The title had made Liv uncomfortable from the very beginning. It didn’t seem to matter that she’d never claimed it for her own, or even used it herself. It had been Ghveris who first used the words, and following the battle at the pass, and Liv’s very obvious fight against Genevieve Arundell, it had somehow spread among the alliance army. Among the Eld, in particular, but she’d heard it used by some of the Whitehill men and women, as well. A part of her had hoped that if she simply ignored it, the title might go away. The last thing she wanted to do was draw more attention to it by making some sort of proclamation banning its use. But mostly, she’d just always known that sooner or later it was going to cause her trouble. “Lady of Winter,” Liv said, enunciating the words slowly and carefully, “is not something I have ever called myself.” “Perhaps. But you have certainly not forbidden others from doing so,” Juhani of Soltheris pointed out. Liv felt like he was prodding at her with a spear, waiting for her to make a mistake and give him an opening. The moment she did, he would strike. “Juhani kæn Kalleis,” she said, “would forbidding our people to say what they will, not be something the old gods might do? My father taught me that our ancestors named themselves Vakansa - ‘free people.’ What right do I have to tell free people what they can or cannot call me?” “Still, I would have thought that it would be a title you might have wanted to discourage,” Ilmari said. Liv tried to feel like it was a betrayal; Keri’s father had made them all feel quite welcome at Mountain Home, but the injury of his son had apparently changed things. This time, Liv didn’t have to speak up. “I don’t see why,” Miina said. Her voice was still a bit rough, and Liv wasn’t certain it would ever entirely recover. “The old gods gave themselves those titles, and forced us to use them. No one’s forcing anyone else to call my cousin ‘Lady of Winter.’ That’s a title that our own soldiers gave her. That’s the difference. If anything, I think it's a show of respect.” “To say nothing of the fact that, quite obviously, Livara is not a goddess,” Vivek Sharma said. “And even if she were, the church of the Trinity does not reject all Vædim - only those who fought to oppress our two peoples. Both human and Eld honor Arvatis, Sitia, and Tamiris. Unless, Lord Juhani, you would argue that all Vædim are inherently evil? Even those, like Bælris, who stood aside?” At Liv’s side, Keri shifted, and she was aware that he was regarding his father, waiting for an answer. She didn’t want to be the cause of division between her friend and his family, but at the moment, she couldn’t help but be a bit relieved. “No,” Ilmari admitted. He had to: after all, it was his own grandfather Pandit Sharma had spoken of. “No one is saying that.” “Good,” Aira tär Keria said. “Because we have strayed far afield.” She leaned forward across the table, and her gray braids fell across her face, until the old woman tucked them behind her ear. “Valtteri. If we secure these Dakruiman beasts for you, does that solve your difficulty in moving supplies? What else do you need to move our forces up into the mountains?” Liv sat back, and took a slow, even breath to calm herself. She tried not to be jealous of how easily the elder could command a room, of how natural it was. Aira was on her side - had always been on her side, since she’d first arrived in Al’Fenthia. And the old woman had very neatly taken control of the conversation away from Juhani, who clearly would oppose anything Liv said. “Scouts, especially those familiar with mountain terrain,” her father said. Liv noticed that he didn’t even need to stop to think: he’d clearly come to the meeting already knowing what he was going to ask for. “I need engineers - anyone who can help to build a bridge. Anyone with magic which can be used for either of those purposes, which means I’ll be relying on House Keria a great deal.” “We can shift Whitehill scouts and hunters to you,” Liv said, immediately. “They’re familiar with mountain terrain.” She was certain that Matthew would have final counts on how many had survived the battle at the pass. “And Commander Soile will lead every Kerian soldier we can send,” Aira promised. “I can help to scout,” Wren volunteered. “They’ll have flyers, which means we need them too.” “You are the turncloak I’ve heard about, then?” Juhani interrupted. “The one who was part of the attack on Soltheris?” “It was what happened at Soltheris that convinced Wren to abandon Ractia and to join us,” Liv pointed out. “She didn’t fight there, she flew away and left to find me. And she’s been with me every step of the way since, for nearly two years. She has my absolute trust.” “I have engineers I can send you, Lord Valtteri,” Baron Arnold Crosbie said. “Men who are used to repairing walls, and know their way around siege engines. With the Foundry Rift buried under an avalanche, and a peace with Lucania, I can spare them.” “And I have a number of rough men one might be able to use as scouts,” his son Baudwin added. “They aren’t soldiers - trappers, hunters, that sort of thing. You might need to slap them around a bit to make an impression, but once they know you’re the toughest bastard around, they’ll fall in line.” Liv did her best not to show any response to the word. “I believe that I can promise I am that,” Valtteri said, with a slight smile. “I’m also going to need fast response units that I can bring up from the rear when we encounter fortifications.” He turned to look at Kazimir and Bryn Grenfell. “I’m told your house specializes in burning things. That would be