I'm sorry to say that after this chapter I'm going to be taking a break from this fanfic. I need to get several things in order in my life and I won't have time to write for a while. I should have the next chapter up around May 7th. I apologize in advance.

Part Eight

Two and a half days later, they received notice at Sol-Falena's inn that boats filled with children from the Dark Chasm would be arriving within an hour. Daunte and his group immediately converged upon the docks to welcome the children. Reis, after spending two straight days studying the Runes in the Sun Palace, even made an appearance (though she looked quite disinterested). Oboro and Shou also came down to meet the children. During their stay in the capital, Daunte had the opportunity to meet the other detectives who worked for Oboro's agency. He had learned that the business had started with just one boat four people—Oboro, a spiritedly woman named Fuyo, and Shou's parents—a stoic named Shigure, and a quiet woman named Sagiri. Now their agency consisted of five boats and nearly thirty detectives.

Sagiri unsettled Daunte, however. She seldom spoke except to tease her son, but during their first meeting Daunte often found the woman staring at him. Her facial expressions were very peculiar; she was constantly smiling. The smiles slipped from her face occasionally, but smiling seemed to be her default expression. But when she looked upon Daunte, well…Daunte could see sadness in her eyes. Was she upset that Shou was fighting in an Army? It was another reminder to Daunte that each and every person who served under him had a family they'd left behind to fight in his name. Knowing that they would fight and die for him—and possibly leave their families behind—was an uncomfortable reality but Daunte knew that he couldn't ignore it.

I'll have to work much harder. To ensure that I don't lose so many soldiers.

Daunte also learned that one of the boats for the detective agency would be following them back to Nagarea, much to Oboro's chagrin. Neither Shigure nor Sagiri would be on the boat, and one hot-headed man named Raven kept loudly complaining about not being able to do. But that meant more detectives to work for the Liberation Army, so Daunte didn't complain.

At the docks, Daunte squared his shoulders and kept his head held high as they waited for the boats. During his stay in Sol-Falena he'd been privy of the gossip of the capital and the opinions of the Falenan's about Queen Lymsleia agreeing to take in the refugees. He wasn't surprised to learn that the general census was very divided about the arrival of the children. Many did not trust the children and believed they were there with bad intentions. Others felt that their agreeing to take in three hundred and thirteen sickly children would put an unnecessary strain on the resources in the capital. Queen Lymsleia alleviated concerns by promising to spread the children out to different cities, and many cities like Rainwall, Doraat, and Lordlake agreed to take them in. Daunte understood the concerns of the citizens, but it still irritated him to see them so dismissive of the plight of the children.

Hopefully everything will work out.

Then the boats arrived Daunte counted sixteen of them, and he vaguely wondered where they'd gotten so many boats. People from all over the city came down to the docks to see the children, despite their own reservations about them. Queen Lymsleia also came down to the docks to welcome the children, but for security purposes was kept at a distance surrounded by Queen's Knights. Daunte quickly stepped forward with Caesar when the first boat docked, and when the first few children climbed out Daunte heard exclamations of shock from the Falenans behind him. They had clearly not been expecting to see the children in such terrible states.

A girl who looked to be about thirteen (Daunte felt guilty he didn't remember her name) didn't have the strength to climb out of the boat so Daunte and Roen carried her out of it. Healers rushed over with a stretcher and quickly carried her away. She wasn't the last child who was carried off in such a manner. Others who did climb out themselves didn't have the strength to stand and just sat down on the docks. All of them looked at their surroundings with bewilderment.

"This is different," Daunte heard one boy say. "I like it."

"I don't remember them looking this bad," Surya said softly.

More and more children docked and were escorted or carried away from the docks. The Falenans gossiped rather loudly, but Daunte was immensely relieved to hear that their attitudes had changed significantly.

"Who would do this to children?!"

"Our prince was subjected to the same treatments?!"

"It was a mistake ignoring Nagarea for so long!"

"Good heavens! They look like what Lordlake citizens looked like almost thirty years ago!"

Hearing that puzzled Daunte, but he kept quiet about it as the children continued to arrive. People began breaking away from the crowds to give assistance. Even some of the Queen's Knights rushed forward to offer assistance. It took over three hours for all the boats to docks and all the children to be unloaded and given care. Some of them were so stunned by the outpouring of support they were receiving that they were openly weeping.

Once the last of the children had reached the city, Caesar pulled Daunte aside. "Let's make sure each child is seen to and then we must make preparations to return to work."

