Paraklytus loomed over Teyva’s shoulder, the Queen sitting at the end of a long table. Teyva leaned forward and rested her elbows on the surface, staring down at the worn sheet of paper in front of her. She looked up at Paraklytus who didn’t so much as flinch. She glanced down at the paper again and then looked up at the others at the table. Sari, Azrael, Yaga, Myranda, the First Elders of the Cardinal tribes and the glowing figure of a bluestone projected Conrad. Teyva ran her fingers over the paper and let out a breath.

“How long have you known about this?” She asked Paraklytus.

“I happened to gain access to your father’s private office a few days ago, there had been quite a few magical seals placed on it. It had become more of a hobby trying to get in,” Paraklytus said offhandedly, “There were no records inside relevant to administration as you well know. Those were stored elsewhere.”

“Just this letter?” Teyva asked.

“And his journals, dozens of them,” The lich said, glancing up in Azrael’s direction. A small smile twitched at the edge of the First General’s lips and she looked down at her hands.

“Tiisha,” Teyva sighed, shaking her head, “I can’t believe she kept that from him.”

“The Master would often leave for nearly a year at times to stay in seclusion or seek other projects,” the hardened first elder of the Northern tribe said, “We had no idea that she’d used one of these sabbaticals to hide her pregnancy.”

Teyva reached for one of the treats that Nephral had brought for her, biting down on it and licking her lips. She looked at the treat and made a face before looking up at the others. A quiet understanding passing through the gathered group. “She has her mother’s talent for business,” Teyva said thoughtfully, “Do we really want to upend her world like this?”

Azrael shook her head, “Lily deserves a normal life, she’s done so well on her own. Don’t take that from her.”

Myranda nodded, “I concur.”

The others nodded their agreement and Teyva moved on to the next portion of the letter, trying not to focus too hard on the twisting in her gut as she skimmed over the romantic flutterings between the crucial points. “Tiisha indicated the location of her fortune and how she wanted it used. We’ll set aside a small portion of it as a contingency fund for Lily but otherwise, I want to heed her wishes.”

“That is a lot of money,” Conrad said, “We could import weapons with that.”

“She was very clear on it being for public works and investing for the sake of the treasury,” Sari said sharply, “As much as I would like to get my hands on better materials.”

Teyva pursed her lips, “We’ll respect her wishes. Let’s move on to the next topic and the reason I’ve gathered you all here.”

She pushed the letter aside and gave Paraklytus a grateful nod. The Lich bowed once and drifted back a few inches, offering Teyva some space. The Queen leaned back in her chair and rested her arms, looking each and every one of them in the eyes. “We’ve been quiet long enough, the city has recovered and the walls are almost complete. The rilk nests of the Wildlands have been combined into one network and not a soul would dare enter our domain uninvited. It’s time we made our first move.”

Conrad grinned and clenched a fist, Sari leaned forward, Myranda clapped her hands and Azrael licked her lips. The four all staring eagerly at their leader. Teyva nodded to the first Elder of the southern tribe. The gentleman took a deep breath as he felt her gaze fully upon him. “We are going to take the Badlands and consolidate the western side of the continent.”

“Katal is only a step away, the Dwarves having sided with them,” Conrad rumbled.

Paraklytus nodded, “And with it the first major step for our grander designs,” the Lich said, waving a hand and producing an illusory diagram of the continent at large. In the west was a large spread of green that covered the northwest, the coast, and the wildlands themselves, indicating Teyva’s territory. To the southwest was the yellow-ish territory belonging to the Orc Clans. Between that area was the Balthin sea which was a mix of red and green. Beyond that was the smaller but denser red of the Human Kingdoms of the continent. Abruptly a network of rigid lines crisscrossed the area beneath the map.

“The Labyrinth,” Paraklytus indicated, he twisted his hand and a large circle in the Labyrinth took shape beneath the capital of Katal. “The Throne of the Labyrinthians.”

