Thorn was outside of the castle walls, along the beach where he liked to practice some of his sword moves while standing in a few inches of water. The soft shifting sand and the moving surf added that little extra effort to the training. He found it helped to make him focus on balance even if only a little more than normal.

Stormsong was an amazing weapon, not just because of its size but the excellent balance between the hilt and blade. He was working on a three-strike pattern but paused at Dad’s call. Putting his sword back into its sheath attached to his back, Thorn turned to head back to the hallows walls.

Thorn jogged to the Great Hall, slowing to a walk as he entered. Numerous wolves were already present. Spotting Dusk near the front Thorn took a seat near her, opposite of the side Sitri had shown. Giving his sister a friendly shoulder bump as his attention looked towards his father.

"Thorn Carpathius"

Her pups were getting older and sooner than she could blink, they'd be yearlings already! She was conducting a lesson with the girls when Artorias' call rang out for the pack to gather, and so she concluded the lesson early and made her way toward the meeting hall with Avalon and Zelda by her side. Greed would meet them there, she was sure. He had gone out to hunt to add to the pack stores, and was sure he had heard the call and would return soon enough. She had been out of the loop with the goings on of the pack, but that was due to her focusing on her family and teaching the girls, ensuring they would be prepared for life's trials. As they reached the meeting, most (if not all) were gathered, so she took a seat near the back and settled down with her daughters and waited. "Speak

She was growing into a fine young woman, and she enjoyed spending time with her sister, exploring the castle and nearby lands, learning from her parents and other members of the pack, and just life overall. She was learning about some minor political things from her mother when the Aegis called the pack together for a meeting, and although the lesson was cut a little short, she had learned a good bit. She followed her mother to the meeting hall and found a ton of wolves gathered and waiting. She didn't know how many members of the hallows there were, but it looked like a lot! She settled down in the back with her mother and sister, amber gaze searching for her father's entrance as she waited.

She was enjoying her lessons with her mother, and soon would be going on another outside adventure with her father when he returned from his hunt! But it would seem that maybe it would have to wait another day because Artorias had called the pack together for a meeting, cutting her mothers lesson on politics a little short. Oh well, maybe they could pick it back up later! Following her mother and sister to the meeting, she was always enthralled by the the splendor the castle no matter how many times she saw everything. Settling down with her mother and sister, she waited patiently for the meeting to start.

He wasn't terribly far away when Artorias called the pack together for a meeting. The elder male held a young buck firmly in his jaws as he dragged it back toward the castle. He had had great success in hunting lately, especially with his traps. Considering his age, he wasn't as quick as he used to be, but he was still clever and strong enough to take down his prey and fight when he needed to. After reaching Hallowed grounds, he left his catch under shelter and would return later to process it. First, he had a meeting to tend to, so that would have to wait. He quietly made his way toward them, spotting his wife and children as he entered and went to sit with them. Nuzzling each of them, he settled down to rest his aching muscles and waited for the meeting to begin. "Talk"

Carefully... Carefully...! With delicate paws, Syanna took great care administering a precise amount of drops from a small vial into the flask currently heating up over a small burner in her room. Her chemistry set was all spread out across her work desk, various ingredients and concoctions of all kinds strewn across its surface while she worked on what might be her greatest accomplishment to date. But it required the utmost precision and accuracy in her measurements. One wrong dosage could easily lead to horrific side effects or death with this. But the Carpathian princess had asked her to put her knowledge of the Long Night's mysterious maladies to use creating a cure for someone she cared about and Syanna had been all in on her project. With the drops she needed added, Syanna picked up the flask and began to swirl it gently in her paws, watching the contents within being to slowly mix together.

But just as she began her mixing, the howl from the Aegis went out and Syanna's ears perked, a look of panic crossing her face. Oh no no no! Not now! She needed to mix this for five minutes still! Anxiously swirling the flask, Syanna began to hum a nervous little tune while she counted down the seconds in her head, a paw tapping impatiently on the floor. C'mon, potion, hurry up! She had a meeting to get to! Time ticked by second after second, each moment making her hope and pray she didn't end up being the last one to arrive to a meeting late. Swirl swirl swirl went the liquid inside the flask. Tick tick tick went the clock. Syanna gave an impatient whine while she worked. And then, after an agonizingly long time, the colors shifted in the liquid, and then she got the result she was looking for. Success!

