After she finished speaking, the man known as Lord Alaric let a small, curious light cross his face.
"Oh? There really is such a thing?"
He did not ask who this mysterious "force" might be; the question seemed to amuse him rather than trouble him. He regarded the woman with the same cool composure, then said, "Wanting to stay on my Ascension Isle… it's possible. Each person must give up three years of their life. That hardly seems unreasonable, does it?"
The woman's eyes flickered at that. Lord Alaric did not press her; he kept his hands on the longbow that rested before him and stroked it as if to steady himself. The woman swallowed, bowed quickly and said, "Then thank you, Lord Alaric. I will arrange for the others to come to the island."
