First Month of Winter

Third Era, Year 327

Less than a year later, just before the change of the year and in the cold depths of winter, King Leigh died of an illness that the healers were powerless to cure.

Ardan was there beside Caol during the funeral and Caol's coronation, acting his role of court sorcerer in the public eye. In private, he eased Caol's distress as best he could, however he was needed. Sometimes that simply involved sitting through a ranting tirade against the elder members of the court for hours. He didn't add his own opinions to the conversation, just agreed with whatever Caol said to ease his frustrations.

In truth, Ardan was frustrated himself. As expected, Caol used their relationship to argue against choosing a wife. He seemed overly offended that Ardan was willing to share his attention with anyone, especially a woman. It wasn't that Ardan wanted to share Caol's attentions, he just knew that it was necessary. He certainly couldn't bear Caol an heir.