War. It was the real foundation of the Kingdom of Eathra. Other kingdoms were founded on family, wisdom, or providing for their people. Not in Eathra. For more generations than could be traced, all the men had been taken in custody by the War School. The women took on the political roles, thus being considered a very important asset for the kingdom. And, of course, they also fulfilled the role nature had provided them with, as wives and mothers.<br/><br/>There were no weak people inside the walls of Eathra. If a child was born weak, or flawed, it was put to death - humanely, but mercilessly. If a man or woman could not fulfill their duties, the best thing they could expect was exile. Death was a more common practice, since they didn't want the outside world to know what happened in their kingdom.<br/><br/>King after king had withheld the tradition. And the kingdom had remained strong. Treaties were only made when it couldn't be helped, and broken as soon as Eathra was strong enough to go to war on a particular nation.<br/><br/>But King Andronicus had different thoughts. He was a skilled warrior and intelligent strategist. But he was also a man of peace. He hoped his reign could be spent without going to war. The never ending winter - a whole generation had never seen anything but - made him consider if it wasn't a punishment by some god. Maybe - just maybe - if he kept his kingdom in peace, fighting only to defend themselves, things would go back to normal.<br/><br/>It was not a popular opinion, needless to say. The first person to disagree with it was the queen. Queen Aeliana was a young and beautiful woman. Many said she had been touched directly by the goddess herself when presented at the temple. With gazes and the right words, the queen had been able to keep many men under her sway, the first of them, of course, being the king.<br/><br/>As he decided to try and go on diplomatic missions across the land, the queen prepared for her role as regent. She knew well enough how to navigate the kingdom's politics for the king to need to give her little to no advice. Not that any advice would have been of use. The young queen had her own plans.<br/><br/>As the warriors under General Gaius returned to the capital city, as usual, the General would be summoned to the presence of the royal couple. The king and queen sat side by side, him on the usual garment every warrior wore, and she, as usual, on a pure white dress, her hair tied on a braid. The queen gazed at the general, but kept silent as the king spoke.<br/><br/>"General. What news bring you? Are there casualties among your men?"