Validar IV Alexios, King of Plegia and the Plegians, First Son of Grima, and head the the Royal House of Alexios (and a host of other titles he actually had a clerk to keep track of. A well paid clerk, in fact.), tried to look dignified on his seat in the main parliament building in the Plegian capital of Thebes. The main chamber was semi-circular, with his Counts and Dukes filling the rounded edge, and he, his wife and his children, both his heir Robin and his bastard daughter, Aversa filled out the straight edge. The latter was four years senior, and the result of an affair with a Feroxi woman a couple of years prior to his marriage to his now wife, Arachne. Whilst she wasn't her mother, Arachne was fond of Aversa, instilling in the younger woman a love of pegasi.

Validar was never meant to be King, he mused to himself. Thirteenth in line to the throne, that's what he had been before Exalt Isolde's damn crusade. The grandson of his predecessor's youngest uncle, and a middling ranked member of the Grimleal's priesthood, with only the bare minimum of education with regards to rulership. He knew he'd never be a great ruler, but as long as he didn't collapse the Kingdom, he could rest easy knowing that his son and Heir, Robin, would put the nation on a peaceful and prosperous path once more. If he could manage that, he'd be content.

"With regards to the proposed plan to unify our nation with our eastern neighbours Ylisse, I will now open the floor to all your thoughts." The King of the Plegians spoke aloud. "I would ask that we all remain calm and keep our discussion well reasoned and respectful."

Campari Aeniad, the Lord Regent of Macedon, stood up. He was a career soldier, broad shouldered and straight backed, dressed in the traditional formal robes of a Plegian Nobleman. His niece, the eight year old Duchess of Macedon, Tharja Argead, was sat in her seat, fidgeting nervously. She was easily the youngest person in the room despite being one of the most powerful people in Plegia, and quite clearly out of her comfort zone. Her Regent shot her a kind smile, before clearing his throat, and addressing the room. "Your Majesty, my lords and ladies. You know me. I fought hard and well for this nation of ours when Exalt Isolde invaded. My goal..my hope, was for peace once more. Peace for my people. Peace for my niece. Now, peace is a noble goal as I am certain we can all agree, but we with must not be blind. Ylisse has proven that they would go to devastating lengths for...differing ideologies. Can we honestly trust that any political union will last if our eastern neighbour is prepared to butcher us all in Naga's name?"

"We can't." Validar glanced at his daughter as the fourteen year old got to her feet to address the chamber, nearly every eye was on her. She cleared her throat, hardened her gaze as much as she could, and began to speak.

"We can't trust them not to hate us for holding to another faith. We can barely trust them not to kill us for the high crime of not being Ylissean." She drawled,and was met by agreeable murmurs. "...But we must trust them to do so anyway. The thought of another war..like the damnable 'crusade' is unacceptable. Unconscionable, even. If Exalt Nicholas is, as he claims, nothing like his mother, surely he can wrangle in his own vassals? It is they who pose the greater threat now, not Nicholas. It is they that enabled Isolde to attack us, burn our cities, kill our soldiers and butcher our children."

An elderly priest stood up. He was bald, slowly growing blind and toothless. He was quite obviously Feroxi, or of Feroxi descent given his darker skin tone. He was garbed in the traditional robes of a priest of the Grimleal faith, all black and purple and gold. "I must ask, my dear Lady Aversa. Your words speak true. But what you and your are suggesting is...incredible change. Unprecedented change. Can you honestly say that this is the right way forward for the Plegians, Grima's own loyal followers?"

"Is change not part of Grima's Teachings, my good priest?" Aversa questioned with a smile to the sound of good natured laughter. "The end of an era. That is what we are on the cusp of. The end of Ylisse and the end of Plegia. The start of something entirely new. For good or ill, change is part of the cycle of life, and thus has Grima's approval and blessings. This is the only path I see for our people and country that doesn't involve revenging ourselves on the Ylissean populace."

Aloeus Thallis, Lord of the Ylissean Marches, stood up now. He was pointedly not in formal robes, but battle armour. He was scarred and scowling, stout and stern. A veteran of the Crusade who fought against Exalt Isolde in person, 'The Bright Bulwark' was known for his sandy, golden cloak emblazoned by a cream dragon's skull and ancestral heavy spiked shield. He was old, like many in the room, silvery-grey hair that had been thinning for years sat atop his head. When he spoke, it was in a low, dry, drawl. "And why, pray tell us Lady Aversa, should we not consider vengeance? We lost nearly sixty percent of the population of the eastern provinces. Does that not warrant some justice?"

"Uhm.."

All eyes, even those of the guards, fell on Prince Robin. The boy squirmed under their gaze, but held firm..or at least as firm as he could. "Would it not...make sense to only punish those that...pushed for war? Less blood. Less death. Less difficulty."

Thallis chuckled quietly. "Straight from the mouth of a child. Do you think that the blood of barely a dozen tired old men is equal to our losses, boy?"

Validar cut in, his tone cold. "You address the Heir to the Throne, Lord Thallis. Do so in an appropriate manner, lest you find yourself lacking a tongue to do so."

The Marcher Lord cleared his throat, and offered a polite, apologetic bow. "I...apologise for my tone my King, but not the words I spoke. It is only in dreams of children that the deaths of so many innocents avenged by a handful of executions."

"You speak true, my Lord. It is not vengeance." Validar stood, departing his seat and striding into the centre of the room. "But we do not seek vengeance, but justice! Justice for our dead, our families and our citizens. Justice, not vengeance my friends. Justice not vengeance. Imagine a land united as one, my Lords and Ladies. Imagine, not needing to pray to Grima that your children need not fear burial in a foreign ditch for some nonsense war or other. That, we need not fear war with the age old enemy anymore. Vengeance leads to more blood, more vengeance. Justice, my friends. Justice is the path to peace, and prosperity..for both us, and those in Ylisse."

There was a rumbled of hushed discussion amongst those in the chamber. Validar let out a sigh, and made his way back to his seat, offering an encouraging smile towards his son. It was his idea after all. Then a single, young voice punched through the din. "Justice, not Vengeance! Macedon will have peace on those terms, my King!"

Half the chamber was now looking at the precocious young Duchess from Macedon, whilst the other half erupted into similar, loud declarations. Tharja, the realisation that she had indeed shouted at the top of her lungs in the middle of a council meeting, was covering her face in a futile bid to hide her now very red cheeks.

It was the Queen, Arachne, that silenced the room. "Whilst it does appear that we are...more or less in agreement. This plan does hinge on my son agreeing to the plan. Now, as a mother I do not wish my son an arranged marriage in which he might well be unhappy, but as Queen, I understand that this is what being a Crown Prince means, making that sacrifice for the good of his people. So I propose that we arrange a diplomatic meeting on the border, so that Prince Robin can meet Princess Emmeryn."

"Would the Prince be willing to do so?" Thallis asked aloud.

"..I'd...be willing to meet her." The ten year old heir to the throne said hesitantly. "Although perhaps I ought to write to the Crown Princess first, so we're not complete strangers."

"A wise idea, my son." The Queen commented with a small smile. "A very wise idea indeed."

As the room once more descended into quiet, murmured discussion, King Validar chuckled to himself, who knew politics was this easy?