84 Preparation

The wind blows hard and cold, the sun shines but remains hidden by the clouds. It looked gloomy and dim, the silence before the storm. The capital worked tirelessly to make the king's day of birth magnificent and grandiose. The princess to everyone's surprise; helped. She took command of accommodations for the arriving guests; whom, many set off for Rosespire already.

The first one to arrive was the people from Kreston. Heavily militarized trucks with soldiers armed to the teeth escorted the guests. A flag with the holy crest waved as the gusts wailed at them relentlessly. In hopes of stopping any confusion, a letter of the invitation came with a small piece of paper. A small piece that gave the guests access to the city without getting searched or halted by security. Exemption from the normal procedure; something rather unbefitting for arriving nobles.

After handing the small badge; they were guided to the castle. Catching a glimpse from afar was what most people considered as a boon. Lucky were the ones who got to step inside. The architecture rivaled even the smartest builders and architects. The whole structure felt divine in some way. The castle had a rather large base that got levels, towers, walls, and other necessities added onto it. In no way was it your ordinary square wall with four towers at each corner. This one had a hexagonal shape, six towers onto which rested buildings. Yes, buildings, long and tall with guards waiting.

Before said towers, one may have looked like an ant. Though the intricacies didn't stop here for the castle itself reached mightier heights. Parts were closed off; parts were unseen and parts were hidden. Everything looked majestic; the outer walls were most that people could see from the outside. After entering the almost impregnable front gate, the sheer size became apparent. Both the duke and the pope were left breathless. In front of them stood a yard, a fountain, and other valuables. At every corner, a maid and butler waited patiently. All the vehicles were given a place to park, down, in the lower levels. A level accessed only if you went around the left side.

All and all, the nobles were gently welcomed. The accommodations for their stay were to the right side. An area as big as a small village but unused. While walking around, it became apparent that the castle wasn't all connected. It was a small town in of itself that the royal family had closed off. Massive buildings with beautiful stone and wooden walls stood close together. If this town were to ever be opened, this area would have been the area were the nobles would have resided.   

The paths weren't of dirt nor grass, but stone bricks. Of which, all had a nice and unique design that shaped into the royal crest at regular intervals. These paths were far to clean to be called a part of the outside world. A quick peek upwards revealed something peculiar, a sort of barrier. Magical in nature, it seemed like a roof preventing the outer elements to enter. It all took time to seep in, the duke, his family and the pope were guided towards the first mansion. The path stretched on beyond the eyes could see and took a sharp left. On both sides, mansions, one more unique and grander as the other stood, lonely but beautiful. They were a piece of art, though this detail escaped most of the people living here.

In the span of a few days, as more guests came; the street gradually filled with nobles. None's ranks were given any significance. All were treated the same for they were all the people his majesty had invited. The day of the main event was but five days apart. Arda, Dorchester, and Totrya weren't present yet.

  "Your majesty, we've received a letter from a certain man." A faint girlish voice spoke. The air felt boiling hot, the place haunted by perpetual screams of unknown beings and entities. "I hate being disturbed, but what has one of my trusty servants brought to me?" The man turned from overlooking the valley to the girl who knelt. "Thank you very much, what has happened to the man in question?" He read the letter. "He has been killed," she paused to check her master's reaction, "-the necromancers needed a living human to test out some sort of new mind and body control." She ended with sweat dripping off her forehead. "Very well, what is done cannot be undone." He walked over to her. "The royal family are having a party for a king we haven't met nor the nobles around." He stopped and stared at the gloomy sky. "-take Kanad with you Kylsha, you shall go in my stead. You will represent Totrya in that banquet, I'll give you instructions later." He spoke with a grin.

Three days before the banquet, nobles representing Totrya arrived. None paid any heed, everything seemed in order. A lady who could rival a queen in beauty and a man whose figure made any warrior look in awe walked in nonchalantly. They had an aura around them, an aura of magnificence. The walk down the street felt short but the people could naught but stare at the duo. Their garments shone: well-tailored and filled with accessories of which diamonds, pearls, rubies, and others glistened.

The nobles from Dorchester arrived on the same day. They chose to head to Claireville academy instead. Ayleth's condition weighed heavily on their minds. For a poor and desolate province such as them, Dorchester, or rather, Julius, had called in for his company to bring six luxurious cars to escort the ladies. After a quick visit to the hospital, their heart was set at ease. Nothing happened, they just stood at their comrade while speaking to the doctors. They said she recovered at a steady pace.

On the way out, Eira came down for a quick visit. Adelana gave her a brief rundown of what was to happen. "W-what about f-father?" Eira asked; she sounded disappointed. They all sat at a local restaurant and conversed. The place looked expensive but the food was affordable and delicious. "Staxius has been missing for the past weeks, I haven't the slightest idea to where he is," Julius added. "He's probably off adventuring or looking for something unattainable," Fenrir said with a hint of sarcasm. "Forget about him, we've got bigger things to worry about," Ancret spoke trying to steer the conversation. "The banquet," Alyson said monotonously. "Yes, the banquet, we need to decide what to do," Annet replied in turn. "What is there to prepare for?" Undrar asked. "Nothing much really, just be wary of people trying to approach you," Autumn added with a slight bit of hate. "Now, now, time isn't to worry but enjoy, we've come a long way," Millicent added; she was partially drunk. "We'll figure something out along the way, for now, let's just eat and relax," Julius concluded the conversation.

