Quarterly High Command Meeting

Cracked lips pursed behind the Grand General's shroud upon learning Bleakwood's official reports would not be available until after the excursion to Zaun. He made no effort to disguise the impatience that darkened his weathered face. This quarterly meeting had been scheduled since the beginning of the year, and the fact that Bleakwood had no precise details to offer despite ample time to prepare caused Swain's eyes to flare in irritation.

"A map," he said gruffly. "I expect a detailed proposal of planned clear cutting and farmland allocation, exact mileage, catalogue of crops, land designation per crop. A clear picture of the geographical plan with statistics for each appropriated plot." Gnarled fingers disentangled themselves to press against one another in a star as Swain finished his list of requirements in an exasperated drawl, "Etcetera, etcetera." His burning eyes never left Bleakwood's face; his shrunken form seemed to emanate a barely tangible, though ominous, power over those present. Though not a single admonishing word had been spoken, the rest of the meeting's attendees had been cautioned by the Master Tactician's seething aura against insufficient preparedness.

"That will be all, General Bleakwood, thank you, you may be seated." Swain's dismissal was issued in a single breath. His eyes flashed in punctuation of his command and turned swiftly upon Maria. "Ionia," he rasped.

The Grand General extended a withered hand for Maria's report. His gaze lingered only briefly over her wounds before he drew the folder in and flicked it open. As he perused its contents, silence hung over the congregation. His burning eyes darted from left to right over the pen-scratched parchment. His expression remained impassive until he overturned the final page--at which point his features visibly darkened. The wild-man's attack had been unprovoked, material losses minimal, Brand's power demonstrated. All expected... but general Blackwind's suspicions of certain drudges within the Order of Shadow caused the fires in his eyes to flare. Precautionary measures would be taken.

He slid the folder to Darius, then turned his luminous stare upon Maria, one withered hand rising from the table to punctuate his command. "You will assign a subtle pair of eyes to every potential Problem. The Steadfast of Zed's order would leap onto their swords if he spoke the word. I do not expect them to present a problem." Cracked lips pursed behind his shroud. "But we have no use for insurgents."

Again, the Grand General cleared his throat: a cough, a hack, a wheeze, his fist brought up before his shroud out of polite habit. He shook his head and drew a steadying breath. "Now," he said, regaining his composure. "Let us speak of the campaign. Of course, Ionian sentiment concerning Noxian occupation will be overwhelmingly... negative." He paused, his gaze flickering over each of the generals in turn. "As such, we must work doubly hard to ensure that our national word is upheld.

"We do not wish undue bloodshed upon the Ionian people. We do not seek to bring ruin to their lands." Bony fingers drummed in steady rhythm on the table. Pausing again, Swain allowed his proclamation to settle over those present, that they would be doubly receptive of his next assertion. "If anything, we will unify them, organize them from their disjointed state--and in doing so, put an end to the destruction warring tribes and sects have wrought upon one another." Here, the Grand General allowed a moment for input--either from Maria or another general--leaving details unspoken that he might first gauge the response of High Command.

The Grand General's blazing gaze swept from commander to commander as those around the table gave their insights. Withered fingers interlaced before him once more. As Agammond's speech drew to a close, Swain took a steady breath, preparing to begin his own. "Zed is a passionate adherent to his ideals--but he is not unreasonable. He could be enticed to cooperate with the Kinkou if it were to serve our ends--but that would leave us with a set of emergent issues. For instance, convincing the Kinkou that the Order of Shadow acts of its own good will?" A mirthless smirk crept up behind his shroud. "Unlikely. And dealing with potential skeptics of the Noxian-Ionian alliance within the both orders themselves." He shook his head. "Such ingrained sentiments of suspicion are... easily irritated."

The Master Tactician pursed his lips, pausing a moment to recall the Institute-sanctioned conference concerning Varus' statement of peace. January seemed so long ago. "Commanders, such allegiances are born out of necessity. And necessity there will be." He lifted a gnarled hand in signal to his Raedsel, one of whom strode forth to place a small black box upon the table before the Grand General. "Open it," the general commanded.

The lid lifted to reveal a small, seemingly unimpressive hextech device: a miniature oblong object with several dials and a screen. "Consider my words carefully. For the good of our country, the following information is classified, sensitive and does not leave this table." The room seemed to chill with The Master Tactician's grave address, his call for confidence. "This is but a prototype of the void-tracking technology we have set into production with our contacts in Zaun. The Noxian government has purchased both product and patent--and we now await the Machine Herald's optimization of this most advantageous addition to our arsenal."

Slowly, Swain lifted the device from its trappings and passed it to Darius for inspection, his extended hand visibly trembling as he held it out to his second. A two-fingered arcing gesture indicated that it should be passed around the table for examination by each general in turn. "Void energy signatures have been detected over Ionia. Reports containing duration, signal strength, exact coordinates and further relevant details will be issued by the end of next week." He lifted his chin in assessment of those around the table. No doubt, mere mention of the Void stirred uneasiness in them after the battles of Freljord--and not without good reason. "Keep in mind that we do not yet understand the implications of all the data gathered. But whether or not this discovery hints at a future attack over Ionia, the looming threat of such a thing will be of aid to us in inspiring collaboration between rival factions."

A purposeful pause brought silence over the table once more as the Grand General allowed another moment for the council to offer their thoughts. The presented advancements had come with little foreshadowing. Questions, whether voiced now or at a later date, would no doubt be numerous.

Zorn looked to Andre and raised an eyebrow, a small condescending smile on his lips,
"Have our Noxian forces enter Ionian territory? A great move that would be. They would see it as a threat and retaliate, or possibly see it as a guise to enter their lands using the void as an excuse. I highly doubt they would allow our forces into their lands. Also, the institute will want to flex their muscles and show that they still retain some power, attempt a show of force even to try make Noxus regret leaving the League's protection."

He taps his finger on the table, "If the void appear within Ionia, the institute's attention would be focused there, perhaps as a distraction even."

"So what, then, does that role entail? To put it simply, competence, altruism."

The statement rang in his head for several seconds. He was silent for the entire meeting since he wished to listen unless spoken to or if he had a truly important comment of his own. "I second that. Even after countless warfare, the common man will always look up to the strongest authority to protect them from the unknown. To those concerned about the current events, if the League begins to shown signs of weakness, then they will look up to the faction that has the power to deal with these threats. This has been the way of life ever since the birth of civilization. The weak will always be guided by the strong. By showing ourselves to be an antagonist against the Void threat, political figures of Ionia would be more inclined to at least tolerate, if not cooperate with us."

General Voxel leaned forward, clutching his hands together as his arms are supported by his elbows on the table. "However, that leaves us with being involved with the Institute once more. We can either express our empathy to the current issue, or avoid it all together, but warfare is a two-edged blade. In all of my years of being an officer, I have never fought in a war that ended quickly and quietly.

Voxel clutched three chess pieces that he brought along, the king, the queen, and the rook. He portrayed a gesture where the queen would move in front of the king and tip over the rook. "Let the queen's pen write where the king's sword cannot strike." After he finished sharing his words, he leaned upright once more to allow the meeting to continue. He hoped that his small metaphor would help explain what he wished to speak about.