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No swamp in the world was thicker than the tension created by putting Margaret and Elgriffin in the same room. Sitting on the opposite ends of a long table, the two silently looked at each other, waiting for the other to speak. All of Delphe Knights’ Castle knew them to be at odds with each other. At times, Elgriffin would voice an objection to something simply because it had come out of Margaret’s mouth. Not to be outdone, Margaret would repeatedly speak the words of Elion of persuade Elgriffin to look beyond her one-sided rants. Elgriffin would occasionally feign agreement with Margaret, all the while wishing she could rip out every last hair on her head. Jeronia, the Operations Strategist who sat between the two during such meetings, would watch helplessly and think through everything she had ever done in her life, trying to figure out what she had done to deserve being there.

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Jeronia often asked herself why she of all people was dragged into these meetings. She would do anything to prevent the Harpies from taking even one more of her comrades, but at times like this she often daydreamed of a Harpy whisking her away from her misery. Glancing at each of them, Jeronia gave one final thought towards how to leave this all too familiar scene. It was all about timing, a gut feeling that came with years of training and acting on instinct. She patiently waited for the right moment. She wondered if war had ever given her this much motivation to surpass her own limits. Jeronia ever so slightly lifted her bottom from her chair. Elgriffin noticed immediately.

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“Sit.”

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“Yes, ma’am!”

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Failure came sure and swift. Another all too familiar scene. Jeronia looked at Margaret, pleading for mercy with her eyes before immediately sitting back down and awaiting Elgriffin’s speech. She knew was in for a long day. After taking a deep breath, she settled down and tried to focus. The purpose of the meeting was to decide on how to deal with the villagers kidnapped by the Khuruto. But as the meeting progressed, the two could not seem to form an agreement on anything, and it appeared this meeting would again not produce any meaningful results.

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Margaret wanted to open a dialogue with the Khuruto since it was likely they had a reason to do what they did. She believed a rescue party would best be followed by non-violent negotiation. She believed a rescue party would best be followed by non-violent negotiation. Elgriffin thought Margaret’s idea to be sheer nonsense and that the Delphe Knights should properly respond to this as an act of intended aggression. She also insisted on a strike force to send a clear message to the Khuruto to never step out of line again. After much debating, Elgriffin sighed and lightly tapped her fingers on the table.

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“Operations Strategist Jeronia, who do you think is right?”

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This moment, more than any other, always reassured Jeronia that she was the most unfortunate Shai ever to live. She regretted every church service she ever skipped, and promised herself to not only attend, but not fall asleep during the service anymore. Steeped in self-pity, Jeronia could feel the acceptable space for silence dwindling, so she tried to look as pensive and thoughtful as possible. Just as she could feel Elgriffin’s patience reach a breaking point, the door to the conference room suddenly opened, revealing Captain Bredo Williar.

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The icy standoff between Margaret and Elgriffin finally came to an end. Jeronia thanked Elion for not abandoning her and looked at Captain Brego with sincere gratitude. In Jeronia’s eyes, the way Captain Brego purposefully kept his disheveled, silvery blonde hair made him resemble a lion sent by Elion himself.

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“So, what are we going to do about the situation?”

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“We decided to launch a strike force.”

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Elgriffin did not hesitate in her response to the Captain. Unphased, Margaret calmly added words of caution to Elgriffin’s proposal.

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“Elgriffin’s solution is not without reason, but we cannot let vengeance drive us a eschew diplomacy completely. They are also children of Elion. They must have a reason for what they did.”

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Elgriffin glared at Margaret with disgust. People like Margaret had become more commonplace when the Delphe Knights were annexed to the church. They considered prayer and faith paramount of problem solving, before even considering ideas with practical merit and reason.

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But any effort Elgriffin put in to understand Margaret’s position would be immediately replaced with indignation. What good is faith on the battlefield? Do these people think war is Elion’s will too? Is who lives and dies entirely dependent on a whim? Is everything that happens just supposed to happen, regardless of the effort and sacrifice put in to change one’s fate? Elgriffin questioned Maragret, to which she received a reply she wholly expected, but was nonetheless infuriating.

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“Elion sees all. Elion knows all. All that we’ve accomplished is but part of the process in becoming worthy children in the eyes of Elion.”

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Elgriffin did not give any more attention to it, directing her next statement to the Captain.

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“Captain, the harpies and the Khurutos have been acting erratically as of late. Intelligence has gone out the window. Talks are a luxury we cannot afford when dealing with such beasts. The lives of the hostages are at stake. The time to act is now!”

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“A strike force would sever what little good will remains between us. We should consider launching a rescue mission to…”

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“A rescue mission? The villagers taken hostage are nothing even close to combat ready. Even if we reach and rescue the villagers, how could we possibly extract them without any fighting? Get your head in reality for once. War is inevitable with these creatures.”

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“But we have yet to reveal why they’ve chosen to do what they’ve done. Perhaps they needed something from us or wanted to tell us something. If we strike now, we can never know.”

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Captain Brego Williar listened intently, then gestured them to stop. Elgriffin heaved a sigh and took a moment to calm down before continuing to speak.

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“they were the first to attack. We do not need to consider what they have to say.”

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Brego looked at Elgriffin once more with a nod. Another long meeting had finally concluded. Captain Brego gave Elgriffin the order to launch a strike force, with the rescue of hostages being set as the highest priority. Margaret was tasked with dealing with the Harpy attacks on the Delphe Knights’ Castle.

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“The grace of Elion shall be with you.”

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Elgriffin ignored Margaret and left the meeting room without another word. After Elgriffin left the room, Captain Brego spoke to Jeronia.

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“Such active discussion between the two should help strengthen their ties on the battlefield. Might not seem like it at first, but don’t you think Mragaret and Elgriffin are a good pair together?”

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What was the captain thinking? Jeronia almost let her thoughts get the best of her, but she quickly hid her shock with a smile. But perhaps the Captain’s indifference to clashes in personality is why the Delpha Knights have enjoyed otherwise solid relationships throughout.