The Couverian envoy shrugged. "Okay, I guess I'll go first. My name is Saro, and I am a close friend of the king. This is all I have learned about the situation."

"We Couverians are a peaceful and isolated people. Not too long ago, we were introduced to a shaman from Groldun. He was heavily guarded with his own soldiers. We saw no interest in encountering these strange folk, so we townspeople left the king to do negotiations, as it is our tradition that the king is the first in our nation. The shaman spoke of the land from whence he came, and offered a deal: that our peoples submit to his in exchange for protection. The king saw this offer as disrespectful and smug, so he dismissed the offer. He then offered to go withthe shaman to negotiate with their leader, but their envoy refused as well."

"Later on, we were presented with a similar offer from another nation. I do not recall the origin of this envoy, but I believe it was Boldon. We rejected for the same reason; even though their offer was more appealing, it was hypocritical to accept it after rejecting Groldun's. Or perhaps I have been getting my stories mixed. Moving on."

"Later the king sought a meeting with the leader of Coristor. They managed to make a deal, where Couverne would sell foodstuffs and other raw materials to Coristor in exchange for better technology and admittance into their universities."

"It was around that time that Groldun declared war, taking the rejection of their offer as a slight on their supposed honour. We entered into secret negotiations into Kievia regarding the protection of our neutrality. Boldon offered to help in exchange for the vast majority of our population. We refused, but a pact was arranged under their terms. Since then, we have been merely acting to scorch the earth behind us as we evacuate our population, after being pressured to relinquish control of our former lands to Boldon instead of Coristor. Unfortunately, the inital panic has resulted in the loss of many thousands of Couverians through starvation and shipwrecks. Our only business remaining in the Châlon Valley is to protect the king and his guards as they prepare to evacuate themselves."

Saro sighed. "That's all the information I have, and I tried my best to keep a neutral perspective despite the stressful circumstances."