"What are you talking about?"

Jay's exclamation came out so calmly that even she was surprised. Hraustrekr's raised eyebrow showed that he had been prepared for a much more bombastic response. Jadis was just as confused. She felt like her reaction should have been far harsher, and yet she hadn't even cursed. Then again, she had already expected that the first prince would screw with her in one fashion or another, so that was probably why her reaction was so subdued. She had already expected something like this would happen.

Not that she wasn't burning with anger. She was just doing a good job of containing her instinctual reaction.

"I believe you understood my words clearly enough, so I won't repeat myself," Hraustrekr said after a moment of silence. "But I will elaborate. I know that you and General Voss have been discussing a possible push into the territory of Volto in order to take the city of Kastoria from the Demons who currently hold that city. I am exercising my authority to halt any further considerations. There will be no attack at this time."

"Why not?" Jay asked, her voice retaining her surface calm. "They've been weakened. Now is the perfect time to counterattack them. If we wait any longer, we'll be missing a huge opportunity."

"I grant you that there is an opportunity to gain some headway in the battle against the demonic invasion. However, the risk is too high. In order to take Kastoria, we would need to empty the garrison in Glanum, leaving the Haliax border almost completely undefended. There are not enough troops in the neighboring provinces that can be moved on such short notice to cover the border here. To proceed with such a shift without the proper reinforcements would leave vital chokepoints open to attack."

"Bullshit."

That was spoken with a little more heat than previous words, though Jadis stamped the fury down. She knew if she started raging, she would just inflame Hraustrekr, and they would both just start yelling at each other and nothing would get done. She was, in that moment, trying very hard to remember the kindly, elderly elf who was this arrogant asshole's father. Thinking of Emperor Somerulf helped. A little.

"Severina, Voss, and I have been going over the troop movements that would be necessary for an attack on Kastoria. There has been almost no demonic activity in Ebrodunum, the province to the south of this one, and yet they have three whole divisions stationed there! Two could be moved up to reinforce Glanum and the Delminium province border and Ebrodunum would be more than adequately covered."

If Hraustrekr was surprised by her knowledge, he didn't show it. Even as she spoke, Jay realized that the prince had probably already heard this argument. Hadn't General Voss been leaving as she had entered the room? No wonder the man had looked so defeated if this was a hint of the conversation that he had had with Hraustrekr.

"The Ebrodunum garrison is serving as rotational backup for those divisions stationed along the border of the Rubaline Dominion. Since their territory has been completely subsumed, the fighting there is much harder on the men and women defending our border. Regular rotations in order to keep the soldiers in good fighting condition are necessary. To take away those reinforcements would lead to a deterioration of that border. I will not risk breaches from Rubaline just to take Kastoria. Even if I was willing to take that gamble, holding that city may not even be feasible at this time. You are talking about taking a city that is several hundred miles deep into a territory that has been overrun. A reckless, unprepared rush into Demon controlled lands has little chance for long term success."

"You could bring in more reserves from the capital. You could move soldiers around from other fronts. The Demons in Kastoria have been drastically reduced and I am right here! You know how strong I am and how strong my companions are! We can do massive damage to the entrenched defenses before any soldiers even arrive at the walls thanks to our airships! And if you don't want to trust me, fine. I get it. We clearly don't see eye to eye, and I doubt we ever will. But you could get Wilhelm and his companions up here, couldn't you? I know he would leap at the opportunity to save lives. I don't see how you can have this chance to end a serious threat to this entire region right in front of you and you just—just throw it away!"

"You don't have to see," Hraustrekr said, his voice cold. "Nor need you understand. I am only explaining this much to you out of courtesy for what you have done thus far. All you need do is heed my commands. There will be no more talk of marching on Kastoria unless I initiate those plans. Understood?"

"Fine," Jadis fumed. "If you won't take action, that's fine. I don't need your army. I still have business with the Playwright, and if I have to dismantle that whole gods damned city by myself, I'll do it. You'll be able to hold Kastoria with a garrison of ten by the time I'm through with it. You just sit back and protect your own ass while I hunt down that bastard."

"Were you not listening to me?" the elf hissed as he took a step forward, his jaw visibly clenching. "I have ordered Fortune's Favored to stay away from Kastoria. You will not attack that city!"

"I'm not in the military," Jay hissed back, looming over the smaller man. "I can do whatever the fuck I want."

"You cannot, in fact, do whatever the fuck you want," Hraustrekr countered. "Fortune's Favored is a registered mercenary company beholden to imperial law. No entity may enter a Demon infested area unless the empire gives leave to do so, which I have hereby revoked. You may continue on your tasks elsewhere, but you will not enter Voltonian territory again until I grant you permission! Can your sex-addled mind understand these orders, or do I need to give a written copy to someone in your group with some sense between their ears so they can explain it to you in smaller words?"

