Book III: Destiny

[The third volume is no longer humble deerhide and parchment-- it is beautifully tooled and illuminated vellum, worked with gold leaf and jewel-toned inks. Medwyn's practiced calligraphy fills the pages, but junior scribes have filled the margins with elegant ornamentations of stylized hawks and hounds.]

Cathal informed Cuinn and Mara that he had been summoned to Rjurik as per his technically-unfulfilled pact with the Yngvi. Cuinn was furious, accusing him of abandoning his family on the eve of war, and stormed out without a further word, not even bidding him farewell. The following morning, Dolan decided to ride after him.

The Yngvi clan summoned Cathal to locate the missing queen Freila. He tracked her to a mysterious barrow deep in the Rjurik wilderness, where he and Dolan fought and slew the terrifying ancient dragon guarding it. Within, he found both Freila's body and a message from her, and discovered the dark truth behind the history of House Fulcairn-- their ancestors, evidently, were ruthless Rjuven kings whose power was built on the sinister ability to steal the blood-powers of Scions. Eventually they were brought to heel by the other clans and given a choice-- either cease use of their dark power and bloodthieving ways, or be exiled. The group who chose exile in Anuire were the first Fulcairns of Taeghas. Cathal received a circlet-- the twin of the one currently worn by Cuinn from the island barrow--from a disturbing undead apparition. Upon his exit from the tomb, Cathal is surprised yet again. The Reaver Queen of Rjuvik, Authild, whose deeds the Fulcairns had heard of even in Taeghas, greeted him. She was, apparently, Authild Fulcarni, a descendant of the branch of the family that chose to remain in Rjurik. She promised him that someday, she will come to claim the crown he bears.

In Taeghas, a new face arrived at the Keep-- a priestess of Cuiraecen sent by the Temple in response to Cuinn's request, and none other than Aerona Morgenstane, Nieve and Adair's younger sister. Cuinn made her welcome and installed her as a part of her council.

An envoy from Boeruine arrived, instructing House Fulcairn to aid the invasion by attacking Seamist and harass the border with Bayside; not long after, an Imperial envoy arrived, offering Mara the illustrious position of High Magister of Taeghas. The Fulcairns debated long and furiously over what to do, but eventually, Cuinn decided that Taeghas would only be torn apart by another civil war, that she could not unite it by becoming a hated collaborator with a foreign invasion force, with only turncoats as allies, and that Wilder's Gorge could not stand on its own yet, so for the meantime, they reluctantly decided to support the Empire. Mara is sent to Stormpoint to assume her post and to bring news of the invasion, while Aerona coordinated the defense force from the Keep, and Cuinn led the Ghosts to scout out the size and direction of the invasion force.

Mara alerted Thaliere as to the impending invasion and the traitor houses, and Aerona wrote letters to the other noble houses to warn them. Trying to find more evidence to implicate Noelen Bhaine for his treachery, Mara tried to magically travel through a locked door in his manor, but disappeared into the Shadow Realm instead, and vanished. Cuinn was unable to locate the invasion force, despite the considerable skills of the Ghosts, and feared invasion from the north, so she sent Adair and Asha south toward Portage and returned home. With Mara mysteriously vanished and with no reports from the Ghosts, Cuinn feared further inaction would doom them all, so she sent Aerona to take the archers and attack the supply trains while she tried to locate Adair and Asha. She found Adair near death and soon learned the horrifying truth-- the invasion force had been magically concealed, and Stormpoint had swiftly fallen to them and a combined force from Bhaine and Portage. Legate Thaliere commanded Cuinn to head to Seamist to join the Imperial forces planning for war, even as a letter from Branna Nentril arrived begging Wilder's Gorge for aid against the Boeruine forces besieging Bayside. Unwilling to abandon a neighbour, Cuinn orders their two mercenary units-- the Forgotten Sons-- to ride for Bayside and await her command.

The Fulcairns arrived in Seamist to join the rest of the Taeghan and Imperial forces under Thaliere's command to discuss retaking Stormpoint. Thaliere took command of the Wilder archers and chastised Cuinn for sending the mercenaries to Bayside against her orders. Aerona, Cuinn, and Mara argued about what to do; none of them wished to abandon Bayside, but Cuinn feared the repercussions of defying Thaliere again. But concern for Bayside won, and they rode to defend it with the Forgotten Sons.

The situation at Bayside was dire, and the defenders looked certain to soon be overwhelmed. The Fulcairns led the attack with their two mercenary units; the fighting was fierce, and the defenders attempted to sortie to aid. The forces from Boeruine were driven off and retreated, though the Forgotten Sons sustained enough losses that they withdrew. Within the Keep, the Fulcairns learned sad news-- Brenna Nentril and her son and heir had both died in the fighting, and Bayside was left leaderless. They met the heads of Nentril's vassal houses-- Tychon, a fierce patriot, and Oswin, a moderate loyalist to the Empire. Unable to spare any more troops to aid them, the Fulcairns left to return to Seamist. In Seamist, Thaliere was infuriated and pondered whether to discipline or even execute them; she settled on giving them one final chance. The army began moving west toward Stormpoint, but was intercepted by a rider-- a Ghost, with the news that marauders from Boeruine are laying waste to Wilder's Gorge, and a Boeruinese master woodsman has begun murdering Ghosts. Knowing full well the consequences, the Fulcairns deserted the Imperial army, bringing their unit of archers with them. They marched to Wilder's Gorge, found the marauders and made short work of them. With great difficulty, Cuinn dispatched Adair to hunt the Boeruinese woodsman, as she planned to take the army to free Portage and deny Boeruine an overland route into Taeghas.

