Page 44 of Scars of His Wrath

"He is very proud of his army, yes."

"Why?"

"They were the first army of their kind in the Known Lands."

"What are these Known Lands?"

Naya frowned. “I thought you knew.”

“It doesn’t matter what I know.”

Sighing, she gestured to the three land masses. "These three continents."

"So they are known to you, yet you didn’t name them with any real significance?" he said, crossing his arms.

Naya shrugged, a tiny detail of something he said sat on the edge of her awareness. "The three lands used to be at odds with each other. There’s never been a chance to have a collective name until now."

"Explain."

Naya took a breath. "The Southern Isles keep to themselves and never used to engage at all with the other two. The Lox Empire and the Land of Eiros used to be enemies, even before my father took over.”

"Why?"

"It was a historic feud between the two lands. The people of the Lands of Eiros are very deceptive and the rulers were never honorable or honest. They used to steal people and treasures from the Eastern Lands for their own wealth."

Akoro’s face contorted in annoyance. "And they let them?"

"The Eiros rulers were powerful and very skilled in magic and the Eastern Lands had no unified army. When my father came into power, things worsened until war broke out.”

"How does this one hide?" He pointed to the Southern Isles.

"They use magic to manipulate what sailors can see when they are approaching."

"All of these lands are separated by water?" he asked. "Even though there are seas between the regions?”

"Yes. They are continents."

"Continent?"

Naya nodded. "It’s an enormous mass of land," she explained. "Usually it is too big for one entity to rule efficiently or effectively so it’s broken into smaller regions or countries."

"And yet each of these are ruled by one entity," he said. "Is that right?"

Naya nodded. “They are now. But it took a long while for them to get to that point, and it doesn't mean that there weren’t people who successfully fought or rebelled against being ruled. If you take over this continent…”

She let her voice trail off, aware that she was offering advice he didn’t ask for.

Akoro tilted his head, a brow arched. “Yes?”

“It is challenging to rule land this size,” she said, “especially by force. A lot of your resources will be needed just to keep your people alive.”

He made another noise at the back of his throat, looking between the landmasses.

“Are you…” Naya tried to formulate her question without making it a question. “One of the other lands might be easier to conquer than mine.” She hated even saying it, but she had a responsibility to explore all opportunities to protect her Land above the others. “The Lands of Eiros in particular have a history of more turmoil?—“

“No. I want yours.”

“It will be harder to conquer.”