Armin had given up on trying to find out what rhyme or reason there might be for room assignments during the Gathering of the Councils. So far as he could tell, the current meeting was the most important one he had attended — though he was here only as an observer, of course — and yet it took place in a cramped room that seemed too small for the people gathered, with stone-paneled walls and a low ceiling. There was some wooden furniture and an assortment of other pieces made from various materials.

Of course, the people involved were most interesting. About a third of them were men this time, which he suspected was actually high for the Gathering, but still seemed low given the subject of the meeting. Armin swept his gaze across them, noting similarities, as he listened to the opening discussion with one ear.

"Are you retired?" Matriarch Iriesen asked him.

Armin gave her a look. She had been seeking his company quite a bit recently, and they'd come to understand each other, so he knew she wouldn't mind some honesty or 'disrespectful' attitude. If anything, she seemed to like it. He was fairly sure she was still sticking around him mostly out of curiosity. She was old enough that she probably rarely found anything interesting, so he supposed that was understandable.

"You know we don't do retirement the same way your people do," he said. "I was never a soldier, anyway. I'm still a Delver."

She hummed lightly. "Most of the men here are. You can tell by the age, of course."

Armin tilted his head. That was not surprising.

He knew that the distinction followed the general 'career path' of most men in this society. Most, though by no means all, males were warriors and soldiers; the dark elves saw little difference between the two. If they survived to reach 'retirement age' — which seemed to vary by need but was currently set at below two centuries, so not actually very high considering their lifespans — they had several options. They could get a civilian job in their Houses, typically in an oversight position, or they could reenter the military as officers to climb the ranks. Of course, women were also senior officers — typically younger than these men, and with a formal education in matters of warfare, so they were not just anyone, but from the ruling families of the Houses. It meant the senior officer ranks were a mixed bag, but he could see the advantages of the system.

He also knew that soldiers were almost seen as communal resources by those in power in the Eternal Dark, used for protection and employed in doing whatever tasks happened to be needed at the time. To have any kind of voice in their politics, familial or national, they had to already be veterans. At least, that was what he vaguely recalled Madris telling him, shaking her head and making comments about overconfident nobles. He'd been a little distracted by the language lesson she was holding at the same time. But his experiences here so far bore out her explanation. Either way, that situation was one of the things Lermen, at least, most wanted to change; and he was pretty sure Tedis Oliren at least generally supported him.

"They're past the opening preambles now, and we're getting to the heart of the matter," Lermen said. He was frowning intently at the speaker.

If nothing else, Armin had to acknowledge that their gatherings were well-organized. There was a clear order to the proceedings, probably determined by custom, and people didn't attempt to speak over each other or start fights.

"In the last ten years, expenses for the upkeep of House-given soldiers have plateaued at a stable but high level …" a treasury official started her report.

Armin listened intently. The report was clearly well-written and reasonably concise, given how it went into technical detail. Unfortunately, the speaker lacked the rhetorical skills to make it very engaging. At least the thrust of their argument was easy enough to follow.

He couldn't keep his gaze fixed on the current speaker or the other gathered dark elves too long, though. Instead, it darted to the only other foreigner in the room. Clasen watched placidly, clearly listening, with a studied neutral expression on his face. He gave no sign that the occasional uncertain glance from younger officers or functionaries bothered him.

It's a bad sign that he's even here, he thought. Armin himself was at least well-respected and accepted by houses like Oliren and others. And he was arguably a citizen of the Eternal Dark, a member of Madris' house and able to speak for her. No one had really tried to protest his inclusion; undoubtedly Tedis would have had legal arguments ready in case they did. But Clasen was just a human psychic from a country even further away than the Empire. Armin would have almost suspected he'd used his abilities to gain entry if it didn't feel like far too much of a risk for little reward.

The current speaker finished and two more stood up to deliver reports and arguments. At some point, Lermen drifted off to speak to others. Armin listened, then glanced at his current companion, who was again providing commentary. Mostly about their respective foibles and how long it had taken to finalize their drafts while sending riders for forgotten records, or once almost setting the table on fire with a candle (Why were they even using a candle as lighting? No one knew).

