promenade Medical. While she is healthy enough to walk among the clan again, she is completely unable to approach or interact with Arcanites. A summary of the events leading to this follows:

Perhaps proving her an Arcanite at heart, Rebis' inquiry began as a purely academic pursuit based on information provided to her by Her Luminance an eon prior. While the paper has obviously not intruded on the conversation that they had, in short the Lightweaver expressed high expectations that Rebis would become a great Archmage in time. Her Luminance's words came at perhaps the wrong moment in the young fae's life, as her teacher was awaiting judgement on a serious criminal charge. With the whole clan caught up in arranging the celebration and the Archmage offsite investigating a distubance in Feldspar, there was no force strong enough to prevent Rebis breaking through the Starwood Portal.

In attempting to prove her thesis, she was, according to Ashes' investigation, sublimated into to pure element and scattered across time. Thankfully, Apokathisto was present to call her back, though that has taken it's own toll on him, discussed in a different section. Rebis returned to the correct time infused with innately generating Arcane element and a severe case of temporal relativity sickness. The sickness is currently expected to be chronic, and is currently being mitigated by a crown of celestine.

The crown siphons arcane energy out of her body, alleviating her temporal relativity sickness. However the celestine is the banned white variety, forbidding direct contact or even extended exposure with Arcanites. Different methods are being explored, namely a specially designed article of clothing that would serve the same purpose.

Rebis admits she should not have tried to rush the execution of her thesis without a mentor present, but values the experience and intends to continue striving toward the mantle of Archmage as well as that of Queen. 

Note that while Rebis has symbolically accepted this celestine crown, an actual coronation will not occur until the eon of Starfall.

Apokathisto declines throne! Opts to serve Rebis from afar?

It was the impression of the queen that Apokathisto was not interested in the mantle of power. So it came as a surprise to both Her Majesty and the clan that he returned from a supervised visit to the Chalcedony Circle and stated his intention to run a satellite clan in the old territory not as a king, but as an Imperator acting on Rebis’ behalf. 

The title is not accidental either--this satellite clan would be primarily military in nature. 

Though he declined to share the details, even with Lady Telos, he has expressed a strong suspicion that there is something he can do out there that might cure Rebis. Cryptically, he has said that what he must find wont fully manifest onto the Sornieth side of the veils for several eons yet. Perhaps in line with this, he submitted a formal request to abandon his name for a new one: Invigilavi.

When asked why, he made it very clear that he regards his name--which carries the meaning of ‘Restorer’--as a hope for his life’s purpose that he does not intend to meet expectations for. He is not returning to the Isles to restore the old ways, he is going there to keep watch. Hence his chosen name. 

Reception to this announcement has been poorest out of all the leadership-related announcements made recently. Neither Aphaster or the old clan have ever had a strictly military sector. In spite of the good cause that seems to be driving this choice, the young guardian will likely see very little support. 

Mellifera, new home of the Aphaster Hive

Seemingly in response to Hihi’o being kidnapped, the ancestral hives of the Leyline Apiary have taken on a life of their own. It is no secret that Hihi’o possesses the potential of a Witch and that he was favored by the hive from birth. However, after some investigation under the supervision of Omen, Ashes made this report: 

“Arcane bees are already a strange species. Hybridizing them with Tucker’s brood, which I recall being quite intelligent, and then housing them near the Seat, and then having them communicate with a witch--any one of these factors could have led to this outcome.”

He gestures to the dryad, which bears sharp resemblance to Azricai despite being made of wood. “This shape is likely coincidental--Azricai went to the site to investigate and the bees discovered they could partly communicate with her. They took her shape in hopes of communicating with dragons, but they do not appear to have the same functionality to their antennae that normal skydancers do. They exclusively project, and they do so in images rather than emotion.”

The skydancer itself is a shell, a wooden golem operated from within by the collective hive. They are going under the name Mellifera, or Melli for short. While it is unclear at this time how they caused the magical surge, or if it was merely a byproduct of their actions, she has been deemed a non-threatening entity after review. 

It seems even more than rescuing Hihi’o, what Mellifera was seeking to do was soothe her upset beekeeper. The skydancer has been completely inseparable from Clover, and has made several gifts of both varieties of honey the Leyline Apiary has historically been known for. 

Hihi’o Returns, Prophecy Departs

The Hihi’o kidnapping case has been resolved. As his first official act as fully fledged Barrister, Apokathisto presented a case that Prophecy should be sent away to the Court of Charges in the Sea of A Thousand Currents, not to return until the Keepers of Charge Precepts instill the proper attitude and understanding of how a guardian should behave toward their charge. The case was not well received by Kea, Ashes, or Kiele, but the opinion of several of the clan’s guardians, including Hart, were able to sway the Lady Judge to offer the provisional second chance. 

Prophecy has since been escorted to the Leviathan Trench by Penitence. Rubranova, daughter of Rubedo and Alala, will stay with her to vouch for upon return. 

She was unable to speak to Rebis before her departure. 

Clan Departures, A Worrying Trend or a Natural End?

Conversations have begun cropping up, somewhat uncomfortably, about the queen’s decision. In wake of the overwhelming support, the community has had to face a difficult decision: 

To stay in Apahaster, or to join the queen in exaltation? 

Turan has warned that Telos' return is special. The Lightweaver accepts her departure as a natural event considering circumstances. However, should the whole clan show signs of departure into Arcane exaltation, it may very well upset the peace the clan has come to with her Luminance. 

So far it seems that Telos' decision has stirred several dragons to hard choices born of causes other than Arcane loyalism. 

