After their decisive victory over Orinovo, Lys-Akkaria's army crosses the border to take back territory that used to be theirs. With the combined forces of a lightweaver and shadowforger, Orinovo doesn't stand a chance.
In spite of their newfound a...
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Ainreth sighed as he walked to the Arbiter's office again the next day.
His head still hurt from drinking the day before, and he might have sobbed into Snowflake's fur at one point, but to be honest he didn't care how he looked. He simply wanted to get this over with and then.... Probably sulk some more.
The sooner he got his position back, the better. Before he drank all of his wine. And lost his mind.
But when he approached Mar-Ethen's office, he paused when he heard arguing. As he got closer, he found their door open, with a dark and curly-haired woman standing in front of the Arbiter's desk.
"The people outside just want to know their loved ones aren't dying for nothing," she protested, her voice practically shaking with emotion.
As Ainreth took a few steps closer, he noticed the woman's head was waving from left to right a little as she stared an unimpressed Mar-Ethen down, her bespeckled eyes full of sympathy but also outrage. The Arbiter probably didn't share her feelings.
And that was when it clicked for Ain.
This was Daryan's Apprentice, the woman currently representing him in his absence. And thank the sun for that, though Ainreth didn't remember her name. They'd barely interacted in the past. The only reason he could recognize her was her tic, but he was fairly certain she was far more tolerable than the Herald.
"Their loved ones went to war. Of their own free will. The protests are far too overblown," Mar-Ethen deadpanned, looking down at their work, scribbling something down with their quill. Daryan's Apprentice glared down at them.
"Bad time?" Ainreth asked as he walked in, deciding it was probably for the best to break this up before they start arguing properly.
The woman immediately swirled around, her head stilling for a moment as she smiled at him, surprise in her eyes.
"Daybreaker! Hello, um—"
Ainreth raised his hand, stopping her. "Ainreth. Or Ain. All right?" Points his finger at her. "And you are? Don't think I've ever caught your name."
"Oh!" The woman blushed a little. "Ah, apologies. I am Mhalyn Fyr-Viran, the Court Apprentice to the High Herald."
Ainreth nodded, offering his hand for a handshake. Mhalyn's eyebrows flew up, but she shook his hand, her head waving once more.
"Nice to meet you," said Ain as he let go, frowning at the Arbiter instead. "What's going on?"
"Wavy here feels far too strongly for the people," Mar-Ethen said, making Ainreth narrow his eyes, especially once he saw Mhalyn's pout a bit. She probably didn't like her tic being pointed out like this.
"Yeah, or maybe she doesn't like people dying for no reason," Ain grumbled.
"Spare me your sentimentality, Tyr-Naralyn," Mar-Ethen said, snorting. Then they looked up again, looking less irritated than they were the day before. "Let's get down to business instead. I have had a most wonderful idea. You two will team up and calm down the crowd. And I will get some peace and quiet."
