All three of Harudan's advisors watched him intently when he entered the war room. He rubbed at his sleep-filled eyes, wishing that he hadn't had a nap earlier in the day, but he had needed it. Ever since Jonin's return from Turian's laboratory, he'd been exhausted and sleeping constantly.

It had been almost a week since then but it felt like far longer. It felt like months had passed and he hadn't slept at all. Being so exhausted wasn't a good thing, not when there was so much that needed to be done, but he couldn't help it. War hadn't even properly hit and he was already a mess.

He stopped next to Jonin, who frowned down at him in worry. Harudan didn't meet his eyes and instead focused on the table he stood in front of. The large map of it showed every inch of Vishera, but the main focus was at the border, where the little statues of his and Minisia's armies stood waiting. They had all been lined up according to where their leading nobles had moved them, and were waiting for him to tell them where to go.

If he was being honest, he had no idea what to do with them. Only a few days ago, King Ouron had sent them another raven, one that detailed just how many people Brenmar's army would be going up against. Double, Minisia had double what he had, something he hadn't expected. He knew there would be more due to the desperation of the people, but he had never expected double.

When King Ouron had first threatened war, ten years beforehand, he'd offered high wages and food for all of those who joined the army. But there'd been so many of them desperate for food during their suffering, that none of them had gotten the full training. It was an advantage for the Ishini, but going up against double was still dangerous, no matter how untrained they were.

The general of his armies, a tall person with shaved hair and a strong jaw, cleared their throat. "It's good of you to finally join us," they said, their arms crossed over their chest and an irritated frown on their face.

"Apologies, General Juna, I've been having trouble sleeping," he replied, resisting the yawn that threatened to escape.

"Having trouble waking up, more like," General Juna said under their breath, but in the quiet room, all the occupants could hear. Despite the urge to look down at the floor, Harudan stood straight and forced an amused smirk onto his lips.

He glanced to all the occupants in the room and brushed his hand against Jonin's arm. "We should get down to business, should we not? We have a lot to go over." There was so much to figure out, just with the war. Everything else had to be dealt with outside the war room, like Nerin and the monk.

He shook his head as if it could remove the thoughts of his brother. It wasn't as though he didn't want him back, he truly did, but he needed to put as much effort into the war as he could. Search parties had been sent out the day after Jonin returned, most with dogs to sniff them out. It would take them a while, seeing as the group went down the river, but they would eventually be found.

Either until one of the search parties brought him back (which he doubted) or they figured out how to fight against the monk, he had to focus on his armies and getting them ready for war. Nerin would be alright. According to Jonin, he'd seemed almost friendly with the Princess and the monk, almost as though he wanted to be with them. Even if that was the case, Harudan would get him back.

His main advisor, the one who dealt with matters with Brenmar and Ishmar, pointed down at the little statues. The sharp movement pulled Harudan from his thoughts and he forced his tired mind to focus on the matters at hand. "Our main issue is numbers and a lack of support for you, your Majesty," his advisor, an old man by the name of Fentir, said. He'd been his father's advisor before him and had plenty of experience looking after the country.

"There has to be something we can do about both of those things," Jonin replied as he drummed his fingers against the edge of the table. It had taken a little while to get him up to speed on everything that had happened. Making him leave hadn't been the best idea, but if the monk hadn't been there, Nerin would already be home.

"If you fix support, you'll fix numbers," Fentir said.

Harudan sighed and ran a hand through his long hair. "And the only way to fix my support is to talk to the people, isn't it?" he asked.

His advisor nodded. "That would be the best way," he said and gestured to the map again. "Which of the nobles didn't pledge support to you?"

There weren't many, thank Sol, but it was still enough to be an issue. "A lot to the west, past the mountains," he answered, gesturing to the tiny dots on the map. "The Lord of Huron has changed his mind after seeing Minisia's armies, but the Lord of Reed has denied us his men."

General Juna hummed thoughtfully. "The Lord of Reed was never the most loyal to your father," they said, pursing their lips.

"Then why are they still a Lord?" Jonin asked in his gravelly voice.

"Lineage," General Juna answered. Of course, why else would someone so unsupportive of the King and his rule be allowed to be a Lord? Jonin let out a hum in response, disapproving.

Harudan looked to the town of Reed on the map. It wasn't small compared to most towns dotted about Brenmar, but it was nowhere near as big as Ishmar. It did, however, house quite a few people well trained to fight against the Askari. It wasn't on the border, but close enough that they had had their fair share of issues over the last ten years.

Those men would prove vital against the fight with Minisia and the Askari. Even with the Warriors of Ziya spread as thin as they were, the numbers were still dangerous. Harudan needed as many people as he could get if he truly wanted to take charge. The fact that there were so many on the opposing side meant that there might not be many left by the time he did take charge, but it didn't matter.

"So," he said, looking to all three of his advisors. "What do you propose we do?"

Fentir didn't even take a moment to think. "You'll need to head over to Reed and convince the Lord to pledge allegiance face to face," he said, shrugging as though it were the simplest thing in the world.

