It has been nineteen years since the fall of the Night Kingdom, sixteen since Princess Astnorden bent her knee to the queen who destroyed her parents and devastated her people.
And every day of compliance only fuels her thirst for revenge.
Now, civ...
AN: There are several rivers and cities in this chapter that you may not know...so here's a map of the location Astna and her men are discussing. :) Happy reading!
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The Falcon's Tower, the tallest in Valchtnallan Hall, boasted a beautiful view of the Alvning River. On a clear day, Astna could even glimpse the once-thriving Alvning City and the Valchtnallan Road, but both were empty now; the Lion Queen's reign had ended all trade.
Lady Skarra entered as Astna took a seat. "Your Majesty," she said, bowing.
That's right, Astna thought. I'm now a queen. It would take a while to adjust to her new title.
"Lady Skarra. Thank you for coming." Astna gestured to the seat to her right.
Denling and Nurtanden soon joined her, followed by General Vardjen Sejer. The general, who had served under Astna's father as a captain, was old and wrinkly, with skin like leather and eyes like river mud.
Three maps, each drawn in exceptional detail, laid upon the table: one of Wyvaernos, another of Valchtnallan, and a third of Old Skeynvald. Astna wondered who'd made the maps and whether she'd be able to praise them in person. I'd never have the patience to be a mapmaker.
Vardjen, direct as ever, walked over to the maps and pointed at a cluster of three dots near the Raeseri River, the border between Valchtnallan and Old Skeynvald.
"You cannot take Old Skeynvald without Nyclein, Ormina, and Gofrae," he growled. "But they can't be conquered. Ormina and Gofrae are known as the Unfallen Twins, and Nyclein has been taken only once."
"We could go up Ormina River," Lady Skarra said, "and take Ormina by force."
"No," Lord Denling said. "Ormina's too well-fortified, and we have too few men for a siege. I propose we go to Nyclein first, take it by surprise, and use its fleets to take Gofrae by river. Then Ormina would easier to conquer."
"Nyclein has no walls, but it's protected by its fleet," Vardjen agreed. "Taking it would not be easy, but it would be easy compared to trying to take Ormina."
Astna studied the map. "It seems to me that taking Ormina would provide us with the greatest advantage. We'd have all of their men, boats, and provisions."
"But taking it will be impossible!" insisted Nurtanden, leaning over the table. "We'd break against Ormina's walls and lose at least a thousand men."
"But if we did conquer it," Skarra countered, "we'd be seven-thousand strong."
"Taking Ormina will be impossible." Vardjen leaned towards Astna. "My Lady - I mean, Queen - heed my advice and take Nyclein first. It'd be faster to march there, and the city would be easier to conquer."
"Nyclein doesn't have the same provisions as Ormina," she snapped. "How are we supposed to feed our men? By fishing?"
"Hopefully, we wouldn't stop there long enough to have to take much of the city's resources. We'd move to Gofrae immediately."
