The Meeting [ Part 1 ]

When Emre woke that morning he was surprised to see that he was still on the couch, having slumped over in the middle of the night onto his side. One of the soft blankets from his bed was falling off and he immediately knew who had placed it upon him.

As much as he wanted to pull the blanket back up and sleep some more he knew that it was not possible lest he wanted to be late for the meeting. With a defeated breath, he got up and threw the blanket onto the bed as a knock met his ears.

"Come in," Emre said.

Winston entered and in the same fashion as before, Emre washed himself up and dismissed Winston until he would return with breakfast. During this time Emre considered putting on his new armor but decided against it. He would just wear another one of the outfits in the wardrobe.

He put on another high collared ruffled white shirt with a light blue and white floral brocade vest. Over top, the vest was a simple dark blue overcoat with golden trim. With black pants, his current bluish-black hair and bright blue eyes were nothing but complemented. With his outfit, he decided to add his new sword onto his white belt.

After eating a quick breakfast with the favored addition of bacon and sweetened tea, he headed out of the room. With Winston following in his wake, he glanced toward Idris's room and hesitated as the door opened from inside.

Idris exited with Reanil, wearing a flowy black shirt, a wide black belt with golden intricacies embedded within followed by simple black dress pants. He seemed to have decided to forgo a vest or overshirt and was simply wearing a dark red overcoat on top.

Walking down the hall, the two easily fell in beside one another with little more than smiles as greetings.

'Did you sleep well?' Idris wondered.

'Better than I expected.' Emre responded with an unnoticeable nod.

'Are you still nervous?'

'I'd be lying if I said no.'

'I'm sure things will work out.'

'I hope so.'

They seemed more familiar with the path to the foyer as they walked without Winston or Reanil needing to take the lead. It was still fairly early but as they began down the curved stairs, Emre noticed Killan and Ragan were present and waiting.

"Where is everyone else?" Emre asked them.

"Still sleeping for now. Nalia has plans to visit her family today. Gerrar and Conin are going to be doing their own thing. Ragan and I are going to head back into the city to visit an old family friend of mine. According to what my mother told me, his knick-knack shop is a cover for selling interesting magical items. We're going to see what he has in stock." Killan answered.

"Alright. I don't know how long the meeting will last but we'll likely see you here tonight."

As he finished saying that a few servants entered and informed the two that their horses were ready. Ragan turned to him first and clapped his hand onto Emre's shoulder.

"Good luck." He said looked at Idris as well.

Emre gave him a small smile. "Thanks."

Idris nodded and Ragan turned around, leaving with Killan as Emre turned to see Breton heading down the stairs. He was wearing a fancy white and golden suit, but his usual large smile was muted. As he walked up to them he gave one of his respectful bows which Emre had given up on telling him not to do.

He knew that if he told Breton not to, he would only insist given that he knew of Emre and Idris's identities. As such, Emre and Idris merely gave him small bows in return as he straightened back up.

"Estee— Emre, Idris, was breakfast to your liking this morning?" He asked, starting with small talk as servants exited to get the carriage ready.

"It was good. I'll have to find the time to thank the chef." Emre answered.

"Of course, of course." Breton agreed with a small smile.

They lapsed into a small awkward silence as they all turned toward the doors to wait for the carriage to be ready. Breton seemed to be struggling a bit with how to address the two. Knowing they were not only users of the holy elements, but dragons, and Emre was also Tirian's son… It was fairly difficult to know how to act around them.

He couldn't help but send a few nervous glances toward them but couldn't find any words to add. They didn't seem to mind the quiet so Breton decided that him keeping his mouth shut was probably a good idea. Being around them was nothing but overwhelming.

Soon enough the carriage was brought and they all entered to head down to the Capital Temple of Tirian once more. Emre fought against his nerves and forced his face to appear normal as he glanced out the window.

"Breton." He then called for the Paladin's attention.

"Y-yes?" The man straightened up at Emre's serious tone.

"I would like my additional ties to Tirian to be kept silent."

