To whom it may concern. (Draken, Nerissa, Vrede)

The royal palace of the Seawings was a magnificent sight to behold. Despite having been there more than the average Seawing due to her post of emissary, the sight of it never failed to take Alminia's breath away. The rich smooth seastone lined with bright corals held a good distraction for her nervous mind as she slowly traversed the halls. This was her first real day on her new job as royal adviser. The summons had reached her only a short while ago, and she had left with a great deal of haste. However, she found herself moving quite slowly as she approached her destination. She was due for a meeting with the king.

There was no question that she was qualified for this post. Her years of foreign affairs ensured that. She knew that. Yet her nerves would not listen to reason, and her pace remained slow. It was the doors to the meeting place that broke her out of her trance. The summons had mentioned something about the Seawing border, but it wasn't entirely clear. She wondered if any others received the same invitation. With a deep breath she knocked on the door and entered. 'You can do this.' she thought to herself.

"Good evening your majesty, I received your summons and arrived as soon as I could. What can I do for you?"

(OOC: Going to assume Vrede got the same letter notifying her of her new position the same day as Alminia lol)

IC: What in the world had she done to make the gods angry with her?

Vrede had not been expecting anyone to give her a job in the tribe let alone a serious and high position as a royal adviser. She was reading the summons for probably the eightieth time today and was still shocked at it. Somehow in whatever strange way she had made some kind of impression to someone high up. It was the only way she could imagine herself receiving such a job.

Her thoughts turned to her time with Arkhor. She had no idea about his connection to Draken yet, but he had been a part of the seawing tribe for a long time before he became a full god. She could remember when they were both a bit younger having seen him around but never socialized with Arkhor or anyone else for that matter. Maybe he had put in a good word for her after their recent history with the strange fish and dying corals? Either way Vrede was furious. She would have to get someone to care for her gardens while she was away doing her duty for the tribe. She considered any higher position as an honor and would do it without complaint, but she would certainly give the new gardener an earful if they did something wrong with the plants and corals.

The palace stood in all its glory as she entered and swam through the water easily. Her fins shuttered as she steered her way through the halls and into the main room where the meeting would take place. The female slows herself to a stop just behind Alminia catching only the last "What can I do for you?" that the other women asks their king. Vrede dips her head and bows to Draken then stands there patiently waiting to be called upon after he finishes with Alminia.

//Bumping for Nerissa, once she posts then I will post//

//sorryyy//

The former guardian was swimming through the halls of the place with the ease and upmost confidence, throughout the last few weeks she had explored the palace close to everyday, getting familiar with every room and the general layout of it all. What use were maps if you could loose them in chaotic situation such as an ambush resulting in getting lost in such a grand place such as the sea wing palace that was truly one of the biggest and greatest as far as she knew. Getting lost here could be very dangerous. Therefore she would make sure that every drake that worked or lived within the palace knew the whole building, every room and every corridor.

Talking about a corridor, Nerissa now turned the corner and followed one of the larger corridors down to the large doors of the conference hall. Here she was greeted with two guards that pushed the door inward to reveal other dragons already assembled and waiting. Ah so this was indeed a full assembly, she thought as she continued swimming into the room and took position next to Draken "Greetings my friends. I'm not entirely sure all of us have met before. I'm Nerissa Morwenna, our emperors fifth paw." She said, her voice friendly yet fully serious, she would then turn to Draken "Your Majesty, how has life been treating you? What can we all do for you on this very fine day?" Her eyes would pass over the others as if they were old friends. She was fully aware of who they were and what position they held and was very grateful for them attending today's conference.

Draken was expecting both his Royal advisors and his lovely lieutenant to arrive for a meeting today. He wanted to get ideas on what could possibly be done for the seawings as he thought the ideas that he came up with, weren't exactly great. He waited in the main room, waiting for the 3 seawings to arrive. As he waited he realized that this was just one of the meetings he would have to attend, future meetings would arrive and he was definitely prepared for them and the responsibilities.

Alminia, then Vrede and soon his Liuetenant arrived in the main room. He was delighted to see them answer and greet him with passion. He waited for them all to get settled before thinking of what to say. "Life has been treating me greatly, thank you for asking Nerissa." he replied to Nerissa when she asked about his day, agnolging the fact that she was nice enough to ask.

