Nastrond@Mardox

The halls are mostly empty, with only a few servants, a few minor lords, lord Ellius Braveshine and the heir to Nastrond Nasvell being present. It wasn't anything uncommon for there to be no issues, the people of Nastrond rarely had any complaints about their lives, they had learnt to live through hardships.

However, the doors to the palace open, with a Valgraadi messenger arriving, accompanied by a few Valgraadi Iron Guards. The messenger bowed before Nieldun and started speaking. "Esteemed king, as you may have heard, our Lord, the wise King Dorian Grainwad has passed without leaving any heirs or close family members and now, three people have risen to claim his throne." he said, smiling deviously from ear to ear.

"My lord, Darius Highmall is one of these claimants and has heard of your incredible strength in combat and is willing to overlook your demonic lineage if you would support him in this claim of his. He will win with or without your aid, however, if you aid him in his victory, he will reward you with both gold and the chance to tie your noble family with his by marrying his daughter with one of your sons!" the messenger, brimming with confidence awaited Nieldun's answer.

Lord Braveshine spoke to Nieldun as if the messenger was not even here. "And one of the other claimants is Lord Orrius Leighton of Dolgathrasar, who is supported by our own Lord Bornetall, my king. We should not, plus this the first time Lord Highmall showed anything but aggression towards us... I say we either stay out of this or support Lord Orrius." Lord Braveshine spoke with little care towards the messenger who awaited the response.

Wolastra@bluetommy2

Two people seek an audience with you right now. The first person was a Wolastran, though he claimed to be from Ceia, one of the cities seized by the Sequini during the previous war, bearing a very urgent message. The other was a young woman wearing a full suit of plate armor, all except the helmet which she took off to show some respect towards King Ernst. This woman was from Airgiallne as evidenced by her dark purple hair.

The first to come speak was the Wolastran from Ceia, carrying the message. He bowed before Ernst and opened the parchment containing the message.

"King Ernst of Wolastra, when our other leaders let us down, you have fought until you could fight no more. We know you do not wish to fight anymore, but please, great king, we ask you to support us! We are planning to rebel, we wish to re-join Wolastra and our own kin!

Send the army to aid us and the Sequini forces stand absolutely no chance towards our glorious armies, let us rise again and prove them that Wolastra has yet to show it's full fury!"

The man's speech was certainly quite inspiring as many of the lesser nobles and knights in the throne room began cheer, agreeing to the idea of another war with what they considered their enemy. As soon as the crowd silenced, however, the Airgiallni woman knelt and started speaking.

"Noble king, I am lady Arias, servant of our new Queen Merya of Airgiallne." she said, presenting both herself and her queen with a polite smile. "Though she is new to the matters of state, she has quickly realized that she needs an heir to continue her own line, as such, she proposes a royal marriage between your highness' heir and herself. However, in order to continue her line, the first child shall be of her own dynasty, while the others will be your own dynasty."

As soon as she finished speaking, the messenger rose to his feet, looking quite insulted. "How dare you interrupt us, woman, this is a matter of the greatest importance for his highness, the welfare of his people!"

However, young lady Arias stood on her knees, ignoring the messenger and simply awaiting Ernst's response.

The messenger was seething with anger. "Who do you think you are, you little bi..."

Before he could even finish his sentence, the captain of Ernst's Royal Guards shouted. "You're in the presence of the king, show some manners!" he shouted, staring sternly at the messenger, who knelt yet again, cowed. The captain looked towards Ernst and nodded, meaning that he could speak his opinion about both of these offers.

The Jade Empire of Sha'an Tzien@Lauder

The court was filled with the heads of all clans, both large and small, all were in the presence of the the esteemed Shogun, discussing the newest matter that had been proposed. It was time for the Jade Empire to rise again. The signs were there, the Shalorni were stirring on their island, most likely for another great expedition to begin the reconquest of the continent while the Sequini already claimed the title of Emperor and had carved themselves a very large empire for themselves, clearly thinking that they were the successors of the now defunct Celestial Empire.

If these people wished expansion, then it was clear that Sha'an Tzien would soon be their enemies. As such, all the heads of the clans had agreed that expansion was necessary in order to secure themselves a position in this world, but the question was, with who to war. There were currently three valid targets to war with.

The first was the Emirate of Mtol Darask. They had a much smaller army than the Jade Empire's own and owned great expanses of land, which would make Sha'an Tzien look visually impressive on the map. However, there were two issues. The first, was that the Daraski would never meet them in direct battle choosing to let the harsh terrain kill the army, the second is that the relations with them were improving, making a war with them quite difficult.

