The sounds of training rang out throughout the lightly wooded area. There were sounds of sparring and chants for magic. Other soldiers were resting, and some worked at cookfires scattered throughout the camp. Regardless, it was an idyllic scene- as far as an army went.

“You haven’t told me what we’re doing here, sir.” Jordan said as he looked out on the troops training.

“Didn’t I?” William scratched his chin, “We’re here to stop the war.”

“I don’t foresee any monumental battles taking place here, even if it is a decent position.”

“Battles are only a good way to stop a war if you don’t mind everyone dying. Though, there are certain prerequisites for stopping a war in the best way.”

“What is required for the best way?”

“Communication. Tell me, how many humans do you think speak our language?”

“I hadn’t thought about it.”

“Well, I’d bet on about a few dozen,” William held up a hand. “Maybe a full gross, if you count smugglers who know a little bit. How many gevai do you think speak any of the human languages?”

“Perhaps about the same.”

“Probably. Maybe more, but maybe not. Chances of them speaking the language of Liaoyang or Eclea are even lower. Mainly you’ll get Ostanan, because they didn’t have a giant barrier to keep us out or use of ki to detect us. How many of the wars between us ended with anything but one side finally giving up and withdrawing, or their troops in an area being exterminated?”

Jordan frowned, thinking carefully, “None that I recall.”

“That’s pretty much it. With the Demon King at the helm, nobody wanted to give up on either side. The humans wanted to survive, so they couldn’t- and the Demon King wouldn’t accept stopping until he was dead.”

“Because he wanted more people to die.”

“I’m sure he was also sincere about wanting to wipe out the humans. It was just that the mountains prevented that from being as simple as driving out the elves and dwarves.”

“Elves and dwarves were real?”

“As far as I can tell.” William shrugged, “They might still be alive, if their ships made it to land somewhere. I can see why they wouldn’t be interested in coming back here though. Gevai tried to wipe them out, and humans didn’t really help them.”

Jordan nodded, “I understand that. So, we’re here to stop the war through… diplomacy?”

“That’s right.”

“Doesn’t that take the agreement of everyone on both sides? I don’t know about the humans, but some of us wouldn’t be pleased.”

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“And why not?” William raised an eyebrow, “They shouldn’t be able to object to saving gevai lives and getting humans out of our lands.” William held up a hand, “I know, I know. They will anyway. Some of those at the top are especially invested in having more people die. I am prepared to answer their objections, but as far as I’m concerned they can just die.”

“That’s not… a metaphor, is it.”

“It’s not. Things will likely get messy, but it’s the only way things will get better. Or, perhaps we will get lucky.”

“I wouldn’t count on luck, sir. I can’t help but notice you haven’t yet told me why we are here.”

“Sure I have. Diplomacy. We’re waiting here for the humans.”

“Are they just supposed to… show up?”

“Of course not. I’ve already sent them a message.”

“How? When?” Jordan frowned, “You didn’t actually approach the fort in Stamford Pass, did you?”

“Not closer than yelling distance. However, I gave them good motivation to pass along the message. Like not dropping the mountain on top of them.” William grinned, “There was a good reason the keep wasn’t buried, you know?”

“I don’t see what good yelling would do unless they spoke gevai or… you spoke Eclean.”

“Which do you think it is?”

“You must speak Eclean, somehow.” Jordan frowned, “But we’re north of Ostana here. They might just send a delegation from them, if they even come at all.”

“That’s fine. I speak Ostanan too. Plus the others.”

“Is that… so?” Jordan shook his head, “I didn’t know that, but I suppose it makes a bit more sense now. I’ve heard you speaking things that weren’t gevai. Of course, there’s still the problem of convincing them to come.”

“I gave them numerous adequate reasons to send a delegation. Maybe nobody important will show up, but they’ll send someone. I can convince them that we’re serious, and we’ll be able to continue on.”

“What if they don’t show up at all, or it doesn’t go as planned? Even if you negotiate properly, if the other lords don’t go along with it...”

William shrugged, “Then we probably die, and this continent is screwed. As for the other lords, we have enough on our side- or at least the side of preferring to end the war with less gevai lives lost. They’ll be able to participate in the negotiations. I’m not expecting my personal authority to be enough.”

“I notice they aren’t here yet, though. When are the other lords going to show up?”

“Oh, them? They’re currently convening somewhere further away from the front lines. We’ll be able to contact them though. Don’t worry.”

-----

In the city of Canta, the court was full of humans from every nation. One visitor from Liaoyang spoke to another, “Why do we have to meet in Ostana? Do they think so highly of themselves?”

The other man rolled his eyes, “That might be so, but it’s rather practical. It is a centralized location, and close enough to the proposed meeting site.”

“Are we really going to negotiate with a demon?”

“Can we afford not to? You might not have noticed, but our losses have not been insignificant. There’s no way we wipe out the demons. If we were even interested in some of their territory, could we hold it?” He shrugged, “I think it’s worth meeting with him, and if it’s some kind of deception we have the chance to kill a powerful lord.”

“Or they take the chance to kill a few of our key leaders.”

“I’d say don’t go if you’re afraid… but you’re not important.”

“You wound me with your harsh words. I understand why we’re here though. The Demon King even appeared in Liaoyang all those years ago… we’d hoped he was dead and gone.”

The second man’s eyes became serious, “It is not that easy to get rid of him. That is why we are here. That is why, through every generation… we watch.”