Cuinn, Aerona, and Mara disguised themselves and left for Portage to gather intelligence before committing to military action. They discovered that the Portageans largely resented the occupation and were primed to turn against it, and they planned a coordinated attack where the Portageans turned against the Boeruinese and opened the gates for the Wilder army. As soon as the two Wilder units arrived, the attack began; the Portageans sustained heavy casualties, but the attack was successful, and Portage was liberated. In the Keep, Geoffrey Khorien taunted them before committing suicide to prevent capture. They left Portage under the rulership of Valin Ukko, a knight in service to the Khoriens whose exiled noble family had a claim to the countship. They also then backed House Tychon's claim to rulership of Bayside and moved to include Erendus Tychon in their newly minted coalition of free Taeghas. Not long after, Adair returned in sorry shape, having successfully driven off the Boeruinese ranger.

As winter drew near, House Fulcairn, House Ukko, and House Tychon met to discuss plans for the spring offensive; they decided they would intercept the Imperial army enroute to Stormpoint, and attempt to sway as many Taeghan soldiers as they could to their cause. When spring arrived, intercept it they did; it was a terrifying sight, more than twice the size of their assembled army, but Cuinn, undeterred, delivered a ringing speech, bidding them to fight for a free Taeghas, not foreign lords and emperors. Several units did indeed turn to their side-- the first proclaiming themselves House Valmyrri, a long-lost noble House originally from Wilder's Gorge--and the battle began.

Despite being still sorely outnumbered, the Taeghans fought valiantly against the Imperials. Cuinn managed to bring down the massive magical iron construct that Thaliere's mage Xander used to besiege Stormpoint. Though nearly slain themselves, Mara and Cuinn managed to slay Legate Thaliere, and soon after, the Imperial army broke and began to retreat. After, the heads of the Taeghan houses-- the Valmyrris among them-- discussed what to do. They decided to treat with the retreating Imperial army and save their strength for the siege of Stormpoimt. Shortly after, a message arrived from the Duchess of Brosengae, claiming to have taken Brosien under their protection at Blaede Sloere's request. Cuinn considered this an insufferable insult to Taeghan sovereignty and the Fulcairns and their men-at-arms rode to try and help Sloere before riding on Stormpoint. This proved a wise decision; it was a trap set for Cuinn by the Duchess, who had been continually eroding House Sloere and thusly Taeghas' grip on Brosien. They slew both the assassin in the Duchess of Brosengae's guise, and Xander, the former imperial wizard, and freed Sloere's wife and children, who had been held hostage. Cuinn promised Blaede Sloere that Taeghas would never fail him again, and he committed a unit of siege engineers to the battle for Stormpoint.

Cuinn deposed Caron Duene, Avan's installed regent of Seamist, and gave House Valmyrri the countship of Seamist. The Taeghan army then marched on Stormpoint. The artillerists attacked the northern Boreas gate; unbeknownst to them, Cathal and his Rjuven warband, having heard of the siege of Stormpoint from other ships in the sea lanes, were attacking from the docks. The magical onslaught from the defenders was fierce and claimed many Taeghan lives, but eventually the Taeghan army broke through, occupying the Temple of Haelyn in Midpoint. Cathal's Rjuven warband met them there, and Cuinn's relief to see him overcame her ire.

Enemy assassins attacked from the rooftops, and they decided to press the attack, taking the Plaza and using it as a mustering point to assault the gates of Highpoint. A horrifying sight appeared in the skies then-- a titanic white dragon, breathing death onto the Taeghan soldiers. It exacted a grievous toll on their numbers before Mara realized that it was merely an illusion conjured by the Dragon's magic, and the army fell back to regroup. Cuinn was visited by an envoy from her Stormpontian ally Leandra, who introduced her to the traitor Bhaine's daughter Leonora, who remained loyal to Taeghas, and committed half a unit of soldiers to the liberating army. The assault resumed the following day, and the army made the grim discovery that the Boeruinese were using Stormpoint civilians as human shields atop the walls of Highpoint. Unwilling to sacrifice them, Mara magically summoned creatures to try and minimize the harm to them. The Taeghans broke through the final gate using their makeshift ram. Cuinn, Mara, Cathal, Aerona, and the soldiers battled through shadow apparitions, onslaughts of ice magic, and the attacks of Boeruine's elite knights; Cuinn and Cathal managed to slay Balros, Aerona's erstwhile master at the Temple of Cuiraecen in Boeruine, and shortly thereafter, an impostor in the Archduke's red armour. Cathal used the dread power of the Fulcairn ancestors to claim his bloodline. They confronted the Dragon, who revealed it was she all along who had engineered the downfall of their House, using the Duenes and Faysal al-Saidi, even the Archduke, as her pawns in her quest to claim the caermebhaigl of Wilder's Gorge. Mara repeatedly dispelled her sorceries and the Fulcairns managed to slay her, ending the battle and the Boeruinese occupation of Stormpoint. They sent her body back to her father, Darien Avan, with a letter expressing their regrets at his loss and their desire to forge peace between their newly sovereign nation and the Empire.

The cost to the Taeghan army was dire, but they nonetheless were jubilant. Shortly thereafter, the traditional vote for the rulership of Taeghas was held. The heads of the Houses unanimously voted for Cuinn and the Fulcairns, and Taeghas was affirmed as a Duchy with her as its Duchess. The coronation was a grand affair; the Twin Crown itself resonated with mysterious power between Cuinn, the Fulcairns, the heads of the other Houses, and the land itself. House Fulcairn and Taeghas, at long last, looked to the future with hope.