"Of course, I won't tell a soul."

Breton could consider a few reasons why Emre would want to keep the fact that he is Tirian's son a secret. He also didn't want to get on Emre's bad side so accepting quickly rather than trying to reason was the best course of action. Things seemed complicated when he was talking to Tirian but he didn't try to linger on the thoughts. Emre's personal business was none of his concern.

Idris, however, was a pure mystery. He didn't talk much and he always looked aloof like he didn't have a care in the world. Being around him alone would inevitably be far more suffocating than with Emre.

Emre, on the other hand, was convincing himself once more that it would go well. He forced his anxiety down, knowing he would have to appear regal and assertive. It was like needing to do a presentation in front of hundreds of people. Emre had always avoided doing presentations in front of class but he also always managed to get through them with high grades.

As much as his internal self was in a flurry of panic, he was good at hiding it under a mask of indifference. Put simply, he was a good faker. This meeting would be the same as a presentation in front of class, he was sure he would be fine despite the butterflies eating away at his stomach.

Arriving at the Temple was similar to the day before. People made way, and a few who had also been there yesterday were muttering about the fact that Breton had brought the two of them here again. Their words were full of curiosities but none dared to actually ask.

Entering through the wide-open doors, another course of fluttering butterflies surfaced in his belly. The massive statue of Tirian seemed to bore into him and he had to tear his eyes away from the visual as Silvis approached them.

The silver-haired elf seemed to have been waiting for them and easily and calmly gave their greetings to the three. Compared to Breton, Emre observed that Silvis was far calmer in the wake of them. Whether it was because of the many people present or not, it was a welcome sight.

As Silvis began to lead them toward the back of the Temple, people were very curious about the appearance of the Paladin and the two men behind him. Many of the priests from the day before recognized them and waved before going back to work in either helping people or organization.

Leading them through one of the doors in the back, it was different from the door they had entered yesterday. It led straight into a large room that was full of books. A massive library of information that some priests were currently sifting through. They only stopped what they were doing to send greetings to the four people.

"They are searching for information on the Goddess of Despair by my request," Silvis informed them as they approached a circular desk that a woman was sitting at.

She stood up and bowed. "High Priest. Paladin Breton." She greeted them first before turning to the two she did not recognize and simply nodded.

"Priestess Ran." Silvis greeted in return. "Could you retrieve my card for the Grand Library?"

"Of course."

She easily fished out a small card that was actually a metal emblem with an intricate design upon it. Silvis thanked her before passing it off to Emre.

"As I said before, this will give you access to almost all of the sections of the Grand Library."

"Thank you. It will be put to good use." Emre answered with a smile.

The priestess named Ran ended up scanning Emre as the small interaction occurred. Emre ignored it as they continued on through the Temple library to another set of doors. It led into a wide hall that branched off to the right as well as forward. They continued forward and Emre glanced to the left sidewall.

There were massive windows that were stained in a light yellow color. The light beamed in from a small courtyard in which he could see people in priest robes milling about. Compared to a church on Earth, this all seemed much different.

His attention was caught away as they turned to a door. There were two large and fully armored guardsmen standing outside it. This was the first occurrence that Emre saw guards that weren't in the main hall.

They entered through the door, passing the guards who flicked small interested looks toward Emre and Idris in passing.

'We seem quite popular.' Idris noted.

'Yes…' Emre wasn't sure how to feel about it.

Hearing the apprehension in his voice Idris glanced over and broke his stoic demeanor to give Emre a small reassuring smile. Emre took in a breath and looked around the room they had just entered.

The ceiling towered high and magic lit lights were hovering above to give the room proper lighting given the lack of windows present. It was a massive open room with a few long pillars to support the ceiling overhead. In the middle of the white and golden room was a large round table.

The table could fit several people and it seemed to be set up for guests already. A single priest was standing inside and stood at attention when the four entered. He smiled gracefully toward them. With pointed ears like Silvis, his blond hair was cut short save for a single small braid that sat before his left ear.

