The old fortress was drafty, cold, and uncomfortable. She loved it dearly. It was crumbling apart in some places, so dodging debris was in her day to day. Occasionally, when the sky was too cloudy to see the stars, she tried to clean up. But summer nights led to clear skies more often than not, so she had clambered up a pair of dilapidated stairs, taking great care to avoid the spots where the stone was wearing thin, until she pushed out onto one of the walls through a door that had long broken from its hinges. She didn’t recognize the banners that fluttered in the mountain wind, but it was a comfort nonetheless. A reminder.
She needed to work on her star map. But it was nice to just watch them for a while, up high on a curtain wall. And Steren could just breathe, and listen to the gentle hum of the night.