The news is announced to the rest of the House. Finn decides to retire; Cathal is appointed leader of the House's armed forces in his place.
The Fulcairns hold a ceremony to formally pass the leadership of the house to Reynhild. The priestess Gwenevier is called in to conduct it. Mara surprises everyone by also divesting part of her bloodline to Reynhild. The bloodlines of all three mingle, and the powers of the gods induce a vision in all three Fulcairns. Reynhild is granted a vision of the first Fulcairns: a twin brother and sister, blonde and dark haired, fighting at Deismaar. Mara sees a vision of the mage hunters trying to encircle Melehan in Fulcairn Keep. Cathal sees a vision of Caedwyn Fulcairn embracing Marigold, Melehan's daughter. A mysterious denizen of the forest also visits Reynhild and states someone will need to guard the forest after him.
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| The first Fulcairns |
Reynhild assumes leadership of the house and also states she will be now named Cuinn, in order to honour the traditions of the Fulcairns, but she is driven as much by a desire to leave the lie of her assumed identity behind her and start anew.
Cuinn writes letters to the other heads of Houses and to Countess Thaliere, greeting them as the new Baroness. Thaliere responds with the expected felicitations, but also with Imperial edicts-- that they are to send a unit of archers to bolster the Imperial Army, and shall receive in turn craftsmen to repair the roads. In addition, legislature will be coming that will change the various counts and barons into governors under the new Imperial laws. The Fulcairns receive this news with consternation.
Cuinn and Cathal wish to assess the character of the newly appointed Count of Seamist, Caron Duene. They ride to meet him with an armed retinue, ostensibly to escort him through orog-infested country. Mara reads his mind with magic; he is terrified of the Fulcairns and thinks them murderous maniacs come to slay him. He cannot be negotiated or reasoned with; the Fulcairns ride home, at least temporarily reassured he is not a monster like his predecessors.
Melehan states he wishes to take Mara on a journey around Anuire to explore the mebhaigl of all the lands and to activate the focal points for the ritual he wishes to undertake, that will contain Rhuobhe permanently. Cuinn and Cathal bid her farewell.
Several months pass quietly.
Mara returns with a gift from Melehan-- a relic confirming House Fulcairn's ancient and distinguished history, and directing the way to an ancient relic of Taeghas: a crown of the Taeghan kings, hidden in a barrow in a remote island. They leave to retrieve it, despite Cuinn's reservations. The Fulcairns take ship at Stormpoint and sail to the remote uninhabited island. As they follow the trail of ancient ruins through the island, they find traces of a great beast; not long after locating the site of the barrow they seek, they are attacked by a wyvern. It nearly kills Mara in one attack, but the three Fulcairns manage to slay it. Within the tomb, they find yet more clues to an ancient mystery-- the Taeghans' ties to the Rjurik run far back into history, and the Fulcairns were at one time known as the Falkjärna. They find the crown-- a simple and unadorned circlet-- take it, and leave for home.
Shortly after returning home, a band of forty armed templars arrives, announcing they are members of the Sword of Haelyn, a militant sect of the Southern Orthodox Temple of Haelyn, from outside Taeghas, traveling with Countess Thaliere's permission. They claim to be hunting an evil necromantic artifact-- a spellbook of great evil. Cuinn insists that such an artifact had passed through, but had been destroyed. The templars state that it has not, and that Cuinn has been deceived. Cuinn leaves to question Mara. To Cuinn and Cathal's shock and anger, Mara reveals she kept the book and deceived them with an illusion of destroying it with a fireball. Mara is determined to convince the Templars that she has done no wrong, and submits to their magical interrogation. However, their interrogation reveals that she has used necromancy (though it was in the name of saving Melehan from Faysal's magic) and that she intends to use necromancy in the future. They insist she will be taken with them to be dealt with.
Faced with either losing Mara or being branded necromancy sympathizers in the eyes of the other Houses, the Fulcairns attack the Templars. They slay the leaders of the Templars, then take warriors to the temple of Haelyn to slay the remainder of their forces.
The Haelynic priestess Gwenevier is horrified and asks to be removed from the House's council. Cuinn asks if there is a penance that they can undertake to propitiate Haelyn and his priesthood; she states she will think on it.
Cuinn and Cathal struggle with their anger at Mara, but eventually realize that while she deceived them, she has never employed her magic in any cause other than the House's protection, nor has she used necromancy carelessly. They resolve to move forward free of any further secrets or lies. Mara confesses she has scribed half the book; Cuinn urges her to scribe any morally neutral spells for her own use and donate the rest to the Imperial magical college's library.
A letter arrives from the Hrodmars, Reynhild Andersdottir's clan in Rjurik. Torn by guilt and wanting to finally lay the deception to rest, Cuinn asks Cathal to write them back, saying Reynhild has died in childbirth and Corrac has fallen to illness, and trying to give them some manner of peace and closure. Cathal sends one of the house's treasured hawks along with it.
Geoffrey Khorien replies to Cathal's letter and invites the Fulcairns to his estate at Portage. They ride for Portage, and are graciously hosted by Geoffrey. There, they openly discuss their chafing at the rule of the Empire, and Khorien asks if they will back him in a rebellion as rightful leader of Taeghas. They do not see him as a fit ruler of Taeghas, but they agree for the moment. He mentions his "friends" in Boeruine and states they should be expecting an invite from Boeruine soon.
In order to stall the Empire's request for Wilder troops, Cuinn responds stating that the western mountains are dangerously overrun with orogs and the troops are on a campaign to eradicate them entirely, and it is too dangerous for the Imperial craftsmen to travel. The army is shortly dispatched to do just that.
Another Imperial edict arrives, ordering Mara to leave the service of the Fulcairns and serve the Empire with her magic instead.
A rider arrives bearing an invite from the archduke of Boeruine himself. The Fulcairns leave for Boeruine. They are greeted after the long journey by their ally Tashairah, who helped orchestrate the meeting. The Archduke himself is an impressive man. He states he does not care who rules Taeghas, but if he helps them gain control of Taeghas, they will support him in his fight to take the Iron Throne from Darien Avan. He then asks them to submit to a geass forbidding them from turning on him.
After some deliberation, they agree to the geass, and swear allegiance to the Archduke and his sorceress, the Dragon, who is revealed as Darien Avan's daughter.
