“Life will always find a way to surprise you.” - Old folk saying.

“Mimia, Èirynn,” greeted Aideen when she met the couple on her way to the Bone Lord’s throne room. Grandpa Aarin had summoned her to come just a few minutes ago, along with the children and Kino. As such, they had hurried to answer the unexpected summons, which apparently Mimia and Èirynn were also doing when they ran into each other. “Did Grandpa ask for your presence as well?”

“He did, Aunt Aideen,” replied Mimia while Èirynn gave a motherly smile at the three children trailing behind Aideen. “Master didn’t say the reason, though, and the summons were rather sudden. I wonder what it’s about.”

“Probably about Antemeia?” supplied Èirynn with a questioning tone. “I’ve caught wind of news that there was apparently some conflict there around a few months ago, something about a new faction rising up and not acknowledging the Council of Flesh Artisans or something like that. The details were pretty scarce, though.”

“Probably,” admitted Aideen with a shrug of her shoulders. “I guess Grandpa will tell us more once we meet him.”

When the group – with the addition of Calais, who was apparently also summoned and met them along the way – reached the Bone Lord’s throne room, Aideen saw that there were quite a few important people gathered already. She noticed the leaders of the four divisions of the Wings of Night present, as well as the current head of the Death’s Hand.

Some familiar faces never changed though, like Drietven, who still stood proudly beside the Bone Lord’s throne despite his visibly advancing age, and Adalbert, the otter therian who served as the Lichdom’s military chief of staff long ago, rose as an unliving, and continued to perform his role ever since. Most of the rest of the faces present were new ones though, replacements for people who had since retired or passed on.

“Ah, good, everyone’s here,” said the Bone Lord from his skeletal throne. “Tell me, children, what have you heard about the conflict that brews in Antemeia even as we speak?”

“Only that there appears to be a divide amongst the Antemeians as of a few months ago, Master,” replied Èirynn while the others nodded in affirmation of her words. None of the others really had any clue about that conflict.

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“Well, that so-called ‘civil’ dispute of theirs caused their neighbors to smell weakness,” explained the Bone Lord as he followed up on Èirynn’s words. “As of three weeks ago, Vitalica had launched a full-scale attack across the Antemeian border and were pushing them back, hard. The Antemeians were too divided to mount a successful defense and kept losing ground.”

The group lifted their heads and contemplated what the Bone Lord meant by that. While some like Aideen and Èirynn had personal issues with the nation that usurped the name of the nation they grew up in, they were well aware that the Bone Lord rarely if ever intervenes in matters outside the Lichdom unless he had been incensed. Both of them doubted that either side was foolish enough to do so.

“What I guess none of you would have learned yet is that these Vitalicans are calling it a… Crusade. They are wantonly slaughtering every person they come across in Antemeia, be they necromancer, soldier, or some hapless villagers,” continued the Bone Lord, at which point everybody listening to him frowned at the implication. “That does not please me, and on top of that, one of the factions in Antemeia had recently contacted us, in search of refuge.”

“Of course, since they sought refuge with us, they will become our people, and live by our rules, that is a given,” added the Bone Lord nonchalantly. “The problem is that they face difficulty escaping from the pursuit of the crusading Vitalicans, as such I have decided to send some help to allow them to reach the Lichdom unmolested, and I would like you all to participate in that endeavor.”

“We’d be honored to, Master,” replied Mimia and Èirynn, while the rest addressed the Bone Lord by his title instead, or in the children’s case, as Grandmaster.

“Aideen, I’d like you to be there to take care of them, is that fine with you?” continued the Bone Lord, to which Aideen nodded. “Would also be a good opportunity for the young ones to experience war without risking themselves, wouldn’t you say? I know you’ve been mentoring them for the past while, so this sort of opportunity should be right up your alley.”

“If I had heard of the news prior to this, I would have probably requested to take them out to experience it indeed, Grandpa,” replied Aideen with a smile. As usual, Grandpa Aarin understood her. “I’d also like to take my other disciple if that’s fine with you? Also, what should we do in case we encounter the Vitalicans and they refuse to use their brains?”

“Go ahead, and if these so-called crusaders dare point a weapon your way, feel free to teach them a lesson in blood,” replied the Bone Lord with a skeletal grin. “In fact, should the other faction of Antemeians decide that they want to join their brethren in submitting to us, you should just directly take over what land they still hold instead of letting the Vitalicans get it.”

“For this expedition, I will lend you the third and fourth divisions of the Wings of Night, as well as a squad of the Death’s Hand and a force fifty thousand strong on top of that,” continued the Bone Lord as if the fearsome military force he mentioned were mere pebbles. “Adalbert, see to it that they are prepared to depart within three days.”

“Understood, your Holiness. Your will shall be done,” replied the unliving therian man with a bow as he quickly conferred with the commanders of the aforementioned units. They had a lot to prepare in order to mobilize the army within such a short timeframe, but that was something the Lichdom excelled at. After all, the bulk of their force would be undead skeletons.

Meanwhile, Aideen and the rest also withdrew and began to make their own preparations.