"Weapons will do just fine but I have noticed that the armies of Tar Sequinus are not pressing the advantage despite the previous battle. You could probably make a white peace with nothing gained or lost. If not, these cannons and rifles along with gold and possibly a city of Tar Sequinus will pay the bill. Now this Shadow business seems quite urgent..."

"Excuse me?" she asks. "I lost over 70.000 men, 70.000 people that will never live to see the light of day ever again, I want to teach the Sequini what it means to lose so many men since they enough to spare!" she says obviously angered. "I'm sorry for losing my cool there, let us both go to this meeting, though your previous enemy, the Vaalgradi might be there..." she says thoughtfully. "Anyway, let's be off!"

@Lauder

(I'll post a bit later once everyone is ready to go to Ashkanian).

"I meant no offense. I merely wondered if you wished to prevent further bloodshed after a failed trap. Blood will be shed, no worries. As for the Vaalgardians, I'm sure they'll be wise enough to keep calm." With this, King Nieldun readied a thousand of the Guardian Devils that had remained in Nastrond as his bodyguard.

Lord Vermiculus was shocked at the messengers words. It had been a long time since this creatures had arisen, and when they did nearly all of Tar Sequinus was destroyed. He couldn't take the risk that it was merely a joke. He gathered his advisors together to inform them his plan.

"I will go to Ashakia and attend this feast. I will take 500 Dragon Riders with me as an escort. I want all conscripts to be risen. I want all towns on our borders to be reinforced as well as better defences put in place. I want all loses from previous battles to be regained, I want every man who makes weapons in our kingdom to come forward with new weaponrary ideas to outfit our troops, same thing with the armour makers. If this is a trap, and should I fall, my eldest son will take command of our people. Now, I must depart, farewell."

He mounted his stead and looked at his retinue, hopefully there won't be a fight against the Shadow Creatures, his nation can't afford the loses.

@Catchphrase@Mardox@Lauder

As they arrive to the Ashkanian capital, they can notice that the courtyard had been settled so that any extra troops the kings brought could be kept in the courtyard as to not disturb the kings from their meeting. When they all enter, they find a small table filled with simple but tasty foods. After all, the Order of the Shadows learned to eat only as much as they need, not gorging themselves on food.

The Grandmaster greets all of the kings that have arrived so far. All of the kings were present, all except to so called "emperor" of Gnyr Shalorn, the King of Sylvannyr who was currently holding his own feast and the King of Noatun. The Caliph of Mtol Daraski sits at the seat furthest from Felreich, considering the situation between the two nations was still... tense. The king of Vaalgrad, a very old and frail man, on the other hand sits right next to Nieldun, to show that there is no bad blood between the two rulers. The queen of Wolastra takes the other seat next to Nieldun and flashes him a smile before looking at the Grandmaster. The King of Airgiallne picked the seat furthest from everyone, choosing to mask his face, though it is unknown why. Last to arrive was the Shogun of Sha'an Tzien, who was dressed in royal garbs, rather than armor like the rest of the lords.

"Now that everyone is here, I would like to show you something." he says signaling several of his men to bring a covered cage inside the room. "In here, my lords is a Shadow Fiend we have caught near to a village quite far from the Shadow Lands, if you are easily spooked, then you may leave the room." he says, before taking off the cover of the cage.



The beast screeches and hits the bars who give a loud ringing, looking at the beast would give those weak of heart a bad headache. "A shadow fiend my lords... what do you think?" the Grandmaster asks.

@Catchphrase

As soon as the the king left, the troops started to gather around the borders with Wolastra, but not fast enough, several border villages and hamlets were raided, though this form of raiding was quite odd. There were no damages to the buildings and the people inside the village simply vanished as if the ground had eaten them, along with all resources in the villages. Your troops suspect that it was Wolastran by nature, but have no proof whatsoever to back it up.

(Since your king is gone, I must say that you will have to RP with another person in Tar Sequinus).

Felreich looks at the beast, it seemed rather... angered to say the least, but they obviously were not here to discuss what it felt. "Exactly how far was it?," he asked, his voice still calm but it could be easily told that he was concerned. The King continued to watch it, no knowing if the bars could hold it indefinitely, his hand going to the hilt of his sword.

