He sings, very quietly, and otherwise lets Treven think.

"I think we have to approve it," Treven says finally. "We need more information. I - gods - I need to know what's left of the country I'm provisionally ruler of." He closes his eyes. "And - maybe we'll find out we're wrong, maybe whatever it was, Randi got out. I'm not going to assume I'm definitely staying in charge, here. But...I know that's probably wishful thinking." He swallows. "Van, you think you can get scrying to work?" 

"Yes, but it'll ta– oh." He is officially an idiot. "I can't do it from here without inventing a new spell, but there's no reason Starwind or Moondance can't scry Haven from where they are, they've been there before. I'll request they do that too." 

"Thank you." Treven takes a slow deep breath, lets it out. "All right, I think that's our plan, then? Van gets in touch again, we wait a day, we check back for more information and - go from there." 

Are we missing anything obvious, Stef puts out in public thoughts for Macalaurë, rather than saying out loud in front of Treven. 

Doesn't sound like it to me. Will it be helpful if we do the mourning songs, this week -

Yes. Please. 

Nod. 

So the Quendi will all start singing, while they work on making this place habitable. The same song they sing for Tylendel once a year.

Jisa goes back to her room with Treven, and cries while he holds her. Today isn't for accomplishing anything productive. That can be on tomorrow-Jisa. (Also it's not like she has much to do, here. She feels bad about abandoning her patients and hopes someone thought to explain why, she certainly didn't before their hasty departure.) 

Vanyel passes the message, and then sits with Stef for the rest of that day. They talk a little, in between the tears and hugs. Share memories of everyone back in Haven, who's almost certainly gone now. Randi. Shavri. Sandra and Kilchas. Dara. Even Tran, who never quite got over his awkwardness with Vanyel, but did eventually put aside their past disagreements in favour of present friendship. 

Savil. That part hurts the worst. His aunt, but in his heart she always felt closer to a mother than his actual mother by blood. 

...His parents, gods. Forst Reach may or may not be intact, with his siblings and cousins there, but Withen and Treesa were in Haven. 

Treven comes and finds him in the morning. "Have you checked back with them yet?" His eyes are a little red but he's otherwise composed. Jisa is with him, standing close but not touching. 

"Not yet. I just woke up." His sleep was troubled, plagued with nightmares of various possible horrors in the city he used to call home, despite Stef singing sleep songs for him and putting his Bardic Gift into it. "I'll do it now." 

He goes to the Work Room. <Starwind?> 

<The news is not good. I am sorry> A pause, as though Starwind is steeling himself for it. <Haven is in ruins. I did not see any Heralds at all. And - there appears to be an army camped there. Flying a flag I do not know - not Karse but reminiscent of it> He describes it, since the communication-spell doesn't have the bandwidth Mindspeech does, to pass along images directly.

<Iftel> Vanyel sends, flatly. <I - don't understand - we had an alliance with them...> He can analyze that later, though, no point going over it when he's casting a draining spell. <Your scouts?> 

<No particular news yet. Your peasant folk do not know anything. The scouts are looking for the nearest Guard-post but do not know where to search> 

Vanyel can ask for landmarks, guess where they are, and give some directions, and then drop the spell, exhausted. :Stef, find out when Fëanáro is available and call a meeting for everyone again, please. Bad news: 

Fëanáro is available and can head right over.

Vanyel waits until everyone is back in the meeting-room, now somewhat more thoroughly furnished and decorated.

"We sort of know what happened," he says. "The thing I have no idea of is why. It looks like - we got invaded. Haven's in ruins. There's a foreign army in place. Iftel - it's one of our neighbours, but we were allied with them. Queen Elspeth, Randi's grandmother, brokered an alliance, married one of their people." 

Something keeps tickling at his memory, something relevant, but it won't come into the light; the entire thing is so hard to think about. Probably just because he doesn't want to admit that the situation is real. 

"They've got gryphons," he adds. "Those are - a magically created species, Urtho's work before the Cataclysm. I found out about them in his Tower." He remembers the grief he felt, thinking that maybe they'd been wiped out in the Cataclysm. This is kind of the worst possible way to find out that in fact some survived. "Anyway. Conditions seem fine near the border, locals haven't seen any violence. The Tayledras scouts are headed for the nearest military posts around the Border, now that I've given them directions for it. They still haven't made contact with any Heralds." 

Treven just stares at him, lost for words. 

" - it seems implausible that the conquest of a country would happen too fast for anyone to get to the Gate and get you."

"I thought about that. I think - it almost has to be the case that this invasion started with Haven? That's the only way it could've happened fast enough to stop any of our mages getting to the Gate in time. Or maybe the first thing they did was infiltrate a small party to disable the Gate-threshold. Leareth is," was? "the only one over there who could've Gated over unaided, and - it wouldn't be that hard to keep him too busy to. Having done it, I can speak to it taking a lot of concentration." He closes his eyes. "I wouldn't have thought even an entire army could take Leareth down. But if he got out alive, he'd have found a way back here by now." 

"I mean, is it possible he wasn't in Haven?" Jisa offers. "They might've decided to do a diplomatic visit somewhere else." 

"I'd have heard last week if they were planning one. They were talking about doing some day trips just to see Valdemar a bit, but even if they were away from the city when it happened, I'm certain Leareth would've heard that something happened by now. And Gated back here. So...I don't think it can realistically be the case that his, er, current body survived." 

" - it seems like maybe the next group of people to get in touch with is the army that Leareth had assembled for invading Valdemar. Since we might need it after all."

"...I should've thought of that sooner. Right. Hmm. I have met a few of his mage-researchers, I should be able to direct the communication spell to one of them. Although I really need to rest for a bit before I try it, since it'll be kind of a long conversation to explain everything."