A few hours later, at Julius's house – everyone got drunk. Millicent had forced them to partake in leisurely drinking, it all backfired. The people from Dorchester knew how to party, and when it got serious, things grew out of hand. Fighting, dancing, laughing, swearing, and plain old stupid dares challenged by another grew apparent.

All the provinces concerned answered the call. The nobles came happily, this made the king joyful. One province remained out of the picture, Arda. It was expected that they were not going to come. Afterall, Arda was its own nation now, but the invitation was sent as a sort of courtesy. The king really wanted to see what the new ruler or people responsible for said province looked like.

  "Avon, help me clean you," Staxius yelled. He wore only a pair of shorts, his hands wet and dripped with soap. "A bit uncalled for now isn't it?" Avon answered. He stood on the opposite side of the car. "Not really, just help me clean you faster." Staxius viciously scrubbed the black car. After a few hours, it shone and looked as beautiful as ever. "We should probably take a break, master," Avon added while out of breath. "No time, I have to train with the old sage." Semi-naked, Staxius jumped through the portal and ended in the sage's study. "A little underdressed, aren't we?" The sage sat before a small desk onto which a candle remained lit. "I apologize for that," Staxius mumbled something. A weird spiral surrounded his feet and climbed up. The once wet body dried up nicely. "Excellent, you've mastered it, at last, haven't you?" The sage stood up and applauded. "All thanks to you, the great sage." Staxius smiled, he relearnt magic and rediscovered the passion he once had for the subject. "My boy, you truly are a gifted sorcerer and scholar, never have I seen someone look at magic in your way." He patted Staxius. "I've got more to learn from you," Staxius had separated his ego; he wanted to learn as much as he could. "No need to threat, I shall be alive for a few centuries more. Don't forget, us high elves may be short in numbers but we can outlive most of the beings in this realm." He smiled. "Can we continue the lectures and training?" Staxius asked politely. The sage nodded and the training began once more.

Hours went on deep into the night. Staxius trained with the sage, then with the army, and then back to the mages. This was his whole day summed up, relentless study and training. The goblins now attacked at night, everyone knew when and where they would pop up. Staxius stood as the front guard, behind him, trainee soldiers and mages. This had become a training exercise thanks to the suggestion given by him. 'Alright, today is the day I try to fight with this technique.' Hands ready to unsheathe his sword, Staxius closed his eyes. The growls grew closer, "attack," one of the supervisors yelled. 'I can see with my normal sight. My head doesn't hurt as much, being a conduit takes a lot out of me daily.'

The trainees ran forward, everyone screamed, spells were cast. Staxius stood in place, his eyes closed. 'I see better with my eyes closed,' the mana links, the flames, he had been working on this for a long time now. Something he invented, something he discovered after the first fight. A technique of his own making, *Whoosh,* before the students could hit their targets, all the goblins were slain in one motion. Staxius's sword sheathed, 'I did it,' he smiled. "I DID IT," he screamed. "Staxius, stop taking all the prey, how are the kids going to train?" the supervisors yelled jokingly. "Sorry," Staxius tilted his head and smiled.

'I finally have something, an ability I created from scratch.' He walked away from the training grounds. 'I won't give it a name yet; I feel like this can improve even better.' He headed towards the castle. The portal took him straight to his bedroom. 'God I'm beat,' he opened the door. The room looked dark, with no sign of lights - nothing. "Xula is that you?" when he blinked, Staxius saw something, a white-flame. "How did you know I was here?" she stood up, the lights all turned on. "I don't know really, I just… let's not speak about it." He took off his shirt and threw it purposefully at her. "Queen or not, you still have to deal with me and my sweaty clothes, aren't you, my partner after all?" he pulled out his tongue.  

"A bit degrading but I care not for such trifling matters." She picked up the shirt. "Aren't you going to take a bath?" Xula asked while placing said shirt inside a basket. "Not really," Staxius snapped his fingers. The same spiral covered his entire body. "you really didn't have to pick that up, I was but playing around." The spiral vanished, he looked clean. "I know, you needn't worry," for a queen, she was dressed lightly in only a shirt and pants. "What's the nature of your visit then?" Staxius sat down opposite her. "-never mind, you don't need to answer," he turned around and touched her shoulders gently. "If you have something in your mind, do speak to me about it, I'm all ears." He smiled. She turned around, smiled, then spoke with him for hours on end. He remained attentive until the very end; the queen fell asleep while speaking. 'Being someone who people look up to must be hard now, isn't it, Xula.' He covered her and left the room. It would have been disrespectful to sleep in the same room as her, especially when nothing had been made public yet.