Episode 3

SHORT SUMMARY

Synopsis
The party is led to another dining hall for a banquet. It’s complete darkness and it seems like the top is open to the mountain, it’s filled with stars. It looks like true dark, yet it’s not the time for it and even then there are usually no stars in the sky. Xanthus sits apart from the party, he is joined by Tacitus and Lynne. During dinner Caeso gets confronted by another acolyte, Leo, whose family got killed by the army. They argue in Liisian and Leo accuses Caeso of betraying his country by being part of the military. Caeso says that it wasn’t his choice. The room goes quiet during their argument, before Leo storms off. The Dark Prince, Lord Cassius, goes through the room as whispers spread, but he leaves almost as soon as he arrives. Petra steals some wine. She, Julius and Caeso follow Naev back to the rooms, as she tells them not to be late for school the next day. Xanthus stays behind a bit longer to watch the stars. In her room Nadya takes a dagger and cuts her hand, using the bath water she took, the wound seals again. Aurelius spends the night reading the Numicius book, which starts as a genealogy of Xanthus’s family. The book is written by Xanthus’ youngest sister Livia. During the night, Nadya and Aurelius hear a scream coming from Caeso’s room. Nadya goes to knock on Caeso’s door, spotting Aurelius, peeking outside to see what the commotion is all about. Caeso opens distressed, reassures her it was just a bad dream and Nadya offers to stay the night with him. Caeso tells Nadya about the dream he had and how it was about when he was forcefully conscripted into the military at 14. When soldiers took the oldest son from the family. The next morning everyone is gathered into the Hall of Eulogy. There we see a dead body surrounded by a lot of blood, it’s Leo. Mother Drusilla looks at Caeso and tells everyone that killing a fellow acolyte is a serious offense and that we are now under curfew.

After that we are escorted towards our first class. Pickpocketing with Mouser. Bianca kisses him as a distraction to steal something. He gets dressed in different costumes and makes us try to pickpocket him. When Mouser comes out in a costume of one of Aa’s priests, seeing the holy symbol, Xanthus has a reaction and vomits and passes out. Mouser dismisses the class and confronts Xanthus about being a darkin. Xanthus tells the Reverend Mother about being a darkin and tells her she is allowed to talk to Cassius about his powers. The party leaves to get food and Caeso stays behind because he wants to wait for Xanthus. Aurelius warns him that if the situations were reversed "he wouldn't wait for you."