It seemed Silanus had a habit of asking slightly intrusive questions. Ernest understood his curiosity, as she was a very curious person herself, and at least he was willing to answer her questions. She supposed she could trust him. The few secrets she had, she knew how to hide.

"No one I'd consider family," she said aloud. "My father might still be alive. I don't know. I never considered him family anyway. It's hard to love someone you've never met." She shrugged. The idea of her father had never bothered her. She'd had her mother, and her uncle. That had been enough. "I have a few friends. That's pretty much all."

She noticed his yawn, even though he tried to hide it, but she wasn't offended. She was used to staying up somewhat late, but she knew others weren't. "It gets dark very suddenly here," she said. Actually, it occurred to her, there were several odd things about this place. "If you don't mind me asking, why did you choose to settle here? It seems… very different from most of the places I've seen."

Silanus was glad to know that Ernest seemed to atleast trust him, although even he admitted his questions were quite intrusive. For a person as reticent as Ernest, it was somewhat easy to guess not everyone gained her trust. "Why would she trust someone like me? Considering the ruthless things I had done, and how I tried to sell her off. I wouldn't trust me in her place." Thought the general.

Many people had asked Silanus what Ernest was asking now, it was actually a fair question. "Allow me to explain… Our very first fort was at the Vipamolan Coast, however we were kicked out of it by some crazy pirate crimelord. So we, or better said, my 11 year old me, came to Canelux to rebuild our land among my followers." Said Silanus; while remaining in the bench, sitting.

"We wanted to build a land in the rich terrain of Adeluna, but of course it had already been claimed, so we came North. Once here, we tried to settle in the Highlands, but the lands were too hostile. While retreating from that savage place, we found ourselves in here, in the curious land of the Steppes." Now, Silanus stood up as he spoke and made a brief pause, then continued to talk: " 'Ere, we met an orchish tribe who was fond of outsiders. Their king, a proudzl, but old orc warrior, made us an offer; if we helped them attack a nearly tribe, they would join forces with us. So we did, and thus, needless to say, Amiternum, the heart of a new empire, was born."

Sometimes the stories Silanus told amazed Ernest - the things he had done and seen, and spoke so casually of. She had never imagined most of the things he talked about. "You started an empire at eleven?" she asked. "I didn't know that was even possible." She hadn't thought there would even have been room for more empires at this point.

"Nobody really… minded?" she asked. "I mean, wouldn't Adeluna or somebody have objected to having a new power building?" From the little she knew of politics (basically, getting attacked was bad), it didn't seem like anyone would have liked to have a new empire trying to get rid of them. And, as Ernest had learned, the Fratians were trying to get rid of them, if not actively yet. "I, mean, I don't know much about politics, but it seems like a bad idea."

She got up, feeling a bit bad about sitting while he stood. Even in the dark, she could see quite a lot of the city. "You appear to be doing quite well, though."

Seeinf how Ernest stood up, just like him, Tacitus Silanus walked towards the palace once more, as it was getting cold outside. As he walked, he answered Ernest's questions: "As the sole heir of the Fratian Empire, the other survivors selected me as the new governor. We had a fair but limited amount of treasures left too." When they finally arrived to the entrance, the general sat down on the fancy seats the main room had, hoping Ernest would sit as well.

"For your second question…" He resumed: "The queen of Adeluna, has a very limited, if not no power in the Northlands." Silanus grabbed one loaf of bread that was on the small marble table that lied infront of his seat. Before biting it, he continued to speak: "In that time they barely knew about us, now, as much as they'd like to raze Amiternum, that would mean crossing the large forests of the region, a hostile region full of furious orcs and nomad tribes who would attack them on sight." The general smiled proudly. He believed himself to be truly a tactician by building his empire in this area. He then started to eat his bread.

A servant walked towards the two of them. A sycophant, just as Harris, the servant asked: "A very fine night, is it not my preminence?" Silanus turned his gaze to see him. He simply nodded, with a neutral face; then the servant said: "I see you have brought company! May I interest both of you with some exquisite food?" Of course Silanus could not refuse, he had not eaten a proper king's worthy meal since he arrived! "Bring me two olive bathed sweetwater fish fllets, accompanied with some uh… Bread? And wine too." Hearing his orders, the servant nodded and went quickly to the food storage. "I hope you like fish and wine, I fear that, this night, only that is left?" Said Silanus, with a proud smirk on his face… He was sure his empire was superior than any other in every aspect, including food.

