Edmund, for his part, looked mildly crestfallen at the news - certainly, he didn't seem terribly thrilled at the notion of ruling and managing this place. In truth, what he yearned for was adventure, to test his blade against demons and their cults - or, at least, against bandits. This... well.<br/><br/>"Before any of you accept... I should make one thing absolutely clear to all of you. Whatever you're thinking of now, whatever you want to make of this place, if you<em>do</em>make something of this place, then you had best be ready to struggle to keep it." Edmund's gaze swept across the others, gauging them with a critical eye. "We are each and every one of us, so far as any noble is concerned 'illegitimate'. All of us.<br/><br/>"Making this place worth having will make it a place worth<em>taking</em>. The instant they see value in this place, the instant they see worth, they will snatch it, no matter what any will says. So before any of you accept this, I want you to ask yourself if you're ready to struggle. If you aren't, you're the weak link. And those of us who stay can't afford any weak links. Those who stay need to be able to present a united front to outside influences, need to be able to project strength." The rest of them hardly looked like the sorts who knew anything about nobles - or about how nobles might treat them. Better he disillusion them now.  He'd never been treated any better than a bastard by any noble house or family other than his own. They wouldn't be, either - and if they were, it would just be for the sake of some cruel jape.<br/><br/>His piece on the matter said, Edmund turned to Crassus. "The Blight. It was in him since the war, then. He must have had it when he sired those of us with his blood." He let that thought hang in the air. How much was known about the Blight? What chances were there that it might have passed to any of them? What chances were there that any day now, any of them that carried the blood of Gaius Talonius might meet the same fate?