Banquet
A few days went by; nothing to be worth noting around the kingdom happened. Starting with Oxshield and the royal family. The princess had a nice and gentle recovery after a certain incident. She quickly got back to her feet and things went on as usual. Her behavior – once heartless and filled with hate, subsided. It grew to be slightly more docile. It was seen through how she behaved. Theodore’s apprentice; who now assisted her on a daily basis slightly changed her. The young one’s attitude who once was afraid of her now spoke to her highness with ease. The master and servant relationship barrier was still in place, but he ignored said rules. Often, he would stand behind her while she had tea and read, just to scare her. It made her mad but she laughed.
In no way did that slight change affect how the kingdom was ruled. She remained adamant about her previous ideals; that the provinces should be ruled by the royal family only. The king had grown old over the years, his seventieth birthday approached with each passing day. A foolish king loved by his followers. None hated him for his loss of power, rather, all the animosity befallen the princess. The queen remained in the shadows and only made trips to other nations for peace treaties, trade agreents and such. Banquets didn’t diminish, her schedule filled up rapidly. Raulf Serlo arrived a few days ago – he canceled his trip to the empire to stay beside the king. He soon learned about the growing situations of unworldly beings dropping coins and such; to help with the confusion – he aided. Even as he remained at the royal castle, communication with the subordinates was maintained. The idea for a new ranking system was partly encouraged and backed by him. The Order could naught but digress.
After days of waiting for the equipnt to be installed into every guildhall present throughout Oxshield. The implentation would be made public and so were the presence of monsters. It was necessary to warn the people; for if they died – who’d be the ones working for the betternt of life. Out near the border of Totrya, makeshift camps were installed. The central adventuring guild had ordered none to step closer. Looking at how many people were killed, the area was closed off. For the ti being, adventurers weren’t allowed to hunt nor kill – not until every preparation was ready.
A massive wall was built using magic, it required less ti but more effort. For the purpose of lasting only a few days, it held up nicely. All the preliminaries were complete. Every problem and possible disturbance had been planned for. The royal family had no say nor influence. The guild, MARS, and other scholars were the ones who made all the arrangents. All the king had to do was give express permission. News of this had reached the emperor’s ears, and he sent part of his forces to help with suppressing the invasions for a little. Said force mainly consisted of S-rank and higher mages. This was the main reason why Totrya was closed off.
Ti had co to choose a date, a day that unveils everything. The opportune ti to announce how the kingdom was to change. During a eting between the counselors; Raulf proposed to kill two birds with one stone. The king’s day of birth was to be an occasion celebrated by all. Announcing the drastic changes and then celebrating the king’s birthday would silence any uprise. Anyone opposed to the guild’s decision could not voice their frustrations on such a joyful day. In turn, this would help the implentation go smoothly. King Blaine Mcleod Riverty, graciously accepted said idea and laughed. Nevertheless, he had one condition that was to be obeyed. “For my birthday, a day of change and new beginnings – I want every ruling noble in Hidros to co and attend this banquet. None shall be alienated on such an auspicious day. From Arda to Dorchester, everyone will be welcod. Give the ssage and clearly tell them that the nobles of said provinces have my express favor to bring anyone they deed a friend or family. Being noble or not doesn’t affect this country anymore. I want said day to be the turning page to start a new life for all present.” The old man coughed; he had much more to say but his body refused. Graciously knelt before him, his many attendants and counselors applauded the idea. Despite being gullible, he was soone virtuous.
Everything got set in place, envoys were sent throughout the kingdom. It took about three days for all the letters to be delivered. The banquet was to be organized in a weeks’ ti. The first province to move was Kreston. The letter read,
‘all shall be welco before the banquet itself. Traveling such distances may prove tortuous. Worry not for arrangents to ones who arrive early have been made.’
The second one to react was Plaustan with it still mysterious leaders. Then ca Dorchester, on the day the envoys arrived; everyone remained baffled. The ssenger entered the castle to see people working together, a camp being built. Everyone held a smile on their faces, the mbers of the council were spotted on scaffoldings and helping in the construction efforts. A few steps inside, rchants called out, they urged him to check the wares. Astonishingly, the weapons and armor were of a quality on par with the craftsn in the capital. The prices weren’t as high but the quality was as good.
.....
The stranger continued his walk to the castle. A massive tavern with a banner reading,
‘co one co all, drinks and food for free.’
The place remained constantly filled with people. Even if it was free, people still paid. A tradition that slowly got embedded into how the tavern worked. An unwritten rule, that one must give anything as less of value as it may be to the bartender. Everyone did so with a smile. In a rush, Julius and Millicent ran out of the study to greet the envoy. Julius looked like a noble, his hair well combed and clothes impeccable, while Millicent had bed hair. The place felt light-hearted and accommodating
After a quick visit, the letter was handed over. The ssenger stayed at the tavern before leaving.
‘Anyone deed a friend, or family, is welcod.’
In the evening, everyone ca together to decide who would go. Julius tried to remain out of the conversation but was forced to decide. Staxius was absent and Milicent went drinking. “The letter says to bring family and friends. I say that the silver guardians, Fenrir and Milicent should go.” Julius said his take on it. “Absolutely not, Julius and Autumn are the ones to go,” Adelana argued. “We should all go,” Fenrir added her take on it. “-Undrar, , the silver guardians, Autumn, Julius, Milicent, and Eira. It will be the perfect opportunity to visit Ayleth.” She concluded. “If we all go then who is going to take care of the castle?” Julius voiced his troubles. “We have a band of responsible and intelligent people working day and night for Dorchester. We can leave this to them, I’m sure we have more than enough competent people to take charge and lead.” Undrar added.
