Soon, the northern nations and dominions were uniting into one power that came to be called the Northern United Alignment. It was a union of free states consisting of Besten, Virune, Krolalin and several smaller city states (Netheda, Ohigh and Elkinii), and from these united areas came an army of one million strong, on land, one hundred thousand strong, on sea and seven thousand strong, in the air. Each of the major united nations controlled their own special force of power. Virune, under the leadership of Empal, trained and took command of the air using the giant eagles that they had learned to domesticate. Krolalin trained their land army to use whatever weapons were available to their utmost potential, as well as developing a land cavalry that was twenty thousand strong. And there was Besten, a sea-faring people who adapted easily to naval warfare with a force numbering one hundred thousand men. Bestenese scientists were let into Alugean to search the library contents for plans on which to build weapons, like those used by the ArchBishop's monastic guards. With much difficulty and lack of proper equipment and resources, the developments were made but they never seemed to progress very quickly. For the generals and leaders, suits of rubber, leather and gold plating served as armour protection against electrophoric and laser shock. Although not superior in strength to hold up against constant jolting, they at least served the person to live while in their retreat, if hit. Monastic spy activity in the north warned the ArchBishop Manguino that an army was being formed that could potentially be used gainst him. It was an accurate speculation seeing that the spies didn't really know what was being planned or even who was doing the planning. On the first word of such a mounting of forces and arms, Manguino demanded that an army be compiled for him and every eligible male from fifteen to fifty was ordered into training, for war, while the women between twenty and thirty were formed into separate fighting forces. Even the ladies from the Prominants took over working then men's jobs, since they were the only ones to be permitted to stay at home. After two years of nothing happening in the manner of war, threats or anything else of great aggressive significance, those of the Prominent class were allowed back to their social life-styles while the rest were coerced into staying in the forces. Those Prominants who were sympathetic to Manguino's rule, for whatever self-centred reason, stayed on as his generals. They were even so powerful as to order all those at Halls, to do their bidding; all those at Halls except for Manguino. With the final preparations taking place with the Northern United Alignment, ambassadors were sent to the hostile states and lands between Besten and Phoride, and there asked them to follow them to freely pass through without harassment or troubles.