did in fact write something from the prequel timeline I've been trying to focus on, full text and content warnings below the cut
At such a late hour as this, the corridors of Nar-thelyr were still and empty — now, more than ever. The war-council session had concluded just three days prior, and the councillors and generals that only had seasonal appointments in the fortress had left with their convoys. The few year-round inhabitants were shuttered into their rooms to keep out the chill wind that drove against the mountainside: asleep, if they were wise or perhaps lulled by the drumming of sleet outside, or awake poring over notes or records, if he knew them as well as he suspected.
For his part, Idhren wanted nothing more than to do the same. The sudden storm and the icy winds brought with it had set his knee aching and turned his hands clumsy and trembling, and there was work to be done that would be almost bearable with the warmth of a fireplace and a cup of tea. But Tathran had knocked on his door not ten minutes ago, austere and businesslike as ever.
“The Warmaster is not himself,” he had said, expressionless but for the grim set of his mouth. “He refused to take his evening meal. He has been drinking again. I imagine the cold pains him terribly, but he is refusing to let me enter his rooms to tend to him. I thought, perhaps, your presence might ease his distress…?”
Idhren had bitten back a curse as he got to his feet, limping a few steps as his knee acclimated itself to use once again.