Shutting off the burner and setting the flask aside to cool, Syanna scurried out of her room and rushed down the stairs, practically leaping off the final set to go sprinting into the Great Hall. Shoot, everyone else was here already! Moving as surreptitiously as she could since it didn't seem like the meeting had begun yet, she slunk through the crowd to go find a seat beside her husband, nestling up next to Ezra and turning a little smile up at him while they waited for things to get started.

"Syanna"

Bramble was up in her room standing in front of a pile of her things. With her first mission soon to begin in the coming days, she was struggling to decide what to bring. She couldn’t bring too much as she would be walking the whole way and her companions wouldn’t be capable of helping either. A sigh leaves her as she looks around her messy, yet tidy room. A familiar place that brought her comfort and happiness.

“I’ll be back before I know it,” she whispers under her breath, a somber smile on her lips. Carefully picking through her things, one of her ears flicks toward the door as her father’s resounding howl echoes up to the fourth floor. A meeting? So soon already? Bramble pauses, but continues to sort. She could leave in a minute. There were plenty of others who would need to arrive anyway.

Minutes pass as she finishes deciding her items to bring when she realizes oh shit, the meeting call. Stress flicks across her expression as she drops what she’s doing and races out of her room, barely shutting the door behind her. Scrambling down the stone steps, her cat-like claws finding it hard to keep her upright, she makes it to the Great Hall breathless and warm.

Slipping through the doors, shutting them quietly behind her, Bramble skirts around the edge of the room. Her bright aqua eyes scan the crowd, a tiny smile toward her siblings and a more apologetic one toward her parents as she scoots into her appointed seat beside Dusk. “Should be interesting,” Bramble whispers to her sooty sister, a raised brow of inquiry dissolving the ‘sorry I’m late look’ that had been on her face moments before.

The members of the Hallows began to gradually file into the Great Hall and find positions around the room to settle in and listen to the meeting. Artorias greeted each of his wolves with smiles and nods as they acknowledged him, smiling lovingly to Briar as she sat beside him with a kiss to his cheek. Ember's cold demeanor towards him wasn't missed, but he did not show any reaction towards it, despite the blow it landed. Everyone arrived in their own time, even some wolves Art had missed seeing around as frequently as they had been, like Sota, Silas, and Gloom. Even Nelu appeared, his son still recovering from his illness and looking thinner than ever. Nelu and Vendrick's sicknesses had been a constant weight on Artorias' mind, and the father wordlessly pushed a haunch of venison down the table towards Nelu. They would get some weight back on their boy.

Once everyone had arrived, Artorias rose to stand, placing his forepaws on the table to lift himself up high. He wanted to be sure everyone heard what he had to say today. "Thank you all for coming so swiftly. It's been some time since we've had a full pack meeting, and it does my heart good to see everyone today. I have a few announcements to make, some that will change the shape of the Hallows forever." With the pleasantries done and the agenda laid out, Artorias moved on to the first item on his itinerary. "First, as many of you have seen or heard, Ashen is no more. With its fall, we are no longer a part of the Ashen Empire. The Armada and Elysium have renewed their alliances with us, and Valta has joined in as well. We are working on building our relationships up with the rest of the packs in Ardent, and for that if anyone would like to volunteer for diplomatic missions to aid our friends and foster good will with them, please speak to me or Bramble." It was heartbreaking for Artorias to think that none of the other packs in the world saw the dangers lurking in the shadows of their very home. But whether they saw it now or not, the Hallows would need to be ready to run interference where they could.

