"...With their primary source of supplies cut, Nifl will quickly weaken," The Emblian general tapped his index finger upon one of the maps laid out on the table, gliding it north towards an illustration depicting the ice kingdom of Nifl. "While it is unwise to attack neutral territory, removing their major import of arms and armor is certain to ensure our victory and alliance with Múspell."
His companion, an elderly woman, sipped upon her tea as she gave a low chuckle. "Oh, absolutely, my dear Valentino. With Nidavel gone, Nifl will easily break under the pressure," she placed her cup onto its plate, sitting on the table. "However, I fear our Askran enemies are close on our trail. It is only a matter of time before they arrive to Nifl's aid."
Valentino placed his free hand upon his chin. "From the plans I reviewed with the princess, it should buy us enough time with more to spare in preparing the invasion of Nifl," he thought aloud. "Princess Veronica wishes to push an assault on the Askran summoning grounds. If they succeed, then we will have successfully incapacitated the Order of Heroes of their source of power; If they fail, however, it is simply more time bought for us to continue our efforts towards the northern countries."
The woman raised a brow at her fellow general. "Who is at the helm of Princess Veronica's little party? Giovanni?"
"No, I recall our princess having assigned General Faustina the mission. I don't believe Princess Veronica has made preparations for this mission yet, however."
Her brow lowered in distaste. The general stood up from her seat, taking a moment to stretch before glancing into the nearby window. From outside, the decorative braziers lit the castle grounds in an orange glow amongst the darkness of dusk, its light seeping into the room. "Humph. I was anticipating she'd finally let that fat bastard of a man on the field for once instead of letting him blabber our heads off with useless bravado, but I suppose we'd rather prefer having as little losses as possible."
"Come now, Columbina. Perhaps he will command a skirmish to Vana where he'll drink himself to death amongst the spirits and the women," Valentino jested, giving a low chuckle amidst Columbina's sudden cackling laughter, the woman banging her fist upon the table.
"Please, as if any woman would dare think about voluntarily approaching the man, let alone bed him!"
As the two laughed between one another, the nearby door opened. Princess Veronica entered the room, her face holding a rather disdainful expression. From such an sight, the two generals immediately ceased their amusement in the presence of the princess. As she approached the table, her eyes narrowed as they trailed up and down the maps, studying the notes her generals had previously wrote. "Excellent. I will have General Celeste and General Faustina study these tactics and handle this from here."
The violet-clad general looked upon the princess in confusion. "But what of us?" he asked her. "We were assigned to strategize our plans for the assault against Nidavel. For what reason are we being replaced in this task?"
"I've changed my mind. You two have something different to do," she answered. "Go to the World of Mystery- Columbina, to the World of Binding and of Blazing. Conquer them once more, and find for me the greatest Heroes you can muster- greater than the likes we've obtained thus far," she commanded. "Make haste. You have a month's time."
"A month's time, to conquer a world? Are you mad, child?" General Columbina squawked. "No, we require three."
"I am not a child, Columbina, I am a full-grown woman!" the little girl snapped. "The Order of Heroes have been sweeping through world after world in one month's time and I expect for you to reconquer at an even more swift pace," she continued, moving from the table towards the door. "I eagerly await your results- I have been told that the Askrans have now nearly taken the World of Birthright."
"Yes, your Royal Highness," the two generals spoke in unison.
"Good. Now, then-" Princess Veronica left the room as she called for her favorite Hero. "Prince Xander, it is nearly tea time! I would greatly appreciate NOT having tea time with Berkut again!"
After they watched the princess depart, Valentino rolled the previous maps and notes up neatly, slipping them back into their respective cases before returning them to their respective compartments in the nearby wall. He glossed about until finding two specific cases to replace them. Bringing them to the table, he laid the parchments out- one labeled "Archanea"; the other, "Elibe"- before swiftly returning to the wall-mounted library to pluck various historical records on both of the continents and bringing them to the table. Picking up a book on Archanean history, Valentino's fingers danced as he leafed through its pages to search for a place to start.
"The greatest Heroes of their worlds, hm?" the mage-general hummed. "Columbina, remind me- when we had previously conquered Archanea, who was it that we had contracted?"
"The Hero-King, Marth- although, if I may be honest, for a Hero-King, he was more of a Zero-King," she joked. "Surely, there must be greater Heroes from his world- I've recalled him being so disliked that he's never been given the privilege by our Askran foes to participate in their festivities!"
"Marth… hm." he muttered to himself, stopping at a particular page. "From Archanea, I will seek King Michalis of Macedon, and Camus, the leader of the Sable Order of Knights of Grust."
Valentino then looked to Columbina. "How familiar are you with Elibe?"
"Valentino, my dear, I was the general in charge of the assault on Elibe- twice."
"Then you will have no problem with finding the heroes we need. The heroes you seek for our assistance in Elibe will be to your discretion." He said to his companion. "I trust your senility won't get the better of you."
Columbina laughed. "To make such an assumption, Valentino! I'll be fine, rest assured. Why, I already have someone in mind, the most perfect peach to pluck from Elibe's tree of Heroes," she motioned her hand up and down before letting out a drawn-out yawn. "Now then, to bed I must go. Give King Michalis the warmest of hellos for your dearest friend, Columbina, would you?"
The mage-general let out a hum of amusement, watching as his comrade prepared to leave the room. "Indeed, I will."
"Then may the ancient god-dragon Embla protect you, dear friend."
