I have led armies through valleys where the wind carries the scent of burning wood, and I know that maps drawn by scribes are lies unless tested against living breath. No spirit in the heavens whispers the truth of an ambush, nor does a pile of silver or a book of calculations reveal the hidden strength of a foe. The only source of certainty is the man who walks within their ranks, the official whose loyalty has shifted, or the soldier captured and turned to serve our cause. To rely on anything else is to march blind into a trap that waits for your confusion.

Now you must decide what price your command will pay for clarity. Do not hoard your resources while your enemy gathers strength in silence. Send forth those five kinds of eyes, the local, the inward, the converted, the doomed, and the surviving, until their web covers every path and hides nothing from your view. If you fail to know your opponent before the clash, the victory you seek will cost more than the kingdom itself.