Unity in the Long Night

It was dark now. The world had been plagued by unusually long nights of a constant full moon, and with only a few hours of dim daylight in between. But here in the hall of the Hallows, it was warm.

Avantika wasn't the first to arrive, but neither was she the last. She scanned the room, and her eyes immediately fell upon Art, who was presiding over the Aegis's chair while Ulric stood near the front of the hall. She smiled. Their new leader had finally officially taken the place. She'd expected it, as her brother began to take on more and more responsibilities, and she was devoted to the opinion that he would serve and lead them well. Let nobody presume they could insult him! She knew he could fight his own battles, but she would also be more than happy to fight for him if he had better things to do.

And yet, she couldn't help but feel a pang in her chest as she looked at the chair. A part of it still belonged to a woman now dead. Her mother. Her leader. Avantika would have followed her to the ends of the earth. As much as she liked to focus on the future, she knew deep in her soul that she would have willingly given up that future, given up her life, everything, for Resin.

She nodded and grinned at Art before taking a seat near him, but with an empty chair between them, in case someone else wanted to be near him more. She turned her gaze then to the food.

"Speech"