I. Late Spring, 210

After Lucien d'Aramis' departure from the Castle of the Sea, three days finds the ancient edifice empty. In the week that follows, all eyes turn to the east, following Francisco Minamet's message to his family's army. Mineko Minamet, the Marquess of Last Stand, commands the regiment arrayed against the Crux blockade. A proud woman with the purest of bloodlines, she was once considered a leading candidate for Princess Consort. When she receives the letter, her face reddens with anger, but she complies with its orders. The Minamet withdraw, and the Crux army marches on Hiyama, the Dawning Star's sanctuary.

A week's march east of Hiyama, a second force of Minamet make their way into the desert, accompanied by Kimiko Sone and Yamato Komaru's personal guard. In the desert, they follow the circling vultures to a gruesome site: the remains of Alessandro's expeditionary force, surrounded by a pack of the Black Pharaoh's raiders. When the Minamet, aided by the mysterious appearance of a troop of Veiled Guard, scatter their enemies, they discover Alessandro among the survivors. Wounded but elated nevertheless, he tells his saviors, "I have faced the enemy," and unwraps his prize: the decaying corpse of a dark-skinned man with a heron's head. "This," he says, "is a Child of the Aten. They are our true foes."

The army cheers him, and he raises his sword in triumph.

His joy is short-lived.

II. Late Spring, 210

Reports of the destruction of Hiyama all begin the same way: as the Twilight Crux army surrounds the city, the Dawning Star seals the gates and prepares for a siege. When the Crux presents its demands, Ciarra Lacroix emerges from the gates with two followers. They confer briefly, and she commands the other two to return to the city. Then, she walks alone to the waiting Crux delegation. They reveal the terms of their pact with the Minamet, and Lacroix bows her head and surrenders to them. At Lacroix's command, the Dawning Star opens the gates of Hiyama and imprisons its leader in her own home.

Three days pass, and the stories begin to diverge. Several mention Lacroix telling her jailers that she was being poisoned. One even gives her last words, "You won't be able to stop it. I'm sorry for you." In response, it is widely believed that she was moved to a different cell. Wherever she ended up, it is certain that an unknown party attempted to force entry into the prison shortly afterwards, and that the Crux responded violently to the attack. As gunshots rung through the citadel, the powder stores somehow caught fire.

Crux gunpowder is largely sawdust or other flammable inert matter. Normally, it burns quickly before running out of fuel. The powder stores beneath Hiyama Citadel do not burn normally. The resulting explosion brings the citadel's towers down, and sends a balefire inferno streaming into the sky in their place. As the castle burns, the truce between the Twilight Crux and the Dawning Star suddenly ends. Perceiving themselves to be under attack by the Star, the Crux begin killing the disarmed members of the schism order. Before the night ends, Hiyama and the Dawning Star die.

The Crown Prince knows when Ciarra Lacroix dies. Some say her spirit appears before him. Others say she appears in his dreams. However it happens, his entire camp knows of the destruction of Hiyama within the night of its fall.

III. Summer, 210

In the weeks that follow, Alessandro's battered forces make their way to the Minamet city of Sunrise. By the time of his arrival, the Minamet lords have already assembled there to welcome him and his wife, now visibly pregnant. The Crown Prince wastes no time in addressing them. His blistering castigation of the entire family's cowardice is the first sign that he has changed. His stream of invective comes to a sudden end when Mineko Minamet draws her katana on him.

Before a deathly silent audience, Mineko says, "My ancestors have spilled generations of blood to keep your kind safe. They will not bear your affront."

Alessandro answers her. "We will see whom your ancestors weep for." With a single motion, he draws the Royal Sword against the Marquess of Last Stand.

Minamet steel is the finest in the kingdom, and Mineko's blade is forged with secrets that have been lost for ages. For a thousand years, it has guarded the eastern frontier of Komaru. When Alessandro's blade touches it, her katana shatters.

Alessandro replaces his sword in its sheath as Mineko stares at the four shattered pieces of her blade. Stunned, the nobility simply watches. Finally, Mineko speaks. "It seems I am wrong." Her eyes narrow with barely contained rage as she sinks to the ground before him. "When my blade is one again, it is yours to command." She rises, carrying her broken sword away.

That night, the Twilight Crux lodge in Sunrise burns to the ground.

IV. Summer and Autumn, 210

One by one, the Crux holdings in Minamet lands fall. The Crux wastes no time in responding, and cuts off trade into their realm. This time, however, no effort is made to ensure that food is distributed to the peasantry. When the news of the conflict spreads, the Sone family declares its public support for the Minamet by ejecting the Crux from their lands. As they do so, they round up a dozen prominent Crux members, and hand them to the Church with signed confessions of their involvement in countless forbidden occult rites. The Church seizes the opportunity to pass judgement on them, and all twelve are publicly executed. In response, the Crux expands its blockade to include the Bellatrix and Sone as well.

