Alva
*Opinions. He racked his brains for a moment, thinking over the course of the meeting one word at a time. His chin came forward to rest upon his thumbs, fingers laced before his mouth. Thankfully, she seemed amiable enough, and if they were going to work together, it was necessary to be as honest as possible with her. For a moment, he let his eyes close as he pictured each person at the table, each perspective clashing and mixing where they met. A bit like smelting a composite ingot, he thought - mixing each into the primary metal and letting them cool into an alloy.

What first came to mind was the startling ease - or relative ease - with which Alyus had agreed to begin the research in Gantrick. He had been expecting more opposition to that particular proposal - which made him suspect either heavy advisory or some sort of trick. Either way, it meant there was something going on behind the scenes.. His eyes snapped open again, fixing the princess across the table from him with a concerned gaze.*

"My first impression is that someone or something is influencing the king of Gantrick's actions in this matter. Normally, much more convincing is needed to get him to accept such a proposal - and whether this is Queen Ashira's advice or some other source, *Something* Is clearly different. He was far too quick to acquiesce." *He began to nod along as he put his conclusions into words.* "I wish I knew what went on in his mind. I am no politician, to be sure, but neither am I Alyus. The man's decisions, as far as I have seen, are completely internal - he does as he wishes, regardless of the consequences." 

"For evidence of that, we need look no further than his choice of company in the meeting - his Master of Coin, bringing a whip used to beat slaves to a meeting in Alynthi. It could not have been a more flagrant choice if he had intentionally made it." *He sighed. Golithsin was more contemptible slime than man.* "There must be some added factor I am missing."

_ _
*There was more, of course - that Queen Ashira had been somewhat reasonable was expected. She had acted similarly in their meetings, and when they had spoken in the library she had seemed aware of the situation. Understood the factors that influenced his decisions, knew why it had been difficult even to speak of. The princess from Kara-Tur had been helpful at times - guarded, of course, but what little input she had offered had been in line with the meeting's inquiry, as had Prince Dorian's. That had been roughly in line with what he had expected, as well - they performed their duties relatively well. In the political sphere, from what he knew of it, mundane was the way things were meant to be.*

"In Khisfire, there seems to be a good deal of... Turmoil. We knew as much entering the conference." *He acknowledged.* "But the way it extends to the royal family is interesting. Brothers in conflict, and none of them, in my opinion, ready to take a throne. The princess is somewhat of an enigma. I do not believe that the prince knew what he was doing at the meeting, nor how to speak to peers. I have had my own struggles with that, but it is hard to see whether he has made an attempt to learn."

"In Lazaroth, too, there is something unseen that continually perplexes me. In my experience, the queen knows how to behave in a political setting - yet she brings those two... Creatures of hers to my kingdom as if they are trusted advisors. What it is that they advise her on I have no idea - so I must assume, as with Alyus, that there is another unseen factor influencing her decision to keep them with her. Enough of a factor that it overrides the risks of their behavior." *He paused for a moment, thinking over the preparations and the results he had seen.*

_ _
"The Kara-Tur royalty behaved in a much less condescending manner than I would have expected. The princess that headed the delegation did her job well." *He remarked finally, capping off his impressions of the meeting.* "I do not know what exactly in my letter finally convinced them to descend, but they did. It is unlikely they will send too much aid, but whatever they do, we must not snub them, or it is unlikely they will send anything again."

"Is this consistent with your assessments of the situation?"
Virginia
As the King's appraisal of the situation began she could not help but feel herself an examiner comparing their observations and interpretations. It was surprising to see the aspects in which their perspectives differed and to speculate on the reasons that might be. For example, while she too had found Alyus' agreement to the investigation surprising, it had not seemed entirely quick or without apprehension on his part. In fact, she was inclined to expect a lack of outside influence on his decision. Whether or not the Bear King's will was one of iron or lead remained to be seen, however, she expected that were she sitting before him instead offering counsel the conversation might vary in some important ways. 

They were in agreement on the kingdoms of Kara-Tur and Khisfire, however, there were some additional problems that might need to be considered down the line. It would be most effective, however, to wait until resources had been allocated to reevaluate their perspective and words. The topic of Lazaroth was slightly more difficult. As far as she was aware the Queen had only just appeared on the political scene recently and she had heard nothing of the Alynthi King having relations with her before or since then. It was possible that at that engagement she had presented herself particularly well, though from what she had seen the woman engaged little and talked less. There had been the meeting of those afflicted during which she may have demonstrated some level of political aptitude but she could not speak to what she had not seen herself. 

