Epilogue

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13:1:14 Light

Gordon Ravenot sat alone in his undefended keep in his undefended castle within his undefended walls, when Colton came to give him the kiss of a steel tipped arrow. The aging man's back was to him, and Colton moved as silently as a mouse, yet the man sensed he was there, it seemed. "Do you know what I came back to?" he asked quietly. Colton paused, arrow notched, but string no longer strained. "No." 

"I came back to walls no longer manned, keep no longer warm. I searched the whole castle for my younger two children. The two you didn't kill. I found them holding each other in the corner of the library. Their blood stained the floors." 

Lord Ravenot got up, turned the seat around, and sat back down, now facing Colton. "I should have gone east and helped Blake Auber, instead of fleeing north as soon as his message reached me. Maybe he would have allowed me to kill the Maynet whelp for what he left me. His sisters too." Colton didn’t bother to tell him Elmina Maynet was long dead. Ravenot smiled wryly. "I'm guessing Quentin Maynet is dead if you're free? Blake Auber too if you have your army back." 

Colton nodded slowly. "Quentin Maynet is dead, yes. Blake's death is... debatable." 

Gordon Ravenot snorted a laugh. "How is it two boys who were so green they must have lived off grass won a war against seasoned battle commanders with more men?" he laughed again, looking Colton right in the eye. "Unbelievable." 

Colton pulled back the string, aimed it straight. Lord Gordon Ravenot, last of his house, died smiling. 

                                                                                 *     *     * 

The year long war was quickly named The War of the Dead Lords - a name only fitting, considering every head of the High Houses of the time was killed (starting with Rylan Talvace and ending with Gordon Ravenot). Not to mention the massacre of Auber, Vaughan, and Maynet lords and banner men, forever known as Quentin's Foolery. 

In the days that followed the execution of the Auber boys, an official and lavish coronation took place for the rightful king who had just won his first war. Tiana Talvace's execution was held the day after. Fayre Talvace did not attend. Maxwell's first year of "peace" was almost as tough as his first year of war had been. People quickly forgot that it cost money and time to rebuild broken cities and the new heads of families that had supported Auber and Maynet alike, saw the opportunity to win the hearts of the people again and helped rise against the Talvace monarch, insisting Maxwell was not doing enough for his people. However the armies were tiny and made up of the weak and sick survivors of the war. The pointless uprising - called the Mobs of Hunger - was put down within three months and slowly, the nation of Westover began to recover.

A second son, Colton Cardon hadn't learnt much in the way of lording and leading before the war. However while his family’s seat of Oxfort was being rebuilt, he made a point of studying the art of governance. He was officially made Voice three days after Maxwell was officially made king and proved popular with not only the people of the Westlands, but also the people of Westover in general, spending what little spare time he had amongst the small-folk of Cassbury and the Westlands alike. While Maxwell was the face of the country, it was well known at court, at least, that Colton was Westover's backbone. He quickly showed he was his father's son: cunning, intelligent, and charismatic: the perfect combination that every Voice should be.

Avery was allowed to live and return home to Bayline, titles intact, but only after swearing fealty to the king. She had expected to be met with cheers of joy, but instead was overwhelmed with angry mobs of people who were sure she had helped her tyrant brother. With no one to help her, Avery soon found herself drowning in the Eastland's troubles. However just when she was sure that Fort Bayline's only recently repaired doors were about to be broken through again, a miracle in the form of Colton Cardon happened. Word had gotten to the capital of the unrest in the Eastlands and the king had sent his Voice - and Avery's old friend - to remove her from harm's way. She was given a place at Oxfort and became something of a sister-figure for Posy Cardon. A Talvace banner, Lord Oren Blackbriar, was placed as Overlord of the Eastlands until whenever it was that Lady Avery would return.  

House Thaon was rewarded handsomely for its part in the war and was made the new High House of the Lowlands. While Lanford's two older daughters stayed in the Islands, his two younger daughters, Rosa and Anice came over to live with their father and brother, Arthur, at Deerfax. To form strong bonds between themselves and their new vassals, all three children were quickly betrothed to eldest children of Lowland lords. Most Vaughan laws were kept and Lanford even made a point of praising the previous Lowland High House for the law about compulsory training with swords, axes and bows for all males aged between fifteen and fifty.

Irving Vaughan was given Highwich and made Overlord of the South-Easternlands - both a gift and a curse. Maxwell Talvace had considered what Aland Auber had said about the Silence spreading with soldiers returning home and had made the South-Easternlands something of a quarantine. Soldiers from every side of the war were made to live in the old Auber territory until they either died or recovered. Because of the higher man:woman ratio, there were a lot more workers in the fields and in the mines, however more often than not a good twenty men claimed they should marry the same woman and Irving had the monumental task of sorting all of the fighting out, all the while shielding himself from the Silence right outside his doorstep. 

It was decided, by his brother, and his "friend's" father, Lanford Thaon, that Ricker Vaughan would not be moved to Highwich until he had completely recovered from his fall. When he did finally arrive at Highwich, he found that his brother had somewhat collapsed under the stress of running the Silence plagued territory, and into a puddle of vomited up alcohol. He sent a letter to Oxfort, offering his own hand in marriage to Avery Maynet, an alliance that would surely make the east side of Westover strong again. He never received a reply.

Arthur kept his promise to Evelyn. After a month of investigation into House Vesli to make sure Evelyn wasn't just lying, it was decided by Maxwell and Colton that it would be restored to its former glory. They were not given back their old land, as it now belonged to the Cardons. However, as compensation, they were given a bigger territory, though it was in the Highlands. Unfortunately, by the time all of this was decided, Evelyn had died in her sleep and never got to see her father's House become an official Low House again. With Baul illiterate and not even knowing about his heritage, it was Dawson who was taught all the things the lord of a Low House would need to know.

The soldier who had helped secure Highwich, Onyx, travelled back to Cassbury after the war and became a member of the city guard. When one of the armies during the Mobs of Hunger reached Cassbury's walls, the commander of the city guard was killed and it was Onyx who took initiative and worked alongside Colton Cardon (one of the few lords on the Talvace Alliance's side that Onyx hadn't met during the war) to repel the weak but distracting and anxiety inducing attacks. Because of this, and also because of his help at Highwich which had been near forgotten about up until this point, Onyx was knighted and made new commander of the city guard.  

As for Blake Auber: there were no further sightings of flying men. Colton was forced to speak nothing more on the matter and so all the rumours were slowly forgotten by most. But for those who claimed they saw him soar through thin air onto a ship, the thought of the madman returning was never far from their minds. 

It was four years before Westover was shaken again. But that's a different story. The Ruler of Westover is set in stone. For now. 

A/N: ZOMG I never, in my wildest dreams, thought I would finish a book. Ever. I get to click the “completed” button on this story now! (SUCCESS!!). It was tough and it took just over a year... of not only writing, but researching and planning and character creating too. SO WORTH IT. 

Thank you for sticking by me through this. I know on several occasions I was totally sucky and didn't post anything for weeks, so thanks for being forgiving and letting it pass and continuing reading. 

Don't think the journey is over yet, however. Maxwell and Colton, Avery and Arthur, Irving, and even Blake, will be back shortly, four years on. (They grow so fast.)

Be ready for: Vengeance in Westover.

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