"Safe travels." Renarion wished her off as he stepped out of the boat and in an instant, his figure vanished. As soon as Sevyn's figure appeared back at the mainland, she ignored the attention drawn to her as a coach was waiting for her.
She didn't wait for Haldor to greet her as she had more pressing matters to address at the moment. A stark comparison to the cool and calm experience if being in a car, traversing in a coach felt substandard.
'I should improve more on developing on the technological field as it is my greatest advantage over the other kingdoms.' She mused as she stepped out of her carriage.
"I hope that your trip was productive my Queen." She was welcomed by one of her servants however she didn't seem that interested as she callously waved him off. "Queen Sevyn, the Saintess is awaiting your arrival."
"Hah! Very well." She mused as she made her way towards the lobby. The reason as to why she was in such a rush was because she had to make preparations for the war that was about to ensue, not that she didn't care about her servants.
Her figure appeared in the main lobby which was greeted by the Saintess, the head of the church in Sablestone. Depending on the development of a kingdom, such figures dictated greatly some of the matters affecting the kingdom.
And with the matters of the demonic crack ever rising, the church was handed a lot of resources which further gained more supporters and power in the royal court.
Such a matter would be concerning for other kingdoms however for Sevyn she had nothing to worry about as she knew that the Saintess wouldn't be that muddleheaded to do anything stupid.
The Saintess, a lady who seemed to be in her forties and yet she held a charm and allure that could encapsulate the souls of both men and women alike. Her figure was a feast for the eyes however her face was masked behind a light veil. She was on the sixth tier whilst the third array.
She resembled a fairy, untouched and free from the scum and vile of the world. Her silvery white locks cascading down her waist, her presence equal to a light, radiating and warding off any evil that would dare to come her way.
"It is most certainly a pleasure to meet you Lyrael." Sevyn started off as a warm smile was presented on her face. Lyrael was slightly take aback by Sevyn's appearance.
Looking down, she recalled that she hadn't changed out of the clothes she was gifted by Andrew. "It was a gift from Andrew." She brushed it off. Lyrael chuckled lightly.
"It would seem that you are no longer a virgin as well." To have the audacity of pointing out such a comment to the queen was a risk for the few and it would seem that Lyrael was one of them.
"I have dedicated my entire self into serving Sir Andrew and Miss Ashley." Lyrael however had other matters she wanted to address other than just formalities.
"The reason as to why I'm here is matters regarding the crack and the island." Sevyn already knew where the conversation was heading. "Please, let's discuss this over some tea." Lyrael gave a warm smile, a confirmation and the two went to one of the gardens present.
Lyrael took in the spectacle of the landscape before her attention landed back to Sevyn. "As a matter of the crack, it would seem that even though with the Hydra, it has already devolved to a state we cannot salvage any more."
"Sablestone will bear the brunt of the attacks thus it would be better to relocate our capital elsewhere." Lyrael knew what she meant by relocate but what struck her off-guard was the matter concerning the Hydra.
"The Hydra is long dead. As for the Island, even though I am aware that those two are on it." Sevyn knew that she wanted more answers thus she could only divulge.
"The Hydra has been resurrected if you believe it or not. As for the island, it was an accident from Miss Ashley a few months ago as some crude tribesmen had offended her."
"The Hydra has been resurrected?" A voice of shock which subsided into normalcy came from Lyrael's lips. "Yes." Sevyn confirmed it however Lyrael had more questions.
'What did the tribesmen do to offend her to evoke such a reaction?' The two ladies thought as they recalled Morben, the only survivor they had encountered at the island.
It was a gut wrenching sight to see the state that he was in however regardless of how much they tried to cure him, nothing worked thus they opted for euthanasia however another problem rose.
It seemed that he retained his life regardless, equaling that to an immortal meaning that Ashley could gift immortality however even Sevyn didn't want to push her luck to begin with.
"You said about relocating the capital, what exactly do you mean by this?" Lyrael had numerous options ringing in her mind however two stood out. Either Sevyn was about to launch a war on another kingdom or they were to find a suitable place and build from there.
The more she looked at the latter, the less she felt that she would adopt it. "Why launch a war of course! On Miragestia." Lyrael's brows furrowed beneath her veil.
A war wouldn't be the best way to deal with it as it would result with high casualties on both ends. She was confident that they would win however Miragestia would be damaged thus they would have to clean up afterwards.
Depending on the damage dealt, if it was too severe then starting from scratch would have been a better alternative. "A war doesn't sound that ideal, Queen Sevyn."
She pointed out however looking at her calm expression, it was clear that she had made up her mind. "Don't worry Lyrael, the casualties and damage will be at a minimum."
