2412 Iclis 19, Daleth

The floor's hardness became more apparent the longer Canelis forced herself to stay still. She gritted her teeth, schooling her face to a passive stare. It's forbidden to show one's emotions in the presence of a higher rank or during military duty. And in her case, to a round table of Commanders and Generals.

As her last promotion entailed, she's a Crown General, but in the absence of the person wearing it, her rank was as useful as an abandoned half of a magonari. One could never eat with just one of those sticks, after all.

And as the sole Crown General, it was her duty to represent the Riogener to the unwalled territories when it came to interterritorial matters. The one-soul-army who bombed the entirety of Yin-Alora was a threat concerning the entirety of Umazure, so it fell into Lantegian interests. The Junction City, the seat of the Imperial Power such as the High Queen, was supposed to execute a joint commision to bring down the terrorist who rained fire on a relatively non-retaliating territory.

But Canelis walked into a field of embers with nothing but her straw slippers on. By the time it burned, the scars took too long to fade. Not only did she arrive in Edgerift at a politically-challenged time, the High Queen had the gall to be murdered inside her own palace, by her own son.

Yes. Canelis didn't expect it herself, that the white haired boy she traveled with had every intention to plunge a dagger down his mother's throat. Was that why he pestered them to take as many stops as possible when they're crossing Nanvera? She was a good judge of character—at least, she believed so—but he flew under her radar just because Canelis trusted the girl he was with.

The truth only became clear as Canelis fled for her life, flitting away from Edgerift with her wings alight. Xanthiene Vivenca had every hand in this brewing war, and that madwoman in the Imperial Palace's atrium was bent on getting her. The brownie explained it to Canelis. This war wasn't fought because of conflict of ideas or grappling for political power. It's more foolish than that. This entity called the Heiress was after something called the Virtakios and the thrones of the races in her pursuit to control fate and life. Both weren't meant to be controlled by mere mortals and must never be seen as such.

And then came the reality of what they're really dealing with. As soon as Canelis arrived in Peltra, she saw the territory from higher ground, and it was not pleasant. Not only was the Heiress not responsible for wreaking havoc all over Yin-Alora and Xai-Ren, it was done by another entity whom people knew as the Sovereign. She led another organization of a similar nature as the Heiress', and they called it Synketros.

The Gathering.

But why were they gathering? They couldn't want the same thing as the Heiress and her black-clad devils wanted, could they?

The developments Canelis saw a week ago told her otherwise. Instead of taking over Peltra like a classic tyrant, the Sovereign destroyed its walls with ease and built it back up stronger and more impenetrable. All of the secrets stayed inside, and Canelis was no stranger to that. The pixies' safety measures were now something they had to work around with like the criminals they were.

That's why they're gathered here, in the gullet of a temple of a forgotten god, arguing about how to best take back their territory and drive the infidels off their land. What's more, most of their people, those who couldn't escape in time, were locked inside. Recent intel brought back the news that most of them were being made to work for the Synketrian tyrants, disclosing military secrets, using their crafts, and devouring their produce.

It turned grimmer by the second, and the more time they spent out here, in the outskirts of a barren wasteland that was Ok-Sa, the more the Sovereign had time to persecute the pixies. These organizations just kept gaining more and more power, and Canelis could only hope they explode with it.

A lot of good it would do to the entire island.

She frowned at the uncouth thought flitting through her head. There's a reason why she's here, and that's to report on her progress with the Lantegian aid, which, at this point, was next to nothing. They were on their own, and it's time for them to accept that.

The rest of the army, a fraction of those who still remained behind the rebuilt walls, lounged in other parts of the crumbling ruin of a temple, doing their best to stay sane in such a turbulent time. They would be called to battle sooner or later, judging by how the correspondence with the Generals were going.

General Varkas argued with General Vadrona about the best course to utilize the surviving army and supplies, with the latter mocking the former about her previous idea. It wasn't half-bad, but it's risky. Raiding the fortress in Xai-Ren the renegade way required two things—one, soldiers who were willing to never emerge from gullet of the beast once they went in, and two—a meeting with the renegades whose relations they shared had only soured for the past few years. Elder Tarmis, while he regarded Canelis fondly during her monthly visits, maintained his people were to stay away from the war and all kinds of fighting aboveground.

A bunch of ingrates, they were. Here were Canelis and the entire Peltran army defending them against the threat of outer forces like that of the Heiress and the Sovereign, and yet they didn't want to spare even just a grena to help.

Not like Canelis blamed them. She couldn't. With a war with an even more temperamental opponent, the renegades have their hands full. Quilderfen bones dwindled over the years, and the supply of zenrel was impeded with the Synketrian occupation of Xai-Ren. Without those succulents, it'd only be a matter of time before the plague spread from Ok-Sa and devoured the entire island. And worse, with nothing growing in Ok-Sa, it's next to impossible to cultivate them far away from the conflict.

In other words, the Sovereign might have snipped both Peltra's claws and pincered them without meaning to.

"Canelis, what's the news from Lanteglos?" General Xilren turned to her to put the argument heating up between the two female generals. His dark red armor, while dented in several spots, never failed to catch the streams of sunlight spilling from the caved ceiling. "What did the Seelie Court say?"

Canelis tucked her hands inside the wide sleeves of her robes. The white had long ago been tinged with all manners of dirt, dust, and blood, but she kept them on. Water was hard to come by in this barren land. "I left Edgerift just as a fight brewed between the Court, the allies I came with, and some...disturbing entities."