Fletch and Willowalk have admitted publicly that they have been providing weapons to the workers’ uprising in the Ashfall Waste, and are now planning to leave the clan to join the revolution upon Telos’ departure. 

The Summerland Spa has has no trouble securing celestine for its mana buildup treatments ever since the Celestial Vault was made, but is looking to reopen its original Arcane location as an expansion.

Enyi has plans to become a travelling artist after he completes a final portrait of the clan's new ruler 

Mote intends to return to the Isles, but it is only in order to give up clan life and live among the longnecks.

More will certainly follow.

Assorted Local News: 

Hihi’o called into the Coven to undergo teaching; Kiele takes up position at Diver’s March to study the sea and investigate the missing Tidelord. 

Gethsemene and the elusive Mist Woman seen together in the southern hills, singing songs in unknown tongues. Their relationship is...?

Eoria is awake -- and very proud of everything that has happened during her extended slumber after singing House Perihelion into existence. Locals joke that the skyline is missing something without the pearlescent shape of the sleeping snapper.

Merlot and Shiraz plan for a nest - the two singers finally tying the knot?

The Smoke Gyre is active -- what mission has the elusive figure moving through the Summerlands again?

Still no word from the missing Heaven and Serir. Camellia and Haematica seen frequently in the summerlands hoping to catch a glimpse of them returning with Middlemist. 

[elyridis]

"the glory days? hmpf."

she was pacing, her robes swishing behind her as she turned on her heel when she reached the door. on her desk, the ink of the letter she had been writing was drying, but the letter was neither complete nor was it still necessary. she had been meaning to write seth a note, to let him know why she had had to depart so hastily, but — he had returned from norica faster than she had anticipated. this was … good, she supposed. there were things she much rather discussed in person.

and seth — he was right. there was no glory to be found where she was going. but there was a tie that bound her to her family, and her family moved as one in times like this. someone had sought to kill her cousin  again  and so, they were heading towards the seats of their lines, ready to gather their allies under their banner, should it become necessary. it had been theresia’s kindness that had kept this from happening when hudson had stepped out of line, when he had tried to overthrow the family, but … even the sunshine princess’ mercy had limits.

and with karla at the verge of death, theresia was many things, but not merciful. and there was the — tricky part about good people: they could become truly devious once pushed too far. at heart, eleanor’s cousin was a truly good person. it was why she would have been shattered by the weight of her crown, why she was much better off on her island, living happily with those she loved best. but theresia was also her father’s daughter and while king johannes had been a just king, his mercy had not been infinite either.

“ no one in the family wants this to turn into an empty fight to rekindle old glory, ” she said, stopping in front of her husband, pale hands clasping his shoulders. she did not say that after all their family had done for the country, it was not necessary for them. her husband did not care much for glory, for politics. it was something she did appreciate about him, though it made it likely that he could not understand why she was preparing for the travel to mergarden.

after her mother had assumed her brother’s throne, after the world had been changed, mergarden had fallen back to her paternal grandfather, but … he was old. he had been enjoying the golden days of his life’s autumn in starfall with her grandmother, he had been happy to have left the game of high politics behind him. he was an able steward for mergarden, but to ensure that there would be necessary pressure in the hall of ladies and lords, eleanor would have to be the lady of mergarden again.

it was a strange thought. her fondness for the castle where she had grown up had not faded, but she had never thought of herself as its lady. it had been her mother’s title, it should have been the title of her brother’s wife, but alexander was visiting his northern equal and would not be back. and so, her father had  begged  her in his letter to return to mergarden  at once  and take the burden from her grandfather’s shoulders. it was not even a matter of duty, not really. this was a matter of affection for an old man who had never asked for any of this, who had always spoken about how he had wanted to spend the last years of his life, watching his wife reading in their comfortable mansion.

“ i’m going to mergarden because otherwise, they will call on my grandfather, ” she said quietly, calmly. there had been no  real  protest coming from seth, of course not. he knew how much her family meant to her, how much of the  duty  she had to them still clung to her. it was something she could not shake, not really. and she could not ignore mergarden’s call either.

politics were messy — especially in the aftermath of a botched assassination attempt on a princess — and eleanor would prefer to stay in brightstone peak, pretending that it had not happened. but it had.

she had lost how many times a member of her immediate family had been the target of an assassination attempt. it was something that happened, occupational hazard. she had stopped counting how many times someone had tried to kill her after the fifth time; there were things she was better off not remembering in perfect clarity. she should, and she knew this well, be used to it. after her uncle and then her cousin had been killed, after theresia had killed the one behind this after he had tried to kill karla, too, she had thought she had grown numb to it.

the way she was shaking on the inside told her she had not, and she was not sure if she should be happy or upset about this.

her fingers curled around his collar the way they had many times before but this time, she pulled him closer because deep down, she was — worried. not afraid, just worried. as messy as the situation with karla would inevitably get as soon as theresia called the high council  ( which would happen because theresia operated best within the rules of the game ),  seth could stay out of this. this was a — matter of the western lands, not of the north. this could change, the council could insist on being  complete  for some reason, but … oh. suddenly, the fog inside her mind cleared. it  would  happen, would it not?

the game had changed since the last time a high council had been called, two years ago. the game had changed because the players had. there had been marriages, new alliances. people who had not had much influence before had more influence now. and well — some of those who had been dangerously influential before were now  actually  part of the council. her grasp on her husband’s collar grew rigid as she recalled how far some of the players were willed to go.

her fists rested against his chest as she sighed deeply. “ they may call a full council, ” she muttered against his jacket. “ i won’t hold it against you if you remain here, however. this is a matter of the west, not of the north. ”