Daunte nodded. "I agree."

Once it had been deemed safe, Queen Lymsleia went out and greeted each of the children. The children had never met a monarch before, as the only form of government they had ever experienced was a Theocracy, so they mostly greeted her with indifference. Lymsleia didn't mind at all.

The children were still being organized to be transferred to different cities across Falena when Daunte and his group finally retired to the inn. Surya and Mokuren joined them for supper, and Daunte was also surprised to find a new addition to their party as well.

"I'll be going with you all to Nagarea," Freyr announced.

Surya and Mokuren gaped at him. Daunte looked between the two cousins, not knowing if he should accept the boy's offer. But Freyr produced an official letter and handed it to Daunte. "Here's my parent's approval on the matter. Dad said this would be a good way for me to repay you guys for saving me. And it would be a new experience for me since I aspire to become the Commander of the Queen's Knights."

"A-And Aunt Lym was okay with this?!" Surya sputtered.

Freyr shrugged. "Yeah. She's concerned for my safety but she gave her blessing."

The letter Daunte read said as much. He gave the letter to Caesar for his evaluation. The strategist read it in silence for a long moment before handing the letter to Mokuren. "Is this Queen Lymsleia's handwriting?"

Both Surya and Mokuren looked at the letter and Surya frowned. "…Yes."

Freyr grinned. "See?"

"But I'll still have a talk with Aunt Lym tomorrow just to be sure."

The smile quickly dropped from Freyr's face, but Arin perked up. "Well, the more the merrier!"

"It's great that we're going to be working with you again Surya," Roen added.

Surya smiled and relaxed a little. "Yeah, I agree. It still feels like yesterday since I was in Nagarea running all over the place with you guys."

They settled back into supper when Daunte remembered something. "Hey, Surya?"

"Yes, my Lord?"

Daunte felt odd to hear a prince defer to him, but he shook it off. "I heard someone compare the children to the people of Lordlake. What did that mean?"

Both Surya and Mokuren stiffened, but Freyr also looked curious. Surya rubbed at his nape awkwardly and looked away. "That…well, what happened at Lordlake isn't exactly something we're proud of."

"Was this an incident thirty years ago, where one of your towns was subjected to the power of the Sun Rune?" Caesar asked.

"How did you know about that?" Mokuren asked.

Caesar shrugged. "News of the incident reached Harmonia, you know. It's in textbooks about Falena at the Soledt Academy."

"The Sun Rune?" Felicity spoked up. "That's the Rune the High Clerics tried to ransom the royals for, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it's a powerful True Rune," Surya said grimly. "It's also very unstable. It needs the balance of both the Twilight Rune and the Dawn Rune or else the power will go out of control. Over thirty years ago the Dawn Rune was stolen and everyone thought that the town of Lordlake stole it. For a separate reason my grandmother wielded the Sun Rune, but without the Dawn Rune to balance the Sun Rune, it…" he shrugged stiffly. "Lordlake was razed. What was once a wealthy town with lush scenery and a beautiful lake turned into a barren wasteland. Then it turned out that Lordlake had absolutely nothing to do with the theft of the Dawn Rune. They were framed."

"Yeah," Mokuren said in a quiet voice.

"However the town has made a full recovery," Surya quickly added. "If you were to go there now you would never have guessed what had happened there decades ago. But I hope you understand why Aunt Lym couldn't have simply handed the Sun Rune over to the Nagarean Theocracy. Not even for the sake of her children and kin. That's why we did everything in our power to save my cousins without giving in to the ransom."

"Do you have any idea what will happen if the Sun Rune is separated from the Dawn Rune and the Twilight Rune again?! You would destroy your entire country! I'm not exaggerating, it will happen!"

Daunte remembered clearly that Lyon had said that. Now he could understand why they worked so hard and took so many risks to personally rescue each royal. Now he could see why Falena was so grateful to him for the part he played in saving the royals. I can also see why Reis is fascinated with studying the Sun Rune, even if I personally don't want anything to do with it.

"But enough about that," Surya said. "We're departing back to Nagarea tomorrow, correct?"

"Yes, and we have a new headquarters," Caesar said.

Surya nodded and smiled at Daunte. "I'm glad to see that you have taken command, Daunte. With that idiot gone, I know you'll succeed. Or rather, we'll succeed."