Jay's fists clenched and her muscles tensed as she barely managed to restrain herself. Turning to violence in the face of such obvious instigation would have only shown Hraustrekr that he was right to dismiss her. She could recognize bait when she smelled it. But that didn't stop her from wanting to rip his golden head from his shoulders.

"What is wrong with you?" Jay demanded, her teeth bared as she spoke more bluntly than before. "Your whole argument is that it's too risky to move troops away from the border, but when I offer to deal with the Demons alone you still won't let me? Even when you stand to lose nothing? I know you don't give a shit if I live or die. Fuck, you'd probably be happy if I did end up in a grave, wouldn't you? I'd be less of a hinderance to your plans, wouldn't I—"

Jay cut herself off as she came to an abrupt realization.

Jadis had been told by both Prince Kestil and Severina that Hraustrekr was trying to takeover neighboring nations by purposefully letting Demons weaken those countries. Once the war was over, it would be a simple matter to just not withdraw the imperial army from any liberated lands so that he could keep all that territory for the empire. The evidence for his unscrupulous actions could be explained away as a cautious and defensive approach to the demonic invasion, but this instance showed the truth of Prince Kestil's analysis of his brother's actions.

Kastoria was a major city in Volto, and hundreds of square miles had been infested by the invading Demons around it, but it wasn't the whole of the nation. The capital of Volto, Thracina, was still very much intact and untouched by the demonic horde, as were many of the other large cities in the nation. Volto was still fighting to protect its people from invasion. And that was the problem, wasn't it? Volto was still in a condition to fight. Hraustrekr didn't want the people of Volto to have any fight left in them at all. It would make it more difficult for him to claim the whole nation for his expansion after the Demons were defeated.

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And he didn't care how many people died to get what he wanted.

"Plans?" Hraustrekr snapped, his voice breaking in during her brief moment of hesitation. "What do you know of my plans, exactly?"

"I know that letting countless innocent people die for your ambition is disgustingly evil," Jay growled. "There is no justification you can make to explain that away."

"Ambition?" the elf exclaimed, his expression turning into a sneer as a mirthless laugh escaped his throat. "Ambition! And where did you hear of this ambition of mine? From my brother? Perhaps that feckless sparrow who he has wrapped around his fingers?"

As he spoke, Hraustrekr began to pace in front of her, his tone dripping with anger as the diamond-like aura of his magic turned sharp as a blade.

"Ambition. That is the hammer calling the anvil blunt. My brother poisons the ears of all who would listen to his sweet lies and petty grievances because he cannot stand the thought of me sitting on the throne that he covets! You think he would be a better ruler than I because he maligns my actions, yet have you ever stopped to consider what manner of emperor Kestil would be? Do you know anything of his plans? What he would do were he to ascend to the throne? I think not. I think you see nothing but the malicious machinations he attributes to me! Tell me I am wrong!"

"I see what you are doing here and now!" Jay shouted back at the seething prince, her temper flaring despite her best efforts. "You are going to let thousands of people in Volto die rather than help them stop the Demons!"

"And why should I!?"

Jay was momentarily taken aback by the vehemence of Hraustrekr's question. The two stared at each other, breathing hard, nostrils flared and teeth bared. She had been about to yell back at him, but thanks to her Refracted Mind she was able to center herself and pull back from the anger. Attempting to de-escalate the shouting match without backing down, she answered the elf's question in a lower tone.

"Because helping them will save lives."

Hraustrekr's head jerked back as a single, deep, explosive laugh came from his chest. Shaking his head as his rage turned to a humorless smile, he held up a hand with the palm facing up, like he was holding something only he could see.

"Because it will save lives," the prince echoed. "Is that your reason. Admirable intent. Noble, even. Keeping that in mind, allow me to ask you this: what do you know of the Battle of Rose Creek?"

Jay's brow creased at the apparent and unexpected change in topic.

"I've never heard of it. I don't know where Rose Creek is."

"I didn't think you had," Hraustrekr admitted. "One must be a student of history to know of such an obscure event from nearly a thousand years ago. I could hardly expect you, a survivor of a lost race who has grown up in remote mountains to know much of imperial military history. I, however, am well versed in such things. Allow me to educate you."

As he spoke, the elf's tone became calmer as he fell into a more relaxed stance. His body language was almost casual, like they were just two familiar acquaintances having a minor dispute, rather than the powerful entities fighting over the lives of countless people that they were.

"Rose Creek is a small town in the Rubaline Dominion, approximately twenty miles from our border with that nation. At the time, the settlement had a population of one thousand and one hundred permanent citizens. When the Demon Lord of that era struck, a demonic horde that broke off from a larger mass moved through that section of the Dominion, destroying all that lay in their path. Rubaline had a small garrison of two hundred soldiers in that area; nowhere near enough to stop the mass of Demons who were on their way to Rose Creek.

