The sun poured golden light through the exquisite crystals of Silverfort's great audience hall. Beneath the soaring arches carved with the flying eagles of Greythorne, nobles clad in silks and generals in steel gathered.
Kael walked the length of the carpet towards the dais, each step measured, each gaze upon him weighing like stones. He took his place beside the empty throne and gazed solemnly at the gathered coteries. The died down whispers rose once again. This flock of 'better men', instead of taking care of the people, were more interested in their own pockets.
Then the doors to the chamber opened once again.
"Make way! Make way for Her Highness, Luna Greythorne!"
Luna Greythorne entered the great hall following the herald's announcement. Her bearing was regal, her stride unhurried, her purple eyes calm yet commanding. Her white dress cut from the waist down, adorned with amethysts and sapphires only accentuated this feeling.
The hall came to standstill, the previous murmurs and whispers stopped, even dropping feather could make its presence known.
His elder sister was no mere princess here, she was the unofficial queen.
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Lord Malrik, clad in his usual golden robe depicting flying eagles above the mountains, a symbol of his position, rose from his seat.
"Your highness, my lords," he intoned, his deep voice filling the hall. "Dark tidings ride upon the dark wings. I have received the news of sightings of Orc hoards, who are headed for our southern villages."
The panic ran amongst the southern nobles, they pressed forward to plead for help.
"I welcome any suggestions from the lords here." Kael spoke.
"Your highness, Lord Prime minister, we request you to dispatch a knight order to assess the situation thoroughly." One of the prominent nobles from the mountain area proposed.
This proposal naturally displeased the southern nobles. It was their fief who would get destroyed, not his. Although his idea was militarily sound, affording the kingdom to respond with appropriate force, it was nonetheless unpleasant to the southern nobles.
They banded together and a spokesperson for the southern noble was chosen. He rose up and bowed to Malrick, Luna, and lastly to Kael.
"I humbly request this body to save the kingdom's people. The orcs will destroy crops, kill His Majesty's subjects, and devastate the realm. I humbly request that an army should be formed, and set out to eradicate these lowly lifeforms."
"Delay costs lives, brother. Each hour wasted is another life lost, another family butchered. We cannot wait for reports in such a situation." Luna made clear on which side she stood.
Kael turned his head and asked, "Do you have any suggestions, prime minister?" The prime minister curiously chose silence.
Kael took a deep breath and carefully weighed his options. Reacting too strongly by amassing the army might just end up to be a waste of resources if the threat was low. At the same time he might be feeding his army to the orc hoard piecemeal if he chose the former approach. A balance must needed to be struck between both extremes. Kael didn't believe the apocalypse was here this early. So he needed to be careful and build his and his kingdom's strength in any way he could.
"I suggest a scout squad be dispatched to fully analyse the threat posed by the orc hoard. We can determine whether we need to form an army at that time. Also, if Princess Luna wants to assault orcs before this assembly takes the decision, I hope she does so with forces who voluntarily joined."
The suggestion was accepted by most of the nobles and even some southern nobles. Kael appointed Captain Jarek Fenhilolt, a veteran, to lead the scouting operations on the advice of General Tharos Stonecross,who is the most accomplished general among the current generals.
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After the court completed its affairs, Kael stepped into the royal gardens, only to find Luna waiting for him there.
She regarded him with a faint smile. "You spoke well enough, but words and caution win few allies. What nobles want is protection of their interests and a lord who will not abandon them when they need him."
Kael scoffed. "Yes, only when they need something they will be quick to remind others of their duty. Better be cautious than needlessly wasting the royal coffers."
"What about the people? Are you that heartless?" Luna protested.
"The scout squad will report as soon as possible as they have access to ravens, and sparrows. The response will be swift thereafter. If any other nobles refuse to dispatch the required amount of soldiers even after the scout report, they'll be seen as unreasonable and lose standing among their peers. I can bet that is more worrisome for them than any fear of reprisals coming from us."
She stepped closer, looked him in the eye and said sternly. "I hope your little games works out for you. I'm going to save the people in the meantime."
"I wish you all the best."
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Kael met with Sylvaine afterwards.
"Can you get me the pass to use the magical teleportation gate?" Kael asked her.
Magical teleportation gates were the various massive circular shaped gates controlled by various mage orders of this world. No one knew how to make new gates. There were some rumors that absolute top level mages of the magic towers might have knowledge about how to make them.
In any case, no new gates were constructed in the known history of the Cursed World. There might have been a time when these things could be built as you build a castle today. But not even the myths about building these behemoth gates survived till to this day.
The mage orders treated these gates as an absolute treasure, and built castles around them, and also put various magical protections even a kingdom couldn't afford, making these most safe places in the world.
To access these gates one would need to go through thorough checks about the person. Also extensive security checks were performed each time anyone used the gates.
"If the Crown prince needed to use the gate, is there anyone who dares to stop him?" Sylvaine questioned.
Kael passed her the letter from the alliance. "I want to meet them covertly to discuss the intentions and terms. I can't travel as a crown prince to do that, and that would also create chaos in the nobles of our kingdom, flocking to the highest bidder of the alliance to sell their loyalty."
"If you know this, why would you contemplate joining them? Their goals have nothing to do with us, instead they might hinder us."
"We are a very small kingdom compared to them. Our lands are very hard to conquer, yes, but if they decide that we stand between their goals, we might be made to suffer more."
"Alright, I will help you as long as you fulfill mine."