It was an interesting feeling, Ernest decided, to be noticed. Ever since she had arrived here, the people had been paying attention to her. She supposed that being a guest of the governor had to help somewhat. She shrugged at Silanus's inquiry. "I never object to food." The last time she had had fish had been… interesting, though. She had tried to cook it over the fire, and had ended up burning the fish, her fingers, and several of the surrounding plants. "I've had interesting experiences trying to cook fish, though."

"As for your… disagreements with Adeluna, you seem to have picked a good location for your city, then. Even if some of the neighbours can be aggravating at times," she said, remembering the orc that had stalked her on her way to Amiternum. 

She realized she was pacing and sat down. "You seem to have most certainly made the best of the area you have."

Ernest was right, Silanus had chosen the best place is Canelux. "You see, the only problem is the land. Farming in this cold, thick ground is almost impossible, with the exception of wheat. However, money, cattle and fishery in the large rivers that extend across these lands is a blessing to us." Said Silanus, with both his arms on the table. He was looking at Ernest, who still had his cloak; truth is, that she looked quite elegant with it. She might as well keep it.

When another servant, this time a woman, arrived with their food and a bottle of wine, she quickly left the plates on the table and left; Silanus held his wine bottle, which was made from a thick glass. "We Fratians love wine over everything else, you know? Other liquors are fine, but nothing is compared to our wine…" Said the general, as he opened the bottle and served himself and, of course Ernest, on two different cups made from silver: "Hope you enjoy it as much as we do."  When the wine was served, Silanus lifted his cup and said in a cheerful voice tone: "Prodesse! It means to excel, to do good!" once he had said that, he took his first sip.

After a short while of eating, Silanus' cheerful face turned in an almost threatening, ominous one. "Tomorrow I will lead a small batallion to raid the tribe of orcs that balefully attacked you… They not only infiltrated to our territory, but assaulted our frontier outpost. We had a deal, that if we did not attack their territory, we would not step a foot in theirs… Damn traitors…" When he finished saying that, the general took another sip of wine and ate his last bit of fish, then he continued speaking: "Our soldiers grow tired of being idle, and our neighbours are starting to doubt the Fratian might… This will serve as an example!"

Again, after a short moment of silence, Silanus' looked at Ernest once more, this time with a calmer expression and, pointing at her with his hand, he said: "You may do as you like, Ernest. Leave tomorrow morning, stay and get to know the city once more before you leave, or if you want you could accompany us to attack them… Something I really doubt you'd like though." The general took a long breath and stood up. Needless to say, the wine had taken quite an effect on him. He was less cautious, less cunning than usual, but more friendly and less arrogant too. "I hope you enjoyed the food." The general said, as he placed his hands on the back of his chair. 

"I'll be honest, I am tired and tomorrow is an important day, so I should rest while I can. You uh, well I don't know about you. There are empty rooms in the taverna, or Inn… Also, a free house on the Lower District. Take one or live as the survivor you are, in the wilds!" When saying those last words, Silanus had quite a laugh. "Which one suits you better, Ern-Est?" A smirk appeared on his face, she had a funny name. "Ern-Est the mod-est, haha! Ernest the modest girl who lives in the West! You are not too modest and I'm sure you don't live in the West, haha! Well, Erdenrst, in the mornest, the morning, the mornest of the east where awaken the modest!"

The Fratians seemed to have a rather no-nonsense approach to dealing with people, Ernest decided. While she bore some resentment toward the orcs that had attacked her, she hadn't thought that anything would come of it. Apparently fighting was considerably more effective in their world than in hers. Then again, she wasn't much of a fighter. She tried the wine. It was good - not that she knew much about wine. 

"I might stick around for a little while, at least," she said. "If I'm not bothering anyone." Honestly, she liked the city. It was so unique, and so pretty. She paused in her speech to try some of the fish. 

After a pause in the conversation, during which Ernest tried not to stuff her face (the food really was great), Silanus stood up. Ernest took that as a cue that it was time to leave and stood up also.

She listened as he talked, but it became apparent that he was babbling after about four or five sentences. She sighed. "I'll find somewhere to sleep." 

She wandered outside, looking around again. The weather didn't look too bad, and she preferred to be outside when she could. As she wandered, it became somewhat obvious that there weren't many places outside. She found the inn with little trouble, and at that point decided she would just stay inside. After haggling for a minute with the man at the front desk, who was rather stubborn, she found a room and drifted off to sleep.

Silanus remained silent for a small moment, to see how Ernest simply left like that, without a thanks or a humble good night; it was quite frustrating, if he really thought about it. To know how he went to fight another battle, knowing that he could die in there at the hands of a rampaging orc. The general simply nodded and stared at the table for a while.