The table laughed, including Caesar, and Daunte joined in as well. Everyone seems to have a lot of faith in me. I'll need to keep working hard so I don't let anyone down.

To Daunte's surprise, by the following morning all of the children of the Dark Chasm had been successfully sorted to either stay in Sol-Falena or transferred to other cities. It was reassuring to Daunte, and he felt confident that he was leaving them in good hands.

The extra boats that had been used to transport the children proved to be useful, as the soldiers Queen Lymsleia had pledged to them could make use of them for the trip to Nagarea. However, it still wasn't enough for all of them, so all that could be done was to give them a map of the path they needed to follow in order to reach headquarters. Daunte knew that it would take days for everyone to arrive at HQ, but nothing could diminish his good about this experience. He'd secured the wellbeing of his friends, and he had an alliance with Falena. He was proud of what they'd accomplished in such a short period of time.

Before they left however, Arin had one final request. "Can we stop by the figurine shop? Pretty please?"

They were almost out of money, but Daunte didn't know the next time they would be back in Sol-Falena so he decided to indulge Arin and they ventured over to Mooney's shop before going down to the docks. The moment they stepped through the door however, a shout startled Daunte. "Oh, my Lord!"

Mooney raced over to them. He looked incredibly eager for some reason. "My Lord, I'm so thankful you stopped by my shop before you left. I wanted to thank you for your generous purchases the other day. When you bought all five of the Tenkai Stars from each war, I was moved by your appreciation for my hard work. And for the appreciation you displayed for the sacrifices these young men made."

Daunte shifted uncomfortably. Truthfully he'd just wanted to spoil Arin and give him figurines he admired. Although knowing that the five of them had been the Tenkai Star like he was the Tenkai Star had also been a motivation for him. But he shrugged and nodded. "You're welcome."

"Meeting you has made me very interested in the person that you are and the direction you will be taking your country in," Mooney said. "You see; it has been my life goal to immortalize the heroes of many wars in my figurines. But I also want to participate in shaping the world. I want to embody the heroes that I create. When you bought those figurines, I realized that I want to follow you and help you succeed. I would like to join your cause, if you would have me."

Daunte was stunned. So just because he bought some figurines Mooney wanted to join his cause? That seemed too easy.

Mooney continued, however. "I will continue to make figurines for the five wars I've displayed here. And how about this—once you complete an entire set, I will give you a reward that I'm certain will aid you more in your fight. I also have some combat skills, though because I use my whittling knife I have very short range. So, what do you say? Can I join you?"

Daunte looked at Caesar, who simply shrugged. Daunte thought about it before turning back to Mooney and nodding. "Welcome aboard."

"Thank you so much!" Mooney shook his hand vigorously. "I'll need to unload the inventory I already have here, but I will follow you to Nagarea and join you as soon as I can!"

"All right!" Arin cheered. "Now we can get more figurines whenever we want!"

Daunte knew though that it would take a long time to get every figurine, as each collection had to have over 100 figurines. But he also figured that it would be something he could buy to keep Arin happy.

They made their way to the docks, and along the way Caesar went over their plan for getting back to HQ. "When we're back within Nagarean borders, we'll gather everyone who arrives with us and use the Blinking Mirror. It was very effective in the Dark Chasm, so it should work just as well this time."

Daunte nodded. "I agree."

"What's the Blinking Mirror?" Freyr asked.

"It'll teleport us directly back to headquarters," Felicity said.

"That's very convenient," Mokuren said.

"It sounds familiar," Surya said. "I think my mom mentioned something like that during the civil war."

At the docks the entire Falenas family was there to see them off. Neither Lymsleia nor Shoon stopped Freyr from coming with them, but Daunte could tell they were sad to see him go. Haswar played up the public dramatics and clung to Surya and sobbed loudly, but Surya looked more amused than embarrassed. Both Luserina and Euram said quiet goodbyes to Mokuren. Miakis kept nudging Farrin and egging her on to "say goodbye to her fiancé", but the Crowned Princess kept by her parents' side.

"Please take care of my son," Lymsleia said to Daunte, much to Freyr's chagrin. Daunte didn't like the added reminder that the lives of the Falenans were in his hands, but he also knew he needed the reminder in order to ensure that they all would make it home to their families and nodded.

