feat: drafted the entire novel

README.md

@@ -2,6 +2,12 @@
 
 This is the repository for _Allegro_ by D. Moonfire.
 
+## Tasks
+
+- [ ] Need to decoat rack Miska
+- [ ] More references to the pin to calm her down
+- [ ] _Safe Adventures, Our Departed Loves_ in attic scnee
+
 ## Outline
 
 -   Slow chapter.
@@ -123,3 +129,7 @@ Brook had combined the remains of the three tea cups into a single one and had p
 # Guilds
 
 "So... Daddy thought this war between the Mechanics Guild, Artificer Academy, and the Pistons
+
+# Random
+
+Lord Xasnal or the auctioneer, Tasire Dalisan da Genifir

chapters/chapter-12.md

@@ -132,7 +132,7 @@ Linsan embraced him tightly.
 
 Her mother came up. "Lin, take this."
 
-Linsan broke free of the embrace to take a hair pin from her mother's hands. It was relatively plain looking but heavy. She stared at it a moment and then looked up. "This is your reward piece for _Strangers in the Gale_!"
+Linsan broke free of the embrace to take a hair pin from her mother's hands. It was relatively plain looking but heavy. The tip had an intricate flower and a name engraved along the side along with a year. She stared at it a moment and then looked up. "This is your reward piece for _Strangers in the Gale_!"
 
 Siam smiled and plucked it from Linsan's palm before reaching up and setting it in place in her daughter's hair. "There are some things money can't buy. I can't offer much, but you might find some solace from the plays and shows that travel around. Bring them this. Almost anyone will recognize it."
 

chapters/chapter-53.md

@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ At one corner, she came up to a town crier holding up a newspaper. "Breaking new
 
 Icy claws raked along her senses. She spun on her heels and hurried back. At the sight of Palisis as an ink drawing on the front, her throat tightened. She frantically bought a copy and read the announcement.
 
-> Private sellers have procured a promise of sale for the legendary Palisis Sterlig, a virginal violin rumored to have been destroyed in a devastating fire thirteen years ago. The artifact has been split from a previously scheduled event for a one-night-only opportunity for local collectors to acquire to this treasure. Minimum bid, five million cuks.
+> Private sellers have procured a promise of sale for the legendary Palisis Sterlig, a virginal violin rumored to have been destroyed in a devastating fire thirteen years ago. The artifact has been split from a previously scheduled event for a one-night-only opportunity for local collectors to acquire to this treasure. Minimum bid, five million cuks. Bidding one bell after sundown. Lord Xasnal, 18 Xasnal Court.
 
 Her hands trembled as she read through the rest of the article. There was no mentioned of who was selling it by name, but an ink drawing of Tilbin, Mayforn, and Gabaw wearing black suits next to the violin said enough.
 

