"Most of the time, matters between nations take time to settle properly, even when they are agreed upon quickly. I've seen my share of bureaucracies prolonging matters that should have been finished much sooner many times in my life often enough that I know a bureaucrat who actually does things quickly and efficiently is someone to be cherished." - Diary of Aideen deVreys, the Silver Maiden, circa 317 FP.

Fort Levgren, near Egren Pass

North-western section.

Lichdom of Ptolodecca

4th day, 2st week, 2nd month, year 95 VA.

The imperial delegation had not stayed overlong in Tohrmutgent, as they left after a second day in which the negotiations for future dealings and trade allowances were conducted. When they left, a return delegation from the lichdom went with them, headed towards the empire.

Whereas their entry into the lichdom was done incognito - after the plague subsided Ptolodecca doesn't stop people from the empire to enter - the return trip was notably more grandiose, as an entire division of the Wings of Night had escorted them from Tohrmutgent all the way to the northwest.

There were three large passes in the Akra mountain range commonly used by merchants and travelers. Two of them were further north and led to Antemeia, while the Egren pass to the south led to the northwestern section of Ptolodecca, who quite naturally built a fort on their side of the pass.

The other side of the pass had a smaller fort that used to be the Empire's, though with the land on the eastern side of the empire being ceded over, technically that fort now belonged to Ptolodecca as well. Since the agreement was very recent, the fort was still garrisoned by imperial legionnaires at the moment, however.

Both delegations had spent the night resting in Fort Levgren, the fort on Ptolodecca's end of the pass, after a trip that had lasted them well over a week and a half from Tohrmutgent. The line of carriages had grown by half in size, with most of the carriages behind holding most of the Ptolodeccan delegation, civil officials and clergymen mostly, who were going to the empire to sign agreements.

Aideen and Artair were part of the delegation, though they did not travel with the rest of the Ptolodeccans. Instead, they shared a carriage with the minister of war and his daughter, at his insistence. It was not an issue as their carriage was a large one able to accomodate ten or more comfortably, and besides, further ahead Mimia and Éirynn were even sharing a carriage with the Elmaiyan emperor and his granddaughter.

A few of the imperial delegation had looked positively dissatisfied at that treatment they were given, and Aideen didn't fail to notice others apparently taking notes of them and likely reporting them to the prime minister. It would seem the empire was not entirely stable yet, which to be fair was not a surprise for a nation that just finished a civil war.

For her own part, since there was little to do for the past week and a half, most of Aideen's time was spent chatting with Artair's father and sister. She had gotten along with Zoya quickly, the therian woman's open and frank personality meshing well with hers.

As for ErstGertsog Illyvich Veros, Artair's father, he also slowly warmed up to her over the past week and a half. Despite his cold exterior he seemed to care for Artair quite a bit, and Aideen noticed them interacting quite animatedly at times. He was more guarded with her, for which she doesn't blame him, since someone in his position has to be guarded against someone like her.

Even so, she found that he warmed up quite a bit when they talked about Artair, since he was a common point between them. While Artair's letters had mentioned her being unliving, his father was rather surprised when she mentioned her age, and more so when he learned that she never had a serious relationship before.

That got them into talking about customs, as apparently amongst the therians - at least the tribe they originated from - it was very rare for someone over twenty to be unmarried. Their cultural norms were to marry young, and have children early. Those left unmarried tended to be those who were barren like Artair, or had other problems with them.

The fact that they were nobles made it milder, as it was not as common for the imperial nobility to marry too young, but even so that was the norm amongst the therian nobles. On her end Aideen also explained that she was in a position that didn't really allow for relations much when she was younger… and that the incident that led to her rising into unlife happened when she was but twenty in age.

Over the week and a half they traveled, Aideen could feel Artair's father mellow more towards her, if slowly, as they traded stories of their life more frequently. She had to admit that she was beyond grateful she had been born in a loving family after she heard his story, as he was born into a much less pleasant situation.

The ErstGertsog - a new Elmaiyan title equivalent to an archduke - had been born a bastard child, not even to a concubine, but from a maid. Coupled with his identity as a mongrel he was always treated poorly as he grew up by his father and his half siblings.

That he ended up the last possible direct heir to the family when his father passed away unexpectedly, was not cruel irony, as the man had in a roundabout way admitted that the "accidents" that had befallen his half siblings might not be accidental after all.

While officially they were just accidents, unofficially, most nobles in Elmaiya had guessed that Illyvich had a hand behind his siblings' misfortunes, which they ignored since it didn't involve them, and would only benefit them should the house he belonged to fall from grace. None of them thought a bastard mongrel would be able to be a proper noble.

Instead, the house had risen under his reign. In his own words, he admitted that he had not cared much for the house he inherited at first, but was determined to prove those that looked down on him wrong, which was what drove him to do his best. The results spoke for themselves, as now he was one of the most powerful men in the empire, second only to the emperor himself, while most of those that had once derided and mocked him had lost their everything.

In the end, when they parted, he thanked Aideen for listening to his story, since it would have been inappropriate for him to talk with his children about it, and she felt that she understood a bit on why Artair respected his father so much.