The council continued late into the night, and the war map gradually transformed into a battlefield of shifting colors.
Three strategies emerged:
1. The Whispering Blade Strategy (Alicent & Kerrin):
Disrupt supply lines to the loyalist armies.
Assassinate mid-tier commanders to cause disarray without drawing early imperial attention.
Enchant false documents and rumors to turn vassals against the Empress's main generals.
> Alicent: "Confusion is a weapon. If they fear each other, they won't unite against us."
2. The Ember Rebellion Strategy (Bramir & General Kaelen):
Secretly arm and train rebel forces in outer territories.
Capture key fortresses without declaring open war.
Use fake flags and false-flag operations to throw suspicion on other factions.
> Bramir: "We turn her empire into a pressure cooker, and we control the steam."
3. The Crownlight Strategy (Myrcella):
Begin a quiet campaign of influence and legitimacy.
Distribute stories, songs, and secret records of Virelya Velgaeron's murder.
Use the Phoenix Banner and public declarations to win the people.
> Myrcella: "Legitimacy is not taken. It's restored in the hearts of the people. If they believe in Saelar, they will die for him."
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Saelar's Verdict:
He studied the map silently, fingers tracing the blood-red path to the Imperial Capital, Vel-Tarion.
> "We do not rush. We build the flame slowly—until it burns through the lies."
> "The Whispering Blade weakens them."
"The Ember Rebellion breaks their spine."
"And the Crownlight brings them to their knees."
All three strategies would be enacted in tandem. In three months, they would deliver the first public blow—an act so symbolic and precise it would make the empire remember the name Velgaeron.
> "This is no longer a council of war," Saelar declared.
"This is the birth of a new empire."