chapters/chapter-55.md

@@ -0,0 +1,114 @@
+---
+title: Grand Entrance
+teaser: &teaser >
+    The three enter the auction house and are quickly overwhelmed.
+summary: *teaser
+---
+
+> I know we have only this moment together, but don't let them steal this trinket from me. It is the only memory I have of my daughter and I cannot let it go until it is stained with the blood of her killer. --- _Bear's Hunt for His Cub_ (Act 4, Scene 2)
+
+Linsan had to admit, they all looked beautiful. The seamstress had a dark blue dress that needed only minor alterations and had a beautiful bustle of cream lace and ribbons. Intricate lace ran along the top. Originally the dress was off the shoulder, but Linsan insisted on having it brought tighter to ensure she would have the maneuverability to play her violin if needed. She also had to abandon the full bustle for something narrower that danced along her hips. A quick coat of paint and some ribbons for her case covered up the worst of the burns and scratches; she didn't want to be far from her source of power.
+
+Miska's dress had gloves that disappeared into her sleeves and almost completely covered up her tattoos. The intricate weaving of darker ribbons almost matched the patterns on the skin underneath. The neck had also been brought up tight to cover her markings though there was an occasional flash of tattoo when she swallowed or turned her head.
+
+Both of them had stopped at a hairdresser who brushed out and did their hair in a high pile with artful braids and what felt like a pound of pins. All topped with hats with lace and mesh and flowers.
+
+But compared to Miska and Linsan, Brook shine. She had a green dress the color of the ocean with a moon motif embroidered on it. Layers of taffeta and lace flowed with her flowing movements that that must have taken her hours to perfect. Her posture was also flawless; Linsan thought that she looked a lot like Linsan's mother as she laughed gaily with strangers.
+
+The auction house had too much gold and marble for any reasonable building, and that included the banks Linsan had visited. Even in the entry hall---larger than her parent's house---there were easily hundreds of people in dresses and tuxedos milling about. Their discussions were cheerful and gay. Conversations had nothing to do with the violin or the sale. Linsan guessed they just had an excuse to be seen more than the heirloom somewhere in the building.
+
+A thrill raced through Linsan's veins. Despite the reason they were there, it reminded her of the opening nights of her mother's shows. She had only seen a few of them but they were imprinted on her. Reaching up, she stroked her mother's pin for comfort. It was like having a part of her along and Linsan could easily picture her mother taking a deep breath and saying "time to shine."
+
+"Are you two ready?" Brook asked, a flicker of nervousness audible in her voice. She gestured with a lace fan toward the inner entrance where two guards stood and watched over everyone who passed into the inner chambers.
+
+Beyond the door, Linsan could see more people carousing among the tables covered in white silk and a stage with performs beyond them. She tightened her grip on the handle of her violin case, wishing it was her up on the stage instead of the high-risk position they were in now. "I-I guess. I'm just worried I'm going to screw it up."
+
+Miska leaned over. She scanned the crowds with an uncomfortable look. "Are we betting on who gets kicked out first?"
+
+It was a lame joke and Linsan could only dredge up a little gallows humor to match it. "I have ten cuks on me."
+
+"Twenty on---"
+
+Brook's lips tightened into a line. "Please... don't... no...."
+
+She paused to take a deep breath before her eyes flickered to the side. She put on a smile that looked faked as a pair of men passed them. Then the smile froze before she turned to the girls. "No, I'm sorry. We're all anxious here and I have no clue what we're doing. I'm just throwing up whatever sounds right out of my mouth. The only thing I know is that we have to look like we're having fun, we belong here, and we are beautiful."
+
+Miska grinned, one that reached her eyes. "We all have the last one in crate. We all look amazing and there are already eyes looking toward us."
+
+"Appreciative looks?" Linsan asked, not wanting to look.
+
+"Yes and more. They make me uncomfortable, I can't tell if they are undressing me or trying to approach me."
+
+Brook chuckled and fluttered her fan. "Then we're doing it right. If we looked out of place, one of those guards would be asking us to leave. You want the attention of society, not their servants."
+
+"You mean those guards we need to pass?" Miska added as she looked at the guards ahead of them.
+
+At Brook's nod, she grunted. "Then, my lady, your humble servant is ready to follow you pass those gates."
+
+Brook glanced at Linsan. "Ready to play your bit?"
+
+"I'm the daughter of Tisin Sterlig, so... no because I'm not my mother. But I'll do my best."
+
+Brook pulled her into a tight hug. "Come on, let's find either Lord Xasnal or the auctioneer, Tasire Dalisan da Genifir. If we're lucky, maybe we can convince one of them enough to summon the guards since those assholes laughed me out the door." There was a flicker of annoyance, but then her brilliant smile followed.
+
+Linsan nestled against Brook and put on the face of a young hopeful. It was scary, but she had seen her mother play the role enough times to remember some of the things. Wide-eyed, she looked around as she clung to Brook.
+
+They got into the short queue for the door. An elderly couple said nothing ahead of them and four women were chatting happily about a sailboat race from a few days ago.
+
+At the door, the guards looked them over. Brook gave her best haughty look, but the guard focused on Linsan. His eyes were piercing as he scanned her over from head to toe, but his gaze settled on her violin case. "No instruments."
+
+Linsan froze for only a heartbeat but then responded reflexively. "But sir," she said in the breathless voice she had practiced as a child, "this is my life! I swore to keep it next to my heart the day it was given and I will not let my child escape my fingers until my heart no longer beats in my breast. Please... she's all I have."
+
+Inside, Linsan cringed. She had meant to alter the line directly from _Three Score and Seven Seasons_ but the "child" slipped in automatically.
+
+The guard's mouth opened to say something.
+
+Panicked, Linsan turned to Brook. "Please, my lady, I beg you. I know we have only this moment together, but don't let them steal this... her from me." It was a line from a different play, but it meshed together with line from the first one with some alterations.
+
+His eyes softened slightly.
+
+Brook gave him a hard look before turning back to Linsan. She had on the annoyed looked that Linsan remembered so well before both of them had become friends. It was like looking into a painting. Brook spoke in a tense voice, "She not here to play and she knows the consequences from... both of us. I only allowed her to keep the silly thing since I don't want to replace it with one of mine."
+
+The other guard stood up, a burly man with a cropped black beard. "No exceptions, no instruments." He shot a glare to the first one.
+
+Brook's jaw tightened.
+
+Linsan felt a urge of panic and clutched her case tighter.
+
+"My lady," Miska said. "How about I guard your... fling's case while you carouse." She managed to put in a petty glare to Linsan before she continued.
+
+Brook spun on Miska, her eyes wide.
+
+Miska gave a blank look but there was tension in her shoulders and hands. Linsan couldn't imagine her reasoning, but it was obviously wasn't her first choice.
+
+With a sniff, Brook turned back, looked past the guards before she gestured curtly to the side of the door. "My servant can stand by the entrance. She is clearly not a musician. Have her stand just inside where both you and I can keep an eye on her."
+
+The second guard looked annoyed and glared at her.
+
+Brook matched his gaze, not even a twitch of her neck or flex from her pursed lips.
+
+The first grunted. "Very well, stay away from the stage and remain by the door. If she leaves our sight or disappears without permission, we'll have her thrown out."
+
+While Linsan handed her case over to Miska, he continued. "If that case opens, then all three of you will be asked to leave. And she will have to be out of the room during the auction."
+
+Linsan caught sight of the four women watching the encounter and she blushed. It was the wrong type of attention they wanted. As soon as Miska had her case, she turned back on both friend and her only means of defending herself and stood by Brook.
+
+In the back of her mind, she wanted for the guards to chase her off.
+
+The first one looked her over and then stepped aside.
+
+Brook lead the way into the main hall. It was easily triple the size of the entry hall with even more gold, marble, and silk. On the walls between the columns, she could see pastoral scenes of women playing musical instruments with sculptures filling in the space. Along the back wall, where Miska situated herself, a buffet table filled with finger food had ice sculptures of violins and women playing instruments.
+
+On the opposite end was the stage where musicians were set up on both sides of the stage and a duet played out between them. Linsan strained to hear the words but couldn't over the sounds of conversations. She drew her attention away to look at the others with them, the high society who milled around and gaily chatted with each other.
+
+Everyone was dressed to impress. About a third sat or stood at tables along the two sides of the room but the bulk of them appeared to be happy to walk from clique to clique while greeting each other as long-lost friends or talking to one cluster or the other.
+
+Brook chuckled. "It's just like one of Daddy's parties. Only the jewelry is flashier and there are a lot more like them."
+
+"And the after-show parties for my mother." Linsan grinned. "But the jewelry isn't flasher but I'm pretty sure it isn't paste and paint."
+
+Brook favored her with a smile. "Then we know what to do. Find Xasnal or Dalisan." She pronounced the "X" as a delicate rasp in the back of her throat. "Then, do our best to convince him that the sale needs to stop and those men need to be invested."
+
+She gestured back toward Miska with her head. "Miska has the paperwork since this dress doesn't have even a hint of a pocket in it."
+
+Linsan grinned. She gestured one direction. "Then, if my lady desires, I will trail behind in breathless adoration as we hunt our men."