It was a slow process for all the boats to depart, but Daunte's boat left first. He had his own party in the boat with the exception of Shou and Oboro, who would be traveling in one of their agency boats. But Surya, Mokuren, Freyr, and Silvano also joined their boat and they set sail back to Nagarea. The atmosphere returning home was much better than it had been the last time they left Falena. Everyone was talking and laughing amongst themselves, and Daunte also felt more relaxed. He could almost forget they were heading back into planning a civil war; it almost seemed like they were on vacation.

But we do need to get back. We've been gone for almost a week, and anything could've happened during this time.

It was daybreak by the time they reached the Northern Wharf. Daunte looked northward towards the island where the inventor was supposed to be living, and he saw another bright light on the horizon. He was very curious as to what was going on out there, but he knew that it would have to wait for another time. They dragged their boat onto the beach, just as two other boats arrived, one of them containing Israfil and the soldiers from Sable. Daunte looked back the way they came and saw more boats approaching, but ultimately decided not to wait for them. They could still sail down the underground river to reach the headquarters.

"Everyone, please gather around!" Caesar shouted. "Lord Daunte is going to use the Blinking Mirror now! Take each other's hands and clear your minds!"

Daunte gripped Arin's hand tight in his fist, and Caesar grabbed his shoulder. He waited until everyone was hanging onto each other before raising the Mirror. "Take us back to headquarters!"

Daunte succeeded in teleporting his party and the entire entourage from Falena that had arrived with them. Viki was quite happy to see them, however no sooner did they arrive were they summoned up to the war room by Gunther and Varnaz. The news they reported was chilling.

"We've been found out."

Daunte was stunned. So the Theocracy knew where their headquarters was now? He looked to Caesar, but the strategist didn't look fazed. "Well, this was inevitable. This place was the original headquarters of the first Liberation Army."

"Sheikh Faakhir and Sheikh Hale tried to ambush us from the north and south," Varnaz said. "They each had an Army of 500 soldiers."

"That's insane!" Felicity sputtered. "Sloan Faakhir launched a campaign here?! Where his wife and daughters are?!"

Knowing the monster that Sloan Faakhir was, Daunte wasn't surprised. Allise continued. "They were obviously planning on wiping us all out. They had their best soldiers in formation and were armed to the teeth. We wouldn't have stood a chance, except…"

"Except what?" Daunte asked.

"Yuber," Gunther spoke up. "When word reached us that both groups were going to try and ambush us, we were scrambling to get the Army in order. Yuber then just suddenly appeared, said we were "wasting time", and demanded that he go out and give both sides a "warm welcome"."

Daunte saw Caesar visibly relax at hearing this, and he smiled. "And I imagine that Yuber soundly beat them?"

"That's…one way of putting it," Varnaz said uneasily. "I've never seen anyone move so fast in my life. In less than two minutes he'd carved a path straight through Sheikh Faakhir's forces towards Faakhir himself. This one be—man, killed almost three hundred soldiers with just his two swords. It was…" he shuddered slightly.

"Well the consolation was that Sheikh Hale saw the onslaught and immediately turned tail and ran," Allise said. She scoffed. "That man has never been one for confrontation with people who could easily beat him."

Daunte felt a sudden presence behind him, but he did not flinch. "I did what I was commanded to do."

Daunte turned to face Yuber. He did not seem proud of his accomplishment; he actually looked rather bored. "Thank you for your hard work," Daunte said.

"It was easy," Yuber responded. "Far too easy for me. I find it pitiful that you haven't yet won this war when your opposition is so feeble."

"Well, that's why you're here," Caesar quipped. "To make sure we do win."

"D-Did you kill the Sheikh?" Roen asked softly.

Yuber didn't glance at him. "No."

"No?" Daunte echoed.

"I reached his side and engaged him in single combat. He is a human, but he was an even match for me." he paused before continuing. "There was something off about him."

"Off?"

"He emulated an unnatural power," Yuber said. "It was a power that was beyond his physical capabilities. It was a power that felt…familiar to me." he frowned deeply. "But I don't remember how it is familiar to me."

"W…Does the Sheikh have a True Rune?" Daunte asked hesitantly.

"No," Yuber quickly responded, but someone else said the word as well. Daunte looked around Yuber and saw two familiar faces standing at the doors of the war room.

"He did not have a True Rune," Sierra said with certainty. She seemed to glide into the room, followed by Nash. "But he does possess a power that he would not be capable of without a Rune."

"You possess a True Rune as well," Yuber pointed out. "The Blue Moon Rune."

"I do," Sierra confirmed.

"Why haven't you used your Rune thus far? Its strength alone could've ended this war sooner."

