Alberico, the Malespero aide, Louis, a Malespero Armsman arrive, following Pasquale.

The war room of the academy has been decked out for the party; there's a great deal of (simple but filling) food and a wide variety of "light" drinks (which basically means there's no hard alcohol on offer, and eleventy billion kinds of tea). The tables and chairs have been arranged in a sort of circle, close enough to allow for conversation provided nobody mumbles. Good for discussion. There are a collection of maps to be used for discussion, a number of tiny little wooden figures, but nothing is set up as of yet. People are still filing in, after all.

It is with Princess Alis that Kael makes his entry. The young man is speaking with the Valardin High Lord, his voice pitched low and his expression relatively serious. Given that this is the Keaton, to be fair, it might not be so serious of topics that they discuss. Just more often than not the Marquis is more solemn rather than not. He pauses at the entry, inclining his head in a most humble of ways toward the Academy Chair, Natalia. His words? "A hunt," he says. Just THAT serves as his greeting. Perhaps add to it a twitch of his lips. To Alis, he queries, "Where to?" with a tip of his head in the general direction of seating.

Veronica arrives, offers a smile and wave of greeting to Natalia, then to her cousin and Alis. She;ll then survey the current state of the room. Right. The blonde will move along the circumference to outflank and seize some tea and a plate with a few finger sandwiches on it before moving to a seat near wherever Kael and Alis end up, deftly balancing food and drink as she settles in.

You might think the Valardin Highlord is in her armor, but no really! Alis is actually in a slightly armored dress instead this time. She still, as always, carries her weapon with her though. And, has an equally solemn expression as she enters with Kael. "Natalia." Making sure to spot and greet their hostess first, she dips her head politely. "How about over there?" she suggests to Kael and flashes a brief smile towards Veronica when she moves to be sure she is sitting nearby them.

Cerys makes her entrance and inclines her head politely. She makes her way to a comfortable seating area, but not first before stopping for some tea.

"I am not hosting it," answers Natalia, primly. "I don't have enough horses. I want you to do it." When she spots Veronica she brightens considerably, unwrapping a hand from her teacup so she can wave. Alis's greeting gets a bright smile in return and she bends into a half-bow. "Highlord Alis," she greets, quite cheerfully. She does trail a few steps behind Kael and Alis to conclude for Kael, "Or you could tell Vee to do it." So helpful. Especially since she doesn't wait for a response, swanning off towards those just now arriving.

3 Thrax Guards, 1 Thrax Elite Guards, Amaryllis, an overly eager assistant arrive, following Cassima.

Romulius Blackshore arrives alone, garbed in the traditionally austere fashions that the Mourning Isles are known for. There's a quick sweep of cerulean over the Academy's current arrangement, recognition flashing at a few familiar faces. There's no immediate move towards any of the provided fare, long strides instead carrying him towards the Valardin contingent to offer a quick dip of head and shoulders into a bow. "Your Grace, my lady, Cousin." To Kael more directly, then, "It's been far too long - should you find the time, we should catch up." He must not mean *now*, because there's another polite nod before he strides away to take a seat at a presently-empty table.

Romulius has joined the a walnut wooden table stained a red-brown.

2 Prodigal reavers, Mykael arrive, following Haakon.

Aethan is quietly seated on one of the sofas, his arm swung back over it, the other holding onto his 'light' drink. His gaze finds Romulius, though Aethan doesn't immediately flourish to invite anyone over to sit with him. he's sort of in a mood, one that falls toward serious and note quite open to social jubilations.

Raimon enters not long after Natalia, circumambulates the room, and then goes Scouting for tea. Recon / Intel Tragedy strikes when he arrives at the tea tray only to find himself outnumbered eleventy billion - to - one. *pause* Upon a quick assessment, Raimon absconds with a hibiscus passionfruit herbal, evades the rest, and goes to a spot next to Romulius at the near - empty table.

"I rather thought that might be the case," Kael says gravely in response to Natalia. "I was not certain entirely though - and rather obtuse, though not on purpose." He flashes a rueful smile to the Chair and is moving to escort Alis to one of the tables near. Given that Natalia pointed her out, Kael is greeting Veronica soon enough. "Cousin! What do you say, shall we host a hunt? Where you pull me out of my paperwork and lead the charge." With that other cousin drawing forth, Kael dips his head politely to the Blackshore. "Indeed. Keaton Hall is near always open to kin."

