Thea had spent her evening rounding up the servants around the Thanasi household to begin the planning and preparation for the banquet welcoming Nethis back from Taengea. Her eldest sister had been away on a business trip for quite some time but her return date had been set for the end of this month via a personal missive. Between composing a menu consisting of everyone's favorite food and briefing their house crew and arranging new decoration both in and outside of the mansion, the morning had proved to be quite taxing on her physique. The second daughter would have pushed for more until a persistent migraine crept up her neck and started spreading up the base of her skull. An increasingly intense throbbing sensation overwhelmed Thea, her slender fingers rubbing at her temples provided little ease to the growing discomfort.

"Lady Thea!, the startling call barely pierced through the ringing in her ears before Thea realized that she had stumbled on her on feet backwards. The maids near the dark-haired maiden yelped out, mouths gaping and feet scurrying to get to her in time. Luckily, a pair of strong hands caught her buckling frame in time to shield her from physically collapsing onto the tiled floor of the Thanasi mansion. "Lady Thea, that is enough for today.. Her dull golden eyes met Ophion's firm ones. Thea furrowed her brows as she disentangled herself from his embrace and quickly got back to a standing position.

Her demeanor leveled as the surface of water during the chilling winter, Thea uttered. "I'm fine." However, white spots danced in her vision again. Closing her eyes for a moment to steady herself, Thea silently cursed her seasonal sickness. Maybe her bodyguard was not baseless, some rest would not hurt anyone. Smoothing her fingertips over the list of tasks she had meticulously detailed, Thea gestured for the appointed butler to take it from her. "Do as the list instructs.", she gave the gray-haired man a stern look before turning on her heels to head for her personal chamber.

Thea's lingered her hands on the mahogany oak doors. Suddenly, callous tanned digits reached past her shoulders, wrapped themselves around the metal handle and pulled them open in one swift motion. Not even looking back, she instinctively recognised the steady presence behind her. Quietly sighing at Ophion's overattentiveness, she just put out a terse order at him. "Watch my doors. Alert me if anything requires my attention." She stepped foot into the vast space of her bedroom, the creaking echoing on her back as the entrance to her resting nest closed shut. Wary legs shortened the gap between Thea and the king-sized bed, her tense back hitting the luxurious silk linens draping over the mattress. Long curvy lashes then fluttered and off to a blissful nothingness she went.

-----------Time Skip-----------

"FIRE! FIRE! Those were the words she woke up to. Thea's brows knitted together, the girl struggled to open her heavy eyelids. At that moment, her groggy mind was still too foggy to process the hectic commotion sounding outside. But with a loud crash, the sleeping beauty was jolted awake. In front of her, breathless and frantic, was the same person she explicitly told to not disturb her if not need be. Thinly-veiled vexation shown on her miffed expression, Thea squinted. "Ophion...

Uncharacteristically of his obedient self, the male bit back. "The city is up in flames, Thea." Even though she was still exhausted out of her wits, the ladyship in question slowly sat up and gathered her cloak at the end of the mattress. If there were something that showed urgency, it would be Ophion addressing her by her name void of any appropriate title. Before she could react, he then rushed to her bed. "We need to evacuate now."

Being the indignant woman she was, before Ophion could attempt to physically grab her, Thea flatly commented while staring up at her companion and raising a hand up in a grouchy manner. "I have functional legs." Ophion let out a defeated sigh and stepped down, knowing full well that it was better to comply. Thea comtemplatively fixed her peplos dress, then wandered over to her closet and picked out an empty satchel. With a laxed manner unbefitting of her circumstances, she slugged said empty satchel on her shoulders before draping the velvet cloak she previously grabbed over her back and slipping into her sandals. "Where's everyone?, she calmly asked while bending down to rummage through the odds and trinkets at the bottom.

"Lord Mihail and Dysius are not on the premise as we are speaking." Ophion answered, his eyes scanning the room to check for anything of value that might be worth salvaging. "Most of the temporarily hired help have fled as soon as the bad news hit, and I have had the long-term servants tie up loose ends before I woke you up.", he continued as he looked around and collected the coin purse spotted laying on the vanity. Thea tossed a mini chest she just fished out into the open bag around her hips and collected a few small ceramic bottles with some clean cloth and gauges from the ground of the walk-in closet. She placed all of them inside the satchel then headed into the living area. Her bodyguard followed her suit, handing her the coin purse, which Thea quickly tied onto her braided belt.

