Virion Eralith

"Thank you for the report Kaspian, we will send you the plans on how to deal with that base soon." I said before letting the communication scroll disintegrate in my hands.

The report Kaspian had just given was worrying, extremely so. A military base on the coast of the beast glades that serve as the source for the mutant mana beast with decay type mana appearing out of nowhere was not something I wanted to deal with. Thankfully the ones who went to scout out the area were the Twin Horns, people I knew I could trust, and they even managed to take out one of the commanders.

I looked around to see the reactions of the council and they were keeping their composure fairly well. If anyone were to look they would be able to see the cogs turning in the representatives' heads as they tried to figure out a solution to this problem.

"You all heard Kaspian." I spoke to get their attention. "Considering how dangerous and the risks of letting that base operate any longer, we will be sending one Lance and two Flagbearers alongside a small team of fifteen mages to deal with the situation. Any objections?" No one answered. "Very well, who will we dispatch then?"

Elder Buhnd was the first to make a suggestion. "If one of the commanders was of Vritra descent then there is a high chance the other is as well. The safest way to deal with that is to send Lance Zero."

"If we are assigning Varay to this mission, it is only appropriate we send Cellinia with her." Priscilla said with a calm tone.

The discussion went for a bit longer until we settled on the personnel we would send to attack the base and end its operations. The last Flagbearer we chose for the mission being Theodore who served under Mica.

With Kaspian's report being dealt with, I was about to call an end to today's meeting, but it seemed Blaine had other plans. "Before we leave, there is one thing I would like to discuss."

"And what would that be?" My son Alduin asked with a neutral tone but I could tell he wasn't happy and just wanted to retire to his room. Most of us wanted that as it was getting pretty late but we were all used to the lack of sleep that comes with war.

"Arthur Leywin. I am concerned that once he is back from his training with the Asuras, it will create a power imbalance in the council." Blaine responded and I was beginning to see where he was going with this but decided to entertain him nonetheless.

"How so?" I asked.

"From everything I know of the boy and from the expectations Lord Aldir has for him, I can only assume he will be the strongest mage in the continent and second place won't be even close. With his engagement to Princess Tessia and position as Lance Aureate, it is only natural that Elenoir will gain more influence than Sapin and Darv and disrupt the balance we created between the three countries." The human king laid out his concerns.

Alduin was about to respond, clearly not pleased with the underlying implications in Blaine's words, but I spoke before he could.

"I see where you're coming from, there is a reason why all three families were giving two artifacts to produce a white core mage. But what do you expect us to do? Arthur and Tessia met before we even began talking about uniting the continent, and much before we learned a war was coming to our doorstep. Their relationship has nothing to do with the council and if you're worried one side will have more white core mages than the others, you're forgetting to take Cellinia into account. We all know she will eventually reach that stage."

"It's not about the number of white core mages, it's about the fact that Lord Aldir expects Arthur will be fighting on the same level as an Asura, beings that consider deities, by the end of this war. He will be so far above every other mage that it will cause unrest on the public in both Sapin and Darv." Blaine elaborated on his point.

"And like I said, what do you expect us to do?" I asked again.

"I propose that he marries two other women, one human and one dwarven. That way he will have ties with all three countries and will promote unity." Blaine said what he wanted.

I let out a sigh before looking towards Alduin and Merial, seeing their strained smiles and twitching eyebrows. "If you're that worried about the power balance in the council, then you go talk with Arthur and Tessia about your... proposal. But I will tell you now, you're walking out of that talk with at least one black eye. Now, if that is all, this meeting is adjourned." I said before getting up from my seat and leaving the room followed by my son and his wife.

On my way back to my bedroom, I tried figuring out what Blaine wanted out of this idea he presented to us, but other than securing a lineage of powerful mages for Sapin, his argument was actually sound. I don't agree with it, but I can see how it would benefit the continent. It seems he was actually trying to do something good while also benefiting from it.

But that subject is for Arthur and Tessia to deal with, they are more than capable of that.

A/N: A bit of a shorter one this week. The new semester started this week and the classes were exhausting.

As usual, any feedback is appreciated.

Peace