Chapter 307 - Survival

After a restful night, with hearths spreading warmth throughout the castle, they gathered the next morning in the throne room.

The throne itself remained empty, and the room still seemed cold as frost-filtered light flooded through the tall windows.

The Kalandir stood in a loose semicircle.

As most high-ranking members were missing, this wasn't quite a council or a court. 

Those who remained had shed the cloaks they wore in mourning, replacing them with their usual colorful, but no less exquisite, clothing.

Vell chose not to join their meetings or plans for the future, or anything they might be discussing. After all, he wasn't a political ally, just a friend.

He thought that after all that had happened, he and Sonder should have a hearty breakfast. But he quickly discovered there was simply no food in the castle.

The twin keepers of the castle hadn't seen any reason to stock food until the lords and ladies returned and told them otherwise. 

If the Kalandir lords said food was needed, then it would be provided. But after such a long time, any that had once been stored had long since turned to dust.

Vell sighed, standing in what might once, and could have, been a grand dining hall. Now, it was little more than a sitting room, though well-polished and utterly immaculate. 

"Not even a crumb to eat," he said to Sonder.

"Don't they need to eat?" she asked.

"No. Doesn't mean they can't; they just don't. They don't even need air. They just are."

Sonder stepped further into the hall, her shoes making soft clicks against the cold stone. "What now?"

Vell imagined opening a small portal, stepping through, and returning with arms full of warm, wrapped pastries, the two of them eating heartily.

He returned to reality.

"We go hungry for the moment," he said. 

The elder twin bowed as he entered the dining hall, hands folded neatly before him. Though his expression remained unreadable, there was the faintest sense of purpose in the way he held himself.

"My lords," he said, addressing Vell and Sonder with courteous gravity, "do you require food or provisions? If you express your needs, they shall be arranged."

Vell turned from the empty table and gave a small nod. "Why, yes. That would be nice, wouldn't it, Sonder?"

"Very good," the twin said. "Then I shall see to it at once. We will prepare a list and a route."

He stopped mid-sentence. Not because he had forgotten what he meant to say, but because a new presence filled the room.

One of the Kalandir lords had entered. His steps were as light and silent as the others', but somehow they felt heavier.

A cloak of green and gold trailed behind him, the fabric barely stirring as he came to stand just inside the chamber.

"You will not leave this place, not for a moment," the Kalandir general said calmly, though there was no warmth in the tone.

Without a word, the servant nodded. His lord's word was his command.

"Why not?" Vell asked.

"They won't leave the castle for anything. Not for food. Not for materials." The general stepped closer. "We chose this place because it is forgotten. Lost to most. Hidden from the rest. If the servants are seen or heard or even sensed out there in the wilds beyond, the illusion of safety is gone. No offense meant to you. But our survival may depend on being as absent from the world as we can be. For now."

"Strange to hear the word 'survival' from a Kalandir," Vell said, and with that, the matter was settled.