"Welcome Mina and Sora to our council, please introduce yourselves and the rest will follow," King Luther stated.
"I am Sora Hart, originally from the year 1900, when humankind fought against demon armies led by Vigor, the Demon King we defeated. He passed his reincarnation to us, and we essentially work for Chronos and the gods."
"I am Mina Hart, his identical twin, and your food, lands and Kingdom are nicer than our living conditions. It's an honor to help such a kind race and hope to return the elves to prosperity,"
"Well said, as you know, I am Prince Xavier and General of the Elven army."
"I am Princess Stefania, and I am second in Command to my brother."
"We met briefly yesterday, but I am Eric Aio. I am third in Command and typically handle battle strategies. I've lived in Sanctuary, serving the Fang family my entire life. "
"I am Prince Aidan Hammond of the fallen Evergreen Kingdom. I managed to bring 4,000 to Sanctuary due to my parents' selflessness. They went into battle and allowed 2,000 warriors to escort 2,000 civilians."
"I am Princess Rya Tot of ShireBrook. Only 2000 elves were able to travel with me to Sanctuary when our Kingdom fell."
"I am Prince Jax Reinhart of SilverCrest, the lone survivor of the massacre of my lands. They used the hammer of Justice on my Kingdom, and as I returned from a scouting mission, my entire Kingdom was destroyed."
"I am Princess Fiona Defluer of Fox Valley. I know I'm old for a Princess, but my entire Kingdom also was destroyed by the Hammer. My brother saved me, gave me a horse and forced me to retreat here."
"I am Eva Reinhart, Aidan's sister. However, I left Evergreen to be with Jax, planning to marry him. Back home, I asked for my parents' permission and they agreed. When I returned, SilverCrest was no more, so I found Jax here. Jax and I married in Sanctuary, which is why I don't share my brother's last name."
"I am Davis Fang, Father of Luther Fang."
"I am Richmond DeFluer, Father of Fiona."
"I am Illiana Tot, Grandmother of Rya."
"I am Raina Caru, Queen of MeadowSong. Fortunately, because our nation is closest to Sanctuary and only 15 miles away, we safely evacuated all elves to Sanctuary after the fall of our Eastern allies, Fox Valley."
————————-
"Thank you all for your introductions. Now, let us show you a map of our landscape," the Queen stated.
How about this:
The Queen graciously unfurled an expansive piece of parchment on the table. The map depicted the regions, including lakes, forests, and rivers, with the names of the Elven lands thoughtfully designated, accompanied by the term "Conquered" inscribed below. The human Kingdoms juxtaposed the original Elven lands, which were also represented on the map.
The scheme of the Kingdoms for both races was a unique triangle design, and SilverCrest, ShireBrook and EverGreen were the three front Kingdoms. Evergreen was Northwest of Fox Valley and shared a river as well as the forest area behind it. 20 miles west, ShireBrook centered the Elven Kingdom and looked quite large. Finally, SilverCrest existed 50 miles west of ShireBrook, 25 miles NorthEast of MeadowSong.
Sanctuary and the Emperor's main Kingdom, Steinguard, existed on polar opposite sides of the map.
Fifteen miles west of Sanctuary, nestled beside a shimmering lake and surrounded by lush forests, stood MeadowSong. East of Sanctuary, a smaller Kingdom, protected by a tranquil river and a lush forest behind it, stood Fox Valley.
For humans, Steinguard's massive Kingdom showed a giant outter wall. Inside the first wall, 'outter limits,' inside the second wall, 'interior limits,' and finally, the massive Castle of the Empire stood in the back.
Two Kingdoms stood 100 miles outward each, one Northeast, "Kingdom of Vengeance,' and Northwest, "Kingdom of Pride."
A large forest spanned for 200 miles in front of Vengeance, and outside the forest, to the east, the 'Kingdom of Prosperity," stood in the middle. Northwest, on the other side of the lake from Fox Valley, the 'Kingdom of Ironguard," stood within 50 miles of the two exterior Elven Kingdoms.
The last human kingdom, "Kingdom of Hope," the smallest human kingdom stood 300 miles east of 'Prosperity,' and stood isolated.
—————————-
"Have the humans occupied all former Elven Kingdoms, aside from SilverCrest?" Sora asked.
"They rebuilt SilverCrest and took control of every nation. For every remaining elf, 20 humans remain," Xavier stated.
"Maybe Sora and I could go undercover as humans? Say the battle was lost but many elves died?"
"No, you'd be killed after informing them for failing. The offer is appreciated," Aidan said.