"Who invited him?" Armin asked bluntly during a pause.

Iriesen cocked her head. "The Sovereign."

Armin raised an eyebrow in response. "And that would be …?" he asked in her language. There were, after all, two people with a title commonly translated to Global as 'Sovereign', but also separately as 'Hegemon' or 'Director' — the first led the gathering of the most powerful matriarchs, while the second was the actual executive leader of the central government.

"The Hegemon," Iriesen clarified with a small smile.

Armin nodded, glancing back at who the person he suspected they saw as his rival. The Hegemon had been polite and downright curious towards him, with no hints of any ill feelings, but he supposed that didn't mean much. They were quite highly-placed, which answered the question of how Clasen got in.

"You haven't mentioned your own stance on this issue," he noted instead of pressing further. He stuck to the dark elves' tongue, partially because he was at least sure Clasen wouldn't speak it, on the off chance that he could listen in to their conversation, but also because it wouldn't hurt to demonstrate his proficiency occasionally.

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"There is little to say," Iriesen shrugged. "My House is not one of those who are large suppliers for the military. We do not trade in weapons, our fabric trade is focused on higher-quality goods, and we import and export many things. Of course we also provide a high number of soldiers to the state. I am in favor of lowering expenses to feed, clothe and arm them on principle, and if that cuts into the profits of some of my rivals, I am not complaining."

Armin nodded. From what he had read and learned by speaking to dark elves, they effectively used three sorts of soldiers and armies, although the boundaries were blurry: The first were private house troops, the second were troops the houses sent to the central government and put under its control, and the third were soldiers permanently raised and managed by the state on its own. There appeared to be some variety in how this was actually handled, though, especially for soldiers 'given to the state': He'd heard of cases in which they seemed to simply stay close to their house's territory and protect it against incursion, and it even seemed common to effectively 'earmark' them for state service but keep them directly under the control of the house. Presumably, in peacetime, so the house would pay for them.

"I assume the central government is wanting to assert more control over the soldiers," he said.

"Of course," she replied. "I have been around long enough to see how it goes. It used to be quite common houses were simply required to provision their soldiers given to the government directly, and if they suffered from privation, well too bad. Nowadays the houses send money to the state instead of just troops to pay for equipment, and the rates have even been set by law — a tax in all but name. Technically, sending soldiers is merely custom, but I think any major house trying to refuse would swiftly see itself brought down. Instead we show status by sending larger numbers and the government laughs. But of course, those selling equipment typical for soldiers may still inflate prices for their own profit, so now comes this law to fix prices instead."

It sounded like the Eternal Dark's government had managed to make the houses give it the very soldiers it would use to assert its primacy against them, and even made them pay for the privilege. Armin reflected that dark elves truly could be scary.

There was another implication that concerned him more, though. "If the costs are lowered, will the Eternal Dark have more soldiers?" he asked.

Iriesen turned her head to glance at him. She stayed quiet for a moment. "Perhaps," she said. "I cannot see the future. There are obvious limits to the necessary logistics, regardless. We only grow so much food, and many hands are needed for it."

"That's always the case," he muttered, then turned his attention back to the discussion, which was winding down.

He'd honestly expected a longer debate. But it was clear that the focus was on the proposals and reports, not slinging arguments. Still, Armin glanced at Clasen. What is he going to do?

He was watching several of the dark elves, Armin noted. Subtly, but it was clear there was some connection there. He leaned forward a bit as the other Eminent Mistress in the room, Matriarch Esiahen, stood up to talk — to close out their presentations and lead to the voting, apparently. As the highest-ranking person in the room and a relevant government official, it was her privilege to oversee the actual decision-making. He noted her subtle nod to Clasen as she started to talk.

