The night was as black as ink, and the bitterroot tea in the pavilion had long since gone cold.
Yet the two brothers were still deep in conversation.
The scattered lights of the distant territory outlined a tranquil silhouette.
That serenity stood in stark contrast to the storm that was about to sweep across Rhodok in their discussion.
Zong Shen dipped his finger into the cooled tea and began drawing on the smooth stone table.
He used no extraordinary power, yet the lines traced by his finger were as clear as if they had been engraved.
"Let's review it, Aze."
"You're in the middle of it all, so it's easy to get lost in the details."
"Let's start with the board itself, and the pieces on it."
He tapped the center of the table first.
"Here. Rhodok Imperial City, the center of Gerry Foss's royal authority."
"This young king was hastily crowned after the old king died suddenly, through compromises among all parties."
"So his prestige is lacking, and his foundation is shallow."
"Yet he happens to be sitting atop a volcano. His core support consists of the royal capital garrison, some nobles near the imperial city, and the inertia of loyalty brought by the title of king."
"His advantage is legitimacy and control of the center. His disadvantage is trouble both within and without."
"The military force he can directly command is probably insufficient to deal with warfare on multiple fronts at once."
"Thus, he is like a young lion surrounded by wolves, yet chained to the throne."
Zong Ze stared at the drop of water and slowly nodded.
"Svetlana mentioned that Gerry is impatient and eager to prove himself, yet restrained by the old nobility."
"He recently tried to consolidate several mining areas near the royal capital, but