The sheet of paper was richly decorated with the filigree of the coat of arms of the Royal House of Whitmune: the two crossed silver moons.

The paper, once a pristine cream color, was now written in the best handwriting Mariam could muster. She debated whether she should call in an expert, to make the words as clear as possible, then chose to write her own: she had a sudden terror that the other Rulers would be offended if such a request came from anyone else's hand.

They probably would have been offended anyway, Mariam sighed and blew lightly on the ink to dry it even though it was probably useless since it was already dry.

But everything had to be perfect, she couldn't afford any mistakes.

She thought about who to send that first letter to. Of course, the letters would all be sent together, to avoid a Sovereign thinking she was playing favorites, but she had developed that superstition. That the first letter she wrote should be sent to the right King, to make sure everything went well.

But who could choose?

Her first idea was Queen Ellenor of Lapis: a woman, like her, who might be able to understand her point of view better. But the idea immediately seemed silly to her, she knew nothing about that woman, except that she was older than her and that she had a fist as hard as the rock she ruled.

But this was also true for the other two remaining ones. King Calis and King Arik were unknown to her, perhaps even more so than Ellenore who at least was her neighbor and she had seen in person, even if sporadically.

She scolded himself for that serious oversight, she should have made sure she knew better the people she was asking for something so... Particular. So to speak.

Perhaps she should have left instead of sending Shenya, she would certainly have been welcomed into the Palaces in the way her Lady had not been.

She shook her head, as if she could physically chase away the thought. He wouldn't think about Shenya now.

She tried another approach, moving the letter and revealing the map of the continent hidden beneath.

Who would have benefited from that pact?

She felt she should exclude Terraria, which was rich in forests that they also sold to the other kingdoms, and was also the largest kingdom of the four kingdoms, stretching from the Sunny Sea to the Indaris River. It was as large as Orios and Lapis combined.

King Arik would be the hardest to convince, he had more to lose than the others, she thought, and saved that thought for later.

Lapis, mountainous and full of mines. At first glance it seemed the most suitable and she thought about his initial idea of ​​sending the letter to Ellenore. But the more she ran his fingers over that portion of the map the more she changed her mind. It was true that Lapis was a land of stones, as her father the King had called it before he died, and that it depended almost entirely on Terraria for wood and on Orios for crops, but its stones were not simple stones: they were gold, silver, precious stones and iron. Almost as essential as food, as heating. Mariam was more than sure that the gold of her crown was made with Lapis' gold.

And, from the few times she had seen her, Ellenore seemed made of stone herself.

For a moment she felt despair, running her fingers over the last remaining kingdom.

And this is how my Revolution dies, she thought, and her eyes began to burn with tears.

A sharp snap sounded in the air and her cheek began to burn and turn red.

Her head cleared from the pain of the self-inflicted slap, she tucked a lock of dark hair behind her ear and refocused. She had to think, and there was no time to feel sorry for herself, she had to act quickly if her plan was to have a chance of succeeding.

Only Solis remained, the small strip of sand that stretched along the southern banks of the Indaris River. It was the smallest of the kingdoms and almost completely unknown to Mariam, except for what she had read about it. Oh, she had seen the infamous Solis mercenaries, tall, dark-skinned men and women with long braided hair who wore mostly armor. And that was all the mercenaries could do: except for a few farms on the banks of the river and a few weavers, Solis was largely desolate, there was little to live on and the people had to eat somehow. So, she had read, the people trained themselves intensely under the scorching sun until they were perfect, flawless soldiers. And she had seen it with her own eyes, when some noble had brought one or two of those mercenaries to court.

This could be a start, Mariam mused. She could offer their King to move his people to more hospitable lands, and he could give her the army she needed. Even if they had soldiers, in Orios they were more farmers than warriors, after all.

He picked up the letter again and read it quickly. Would it be good for this unknown King, whose appearance he did not even know?

She could certainly imagine him: tall, broad-shouldered, with long braided hair and smooth dark skin.

Was he also a warrior, like the others of his people?

He was beautiful, Shenya had said. But those were just rumors, she hadn't seen him with her own eyes.

Not that it mattered, she didn't want to court him.

He reread the letter, the invitation to appear before the Illuminated Council, the castle where, since the Great Ruin, Kings and Queens had gathered in one place to talk.

She did not know when the Council had last met, it had probably been at least a century. Her father had never attended.

She wondered if they would accept.

She hoped so.