“As you wish,” Julius gave up, “-let’s head out tomorrow. We’ll be staying at my place in Claireville academy’s noble district. Pack your stuff, it will be a long trip.” He smiled. “What about Staxius?” Ancret spoke out of the blue. “Who knows,” Undrar replied. “If I know him as well as I think, he will co for sure. It’s an opportunity to scout out people who might help and turn against us in the future.” Julius added before the conversation ended.
The voyage to Arda lasted longer than compared to the other provinces. Nevertheless, the envoy arrived without any trouble. The young butler was sent as an envoy once more. He had already made the trip here once and knew how to get in. The guards blindfolded him like always and took him to have an audience with her majesty. Unlike the previous ti, he now had manners and knew how to behave in the presence of royalty. He spoke the ssage, gave the letter, and left. A strange figure caught his attention, a guy with a ponytail. He remained on her right side while an old-looking man stood on the other. Nothing remained the sa around here; the people seed more on edge. This didn’t affect how they behaved.
Upon reading the ssage, the queen called in a eting with all her counselors and nobles. Staxius tried to step away but was stopped by the old sage. The latter caught his hands and smiled. Staxius unwillingly gave a slight grin. The queen faced him and looked on the verge of breaking into tears. She and Staxius grew closer in the course of the few days that went by. Though he was once an unknown entity, Staxius grew to be loved by all. The animosity at the sight of a human quenched. The main reason for that was the fighting. Every day, at the exact sa ti, those beasts who now got given the na Goblins tried to invade the city.
He fought, day after day, he built up the experience and worked hard. This was the first ti Staxius took it upon himself to get strong. He trained with the royal army, the generals and commanding officers hated him at first. But after witnessing the amazing swordplay he mastered, everyone took a liking to him. To that end, Staxius used dark-arts to influence the people who seed a threat. Despite that, he got around easily with his charisma alone. The words from Xula gave him a wake-up call. Instead of whining to himself constantly, he worked hard. Not only did he train with the army, but he also joined up with the sorcerers of Arda. They were unlike any other, mages here were on another level. They mainly consisted of elves who were born to be sorcerers. From ti to ti, dark elves would drop by and train him. Being an angel’s conduit took a heavy toll – but he persevered and nearly killed himself on many occasions.
Gradually, Staxius relearnt how to use magic from scratch. The old sage taught him personally. Arda beca a haven, their knowledge rivaled the corrupt outside world. He felt at ho, his personality reverted to how it was. His emotions still fluctuated, at tis he felt everything and at the ti nothing – blank. That beca a personal quest of his,
‘what makes my emotion turn blank, and what triggers this cold-hearted killer persona to imrge.’
As a result, from helping people daily to training with the best. Staxius’s na grew common amongst the people. He would often sneak out at night to visit the lower levels of the tree. It baffled his mind how sothing like this existed. The demi-humans liked him and so did the noble council. Taking all that into factor, the people who were chosen to attend the banquet beca obvious. The nobles didn’t want to go, prejudice about their appearance would surely create an uproar. ?Thus, it all ca down to a single conclusion. Arda’s queen and Staxius, the man she courted were to head to the capital.
By the way she acted, everyone knew the nature of their relationship. The queen had a change of heart. She beca more caring and compassionate towards her subjects and wasn’t as gullible as before. The people who opposed and used her were rendered useless – the old sage and Staxius helped.
“The queen and Staxius shall be the ones who will attend the banquet on our behalf.” A man bearing white-hair, red eyes, and long teeth, spoke. He was one of the nobles from the vampire sect. “I agree with the vampire here,” a well-built man with furs covering his humanoid body, spoke. That was one of the tribesn from the werewolf sect. In that fashion, every representative of every race agreed. “You better protect our queen with all your might, dearest Staxius.” One of the elderly elves jokingly added. She represented the commoners, a pleasant old woman who remained cheerful at all tis.
Taken by surprise by all the recognition he got, Staxius replied with,” I shall do my very best to protect your queen as well as mine.” He slowed down purposefully on the last words. “Soone has grown romantic over the days haven’t they,” the vampire added jokingly. Everyone teased him – the strict and relentless Arda was only but rumors. Deep down, everyone in this province lived as Staxius had hoped for Dorchester to beco. “This council is done,” the queen stood sharply and left, her tone was one of a little girl. “Thank you for taking the ti out of your busy schedule to attend this urgent eting.” Staxius thanked everyone on behalf of her majesty and so did the sage.
“Worry not my friend, call on us if you’re ever in trouble. We, the people of Arda though have our disagreents are one big family. You, Staxius Haggard, though a human, has beco a mber. Take care of the queen on our behalf, for too long has she suffered alone, loneliness can break the strongest individuals. Part of the reason everyone has accepted you is that you make her majesty smile. Never have we seen that side of her. You’re keen to learn and work hard does help as well. Staxius, I’ll officially say this, on behalf of everyone in Arda, welco to the family.” They all rose and cheered, the old-sage patted his back. A stranger turned family, he felt overwheld by how the people behaved. Never had he seen such bright and clean aura before.
One by one, everyone left. ‘my friends out in Dorchester, I’ve found sothing extraordinary. I wish we could all et and rejoice in this glory but I still have work to do before I can face you guys like the man you believed in. This is the day I start over, long enough have I whined, long enough have I been a fool – ti has co to make myself into a better person. Not a hero, not a villain, but an example. I shall beco the light that guides the people around into a better future, that was the quest given to by soone special. Father, is this what you tried to show ?’ ?The footsteps faded into the distance as well as their chatter and laughter. ‘-was this the world you tried to make?’
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