Warsinger James Baldwin (read this if TXT) 📖

is capable of even approximating one millionth of the Caul's power-!”

Ignas slammed his gavel down as the chatter escalated into full-blown chaos. It died down to a simmer as the Volod rose stiffly to his feet.

“We gain nothing from this,” he said, quietly and firmly. “The White Sail Alliance was written in acknowledgement that the nations of Artana all come from different creeds, different faiths, different ways of life - and that despite those differences, we are better served economically, culturally, and spiritually through exchange rather than conflict. My father, Ignas the Second, the twenty-fifth Volod of this nation; Hilgaard the Wise, the Primeria of Kyrie, Sultir Halil Khamir... all of our wisest rulers came together to forge this pact, and there is only one nation who is in violation of its terms: Ilia. And Ilia is in violation only because of a usurper, one who hopes to conquer and destroy us. We cannot allow this to happen.”

“While this one takes Lady Rutha's message to heart, we must confess that it seems unlikely that this self-styled Emperor could succeed,” Ambassador Moon said, his cool voice cutting through the thick silence that followed Ignas' speech. “Revala is a mighty military power, as is Vlachia. Our Emperor's lands span even more territory, and we can readily mobilize as many as five million soldiers. One hundred and fifty dragons are a formidable force, and yet, Ilia has only been a world power once in its history. If we impose strict sanctions on this upstart, he shall have no mana, no trade, no money to pay for an army. His ambitions shall be as short-lived as he is long-lived.”

“I concur.” Janos of Czongrad caught Ignas' eye, and nodded.

“Even better,” the Queen of Revala drawled. “We cut off trade, wait a month, mass our armies under the alliance and invade. We cut this monster off at the head. My apologies, Ignas, I know your people hold the dragons to be sacred creatures - but once Ilia’s dragons are dead, as will happen in a war of this scale, they will have lost. If we crush them now, we can take these Starborn and brick them up naked and alone inside of a very secure vault somewhere. They may be immortal, but after the first hundred years of imprisonment, they will wish they weren't.”

“Wait. No. It's not that simple.” I rose from my seat again. “For one thing, players... uhh... Starborn... can set the point in space where they come back to life. Like, if I was to die here, I wouldn't just pick myself up right here. My body would vanish, and I'd respawn - revive - in my castle in Myszno. For another, Baldr isn't going to rely on outside trade for this campaign. He's going to use Ilia's resources, hit whoever he thinks is the weakest target, then add their resources to his. He'll stripmine that country and use it to conquer the next one. You're not facing someone who's going to be deterred by sanctions or isolation. You can’t assume he’s going to obey any of your rules.”

“Then taking the fight to him is all the more important,” the queen said.

“I don't disagree. But the reason he's doing this now - the reason he's moving so fast - is that he found a way to cheat. He got really powerful, really fast, and he's going to move fast on this empire idea of his - because he can.” I looked around, frowning at the mixture of disbelief and irritation I read from the faces of everyone there. “Baldr wouldn’t be doing this unless he had mana, lots of it. There’s only one answer: he found a Dragon Gate, and he's siphoning tons of mana from it.”

My proclamation was met with shocked silence.

“That is not possible,” Ambassador Moon said.

“How do you know?” Queen Eevi asked.

“It is. Because the vampire who... uh...” I glanced at Ignas, who shook his head. “Because we stopped a vampire from Napath from doing the same thing. He found a Dragon Gate and built a massive undead army using its power. Suri and I stopped him before anything too bad happened. Baldr's lieutenants were supporting his efforts, guiding the vampire on how to draw mana from the Gate. We fought them when we were dealing with Ashur. I know Baldr has the keystone for Solnetsi’s gate, so it makes sense that he’d siphon it and use its power.”

“The Dragon Gates are a myth.” The Dakhari flicked his hand dismissively.

“Oh, but the Drachan aren't?” Queen Eevi said sweetly.

“No, because we have records-”

“Why are you speaking this heretical filth? Solnetsi? Dragon Gates? Dragon gods?” Gilheim finally got to his feet.

The Queen of Revala sighed and rolled her eyes before I could snap back. “Please, Rupert, for the love of the Lord and Lady... go and hang your clerical robe in the cloakroom for now and listen instead of puffing up like a blowfish. Your nation and mine both share borders with this upstart. All possibilities must be considered.”

“I will remind Gilheim that Vlachia is willing and able to respect your religious convictions, but that we worship the Nine in this nation,” Ignas added, regarding the man with his eerie pale eyes. “The Count of Myszno speaks true.”

Rutha looked to me sharply. I nodded.

“So to conclude, we face the prospect of a forever war with an immortal warlord who may have the ability to wield the power of an ancient dragon goddess,” the Dakhari said, gesturing widely. “So why do we not simply roll over, at this point? How do we face such a thing and live?”

“Two ways.” Suri rose to stand beside me. “The first one is something we’re following up on, at the discretion of the Volod: a weapon powerful enough to bring down as many dragons as Baldr cares to throw at us. Secondly, you find Starborn of your own. You put out quests, recruit them, make 'em part of your core supporters. You gather as many of us