Arriving just a few moments late, Cassima Thrax slips into the room with her little entourage and in the company of Haakon Eswynd. She offers a nod towards those she recognizes, dipping into a brief curtsy before Alis. She darts a glance around and murmurs, "Choice of seating, my lord?" This aimed towards Haakon with a lift of a brow.

Veronica has joined the a comfortable ivory leather and mahogany wooden sofa.

Alis has joined the a comfortable ivory leather and mahogany wooden sofa.

Kael has joined the a comfortable ivory leather and mahogany wooden sofa.

Valdemar also arrives alone, other than the retinue of guards that he left outside. Dipping his head slightly toward Romulius, Natalia, and Kael in greeting, he then makes his way over to where Lord Blackshore is sitting to settle at the same table.

Valdemar has joined the a walnut wooden table stained a red-brown.

Veronica brightens at the prospect of a hunt, certainly. "Why yes, we should. The spring weather has been glorious lately, it'd be a shame to let it go to waste. Paperwork is a curse upon the spirit on nice days." She'll emphasize this with a sip of her tea as people settle in.

Pasquale arrived quietly and spends much of the first few minutes simply watching people take up their seats. Eventually though he moves to join Aethan at his table.

Pasquale has joined the a comfortable ivory leather and mahogany wooden sofa.

"You can hunt down someone else to deal with papercuts and paperwork if nothing else." Alis joins in on the hunting torment, if that's indeed what it is. "Lord Romulius." He is greeted politely in turn, as is Cassima. Both offered what passes for warmth in her smile these days. "Paperwork is a curse on /any/ day." she adds, after Veronica.

Cerys has joined the a walnut wooden table stained a red-brown.

Raimon has joined the a walnut wooden table stained a red-brown.

The arrival of Raimon and Valdemar see a pleasant smile paint itself on Romulius's face, a dip of head offered to each man in turn, though gaze drifts to meet Aethan's and offer a dip of head to the perpetually surly-looking Duke-Regent before attention returns to his table, rising to give a quick bow. "Your Highness, Duke Grimhall." There's a quick return to his seat, gesturing for them to take their own before he adds, "It's always a pleasure. I trust the evening to be an enlightening one, and all the better with such company."

Cassima has joined the a comfortable ivory leather and mahogany wooden sofa.

In turn to the greeting from the Grimhall, Kael is inclining his head quite deeply. He keeps his voice pitched relatively low to address his two companions, though from the general pitch and commentary, it is likely regarding the potential hunt.

There's a beaming smile sent in Valdemar's direction as Natalia circles back towards the stage. People are watched (and offered nods of greeting as necessary) as they get settled in, and then the Whisper is moving up to the little podium on the stage. "First of all, I wanted to thank everyone for being here tonight. We will be hosting these meetings regularly again, I am happy to say. As you all know, there is a great deal of work to be done. Our enemy fights with tricks none of us have known anything about, and the only way we are going to continue to successfully combat them is to learn from our encounters -- even the ones we seem to win. That is what brings us here. I hope that we will share what we can, stories or tricks learned, ways to counter strategies that were seen on the field -- or even a discussion of those strategies. Please understand that we will be employing a great deal of metaphor; if you have difficulty believing what is spoken, do not--concern yourself about it overmuch."

She pauses there, then adds, "I would also caution anyone against sharing anything too personal. Do not give up any secrets; this is not the place for such." As she makes the notation though, the guards step out, pulling the door closed behind them. All that enter at this point are preceded by two very loud knocks and then a ten second wait or so.

Haakon mutters in passing to Romulius, "You're a fucking optimist, this day," with a dry curl bending his lip. The reaver has at least enough courtesy to acknowledge the other Isles lords present before going silent when the hostess speaks her welcome. He shakes his head to Cassima, having no strong preference.

Falling silent for Natalia's introduction to the evening, Cassima flicks a glance up to Haakon and gives a small nod. Leading him towards the sofa where Aethan and Pasquale can be found to secure seating for the discussion.

Haakon has joined the a comfortable ivory leather and mahogany wooden sofa.

Cerys sips from her tea quietly as she directs her attention to Natalia. She leans back and crosses her legs under the table comfortably.

"It is good to see you as well, Lord Blackshore," Valdemar responds briefly, but politely, to Romulius, and then bows his head to the arriving Thrax Prince before turning his attention fully to the event's hostess when she speaks up. He nods slightly when she mentions more regular meetings, seeming to approve of that much, at least.

