The last time he had laid eyes upon the bay stallion, Karat was being returned home.  A follower of the brotherhood had swept his sister away in a moment of childish passion.  He believes that they had both learned their lessons and so he never spoke a word of it to Karat.  Though she had always been different since her return.

Brennen is the last horse he had expected to see here in Tephra.  Perhaps it was a courtesy call, or word had gotten to the island of a leadership change.  Either way it did not matter to him.  He would welcome the bay politely and inquire of his journey.

The iron horse arrives in a timely manner.  Settling before the winged equine with a simple nod of his head, "Brennen.  And to what do I owe the pleasure?" Emerald ears tilt forwards in anticipation of a spiel.  The bay had never been known to be short of words...

As he had known, the bay was not short of words or information.  Krom settles into the space he occupied, to listen attentively to all that is said by the Ischian King.  His only movements no more than a flicker of ear or twitch of muscle.

His emerald gaze does not leave the bay, but behind the glass his brain works quickly to decipher the messages within the speech.  He finds it odd how quickly ranks have changed since he too met with Arthas, or perhaps the stallion had been playing him the entire time.  He would reserve judgement on the matter and engage in what was at hand.

When Brennen finishes with an inquiry of his plans, Krom mulls it over with an adjustment of his posture before speaking, "It seems only yesterday that I too had met Arthas... Though he introduced himself as champion of Loess.  How quickly ambitions change."  His gaze focuses more strongly on the bay as he addresses the question asked, "I will do what is best for Tephra.  I wouldn't say from first impressions, that Arthas is a murder, especially of children... But his comrade, Vulgaris, did suggest I give up a child of Tephra as a sign of my proposed peace between our lands.  Of course I denied them and sent them on their way." A twist of his emerald ear brings his crown to turn and look to the lands, "I do not want them as enemies, but I will not separate families to establish a simple concept of armistice.  If they wish to cause a war I will not hesitate to bring one to them, but I prefer that as last resort." He thinks of his mother, of the children Brennen has lost, of his own family and their safety, of his home and its people.  His gaze return to Brennens again, "I am sorry for your loss Brennen, and if I shall find out who murdered your children I will be sure to inform you.  I am unsure I can trust a kingdom for hire, which Loess claims to be, to have good intentions and Sylva has a long history of wrongdoings, no doubt.  If they should be working together, your war may still come.  I do not want rivals nor will I fight someone else's battles, but if they should threaten Tephra and its people in any way, again, I will join the cause to end atrocity."  

He quiets, awaiting what is to be Brennens response...

He cannot imagine the emotions of loss Brennen must live with each day without his children.  Krom has no children of his own but his siblings are everything to him -even the ones he does not find within these lands.  A single day without his twin sister is unimaginable, they are but two halves to a whole and would not be complete without the other.

His wait is short, as Brennen begins again.  A twist of emerald ears shows he is listening, even as his gaze strays to imagine war in Beqanna.  Why there could not be peace amongst them was unfathomable to Krom, but he assumes boredom is to partially blame. Greed the other.

His attention returns fully to the bay stallion as he ends with a fair question.  Krom responds with a knowing answer but uncertain it can truly exist here, "I wish for Tephra to remain neutral from the politics of Beqanna, but as Arthas has mentioned, it is a foreign concept for the lands."  His head turns in thought with a slight chuckle, "In fact, I can guess who will come knocking upon our door first.  If Sylva is now ruled by Arthas, it won't be long before my denial of their offer will become forced." He thinks of the look on the greys faces when he had refused them and their kingdom. "War is violent, but in the name of the ones I protect, I won't give it a second thought. I protect Tephra and everyone who calls it home, so if they wish to meddle where they don't belong, I will fight for Tephra until my last breath."  His tone ends strong, the iron horse wasn't negotiating his family or home to tyrants and he'd die protecting them.  "I would imagine Tephras people would do the same, but I would not force them to fight -if the drums of war should sound on our time here."

He focus recenters on the King of Ischia and remembers a time when he was an heir to that kingdom.  He had been young then and wasn't in the position to fight for their island home.  It seems only yesterday they had left the sandy beaches in exile.  He thinks of all he had lost, but how much more he had gained since that day.  A smile breaks the plane of his flattened lips, "I do hope Brennen, that we can put our pasts behind us.  I hold no hard feelings for our histories shared." The reconciled moment gives way to a more somber subject matter, "Though we have not heard from our father since he was to challenge for Tephra over a year ago, I believe you to be an honest man and would have said if you knew of his whereabouts..." He pauses breifly in hopes that they can look out for one another, "If you hear anything would you let us know?"