If Endymion were one to get ahead of himself he would have spent the ensuing silence contemplating the myriad benefits the acquisition of Valtegaard presented to the nation of Corseil. In addition to the notoriety gained from being the first army in history to overtake the famed invulnerable city his army had just made a valuable military acquisition.  Valtegaard was situated near the end of Berryl's Pointe, a peninsula that jutted into several trade routes.  A naval base in the area that would soon be cleared of wrecked ships would put him at a perfect position to cut off supplies from enemy cities and the far-reaching gaze of the watchtowers would allow him to keep an eye on neighboring kingdoms over land and sea alike.  He had instructed his soldiers to do as little damage to the infrastructure of the city as possible, and as he inspected the architecture he did not regret it.  With the right people the Corseilans could even use Valtegaard as a trading hub or a base colony from which to execute Queen’s admittedly early-stage plans of southward expansion.<br/><br/>But, Endymion reminded himself, he was not one to get ahead of himself.  Before Valtegaard could be turned into a naval base or a trading hub or a colony it first had to be cleaned up, its people dealt with.  After Corseil’s brutal ascension to power the elven nation had gained a reputation as one of hard and unforgiving warriors but since the last of the snow elf clans bent the knee and the North was conquered they no longer had a reason to quash their conquests’ spirits.  Endymion had found it easier to harvest each new territory’s secrets through a careful combination of intimidation and concession.  Tend to their wounded, but keep armed guards stationed every three feet around the medical tent.  Keep their buildings intact but direct their gazes to the armada that could obliterate them in an instant.  Demand to speak to their leader while reminding them that he was their leader now.<br/><br/>Silence followed his inquiry, an uncomfortable silence full of rustling clothes and furtive sniffling and mothers trying and failing to hush their crying children.  No one spoke up to answer him but one did stand apart from the others.  She was a member of the guard but apart from her armor there did not appear to be anything exceptional about her.  In fact he was almost disappointed – here he thought he had finally conquered the greatest fortress in the world only to find it led by an undecorated footsoldier with a bloody lip and populated by frightened children.  He’d conquered mortal territories that put up more fight at this stage in the game.  Behind him he could hear one of his officers stifle a derisive snort.  Normally he condemned any behavior other than stony silence from his officers but he had to concede this time.  He stared gloatingly into the anonymous guard’s honey-tinted eyes and raised a hand to motion her forward.