They could have been asleep now. Or taking in the night through Lexon's eyes. Or spending the night with a friend, or taking care of their apprentice’s worries.

Frankly, thousands of pleasant and better things would come to mind if said mind would be allowed to wander. But it wasn't because its owner needed it. Because approximately thirty-eight thousand five hundred and ninety-five days ago, the mind's owner had made a huge mistake and now they paid the price for it.

And that price was focus. And despite enhancing potions, good food, breaks for everyone to stretch their legs and take care of all sorts of bodily needs, this conference entered its sixteenth hour, and they were annoyed. Just plain annoyed. The air was thick with displeasure, smoke, the scent of food, and - worst of all - the smell of humans. A lot of humans.

Normally, Telassi was known for their patience but also for their ability to solve matters quickly. But with the Human Alliance that had not been the case for a long time. These people drove them crazy. A shared ancestry seemed reason enough to be unreasonable and make demands beyond anything even thinkable.

Lexon's pacing at the other end of the room was a perfect indicator for their shared mood but ages of training enabled Telassi to keep their face neutral. The constant thumping of their companion’s hooves was like a measurement of time - uniformly, regular. Annoying.

Their head was facing towards Ambassador Chemian’s voice, and they took all the care to listen to him. He had a deep, pleasant voice with a huskiness around the edges. It was easy to relax when listening to him - or would have been, when what he represented, and often what he said as well, wouldn’t send shivers down their spine.

"We are not asking for much, Andrush Vandrainor. Just to take humans out of the test”, he said now. He sounded reasonable but in his mind was nothing but irritation. Not even the artifacts he wore could hide that.

Another voice, Counselor Mayra, agreed. "We have always been granted entrance directly”, said the woman. "Why change it now? Human Vandrainor already get rarer and..." Did she not recall the ten different ways this argument had been phrased before? She sounded tired. They all were tired but would keep up the charade until Telassi gave them what they wanted. But Telassi wouldn’t do that.

"We have a legacy to protect", Chemian finished Mayra’s sentence.

Telassi scowled. The Ambassador's rudeness toward others was well-known but cutting off other people in council was really close to crossing a line. Hopefully, Lord Wreorg would send anyone but him next year.

"I understand, Ladies and Lords, that these steps might scare you”, they said as calmly as possible. "But I need you all to believe me that I am doing things for a good reason." Several reasons.

"And what reason might that be?!" This was Lord Jeram's voice. Loud and clear and to their left. He was angry. Just angry. His favorite daughter would be in the entrance age this spring and if she was a Vandrainor, she would not have had any time to be prepared for the test. Nobles hated it when they could not cheat.

"You know I cannot spill the secrets of the Order", they said.

"Spill?! We are no whores and fishmongers. We all are nobles and bound to silence!"

‘But your whores aren’t.’ Lexon’s biting comment paled in comparison to Telassi’s coldness when they raised their voice again.

"And I am the Andrush Vandrainor, Lord Jeram, and I don't owe you answers."

Lexon stopped his pacing. For a moment, only the fire’s crackling was audible.

Telassi looked directly at Lord Jeram. Really looked. Their blood-red hair and brown skin stood in stark contrast to their empty, milky eyes. They heard fabric shuffling as Lord Jeram recoiled in his seat, but they leaned across the table. Feeling and hearing leather and cloth moving on their body.

‘You have him.’

Then, they spoke: "I do, what is right for the Order. Human strength is dwindling and I suggest instead of bothering me about it, you all go home and think about why that is."

They leaned back into their chair and closed their eyes. For a moment, the room stayed silent: they commanded that silence. The mood was hovering between outrage and fear, and whoever spoke first would determine it. Perhaps the outcome of that whole session.

“What do you mean - dwindling?” Insecurity it was. Lexon resumed his passing, slower now. More gentle.

"I mean, Nighttear, that over the course of the last fifty years, the Twospirits that cannot connect to each other properly have had an increasing amount of humans among them." Now, it was fear. And confusion. They heard some people murmur but only one person had the guts to speak out aloud: "But how can that be?" Counselor Mayra asked.

"I do not know", Telassi admitted. "I can only conclude that the boon the Regent granted us has worn off. So I must treat humans like every other species because it will harm my Order in the long run if I don't."

"But" It was Chemian's voice again. He seemed as thrown as everyone else, but he wouldn't go down without a fight or another stupid suggestion. His attitude was still that of someone masking his idiotic demands as generous help and genius insight. "You have to do something! Maybe all the addi­tions weakened the spell?"

Humans, they thought. So utterly predictable how his set way of thoughts brought him to that conclusion.

"The spell did not weaken”, an old voice said. Heads turned. There was the scratching from wood on wood - some people were drawing back their chairs to get a better view of who was talking.

In the corner of the room next to the fireplace, an old woman sat. Not old but ancient. She sat there every day, it was her place.

Telassi heard shuffling when the woman put away whatever she was working on, and the blanket that kept her legs warm. Her old legs that were always cold, despite the closeness to the fire.

Steady footsteps, some more shuffling, and then the sound of a cane meeting the ground. "Thank you, Tegilbor", the voice murmured. Hilde Everbreathing, as she was known today, walked up to the middle of the room. Her steps were accompanied by the cane, and still slow.

