On the eve of reaching Skyefall after two weeks’ travel through Nordlund, Frère Greyhand trained Gabriel de León and Aaron de Coste in the foothills by the Velde River. During a harsh spar, Greyhand forced them to recite and interpret the Five Laws of hunting vampires, punctuating each lesson with punishing blows that left the paleblood initiates bloodied but quickly healing.

Greyhand confirmed Law the First, “The dead cannot kill the Dead,” as a mandate for caution and survival; Law the Second, “Dead tongues heeded are Dead tongues tasted,” as a warning against vampire mesmerism and deceit; and Law the Third, “The Dead run quick,” emphasizing the superior speed and strength of even lesser vampires. He illustrated Law the Fourth, “The Dead feel as beasts, look as men, die as devils,” by stressing their feral self-preservation beneath human façades. Finally, with Law the Fifth, “Even the Dead have laws,” he listed exploitable constraints: inability to cross running water except at bridges, the need for invitation to enter dwellings, prohibition from sanctified ground, and aversion to sacred icons wielded by the truly faithful.

After the spar, the trio shared a meal while Archer kept watch above. Gabriel asked about winter’s effect on vampire movement. Greyhand explained that Wintersdeep aided the Forever King: when rivers froze, Fabién Voss’s forces could cross anywhere, negating the empire’s summertime advantage of defending bridges.

They reviewed the strategic geography: the Godsend mountain range formed the western barrier, with only two viable eastern gateways—Avinbourg in the north and Charinfel in the south. Greyhand stated that once the freeze set in, Voss would have to strike and seize one of these city-fortresses to take the empire.

Greyhand recounted atrocities during the sack of Vellene, naming Voss’s heirs: Danton Voss (who slaughtered virgins), the twins Alba and Alene (who burned the cathedral full of people), and Laure Voss, the “Wraith in Red” (who bathed in the blood of newborns). He emphasized that Fabién Voss’s true threat lay not only in cruelty but in vision—organizing wretched into an army and uniting his progeny.

Greyhand concluded that Fabién’s seven known highblood descendants, called the Princes of Forever, supported each other more than other kith and retaliated as a famille. He warned that striking one meant facing them all—and declared that they would have to kill every one of them.