Manus Pluma Volantis

8 - Katolis

Back in Katolis, Ezran struggled with his duties as king. He pestered Claudia to be his high mage, but she declined, saying she was done with dark magic. And he had to deal with all of this while struggling with grief! But he enjoyed his kingly work, and still giggled every time Opeli mentioned the word, "duty." She understood. He was a child. A sweet one, too. She would just smile and wait politely for him to finish his laughing fit.

Corvus was still a tracker, but Ezran had asked Soren to request that he join the crownguard. Corvus had cut his hair because he was tired of putting it up in the morning. He decided it was easier this way. Soren refused to cut his stubble he had grown. Soren's hair had gotten a little longer. About midway down his forehead. Opeli hadn't changed a bit. She was still the king's advisor, and she took pride in that.

She was still like the mom Ezran never had, and she still bowed every single time she saw him. He told her many times she didn't have to, but she was Opeli. What could one expect? The guard hadn't changed. Still the same old guards that had always protected Harrow. Ezran had asked to stop attacking every elf they see, but Opeli objected to that. Still the same Opeli.

The crow lord was gone a lot, so usually it was the crow master. Although, he has been talking about a promotion he was working to get. Ezran still wore a smile that hid his pain, but the smile was real. Corvus still didn't understand the whole 'talking to animals' thing, but he knew Ez wasn't lying. Soren was still the same big dumb lump, but he was working on that. Everyone had and still was changing.

Life was good in Katolis. Zubeia had awoken, and she didn't send any more assassins, especially not for Ez. Zym grew more and more each day, and was starting to be quite a large dragon. Well, you know, for a one month old one. Ezran was happy. He had the right to be. Everything was okay. He only wished Rayla and Callum were here.

He would have a high mage. He was struggling to find a head of the guard, but he would have one of those already. But they had to go and mess it up. Ez had interviewed several mages, but all of them were... preoccupied. He even considered Lujanne or Ibis, but they had nexuses to protect. And not just any guard could be the head of the guard. It had to be a good one. He even asked Zubeia for any elven warrior that didn't have anything better to do.

He was stuck. He had nobody else to turn to. All he could do was turn his head to the sky, and contact Askerius. He could try to ask them. They responded, but he could not decipher what they meant. Ez still had nobody fit for the authoritive roles. Nobody in Katolis, Neolandia, Duren, Del Bar, or even Evenere. Boy, oh, boy. The duties of a king were difficult. How did Dad do it?