"The spell did not weaken", she said again. "I was there when the elves were let in on the bond, you know? Back then, there were still heroes of the War around. Not the First Vandrainor, they died two hundred years ago … yes, two hundred it was, I think. But they had so much knowledge. And unlike most humans at that time, they bothered to write it down.

You know that the written tradition comes from the dwarves, yes? That's why they are still the best and most careful scribes, like our Tegilbor. They were the ones who did it first.”

Telassi smiled. It was always a little hard to follow Hilde's thoughts. She was a human woman who long ago had married a Vandrainor and actually mothered a long-lasting line of exceptionally skilled Vandrainor. She had dedicated her life to not only her family but the Order. She took care of their lives in that loyal way some mothers did, was a close advisor, and had handled children who always... happened around the citadel. Even after her own children were out of that age, her spouse had died, and everybody kind of expected her to find a place to spend the rest of her years in peace.

Out of gratitude the lead mare and the Andrush Vandrainor of that time had given her a gift no one had received ever again nor before. Hilde was immortal, truly immortal, and would remain so as long as the human and the horse race were around.

Like before, she had chosen to stay. And she stayed still, even after her last descendant had vanished. She had outlived them all. But in a way, she was close to them by continuing to aid the Order in her own special, humble way.

And when Telassi had ascended to the office of Andrush Vandrainor, they had asked her to serve as their First Advisor. She had refused. ‘Who would look after the children when I’m busy meddling with affairs I’m too old to understand, hm?’ She had said.

Despite her refusal, she was present at every council meeting, at every audience, and at every reception Telassi hosted. To listen, to help. She was still nosy. And after 105 years of serving as Andrush Vandrainor, Telassi still was glad for having Hilde around, and for the rare occasions she spoke up. Because she was a figure they could never really be. She was the bridge between the humans and the Vandrainor.

"But", Hilde continued, "when the elves were made part of the spell, they showed me… I learned. A spell, made by a spell caster, might weaken and fade, and even twist if you fumble around with the magic too much. But it is not a spell but magic. Shards. Real magic like the witches can do but … cleaner. We connect the natures of beings - we knit them together. It is like that. Maybe our nature changed. But not the magic. The Regent doesn't make mistakes, neither do the Andrush Vandrainor.”

Telassi's smile widened. They sure would get an earful afterward, for not handling the situation as smoothly as they could have. But Hilde's loyalty was as undying as she herself, and she would never go against the Andrush Vandrainor in public. Or at all.

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Having said what she wanted to say, Hilde returned to her seat by the fire. The room, however, stayed silent for a while.

Until Sipho Nighttear cleared his throat. "I believe we all should apologize, honored Andrush Vandrainor. And many thanks to you, Immortal Hilde. Sometimes, it is too easy to blame someone if forces who are greater than all of us, are involved. Because blaming someone is better than blaming no one.”

'I like it when he bows his head. He does it so gracefully,’ Lexon said. Ignoring their companion, Telassi returned the gracious nod.

"Don't humble yourself on my behalf, Nighttear. I extend an apology to all of you, in fact. Every time I decide to guard the Order’s secrets, I risk offending you. I did this time but it was not my intention. I did not mean to imply that you are not trustworthy but there are burdens on my shoulders that are my companions and mine for a reason."

"It wasn't right of us to demand insight into the Order’s secrets", Lord Jeram said. He sounded touched and not just a little ashamed. Being rebuked by one of humankind's most praised figures surely put him down a notch. Telassi smiled a warm smile at him. "I am grateful you see it that way. For those of you who still have worries, I would like to invite you to make individual appointments, so we can finally adjourn this meeting. I promise I will find time for each and every one of you.”

The hesitation was almost audible as if all of them had drawn a breath on their proposal. They were weary, but they also had reasons to be here and to take them up in a group. Counselor Mayra however, had made up her mind quickest: “This is a rather sensible idea, Andrush Vandrainor. I can see the merit in it. You have my voice.

Councilor Mayra was, for a second, Telassi’s favorite person. Because there were certain dynamics in every group. And in a group of high and mighty nobles, a traditional phrase spoken by someone with real influence was a great way to motivate an outcome.

So they all agreed. And after a few formal goodbyes, they were finally gone.

Telassi sighed and leaned their head against the back of their chair. "That did not go well", they murmured. Then, they bent down to remove their shoes. They heard Tegilbor busing himself at the end of the table. He was probably working with his notes and cleaning up the mess.

"Indeed it did not", Hilde agreed. Her voice was distant, tired. Old. Telassi’s heart ached at the sound. It was a survivor’s loneliness they heard in it.

"Come here, child."

Telassi smiled sadly. They were old. Over five hundred years old. But Hilde still treated them as a child because for her, they were. No one was there to keep her company, to feel and know and share everything she had experienced.

Telassi stood up and walked towards her. At least in a limited, physical way they didn’t have to let her down.

