Lepis started by thanking Aten for his well-wishes regarding the newborn princess of Taiga, informing the golden stallion of her name as well. Aten thought in silence for a moment, a faint smile curling at the edge of his lips.
"Celina... it is a fine name. Befitting a Taigan princess I am sure. And I agree; their energy will surely be refreshing for the redwoods."
That part of the conversation was brief, finished, and Lepis moved on to more serious business. She indirectly told Aten that he was correct by stating she wished to send envoys out into other lands to speak to the leaders and inform them of the redwood kingdom's status and search for those who would potentially be allies as well.
But first, she wished for more information. Luckily, it was something Aten could provide, and he did not sense any hostile intentions from the mare either. He didn't think there was going to be a bad consequence for giving her what she wished to know.
"Regrettably, Taiga was not plentiful with alliances when Lilitha was still upon the throne. Nerine and Icicle Isle were the main parties, given Taiga is considered a subkingdom of the bigger territory all-together. Nerine itself, however, is allied with the West at this time, if I'm not mistaken. I did not have time to get more information from Heartfire before... things changed. I think it reasonable that Taiga can consider the Western kingdoms allies as well. Though I have not yet spoken to their leaders.
"The South and Eastern kingdoms are still of an unknown status, in Nerine's eyes. Given your ties to Loess however, I feel it is safe to say that the South can be considered an ally, even with Sylva's darker history from what I've heard."
When Aten had finished sharing what he knew, Lepis also brought up another topic, one that left him mildly... impressed, actually. He listened patiently as Lepis explained she wished for the children and residents of the redwood kingdom be taken care of if something should happen to her. Aten had no doubt that Wolfbane would live up to his job as a fellow protector, and there was no question on Aten's intentions for the matter too.
But it was what Lepis said next that left him... almost speechless.
Aten stared at the Queen a moment, "Forgive me for being... surprised, by what you just said. I am honored that you would ask a task like that of me. I had always felt though that, whether or not your foals were old enough at the time, that you would prefer handing the throne down to one of them if a situation like what you just described happened."
@[Lepis]
"Celina... it is a fine name. Befitting a Taigan princess I am sure. And I agree; their energy will surely be refreshing for the redwoods."
That part of the conversation was brief, finished, and Lepis moved on to more serious business. She indirectly told Aten that he was correct by stating she wished to send envoys out into other lands to speak to the leaders and inform them of the redwood kingdom's status and search for those who would potentially be allies as well.
But first, she wished for more information. Luckily, it was something Aten could provide, and he did not sense any hostile intentions from the mare either. He didn't think there was going to be a bad consequence for giving her what she wished to know.
"Regrettably, Taiga was not plentiful with alliances when Lilitha was still upon the throne. Nerine and Icicle Isle were the main parties, given Taiga is considered a subkingdom of the bigger territory all-together. Nerine itself, however, is allied with the West at this time, if I'm not mistaken. I did not have time to get more information from Heartfire before... things changed. I think it reasonable that Taiga can consider the Western kingdoms allies as well. Though I have not yet spoken to their leaders.
"The South and Eastern kingdoms are still of an unknown status, in Nerine's eyes. Given your ties to Loess however, I feel it is safe to say that the South can be considered an ally, even with Sylva's darker history from what I've heard."
When Aten had finished sharing what he knew, Lepis also brought up another topic, one that left him mildly... impressed, actually. He listened patiently as Lepis explained she wished for the children and residents of the redwood kingdom be taken care of if something should happen to her. Aten had no doubt that Wolfbane would live up to his job as a fellow protector, and there was no question on Aten's intentions for the matter too.
But it was what Lepis said next that left him... almost speechless.
Aten stared at the Queen a moment, "Forgive me for being... surprised, by what you just said. I am honored that you would ask a task like that of me. I had always felt though that, whether or not your foals were old enough at the time, that you would prefer handing the throne down to one of them if a situation like what you just described happened."
@[Lepis]