Devaguea had most of his present advisors, companions, and champions listening as Evindra spoke what she was allowed to. And while the advisors fretted and questioned Evindra on numbers, preferred tactics, types of troops, Devaguea didn't speak instead thinking. And when the activity finally got to slightly panicked, he tapped a claw on a stone next to him, but was otherwise unmoving. As everyone turned to him, he made a point to meet everyone's eyes, before speaking. "And we finally acknowledge the strength and guile of our opponent in public. And while this Fae Queen aspirant is strong, she has a pair of crippling weaknesses. Like an assassin vine or quick root, lurking in the forests, she has managed to leverage her strengths while reducing her vulnerabilities, but as she moves to open warfare, those weaknesses will be cracks in her armor. She is alone, no other is her peer, no one to call her on failures or oversights she places in her plan.<br/><br/>"And, perhaps more important, she is not whole. Her soul was sundered, and her ability to think of and like others, along with many more equally 'unimportant' bits, placed in this blade. Without those, she is a pale shadow of her actual power, despite her undoubtable ferocity and guile in all forms of combat. And as long as we mortals, who fey can not truly understand, stand together, then we have the power to defy any who stand against us. We have defied bandits, plague, undead, monsters, and recently even a nation with a storied and sordid history that dwarfs our own. Now, we can prove we are a Power, and take our place as one of the many nations of our world. But I can not defeat her alone, any more than I could the others we have overcome as a nation, and once again, I call upon each and every one of you to assist in this fight."<br/><br/>He paused to again meet each person's gaze, projecting calm determination and control, exactly like a King would, and included Evindra in his looks. "Because not only must we defy and defeat this foe, we must also liberate the fey that have no quarrel with us that are forced to follow her. In battle, I will not ask you to show mercy to those you are in conflict with, but after the fighting stops, I wish for your help in integrating the fey that can and wish to live beside us. But first, let us ensure we can survive the upcoming conflict."<br/><br/>(diplomacy 43 [+27])<br/><br/>Now that they had clear orders, and their Lord had a definite plan to see them through, the chamber quickly regained their composure, and everyone separated to begin their brainstorming and preliminary planning sessions. He recalled Akiros's army of irregulars, as they were not true troops, though since they were blooded many now considered themselves soldiers. While that army was being disbanded, they were told that, should another conflict start within a couple years, they would be recalled to active service, so stay in shape and keep training. Most of the plans for combat were made around Enigma, since Briar and Devaguea were there, and she needed to take both off the board to win, so it would be logical to focus initial defenses on the capital. Kesten's army was already dispersing back to their normal duties, though a good chunk of them were staying in Pitax to ensure the city did not 'forget' its new status as a vassal to the Stolen Kingdom.<br/><br/>However, that did not mean that other places were being ignored. But thanks to the war with Pitax not being NEARLY as sudden or surprising as the Peacock Bandit wished it, most towns were already bastions of safety to their occupants. So instead, they started working on expanding their borders northwest, and getting a couple new cities down. Of course, while the borders were pushing northwest, he was sending advisors and adventurers out to clear out the border lands and survey them, putting down monsters and making the nation much more profitable.