Expedition The Urk Expedition: The Judgement of a Fox.

[Talinn Ryalor]

(This occurs during the attempt to save Talinn’s life).​

As those under him desperately attempted to save the Minister’s life, the unconscious and broken body of Talinn Ryalor, Duke of Westisle, Head of House Ryalor, and the de facto rightful heir to Imperial Throne of Fyador, finally gave out. It had survived four decades of constant warfare, assassination attempts, and the fading flame of youth transitioning into old age, but the savagery of Ulog had finally pushed it over the edge. A final, pained gasping breath could be heard around the room, and then it was seemingly over. No glorious death in battle, no final words, just a death on the operating table-blue blood or commoner blood, many beasts ended their mortal lives on such.

In the infinitesimally minuscule amount of time where the electrical circuits of the brain still fired, or perhaps where they had indeed finally shut down, whatever made up “Talinn”, his consciousness, or soul, awoke from the blackness of the coma. Gasping, he sat up, expecting to be on the frozen island of Urk, or on the Hide, pain running through his body from the horrific wounds he had suffered at the demon’s hands. But that was not the case. He felt a gentle warmth on him, and he glanced around at his surroundings. He was in some kind of idyllic forest, near a peaceful, rumbling stream, gentle rays of light coming down from the clear blue sky and a kind sun. He looked down at himself-he was still in his uniform, but his weapons were gone, and something felt...different. He no longer felt the normal aches and pains of his increasingly old age. Sitting, then standing up, he walked over to the stream, and looked down at his reflection, and for a moment, he was speechless.

Although he was still approximately his current age, all the scars of battle he had carried were gone. He took a look at down at his paws-there, too, they were gone. Carefully unbuttoning and opening his shirt, and pulling down a leg of his pants just to be sure, it was true. All of his old wounds, even the grievous one from Alexei which forced him to walk with a cane most of the time, had disappeared.

“What…? Where?” He asked himself, clearly confused. Was this some kind of dream? He had been on Urk-hadn’t he? Or had that been the dream? No, he had been there. This was clearly some sort of hallucination or lucid...although it did not feel that way. It felt real. Terribly real.

Looking past the stream, over which a small stone bridge led, he noted something impossible-a road, made of the purest gold-and he felt inextricably drawn to it. Moving across the bridge and onto it, he reached down and touched it-the same soft warmth that permeated this entire strange place. He glanced forward, and caught sight of a figure in the distance further along the road, who had turned to look at him. Ah, good, someone who could explain to him what this place was. Standing up and making sure that he looked presentable in the streamwater, he moved towards that figure. As he got closer, he could make out more about the mysterious beast. Clothed in the purest white cloth, it was a fox-a vixen, the most beautiful he had ever seen, and, getting closer, he noticed she had a ridiculously huge tail. No, that was plural, tails. Nine of them to be exact.

I...what? This...I had heard the priests speak so many times, even asked the Kitsune for help on occasion, but I never...this has to be some sort of...well, we will see what She says.

She smiled at him as he got closer, and he noticed her fur was much like the path-pure gold, as were her eyes. Standing before Her, he shifted uncomfortably, while She patiently waited for him to speak. What was one even supposed to do in this situation, if it were real? He thought for a bit, and then spoke.

“So...You are real?” He asked questioningly, unsure of what to say or do. “I...uh…” he stumbled on his words, uncharacteristic of the mighty Minister. “...how should I address…?”

“You may call me whatever you would like,” the vixen replied gently and in a lyrical voice “Kitsune, She…” in a flash the vixen turned into a tall, handsome todd, “Him…”, in another flash, a fox that looked neither male or female “Them”, and then finally some kind of white, misty cloud “It, whatever you prefer."

“Ah, uh, the vixen form, if You would.” Talinn replied, shocked, and once more the beautiful vixen was before him, smiling kindly once more. He bowed respectfully, then got to his knees.

“I...I apologize for not...for many things. I was...the world I was in, it…there was never any real...” He struggled to articulate his thoughts. He had said the old prayers, done the motions, not because he believed in them, but because he was expected to, or, in some kind of desperate plea to the universe in many cases.

“Proof?” She finished, chuckling, putting her paws on his, and helping him to rise up from the ground. “The natural consequence of giving you all true freedom. If I made it too obvious, you would not be free to disbelieve, would you not? Although I would like to think the answers to some of your requests might have hinted at the truth, if you had looked deeper.”

Talinn glanced down at the floor, unable to meet Her eyes. It was true-he had never really put in the spiritual work in his life. He had always been so busy.

“I understand. ” she comforted him gently, reaching out a paw and touching his face for a moment, causing him to look back at her.

“But...You are here...and...this is...is this not proof?”

“Is it?” She asked mischievously.

“I would say so...I am dead, am I not?”

She smiled at him softly, not answering the question.

He put a paw on his forehead.

“What are You then? My conscience? What is this place? Is this some kind of dream? A vision? It does not feel like any I have ever had. What-”

She shook her head, this time with kind of a sad smile.

