Topic of the Month: The Return of Volospin Aendyr
An Interview with the Long Lost Prince of Blackhill
By Beatriz Dominatore of the Paparazzi Glantri
Beatriz: The first and foremost question on everybody's mind, Prince Volospin, is what happened during the crash of the Great Meteor in AC 1006?
Volospin: I must admit, signorina, that to this day I am not entirely sure. Until perhaps the last few moments I was very much unaware of the true nature of the incidents and the ultimate danger behind them. I remember it was a cloudy day, and there was a bright, blazing light in the sky. At first, it seemed like the sun shining through the clouds. I remember asking the diviners and weather mages to study it, fearing it might be some form of aerial magic sent by the Alphatians. By the time the meteor finally came out of the clouds, it was too late.
Beatriz: How did you survive?
Volospin: A contingency spell cast me into the Elemental Plane of Air at the very last moment. I had also cast a similar spell on my wife Serena and my daughter Thylera, but apparently the spell had not worked in time.
Beatriz: And what happened in the Plane of Air?
Volospin: I was unconscious for a time, and I woke up finding myself floating in an endless blue sky. Once I gained my bearings I tried to locate my secret safe house in the plane, but instead was captured by the elemental ruler.
Beatriz: Was he an enemy of yours?
Volospin: Not formally, but the Elemental Rulers of Air have long feared that we Alphatian air wizards would one day take over their domain. They are particularly wary of us Aendyrs, since my mother Lady Thendara Aendyr had once defeated the elemental ruler in a duel in his own plane.
Beatriz: So, do I understand it correctly, Prince Volospin, that all this time you were a prisoner in the Plane of Air?
Volospin: That is true, but you must understand, signorina, the principle of planar magic that time runs differently between the planes. The elemental ruler had imprisoned me in an area of elemental vacuum, devoid of all energy and nearly all magic, where time ran very slowly. It took me a few days to escape my incarceration, and less than a week to work a magical passage back to Glantri. But upon my return, I realised that more than a decade had passed in the Prime Plane!
Beatriz: The rumours are that you returned to your own magical studio in Castle Silverston and found yourself amidst the humanoid denizens of Prince Kol, who had established the Principality of New Kolland in the Great Crater created by the Great Meteor.
Volospin: The rumours are true indeed. I must admit that I was initially horrified by the devastation of my home, and further appalled of those goblins and orcs that had overrun Blackhill!
Beatriz: Si, even I have yet to get used to New Kollanders as Glantrians. But tell us, Prince Volospin, how did you find your way to Glantri City?
Volospin: It soon became apparent to me that all my Alphatian allies were gone, even my own family, since I had not seen them in the Plane of Air. My only recourse was to find refuge in the capital, where I had my city apartments, as well as my private chambers at the Great School of Magic. I travelled in disguise, trying not to be recognised, but also trying to learn about the changes in Glantri.
Beatriz: But, if you will forgive me, signor principe, you were recognised quite a number of times. The reports of your sighting sparked numerous rumours here in Glantri City for an entire year!
Volospin: Yes, but it was because of those sightings that Lathan was able to search for me and find me at last. It was by mere happenstance that my dear son Lathan was at the Great School of Magic during the Great Meteor crash!
Beatriz: What can you say about your new family member, Princess Dolores Hillsbury?
Volospin: I must say I was surprised that she even existed! I had lost my wife and my daughter, my entire principality. It was miracle that my son Lathan was alive, and now, a new daughter from a woman I had loved was not only here, but had risen to take my place among the princes of Glantri!
Beatriz: So you admit to the affair between you and Duchess Margaret Hillsbury?
Volospin: You must understand, signorina, in the past, I had my marriage to consider and the reputation of my dear wife Serena to protect. Serena was a loving, generous mother, and as capable and formidable as an ally for any wizard-prince in Glantri, but the love and passion between us was simply not there. I respected and cared for Serena, but my heart belonged to Margaret. And my dear daughter Dolores undeniably reminds me of her.
Beatriz: Bene, Principe Volospin, let us now turn to politics. The Glantrian public had not yet recovered from the shock of your return, when you were to shock the Glantrians again with the bold proposals at the parliament. If I may, you proposed a solution to the Alexander Day massacre issue by agreeing to the demands of reparation from the Temple of Valerias?
Volospin: I am merely doing my bit to serve the principalities, signorina. Remember, I was once the chancellor of the princes. When the present chancellor, Prince Urmahid Krinagar, had learned of my return, he had approached me to ask my expert advice on diplomatic and ambassadorial relations. It was our plan that for my proposals to be even considered I myself should present them before the House of Lords.
Beatriz: And should we expect your return into politics?
Volospin: Not on a very public level, signorina, as I will be acting as adviser to my daughter Dolores and will be looking after the interests of House Aendyr-Hillsbury.
Beatriz: Ah! That is the first time I have heard the name of the noble house revised!
Volospin: Princess Dolores after all is my daughter and the bearer of the
Aendyr legacy. But she is also her
mother's daughter, and in memory of the late Duchess Margaret Hillsbury, she
must keep that name. My daughter has
the weight of the world on her shoulders, and clearly needs the support and guidance
of the father she never had.