"Mama, these years have been exhausting, haven't they?" Elara reached back to embrace Lilith; from her mother's every word of instruction, she'd caught the weariness underneath.
"Very exhausting. So tired I didn't dare say so, for fear of being laughed at." Lilith gave a sweet smile and patted Elara's back, feeling the care and comfort coming from her little jacket.
"Power in our Stoneheart Horde runs too concentrated. If the sovereign and the one who holds the reins lack a long view, lack the breadth to take in new people and new things, they're soon lulled by the glory they already have and lose the drive to push forward." Lilith set the comb she'd just been using steadily into Elara's hand, her tone weighty with meaning. "Those matters, for your mama, were all dreadfully hard. Every decision, every shift of a person from one post to another, had to be turned over and over, every faction's interests balanced. All of it troubles that came from a want of strength and gift."