Alis can't quite help her slightly wry smile at Natalia's warnings and inferences, and even lifts up her cup of strong black tea in toast to her for the delicate phrasing used. "I think - I hope - we can all agree that in each large scale battle that has occurred, the enemy has displayed a ... wider range of offensive abilities. Might I suggest beginning with what people saw were the best ways to counteract those advantages?" she wonders, looking first at the Whisper for approval on that topic.

Kael looks up from his side conversation when the introduction is made for the evening. He straightens as well - and to be fair, given his Oathlands origin, his posture is typically on point. That is how focused he happens to be on Natalia. When Alis speaks, his focus shifts to her and his head dips once by way of agreement. "It certainly would help for those both in the tents," the command tents, "and those outside to have a full understanding." More lowly he mutters something to himself, though "chaotic" is audible in the mix.

There's a quick nod of her head given when Alis looks her way. "Yes; that's a fantastic place to start," Natalia says. "Everyone, please take your turn to speak, but there is no need to wait to be called upon if you have something to share. We have a lot of information to cover, and if we do not discuss everything today, we will have another opportunity soon." That said, she's slipping down from the stage and moving to collect her tea again.

Veronica nibbles on one of her little finger sandwiches as Natalia makes her introduction, then swivels her attention over to Alis as the high lord speaks. "It wasn't entirely clear what, but something was obviously affecting the enemy mages in the sea battle. I don't know if that was caused by some hidden action taken, or was the Arvani primum rapidly destroying them."

Romulius flashes a wry grin along with a half-shrug to Haakon, clearly in high enough spirits to take the comment in stride and find amusement in the Eswynd's almost-greeting. Any motion he might have made to stand and offer a bow to Cassima is stifled as Natalia begins her address of those assembled, the courtesy replaced instead with a quick nod and a muted "Your Highness." Attention towards the Whisper and the chamber at large, gaze falling upon Alis and her suggestion as the conversation begins. "While I would never describe the fleet the Eurusi sailed with as mundane, I don't believe they even managed to bring the full of their 'abilities' to bear. I don't know that we can expect to have the assistance of the Scales in every such future conflict - they contributed to their sorcerers' faltering, even if other forces were acting with the same objective." The last spoken in Veronica's direction, to offer additional context for her musing.

Haakon exhales tersely, and rumbles aloud, "I know not what were done, but the battle in the bay were half eon by the time their previous Taskmasters first tried to do aught. Because their scouting were weaker than ours, we caught them with half their strength at anchor, they didn't support their rear guard despite a bloody brilliant effort from their Shavs, and we hit their main fleet at anchor before they could order a battle line. None of that were magic, and it's damned good to be reminded that we need tend such things bloody well, beyond wondering after the wild shit."

"I didn't get to see many of the enemy mages in action, personally, but I'm guessing it was a combination of the poisoned primum on our side of the ocean, the friendly mages some of our fleets had with them, and other precautions I've heard of our people taking that was hampering them. And the only one of those I'd count on with any reliability is the poison," Valdemar suggests in response to the talk so far of various theories as to why the Eurusi were unable to bring their full force to bear. He then nods at what Haakon says and adds, "Overwhelming force against mages before they can get going also seems to work well, when it can be managed. We might not always have that advantage on our side either, though."

Oh boy. As the heart of the topic surfaces, Natalia goes still for a moment, paused in a glance down at her tea. It's a few moments of hesitation before she exhales a breath as a sort of chuckle, moving to circle over to where Kael, Alis, and Veronica are sitting to settle in nearby. There's a dry comment made to the three of them, but it's quiet enough to not carry. She sips her tea, turns her attention to listening. Wiggles her fingers in another greeting towards the Grim Duke. Not very dignified. She does NOT speak up and interrupt the discussion that has started, though.

Natalia has joined the a comfortable ivory leather and mahogany wooden sofa.

Kael's turning to focus on one cousin and then the other, glancing back and forth between the pair there. It does not take long at all until he murmurs his apologies and eases up from his spot at the sofa to acquire some of those light refreshments. He brings the whole tea pot and servings back with him (sorry Natalia) but there are plenty of others there. He begins to pass out tea cups as he listens. He makes a quiet comment to those that are near.

