King Neferon of Plegia sat upon his throne, looking down at the large map on the table in front of him. He was a large man, both tall and muscular, with neatly trimmed black hair and an equally well-trimmed full beard. His clothing was dark, but elegant, and there wasn't a blemish on his face. All in all, he struck Zayn as someone entirely too concerned with appearances. But, he did have his uses; and according to the little meat sack called Verin, Neferon was meant to rule as Grimleal's King, so Zayn showed him proper respect. He didn't believe a word of the so-called prophet's "divine whispering", but it wouldn't do to voice an unpopular opinion. Not yet, anyway.

Currently, the various leaders of Grimleal's forces were meeting with the King to discuss current events that rerquired acting upon. Most of it was simple: bandits here, a rogue agent there, and a great many minor issues that amounted to little more than individual struggles for more pull with Grima. Zayn hated dealing with these humans; even in support of Grima, they were nothing but a bunch of insects. One issue, however, slowly brought itself to a head, and it was then that Zayn finally paid attention:

How to deal with the Sacred Blades.

"I still say they are no threat to us," said one officer. "The group is little more than a glorified bandit-hunting party. They are no threat to us."

"That's what our predecessors said about Chrom," countered a heavily-armored general, "and look what happened to them. Grima was [i]in their midst[/i], and they lost him. We would be fools to ignore them."

"What are you proposing?" asked a third man.

"We should deal with these pests now, while they are still small and fragile," answered the general. "Our spy reports that they are weak and tired from battle. Now would be the perfect time to strike."

"They are in Ylisstol," said Zayn, finally speaking up. "Our greatest advantage so far is that no one knows we exist. Striking now would mean not only giving up our element of surprise, it would mean war with Ylisstol, and look how that ended last time."

"I agree," spoke another general. "So long as we are unknown, we are free to move about as we like. They still believe that Plegia is, for the most part, a new and friendlier nation."

"Precisely," answered Zayn. "Small, minuscule rumors of our continued existence have been popping up here and there, but without any evidence, such rumors are written off as paranoia and conspiracy theory. If we were to attack, however, those rumors would be confirmed as truth, and news would spread like wildfire across Ylisse, Ferox, and Valm. We are not prepared to deal with a war on three fronts. Not even close."

"So what do [i]you[/i] propose we do?" demanded the first general. "Sit about and sip tea while the Sacred Blades become stronger?"

"Not at all," said Zayn. "In fact, I agree with your plan. Let's attack them." That comment received a resounding outburst of angry shouting and confused questions. Zayn quietly waited for all of them to cease.

[b]"Silence!"[/b] The entire room went as quiet as a tomb; it was the King who had spoken. Neferon stared at Zayn. "Commander Zayn, you have proven yourself a worthy tactician and a valuable asset to Plegia. Therefore, while I do agree that secrecy is our most valuable asset, I shall hear what you have to say. But be warned; to waste my time would be most unwise indeed."

"I assure the King that I know precisely of what I speak," Zayn assured him. He stood and bowed slightly, then began. "The Sacred Blades are currently located in Ylisstol, capital of the nation. This means that they view themselves as being safe from real harm. As well they should; no fool would dare attack Ylisstol without provocation, and neither should we. However, we have multiple sleeper agents within Ylisstol living as normal, everyday citizens. My proposal is to use those sleeper agents in a small attack focused directly on the Blades."

"I know the Sacred Blades are not that powerful yet, but would our agents really be enough to defeat them?" asked an officer. "Those agents were placed for infiltration and sabotage, not actual field combat."

"I'm aware," Zayn assured him. "But I don't expect them to succeed. I expect them to die." That got everyone's attention. Several started to protest, but Zayn held up a hand to restrain them. "They will die, certainly, but there will be reasons behind it. First, they do not know of our spy, and will attack him just the same as any other member of the Blades. For his part, we will not tell him about the attack, either. He will fight fully believing that his life is at risk, as will the other members of the Blades. To see him fight alongside them will strengthen their trust in him, and make it that much easier for him to move when the time is right. This will not pay off now, but in the future, it will be invaluable.
The second reason is an act of misdirection. Our agents would not be attacking under Grimleal's colors. We shall send some of them weapons made exclusively in Valm. When they attack, they will use these weapons, and the Sacred Blades will eventually discover their place of origin. They will turn to Valm, and they will spend their time exclusively examining Valm. Ylisse and Valm are still on strenuous relations after Walhart's attempted conquest; the idea that Valm would attack Ylisse's vaunted 'heroes' is not entirely preposterous. They will become so focused on searching Valm that they won't notice when our dagger is at their backs... until it slits their throats."

The room was silent, the various generals considering Zayn's plan. The King, especially, seemed interested in this plan.

"You recognize, of course, that this is entirely your plan, and if it goes awry, the consequences are yours and yours alone," the King cautioned him.

"I assure you," Zayn answered, "I am fully confident in this plan."

The King nodded. "Then let it be so. Flagrious, see to it that our agents are supplied with Valm-exclusive weaponry. Van, send the signal to eighteen of our Ylisstol sleeper agents that they are to attack in two days' time, acting as extremists fighting in Walhart's name. That should convince the Blades that they are Valm's emissaries."

Zayn sat back down, satisfied. Now all that was left was to wait and see how the Blades responded.