The bedroom of Der Kaizer is rarely the focus of the entire nation. Affairs of state are conducted in the parliament houses, and other affairs are never mentionned, if they occur at all. However, recently what happens behind those lavish doors has been on the minds of all the citizens, for a very grave reason. The much beloved Kaizer Heinrich von Oalanstein has fallen suddenly ill.

His personal physicians are at a loss to explain it. Kaizer Heinrich, while no longer the hearty stag of his youth, was still a formidable man with decades still ahead of him. So surprise and shock followed the news that the 'Unyielding Hart' lay dying. The most surprised of all, and still, are the medical experts trying to cure him. They have temporarily retired for discussion, leaving a mage from the college, and a healer from the monastary to watch Kaizer Heinrich as he sleeps. Their instructions are simple, call for assistance if his condition changes, and do not attempt any treatments.

A crow with just a few touches of white to his feathers waddles across the floor, dressed in white linens embroidered with a stylized star, marking him as a member of the Celestial Order. He stifles his own voice and the Korv tendency to caw for often no reason in particular, casting worried glances at the ailing Kaizer, and just as many in the direction of the Cervani mage.

Kaizer Heinrich lies on his bed, asleep, the covers draped carefully over him. He has changed greatly over the past few days, from a beefy stag, to a sunken hollow one. His once clear mind has given way to fits of raving and delirium, and sleep seems the only time that he is peaceful now. His breathing is slow, and there is no movement under his eyelids, a dreamless sleep.

The crow makes a sign of the Star with his wing-claw in the air in front of him, and bows his head, softly cawing prayers for healing as he clasps his gnarled claws together.

Standing with the bed between herself and the Korvs, a tan Cervanii life mage in the robes of the College Esoterica looks down at the ailing kaizer. She also passes suspicious looks at the crow. Finally her frustration overcomes her, "This is pointless, anyone with eyes can see this is unnatural. They should allow me to do a proper examination. I may be a member of the college, but I'm still a loyal Chronotopian."

The crow hisses, "Unnatural? *KAW!* Accursed magic at work, possibly. Or maybe poison. How can I know by just looking at him?" The bird grumps, his feathers ruffling. "The way he looks now, the only thing that would give us reason to call for help … would be if he's already dead."

The crow furrows his brow at how un-profound his own statement sounds to him, and just waddles across the room again, refusing to think more on it. Or, at least, not wanting to.

"Well, I AM a life mage, if magic was at work, I'd be able to easily detect with a simple ritual." The doe fumes, "It's not as if poking him is helping any. I don't like standing by watching him just expire like this. I've got to try something."

The crow looks to the Kaizer, then back at the Cervani mage. "Are you willing to give your life for an attempt at a diagnosis, which Herr Kaizer's most trusted doctors may not even listen to?"

The Cervani stares back, "Some of those trusted doctors haven't practiced real medicine in years, and you know that as well as I do. They're much vaunted Ministers of Health, or Heads of the Medical Hall, or other people who haven't had a patient in recent memory, but have the political clout to be here. I'm a healer, just like you, I'm supposed to stand here and watch? When I know I can do something?"

The edges of the crow's beak turn into a frown. "No. I am torn apart inside as well. But, yes, we are loyal citizens of Chronotopia, and loyal to the Kaizer. But the Kaizer has seen fit to trust those whom he will, and appoint as he may. It is no small matter for us to put ourselves above his judgement."

The crow monk waddles closer to the bed. "Even so … I would give my life for the sake of Herr Kaizer. Now is a troubled time. How will we prevail without his guidance?"

Kaizer Heinrich exhales heavily, his eyes starting to move under his eyelids, but otherwise makes no movement. Whatever disease has stricken him has taken dire toll. His hide has turned patchy, and the white blaze on his chest has faded to a yellow gray.

Brother Salvatori makes a pained and quiet caw, looking away. "They should hang for their incompetence. What do you propose, Frauline Talia?"

The doe continues to stare at the stricken man. "I propose a simple divination. A short ritual, just one to detect if there are any external magical influences. Then I would know for sure if a mundane cure had a hope of working, or if more stronger alternatives would be needed." Talia looks up and gazes at Salvatori, "If you truly are willing to die for der Kaizer, then you'd be willing to allow me that much."

The crow bows his head. "You know my Order does not trust magic, but if there is magic causing him illness, then it is only right to use the powers available to negate it. I will watch the door."

Salvatori waddles over toward the Kaizer, whispering, "Forgive us, Herr Kaizer. May you regain your health and lead us once more, in our time of need." He glances back to the mage, then works toward the room's entrance, to try to be ready to hold off anyone who might blunder in during the ceremony.

