"I'll have someone ask, sir. We've been isolated, so I'm not sure we're in need, but the offer is certainly appreciated. Certainly First Regent Straydus would be pleased to speak with you regardless."

"I look forward to the conversation. I can adopt a more compact form, if it would be convenient to you." 

"It would be, yes. We, uh, weren't expecting someone so large." Or a Beastman Archon. Or whatever this is.

With no gesture nor incantation, he shrinks down to take the form of an extremely well-dressed and magical human. "Lead on." 

Archon stuff, yup. Archon of Turn Into A Giant Sky Lizard. Among other things. It is not this officer's job to deal with it. (He's probably a lieutenant, if the helm decoration that matches the one on Lt. Velkan's left shoulder is any indication.) It is merely his job to show the Didn't-Call-Himself-An-Archon Ipaxalon to the throne room.

There are: hallways. Torch sconces. Bronze decorations, whose general theme seems to be 'we are military people who don't do excessive decorations' somewhat spoiled by wanting to demonstrate that they could afford excessive decorations. Many are decorated shields or spears, not painted but patterned. 

All the stone of the castle has that same abjuration aura. As they approach the throne room some of the decorative tools of war on the walls have faint magic auras themselves. (Mostly evocation, transmutation, and/or abjuration, none of them more than two.) All of these have inscriptions below them giving names - from "The Spear of the Enache" (implicitly, the Enache are a family) to "The Tide's Requiem, the Iordanescu." (Likewise.) Some of the nonmagical ones do, too. Just outside the door is an inscription below empty wall, with a large-sword-shaped shadow showing its empty spot, labeled simply "The Dauntless."

"First Regent, sir!", the lieutenant announces at the doorway, "Sir Ipaxalon, the storm shaker!"

He follows quietly and notes the decor with interest. Seeing so many magical weapons, even weak ones, in a single place is fascinating after so many years of not seeing any magic items that he didn't make himself. Curious that the weapons are not being wielded; perhaps they are less rare than they seem, or less useful in defense than as symbols, or simply kept in place by long tradition.

Storm shaker, eh? He doesn't contest the impromptu title; it's as good a one as any. 

The old man - well, fifties, probably, but this is the Bronze Age - stands from his bronze throne. (Like the decorations, it's trying to not look too much like a throne. Badly. Just an bronze and wood chair with no gems or gold, on a raised dais, in a throne room, with intricate engravings.)

He doesn't bow, but he does nod respectfully to Ipaxalon as he enters.

"Greetings, Sir Ipaxalon. Your arrival is already cheering; we had not thought anything would penetrate the stormwall while I lived. Please, in the name of the Regents, be welcome."

"Greetings, First Regent, and thank you for your kind welcome." He nods as well. "I hope you will forgive me any indiscretions on matters of protocol; I hail from a distant land, and am only just introduced to your people and culture." And he has not cast cultural adaptation because, for the moment at least, adopting the mannerisms of Terratus would be misleading on that point. 

"The horrors that this war has evidently visited upon the people of Stalwart fill me with sadness, and I hope that a path to peace may yet be found. But it would be foolish of me to interfere without context. I seek your counsel, to better understand what has transpired here and how it might be resolved." 

"Certainly. I imagine you've gathered the generalities; Kyros is a greedy, proud tyrant, he invaded the Tiers, and when he reached Stalwart we resisted, as we have every other invader, for over a year. He grew frustrated at not being able to take our stronghold, and declared the Edict. Most of my Unbroken were left outside the walls, in the storm with our people, and I'm sure they continue to resist the Disfavored and Scarlet Chorus. But I can speak more about any of it, if you wish. Ah, if you'd prefer it, we could sit in my study to speak." He waves a hand toward a side door.

"Whichever is most convenient for you." 

Ipaxalon's set of questions for the First Regent are similar to those for the Unbroken outside the walls, pruned for immediate relevance. He asks about Stalwart's governance and the role of the Regents, relations with the rest of the Tiers now and before the invasion, positions on slavery, diplomatic communications from Kyros (if any), what they expect to happen if the storm suddenly abated, and their priorities for peace talks. 

"I'd also appreciate an opportunity to speak with your historians or recordkeepers about the history and magic of Terratus, or to any Sage interested in such a conversation, and to some of your citizens about their own lives and ambitions, but I do not expect this to be a bottleneck on the next steps." 

There are (were) two tiers of nobility in Stalwart - the three rich, inter-bred families of the Regents (Straydus, Aspison, and Sender), which Herodin says (dishonestly) were the founding families, and a dozen or two lesser families, most of whom are loosely related, as bastard branches (there's no derogatory sense to 'bastard' in this language, it's normalized) or milk-siblings, to Regent families. There was a Regent's Council that decided most realm-wide matters outside wartime, but the First Regent was military leader of the Unbroken Blades, and chose Captains and the Champion of Stalwart, and gave the great relics and sometimes the lesser ones to the Unbroken to use. There's no one left for the Council now; every other Regent potentially alive at the time of the Edict was missing in action, presumed dead.

Slavery is basically the same story as outside. He represents that he is not willing to compromise on Stalwart's independence. Their traditions are who they are. They expect to be attacked again if the storm falls, but they held off anything but an Archon before and they'll do it again.

"Kyros sent envoys a few times in the last few decades. Spies, I think, but we couldn't honorably refuse them entirely. I wasn't First Regent during the war first reached us - that was my mother Straydus Sarinna, and then our cousin Aspison Veaceslas - but he did offer terms of submission. When they reached the edge of the tier, and then when Aspison and I inherited. All Regents and most family heads go in hostage exile in his Eastern court, accede to his law, surrender the great relics. But Mother refused to be the first of Stalwart's Regents to bow to an invader or surrender territory" (True) "and I will not dishonor her memory or our ancestors by doing otherwise." (False.)

