Haf's pondering

Roland took in everything the Commodore and his son had to report. Cora was with them, listening carefully, and Mayra and Riley stood near the corner. Lysander, looking more exhausted than ever, sat in a chair as if he might fall asleep. The group stared gravely at one another for several moments. 

"You know Edmar better than I do, of course. You're sure he wouldn't have thought of these things on his own?" He asked at length. 

The eyes in the room turned to Cora, who looked at the ground. She always thought the best of her sons when she could. 

"It is unlike him," She admitted. 

"Do you have any of the oil that was infused with herbs? If we can figure out what herbs he used, it might be a clue." Mayra put in. 

"What kind of clue? Would you be able to identify the herbs?" Roland asked. 

"I'm not as good as Finn at all this, but I'm familiar with her recipes. I could hopefully determine whether the mix he used is a random smattering of stuff from the seashore or a calculated recipe that he would have needed help with. I could certainly try." The young woman replied.

"The rope from the cut nets was covered in it. They were pulled aboard... were they brought ashore for repair?" Caspian asked of Haf. 

"Yes, but no one has worked on them yet. They are near the beach in the hut used for storing such things. I will take you there." Haf directed the remark at Mayra. 

"What else can we do?" Cora fretted. 

"I think keeping Edmar confined is a good plan, for now, but if he has been hearing the whispers of the Darkness and following them... the outlook is not good." Roland swallowed. "The Void is clever, and manipulative. We should not ever underestimate its influence." 

"How would it have gotten to him?" Cora asked, ready to deny it at the slightest sign that it was impossible. 

"The little girl that Mayra found was befriended by what we believe was a halfling posing as a child. Edmar could have been contacted as well. We had hoped to free all the halflings from its slavery, but it seems we failed, or some returned to its service willingly." Roland closed his eyes in thought. "The way we banished the Void before was to remove its followers. All had to either turn from following it or be killed. A single human follower is enough to allow the Void to be present here, to my understanding." 

"It won't come to that. We'll find a way to cure him of this enchantment," Cora insisted. "And if he is following this Void, he'll surely turn away." 

"Does Edmar crave power?" Roland asked bluntly. 

The Commodore and his wife exchanged a look. Roland's eyes darted to Caspian, who dropped his gaze to the ground. 

"When the Void masqueraded as Titania, she spoke to me of power intensely. She wanted to rule this world, the Rhone, the Klain that survived the war." Roland glanced over at Lysander, who nodded gravely. 

"It was power that was promised to me, when I was first approached," Lysander put in. "Power corrupts, and the Void uses its lure liberally. If power is a weakness of Edmar's..." He let the sentence hang. 

"One step at a time," Haf was still looking at Cora. "First, if we can identify the herbs, we might learn more. Whatever we need, we will obtain." 

Caspian cleared his throat before speaking. 

"I wanted to bring something up. Perhaps now is not the time, but... the land, in the other world. It is a significant discovery. If herbs are such an important part of all this, perhaps we should go and see what is there. The land was green with plant life, and some might be useful...

"We have plenty of men to send a ship or two exploring. It's likely that one of the other settlements is out fishing even now. If we could borrow someone from Rhone or Klain with extensive knowledge of herbs... if we must fight off the Void at some point, would it not be prudent to have more ways to battle it?" 

Roland considered his response carefully. 

"I have to confess that I'm fascinated by these other worlds, and in part, I was sent to research them as well. I trust when you say that you have not encountered other creatures as dangerous as the Void, but there is no guarantee that you will not in the future." 

"If the Void can come to our world, what guarantee do we have that it is not inhabiting any of these others?" Riley asked. 

"None, I suppose, but from what we know that seems unlikely. Titania never spoke of any other worlds, and none of the Rhone had any idea there were any others. She needed the Rhone to invade this one, to be her followers. Have there been people in any of the other worlds you've found?" He turned to Haf. 

