[center][h2]Sapiliezen Hill[/h2][h3]Early morning[/h3][/center][hr]”Perhaps it will make you more popular among the common folk?” She tried to find some positive spin on the Emperor’s woes. Truth be told, she did not envy the man’s position, at all. Most commoners envied the nobility’s wealth and status, but that came at the cost of the responsibility the nobles bore on their shoulders, one that often called them to sacrifice their dreams for the less wealthy, but more carefree masses. Well, unless one was like the Duke Manith who clearly never got the memo. Likely a failure on the part of his parents and tutors. ”No apologies needed, your majesty. A mere knight in a city half the Empire away is hardly important enough to take note of.” Well, so much for the thought of ‘Let’s send some people to help as a political gesture.’ Either no one thought to inform Threll they had done so, or the Emperor forgot.

”Enforced service.” Myrrhis explained the unknown word, “There may not be a war now, but building an army when it's already at the gates is too late and unrest need not come from the outside.” She explained the reasoning, picking up the Emperor's line of thought. “An unit of soldiers is more than an abstract object fighting others. Soldiers need rest, they get injured, fall ill. Camps need to be built and guarded, messages passed, prisoners watched and more. Small or specialized units have their place, and with each invention, their numbers and tasks grow, but you will always need common soldiers in numbers.“ She had no idea where the bit about a mayor came from, even if the Emperor could read thoughts she thought of a ‘Major’, not ‘Mayor’.

Upon being informed of the numbers in the capital, her eyes grew wide. Over two years since the transition, and nothing's been done. The fact that the far reaches of the Empire’s husk were coming apart at the seams was understandable, but the capital? When one finds themselves in a blizzard, the hands and feet grow cold so the heart may keep beating. That the imperial palace was understaffed years after the disaster was unfathomable. Were there difficulties she wasn’t aware of, or was the Emperor genuinely incompetent? “I haven’t, we arrived yesterday.” She grabbed onto the question like a lifeline to recover from the shock.

Slightly off to the side, Gordon approached behind one of the palace guards and cleared his throat. “Excuse me: the door.” He gestured to the bearded man peeking in.