Far to the northwest of Vabesh, there was a formidable stone castle, with many mighty towers. A small, seemingly insignificant tower rose a short way out of the back. It had no windows. On the inside, a table was dimly lit by a burning candle, and a map written onto a scroll was spread out over the table’s surface. Several men stood around it. Most were middle-aged or elderly, one wore a golden crown. 

“You have heard the news,” one said gruffly his face wreathed in shadows. “The king of Vabesh has made an alliance with the king of Ovaria. The positions of the two kingdoms are amply suited for an invasion of our fair land from the south and Northeast. We would stand no chance fighting a war against two fronts.”

“What about the rest of the Heldron?” one of the men asked. “Will they not come to our aid? Kelda and Frosth have long been our allies.”

“Do not speak nonsense,” another man said. “Kelda is in the midst of a revolution and the men of Frosth are not warriors. They live as nomads, traveling and hunting on the tundras of the north.” 

“The revolution of Kelda is a righteous one!” the first snapped. “They will soon have killed the tyrant and-”

“Shut up Venos,” another growled. “We know that you have been aiding the rebels, and you have told us your feelings on the matter many times over, but at present, this kingdom is your concern!” 

“Quite right Helthen,” the man who stood in the shadows said. “We cannot look to Kelda and Frosth for aid. Frosth may send warriors, but they will be ill-suited to combat in the southern parts of the Heldron, especially if we invade the desert.” 

“All this talk of war and invasion!” a more senior member of the committee said. “The Heldron has been at peace for centuries. We can find a way to sort this out.”

“The nobles of Vabesh are madmen!” the shadowy man said. 

“It is true that they ruthlessly conquered the villages, but was it not for the best Elden?” 

“No!” Elden, the man in the shadows said. “The peoples of those villages were forced into the despicable slave trade! You may be rich, Esuit, but you sold your heart to get those riches!” 

The assembly gasped. Esuit was widely recognized as the richest and most powerful man in the kingdom, second only to the king. Elden had only just started his career in politics and the army, though he was widely recognized as a military genius. Esuit recoiled at his words. 

“You can think only of monetary and economic value! You don’t want war simply because it would interrupt your business!” Elden continued. 

“Silence!” the elderly king rose. All lowered their heads respectively. 

“Elden, apologize to Esuit immediately!” 

“But your majesty-”

“At once!”

Elden mumbled an apology. 

“And Esuit, you may find some truth in Elden’s words,” the king glanced at Esuit wearily. “I believe peace is not possible at this point. Our army is small and inferior to the armies of Ovaria and Vabesh. We will be attacked. Elden, what is the best way to prepare ourselves for defense?”

“The old saying, ‘the best defense is a good offense’ can be applied here,” Elden said. He pointed at a sliver of green land extending from a corner of territory between Ovaria and Lethia. It ran down the coastline, boarding a mountain range, on the other side of which was the desert of Cardis. “We must conquer the Namos in order to get reinforcement from the cities of the Novost. They are skilled warriors, and this is the only way to get them to us. Also, as for our forces being inferior to Ovaria’s and Vabesh’s,” Elden glanced up. “Velden, I believe you can explain this better than I.”

Velden sighed and stepped forward. 

“Elden has convinced me to let him train a large portion of the elemental masters at the school for war. I did not like it personally, I believe their talents should not be applied to war and destruction, but so it is in these times.”  

“I believe with this force we will be able to secure the Nomas and reinforcements from the Novost while our normal forces protect our homeland,” Elden said. “And Venos.”

He glanced at Venos who stood seething quietly in a corner. “If you can tear the rebels' attention away from beheading their king so we can protect ourselves against Vabesh and Ovaria, we would appreciate it.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Venos said righteously and stalked out of the meeting chamber. 

“I guess that’s all for now,” Elden said, folding up the map. 

“Yes,” Velden said quietly. “Until the storm breaks.”