Mage Talia nods and starts making her preparations. Very lengthy preparations for even this simple ritual will take some time. She leaves just one sheet covering Kaizer Heinrich. She sets up a censer, and some candles, and starts to scribe symbols on pieces of paper which she places around the Kaizer's body. The doe looks up, "I will need to light these, I should open the window so the smoke doesn't linger."

If the crow had a nose to wrinkle, he would wrinkle it. His feathers ruffle at the sight of the preparations. Even though the Celestial Order has some monks of its number who study magic – all the better to fight it – he cannot stand even that sort of an association with what he considers the forces of chaos and entropy.

The crow caws, "If you let smoke out the window, they will come to investigate."

"Then I will just hope it will not smell very different from the candles that presently burn." Talia says, turning back from the windows she was about to open, letting the curtain fall back, but not before a shaft of sunlight leaks through. She returns to the bed, "This may take some time, are you sure you don't hear anything?"

The crow blinks at the ray of sunlight, but says nothing. What is another bad omen among so many? "I hear nothing."

The life mage starts her slow chanting, igniting the censure and the candles in an odd order. With her hands she passes a number of items over the Kaizer's body, and adds more symbols to the paper surrounding him. Her ritual progresses.

The clocks on the bed faithfully tick away the minutes, one, two, five. Talia's efforts show no results, it's hard even to tell if she is close to finishing, or still starting. The kaizer moves again in his sleep, hands fluttering under the sheets, disturbing one of the pieces of paper which falls to the floor.

The crow monk lowers his head in a distrusting sulk, deliberately focusing his attention on whomever might be approaching outside.

The crow's attention is distracted, however, by the fluttering piece of paper. He glances angrily toward the mage, gauging her reaction. Spells and their many disruptions…

Talia doesn't seem concerned with the piece of paper, or perhaps she hasn't noticed it. She continues to move around the bed, waving different items over Kaizer Heinrich, and making more markings with the coloured chalk. A few more minutes pass, and she adds something to the censer. The smoke turns an odd green colour, and instead of rising to the ceiling, splits into tendrils that seek out the pieces of paper.

The crow just watches. You never interrupt a mage. His brow furrows. He whispers under his breath, "If, mage, you have jeopardized der Kaizer's life by putting one of your little tokens in his reach, we will both hang for your idiocy."

Another paper sigil slides on the bed, away from the Kaizer's body, as a whisp of smoke follows after it. The motion catches the mage's attention, and white shows around the edges of her eyes. "No… " She breathes, reaching for the errant paper.

The crow's eyes squint. He makes the sign of the Star in the air in front of him, fervently praying for the soul of the Kaizer, his claw-hand trembling as he does so.

The doe snatches across the bed, grabbing the chalked sign. As her hand closes around it, the other pieces of paper start to flutter. Blown as if by a small breeze, they start to rise from the bed. One of the poster clocks stops ticking. Talia freezes.

The crow's praying comes more loudly. He has no magic to call upon, no powers within, only desperate hope that the Star will shine upon them and drive away the destructive powers of magic and chaos before it is too late.

"This is… this is… " She doesn't say any more, and extinguishes a candle by grabbing the wick, then another, rushing around the bed, putting all of them out. The Kaizer starts to stir, his eyes snapping open, focused on something far beyond the pieces of paper swirling above him.

The crow KAWs loudly, rushing to the bedside, since the spell is obviously over … or at least, anything intended in its power. "Herr Kaizer!" He involuntarily glances up, as if expecting to actually see whatever delusion the Kaizer might be having.

Whatever the Kaizer is focused on is not visible to the Korv. All he sees is the whirling sheets going round and round above the bed. The stag has taken no notice of him, his gaze focused past the ceiling. Talia tries to grab the the papers from their orbits.

The crow looks to the Cervani, then figures that maybe getting the papers down is a good thing. He jumps away from the bed, then caws involuntarily as he leaps into the air, wings fluttering, snapping with his beak at the papers and batting with his claws and wings.

"This shouldn't be happening, This shouldn't be happening," Talia says as a quiet mantra, grabbing more of the sheets. Salvatori is successful in his attempts as well, feeling an odd curious pull with each one he grabs, that suddenly releases. The Kaizer's hands shoot out, and clutch the mage's wrist.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO! I WILL NOT SUCCUMB!" The Kaizer screams, his eyes bulging as his body arches from the force of his bellow.

The crow lands, scrawking, "Get a Dispeller! A Banisher! HURRY!"

"Kaizer Heinrich, Kaizer Heinrich," the mage repeats, trying to wrest her hand from his grasp. The stag hangs onto her as if she was life itself, and she cannot release him. "This wasn't supposed to happen." She stares directly at Salvatori, "This wasn't supposed to happen!"

