Lenaria: The Party Begins CONTINUED

Intermisson

"We've sent as many troops to the forest as we can," August reported, looking at his papers. He stood in a meeting, informing His Majesty and Joana, along with other generals, about a certain issue that had risen.

In the outskirts of Renaisse stood an old ancient forest that has stood there since the beginning of Lenaria. It was one of the kingdom's pride and joy, the forest was a beautiful scene to witness. It used to be a strong home of magic.

But as time went on, the forest had lost it's magical property. It was still as beautiful as ever, but nothing magical had been sighted in the forest for the past two decades.

However, there had been rumors lately of a magical being residing in the forest.

That was the center of their focus today.

Renaisse had sent many troops to the forest. Somehow, every mission had ended in failure.

This only fueled the rumors of a being living in the forest.

There must be something there that this being is keen on protecting. Those who had survived and come back from the forest had reported being attacked by an unknown force that seemed to be able to bend their surroundings at will.

Whatever it was, it kept killing any intruders.

August couldn't afford to send in any more soldiers to the forest.

"What do you suggest, Your Majesty?" He asked, awaiting an answer from the king.

King Faust tapped the table, frowning at the map of Renaisse that was laid out on the long table. His silver hair was swept back, beard neatly trimmed. Faust was wearing a simple red jacket that had patterns of waves on it with gold accents, clean white pants covered his legs. Faust drew his blue eyes over the map, making the room silent and eerie.

Joana idly looked away, feeling awkward without Moses there to accompany her. The bird would always tag with her, however Faust didn't allow animals in any private meetings.

Joana fixed her glasses as the king hummed.

Finally, Faust said, "We'll hold any plans towards this forest. I want to focus on Arcadia for the time being. Give me status on the borders as well as Scarabi."

August nodded, eyes glancing at the gemstone glittering on Faust's collar. The captain cleared his throat, looking through his reports.

"Scouts have reported sights of Queen Hela sending more of her army at the borders. Others have sighted more security at the Scarabian borders as well." August set his papers down, ignoring a strand of dark hair that had fallen out of place. The captain kept a straight face as Faust thought deeply about the news.

A general spoke up, placing a marker at the Arcadian borders, "I suggest we put a full attack on Arcadia then regain focus on Scarabi. Both kingdoms, even together, don't stand a chance against our army."

Joana shook her head, quickly disagreeing with the general, "That is a foolish and immature plan." The general glared at her, finding it rude that she would speak against him. However, the general quickly diminished his glare so the His Majesty wouldn't get offended. Joana continued on, ignoring the tense vibe coming from the general, "If we put out main focus on one enemy, that leaves us vulnerable to the other enemy. Scarabi may be going through an economic depression, but war is an easy way to fix that. I think that in about three months, Scarabi would soon become equal with Arcadia. That only means, if we attack Arcadia, Scarabi could swoop right in and attack us from behind."

Faust nodded, "Joana has a point. We can't just expect Arcadia and Scarabi to be weak just because our army is large and powerful. They can still win using clever tricks and wit."