A thoughtful look from Graven, then a shake of his head.<br/><br/>"The northern lands of that continent have been held for centuries by others without his staking claim to them, they seem to be out of his influence, and certainly from what little I or anyone else understand of this.. pact that marks his borders, they are outside them. If nothing else, more and more territory in that area has come under the aegis of one faction or another with no sign of response from the Dominion."<br/><br/>A frown then, and a stonier sort of tone.<br/><br/>"The alternative is to let the city instead be conquered by the Heraclidae in their own waves of expansion, and I myself find the idea of yet more mortals becoming subjugated to their pitiless and arbitrary whim to be beyond countenance."<br/><br/>A look directly to Nandi then.<br/><br/>"I was there, one of the times when his.. emissaries.. demanded your return, as if you were a piece of property, instead of a person. Even if Shango does want to add this city to his direct control, would you truly want him to?"<br/><br/>Another shake of his head then, but more directed at himself.<br/><br/>"I apologize. The world.. shrinks somehow, despite so much of it remaining unknown. Conflicts spread, and contract cities, peoples, cultures under their influence. We cannot simply be content in but holding our borders while the rest of the world changes for the worse."<br/><br/>A wearier sense from the warrior for a moment.<br/><br/>"I would not have gathered your grouping here for this if you were not people in whom there is trust to resolve this matter well. Unless you have other questions or requests of me, I will leave you the discretion for so resolving it."