“Rani’s palace,” Teyva said thoughtfully. That was probably where this ‘SimoneB’ had stumbled upon whatever had triggered this strange curse. She would need to visit the place sooner rather than later but she had to take this step by step.

“Her Majesty’s connection to the labyrinth has awakened a large portion of the Labyrinth beneath the western half of the continent, we can travel quickly, safely, and secretly. However, with the labyrinth inactive in the east it makes it difficult to ensure that the connections exist to get our people to Katal,” Paraklytus said, “Once the Queen has secured the master heart stone, though, we will be able to travel not only throughout the continent. We will be able to journey across the sea as well while the Lord of the Azure Seas renders the coast inaccessible.”

Azrael crossed her arms, “Even if we take down Katal, the rest of the world is waiting to take the fight to us. We need to secure the continent in one fell swoop.”

Myranda steepled her fingers, “What progress have we made in swaying adventurers to our side?”

Azrael shifted in her seat, “We have a total of four spies among those called by the Cycle in Katal. Six others have since left Katal for the wider world and report back to me through my [Window of Shadows].”

“Ten, then,” Sari said thoughtfully.

“Back on topic,” Teyva said, raising a hand, “What word do we have from Elat about the state of the Orcish Clans? I offered them a peaceful vassalage, didn’t I?”

“You did, Elat just got back a few days ago,” Azrael said, tapping her foot, “The Orcish Clans response was decidedly Orcish.”

Sari snorted, “Let me guess, they will happily serve someone stronger than them?”

Azrael’s face twisted with a bit of disgust, “How is it that the Bathin clan of Orcs were so different?”

“Because they left the Badlands to get away from that kind of thinking,” Sari said gruffly, “The Clans have never before unified and never will, not under an Orcish banner anyway. All of them have different traditions and patron gods. They all believe that their patron is superior to the other and endlessly compete with one another for dominance. It’s not about strength alone, you could say the Azar are a people that respect power in its purest form.”

She turned to Teyva, “The Orcs respect supremacy. Cultural, Technological, Spiritual, Magical, all of it. They are in a perpetual arms race with one another. A better bow, a better spell, a new beast of war, anything to demonstrate that one clan or another is the top dog,” she hesitated, “They’ll do anything, even push a racial aspect onto a child.”

Teyva held her gaze and then glanced over at Paraklytus, “How much access do we have to the Labyrinth in the Badlands?”

The lich bowed again, “Majesty, the Akurai have traversed the southern Labyrinth and have reawakened much of it in your name though there are portions cut off from the winding halls. There is one major node that could overcome that difficulty, similar to the nodes here in Osan and Katal. If we take it from the surface down we can spread out throughout the Badlands unimpeded.”

Teyva looked up at the map, “Show me.”

Paraklytus gestured and the map expanded, focusing on the Badlands. The obtuse shape brushing up against the coast to the south. She watched as a single large dot appeared along the edge of a mountain. Sari leaned forward and frowned, tilting her head, “Is that Belrag?”

“Yes, as I understand it is called that now,” Paraklytus said, “Like Osan, each of the races created by the Labyrinthians had a sort of hub or hive that the fallen race oversaw them from. Belrag is that place for the Orcish people and it goes without saying that the heart stone of the place provides access to the wider area around it,” He paused, “Including a very likely connection to the dwarves as well.”

Teyva smiled cooly, “Take Belrag, and not only the Orcs but the Dwarves will be at our fingertips.”

“It is as you say, Queen Mother,” Paraklytus said with a nod.

“Then our target is Belrag, we will take the Labyrinth as close as we can to that location and resurface before marching on that territory. I want to know everything about that city, its defenses, its population, and whether or not they have any ascendants defending it. Do we know whether or not the other clans will support it if attacked?” Teyva pressed.

“They will not,” Sari said darkly, her eyes glittering with hate, “Every clan is on its own.”

“For now,” Teyva said and locked eyes with Conrad, “Finish your little showing in the Balthin sea and report back as soon as you can. We move on Belrag with the weight of winter as our shield.”

Conrad clapped his fist to his chest, “Looking forward to it, my queen.”