"Nobody can ever be certain about what fate has in store for them." - Saying attributed to Nec Aarin, the Bone Lord.

Palace of Bones

Tohrmutgent

Lichdom of Ptolodecca

Winter Solstice, year 90 VA.

Every winter solstice, the people in Ptolodecca celebrated the change of seasons with a feast, despite the cold weather. Aideen was familiar with the practice, although she herself hadn't participated much in the celebrations for the past decade or so.

During the time when the plague had raged, she had busied herself throughout the year for obvious reasons, whereas the past five years, she mostly spent the solstice in a more private celebration with her remaining family.

This year, Mimia and Éirynn had brought her along with them to the solstice feast held at the Palace of Bones, since only the three of them were left in the family at Tohrmutgent - Maebh would naturally hold her own celebrations with her family in La Fiachna - and her niece didn't wish for Aideen to stay cooped up all the time.

When they reached the front courtyard where the celebratory feast was being held, it was already crowded with people from all over Tohrmutgent, where the clergy and the military folks mixed with the normal citizens, ate and drank, and celebrated together.

Aideen also noticed many of the other unliving that lived in the town were present. While most of them still preferred sticking to themselves, such inhibitions were mostly forgotten in celebrations such as these. Those who had families brought their families, mingled, danced and sang ribald songs together with strangers.

It had not taken much for Éirynn and Mimia to persuade Aideen to join the festivities from then on, and while she still mostly remained taciturn unlike her more lively niece and her wife, she still helped herself to the ales that flowed freely and the various kinds of festive foods being served on long tables for anyone feeling peckish to help themselves with.

Aideen was munching on some pastries filled with a mixture of eggs and preserved meats when she noticed a figure she thought she'd seen before chatting animatedly with Illyana, the young unliving rat therian girl she helped bring out of the empire a decade and a half ago. That girl never grew physically, and remained the way she was as when she was ten years old, although it was not that noticeable, as rat therians were a fast growing breed and tended to reach their full size by twelve or so, and were diminutive nonetheless even then.

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Illyana saw Aideen approach and raised her hand in greeting, the girl remaining cheerful even despite her previous harsh life. Aideen knew that the girl wasn't a mage, but also heard that she had recently been taking lessons from Mallard on natural remedies.

The figure she was talking to, the one Aideen thought she had seen somewhere before, also turned. He was a very noticeable figure, easily a head taller than her and quite powerfully built. His face resembled that of a lion's but with two large canines jutting downward from his upper lip, and his fur was a silky black she was quite familiar with.

"Pardon me… I could swear I've seen you somewhere before, but I can't remember where," Aideen said to the man as she held her hand out for a shake. "And hi, Illyana. Enjoying yourself?"

"Yes, Young Lady!" squeaked the young unliving girl animatedly. "Mister Artair here apparently researches us!"

"As she said, Young Lady. My name is Artair deVreys, and I'm a scholar studying the unliving," said the tall therian man with a slight bow. Like most Ptolodeccans, he addressed Aideen as "Young Lady", which meant that he was either a local or had been in the lichdom for a while. "I believe you saw me the last time you visited my late grandfather a few months before his passing."

"Your late grandfather… deVreys… oh, you're sir Myrddin's grandchild?" Aideen asked as recognition dawned on her face at last. "So that's where I saw you. You were there at that time."

Myrddin had resigned from his position roughly five years ago, citing that his declining vision and memory had rendered him no longer fit for the job, and retired to his residence. The last time Aideen had visited him was around two years ago, a mere couple of months before the old therian's passing. Now Aideen recalled that the man - Artair - had been present and helped guide the nearly blind Myrddin at that time.

Diarmuid was much closer to the old therian man since he was one of his tutors back when they were younger, while Aideen's relation with him was more due to how she sometimes worked together with the Death's Hand. Aideen had missed Myrddin's passing and funeral as she happened to be at La Fiachna visiting Maebh when it happened.

"A scholar studying the unliving you said?" Aideen asked after Artair had nodded to her previous confirmation. "I didn't know we were interesting enough that other people other than grandpa Aarin would be interested in studying us."

"For every new phenomena, there would always be some who gain interest in the matter, Young Lady. I just happen to be one amongst many myself," replied Artair humbly to her words. It felt somewhat odd to see a physically imposing specimen like him act so politely - almost timid even - and some of his mannerisms were not ones Aideen were familiar with, but were clearly ingrained into the man. "I do recall that you were the first of your kind, correct?"

"That I am," answered Aideen with a nod, having decided to humor the man to while away the time. She was not particularly close to old Myrddin, but they had a relationship of mutual respect between them, and she figured that she could at least offer his grandson the same courtesy. "If you have anything to ask, feel free. I'll answer what I can if it helps."

"Why, that is very generous of you, Young Lady," responded the therian man with a beaming smile that revealed more of his sharp teeth.