The throne room was an expanse of beauty and grandeur. Massive drapes of red adorned the empty space between the towering ceilings and the marble floor. Endless windows helped bring light to the room, but the dark corners were helped along with torches and mirrors. The King and his Queen sat side by side. The King was a daunting man, but the Queen had a power to her beauty. Her eyes commanded respect, and her fertile body was the talk of many men. He could see why most of his soldiers consider her to be the most beautiful woman in all the great cities. He wasn't sure if she was born with such beauty, or if it was because she had been touched by Eathraen, as the legends go.<br/><br/>General Cassian bowed to his King with a forearm over his chest. "My king, my queen. We've received very few casualties- unfortunately we lost more men to disease than to battle." This detail hit him hard. He didn't like losing men, and when it was to illness, he had no power to save them. "We have cleared some of the barbarian tribes that had set up camp near the wall. They called themselves men of the night. They were of little challenge, but it was good practice. My men had been growing restless with very little to do in the past months."<br/><br/>He looked at his King, a man who had been in peace talks with neighbouring kingdoms. It was a strange thing to talk of peace, especially when they had been at war for so long. Gaius felt the itch to go to battle again, hoping that perhaps the talks wouldn't go well, or that another Kingdom would seek justice for the past. Regardless, his King knew what was best for the nation and for the people, even if some of the people didn't agree.<br/><br/>"Is there news of your peace talks? Have they been going well?" the general asked his king as one would a friend.