It was unnecessary to say that Silanus was quite tipsy, of course he was, since he ordered the strongest wine they had. It was normal to give a slightly less alcoholic drink to outsiders, as they don't know what would the drink cause on them. Suddenly, the servant came and retrieved the dirty dishes, naturally the governor simply left and went upstairs to his bedroom. The general simply removed his usual armor and left it in a stand, then grabbed a clean sleeping robe. Quite odd to see his cousin was not in the palace, now that he thought about it… She was most likely travelling as usual. 

Silanus fell asleep immediately, he was simply exhausted from all what had happened. To mention how he went to the Silvas Region, lost most of his people and then was almost killed by natives and the wolves he fears so much, in just 2 days! When the dawn came and a fellow, trusted soldier came to wake him up, the general had no option but to wake up.

Trumpeteers and town criers had awakened most of the city as it was the tradition, so the citizens could see their trusted soldiers and governor leave. Mounted in a large armored horse, there was Silanus, with a decorated and customised lorica and a helmet with a large, red crest. His bronze coloured steel armor was such a sight to see! Orcs and humans, all wearing the same armored uniforms and marching together across the streets, under the same banner. This proved that orcs and humans may live together, unlike most people's opinions.

Ernest awoke to the sound of trumpets. She jumped out of bed, grabbed her things, and had her dagger in her hand before she even knew what was happening. She shook her head, trying to clear her mind, and remembered, suddenly, where she was. The realization of what was happening struck her a moment later. She had nothing to worry about. It was merely the soldiers heading off - wait! The soldiers were leaving! She suddenly realized that she had never wished Silanus good luck.

She ran out the entryway to the inn to watch the army march past, slipping through the crowd to see all of the soldiers. Yes, there was Silanus, leading the army. Amidst the other voices, she called out, "Good luck, today." She paused, then added, more quietly "And, thank you. For everything." There was little chance he could hear her, among all of the shouting, but she had wanted to say something. She waved as the soldiers passed.

The army continued marching past for several minutes. Ernest wondered why there seemed to be so many of the soldiers. Was the orc clan really that big, or did Silanus just want to ensure a victory? She suddenly caught herself worrying about him, then almost laughed. He was the commander of an army. He would be fine.

She realized she shouldn't be waiting around, and set off to look around the town, but some part of her kept her near the city gates, waiting for the army to return.

Amongst all the eager laughs and cheerful acclaims, Silanus could hear a familiar voice; the general was not able to listen to the first sentence, but then he heard a "Thank you"… Of course, it was Ernest. It was quite surprising for him, as he thought she had left Amiternum before. The governor turned his head and saw her tiny head, almost covered by other heads and raised hands from other people. He knew that, if he answered, Ernest would probably not hear him, so Silanus simply raised his arm, with a conceited smile on his face. This was the last moment thing he did before he left the city with his army.

The army, after 4 hours marching (excluding their rests) had arrived what would soon be a battlefield. Surprisingly, the orchish clan was expecting them. No words were needed, no provocative actions not menaces. Both armies simply charges against each other. The fierceful soldiers of both sides fought ruthlessly, nonetheless the fight would have only no winners for now. Even if the clan was larger in numbers, both sides had lost a fair amount of soldiers. The Fratians, as well as the clan, stopped fighting and left, so they could resume the battle in another time. This was no retreat, simply a rearrangement both sides made. The campaign against the clan would not end with a simple battle.

Meanwhile, back on Amiternum, most citizens were looking at Ernest as if she was an outstanding person. Rumors came early, some of them said she was a diplomat, hailing from Parvpora, Some others said she was a lover of the governor, while the rest stated that Ernest was a new mage scholar who was hired to study the ancient scroll, as well to introduce the Fratians to magic, who they were very unfamiliar with. Of course, none of these were true, as the only ones who knew the truth were the soldiers who had accompanied Silanus before… Soldiers who were obviously in the battlefield right now.

Accompanied with five bodyguards, a very young woman, wearing the finest of dresses and jewelry, walked towards Ernest. Without any doubt, the arrogant, impertinent woman presented herself: "I am Illia, cousin of a man you have perhaps met, that's right, Tacitus Silanus." It was obvious Silanus' cousin would act in such way, she was the opposite definition of humble. "Let's spare the social introduction and get straight to the point, shall we, dear? Who exactly are you, wearing that plebeian, ragged cloth and those worn out shoes, yet talking to the governor of this fine city?" With her typical frowning, unwelcoming face, Illia asked one more thing, menacingly pointing her finger at Ernest: "There is talk of you, my very manly lady… They say you are a mage from Parvpora, who has been playing with the feeble mind of Silanus. Is that the case, dear?"