chapters/chapter-56.md

@@ -0,0 +1,202 @@
+---
+title: Surprises
+teaser: &teaser >
+    Linsan gets separated from Brook and encounters an unexpected surprise.
+summary: *teaser
+---
+
+> The entire point of high society is to be seen and talked about. --- Halistin Gor-Takil, *Lifestyles of the High and Rich*
+
+Linsan stood near the edge of the stage and stared rapturously at the young woman singing.
+
+The singer was introduced as "Lilian the Songbird" and her voice carried more than the flawless tune of _My Memory of Tears_, it brought up memories that Linsan had forgotten. She could almost smell the attic when she rediscovered Palisis and played those few stolen notes to her parent's surprise. In many ways, that was the beginning of her adventure and she was half a world away from that young girl.
+
+Tears ran down her cheeks as she listened to the raven-haired beauty singing on the stage. It was impossible to move away even if she wanted to. Instead, she just smiled and let the memories wash through her mind.
+
+When the song ended, Lilian gave a bow and wiped a tear from her eye.
+
+"I wonder what she remembers when she sings that song," asked a voice next to Linsan.
+
+She jumped and looked to see an older woman looking up at the stage. The newcomer was her parents age, but had a beauty that held up against the advancement of years. When she looked at Linsan, there was a sadness pooled in her light brown eyes.
+
+"W-What?" Linsan asked.
+
+"Lilian always cries when she sings that song. You can feel the longing in her voice. But the images that well up in my mind are not hers, they're always mine. That her talent, to make you feel her songs with her heart. They call her one of Moon Water's treasures."
+
+"I saw... I remember being in my parent's attic. I was playing something I shouldn't have found."
+
+"Good memories then?"
+
+Linsan smiled. "Yes, the best. Not at the time, but now? It was the best memory."
+
+The older woman turned and looked at her. "So, an actor?"
+
+An icy grip ran down Linsan's spine. "What? I'm not an actor."
+
+"Yet you quoted both _Bear's Hunt_ and _Three Score_ in that little speech to keep your toy." There was a sparkle in her eye as she turned her back to the stage. She had on a gold-trimmed dress in black. It was loose around the waist with a curved bustle and a generous amount of bared shoulder. "I'm guessing you were either an actor or a musician, but the musicians around here usually treats plays as below their station."
+
+She pursed her lips. "This city think plays are for the poor and unrefined, with shallow plots and actors who failed. They spend their time worshiping Tarsan classicals and the old master's styles."
+
+Fretting, Linsan looked around for Brook but couldn't find her friend.
+
+"What about you? I haven't seen you at one of these affairs before. I'd remember a beauty like yours."
+
+Linsan froze. Was the old woman trying to seduce her? What if she had fallen into the very thing they were pretending had happened between Brook and herself? "I'm just here... with someone. I need to find her."
+
+Lilian stood back up to sing another song.
+
+The older woman gestured toward the tables to the side. "Come on, we can find your friend better from the edges. No doubt she'll be at the center of attention, she's a beautiful girl."
+
+"She is." Linsan spoke as she followed the other woman away from the press of people at the stage. It only took a few steps to get away but a longing to return rose up. She fought it, moving blindly in the wake of her sudden companion.
+
+At the edge, the other woman sat down. "You can call me Jun." It was a starkly informal of a name given the situation. Jun winked. Linsan couldn't help but think that she was still being seduced.
+
+Linsan blushed. "W-We're not," she stopped as she realized she was supposed to play something more intimate. "I mean, I'm here because she told me to come."
+
+"I doubt that. If you really didn't want to come, you wouldn't have."
+
+"I don't know, my lady. When Lady Kabisal asks, I have to listen, right?"
+
+"Jun. And yes, you do. Because everyone knows musicians are like cats and no one is good enough to get a cat to sit on command."
+
+Linsan smirked. "_The Sand Piper's Daughter_."
+
+"Not a popular one in this area, but it was when I was your age." Jun tapped the table. "Come on, let an old lady talk about something she missed."
+
+"You aren't old," Linsan said with a bit more confidence. "You're as beautiful as the crystal freshly cut in the sun."
+
+"Oh, going more south and west this time. _The Tension_, a dreadful play about politics but that was a good line. The rest of it was mostly self-congratulating pride about conquering the native tribes of Tarsan."
+
+A servant stepped up and asked for drinks. Linsan said nothing as Jun ordered something for both of them. Then, as he left, she watched as Jun followed his movement with his eyes until he was out of sight before returning her attention to her.
+
+"What is your favorite play, Lin?"
+
+"I think I like---"
+
+Jun held up her hand. "No, just pick one. Something that is appropriate for now. Right here."
+
+"I guess _Tears on a Cat's Whiskers_?" Nervous, she reached up to stroke her mother's pin. "No, _Strangers in the Gale_."
+
+Jun cocked her head. "Now, that is a play I haven't seen in a long time. It was actually here in town. The lead actress was so beautiful and wonderful, Tisin Sterlig."
+
+Linsan paled at her mother's name.
+
+"They won an award that year. That was the last time I saw Tisin, you know." Jun smiled and then dabbed the corner of her eye. "It was only a few years after I left her and she married my Marin's former husband and my best friend."
+
+Linsan's heart began to pound in her ears. A soft whimper rose up in her throat as she realized she was talking to her mother's former wife, Junith.
+