"This is Priest Kiyiir. He is second to myself and someone I consider a trustworthy friend." Silvis began. "Kiyiir, you already know Paladin Breton. These two are Idris and Emre."

"It is an honor to see you again, Paladin Breton, and it's nice to meet you two as well." Kiyiir gave a respectful bow.

"It's good to see you as well, Priest Kiyiir!" Breton said happily.

"It's nice to meet you." Emre and Idris said almost in unison.

Kiyiir let out a chuckle and glanced toward a clock on one of the far walls. Emre noted that he seemed to have good vision as he turned his head back to them with a smile.

"It seems I must take my leave as the other Paladins and High Priests will be arriving soon! Maybe I'll see you all later." He gave another bow and then excused himself.

"Kiyiir was the Head Priest before I became the High Priest. We've been good friends since we started working at the Temple when we were young."

"He showed no quarrel with you taking over?" Emre asked with intrigue.

Silvis let out a chuckle. "No, we often worked together even before I was made High Priest. Nothing has changed other than our titles."

"That's great, but also surprising. I've come to learn that humanoids hold great greed when it comes to power."

"Well, you are correct about that. In most situations like this, that may be the case. Luckily, I trust Kiyiir with my life and he holds our friendship in higher value than his power. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't concerned at first, but he continuously convinced me otherwise."

Emre smiled, happy that things were seemingly going just fine for Silvis. He had been worried that he put them into a complex situation, but they seemed to be taking everything well.

"Now then, I should probably go down to the teleportation portal to greet everyone. You're free to come with me or stay here." Silvis then offered.

"I will go with you," Breton answered first with a nod.

"We'll stay here," Idris answered as well, glancing toward Emre.

Emre nodded in agreement, figuring Idris probably wanted to talk to him while they were gone. Silvis and Breton made their leave through a large double door that led straight down some steps. Emre figured this room was directly connected to the teleportation circle.

'This entire room is surrounded by magic.' Idris informed him as he glanced around.

Emre's brows raised and activated his dragon detection. He hadn't been worried about it because there were too many people to have it on passively for his comfort. As he looked around he noted that there were invisible runes on the walls that seemed to be surrounding the entire expanse like a barrier.

'Hm…' Emre glanced around before cutting off telepathy to speak to the voice. 'Voice, what is the magic surrounding this room?'

[ Answer, a barrier that disallows magic to be cast as well as disallowing anyone from hearing or seeing anything inside ]

It seemed the voice could be used this way. Emre nodded and relayed the information to Idris. He nodded with an interested hum.

'They take great care in making sure nothing goes awry.' Idris noted as he glanced at the table.

Emre also took a look. The table was a white and marble-like with designs etched into the surface. Coinciding with the chairs, there were enough for all the High Priests and Paladins of each God regardless of if a God didn't have one or the other. The etchings were different in front of each chair save for two extra chairs on the side, seemingly for Emre and Idris.

Looking at the symbol closest to them, there was a fire-like symbol with a sword and a spear crossing behind it. Next to that one was another fire-like symbol but instead of weapons, there was a pair of wings on either side and a branch in the middle. Emre guessed that these were the seats for the God of Fire's Paladin and High Priest.

Each symbol was similar in the way of weapons on one and the wings and branch on the other except for the fact that the middle symbol was different. Two had a water symbol instead of the fire symbol and the next two had whirlwind-like symbols. Next was earth which seemed to be a mountain. Animor's symbol seemed to be a bird skull and Tirian's was a tree.

Come to think of it, he knew very little about the other gods and quickly asked the voice for information on all of them, including Tirian and Animor.

[ Tirian, the Goddess of Creation. The first ruling God of the other Gods, she also is known as the goddess of life, light, and purity ]

[ Animor, the God of Death. The second ruling God of the other Gods, he also is known as the god of souls, order, and shadows ]

[ Igma, the God of Fire. Along with fire, he is known as the God of the sun and retribution ]

[ Venum, the God of Wind. Along with wind, he is known as the God of the sky and knowledge ]

[ Unua, the Goddess of Water. Along with water, she is known as the God of the sea and peace ]

[ Teris, the Goddess of Earth. Along with earth, she is known as the God of stones and strength ]

Emre made sure to remember all of these as time ticked by. Then a thought popped into his head.

