Calyx moved to a side table where a decanter of wine sat beside a single glass. He poured slowly, as if he were thinking about the next set of words he was about to say to his brother.

"You look at me as if I were a monster. But you have been in the central palace for too long, and you have no idea what it takes to keep a city like this alive. Stormfall is not the capital. It is not the great cities of the Ascendants, where the walls are high and the enemies are far away. We are on the edge, we are always on the edge. The mountains, the desert, the sea... they are all hungry. They are all waiting, and the only thing that keeps them back is strength."

He raised the glass, looked into it as if he could see the future swimming in the wine. "To keep this city safe, I will be passing across all benefits to the crown and pushing them towards the next generation."

Veyris glanced at his brother and he shook his head, "You say you want a safe city, and yet you imprisoned hundreds of thousands of your people behind a wall filled with unknown monsters... could you not have waited for a day or more? It would seem that you did not forget all the lessons we were taught as children, even if you want to keep denying your roots."

Calyx was silent for a while, before he shrugged and he smiled, "I have kept this city of millions safe when others in my position would have exploited it for power and personal gain. I am a soldier and so are the people of this city. If a hundred thousand must die to give us a generation that can fight, survive, and carry this city forward, then that is a price I am willing to pay."

Veyris did not speak. There was nothing to say. He had come here for answers, and he had them. His brother was not a man who had been overwhelmed by events and set up a wall in panic, he had just seen an opportunity and seized it.

However, how could Veyris just let this go, when he knew that all of this may just be a way for his brother to accumulate power?

"Your people are not soldiers, and many would suffer for what you are about to do. What about the ones who do ‌not survive?"

Calyx’s smile did not waver. "Then they were not strong enough. The city does not need them. Just tell me if my city produces a batch of talents, would you bring the attention of the crown to my domain?"

Veyris gave a half bow, "Of course, the Queen Regent above all wants a powerful and prosperous continent. The other Greater Families are restless, and there are talks of war in the future. Talents are always needed. I have a few Junior Scribes, is it possible for them to join this event?"

"Of course brother, you have ten slots assigned to you. Do with it as you please. This events begins in a week."

Veyris arched an eyebrow at this, but he remained silent. The open secret here was simple: the Lord Protector wanted to give these beasts enough time ‌to propagate, and this was the reason he had locked down a section of the city. In the face of the benefits that could be gained from the remnants of these beasts, what were a measly hundred thousand lives.

The whole talk of strengthening the next generation was just a ruse to concentrate power in his own house. Veyris had collected reports of Calyx’s son by his third wife, a rather prodigious genius with seven pools of Lumina.

This child was said to have a special hidden talent, and if he was not wrong, Calyx would intend to use this opportunity to nurture this boy.

However, all of this did not concern Veyris, the ash could be a game changer for him, but Veyris had faith in his own abilities, and he did not need the extra push from this ashes, what he was more concerned with was the Stoneward Asylum, and his fear that all of this was somehow under the control of this powerful Angel with an unknown agenda.

He would be foolish not to realize that his brother and the Commander had an agreement, and before he made any drastic move, he needed to understand this agreement better, but he could not use force, Calyx was smarter than he had given him credit for, and if Veyris continued the way he was doing, he would forever be left outside the loop.

He turned around to leave and then he paused.

"The Commander," Veyris said at last. "What has she promised to this expedition, is it because she would be sending that Ascendant Candidate over?"

Calyx’s smile widened. "The Commander is a mysterious being brother, and I cannot say I understand her fully. How did she say it to me? Ah, she said she promises me, something old, something powerful and something that has been in her keeping since before this city was built, and this prize would be among the greatest gift for the younger generation of my city" He set down the glass, untouched. "She said it would be fitting that the young should know what they are fighting for, and that there should be something worth winning. We all know who are father was Veyris, and the depths of the treasures she must have acquired under his command."

He walked toward the door, and Veyris noticed that underneath his robe, that he was dressed for more than a conversation. His armor was on, the ancient plate that had been worn by the Lords of Stormfall. His sword was at his hip.

"You should stay, brother and watch this trial by my side, you might begin to remember the blood that ran hot in our blood as children, before politics snatched it all away. "

Veyris sneered inside himself as he considered the unexpected changes that had just fallen on this city. Again, he considered if it was all sheer coincidence that this was happening or there was something more going on.

He had been preparing to go to his brother and request permission for him to storm the Stoneward Asylum when there were irrefutable proof that one of his junior scribe had gone missing after heading to the Asylum for records requested by Veyris.

There were many eyewitness account of the boy asking for directions to the Asylum, and even one saying they saw the boy before its gates. He knew even with this much evidence there was really no way to shake the Asylum, but that was not his purpose for making that move.

Veyris just wanted to enter the Asylum again to confirm if the formations that were in the records were still operational, the answer to that question would eliminate many of his suspicions and tighten the possible answers to a few that he could begin to work with.

However, on the eve of taking this step, this accident happened, and there was no way anyone would care to pursue the affair of a single scribe.