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With the death of the King's advisor, Rogvald, who plagued the country with his treacherous schemes, an unfamiliar peace came upon the Learanian capital of Eyris at last. However, the evil man's final words lingered in the people's minds, taunting them, and causing them to lose hope. Mordache and Sentria were on their way with forces large enough to reduce the city to rubble.

In response, the figureheads of the country went straight to work at preparing as well as making immediate changes. Some of the more absurd laws that James had been led to believe were just were lifted, such as the ban on dragonkind and the guild uniforms. The sentencing on the Guild, Guard and Watch members were lifted as well, and the ranks of the officers restored- including Vaida's as Commander of Learania's armies. Rath was redeemed in the eyes of the King as well as the people and the charges against him dismissed. The guild's reputation was also restored and became safe for those who took part in the resistance to rejoin. As for Nino, she became its Captain again, and worked with James to make things right.

Once the matters of the city were taken care of for the time being, it came time to prepare for the siege that was coming to Eyris. The Watch and Guard were immediately ordered to prepare themselves should an order come at a moment's notice. The Battle would be one that affected everyone- it was a fight for their very survival. It was a fight for the right to live. Nobody was without cause. That was why everyone was preparing. While they did so, the leaders available were called to a meeting at the castle, a day after the execution day, to decide what they should do.

Lord Zeon was the one who officially called the meeting, after consulting with King James. He sat calmly in his seat by the king as he awaited everyone to come. The Guild Captain was called, of course, as well as the crew still in Eyris. Commander Vaida was also called so she could receive orders. Lord Raetia, however, was not called. His lifeless body was found not far from the castle, after things settled down.

Once everyone that could make it had arrived, the head noble cleared his throat to gain everyone's attention. "I sent out a scout to confirm what Rogvald said. His warning is true. Forces from Both Mordache and Sentria are on their way. The bulk should have just arrived at Pentheus, by now. Given the size of the armies, it should take them all about a week and a half to totally complete their positioning around us." He looked over at Nino. "With the King's permission, I have already dispatched messengers to recall our forces outside the capital back. Your remaining crew should be on their way."

He looked down at the map that had been laid out across the table. "Now then... we should begin. What shall be our course of action?"

After the mess yesterday, everything had moved so quickly. She had had nearly no time to herself and no time for any reunion of any sort. People had expected her to immediately take back the title of Guild Captain. Thankfully, she was able to keep Isadora, whom she currently sat next to at this meeting, at her side most of the time. Nino felt that the one doing the real leading at that time was still the Paladin, and she was grateful. She still hadn't been able to see Rath, but she was at least given news that he was safe and resting.

Nino had come to realize she already knew the man who had saved her life multiple times during the battle yesterday. The Head Noble, Lord Zeon. They had met few times while she was still captain before, but she felt silly for forgetting him. She still hadn't had a moment alone with him to thank him. Well, she thought. That's politics. I may never get to speak to him directly.

It was then that she noticed he was already speaking to her. She nodded gratefully. "Thank you, Lord Zeon." She said simply. It was Isadora that spoke next. She listened quietly, not feeling confident, or stable enough at the moment to provide input. For now, whatever the woman next to her said, would be perfect as far as Nino was concerned. How badly she wanted to talk with her at length... How badly she wanted to talk to anybody at length right now.

She stood and looked at the map with Isadora. "Estarcia... sounds like a plan..." She agreed quietly. No matter how she tried, her mind was still elsewhere... Her mind was wherever Rath was.

"You ask why do I not talk much?"_______←«_____ ←«____ ←«___ ←«__ ←«
_____"...Because there is nothing to say."

"Doing much better now." He looked around the room and then glanced to Nino. "Thank you."

He was bandaged, and his walk was unsteady, but Rath suffered through it, his expression unaffected by his discomfort. He made his way to the meeting table and chose a seat beside Nino. He strained as he sat down. "I have been filled in on the news and I agree with Lord Zeon, I do not believe Estarcia will so willingly aid us. I sent messengers to both Estarcia and Adliana before the civil strife and never heard anything back." He glanced down to the map. "So thus arises the option... of fleeing." His darted up again and he looked each person in the eye for a few seconds. "I would not believe any of you if you claimed this option did not pass through your head. And if it were possible, I would probably support it. It is near a five day's ride to Archesis, for just one rider alone. There is no possibility of evacuating every person in this country before our enemies arrive. Even fleeing into the plains would be fruitless. They would catch us and we would lose any chance we had for survival."

He outstretched his hand, paused at the flicker of pain in his nerves, then continued on to point at the eastern mountains. "However, we do still need to protect the people. We can send all that will fit, into the caves, where we breed our wyverns. They will be safe there... so long as we hold the city." His finger drifted towards Adliana, and stopped at a dot near a river. "Others, we can have sent to the old colonies, such as Leera." His hand left the map. "...All others should prepare to fight. That is the best we can do."