+Junith smiled sadly but didn't look away from Linsan as she continued. "She had come up one week for an encore. She had a surprise for us, her newborn. I remember how happy she looked as she sat between the acts, nursing her newborn daughter. Sian gave her something I never could, something she always wanted."
+
+With everything spinning around her, Linsan felt sick to her stomach. In all the chaos and focus to get to Moon Waters, she never imagined that she would meet up with Junith. Shaking violently, she pushed herself up. "I-I-I have to go."
+
+Staggering away, she dove into a knot of people to escape Junith and clear her head. Tongue clicks and sniffs of disapproval followed her, but she cut across the main room to the far side before headed to the front door.
+
+"Why am I crying?" she whispered to herself as she wiped her tears. She headed along the side until she spotted Brook in a cluster.
+
+Her friend was laughing and joking, with one hand resting on the arm of a much older man wearing military ribbons. It was impossible to tell if she was acting or enjoying herself, but Linsan could see that Brook looked as if she belong among the rich.
+
+Linsan started toward her but then noticed that she couldn't see Miska along the back wall. Frowning, she circled around the clusters of the rich and peered along the entire wall.
+
+No Miska. No violin.
+
+Still trembling from her encounter with Junith, Linsan spun around and hurried over to Brook. Coming up behind her, she rested her hand on Brook's hip and whispered into her ear, "Miska is gone."
+
+Brook inhaled sharply and then turned around. Her eyes widened as she looked along the wall and then took a step away.
+
+"Something wrong, my dear?" asked the man with the ribbons.
+
+"No, Lord Ruger. I was just looking for my servant. She was supposed to stand over there with her instrument case." She pointed to Linsan.
+
+One of the other people nearby leaned over. "Oh, the young lady in a red dress? She was escorted through that door into Lord Xasnal's private wing."
+
+The door had a guard standing in front of it, glaring at everyone. In front of them, a circle of empty space marked out five paces in all directions.
+
+Linsan fought back a whimper. She looked back to Brook and then to peer around the room.
+
+Brook sighed and made a show of rolling her eyes. "I better find her. Excuse me," she said with a bow. Then she smiled brilliantly to Lord Ruger. "And it was wonderful hearing your stories, my lord."
+
+"Thank you for listening. Everyone else here just listens impatiently so they can tell their own stories and we all pretend we haven't heard them a thousand times."
+
+A ripple of polite, but uncomfortable, laughter.
+
+Brook took Linsan's hand and headed straight for the door. "Sorry, I lost track of you."
+
+Linsan nodded.
+
+Brook hesitated. "What's wrong?"
+
+"I met my mother's former wife."
+
+"Marin? I thought she died of cancer?"
+
+"No, Junith. Marin had married my dad before they were divorced and then Junith and Marin got married."
+
+Brook blushed. "I remember that part."
+
+Linsan smiled uncomfortable. The night was not going the way she expected. She cleared her throat before they reached the door.
+
+"No admittance."
+
+"Excuse me," Brook said with her sweetest voice. "My servant was brought through her and I would like to know---"
+
+"No admittance," repeated the guard and flexed his thick arms over his chest. There was a finality in his voice.
+
+Brook tugged Linsan away. "Shit, what do we do?"
+
+Linsan looked at him and then back to her. "I-I don't know. I mean, we can't start a fight and I have no clue about the layout. Can we sneak in another entrance?"
+
+Brook worried her lip. She looked torn.
+
+Linsan rested her hand on Brook's arm. "Worried about Miska?"
+
+At the nod, Linsan tried to give a comforting smile. "She'll be okay. This is Miska. She can punch her way through steel."
+
+"Ladies?" said Lord Rugar from near the door with the guard.
+
+Confused, Linsan looked up to see him gesturing for Brook and herself.
+
+Brook pointed to herself.
+
+He nodded.
+
+They approached.
+
+Lord Rugar looked at them both. "Now, I'm not entirely sure what is going on, but after so many years on the field, I know the look of two people scheming."
+
+Linsan blanched.
+
+The guard growled and clenched his arms.
+
+He gave them a hard look. "You are also moving as if the winds were chasing you. So, what is your intent at this party. Are you here to steal the violin?"
+
+"I would never steal Palisis!" Linsan snapped before she realized what she said. With a gasp, she clapped her glove hand over her mouth.
+
+He raised an eyebrow. "Palisis is it? Rather unusual name for a young lady."
+
+"No, my lord," Brook started. "Palisis is the name of the violin being sold today. Yes, we have an interest in the instrument but also the men who are selling it. We need to speak to Lord Xasnal or Tasire Dalisan about a most important matter."
+
+"And that is?" The lord's voice grew more tense.
+
+Linsan glanced around.
+
+Brook shrugged and gazed stonily back. "Something not appropriate to discuss in public."
+
+They locked stares.
+
+Linsan squirmed but no one else seemed to notice.
+
+Then the lord chuckled. He turned back to the guard. "Come on, let us through."
+
+"My lord?"
+
+"I'll watch over them. If you want, have someone join us but these two ladies have nothing to hide your master's silvers and I think they have a story I want to hear."
+
+Reluctantly, the guard unlocked the door and held it up.
+
+The lord gestured for Brook and Linsan. He waited until Linsan pasted before coming up behind her a short distance. "After all, the only reason I'm here is to bid on the violin for a friend but I'm curious why a Sterlig has shown up personally for the sale."
+
+The door closed behind them with a firm snap of the lock.
+
+Linsan inhaled, waiting for the next sentence.
+
+"Call me Calor and tell me a new story."