Meanwhile, in the east the Minamet savage the Crux and drive them from their land. Alessandro is said to ride with them, and rumors spread that he has been driven mad, or has been replaced by a fiend that wears his shape. The Crux army at Hiyama turns south, sweeping aside several small Minamet armies as it heads to protect its interests. As the Crux crush the Minamet forces in the north, the Yuasa take the opportunity to seize the viscounty of Sandfell from its Minamet overlords.

Peasants, caught in the wake of the armies' movements, flee west into Komaru lands. There, they find themselves welcomed by the Royal Seneschal's forces. Lucien has not been idle in the past months, and the refugees discover that the Royal Capital has been fortified to a surprising degree. He offers safe haven to all of the refugees, provided they submit to a few simple rules his army enforces within the city. As the rest of the kingdom convulses, the Royal Council finds itself Lucien d'Aramis' honored guests. Those that choose to leave are allowed to do so, but Lucien apologetically informs them that they may not be allowed back in. Faced with the prospect of Lucien's guns, most of the Council members decide to remain peacefully in the capital and attempt to carry on as normal.

As autumn ends, the Princess Consort gives birth to twins. Both the boy and the girl are reported to be healthy, although certain hints of irregularities do spread about the birth. With the exception of the large lizard the twins receive as a birthday gift, most of these are quickly connected to rumors of Alessandro's madness. In the capital, Lucien d'Aramis holds a festival for the absentee rulers and their children, even as the Twilight Crux army blocks the Komaru-backed Minamet army's push towards the capital. The battle is short, inconclusive, and exceptionally bloody. In the Royal Capital, the streets run red with wine for days; on the plains of White Veils, the red is blood.

V. Winter, 210

Winter brings peace to Komaru.

On the night of winter's first full moon, Lucien d'Aramis marries Glorianna Touraine, the Duchess of Touraine in the Hall of Kings. The wedding is officiated over by Maurice Ambre, the newly appointed Radiance of Touraine-by-the-Sea, and the majority of the Touraine family is in attendance. The wedding itself is lavish, and the bride is as beautiful as any queen, gowned in a splendor of frothy white. Beneath the layers and veils, the lines of her gown cling to her form like a glove, a clear reminder of her Touraine heritage.

When Lucien arrives, he does so bearing the coronet of a count. When he names himself, it is as "Lucien Skye, son of Valentin Komaru, Count of Skye by the grace of Duke Tourmaline Touraine of Umikaze." As he claims the last Crown Prince as his father, the Hall falls into absolute silence. After their vows are completed, Lucien addresses the assembled crowd.

"For too long, civil strife has crippled our kingdom. It is time to put that to an end. I have spoken to the Royal Council, and to the Preceptors of the Twilight Crux. To mend the wounds within this land, I have obtained their agreement to the following pact. First, the Crux has agreed to end its blockades of the Bellatrix, Minamet, and Sone lands, forgiving the atrocities their nobility has committed against the order. The Crux armies will withdraw immediately from those families' lands. Second, I have convinced the Royal Council to recognize my brother's daughter as the Royal Heir. Our land has a future, and this is a time for rejoicing! Finally, I will be stepping down as the Royal Seneschal. My duties to my wife," he smiles at his dazzling bride, "to my new lands, and to the newborn family of Skye demand nothing less." He leans over to kiss Glorianna, and she has the decency to blush at such a shockingly public display of his affection. "As my last command, I entreat you to celebrate this event, and this chance for peace. I am your Seneschal no longer."

Escorted by the Crux armies, Count Lucien Skye and his wife Duchess Glorianna Touraine make their way to the Castle of the Sea and the neighboring County of Skye.

VII. Early Spring, 211

Reyhari, the Principal Light of the Church, was an old man during the Interregnum. He has seen more than his share of history, and played a part in much of that. Now, he is dying.

Normally, the Numinous Council of the Church of Inner Light would gather to choose his successor, but in the 211^th year of Paraceln's Age, little normalcy remains in Komaru. Thus, no one was surprised to learn that the Numinous Council wished to hear a debate between concerned members of the Church before naming Reyhari's successor. It came as even less of a surprise when the Numinous Council chose the home of one who had been excommunicated two mere years earlier as the site of the public debate.

Thus, in the 211^th year of Paraceln's Age, the Inner Light came again to the Castle of the Sea, this time to burn for the pleasure of its mistress.