[i]Howl From The Ashes was defeated near the end of the Tharassian Interregnum. Plundering Fang liked telling Little Ember the story, emphasizing how her legacy was that of a failure. That was a joke of a bloodline meant for little bitches who would never, ever lead the pack. And that much was true! Howl From The Ashes never led her pack, except by example. She was not a great leader of wolves, and when she was defeated, it was because she was standing alone.

Goldie told her the most important part of the story, though. Howl was defeated, yes. It took a dedicated pack-of-packs thirteen hours to overcome her, fighting alone for the glory of her alpha. Howl was untouchable, moving in negative space, flicking nets back at their casters, flinging spears through vehicles meant to run her down, trailing trophies in her wake. The challenge she presented ground the invasion of the Minosiam to a halt. None could pass her by.

She was paraded on Akhol in lieu of her alpha. She never flinched, and it is said (by Goldie) that no one could look her in the eye. She was offered a seat at the right hand of the Ceronian who would, by the end of the Interregnum, restore the Shogunate— and her refusal saw her spend fifteen years chained to his throne.

Fifteen years, until her Alpha struck in a heist which stole away only one treasure, and one treasure alone. To this day, her blood is a watchword for loyalty, for skill, and for romance. Nothing breaks the daughters of Howl From The Ashes, no matter how low they fall. And that is what Plundering Fang tried so hard to hide from Little Ember, and instead quickened in her blood.[/i]

[hr]

“Like, why don’t you do it?”

An off-hand question, tossed out triflingly. But it latched onto Ember like a leech. She watched the stars play on the vaulted ceilings of the [i]Plousios,[/i], almost lulled by the serenading of far-off songbirds and the sound of repair crews (of which, oddly, there were many— but surely it was the hiccup of the hearth needing to be rekindled). She tried to hide from it, tried to convince herself that she could back Plundering Fang, instead. That she could be quiet and loyal. But still the burden lies in front of her, and no matter how she turned, there it was.

Letting either of them seize control of the Silver Divers would disrupt operations aboard the [i]Plousios[/i]. Who is Sagetip but an untrustworthy vizier? Who is Plundering Fang but an unwise steward? Either one of them would set the course of Mosaic’s ship straight towards disaster. And there was no other viable candidate but someone who had a direct line to Mosaic, who had the friendship of not only the former Alpha but also a leashed Magi, who was— recently?— first aboard the ship.

True, some might think her strange, giving her ring odd looks, whispering behind her back of enchantment. Some might point out that she is descended from Howl From The Ashes, and doomed to lose in the end. And some might just be loyal already to another candidate.

And yet there is enough for her to begin planning her opening strikes. Carefully, of course— not to disrupt repairs or the operation of the luxuries of the ship…