“Those are not the kind of questions you were brought here today to ask, or find the answers for.”

She turned, continuing to walk down the road. Talinn, feeling a sudden urgency in his chest, quickly moved to follow her until he strode along side her.

“Then what...what I am here for? Why have You brought me here?”

“Now you are asking the right questions.” She chuckled as they continued, moving towards more, open green fields. “You are here for...balance.”

“Balance?”

She nodded at him sagely as they continued along the path.

“Yes. Everything must be balanced, every bill paid at the end of the day. Whether in your world...or this one.”

He stared at her for a long while, trying to find the words, before he finally spoke. He did not like the sound of that.

“If this is the afterlife…”

She smiled at him again, a frustratingly neutral expression on her face.

“And You created it...and You are omnipotent...You...there is no need to balance anything, right? You can just will it, and it is so?” Talinn was becoming increasingly anxious, a feeling that set him at odds with the otherwise peaceful nature of this place, whatever it was.

“If I am who You think I am, I do have that power,” she replied pensively “but I have, for lack of a better word, ceded that you all.”

“What…?” he started-and she raised a paw up to stop him.

“True free will is a tricky thing,” she replied pensively “it requires a certain balance to work, and, in the end, judgment.”

“Is that was this is? You judging me?” Talinn whispered, voice and body on edge as they both stopped, his gaze fixating on her. A tumultous hurricane of emotions ran through him.

She shook her head at him sadly.

“No, I am not the one who judges.”

“Who, then? Vulpuz? Is he around here somewhere? This does not feel like what I had imagined ‘Gates to be!"

She shook her head once more.

“No, neither does He.”

“Answer me then! Is there some kind of higher God? Some kind of final arbiter of whatever 'Gates objective morality You...or You All... designed? And don't you dare to give me of one of your nonanswers, whoever You are!" Talinn found himself shouting at Her, his anxiety reaching a crescendo. He felt sick inside.

She gave him that frustrating, neutral smile, and then looked pensive again for another moment.

“I will answer the first question for you...look ahead.”

Turning his attention from Her, he then looked at the path ahead of them. It forked off in three different directions. One that continued straight, one to the left that seemed to go to a kind of darker forest, and one to the right that seemed to go into some kind of desert. He turned and stared back at her.

“The one who will judge you...is you.”

 

[Talinn Ryalor]

Talinn stared at the golden...singular God or one of many gods...before him for a moment, then glanced down the three paths presented to him. After a time, he looked back to her, waiting patiently with that damn impenetrable slight smile. He was normally good at reading beasts, but he could not do that at all with...whatever She was.

“I suppose I will not get a clear answer on what exactly that means from you?”

She offered a slight chuckle in response, before speaking once more.

“It will be made clear to you when you pick your destination-you will not need my help or input once there.”

Talinn gave her something of an irritated pouting face, something he had not done since he was a kit. This...place...had a weird effect on him.

“Can you at least tell me where each of these paths go? I assume that simply going back down where we have gone is not an option, nor do I think I will be allowed to simply trudge off in those green fields without picking any of them, right?”

Reaching out, she gave him a reassuring pat on the head, ruffling his headfur as if he were a kit. Normally, Talinn would have done something about that, but, what use would that be against such a being? At least she did not appear too malevolent, which he should be grateful for, given the amount of cults in both Fyador and the Imperium.

“You will find out when you walk those path-”

He gave her a supremely irritated look.

“Oh, I am not supposed to do this, but for you, I will make an exception,” she laughed “mhmmm, you have become such a stubborn beast, have you not? Just like when you were a kit. Very well.”

She took a breath, then pointed to the middle road first.

“This one, it is for me, you will find that you cannot follow it. You are not the only beast who I must greet, indeed, there are an innumerable amount.”

Pausing once more, she pointed down the left, towards the darker forest, although, it was not a sinister kind of darkness, more like a comforting one.

“It looks different to each beast, but, in your conception anyway, that would be the place you would want to go, the Dark Forest. A place of peace and rest.”

Turning to the right, she pointed down the other path leading into what appeared to be a desert, but seemed pensive for a moment, as if trying to figure out how to explain it to him.

“To the right are...other places. Places where beasts who have not yet paid their dues, or…” she sighed, her face turning mournful for the first time since he had arrived in this place “...refuse to do so.”

Perking back up, she answered his final two questions.

“No, you will find that you cannot go back, not yet, and, although you can go off the paths, you will end up back here, eventually, and I think that would bore you.”

Talinn remained silent for a long time, simply processing the above information. During this time, she removed her paw from his headfur, and looked at him intently, after a while, he nodded.

“I see."

He sighed, shaking his head, less anxious, but feeling a sense of exhaustion, foreboding, and...acceptance?

“Is there even any point in me going to the left?”

She smiled softly at him.

“It is my choice, I suppose? Very well.”

He straightened, standing up tall, in a way that he had not since Alexei had stabbed him in the leg many years ago.