"Not so far. The Leviathan, I believe, are the wisest and most sentient creatures. The closest thing to humans would be the gargoyles, which look like something between humans and bats. They are vicious, and move in herds with the coming of storms in the world with the pink sky." He replied. 

"Tell me more about that world," Roland inclined his head. "Please." 

"It has many creatures, but none that seem to have speech or sentience. Even the gargoyles are closer to animal intelligence than that of people, from what we can tell. The seas there are green, the sky is pink, and the sun orange. That is the easiest way to identify it when we go there. Navigating is difficult because the stars are constantly moving, instead of still." 

Something rang dully in Roland's head. 

"Where stars move free... calm green oceans, pale pink skies?" He murmured, half to himself. 

Cora smiled at him, "Where did you overhear that lullaby? Haf's mother used to sing it to my boys when they were young," 

"What?" Roland blinked at her. "Is it Cetoan?" 

"Of course! We try to make songs to teach our boys about each world. It is easier for them to learn them all this way, and tell them apart." She replied. 

"My aunt used to sing it to me." Roland swallowed. 

"That's not possible," Haf shook his head. "None of our people would teach the songs to a Rhone or Klain woman." 

"I was raised in Klain by my aunt... she was a foundling, taken in by the Rhone, as was my mother. Sisters." Roland took a deep breath. 

"Foundlings? Are you sure?" Cora asked. "What were their names?" 

"Songslet, and Liberty." The Rhone prince searched her eyes for answers. His father had known almost nothing of his mother's origins, other than she and her sister were taken in by the Rhone when very young. Since he was around the same age, of course he would not have many memories of the time. 

"Cetoan names," Cora breathed. "Haf, weren't--" 

"Yes." He shook his head in disbelief, sitting at the table. 

Silence reigned for a moment. Roland could see Mayra squirming with the urge to ask more, but Riley put a hand on her arm. It seemed even the talkative siblings had a sense of solemnity in this moment. 

Finally, the older man cleared his throat and looked up at Roland. 

"I... had two sisters, long ago. Before my earliest memories. Songslet, the elder, often would explore the woods surrounding the settlement. She loved the trees. When Liberty was but a toddler, she would often tag along. One day when they were gone, a wild storm hit. Many huts were destroyed, and trees downed everywhere. The girls were never found. It was assumed that they were killed and carried away by some animal, or else washed away to sea in the giant waves that hit.

"My mother had always imagined my sisters had fled inland to get away from the worst of things, and found some place to take shelter, but gotten lost. That they would one day find their way home. I was but an infant and knew only what my parents and others told me." 

Roland sat down slowly in the nearest chair as Haf gathered himself together. Cora placed her hand on his shoulder. 

"Whose... whose child are you?" Haf choked out, searching Roland's face for signs of his sisters. 

"Liberty was my mother. She died very shortly after I was born, murdered by the Void." As Roland spoke, the Commodore's eyes filled with tears. 

"And what of Songslet?" Cora spoke for her husband. 

"She died when I was six of a disease that ravaged Klain. She had no children of her own, neither did she marry." Roland shook his head. "She was good, and kind." 

"What proof do you have?" Caspian spoke. His tone had a slight edge, but Roland couldn't tell what emotion was behind it.

"Proof? I'm finding out now as you are! I have my mother's necklace, but it was given to her as a betrothal gift from my father. I'm not sure I can believe it..." He laid his forehead into his hands. 

He had been an orphan, a street urchin fending for himself, taken in by a kind doctor. Not a descendant of two foreign nations, let alone the children of their leaders. 

"I have an uncle," He realized suddenly, looking at Haf, "And cousins," He looked at Caspian, and thought of Edmar.

"This changes everything," Caspian swallowed, and looked at Haf with wide eyes. 

"It changes nothing," Cora retorted. 

"Our son is right, Cora. They were my elder sisters. The line of succession rests on this young prince."