And when Agaêl heard that question repeated for the second time from the lips of her former friend, now transformed into a different person with a completely corrupted heart, she shuddered.
When Calenmir made it clear that her presence at her side was unnecessary, Agaêl fell silent, frozen, looking into her queen's eyes, trying to discern whether her intentions truly reflected her feelings. Caught between doubt and a sad hope, Agaêl felt remorseful and responded in a way to correct her mistake:
"Forgive my boldness, Your Majesty… I shouldn't have spoken to you like that. I beg for your mercy, I implore you to grant me a second chance. Though it's not necessary and I won't cause you any trouble, please allow me to remain by your side, my queen. I beg you," she said, only to stay by her queen's side and support, in whatever way she could, her childhood friend.
Calenmir responded firmly:
"Then start by stopping your disrespect toward your queen!" she exclaimed.
"As you command, Your Majesty. Is there anything else I can assist you with?" Agaêl asked in a distressed tone, bowing.
"I want you to find out which of our former lands produced essential metals. Write a letter to our allies informing them of the changes we'll negotiate. Look into the trade routes between our kingdom and Montesis, and I need to speak with my general in private. I want the reports in ten minutes, before the meeting. That's all. Go, and don't dawdle," Calenmir ordered.
"Of course, Your Highness," Agaêl replied, and before leaving immediately, she added, "With all due respect, if I may, my queen, I'd dare to offer my humble opinion."
"Go ahead," Calenmir allowed.
"From what I know of you, you'll be the greatest queen Zephyria has ever had. I'm certain of it," Agaêl said cheerfully.
"Thank you for your honest opinion. But I must correct you: you don't know me at all. Now you may leave, Vitrilvil," Calenmir declared, showing not the slightest hint of sensitivity.
"I'll take my leave," Agaêl responded with a bow and walked away.
Minimus's cold, indifferent eyes pierced the uncomfortable silence of their conversation before they parted, after Calenmir received a visit from the elf with the highest rank of decision-making power in the army: General Amanon, a formidable rank-6 general who led the Zephyrian troops.
Accompanied by her general and Minimus, Calenmir entered the meeting room, where everyone awaited her arrival. Instantly, all stood to greet their proclaimed queen. Twelve swords were unsheathed from their scabbards and raised in honor of the queen's arrival, all at once.
The queen sat in the distinctive seat at the head of the circular table and, with graceful gestures, ordered everyone to sheathe their weapons. Fourteen guests were present at the meeting, all without exception. Calenmir quickly called the meeting to order, discussing the next steps to gain power and respect against other nations with greater decisive and offensive strength on the face of the earth, such as Miwova, Montesis, and Astoria.
Agaêl, the queen's lady-in-waiting, took the floor and reminded everyone at the meeting, composed solely of elves, that, unfortunately, the kingdom of Zephyria and its inhabitants were in a disadvantaged and precarious position against the challenges the future would bring if they didn't change their strategy. She pointed out that, against any potential enemy, the kingdom posed no threat, and respect for Zephyria had fallen by 60% since the last queen, Elysia Calgia III, took office. She stated that the kingdom's finances were in ruins: seven out of ten elves were poor. Although they possessed the world's finest talents in magic practice and swordsmanship, the elven army was in monumental decline due to a lack of essential materials to craft weapons, staves, armor, and terralites. The few resources and minerals, such as blue metal, crifton, and the rarest, eldorium, were in short supply, and the prices charged by the kingdoms producing them on a large scale were exorbitant.
Agaêl emphasized that, beyond having lost over 60% of their original lands—important territories that produced these coveted metals—these were now in the possession of the passive advance of the Forest of the Seven Kingdoms. Although the corruption was blocked and its progress limited by purifying barriers made from a mixture of a terralite and an esmeraldia flower, called a Screen, this terralite served as an amplifier and communicator between other Screens, which joined to create a barrier that constantly prevented and eliminated traces of corruption. She concluded her monologue by noting that the advance of the corruption worried other kingdoms, as Zephyria was the closest front preventing its progress, a corruption that transformed all living beings into monsters.
The queen took the floor to thank Agaêl's report:
"Thank you, Lady Agaêl. You may step down for now."
"As you command, my queen," Agaêl replied and left the room immediately.
"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for answering my call. As you just heard, our kingdom is in a critical situation due to my mother's poor decisions and your shoddy work," Calenmir said, as many present showed indignation at the queen's bluntness. "And I don't tolerate mediocrity or incompetence in my reign. I expect, for the sake of your lives and your families, that you devote yourselves body and soul to the triumph of my rule. Now, proceed to introduce yourselves, starting with my general."