“Is…” he began, struggling to figure out what to say, “...is this changeable or fixed? Back where I came from? Or here now? Where I feel that I belong in the end, that is? Or was I always destined to end up wherever I go? What some beasts say, predestination?”

She gave him a pensive look, then began to speak.

“Those questions regarding the world where you came from...”

She then looked at him disapprovingly for the first time since he arrived here.

“…you yourself know do you not? From what I said before, about free will? At least from the perspective of beasts still subject to the constraints of time? And especially through that damnable thing that should have never been given to you all? Honestly, Vulpuz did that just to cause me endless trouble and extra work, I think at times, though he claims it simply enhances your freedom of choice and he did it in service to me. Mmmmph!”

Talinn looked at her, stunned for a moment. What he saw then when he had…? She could not mean?

She gave him a very long, exasperated sigh, a look of supreme irritation flashing across her face.

“I have half a mind to...there are factors you cannot possibly understand at play when it comes to what you refer to as the ‘higher mysteries’! You all should keep it locked away, or, better yet, toss it into a fire and be done with it! It will only ever cause you grief and trouble!”

Sighing again, the God or god resumed Her normal serene face.

“As for here...walk the paths, Talinn of House Ryalor, you will get the answers that you seek.”

She gave him a curt nod.

“Now, if there is not anything else…?”

Talinn paused, then gave a deep, formal bow in the Fyadoran style, as low as he could manage, something he had also not done in many decades.

“Kitsune...thank you.”

She gave him a warm smile.

“Walk the paths, Talinn, and you will find out where you belong. Perhaps…”

She shook her head, stopping herself.

“No, that is still up to you.”

Giving him a nod, she turned around, and then continued to walk down the middle path.

Talinn, for his part, watched until she disappeared beyond the horizon, mind consumed by thoughts, then glanced to the left and began to walk down that path. Intuitively, he felt he knew what was going to happen, but he shrugged. It could not hurt to try, though, right?

 

[Talinn Ryalor]

Talinn, with some trepidation, walked down the path to the darker forest, suspecting it would be the place where “good beasts” went. He knew the conceptions of this tended to vary by religion, and perhaps his own belief in the Kitsune was colored by this this, influenced by his time in the Imperium, but it seemed to fit in to what he had been told. It was not a foreboding feeling as he walked towards it, yet one of peace and calm. As he got closer, however, a mouse, dressed in full plate armor and carrying a massive, gleaming two handed sword came out from it, and stood in his way. Talinn looked at the mouse, who matched look confidently and without fear. Curious-woodlanders usually were not as well-armed and armored in that manner, nor did they often match vermin in sheer tenacity.

“Are you the guardian of this place?” He asked, uncertain.

The mouse warrior nodded in response.

“Are you here to stop me?”

The mouse warrior shook his head.

“To greet me?”

He nodded once more.

“Am...I to...reside there?”

The mouse gave him a long, pensive look, then planted his sword in the ground, then pointed at his chest.​

“Ah, like the Kitsune said, it is up to me, then?”

The mouse nodded.

Straightening, Talinn gave the odd-looking mouse a respectful bow.

“Thank you for your answers, and your forbearance, kind spirit.” He paused, unsure of what else to say, then decided to apologize. “Our...people...have been at war for a long time. I am sorry for what I had to do to protect mine. But at least now, where I reside, we are trying to be better, in a fashion...”

The mouse glanced at him with a mixture of emotions on his face, seeming to range from thoughtful, to irritated, to peaceful, before settling on a soft smile, and removing himself from the path.

Talinn gave him a nod, then walked past the strange mouse into the forest, and-

Was immediately greeted by a far different kind of light-starlight. The forest was indeed dark, in a calming, peaceful way, but was illuminated by a mosaic of beautiful, endless stars above. Talinn froze in awe for a moment, looking up at them. The light pollution of Bully Harbor, Amarone, and Peltarra meant he could rarely see them in their full glory, but here, he was able to, and was struck by a sense of wonder. There were no familiar patterns, no way to chart where exactly he was, but it was a beautiful tapestry. So many stars, so many worlds, all arrayed in such a perfect order. The work of the Kitsune? Or someone much greater?

After a time, he was able to draw his eyes away from the brilliant sight, and then look towards the forest itself. It was illuminated by a soft, pale, calming glow, and the sounds were peaceful and restful. He heard a stream in the distance, further down the road, which was now illuminated and still warm in a comforting manner, and decided to follow it to said stream, feeling a strange compulsion to do so.

This truly is a place of rest, he thought, something tells me I am not ready for this place, not yet, but, there has to be some reason I was allowed in here. But why?

Eventually, he reached the stream, a peaceful, babbling brook with starlight reflected waters. Reaching down, he felt the water, pleasantly cool to the touch, and brought some to his mouth. It was the most refreshing he had ever tasted, far more than any drink he had ever had in his life, and it was just water.

