A small sigh left him his frustration masked under the exhale.

Simion had expected to have a hard time but it was still frustrating especially to him who had never felt out of control of the situation.

His father had sent him to befriend his highness and if it didn’t work, being cordial at the very best.

He might have achieved being cordial and getting his highness to remember him but his curiosity hadn’t been satiated.

He beat himself inside for walking too slowly and missing the conversation between his highness and the general.

His gaze slid to the man standing behind Atheline his gaze on the floor. His smile slightly widened.

"Well," he quietly said stepping back just slightly, "I won’t take any more of your time your highness. I’m sure you have... more productive matters to attend to."

’Yeah, I need to go to the library’

Atheline inclined his head slightly.

"As do you."

"Always," Simion replied, smile returning to something softer," I look forward to speaking with you again."

Atheline watched him leave, his composure maintained till the end. Only when he disappeared beyond the first corridor did Atheline let out a sigh of relief.

"Troublesome," his tutor muttered behind him.

He didn’t disagree but didn’t agree either.

’He’s actually a charming fellow’

"No," he said quietly, " not troublesome."

His gaze lingered on the empty hallway.

"Careful would be more like it."

.

.

.

The palace corridors were quieter by the time he reached the library.

The doors of the royal library opened without resistance, the familiar welcoming scent of old books and polished wood greeting him as he stepped in.

The size never ceased to amaze Atheline despite spending his days basically glued inside.

"Your highness."

The familiar voice came before he saw its owner.

He turned.

Klaith, the head librarian and his History tutor, stood a short distance away already bowing slightly. His robes were a simple white, uneven ink stains marking the edge of his sleeves like a badge of honor.

"It seems you have recovered well your highness," he quietly said.

"Yes, I’ve never been healthier. "

The corner of his lips slightly lifted.

"I wasn’t expecting you this early."

"I needed quiet."

"A rare commodity in this palace," Klaith said, a faint smile touching his eyes.

’True’

He straightened, calmly studying him. Atheline felt his gaze but he had already gotten used to it so it didn’t disturb him.

"Politics drove you here?" He said.

He didn’t deny it.

"The moon crystals," he said.

"Ah. That’s to be expected. "

If anyone in the palace understood the weight of what had been brought back that would be him. He was one of the oldest elves in the palace, the whole kingdom even.

"You’ve come to look into precedence," he continued, already turning towards the deeper shelves, " Allocation. Military use. Historical distribution."

Atheline followed without comment.

"You assume there is precedence," he said.

"There always is," the librarian replied," the question is wether its useful."

They moved between the shelves, occasionally passing studious dark elven scholars too busy to even spare them a glance.

"Tell me," Klaith said after a moment, " what have they decided?"

"They haven’t. "

A soft exhale left him.

"As expected."

He stopped near a long table, watching as Klaith began pulling several older volumes, placing them down with care.

Atheline leaned slightly against the table, distributing some of his weigh on it.

"The council began moving immediately," he said.

Klaith softly chuckled.

"They’re always moving," he said," but movement doesn’t mean progress."

’That sounds a little familiar’

The image of his grandfather flowed into his mind.

"Then what does?"

Klaith paused, then glanced at him.

"The direction you’re moving to," he said.

Atheline nodded. Right now, there wasn’t any direction, only competition amongst themselves.

He rested a hand lightly on one of the books but didn’t open it yet.

"You had said you’ll teach about military history next," he said.

The poisoning incident had delayed him.

"If I’m correct, I was told you’re the one who taught it to the Soldiers?" He said.

Klaith nodded.

"That is correct."

"Tell me then," he said, finally looking at him directly," how they’ve used resources like this before."

He wanted to know how soldiers used the resources they were given. Just like every kingdom, a considerable amount of crystals will always go to its soldiers.

Klaith’s gaze lingered on him for a moment longer than usual.

He then nodded.

"Very well. I’ll give you an overview but you’ll have to read the rest as usual."

Atheline nodded.

He opened one of the volumes, fingers brushing over aged script.

"Dark elf military doctrine has never relied on abundance," he began, "quite the opposite. It was built on scarcity."

Atheline listened carefully.

"Unlike the surface kingdoms, where armies are sustained through open supply lines and visible strength, as you already know from history. Dark elf forces evolved under constraints. Limited resources, hostile terrain, constant internal and external threats."

That tracked, dark elves were the black sheep on the elven continent.

"Which means," Klaith continued," every resource has to justify its existence."

’So they rarely hoarded their supplies’

"How were moon crystals handled?" He asked.

Klaith turned a page.

"They were rarely centralised," he said," that happened... centralisation, during the last rule. The results weren’t something to be remembered. What I am saying is centralisation invites collapse. If one point fails, everything fails with it."

’So controlled distribution’

"Instead," he went on, " they were embedded into units. Small groups. Specialised roles. Mobility over fortifications."

That sounded a lot like...

"General Thulem," he murmured.

Klaith’s eyes flickered up briefly.

"Yes," he said," he was trained under the same doctrine."

Of course he was, that was why he wanted them to be used immediately for the soldiers. He clearly didn’t like the stagnation of such a huge amount of crystals.

Though the kingdom did not lack moon crystals it doesn’t mean extras won’t be appreciated especially when it made things much easier and increased the amount they got from the usual.

Atheline leaned back slightly against the table.

"And politically?"