"Stand, my daughter, and come take a seat." he says, motioning towards the throne where the Queen would sit, had she not died during child birth. Watching as some attendants finished dealing with the messenger's body and removed it from the throne room, Leonidas looks over to his daughter and then tries to give her a reassuring smile. "We will find a way to end this, and it will end soon." he says softly. and motions for a glass of water to be be brought over for her. Reading over the parchment recording the invaded regions, he added in the report for that morning. "Dukes, Barons, and all of note," he says as he starts to address the nobility that were starting to enter the hall. "Take your seats, as we have a lot to discuss. Send word to Barons Theol and Gregor, as well as Duke Aston and Marquis Frederic, that they are to sit at the table to my right, and not at their usual seats." With a murmer, the instructions were passed back through the gathering, the majority of nobles going to their tables and waiting quietly for the rest.<br/><br/>The nobles that had been told to sit nearest the King made haste to get to where they had been told to be, as they did not wish to upset him any further than he already was, though they were unsure as to why they were there. Nodding his head in silence as the last noble took their seat, Leonidas looked slowly from table to table, before he rose and stepped down to the floor. "My friends." he starts, his words loud so that those at the back would clearly hear him, "This war must end. The Kes'nal are taking anyone that happens to be female. Any men they encounter are killed, with some simply sent running back with the numbers for that battle." he pauses and takes a deep breath. "This morning alone, just after sunrise, we lost 2 villages, with another shortly before lunch. Your compatriots sitting near my throne, Gregor, Aston and Frederic, are now nobility with no home, until we can reclaim what was taken. Baron Theol's lands are currently being well defended according to the report, but will not last the night. Reinforcements will not make it there in time to save what will be left." Shaking his head, he looks around the large room again, and then with a sorrowful look. "It seems that we are doomed to lose this war, and as such, tomorrow, I will be sending messengers to the other Kingdoms to ask for their assistance, and reminding them of all we have done over the years for them."<br/><br/>As he talks, the large, ornate doors open, and a figure in a fraying old robe walks in, the guards trying to drag him back, but not even slowing him. With his height reaching almost seven feet tall while he was slightly hunched as he was, it was clear that even with the robe's hood hiding his face, that he was a Kes'nal. The only thing he bore was a large, pale yellow piece of material, the sign of an unarmed messenger. "King Leonidas, your Highness." comes the rough voice from beneath the hood. "I come to discuss peace. I am unarmed, and pose no threat to you or your people, while I am not myself threatened." Once he finished speaking, he pulled the hood back from his head, revealing the ashen coloured fur on his face, and then holds his hands in front, palm up. Quickly, the replacement advisor leaned in to whisper into Leonidas' ears, informing him that the emissary was only demonstrating he held no weapons. "At your permission, I will convey the message from my Alpha, the great Ash'ta'mae."<br/><br/>Returning to his throne, Leonidas sat down, and then motioned slowly for the shape-shifter to approach. "Come before me, and tell me your name. Then we shall hear you speak." he says firmly, before leaning over to Morigan and whispering to her. "Daughter, do not speak unless directly addressed. The Kes'nal's politics are complicated, and not like ours. Our advisors have records containing their... customs that will help us make this somewhat smooth, even if it is unsuccessful."<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>