Suddenly, he heard pawsteps approaching him from behind, and he turned. Who could it be, here?​

 

[FinnianBrightfur]

A young vixen softly padded out of the shadows, a furtive smile on her face. She was dressed practically, but modestly -- as if she were a working girl. Looking more closely, she couldn't have been older than fifteen -- and yet, at the same time, seemed to be timeless. "Alwyn, is it?" she asked hesitantly upon approach. The vixen gave Talinn just enough time to absorb the surprise, before playful laughter burst past her lips. "Oh you'll forgive me..." she said, taking a seat next to him. "...I suppose it isn't often that fathers get mistaken for their sons. Though... the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, does it?"​

 

[Talinn Ryalor]

Talinn looked hard at the young vixen barely out of kithood before him, searching his mind for who she might be even before she spoke. She did look familiar, but he could not quite place it. When she spoke his son’s name, though, it clicked. Annabelle, a servant of the family for a time, and a close friend and confidante of Alwyn. She had disappeared during his march to Amarone, and had never returned, although he had been so busy in the aftermath of that, and, indeed, recovering from the permanent wound that Alexei had given him, to really make inquiries or figure out what she had left. It made sense she was here, though, she had always seemed like a good sort. Like Alwyn...was…

He paused, a flicker of shame running across his face, before he comported himself.

Is. Alwyn is genuinely good, deep down, not like Dusk or I. He takes after Falun and Vaelora, 'Gates, even Tanya, thank the Kitsune, rather than us.

Talinn shook his head in disagreement at her statement. “No, it does in this case, thank Kitsune. Alwyn is a good beast. Me, on the other hand…”

Looking at her in a confused manner, he spoke once more.​

“Annabelle, if you are here then...you passed away young? I am sorry. I do not know why you left, but we try to look after our servants and retainers. I would have come looking for you, but, if you had stayed in the Imperium, you would have known that I was...busy...with a great many matters.”

He paused.​

“I am sorry, I do not know how this works, did you have some kind of message for me? Or did you spot me and mistake me for Alwyn to come say hello? I am a bit...new...to all of us this.”

@FinnianBrightfur ​

 

[FinnianBrightfur]

Annabelle listened patiently to the older fox as he spoke. There was a soft smile on her face -- it faltered at times, but she remembered the lengths it took her to adjust to her life, and lent the todd a sympathetic ear. "I was...busy...with a great many matters." She tilted her head at the excuse, a puzzled expression on her face as she searched his eyes. In any case, she didn't seem to hold it against him.

"...did you have some kind of message for me? Or did you spot me and mistake me for Alwyn to come say hello?"

"Oh! -- No, you'll have to forgive me. I knew who you were!" she said, the smile returning to her face. "You do look like him though..." she said, directly addressing the todd's aversion to being likened to his son. "...you have the same face." She paused again, studying Talinn with the slightest hint of sorrow. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but decided against it.

"I... took something from Alwyn, that wasn't mine to take..." she said slowly, her words weighty with years of thought. "It wasn't right of me, and... I fear it... I know it worsened tensions between you." The way she spoke gave the impression that there was no false modesty in her apology. It was simple and genuine, and she gave a moment for her words to sink in. "To whatever extent I played in helping to drive you and your son apart... I'm sorry."​

 

[Talinn Ryalor]

Talinn listened as the young vixen studied him, clearly reminiscing about something, and looking sorrowful as she remarked about how he looked like Alwyn. Well, that made sense. He knew they were close friends and confidantes when they were younger, even though Alwyn was the heir to a long and illustrious ancestry and she was but a common vixen. He had never told Alwyn, but when Alexei found out he was getting too close to a vixen of regular blood he had wanted to send her away, but he and Dusk had intervened, knowing the weight of responsibilities that the eldest son of House Ryalor would face. Talinn had also kept that secret from his son-he did not want his estimation of his granduncle to drop, especially when Alexei had more or less raised Alwyn while he was gone.

He was, however, bewildered by what she said next. She had taken something from Alwyn? What could it have been? Nothing of note had gone missing, that he knew about.

“Whatever it was you took from my son, I assure you, the...divide...between us…” he sighed “it was already going to happen, one way or the other. But I confess, Annabelle, now I must know, what was it that you took?”

​

 

[FinnianBrightfur]

Anabelle looked at the todd -- and though she wanted to laugh and tease him, the situation was too grave for levity. "I knew your son, Talinn. In fairness, he took from me too. But these things are an intricate web. Neither of us knew how many strings we were pulling on. Where it would lead us -- how it would impact you. I must ask his forgiveness too, but you are the one before me. And for how I have hurt you, please forgive me."

She stood gracefully, and her face was filled with a sweet sorrow... but no bitterness or tears. "Take care of him, Talinn. He still needs you."

She took half a step backwards. "Take care of him, Talinn. He now needs you," she repeated with emphasis as she turned to leave.