"Alfhilderunn's emperor at the time, Magni the Bright, ordered the nearby imperial garrison to leave their prepared position to reinforce the Dominion soldiers in Rose Creek in order to prevent a slaughter. He sent the whole division. Eleven thousand men. Their desperate, last-minute defense became known as the Battle of Rose Creek."

"Did they not win?" Jay asked, curious as to where Hraustrekr was going with his history lesson.

"Oh, they won," he said as he counted off numbers on his left hand's fingers. "The horde of Demons was routed, and the town was secured. Of those one thousand and one hundred Dominion citizens, only a small handful were killed, less than ten. As for the Dominion garrison of two hundred soldiers, forty-five were slain. And for the imperial division of eleven thousand soldiers… can you guess how many lost their lives that day?"

Jay remained silent, letting the prince continue uninterrupted.

"Eighteen hundred. One thousand and eight hundred imperial citizens died that day to protect thirteen hundred citizens of a foreign nation. Does that math make sense to you?"

"They were innocent civilians who couldn't protect themselves," Jay said, her tone calm. "They needed help."

"I agree. Wholeheartedly, I agree. But why was it the duty of the empire to sacrifice so many of our own sons and daughters to protect the people of another land? What of our innocents? What of the men and women of that army, my kin and countrymen, who died? What of their families? What of their sons and daughters? Would their children say justice was done that day? Was that mercy?"

Hraustrekr waved his hand, dismissing any response that Jay might have given, though in the moment she was not sure what she would have said.

"An extreme example, you might claim. Again, I agree, though it is illustrative of my point. It was the duty of the Rubaline Dominion to protect its people, which they failed utterly, and yet it was the empire's people who paid the price.

"I have many more examples from previous Demon invasions. The Battle of Emona: four hundred Voltonian soldiers versus seven hundred imperial soldiers dead. Blue Valley: three hundred of Dunnottar's soldiers, nine hundred imperials. The Demonic Siege of Thassia: four thousand Thassians dead, ten thousand imperials dead, and one of our royal princes slain and possessed by a Demon as well. The Pax Pratuli Massacre…"

Hraustrekr's open hand clenched into a hardened fist.

"Ten thousand soldiers of Volto died ignobly that day, while twenty-five thousand imperial soldiers were slain because of the gross incompetence of the Voltonian general who failed to prepare his line's defense and allowed thousands of Demons to outflank his forces."

The First Prince of Alfhilderunn stared at his fist for a long moment in silence. After several seconds, his eyes flicked up to meet Jay's gaze.

"I can list hundreds of such travesties where the failings of neighboring nations led to the deaths of imperial citizens. During every Demon invasion since the founding of the empire, my people have bled rivers of blood thanks to the incompetence of others. So, now we come to the present, where once again weak and inept leaders have failed to protect their own people, and my people are being asked to lay their lives down to save those who we owe nothing to. And here you stand, claiming that to send thousands upon thousands more of my countrymen into a den of death will save innocent lives."

Hraustrekr took a step closer to Jay, glaring up at her.

"Answer this, Jadis. Are the lives of my soldiers not innocent? Why should they die, so that others may live?"

Jay took a deep breath, letting it out slowly before answering.

"They're soldiers. They made an oath to be soldiers, to defend those who can't defend themselves."

"Yes, an oath," the prince nodded once. "An oath to defend the people of the empire. By no means does that oath require them to sacrifice themselves on the altar of Volto's ineptness. Nor will I ask them to."

"It's an existential threat," Jay pointed out, trying to use reason. "We're all in danger, not just the empire. The longer you let the Demons dig in, the more people will die, and the stronger they will become! Haven't you ever heard of the phrase 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend'? You have to work together with your neighbors, otherwise your countrymen will die anyway!"

"No, in point of fact, I do not," Hraustrekr stated with cold finality. "I will not send my soldiers on desperate missions to secure foreign cities. I will not stretch our forces thin, suffering casualties at every turn, just to shore up the lacking defenses of peoples who owe no loyalty to the empire. I will move my armies with methodical deliberateness, taking the time that is needed to ensure that as few of my people die as possible while we drive the threat of Demons from our lands. Every day that passes, we gain levels. My people will grow strong, stronger than any force the Demons can muster against us. The days of the empire rushing recklessly ahead to bleed itself for the benefit of other nations are over."

"Right," Jay said, her lips set in a grim line. "And I suppose when the fighting is all done, and the people of Rubaline and Volto and everywhere else are dead, you'll be only too happy to take those lands for the empire with you strong soldiers."

"Yes, I will," Hraustrekr said without hesitation or shame. "If the people of those nations were too weak to hold their own territory, then my people will put those lands to better use. That is not ambition, Jadis Ahlstrom. That is sense."

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