Learn to live with the unimaginable

Ulric waited at the head of the room for the pack wolves to appear, almost worried that they wouldn’t show. After all, most of them wouldn’t know about the change in leadership so perhaps they wouldn’t feel as obligated to answer. Luckily just a few minutes later they began to filter in with Artorias leading the charge. He returned the young man’s nod before looking to Dunkan as he joined them and then to his sweet Jane. He smiled softly as she ran up to him, returning her hug before she went off to sit near Artorias. When he looked up again he was surprised to see Grimshaw walk into the room since he hadn’t seen the dark coated wolf in quite some time. He thought that perhaps he had went off on his own, but he was glad to see that he had returned all the same. He turned his attention to Lilith then, her appearance out among the pack for the first time warming his heart. He gave her a smile as she came to sit near him, leaning over to briefly press his nose to her cheek. A couple more wolves filed in afterward and he nodded politely to Sota and Duchess in turn. He noticed Lúta’s companion enter and expected the healer to follow suit and grew concerned when he didn’t see her, giving the macaque a curious glance.

They slowly began to pile in more quickly, Daphne joining them, followed by Ezra and Gwynevere. Then came Tamsyn and he gave the former Seraph an encouraging smile as she limped her way to the front of the room and sat near him, giving her a thankful nod. He knew this wasn't easy on her - it wouldn't be easy for a lot of the pack - but she had come and that meant a lot. Avantika lingering in the back before he spotted Indigo walk in, shortly followed by another woman he hadn't personally met het, but he thought her name was Cosette or something similar. He gave the trio of purple-hued wolves a curious glance before he looked toward Outlaw and Rudyard, nodding quietly to himself. It seemed that everyone was here... except for his son Emile. He frowned for a moment and looked around the room, making sure that he hadn't just missed the tan and white young man somewhere in the crowd. But no, he was no where to be found. He waited a few moments longer to see if he would show and finally just let out a slightly frustrated sigh through his nose before he brushed the feeling away and went on with getting the meeting going. No need to keep everyone here waiting.

"Thank you for coming, everyone," he spoke, raising his deep voice so everyone all the way in the back could hear. "I suppose I might as well get the most pressing and most obvious news out of the way first. Resin has asked for me to take over as Aegis until her and Tamsyn's children are old enough and prepared to lead The Hallows themselves. Recently it has come to light that her heath has taken a sharp decline, causing her to be unstable and violent at times. She made the decision to keep herself in a cell in the dungeons following an accident involving Tamsyn, feeling that it is unsafe for her to be around others. No one is to go to the dungeons without permission." He was serious and mater of fact as he spoke, his silver gaze slowly sweeping the crowd. "Resin has been a strong and capable leader for all of us - and the best mentor I could have asked for. This isn't news that I share with any joy, but I promise to do my best for all of you." He paused for a moment, looking at each of them. "I hope that each of you will continue to call The Hallows home with this news, but if there are any of you that were loyal to Resin alone and no longer wish to remain here then simply come to me after I'm done. I won't ask questions, I only wish to know that you will be leaving us."

He sighed softly, pulling a slight smile onto his lips. "In all this darkness, there is some light. The huge group of Younglings we once had between Resin and Tamsyn's children and my own officially join the ranks with the rest of the pack as of today. I'm excited to see what all of you do as yearlings," he said as he looked across the room, glancing at each young man and woman in the group. "There are some that have made some fantastic strides even though they are still so young. I'm proud to say that Gwynevere will be a Sage and our newest Knights will be Rudyard and Avantika. Sota, I have decided to place you as a Sage as well and Dunkan will join our Knights." There was still a whole host of wolves that would remain in the Kin ranks, but this was at least a significant amount of progress and he hoped it might inspire others to strive for more.

"As for our upper ranks," he began, glancing toward Tamsyn. "Tamsyn has requested to step down from Seraph, but has agreed to hold the role of Templar until another wolf builds up their skills to take her place. She has long since been a skilled warrior and teacher so I hope that being in this role can give her a chance to do more of both." He gave her a small nod before looking up, smiling a bit as his eyes found Indigo in the crowd. "I would also like to place Indigo as our second Templar. He proved himself to be very adept in fighting during the practice raid that was held between ourselves and Ashen. Indigo, I hope you'll use this promotion to continue building your skills and test your skills as a leader." He grinned softly at the violet man before going on to his last bit of news.

"Finally... We come to who will be replacing me as Baron. The position of Baron is going to take on a slightly different tone than it once had in the past. It was always considered a leader in training, but now this will specifically be the pack's heir. I am also going to challenge this wolf with monitoring and leading the training of the pack in the area of fighting - working along side our Templars to continue bettering our Knights. He wondered if anyone had pieced together who it was yet just from process of elimination based on who had been called on already, a little smirk crossing his face at the thought. "I have chosen Artorias for this task," he announced, giving the blue-marked boy a glance. "Even at a year of age he has proven himself to be a fierce competitor in battle and has always been a constant presence around the castle, constantly ready and willing to lend a paw." He looked toward Artorias just to see his reaction, curious to see what the boy would think. "The position of Baron may be challenged for by any of Tamsyn and Resin's children should they wish to. Once I hand over the reigns in a couple of years whoever is our current Baron can decide how the power and responsibilities will be shared, but the main title of Aegis will be given to that heir... Congratulations, Artorias. I look forward to working with you more closely."

With that he looked up at the crowd once more, giving them all a soft smile. "Thank you again for coming. If you have anything you would like to add please go ahead or come see me if there is something you would like to tell me individually."

Ulric Adravendi