They knew exactly where every piece of furniture was, their now naked feet felt each stone plate's individual property, the little differences in the smooth surfaces, and helped them. The warm air, smell, and sound of fire led them towards Hilde. The woman's chair stood on top of a soft carpet, and Telassi sat down on that carpet with their back leaned against Hilde's bony legs just as they had done when they were a child. Only now, her legs felt even thinner, and Telassi wore armor so that the sharp bones did not push against their back as uncomfortably as they did in the past.

"You weren't present, child", she said. "These people deserve your atten­tion."

Telassi groaned. "Do they, though? Haven't we granted too many rights to humans in the past?" They would never forgive their predecessor for allowing the Human Alliance to form. Let alone Wreorg become a part of it. The Vandrainor should have crushed this hellhole of a place when the first Lord Wreorg showed his ugly face to the rest of the world. But their predecessor had believed in peace, in alliances. Telassi was not sure they did.

Hilde laughed. "Maybe. But alienating them now won't do much good. If that young Nighttear wouldn't be so desperate for your support in his campaign to claim the throne, they would still be here."

"Vultures!” Telassi paused. "Is the Silent Queen's health really that bad that her successors already fight each other?”

"You should pay more attention to such matters, Telassi. Even I know a few things about that and I really only hear gossip.” That was probably correct. They read reports over reports each day but the ones that were unread always outnumbered those they had paid attention to. So they prioritized. And they had no time for gossip.

Hilde continued: “She will probably last a while but the Chamber members want her to step down and name a successor. None of her brothers would outlast her long enough. Her grandchild knows that she will probably favor his cousin because he has two sons - eight and two - already and is married to the Orniad's house eldest daughter. He needs your support to even be considered."

Telassi nodded. They had seen the same problem play out time and again. “When will they finally learn? And why do they always drag me into this? I gave up my voice when I ascended. Not that I had much of a claim before. This family is not my family."

"Don't blame them for their ancestors' mistakes. Those who live now… they did not make them. And they try to not repeat them.”

"But I do. And they do, too. Not all mistakes, maybe but it’s still their blood in their veins, their riches, their ideas."

"You still speak like a burned child. Aren't you so much more?"

"Do I always have to be? can't I be petty? I'm still human, am I not?"

Hilde laughed. "Then show it to them. Your humanity, I mean. Take interest in human affairs."

Telassi rubbed their head. "The Order is my responsibility. There is so much to do now. Before the ritual. I don’t have time for kingdoms who can’t get their successions straight.”

Hilde sighed. She gently padded Telassi's hair. "If you mean to go through with that, you will need their support more than ever. All of their support. I said what I said today not only to stop them from asking questions that didn't concern them but to prevent your untimely end, child.”

Telassi snorted. "They wouldn't dare."

"Oh, they would. Stop ignoring the world just because you don’t like it, how it is.”

“This is hardly fair. I don’t ignore the world.”

“But you do. And if you continue on this path, it will harm your people as well.” Hilde sighed. “I said it before: Come back from your isolation. Taking on Ilandi was a good first step. Now, that their training is finished, don't return to your misanthropy. You will need humanity before this is over." A cold shiver ran over Telassi’s whole body, their muscles tensed. Suddenly, the carpet was no longer soft but too much to bear. The fire was not warm but too hot. The room was too closed, too near.

They got up. “I’ll… thank you, Hilde.”

"You're welcome, Andrush Vandrainor. I shall retire to my quarters now. I need my sleep." The smile in the woman’s voice was reassuring but did nothing to ease Telassi’s tension.

"Yes", Telassi said, "I won't require any more assistance tonight, I believe."

Hilde moved past Telassi. They knew that she would be accompanied by two servants to her quarters.

"Tegilbor?"

"My liege?" The constant scratching from quill on parchment stopped. Hilde always muffled their conversations for everyone else but Telassi knew that Tegilbor was able to decipher their conversations anyway. They did not mind.

“You can go, too. But get a report to me about each and every one of these people and their lieges before I meet with the first one. Mark them as urgent.”

"Yes, my liege. Good night."

"Good night."

When the door had closed behind the dwarf, the longing overcame them so strongly, they might have drowned in it.

A longing to get away and spend the night - whatever was left of it, anyway - somewhere else. Removed from anyone else except each other.

They smiled and felt Lexon at their side. Their hands felt his fur, and they quickly pressed their face into it before mounting him. They left.

Linking their spirits was the most natural thing to them, whenever riding. Telassi's senses were mostly reduced to the whooshing of wind and the coldness of air, the scent of the trees, and the night.

But Lexon saw. He still saw. And when they linked, they both saw.

Telassi knew that a horse's vision was very different from a human's vision. But they had no frame of reference for the difference and the more Lexon pulled, the less they thought about that kind of thing. Until they ran over grass, they held their mane, they saw the shadows of things, and they were blind at the same time.

They were Vandrainor, real Twospirits, just like the old legends said: A being of six legs and two arms, two heads, and two hearts, roaming the lands. Speaks with two voices but thinks as one. It was how they should be. And for whatever was left of the night, Telassi and Lexon were as far away as possible from everything that interfered. From pettiness and duty, from infighting and strategy. From everything that reduced them to their separated form.

One being roamed the plains that night.

Again, finally, at home.