[center][h2]Sapiliezen Hill [/h2][/center]

[hr]

"Pardon any confusion... I am not the first person my father would wish to become the next ruler of this Empire. I was never meant to have it, and thus was raised not to do anything of this sort. If my brother had not died, I likely would have been in a monastery somewhere when I turned of age to marry, or sent off to some land to keep a war from happening. If anything else I was likely expected to greet people at the door." The Emperor said after marking an almost taken-back stance with her name, or at least sensing confusion somehow. "It irks the loud one behind me that, I.. speak more like one of the servants than the one that commands them." 

"But... Conscription is a word I am not familiar with, I assume that is something across the sea," he said quietly, almost to himself but too loud, "I know that before most of the lands to our south in the realm devised a citizen-soldier approach to their recruitment, I know many of the citizen class have either fallen to poverty, or have risen as land-lords in their own regards. But... I am honestly surprised there is still anyone there to desert at all, let alone a company-sized amount..." 

The man looked down for a moment thinking, and then raised his head, "There is something I know about that area, and that is mostly that they cannot supply their own arms. I know your southland provides most of the arms used for our military at this point due to our lack of both a... large craftsman base that has the skills to create the fire sticks or whatever they are called, the hand cannons. Those things... But, I also know that well the raising of levies has not been the same since my brother died. I know my father tried to implement some new techniques for amassing large armies. I... tend to find them not as useful anymore... or surprised they were useful, with the reliance on magics becoming both more prevalent but also more... rare. Would a small force not be better suited should it come to it? I... was hoping that a magi of some form, along with a retinue of guards to control his safety might do more than a legion of men might."

"But also, that can easily be countered by a unit of dwarven warded infantry should they be caught out by them." he took a deep breath, "Sorry... I know there are no current wars or rebellions, that most are tame, but... I honestly did not know that you were here, Lady Nivellen... I had not heard that you were even in the lands to assist us with rebuilding. But also to see that an advisor is... of a rare people... I am grateful, but have you made yourself well, have you been in the city long?" 

"Also surprised there is still a mayor there, I assume his son fell then, or that Sir Belithorn is still alive... I honestly thought most of them had died in the siege there, then again... that city holds its mysteries still underneath in the new city. But, that is still good news, I thought it would be closer to ten or twenty, sixty, that is almost twice what we have here in this city for the garrison, and the guards are what you see around me now... with a few exceptions, mostly those that survived the collapse of the other quarters but could not escape injury like myself and him."  his eyes slowly wandering over to the massive guard in the room.