"How long has Sanctuary been the last Kingdom?" Sora asked.
"15 years. Fox Valley fell 15 years ago, and MeadSong retreated. The exterior kingdoms fell between 20-30 years ago," the Queen stated.
"So what's stopping us from retaking a Kingdom if the entirety of MeadowSong could occupy a Kingdom?" Mina asked, as Richmond, Illiana and Davis shot her death stares.
"Are you mad? They'd just take it right back and kill us all," Richmond scoffed.
"Well, we can't just sit here waiting for the enemy to come," Sora suggested.
"This is the safest place to defend from an attack. Let them come, they will not succeed," Illiana said while rolling her eyes.
"How well has that worked these last 15 years?" Sora said, challenging the truly Elder elves.
"Rude, arrogant, young and stupid. Why did we vote for humans to join this council," Davis said angrily.
"Calm yourself Davis, listen to what they have to say," King Luther demanded.
"You're one with nature and thousands of elves access and utilize Earth Magic, correct," Mina asked.
"Tens of thousands, Mina. With MeadowSong's army, as well as the remaining refugees, younger generations growing into military roles, the Elven army is around 50,000 strong," Xavier said proudly.
"Then why not utilize the Earth and use Magic to create underground caverns leading to the former interior elven bases? One of them just sustained substantial loss, and I doubt they're aware they were dominated in one day," Mina said with a smug smile.
"That's actually a good idea. We could create living quarters underground to remain fresh from the 20 mile walk to Fox Valley and another 25 mile walk to MeadowSong," Jax said.
"But where do we think they sent their latest army from?" Rya asked, looking irritated, the twins dominated the strategy conversation.
"Fox Valley, as it's the closest Kingdom and has two former Elven Kingdoms not far away," the Queen stated as she pointed to the map.
"MeadowSong's former Kingdom is the closest, protected by forest, with no water to worry about. We should create tunnels, using magic, and send an army of 15,000 to take it over." Sora suggested.
"Before we take MeadowSong, we should build more tunnels to the lake to the south, for water access, and a tunnel to SilverCrest, as it's rebuilt and protected by forest to the north and south." Mina suggested.
"This is a good plan. Let's vote." King Luther stated.
All in favor, please raise your hand.
11 hands raised.
"All not in favor, please raise your hand and state why," King Luther stated, knowing the three weren't budging.
Richmond, Davis, and Illiana raised their hands. They were the only ones to oppose.
"This is madness. Building underground tunnels, aided by reincarnated humans. They're just trapping our armies down there and will use magic to collapse the tunnel," Richmond scoffed.
"They're traitors, your Majesty, this council is blind," Davis screamed in anger.
Illiana simply shook her head, rolled her eyes and folded her arms.
"Being truly Elderly Elders, you know of the necklace my daughter wears, correct?" Queen Ella asked.
"Obviously," the three scoffed.
"Sora and Mina, do you plan to betray us?" Queen Ella asked.
"No, your majesty," they responded in unison.
"Stefania's amulet remains black, vote of 11 approved. We make preparations starting tomorrow to start the tunnels. Inform elves to start more rigorous training," King Luther said while slamming down his gavel.
———————————
Outside the council hall, the twins noticed the moon shining in the sky.
"Intense meeting," Sora said while yawning.
"Wasn't so bad. Good thinking on using all of nature. They won't see us coming," Mina said.
Xavier and Stefania approached the twins with smiles.
"Great job in your first council meeting. I cannot believe elves didn't think to use the entire Earth to our advantage," Xavier said with a chuckle.
"Creating the tunnels won't take long with our magic. We will ride horseback to each location underneath the two Kingdoms and create living spaces," Stefania said.
"The forgery just received information to create 30,000 cots, as quickly as they could. The butchery order placed will keep them busy for at least two weeks. We will ration our food appropriately," Xavier stated.
"What about the stealth fighting and magic squads?" Sora asked.
"They will be the first to infiltrate the city, at night. We will try to spare as many civilians as we can. If we show civilians mercy, they may not hate us," Stefania explained.
"Go get rest and don't worry about Richmond, Davis and Illiana. They're beyond stubborn. You also won Rya over, we shouldn't tell you, but she originally voted no to the two of you joining," Xavier whispered.
"Why tell us?"
"Because you need to know winning elves over is crucial for our success."
They said their goodbyes, and Sora and Mina went to their room.
"We've come too far to fail. I feel we will spend ten or more years here." Sora said with a smile.
"Maybe more, but yes, no failures."
The two drifted off to sleep, and dreamed of the upcoming war against humans.