"Anyways, I have gathered you all here to brainstorm... Currently, there are definitely many things that need to be changed or fixed about the seawings... I have came up with ideas myself, though I think it would be better if me, my Liuetenant and my Royal advisors to brainstorm together instead of just me coming up with the plans." he said, respectively and happily. "So.. Does anyone have any ideas on what could be changed, fixed or added?" he asked, then waited for their answers.

A smile crossed Alminia's face at Draken's words. This was exactly what she had wanted from this job, the kings ear. Remembering exactly what she wanted to bring up, her nervousness began to fade. "Well your highness,  may I be so bold as to suggest strengthening our foreign relationships?" She began, a knowing tone in her voice.

"You see, recently the earthwing Tribe has been devastated by humans. This rules out them for consideration, but the effects of this are interesting. In their wake, the Firewings and Nightwings have united in conquest. If I may be blunt, such a force is an intimidating prospect. " She began to pointedly pace as she spoke, periodically making eye contact with each member assembled. "To attempt an alliance with them would appear desperate or frightened, so that is off the table. Additionally, the Lightwings have historically been at odds with the Nightwings. I would not advise risking war with such an open alliance. With all of this considered, I would advise negotiations with either the Skywings or IceWings. The skywings are swift to mobilize, so they could be a valuable ally in the case of assault. The IceWings are the more likely alliance however. Last I had visited them, it seemed leadership was changing hands. A new ruler approached by a new ruler? It seems only beneficially for both sides. "

With a nod, she finished her monologue, looking to Draken to gauge his reaction.

(OOC: Vrede will talk after Draken's response as she will have something to say to Alminia's worry about the nightwings and firewings)

(Bump, waiting for Nerissa

Nerissa took a seat closest to her king while almia began her speech. Her muscular tail would sway in the still water as her eyes fixated on the female that began sharing several points relating to strengthening their tribe relationships. She nodded several times in agreement and kept silent until almia fell silent. It was several heartbeats and only until the eyes of the dragons assembled were laid upon her did she speak. "Almia speaks wise words your Majesty. It is indeed a point to look into further detail, nonetheless i do not believe it to be a sign of weakness to attempt an alliance with the firewings and nightwings. They are currently the strongest tribes and it would be fatal to us if we were ever to appear as a threat to them. Therefore, i am not entirely sure forming an alliance with the ice wings would be very wise, neither with the sky wings." She trailed of rising from the seat she would swim over to the shelf, take from it a map and return to the table and slowly roll it out to its full size.

The lieutenant placed a claw upon the ice wings territory and continued her monologue "Now, i believe we are all well aware that firewings and ice wings do not fare well together. Imagine your highness if we were to form an alliance with them what an imagine it would create in the minds of the firewings". She raised her paw  to reassure that everyone assembled was following her "And let us not forget their recent loss of their Queen during their war with the humans, it is of extreme importance to now have patience and not act on impulse  but to think this through thoroughly." She finished her summary and returned to her seat. The female still held several points but chose to see what her king would comment to their ideas.

Draken listened to both the females as they spoke. He knew this was a serious matter, but he did feel a bit nervous because he was surrounded by girls. He soon got over it and started to think about what both of them said. An Alliance? This was definitely a topic Draken had thought of before, but didn't want to dive straight into it because there would always be pros and cons to forming an alliance.

"I think both your inputs are correct, but I do have some things to say." Draken said, after listening to both Almia and Nerissa points. "If we form an alliance with the firewings, yes I do agree that they are one of the strongest tribes, but they are in an alliance with the nightwings and if you know, I'm not exactly treated with respect in the nightwing tribe, after I 'betrayed' them, I don't think the Nightwings would quite enjoy us trying to form an alliance with their ally. It would cause conflict and if you know, the last thing I want is the seawings having to go into a great war." Draken explained with a serious tone, stopping his speech to think about it a bit more.

"I do not have much experience with the Skywings, however, I do with the icewings. When I was young and I got lost, King Apolis let me stay at the ice kingdom until I could find my way back home. Yes, my main weakness is ice, but since there is a new Queen, I think it would be easier to form an alliance with the icewings." Draken smiled after finishing his words. Thinking that what he said was good.