Felreich looks at the beast, it seemed rather... angered to say the least, but they obviously were not here to discuss what it felt. "Exactly how far was it?," he asked, his voice still calm but it could be easily told that he was concerned. The King continued to watch it, no knowing if the bars could hold it indefinitely, his hand going to the hilt of his sword.

"It was only twenty kilometers away from Beh Ayan, though they never travel alone, which means a Shadow Beast was near, and a Shadow Beast that's 20 km away from that city is too close for me." he says answering to Felreich. "Don't worry, the cage is made of Stygian Steel, it won't break out anytime soon." he says to him.

Lord Vermiculus
He watched the creature in the case for a little while. It seemed desperate and angry, though that is to be expected. When he heard how far away from Beh Ayan, he was concerned. Where there was one, there would certainly be others. But for now, he had another matter to discuss before he could handle this mess.

"If this is truly the start of an invasion by these fiends, then Tar Sequinus is with you. Right after we settle the matter with Wolastra."

Lord Ursus
Lord Ursus was with some men, checking out the reports of an abandoned hamlet on the border. He saw that no building were damaged, and that what blood there was, was little, not enough to even show someone had cut themselves badly. This didn't seem like a raid by Wolastra, if it was, they'd be bodies everywhere and the buildings would've been torched. But it seemed merely as if everyone had packed up and left. He didn't like this one little bit, he sent his men out to search the area in and around the village, as well as to check the villages and hamlets nearest to this one. Hopefully someone would've seen something.

@Catchphrase

"Oh, my lord, if you would have sent an army to show your trust, we would not have ambushed you, I do not want to waste my men in a war with you, not when the Hordes from Kalak Doman are poking around to see if they can get inside my territory, so I must say that it is your fault for slaughtering so many of my people, this is an offense I can't overlook." Queen Marianna says to Vermilicus. "Though for now, consider us in a... uneasy truce." she said glaring at him.

"As for the Shadow Beasts, my good man, I would love to aid you, but between fighting him and trying not to look like good prey to the Domani hordes, I'm afraid I don't have men to spare, I'm truly sorry. Though, as soon as we will get the time and men, we will send troops to you, no doubt." she said to the Grandmaster with a pleasant smile.

The Grandmaster sighs heavily and nods at the two. "Let's not dwell on this too long, I do not wish to start a fight in here."

---

Yet the other villages were emptied out as well, no blood either, except only two dead people in the watch tower of one of the villages, two guardsmen with their throats slit, above them written in blood "This is revenge for slaughtering our men, you dogs!" That was the only sign of violence in the all the villages, but it was enough, Wolastra had most likely kidnapped most of the population and killed those who resisted.

Lord Vermiculus was about to respond, when he received a message from Lord Ursus. What he read on the message, greatly infuriated him. He was so angry he left the hall and made ready for preparations to leave for home. He was in the courtyard, about to leave, when he suddenly had an idea, he grabbed on of his guards and sent him with a message for the Queen of Wolastra.

The man entered the hall and read out his message, "Queen Wolastra, we have received word that villages near our border with you have been emptied. All evidence seems to point to you. While no bodies have been recovered, it is assumed your people kidnapped them. Unless you want a war, we have demands. First, return our people, alive, to our lands. Second, agree that no more attacks shall be made. And third, a marriage must be made between our two nations. You must marry the Eldest son or daughter of House Vermiculus, they will have no power in your lands, and will not rule if you die before them. Please make a choice quickly, for we ride for home, either for a marriage celebration, or for war."

@Catchphrase

A letter arrives back to him from Queen Marianna.

My lord, Vermilicus

Could please tell me how would I have given the order to attack if I was right here in front of your eyes, neverthenless, if you want war, we'll be happy to oblige, however I urge you to think more reasonably. At best, some rogue soldiers from my nation have sweeped into your lands for the death of maybe their siblings, or maybe simply because of revenge, think however, that by declaring war, you'll be forsaking the lives of both our nation's young, fathers will have to bury their sons.

