Alex found himself a place to sit in the coliseum, watching as even more cloaked mbers of the Order trooped in until the edifice was filled to the brim.
Taking a casual look around, inspecting their posture and general deanor, Alex quickly guessed that all present were nobles or at least related to them which tallied with his earlier assessnt.
Their sitting position in the edifice also served as a ans to note their positions within the Order.
According to Lucius’s mories, the Order had a total of four positions starting with the lowest being Supremacist moving on to Cavalier, Exarch, and finally, Spokesman which served as the spiritual leader of the organization and the one most likely to know the whereabouts of Ashtyx.
Lord Fitzgerald was a Cavalier and the Mouthpiece was the Spokesman for this generation.
In any case, his inspection soon ceased as the giant stone doors leading into the coliseum closed with a thud before the green flas above suddenly ceased, plunging the coliseum into an eerie darkness.
Then green light erged from the center of the hall, Illuminating the area enough for one to watch as the stone altar at the center rearranged itself, allowing a pedestal to erge from underground.
On the pedestal stood a person who from all indications was the Mouthpiece in all her glory.
Her presence radiated an almost divine feeling though that was rely a show and wasn’t the real deal.
The lights soon died down and the flas above lit up again, Illuminating the edifice.
All mbers rose to their feet and paid homage, echoing at the sa ti. "We greet the Mouthpiece."
The Mouthpiece didn’t imdiately speak up, her gaze trailing across everyone present before finally resting on Alex after which she remarked.
"May the Empire persist forever and may the Emperor reign supre!"
"As it should be!" The mbers echoed together.
With the display ending, all had their seats allowing the Mouthpiece to begin the proceedings.
"I’m sure we are all aware but it is right to inform you all that Aragon has gone against us. They have colluded with a clandestine organization to prevent our plans from reaching fruition."
Taking a mont to breathe, The Mouthpiece once again glanced at Alex as she continued. "This organization, according to reliable Intel, calls itself the Shadowless and though their goal is unknown, it is safe to say that they are against us."
Just then, a Cavalier spoke up. "The Exarchs must have arrived at Thebes, correct?"
"Indeed, they have." The Mouthpiece responded before adding. "They launched an attack not too long ago but considering the Rey of Aragon is standing guard over the city, they were forced to return empty-handed."
"I suggest we send even more bodies over. Aragon may be strong but they are the ones on the defensive. If we must, destroy Thebes." Yet another Cavalier spoke, his tone rather brusque for a noble.
One could guess he must have been a pro-war supporter when the rebellion in the West first began.
"Though your point is valid, we cannot dare to destroy Thebes lest we attract the ire of that great figure."
As she spoke, a wave of silence settled over the hall, almost as though the ntion of that great figure had brought a great deal of fear to their hearts.
’Who is this great figure and what is their connection to Thebes?’ Alex couldn’t help but wonder in his heart as he remained silent, watching the proceedings with a vested interest.
"How about a parley?... We get this... Shadowless you speak of to accept a truce and then, we sit for discussion. I believe with the right words, we can get a good deal. Even if we can’t, as long as we finish off the last of the dust people, we can always go back for retribution."
The Cavalier that spoke carried himself like one from the antiwar faction amongst the nobles.
His words seed to lighten the mood as they offered a solution that did not offend that great person.
The Mouthpiece nodded. "Smiley has indeed ntioned sothing like that after the battle at Thebes. According to him, unless we are willing to weaken our ranks considerably, there is no way we can get the last one."
"So that ans we must take it. We cannot avoid losing more strength, especially with the situation in the Highlands. Let us parley." The Cavalier that suggested the parley spoke yet again, his tone filled with much more confidence.
However, another Cavalier pointed out a problem. "But to parley we have to et with the other party. How do we get across to them?"
This got a few murmurs from the mbers as they pondered this only for the Mouthpiece to speak up, her tone as calm as when she first began.
"That is indeed a problem. How do we get across to the Shadowless?... We could consider reaching out to Alejandro and asking that he connect us to the enigmatic organization but I doubt he would be willing to sit and talk considering we recently invaded his territory. However, there is another way to go about this problem."
"How?" Curiosity blossod in the minds of those present as they waited for a response.
The Mouthpiece turned to face Alex and instantly, Alex knew what was about to happen but instead of fear, he remained steadfast.
As he had chosen to believe in his subordinate, nothing would cause him to waver.
Then, the Mouthpiece began. "We could directly seek an audience with the leader of the organization."
"But how do we find him?" the Cavaliers inquired, considerably peeved by their leader’s tendency to beat around the bush.
Chuckling, she responded. "Why, there’s no need to, after all, he is right here. Isn’t that right, Lucius?... Or should I say, Master of the Shadowless?"
All eyes imdiately fell on Alex but he ignored them and in the most casual manner, leaned back in his chair with his fingers intertwined and crossed his legs like a refined gentleman before ultimately responding.
"Nice to et you."
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