"Oh! And tell him not to be late this time!" she called, with playful annoyance. "Three o'clock, and three o'clock!"​

 

[Talinn Ryalor]

Talinn was admittedly not the most well-versed in the art of romance, having had less than zero guidance of it from Alexei which would have likely ended his relationship with Weylin had she not died early into their marriage, and, in truth, Dusk taking the traditional role of pursuer in their relationship, but even he understood what she was saying. It clicked in his head, now. Annabelle was Alwyn’s first love, and it honestly explained much about his son. He had always pinned it down solely on Alexei and the stress of his duties, but, his...volatile nature...with vixens. Was he still heartbroken, after all this time?

Talinn felt tears forming in his eyes, before he wiped them away. He was not the best father, but he was still a father, and his actions had hurt his son. He could mourn later, though, talk to Alwyn later, if he got out of this place. Annabelle was beginning to fade away, and he felt he could not move-he had to get clarification. What was she talking about? What had she stolen? What did she mean by taking care of him, and needing him to do so now? Was Alwyn in danger? Three o’clock and three o’clock, what?

“Wait, Annabelle!” He shouted, but the vixen was already gone by the time he felt that he could move again. He simply stared into the forest where she had been afterwards for a time, before he whispered quietly, voice barely above his breathing.

“Whatever you did, I forgive you, and I will pass along your messages to Alwyn, if...if I am able to make it back!”

He decided to continue down the golden path, feeling drawn deeper into the forest, and getting a sense that he should not linger a moment longer than he had to. He soon heard the sounds of multiple beasts ahead-laughing, joking, commiserating. He was unsure whether or not to step forward, not knowing what to expect, but, if the Kitsune was correct about where this was, nothing here could harm him. Probably.

Taking a deep breath, he moved towards those voices.

@Silvertongue Songfox

 

[Silvertongue Songfox]

Deeper into the forest still… though it wasn't exactly easy to measure time or distance in a place like this. This area of the Dark Forest seemed… secluded. As if the forest wasn’t mysterious enough. There was a clearing, and within the middle stood a large wooden gazebo. Standing within said gazebo were six foxes. All male, and all roughly the same age as Talinn, if he had to guess, tho a white fox stood out as being the oldest of them all.

The six foxes seemed to be in conversation with each other. One of them, a black fox in a black bards outfit spoke to another, a standard colored fox, wearing a blue gambeson and grey trousers.

"Well, son, Although it pains me to see you here, I'm happy to see you. So... how exactly did you pass."

The second fox sighed. "Well, father, I tried- and failed... to negotiate with a badger lord." He looked out into the forest, and saw Talinn. His eyes widened in shock, and he scrambled out of the gazebo, rushing over to Talinn.

“Yew!” He grabbed Talinn’s paw, before getting down on one knee and bowing his head. “Forgive me for jumpin ye like that.” He quickly stood up. “It’s just, ye- ye’ve just came from the land of the living. Yew, ye know me son! Me dear boy!”

The other five foxes turned, and they too walked out, though they were silent. These other five wore various outfits, a mix of soldier, pirate, and bard attire. The oldest fox wore the garbs of a blacksmith.

“Please-” The first fox bowed his head once more. “My Silvertongue… is he well?”

 

[Talinn Ryalor]

Deeper into the forest along the golden path, Talinn eventually reached a more secluded and area, whereupon he was able to examine the noises he heard more closely. A large wooden gazebo, filled with todds of various shapes and sizes, all seemingly in good cheer and company with each other. He only caught the end of their conversation, namely that one of them ended up here because he failed to negotiate with a badger lord. Well, it really did seem like he was in the Dark Forest-although more vermin were here than uncivilized woodlander propaganda that claimed most vermin would be consigned to ‘Gates would have had one believe. He wondered why he was called here-he felt he did not know any of them, although there was a certain...familiarity...he felt with them.

Suddenly, one of the todds, a standard looking one, rushed out to meet him, running up to Talinn and grabbing his paw and bowing, saying something like he knew his boy. Talinn was initially slow to react, stunned by the fact that the fox’s touch seemed just as real as in the world he came from. This had to be real now, right? Soon behind him came the other foxes, although at a slower pace.

Silvertongue. Ah, this must be...his family then? Only the slightest of connections to me...but I suppose that is enough. Silvertongue did, in between writing reports from me, talk about his father, if somewhat vaguely, and he is a beast under my command.

Comporting himself into the proper image of a captain, unlike with Annabelle, to reassure the worried father that his son was in good paws, as he knew what it was like to be a father, he gave him a firm nod. He was glad that he had left Silvertongue at the camp, where they would at most have to fend off some small, scattered shrew probing attacks, and where he should be as safe from danger as one could be in such a situation under Lieutenant Tultow.

He gave the beast a firm nod.

“You must be Silvertongue’s...father?” Talinn asked slowly, although he could have possibly had many other relatives. “He is doing well, as far as I am...was...able to tell before I came here. He joined up on the finest ship I have ever known to sail the seas, with a competent crew, and even brought along a very dedicated friend with him. Apparently he had some trouble with pirates, but…”

Talinn shook his head dismissively.

“...he is safe in the Imperium’s Navy, as he is a sworn beast of the Empress of the Vulpine Imperium now. She will smash any pirate force aside with a mere flick of her paw.”

