Somewhere in the dark forests surrounding Caernholm, an animal was dying. Gideon heard the shrieks and snarls as he was pushed from the crypt by his large squire Gale. He had spent most of his day in the largest crypt outside of the castle and so he found it fitting that as he left that place of death another life was claimed. Ever since arriving in the Angevain Gideon had taken every opportunity to explore these ruins, either alone or with a guide. They were some of the oldest structures to exist in the realm, older than any of the sites in the Estermarch which he had toured as a boy. Following quickly behind him and his massive squire was the local priest, he was a familiar sight to Gideon in his black robes and silver chains, with the four-quartered cross pendent of his office hanging around his neck. Eldon, he named himself and by his admission, he was the only priest in the Angevain.

It was another point of fascination for Gideon, the beliefs of this ancient land, or lack thereof. From the few northerners he had spoken to, they considered the higher mysteries little. Whenever they were pressed, they would motion to the nearest crypt which littered the lands and say: “Everyone dies, no exceptions.” There were no priests in the Angevain- and no organised faith though they kept with the Everchosen-each village maintained its traditions passed down through stories or songs. It was a legacy of the druids who had tamed this land thousands of years ago. As he was pushed through the well-maintained halls of the dead, he considered them strange people obsessed with death. This crypt alone housed over ten thousand of the dead, the oldest ossuary was dated back to before Valorian the Great first brought the realm together during the fall of the Imperium. A chill had knifed its way through him when considered the sheer number of bones which surrounded him. As Squire Gale lifted him from his chair onto his horse Gideon looked up to the sky. The moon was low on the horizon and tendrils of harsh yellow began to flicker from the east. He must have been up all night, a glance and Eldon confirmed this, the man’s eyes were drooping, and his yawns were long and deep.

“Eldon, see that you close up the crypt properly, it would not do if the Queen’s brother was thought to be desecrating graves.” Gideon smiled as the man nodded glumly and turned back to the crypt, it was one of the few perks of having the queen as a sister, people tended to obey. With a snap of the reins, his horse began to trot forward. The rumble in his stomach reminded him it was time to break his fast and he began the arduous journey back to Caernholm. He cursed as his nimble palfrey slipped on yet another loose stone on the cobbled roads, he winced in pain as his back jerked in his saddle. Gideon cursed the northerners and their disdain for basic maintenance.

When he trotted through the inner gate of Caernholm the sun had just crested over the horizon and bathed the castle in a faint yellow. Cold summers were another oddity of this land Gideon thought, he wondered if that is what made them such a strange race. Despite the chill men were hard at work in the yard. As Gideon was helped down from his horse into his chair, he heard the gritty tones of Ser Draven Robane. “The boy is dead; no wet-eared noble’s son goes missing for this long without a ransom note. They are wasting their time.”

Gideon looked up and saw the grim bodyguard standing a head and a half taller than all the squires bustling around him. By his side was the crown prince Felix and his half-nephew Sidian. “You should not delay our departure for this folly coz, Rune needs to give it up so we can all get back to the warmth,” Sidian said with a cruel twist of his mouth.

“I mislike it, leaving without finding the boy alive or dead is ill luck. I would sooner stay and see him found.” Felix said with a stroke of his chin. Gideon stifled a laugh, if his nephew thought it made him look beyond his mere six and ten years he was mistaken.

“I could find him if it pleases you. Some local cutthroats will have tried to nick him for a ransom and the boy fought back. He will be dead in a ditch somewhere, but the kidnapper won’t have run, they’re stupid like that. Give me an hour I will give you the boy and the men who killed him.” Robane loomed tall over the two young boys, his one bare eye glaring with fierce intensity.

“Finish this business and show up Rune’s men, sounds like a plan to me.” Sidian laughed as he twirled a sword in his hands.

“The only plan you have there is sending Robane to kill some innocent tavern goers.” Gale had pushed him forward into the morning light.

Felix turned to glare at his cousin before nodding at Gideon. “Uncle.”

“Uncle,” Sidian said through gritted teeth.

“No such thing as an innocent tavern goer Lord Gideon,” Robane said with a nasty smile.

“If that were the case Robane, we’d both be criminals, and I am unwilling to throw myself into the stocks. Would you like to be sent to the block?” Gideon smiled as Robane’s smile turned to a frown and then into a snarl. He felt his massive squire grip the handles of his chair harder, he knew Gale would be squaring his shoulder, face concealed under his hooded green robes.

“It seems they are waiting for you Ser; you shouldn’t keep them waiting.” Gideon nodded to the knights waiting for the armoured Robane to enter the yard. Robane scowled and slapped his helmet over his head. “Do keep an eye on him, royal nephew, sometimes I fear he is half mad with that metal face. Sidian come here for a moment.” He beckoned his half-nephew with one hand. When the dark-haired youth bent low, he slapped him with the other. “See that you go to the Lord and Lady Rune, fall to your knees with tears in your eyes and beg forgiveness that you have not come to pay your respects earlier. And offer them your leal service in anything they might require in this time of mourning. You will go now, or I will see your father told of your insolence.”

