Veyran Capital — Council Hall
"This council will come to order!"
The Speaker's gavel cracked against stone, but the noise in the chamber barely dipped.
"They're feeding our people," one councilor shouted.
"With whose permission?" another fired back.
"Does it matter if our granaries are empty?"
Lady Vireen stood slowly, and the room quieted—not out of respect, but fear.
"Let us stop pretending," she said. "Kael's forces are now operating in five provinces. Our citizens welcome them. Our governors cooperate with them. And our generals cannot agree on how to remove them."
She turned toward General Rethar. "Can you still guarantee our borders?"
Rethar hesitated.
That hesitation echoed louder than any shout.
Commander Solas slammed his chair back. "This is exactly why we needed decisive action! While we argue, he replaces us!"
"And if we strike now," a councilor snapped, "we look like tyrants attacking relief workers."
Solas rounded on him. "They are not relief workers. They are an occupying force."
"They don't behave like one," the councilor replied. "That's the problem."
Murmurs spread. Doubt took shape.
---
Veyran Eastern Front — Military Encampment
"This order is unclear," a colonel said, holding up a dispatch. "Do we redeploy south or remain to protect civilian corridors?"
A captain frowned. "The protocols say civilian protection overrides offensive action."
"Whose protocols?" the colonel demanded.
The captain didn't answer.
Nearby, soldiers watched Kael's units move with calm precision—setting up water purification, repairing transit rails, coordinating evacuation drills.
"They don't even look like enemies," one muttered.
"They don't need to," another replied. "They're already winning."
---
Kael's Forward Command
"They're paralyzed," Joren reported. "Half their command structure is waiting for civilian approval before acting."
Lysa exhaled slowly. "You've turned governance into a weapon."
Kael shook his head. "I turned their own governance against indecision."
Michael leaned forward. "And when Veyra's hardliners snap?"
"They will," Kael said. "And when they do, they'll act alone."
He highlighted a name on the display.
"Commander Solas."
Michael frowned. "You're letting him become the villain."
Kael corrected him. "I'm letting him reveal himself."
---
Veyran Capital — Later That Night
Solas stood in a dim corridor with a handful of officers.
"This council is finished," he said quietly. "If we wait, Veyra dies politely."
An officer swallowed. "And if we act?"
"Then history may hate us," Solas replied. "But we'll still have a country."
Another voice cut in from the shadows.
"Or you'll give Kael exactly what he needs."
They turned.
Lady Vireen stepped forward, eyes sharp. "A justification."
Solas met her gaze. "You think he doesn't already have one?"
Vireen said nothing.
Because deep down, she knew the truth:
Kael didn't need Veyra to resist.
He needed it to fracture loudly.
---
Kael's Command — Dawn
"Civil unrest probability rising," Joren said.
"Military splinter risk confirmed," Lysa added.
Kael stood, hands clasped behind his back.
"Good," he said softly.
Michael looked at him. "You're about to be invited to finish what you started."
Kael's eyes remained on the map—on Veyra, glowing not red, but pale blue.
"When they ask," he said, "we won't say we came to conquer."
He paused.
"We'll say we came to restore order."
And in Veyra, as councils argued and commanders broke ranks, the final illusion shattered:
The war had already begun.
Veyra was just late in realizing it.