It took Devaguea nearly five minutes to connect Amvarean heading back into the castle with the black dragon. Luckily, the rest of his companions weren't nearly as dense, and were able to at least keep her from completely collapsing into a catatonic state, though none were cruel enough to suggest she head out to help against the upcoming fight. Instead, she would be kept back to keep watch over the children, while everyone else fought with the massing army.<br/><br/>Amusingly for Devaguea, once word got around that the black dragon wasn't a threat, the guard and army started to treat the situation as something amusing. They could deal with the massed army, it was the dragon that had them worried. Devaguea didn't ask how much was bravado, and how much was honestly hubris. Instead, he was busy spreading out the advisors and companions that didn't have jobs directly related to the upcoming fight, making sure none of them were on their own. Even the pregnant Cynthia got a post with Sak'bas and Sydon, being charged as a fast moving, heavy hitting breach filler.<br/><br/>Devaguea himself would be acting as a support mage, filling in holes that were made and buffing troops as needed. He wouldn't fight unless the area was being overrun, but he was confident he could escape any real attack against him.