"Allow me, Your Majesty. My name is Amanon Aldaachadriel, commander of the Zephyrian army. A veteran of past wars, a man of few words, respected for my experience in military conflicts. I've served my kingdom since Calginia II," the general declared.
"Lord Thalanor Eryndor, at your service, my queen. Leader of the Northern State of Zephyria," the next continued.
"Welcome, Thalanor," the queen responded.
"Lady Sylmira Nyelthien, leader of the Eastern State, agricultural and magical territory. I pledge my loyalty, Queen Calenmir," another followed.
"Lord Agarrond Darethor, leader of the Southern State, military and border zone. It's an honor to meet you, my revered queen," another added.
"How was the journey here, Lord Agarrond?" Calenmir asked.
"I enjoyed it, Your Majesty," he replied.
"Good, I'm pleased to hear that. And you, young lady," the queen said, addressing the next.
"Lady Celebiel Virellen, at your service, Your Majesty. Leader of the Western State, commercial and diplomatic center," she introduced herself.
"Interesting. My ravens have whispered favorably about your skills, Miss Celebiel. Shrewd, calculating, a master of internal politics. They say you control trade routes and networks of influence among nobles and lesser houses," Calenmir commented.
"My queen, you honor me with your words. That Your Majesty acknowledges my efforts is a privilege I hold with gratitude," Celebiel replied.
Then, the queen introduced her special guests, some already named and others, like Sindra, newly appointed to their posts. Calenmir listened attentively to all the introductions and the roles of each in the kingdom. She considered each case and decided to discuss them privately with each party, reserving the talk of a possible war plan for extreme privacy with her general and a select few. She began with the economy, addressing Lady Celebiel directly and the newly appointed Orodrîeth Velassar, a diplomat in charge of treaties and foreign relations, with a soft voice and sharp gaze, fluent in all languages and protocols, who had saved the kingdom more with words than the army had with superior spells.
Calenmir ordered:
"Celebiel, I want you to secure an audience with King Montesis III and further strengthen our trade relations. Find a way to get them to lower the prices of their food, as our harvests are ruined. Deliver this letter from me and tell him I'll visit him soon. Orodrîeth, see to it that these letters are delivered to our dormant allies, from the queen. And I'll reveal to you all what this letter contains: gentlemen, I declare that tomorrow morning we will take the kingdom of Eldoria and claim as ours the filthy beasts that drink, fuck, and breed on our lands."
"Pardon me, Your Highness, but how does this benefit us? We don't even have enough power to feed our people," Orodrîeth asked.
"It benefits us greatly, gentlemen, but dominating the beasts isn't the goal—it's their extremely rare stones," Calenmir explained.
"You plan to control the only stones capable of enhancing weapons, the eldorium. But if we do this, we'd be meddling with Miwova's interests and their allies. The therianthropes of Emberfall won't be pleased; that would spark a war among all, Your Majesty," Orodrîeth warned.
"True enough. But you're only seeing the small picture your senses can perceive. The eldorium shipments extracted in Eldoria pass through us. A war of interests may indeed erupt, yes, but starting tomorrow, the world will be divided into two sides: those who hold power and those who resign themselves to being ruled. The offer to our allies is too good. Now, both of you, go do your jobs," the queen concluded, paving the way for the final, most critical conversation, where she would speak with greater candor.
Among her guests, she named a rank-6 royal tracker, Dringnir Faenlor. Few reached rank 6, and less than 30% achieved rank 5. On the round table, she activated a spell that allowed her to transform or shape any object and turn it into a world map. Then, the entire eastern block appeared on the table: the kingdom of Montesis, Zephyria, the Forest of the Seven Kingdoms, Eldoria, and finally, the kingdom of Tordontos.
The spell confirmed what the queen sought. It not only allowed her to see the shape of the focused area but, at this rank, the user could locate what the land in those places contained. The lands lost to the corruption's advance held the largest reserves of blue metal (70%), 35.9% of eldorium reserves—more than the kingdom of Eldoria itself, an unexpected surprise for the queen—and 13.8% of crifton, a metal used to create criftocrystals, pouches that held an individual's aetheris, essential for manifesting or controlling magic. Anyone carrying a criftocrystal protected it with their life, as, though indestructible, nothing in the world could destroy or unlink it from its owner once the bond was formed.
But that wasn't all. The tracker managed to find the trace of a unique gem, usable only by someone exceptional: the staff of the king of Tordontos.
"The Lagstone…" the queen said, her eyes wide with astonishment, stunned to learn of its existence.