The apple, and the Tree. [Evelyn]

[Ilheod]

The day had progressed rather effectively. The movements of allocated forces from Kelvin's aerial divisions to Fort Redoran as going well, and the transition of forces had been easy. Far easier than when done as a lesser ranked commander. However, since most of the forces were units stationed in Eastern Bern, Ilheod had to utilize the fort within his home town as a staging point. Now here he was, standing upon the balcony connected to his office that overlooked the rest of the town. It also gave him a good view of the Courtyard below. Still adorned in the black plated armor that he'd been bestowed with once his new position as Dragon General had been fully awarded, he simply gazed with his single good eye down to view the men below. His silver infused spear rested propped near him, against the wall running left of the balcony and into the room he was utilizing as an office. His blade was simply sheathed while resting upon the belt around his hip.

Though his orange hued hair was better trimmed now, he still had his crimson eye concealed behind the black ornate eye-patch that the aging commander sported. A faint sound broke the silence periodically. Huffs, sighs, snorts, and shufflings. The source? The monstrously large midnight blue wyvern that was sitting a few feet away from him. Astraeus had been his companion and mount since his second year as a squire in the Bernese Military. Having hatched him from an egg he'd been charged to tend. This had allowed them to forge an exceptionally strong bond.

He could spot his younger brothers, Ilbrae and Ilberd, moving across the courtyard with a small squad of men from one of the transfer units. No doubt directing them and assisting them with the navigation of the fort. After all, most were from another part of the country and had never seen this little town. The aging commander chuckled as he moved close to his comrade, placing a hand on Astraeus' shoulder and scratching the wyvern's hardened scales softly. His tone as he spoke to the wyvern was quiet, a tone reserved only for his life long partner.

"Soon we will be ready, my friend. The transfers are almost fully finished by now. Soon we can reclaim the skies for Bern again. As it should be..."

[Evelyn]

Evelyn had been searching for about a week at this point. Sure she knew who her father was, but that didn't mean that she would know where he is or what he does all day. That was becoming a bit of an issue for her as she wanted to track him down. She excited girl eventually managed to narrow down her searching to a town that she knew her father would be in. The town was near a military fort named Redoran, so she assumed that her father would be in there.

Upon discovering this town, she made it a point to get there as soon as she could, which she did. She needed some way for her to get to the fort though, since it seemed to be a wyvern base, and she had no way to get up into the mountains. Eventually she thought that she could get the attention of one of the wyvern soldiers to talk to their commander. In hindsight that might have not been the best thing to ask, but she did so anyway. She saw two in particular in the courtyard moving with a squad of soldiers. She always sort of admired soldiers, but not enough to actually want to be one, but that is besides the point. She approached the two officer looking ones and asked, "Hello, my name is Evelyn, I am looking for an Ilheod Donson, my father. Can you help me with that?" she said as she looked at them with her unique hetero-chromatic eyes, signifying her heritage.

[Ilheod]

Ilbrae was gazing at the girl for a moment in disbelief as she claimed to be the daughter of his older brother. Ilberd was in an equal amount of shock, but was also failing to contain a grin of amusement, clearly stiffing laughter even while he tried to gaze her seriously. There was a pause, and passing silence as the squads of men either man had currently been leading stood in rank and file line formation behind them at attention and quiet. This was not unnoticed by either brother, and it was only when Ilberd turned to his younger brother before speaking in a more stern tone.

"Lead them to the staging point. I'll take her to General Donson and catch up with you."

Ilbrae nodded, before turning on his heel and lifting his right hand to signal both units of men to follow him before advancing past the shorter girl. The clanking of armor as the soldiers marched in step, falling into a rhythm of pace. This left the girl alone with the orange haired armored wyvern rider to gesture for her to move with him, leading her to the fort before moving ahead. He hadn't noted upon her eye color, and seemed to have a stern stride to his poise as he led her into the actual inner confines of the fort. His tone reinforced this sentiment.

"What makes you positive that your his Daughter? This is the first I'm hearing about this, and I think I would be one of the few to know if he had a child. This isn't some sort of prank is it lass?"

Ilberd never turned to gaze at her, instead opening the heavy wooden door that led to the stairs they'd have to take to get to his older brother's temporary office. His hand was resting atop the blade sheathed at his hip, fingers coiled around the pommel and his other hand dangling at his side as the sergeant ascended the stairs ahead of the girl.

[Evelyn]

Evelyn listened to what this man had to say and nodded obediently before she started to follow him. She wondered how many men her father had under his control, but she then remembered how she was supposedly super important in the military around here. She looked at this man who was guiding her curiously, as she believed that she recognized him from somewhere, but she could never really put her finger on it. She then listened to his question and nodded as it was something completely fair for him to ask.

"Well my eyes are the same kind as his, red and hazel. And the nuns who raised me talked about my father and mother to be all the time," she said as she smiled a bit, remembering the good times of how she learned about her heritage. "I can assure you that this isn't a prank. A prank of mine would be much more creative than this," she said with a sly grin as she giggled a bit to herself, wondering how she could possibly prank her father.

[Ilheod]

The crimson haired unit commander frowned a bit at the mention of a prank in general. He kept walking however, leading her up the stairs into the deeper segments of the fort. Patches of darker hall were scarce, as a well lit series of torches maintained perpetual states of faintly lit or well lit segments consistently. The youthful rider rested a hand on his side quietly, armored fingers brushing the metal tassets around his waist while turning down the hallway to his older brothers quarters. His tone a bit firm, but such was to be expected of anyone born into the military life.

"Best be positive it isn't a prank lass. The general's got precious time to spare while were mobilizing and preparing for our campaign. Lots o' men to keep count of and plan with. That said, if you are his daughter...you'll best be wantin' to catch up now. Not sure how long we'll be gone for, or if we'll be returning. Such is the nature of the foe we move to confront."

With that darkened tone hanging over the atmosphere, he maintained silence until they approached the generals quarters. Four men stood in a boxed formation on either end of the hallway in pairs of two, keeping vigil and baring entrance to Ilheod's office entirely. One saluted as the general's younger brother returned the gesture before speaking up.

"A visitor for General Donson. High priority. She needs to speak to him, no matter how brief. I leave her in your care."

The men all saluted in unison, four armored hands clapping to their breastplates before they turned to gaze at the girl. The guard who'd spoken to Ilheod's brother nodding to the girl quietly before opening the door. Though each one clasped a spear, none seemed hostile with it as the heavy chamber door cracked open. The man spoke quietly to her directly, first.

"No funny business around the general, girl. I'll be watching to be sure."

The man raised his voice a moment later, speaking loud enough for Ilheod to hear.

"General Donson, sir! A guest for you!"

After a pause, a much older and more composed but commanding tone came from within the room.

"Enter..."


Ilheod stood now with his back to the door. Entirely un-afraid of the potential approach of the visitor due to his guard detail within the office. Quietly examining the map of Bern along the wall while waiting for this visitor to speak.