She managed to retain the minimal contents of her stomach on the short journey to the seat of the Leoth council, though the soaring twists and drops of the beast they rode made it a difficult task. She was certain she would never get used to the sensation of flight, of being so far above solid ground, of being surrounded by nothing but air and weightlessness.  The Leothine were clearly build from a far sturdier constitution.

When she felt the beast begin to slow, and heard the great wings beat at a much calmer pace, she dared to lift her head and open her eyes. She gasped aloud at the sight spreading out before her. Perched high upon a levelled section of a large clifftop, was the largest statue she had ever seen. A man, a warrior, with his arms outstretched and his head slung back, roaring in agony. In one hand he held a sword, in the other: a circular shield. Unimaginable pain. His body screamed it. His expression screamed it. Carved into the stone of his cheek, in his eyes, on his open mouth - Pain. A talented sculptor had envisioned this - superior even to the sculptor who'd created the statues in the Goddess' Temple. Many many hands had sculpted it to life. It was exquisite. Heartbreaking. It imbued a deep sadness into her that she could neither prevent nor contain. Was it Leoth himself?

The beast they rode scooped around in a wide arc to prepare its descent so that the statue disappeared out of view. They came in to land on a wide circular platform which jutted out from the cliff itself, large enough to hold a few hundred Leoth and their Varveh

The group of around twenty Leoth swung around its radius, landing one by one, each beast running off the flight left in them before trotting to a stop in a tight line which arced out to face a large set of stone gates. As the beast she rode touched down, her mind and body settled little, though she could not ignore the heavy dredge of fear which lingered in the pit of her stomach. What would happen to her now? What new fate awaited her now? Leoth was an unpredictable and secretive realm. There was no guessing what they might do with a foreign royal. Would they see her as Azurian or Calatian? How did she see herself? Which would keep her alive longest?

When the Varveh had come to land, rearing her great hooves against the smooth marble plain of the forecourt, her Leoth charge unlaced herself from the saddle and slipped down from it, before moving to unharness Fara. She watched with an odd kind of envy at the authority and power that seemed to emanate from her as she called upon her men to move into position. Theodan, a distance from her across the space, unsaddled himself and climbed down from his Varveh whispering a few words of comfort to the beast before his head turned to seek Fara out across the platform. Giving her a small nod, he then turned to face the Leoth woman, the arrogant fearless stance he normally wore settling across his large form. She saw something unspoken pass between them, something silent and warm before the Leoth councillor moved to stand between them.

Proud and fearless, his stare was unflinching as it settled upon the councillor, Theodan said a few words in Leoth that she could not hear across the distance, and the Councillor smiled in response. His head moved with a soft shake before he lifted his nose in the air and strode past Theodan towards the great stone doors, which began to open as he approached. The soldiers began to march in formation behind the councillor, enclosing Theodan exactly as they had done in the air.

As the stone gates opened, they revealed a second set of men, this time dressed entirely in black steel armour. Their faces were covered by terrifying helmets which obscured all but a section across the eyes. Dark Leoth eyes that stared ahead, expressionless.

At the gate the soldiers surrounding Theodan halted, not breaching the threshold as he proceeded forward alone with the councillor. Once across the gate, he was quickly enclosed once more by the masked council guard who then turned to lead him out of sight. The gates began to close slowly behind them. As Theodan disappeared from view a new kind of panic flooded her. Adrift and alone on this strange land with no one who knew who she really was. Would she ever feel safe again? Immediately she felt guilty for thinking it, as at this moment Galyn, Sylvan, and for all she knew, Arielle too were gone with the Gods.

The Leoth woman was by her side a moment later and with a firm grip around her waist, lifted her with ease down from the saddle. It made her feel like a child. Some vulnerable who could not survive a moment on this alien land alone. Perhaps she could not. Staring at the gate in silence, her hands knotted in front of her, Fara soon became aware of the Leoth woman's stare fixed upon her. When she turned the woman did not look away, or attempt to disguise the look of curiosity in her eyes. Manners and propriety were of no concern to her clearly. Fara stood a little taller, trying hard not to shrink under the cool aphotic gaze.

