You say that it doesn't matter, but it does to the families that are starving. It's possible in time that they will come to see this threat that you speak of, if things go poorly, which they often do in wars. These things take time and if your people are not well cared for, it could lead to riots and insurrections. There has to be a balance between these things, otherwise, you have dead on both fronts.

[It's certainly not something she takes lightly.]

Only 5,000? [She shuts her eyes for a moment, pressing her fingers at her temples, as though the pressure from her crown were there.] That would mean you need all of my men?

[Gods be good, but who would protect her city? Her people? She turned Cleon the Butcher away because of a similar issue and the stakes were as great in her estimation.]

Dragonglass? Why is Dragonglass so important to this war?