"Many things." Ethlyn interlaced her fingers together and leaned forward, resting her forehead on them to stare into her tea. It felt so long ago--longer than the three years it had been. "A neighboring country launched an unprovoked attack on a town in Grannvale, and Grannvale went to war. Its neighbor on the opposite border took this as an opportunity to seize territory--and a family friend. Rescuing her is how my brother got involved, and my husband and I went to support him."

How had an expedition to save Edain spiraled into this? Ethlyn stared at her tea and the grain of the table, the mess and disorder of Claude's new establishment in her peripheral vision. It should have started and ended in Verdane. They'd rescued Edain, the king had died, his one principled son could have taken the throne and ended it. But then there had been Agustria to the north, and a royal patricide... "We had to help another friend right afterwards--thrown into the dungeon for trying to advise his king. But everything went wrong that time. I'm still not sure how. All we did was protect his sister... his lands from the other lords of his country. Somehow or another, it spiraled into a second full-scale war."