'What will happen to him?' Fara asked, casting a look back towards the stone gates, where her mind was pulled toward.

The female sighed. 'He will talk his way out of it of course,' she said, however, there was a tension in her tone that caught Fara's attention.

'And if you are wrong?'

The female turned, eyes narrowing, clearly not used to being questioned. Fara was certain she saw a glimmer of uncertainty pass over her face, which she masked an instant later.

'Banishment certainly, death eventually,' she replied, her voice tight.

An odd tremble moved through Fara, breathlessness stalling her mind for a moment. Her captor, her possessor, dead. Why did the thought turn her blood cold?

'And what would happen to me? If he is...' what word should she use? '...Gone, what happens to me?'

Another cold look moved across the Leoth's eyes - such mesmerising, feline eyes. 'Usually, he would bequeath you to some other - someone of worth - but since you are surrendered to the realm you will likely be sold to the highest bidder; the Superior of a house of Asalla perhaps,' she smiled, gleeful, her wide mouth giving way to a wolfish smile which promised blood and torn flesh. It was a marvel. Before Fara's eyes, her beauty had transformed into something else, something terrifying. 'Azurian women are popular with our males, you will not be short of patrons, that is certain,' she went on, sounding bored now.

As Fara stared up at her some clarity broke through the heavy cold dread that had settled over her. This woman cared for Theodan. This, this was... envy?

'He has not lain with me,' she said, hoping it would assuage some of the animosity.

The female's face transformed. Thunder, and then a flicker of anguish that was also gone in an instant. The woman was not one who showed weakness, ever, to any soul.

'Perhaps not. But he has tasted you. And for a Leoth, the blood calls louder to us than anything else,' she said, terse.

In memoriam, Fara's lip began to throb, sending small silver sparks out through her veins to the tips of her toes, her fingers, eyelashes. Heat bloomed from her throat to her cheek and without conscious thought, her fingers rose up to touch her lip where Theodan had tasted her. She opened her mouth to speak some testimony, some denial of what the female suggested, but found no words would come. She thought instead of the moment he had kissed her. Of how her blood had seemed to sing as it met his mouth, of how glorious it felt to be removed from this being, herself, and to be taken somewhere else. Somewhere made of light, somewhere eternal.

Now: Banishment. Death. His death. Which would inevitably mean, her end. A deluge of emptiness flooded her at the thought of it. She closed her eyes to her traitorous thoughts. He took everything from you. So easily you forget. The beast slaughtered your husband, your saviour, took your future from you. The image of it assaulted her. The image of his powerful body emptied of life, of light, his dark eyes devoid of those tiny sparks of light that resembled starlight itself, his heat suffocated with the veil of death. Bile rose in her throat, her body rejecting the direction of her mind - her own conspirator.

'He had no choice....' Fara whispered. He had merely sought to protect what was his. He had removed her from the Zybar Kings reach because he had meant a Leoth spoil harm. How could they punish him for that? But he had abandoned his command. For you. He had not declared her to anyone the night he brought her here. He had brought her here - she assumed since she did not know the meaning of it - under this ceremony they called a 'Plenary.' Her feet moved hopelessly toward the gates. She felt a strong grip on her arm pull her back.

'You cannot go inside.' The female told her coldly. 'Only Leothine are permitted inside the Court of the Moon.'

Her thoughts swirling, a tapestry of fear and confusion, Fara tugged her arm from the grip and turned from the Leoth woman. She moved in the opposite direction, towards the low ornate wall which wrapped around the cliff edge. The sea battered angrily against the rock below, white sea foam tussling to and fro, disappearing against the grey rock of the council seat. What depths swam deep under the surface she wondered. How long would it take for them to swallow her whole and carry her off to some underground world full of nymphs and naiads? Closing her eyes she took a slow step toward the edge, the wind picking up her hair and her gown in a violent burst of colour. There was nothing for her here. Nothing for her in Azura. Nothing for her back home in Calate. She had tainted every realm she had set foot upon. Ethis would be better if she were removed from it. Were she just a memory held by those she had wronged or esteemed.