Raimon is taking notes, drawing diagrams, and making sketches. . . all on sheets of parchment that, for some reason, do appear to have scraps of poetrey written on the reverse sides. He writes out a question on one of these sheets and looks to Valdemar for details or confirmation about something in the notes . . .

Pasquale lifts his head to comment. "I agree with what Haakon said. They clearly assumed things would be different and thus we caught them unprepared."

"It seems a bit of a ... conundrum, doesn't it. On one hand, poisoned primum might provide us an unrealiable and chaotic defense... /but/ a defense of sorts that we may need. On the other hand, it prevents us from other things." Alis smile is pure wry there. "We probably won't have some of these advantages in the next big battle we face. Not surprise, not poisoned Primum. And not an abundance of people willing to act as shields against an onslaught of unconventional tactics." she narrates, trying to piece everyone's comments together in a more cohesive understand (to her mind, at least), with quiet commentary offered at the couch where she's seated.

"Certainly a lesson in keeping up with basic doctrine and not chasing miracles." Veronica agrees, before sipping more tea. "One thing that makes the Eurusi terrifying is how little we know about them in some ways, and the difficulties of finding out. And now they know some of our advantages, such as they are."

Raimon writes down: "Eurusi mages have power of flight, wings. Implication: enhanced detection range, scouting, negation of cover" in response to a quick quiet confirmation with Valdemar. He doesn't write down the other bit.

Carrick waited while the guards knocked on the door. he shifted his large frame from foot to foot, actually reaching up and brushing his hair back into a semblance of a kempt appearance. he smiled to the guards as they waited. after a few moments, the door opened and he entered quietly. well.. as quietly as a man of his size could be. he searched for a sturdy look seat, smiling and tip toing to sit down. he would offer a warm smile and wave to any who looked at him as he listened attentively

"While I can't imagine any foreign power will cease underestimating the strength and resolve of the Compact, I don't think any here would suggest expecting to face every foe at half strength. It's clear enough that their Anointed Masters bled as easily as most normal men. They seemed to be brought to their knees in short order once we managed to engage their sorcerers directly. *That* certainly is a strategy to carry forward in the future, though I don't know if we can access them as readily on land as we could at sea." Romulius purses his lips into a moment's thought before he adds, "They've had far longer to hone their ability in waging wars with the elements of magic present than we ever will. Cleansed primum or not, we need to draw on some sort of foreign knowledge to close that gap, as we did with their ships." Caravels, he means, no doubt.

Haakon adds after a short 'wtf??' stare at Pasquale and Cassima, "As well, any fleet that put caravels to battle, don't fucking forget your light support craft. Without a picket line of longships in front of them, that fireship ploy of the Crimson Crosses would have royally fucked a formation of caravels or dromonds."

Raimon adds a footnote to his previous entry: Erusi mages, wi. wings as a bat has . . . Raimon crosses out 'birds' and keeps writing notes. Raimon opens a new subject heading: "Foreign allies / Foreign magical knowledge" and waits for more data

Valdemar is quietly conferring with Prince Raimon here and there, even as he follows the larger conversation. "Knowledge of the enemy has often been scarce in the last several large engagements the Compact has faced. And often what /is/ discovered ends up...compartmentalized among us in ways that are not useful. Which hurts us worse when you consider our lack of a central command structure for our forces. It prevents what might be vital knowledge from being disseminated to those who might need it," the Duke points out. Taking a moment to wave at Natalia, he goes on to add, "Though I don't imagine we will work out answers to the most important questions here tonight, we should probably at least try to identify them so that we can work on them. And one of them is definitely 'how can we better fight against mages'. Because I doubt that Pieros will be the last time we are facing them."

Raimon writes down: Anti - Mage Tactics. (1) [space] (2) . . . and looks around to see if anyone has ideas.

Carrick spies Raimon and steals across the room to sidle up besides the man with a questioning point to the spot next to him. "do ye mind?"

Raimon slides over a seat so that Carrick can have one. Quietly. Without speaking. He's pretty good at doing things like that, and in that way.

Carrick smiles, dropping into the seat. he looked at the one speaking with Raimon, bowing his head and speaking softly, "Ahm Carrick, nice to meet ye." he looked back toward the larger conversation and fell quiet, listeningg

Natalia listens quietly for a fair amount of time, her attention flitting from person to person. "I think the question of how to better fight mages is going to be one we talk about for -- quite some time. Does anyone else have anything that worked for them our their groups on the field, particularly against the strange things? Or does anyone want to share a summary of what happened from their perspective, so perspectives can be compared?"

