Envoys from one of the Great Five

 The procession of envoys from the Supreme Alliance entered slowly entered the throne room as the trumpets blasted to announce their arrival. They stopped before the King of Agreya and bowed their heads as a sign of reverence . They stood on the aisle of the throne room which was packed full of nobles from the kingdom of Agreya and the foreign ones from other kingdoms. The king was holding a short scepter in his right hand . Once he was satisfied with the respects paid to him by the envoys , he raised the scepter as a gesture and sign that they had earned his permission to leave the aisle and take the seats set in the front rows specially allocated for them.

 Once they had sat down ,their leader , a stout man of short stature introduced the group , " Your majesty the king of the free kingdom of Agreya and its benevolent people , please accept the greetings I humbly carry from the emperor of the Supreme Alliance. We are the envoys sent by the emperor so as to discuss some delicate terms that will touch on the relations of the Agreya kingdom with our empire as well as other member states of the Great five. With your permission your majesty ,I am sir George of the house of Whiteway and I'd like to formally begin the negotiations."

 The king of Agreya nodded a go ahead and sir George wasted no time in getting started , " The Northern gold mines of the Agreya Kingdom are known to produce some of the finest of pure gold alongside other precious minerals such as gems , rubies and diamonds . The Supreme Alliance therefore asks that your majesty allow us to buy shares in the mines at a reasonable fee to be set at your discretion."

 Sir George's request triggered an avalanche of murmurs and whispers amongst thee crowds. It was an outright violation upon the kingdom of Agreya's integrity to make such a demand and then continue to state that the king's decision would affect the kingdom's international relations .

 Standing next to his father , Lan could see the fear and indecisiveness on the king's face . Although he had asked the king to be ready for anything in advance , the man was still evidently caught off guard and utterly unprepared. His younger brother , Kevin Montreal , was no different from his father. Anxiety had rooted him dead still to the ground and his teeth rattled so badly Lan could see it through his lips.

 " The king of Agreya had foreseen such a situation and as such made me , his first born prince , spokesperson and lead delegator of these matters . With his authority to agree to or disapprove of the offer you are making , I would like to suggest a reasonable form of compensation from the Supreme Alliance , " Lan stepped forward and took matters into his own hands . A situation where the king got thrown off his game was what he had anticipated , as it would make it easier for him to steer matters into the direction he wanted.

 Sir George , though pleased that his deal was about to go through , couldn't help feeling apprehensive of what Lan would chose to ask for in return , " And what , if I may , would be suitable compensation in the eyes of the prince and his majesty the king ?"

 " The refugees who come seeking solace and amnesty within the safety of our kingdom's boundaries deserve a better life than they currently lead . Our kingdom tries a lot to make sure this is achieved but due to the constraints of international law our capacities are limited. There is an upcoming global summit in which all kingdoms of the world will be in attendance. During this summit , the kingdom of Agreya will raise the motion that all kingdoms be granted the right to recognize refugees as full citizens of their jurisdictions. The compensation for selling you shares in the Northern mines will be getting the backing of the Supreme Alliance when that day comes ," Lan eloquently explained his terms before the envoys .

 Sir George was hesitant to agree to this since it would allow the Agreyans and perhaps all other weaker kingdoms to strengthen their national boundaries which could potentially conflict with the interests of his kingdom the Supreme Alliance and the other members of the Great Five.

 " I shall carry over your request to our emperor , but I worry that the matter may take too much time as we delegate over it. It shall involve the drafting of amendments to international law which always take long to get approved by the international tribunals " sir George protested , trying to force in a counter offer from Lan.

 " The mines are going nowhere sir George , they will still be here for you to buy no matter how long it takes for my request to get through , " Lan was not budging . He had specifically chosen that demand because it would trigger a massive delay , allowing him time to use the finances the Supreme Alliance blindly kept dumping into the northern mines to upgrade his military's capacity. When they would eventually come to learn of what was going on , Lan would make sure that the Agreyan kingdom was atleast powerful enough to deter the Supreme Alliance from declaring war on them.