Poltius guided the two back to the hall as eyes were all on them. Murmurs were heard but Rowan kept his head straight. Not every day a council master talks with guests so easily. He stopped in front of two pitch black doors at the edge of the hall. “The war room.” He said.

He opened it to reveal three council masters out of their cloaks surrounding a round table. Papers and maps sprawled across it. One spoke up with a smirk, tilting her head. “How did your little group study go?”

She wore a black corset underneath a pitch-black scarf. Silver armor adorned her shoulders. Her leather sleeves reached until her elbow and she wore fingerless gloves. She had a belt that resembled a snake with all sorts of items attached to it along with thigh high boots with daggers strapped to each leg. Her bosom had tattoos that reached upwards until her right cheek. She had striking artic blue eyes that stood out from her tan skin, auburn hair, and dark attire but it sent a shiver done his spine that instead of a pupil being prominent, one of her irises held 5 prominent black lines.

A tally.

“Rather well.”

“Torrik was getting rather impatient.” She giggled. The other council master sitting across the table flinched. “I…I wasn’t impatient Venimir.” She said to her timidly, looking down after. Poltius smiled softly at her reaction.

The woman across the table had green curly hair tied in a pony. She had striking green eyes and had scales across her cheeks. A horn spiraled at her left ear like a ram’s. Despite her timidness, she wore an open chest bodice that resembled scales with a shine of gold along with a collar. She had a flowing skirt with multiple slits that reached her ankles and looked like dragon wings. Her hands had gauntlets with a sharp claw at the end of each finger. Her feet resembled the same claws as if her clothes isn’t for appearance but for agility.

“L-lets not waste time and please tell us what you’ve discussed with these two.” Torrik said with a small smile.

“I would but I have been summoned by another council master after this. We do have preparations for the upcoming celebration of nations. I want my knights on guard.” He lightly bowed as turned around and exited with the soft click of the doors.

Venimir slammed a hand down the table. “I’ve learned from my informants that Everdore has been picking up their feet these past few days before this issue even happened. Since when did you visit the capitol?” She turned to Rowan.

“A past few days or so.” He described as he remembered staying at quite a shitty inn down town.

“hmm… Then I suppose you’ve been a top priority to Everdore.” A new voice spoke up. He faced the large greyish green orc who was laying down blueprints of building. He had piercings on his ears along with a mop of braids along his head with ornaments of colorful beads.

He had a large leather padding on his shoulder along with a wide belt on his waist. A kilt fitted him along with slacks and boots with various straps. A large axe was strapped to his back along with an equally larger scroll. “May I ask-“ He inquired in a calm voice. “-Your… history? I’ve heard of a Stormroar in Guild Malachi but I haven’t heard about you. Do tell, where were you? Oh, I’m being rude. Council Master Gilgar Dorgarag.

Rowan felt a bit surprised at his tone. Order and calm weren’t the typical attitudes of an Orc. They were as savage as they can be, given that brawn is the basis for status in Orc nations.

“Well… to be truthful, I was called here by my brother. I was down in the small village Lucii when I received his messenger cat. He was brief, which is something he tends to avoid.” He said thoughtfully.

Lucii was shitty at most. Rowan knew better, the only thing those vendors in the city are formal about is how they have firm hands; on their handshakes and on the client’s wallet, unbeknownst to the owner. He was there for a bounty hunt, which he was rewarded with greatly. He was packing his things at the camp when a black cat with a silver collar and bright violet eyes stared at him from a branch of a tree, a letter was hanging from his mouth; the wax seal prominent. He read the contents with some distaste, why would he write?

They were the ends of the spectrum; He was firm and apathetic of anyone’s decision. His brother was another thing; He showed mercy, He was a natural leader, something their mother loved out of him, his father on the contrary frowned at the sight of mercy. He wanted a ruthless knight thus forcing him to lack feeling pity as his brother was showered with kindness. Rowan felt bitter about the thought. The council masters in the war room nodded.

“What was the point of the letter?” Torrik spoke up. “I mean… if he wanted something, he would be sure to explain it.”

“that was it. He said he would explain it here.”

“Did you visit him?” Gilgar spoke up.

“Teyarine attacked me before I could visit after a drink in the tavern.”

“Lyra.” Venimir called out. “You’re a key witness to this. I want you to join Rowan to the Guild Malachi.”

Lyra jolted in nervousness but quickly nodded. “Understood.”

GIlgar clutched his chin in thought. “Who…” he trailed off. “Gilgar?” Torrik asked.

He shook his head. “A theory, rather redundant.” He faced the two. “Please go ahead and visit your brother. I might do a bit more reading. You are both dismissed. Torrik, why not join them? I’d like a council master who has an eye on the events unfolding.”

They walked out of the war room to the front of the fortress. Lyra asked Rowan in interest. “Did you encounter anyone when you entered the city?”

“I encountered no one. I was barely noticed in the capitol.” He replied while walking to the open streets and headed for a large manor on the west of the capitol.

“Was there another reason for visiting?” Torrik spoke up next to Lyra. “Your armor is rather familiar…”

Rowan stayed silent, as if he was trying to find the right words. “It’s effectiveness is better than most armors. As for visiting, I did have another objective.”

Torrik’s eyes sparkled. “Dragonborns are rather good weaponsmiths, was it perhaps made by a fellow dragonborn?” she trailed off, distancing from the topic of his visit. He looked away with a silent wince. “Lets just get to the Guild house.”

They approached a guild house with an emblem of an eagle on top of a crown. It was color blue with medallion yellow. It had a tower on its left side while the rest of the house was wide rather than tall. It reminded Rowan of a cozy guilwe vine house since it wasn’t a luxury of ivory or gold but it had clean stones and banners suspended outside its walls. House Malachi. They knocked on the wood doors twice and was greeted by a smiling face, a youthful one that has seen the light of stars and felt the warmth of the sun. It was Rowan's face but with kindness etched across his eyes.

“Aion.”

“Rowan,brother” He smiled.