"I suspect the only answer to the magic defense question" Pasquale says "For now at least, is preparation."

Raimon looks up from note - taking as by now he's all caught up. The lag in the conversation, the lack of ideas to counter mages . . . well, this does indeed look worrisome. Raimon writes down 'prepararion. He thinks, writes '?pre-emptive strike?' *tap tap tap* he taps th quill on the blotter '?covert means?' Hm. Well, how do the Eurusi do it? He writes: 'Known Wurusi v Eurusi Wars:' and makes a space for research later

Veronica rubs a hand at the back of her neck as she speaks up again. "For me, it was a new experience being on the water in the first place, but the mobility was refreshing in being able to approach the enemy more quickly. I was wounded fairly badly in the fighting and so I just observed what followed for much of the fight--I've never seen anything like it before or since, but even the regular Eurusi are fanatical and seasoned, and don't like to surrender."

Alis has left the a comfortable ivory leather and mahogany wooden sofa.

Sir Rhys, a Valardin Knight have been dismissed.

Laurene, a military adjutant have been dismissed.

10 Valardin Knights have been dismissed.

Romulius gives a hushed contribution of his own to the conversation between Raimon and Valdemar, a dip of head given in greeting to Carrick as he joins them at the table. At Natalia's question, there's a scan of the room to listen for others' contributions. Electing to offer his own, he speaks up, "Foreign aid isn't something we will be able to go without any time in the near future, even if we desire self-reliance. More practically, though, the success in Pieros was decided prior to the engagement itself. Captain Arterius's contribution in fragmenting their forces was key to that, along with the decision to select the Bay as the battlefield. While caution is always necessary, when we're dealing with forces beyond our own understanding and ability to replicate, decisiveness and aggression help to level the field."

A pause, before the Blackshore adds, "As for defense against their magic, as I understand it, there are rites beyond those of cleansing primum known to some in our Compact that are capable of reacting to offensive sorceries. They're costly, I assume, or else simply unreliable if knowledge of them isn't becoming more widespread."

Natalia asks of Veronica, "When you say that even the regular soldiers don't like to surrender, what do you mean? What did that look like?"

Carrick listened intently, head nodding slightly at some of the points raised. the talk of magic and mages, he looked around the room, almost desperate for someone to propose an idea or solution. with no clear solution, he simply sighed softly. he glanced over at raimon making notes and smiled, leaning closer. "ye'll have to let me copy those later"

"They...would just keep fighting. If one would pause when they were outnumbered they'd still press forward. They wouldn't give up, even when it meant death, most of the time." Veronica's face is somber as she repeats this, and she clasps both hands around her teacup. Even if it's war, there's no reason to waste one's life when the outcome is decided.

Valdemar inclines his head slightly at what Romulius says of rituals to defend against magic. "I've heard the same, even seen the results of those rituals. But I am not sure what is involved with them, or how reliable they are. Only that they /can/ definitely work. Unfortunately, I am not the one with the answers as to how practical it will be to include them in any sort of widespread battle planning," the Duke affirms. He then quiets down and listens with keen interest to the talk of the rank and file Eurusi warriors that were faced at Pieros.

Raimon scratches a question onto a sheet of parchment and passes it to Veronica

Veronica scribbles back, very much writing notes in class, and passes the parchment back to Raimon.

Cerys has left the a walnut wooden table stained a red-brown.

"Thank you," Natalia tells Veronica for her answer, her expression descending into thought briefly before she shakes it off. There's another look over those assembled before she suggests, "With just getting back in the swing of things, perhaps we should call tonight's discussion -- if no one has anything further to add? I'm planning on hosting another one very soon, but that one is going to be an experiment. We will be taking a practical problem and attempting to solve it; we need to open up a line of communication to somewhere, and there are a list of obstacles preventing it. Aside from that, we will get together to discuss things that should be shared with other -- combatants, in the Compact in a few weeks."

Hearing what will take place at the next meeting puts a brief, wry smile on Valdemar's face. "That should prove an interesting exercise. Hopefully I will be here to see how it turns out," he remarks, then stands up and stretches a bit since the meeting seems to be coming to a close.

"I have high hopes," notes Natalia for Valdemar as she too rises. The cup of tea is set aside, and she steps a few paces away from where she's been sitting. "Thank you everyone for coming; please feel free to stay and be social, eat; have something to drink. Chat."