"Three waves."
In front of the throne, thirteen individuals sat around a large table that had newly been erected there.
Above the table was floating an image of three groups of tiny figures, and after staring at them for the better part of five minutes, Kellor spoke these two words that were on the minds of everyone present.
"That's what she says, at least… And I believe we can trust her. The same source of information that told her about the plan to kill me gave her these details, too, so I think the best path forward is to gear our plans around this information."
Unknotting his fingers that had been under his chin till now, Daneel shrugged and said this while keeping his eyes on the emperor, looking for any perceptible change that might come on his face.
The man guarded his thoughts as closely as if they were the greatest treasures he had, so Daneel had no option but to wait until he decided to speak his thoughts.
Before that, a discussion was started by his sovereigns.
"I don't like her. She did save your life, but…I don't know. It just doesn't sit well with me that someone who abandoned us in our time of need is now helping so much."
Hearing Eloise speak in a suspicious tone, Elanev replied, "I don't either, but does it matter? We need her now. Even though I don't like saying it, we really, really need her. Due to the prophecy, I think we can safely say that at least for the short term, she wants us to survive. After that… Who can say for sure that we won't grow more powerful than her?"
His older brother was speaking with bravado as usual, but Faxul's serious tone cut through the atmosphere.
"If she turns on us at a crucial time, all will be lost. Even though we have planned against that… I hate exposing our back like this."
"The young Raven speaks truly. I remember how she was when she was on Angaria… and I doubt that she has gotten much better over the years. She saved our dear Godking's life, true… But what if that was part of a bigger plot?"
Seeing the discussion veer towards these unsteady waters, Daneel and the emperor shared a look before the man finally stood up and spoke.
"Everything we are talking about is irrelevant, right now. The war is all that matters. I know that those of you who doubt her have good reason to do so, but like the disciple of my old friend just said, she has no option but to help us in this situation. We can continue this discussion in the future… if one exists. So, everyone, let us focus on the information again."
Daneel nodded inwardly as he heard the man. His sovereigns all had acute senses, so it seemed that they, too, had detected the potential danger that the basilisk represented. Saving his life was not something that had changed this opinion for most of them, but it was vital that this topic was not discussed much at this stage.
As for the emperor mentioning his old friend… Elanev had told Daneel recently that the old man in his head and the emperor had had quite a strange reunion.
The old man had first hugged the emperor…then cursed at him as he had not been given a body.
It had all been good-natured, though, as the old man knew that the value of a dragon was much more than what he represented, but still, it was natural to be bitter knowing that a close friend of his disciple was able to give physical bodies to consciousnesses, and that he had not taken advantage of this yet. The man's many stories of fornication were, after all, famous due to how Elanev always complained that he would never shut up about them, so it was to be expected that the allure of being able to sense the pleasures of the flesh once again must have captivated him a lot.
The two hadn't actually been that close back during the age of the Empire, but their shared past seemed to make them crave for each other's company. Hence, at one point, Elanev had even transferred the old man's consciousness to Fenoras, only to have him returned as the emperor claimed that it was too much of a distraction.
"Three waves. The first will be the strongest, with the second and third being sent to consolidate the victory that they are expected to achieve. Each wave will come from different directions at different times. To decrease the possibility that they might be ambushed if the information about them might be leaked—which is exactly what has happened—the church will be adding a randomness factor. A certain trinket will randomly decide the exact point of attack and time after they come close. I have to say… They are taking a lot of precautions for a place they keep calling a 'village'."
Elanev, Percy, and Aran all sniggered as Luther said this, but when Robert reached forward and knocked on all three of their heads, they fell silent.
"I agree with the emperor… but I also think that we need to be flexible. We must go forward assuming that the information is all accurate… but we should also be prepared in case it turns out to be completely false. All plans are said to hold only until the moment of first contact… but that is exactly why we have made so many that we can change any of ours when needed."
Robert's words made Daneel and the others nod approvingly.
Beside the images of the groups of enemies, the list of information regarding their strengths and weaknesses was also present.
After this, everyone fell silent for a few minutes as they studied all of the data.
Finally, after a few more minutes, it was Daneel who broke the silence by clapping his hands and saying, "Alright, enough staring. These are all the plans we've made. Like a jigsaw puzzle, all that remains is to arrange them in the best way to make a beautiful picture that will spell the death of the Church. I know we'll only be killing their army… but it still felt good to say that. Let us begin."
…
A few hours later, Daneel was on the way back to the Palace of Lanthanor while the system sent message after message in his head.
[Running battle simulation 1. Expected time of completion: three hours, thirty minutes.]
[Running battle simulation 2. Expected time of completion: two hours, twenty-six minutes.]
[Running battle simulation 3. Expected time of completion: four hours, forty-four minutes.]
[…]
The module of the system that allowed him to carry out detailed simulations was a boon that he welcomed gladly, but even though he was really looking forward to seeing the results of the simulations, he told the system to only send a message when it was done as his mind was quite tired after the intense brainstorming that he had been a part of until now.
After one last teleportation, he appeared inside his bedchamber, but that was when he blinked and wondered whether the system had somehow messed up and teleported him to the wrong place.
There were at least five wardrobes all around him, and on tables all over the room, all kinds of items could be seen.
On one, there were fifteen dishes still wafting their scents in the air. On another, six differently colored pieces of cloth were laid out.
On yet another table, nine different kinds of flowers could be seen, and on the one just beside it, a floating image of a grand altar was visible on which three tiny human figures were visible.
Just as he was about to ask the system where he was, he heard a voice behind him that made him turn around.
"There you are! I was just going to ask Robert to send you here. There is so much to do! I've done most of it as all three of you were busy, but the final selection has to be done by all of you! So call over my two daughter-in-laws-to-be, as it's time to finalize all the details of the wedding! Why are you staring at me like that, son? It's not like I told you suddenly that I want to marry two women, did I? So move those fingers, and call them over! I didn't raise any slackers in the Anivron household! This is going to be the grandest event in all of Angaria, so there's no way that anything is going to go wrong! Not on my watch, at least! Now, MOVE!"