The Admiral

New Norfolk

He stood and watched as all of the nobles arrived. There was no need to check their titles once again, as that was done before they even set foot in the city. No, he was watching for a different reason.

Fitzwallace was no stranger to the subtleness and covert nature of what could be considered 'politics'. To get high up in the military command, one had to be. It was necessary.

But that didn't mean he had to like it.

Most of the time, he was dealing with civilians who thought they knew better than he did or government officials who couldn't tell their ass from their elbow in most matters, but that wasn't the direction this Assembly would take.

No, the people here had all gained strength and power on a scale never before seen, and they were about to engage in one of the first sessions of diplomacy that most had ever taken part in.

Drake, especially, as he had just gotten the technology and the strength to be able to sail off his islands. He was at a distinct disadvantage in that regard, but his back was straight and he exuded a confident air.

Power tended to do that.

The Admiral wasn't sure of the rarity of his Class or Profession, but the aura he gave off and the title he'd gained were enough to assume he was strong. The dossier they had on him was likewise sparse.

Like he hadn't experienced the nobles on the mainland, they hadn't experienced him.

The others were likewise confident and showed no hint of wariness as they looked at one another as they all walked in. Some eyed him critically, sizing him up, but nothing untoward broke out.

The Admiral greeted his guests and ushered them into the meeting room that had already been prepared. That had been a discussion in itself. Whether they would have placards and assigned seating, or if they would let them place themselves where they wanted. Even the shape of the table was debated, ending with a large circular shape being best.

For this first meeting, he figured leaving their options open was best.

Plus, it would let him see who sat next to whom, getting a clearer picture of which were friendly and which weren't. He already knew most and had a rough idea of how the seating would play out, but he could always be wrong.

It was information. Information freely gained as well.

Mikayla, the only other Viscount besides himself, sat down first, with the other Baron from the Heartlands, Sylvia Woodwright, sitting down on her right and Tasunka on her left.

Marcus, seeing the two Factions butting up against his sitting side by side, sat across from them. The representative from Frostheim, Rachel Zalenski, sat on his right with Vanessa sliding in on her right.

Already, lines were being drawn.

The Admiral wasn't sure who exactly Frostheim's representative was in comparison to their Leader, but she had the same last name, and he knew a Family ran the Faction's capital.

Patrick Staffords chose the seat on Marcus's right, placing himself next to the chair the Admiral stood behind.

Zuri eyed the Admiral for an indication of where he was going to sit, and after his nod, she sat to the left of where he was standing. Bri Farlands, New Boston's new leader, sat on her left, leaving only a single chair between her and Sylvia.

With the chairs rapidly being claimed, Ryan claimed the seat between Bri and Sylvia, leaving only four empty on the other side between Tasunka and Vanessa. Rhett did not want to sit next to Tracy and claimed the seat on Vanessa's right, with Tracy claiming the furthest one away on Tasuka's left.

Neither Edward nor Drake seemed to care where they ended up, leaving them the last two to choose, and they sat next to each other in the last two seats..

The Admiral was a little surprised that the Scholar had actually gained the Baron title. Nothing based on his appearance screamed power, and it wasn't like the city he resided in did either.

They'd all seen the state St. Louis had been in a few years ago, and it was not ready to face the Baron challenge.

With the seats decided, the Admiral cleared his throat, "I would like to thank all of you for coming. As stated in the invitation, I hope for this Assembly to be a productive delegation so that we may better face the threats that stand against us. Only three years ago, we lost over a hundred thousand lives during the Assessment. A number that could have been less if we had been more prepared."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"How were we supposed to know the test would be so brutal?" Mikayla said. Her being the first to speak up didn't surprise the Admiral. Outside of his own Faction, she had the largest by pylon count and landmass. She was up there for population as well.

This was her asserting herself, saying that he wasn't the only Viscount. It was expected.

"I know, but now that we do, we need to be ready for the next one." Fitzwallace pivoted. "And to do that, we need to start now. I know our next assessment won't come for at least half a decade, but it can arrive anywhere from five to ten years from now."

He was pleased to see some nods at that.

"That being said," he began, "I've invited all of you hear to discuss plans of future cooperation and plan for the future. We all know that losing our protection will open us up to outside invasion, and I don't need to tell anyone here how poorly that would end."

Some snuck glances at Tasunka, and it took everything in him not to grab the bridge of his nose. That statement wasn't meant to have a quarter of the people in the room look towards the sole Native American as an example.

Thankfully, he didn't need to jump in and say anything to draw attention away, "That sounds nice, but how do you propose we do that?" Mikayla said. "Are you going to be sharing some of your technology we've all seen around this city?"