The second target would be The Order of Ashkanian, who are the sole military order with such a large military. Since their general mission is conversion of the other countries to the Imperial Faith, an attack on them by us would mean that the countries who still follow said faith would view this as a threat to their own faith. While we are strong, we cannot face the Kingdom of Sylvanyr, the Royal Island, Ashkanian and Valgaard alone.

The third and final target is the now fragmented Kingdom of Valgraad, who is currently in the middle of a civil war. This would mean that the fractured country could not mount an effective defense against our glorious armies. This would be our most valid target as of now.

Your Head General turns towards you and kneels, speaking "Great Shogun, we shall follow you in any war you deem worthy of starting... so who shall face the wrath of the new, ascending Jade Empire?"

@Claw2k11

King Ernst tented his fingers and placed them against his lips, he waited until all were quiet before speaking. Running a hand through his beard, he motioned for the Wolastran to retake the floor. Staring into the man's eyes with a quizzical expression seen on his face. Ernst tilted his head and massaged the side of his neck, letting out a small groan.

"A rebellion will not go well, for either of us, I will not send my army on some fool's errand to attack the same rivals who nearly wiped us off the face of the world. You may rebel, but I will not send a man, I will not send a ship, I will not send a coin." He firmly stated, tightly grasping the arm-rests of his throne.

"We will wait thousands of years if need be, I won't lose again, understand that." He said with a wave of his hand, suggesting they should go back to kneeling.

"May the fair lady step forwards again?" He stated in a monotone. When she did, he shifted in his seat.

"Airgillane eh? How wonderful, I'm sure the queen is regretting that she sent you to speak to us 'savages'." He joked darkly.

"I'm willing to make such a deal, if it is agreed that my learned son Alois' firstborn only ascends to your throne, if there is only one child born of the union, then my son will be disinherited until he can produce any further offspring. If this arrangement does not agree with you, I'd be willing to search out my firstborn Reinhardt and force him into such a marriage, though he is quite hard to control." With a quizzical tilt of his head, Ernst eagerly awaited the woman's response.

Behind the king, his elder half-brother Oliver was an imposing presence, taller than any others in the room and in full plate armor, he strode across the court and asked the Wolastran to leave, a hand on his scimitar as he spoke.

@bluetommy2

The messenger had an array of emotions pass his face as Ernst spoke, the last one to show itself before speaking was seething anger.

"You would forsake your own people?!" he asked, not even waiting for a response. "The king is supposed to protect his people and we are your people, we are ruled by foreigners but we yearn to rejoin Wolastra, however, if you choose to let your people suffer, then we will crown our new king instead of hoping that a idle ruler might join!" he shouted and with a mocking bow of his head and a look of disgust on his face, he spoke. "May your rule be ever short!" before being slowly lead away by Oliver

The captain of the Royal Guard placed a hand on the hilt of his sword, looking at Ernst. What the man just said was a open threat to him, if he so chose, he could arrest or execute the man for the threat and nobody there would argue, even the knights and lesser nobles who had supported the idea of a new war, glared at the messenger.

"Us savages need to stand together, don't we?" she answered, with her own joke.

"I'm here on behalf of her highness with full power to agree of any proposal." she spoke casually as if she herself was another monarch. "And while she would want her heirs to be in the likeness of your oldest son Reinhardt as many travelling courtiers praised him endlessly, however, she desires only to improve the relations between our nations and tie our two royal houses together... on behalf of the queen, I accept your proposal, my lord!" she said, bowing her head slightly before looking at the imposing figure of Oliver leading the rather rude messenger out.

@Claw2k11

Ernst gave a small smile to the captain, nodding that he wished for the man to be arrested for his remarks, not because he was offended, but because it provided him a chance to prevent the rebellion from being blamed on his kingdom, it would still happen, he knew that, but now it wouldn't be blamed on him.

"Oliver, please escort this man to the cells." With a nod, Oliver proceeded to clap a hand over the man's shoulder, pulling his scimitar loose and leveling it towards the man.

Turning back towards the woman, Ernst nodded, looking over at one of the guards.

"Fetch the prince, I'll have to inform him of his new betrothal. As for you, my lady, you may inform your queen that I hope for a long and productive relationship between our two kingdoms, I should inform the traders that we have a new partner." Standing and fixing his cape, Ernst stepped down from his throne.

"Is that all of them? If so, everyone but our lady ambassador and the guards may clear out." Ernst said, with a wave of his hand.