The duo then exited the Thanasi mansion. "I heard vanguards are barracading the lower levels of the city to stop the fire from spreading. Maybe we should head to one of the temples, people are prone to gather there for shelter. Help from the palace will surely secure those places.", Ophion informed Thea as they navigated the chaotic streets of Midas. Screams and shouts echoed from all directions around them to an almost deafening extent. In the distance, the sounds of flames licking onto the infrastructures of the damaged areas and crackling as the materials got scorched to a crisp were evident. Footsteps thundered on stone pavements as people strewn the roads, scampering to safety while calling out to one another to do the same. Brick walls crashed, trees collapsed over. Guttural cries of cattles being left behind to die rang in the air, accompanying them was a sickening smell of burned flesh. Smoke towered into gloomy gray columns in the far horizon, their suffocating slow choke spreading in the air.

"The temple of Apollo is a few streets ahead.", Thea remarked. Several minutes went by as the two of them walked briskly in silent, their eyes fixated on their surroundings as a safety precaution. Amidst the crumbles and chaos, the second Thanasi daughter's mind raced. Where were her siblings at this very moment? Were they unharmed, and if they were, could they reach help in time? Ophion's words once again interrupted her trance. "The temple is a right from the Drakos mansion, isn't it?" His words caused her to blink and reassess their location. They were indeed a dozen feed away from said house. It was a distance, but near enough for them to witness what happened next.

From the doors of the Drakos household, a certain man bolted out, his face painted with dutiful worry. "Is that captain Vasilios?", her male companion wondered aloud. It was indeed Vasilios. What business did he have at this place? Surely the Drakos and Kotas had ties, but his family mainly answered to the latter. And then it clicked. The head of the household, Tythra, must have invited him here for to possibly strike up an alliance of some sort. After all, it was something the old hag was known for. But what could the Drakos and the Vlahakis be up to?

Before Thea could finish her thought, though, the answer to her question came jogging out of the same house, not even a minute after, in the form of one Imeeya of Drakos. Startled by the sudden appearance of the girl, the Thanasi femal pulled Ophion into a corner to conceal themselves, luckily just in time to not be seen. Now, Thea was aware that the daughter of Drakos was active within the court of Colchis. But it was also common knowledge that her mother was the head of the herd, directing everything going on under that roof. For as long as Thea had known the blonde, she had a tendency to seek independence from Tythra as much as she could to establish herself as someone with more substance than semblance. To have Imeeya exit right after Vasilios was too huge of a coincidence to overlook. Imeeya must have been sitting in on the hypothetical meeting with Vasilios, very highly likely under her mother's instruction, because the matter they were dealing with concerned her somehow.

As Thea kept herself hidden behind the brick wall, Ophion sneaked a peek at the subject from whom they were hiding from. Contrary to the thoughtful woman next to him who was engrossed in musing and calculating, the brunette was a rather simple man. Naturally, the childlike guard just blurted out the first thing he observed in a hushed tone. "That is a very pretty dress." Thea arched an eyebrow at his comment. The chiton itself was fairly fetching, which was a step up from Imeeya's usual quaint and plain wardrobe. And it was definitely a fancy attire to be adorned within the confinements of one's own home. So she was trying to make an impression? For what? Courtship was the first thing to pop into Thea's mind. Words had been circulating around the court that Tythra was seeking suitors for her daughter. But Vasilios, a man whose societal standing and power status were all technically underneath Imeeya? That... made perfect sense, actually. Imeeya was never one for using men to get a leg up on her competition anyway. And if she married well, as in wedding someone who was above her in the aforementioned criteria, that would equate to giving up her baroness title. Tythra and Imeeya were too damn smart for that.

Thea would probably have not snapped out of her trance had it not been for the thunderous sound of a tree colliding with the ground about a block or two away from where she was standing. Flinching, she then looked up when she felt Ophion impatiently tug at her cloak. "Thea, the fires are catching up. We shoud get going." Soberly nodding at him, the dark-haired nymph cocked her head to the side and pulled her cloak up to cover her face. "Let's go this way. Put your hood on." Even though it would be a few minutes longer to take that route, she would rather not be spotted by the Drakos. For now, Thea retreated. But not before she made a mental note about the knowledge she had acquired today.

Honestly, why did Mihail ever attempt to help others?

Here he was, a gallant gentleman on horseback, offering his aid to two young ladies who were caught in a fire of all things, a far more courageous move than was ever likely to be seen from the young Thanasi again, and yet he was being rejected. Who was possibly in greater need of his aid than those who were at risk of being consumed by the flames? Those who had already succumbed to the fire were not worth attempting to save, did she not understand that? All those gallant men and soldiers rushing through the city trying to save those who were hopeless or perishing...there was no use in that. Mihail was not the stupid one here.