It was a question he also knew was coming, and he fielded it well, "Possibly, our technology could be used to great effect if utilized well. Especially our Communication Formations. They can connect over a thousand miles. Linking nearby cities into a network would do well to reestablish communication lines."

That got their attention. They probably didn't expect him to give something up like that, but it was for the best. Not only were other Factions getting close to figuring out how they worked, but some already produced alternatives, if a bit more local.

Tracy's city invented Message Stones, and they were good enough that people in their own city used them. The only downside was that their range was rather short.

"That way, if another obelisk shows up, or something similar, word can get out much quicker than last time." He added.

"What do we have to give up for it, though?" Tasunka asked.

"I won't ask for much, and it will be priced reasonably, along with some of our other technology that will help all of your cities." He said. They had already come up with what they would trade and what they wouldn't.

"While that's all well and good, why don't we get to the real reason we're here?" Mikayla said, "What is it you want? You don't call everyone here without something in mind."

It was a bit early, but he couldn't dodge the question. Everyone turned an eye to him to see his answer.

"I'll admit, I did not call everyone here without an ulterior motive." He confirmed, "With another potential calamity less than a decade away, I see the state of our current situation and can't help but be... disappointed. If the test started today, we would be in an even worse position than before."

There were many frowns at that.

"Tell that to the sparky bastard," Rhett grumbled, "We didn't do anything to him, and he just attacked us." His eyes turned to Tracy, but she didn't give an answer.

"There's nothing to say the test will be the same as last time," Vanessa spoke up, "It could be a puzzle for all we know."

"But we need to be prepared for if it isn't," Ryan countered.

"The ambiguous nature of these Assessments demands that we be ready for anything," The Admiral articulated, "And part of that means being prepared to work together."

Rhett snorted, "Is that before or after they attack my city unprovoked?"

Fitzwallace held back a sigh, settling in for the long talk this was going to be. They probably wouldn't even get anywhere today, either. Which made it all the more tedious to go through the motions.

___

Rachel

Things were going about how she expected them to. She hadn't known the new Baron from Nashville would hold such a grudge, but it wasn't all that surprising. Nicholas had seen his dungeon and saw an opportunity to take it.

Rachel had to remember that not everyone had three D-ranked dungeons under their control like Frostheim did.

It was also clear that Marcus wasn't in for a good time in the near future. He'd had problems with both the Heartlands Alliance and The Reservation even before the test three years ago.

Now, it seemed, they were even more likely to start something to get at his city. Vanessa likewise was slated to encounter her own issues. Her own expansion was hindered, not to mention that she was responsible for blocking Zuri's.

Before she had left, the Council had debated on what the best course of action for their Faction would be, and a lot of ideas were thrown around. It wasn't surprising that the leading opinion was the isolationist route.

It was one of the reasons they moved so far north in the first place, to not get dragged into things. Like a northern Switzerland.

But Marcus and Vanessa were different. They represented access to two treasures that could make their Faction stronger in more ways than one. They were also places to trade.

The North had a lot of things to trade, but there were also a lot of things they didn't have. Being one of the most sparsely populated areas and with plenty of wilderness, they had skins, furs, and pelts in abundance. Beast cores, fangs, bones, and everything else that the high beast numbers provided as well.

Before Alaric, who opened up trade to the Heartland, Marcus had also provided food. With their new agreement signed, how much they dealt with the Eternal Flame Faction would grow as well.

Jonathan's visit to Habordeep had also gone well, which opened up the Great Lakes Alliance to them. The three closest Factions other than New Canada were gearing up to be some of their best trading partners.

Which wasn't something they would be able to give up so easily, and not without a fight. While they could get aquatic resources from the Bay and the Lake, the Great Lakes Alliance had cities up and down the coast of nearly every Great Lake, hence their name.

With access to Emberhold's dungeon, they weren't as reliant on fire-aligned goods from Vanessa, but a supplemental line for such goods was a good thing to have.

The prevailing policy was rather simple after it was debated. It wasn't total isolationism, but near enough. Outside of the two factions they had alliances with currently, it didn't much matter what the rest of them did.

If the Stormbringer and Rhett duked it out over a dungeon, what did Frostheim care?

Rachel watched as the other leaders talked, but mostly kept to herself. Marcus sometimes spoke up, and Vanessa too, but Rachel mainly observed.

I wonder how many of these people will end up fighting each other, she thought.

Then another thought occurred to her, I wonder how many of these people I'll end up fighting.

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