Piren certainly rose to his feet as commanded, but became absolutely still as Azazel circled around him.  He fought hard to keep the beating of his heart from echoing within the chamber.  When his father asks Piren his opinion on the throne, though, Piren is quick to often an answer,<strong>”We do not have to be ostentatious..  Overt displays of power are for those who doubt their own power.  Your throne speaks truly, it speaks bluntly, and it says that whoever sits upon it has no need for meek flattery, no desire for fawning praise.  It says that you know just how much power you wield, Father.”</strong><br/><br/>But then Azazel begins to speak of Piren's past, of his frailty of his tremulous nature.  And of his mother.  That last causes his curiosity to overwhelm his fear and Piren watches Azazel for the slightest hint of information about her.  His curiosity was more than personal, what he proposed could come to rely on her as well, if things truly were as bad as Piren imagined.<br/><br/>But then matters move to business and Piren's fear and doubt melts like fog before the sun.<strong>”Matters on the front may be more complicated than expected.  The Blessed have fallen into a defensive position, abandoning several settlements along the Kraylik Mountains.  I first thought it was due to weakness, that we had managed to subdue them and, perhaps, permanent gain new territory.  But no, I ordered an assault on one of the large settlements, further westward, and the resistance was as fierce as ever.  No, it was fiercer.<br/><br/>“This led me to suspect that they were waiting for <em>us</em> to show weakness.  And so I purposefully left several fortifications underdefended, with, of course, careful plans to allow their retaking if they were conquered.  But the Blessed did move, not an inch.  This leads me to my final conclusion, the only one that can be ascertained from this information, the Blessed are preparing for some new assault that will make their previous attacks seems insignificant in comparison.<br/><br/>“I believe they are designing a new weapon of some sort, but whatever they have planned it is not good for us.  I can only see two possible solutions to the problem.  First, we could withdraw from the Blessed's territory, fortify the eastern side of the Kraylik mountains, build up our forces so that whatever they have planned they will meet some resistance.  This is the least risky plan, but if their new weapon is as powerful as I fear it might be, they may be able to punch straight through our defensive lines and make a line for Jahl'Ra.”</strong><br/><br/>Piren was silent for a moment, allowing the ramifications of his prediction to set in.  He then continued,<strong>”The other option is riskier by far, but it would yield us great results if successful.  And I would oversee it personally, thus increasing our odds of success.”</strong>Piren knew this would take a lot to swallow, and so he took a deep breath before explaining in fully,<strong>”We would sign a peace treaty with the Blessed.  But not on grounds of equality or submissiveness.  I would lead an elite force, consisting of my personal army, and as many Children of Aurelis, dragons, warlocks, witches, and elves as we can muster.  I would push through their front and make my way to Myrta.  There, I would personally offer the terms of peace.”</strong><br/><br/>Piren flowed quickly into his next statement, hoping that his father's rage would not lash out immediately,<strong>”It would be a ploy of course.  A way of buying time.  This new weapon of theirs is most likely a recent innovation, but probably also the result of years of labor.  Its mystery also makes it more powerful than it would otherwise be.  During the peace, we could discover the nature of the weapon and how to neutralize it.  Furthermore, we could develop weapons of our own.  And... possibly... increase the numbers of the Children of Aurelis, to counter whatever threat our foes may pose.”</strong><br/><br/>And here Piren fell silent again, knowing that his words were close to heresy, next to treachery, but Piren's intentions were pure.  He knew that something terrible was brewing in the lands of the Blessed, and he knew that if they failed to counter it, the end of the Cursed may be at hand.