Chapter Ninety-Eight: State of the Nyflona

"So let's get down to business."

Alyndra looked at everyone.

"In short, Nyflona is a political nightmare; you know all about our wars, but there is also tons of infighting in all three regions." Alyndra said.

"What kind of infighting?" Ren asked.

"The type that may break entire countries and ruin kingdoms." Alyndra stated it coldly. "My mother is dealing with some...political opponents. People who would be perfectly fine seeing my family killed or worse."

"How much of a threat is it?" Scarlet asked.

"Extremely, they have enough influence on society to the point where they are showing up more and more on our radar." Alyndra said. "They are led by three people; these people we call the Silver Serpents; these three people are all very powerful and, from what we can tell, influential."

"So there are from high standing then..." Lucilia commented.

Alyndra sighed. "We believe so. Although we have had trouble identifying them, we managed to capture one who we managed to discover; he was the captain of our naval fleet, and he encouraged many of its members to become disloyal. As a result, we had to purge our navy and have started to rebuild."

"That's a major hit, military-wise." Eleonora said.

"Yes, in total, our navy is half of what it used to be." Alyndra said it sadly.

"What about the other regions? Won't they make a play now that your navy is weak?" Ren asked.

"We thought so too, but our spies tell us they are dealing with their own problems." Alyndra said.

"Like what?" Ashastha asked.

"The people who live in the forests are dealing with a case of a council that can't agree on anything. Half of them want one thing, and the other half wants another, which has split their population apart. Meanwhile, those who live in the mountains are dealing with a mini-civil war of their own. Their princess and prince are vying for the throne of their dying king. And the loyalists on both sides have picked up arms." Alyndra explained.

"...This planet is so scewed up." Laelli said.

"Yeah, three regions all at war with each other and dealing with conflicts internally as well." Lucilia said.

"We'd have to carefully navigate this." Lily said.

"I have a thought." Ren said.

"Let's hear it." Serenity said.

"Okay, first, Alyndra in the forest region, who would most likely agree to peace?" Ren asked.

Alyndra put her hand on her chin and thought. "It would have to be Councilwoman Ranpha. She and her daughter are leading the charge towards co-existence with us and the mountain race."

"Perfect, once we restore peace here, we head there and get Ranpha's peace talks to get pushed through. Of course, we'd have to change plans and adapt once we got there, but it's a start. Now what about the mountain people?" Ren asked.

"That's a tougher one." Alyndra said. "We know little about both the prince and princess. We know their father hates us to his very core; it just depends on how his children feel."

"So, I think when we can, go there and find which one would most likely align with our ideas. Once that happens, we can start the three-way peace talks." Ren said.

"We'd have to be quick; we need to get back into our own war as soon as possible." Lucilia said.

"Yeah, that's where things get tough. Though I think your sisters and Queen Tsukiko can hold down the fort in the meantime, I doubt Volaria is ready for an all-out war already." Ren said.

"The bigger the military, the longer it takes to get ready." Eleonora said.

"Exactly, so hopefully us disrupting the supply lines slows down that process as long as possible." Ren said.

"You've really thought about this." Serenity said to Ren.

"I have; we disrupt their supply lines and make it take longer to get ready for war; meanwhile, we gain allies and, in turn, get stronger." Ren said.

"This war, do you honestly believe you can win?" Alyndra asked.

"Right now, no. We'd fight for awhile, but eventually we'd lose; however, with more potential allies, we can stand a chance." Ren said.

"Look, I agree with my mother; I will not force our people into a war that isn't theirs. While I dislike the Volarian Empire, we have to consider our planet as a whole, so I cannot make any promises to you regarding a large number of troops; however, I can say for sure that there will be volunteers." Alyndra said.

"That's all I ask." Ren said.

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