Centuries of aggression have taught the members of the Karn clan one thing: if you go looking for trouble where there’s none to be found, someone will be happy to make it for you. No one understood this better than Tuya. As the sister to the clan leader, Altan Karn, her wisdom had become a vital part of the policies that guided her house. The Karns had spent many winters defending their precious home atop Mt. Phoenix from their enemies. The Piers of the west and the Crowmonts of the east had been some of their greatest adversaries while the Brokamac had been known for driving fear into the hearts of every clan leader. But the days of Pyris and battling both each other and the elements were over.
It was thanks to Tuya that Altan finally opened their home to the Piers and Crowmonts. It wasn’t that they trusted the other clans, but they had little choice but to learn to coexist. Their territory, while not completely comfortable, was more than large enough for all of them. Another thing that each of the three clans could agree on was that the Brokamac were not to be invited to these discussions. That clan was a threat the others would have happily discussed extinguishing together if the Coronosians to the south hadn’t already drawn their attention.
So, without the Brokamac to stir up the long-forgotten hatred between these families, the Karns, Crowmonts, and Piers combined their strength to form a more powerful nation. It was presumed that the Brokamac would fall in line eventually, but they did not survive to see the founding of Heron thanks to the eastlanders they foolishly tried to enslave. The news of the fourth clan’s utter decimation was met with mixed feelings, to be sure. The Piers Clan, who had enjoyed a particularly warm relationship with the Brokamac, called for war. The Crowmont Clan, who respected the Chaotic spirit of the Coronosians destroying their oppressors, called for restraint. The Karns, however, needed a long time to deliberate on this choice. With the Coronosians’ discovery of the arcane, they had become a threat that couldn’t safely be ignored, but they couldn’t advocate for war against a nation that hadn’t directed any aggression toward them.
The question of what to do about the eastlanders found its answer twenty years later. For Tuya, it had been a normal day of bonding with commoners, who the Karns particularly adored. She was sad to see the division that grew between the descendants of the original clan leaders of Pyris and those who followed them. Thus, she worked extra hard to minimize this effect by making everyone feel valued. In her conversations, however, she had learned something from passerby that her brother had not seen fit to tell her: the Lords of the Piers and Crowmont clans had paid them a visit once more. This in itself was highly unusual since Dalaska now existed as a meeting place for their three houses.
Tuya rushed back up to the house and indeed found two carriages parked beside their own; one marked with a lapis sunfish and the other emblazoned with the symbol of a rose. Why they were here was a question with no positive answer that she could possibly think of. Fearing the worst, she burst into the sitting room and found her older brother sitting with the other lords, Torvald Piers and Borna Crowmont.
“Ah, Tuya! It’s good to see you home so early!” Altan said with a grin. “We could really use your help!”
Tuya took her usual seat beside her brother, to looks of disdain from the other lords.
“You would entrust this matter to the wisdom of a woman?” Torvald said with a scoff. “You Karns have really gotten comfortable on your mountaintop haven’t you?”
“Tuya is currently the wisest person in this room,” Altan said firmly. “As I am once again the tie-breaking vote here, she is going to have some say in what we do, whether you like it or not, Piers.”
Borna rolled his eyes and said, “Her rude interruption aside, I have no problem with this so long as we can settle this today.”
“Yet we must now waste time letting her catch up?” Torvald groaned.
Altan sighed and held out a scroll of parchment for his sister to take. “This is going to take some time. You may as well read this while the men bicker.”
Tuya unfurled the message, which bore the seal of a great Sunburst as its header. The words that followed read:
To the Lords of Heron,
I am Hem Maloran, one the revolutionaries responsible for liberating Coronos from Pyrisian occupation twenty years ago. I am writing to inform you of my intent to join my house with that of the royalty of Necros, our neighbors to the south. What was once two weak countries is soon to become one that I hope will have the power to protect its people from any invaders. This is of relevance to you because of our previous hostilities with your Brokamac brethren. While war is not our intent, it is important that you understand the following words. Rest assured that we do not regret doing what we had to in order to save our people from yours and that this new kingdom of Resta will be ready should you decide to turn your swords in our direction once more. May you all be blessed.
Tuya frowned as she completed her reading of the short letter. She furled it once more and handed it back to her brother as she pondered its implications.
“Surely if this woman’s as smart as you say, she will agree that this is a challenge!” Torvald said insistently.
“You can’t be serious!” Borna declared with a scowl. “This is obviously a paper shield, meant to discourage us from seeking vengeance!”
“Vengeance is exactly what is deserved! Those wretches have killed thousands of our kinsmen!” Torvald boomed angrily.
“Torvald, you will control yourself in my house!” Altan snapped, a little less patiently than before. “Tuya, what do you think?”
Tuya frowned at the question, wishing she’d had a little more time to think. “I think they’re both right. This is clearly a challenge, but not one that’s meant to lead to war. The wolves are baring their fangs. Nothing more.”
“All the more reason to crush them!” Torvald said impatiently. “If we do nothing after receiving this message, it will make us look weak! Then, if they decide that killing the Brokamac isn’t enough to satisfy their rage, they’ll turn their swords toward US!”
“That’s a fairly bold assumption,” Borna said distastefully. “Would wiping out an entire clan not be enough for you in their position?”
“Their feud was with the Brokamac, not us,” Tuya mumbled. “To be honest, I don’t see why we need to consider them enemies at all. Even you have to admit that the Brokamac were unstable, Torvald.”
Torvald grumbled something beneath his breath, in which Tuya was sure she had caught the word “woman” yet again.
“What would you recommend?” Altan asked.
“Torvald is right when he says that ignoring this message will make us look weak,” she said, her confidence raised by her brother’s sincere question. “But let’s respond in a way that shows we do not fear OR hate them. I’ll be right back!”
When Tuya returned with the letter she’d written in response, all three of the lords nodded in agreement. Even Torvald seemed duly impressed.
“Yes, yes, that will do,” the Piers lord said with a big, toothy grin. “If Hem doesn’t respond to this, we’ll know his words are hollow!”
“Let’s sign it,” Altan said with a wink that was only seen by his sister.
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