(Me Vrede)

Vrede continued to listen with patience and put real thought into the words of her comrades and king. However the long smooth woman was still wondering just why anyone wanted to ally with the outside world. She was looking from a different perspective than the other three seawings it seemed, and while Vrede didn't particularly want to voice her opinion on the matter it was technically now her job to do so.

Shifting uncomfortably then gazing at Nerissa, then Almia, before settling those gem-like eyes onto her king and bowing her head.

If I may speak sir... She didn't pick up her head from the bow until she was motioned to talk. Then her narrow snout came up and her stature turned rigid once more.

The seawings have gone in and out of alliances throughout the years, and it had never brought us any gain. Nor have we had the need to call upon our old allies, and neither have we had to go and help them with anything. Why do we need allies? In my experience we have been able to rule our seas and hold our own beaches without the help of outsiders. Ice wings may be a problem for us on land, same with the lightwings, nightwings, or skywings, but we always have the impenetrable ocean to keep us safe. None of the other tribes have the capabilities to send armies into our oceans. Perhaps a few dragons at a time who are adapted to water, but the majority of their armies cannot travel or even live in our ocean. She explained to each dragon before her making sure to bring up every point Vrede had in her head as she looked over the others. I do not believe we need to lower ourselves and ally with anyone. We were here before all, and we are the ones who will forever be here. Being kind to the other tribes to trade with them is fine, but we need not worry ourselves with allying to anyone. Vrede finished before sitting herself further down into her eel-like body. There was more she could say, but that would depend on whether this new king would be willing to listen to her or not.

A smile graced Almia's face at the points made by the other dragons assembled. She had expected, no, desired their counter points. After all, it was not much use deciding on something if every perspective was not considered. However, she was convinced that he proposal had merit to it, and she came prepared to prove exactly that. "If I may be allowed to speak here?" She asked with a meaningful look to each of the assembled dragons, pausing on each of them, asking permission with her gaze as well as her tone. Without an objection from them, she would begin to defend her stance.

"I came to this meeting hoping that brilliant minds could come together and have a brilliant discussion, where we can devise plans and develop the optimal solutions to allow our tribe to be the best it could possibly be. Now that discussions have begun in earnest, it has become clear to me that is exactly what is going to happen here. " She smiled widely at the collected company during her eloquent speech, her wings nervously re-folding at her side for a moment as the gravity of her situation occurred to her. "You've all already made excellent points from which we can begin to discuss the various pros and cons of the matter, so let's dive right in. Whether or not the Seawings should seek alliance. Now, as appearances are one of the first thing dragons notice, let us start with that. How we will appear should we quest for allies. I do not believe that a simple search will tarnish the name of the seawings. After all, it is only wisdom to cooperate when a variety of skills are required for a task. No, the danger here I believe is present in which tribe we achieve results from. As it has been mentioned, there are other alliances and feuds to be wary of in this decision. However, the main concern is finding a leader with an open ear to the idea. If they do not desire one, an alliance will be impossible outright.

There are many minutia involved in each tribe, however discussing those will become irrelevant should we decide against alliances altogether. So the second point of order is the necessity of it. I would argue that it is. As far as my various sources can gather, the current political landscape is in turmoil. That can often lead to  startling grabs for power, and we must be prepared for that. The point has been brought up that we hold a defensible position with our aquatic nature, there are still islands in our territory that would be susceptible to siege. This would displace a considerable number of our number from their homes. I would like to ensure the well-being of as many Seawings as possible. In fact, this very palace would face attack, as it exists partially above the ocean waves. To lose such a symbol would be unacceptable. To compound the issue, should we face an island-bourne siege, then we may find ourselves at a loss for resources. It is my understanding that there is a strange sickness causing sea life to perish, and we are no wiser as to its source. With a dwindling pool of rations below the sea, and our supply above under attack, we would be forced to either fight the attackers on their terrain or cede to their demands."

With this she gave a grave nod, and with a seeking gaze signified she was finishing. "I am welcome to being wrong on this manner. Just so long as the possibility meets the proper consideration. The Seawings are a great tribe. I simply hope our pride will not blind us to the future. "