1st Skyday of Petals
It is thundering in the
distance as Milos, The Fox Knight, approaches Bohat and finds refuge
in the inn. He is served wine and food but the mood is somber.
Children have returned after they were missing but they are changed.
Milos braves the elements and spurs his steed to bring news to the
Brotherhood. He arrives late at night at the Citadel.
1st Rainsday of Petals
The next morning Lady
Alina, a tall, severe-looking woman, brings him to the Grand Hall
where Anastasz sits alone on the throne and Perilake with his family.
Few candles in the alcoves illuminate the relics that adorn the hall.
When they break fast Milos tells about troubles in Bohat and Sheriff
Sorina about rumours in the South. A shrouded hunter had reported
complaints of Vassals about foreign Knights in the company of the
Jewelled Seer and their chained wolf. They welcome Eliska, a
petitioner from Oakfell who pleads the lords to visit the dwelling
that is plagued by smoke and hidden fires.
A herald is sent South
to inform the foreigners to announce themselves as is custom for
Knights. Lady Inga visits Bohat to talk with Lady Wendela and the
Brotherhood leave the Citadel for Oakfell by boat. Thick smoke lies
over the dwelling and Perilake orders the woodcutters to dig a hole to
search for the fire but soon the heat is overwhelming. Milos plays hide
and seek with Agafya, a young girl. They share her favourite
hiding place, a crack in the earth. He explores deeper and deeper
into a natural tunnel system where he finds the burning coal seam,
but must turn back as the fumes are too much.
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| Sir Milos, The Fox Knight (artist impession - Znalý, the steed, is actually grey) |
1st Stillday of Petals
Milos sneaks away in
the morning and brings an offering at the roots of a nearby tree and
receives a glimpse of the spires of The City. Back in the camp they
contrive a new plan: To divert the river and quench the hidden
flames. The weak and the young are sent to Farkash by boat while the
company travels west to follow Lady Inga. At the foot of the mountain
they come upon an orchard shielded from the winds by sheer cliffs and
they hear moaning among the song of birds. In the darkness lies a Knight between the trees. Anastaz stops the bleeding and cauterizes the
stump where her arm had been. She whispers of the Axbearer who struck
her down but she was spared for unknown reasons. Anastaz reminds his
brothers of the Myth of an axe bearer that despises the knights. Long
ago they visited a ruined temple with the sigils of knights with
skulls on them. They remember a message carved in stone: All Knights
will feel the Axe.
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| The River |
2nd Stoneday of Petals
Odile of Czobor survives to morning. Anastasz offers her
shelter at Farkash, where she might learn to fight one handed from
Heldris. They learn that her attacker was tall and enraged. She
fled and - worried about the safety of their
holding - they ride hard for Farkash but the Citadel is undisturbed. They tell
the Sheriff to spread word of the Axebearer - and of the Black
Fleece’s desire to face her in battle. They travel south between the
hills where all is silent and the first flowers bloom in the soggy
ground. Soon they hear chanting and they reach a river where hooded
figures pray. Milos approaches their leader, a woman with a haggard
face but intense blue eyes. Martuska declares that she is praying to the River. Perilake remembers the symbol on her robes, the sigil that
adorns Heldris' helmet. Perilake hunts a deer for the monks to sacrifice it. It is
offered to the River. The monks pray to appease it, the Knights for
the safety of Oakfell. Afterwards they talk and Martuska speaks of the Cult of the Mother whose prophets are the few hermits who kept their faith when others abandoned it and they preach in all the dwellings in the South. She has
seen the Jewelled Seer in her travels and they told her about the Child
who knows the way to the City.
