Tyrant's Ebb

Tyrant's Ebb, chapter 4 - The Eye of the Storm

Seldin

Former prince of the Eternal Empire of Tavran. Brother of the fallen Emperor, Keldin the First. One moon since the new Mark of the Other One blossomed.

"We're stuck. We are going nowhere." Seldin heard the words Tennver uttered the moment the man entered the shack, but the commotion outside seemed more important.

"What do you mean?" The woman named Cleo immediately nagged. Seldin's experiences during the past moon made him constantly wonder how on earth had his brother brought this unruly mob together?

"I hear more soldiers." Seldin raised his voice.

"And refugees. I see them. Magnus' Fall by the looks of it." Orhan said with a grim voice.

"Raime's Valour as well. And that is not the end of it." Tennver said with a heavy sigh.

"They can't know we are here! Sool cannot know!" A panicked voice immediately squeaked.

"Calm yourself, Princess Teresa. It is likely Lord Sool has given up on us." Tennver reassured Seldin's cousin quickly and then turned to Furos. "Fumeguard has been sent to Shadebreak. Along with every single refugee. Everything north, south and west of Ironcourt is being evacuated east."

Tennver drew breath before carrying on. "Pillarhold has been sent ahead, to secure the route east to Hinterwall. Telred has entered the Empire's territories and since the fall of Stormbrew, all forts north of them have been instructed to abandon their posts, secure the route for refugees from the southern reaches and pull the defensive line back until they meet Pillarhold."

"Going by your words, you have not mentioned the worst of it yet. Was I correct?" Furos asked with an uncannily calm voice.

Tennver did not say a word and kept chewing on his lips.

"So, everything west of Faryam has been lost." Furos concluded.

"I don't have an answer to that, Archmage. All I can confirm are the reports from last time. The army at Shadowwatch abandoned the fort. Admiral Naitar made it to Bitternest and took command of the fleets. But Morwen's armies have truly vanished. That was not a mistake." Tennver rattled off, growing visibly nervous by the moment.

"Vanished? They were heading straight for Ironcourt and nothing should stand in their way. You said Northwatch and the surrounding counties were sent to aid Shadowwatch, Everything west of Faryam was sent to Bitternest to leave for the colonies on Falls Under the Moon." Cleo grabbed the front of Tennver's guard disguise and shook the man until his cowl fell off. "Someone must have engaged Morwen's armies!"

"There are no news from the west. There are no news if the Empire's deals with the Pelesi Dominion and Ordruch still stand." The man nearly shouted, while adjusting his dark locks.

A tremor ran through the ground, shaking the Ebonveil refugees' shack and causing people outside to scream and shriek. Other than a momentary pause, the tremors failed to elicit a response out of those in the shack. They were all too common now to change this grim mood.

"Where is Sool now?" Seldin asked once the aftershocks had ceased.

"He returned from Ironcourt this morning." As Tennver was removing his disguise, he threw a nasty look at Seldin. "He did not stay for long, he headed east."

"Why on earth does he need to ride back and forth like that? You can see most of the city from here." The Princess spat in a bitter voice.

Seldin followed Teresa's gaze and found the distant remains of Ironcourt and the new Mark of the Other One towering high in the sky.