Someone had set up a makeshift hospital at the South side of the Keep? Good thinking, that was for sure. From his vantage point high in the sky, Aelious had a good view of everything that had developed during the last couple of minutes, and, after taking another moment to recenter his priorities, the wyvern-riding Heir was swooping down again, Freecloud gliding towards the hospital. Gusts of wind scattered dust and gravel as he landed amongst the commoners, golden eye burning bright. A couple of them looked shocked at first, but a warm smile was enough to transform that expression to relief, before the Aureolin Heir strolled up to the few that looked as if they were tasked with the care of many.

[b]“What do you need right now, ma’am?” [/b]he asked the closest nurse.

She let out an ‘eep’. Even with Harrow’s Keep as it was, even with the knowledge that representatives of all Houses would be in the town, speaking to one face to face still looked to be a surprise. The woman paused, then immediately bowed. “Lord Aureolin, it’s a p-”

[b]“What do you need right now?”[/b] Aelious repeated. [b]“And I’m only an Heir, so no need for the formalities.”

“Ah, but y-”

“What do you need?”[/b]

The woman shut her mouth, looked around, and said quickly, [b]“Water, lots of water. And then medical supplies. We don’t have enough for proper shelter too, but, wait, no, we need beds for the injured to recover in. Food. Warmth. And, uh…more helpers.”[/b]

Aelious licked his lips. [b]“I can offer everything except medical supplies. Hang tight, I’ll be back.”[/b]

A flick of his cloak, a whistle towards his wyvern, and they were in the air again, flying off.
[hr]
Wyverns were smart and wyverns were strong. With opposable claws and the ability to understand the human language, they were more than a replacement for a team of men if one knew how to command them effectively. And who else but Aelious could do so? There had been two dozen wyverns within the pits when that flash of light had segregated Harrow’s Keep from the rest of the world, and now, the Aureolin Heir put them all to good work. Half of them shot through the skies to deliver critically-injured individuals to the makeshift hospital space, while another six worked to bring urgently-needed individuals to that same area, air-lifting those with medical training, or those with a water gate, to put their talents to good use. What wyverns remained carried foodstuffs and cooking ware over to the same hospital area, which had transformed, in due time, to more of a general shelter.

Aelious himself supervised the distribution of food and resources, as well as negotiated with what merchants remained to purchase what goods they had for the consumption of the group. He probably could have stabbed some of the greedier ones and came out better for it, but, alas, that’d just be trouble in the future. The Heir could use his privileges in other ways, after all, such as organizing groups of able-bodied folks to clear out more open spaces, to create more makeshift bedding out of straw, cloth, and whatever else was at hand, and to generally make sure this whole place didn’t fall into disorder and madness.

…

Harrow’s Tower was still rumbling, still shaking. He had seen portions of it explode.

By the stonging Tomes, if it was the nobles who started this shit…