chapters/chapter-57.md

@@ -0,0 +1,194 @@
+---
+title: Requests
+teaser: &teaser >
+    Linsan and Brook search for Miska who had gone missing.
+summary: *teaser
+---
+
+> It is one thing to lie to the unwashed masses, to decieve the foolish public, and to scam those who don't know how to manage their money, but one does not lie to High Society. There is no anger that can be heated for as long as a slight on society's honor. --- Gandon Morelir
+
+Linsan heard the kitchen long before they reached it. The sounds of raucous laughter and cheering beat against the walls. It sounded more like nights the village pub than the formal affair going in the main halls.
+
+Calor guided them from behind, nodding as Brook gave an abbreviated version of their story. He didn't say anything, only listened.
+
+Entering the kitchen area, Linsan saw Miska sitting at a table arm-wrestling with one of the guards. Her dress had been hiked up to her thighs so she could straddled a box that was scorched and smoking. Her dress had a few ruined seams already as she grinned triumphantly.
+
+The guard was also in poor shape, with his outfit ripped in places as he groaned and put all his weight into forcing Miska's hand back.
+
+She grunted back with her effort to stop him. Sweat ran down her brow and neck as she gripped the table with her other hand. Woodsmoke rose up from where her grip had burned through the table cloth.
+
+Surrounding them were a handful guards along with high society members wearing dresses of gold and silk. They were all cheering and throwing money down as they encouraged the two contestants.
+
+Miska glanced up and then smiled as Brook entered the room. She gave a wink before turning her attention back to her efforts. "Time to give up." Her voice was strained.
+
+"Never---!"
+
+A blast of hot air exploded from her as she slammed him down. The effort collapsed the table underneath them and he fell back, tumbling backwards until he flipped face-down on the ground.
+
+A cheer rose up as two people helped him up.
+
+Miska rose with him. "Good game."
+
+For a moment, the losing man looked like he would say something rude but then he shook his head. "Teaches me to open my mouth."
+
+She grinned and patted his shoulder. "You did great. Against another man, you would have easily won."
+
+Playful laughter filled the room as Miska pushed her way to Brook and then pulled her into a passionate kiss.
+
+Brook looked surprised but then melted into Miska's arms. A moan rose up between them.
+
+Another round of cheer, this one far more enthusiastic than the first one.
+
+Calor made a grunting noise. "You seem to have a lot of lesbians in your life, Lin."
+
+"Just my mother."
+
+"And Junith, Marin, those two. You lean that way? Have a fancy for peaches?"
+
+"No, I just want to have friends I love and a chance to play."
+
+"Speaking of which...." Calor held up his hand. "Sop!"
+
+On the far side of a kitchen, an old man with a cane looked up from his wine. Then he gestured for Calor.
+
+Calor tugged Linsan by the elbow across the room. "Come on, let's talk to Lord Xasnal."
+
+Lord Xasnal was about eighty years old with a heavy cane under one hand and a droop to his face. He looked tired as he finished pushing the money he had apparently bet on Miska to a young woman standing next to him. "Calor," he said. "What brings you down? Your wife chase you away?"
+
+"No, Rose is at home with the boys. I'm here for Junith."
+
+The older man groaned. "That woman is everywhere lately. I'm sure they moved up the auction today just to get rid of her."
+
+Calor held up a finger. "Sorry, my manors. Linsan, this is Lord Sopenar Xasnal. His family has been in Moon Waters for almost four centuries and he owns the fine establishment that we currently stand in."
+
+Sopenar tilted his head.
+
+"And this is Linsan Sterlig, a young lady with a name shared with the item being sold."
+
+The old man's eyes sharpened on Linsan.
+
+Linsan nodded. "My father was Sian Sterlig, he crafted Palisis when I was young. I... I named it."
+
+He stared at her for a long moment, before he coughed. And then coughed again. When he stopped, he shook his head. "Junith has been trying to stop this sale ever since it was announced."
+
+"I'm trying to stop it because Siam would never have allows that violin to leave his family!" snapped Junith as she strode across the room. Brook and Miska followed with curious looks. "Well, Pop? There is a Sterlig here on the eve of its sale. There has to be a reason."
+
+Calor slid his arm around Junith's waist. "There is. Palisis was stolen and a man murdered in the process."
+
+Junith gasped and looked at him. "M-Murdered?"
+
+Brook held up her hand. "My daddy, Dukan Kabisal. The three men selling it burned him alive."
+
+Around them, the kitchen grew silent.
+
+Pop's gaze slid back to Linsan. "Well? Are you trying to stop the sale?"
+
+Linsan felt the pressure of attention but she steeled herself. Drawing up, she remembered how her mother always looked at the audience and mimicked it. "Yes, my lord. It was stolen from us."
+
+Lord Xasnal groaned and shook his head. He pointed to Junith. "A gut feeling."
+
+His finger gestured to Brook. "A claim."
+
+"Excuse me---!" started Brook angrily.
+
+He pointed to Miska. "Papers that cannot be confirmed from across the country."
+
+Finally his finger gestured to Linsan. "A birthright that cannot be verified. These are all reasons, but they aren't enough. You could be working for someone who needs more time to come up with more money, a scheme to steal from me, or something else."
+
+He drew himself up straighter. "I need proof. Something I can see with my own eyes, something that I can confirm. I've been hosting these auctions for many years and I've been tricked, lied, and deceived more times than you have stepped on the earth."
+
+Linsan ducked her head and fought back the tears.
+
+"Tears don't move me, girls. The sale goes on and I will not allow you to disrupt my honor."
+
+Thinking furiously, Linsan tried to think of some line, some play that would convince him. But they felt hallow and empty at the moment, nothing was appropriate.
+
+Sopenar shook his head. "I'm sorry your violin was stolen and your father killed. But that was somewhere far away and outside of my domain. Good evening."
+
+He limped forward the door.
+
+Linsan cleared her throat. There was one thing that she hadn't told anyone, a trivial thing but it was the last thing left to her. "Palisis has been played before," she said quietly.
+
+Sopenar stopped but didn't turn back.
+
+"I played it, in my parent's attic. It isn't a virgin." She sniffed. "I didn't know it wasn't supposed to be."
+
+The silence pressed down on the room, stifling the air as it settled into place.
+
+Everyone stared at Sopenar, waiting for his response.
+
+He turned his head so he was looking at her. "But what are you?"
+
+"S-Sorry?"
+
+"An instrument is played by the one who created it, to tune and adjust it. It is a mother's touch for her daughter, not a lover's embrace. So I ask you, what are you?"
+
+Linsan sniffed and then nodded. "Yes, I am the daughter of Sian Sterlig. My blood runs through the veins of the wood that gave birth to Palisis. My hand helped him carve and shape it. I named it, so I might be his mother."
+
+She took a deep breath. "But I am also the daughter of Tisin Sterlig, the queen of the stage and I have played her songs and roles my entire life. I have been in her shadow except for when I play. I have only set my bow on his strings as one who loves the song more than anything else."
+
+Sopenar slowly turned. "Prove it."
+
+"H-How, my lord."
+
+He pointed to the violin case that was once again in Miska's hand. "Play me a song that only the daughter of Tisin would know. Give me a song that has never been on a stage or sung in the world."
+
+Linsan frowned as she tore through her memory, casting through the history of her her parents. She teased the pin in her hair. "There is no..." she glanced at Junith who was crying. Then she remembered the sheet music in the attack, the torn paper with a single song she had never heard of before. "_Safe Adventures, Our Departed Loves_."
+
+Junith inhaled sharply.
+
+Sopenar nodded.
+
+Linsan worried her lip as she retrieved her violin.
+
+Brook stopped her. "Are you sure? You know this song?"
+
+Linsan shook her head. "I saw it once, years ago. I've never played it but I think I remember the melody."
+
+"Oh, Couple." Brook buried her head against Miska.
+
+"I have to try," Linsan felt on the edge of tears herself. "I have to."
+
+She set her bow and then brought up the faded memories, trying to focus on something she had forgotten. Only a few notes rose up, but then she remembered how her father and mother would occasionally hum or sing fragments throughout her entire life.
+
+Steeling herself, she took a long deep breath and set the bow to the strong. There was a hum as the two Sterlig's touched again. She drew the bow and began to play. The notes were unsteady at first but quickly became a flow as she sank into the memories of how her father worked his notes and sang to his instruments. Her mother's voice added to it, framing the song as she built it up in her head again. She knew both of them intimately and she trusted that she could follow in their footsteps.
+
+Her foot slid on the floor as she danced along with the music, twirling and spinning in the tight confines of the kitchen as she spun out the notes in sparkling cadences. Her power shone in the air, forming currents of power as she spun and skipped.
+
+The song grew longer and sadder, a mourning of their departure. The final note hung in the air, shimmering among her power as motes of dark colors floated to the ground.
+
+Junith let out a sob from where she had her face buried into Calor's shoulder. Brook and Miska held each other and watched her with glistening eyes. There were others, not moving or looking forward without seeing anything.
+
+Panting, Linsan looked at Lord Xasnal who stared back at her with hard eyes.
+
+"Close but not quite."
+
+"I'm sorry, it was a long---"
+
+He held up his hand and her voice trailed off. "Linsan Sterlig, that was not entirely the song. Where did the rest come from?"
+
+"I... I guess what my dad would have written knowing my mother's ability. I assumed it was sung by her as Junith and Marin left."
+
+He turned away.
+
+Linsan's hope faltered and she fought back her own sorrow.
+
+"No, it was when your parents left, not the other way around. There were only twelve people in the hall when your parents played that song. Two of them are in this room, two have moved to Cobbler's End." His shoulders slumped. "The chance you would have known even a portion of that song would require you to be somehow connected to one who was present and that makes you one in a million at best."
+
+"M-My lord?"
+
+Sopenar turned back. "Do you swear you played Palisis?"
+
+Linsan wiped her eyes. "Yes, my lord."
+
+"That I can verify." There was no smile or humor from him as he turned to the young woman serving him. "Summon Tir Nolig with all haste. She will be packing up to leave if she hasn't left already. I will give you one bell to return with her."
+
+"Yes, my lord." She bowed deeply before running out of the room.
+
+The lord ordered another servant to bring the city guards who had talked to Brook to the auction house, but through the side door.
+
+Finally, he addressed Linsan directly. "I believe you are the daughter of Tisin and Sian. That grants you only the opportunity to prove yourself. I will delay the sale for one bell and not a minute longer. If Nolig can verify your claim, then I will halt the sale until a full investigation can take place. Failing that, you will suffer consequences no matter what blood you claim."
+
+Linsan nodded and let out a gasp of relief. "Thank you, my lord."
+
+"Come on, I need to make the announcement."

