13th of Sarathan (L. Month 4), 508 AT (Aqu. 2, 1615 CC)
Le Brias, Altaras Kingdom
Inside a conference hall in the center of the Atenor Palace, the Kingdom's leaders were holding a meeting with their liege, King Taara XIV. The monarch had just turned 46 yesterday, but the increasing streaks of his graying hair and the wrinkles on his face gave the impression that the king is older than he looks. He sat at the end of the conference table, silently weighing the opinions and proposals that his vassals came up with as they exchanged their opinions in a lengthy discussion.
The most frequently brought-up points of interest in the meetings were about things related to the Parpaldia Empire, a superpower country of Philades—the dragon across the strait whose vicious snarl always breathed down the Altaran people's necks, and how to deal with their increasingly unreasonable demands. That is why when the Foreign Minister reported that the Kingdom's magic stone export this year is able to fulfill the quota demanded by Parpaldia, the officials and the king slumped in relief.
After composing himself, Taara asked, "What about the Parpaldian government's response?"
Hisham, the gaunt and elderly Foreign Minister turned to look at the king with his sunken eyes. As the one in charge of diplomacy, including dealing with the superpower countries, the stress of having to endure Parpaldia's abuse most of the time had caused this man to age even more poorly than the king. However, this time, Hisham cracked a small smile and responded to Taara.
"Through their ambassador, the Parpaldian government plainly stated that they had accepted and expected us to continue to be able to fulfill their... requests, as agreed in the treaty between our countries. That is all, Your Majesty."
Sighs and grunts echoed in response to the elder's statement. Meanwhile, War Minister Nader, a large and intimidating man dressed in green garb sitting near the other end of the table, scowled, crossed his arms, and scoffed in derision.
Of course, they never expected that blatantly arrogant country to offer them gratitude, nor they did expect Parpaldia to improve their treatment toward Altaras, but at least this is still better than being threatened again. The last thing they wanted to happen is to see Altaras give up her sons and daughters to toil as slaves in Parpaldia.
The king nodded. "Then... I suppose we can at least rest easy about now."
"Yes, Your Majesty. It is a relief that Parpaldia is satisfied with our offering. However, considering their domestic situation at present, it is possible that the export of Parpaldia's outdated technology might be reduced, or even ceased completely."
"That's hardly surprising," Taara sighed. "I also expected that much. Although they will never admit it, Parpaldia is currently struggling with its internal situation and its bogged-down military campaign. If Parpaldia always made excuses to not uphold their end of the agreement in normal times, they will do so even more now."
"Hear, hear," one of the ministers quipped.
Through the merchants and spies, the Altaras Kingdom managed to glean some information about Parpaldia's progress, or rather lack of it, in their invasion of the northern kingdoms. Declaring war against four countries at once, the Altaran Ministry of War had submitted an analysis concluding that Parpaldia's superior national power will make a short work of them. Their prediction of a Parpaldian victory is also strengthened by the fact that the four nations tend to act on their own without proper coordination with each other.
However, through a combination of factors, the Parpaldian army's advance was unexpectedly slowed to a crawl just before they can conquer the last kingdom still resisting. And shortly after that, a famine struck Parpaldia's breadbasket region which forced the invasion to a halt. It is like curses have been placed one after another on the Parpaldia Empire. For the Altarans, Parpaldia's crisis was like a godsend that allowed them breathing room.
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