Pragmatically

Once inside the tent, Alexia fades into the background, and if you didn't know where to look for you might easily think she had wandered away. The noise and commotion common to these types of command posts drops to near silence when you enter escorted by the two cavalry officers. At the center of the massive table stands a man in golden armor and a red cape whose piercing blue eyes take you in calmly before he lifts a hand in welcome.

"Your Majesty," his voice fills the tent leaving no doubt who is in charge. "Welcome to our council, we had all hoped that you would have been here all along, but we respect your integrity and are willing to listen to your proposals."

Your Riders would have been most useful in the aerial battles for control of the skies above Athenapolis, and Kalion's highly trained troops would certainly be useful too, but as you made clear yesterday, conquering and looting this city is not your primary reason for being here.

You bow gracefully to the group assembled at the table; you recognize several of the generals from past campaigns and the High Priestess of Helios whose maternal anger is what motivated this unlikely collection. Two seats from the Lord Marshal sits a crop-haired man in the colors of the city of Apollo, the man doesn't look like a traitor, but he is certainly in the right place to destroy this loose alliance if he makes the right play. Perhaps the least friendly are a pair of gold-robed merchants who are present at the table to represent the interests of the Slaver's Guild.

"Thank you for taking the time to meet with me, my Lords, your Holiness." You pause as you register the cool looks appraising you. After your declaration that you have no intention to join in the sacking of Athenapolis you can understand their unfriendly welcome.

What you really want to talk about is the fact that agents from Apollopol are at this very minute planning to destroy the coalition, but sitting on Lord Raxius' left arm is a representative of that very city. Sadly, you have no real proof to back your claims and the one man that might provide some valuable information is by now several leagues away on the back of a swift-flying drake.

Instead you begin with the appeal you had originally planned about the dangers of replacing one great evil with the rebirth of a new more powerful city eager to reclaim it's position of glory and power. But you know compassion will not stir the hearts of these people, especially not the High Priestess of Helios who still burns with vengeful hatred against the city of Athena, come what may.

As it is, in order to have any sway on this assembled coalition you will have to channel the aspect of your parents you probably dislike the most.

"Lord Marshall Raxius, I know that I might have accidentally disrespected your authority by intruding here unannounced and uninvited, and for that I offer you my apologies. But believe me that I have a more grounded reason than mere self-righteousness." You speak diplomatically. Stroke their egos, appeal to their arrogance, use their own personality flaws against them. If there is ever a time your father and mother agree on something, one of them is on that lesson about the base nature of humans.

"Is that so... Then please, do speak, Your Majesty. Explain why you seek to prevent that this siege and sacking beyond your own compassion." Raxius speaks stoically. From where you stand, you can see that Raxius is a 'stereotypical' type of Polares man. A gruff, steadfast soldier, but also one who doesn't mind letting his impulses and bloodthirst get ahead of him. As a man of the city of Ares, there is no doubt he probably thinks even less of you for being an unorthodox son of Ares, no matter who your mother is.

"Lord Raxius, I know the siege and sack of Athenapolis are important to this alliance and to maintain the soldiers' morale, but let me ask you this. When do you think that Athenapolis has been sacked enough?" You ask.

"Is it not obvious, Your Majesty?" It is the stern-faced priestess who answers for Raxius. "Until there is nothing left of the corruption that fills Athenapolis. Until we have remove all the rot from the city and burn her halls all down to the ground. Only then we stop and allow the city to rebuild itself." The High Priestess of Helios speaks with venom in her voice. Venom that you have hoped to come at you.

"And who would rebuild the city, Your Holiness? Tell me, who will be left in Athenapolis to rebuild it when all her loyal citizens are dead or enslaved and only the vultures are left to pick off the remains?" You counter, using the High Priestess's venom to your own advantage. On the other side of the tent, Raxius' eyes show he starts to understand the point

"Are you saying that if we let it be, Athenapolis won't change even after we are done with it and it has rebuilt itself?" Raxius asks.

"Lord Raxius, let us not delude ourselves. It took the direct intervention of my father for Kalion to ban slavery inside the city. Do you think a simple sack would be enough to change Athenapolis with how deeply entrenched slavery is in it? Come another 30 years and I am convinced the United Armies will stand here again besieging Athenapolis anew. Maybe with different people but still for the same purpose." You answer. Indeed, you can see that Raxius agrees with your sentiment. Who can guarantee in a few decades down the line, some Athenapolis slavers won't just kidnap the daughter of some other High Priestess or princess of a royal house, enslaving her and selling her naked from the auction blocks. Then they will just repeat this all over again.

"Then we shall just burn it all down and leave it be! There will be no problem if there is no more Athenapolis!" The High Priestess shouts, surprising everyone inside the tent, even the gold-robed slavers, with her utter disrespect to Athena. While the disrespect to your mother makes your blood boil, your Ares side can't help but to latch on the weak point the High Priestess has freely given you.

