There was much work to be done. Isolde had lost her path, but in wandering, pushing through the spiritual thickets and thorns, she’d found it again—clearer than ever. There was a new vigor to her that anyone that spent much time about her would recognize as the Isolde that had been. The one that had been momentarily dimmed by the clouds of Nevermere but now shined brighter than any star.

Isolde called upon her daughter now—one of her most trusted. Sigyn. Isolde took comfort in knowing that if she were to be struck down tomorrow, the spiritual heart of Cambria would live on within Sigyn. The All-Mother had given her great purpose, one that Isolde had no doubt she would realize.

The girl that Isolde had sent to fetch Sigyn relayed what she had found. Isolde grimaced for a moment before, as calm as ever, laying a hand on her daughter’s cheek. “Never disrupt a Seer in the midst of a vision, child,” Isolde lovingly scolded, “You risk unsettling our ancestors. Disrupting the opened gate to the spirit world.” The young Cambrian cast her eyes down, mumbling “Yes, Mother” before carrying about her duties.

Isolde would wait for Sigyn, not going to fetch her herself. She was in no hurry, and when Sigyn was ready, she’d find her mother sewing beads on what appeared to be a new garment.

Isolde smiled when Sigyn came into view. She was priestess, yes, the so-called ‘governor of Cambria’, but there was truly no title more honorable than that of ‘mother’. When Sigyn leaned in to kiss her, she reached up and lay a hand against her cheek before beckoning her to sit beside her.

“Did you see anything in your walk to the spirit world?” Isolde’s tone was conversational. Plesant, despite the dark storms that rumbled on the horizon.

Restless indeed. Isolde trusted her daughter’s intuition just as much as she trusted her own. Just like Sigyn, Isolde was convinced of the righteousness of their path. But that didn’t mean it was going to be one easily trod.

At the mention of Kelder, Isolde’s face changed. Unmasked sorrow and disappointment passed like a shadow before her features were placid once more. “She came to see me,” Isolde answered, “Your sister has been led far astray. I fear beyond the point of return.”

Isolde was quiet for a moment before taking Sigyn’s hand. She turned it over in her own, tracing the lines of her palm, looking at it as if it were a sacred tome that held many holy secrets. As she continued to look, she asked in a quiet voice.

“For every joy there is sorrow; for every burst of ecstasy, a stab of pain. This is the nature of the All-Mother’s holy chaos. Why is it that we fight suffering when we know that from it we will find contentment and peace?”

Isolde continued to run her fingers over and over the lines in Sigyn's hand as if it were itself a form of prayer.

“Your sister’s selfishness must be balanced with sacrifice. And there is only one sacrifice great enough to restore the holy order."