chapters/chapter-58.md

@@ -0,0 +1,286 @@
+---
+title: Proof
+teaser: &teaser >
+    Linsan has the opportunity to prove that she has played Palisis before, but there are some disagreements.
+summary: *teaser
+---
+
+> It is easy to make a claim but far harder to prove it. --- Kyōti proverb
+
+Even in the narrow hallway leading to the great hall, Linsan could hear the rapid patter of the auctioneer speaking loudly.
+
+"Do I hear twenty-two. Twenty-two. Twenty-three to the lady in the red dress. Twenty-three million folks. Twenty-five!"
+
+It took all of her effort not to crawl over Lord Xasnal who lead the way or the guard beyhind them. She wanted to scream at them to hurry but Sopenar appeared to have only one speed, a slow walk.
+
+"Thirty million! Thirty-five! Six! Seven."
+
+Someone called out loudly. "Forty!"
+
+"Forty million cukdins for this priceless treasure."
+
+She cringed as Sopenar approached the door.
+
+"Forty? Going once. Going---"
+
+Sopenar stepped in the room and held up two fingers, then four.
+
+Linsan's heart skipped a beat.
+
+"Sorry, my lords and ladies, bidding has been halted. I currently have forty million cukdins to the Lady Pinialis."
+
+A murmer rose up as Linsan entered the room. After the crampness of the hallway, the great hall felt like stepping outside. In the short period of time, rows of seats had been arranged in front of the stage with a narrow space down the middle.
+
+On stage was a pedestal holding a red velvet pillow. On it was Palisis. The violin had been polished until it shown and lights had been focused on it to show off the delicate hints of purple and red veins that ran underneath the polished surface. Next to it was the bow her father had crafted, a matching pair with the same designs and carvings.
+
+It had been years since Linsan had seen the musical instrument. A longing rose up, a desire more intense than anything she had felt before. She fought the urge to reach out for it, as if somehow there was no distance between the two fo them.
+
+The gathered people, the high society of Moon Water, looked around in confusion. A few stood up to turn to the back toward Sopenar. Linsan noticed a few just ducked their heads and continued to stare forward.
+
+"There they are!" whispered Brook loudly.
+
+Linsan focused her attention on stage where Tilbin, Mayforn, and Gabaw stood to the side of the violin. All three of them were wearing tuxedos but she remembered their faces from the day of the fire.
+
+Tilbin stood ahead of the other two, his head turning as he scanned the crowds. Mayforn did the same, his face pursed as his head moved from point to point. Gabaw stepped back toward a table barely visible behind the chairs where the musicans had sat.
+
+Sopenar lowered his fingers. "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm sorry to stop the moment right at the cusp of tension, but I have been presented with a credible doubt."
+
+Whispers and explaimins rose up in a wave of the room. A few of the buyers stepped away from the gathered chairs. Most of them remained in place.
+
+Tilbin stood up. An easy smile crossed his face but it didn't reach his eyes. "Please explain, Lord Xasnal. You have already done a full suite of verifications for this sale was approved." He had a remarkably cultured voice for a man who grew up at a farm in the middle of nowhere.
+
+The front door creaked open as a man in a deep blue uniform strode into the hall. He had a badge on his left chest and a pair of ribbons on the right. Six other uniformed men filed in after him. They were armed with short swords and all six had their hands on the sheathed weapons.
+
+Tilbin's turned slightly and his jaw tightened.
+
+"Shit," Mayforn said sharply and stepped past Tilbin to the other side. His attention focused on Linsan and a scowl etched itself across his face.
+
+Brook shoved her way past Linsan and rushed down the center aisle. Her inarticulate scream rose up to fill the room.
+
+Linsan and Miska charged after her.
+
+Just as Brook reached the stage, one of the buyers who had not looked back suddenly stood up and spun into the aisle. There was a flash of a metal, a knife, in his hand.
+
+"Brook!" screamed Miksa.
+
+Brook slammed into the man, her entire body shuddering. She looked up and then gasped. "D-Daddy?" Her voice filled the sudden silence that draped the room.
+
+Linsan slid to a halt as she looked at the man who had stabbed Brook. It was Dukan Kabisal.
+
+He had grown a beard since she last saw him, but it was a poor disguse. His eyes were hard as he looked down at his daughter. "You're the reason my code book was burned, wasn't it?"
+
+"D-Daddy?" Brook said in a weaker voice. Crimson droplets splattered to the ground, slashing brightly on the wooden floor.
+
+"Bad girl," he said. Then he shoved Brook back hard, throwing her into Linsan and Miska.
+
+Panicked, Linsan grabbed at Brook and held her down. There was a growing stain on her abnadom, near her naval. "Brook! Brook!"
+
+Dukan stepped back and tossed the knife to the ground.
+
+On stage, Tilbin's guitar flew in the air. The murderer caught it and slung it over his shoulder in one smooth movement.
+
+Despite the fear for her friend and the growing terror, Linsan forced herself to her feet. "Dukan! How could you attack your own daughter!?"
+
+Dukan stopped at the bottom of the stairs. His face was a mask of rage, a bitterness paltable in the air. "You were supposed to be the brash one, Lin. That knife was for you, not her."
+
+"You were going to kill me?" Her world spun but she forced herself to focus on him.
+
+The strum of a guitar string caught her attention and she picked up the opening chords to a popular drinking song.
+
+Dukan's face twisted even more. "Of course I would! You're a Sterlig! You are all fools and idiots. You sit on a priceless artifact because of pride and honor. Your parents would rather starve than give up a memory to some woman who has been dead for decades!"
+
+Behind Linsan, Junith let out a sharp gasp.
+
+Linsan stepped over Brook. "Palisis isn't yours."
+
+Dukan started up the stairs, one step at a time. "It doesn't have a name, Lin. It's an instrument, something to be played and sold. And for me, that means one more sale of a precious Sterlig before I leave this shitty country."
+
+"I won't let you," she announced as she spun the lock on her case. She grabbed the neck of her violin and her bow with one hand as it clattered to the floor.
+
+Dukan smiled. "You have other problems to deal with."
+
+Tilbin started into a series of high speed riffs. It was the song she had heard, but played at double speed. Fire flared along his guitar strings before it rose to envelope his entire body.
+
+The audience screamed as they scrambled to pull away.
+
+Linsan gasped and yanked her violin into place.
+
+Gabaw jumped off the front of the stage and slammed his fist into the floor. A line of fire burst out of the wood straight for her, the heat rising in a wall of fire.
+
+Linsan stepped back, but caught Brook's legs. With a scream, she stumbled back while trying to keep her grip on the violin.
+
+Miska surged up between them and the fire. She crossed her arms and then yelled in anger as the lead flames struck her. With a deafening roar, the line of fire split in half around her body and jetted into the empty chairs on each side.
+
+Whimpering, Linsan untangled herself from Brook's legs. She wanted to check on her friend or at least drag her to safely, but then she heard the riff hit the beat and the distincti sound of fireballs launching. She looked up to see them arcing around Miska and slamming into chairs and people, throwing them aside.
+
+"Fuck," she screamed. "We need to get these people away!"
+
+"Little busy!" snapped Miska and she struggled against the flames that tore at her body, setting the ends of her hair on fire and burning at her dress.
+
+Brook pushed herself up. Her dress was ruined but there was a bandage made from Miska's dress wrapped around her belly with a knot of fabric pressed directly into the wound. Brook's face twisted into a grimace of pain as she lurched to her knees.
+
+Linsan started for her but flashes of light warned her of two fireballs that streaked toward her and Brook. Without thinking, Linsan swung the violin to block of the first one, catching the searing heat with the back of her instrument and swatting it to the ground.
+
+Linsan jumped over Brook and spun her back, catching the fireball against her back. Her world exploded into agony as the force drove her to her knees. The smell of burning fabric and hair filled her world.
+
+Brook reached for her. "Linsan!"
+
+"Get. Away!" sobbed Linsan through the pain. She tried to put out her dress and the violin at the same time, but her limbs didn't quite move fast enough. She gave up the violin with a sob and dropped to her back to roll back to extinish the flames that tore at her back.
+
+Brook's face twisted into a mask of pain and determination. She pulled back her arms to clap and screamed out a warning.
+
+Both Miska and Linsan cringed as Brook clapped her hands together with all her might. The concussion blast exploded from her picked up chairs and papers to launch them to the furthest edges of the hall. Along with it were the people, society's rich and power, and they were tossed aside like sticks as they slammed into the debris.
+
+In the corner of her eye, Linsan saw her violin rolling away, the flames flaring up as more of the wood caught. She let out a sob and crawled after it in hopes of rescusing her only chance to defeat the four men.
+
+"No, pick it up! Get it!" bellowed Dukan. His voice had a frantic tone to it.
+
+Linsan looked past Miska's burning dress to see that Brook's concussion blast has knocked Palisis off the pedetal. The precious instrument had landed near a hunk of burning stage.