@bluetommy2

"How dare you?!" the messenger shouted as he was lead towards the cells, obscenities could be heard coming from the man as he was lead down towards the cells, it would no doubt sour the relations between the would be rebels and Wolastra, but it would also convince Tar Sequinus, at least partially that they had nothing to do with the rebellion.

One of the royal guards immediately nods and runs to fetch the young prince out of his chambers.

The woman smiled and nodded. "Good king, if you wouldn't mind, may I ask for all but your most trustworthy guards to leave?" she asked, still smiling. "I wish this discussion to be as private as possible as I have another more... private thing to speak of." she said, before turning towards one of the guards. "Please inform one of my companions outside to deliver the answer to the queen." she said, before turning back towards the king.

@Claw2k11

"Of course, my lady. All but my personal guard may leave." He stated with a wave of his wrist.

"What is it that you wish to ask, my lady?" He asked after the guards had followed his orders.

Crown prince Alois arrived soon afterwards, stumbling into the room with book in hand. He bowed before his father and waited to be spoken to.

@bluetommy2

To that she smiled. "My lord, I am not sure you know, but the current queen of Airgiallne has a twin sister of similar look to her." She said smiling mischievously.

"And now, to introduce myself properly." She said, straitening her posture and speaking in a more royal manner. "I am Queen Merya Shadowborn, sixty-fourth monarch of the independent kingdom of Airgiallne, I am glad to truly meet you King Ernst!" She said, now doing a courteous bow before Ernst and Alois.

Needless to say, the remaining Royal Guards and the captain himself went wide-eyed at the statement. All of them were wondering why would a queen travel so much just to deliver a proposal of marriage.

Ernst choked on his own spit for a moment, coughing and pounding his chest. Prince Alois stared blankly at his father, who held out a hand.

Scowling confusedly, the king coughed one last time before a smile creeped across his face. Chuckling, he bowed courteously, giving a toothy grin. Straightening to match, Ernst licked a thumb and ran it across his son's face, cleaning a bit of dirt off of his cheek. Alois wiped until the skin turned red.

"My lady, what a pleasant surprise, I hope that my hospitality was adequate for one of your royal statute." Taking one of her hands, he kissed the back of it twice and released, placing an arm over his son, who squirmed away.

After a moment, Ernst's face turned grim as he began to wonder what had caused this woman to leave her home just to negotiate an alliance.

"Although, as I have said, it is very pleasing to meet you," Ernst said coldly. "I cannot help but wonder what brings you here, I haven't heard any reports from my spymaster..." He shook his head and turned to his son.

"Alois, this is Queen Merya Shadowborn, your betrothed." The boy's eyes widened at that prospect, and he looked between both his father and the woman.

"If I came here as a queen, I would have come with a proper entourage, your treatment was more than adequate enough, don't worry!" she said, trying to reassure the king. "I would only consider it normal for your spymaster not to hear anything, my sister is sitting on the throne in my stead and since we look virtually the same, I doubt any of your spies were able to tell the difference."

Then she chuckled. "Why, I came to propose to my betrothed in person and to see how he looks, after all, tales cannot be trusted to tell of man's courage or his looks." she said before approaching Alois and studying his looks, though not without smiling.

If either the king or Alois were to care to at least study the young queen's face closely, they would see that her skin was as fine as porcelain and with the exotic hair and purple eye color, the young queen was a truly exotic beauty. "As I had hoped, I wanted your elder son Reinhardt as the little girl in me wanted a brave knight to be betrothed, but I am not a little girl anymore." she said, bowing her head to the prince. "I judged you, my prince, now you may judge me as you see fit."

@Claw2k11
Nieldun listened to the messenger's proposal with some interest but it was the council of Lord Braveshine that truly merited his consideration. Lord Highmall may have been offering gold and a tie to his house but with all things considered, Highmall was being overly confident and offering very little for an old enemy to join him. Gold could be plundered from a conquered Vaalgardian city and why tie one's house to someone who had shown hostility for so long? The flattery was nice but Nieldun knew that Highmall would not stand a chance if Nastrond marched to war against him. A united Vaalgard might put up a decent fight but one lord's army against that of a nation? Suicide. Despite this messenger's bluster, Highmall was most likely desperate for Nastrond's support. Unfortunately for him, Nastrond would not be giving him support.

