Lord Adora's POV

It had been a few days since she had properly introduced herself as the new lord of the Horde. In those days Adora had kept herself busy, determined not to fall back into the slothful despair that had caused her to initially abandon her duties. The despair she would still be languishing in had Lonnie, with help from Kyle & Rogelio, not pulled her out of it. She had spent those days bolstering the defenses of their remaining territory, reestablishing supply lines & planning new offensives to regain the initiative.

(Her spy had already begun filter reports back to her & already the Rebels were finding their ambushes meeting stiffer resistance than in previous weeks. This was to be only the beginning, soon the targets left vulnerable by the Princesses would discover how much strength the Horde had left)

Another way she'd kept busy was to begin a program where officers could submit their proposals on the future on the war effort. She may be the Horde's leader but she couldn't ignore that those she now called subordinate had in some cases, literally decades more experience than her. And since Lonnie, Kyle & Rogelio's suggestions had helped her regain her footing, why not extend the same opportunity to their more seasoned comrades?

She was about to begin one such meeting, She looked over the current applicant, a short, stocky human woman who appeared to be in her late 50's or perhaps early 60's. Graying black hair was kept in a short & neat style. Her round, slightly wrinkled face bore a pleasant if nervous smile, That same nervousness was reflected in her light blue eyes. As the woman drew closer, Adora's eye was drawn to two things. Her left leg was stymied by a limp which was offset by a cane. Secondly her right arm was was held in a brace with the fingers lying still. As she approached Adora's desk she stopped & gave a slight bow.

"Thank you for seeing me Lord Adora" The woman, Shakra said in a quiet dignified voice.

"My pleasure" Adora responded in her least threatening voice (no point scaring the old woman more than she already was) "please, have a seat"

She waited for her guest to take the seat across from her & get her cane settled before continuing.

"I must confess i was taken off guard by your proposal Ms Shakra" she began in an even tone "It certainly was one of the more....interesting suggestions I've received"

"Thank you...i suppose" the ageing woman replied in a voice that made clear she wasn't sure that was the best response. But she recovered quickly enough "Allow me to confess i wasn't really holding out hope for a meeting. I've been trying to advance this little project of mine for" she paused in what Adora recognized as an attempt to recollect "going on over a decade now but that traitorous witch wouldn't gran't me as much as a rejection letter"

Adora tensed at the mention of Shadow Weaver -though the bitterness Shakra expressed lessened it somewhat- & her response had more bite in it than she would've preferred.

"I assure you, i'm familiar with how Shadow Weaver reacted to ideas that contradicted her own" she collected herself before continuing "But that's in the past. under my leadership the Horde is open to all ideas, as long as they prove useful" She made sure to flash a small smile so her next line didn't come off as threatening.

"Having said that, i frankly doubt approaching our enemies for an 'armistice' as you call it would prove a particularly popular idea.'

"With respect my lord, i didn't suggest it because it would be popular. I make this suggestion because i believe it is necessary for the Horde's survival"

If the old woman didn't have Adora's attention before, she certainly did now. "The Horde's survival? Don't you think that's a tad dramatic?" she asked skeptically.

"On the contrary, it is sadly realistic. I'm sure i don't need to remind you that even the recruits you brought back from the Crimson Waste don't make up for the mass desertions we experienced between Hordak's death & your" she seemed to be fishing for a word "debut. Which would be hard enough to overcome even if Hordak, may he rest in peace, hadn't mandated birth control preventing us from raising new recruits the, err, natural way." she paused briefly before shaking off the awkwardness ". Even if we crank up production of those warbots to their maximum possible output, we still can't make enough to make up for lost numbers, and that's not even addressing the drop in quality compared to real soldiers." The elder stopped to take a breath, seeming to just realize how energetic her speech had become, before continuing at a more subdued pace.

"Please don't misunderstand me. What Lord Hordak did is without precedent in Etherian history. That the Horde exists at all, yet alone has achieved as much as we have borders a miracle. But if we want to keep this miracle alive, than we need to except that the dream of uniting Etheria is out of our reach....for now"

Adora was silent as she took in what she'd just been told. Two thoughts raged inside her, first her hellhound in her heart raged in protest, howling with all her might that Etheria must burn! She willed herself to hear the voice beyond the fury however, the voice that was full of the compassion she felt towards Lonnie when her friend had come to plead with her to fight for the Horde. The voice that spook in calm reason...& told her that Shakra was right. The Horde couldn't continue, she'd seen the reports herself.

But how would they do it? Time to see how well Shakra had thought this through

"The Princesses won't simply allow us to call a truce. They probably wouldn't even believe us" Adora began in her most professional tone "And even if they agreed to meet us, in our weakened state we have basically no leverage. I just don't see how this is a practical idea"

"My lord is right, the Princesses almost certainly wouldn't believe us & they certainly wouldn't feel the need to make any urgent concessions to say the very least. Which is why i don't recommend starting with the Runestone Kingdoms."

It took a moment for Adora to grasp the full meaning of that statement "You want to approach the Crownless nations?"