"Second, it is with grim severity that I inform you all that the Hallows is now officially enemies with the pack known as the Syndicate. Any Syndicate wolves or wolves of the Saxe family are to be considered extremely hostile and dangerous. They have made threats against us and against our home, and their alpha has made it abundantly clear that he would see us all dead. All Hallows wolves are to avoid any contact with this group at all times. Do not engage with them, do not interact with them, do not offer them aid. If they choose to engage with you, consider them threats and treat them as such to ensure you are all kept safe, no matter the means. But know that I have no intentions of leading us into war with them." This was the first time Artorias had to declare another pack as an enemy. It felt wrong given the nature of the Hallows, but there was no other choice. The Syndicate had been a threat to his family in the past and now that threat was growing.

Which lead him right into his third point. "Lastly, I want to talk about the future of the Hallows. From its inception, the Hallows has always been a place of sanctuary and healing, a neutral ground where all are welcome. This was my mother's vision for the world, and it's been the vision of our pack since day one." Artorias paused for a moment, taking a deep breath before continuing. This was it. "But the world my mother saw is not the world we live in any longer. The more we remain neutral, the more the world continues to move around us, and we are either left behind or caught in the crossfire. If we continue to stand aside, then we send a message that the Hallows is willing to let injustices and villainies like what occurred at Norad to go unchecked. We are a beacon of light in a dark world, but if the world we seek to improve is falling apart around us, then what is our purpose and place in the world?"

Artorias held his head high as he prepared for the consequences that would follow his next decree. "From this day forward, the Hallows will continue to be a bastion of sanctuary and healing, a place for the weary and needy to find respite—but we will also be a sword as much as we are a shield. We will no longer sit idle while the lands of Ardent change around us. We will adapt and evolve with the world, and we will help shape its future with our morals and values to guide us. We will stand with our friends and be the harbingers of light against the dark. We will fight against the evil that dares to invade these lands. We will be the change we want to see." Artorias turned to draw Embershard, balancing the blade against the stone floor and resting his paws across the crossguard, the silver blade gleaming in the light. "The Hallows' creed will never change, but it will evolve and expand. And with it, so too must we. To begin, I will be taking on a new title as alpha, one more fitting to our mission. An Aegis is for protection, and I will continue to do so with my life, but the alpha of the Hallows will be more than just a shield. So Briar and I will be taking the titles of Lord and Lady of Cinder. The title comes from our ever-burning hearth, our symbolic light. We are more than just the shield that protects our domain. We are the sword to fight back the darkness. Our legacy will continue for generations to come, and the Hallows will remain the beacon for all who carry goodness in their souls and peace in their hearts."

Artorias gave his congregated wolves a chance to absorb and digest his words. It was a lot to take him, he knew—dramatic changes and shifts in the pack's very way of life. It was a necessary change though, one that would ensure the Hallows would remain for centuries. He hoped he hadn't disappointed his wolves by doing this though. "While our core tenets will not be changing, I understand that this is a departure from the original creed my mother built the Hallows on. Because of this, I understand if this path forward is not something everyone can align with. If you feel that the Hallows is not the place you wish to live in any longer, speak with me. I will not stop anyone from following their path." Artorias hoped that none of them would leave. The Hallows would be taking a more active involvement in the outside world and abandon their isolationist stance, but the soul of the pack would remain the same.

With the heaviest of topics covered, Artorias stowed Embershard away and addressed the room with a bit more of a genuine smile. He looked like his usual self again for a moment, unburdened by the weight of the world. "In lighter news, I am happy to announce that we will be preparing our annual Bonfire Festival for the later half of this season! All friends of the Hallows are welcomed, so if you have family or relations in other packs that would like to join, please invite them to celebrate summer with us!" Dropping his paws from the table, Artorias returned to his throne. "Thank you all for your attention. If anybody has any questions or concerns, you may voice them now or later to me privately. Otherwise, this meeting is adjourned." Artorias released a heavy sigh and slumped back into his throne, watching the members of his pack—his family—to see who would do or say what.

ooc: No posting order needed for any follow up posts! Will be posting a tl;dr to the pack channel in a little bit!

"Artorias Carpathius"