A shiver ran up Lunise's spine at how swiftly Inelwen started dropping pretences. Lunise fell back to her practiced ways, keeping calm, collected, and present. She weaved her fingers together on her lap and gave Inelwen a stare that at once was too blank to be threatening and too focussed to relax under its gaze.

Lunise turned calmly to Nytala with the same look. It was enough to tell her she did not intend to lose her temper as she had the last time she was taken out of time.

Lunise's voice took on a low cooing. "Inelwen, your politeness has been appreciated. I understand the expectations you had of me may have been different, though I fear our frustration may be mutual. You wish to bring Meesei into the Order, yet you do not trust her sense of rationality to follow your desires. You recognise her skills and knowledge, yet you conduct yourselves as if her soul has no chance outside of the order. However, what confounds me to no end is that you have excluded Meesei from the conversation over her own soul as if I have any means of convincing her to change her mind. The truth is, I am not the only one she will be abandoning should she take up your offer. If you wish to pursue this strategy of insisting to all she loves and is loved by to let her go, you will need to invite many more people to Artaeum to plead that Meesei stays. You would know that if you knew her." She narrowed her eyes. "And, on that note, while I can understand my mother's familiarity, I know nothing about your interest in Meesei..." She panned her eyes around the table. "Nor yours, Taryenar, nor you, Marcaano, and nor you, Zyausak. By the sounds of it, the council appears reluctant about this matter. But why are you all [i]really[/i] here?"