~Solestia~

"Your highness," Maison almost collided with the king as he came running through the flowers.

"Your highness, the knight's council is on its way. They've found out about the princess," he reported breathlessly.

"Calm down Maison. You know better than to disrupt me when I'm taking my walks around the garden, and I'm sure they do too," the king said.

"Forgive me sire. But I tried to tell them that. They just wouldn't listen.... They seemed very upset." The plump man quivered as he tried to contain the urgency in his voice.

"Alright, go and tell them to assemble at the high table. Assemble the elders as well. It's time."

"Yes your highness."

"And do hurry before they trample on my flowers like you just did."

"Apologies, your highness."

Maison turned and ran, this time taking the cobbled stone paths that wound around beds of different colored flowers. Reds, yellows, violets all whistled by as the old man ran, his brown robe sending gusts of wind to scatter their petals with every turn.

*

"You knew. You knew all along and yet you kept us in the dark. You doomed your own kingdom!" Sir Bromley was pointing his finger accusingly at the king. He did not care that etiquette frowned upon the act. He was furious.

"You must understand. I could not risk spreading panic," the king said, his voice remaining calm as ever.

"Panic?" The knight huffed. "You are worried about panic? People will die by the thousands. Our families will be wiped from existence and you are worried about panic?"

"Sir Bromley. I see I cannot convince you to see reason-"

"Reason? You saved your daughter and sacrificed the rest of the kingdom! And you call it reason?"

"Quiet Bromley!" the king snapped. It was so unexpected that despite his anger, the knight shut his mouth on command.

"I've made my decision and even if I wanted to change it, I cannot. All I can do is hope that it was the right decision. If you do not want your families to die then you will fight for me. Help me defend not just this one kingdom but all of Sollestia. You must realize that this is not just about our city. It's about the whole world. Help me save it."

"No," Bromley turned to leave. "I'm going to take my family and flee to Bravaldor. You can execute me for treason if you want Nachum. But I will not fight for a king who turned his back on his own people. You were supposed to be our king of Solace."

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"This is not about some absurd mythical legend," Maison put in. "And you would be wise to refer to the king as his majesty."

"It's alright Maison. Let him leave."

"Thank you... your majesty." Bromley gave the briefest of bows, and left.

"Now the rest of you, you have a choice to make. Stay and fight, or leave. Though I do not think running will get you far. The shifters' army is making its way through the walking forest. Crossing it is the only way to leave this city, and so the only thing we can do is defend it. I will not deceive you. The chances of winning this battle are very slim."

"We know we cannot win this battle," Roderick broke in.

"Brother..."

"Keep quiet Maison," Roderick turned to the king. "I will fight for you. I will bring the knights under my order to your cause. But first I want to know why?"

The king looked at Mathias. The knight had not spoken since the meeting had started.

"I'm with you your highness. I've sworn an oath to the red wall."

He looked to the elders. Morrosal nodded but Khan stood up, bowed, and left.

The king watched his brother leave with a pained heart before turning to those who remained.

"Thank you for staying. Now, about the decision I made. All the kingdoms knew that this war was coming. At least, the royal families did. For three millennia, we prepared. Thus the knights were formed and other... failed attempts at warriors loyal to humanity. But the war was supposed to have happened a hundred years ago. When it did not, we thought the shifters had given up and we could rest easy. In only a hundred we completely neglected the effort, it seemed futile to waste fortune on a nonexistent war. I knew when we had the shifter incident that the attack was not cancelled but postponed. There was no time to ask for reinforcements. It takes five days to our nearest ally and the war will be over by that time. If we flee they will catch us on the road. That is assuming we can move a whole city's worth of people. We've been using the walking forest as a protective barrier, but now it acts as a cage. Roderick is right. We cannot win this war. Sir Bromley was also right. I acted selfishly in sending my daughter away. I will not ask for forgiveness because I do not deserve it. But if we fight this army, we can at least weaken it enough for the next kingdom to survive. It is not about us anymore. It's about all of humanity. The shifters will not stop with us. I know for certain that they are here to finish what their god started thousands of years ago. So are you still with me?"

The knights nodded. The elders bowed and Zengruid ran in. He gave a quick bow.

"Your highness, we have a situation," he announced.

"They all know Zengruid. Speak freely," the king ordered.

"The shifters have attacked the feline settlement just beyond the trees. The feline were badly outnumbered and..." Zengruid looked down. "The second mage I sent there has not returned. He was gathering information as per your instructions and I'm afraid he suffered the same fate as all the feline."

"I am sorry to hear that Zengruid." The king consoled.

"I've sent all my mages into the forest. The attack on the feline village slowed the shifters' advance and allowed us to form a steady defense line among the trees. I must return to join them; I must be there when the battle begins. I've estimated that they will be here by sunset."

"And my daughter..."

"She was well beyond the forest yesterday your highness. The daisies no longer whisper her name. She is beyond my reach."

"Alright then, the knights will take the second line of defense," the two knights bowed and left.

"Elders, take the king's guard and evacuate the city. Get the women and children in the town hall and set up a line of defense behind the farming fields. Once the shifters get through... If the shifters get through the knights and mages then you can pick them out with arrows as they cross the fields. Give every other able bodied man a sword and a shield." The king stood up from his throne and unclipped his robe. There was a clanging of gold as the fine red furs hit the ground.

"Maison. Bring me my sword."

~*~