Rath shut his eyes for a moment as if meditating, or rather concentrating on what would be best. "Perhaps messengers were not enough." he started. "It could be for naught, but if one of us goes to our allied countries, it could make all the difference. Isadora has dealt with Estarcia before, no other but she would be suitable. As for Adliana..." His eyes slowly opened. "I will go, myself. I do not believe Songhua has purposefully remained silent. Only I have deep ties with the plainsmen." He looked over to Nino. "...Only I can do this."

"Yes, King Chantclier is a ... sensitive man; but what other options do we have?" Isadora replied. She was well aware how the Estarcian king behaved, considering how she tried to get their help when disaster occurred two spring seasons ago. However, she had to try it. What other option was there to give?

Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice spoke up in the room. Turning her attention, she saw Rath as he tried to walk to his seat and struggled to sit down. What was he doing? Shouldn't he supposed to be resting after suffering from imprisonment and nearly executed? She wasn't sure who informed the nomad about this meeting. Maybe he still had spies that they did not know. That Rath, still secretive as ever.

The paladin listened as Rath spoke. She gave a small frown when she heard that the nomad agreed with Lord Zeon about the Estarcian king. However, she refused to abandon the idea. How could they tell King Chantclier would decline if they never tried? Sure, she was aware that the man was a coward and didn't wish to have his country mingled with other countries' affairs. But still, it was worth the try. Maybe he would help them after what they had done to his country during winter season.

Isadora continued listening to the nomad's idea. She frowned grimly when Rath explained that the option of fleeing was impossible. She had to agree with him, the idea of fleeing took too much time to evacuate everyone. And even if they planned to do so, it won't give them enough time to mobilize a defensive maneuver against the Sentrians and Mordacheans. Besides, I would rather die in my country than abandoning my home. Isadora thought. The thought of having her country fell into their hands was a terrible idea. She had stayed in this country so long to call it a home after arriving to this new world.

Though the idea of fleeing was out of the question, the evacuation was still undergo. They had to protect the citizens of Learania. There were many who had lost their homes and fled to Eryis for protection. But now that Sentrian and Mordacean troops were coming, they had to evacuate them to another safe place. It's like Estarcia being invaded by Archaneans all over again. Isadora thought bitterly. Unlike the Archaneans, who had no ill business toward the Estarcians, the enemies they were facing wanted revenge against them.

So all they needed to do was to evacuate the citizens to safer areas and mobilize the troops to defensive maneuver as well as strengthening it. But would it be enough?

It was then that Rath agreed with her about getting reinforcements from other countries. She nodded her head when Rath spoke about her heading to Estarcia. She already knew she was going to Estarcia to get help. It was her plan afterall. But when she heard that the nomad planned to head to Adliana, Isadora frowned.

She understood that Rath had better ties with the Adlianans than everyone in the room, but he was also not in top shape. The nomad was still recovering. Would he be able to so do despite his injures?

It was at that moment, Nino protested. Isadora was surprised by the shout Nino gave. Never would she expect her to lose her calm in the meeting. The paladin kept her mouth quiet as the Archsage explained to Rath that he was not fully health. The Dame Knight understood that Nino was concern about Rath's health. But if he were to stay put, who would go to the Adliana? Rath was correct about one thing. He had deep ties with the Adlianans than anyone.

"... As much as I agree with you that Rath is still not in full health," Isadora spoke softly to Nino. "But he has a point, he has deep ties with the Adlianans than any one of us in this room. No one knows the plainsmen better than he does. I'm sorry Nino, but I think Rath has a better chance to convince the Adlianans to help us than any of us can. Perhaps, he doesn't have to go alone. We can send Sue along with him, not only to make sure that his ride will go smoothly and check his health, but also to help him too on his mission. After all, Sue has went to Adliana before and she shares the same culture with them."

Skrimir had been told to keep his mouth shut. He could feel the eyes of the Hawk King on him-- and really, he didn't want to be there in the first place. His face still hurt from being ground into the earth by several flailing dragons (unintentionally, likely), and after all of the chaos and confusion being plucked up, relocated, and sat down in a war planning room was a bit more than disorienting.

Strong king, blah blah, Lord Zeon, blah blah, magical development, blah... Sentria blah blah, the wounded Nomad wanted to travel like a fool, blah blah...

"I don't see any problem here. The scum in this city is exorcised. Your forces are unified again. Nurse the wounded, harbor the weak, and hold this city. There is strength here, is there not?"

The gaping mouths and staring eyes bounced off Skrimir's boredom.

"Don't worry about the city. Take your time with help from faraway lands. Captain or no, whoever is here or not... the siege will have to first break me."