useful.” “I think I’m a bit too old for crossing deserts and climbing mountains,” Master Grenfell said. His lightning-scars were fading, Liv noticed. But she doubted they would ever vanish entirely. “But I’m not,” Bryn said, nodding. “When this is all over, we’re going to need help building a new barony. Supplies to get through the winter, until we’re capable of sustaining ourselves.” “I believe that can be arranged,” Aira said. “House Däivi is also particularly good at dismantling fortifications,” Liv’s father pointed out. He looked to his mother, and then to Miina. “I’ll be wherever my cousin is,” the younger woman said, and that was probably going to necessitate a conversation later. “You will have our soldiers,” Liv’s grandmother promised. “Wyrms are also quite useful for breaching walls,” Elder Aatu spoke up, for the first time in some while. “I have spoken to Silica, and she is willing to allow us to move our mounts through the painted desert, so long as we do not linger in her territory.” “How many of you are left?” Liv asked him. She knew that Airis ka Reimis had led an expedition to House Iravata’s lands immediately after the assault on the Hall of Ancestors, and that he had found the majority of the house had already fled for Varuna. “I can bring twenty wyrm-riders,” Aatu pledged. “I wish that it could be more, but even for such a small number, I will be sending boys who are hardly grown, and veterans who retired from duty a decade or more gone by.” If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. “What you send, I will use,” Valtteri said. “The mage guild is known for their expertise in several words of power that are not common in Elden lands. I would ask for at least a few guild mages.” Attention shifted to Guild Mistress Every. “I’m going to be honest, we have hardly enough mages to teach our students,” she admitted. “I do have one young journeyman, however, who wants absolutely nothing to do with classes. I can send him to you. Lady Grenfell is also guild trained and a journeyman in her own right, and then of course there is Magia Livara, who I believe intends to go.” “You are correct,” Liv said. “I’ll be coming through the waystone as soon as I’ve taken care of a few things here in Whitehill. I’ll have Ghveris and Arjun with me, I believe.” She looked to both men for confirmation. “Where the Lady of Winter goes, I will go,” the Antrian stated. Liv managed to keep herself from wincing at the use of the title that had already caused so much trouble: it was clear that Ghveris had utterly no concern for politics. “Of course,” Arjun agreed. Keri shifted beside Liv, and she spun around to speak before he could open his mouth. “I have something I need you to do for me here in Whitehill,” she said, placing her hand on his shoulder. “We’ll talk more after the council is over.” He met her eyes for a long moment, and Liv could see the pain there. It wasn’t just a physical hurt, she was certain. There would also be the shame of being left behind, of being too weak, of being pitied. Liv was intimately familiar with all of it: she’d spent her entire childhood feeling that way, every time she broke a bone and couldn’t do what the other children in Whitehill took for granted. Keri opened his mouth, and for a moment, Liv was certain he would object. Tell her that he could ride a horse, perhaps, even if he wasn’t ready to walk yet. Please, she thought, and reached out delicately with her Authority to touch his. Please. “Whatever you need,” he said, stumbling over that ‘t’ sound again. Keri seemed to almost deflate in his chair, and when Liv turned back to the rest of the table, she saw that every person seated there was watching them. She carefully withdrew her hand from his shoulder, and not for the first time hated her cheeks for burning in embarrassment. Liv’s father broke the silence. “What about your friend Rose?” Valtteri asked. “We could use someone that skilled with stone magic.” “Rosamund won’t be joining us this time,” Liv said. It wasn’t her father’s fault: he’d just gotten here from Varuna, and there was no way he could have known. Still, she wished that he hadn’t said it. “We’ll manage without her, then,” Valtteri said. “I think that should be about all for now. We’ll begin using scouts as soon as they arrive, and make our real push once we have better intelligence, and the animals for supply lines.” “Find a beachhead in the mountains that you can fortify,” Keri’s father instructed. “Some place that will serve as a sort of command post, where the elders can gather.” “I thought your elders didn’t fight?” Arnold Crosbie asked. Original content can be found at noᴠelfire.net “As a rule, we do not,” Aira tär Keria answered. “However, when the time comes to face Ractia herself, we will be needed. It has already been decided. Each House is sending a single elder. We will remain behind the lines until the risen goddess is located, and then we will face her – together.” Liv looked to her grandmother. Eila tär Väinis met her eyes without flinching, and simply nodded. “I suppose that explains why there are four of you in one place,” Kaija muttered, from behind Liv. It was the first time she’d broken her silence since the discussion of supply lines. “And you can expect representatives from Houses Asuris and Kalleis to arrive in the painted desert shortly,” Ilmari stated. “I have been informed they are already on their way.” In that moment, Liv resolved that when the elders fought Ractia, she would be there. She’d lost enough people already – there was no way she would let her grandmother go into that fight without her. “I believe we’ve covered