The board is set, the pieces are moving

Artorias was pleased that Bramble acquiesced and followed along with him to the deep breathing exercises. He didn't want his children to stress over the problems of an alpha, nor did he wish to see his child walk down the path he had when he was her age. It was a parent's job to make their children's lives easier, not harder. With that part done, the pair of Carpathians turned their attention to the pieces on the map table and to Artorias' philosophical question. Art gave Bramble all the time she needed to gather her thoughts, to mull over the dilemma and come to her own conclusions. He wanted to hear not only the take of his Envoy, but of his daughter and the younger generation as well. Part of what made the Hallows so uniquely strong was its collaboration between wolves of all different kinds—be it age, race, creed, or history.

When Bramble did speak, she expanded upon his question with some of her own. Why was Insomnia considered an enemy? Can relations ever be mended between two animus packs? Artorias admired Bramble's openminded approach to the question, and he would give her the answers and information she sought to make a rationalized decision. "No, it is not impossible for groups who were enemies to become amicable or even friendly. It is difficult, but not impossible. As you said, wolves and circumstances change." Artorias walked around to the other side of the table, now facing Bramble directly and positioning himself closer to the Insomnia effigy in the west. It was time Bramble learned the history of the Hallows and Insomnia.

"Before you were born, the Ashen Empire was at the height of its power. There were four packs under their banner—Ashen, the Armada, the Hallows, and Habari. Habari was led by Empress Venom's cousin, Recluse Klein. A lesser known branch of the Empire, but a part of it nonetheless. One day, one of their slaves escaped their bondage and challenged Recluse for Habari, a notion never before seen or heard of in Ardent." Artorias paused, perhaps for dramatic effect, as he lifted the Insomnia effigy, looking it over before meeting his daughter's brilliant turquoise gaze. "That slave was Medusa. She beat Recluse in fair combat and took control of Habari and turned it into Insomnia." Artorias set the effigy back down on Insomnia's lands, his expression darkening as he looked down upon it on the table. "That alone would have been fine... but it was what Medusa did next that made her an enemy of the Ashen Empire. She banished Recluse from the pack, but enslaved her entire family in turn, refusing to let any of them leave and taking them prisoner. She took Recluse's home and her family from her, then cast her out into the cold."

Artorias drew in a deep breath as he remembered that day vividly. Medusa, laughing and gloating over the beaten Recluse, taunting her as she took her entire family away to be imprisoned. Recluse's wails, her cries to her children that she would save them. Why hadn't he acted then? "I swore on that day that the Hallows would be a refuge to any of Recluse's family that wished to flee their bondage and that we would help reunite their family, but I did not act directly against Medusa. I could not. It wasn't my place to start a war on behalf of the Empire. But Venom never gave the order, never allowed us to seek retribution against her for destroying a part of the Empire. So... we just let it go." It still brought the Lord of Cinder great shame to admit that he had been sidelined and done nothing when he saw an obvious injustice unfolding right before his very eyes. He could understand why Ember was so incensed by his tepid response to the Syndicate. "Insomnia flourished in the aftermath and Recluse ended up dying alone and never seeing her family again. And that's where we land today—the Hallows and Insomnia still at odds over a fight that occurred almost three years ago."

And now they came back to the matter at hand. Artorias slid down from the table and moved around toward the northern end of Boreas, picking up the serpent effigy of the Syndicate and studying it with disgust. "In those three years, Insomnia has never bothered the Hallows once. They've lived in their own existence, content to be by themselves. I saw them as a threat back then, but now that I've seen what a real threat looks like, I wonder if perhaps it's time we changed with the times as well." Amber eyes moved over to his daughter then, looking to Bramble for her take on the matter. "As Envoy of the Hallows, and as my daughter, what do you make of the situation, Bramble?" He was asking for her pure unfiltered thoughts on the information and history she had been given.

"Artorias" | "Carpathian" | "Corbin" | "Eira" | "Argent"