Sierra smiled thinly. "Lord Daunte would not want me to use this Rune."

"Really?" Daunte said.

"Really," Sierra said with cold finality.

"You really don't want to see her Rune in action," Nash said.

Yuber scoffed. "So your Rune requires human sacrifice. What does it matter when this war is killing people anyways?"

"Wait, what?!" Gunther snapped. Daunte was also stunned.

"The Blue Moon Rune is linked to the undead," Caesar explained. "It turns its user into a vampire, and allows the user to converts people into vampires as well. It also has the ability to summon zombies as an undead army. However—"

"However, summoning the undead requires me to make the undead army," Sierra said blandly. "So people die first and then are turned into zombies. Do you see why it's not a good idea for me to use this Rune?"

"Then the Rune is wasted on you," Yuber pointed out. "Neclord made much better use of it."

"I'm sure he did," Sierra replied. "But he's not here right now, is he?"

Daunte looked between Sierra and Yuber, feeling very uneasy. "So…you are a vampire, Sierra?"

Sierra gave a toss of her head. "Wasn't it obvious?"

Daunte noted her pale complexion, her striking red eyes, and her general eccentric behavior, and suddenly felt foolish that he didn't notice earlier. Sierra continued. "You have nothing to fear. I mastered the use of my Rune long ago."

"B-But you feed off of people, don't you?" Roen asked.

Sierra gave him a look that clearly indicated that she thought the question was stupid. Nash immediately stepped forward. "T-There really is nothing to worry about. No one here is in danger, and no one dies from it."

"But is anyone at risk when you bite them?" Silvano asked.

"I'm not a werewolf," Sierra said. "People don't turn when I bite them."

"Wait, werewolves are real?!" Mokuren sputtered.

"I think we're getting off-topic," Caesar said. "I'm glad though that we diverted a massacre. But we must remain vigilant, especially now since they know where we are."

"That's actually why we came up here," Nash said. Daunte looked closely at him, and silently wondered if he was also a vampire like his wife. "I would be careful if I were you, Lord Daunte. Our location may have been leaked to our enemies."

Daunte stiffened at hearing this. Wait…so we have a traitor?

"I think it's a bit premature to think that," Allise said. "As we said, we haven't exactly been subtle in establishing this place as headquarters."

"But we will keep what you've told us in mind," Caesar said. "The fact that the massacre was timed when Lord Daunte was not here is…suspicious."

"I agree," Daunte said, nodding. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Nash."

Nash shrugged. "Well I should make myself useful."

"Yes, you should," Sierra muttered.

"In any case," Caesar said. "We've secured a foreign alliance with Falena. My Lord, would you like to introduce our new allies?"

Daunte could see that his newfound allies were unnerved by both Yuber and Sierra and loudly cleared his throat. "U-Um, yes. Everyone, you know Surya Falenas…"

One of the Falenan boats arrived by nightfall. Daunte knew that many more would come overnight, and in the following days.

After welcoming the first boat, he went straight to his room and fell face-first onto the bed. He was exhausted…but he was also thrilled. He'd made a huge step, and while Yuber's brutality made him uncomfortable he'd also made a statement by unleashing one man onto an army. It showed the Theocracy that he wasn't going to allow them to slaughter his people any more. He was a force to be reckoned with. Yuber showed that he could possibly win this war with one man.

There is still a lot that I must do, but we're going in the right direction. I truly believe this.

Daunte started drifting off to sleep when a knock on his door startled him awake. He immediately sat up. "Yes?" he called out.

"May I come in, my Lord?" came the reply. In an instant Daunte was on his feet and he rushed to the door. He opened it to see Caesar, holding a tray with a candle and a teapot. Caesar was smiling, but Daunte knew by the tray that he wanted to have a lengthy conversation with Daunte.

Sure enough… "There was something I wanted to talk to you about. Ms. Tidur was nice enough to prepare tea for us."

Daunte nodded and opened the door fully. "Come in."

A few minutes later they were sitting at the table sipping the hot tea. Daunte waited for Caesar to speak, but he felt tense. He knew whatever Caesar wanted to discuss had to be very important.

"I wanted to discuss long-term plans with you, Lord Daunte," Caesar said, setting his cup down. "Thus far we've mostly thought in the short-term. This alliance with Falena however has changed things."