Reaching up into her hair she felt for the pin, the token which even now held so much power in its small shape. It was a beautiful thing — she used to have many beautiful things. Had been surrounded by them all her life. In Calate and again in Azura. But in the end they were nought but tokens. Tokens of wealth, of sin, of love, of fear. What need did anyone have of tokens?

She thought of Valdr and wondered if he believed her dead, whether he had burned an effigy in her favour, whether he had wept. Perhaps he had treated it much like the loss of any other possession. His horse. His dog. His favourite whore. It was all much the same to he who had always had everything his heart desired. Her nails dug crescent moons into her palms as a thin sheen of sweat slicked down her back. Her mind cast out across the sea, towards Azura and Calate, memories dancing like wisps on the wind. She knew not how long she stood there, gazing out with longing towards her own death. Death by her own doing was a cowards demise, she knew this. And if she truly had any hope of seeing Cassi again then she needed to stay and accept whatever fate awaited her for her sins. She needed to spend the rest of her days at the Goddess's mercy. Or, as it were, at the mercy of the Dark One's realm. Were Theodan were to die, would her fate be worse than if she were bound to him in a life of servitude? A life of a Leoth whore? Better than a kings whore. Better than his whore? Yet, had not she sworn vengeance on the beast who had taken Galyn from her? Now she prayed for his safety, his exoneration? How fickle her mind was, she thought.

Fara didn't realise she was crying until she felt the tears tickle the skin of her face. She brushed them away with the back of her hand and took a deep breath, the sea calling louder to her now. Another small step forward. There was a break in the wall. A section which had fallen to its death some time ago. Perhaps four more and the ground would disappear beneath her. A broken body upon the rocks below. Such a simple remedy to her troubles. One... two... —. She felt a hot, firm grip on her shoulder. She was spun around to face the female Leoth, her dark eyes filled with warning and fury.

'Do you wish me dead with you?!' She hissed, pulling her back from the cliff edge. 'He bid me protect you with my life - which is what I will do so help me.' She sounded angry about it. Fara felt both embarrassed and apologetic but glanced back at the drop with a dull longing.

They had gone but a few steps when a low rumble cut through the air of the cliff. Glancing across the platform she saw the great stone gates begin to open once more. They were finished with him so soon? What did that mean? Her heart leapt to her throat, her body tense.

The gap widened to reveal the same, or a similarly armoured group of soldiers — swords and shields in hand which she now noticed were identical to the great statue that stood beyond. Leading the men was another female, a Leoth adorned in a long white cloak, the length of which trailed behind her like wisps of cloud. Her hair was black as night and her skin the usual pale palette of the Leothine. The men marched loudly behind her, their weapons almost melodic as they moved. She moved effortlessly towards Fara, her movements so smooth she seemed to glide above the ground.

Beside her, Theodan's Leoth stood straighter, pulling her shoulders and her head up to indicate that a figure of some authority came towards them. Following her lead, Fara decided to do the same, and so brought herself up straight with her chin raised, regal. The female was beautiful, of course, much like the Leoth woman to her right; tall and perfectly formed with movement so fluid and skin so flawless that she seemed made of marble. She possessed an air of quiet superiority which radiated out towards Fara like smoke. Atop her head she wore a thin band of twisted metal, it's blackness almost dazzled under the sun and against the frosted milk tone of her skin.

She came to a stop before Fara, dipping her head slightly in greeting, her face a mask of pure serenity and calm. Her eyes were hypnotic; completely white, with small dots of palest purple in the centre. Almost the inverse of Theodan's. The eyes of a seer?

'I am Visier Ismene,' the woman announced, her voice regal but with a gentleness that settled some of the quiet terror in Fara's bones. 'The High One requests your presence, Princess Fara Ninerveh of Naharina.'