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Sidian looked helplessly over at his cousin before turning and rushing away. He watched as the black snake of House Wyvn slithered away.

“You forget yourself, uncle. Sidian can be overly passionate but there was no need to embarrass him like that.” Felix looked down at him, his eyes were a dark blue and his hair gold.

“If you had him better in hand there would have been no need for that lesson.” Gideon inspected his hand, there was a fleck of blood on one of his rings. “That cousin of yours could use a few more lessons in decorum, we are not well-liked here nephew as I am sure you have noticed. There is no reason to make them dislike us anymore.” He looked about the yard searching for a golden knight.

“Tell me Felix where is your uncle.”

Felix nodded up to the tower above him. “He breaks his fast with the Duc.”

“You are not eating with them?”

The crown prince made a face. “I have no appetite, this business with Aelf, the grove and crypts which crisscross the castle gives me a chill.”

Gideon nodded refreshed by his nephew’s honesty. “Well warm yourself on the practice yard, I’ve been told it is excellent at warming even the bones.” He snapped his fingers and Squire Gale pushed him across the yard and headed toward the tower housing his siblings.

A cheerless meal had been laid out on the table of the guest tower. Bowls of honeyed gruel lay flat alongside flaky cakes and tough black bread. Hector sat with one leg resting over his knee, and to his right Duc Arand sat without so much as glancing at the food in front of them. They spoke in hushed tones which ended when Gideon was rolled into the room.

His young brother stared at him with open disdain, his golden eyes flicked between him and the shadow that loomed over the table. Gideon sighed. “Gale you are dismissed, wait outside until I require you again.” Wordlessly his massive squire retreated, barely making a sound on his enormous feet. “I sometimes forget how little you love my squires.”

“You keep a grotesquery around you brother, not a household. Why father lets you prance around with those monsters and name them squires is beyond me.” Hector peered back at him, the hatred softening to distaste.

“So, we are still here. I thought we were glorified messengers with orders to make for home with all haste once our delivery had been made.”

“The prince mourns with Baron Leofric. He commands us to stay and so we stay. For a time.” Arand said with a frown, he followed Gale with his eyes until the squire had lumbered out of the room. The unflappable Duc looked positively itching with nerves.

Hector looked over as Gideon reached forward to nibble on some bread “Did you enjoy your touring, you should have been here when we arrived and were feasted, your absence was noted, and Father will not approve.”

Gideon glanced at his brother. “What Father approves of does not concern me and nor should it you. The crypt was interesting and gave me insight into the people we impose upon, you should have joined me, brother, I should have asked our nephew to order it.”

“He needs to heed your advice less.”

Gideon raised an eyebrow. “Is that what you think, or father? Sometimes it is impossible to tell.”

The Duc pushed himself to his feet, his chair scraping across the ground. “If the pair of you intend to bicker like children, then I will see myself out. Perhaps I will call upon Baroness Eveline and give my condolences, for losing a child is never an easy thing.”

Gideon held up his hand and swallowed a mouthful of bread. “On that Duc I bring news; the boy has been found.”

Duc Arand froze mid-step and turned back. With a measured stride he came back to the table and took his seat once more.

“Alive?”

Gideon shrugged. “More or less. They found the boy in some fearful black pool in their Druids Grove. He would have drowned if not for the tunnels that connected to it. Tell me brother would it be in poor taste to ask for a tour of them as well?”

“Does the boy live Gideon?” His brother asked again.

“The monks say he will. There wasn’t much water in his lungs and his body was kept cool by the waters. Though in a strange twist, his eyes have gone white. They believe he will never see again.”

Gideon eyed the two of them with interest. Neither was particularly moved by the news and there was a tension there, a repressed desire to glance at each other and sigh with relief.

“Well, then the prince will have no qualms with us leaving now,” Hector said sitting back with a cup of watered wine.

“Has the Grand Baron agreed to the king's terms,” Gideon asked. He had not been privy to the contents of the mysterious letter, but they had all guessed one element of it.

The Duc nodded. “He has, despite the reservations of his wife, they will set of for Valorium a week after we depart. A bird had been sent to the capital the king will know in a few days.”

“Hopefully the news brings him out of the Silver Keep, now more than ever the people need reassurance.”

Gideon raised an eyebrow; he knew things were not good in Valorium, but he didn’t think it would worry the Lord Chamberlain this much. “Has the situation gotten that bad in the capital?”

“Worse than you know brother. Though you might if you dared to leave the Nest.”

Gideon had a retort ready at hand then he thought of his sister and her children, he thought of his insipid half-sisters and the headaches they caused him back home. “Perhaps you are right brother, perhaps it is time for me to visit my family in the royal household.”

The Duc shot a worried glance over to Hector.

“Though I will not be making the journey with you no, I have a place on a ship to the north, it seems one of Rune’s sons makes for the Errantry and I would be remiss if I didn’t see it when in this part of the realm.”

Hector sighed. “Will you never learn brother, there are more important things in this world than your curiosity.”

Gideon grinned slyly when looking up at his younger, fairer brother. “No, I don’t think I will.”