"My companions, the world is changing," she began, to his surprise. "Large armies are being assembled on the surface as new empires form. They will eventually make their impact felt in our homes as well. We cannot afford to be unprepared. Our soldiers are valiant, our officers canny and our borders secure — and yet, you all know that a bow that is not properly treated will not work. Our soldiers need proper equipment, or we might as well not use them."

Armin tried not to frown as he listened to her talk. It was a decently short, to-the-point speech, recapping some previous arguments and emphasizing them, which clearly played well with her audience. He wondered at this tactic, still feeling a bit uneasy. Clearly the momentum of the discussion was in her favor, and it seemed evident the proposal would be accepted. But what was Clasen's play here? He'd thought he would want the dark elves' military weakened, not strengthened — unless he actually thought he could get them to fight on the Western Confederation's side against the Empire? That seemed rather unlikely.

Esiahen kept talking, speaking with more passion. "Who is with me?" she asked, coming to an end. "Who will make sure we can provide our soldiers their equipment at decent, affordable prices?"

An affirmative call went up around the room.

Iriesen cocked her head, also frowning slightly. "Now I see," she muttered. "Armin, that's not going to end well —"

She was interrupted as the speaker continued. "Everyone in favor of passing this law?" There was another resounding chorus of agreement and people raised their hands. "Everyone in favor of giving the Office of Procurement the sole authority to fix prices for soldiers' goods, capped at most at the average price of a hundred years ago?"

There was another shout and most people raised their hands. Iriesen glanced at him, then followed — presumably, it would be too odd if she refused. Armin hesitantly raised his hand as well.

"They couldn't stop this law, so they are trying to make it fail in another way," she told him quietly after the vote was over. "She's the director of the Office of Procurement. I doubt she will do as she should," Iriesen sounded bitter. "If they set the prices too low, no one will want to sell to the government."

Armin clenched his teeth, trying not to curse as he realized he'd completely missed the actual danger here. "I assume the 'price level' she referred to is low?"

"There has been some inflation since then," Iriesen said. "There is a bit less silver in the coins than there used to be, people need more of them to pay for the same things. I'm not aware of the actual details, but it sounds low."

That didn't bode well. But Armin was distracted from his thoughts by several other people coming up to talk to them, now that the vote was over. He was drawn into a conversation on the supply situation 'on the surface', and by the time he managed to look for Clasen again, the man had already made his escape and was nowhere to be seen.

Fine. If he wanted to play it like that, Armin would just have to play back. He had no doubt that this wasn't Clasen's only scheme in the works, but Armin had also been cultivating alliances, and his allies had done the same.

"We can manage to circumvent this by appealing to the other offices," Iriesen turned up at his side again, stepping a bit closer. "They were balanced on purpose, I believe at least one might have the authority to adjust their price setting again. Even if not, at least we will know what to expect."

Armin hummed. He was wondering about better technologies and whether it would be worth importing things from the surface. If they could compete with low prices … but for now, that was probably premature.

Unfortunately, with this law and further discord looming, it seemed likely that the dark elves' armies would be less effective in the coming few years.

"May we discuss this further over a drink?" Iriesen asked. "I can show you my house's city estate."

Armin turned and looked at her more closely. At first, he thought she was inviting him to a get-together to make some political plots. Then she raised her eyebrows slightly and gave him a meaningful look before stepping closer, letting her gaze pointedly wander down his arms and chest.

Oh. Alright then. He was a bit embarrassed not to have realized that her interest was, well, carnal interest. Now that he gave it a moment's thought, she had not been that subtle.

"Of course, I would be delighted."

Once they got out of the room into the corridor, he offered her his arm in a more human style. She smiled and took it.

"I will not stay here long," he warned her in a low murmur, wanting to be entirely clear.

She hummed. "Oh, I know. We will just have to make the best of limited time." Her smile turned cheekier. "I have a few things in mind."

Well, Armin mused, there were a few things about dark elf culture that he did appreciate. They were many things but not prudes.

And besides, he had a newfound interest in architecture.

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