Midnight plans

Within a reinforced tent, Lyrus conferred privately with the captains. On a low table lay parchment maps marked with colored icons for each known Serpent leader. He repeated the proposed match-ups to ensure everyone understood their potential adversaries.

Captain Eydon, Voice of the Scarlet Flame, would lead Flames against any Serpent captains known for frontal assaults. He trained his best duelists to handle tricky feints and cunning traps. If Malzaryn's protégés appeared, Eydon's squad would mirror their agility and break their morale with precise strikes.

Captain Senna, Whisper of the Twilight Wing, prepared her scouts to counter Ivrineh's agents. They practiced detecting subtle disturbances—broken twigs, shifted leaves—anything that betrayed infiltration. Senna knew Ivrineh favored silence, so Wings practiced responding to silent signals, ensuring they could coordinate even under soundless assaults. They would meet shadow with sharper shadow.

Captain Huron, Shield of the Iron Oath, readied his Shields to confront Serpent captains who specialized in sabotage or brute force. If Yashever's followers tried to use poison-laced blades, Huron's men had learned to rotate fresh fighters at key intervals, preventing exhaustion and ensuring that vigilance never flagged.

Beyond these unit-level duels, the Ember generals would face their Serpent counterparts. Kael planned supply lines that could withstand sabotage, ensuring Yashever's toxins found no foothold in Ember wells. Alyra's scouts would outmatch Ivrineh's best spies. Maron's defensive stalwarts would absorb Malzaryn's surprise raids. Ciri's strategic brilliance would anticipate and counter Kazreth's cunning feints.

Lyrus himself visualized how he might face Elder Kazreth. Not through brute force alone, but by understanding Kazreth's layered mind games. Lyrus had learned that true victory lay in dissolving illusions and outlasting paranoia. His refined martial arts and moral resolve would meet Kazreth's whispering schemes head-on, showing that cunning could be matched by integrity.

The captains listened intently, taking notes and asking questions. They expressed neither dread nor overconfidence, but calm determination. Each knew their enemy, each understood their role. Lyrus reminded them that the goal was not blind conquest. If forced to fight, they would fight decisively, but their preferred outcome remained stable peace, won through clarity of purpose rather than ongoing tension.

As they stepped out into daylight, the captains shared respectful nods. Their unity radiated from their stance and their quiet focus. If the Serpents pushed them into open conflict, the Ember Circle would not hesitate. Every name and face had been accounted for, every likely duel prepared.