everything we needed to decide immediately,” Liv said, looking up and down the table. When no one objected, she continued. “Thank you all for making the journey to be here today. I look forward to seeing most of you again in Varuna.” And then, as a signal that the council was over, she stood. If Liv could have, she would have left the room immediately. Where, exactly, she would have gone, she wasn’t certain. She didn’t have anything at Bald Peak like the sort of rooms she could have withdrawn to in Castle Whitehill, or even in Kelthelis. She’d simply been sleeping in the barracks with everyone else. Unfortunately, a line quickly formed, because it seemed like nearly everyone wanted to speak with her. Her father was first, of course, not because he was closest, but because it was clear to everyone present that he was willing to push his way through to get to her. “Livara.” Valtteri swept her up in his arms, and Liv couldn’t help but squeak as her father lifted her high enough that her boots left the ground. “I’ve decided this wasn’t a good plan after all.” He set her down and smiled. “Waiting to hear scattered reports coming back from where I knew you were fighting – it was agonizing.” Liv laughed. “You think it was bad for you? I’ve hardly heard anything about what you’ve been doing. For all I knew you were already in the mountains, fighting who-knew what.” Her grandmother was there next, right up beside them. Eila wrapped her arms around both her son and her granddaughter at once. “This is the first time we’ve all had a chance to be together as a family since your father died,” she said, reaching up with one hand to cup her son’s cheek. “You will stay long enough for the three of us to have a meal together, Valtteri. It is not a choice.” Out of the corner of her eye, Liv saw Ilmari taking hold of Keri’s chair, and wheeling his son away. She wanted to call out to stop them, but found Elder Aatu had slipped through the crowd to get to her side. “I’m told you’re the one who killed Calevis,” the old man said. “Good. I wish I could have done it myself, but I’m glad it’s done. He was a traitor and a murderer, and the greatest shame on my house for as far back as I can remember.” “Not alone,” Liv said. “Wren and Arjun helped.” She reached out to take Arjun’s hand and pull him over. Perhaps she should have felt shame at using him as a distraction, but she didn’t want to leave Keri to stew in his own thoughts any longer than she had to. But when she tried to see through the mass of people, Liv couldn’t find Keri. She stood up on her toes, trying to get a glimpse of him, and Baron Crosbie shouldered his way up to her. “I couldn’t help but notice that neither my daughter, nor my son in law, were here,” Arnold Crosbie said, his face set in a frown. “Where are they?” Liv took a deep breath, and fixed a smile to her face. “Triss is pregnant," she said. “She is safe, and healthy, but there have been complications. She and Matthew are both somewhere that we can give her the care she needs.” She learned this sort of thing from Master Cushing, years ago treating patients in the Lower Banks, and it came easily now. “I’ll make sure that she knows you’re asking after her. Perhaps you’d like to leave her a letter?” It wasn’t until a full bell later that Liv was finally able to escape. She committed to eating breakfast with her father and grandmother, accepted not one but two letters for Triss – from her father and her brother, both of which she’d promptly passed to Arjun – and promised Kaija that she wouldn’t leave for Varuna until a personal guard was ready to go with her. She’d also seen Wren slip off to speak with Ghveris, and suspected the huntress would be in the mountains long before Liv managed to join her. Once most of those who had come for the council had either continued on to the painted desert rift, or returned to where they’d journeyed from, Liv slipped around the curtain which had been hung to give Keri a bit of privacy in the barracks. She wasn’t surprised to find Ilmari ka Väinis sitting at his son’s bedside, or that Keri was asleep. The old man looked up at Liv without rising. “Good. I think it is about time that you and I spoke.” Liv chewed her lip. “I had wanted to speak to Keri. I need him to –” “I am unconcerned with what you think you need of my son,” the elder said, rising. Though he had begun to lose a bit of height from age, he still towered over her, and Liv had to fight an instinct to take a step backward. “Shall we step outside, then?” Liv suggested. “So that we don’t wake him?” Ilmari gave her a curt side and swept past, close enough that Liv had to step back or allow herself to be pushed aside. Quickly, she leaned down over Keri and rested her hand on his forehead. “I’ll be right back,” she whispered. Then, she followed the elder out through the barracks onto the smooth expanse of stone that Rose had carved from the mountain. The curtain walls cut the wind somewhat, as well as the still-unworked crag of granite rising at the center of the peak, which Liv and Rosamund had talked about turning into a keep. Kaija fell into step just behind Liv – far enough back to give privacy, but close enough to intervene if needed. They climbed the stairs to the top of the curtain wall, where the great enchanted siege engines had been mounted, and there, finally, Ilmari turned to face Liv. “When Keri saw you in a vision, I knew you would impact his life,” the elder said, and he made no effort to hide the bitterness in his voice. “At the time, I thought that you might be his second kwenim. I never expected that you would be responsible for my son being crippled.”