He paused, taking a breath before continuing, every word ringing true.

“I even commissioned him as an apprentice officer as my aide-de-camp, given that he knows how to dress properly and write his letters, and, I think, with a bit more coaching and experience, could end up being a fine officer, maybe even crew his own ship one day. He truly cares for his friends and the beasts under his command. He is on his first assignment, but it is one that should be fairly simple and safe for him. He did not come along on the party I led that…” He stopped for a moment, glancing at himself, and wondering if he was permanently here or not, given that Annabelle had told him to tell Alwyn a few things, and, presumably she would not have done that if he were fated to permanently remain in the afterlife “...did not end quite as well for me, anyway, but my First Officer, Stowett, is a bright beast. Your son should be fine.”

 

[Silvertongue Songfox]

"Yes, yes, I'm his farder. Firetail." Firetail explained breathlessly. "An officer. An officer!" He started to laugh, tears welling up in his eyes. "An officer, can ye believe it!? I would have never guessed it, Dad!" He turned to the black fox in dark clothing. "That's our Silvie! I'm so proud of 'im-!"

Firetail froze up in place. "I... I never told 'im... that I was proud of 'im... I, well... I wasn't exactly a very active farder, and yet 'e still loved me wif all his 'eart. I didn't deserve ter 'ave 'im as me son!" He sniffled. "When ye see 'im again... can ye tell 'im- can ye tell 'im that 'e is doin' the Songfox name proud? 'e really is der best of all of us." Firetail wiped his eyes. "What is this cryin' shite? I got this from yew, Dad!" He pointed to the older black fox in dark bard attire.

The black fox approached, nodding to Talinn. "I am Darksnout, Silvertongue's grandfather. I've been gone for a while now. We've been doing our best to keep an eye on Silvertongue, though Kitsune does not approve of us peeking into the mortal realm- so we can only get the occasionally glimpse while they are distracted. I may not know who you are, but I know a Captain when I see one." He doffed his tricorn hat to Talinn. "It is really terribly selfish of me to ask this, well, for all of us to ask this of you. I'm sure you're a busy fox, but please keep an eye on the lad, would you? I fear he is still far too kind for a world that is so needlessly cruel. It's as you said, he has a lot to learn. You seem like the perfect beast to guide him onto the right path."

 

[Talinn Ryalor]

Talinn nodded amiably at Firetail’s question, he would relay the message, although internally he was increasingly uncomfortable at the parallels between him and Firetail in terms of how well they had acted in a paternal manner. He loved his kits, but, he had been mostly absent from the lives of his three eldest, sans for Anastasia, but she was...even with him and Dusk being more present...difficult.

Turning his attention to the black fox, he listened to the beast calmly and patiently, taking and feeling the tricorn hat for a bit-of course feeling just as real as everything else, before offering it back to him. He was not sure what the rules were, exactly, but he was pretty sure you were not allowed to take anything back to the real world from the afterlife. Except for that one thing the Kitsune had mentioned, which he had locked away in the deepest depths of Magh, and had all those who knew about it sans him and the Empress executed. One of his many, many sins, but, if it fell until the wrong hands…

Focus, Talinn.

“It is not...strictly speaking...my purview, given my captaincy is temporary,” He began, then sighed before continuing, being careful of what to promise “...but I do have influence with the Empress and some leverage with the Ministry of War. Should he acquit himself properly with both me and the Navy, there are many things I can do to assist him. If he is receptive to my guidance, he will go far.”

He felt that was a fair enough promise to these Songfoxes-and more importantly-one he could keep-if Silvertongue showed loyalty to both the Imperium and him personally, he would look out for him, and even give him guidance. But if he rebelled or turned traitor...Silvertongue was not yet his blood, unless he married one of his daughters, nor did he owe Silvertongue anything, unless he saved the life of a member of his family, then a debt would be owed.

“There is...one more thing I could do, but you would know better than I…” he paused “I am unsure of the rules here, but…” he thought back to Annnabelle, was that a portent for the future? But it was so vague...at least to him...maybe those were the rules? “...if you have any glimpses of what fate might have in store for him, I could pass on a message.”

That offer was indeed to help Silvertongue, but served the dual purpose of potentially giving him a hint about the future, without having to rely on hit or mess prophets and prophetesses, or, even worse, try to use that...thing...he kept locked away.

 

[Silvertongue Songfox]

"Fate, fate..." Darksnout rubbed his chin for a moment. "Well, lucky for you, Captain, I did happen to be acquainted with a strikingly beautiful seer for many years during my life."

Firetail interrupted. "Now, Father, he don't need ter go ter no seer, we can just tell 'im directly." Firetail stepped forward. "Please, follow me."

He lead Talinn over to the gazebo. "Normally, you would not be able to enter this space if you are not a Songfox, so let me just." Firetail placed his paw on Talinn's shoulder and pushed him forward, allowing him to pass the threshold into the wooden building. In the middle of the gazebo stood a marble fountain, filled with clear water

"Gaze inter der water." Firetail said. "Ye'll see a glimpse of a possible future. One that can be averted."

