The port town was won for the Sovereignty. Kudaj reveled in his victory, and he watched as more troops poured in from Centerton. “Prince Kudaj,” called out a commander from their reinforcements. He took a deep breath and turned to face him. “Imperial forces have retreated from the surrounding towns. We’ve secured this sector of Southton, and await further instructions.”

  “Reinforce Southton townships and cities. We need to make sure the nobles of the keep in Soton Forest are aware that the shores of the South can be opened again. Bolster the garrisons at the border and maintain defenses against imperial forces that have invaded Easton. House Carral should reach out with a message about their current situation soon,” Kudaj ordered as he led the commander through the remains of the empire’s fortifications. They’d spent the past week since their victory rebuilding the town and strengthening the walls the empire left behind. He used it as a base of operations, keeping minimal contact with his father. He didn’t want to risk communicating on any line or frequency that wasn’t secure.

  “Yessir, your highness. Should we also deploy ships to some of the inland cities that have fallen to the invasion?”

  “No. We need all the ships we have either engaging with the enemy fleet over the Latvian and Aspan oceans, or protecting our own shorelines. Send a message to Princess Elysianna Carral of Easton to ready her troops. Once we’ve secured and rebuilt Southton’s fallen towns and cities, Centerton forces will deploy to Easton and rendezvous with her, where we can strategize out next course of action,” Kudaj ordered. The commander nodded and quickly saw his own exit. The prince of Songriveii was left to his own thoughts as he surveyed the reparations he and his troops were making for the people of the nation he would one day inherit.

  He was a mixture of emotions; pleased to see hope fill his people’s faces once more, sadness that they had to suffer so, and incomparable wrath that the empire dared to engage in such a brutal war to begin with. He never forgot and never forgave – they murdered his sister. They deprived him of the memories and childhood he could have had. They robbed his family’s future, and they murdered his only sibling.

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  It would continue to push him and drive him to war against Songriveii’s invaders. It would force him to have nothing contempt for their fascist, power-hungry ruler. That hatred would burn in his heart until he saw their lands burn for the crimes they committed against his people and his family. He served his people to protect them from vicious monsters like them, and he continued to let that be the mantra and moral he organized his heart with.

  “Lieutenant,” he called out, signaling for the officer to make her way over to him.

  “Yes, your highness.”

  “What’s the status of the Weston garrisons?”

  “I’m unsure, sir. It’s possible they haven’t deployed troops yet. A lot of their forces are occupied with the prison in the canyons of Olkimomno. A lot of maintenance is require to keep that prison functional,” she revealed. He grunted. It wasn’t what he wanted to hear, but there was nothing any of them could do about it. She was entirely right. If Weston lost anymore of Centerton’s support, they would have vulnerability they could not recover from.

  If the mechanical terrors of the canyons were loosed onto the continent, it would spell disaster for the nation. It was a cost too great. Not even divine logicians – being as rare as they were – could stand a chance against the remnants of the thousand-year blight, a time from long before the era of the daethrils. It was Songriveii’s best kept secret from the public eye, and one of the only agreements between all of thaerv; the worst of the worst in every country could be sentenced to time in the prison. Even the empire, despite the war going on would send their worst prisoners there. If Kudaj had his way, the emperor would spend his life there.

  “It’s a bloody mess, that’s for sure. What of the garrisons in Northton? Can they reinforce Easton?” He continued before handing off letters to some of the other officers in the command tent.

  “A lot of them are stretched thin as it is. The ebony elves of Northton have been offering their naval might to the war overseas. They have ground forces, but many of them are reinforcing the border to Easton,” she answered.

  “Then we must do what we can to bolster Southton’s forces and make sure it’s able to enforce its own borders. I had the commander of the reinforcements send a message to Easton’s princess. I need you to send a message to Prince Locion of Southton; tell him to begin negotiations with Durinveii. Let’s see if we can finally put our petty squabble with the dwarves behind us and work together to stop this threat,” Kudaj ordered. The lieutenant saluted and quickly vanished.

  Good…

  Everything is turning out better than I’d hope.