But 'twas not the time to say such things and, instead of answering the woman to inform her of how stupid he considered her idea, he allowed Evras to handle the situation. His sister had always been able to maintain a level head, even in such a heated situation - pun intended - and he trusted her to handle the woman. Her instructions were simple, her motherly nature shining through, and Mihail nodded as though in acknowledgement, almost making it appear as though he had had a part in coming up with the directions. Sometimes you just had to take credit where none was due if you wanted recognition. "Stay safe," he agreed, an almost pathetic addition to his sister's words but something at least.

And now all of a sudden Evras was given him instructions and Mihail found himself pulling the horse away from where they stood and in the direction of the Upper Levels. Others were handling the fire - such showoffs those men were, rushing about attempting to help people they did not even know, Mihail would have hated to be like them - so he urged the stallion forwards and through the available gaps, no thought on his mind at present but to get the pair of them out of any foreseeable danger. He would not lie: his desire to escape was almost purely selfish, more interested in saving himself quickly and efficiently than any alternative which required stopping to consider others.

It was only lucky that they were not too far from the Upper Levels because it did not take too long before they were a reasonable distance from home, and Mihail was able to slow the horse's gait. "Here, Ev. It's going to be fine. Find Dion."

He could barely hear his brother’s orders over the chaos surrounding them. People were dashing everywhere, screaming and crying in fear as the heat of the flames burned up around them, and Zanon found himself lost in the confusion for a moment before he pushed his way through to Vangelis’ side, gripping his elder brother’s upper arm to keep himself close by. Shaking his head until he turned about, Zan nodded to Yiannis as the order was given for the younger brother to find the youngest still. A frown crossed his face as he caught the humor in Vang’s voice and he tightened his grip as he coughed through the smoke himself.

If nothing else, at least he knew his son and wife were safe. Mihail wasn’t so much of a coward that he would abandon his own sister, and so long as they held on his mount could carry them safely home. Dion was safe with his grandmother, unless a horrible wind from Boreas blew in again there would be little risk of the flames reaching the Kotas palati. He could focus on the city and people of Midas that looked to the princes for guidance and assistance. A half smile crossed his lips as he recognized Philippos through the smoke and gestured around them.

”At least the weather’s nice for it. Though I could do with some rain.”

Turning to his eldest brother, Zanon released his grip and leveled the older man with a more serious gaze. Given the state of things around them he didn’t know how much longer they would last down here, and even having lived in the mines for a month in his youth as all Kotas men did, the air had never felt so thick and heavy and dangerous. It would be time soon to make the call whether or not to abandon those left behind still and how much further they could press. With all four princes in the city, Vangelis was most important to the crown. He’d said it aloud only once in a joking tone, but it was full truth the thought that followed next. He would rather die himself than have any harm come to his brother and have to step into his place instead. There was no desire in him to ever become king, or inflict it upon his son, this was what Vang had been training his entire life for.

”Where to, brother? Forward or back?”

"I've already said - assist others to safety, soldier! Follow instructions!"

Nike's voice was sharp as she addressed the dark-skinned soldier, her eyes flashing with restrained frustration. In the middle of a high stress situation was not a time when she wanted nor needed someone to be asking polite questions, or to be not aware of where their assistance would be most required in immediacy. Nike was a Commander through and through, and she stood for no shortcomings when it came to men, be it under her command or not. In a situation such as this fire, all hands on deck, everyone had to be on their most alert.

When she heard her name, Nike turned, and then a small amount of relief overtook the unbridled frustration when she saw Timaeus. He was young, and last she heard, he had taken over his family's barony upon the death of his brother - responsible, and knowing what was necessary. Nodding curtly, Nike handed over the child she was holding, and waved at the other female following her to follow Timaeus, Nike hurried back down after a curt nod when the baron informed her of the location the woman and the child would be. It was unlikely that the Commander would need to seek for them upon the city's safety being ensured, but if need be, she'll keep the information in mind.

Her ears perked. She wasn't even halfway as near to Vangelis as Philippos and Yiannis were, yet Nike was always alert to her general's command. The sweep was heard clearly by the Commander, and the woman doubled her steps to get there just as the men were being organized into a formation to systematically clear the city as best as they could. They have done the breaks, and did the best they could in culling the fire from spreading. Unless the skies opened up now, there was little else the soldiers could do save getting themselves to safety.

The woman chuckled at her general's comment, looking up as Zanon spoke up, the second prince getting nearer. "Rain would be wonderful now, but no sense in wanting what we can't have." the woman replied, a good-natured grin flashed at the other astride a horse.