+
+Dukan struggled with the musican's chairs on the side. They had caught him when they were thrown to the back of the stage and his limbs were entangled. He grunted and thrashed before he managed to crawl out. Frantic, he scrambled across the stage.
+
+"No!" screamed Brook as she clapped again. The explosion tore the ground apart underneath the concussion wave. It struck the stage and the wooden structure buckled from the impact.
+
+A snapping board launched the violin into the air.
+
+Mayforn and Dukan lunged for it.
+
+The violin reached the apex of its flight and came down.
+
+"Palisis!" Linsan screamed desperately with her hand reaching out for the instrument far out of her reach.
+
+The strings of the violin rang out in an incredibley pure note that cut through the din surrounding them. The instrument bounced a foot above the two murderer's outstreched hand, striking some invisible force that kicked it away from the stage and directly toward Linsan.
+
+She cringed as it struck the ground and then spun and skipped across the splintered wood and exposed rock to stop at her knees.
+
+Linsan stared down at it, her body shaking from her fear and her mind unable to see what had deflected the instrument.
+
+Brook groaned in pain. "Just. Pick. It. Up!"
+
+"But---!"
+
+"You said you played it, so play it because we're going to burn!" She sobbed through the pain as she staggered to her feet. One arm pressed the ruins of Miska's dress against her wound. "Please, Lin."
+
+Linsan reached down for Palisis. She knew that she may have ruined the chance of getting it back if she played it, and she would have ruined an instrument worth millions, but Dukan's betrayal couldn't be forgiven.
+
+To her surprise, the paired bow rested against the violin. She hadn't seen it slide toward her, but it was obvious that the violon had demands of its own.
+
+When she wrapped her hand around the warm wood, she felt a surge of power rising through her. Energies flickered on the edges of her vision as invisible currents stirred her hair and clothes.
+
+Palisis fit against her neck as if it belonged. She held the bow over the strings for a moment.
+
+Tilbin's next song broke the moment.
+
+With a glare, she drew the bow across the strings and played a single note. It hung in the air, setting off eddies of power around her. With a sad smile, she started one of her own attack songs.
+
+"Yes!" Miska said as she clapped her hands.
+
+Brook joined, the impacts a dull thud that boosted the power that surrounded Lisnan. She staggered as she finished the steps.
+
+Gabaw struck fire, slamming into the ground and sending a line of fire directly for Linsan and Brook.
+
+In time with Linsan's music, Miska stepped up to Brook and spun her around as Linsan stepped in the opposite direction. The flame burst harmlessly against Miska's shoulder in a wave of heat and pressure.
+
+Linsan reached the upward trill that shot arrows of force away from her. The beat of her two friends added to them, increasing their strength and speed.
+
+The arrows slammed into the stage, missing Tilbin but striking Gabaw and Mayforn.
+
+Both men staggered from the blows.
+
+Gabaw hit his back on the wreakage of the stage. He struggled to get back to his feet as his hands burned brightly.
+
+Tilbin's riff slammed the air, punching it with the complex sounds of the guitar. With his fingers sliding along the frets, he summoned dozens of fireballs that surrounded him in a halo.
+
+It was the same attack as the one from the car.
+
+Linsan changed the pace of her song, reach to block. When the fireballs came screaming from all directions, she was ready. Assisted with the steady beat, she launched arrow after arrow into the blasts and they burst harmlessly around her.
+
+Her song had an immediate inflection and she used the power to launch her attack at Tilbin, a single arrow of force aimed directly for his chest.
+
+Mayforn caught it with a backhand and then spun to join in the rytyym of Tilbin's attack.
+
+They traded fireballs and arrows for a few seconds.
+
+Tilbin suddendly smiled. He pointed at Miska and then hammered a series of riffs that brought up fireballs launching directly at her.
+
+At the same time, Gabaw slammed his fists into the ground and set another fire burst directly at her.
+
+Miska had to abandon her clapping to block the attack. She groaned as the heat pounded her body, tearing away at with steady thumbs that Linsan struggled to ignore while still maininting her own song.
+
+Then there were more fireballs arcing from the side. With a gasp, she spun away.
+
+Brook wasn't fast enough. All of Tilbin's attacks were directed at her and they punched her violently with dull thumps and bursts of flames. She screamed as she lost her balance.
+
+Linsan no longer had the beat. She danced away.
+
+Tilbin and Mayforn followed. The guitar set off bursts that Mayforn's clapping boosted. They screamed through the air as they streaked toward her.
+
+Without her friends helping, Linsan had to play faster while twisting to avoid the attacks. Sweat burned at her brow as she struggled to block. There was no opprotunity to strike herself.
+
+She slipped. With a yelp, she fell back as one of the fireballs slammed into her. Heat crushed against her body and she tried to twist Palisis away from the flames.
+
+To her surprise, the heat didn't touch the violion. A shimmering of power rose from the instrument and the flames slide away.
+
+Hitting the ground with one shoulder, Linsan kicked back and flipped back onto her feet. She landed next to Brook's smouldering form.
+
+A sob rose up. "Brook?"
+
+Brook looked up, her hair smoking. She looked at them and then glared. "_Safe Adventures, Our Departed Loves_."
+
+It was a ballad, a song with plenty of opportunity to build up power but there were deseparately few places that it could be used to attack.
+
+"Are you---?"
+
+"Play it!" Brook wiped her forehead, leaving a streak of blood. She stood up and clapped hard to knock away the attacks. With a powerful step forward, she smacked her hands together so one palm slid off the other.
+
+A narrow wave of force shot out of her hand, narrowly avoided Miska as it cut through Gabaw's line of fire. It struck him and threw him into the stage.
+
+Gabaw's body bounced off the wood before he was propelled into the chairs below.
+
+Sobbing, she stood even with Miska. With a smile to her lover, she began to clap out the ryhbtyum of the song.
+
+Miska joined immeidately, her precision fitting with a song that they had only heard once.
+
+Trusting her friend, Linsan began to play.
+
+As the fireballs came raining down, they danced. Miska would turn so the fire struck her body and Brook clapped to blow away the firebursts that reached past.
+
+Only waves of heat struck Linsan as she improvised her dance. All the hours of practice sank in as she took her skill to recreate the song to create a dance for it.
+
+Her friends matched her as they blocked the attacks even as Gabaw returned to strike at her.
+
+Heat and fire raged through the hall.
+
+She danced remembering the purpose of the song, of four lovers that found each other and switched. The happinest of her parents: her father's pride and her mother's resilence. They had suffered for her because of love just as Junith did for her Marin.
+
+The song grew louder, magnified by dance, rytyym, and the emotions that rose inside her. She was playing her family's legacy and she would not let their betrayal be forgotten.
+
+When the cusp of the song came, the cresdendo that Linsan could finally turn into an attack, she was ready.
+
+Linsan drew the final note with a flourish as the world around her became a malestorm of rippling power. An arrow flew out. Then another and another. They came faster and she joined, breaking the song as she began to play in allegro. Note after note, each one becoming a weapon that struck the stage in a storm.
+
+Tilbin broke off his song to switch to another one, no doubt a defensive one, but the arrows didn't stop. They pounded into the stage, slamming into brilliant force as they tore apart wood and stone. More of them struck the three murderers, sending them back in spurts of blood.
+
+Linsan directed a wave of power toward Tilbin's guitar.
+
+As the spectral heads struck it, the wood crack before it shattered from the force of its own strings. His hands were lacerated as he fell back to the ground.
+
+Linsan directed the attacks at the other two men as they dove to the side.
+
+The song ended. She tried to stop it but there was no way to keep playing without breaking it. She stopped sharply, her body shaking as all the energy and emotions drained out of her in an instance.
+
+Empty, she stared at the carnage before her as she sucked in one breath after the other. Sweat soaked her skin and her muscles trembled from the effort. The air smelled of lightning and flame, a bitter taste that seared the back of her throat.
+
+She was vaglue aware of the magenta motes that floated in the air. They were the feedback from two power forces colliding with each other. She had heard of one or two, but she had never seen the ceiling glowing with the baneful light.
+
+Ahead of her, Brook leaned against Miska. She let out a whipmer. "D-Did we win?"
+
+Miska clutched her. "I don't know. We got the three but I don't know where your daddy is."
+
+"He hurt me. My own daddy," Brook said as her knees collapsed and she sank to the ground.
+
+Cradling her lover, Miska dropped to her knees to cushion the blow. "I know. But he will never hurt you again, I promise."
+
+Linsan threw herself to Brook to hold eher tightly, Palisis resting in her other hand. "Oh, Brook!"
+
+Brook's bright brown eyes grew cloudy. "It was a good... song...." And then her eyes rolled up and she slumped forward.