The crow glowers back to the mage, then digs into his pouches, desperately throwing together a sedative so that the stag doesn't kill himself in his seizures.

"AHHHHHHHHHH!" The Kaizer yells, dragging Talia down to the bed, with a strength not seen in many days. "SPIRITS! ASSASSINS!" His gaze is still focused on something beyond this room.

The door bursts open, one of Herr Kaizer's personal physicians rushing in. "By Bosch! What are you doing?! Away from him!" The other doctors can be heard running in the hallway.

The crow backs away as the physicians take over. He prays fervently that they aren't as incompetent as he believes them to be.

Talia whimpers, trying to free her hand from the Kaizer's grasp. The other doctors appear in the doorway. "He's going into seizure!" "Quick!" and "Fetch a guard!" They rush and cluster around the bed.

Talia sobs on the bed, still held tightly. "Get her out of here, get him out of here!" one of the doctors orders the guard who swiftly arrives. He gives a simple come-along gesture to Salvatori, seeing that the Cervani is still trapped with the doctors.

The crow bows his head, praying, "… forgive me, that I should ever trust a mage." Then he looks up and follows the guard, doing his best to hold his beak up and accept his fate.

The guard takes Salvatori outside, closing the door behind him. In the hallway he gives the crow a solemn and concerned look, "What happened in there, what is wrong with der Kaizer?" His voice full of worry, and not hostility.

The crow lifts his beak, cawing, "I accept full responsibility for this. The mage is simply a misguided incompetent who worried about Herr Kaizer." He pauses, then adds, "But this was more than just some mishap. Something is in there. Please … have someone fetch a Dispeller. Fetch them all!"

The guard hesitates, seeing no other join him to take the prisoner, "Come then!" He grabs the the Korv's wing and drags him along as he rushes through the palace. The Dispellers are alerted, go to their Kaizer's aid. Salvatori is taken to the guard barracks at the palace, where he can be watched, while events unfold behind the closed door.

The clocks tick the minutes. The first guard still watches the crow, as Salvatori prays, and conducts his rituals. Occasionally he interrupts to ask, "Can der Kaizer be cured?" and "What ails him?" overcome by the worry and lack of information that he shares with the other citizens. He is not answered, at least by Korvs. His answers arrive with the captain of the guard, who enters with the evening sun shining behind him. "Kaizer Heinrich has died."

Salvatori's beak falls agape. His body starts shaking and he makes a strangled cawing noise in the Korv equivalent of sobbing as he hides his beak under one wing.

The guard gasps and stares at his captain.

"His personal physicians could not stop his seizures," the captain says. His voice has a forced monotone to it, as if any expression would open the gates of his emotions and overwhelm him. "He was conscious to the end, raving and screaming madly. The doctors tried everything, but it did not help."

The crow's head drops. He hasn't the strength to ask – or hear – anymore … but he still settles down a bit, and chokes out, "By what cause did he die?"

"They did not tell me that. The mage was taken away for questioning for her deeds. She claimed all responsibility. You may be required to give a statement, but the doctors have not asked for your arrest." He pauses, looking at Salvatori. "The Kaizer held onto her until the last."

The crow looks back up. "What will happen to her?" He blinks in disbelief at the mage accepting all the blame.

"She'll be questioned, possibly interrogated. The doctors want a full explanation of what she did. The kaizer was screaming about assassins, but also demons and spirits. It was… disturbing… to see him so. I cannot judge her guilt of things." He pauses again, some feeling seeming to be welling up inside him. "The doctors ordered us to remove her, after they had exhausted their treatments. They will say how the Kaizer's grasp could not be broken until he died."

The crow nods. "It was Bosch. I know it. Somehow, the Overlords have reached out and taken our Kaizer with their wretched magic. The mountains are not holding them in."

The captain just stares, "But it was I who released her, and I know that I did not feel the life leave him until after I pulled her free."

The crow gulps, mind reeling, trying to grasp at what little he knows of magic. "The life left him … Could she have been holding him with her life-force? Or … " He blinks, going through a myriad of possible answers, all fumbling theories without any magical knowledge to add any sense to them. "I hate magic," he hisses.

"Only then did his arm and grip go limp, and then the doctors pronounced his death." The captain finishes, "I do not think she is guilty, I do not know what she was doing, or how. It is not for me to decide. You are free to go, you will be sent for in a few days."

The crow bows his head. "I will be ready when I am called." With that he turns away, gulping again at the weight of this realization. The Kaizer. Dead. And due to his own failure. The air feels heavy upon his wings, and he is not sure whether his last statement will be as true as he says.