After saying this, Firetail stepped back, while Darksnout and the other foxes gathered around the fountain. They held their paws together, forming a chain. They closed their eyes, raising their heads and palms towards the sky. They started to sway, and chant in a tongue that Talinn didn't recognize.

Meanwhile, Firetail produced a bag, reaching into it and throwing what appeared to be salt into the fountain. The water started to glow, dimmly at first, but brighter, brighter. Like fire, then like the sun.

"Ye musn't look away!" Firetail yelled over the chanting. "Stare deeply into the light, and all shall be revealed!"

The Songfoxes chant grew louder, and they broke their chain, the six foxes dancing erratically about the fountain, as a beam of light collided with Talinn's face.

Talinn suddenly he found himself in a blacksmith’s shop at night, although it smelled not of smoke and coal, but of salt and brine. In front of them, there was a figure cloaked by darkness heating up a blue gemstone, cackling ominously as he watched the careful structure inside begin to shift, despite its attempt to retain its natural form. Yet the furnace it was put into proved to be too much, and Talinn found he could begin to see small cracks on its inside, the stone becoming weakened by the flames. Then, with a sudden, harsh swiftness, the dark blacksmith brought down a hammer hard upon it, shattering it and scattering its pieces all across the shop, laughing as he did so, before Talinn was swept away.

This time, he found himself once more in the shop at the same time, but there were two blacksmiths. One whose face was cloaked by light, handing over the blue gemstone, seemingly different and harder, to the one surrounded by darkness. The black blacksmith was displeased, snarling as he attempted to heat the gemstone up, and though the crystalline structure bent, it did not crack. In frustration the hammer was brought down once more upon it, but this time, it held firm, and despite the attempts of the beast in darkness to capture it to strike it once more, flew out the window, just as the first rays of sunlight peaked over the horizon.

In a flash, Talinn was dragged out of this vision, thrown back from the fountain and landing on his back. The Songfoxes stopped their chanting, and Firetail ran over to help Talinn up. "What did ye see??"

 

[Talinn Ryalor]

Talinn had to admit, as he was led into the gazebo, and the foxes did their increasingly strange ritual, he wondered if this was actually the afterlife or if he was in some kind of surgery and Barrett had given him a wrong dosage or some strange plant that interacted with the medicine he already had, especially as Firetail threw something into the water and it began to glow. His scientists had a name for it, but he believed most common beasts of the Harbor would call it a “trip” based on the numerous strange hallucinogenic plants and herbs that were imported into the Imperium despite the Empress’s wishes.

What in the Imperium is this eve-

After seeing the vision, and being returned to the Songfox property as it were in the afterlife, he just stared at Firetail for a bit. What on Earth had he seen? What did it mean? He wasn’t good at this, Kitsune damn it, this was something for the Occult division, they would be much better off at it. Why had he been chosen to relay all these messages? What in ‘Gates did they actually mean?

“I saw a-”

-CRACK-

A huge clap of thunder erupted above the gazebo, so loud that anything he might have said would be inaudible. Talinn walked over to the edge of the building and looked up, but there were no clouds. Strange. Turning back to Firetail, he tried to say it once more.

“I was in-

-CRACK-

Another loud blast of thunder, as if it were right over the gazebo, and once more, Talinn went out to look, but, there was nothing there. He gave Firetail an exasperated expression.

“Seems like the Kitsune...or whoever made this place...is fine with me giving the vision, but sharing it with anyone other than the intended…” He shrugged helplessly with an apologetic look on his face. "I think...I'm getting a feeling I have to go soon...so if there is anything else...?"

 

[Silvertongue Songfox]

Firetail, Darksnout, and all the other Songfoxes looked at each other with concern, muttering among themselves.

"Captain, I believe you should take your leave from our sanctuary." Darksnout held his paw out. "There are certain rules we must follow in the afterlife, and... well.... let's just say we Songfoxes never really followed rules like we are supposed to." He guided Talinn out of the gazebo, and to the forests' edge. "Meeting a beast who has come from the land of the living so recently, it's put a bit of spice in our afterlives." He chuckled a bit. "I'm sure you have many more obligations, Captain, but please make sure that the message... our message... reaches Silvertongue. It will mean a great deal to us."

Darksnout then bowed to Talinn, removing his hat as he did so. In the exact same manner that Silvertongue has always bowed to Talinn.

 

[Talinn Ryalor]

Talinn, still trying to process everything that he had seen and the entire Songfox family, simply nodded in agreement at the suggestion to leave. If the Kitsune and this place were real, after all he had done in his life, he did not want to further anger her or rack up any more of the debts to pay. Hopefully, giving these messages would go, at least a little, to evening the scales, which, he increasingly had the feeling, were leading him straight to ‘Gates if not adjusted. He took the older Songfox’s paw, giving him a firm shake as he did so.

“Silvertongue seems like a good beast and from the way he spoke of you, I think it will help him, I will relay the messages to him.” He affirmed respectfully beforre turning and making his way to back to the golden path that led ever deeper into the forest.

