[center]S’venia watched as the monstrous creature carried in yet another tree to be used as fuel for the fires, they surely would need over the next couple days.  She was astonished at the sheer strength of the brute, no doubt.  The amount of work he accomplished in a few short hours rivaled what a crew of trained men could do in a week.  She was right to listen to her superiors and accept a ‘bodyguard’ for the journey.  Out of her peripheral vision, she watched as the monstrous beast stalked closer to her position before stopping ten feet away. 

"[i][b]Have they been briefed about me...? We don't need an incident...[/b][/i]" 

“[i][b]They have not,[/b][/i]” S’venia started, “[i][b]they will be briefed when the time is right[/b][/i],” she paused before turning her cous to the beast, “[i][i][b]I’ll get a few men on breaking down those tree’s into fire wood, go and grab something eat Kharne,[/b][/i][/i]”  she paused as she turned her focus back towards the main road.  The other commanders would be surprised about her monster, that’s for sure. 

 

[h2][b][u]--Several hours later--
-- Dusk--[/u][/b][/h2]

 

S’venia strode back and forth across the main room of the mayor's office as she awaited the other commanders; her footsteps noticeable but otherwise silent.  The interior of the office was plain, with nary an extraordinary gift to be spotted nor were there any signs that the mayor ever partook in anything outside the realm of his responsibilities'.  The walls bore no decorations, the windows plain but functional and the doorway tall.  In the center of the main room there sat, however, a rather unique looking table with a rather unique looking map stretched out on top of it.  The table was a brown color that had a near golden hue to it.  On the bottom, it had four 'paws’ that sat four feet apart from each other acted as the base of the table.  As the table grew upward, the paws transitioned to a detailed body of a feline creature as the four legs of the table spiraled outward and around.  As the legs of the table reached their apex the head of a snow leopard, mouth agape and head twisted to the left, sprung above the tabletop itself.  The four sides of the table also resembled the legs of the snow leopard with a fitting paw at the end of its reach.  The table looked equal parts elegant and functional.  The snow leopards commissioned the table with one goal in mind, however, and that was portability.  Lift out the sides, pull away the circular disk that held the paws together, and the table was ready to move. 

What the table looked like and how it functioned mattered less than what was strewn across it.  On top of the table lay a map of the village, the woods that surrounded it, and the surrounding villages and cities.  One of the perks of her post was the ability to “borrow” maps from the locals, and borrow S’venia did.  In simple detail, one could see a wooden figure depicting the leopard, horse, Gryphon, and shield over-top the village. S’venia strode up to the table in a quick pace, and with one quick motion grabbed the wooden horse.  The Kyrantian Skirmishers were the first unit to arrive at camp this day.  S’venia had her soldiers guide the mounted warriors to both the village stables on the east side of town as well as the farm house slightly outside of town on the east.  The village stables alone were not enough to store the sheer might of the horses and additional accommodations had to be made.  S’venia was impressed, however, with the coordination of the mounted soldiers as well as their Luna Falcon commanders.  Her scout reported that the Falcons had spotted him before he spotted them, and was generally caught off guard by some of their sneakier members.  S’venia would make sure she would use them generously.   

As she placed the wooden horse down gently, she shifted her hand and lifted up the Gryphon and brought it close to her eyes.  S’venia heard from her chefs that there was some who were not pleased with the Northern style of cooking.  S’venia scoffed at the thought, a simple mistake on her part to assume that the southerners added fruits to their stews as well.  Those from Luvalon were realm renowned for their cooking abaility, so a surprise this was not.  Yet their army, and their strange magic, was an interest to her.  She did not understand the fundamentals of it, yet she could clearly see the use it would bring to the wars ahead.  Her soldiers guided them to the same area her own soldiers occupied, and had them occupy the buildings across the main road from them.  S’venia would need to speak with their commander, however, word had reached S’venia’s ears about a mud fight; something she was not too keen on seeing.  

Gently she laid the piece down, and once more grabbed the third and final piece; the shield.  The Lallafellen’s were, to put it lightly, a very strange race for S’venia. They were small, physically weaker when compared to the other races, and were completely unassuming.  S’venia had a hard time initially respecting their soldiers as they spoke with a child's voice and had an unhealthy reliance on magic.  Yet it is that magic that makes them very powerful allies in the coming days.  Communication on a battle field is never easy, and yet these small creatures move and act as one thanks to their unrivaled battle-field communication.  While her soldiers wanted to guide them to another section of buildings, they insisted on selecting the stables and the farmhouse as well.   

S’venia took a deep breath, exhaling after a few seconds, and placed the wooden figure back down.  The army was forming, and that was good, she told herself.  Yet she allowed her eyes to betray her desire as they shifted over to a wooden bow as well as a wooden gem, both placed on their sides and both on the far side of the table as well as the icon of a dwarf, upright but still missing.  The bow represented the Wood Elves and their army while the gem represented Atala.  S’venia sighed as she looked back at the table.  Her scouts had ventured further out after they had made contact with the other nations to seek out the remaining groups. 

Quickly they happened on a merchant's caravan who was travelling the same route.  The merchants told a tale of death and despair.  Of Elves and Atala bodies strewn across the road.  Most were cut down with nary a drop of blood on their swords.  Others were not so lucky.  Strange spears hoisted bodies, heads, and headless bodies in a neat, and symmetrical, way along the road while various other corpses were positioned in an almost religious style with the bodies being placed back, to back, and to back once more.  The merchants had the sigil and other proof to convince them that their story was indeed true.  S’venia began to stride around the room again, her footsteps echoing loudly now.  Already, on the first day of their grand adventure, they are beset by failure and death.  Was this to be the norm?  What beset them, monster or man?  Questions, many questions with few answers began to swarm around in her head.  She paced frantically around the room until she found herself near the door. 

“[i][b]Enough,[/b][/i]” S’venia thought as she took in a deep breath, placed her hands on the wall, and exhaled.  The other commanders would be arriving soon enough, after-all.  She would need to keep her composure around them. Placing her hand on the hilt of her sword, she straightened her posture and removed all emotion from her face.  With a single motion, she moved towards the door and opened it; steeping outside to await the commanders. [/center]