[center][h2][b]Kareet of Arcaeda[/b][/h2][/center]

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Vigdis may have expected Kareet to understand the reasons for warfare that she gave, but Kareet showed genuine confusion for a moment. She blinked, staring straight ahead at her before jotting down a few notes. “You…say these things as if they are inherent and obvious truths. That killing over these things is normal, but that is not the case for us. I can think of times in history that tribes or other groups have conflicted over such things, but very rarely to the death. There are always exceptions, but in history in general, Tekeri do not war with Tekeri. Glen not with Glen. And Iriad [i]certainly[/i] do not kill one another. Even now, as nations have become more connected with members of different species giving allegiance to one another, it is a well-known problem among armies that we have difficulty striking a killing blow against our own kind. It takes considerable training and…teaching to be rid of such limits. Only S’tor are known to have such ease in killing one another. I think I am right; you are quite like them.” 

Kareet had a hard time wrapping her head around the scale of the examples Vigdis used. Seventy million deaths in a war was a nigh incomprehensible figure of her. She was not even certain that there were that many people on this entire continent. If that many deaths was not enough to destroy their whole civilization, then what did that say about the sheer scale of their society? For a brief moment, there was a pang of fear in her heart. What kind of power was it, exactly, that lurked on the other side of that hole in the sky the Jotunheim had fell through? 

Nevertheless, there was nothing that broke Kareet’s impersonal calm. “And you say it was conflict that brought you such strength? Your challenges against one another inspired you to invent and improve to where you are now?” She sat up straight and gave a slight laugh. “The Archmagister will like you…as will the S’tor.” 

[hr]

[center][h2][b]General Kvarr[/b][/h2][/center]

[hr]

For the moment, General Kvarr did not bring a large force too close to the crash site. After making contact with Nellara’s soldiers, there was a brief exchange of a few messages to confirm the situation. From there, Kvarr himself was joined by an escort into Nellara’s camp. He insisted upon meeting with their commander right away, and so was taken straight to the Castigator’s tent. He left his escort to stand guard outside and entered the command tent alone. 

As he had flown in from Arcaeda with the assistance of Life mages, Kvarr was not wearing his usual armor that would have bore the insignia of his station. Rather, he was simply wearing the plate armor of a normal officer. It did not seem to fit him perfectly, but it was serviceable enough. Regardless, he was unmistakable the moment he removed his helmet. He had been a major figure in the Ascendancy for centuries, and his visage was one that could be found on a few statues in Arcaeda, and beyond. Even still, he held out an aluminum medallion with the Archmagister’s seal for her to inspect: a formality to help confirm his identity. Aside from that, he had little desire to stand on ceremony. “Before anything else, Castigator Nellara, are there any imminent dangers that require my attention, or do we have time to discuss the situation in detail?”