Alert to command, Nike took up the left flank of the city, leading the men to comb the streets, assisting anyone they could, and - with a heavy heart - leaving those who would be more burden then be saved at this point. At a later day, when the fires had gone and the day has calmed, Nike would return to mentally apologize and lament internally over the lives they had failed. But for now they had to focus on the living, the ones who could be saved. Everything else would come later.

Silas was reading in his room when the first tremor began. The seemed to climb from the pits of the ground up into his room, shaking the walls. He stayed seated until it seemed over, at least for the moment, and stood up. He was almost certain that this wasn't an earth shake as it felt more like a tunnel collapse in the mine. His eyebrows furrowed in concern as he remembered that there was a possibility of a fire. He couldn't remember the last time one had broken out, but it was better to be safe than sorry. If something had have happened...Silas wasn't sure what he would do with himself. The storm had made life a little more difficult, but to add fire onto that? There would surely spell out devastation for his people.

He'd only be bringing a small dagger to keep himself protected as he wasn't going out for war, he was going to secure the safety of the people. He let out a breath that he didn't know that he was holding when he heard Vangelis called out his name and strode towards the door. If his name had been called then it was sure that his older brothers would be meeting him downstairs as well. With swift movements, he grabbed a jacket on his way out. As he raced out the door, he sidestepped a few slaves who seemed a little worried but not too anxious. He supposed that their expressions boded well for the townsfolk, didn't it?

He headed straight for the courtyard, firm in his opinion that there would be horses waiting. He seemed to get there without delaying anyone and he tugged his jacket on. No words were spared as he pulled himself onto Sterope's back. The stallion was still and quiet, something Silas was grateful for. He nodded sharply at his brothers, watching as Zanon raced off with a frown on his face. He would have added a remark of his own if the worry hadn't been simmering from seeing his brother take off like that. He gave his own horse a nudge and took off after Vangelis and Yiannis. As they got closer, the smoke was clearly visible and Sterope's sure steps slowed down. Silas frowned and urged the horse forward still, his face stern and determined. He tried to ignore the way the smoke seemed to coat his throat with an ashen grip as they charged.

He didn't know where his brothers were going but he automatically followed the eldest. Silas trusted Vangelis more in a time like this, especially with Zanon acting as reckless as he was. He was obvious not sound of mind. Silas rid his thoughts of these things as he made sure that Sterope dodged the people who raced for shelter. The sounds of the horn seemed distorted to the youngest brother. The crackling of the fire nearby being too loud and the smoke had blurred his vision. Breathing became harder as the smoke got thicker and he tried to blink away the tears that formed in the corner of his eyes. He strained to hear his brother as Vangelis ordered him to stay and organise the carts of water. They would be here soon, he was sure of it. Throwing himself off Sterope, he watched as his older brothers thunder away. He gave a strained smile to anyone who passed, telling anyone who would listen that the could take shelter at the castle.

The carriage seemed to take its time arriving, although Silas knew that it had only been a short time. Once they started to unload, he encouraged them to start with the closest flames. There were a few slaves that emerged, and he immediately started delegating them to put out the worst of the flames. There was no need to waste resources on the fires that were burning themselves out, or that were contained. Their first order of business would to get the fires out to stop the fires. The uninjured men and women stopped to help them douse the flames. Silas was careful to not over extend himself as he dragged the buckets to the worst parts of the fire. He didn’t want to tire himself out too quickly, or breath heavily. Already, the smoke was in his lungs, trying to chase out the necessary oxygen. He found himself coughing as he slashed a particularly strong part of the fire. He and the slaves couldn’t get much closer without burning themselves, but they were also liable to miss.

Silas couldn’t see anything through the thickening smoke, but he hoped that someone would be further up dismantling the rooftops. This would make his job so much easier. He turned his attention back to the water, relieved when another carriage arrived. The horses were very nervous, their ears twitching as the screams ran across the streets. He directed the men in the carriage to head a little further down, and he followed. He helped the next lot of men heave the water out of the carriage, trying to be as useful as he could be. Soon, heat near the flames became almost too much. Sweat dripped off his forehead and into his eyes. He couldn't wipe it away because his arms were full, so the salt stung his eyes. He continued forward, his eyes watering all the more as his raspy voice reached the ears of the men nearby. He was telling them to be careful of the fire, to slow down and make sure that they didn't get hurt in the process of putting out the fire.

He was grateful as someone passed him a wet cloth. He took a few shallow breaths through it before focusing himself again. Silas' city needed him, his brothers and his friends. A little sore throat wasn't going to stop him now. He continued to work with the men to make things a little more manageable. He didn't want to consider what the lower levels would look like in the next morning. It certainly wouldn't be good, with a fire of this size. The smoke could also cause damage to all kinds of Kotas' folks. His lungs were already screaming at him to stop- he couldn't imagine what it must be like deeper into the fire.

