Queen Gillian sat at the oak table in her council chamber and played at jacks while her advisors argued amongst themselves. She was young to be Queen - not yet a decade, but her father had died in the same plague that had devastated the male population of her kingdom.

"I say that we muster our troops and meet them at the border. We will push them into the river or die trying."

"We don't have enough men to hold the border. We must pull back and prepare the castle for a ...