After the sudden death of Septarch Quintillian, the six surviving Septarchs assembled in their long-unused assembly hall at Lunesdale. Their agenda:

• On whose order was the late Quintillian killed?
• Who should replace him in the assembly?
• How should his forces best be disarmed and/or reassigned?
• What, if any, punitive action should be taken against his aides and accomplices?

On the first note, all of the Septarchs naturally suspected one another; almost immediately after his elevation, Quintillian had begun to marginalize the other magnates, disrupting the ancient balance of the assembly. Particular suspicion has been cast on Septarch Ambrosius due to his well-received "The bastard had it coming" speech which effectively cut off debate on this issue, but this is largely circumstantial evidence.

The second point also was resolved quickly. Jukat Oncillia was now the leading statesman of the House Oncilla holdings, and was duly elevated to governance of that region.

The third issue was by far the most important. Nearly three quarters of the assembly's military strength had been under Quintillian's command. Moreover, due to his well-attested eccentricity, local power structures had greatly decayed under his rulership. Though the lands of House Oncillia, to which Quintillian belonged, had continued to prosper, most other regions had become factionalized, nearly autonomous. The Al'Shaine were already moving to fill the vacuum, and it was clear that a strong armada was needed to enforce stability.

The debate did not go as planned. Though the Septarchs quickly reached an agreement over redistribution of power, when Quintillian's former Vizier, Atapa Skarra, was called to hear the assembly's decision, he refused to comply. Skarra first claimed that as Quintillain's vizier, total command over Quintillian's forces had now fallen to him, an assertion none disputed. Furthermore, he said, as a tribesman of the Pulotu, he was not bound by the oaths and regulations of the Septarchy, and thus was not subject to the assembly's ruling. Though he of course asserted no claim to lands historically loyal to the Septarchy, he proposed to consolidate his forces in the Eastern Reaches, the site of Quintillian's personal conquests. The Septarchs are reported to have been "unnerved" by Skarra calmly and legally dismembering their hopes for a restoration of the old order.

The final point of order having been rendered wholly moot, the assembly adjourned.

—Thaddeus Rhagfarnllyd