Alpheo leaned back in his chair, his gaze heavy as it swept over the faces of his closest friends "Now, I hate to be the party pooper," he began, his voice calm but carrying the weight of what was to come. "But it's time we address the elephant in the room. By this time next year, we're set to lose nearly half of our army."
The room, already subdued, turned eerily silent. All eyes were on him. Alpheo straightened, his hands clasped together as he explained further.
"When I took the throne," he said, "You will recall that I made a promise. A promise to our men. They were to serve for two years, and in return, they would receive land—land to call their own, to work and pass on to their children. For the new recruits, the terms were longer—twenty-five years, they are still a long way from that . But for those who have stood with us from the beginning, their time is almost up."