The Lion Prince yawned.

"Why did you drag me here again?"

The paladin remained quiet as she watched Rath explained to Nino that he had to go. She felt pity as she watched the Archsage shown sorrow look and apologized. She understood that she was worried about the nomad's health. She too was concern if the trip would be safe for him. But what other choice did they have of who to sent to Adliana? Though Sue was the next best choice to sent if they refused to send Rath, the only issue was that she was not the official authority figure to represent Learania, despite being related to someone who was a crew member of the guild. If they were to restore peace to Learania, they had to take any chances they could get, no matter how dangerous the situation may be.

When the nomad asked if there was anything they wished to discuss, Skrimir informed Rath not to worry. Isadora bit her lower lip. How could she not be worried about the city? Their city was about to be attacked by two countries within a week and a half. If the city fell and something happened to James and Nino, Learania would be lost for good.

However, the paladin shouldn't dare worried too much. This was the guild that managed to win in every battle they fought. Surely, they would know how to handle without her worrying so much. After all, they did it before when she went to Estarcia for help earlier during spring seasons a year and a half ago. So they should be able to prepare their force and protect the people while she was away. Not to mention, they had the noble to look up to for advice. She hoped they would do okay while she was away.

When the Lion Prince asked why he was dragged here, Isadora gave him a pout. "You're here because you're a crew of this guild. It's your responsibility to attend to the meeting and fulfill your duty as a crew."

Isadora then stepped aside from her seat. "Now if you excuse me, I have to depart to Estarcia immediately. Reinforcement won't come quickly if I waste time. Your Highness, Lord Zeon, Nino, everyone, I wish you all well for the battle preparations here and I will come back as soon as possible."

And with that, the Dame Knight turned around and left. According to what Lord Zeon said, they had a week and a half before Sentria and Mordache arrived. Since it would take five days for the paladin to reach Archesis and five more days to return back, it would mean she would be back once the battle begun. She hoped she would be back before the battle begun once she brought reinforcement. It would be terrible for her if she were to arrive late and found the battle was over. Time was racing against her. She had to get to Archesis sooner and fast.

As much as she wished to stay and help the other get readied prepare for battle in Eyris, she had to hurry to Estarcia.

"Leave then, the both of you." Lord Zeon chimed in. "The longer you stay, the more time it will take you. The battle will be underway by the time you return. Go with haste."

Lord Zeon waited until they were both gone before thinking of continuing. He made no remarks to Tibarn or the furry man beside him. The noble was still hesitant on accepting laguz completely, for his trust was something that was hard to earn, and always used the term with a hint of distaste in his tone. Still, laguz warriors were better than none. They would be of value.

"Buying time will be essential, in order for us to hold out until aid arrives." he began again. "As Rath said, my house has developed barrier magic. And I have developed a way to use this magic to shield the entire city. Sages will need to be placed all around at key locations, where incantation circles will be drawn on the ground. The combined casting of this barrier magic will be enough for the entire covering of Eyris." His voice suddenly changed to sound more drastic. "However... this shield cannot last forever against the siege that is so come. And if one sage should be killed before it wears out on its own, then the entire barrier will crumble. This is why every point will need to be guarded and the casters will need to be as powerful as possible." He looked to Nino. "I know the guild has some adept staff users, that are more powerful than those who serve me. You included, I would like any volunteers to make this barrier as strong as possible."

"Where was it... ah, there it is." the young lord said after hearing a satisfying hollow sound.

He had spent the last twenty minutes or so trying to remember how to reclaim the Flame Sword he had stashed under the tiles in his house. It wasn't that hard to get to, just... really complex. He wasn't a thief, but that didn't mean he could set up a lock to stash his important belongings. As he carefully lifted up the tiles in a 5x5 square (if you lifted them the wrong way, they wouldn't budge) with a knife, a wooden trapdoor was revealed underneath the webbing that was the paste that held the tiles together. He carefully lifted the webbing off, then pulled that open before heading down into the cellar.

You couldn't really call it a cellar. There were just a few trinkets and furniture here and there, and a lot of boxes. He wandered over to a long table, where there was a long box. After he inserted the key he tended to keep safe (stashed under the stairs. You'd have to know what it'd looked like, as well as actually check under the stair steps themselves), the lock clicked and the box was opened.

Inside rested... not the Sword of Seals. Oh no, that was stored elsewhere, in a far more secure place. No, this was the Flame Sword. Once that was snagged, Roy locked the box, hid the key again, and put back the webbing and tiles in their proper places before heading out.

Perhaps he would take a walk, and see what everyone else was doing for preparations. Perhaps he would get lucky and find someone to train with for a little while. Who knows. And so, after locking the door to his house, he wandered off into town.

((Feel free to interact with Roy. That's pretty much why I threw him in here.))