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[Ceinwyn ab'Arawn]

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She stood in her usual place, atop the bank of Umbra, her mind a tumult of thoughts. Her gaze took in the entirety of the city in its menacing ebon glory. Decades of ruling this land, defending this realm so that those who were persecuted beyond its borders were assured a refuge, had come to an abrupt end. She had taken some weeks to gather the disaster of her mind, leaving under the understanding that her trusted warlord, Shalcross, would step up to continue to lead the Umbrans. With Kaelthir at his side, she was assured that Umbra would continue to prosper, its people thrive.

And yet fate would tell a different tale, a tale in which her trusted warlord and cleric had handed Umbra over on a silver platter to their greatest enemy.

She had decided to stay despite the punishment she knew Darrien would seek to extract. She had her reasons, not the least of which was to watch the fate that would befall those formerly loyal. She would stay long enough to confirm their safety. Also, she had wondered what Bailos' goal was. As the former lord of Umbra and her teacher of old, she felt a natural inclination to aid his cause.

But, that decision had changed as she had felt the proverbial noose tightening about her neck. The lich had called for the head of her son, Myrddin, and those who never would have handed the city to him, even under pain of death. She had no idea if the Umbrans had thought her a traitor for seeking quietude to repair her mind. It was still no excuse to betray the land they had sworn to serve. She recalled Bailos' words and her hands tightened into fists. Now Umbra would become just another tool of Church and his stolen power.

Her actions of late had been beyond distasteful, though she had done them for a reason. The resurrecting of Charnel Hill was a part of Bailos' penance, as well as hers, and she would not jeopardize his well-being. The evening a few nights past, when she had been ordered to her knees before those once loyal to her, forced to carve her own tongue from her mouth as they watched. He had forbidden her from any means of communication. Darrien sought to humiliate and punish her. But, it was not humiliation that she had felt. She had performed the deed for their benefit. Let them view what their treachery had bought and what would possibly be in store for them if they demonstrated any iota of independence to the lich.

She wondered who would be next on the long list of those he wished beheaded. She laughed softly to herself and shook her head at the realization that it would most likely be her.