"Pregnant." King Dorian leaned against the closed door of the private room located at the rear of the council chamber and regarded the royal physician, Lord Hewen, with dazed eyes. "But... the queen cannot be pregnant. You yourself claimed her past that age two years ago."

"Yes... well..." Lord Hewen scratched his head. "I would say I must have been mistaken, except that the Lady of every noble House—at least, all the ones I've seen here in the city— appears to be in the same condition... including grandmothers much advanced into their elder years." The physician held out his palms in a bewildered gesture. "It's the oddest case I've ever seen, Sire. Inexplicable, really. As if the gods themselves decided to waive the laws of mortal reproduction so that the head of every noble House in Celieria could have a child."

Dorian groped for the back of the chair behind him to steady his wobbling legs. "How far along is she—are they?"

"Well, that's rather odd, as well. Sire. I can't really be completely certain, of course, with ladies who have passed beyond their ... er ... female times ... but as far as I can ascertain, they are all about as far along as the younger ladies who discovered their own good news last month."

"I see." Last month, every noble lady of childbearing years who had attended a certain infamous dinner at the royal palace had been discovered pregnant. Glowingly so, in fact. Though considering the seven bells of weave-driven mating that had followed that dinner, the resulting pregnancies had come as no surprise.

These, however, did.

"Thank you, Lord Hewen." Dorian managed to speak with some semblance of normalcy. "I appreciate your taking the time to deliver these welcome tidings in person."

"It is my greatest pleasure, Sire." The doctor bowed. "This is nothing short of a miracle, Sire. A miracle straight from the hands of the gods."

"Straight from the hands of someone, that's certain," Dorian muttered beneath his breath.

The physician frowned. "I beg your pardon. Your Majesty?”

“Nothing, Lord Hewen. Would you please instruct Davis to tell the queen I will see her soon? Thank you." Not waiting for the physician to depart, Dorian slipped back into the adjoining room where Rain Tairen Soul was just informing the gathered lords about the Mage's Army of Darkness and the planned targets of their main attacks.

"The army that reshaped the world?" one of the lords repeated in a disbelieving tone. "But Celieria's greatest historians and military experts have long dismissed those accounts as myth."

"Then Celieria's greatest historians and military experts were wrong," Rain replied bluntly. "Too many ancient Fey scrolls speak of the Hand of Shadow who created the Army of Darkness and nearly destroyed the world. Many of the details have been lost over the millennia, but we know his defeat ushered in the First Age. Apparently, this new High Mage intends to bring those ancient legends back to life."

"The Army of Darkness was said to be hundreds of thousands strong."

"Millions."

Lord Barrial's expression went grim and hard as stone. "Even if we put a sword in the hand of every Celierian from boy to elder, the entire kingdom doesn't hold enough men to face such numbers."

"No one kingdom does, nor ever has," Rain agreed. "Not even the Fading Lands. Which means we need allies— including as many of the magical races as we can convince to join us. That is why the Feyreisa and I will be traveling to Danael and Elvia once we're done here. Hawksheart rebuffed our last request for aid, but we'll do everything in our power to change his mind." Dorian stepped farther into the room and cleared his throat. "I dispatched ambassadors to the mortal kings weeks ago. They are already in negotiations with twelve potential allies."

"Time is of the essence," Rain said. "According to the information we obtained, the Eld strike Celieria on the first day of Seledos—by land at Kreppes and by sea here in Celieria City."

"Seledos!" Lord Swan exclaimed. "But that's less than a month from now! I doubt half the kingdoms could send their armies in time."

"That is why a dozen fast ships will set sail within the bell carrying Fey Water and Air masters who can help speed the arrival of all allied troops," Dorian said. "And that is why I have summoned you, my lords. You either have estates directly in the path of the anticipated Eld invasion routes, or you have military expertise that is essential to planning the best defense against this invasion."

"This is a matter that requires the attention of as many of the council as are still present in the city," one of the lords said. "Certainly all of the Twenty. Where are Great Lords Sebourne and Ponsonney?”

"Excluding them was my decision," Dorian admitted. "I doubted Sebourne or Ponsonney would have submitted to a test for Mage Marks, which means they would not have been privy to the information the Tairen Soul just shared with you. Nor should you share what you now know with them. We will come up with our plan. We will deploy troops according to that plan. But the intelligence we have and where it came from are secrets that cannot leave this room. Is that understood? Nor shall any details of our plan be discussed with anyone who has not been verified clean of Mage Marks—not even members of your own family. Not for any reason."

He let his gaze move slowly from lord to lord, hoping to impress upon them his sincerity while also looking for signs of dissent. Finding none of the latter, he said, "Very good. My lords, we are at war. We must accept the possibility that some of our own nobles may have been compromised by the Eld, and we must guard sensitive intelligence against all possible leaks. Do not even discuss it with your wives."