That single phrase of a mere two words was more than enough answer for all those in attendance to fully grasp my intention, as they all then displayed reactions of different forms, such as Hasdrubal, who silently scoffed with a knowing smile, or Leonid who merely nodded in acceptance or finally Hamilcar, who simply showed a toothy grin, made all the more eerie by the crimson light deftly shimmering in his pupils.

And yet while this small sentence, spoken with almost an mundane tone, as though one was simply commenting on the weather, brought reactions of excitement or acceptance from the men hailing from the arid deserts of the Eclipse Empire, to those from the Murathicus lands, it was akin to an executioner's decree.

It's weight carried forth like a sledge hammer to the plans, and nails on a chalkboard to the ears of Barrafin and Amhain in particular, as the two men visibly flinched at the words, while Tessiphina, the mighty Matriarch, showed no rection on her heroic features, keeping her eyes fixatedly analytical upon me.

And so the cadence of the meeting was set in stone, as everyone began to operate under the presiding doctrine of their bloody intent, all the way into it's end no more than a couple of hours later, when most of the chamber emptied, with flocks of armoured bouts and disciplined steps, witnesses of hardened veteran men and women, rushing at full stride to accomplish their respective tasks to make ready for the next day, when almost three hundred valiant souls would begin southward march.

Yet three pairs of steps remained the outlier in this cavalcade of hurrying officers and officials.

"Unrelenting aggression." Said the Marquis of Madra, Barrafin, as he came to stand behind the still silent Tessiphina, and next to her son and heir.

"That appears to be the plan." Amhain dryly answered, looking through the same window as the rest, watching the enormous machine, known as the Eclipse Empire begin to very quickly shake off the rust that had accumulated over it's many cogs in the last month of inaction.

A long sigh escaped the general of the nineth, hearing his friends words, as he then asked "So what do we do now?"

"What can we do?" The Enkada prince answered with a sense of dejection. "If even lord Hamilcar is falling in line behind the emperor, then we can only follow. Besides it isn't as if his majesty's plan is particularly flawed or ill-conceived; in fact, from a strategic point of view, it's almost beautiful in it's brutality." He finished with an awkward smile, one that desperately tried to hide his apparent admiration for the savage, yet undeniably malevolent mastermind, who'd viciously engineered such a thing that he could only think to describe as sanguineous villainy.

"That's not what I was talking about." Barrafin corrected, his eyes narrowing. "What are we to do with the matter of those fools who've gone drunk on the dream of reversing time? The traitors of our ilk who will lead hundreds, if not thousands more of our people to slaughter?"

"We do nothing." Tessiphina answered before her son could, with a voice that allowed no rebuttal to her decision.

"Mother?" Amhain asked in confusion, his voice steady, despite the tumultuous waves of thoughts and beliefs now roiling in his heart and mind; after all she was the one most stubbornly obstinate on the matter being solved internally, without intervention from the wider empire.

"The... emperor." She uttered the word with an unnatural pause. "I want neither of you to make the foolish mistake of choosing to be on opposing sides of him. Especially after what happened in the meeting." Though she spoke those words to both of them, her eyes that were reflected on the window before her showed that she stared solely on her son the entire time.

And if there was one thing both of the men knew about Tessiphina without a shadow of a doubt, the things that defined her essence above all else, more than the title of a matriarch, a general, or even a warrior, it was that she was an unflinchingly protective mother and a masterful survivor, something clearly displayed during the battle at the Thiar River.

So with chills running across their skin, and cold sweat pouring down their spines, both men knew not to question her opinions at a time like this, and simply bowed in affirmation, as they made their way to both take charge of their own tasks that needed accomplishing, as well as to warn those they cared about and were close to, to not harbour any undue thoughts, and to keep their heads down for the duration of this coming war, lest they invite the attention of those they should pray never come to know of their existence.

Yet while her beloved son and her sole, trustworthy political ally left, her mind inadvertently shifted back to the memory of a few moments ago, when the issue they were just discussing was first brought up.

"...Finally, sire, we have the issue of the newest movement across the new provinces." Avestan, who'd been giving me a brief summary of all the latest happenings, as well as a general overview of the current situation said.

"Movement?" I asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"Indeed, my emperor." He nodded. "Ever since the beginning of de-escalatory actions in the southern Murathicus lands, certain rumours have infiltrated our lands, with a few, minor pockets of territory being openly receptive to these words of sedition."

