“Understood,” Kai agreed with a nod. “I’ll begin laying the groundwork to send Louvert to attend. I don’t imagine he’ll be inclined to refuse, but just in case, I’ll be the one to broach the subject with him.”
With that, Kai spun about and left the chamber.
○
Another conference was being held in Plekid, the capital of Scheutz. Letters from the emperor and the Duke of Paradille had just arrived at Castle Plekid as well, and a meeting had been called to discuss them.
“According to the letter, Paradille and the emperor himself are asking us to join in an assault against Missian… What in the world should I do?” the Duke of Scheutz, Bran Dormane, asked in a bewildered fluster. Bran was forty years old, and his timid features were matched by his equally fainthearted personality.
“I believe we should participate. If the other duchies take part in this proposed conference and join together to oppose Missian, Scheutz will be isolated. I imagine that this proposed combined force will indeed be formed, given that many of the duchies look poorly upon Missian’s atrocities, and that they are a foe we cannot afford to ignore regardless,” said Walt Roberts, Bran’s most trusted tactician.
Walt’s stately bearing and clear, eloquent speech stood in sharp contrast to his lord’s demeanor─and this in spite of the fact that he and Bran were the same age. They’d known each other since childhood, and had remained fast friends throughout their lives.
“Moreover, claiming Seitz was our ultimate objective,” Walt continued, a note of anger entering his tone. “Missian has thrown our strategy into disarray. They must be made to pay the price for their insolence!”
“D-Do try not to be quite so heated, Walt, please,” Bran chided.
“My apologies, Your Lordship. I simply cannot abide by it when my plans are disrupted.”
“Yes, I’m well aware. Some things never change,” Bran said with a sigh. “Nevertheless, point well taken. You believe we should participate in the conference…b-but what if it’s a trap?”
“While I cannot dismiss the possibility, calling you out under false pretenses only to assassinate you would accomplish nothing aside from earning Scheutz’s fury. There would be no benefit to Ansel. Furthermore, it is most assuredly the truth that Ansel and Paradille alike consider Missian to be a threat.”
“That does make sense, yes… And with Seitz grasped in Missian’s clutches, we can’t afford to ignore them any longer either. Who knows when Seitzan troops might start marching across our borders? Perhaps you’re right, Walt. Perhaps we should cooperate…”
“Indeed,” said Walt. “But of course, our attendance won’t guarantee that the conference will accomplish its objective. Paradille is the only duchy left that still offers any real loyalty to the emperor, after all.”
“Y-Yes, this is also true… The question is, can we even win against Missian…?”
“Even if the coordination between our armies is less than ideal, the mere creation of a combined force of this nature will mean that Missian must contend with five duchies at once. That will, unmistakably, put them at a significant disadvantage.”
“Y-Yes, of course…but Paradille and Ansel border Missian proper, while we share a border with Seitz, its vassal state. Canshiep and Rofeille, however, are far separated from Missian. Will they truly be able to pose any sort of threat?”
“The strength of Canshiep’s navy alone is enough to ensure they capture a share of Missian’s attention. The port city of Semplar is a cornerstone of the Missian economy, and if Canshiep were to strike at it, it could spell disaster for them. Rofeille…is a far less certain question, I will admit. They have little to gain, even if Missian is defeated, and there’s every chance they’ll refuse to participate at all. If they refuse to even participate in the conference then Ansel will be forced to prepare for the possibility of an invasion from Rofeille as the war goes on, making it much harder for them to devote troops to the fight. Ansel’s population is vast and its army mighty, so if they’re forced to turn their attention away from Missian in part, it will not bode well for the combined force’s chances of success.”
“I see now… So Rofeille is the key to the whole endeavor,” Bran muttered as he crossed his arms.
“Of course, Rofeille’s leaders will understand that if Missian is left to run rampant, their time will come as well before long. While I cannot say whether or not they’ll send troops, I would at least imagine they would be open to a pact of non-aggression while the war is fought,” Walt added.
“I certainly hope so,” said Bran.
“And, of course…there’s the matter of Missian’s new weapon, the airship.”
“Of course. The flying boat that earned Seitz’s surrender with ease.”
“It seems that Hyness Brown has claimed to be capable of crafting a vessel with the same capabilities. Not immediately, to be clear, but in time.”
“My word!” Bran exclaimed. “I offered him a job because I knew that his mind was sharp, in spite of his eccentricities, but I never imagined he would accomplish something that grand! Do you believe him?”
“To be frank, I have my doubts. I do know very well that he is no ordinary man, though, so I cannot dismiss the possibility that he is capable of it. The best means of opposing their airship would be to have one of our own, so if his story does prove true, it could change everything.”
