The torches burned low, casting jagged shadows on the stone walls as High Strategist Maren Valis walked through the hall. Outside, the night was restless with the sounds of metal clashing in the courtyard, of soldiers training under moonlight as the empire’s reach grew ever farther, and the scent of smoke and metal followed her like a cloak.
“Keep steady! Again!” she barked to the line of new recruits drilling in the far yard, their armor dull and unpolished. A few wavered at her voice, sweat dripping down their faces as they struggled to keep their footing on the slick stone. Maren gave a faint, cold smile. She liked the green recruits best—they could be honed into anything she needed.
But her smile faded as she continued into the open air, her thoughts turning to the larger battle map awaiting her. She had just come from another late session of the imperial council, pouring over Eldara and its disjointed territories. The empire was preparing, quietly but steadily, and her mind was a machine of strategy, balancing each potential gain with its cost, each setback with its solution.
“High Strategist.”
She turned, finding Councilor Rhyder waiting under the flickering torchlight. His face was drawn, his usually glib smile replaced by something unreadable.
“What is it?” Maren demanded, folding her arms, her tone a shade sharper than usual.
Rhyder cast a glance at the recruits drilling behind them, then leaned in slightly. “It’s Faerdaine,” he murmured. “Their scouts have been spotted near our borders, and their soldiers are fortifying positions in the east. They’re finally showing their hand.”
A rush of satisfaction surged through her, cold and calculating. She had waited for Faerdaine to break the stalemate, to make the first move. And now they had.
“Good,” she replied. “Let them prepare. They’ll make our job easier by bringing themselves into range.” She turned her gaze back to the field, to the dark line of the horizon stretching beyond the training ground. “Eldara is fragile. It just needs a nudge, and then… it will be ready for us.”
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“‘A nudge?’” Rhyder echoed, a faint smirk touching his lips. “I’m not sure the council would see it that way.”
“They will once they see the results,” Maren answered coldly. “Faerdaine can’t stand against us, and the tribes—whatever’s left of them in those swamps and mountains—won’t last long on their own. Eldara is the last piece. And we’ll take it, when the time is right.”
Rhyder hesitated, looking out at the sky, which was beginning to shift to a paler shade of gray with the coming dawn. “It’ll take time. The council won’t rush this campaign, not without guarantees. They’ll need to see proof.”
“Then we’ll give them proof,” she replied, her voice a low hiss. “Whatever it takes, Rhyder. We’ll ensure Eldara’s collapse. This empire will march, and when it does, it will crush anyone who dares to resist.”
A horn sounded from the gate, sharp and shrill, echoing across the stone walls. Maren’s eyes narrowed, her hands clasping behind her back as she strode toward the sound. Rhyder kept pace, his expression tense. She reached the wall just as the gate swung open, revealing a line of riders emerging from the shadows beyond, the empire’s banner held high. They’d returned from one of the western territories—the lands on the empire’s ever-shifting borders, where the edge of imperial law blurred into the rugged terrain of the outer lands.
“Report,” Maren ordered as the lead rider dismounted, his face smeared with dirt and sweat, his armor scratched and battered.
He saluted, his voice steady. “The villages are pacified, High Strategist. The resistance in those territories is weaker than we anticipated.”
“Good.” Her smile returned, sharp and fleeting. “And the soldiers?”
“Minimal losses,” he replied, though his voice had lost some of its surety. “The terrain’s rough. Few places to set up permanent stations without delay.”
Maren raised an eyebrow, the hint of a challenge in her gaze. “The terrain? Or the people?”
The rider shifted slightly, averting his eyes. “Both,” he admitted finally. “But they’ve scattered now. We’ll take control.”
She gave a curt nod, glancing to Rhyder with a faint smirk. “There’s your proof. Bit by bit, Councilor, until there’s no one left to resist.”
Rhyder chuckled, nodding as he folded his arms. “Consider me convinced.”
“Good,” Maren replied. “Then let’s make sure the rest of the council is too.” Her eyes gleamed with a ruthless glint as she looked toward the eastern skies, where the empire’s banner cast long shadows against the dawning light. Eldara was the last frontier, and she would ensure it fell, piece by piece, no matter what the cost.