Well, it is nice to see that Silvertongue’s father and ancestors care for and are proud of them...my father…

Talinn’s gaze and thoughts darkened at the thought of the Mad Emperor of Fyador who had ruined so many lives out of his own arrogance, the trauma he had inflicted on three generations of Ryalors, and, he suspected, if his own kits had them, even to a fourth, though he was trying to prevent that as he could. The Dark Forest, perhaps picking up on his moodiness in such a normally peaceful place, began to cast rain down upon him, and, unknown to Talinn as he brooded, led him on an offshoot to yet another visitor…and one that was likely not to be quite as nice as the first two had been.

 

[Orina Emberkin]

The rain came down in sheets, buffeted by a wind that sent the branches above swaying with the shush of leaves and creaking of timber on timber. The sound was, in a way reminiscent of the creak and groan of a ship tossed on the seas in a storm. Cutting through it all was a noise that seemed at first out of place, that of somebeast running a whetstone over steel. It drew Talinn like a beacon, louder and louder as he stepped past the trunks of ancient, gnarled oaks, their jutting roots slippery with rain. He steadied himself on one of the trunks, and when he lifted his paw away from it, his paw was wet with not rain but the bright red of blood that seeped from fissures in the bark. The rhythmic sharpening of steel drowned out even the noise of the rainstorm, echoing through the venerable, blood-weeping oaks and nearly driving him to his knees as though somebeast were pressing down on him.

But still he continued, and passing the oaks, came into a glade. In the center of the clearing loomed a smooth, black boulder twice as tall as the fox. Perched atop the boulder, one footpaw hanging off the side, was a young pine marten jill in simple sailors clothing, focused on the task of honing her black-hilted arming sword. Each stroke of the whetstone reverberated through the opening in the forest like a shockwave, rippling out visibly through the raindrops. When the sound passed through Talinn, it was as though his bones rattled and his breath was nearly knocked from him. Despite the rain, the jill was perfectly dry, and it appeared as though some invisible sun shone on her, sun-kissed gold highlights reflecting in her fur.

She flicked an ear towards Talinn and stopped mid-stroke. The rain halted, frozen in place. The wind stopped--not dying out and settling, but ceasing altogether and leaving branches stuck at skewed angles. The silence was crushing, as though all sound had been drawn out of the place. Talinn found that he could not move, could not even draw breath.

The piercing blue eyes of Nuori Sken turned to the fox. Though a younger version of the long-dead Minister of War than he was familiar with--perhaps near the age when she had befriended his brother--she was unmistakably the pine marten he had known all those years ago. She quirked a brow and grinned at Talinn in a not entirely friendly way.

"So, you finally made it."

Her voice did not pass from her mouth to his ears, but rather drove directly through his mind with an agonizing fury. His vision went white with blinding light, then she was all he could see, not a young sailor but an armored Minister of War, sword in paw as she hacked away at the enemy, body pierced with spears and arrows, blood streaming from her mouth and nose as she laughed maniacally and battle churned around her. From beneath Sken's helmet, her blue eyes blazed with an uncanny light, and when she turned them upon Talinn again, her feral grin widened. Then there was an explosion, and she was consumed by flames.

He realized he had fallen to the ground when he felt her nudging him with a booted footpaw. Sun shone down on the pair in the glade, warm and welcoming as grass and ferns swayed in the gentle breeze around Talinn. Sken, now dressed in the practical Minister of War garb from decades prior, reached a paw down to the todd to help him up.

"We have some things to discuss, you and I."

 

[Talinn Ryalor]

As the entire scenario with the former Minister of War played out, Talinn could not think or do much other than be afraid and pray that one could not actually be hurt here in the Dark Forest. Surely no one could actually commit violence here in this place of rest...he hoped. That thought rapidly diminished in veracity as her furious words announcing his arrival struck through his head like needles, although that was only for a moment, and suddenly the more nightmarish vision disappeared as she burst apart in flames and it blinded him. When he recovered, a much more peaceful, typical scene awaited him, a warm glade, grass, and a peaceful sun. He openly sighed in relief, and, as she offered him a paw, he took it. Standing to his feet, he looked at her and then nodded.

“Yes, we do,” he began, struggling to find words as he attempted to comport himself to at least some small hint of a dignified posture, although he doubted its effectiveness after what he just been through, since he was still rattled by the show that Sken had put on, likely to throw him off, “you are...looking well, all things considered.”

 

[Orina Emberkin]

"Hm. 'All things considered', he says," Sken scoffed. She leaned back against the black boulder, crossing her arms and giving Talinn an obvious once-over. "And you, Talinn, look like utter shit. I suppose that's to be expected: old age, a lifetime of questionable decisions that all have led you to what? Did you get what you wanted yet? That throne still seems to have eluded you, Duke Ryalor. Seems a clever vixen got to it first."

The Minister of War grinned wickedly. "Well, she got to you first, apparently. How was that for you?"