“It was powerful enough to lay waste to Seitz. If we don’t plan ahead, we’ll meet the same fate. I hope that Hyness makes good on his word…” Bran muttered.
○
Alnoid, the capital of Rofeille, was located in the vicinity of Lake Lindol, the largest lake in all of Summerforth, and was also the largest city in its duchy. Its scale remained impressive even when viewing Summerforth as a whole─in fact, in terms of both population and economic might, it was said to be second only to the Imperial Capital. The stately structure known as Castle Alnoid rose out of the city’s center, and within a meeting room inside that castle, a conference was currently being held. A roundtable had been set up within the chamber, which a horde of lords were seated around.
“Now then─I’ve called you here to discuss letters that we have received from the emperor and the Duke of Paradille. They claim that a combined army is to be formed for the purpose of bringing Missian to heel, and they ask that we contribute our forces to that cause,” said a middle-aged man with red hair that matched his lengthy beard. His name was Cedric Breind, and he was the Duke of Rofeille.
“How could they think we’d participate in something like that?!” shouted one of the lords.
“Ansel is our greatest enemy! If anything, we should use this chance to launch an invasion of our own. The other duchies we could cooperate with, perhaps, but not Ansel! Never!” insisted another.
The first few voices were opposed to the idea─but that wasn’t to say there was no debate to be had.
“We may not know much about Missian for now, but what we do know is more than enough to conclude that they have become a force to be reckoned with. It’s unsurprising that Ansel would decide that they need to be dealt with.”
“What does it matter to us if Missian has grown more powerful? Them crushing Ansel would only work to our benefit.”
“I urge you to think in the long term. While we cannot say what Missian’s aims are, the idea that they intend to unite all of Summerforth under their banner is not beyond the realm of possibility─and if Ansel falls, then no force will remain capable of opposing them. We cannot stand by and allow that to come to pass. At the bare minimum, I believe that we should claim a seat at this proposed conference.”
Some lords, at least, spoke up in favor of the proposal.
“I, for one, believe that we must learn more before any final decisions are made,” said Cedric. “The optimal outcome, of course, would be for Missian and Ansel to exhaust their resources fighting one another, allowing us to swoop in and claim Ansel for ourselves.”
“That would indeed be ideal,” one of the lords muttered.
“Quite─and in order to bring that outcome about, sending a representative to the conference would indeed behoove us. If Ansel believes that we’ve chosen to support their cause, and if we assuage any lingering anxieties through our actions, they will devote everything they have to opposing Missian,” Cedric continued. The bulk of the gathered lords nodded and muttered words of praise, applauding their duke’s judgment. “What say you, Eleanor?” Cedric asked next, turning to the woman─or rather, the girl─seated beside him.
It wasn’t her red hair that made her stand out most among the meeting’s attendees, but rather, her gender. The bulk of the assembled lords were men, on account of the fact that typically, only men were trusted to lead troops into battle. Women were a very rare presence at gatherings such as this.
The girl’s eyes, like her hair, were a striking shade of red. Her features, meanwhile, were so perfectly sculpted one might have mistaken her for a doll, at a glance─a doll dressed in attire typically reserved for nobility, and specifically noblemen. Her name was Eleanor Breind, and she was Cedric’s sixteen-year-old daughter.
Eleanor didn’t immediately answer her father’s question. Instead, she closed her eyes and seemed to lapse into thought. The gathered lords watched on in apprehensive silence, holding their breath as they waited for her to speak. Their gazes were full of respect─of awe, even.
Finally, Eleanor’s eyes snapped open.
“We should join this council,” she said. “And following it, we should act. Waiting and observing won’t get us anywhere. No, we should gather our forces, march into battle, and strike Missian ourselves.”
A number of the gathered lords looked shocked by Eleanor’s proposal.
“T-Truly…?” said one bewildered nobleman.
“But…for what cause?” another asked.
“Because the combined force’s victory over Missian is uncertain,” Eleanor explained. “If Missian wins, then every duchy aside from our own will become subordinate to them. We will be finished before we even set foot on a single battlefield.”
“Perhaps…but you must admit that in terms of troops alone, Missian will be at a grave disadvantage,” said Cedric. “I have great difficulty imagining that the combined might of the other duchies will prove inferior to theirs.”
“The combined might of the other duchies will be led into battle by the emperor. Do you believe the empire’s current ruler is up to that task? Of course not. There will be no unity or coordination─each duchy’s troops will act of their own accord,” Eleanor explained. “And then there are the rumors of Missian’s new weapon, the airship. There’ll be no telling how effective it is until we’ve seen it perform on the field of battle…and that is a sight I would very much like to witness for myself.”
“I take it that your closing point is, in fact, your main motivation,” Cedric said with a tired scowl.