Jonin made a noise in the back of his throat. "Is that really such a good idea?" he asked. "I do not doubt that assassins are coming for Harudan right this minute and you want him to leave the safety of the palace?"

"Unless you think you can convince the Lord?" Fentir said, voice calm. He hmphed when Jonin said nothing. "That's what I thought."

Harudan placed a hand on Jonin's arm, making the other man look to his with a furrowed brow. "It will be fine. We have no proof of assassins yet-"

"Doesn't mean they're not around!"

"That may be true, but for now, if we want more numbers then I need to go to Reed," he continued. If it had been anyone else, they would have been admonished for interrupting him, but it was Jonin, so it didn't matter too much. The man could do anything, within reason.

"If that is what you wish," Jonin said, bowing his head. No one else could hear it, but there was irritation in his voice. After all their years together, Harudan could pick up on the slight changes in his tone. It wouldn't take long to convince him not to be irritated; going to Reed was something he needed to do.

"You will come with me."

"Of course." Jonin would follow him everywhere if he let him.

His other two advisors were watching him with matching bored expressions. Harudan held back a laugh. They should be used to him and Jonin taking over the room with their conversations, they'd done it since they were teenagers after all. "Apologies," he said and nodded his head for them to continue.

"You can further discuss a trip to Reed later," General Juna said. "For now, there are other issues that need to be discussed."

Harudan hummed. "A place of battle," he muttered and ran a hand through his hair again. The light from the wall sconces cast stretched shadows of the little statues over the map, bathing it in darkness. Even though the sun hadn't completely set yet, it was dark and the curtains were closed. Snow would fall again overnight and if they were really unlucky, there may even be a storm.

General Juna nodded and pointed to an area to the south, where there were very little statues. "Minisia's forces are more thinly spread here due to the terrain. It's mostly rocky fields, which obviously makes it difficult to place any kind of army."

"And you want to attack there?" Harudan asked, his eyebrows raised in confusion.

They shook their head. "No, I want to sneak the army in there, while distracting them with a battle here," they said and pointed to an area close to the middle of the realm. There were a lot more of Minisia's forces around the little dots of towns in the area, which made anxiety flutter in his stomach.

"Is that really such a good idea? They've stationed the majority of the Warriors of Ziya there," Jonin said, hissing in a breath when he pointed at the bear statues on the other side of the border.

"We can kill two birds with one stone, Sir," the General explained, a rueful smile on their face. "Remove as many of the Warriors as we can and get our armies across the border. It will be hard, considering their numbers, but if you get the Lord of Reed to give us his knights, then we can even the playing field a little."

Part of Harudan wanted to say no, that it seemed like a bad idea, but the General knew better than him. They were trained for war. The army needed to get into Minisia if they wanted to make the first steps of a takeover. If that meant divvying up his army and facing a force much larger than it, then that was what he had to do.

"Get it ready," he ordered, watching in satisfaction as General Juna moved the statues in line. Things were starting to get in order when it came to the war, even if it wasn't in a way he expected. It was better than nothing. "We'll get the trip to Reed sorted, for now, focus on the armies. We'll meet again soon."

He gestured for Jonin to follow after him as he left. His other two advisors bid them farewell as the doors to the war room closed quietly. He could leave them to sort everything else out; he had other matters to attend to.

The war room was on the ground floor of the palace, while Harudan's office was on the topmost floor. That was where he needed to be. He and Jonin climbed the stairs in silence, but he could still feel the glare on his back. The Captain of his Guard wasn't happy about going to Reed.

He sighed at the warmth that met him when they reached the top floor. The crystal still sat in the room across from his office, waiting for him to figure out what it was meant to do. The heat it emitted was constant, almost making him forgot that winter had arrived. One day soon, he would figure out what it did.

Behind him, the knight let out a huff. "You're irritated," Harudan said as they walked the halls. "You don't want to go to Reed."

Jonin made a noise in the back of his throat as if he were offended. "Of course not! It's a terrible idea. You're going to be in danger the entire time. It's bad enough that you'll have to go into battle..." he said, trailing off and running a hand over his short hair. "You already went to the Sanctum without me."

"That turned out well," he argued. If he didn't count the entire sect of a religion dying, it had turned out well for him.

"Did it?" Jonin asked as they stopped in front of the room. It was hotter the closer they got as if it were taunting him.

Harudan sighed. "It will, once I figure out what it is," he said. He would eventually, it would just take time and research. That was what he was going to do for the rest of the day, sit and read through all the books he had found, once he dealt with Jonin. "Look, you and the rest of the Guard will be with me. There may be added danger now, but if we don't get these soldiers, we're going to struggle."

Jonin stared at him for a moment and Harudan could see him thinking it over. "I still don't like it," he muttered. He'd always argued the plans they made, the treaty, going after Nerin, going to Reed, but they both knew it was because he wanted to make sure Harudan knew what he was doing.

With another sigh, he leaned up and kissed him gently. "Follow me, Jonin."

"Of course."