The sun rose on the morning after the celebrations, with the rest of Creation unaware of perhaps just how different the world was today. But for those within War Manse 13, the change in the air was palpable. Invitations went out to the senior members of the Manse and to Ramalan and his crew, summoning all of them to a council meeting.<br/><br/>As each arrived, they would find Umari sitting at the conference table, a handful of books, scrolls and written reports surrounding him, with light refreshments on a table against the far wall. When everyone was properly seated, he raised his own glass and offered a simple toast to one and all there. "To the future, and what we will make of it."<br/><br/>After a short prayer to the Unconquered Sun, he took a moment to look around the table, silently meeting the gaze of every other individual there. "My friends ... I have been going through logs and reports, reading the words of our predecessors and working out what our next steps should be. We have a number of opportunities before us, each valuable in its own way to our long term goals. I would set these before you, and ask for your thoughts on them."<br/><br/>"Firstly, as I am sure you all know, the tools of our ancestors, while wrought of unsurpassed skill, are not eternal. They age, they wear out and they fail. The stocks of spare parts that we once had are centuries gone, and as a result, many of our systems lie dormant. While we have not heard from any other War Manse in the network in centuries, some did survive as we did, for a time at least. I believe that some of them may yet have bounty to share with us, machines that we could salvage to repair our own. There are two manses nearby .. though that is a relative term. War Manse 14 kept communications open for about two centuries after the Usurpation, then abruptly fell quiet. War Manse 11 we believe fell during the Usurpation. This was the final transmission our records contain, though parts of it were unintelligible."<br/><br/>"We cannot get out. We cannot get out. They have taken the bridge and Second Hall.  ... fell there bravely while the rest retreated to Ma ... We still hold the chamber but hope is fading now. ... went five days ago but today only four returned. The water is up to the wall at West-gate. The ... took ... we cannot get ... The end comes soon. We hear drums. They are coming"<br/><br/>He set the sheet down and looked around the table before speaking again. "Anyone who was there is long gone, but what they left behind may yet be of use to us."<br/><br/>Picking up another sheet, he spoke again. "Our records show that there was a large Sea Folk settlement about a thousand miles north east of us. If they yet survive, they would make valuable allies, could we convince them to join us here. In the First Age they were a part of the Deliberative. If they remember, perhaps they can be again. Reaching them underwater would prove a challenge though."