Eitri Pett, 23 years old, is a sturdy wheelwright’s son born and raised in the East Redding Village of Tagahir. His older sister, Rauhi, died when he was only 3; he only vaguely remembers her, and is vaguely uneasy that any and all questions about that loss were brushed aside, with assurances that the local god, Varaz, had honored them with his sister, but had chosen to take her away for his own, inscrutable reasons.

Eitri met and fell in love with Amalia Arnaud during a visit to a festival in her own distant East Redding town. Uneasy around the somewhat mercantile, and ethically questionable Arnauds, Eitri convinced her to move with him to Tagahir, to raise a family in his close-knit community. Nearly a year ago, he and Amalia rejoiced at the birth of twin sons, Cadell and Penn.

Nearly a year later, however, Eitri has learned what actually happened to his sister Rauhi.

DM’s Note: Portrait is a detail from Tiziano Vicellio’s (or Titian’s) “Man With a Glove.”