And the story came pouring out. When she arrived in Peltra, she landed in Ok-Sa to discover the Generals moved the evacuees out from the underground and into the last of Peltra's cities because of the ongoing developments made by Synketros. It'd be too dangerous if they stayed put. She spent all her time learning about the recent intel she missed and never got the chance to speak to the Riogener's court until now.

By the time she finished, the entire congregation was silent. The Commanders stopped their work to listen, slowly creeping towards what's supposed to be an intimate circle between the highest chain of command in Peltra. There went inventory and finance, then. She let them, though. The more minds working on this issue, the better. They might come up with a plan even if the Riogener wasn't here.

"Suffice it to say," Canelis concluded. "Lanteglos and the Imperial Court will not be of any help until they establish a proper emergency government and take the reins with it."

General Anerin scratched his chin, his green armor dulling against the shadows of the deeper parts of the temple. "So, they're as scattered as we are, and these...organizations you speak of," he said. "Do you mean to tell us there are two of them?"

"I dealt with the Heiress back in Edgerift and realized she wasn't the one who attacked us," she replied. "Nevertheless, the Sovereign and the Heiress are after the same thing and have engaged in an all-out war to achieve it. With the High Queen's death and the Seelie Court's ineptitude, they took advantage of the chaos to take control of parts of the island."

Peltra was among the first to fall, and it's only a matter of time before others followed. Everyone in this room witnessed some form of the inescapable power which washed all over Yin-Alora that day, and they could say it's something no other territory could match. And with how efficiently they took over both the fortress in Yin-Alora and the livelihood city that was Xai-Ren, it's safe to assume they've got quite the arms and forces to pull it off.

"We can't stay in Ok-Sa forever," General Varkas said. Her silver armor lay disassembled in front of her as she worked on polishing it. Muddy and dented, hers weren't any better for wear than the rest of them. Sooner or later, they'd have to fight without gear. Fighting with a blunt sword would endanger one more than protect them.

General Vadrona scoffed, crossing her arms over her golden breastplate. It was maybe a coincidence, but the silver and gold arguing was a sight for sore eyes. "Well, what do you want? Send our people to their deaths without a plan?" she reasoned. "I can't have you doing that, even if you take command. Our people's lives aren't some toys you get to play with."

General Varkas set down a vambrace with a sigh. "I'm not saying we charge in without thought. Of course, we will make a plan, we will orient our soldiers about the truth of a war, and we will mourn for the dead should we incur them," she said. "But I'm not going to sit on my ass watching the world burn and my home with it. As long as I can fight, I will."

"Wise words, but hollow at this time," General Helzare said. His purple armor, once Canelis' favorite, now turned sour in her eyes. What's this hag doing, fanning the flame? It's not like he could contribute his expertise in this matter when he had nothing to show for. How her father saw something in this man was beyond Canelis. "We must take a step back and see if the war sees its end on its own. Learn from the renegades, as much as I loathe to say it. They're wise to detach themselves from this stupid war."

The amount of vulgar words thrown around what's supposed to be an official meeting rang in Canelis' ears. So, they could throw away all sense of formality and decorum just because they're in the middle of a huge issue and they're not in the fortress? Huh.

"Separating ourselves isn't going to do much either," General Slynn whipped her head in defense of her comrade. The beads and pendants she hung all over her form clinked with each other and her breastplate and shoulder pads. "The war will still find us wherever we go, if not here, then in other territories. And who's going to take our people in when they have their hands full with the issues inside their borders?"

"So, what's your point, General Sylnn?" General Adino snapped, rolling his eyes. His characteristic blue armor was nowhere to be found. Instead, he dressed like one of the common folk with them. He didn't even look like a General if not for the sacred pin gifted to him by the previous Riogener bearing his seal. "Are you saying we aid General Varkas with her reckless plan?" He turned to the General in question who recoiled as if she's punched in the gut. "What is your plan, Neyera?"

A chorus of gasps flitted across the room. General Adino did not just call a soldier of an equal rank by her first name.

"Well, Mierthe," General Varkas snapped. "The goal is to retake control of Xai-Ren first before we move to Yin-Alora. We can either adopt the renegade method of bypassing our own security and magical sensors, or we can organize a frontal assault platoon and storm the gates like the olden times. Better yet, we can employ both."

"With what army, General?" Helzare asked. "Let me remind you that only half of the army got past Yin-Alora, and less who got farther than Xai-Ren's borders."

"Crown General," Anerin turned to Canelis as a silent plea for a respite in the arguing. "What do you think the best course of action would be?"

The rest of the Generals' heads snapped to her. Expectant gazes turned her gut into a tight knot, constricting her throat in the process. Why were they asking her? She wasn't someone who had been doing this for a long time. The generals had thousands of years as a cumulative over her meager lifetime. Why were they asking her?

"I...am not qualified for a say in this discussion," Canelis blurted. "Without the Riogener, it was the Major Generals' counsel who had the right to direct the people. A Crown General is nothing but a fanfare title given to me by my father as a favor."

A confused expression marred General Anerin's face. "But...you are your father's sole heir," he said. "Isn't that a given—that you would succeed him as the next Renagener?"

Canelis shook her head. "The Temples need to acknowledge me, as well as the rest of our people," she said. "Until then, I will stay as a decoration in my father's court. Consider this my apologies, Generals."

Before any of them could stop her, she straightened and tore off the meeting circle, leaving her worries behind before they could come and tear her to shreds.