"Concepts like filial piety are one of the most long lasting codes of morality civilized people have clung to. I have witnessed its presence since times before histories were even written, as even primitive people showed a semblance of care towards those that have brought them into this world. Sadly, as time marched on, all too often people just twisted such morals to serve their own selfish desires." - Nec Aarin, the Bone Lord.

Imperial Palace, Sabaya

Central Elmaiya

Third Elmaiya Empire

1st day, 3rd week, 3rd month, year 95 VA.

In the end, it had taken another week or so before the delegates finally signed all the documents that contained the conditions which pertained to the deals the two nations agreed to. Aideen almost had to laugh when Mimia and Éirynn sought her out to complain about the boredom they had to deal with day in and day out.

As for Aideen and Artair, they were fortunately spared of the diplomatic boredom and spent that time as they toured around the capital city. Zoya played host to them as she brought them around, with the city's new botanical garden being a particular sight for them to remember.

Such a structure had not existed previously, as the second dynasty had favored opulence to be displayed with gold and silver instead. Therians had a closer bond to nature in general however, and where some of the larger mansions in the capital had once stood, they built a garden full of greenery instead.

Most of the trees were still small, as they were recently planted there, but the ambience they conveyed nonetheless made anyone who entered the garden feel as if they were in a tropical forest instead. Wildlife were also present, colorful tropical songbirds and small rodents as their majority, though some birds of prey were also housed there for the ecosystem to reach a stable equilibrium.

They also toured the city and Artair actually actively took over and introduced some old eateries he remembered from his younger days to Aideen. Not many had survived the civil war, but she could see the nostalgia he felt when he spotted that some of his old favorite places were still around.

It was a harmonious feeling that Aideen felt as she, Artair, and Zoya were seated around a small table on backless stools, mugs of strong ale set before them, and a large platter full of meat and fat - skewered alternatingly on long metal sticks, rubbed with spices, and simply grilled to perfection - in the middle of the table.

Both siblings talked about past memories, of when they had visited the capital during the prior regime. Zoya was still a teenager then, and Artair barely even ten at the time. They reminisced about the past long gone, even as their talk eventually moved to present matters.

It was then that Aideen learned that Zoya was not just a married woman, but that she had three children already. Her husband wasn't a therian either, but an orc from the western isles. He had stayed home to take care of their young children while she was out on this trip abroad.

Whereas patriarchies were more common in the past empire and in the rest of the continent, apparently amongst the western isles and the therians matriarchies and patriarchies happened by nearly equal measures, as their culture tended to simply defer to the concept of "strength". In Zoya's case she proved stronger than her husband, and thus she was the head of their household.

Their week of relaxation eventually wound down as the delegates finished their negotiations, and most of the delegates from Ptolodecca packed up and returned. Not all of them, however. Aideen and Artair remained, as did Mimia and Éirynn. The Bone Lord had ostensibly tasked them to see the state of the current empire with their own eyes, but in a way, he wanted them to relax and take it easy for a while.

Mimia and Éirynn stayed by the capital, as they had grown quite close to the emperor and his little granddaughter. Mimia's status as the granddaughter of the emperor's teacher played a part, but in some ways they did genuinely enjoy the atmosphere in the capital, as they were used to living in big cities all their life.

For her own part, Aideen was about to depart the capital along with Artair and Zoya, as they were headed to the personal territory of house Veros to the west. The Erstgertsog himself still had responsibilities in the capital, so they chose to travel ahead of him, as they took only a portion of the personal guards that had followed them to the capital.

Out of the hundred guards that had went with them to the capital from their home territory - a reasonable precaution since some remnants from enemy factions were still at large - Zoya had only brought twenty with her as she, Artair, and Aideen rode on horses on their way home, the house's carriage left in the capital for Illyvich to use on his way home later despite his insistence to the contrary.

Zoya had insisted otherwise, and Artair had agreed with her. Their father was simply too important to the current empire for them to take more guards with them, and with their contingent riding on horses, they should be able to evade most trouble more easily.

Their father had relented in the end, though not without having them take twenty of the most skilled guards for their trip home, along with the guard captain that had served him for decades. It was the lowest concession he would take on the matter.

So it was that the three of them departed from the capital's western gate on horseback, twenty guards similarly mounted in two echelons by their sides. Unlike the east or even the north where the horses tended to be lean and built for speed, the therians used larger, bulkier draft horses, as their mounts had to accommodate their heftier bulk.

It was a rather idyllic landscape they passed by. Most villages they came across showed signs of recent rebuilding, or were in the midst of it. Even so a general atmosphere of optimism was noticeable from the villagers, who seemed quite happy with their current lives as a whole.

It was not until they were further away, on their eleventh day of the journey, that there were signs of recent violence in a village. Supposedly caused by bandits who pillaged the village for food, though the villagers made themselves more trouble than they were worth when the bandits tried to do more.

Aideen kept note of the news, as Zoya had said that many remnants from the defeated factions of the civil war had turned into banditry after their defeat. They just weren't sure if this was one such case, or just one of the many bandit groups that had formed during the unstable years.

The next day, they received their answer. The road they took passed through a trail in the jungle, and near the exit, they found the trail blocked by trees. Trees that had been felled on purpose at that.

Aideen was not surprised in the least when a haphazard smattering of arrows and thrown projectiles assaulted their group from the sides of the trail shortly after they stopped.