Scholar Auro staggered to his feet—anyone watching might have worried that the old man would suddenly keel over mid-sentence—and after taking several breaths, he slowly described the situation inside and outside the castle: "The spirit of electricity has just returned, but it's extremely weak. We've lost more than half our lights, and the heaters and some of the water supply have also stopped. The technical apprentices found some burned-out circuits and are replacing those parts, but we don't have enough spares..."
"Repair the heaters first. We can bring water from the nearby Water Tank Town; their reserves can supply us for at least half a month," the castle governor interrupted. "Any news from Metal Town?"
"We can't see their lights from here. Their power probably hasn't been restored yet, and the communicator isn't working either," another short, stout man sitting beside the scholar rose to his feet. "Looks like we'll need to send someone over."
"Then send someone. You'll lead them. Take a few more people, and be careful not to let the barbarians of the Iron City-State use this opportunity to seize our galvanized sheets and electrical wires."
"Winter is almost here," Scholar Auro said, still wanting to speak. "My lord, this darkness should be a warning. The firewood we offered up cannot stop this winter, so we should start thinking about what to do when winter truly arrives. We need to gather the refugees, stockpile more supplies, and send an envoy to the Iron City-State..."
"Scholar, you're only an expert on machines and light bulbs. When it comes to war, I have the final say," the castle governor said, tapping the table. "I don't care whether this winter you speak of is coming or not. There will never be true peace between us and the Iron City-State. At