chapters/chapter-59.md

@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+---
+title: Decisions
+teaser: &teaser >
+    Linsan, Brook, and Miska have to decide what comes next.
+summary: *teaser
+---
+
+> ... those of native blood may hold no office or position of authority within these lands. --- *The True and Complete Laws of Gepaul*
+
+Linsan sat on a chair next to Brook's head, holding her friend's hand as Brook slept. Even though the healers said that Brook would survive, Linsan couldn't help but worry every time a whimper of pain escaped Brook's lips or she trembled.
+
+Miska sat on the opposite side, her head rested on Brook's pillow as she stretched out across two chairs. Pillows and blankets spilled out underneath her from her attempts to make herself comfortable.
+
+"Miska?" Brook's voice was broken and hoarse.
+
+Linsan sat up sharply.
+
+Brook looked at her. "Did you get Palisis?"
+
+Wiping the sudden tears, Linsan nodded. "I got it back. Lord Xasnal was annoyed that I ruined Palisis, but he decided that he would look the other way since Tilbin attacked first."
+
+She gave a rueful smile. "We don't have to even pay for the damage to his hall, but I did have to promise to play for him once everything was rebuilt."
+
+Brook frowned.
+
+"No, it's good. He's going to give me patronage for a year to let everything settle, the investigations to finish up, and your father's trial to proceed."
+
+Her eyes widened. "D-Daddy?"
+
+"They caught him. He was trying to escape on a boat, but the city guard have a number of water talents and he was unable to escape. And Gabaw..." Linsan voice broke as she struggled with the words. "Gabaw said that Dukan had started the fire that ruined our grove and was selling off Sterligs over the years. That is why Dukan had so much money, he had been trading our legacy for cash."
+
+Tears ran down Brook's face. "Oh, Lin. I'm so sorry. I didn't know."
+
+"Yes, but that means you have some nasty letters from your mother and sisters because everything was siezed. Cobbler's End and Moon Waters are working together now and they moved fast."
+
+Brook's face fell. "Then I have nothing."
+
+Miska looked up through her hair that had draped over her face. "You have us."
+
+Brook smiled. She pushed the hair away and looked at Miska with love and affection. "I was getting there. I only need you two, right?"
+
+"That's right, Princess." Miska leaned into Brook's hand and nuzzled it. "The healers said it would take a month or three to recover from your injurites and you still own me something."
+
+At Brook's confused look, Miska grinned. "I get a royal servant for a week, remember?"
+
+Brook giggled and then winced. "O-Ouch."
+
+"Just because you got stabbed by your own father doesn't let you get out of obligations."
+
+"I know! Just don't make me laugh!"
+
+Miska crawled onto the bed and pressed her body to Brook's. "No laughter, but you don't get to escape me."
+
+Brook leaned back. "I'm caught by my obligations, they are a chain around my neck." Then she lifted her head. "Yes, I know that's from a play."
+
+Linsan shrugged and kept her mouth shut.
+
+"And your mother was in it."
+
+It took more effort not to smirk.
+
+Resting her head back, Brook stroked Miska's hair. "Do you think there is a chance we could sieze Tilbin's, Gabaw's, and that other guy's assets?"
+
+Linsan cocked her head. "Mayforn? Why?"
+
+"I was thinking. They own the land they stole from Miska. She can't own it herself, but if there probably isn't a law that prevents her from owning stock in a company. If we got those assets, put it in one, and then she and the other _XXX_ could have their land back."
+
+Miska sighed. "We can't legaglly run a company but I think we can have stock."
+
+"So put some white person in charge. Someone who had your interests. I already know from daddy's... Dukan's work, that the person in charge doesn't have to be the one who makes decisions."
+
+"Are you offering, Princess?"
+
+"To be your puppet leader?" Brook smiled. "Yes."
+
+"Does that mean I get to stick my hand up your---?"
+
+"No!" Brook said, her face coloring. Then she glanced at Linsan and back to Miska. "M-Maybe. If Linsan is okay with it."
+
+Linsan stood up. "As I told you before, you will always be my friend and I will be your lover until you find someone more worthy of the role. You've found your champion now, so I can happily go back to being merely your best friend for the rest of your life."
+
+Brook's eyes watered for a moment. "That's a line, isnt' it?"
+
+"I think so." Linsan grinned broadly. "I have to write it, but I'm definately going to call it _Allegro_."

language.json

@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
 		"Gainsburg",
 		"Gepaul's",
 		"Glasscoaster",
+		"Improv",
 		"Itanith",
 		"Junith",
 		"Kabisal",
@@ -55,10 +56,12 @@
 		"Valian",
 		"Wendil",
 		"Wendil's",
+		"Xasnal",
 		"ba-da",
 		"ba-da-da-dum",
 		"blonde",
 		"cukdins",
-		"cuks"
+		"cuks",
+		"guard's"
 	]
 }