"We don't keep any grand archives; we've always been a practical realm, not much inclined to writing or sigils. Some of the annals and law precedents might be of interest, I suppose. You'd have to ask the Vellum Citadel for anything with detail."

"Thank you." He pauses contemplatively. The most likely reason for that last statement to register as a lie is that Straydus is indeed willing to submit. He can hardly be blamed for that; it certainly looks like a losing war. But that's only one possibility. 

"Aside from the storm, what do you see as the main barriers to reuniting the Unbroken? If the Dishonored were to retreat, what problems would be most pressing?" Let's see if Straydus brings up the linnorm on the peak, namely that most of the Unbroken are after his head. Also food, that seems important. 

"A number of Unbroken captains refused my authority after I retreated to the Stand and my son died leading their loyal fellows. I don't know how those and the loyalists fared in the storm, or how the 'storms of his Rage' have affected the farmers and fishing. He targeted the Unbroken by name, but we have always made our soldiers and our citizens much the same. And I am sure Kyros intended it, to divide us. I do not know what form repairing that trust and honor will take."

The Unbroken seemed to think the First Regent's son was alive. But before that... "Do you know the exact wording of the Edict? Did the captains say why they refused?" 

"Yes, a scribe wrote it down. Not that anyone within five leagues missed hearing the words. I should have it here..."

The single guard (with a face-concealing helm, not common in those he's seen) who followed them into the study coughs and points.

"Ah, yes. Here."

"Those who, in pride and arrogance, stand against the peace and order of Our Empire shall be ground beneath the stones of their land. Let those who call themselves Unbroken, who embrace the chaos of war in defiance of Our Order, be broken in the storms of Our Rage. Let Our storm rage until the last blade be broken, or the line of Regents fall."

"The only captain willing to defy me to my face called me a coward. For not commanding in person, after better warriors than I had died by the dozen losing field battles against the cursed Disfavored."

"This, then is the situation as I see it. Without provocation, Kyros the Overlord invaded the Tiers in a war of conquest. Edicts of Kyros, delivered by Fatebinders, have slaughtered entire cities. This speaks of an attitude that is determined to rule each part of the continent or else see it destroyed. 

"I infer that ending the current Edict, and defeating the Disfavored, would not by itself be sufficient to end this war. If armies fail, Archons will come, or further Edicts might be leveled. Perhaps Kyros might be convinced to negotiate, but this seems unlikely absent a demonstration of overwhelming force. 

"These then would appear to be relevant strategic priorities for Stalwart: End the storm, unite the Unbroken, force the armies of Kyros to retreat from the Blade Grave, procure enough food and supplies for the people of Stalwart in the aftermath, and demonstrate sufficient martial power or diplomatic influence to forestall a future invasion. 

"Your thoughts?"

"Broadly correct, I think. To unite the Unbroken may be under-ambitious; it may be equally possible to gather remnants of what other realms have fallen. I know I heard of Royal Guard of Apex who did not surrender with their queen, and while I do not know the fate of Azure or the Free Cities, any or all of them might join together in the name of liberation when they did not for independence. And as holding them off with the blue flag rather than the bronze shield... I have some hopes that some Archons may be turned against Kyros. They are, however, faint."

"I am still new to this land, but I have seen enough to make it clear to me that Kyros must be stopped. It is conceivable I might be missing something of monumental importance that justifies the atrocities he apparently endorses, or makes them the lesser evil, but I strongly doubt it. 

"I intend to offer my aid to those who resist his rule. 

"Diplomacy has become something of a specialty of mine, and I find it nearly always worth attempting. Many needless conflicts can be forestalled thereby, many enemies made into allies. Where diplomacy fails, well..."

"Overwhelming force is also a specialty." 

Straydus smiles as well. "Certainly a wise approach. If you do not mind the question - where do you hail from, and whence come your abilities? Merely what I have heard and been told of so far is outlandish, even for Archons, and you do not describe yourself as such as did Occulted Jade."

"That is rather a long story. I do not think I am an Archon as you understand the term. Such magic as I have seen is different from that of Terratus. I originally hatched on... if I say 'another plane of existence', does that hold meaning for you?"

"Not in the slightest," he says cheerfully, "Abstracts aren't my area. If I still had a Sage here, I'd ask them, no idea if they would know."

"Then let's say I'm from a place that can only be reached by magic, and not by any amount of moving around the usual way, flying included. This is an oversimplification, but it's good enough for practical purposes. 

"I am also, importantly, not human. This form you see now is assumed for convenience, since I am normally too large to comfortably fit in human dwellings. I am a silver dragon; that is, a subspecies of dragon identifiable primarily by our silver scales." He gestures to his cloak to demonstrate. 

"As for my abilities, they arise primarily through the power of my soul to impose various effects on the world, and secondarily by virtue of my being a centuries-old dragon with a strong soul. I can cast spells using my homeworld's version of magic, craft magic items given time and material, and, as you have observed, exert certain influence over the weather." 

"Remarkable. I've certainly never heard of the like. More similar to Archons than anything else, but not very much similar.  To be sure I understand: items that are magic from the moment they leave the forge or loom or so on, before they see use? That's considered impossible, I believe."

"I've come to realize that what is impossible for one form of magic may be routine for another. Aside from testing, use is indeed not a prerequisite. The creation process typically takes magical skill more than mundane craft, so one can in principle turn a well-made sword into a magical one without the use of a forge, though it helps to be competent in both domains. Do items here typically acquire magic over time, then?"