"We've never truly been at war with most of them, only Mystacor has engaged in with any real consistency" her guest replied smoothly "As for the rest? A few skirmishes here & there yes, but nothing compared to the decades long slog we've engaged in with the Princess-bearing Kingdoms. Hordak himself was in favor of a more diplomatic approach. I say it's time to put that hope into practice, using our lack of engagements, we can one-by-one make peace with the Crownless perhaps even establish some trade while we're at it. Each successful treaty shall serve as proof of our sincerity when we do finally approach the Princesses."

Adora had to admit to being intrigued by what she was hearing. The Horde was a war machine, nothing more, nothing less. What Shakra was suggesting could change that, turn this tool of conquest into something resembling an actual nation. The idea of building on Hordak's admittedly shaky foundation was surprisingly appealing.

"Well you've clearly put a good amount of thought into this" She said allowing herself to sound impressed (which in fairness she was) "But have you put any thought into where we'd even begin?"

Shakra smile was as genuine as it had been since she'd entered Adora's office. "Galacia" she said simply.

"Galacia?" Adora repeated questioningly.

"Galacia" Shakra said again. "Despite what the mages of Mystacor may tell themselves, they haven't been the most respected Crownless nation since Galacia won back its independence from The Kingdom of Snows. It's made them the most prestigious Crownless state by far, I'm told the others even sent them congratulatory gifts. If Galacia agrees to make peace with us, every other Crownless will take notice."

The Lord of the Horde mulled this over. "Let's assume i agree with this plan of yours." She said as a reply "That i give you leave to go from one Crownless state to the next making peace. What are our soldiers supposed to do in the meantime? I rallied them to me with the promise that we would take the fight to the rebels, that we weren't simply going to lay down before the enemy. Would you have me go back on my word?"

"I serve under Mantenna as i'm sure my lord already knows" Adrora gave a brief nod signaling her guest to continue. "So i would not presume to dictate military strategy, but i would point out that the more damage we cause to the Kingdoms, the more difficult it will be to bring them to the table." Adora could see the logic in that statement. "Thankfully, i do converse rather frequently with Force Captain Dreer who provided the ideal solution to my problem."

Adora had heard Dreer speak in their strategy meetings & had an idea what was coming next "Go on"

"What we suggest is that you live up to your vow to the letter. You promised to resume attacks against the Rebels? Then attack the Rebels, The real Rebels, those glorified bandits infesting the Whispering Wood, Dark Mountains & everywhere in between. I admit it is an optimistic plan i propose my Lord, but even i have no faith in that rabble even entertaining talks of peace or even honoring a peace should we be able to make it. The best thing to do is damage their ability to cause trouble in the future" Shakra seemed almost sad at this confession.

Adora thought about everything that had been said in this meeting. If she were being honest (and she did so struggle to be honest even with herself) she had largely taken this meeting to maintain the appearance of being willing to listen to everyone. She had fully expected to hear the older woman out then "regrettably" refuse her suggestion. But Shakra had put a level of thought into this plan that Adora hadn't expected. It seemed wrong somehow to simply dismiss her outright. After another moment of thought, Adora made her decision.

"Well you've given me a lot of think about" She began slowly "here's what i'm prepared to offer you" At this Shakra had a look of faint hope on her face. "I'll grant you permission to begin peace talks (the phrase felt strange on her tongue) with Galacia. How you act & what techniques you employ are up to you. If, & i mean IF you return with a deal i'll agree to implement the rest of your plan. Should you fail however, I will proceed with the more...drastic measures I've been presented with. Though to be clear, i won't hold failure against you personally" She said that last part with a smile which she hoped conveyed sincerity. She stood on offered her hand (being sure to extend her left hand to meet the older woman's good hand) "Do we have a deal?"

Shara stood & after the briefest of hesitations, took her Lord's hand in hers "We do my lord"

"Great" Adora said that smile still on her face "Well this has been an unexpectedly pleasant meeting but i have others to get to. I truly do wish you the best of luck"

With a final "thank you my lord" Shakra collected her cane & left Adora's office, leaving her alone with her thoughts. If this is an attempt to desert it's a rather convoluted one. She thought to herself. In any event she'd be sending troops along for Shakra's "protection" I'll be sure to have a word with those troops before she departs.

But the whole thing had a strange sense of honesty about it that she almost didn't feel the need. The woman had an earnest vibe to her that Adora found almost discomforting. She seemed to genuinely believe she could do this, and as they say, belief is the first step to success. Though Adora wasn't banking on success. So many things could go wrong on an operation like this. Shakra & her party could be ambushed by Rebels on the way to Galacia. Galacia's government could take them hostage. Even if they made it back in one piece the odds of getting anyone to make a deal with the Horde after Hordak's complete ignoring of diplomacy for decades was so less than inspiring, At least in that last scenario, all that would be lost would be time (and fuel) wasted.

And besides, the old woman could surprise everyone & score a deal. Wouldn't that be something?

(She briefly wondered what Hordak would think of the war machine he forged almost by sheer will alone making peace)

In any event, if Shakra DID return with a deal, then it would open up bold new possibilities for the Horde. An entirely new future almost unheard of. And Adora had to confess, that thought excited her.