Summoning the Directorium

Chapter 6: Putri Kepangeranan

Principality of Qua-Toyne, October 1639

Qua-Toyne, Lotus Garden

Deep within the capital city of principality, a certain meeting between high level government officials was being held in a certain place. This place was known as the Lotus Garden, which was named because of its garden-like nature. There were all kinds of flora found throughout the principality, the most prominent being the Lotus. This very plant was also the reason behind the place's name.

"Regarding the situation at our western border, we've detected a further increase in soldiers at the Lourian side. This information was from our spies who found military carriages going in and from the recently found base,"

The person who was currently explaining to the others was Bericht, the principality's Information Minister. He was a middle-aged town elf with golden blonde hair. Despite his age, he looked much younger and had a distinct youthful aura. His body was slender and tall, which perhaps made him look slightly underweight.

The atmosphere in the room unsurprisingly went grim after hearing reports of more military buildup. After all, no country would ever want the idea that a neighboring foreign power is building up its military presence near the border. For everyone in this room, the reasoning and desired outcome of such a move could only mean one thing: War.

"Furthermore," Bericht added. "We've also spotted wyverns being transported into the base at a large number. So much that there were other bases being built up, likely to act as air bases for them."

"Wyverns, huh? Not surprising."

Responding to Verre's infodump was Verre, the prime minister of the country. Like Bericht, he was also a town elf. One thing that made him different from the Information Minister, at least on the appearance side, was the fact that he was very old. His once crimson red hair had mostly greyed out. Wrinkles was visible throughout his face due to his age and he held the look of a wise yet stern man.

"Is there any information on the exact composition of this army?" Verre asked.

"There is, sir," Bericht confirmed. "Overall, we assume that the Lourian army near the border is around ten to fifteen thousand soldiers. Their wyverns should be at least 30 strong based on visual reports."

"Thirty? I find that hard to believe! Louria shouldn't be able to form a wyvern force of over 20 at most!"

"They shouldn't, yet our visual reports confirm that there were more wyverns than we expected."

That might be problematic," Verre commented. "And what about their navy?"

"The Lourians have managed to amass a fleet of a hundred ships, ranging from galleys and galleons. They're currently anchored at their capital city of Jin-Hark."

Verre nodded as he took in the information, "I see.. What about our defense efforts, Sir Werner?"

Prime Minister Verre looked at Werner, the Minister of Defense. Unlike the two previous individuals, Werner was a human. He was a starting-to-get-a-little-plump middle aged man with short blonde hair. He had the look and face of a veteran with a mark of a scar on his left cheek that had healed a long time ago.

"It's going smoothly, sir," Werner answered. "We have amassed ten thousand troops near the border and are currently sending in ten thousand more men. They are split up according to the planned defense lines, specifically the town of Gim as the first line of defense and the Fortress City of Ejei as the second. Regarding their concentration, most of them are stationed in Gim. However..."

Werner hesitated for a moment before he continued.

"..I highly suggest that we evacuate the residents of Gim and the surrounding villages beforehand."