'Maybe she had received a special artifact from those two.' Lyrael mused in her head as she recalled that she was gone for some time. "Very well, if you think that this is the best choice for the future of Sablestone then fine. It is a shame that I wasn't able to meet those two."
Lyrael commented as she stood up to which Sevyn followed right after. "Please, let me escort you out." She mused as she led Lyrael out of the castle. After she had taken her leave, she went back to her room as she made preparations.
'Knowing that Andrew will drop the Morvathian Dust a week from now, that should be enough time to organize my troops. However I've leaned more into the aspect of economy rather than military thus my army isn't that potent.'
'A loan from other kingdoms would be too costly not to mention with Ignatius out of options for mana, he could resort in other tactics.' Sure they would be able to outpower them however that didn't dictate that they would have a smooth victory.
Miragestia was a kingdom that was mostly constituted of goblins and other creatures of nature and with them situated in a dense setting, it would be a complete disadvantage to them.
'Not to mention that he could resort to using traps or asking for back up from other kingdoms. No, that is highly unlikely as that would be equivalent of asking other kingdoms to taking over doing more harm than good to his legacy.'
The more she contemplated about it, the more disadvantaged she realized she actually was. "It seems that you're struggling more than you had anticipated." Hearing the tone of the voice, she could conclude that it was Andrew.
What was strange was that the voice didn't have a source. "Andrew?" She asked. If an outsider saw her, they would have thought that she was insane. "I'm in your mind as I am conversing with you through telepathy thanks to the vial of blood you drank."
She was stunned as she realized that he could do such a feat. "Don't worry your cute little head. Just declare war and have about a hundred tier four soldiers with movement based artifacts."
"And as soon as you declare war, don't let it stall out for too long." Sevyn could only comply as she made contact with her general. A man in his fifties opened her door after a few minutes of waiting.
One look at him and one could tell that he was a master of his trade. He had a lingering air of veteranism around him. He was on the fifth tier whilst on the fifth array.
"You called, my queen." His tone firm and deep, clearly a sharp and well maintained individual. "Yes Kellan, I want you to pick the best men you have. About a hundred of them and prepare to launch a war on Miragestia, prep them with movement based artifacts."
Kellan was the general from the previous king that was overthrown however even he knew that he couldn't fight against Ashley let alone Sevyn. His faint black eyes sharp as they landed on Sevyn's.
"But my Queen. To take over Miragestia, we would need way more men than that. Not to mention equipping them with only movement based artifacts isn't ideal as they could face injuries."
So far he was rather skeptical of Sevyn when it came to this aspect of leadership. Even he had to admit that in terms of ruling and running matters, she was better than the previous king however when it came to military matters, it seemed that she was lacking.
"I am aware of what I said, Kellan." She added with a bit of certainty in her tone. "Have them ready by tonight." As a clear order from her Queen, Kellan had no choice but to comply.
"Very well, my Queen." He mused before his figure left the room. 'It would be better to catch them off-guard.' Instead of declaring it publicly that she would take over Miragestia, she decided to go about it covertly and stealthily.
She knew that Lyrael and Kellan would keep their lips to themselves thus she wasn't worried about about having such information leaked to the public.
Recalling that she was still dressed in the clothes, she decided to switch out of them and into something less eye catching. She appeared back in her own room before shuffling through clothes she had before donning something she was more accustomed to.
As for the clothes that she had, she had them washed and kept safely. The day was halfway spent as she made her way to her lunch. Delectable as always before her meal was interrupted by a servant.
"My Queen, it would seem that we have a guest. She claims that she's here on Andrew's orders." Sevyn recalled that she was supposed to receive someone. "Very well, let her in." She ordered and a few moments later, a lady was led by one of the servants.
"My Queen." Sophia started off as she took a light bow. "So you must be Sophia." Sevyn mused as a small smile flashed on her face. She knew that she had to treat her with respect as it was one of Andrew's associates.
'Is she one of his other lovers?' She couldn't help but wonder however she dismissed such a thought. "I was told to expect you." She welcomed her as she offered her a seat.
The more she tried to peer through her, the more mundane she found her to be. 'A tier two expert. C grade at that. Maybe her skills lay elsewhere.' She concluded as she started off the conversation
"I didn't know that you were related to Rhys." Sophia seemed rather taken aback as she heard this. "Rhys? No. I'm Zephyrion's woman." Sevyn grew all the more interested as she heard this.
She knew that Zephyrion was a friend of Andrew. "It's me except less laid back." Andrew's voice rang in her mind. She hadn't met Zephyrion however she was intrigued to.
"Very well. Feel free during your stay here." She said warmly as she kept on digging into her meal. "Thank you, Queen Sevyn." Sophia added on with a smile as well.