Think logically my lord, however, if it is war you wish, then we will have to oblige.

Queen of Wolastra, Marianna Nostras

As they left, the Royal Wolastran Guard that was left outside to wait, now glare, though do not say anything , at Vermilicus and his men.

Lord Vermiculus received the reply, and growled. Not at the Queen, but at himself. Of course he had no real idea who it was. He should've never lost his temper. He dismounted his horse and returned to the hall. He then stood in front of the Queen, and kneeled before her with his head bowed.

"Please forgive me. I did what no ruler should ever do, and lost my temper. I can understand soldiers fighting soldiers, but the killing of civilians is always distasteful. There will be no war between us, provided you help find the missing villagers, as a sign that you don't condone this behaviour. Also, the offer of marriage is still open. I believe that a wedding between our people, maybe not between us but maybe of the lesser Houses, would show that there is no ill will between us. It's merely an idea. Now," he rose up and took his seat, "how are we going to defeat this new threat? I have troops to spare, by our weapons weren't made to kill these creatures."

@Catchphrase@Mardox

The queen nods and says:

"My lord, I say let time heal the wounds, when we will be ready, we will take your offer of Royal Marriage and think about it, ok?" she said with a pleasant smile. "After all, I myself have not married yet, or rather re-married."

"That's where our Nastrondi friends comes in. Since Stygian Steel is the only thing that can harm these beasts, we will ask of them to supply us with as much Stygian Steel as we can in order to prepare ourselves for this invasion." he says. "If King Nieldun approves of course."

Nieldun smiled back earlier and with the attention on Nastrond spoke. "Nastrond will of course provide as much Stygian Iron as needed. The Ashkanians will be getting an 80% off discount since they are the buffer between the Shadows and everyone else. All others pay full price unless they are supplying troops that are actively combating the Shadows in which case, the same deal will be made. To simplify matters, the blacksmiths of my homeland will forge the metal into arms and armor made to the request of the buyer. While I would normally supply the metal free of charge due to the circumstances, Stygian Iron along with weapons and armor are my country's main exports and such an action would harm our already limited trade. Furthermore, Nastrond will provide reinforcements of 20,000 men."

Vermiculus nodded and agreed with everything. "So, that's the plan on how we kill them. I will place an order of 50000 arms and armour for the troops I intend to give as soon as I return to my lands. What about actual battle plans? Do we control our own armies? Or appoint someone as the general for our combined forces?"

"That is a very good question. Why doesn't the Grandmaster tell us some more about the Shadows as the Ashkanians have been containing them successfully for quite a while. They probably don't think like we do so some strategies will be useless." Nieldun turns to the caged fiend and strokes his chin, acting on instinct, he speaks in a strange tongue. The words translate to "Hello there, can you understand me?"

Felreich listened to the Kings before stating what Anqallyt would offer to this situation, " If needed then Anqallyt will spare 10,000 men and maybe 100 Sun Knights if the situation is dire." That was before he heard the Nielden speak in the strange talk. "What language do you speak to the monster?," He asked, hand going to sword.

Nieldun raised an left hand. "Peace. I merely wished to see if it understood an ancient language. If we can communicate with these Shadows hopefully we can understand what makes them tick. I assure you, there is no reason for concern."

@Mardox

"I will place an order of 100.000 armors, swords, spear tips and all that. Forge them as fast as you can, our entire army will be devoted to this."

"I will take an order of the same amount." Queen Marianna says. "When I will have them, I will send 30.000 men."

"My country is currently drained of men and resources, but we will send an order when we'll have them both." The King of Vaalgrad says, clearly tired.

"Pah, the Shadows have never disturbed us, so we have no need to place such an order." The Shogun of Sha'An Tzien said. "If there is nothing else, then I will be taking my leave."

Vermiculus grunted at the answer. "It doesn't matter what they want, all that matters is that they die. Why would you even try to capture one of these things? How did you? And how many died in the attempt?"

@Catchphrase

"We set a trap for it, even so, we lost twenty good men fighting the other Shadow fiends around it. I had to capture it so that you fellows would believe me that Shadows are coming back." The Grandmaster answers.