"For the most part, yes," She began, pressing her lips together momentarily with furrowed brows as her thoughts also began to coalesce. "This was my first time directly interacting with many of those in attendance so I unfortunately might be lacking in some of the personal experience that you have had to inform your observations. That said, I am hesitant to assume outside influence on the Gantrick King's behalf so quickly

. It is possible that he, too, wishes to seek out this potentially catastrophic entity, though I would not bet the safety of any kingdom on that. More plausibly, he might prefer to have the investigations under his watch in a way with quick access to information and findings. I know that if I were able I would like the capacity to oversee and be first called in the case of anything and by investigating further into his lands we cede some of that power to him. In this case I would say we did have much of an option otherwise, however, the dynamic will still be shifted as a result." 

Her eyes fixed on his pensive gaze as she moved on to a relationship she was less sure about. "I believe the Lazaroth Queen's silence spoke more than any words might have. She is intelligent, that is certain, since with just her presence she gained information while revealing none." A momentary pause filled the space while her gaze shifted interlaced fingers blocking his mouth then returned to his eyes. "How a monarch comes to choose their advisors, I can not say. Between the two of us I have far less experience than you do in such matters. I know in *Theory* How I would go about such choices, but I can not say that my criteria would apply for all. It is possible that the Lazaroth Council members hold value that we are unable to see or support their Queen in some way we might not consider." Once more her lips formed a line as she rested her right temple against an open palm, weight falling on her propped elbow. "Yes," Her voice took on an absentminded tone as blue eyes flicked upward in thought. "I suppose the purpose and criteria for an advisor rests in the hands of the one being advised." Her gaze dropped to find his once more, leaving silence as she waited to see if he would understand her unsaid question, ask one of his own, or wait for her to speak further.
Alva
"Perhaps initially I would have thought so as well." *He acknowledged the princess's avenues of exploration into the mind of the Gantrick king.* "But my assessment of the man thus far has not included such tendencies. It strikes me as strange that he did not need to be argued down into accepting the proposal. In many respects, he has demonstrated that the lines of reasoning that would lead him to such conclusions are different than ours. His first reaction was to say that he accepted, but there could not be armies sent into his territory. He spoke as if we were invading as opposed to sending researchers. No one had made such a proposal."

*He sat back upon the carven oak, letting his hands fall upon the armrests as weary eyes narrowed.* "He expected us to attempt to exert control in Gantrick, I think. The meeting was a measure of cooperation, an extension of a hand to everyone involved - he had to know by the opening speech, and my actions during it, the purpose expressed. It would defeat that purpose to use it as a vessel for subversion. Therefore he was afraid, and felt his fear first. He reminds me of a few soldiers I have met during my career - boys that were the largest in their circles, used to getting their way and imposing that upon others."

"And yet so afraid to be challenged." *He sighed.* "Many who project swaggering confidence often do it out of fear. Perhaps it is his family that made him this way - their unfortunate demise was sure to cause many wounds. Perhaps he fears being wounded again. But as things stand, he is, in my estimation, the sort of man to evaluate out of fear first." *In this case, though, he had not, and had made a good decision, choosing not to oppose the idea entirely. It was a step that made him question what had gone differently.* "I expected him to refuse flatly. I would say that it bodes well for Gantrick, but time will tell if that is the truth."

_ _
"Queen Ashira, among others, knows that battles are often fought before they begin." *He agreed with her assessment of the queen. She knew much more than she let on - their conversation in the library had likely given her all the information she needed to begin piecing things about him together. Princess Irezora, too, had kept quiet during the meeting, and simply observed for all she was worth.* "In that quality, she is matched by some present."

*But on the subject of advisors, he could not mistake what she meant. He had his own unexpected advisor with him - the grand mistress. He could hardly speak about the presence of the others without some explanation for her. How to put this politically was quite the dilemma.* "...In my short tenure as king, I have kept many of my father's advisors." *He began slowly.* "It is my opinion that his judgment was sound on their selection, and he must have judged them to be both trustworthy and competent enough to advise him. As you know, trustworthiness is a quality all its own."

"It was quite unlike her to struggle with a spell of that kind." *He admitted, rubbing a gauntleted hand over his mouth.* "And lately, I have been unable to understand a certain few of her actions. I am to speak with her shortly on that account. As children, we were good friends, but... Much has changed in the past fifteen years for both of us. Ultimately, I believe the purpose of an advisor is to offer competent and trustworthy advice, in every situation. The coming days will require a magical advisor of the highest caliber, able to operate in any conditions."

"My father believed she was that advisor. I intend to be certain that his judgment was sound." *As honest as he could be, he thought, but there was much left unsaid there.*