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Summertime Reflections and Preparations (closed)
Timestamp: Orodisia in the last cycle of Imperos
Aerienne sat on a small hill on her property, looking at her daughter playing merrily near the banks of the Rhedrisa River. Guards watched from a discreet but close distance. Aeri smiled fondly at the child and then rested her head against a tree and thought.
Her preparations had been extensive this summer. Now that her daughter was safely back home, she planned on traveling the Empire to look for her successor. It had taken a long while for her mind to recover from her divine visitation, and she still wasn't sure she'd ever be fully the way she once was, but she had managed, with long days and nights of effort, to prevent the worst of the waking dreams and intruding memories and feelings in her daily life. Now, especially with Fia starting Schola in the fall, she felt it was time to begin her search for a successor.
She'd already spoken with Llanwyn, and she felt he would be a good choice. But there were others in the Empire who might also serve. When her predecessor Vesta had died, there had been a Concilium Prelatum to help select a new successor. But now the Concilium Prelatum was gone, and Empress Arabella had disappeared. So, as she had with much of her tenure in her office, Aerienne decided to personalize the search for her successor. She'd spent the summer preparing the Provincal Government for her absence. With Roland gone, she'd appointed Iris Blueblossom, her longtime friend, to be lieutenant governor in her absence. Iris was someone she trusted to handle things while she traveled the Empire and spoke with those who could possibly replace her.
She didn't want to leave, to be honest. She had thought long and hard over Diana's words, and in retrospect, she couldn't just couldn't see how she could have done other than what she did based on what she had known when she had made the decisions she had. She believed that the Empire was still in a state of spiritual crisis and political instability, despite the best efforts of good people like Milo, Nell, and Palacrisis. She'd heard nothing of Narim's plight since that meeting in the Council of the Crown, for example. But in this she trusted that things would work out for the best. Optimism was something she'd always excelled in.
Now, as she watched her daughter play, she reflected that hope was something they all would need in the days ahead.
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