Alpheo tapped his fingers lightly on the table once more, a rhythm of finality, of tightening nooses.
In this negotiation, two sets of terms would weigh the heaviest on the conquered: the Seizure of Land and the War Reparations that they would be forced to pay.
"With three of the four pillars of peace now laid before us," he said, voice slow and deliberate, "we come to the last matter. Perhaps the most immediate—reparations."
A shift rippled through the three lords, like the quiver of a beast cornered yet too proud to bare its throat.