Lord Leighton on the other hand, was certainly worth considering. For starters, he was supported by Lord Bornetall who Nieldun had long respected. Furthermore, Dolgathrasar had once been Nastrondi, long, long, ago. This meant that the cultures of Nastrond and Dolgathrasar were rather similar, but more importantly, it gave Nieldun an idea. If he could work the diplomatic bits just right, he could claim that Dolgathrasar was still rightfully Nastrond's and as such, a claim on the Valgaardian throne by a lord of Dolgathrasar meant that he could justify conquering all of Valgaard for the glory of Nastrond. For a very long time, Valgaard and Nastrond had been the bitterest of rivals. Now, with the civil war resulting from the death of King Dorian, Nastrond had the perfect time to strike. Ideally, Leighton's allegiance could be acquired, but if not, Nieldun planned to conquer Valgaard regardless of whether there were any Valgaardi assisting him.

After all this deliberation, Nieldun spoke to the messenger. "You may inform Lord Highmall that we will not be assisting him. He has shown hostility too long to be suddenly be a friend. Even if he does wish to turn over a new leaf, he neither negotiates from a position of strength nor offers anything worth supporting him for. Tying my house to his only strengthens his house and House Gildedtongue has other options. Gold alone is not sufficient either to forgive the sins of the past and an era of enmity. While I might be willing to execute mercenary work in other circumstances due to the limited wealth in my nation, I will not send my men to fight for Highmall in this case. Goodbye."

Lord Braveshine could not help but smile as King Nieldun denied support to Lord Highmall and offered to the more likely candidate that would help them. As for the messenger, people expected him to rage over the fact of not joining them, however, the messenger was graceful in defeat and bowed towards Nieldun answering.

"Lord... nay, King Highmall knew it would be of little worth to ask you for help, however, he hoped to ask such warriors as you to join him in battle, but now, my Liege wishes you luck in your battles my lord and when he will be honored to meet you in battle." with that the messenger left, leaving the courtiers there quite confused.

"I suppose we will be joining Lord Leighton, am I correct, my king?" Lord Braveshine asked, a knowing smile present on his face

"But of course!" Said Nieldun with a smile. "We merely need to negotiate the terms of our support for him. I would like to meet him in person if that would be possible." Nieldun hopped down from his throne. "In fact, if there is no other pressing business to attend to, then I would like to begin preparations to send forth an army and send outriders ahead of us to notify Lord Leighton of our arrival before our army is at his gates."

Nieldun began to pace. "Nasvell, you will be staying and holding down the fort with the counsel of Lord Braveshine. I won't be gone for long but I do believe it is necessary to attend this meeting myself. I know that you will not disappoint me."

Nasvell bowed his head. "I shall not let you down, father. How many soldiers are you taking to Valgaard?"

Nieldun stroked his beard. "The Valgaardians technically have the numerical advantage when united and I highly doubt that anyone will attack Nastrond in my absence so I'll take most of the military. Thirty-thousand spearmen, twenty-two thousand swordsmen, eighteen-thousand archers, nine thousand cavalry and eighteen hundred Guardian Devils. It is a bold move but with a little good fortune, we can put an end to the threat on our southern border once and for all."

"Do not worry, my king, as your faithful servant, I will counsel your son as best as I can during your absence." Lord Braveshine said, bowing deeply. "I shall also inform Lord Bornetall so that he may know to wait for our armies to unite in one." he speaks. "Shall I order my son to deploy the fleet from Yakulla as well?"

The three large armored figures, who until now had stood still as statues suddenly moved. Three seven foot armored beings armored from head to toe in plated stygian armor moved close to Nieldun. He knew what these creatures were and they were even more formidable than his Guardian Devils. They all knelt to Nieldun, with one of them speaking.

"We shall crush any foe you command us, my king!"

Nieldun spoke to Braveshine first. "It would indeed be ideal for the fleet to be deployed. If the enemy fleet is also divided, we can hold the Strait of Turga and insure that the Valgaardi do not mount a counter-attack on our coasts. We will of course, avoid harassing other ships as we do not need to fight two wars at once."

Nieldun turned to the loyal beings and saluted them by thumping his left fist against his chest. "I am glad to hear it. There will be many foes to crush as the Valgaardi are rather numerous. Rise and we will go to oversee the preparations for the conquest of Valgaard."

With a bit of suddenness, he looked towards a nearby messenger. "On second thought, a temporary alliance with Lord Highmall against the Bastard would be most beneficial. Go and catch his lackey."

"We should blockade only the strait of Kolga, my king, as through Turga pass many non-Valgraadi ships." Lord Braveshine advised. "This way, we can retreat should the enemy overwhelm us." he spoke, scratching his chin. "The Valgraadi fleet is the only thing that is still united and they outnumber us nearly two to one so a full on sea engagement would be in their favor."

