The shipping lanes to the northeast need to be updated. No longer can we depend on the riverways that we have long since seized and established as temporary ports. Instead, update our understanding on the deeper currents of the further east shipping lanes. It has been long since there was any reason for the Union to brave the deeps where the true leviathans dwell, but now, the slower, safer passages have lost their safety and our ships' captains must reacquaint themselves with those fathomless reaches.
–Declaration from the Council of the Union
The night's attempted escape was quickly quelled, though one of the prisoners escaped. Two dead bodies and a third escapee was enough to have Brutus and Took leaning on their subordinates for their lack of discipline. Frankly, nobody could tell exactly how the prisoner had ducked through our perimeter, but the fact remained that he did escape. Sybil's plans to have some of the more magically inclined Khatif near the prison to constantly emanate their magical fields was accelerated so that the last remaining prisoner, Maksulah, would have no prayer of escape.
I could have put my own abilities to the task, and a part of me wished I hadn't spent the night in conference with my elites and instead had brought myself to bear on the challenges that presented themselves to my nation the night before, but I'd decided that it was more important for my people to be ready for this incoming war. With the approaching winter, the Crimson colony of ants wasn't going to be as active, and they wouldn't provide nearly enough food for my constantly growing nation. Fortunately, our farming efforts were literally bearing fruit, with the potatoes we harvested filling plenty of bellies while the herds we struggled to keep safe in the inhospitable mountains were finally birthing enough young to provide for the barest necessities of the nation of new Nievtra.
"Be prepared for the continuation of our negotiations," I commanded my people as our meeting in the morning drew to a close. "There's no telling how things will change now that one of the prisoners has returned to the Misti Hawar's clutches. Sybil, adjust negotiations however you see fit, I trust in your ability to whatever is best for the Empire. Brutus, Took, Shemira, tighten security while the Misti Hawar are known to be near. We don't know what vulnerability the enemy exploited to escape, however few weaknesses remain in our perimeter. Don't allow it to happen again."
Frills flared and heads bowed in response to my command, and I gestured for them to leave and return to their duties. I caught Sybil's arm before she could move to whatever it was that she planned, and she turned and looked up at me.
"After these negotiations," I said, "I want you to be back with the three little ones. You can ensure that they can't travel through the shadows and breach their immediate area, and we can't trust that our borders are secure."
"It would be better that we have every one of our Keel on the front lines when this battle begins," Sybil disagreed. "Though I am no Hak'Tal warrior, there is not any twenty Kha nor five Khatif who can replace me."
"And there are a hundred other Keel who will stand and slaughter on the front lines under my command," I replied. "Through the flaming crucible of war are we refined, and you have been through sufficient wars to be more than worthy to be counted as the Zaaktifi. But your place is not on this battlefield, and we both know it. There are other fields and battles that're well suited to you, but do not argue with me on this. You are not a warrior, and your Zaaktif is not so desperate as to need the strength of your fang over that of your mind. Stick to the Zaaktifi's battlefields, and I will stick to mine."
"I would never dream of stepping into your territory, Zaaktif." As she said it, Sybil bowed to me, her dry sarcasm and humor tinging every movement. When I didn't have anything else to say, she pulled my head down and nipped at the hollow of my throat. I chuckled at the brief affection and she turned and strutted away.
Doing so sparked a flame of pride in me, and, not for the first time, I wished that this war would just begin already. We'd been afforded more time than we expected, given how the Misti Hawar had taken another year to retreat and plan for this war. That delay was a sign of their underestimation of our capabilities, and our numbers continued to bolster as even those green hatchlings who, in my remembrance, were still wet from the eggs they had hatched from, were ready. Every day, the sand pits in the city were full, each fight and drill running until it was complete, only for the next to begin just as soon as possible.
Now, we just needed to fight already. It was time.
***
"They're gone," Foire reported. "The most recent traces they left are from the middle of the night."
"Then they left as soon as they got their hands on the prisoner," Took snarled. "I should have chased them and taught them true fear before they could attempt to insult us like this. Zaaktif, give me permission to go find them and slaughter them all."
I nearly allowed her to do so. These fools constantly seemed to be trying to prod at my patience, but I forced down my frustration and instead gestured for her to calm down.
"They've made their decision. And, I think that finally, the battle will soon begin."
My elites stirred at that, and even Sybil seemed to breathe out a sigh of relief at my declaration. Something inside of me confirmed that as a truth, and I figured I'd send a quick prayer up to Nievtala to guide me in victory… and conquest.
Three weeks passed, and as the first snows fell on Nievtra and finally stuck, the Misti Hawar were sighted.
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