"-and the night grew crisp with a chilling wind, and the moon shone brighter than had ever been, and the wrought taste of lightning came sweeping in with the last laugh and dance and smile they'd ever see- HER'S!... as she'd rend them asunder with gusto and glee...
That any amongst the soul-wrenching carnage could harbor such utter delight... as if roused from a slumber to find their wishes manifest-... She was just... so b-"
Chancellor, "Sir Bard. This... battle you've wit-"
"No! Battle implies even the slightest hope of victory. This were no battle. It was a slaughter, a REAPING, brought on by the arrogance of man."
Chancellor, "Are you suggesting that His Majesty commands from arrogance?... Sir Bard?... Are we to believe two legions of His Majesty's men were inconsequential to the whims of a single elf- a woman, at that?"
Believe what you wish, I speak only truth. Their lands remain unconquered for a reason. His Majesty's armies have awoken a dragon - an old and honorable god of silver and strife, and if you do not wish-"
Chancellor, "Honorable?"
"Yes, honorable! I am no fool. Their rivers run red with the blood of my kin... yet I've suffered no harm, save what keeps me from sleep. I should rightfully assume this is due to no skill or luck, instead to the providence of my being unarmed. Theirs even gifted me water and rations for the return journey, the magnanimous creatures they are.
If this court should believe such generosity is not simply their nature, then it should believe my breath to have purpose - to advise this court and its king: open a dialogue, a border, even your coffers, lest it be your veins and ranks and the very notion that kingdoms of men are not kingdoms at all, but playthings for beings of a higher order."
-Bard, hired observer of the incursion into elven lands, describing to His Majesty's Court the inevitability of failure and why none but him have returned with a pulse.
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Spent a few hours of painting and editing on this one, but not for as much difference as you might assume. These SD models, UI features, and my own prompting skills are getting better. This image is a slice of my mind.