"Do you understand the consequences of your actions and accept responsibility for them?" Hamish looked at the frozen water of the harbor in the darkness of the long hours of the midwinter day. He stood next to King Rane Rane'son d'Nor, who was wrapped up in everything he could wear. Frostbite was was a real threat. Hamish had brought Rane outside to emphasize his point. "It's not like I'm asking you to do something that has never been done before," Rane grumbled into a cloud of his own breath. "People have sailed in the winter before." "Whatever might have happened in the past is not relevant to decisions we make today. All that matters is what we hope to achieve in the future - as a consequence of our actions today."