The war room had become Leon's second home over the past week.
Discussions held over and over, plans drafted and discarded, calculations that never added up. Plans for defense - where to position forces, how to supply them, how to rotate troops across a front that spanned miles. Plans to convince other kingdoms to send soldiers - diplomatic arguments, strategic reasoning, appeals to shared survival. Plans about the gate itself, about the phenomenon that had grown until it blocked the entire eastern horizon.
Every plan fell through. The deficit versus requirement was just too far apart.
They'd received updated reports from the observation teams. The tests had been confirmed -approximately four months until opening. Four months to prepare for something they couldn't adequately defend with ten times their current forces.
The other kingdoms hadn't responded yet. Only Solmara, with their fast ships and apparent preparation, had answered the call.
Now Leon stood in the throne room with the others - the Sword Saint to his right, senior mages behind him, knights in formal positions around the hall. His mind was blank, exhausted from a week of impossible planning. He just waited.
The doors opened.
A flurry of cloth ushered in the Solmaran delegates - three sleek vessels' worth of officials, mages, and military advisors. They moved with the confidence of a maritime empire that had ruled the western seas for centuries.
Leon watched from his position near the king, acutely aware that he was about to meet foreign mages, foreign officials, people who had no reason to believe the legend of the High Archmage of Pelenna.
The Solmarans were ushered into the great hall with full ceremony - guards lining the route, banners displayed, the king seated on his throne with his full court in attendance. The week of exhausting planning sessions faded into background as protocol took over.
The Solmaran leader was a woman in her thirtees, with silver-streaked hair pulled back severely and eyes that missed nothing. She wore robes that shimmered like water, decorated with patterns that seemed to flow and shift as she moved.
"Your Majesty," she said, her accent crisp but understandable. "I am Mage Kaelis of the Solmaran Empire. I bring greetings from the Emperor, and the Imperial Council." She gestured to the dozen people behind her - a mix of soldiers, mages, and what looked like scholars. "We received your message. We've come to verify the claims and assess the threat."
"Welcome to Rallegard, Mage Kaelis," King Alderon replied. "I appreciate the Empire's swift response. The threat is great and imminent"
"So the envoys stated." Kaelis's tone wasn't hostile, just skeptical. "Your message spoke of a gate spanning miles - what you're calling the Horizon Gate. Forgive my bluntness, Your Majesty, but the Empire has experience with gates. We've contained four in our territories. None have exceeded one hundred meters in width. The scale you describe is..." she paused, choosing words carefully, "...difficult to accept without verification."
"Which is why we invite you to see it yourselves," the king said. "High Archmage Leon led the survey expedition. He can speak to what was found."
Every Solmaran eye turned to Leon.
He stepped forward, the week of failed planning sessions weighing on him. He was too tired to be properly nervous. That probably helped.
"Mage Kaelis," Leon said, keeping his voice level. "I understand your disbelief. I was skeptical myself when we first received reports. But I've seen the gate, and it is real. The scale is beyond belief but accurate. Survey teams rode north and south along its length for miles, hours. We found no end in either direction."
"You're certain it's a gate?" one of the Solmaran mages asked - a younger man with sharp features. "Not some other phenomenon?"
"The magical saturation is consistent with gate formation," Leon replied, falling back on what Aldric had taught him. "The tear in reality, the growth pattern, the energy readings - all match known gate characteristics. Just... scaled beyond anything previously recorded."
"How long until it opens?" Kaelis asked.
"Five months. Our observation teams confirmed the timeline two days ago."
Silence. The Solmarans exchanged glances. Four months was longer than Leon's initial estimate -but it didn't change the fundamental impossibility of the situation.
"We'll need to see it ourselves," Kaelis said finally. "The Empire will make a decision based on our findings. So we must verify the threat before committing."
"Of course," the king said. "We can arrange an expedition immediately. High Archmage Leon will accompany you to provide guidance."
Leon managed not to grimace. Another three-week journey. More time maintaining his fraud in close quarters with foreign mages who might actually know what they were doing.
"There's another matter," Kaelis said. "Your message mentioned new defensive formations. Techniques that proved effective at your last gate clear. We'd like to see demonstrations."
Oh no.
"The High Archmage has revolutionized our approach to gate warfare," Lord Casimir said proudly. "His formations multiply the effectiveness of our mages significantly."
"Impressive," Kaelis said, though her tone suggested she'd judge that herself. She turned to Leon. "Would you be willing to share these techniques, High Archmage? If we're to coordinate forces, common methodologies would be essential."
Leon's mind raced. Share his formations? With foreign mages who might immediately see through them as the basic math principles they were?
But refusing would seem suspicious. Uncooperative. Would undermine the entire alliance they were trying to build.
"Of course," Leon heard himself say. "I can arrange demonstrations soon. Your mages are welcome to observe and ask questions."
"Excellent, tomorrow then" Kaelis smiled - a professional expression that didn't quite reach her eyes. "I look forward to seeing what the 'Hero of the First Clear' has developed."
The meeting continued - logistics, supply discussions, tentative agreements pending verification. Leon participated when asked, but his exhausted mind kept drifting back to the war room discussions. All those failed plans. All those impossible calculations.
And now he'd have to demonstrate his formations to people who didn't buy into the whole powerful mage of all time belief.
That evening, Leon stood in the training yard with Aldric, preparing for the next day's demonstration.
"They're going to ask questions," Leon said, staring at the chalk circles he'd drawn on the ground. "Technical questions about magical theory."
"Then answer them," Aldric replied cheerfully. "You always do."
"Aldric..." Leon paused. "What if they realize I'm not-"
"Not what? Not brilliant?" Aldric laughed. "High Archmage, you've transformed our entire approach to magical warfare. The Solmarans have experience with gates, yes, but they've been fighting them the same way for sixteen years. You've innovated beyond anything they've developed."
Because they were trying to do magic and Leon was just doing math. But he couldn't say that.
"This alliance has to succeed. I don't want the the plans to fail," Leon said instead.
"They won't." Aldric clasped his shoulder. "Show them what you showed us. The truth. Let the formations speak for themselves."
The truth. Right.
Leon looked at the circles - geometric patterns that optimized energy distribution, that created force multiplication through simple mathematical principles, that worked because physics didn't care whether you called it engineering or magic.
Tomorrow he'd demonstrate these to people who might actually understand what they were seeing.
And somehow, he'd have to make them believe it was something more than a clever engineer applying basic principles to a magical framework.
A week of impossible planning. No responses from other kingdoms. Five months until the Horizon Gate opened.