The three beings thumped their chests as well and now stood by his side. The messenger rushed to bring the Valgraadi messenger back and to his luck, he was able to bring him just in time, though now he watched the three figures warily. "You called, good king?" the Valgraadi messenger asked, kneeling once again before Nieldun.

"We shall attack the Valgraad, bring order to their lands, and reclaim it for the Jade Empire. I expect that our men will carry this invasion with speed and precision like the head of an arrow. My son, can I count on you to help me restore the Jade Empire?," Shogun Tien Oshimata asked, a stern and unwavering voice filling the room. He held only the highest of expectations for his eldest son, anything less and it would be questioning his own honor. Jade green eyes peirced into the general, an equally stern look as his voice on the shogun's face.

"I want you to crush all resistance with the might of our entire army, do I make myself clear?"

@Claw2k11
"You have a better grasp of naval tactics than I." Said Nieldun to Lord Braveshine. "If the Valgaardian fleet is still united, then we are certainly better off able to fall back. Land is our strength, not the sea. We should, however, consider working on improving our navy once we have acquired more gold from our future provinces to the south."

He then spoke to the messenger. "I have given the matter a little more thought. Tell Lord Highmall that while I do not support his claim to the throne, I believe that a temporary alliance to destroy the Bastard and any other foes we may have in common would be most beneficial."

@Mardox
Lord Braveshine bowed deeply "As you say, my king, I will have the fleet ready to move as soon as possible to block Kolga." The man said with his ever devious smile on his face. "I shall send a messenger back to Yakulla as soon as possible." with that, he left the court to write a formal letter to his own son.

The messenger looked suspiciously at Nieldun, with a raised brow. "Very well, King Nieldun, I shall send this message to the future King Highmall to see if he accepts, though knowing him he would never lose the occasion to fight besides you instead of against you."

@Lauder

All the lords there, bowed their heads and answered with steeled determination. "Yes, my lord!" they all shout in unison beating their chest with their hands. And leave, with only your most trustworthy daimyo left and your personal elite soldiers, the Samurai Masters.

Your eldest daimyo, Kai Nara speaks with all the respect due towards the emperor. "Shall we ask our vassal states to raise their troops, Great Jade Emperor?" he asks, studying the map. "Also, I propose we launch our brunt force at the fortress of Andrasikth in order to get a secure foothold of the city."

The other daimyo looked at the Emperor for confirmation, or if he had to propose another plan.

@Claw2k11

Ernst's dark lips puckered at the mention of his eldest son, he had never truly gotten over the ease with which his son decided to leave. One night he was riding with the knights, the next day he was gone along with half of the guards. Oliver had taken it the hardest, Reinhardt and him had shared a greater bond than he had shared with his own brothers.

"Trust me, my lady," Ernst spoke, staring off into the distance sadly. "Reinhardt wasn't the type to rescue girls from towers and live happily ever after." Turning to Alois, he motioned for the boy to speak.

"Oh, well, I hadn't expected to be married so young. Yes, it is the norm for our people, but I am a prince, father wasn't married until he was king." Alois stated, well-composed.

"Yes, but no woman would touch me when I was just the mad stable-boy." He joked, forcing a smile. "Alois, tell the woman she's beautiful, that's what you do to women." He said, with a smile to the queen. Alois, however, simply stood, glancing about the room at his personal guard until finally settling his vision on one of them, who had his face obscured by a head-wrap.

Ernst stared at his son a moment, before a look of realization crossed his face. Immediately he smacked hard on the boy's exposed arm, hard enough to turn his son's light-brown skin red. A moment later, he glanced up at the queen with a smile and mouthed an apology to the prince.

"Sorry, my lady, he had a blood-drinker on his arm." He lied through his teeth.

"I'm just a little nervous, my lady, this was sprung on me so suddenly, you are very beautiful, I would be delighted to have you as my wife." The prince said quickly, nearly interrupting the end of his father's statement.

The young queen quickly realized what was going on and sighed, as if she had been defeated in a battle before putting on a apologetic smile and turning towards the young prince. "I am truly sorry, my good prince, I came here and half-forced you to marry me when you had someone else."

She looked at the same guard he had looked for a few moments before turning back to Alois. "My prince, tell me, do you really wish to marry me?" She asked, continuing before he had time to answer. "Don't take your father into account, this is your future about to be decided, not his, you decide this, not me, not your father." She said to him in a rather serious tone considering she was smiling. "I do not wish for you to he unhappy in this marriage."