C116- Popalis (2)

"...What is this place?", asked Corvin.

The room was a wide and dimly lit room. In the center of the room, there was a short rectangular table with various papers and writing materials on it. On the wall across him, a flag was hung. At the right side of the room, stood a big vault made out of steel.

At the other side of the room, there was a big painting with Noah's signature shining. The painting was that of a man holding a notebook in front of a fancy building. This would be a fairly unassuming painting if the man holding the notes wasn't moving. This painting was Noah's magic. Every now and then, one or two people would enter the painting and the man would check the notebook in his hands. Sometimes he would nod and let the people enter the building, sometimes he would not.

"This is our meeting place, Corvin.", answered Noah.

"Who?"

"Wings of the People. Popalis for short."

"...Wait, why?"

"What do you not understand?"

"So, this is the base of your movement to overthrow the Emperor, right?"

"Yes, so what?"

"Why are you using bird symbolism then? Aren't they a symbol of the Avib nobility?"

"Oh... You are right, the nobles here use birds to symbolize their families. You are right about that."

"Then wh-"

"But! They are not the ones who came up with the idea. Do you remember what Terich told us about ancient Avibus?"

"Most of them were destroyed by the Fucapitria?"

"Yes. But, most doesn't mean all."

Noah pointed towards the vault on the right side of the room.

"In that vault, there are ancient artifacts. Well, they are in quite a bad shape, but they are still there. And, you know what? There are a lot of birds in their art."

"And?"

"So, I have been looking for records of ancient Avib history. You see, even back then, bird symbolism was a big part of our ancient culture. Ancient tribes chose birds to symbolize themselves, just like our nobles today. Though, there are only two symbols we have found to this day, there are some more described in their annals."

"I see..."

"Actually, Corvin. These symbols are not really important. They are just shapes we force meaning upon. Honestly, I like them because I am an artist. That's why I care about them. Even the brown bird on our flag is from an ancient legend we discovered."

"I think they are cool too."

"Right... Finding these was really hard you know."

"I can guess."

"It's mostly because the Altus family have been destroying them throughout history."

"Huh? Why?"

"I don't know. They are trying to hide something, I think. Something happened in the ancient past, probably around the time of the Fucapitria hunt. Most of the missing history is from that time."

"Have you found anything?"

"No, not yet. But, we are searching for it."

"I see. By the way, who are the 'we' you are talking about?"

"There is no way I am trying this on my own, you know?"

"Sigh~ Yeah I know that. I am asking who they are."

"Oh. They will be here shortly, just wait."

"Okay... Hey, can you tell me about that brown bird?"

"Oh, that? Honestly, we don't know much about it."

"You said it was from a legend, right?"

"Yeah. According to the legend, it's a bird made out of dirt with an emerald heart. We don't know it's name, but we do know it was the symbol of a certain city in the ancient times."

"A city?"

"Yeah. A city that used to be near Alaturb, actually."

"Why did you choose it, then?"

"The city was ruled by an elected leader. So, it reflects our mission."

"Interesting..."

"Well, I say that but their rulers were rulers for life and you can guess how reliable the elections of the ancient times were. But still, even though that's not the kind of system I want, it was more similar than what we have now."

Corvin nodded and asked another question.

"What's that painting? What does it do?"

"Oh, it's just a simple magic that prevents people who aren't invited to get into this room. Someone strong enough could probably force their way in but then the painting would change so I would know. Great, isn't it?"

Corvin nodded at Noah who was letting his ego puff up a little with a smile. Noah and Corvin chatted for a while longer. After a while, they heard a sound.

Step Step Step Creak~

"Oh, they are coming, finally."

The steps got closer and the door of the room opened. A few people walked in to the room who looked like nobles except a butler with the symbol of a family on his chest. Noah looked at the middle aged butler and opened his mouth but before that, the butler spoke.

"My Master couldn't come today. I will attend the meeting in his stead."

"Alright, if he trusts you then I am okay with it."

"My loyalty is to my master, not to this Empire."

"Even if he loses his nobility?"

"I am loyal to him, not to his title."

"I still don't understand how some servants become this loyal to someone.", muttered Noah under his breath.

'This is quite a lot of allies... When did he find all these people?', wondered Corvin and turned to Noah.

"Well, Noah? Who are they?"

Before Noah could answer, a young man who sat across him at the table spoke.

"Asking that to him is bad manners, isn't it? We can answer it ourselves. We are his allies."

"U-Huh..."

The young man got up and reached his hand towards Corvin.

He was a man that looked to be in his early twenties. His hair was unusually coloured, with blond at the bottom but slowly turning into a deep orange at the tip. His eyes, slightly larger than normal, were also a light shade of orange. On his left ear, there was a circular earring out of gold, with three colourful feathers on it. On his chest was a brooch of what looked like a noble family's symbol. The symbol was a parrot that was covering a sword with it's wings with an open beak.

Corvin got up and shook the man's hand.

"My name is Andy Sitta, the current head of the Sitta family."

"C-Corvin Mundy... I guess I am also a noble, though I haven't gotten used to it."

"I know. I was there when you met with the Emperor."

"I see. Sorry, I don't remember."

"I didn't intend to be remembered so it's okay."

As they sat back down, Noah leaned towards Corvin and spoke quietly.

"He is actually one of the youngest head of a family in the Empire, currently. Though, we are all relatively younger here. You know, because older nobles usually are against what we want to achieve here... But I guess most nobles are generally against it."

Noah got up and talked to everyone.

"Well then, everyone! This is my friend and one of the 'rising stars of young nobles' Corvin Mundy! He has been the biggest helper to me and from today onwards, he is a part of our group. Now, let's introduce ourselves and then resume the meeting."