'Do you think we should transform before they arrive? Or would it be too shocking to enter into a room with two dragons?'

'Let's wait.'

Emre nodded just as he heard the several sets of approaching feet coming from the steps that Silvis and Breton had descended into. Emre took in a breath and prepared himself to put up a confident front.

Silvis and Breton appeared first, side by side. Right behind them was a pale-skinned woman with long, straight black hair. She was wearing a long black priest robe with blue trim similar to Silvis's robe. Her dark blue eyes flicked toward them quickly and a look of surprise crossed her slim features.

Next came two in red clothing. One was a larger and bulky man with rough skin reminiscent of black calla lilies. His outfit looked like it was fashioned in the desert. It consisted mostly of sashes with browns, reds, and light tans. Colorful beads decorated his long, thick, dreaded black hair. A sheathed saber sat on his hip.

The woman beside him had thick braids running down the middle of her head, the sides shaved with extravagant designs. Her acorn-colored skin was far fairer than her counterpart and her ears were pointed to signify that she was an elf. She also wore sash-like clothing with reds, browns, and light tans although her clothes were fashioned to be more robe-like.

The both of them looked at Emre and Idris with suspicious brown eyes, seeming to want to say something right away about their presence.

Another woman came after them, her olive-toned skin was easily complimented by her mostly light green robe. Her short black hair seemed to be quickly graying with age but she moved with confidence and grace. The twist was the two fuzzy pointed ears upon her head and the long feathery cat tail sticking through the back of the robe. When her pure white, seemingly blind eyes landed on the two, it was more curious than surprised or suspicious.

Three more people followed. Two dressed in whites and blues and the last wore only browns. Both in blue were men, each slim but fit looking. One had pale skin and longer dirty blonde hair tied into a half-tie. He was wearing a loose and flowy outfit of blues and whites, a few silver necklaces gracing his bare neck. Upon his head was also a pair of ears, except the tips were flopped over like an Aussie dog. His tail was waving happily behind him even after noticing the two strangers.

The second man was tanned and his outfit was far less flowy than his counterpart. The color remained similar but he wore a tight blue vest over a white undershirt. Overtop was an overcoat similar to Emre's aside from the lack of gold and a lighter shade of blue. His short hair was brown and upon his hip was a very thin scabbard, likely for a sword more similar to a rapier. He seemed very serious.

The last person was a large woman with a warhammer resting on her back. She was massive, easily towering over everyone else. Her rough tanned skin was well tattooed and two large tusks protruded from her lower jaw. She wore dark brown leather armor and her dark brown hair was pulled into a tight ponytail only to splay out behind her in a dreaded mass.

When her green eyes landed on them they narrowed and Emre had to hold back from shuttering, thinking she could probably crush his head with a single hand.

"This meeting is meant to be for Paladins and High Priests only. Outsiders are unwelcome." The woman in red stated as the door closed.

She stepped up to them with little hesitation, her chocolate eyes scrutinizing. Idris's eyes narrowed and Emre had to stop himself from stiffening in discomfort.

"I personally requested for them to join us in this meeting," Breton confessed as he hurried up, seeming a bit panicked.

"Surely you can see their holy auras, can you not? Do not be a fool, Aveia." The older woman in green scoffed.

She whipped around to shoot a glare toward the older woman before looking at Breton. "Why? Are these two all of a sudden Paladins and High Priests too? Where did you come from and which Gods do you serve?" She then turned around back to them. "And what's with you?" Her eyes bore into Emre.

Idris stepped forward, forcing Aveia to step back. She glared at him and Idris easily met her eyes with as much irritation. Emre grabbed Idris's arm for fear that a fight would start.

What a lovely start this was.