The winter months were not particularly friendly in Colchis. Unlike their counterparts in the rest of Greece, they were colder, more violent, more unforgiving. While there had been no snow as of yet this year, it seemed doubtless that, as Azosios approached, the weather would only worsen and they would find themselves buried in ice. Usually, the now nine-year-old Eliades twins were happy for this harsher weather as, despite the cold, they continued to find time and reason to play outside and, even when they were forced back indoors by their exasperated mother, there was no stopping them.

This year, however, things were different. Marisa had kicked up a fuss and made it clear that they would not be spending another year freezing to death when they had family in Taengea where the weather was far kinder. Their father had had no choice to stay at home, as was understandable, so the group travelling on the ship across the sea did not contain the entire family unit, only the children and their mother and those few handmaidens which had attended her.

It had been a very long journey. Aras wasn't entirely sure how many days they had been on the boat, but he had not been too bored. He had borrowed one of the hefty tomes in the library on the condition that he would not permit it to get damaged over the course of the trip and, during the days where the wind and storms had been too heavy for the pair of them to venture out onto the deck - not that Aras had enjoyed it all that much when they had; he had thrown up countless times - it was worth it to curl up with the book in the safety of the cabin. He and Babis too knew how to entertain themselves without any need for outside stimulation, so they had not suffered much overall and it almost felt like no time at all when they finally arrived in Taengea.

And the weather! It was so much brighter and sunnier and even Aras was filled with an overwhelming urge to run through the streets of the capital city they had arrived in. There hadn't been any time for such antics, however, as they were so quickly herded into the carriage, then the Condos home where they would be staying with Mother's family. As far as Aras could recall, this was their first time there, and a whole new universe of fun for the pair of them to explore. To say the least, he was excited.