Ears shaded in gray tipped backwards in remorse as Halcyon told me of his past. He, too, had lost his home to the ruthless desires of a wolf seeking power. The names Iblis and Rhae were familiar ones, the two wolves who had first ruled over the rolling hills of Asteraia. Rhae had succumbed to her wounds in the aftermath of the battle she had lost against Jaidah. Halcyon was so young, and it made my heart ache to think that he would never be able to look to his parents for guidance as he neared maturity. My mother had left when I was only three years of age, but by then I had already learned much from her. It was because of her that I was capable of moving as silently as I so often did - I had always aspired to walk with the silence of my mother. But even when she had disappeared from Moladion I'd still had Tesseract. Now he was gone too, but I was grown and could hardly be labeled as orphan. Halcyon was young now, and to think that Jaidah had taken over Asteraia before Eden had removed Tesseract from power was to realize that he'd been little more than a pup when it happened to him.

I remained silent as he spoke, and even when his words ceased as he cleared his throat I did not speak. The pain of loss was something great, and though the losses I had experienced were not of such finality as Halcyon's, I respected his pain and gave him a moment to compose himself. Lilac eyes averted for a moment, before lifting to his face once more. A smile, though somewhat strained, had returned to the boy's features. He spoke of the choice he would make - whether to stay within Iromar and call this place home or to move on - and the past prejudices of his father against the Iromarians. I nodded my head at this, offering some insight. "I am sorry for you loss, Halcyon. I think that your father would be proud of you, for giving the wolves here a chance to prove themselves. You are the next generation of your family, and the new generation of wolves that live and rule within Iromar are different from those that were in power when Iblis and Rhae walked the lands of Moladion."

Iromar had a storied past, and even I had had my reservations in coming here after hearing the tales of the wolves' misdeeds. But I had quickly shed my preconcieved notions about the pack, for things were much different now that Aithne led in place of the ones who had labeled themselves as demons of hell. Iromar might not be adorned with the glory of Glorall's seaside, but it was certainly no hell. It was up to Halcyon to make the best decision for himself, to stay or to go. I'd made mine the day that Praetor had escorted the remnants of our family to these borders.