He coughed into the rag again, stepping back from one of the flames as it flicked the side of a house. He had noticed that people were indeed taking down the rooftops that were fire-free. Silas turned around, his eyes crinkling as he heard the hoof beats of someone approaching. That could only mean a few people, namely one of his brothers.

”Aye, forward it is.”

Taking center, Zanon fell into his place with ease as his brother barked orders around them to those nearby. Their ranks held firm as he directed the middle portion of the men, dousing small flames as sparks took here and there and assisting those who needed it from their homes, it hurt his heart each time a roof was felled or the cry of those losing their everything reached his ears. This so soon after the storm that had wounded Vangelis and destroyed so much would hurt them a good deal, and he didn’t even want to begin to think of what horrors they would have to find in the mines. Sending up a silent prayer to the gods, he could only be relieved that his son had not been on his six month trial in the mines when this happened. No doubt Evras would be even harder to convince to allow him to go now.

With his brothers around him, Zanon found himself soon carrying a small boy covered in soot who was sobbing as his mother cradled a newborn to her chest, his father limping along behind them with severe burns on his legs that would need tending to. They would get them and all of the other survivors to the temples and upper levels before returning to monitor the fire as it blazed out. Already the roar of the inferno was shrinking though he could not tell if that was from the distance he was putting between himself and it, or if it was burning out truly.

As Vangelis broke off to climb into the rafters of one building, the second prince called everyone else forward, ushering all of the refugees into the upper levels and sending those who needed the most care into the temples. The doors of those wealthy had been opened and it warmed his heart to see that nobles were assisting in tending to those of poorer status, offering water and blankets and food as well as damp cloths to wipe the soot from skin. Colchians were as good a people as they were hardened and strong. Turning to the nearest temple, he believed it was Apollo, Zanon settled the little boy he had been carrying and his family in a corner of the space, guiding the protesting father to the nearest physician for tending to his burns before returning with a small basin of water and cloths for the mother to clean the rest of them up.

Shaking off all thanks, he returned to the courtyard to look out and see what needed to be done, what he could do now to further the cause of his family and people. A runner came to him with a request for aid for Silas and he nodded, giving orders of his own and gripping the runner’s shoulder with a fatherly squeeze before sending the young man off again. It couldn’t be easy for any of them for too long, could it. He longed to return home to see Evras and Dion, his mother and sister, but he had too much work to do here. After things were under control though, he would return to find his son and give him a tour of the relief efforts. One day after all, it would be part of his duties.

Philippos just laughed. He had a habit of doing that when it might not have been appropriate, however it was the way that he dealt with absolutely every emotion. His coping mechanism when he was happy was to tell jokes, when he was angry - tell jokes, and sure enough when there was a dangerous job to be done, just laugh. It had kept him alive so far, even if it was sometimes the avenue for strange looks in his direction. It was alright, he enjoyed the attention. It certainly made up for what was lacking being the shadow of his elder brother.

”It’s only because I look for it.” A dashing grin was taken as his hand held up to the men that were following close behind him. On their horses, they would be able to quickly sweep up those who hadn’t gotten out. They could take street by street on Pos’ direction. A final nod was thrown to Vangelis as he pivoted his stead to turn back the way they had come.

The party that was with him followed closely at first before diving off like branches of a tree to do their best. Though, it was hard to hear the screams with the loud crackles of the flames. There were also buildings caving down, the ones that were made with flammable materials. Stone was preferable - however, there were those stalls, fencing, and balconies that crashed to the ground. Philippos was praying to the gods as he meandered through the obstacles set forth in front of him.

The commander had worked through the opposite way of the others. He dared the flames to take him to Hades as he found himself laughing in the face of the danger. It was a common joke of wondering how it was that he managed to live from one day to the next. It must have been some sort of deal with Hades, that was his only reply. Though, it wasn’t the truth. He was just maybe lucky, or that stupid.

His men all met again pushing who they had saved to the docks and near the water as the flames were beginning to die. They would beat this. The people of Midas were survivors and in spite of all the destruction they would triumph in the rebuilding. First, they would have to wait. They would have to helplessly watch as the embers burned through. The smoke still billowing up and staining the sky a dark grey.

He paused to cough into his hand. Philippos had tried to keep a torn fabric up over his nose and mouth, but it hadn’t stayed where it was supposed to. There was a course, thickness as he coughed again. There would be a great need for rest after this. And with his help needed to rebuild the city, at least it would mean he would be in Midas for longer than two weeks as originally assumed.