The role of the herd's Wise One is something that Volterra has often dwelled on. What is their day to day purpose, when they aren't meeting with the Sun God? What do they offer, how can they help elevate the Throat to greatness? Perhaps he is guilty of overlooking the herd's lorekeepers in a similar way to the healers, dismissing their role because it doesn't involve war. The fact that he doesn't see the Diviner around a great deal doesn't help to sell the position to him, and he's always felt that the elusive Maren tends to look down her nose upon him whenever they do meet. A dreadful shame - she's rather attractive, in an aloof sort of way.

That isn't going to stop the leviathan giving his all to improve the rank, and he falls into step besides Ampere with practiced ease whilst returning her grin. Part of becoming Sultan is that Volterra must broaden his horizons, interacting with sections of the herd that he'd never previously bothered with. Now he is a king rather than just a Gladiator, he can no longer keep his tunnel-vision firmly on the warriors. He must appreciate all the other cogs that form the herd's machine, too, and that's why he ensures his body language is neutral and open as he waits beside Ampere for Maren to arrive. The temple they're in is a magnificent feat of engineering, and Volterra finds himself glancing around with an awestruck expression on his face. "Our crafters built this?" he murmurs to Ampere, keeping his voice low so as not to reveal his ignorance to anybody that may be passing.

The lingering sense that the Crownless doesn't like him is fuelled by the overly-long stare she rests upon him when she arrives. Either she's checking out his fine physique - which would be perfectly understandable - or she's giving him the eyes because she still doesn't trust him. She is one of the Throat's old guard, after all, the select spine of members who'd served beneath Gaucho, most of whom had been reluctant to accept the unknown Gladiator into their close-knit fold. "Maren," he greets all the same, his voice as warm as he can make it. "Yes, preventing the erosion of our island strikes me as a high priority. How would you suggest we go about doing this?" Although he is a dominant man who leads by example, Volterra is not afraid to defer to others whose knowledge is greater than his own on certain tasks.

Ampere's confirmation that the temple was built by Throatians causes a small, awestruck grunt to leave the beast's jaws. "It certainly is magnificent," he murmurs, glancing around with approval glowing in his ruby eyes. He hadn't thought it possible, even with the aid of magic, to create something this large and yet structurally sound. He's reminded of the Ancient Rotunda, and finds himself wondering whether that, too, was forged by horses, albeit prehistoric ones. He makes up his mind to spend more time in this temple, as it seems a shame to let such architecture go to waste.

Maren explains that Aithniel had already sought her counsel regarding the fortification of the island's banks, and Volterra listens with ears cocked firmly forwards. The Crownless suggests that they consult with the crafters before doing anything, and advises the creation of a new bridge to replace the old one. This comes as a surprise to the Indomitable, who had never realised that there had ever been a bridge linking the mainland to the Throat in the first place. "Hmm," he rumbles thoughtfully, swishing his tail idly behind him as he ponders. "It might be the militaristic side of me speaking here, but I believe that our lack of a physical bridge is one of our greatest assets when it comes to defense. Should we ever find ourselves invaded, it would be nigh on impossible for anybody without wings to launch a surprise attack on us unless they possessed one of our keys, and whilst that is a possibility, our work to reclaim the keys not owned by our residents should prevent that."

He glances to Ampere, keen to hear her opinions too. "Besides, building a bridge to the mainland would not stop the root problem of erosion - if anything, disturbing the cliffs in such a way might actually worsen the issue." He's not outright dismissing Maren's idea, but he personally would prefer to see the island fortified properly rather than simply building a new bridge. Her concern about losing the sea views is a valid one, but Volterra would rather lose a bit of beauty than his entire island home.

"I would be inclined to seek the Sun God's counsel, as he more than any of us should know how best to protect the Throat."