"Are you saying we should erase the city of Athena from existence, Your Holiness?" You speak simply. At once the High Priestess realizes her blunder, but it is too late, the ball is now in your court. Even Raxius seems to be impressed by your diplomatic feat.

"His Majesty Briareos' concern is valid." Raxis begins. For a moment you are surprised Raxius somehow knows about your full first name, when there is only one person in this world who call you by that. That makes you suspicious, is your father somehow in contact with Raxius?

"Say we win against Athenapolis now, let it rebuild, let a new class of aristocrats and merchants fill her rank once more. Who can give us a guarantee that this will not happen again?" Turning towards the representative of the Slaver Guilds, Raxius asked. "Is there anything you can add, my friends?"

"Thank you for sharing your concern for Athenapolis, Your Majesty. We sincerely appreciate it." The tremble in the tone of the **** Guildsman who rises to meet your challenge is impossible to miss. He clearly realizes that unless he can prove the slavers of Athenapolis won't step out of line again, there might be no future at all for their kind in Athenapolis. Although the United Armies still have a great chance in winning another war against Athenapolis in a few decades, no war is still much better than a war. War costs lives, affects trade and economy, and overall can be more harmful than profitable.

"I-I b-believe that all parties have much to learn from each other, and as a gesture of good faith I have prepared a gift for you so that you might better explore the position from our p-perspective." With a clap of his oiled hands he summons forward two dark-haired women bound with chains around their wrists and ankles. The timid young women has been stripped of their veils and outer robes and you hear a murmur of appreciation as the two are brought forward. Their undergarments flow over the sisters' young bodies like water and you can see every feminine curve of their figures. "A-allow me to present the twin daughters of the House Iraklidis. The pair were found hiding in the wine cellar of Lord Micras' estates and were brought to our attention by the fine fighting men of Polhermes." The sisters are truly stunning, and just about every man in the tent (and some of the women too) are staring at the pair of trembling brunettes with undisguised desire.

"N-normally, under these circumstances, my Guild would be presenting you with highly trained ****-girls with the skills needed to please a man in every possible way -" he looks at your raised eyebrow on that idea and hurries along, "W-We all know that His Majesty has strong views on this matter, so instead of slaves, I am here to offer you the lovely twin daughters of one Lord Micras." The pair step forward and lift their tear-filled eyes shyly tugging at their skimpy garments that have been artfully snipped and torn to provide glimpses of their youthful bodies when they move. The silver necklaces that encircle the girls' throats, while much finer than the crude shackles locked tightly around the pair's slender wrists and ankles, are clearly **** collars no matter how beautifully fashioned. The sweating Guildsman allows everyone to examine the twins for the space of four or five breaths before turning his attention back to you.

"We all realize the import of what His Majesty Kalion has said, but at the same time, we are just merchants doing our own business." Licking his dry lips, the so-called merchant continues. "P-please understand, Sire, like you we are a neutral party in this conflict. W-we have no direct control over the raiders from Athenapolis or any other city-state, a-and sometimes they get overzealous, but it is our role to manage the captured prizes with compassion and humanity." The Guildsman opens his ring-covered hands and shrugs dramatically. "Just as my guild is present to help this coalition manage the complexities that come with the capture of this many prizes, so we serve in every city of Helena except of course your own, Your Highness. We provide a much needed service that benefits all." You wonder if the **** slaves that arrive at Kalion's gates seeking asylum would agree with that bold declaration but the gold-robed slaver has not not finished.

"Even the Slaver Guilds have their own code of conduct, and we realize that we have b-been badly misunderstood by you and your city. We deeply regret this rift, and as such, offer these two girls for Your Majesty as an olive branch. It is our humble attempt to show our sincerity in changing for the better. I am sure Your Majesty will know better than anyone the best way to treat these sisters." Although the Slaver's eyes meet yours with bland sincerity, you can hear the chuckling of the representatives seated at the High Command table. Your reputation as a boy-king with no experience with females is clearly the source of the muted laughter.

Your eyebrow doesn't lower a bit as you hear the contradictive rhetoric of the Guildsman. It's essentially a bribe, but not just that, it is a trap that will bite you no matter what you do. If you refuse the twins, then you will seem like the self-righteous oddity the assembled representatives believe you are, a boy who understands nothing of what men want. Furthermore, refusing the gift would undermine your argument that there should be compassion to protect the youngest and most **** victims of Athenapolis.

If you accept these beautiful twins into your care you will be seen as a hypocrite. Regardless of how publicly you free these two, men such as these will all believe that you accepted this beautiful young noblewomen for the purpose of despoiling their innocent young bodies. It's like a tug of war where winning or losing will end up in both parties dead. But then again, that's one of your father's favorite choice of sport.