Propositions of Fate

As Celestia approaches, they sense several magic items on her, but no obvious evil emanating from her. She tells her brother, King Theo, that they should talk, alone, and he agrees. As they leave, Apollo Lightbringer, who had been engaged when she disappeared, enters, calling out to her. She sees him, but continues walking off with Theo.

Alexander takes Apollo for a drink, and a number of the others join them. Kesra heads off to try to summon Red. As they head out, they see Andromeda Skyseeker approaching Elden. She greets him as an old friend, even though he's never met her.

As he introduces himself, she takes his hand, he has a vision:

> Two faceless noblemen sit across from one another. One is dressed in white, the other in black. Between them is a dragonchess board. The black mage takes the white cleric. The white noble then reaches for one of their pieces, but stops, looking up. Another figure, made of shadow, watches their game from above. Their head shakes slowly from side to side, and the white noble chooses another piece instead. Suddenly, a wren perches on the shadowed figure's shoulder, whispering in their ear. The bird's song is frantic and nervous. They take the bird into their hands, and a pair of lips move, but no sound is heard, and the wren flutters away.
>
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> The chessboard falls to the ground, melting away, as do the nobles, whose flesh and bones draw together and upward into the looming presence of a flesh-bound book, which snaps closed with a flicker of arcane energy. It flickers again and then it sparks; blinding light flashes as lightning strikes a massive ash tree, whose bark shattered shields and broken spears, bloodied. The trunk splits asunder, and, from the roots, emerges the same shadowed figure. They steal away into the dark of night, rushed, desperate, leaving behind a path littered with the bodies of birds, toward a small rowboat at the river's edge.
>
>

Elden's nose begins to bleed, and Andromeda quickly steps away. Leona goes to speak with her, and finds that more of her arm was taken by the vision. As a group heads to a tavern, Kesra spends some time trying to summon Red again, but has difficulty, not really knowing how to do it.

At the tavern, Alexander and Apollo discuss the possibilities of who Celestia might be, and about what Fate's Chosen might be doing next. Leona tells Alexander that he's welcome to join them. Aureo tells them that Elden will be coming with him to help with the coup.

Kesra eventually breaks down and actually prays to Pelor. She sits there for a while with her eyes closed before finally opening them and finding Red standing before her. Kesra takes her to the stables and makes arrangements for her, and they discuss the Veldahar.

Leona spends some time playing some music for the crowd, trying to lighten the mood. Alexander spends some time talking to his younger sister, Mira. They harass each other and talk about their respective love-lives.

Kesra goes wandering around the castle after brushing out Red. She comes across a cart with an extremely expensive bottle of Dwarven whiskey, and helps herself. She realizes that one of the bookcases is shifted slightly, and hears King Theo's voice behind it, catching up Celestia on events since she passed. At some point, she asks him why he didn't just "give them the blueprints", and he seems shocked, pointing out that their mother died to prevent those blueprints from being turned over.

Celestia admits to Theo that she woke up last year in a dungeon in the Whitecliffs, her body having been acquired by a coven of hags near Wolfecrest, and was resurrected. They continue to argue about Theo turning over the blueprints and making peace with the empire, which he refuses to do. He also tells her about Kesra and Leona, and their real parents, and tells her she should reunite with Apollo. Kesra quickly leaves the room.

Evan tells Leona asks about the visions she has, and whether they are always full of doom. He says they remind him of one of the people he knows in the forest. He tells her about a vision that he had about a woman with a porcelain mask, who told him it was not yet his time to die. Leona encourages him to embrace his destiny, and do what he can to put the pieces together. He thanks her and goes off on a walk with Analena, whom he proposes to.

Elden, Aureo, and Leona go off privately and talk about the vision that Elden had. The three of them hash through a lot of ideas about the vision and what it means about him and about Andromeda. Afterward, they get Elden back to his room, where he contacts Val. He tells her he's excited to see her again in a few days, but she tells him he shouldn't have called her.

Leona and Aureo return to their room, where he receives two small packages. He tells her that he's finally facing things that he's been running away from, because he's inspired by her. He has her open the boxes, where she finds a circlet for her, and a crown for him. He tells her that when he puts it on, he will be declaring himself the sovereign of the empire, and that he will wear it when his betrothed sees fit to put it on his head. She does so, and realizes that they can now send each other messages back and forth through them. She asks if this means they're engaged, and he says they are if she wants to be.

Kesra fills Alexander in on her success with summoning Red, and on what she learned in her wanderings through the castle. They also discuss the upcoming ball and then go to bed. During the night, Alexander wakes up and sends a message to Zayn, encouraging him to return home if he's not a traitor, and that if they are true, he is no Lightbringer.