My eyes momentarily glimmered, as I coldly asked "What manner of reform do these words promise for them to grow so popular?"

"Mostly of a vision to return their lands to how it was three years ago." Avestan said with a shadow of a mocking smile, momentarily stretching across his lips.

"I see." I lightly responded, before I reclined back in my seat, my eyes taking on a calculating light, as I asked "And how did you deal with those naïve fools?"

"Execution." Hamilcar ruthlessly answered.

"Hmm." I ponderously murmured. "And I assume that didn't deal with the issue if you're bringing it to my attention now."

"Indeed, sire. Like weeds after rain, no matter how many we root out, another seems to materialize the next day without pause or delay, preaching their delusional doctrines." Avestan finished with a venomous look, obviously having grown bored of their continued existence.

"If they keep appearing then you're simply not pulling at them hard enough." I calmly said in response with a Machiavellian smile, before I then turned back to Hamilcar and asked "What other measures have you implemented?"

"Seeing the futility of our actions, I decided to hand over the matter to the Eighth and Nineth Generals, since this is their people after all, they would know them best." Hamilcar calmly said, though the look he gave told me that his thoughts weren't so basic. He had a different reason to intrust them with this task.

I then, along with everyone else turned to gaze upon the two in question, but instead of either of them rising to meet our demands, it was Amhain who said after a polite bow "I, Amhain Enkada, second in command of the Eighth Army and heir of Duchess Tessiphina Enkada, greet their imperial majesties, the emperor and empress, as well as all the other honourable lords and ladies. As lord Avestan and his lordship, the Grand Marshal has said, the traitors and their words have been sprouting from every which way in the provinces, and we have been trying our hardest to curb their advances before they can achieve their goals. Though thankfully, all other similar incidents have been fairly isolated so far, allowing us to further quarantine it's spread, which shouldn't be too much longer for..."

"You're lying." A voice that they hadn't heard in the hall echoed out then, as Eve, who had remained completely silent up until now, interrupted the heir of Enkada.

A pregnant silence, the likes of which that would make murder scenes seem like celebratory events, blanketed us all in it's heart wrenching pressure, before I doubled it with the single, sadistic utterance of "Oh?" as my hand reflexively reached for Fallen Nemesis and Dark Majesty to my either of my sides.

"My emperor." Yet before I could fully grip their handles, Hamilcar's calm and collected voice echoed out, as he looked at me poignantly, before he then directed that same gaze to Tessiphina, who was also beginning to slowly reach for her twin whips.

And then, and without saying another word he bowed his head to me, in seeming petition.

Realizing something, I retract my arms, and with it, so too did Abraham, Horus, Hasdrubal and Leonid also relax their stances, greatly easing the pressure that made hard for everyone to breathe, and only I noticed did Tessiphina also retreat her aura that was on the verge of errupting.

"Barrafin, report." Hamilcar then sternly commanded, as he raised his head, appearing displeased with the whole fiasco that has just occurred, yet only eye who caught sight of his eye when he raised his head, noticed the momentary gratefulness and joy at a scheme well done that flashed through them.

"Sire!" The one he called out to rose with a start, as he quickly answered "We've tried our hardest, but the spread of their mad words has barely slowed down, and it's reached so far as us having grown distrustful of most of the patriarchs and clans in the entire northern part of our land!"

I immediately noticed that those of us who arrived with me were indeed surprised by his words, yet those who were with Hamilcar were absolutely unimpressed, almost as though they were already aware of all of this.

Yet unlike them, I felt no threat or need to worry from the matter, as I simply turned my head to the side and said with a happy tone "My love, can I leave it to you?"

"Of course." She answered with a brief, little smile.

"Horus." I needn't say anymore, as my guard moved to her side.

"Yara." And similarly, so too did her most trusted subordinate, as they quickly made their exit.

And with the thudding closure of the door across the room, so too did Tessiphina's reliving of that memory end, as she inadvertently sighed through a the sensation of having cold sweat once again wetten her palms, just remembering that moment, knowing full well that she now harboured an heavy debt to the Grand Marshal for saving both her son's, and her life. For she knew that had she acted to save her son, which she would've no matter what, then all those monsters in that room would have torn her limb from limb before she could even leave her seat.

She sighed again as she reached for her desk's chair, shaking off the last remanets of fear she still held, as they were all instead supplanted with endless admiration and gratitude for the old demon, who now brought a smile to her valiantly beautiful features, completely unaware that all had gone according and even surpassed what he'd planned.