“Your highness!” Called a soldier as he entered the planning room. Kudaj stood around a table with a map of Songriveii illuminated in the center. Holographic projections of Songrivan soldiers were placed in various strategic locations across the Easton regions. The prince was planning his next moves against the empire. “We’ve received an important message from the Lord-President of Durinveii! The empire invades!”

  “Bloody fucking fools!” Kudaj spat with a smirk. “The Emperor truly doesn’t know the mess he walks into… If he assumes he can simply walk up on the shores of the Songrivans and the dwarves, he’s a bigger idiot than I ever gave him credit for.”

  “They’re requesting an audience with the Sovereign and his prince, your highness. Shall I set up a call?”

  “Yes. Set the meeting time for a half-hour from now,” Kudaj ordered.

  “Yes, your highness!”

  The others in the room had grins as wide as the prince’s after the soldier left the chamber. He reveled in their soon-forged allegiance to the States, eager to combine their efforts and reclaim their lands. He folded his arms across his chest and took a deep breath, hoping for only the brightest of futures for all nations and peoples of thaerv. All elves would be free of imperial threat once and for all.

  “This is a day long awaited, your highness,” One of the generals said.

  “Indeed. I can’t deny that. We have longed for the day that the States cease their petty quarrel with us and join us against our enemies. This… This is going to be a day to go down in the history books. It’s exactly like the Hadaj’Imad proclaimed on the day of my birth; The world above and the world below will join together, as the heir of the crimson sun defeats the lord of the fallen east. We are seeing this prophecy unfold, by the lips of our highest farseer,” Kudaj declared. The generals snickered and nodded, no doubt encouraged by the remembrance of the High Farseer of Centerton.

  “Shall we contemplate our next plan of action while we wait?” Another of the generals asked.

  He paused for a moment. “Yes. Let’s plan,” he started. His mind went to Jürdae, a woman he’d discovered his true feelings for. He longed for a public relationship with her, and as he contemplated their next course of action, he concocted a way that just might make it happen. It was so wild and imaginative, and it shouldn’t work, but he was so confident in her ability and the undiscovered divine logic she wielded, that it had to work. So he planned, and none of his generals were the wiser of his true intentions.

  The time had come. The generals were excused from their war meeting, and he was left in the room by himself. In front of him, the hologram of Songriveii remained, but after a few seconds, another image of his father appeared. Tall, broad, and even though his long hair and braided beard were greying, he still looked full of vigor and energy. He was dressed in his royal armor; a golden breastplate, pauldrons that held his hood and cape which drooped to the floor into a majestic pile around his plated feet. A humble crown rested upon his head, signifying the mark of a Sovereign who earned his title through honest means.

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  “My son,” he said, his voice deep and rumbling, like rolls of thunder in a mighty storm. Even through hologram it carried its same weight. “How fares the warfront?”

  “We have reclaimed Southton, reestablished the towns and villages that were attacked, and have begun planning our invasion into Easton,” he declared proudly.

  “Good work. You carry your mother’s courage and boldness. Remember the teachings of Agabesh. Our gods will not fail you in this war,” he encouraged. Kudaj smiled.

  “I have not forgotten, Lord-Sovereign.”

  “I know, my son.”

  A flicker caught their attention, then the Lord-President of Durinveii appeared on the opposite from the Sovereign. He was as tall as Kudaj’s father, just as broad, and just as proud. He wore a slick suit-and-tie. The President’s skin was darker than most dwarves, and his hair seemed to be greying a bit as well, but he carried the same energy as his father.

  “Sovereign,” he said with a thick Durinveii accent.

  “Lord-President,” his father returned.

  “I am pleased to meet with you both in these dark times. I know that the empire continues to invade your sacred shores. He has treated my lands with the same contempt,” he began. “This audience you have so graciously offered me is to broker an alliance and cease-fire between our nations, that we might unify against the empire and bring an end to his reign, and if we need to, also divide the empire in a peace treaty. I am willing to overlook the theft of our most sacred gem so that we can overcome this enemy together.”

  “Pious, ignorant-”

  “Father, please,” Kudaj interrupted. There had been a strong tension between Durinveii and Songriveii for many years over a gem that both nations hold sacred. In both nation’s history, they believed the gem to be a gift from the gods that grant its holder immense wealth and stability for their country. Throughout history, both countries had a habit of stealing it from each other, claiming it was theirs to begin with, and have feuded with each other since.

  Kudaj cleared his throat and continued. “We will accept this forgiveness and willingly charter an alliance with you until this war is over with. But first, you and my father must set aside your prejudice and be willing to work together. This petty dispute over a bloody rock will cost us dearly if we cannot learn to coexist… Traditions serve us nothing if they do not aid in stopping a vicious enemy.”

  They were both silent for a few minutes, contemplating his words. “Your son is a wise man beyond his years, mighty Sovereign. You should be proud,” the President said, breaking the silence.

  “I am… Very well, Lord-President Solacian; we will broker an alliance until this war is over.”

  “Very good. I certainly hope that this strengthens our relations from here on.”

  “My hope as well. Farewell,” his father said. Then, Solacian’s image vanished. He turned to Kudaj and offered a proud grin. “My amazement with your wisdom and ability to keep peace between adversaries continues to be a constant expression of mine, my son. Your mother is as proud as I am.”

  “Thank you, father.”

  “You are most welcome. When you’re finished with the war planning, I require your presence in Centerton. We have more of your favorite things to deal with; beaurocracy and politics. The southern nobles are trying to cause a rift again.”

  Kudaj rolled his eyes. “Can’t we replace them?”

  “Ha! I only wish. Their people trust in their lies, so removing them would cause a total uprising. No, we must let them remain, and if their heir proves to be a secure successor that doesn’t try to pull Southton away from the Sovereignty, they will not have charges brought against them.”

  “You’re too gracious to worms like them,” Kudaj said with a snicker. “I will return as soon as I can. May the gods guide your steps, father.”

  “And yours as well.”

  His father’s image dissipated, and he was left in the room alone with his thoughts. Strange times were coming when Songriveii and their rivals would join together. He took a deep breath and waved his hand at the map of his nation, causing it to vanish into thin air. The lights came on as a response to the holograms disappearing. There was work to do, and though it didn’t seem like it, he felt that the end of the war was in sight.

  Soon, they would meet an era of peace…