Daunte shrugged stiffly. "I haven't really given much thought to the future," he confessed. "Most of my motivation thus far has been to stay alive and to protect Arin. Now that I'm leader I'm just focused on succeeding, protecting my people, defeating the Theocracy once and for all."

"That's all understandable," Caesar said. "But once you defeat the Theocracy, what will you do?"

"What do you mean?"

"Will the government maintain the Theocracy answering to Nagar? Or will you institute a new form of government? Will you crown yourself king and make Nagarea a Kingdom? Or will you declare yourself president and make Nagarea a Republic? Or will you share your power equally with others and form a Federation? Which form of government do you believe would be best for Nagarea?"

Daunte stared at him stunned for several moments. He opened his mouth and closed it. Finally, he said, "I…don't know. Do people really want me to run the country?"

"You'll need to be prepared for that possibility," Caesar said. "There will be some who will expect you to become king. Or if they hold a vote for president, they would most likely vote you in as they voted you in as our Commander."

"But I'm new to command," Daunte said. "I'm still trying to get comfortable in my own skin as leader of the Liberation Army. But they expect me to run the entire country?"

"Then who would you like to run the country?" Caesar asked. "Or do you still want to maintain the same political system that's always been here?"

"I…don't know." Daunte felt embarrassed that he hadn't thought of these things. It made him feel somewhat inadequate as leader. Mom…she led the Liberation Army to make changes. But I don't know if she planned on maintaining the Theocracy or assuming power herself. Did she ponder what to do about the future as well? I don't know what I'm going to do with the government after we win…did Mom know what she was going to do?

"Then it's good we're discussing this now," Caesar said. "But I don't want to make it seem like I'm putting pressure on you. As isolated as Nagarea has been, you've not experienced any other forms of government other than a Theocracy. And a corrupt Theocracy at that. However, being a success means more than winning this war. You will need to have a very concrete form of government after we win, or we will be doomed to have another civil war after this one."

"Do you have any suggestions?" Daunte asked.

Caesar nodded. "Yes. You've lived through a Theocracy and have seen a constitutional monarchy in action in Falena. However, in order for you to decide which form of government is best for Nagarea, you need to broaden your horizons and experience these other forms of government firsthand. What I'm saying is this." He leaned across the table. "We should make a diplomatic visit to another country so you can see these other governments."

This proposal both excited and terrified Daunte, but a rational thought immediately came to him. "B-But this could take years! I can't go and travel to experience the political systems of other countries in the middle of a civil war! Viki has told me she could only teleport us within Nagarea's borders! It already takes us a lengthy amount of time to reach Falena, so it would take us much longer to reach other countries!"

"This is true," Caesar said. "And the fact of the matter is that Nagarea, Falena, and Armes are the only countries on the Southern Continent. If you want to expand your political horizons even more, the Northern Continent has more countries."

"Yes, but that will still take a lot of time to reach this place," Daunte said, standing up. "And I don't feel comfortable being away from the Army for a long period of time! We were gone for a week in Falena and look what happened? Our headquarters was attacked! I can't simply up and leave like that!"

"You have nothing to worry about," Caesar reassured him, raising a hand slightly. "I will take care of our travel preparations. And we don't have to do this in one go—we'll just stop and visit one country to begin with. But trust me when I say that this will be worth it, my Lord. This will help you decide what is best for Nagarea. This is something that you must experience. Reading about this isn't enough, you need to see this for yourself. I wouldn't tell you to do this if I didn't think it was a good idea. So, please trust me with this."

Daunte slowly sat down. This was a monumental decision to make. To just leave for a long period of time just so he could research another form of government on a separate continent? It seemed like a very selfish thing to do, when his Army would be left behind fending for themselves.

…But. But he also knew that Caesar would have proposed it if he'd thought it was a bad idea. And it was important to know what sort of government he would institute for Nagarea before winning the war. He felt bad about leaving his allies behind, even for a short period of time, but…

But I need to start thinking in the long-term. And I don't choose the right form of government for this country, then I'll risk another civil war. I don't know if I even want to rule, but…but I need to be prepared for that possibility. And I need to know that I choose the government we need.

So he reluctantly nodded. "All right. Let's travel another country."

Caesar positively grinned at him. "Thank you, my Lord. I will make all of the necessary arrangements." He stood up from the table.

"Where do we even start?" Daunte asked. "I know nothing about the Northern Continent."

"Oh, that's simple, my Lord," Caesar said easily. "We'll start where I started—the Toran Republic."

End of Chapter Four