King’s Banquet ii

King Alexander's arrival ignited a noticeable stir throughout the main hall. The different groups of nobles collectively left their tables and approached Alexander, the lot of them bowing beneath his gaze and praising him for his recent achievements.

Although the three King's look similar in age, each carrying their own amount of gray hair, King Alexander is the youngest of the trio while also being the most recent to ascend the throne.

"The King of Fallen Sky will break free of this cursed land," "he'll bring us salvation," all across the plains, from the icy shores to the Dead Tree itself, the people believed in King Alexander. He was the only King with a utility focused Gift, teleportation.

After climbing the ranks of Fallen Sky's military and becoming vice-captain of the Forerunners, Alexander ascended the throne at twenty-eight, nine years ago. Since then, rumors began to spread that he'll be our final King, the King who will teleport us to safety.

With such a compelling case he quickly became the people's hero, transcending his kingdom's borders and capturing the hearts of all the people who are trapped here.

Perhaps bothered by his popularity, King Victor didn't wait long to return after King Alexander's arrival. Standing atop the staircase balcony overlooking the banquet, King Victor appeared and summoned the foreign leaders.

Emile hurriedly stood up with the rest of his table then walked behind King Ulmor. Since Emile was seen traveling with King Ulmor and his fellow Elders, rows of eyes followed him across the room. Some contained surprise, most likely shocked the idiot who stood at the door for so long was someone important, but some also contained curiosity.

After climbing the steps and arriving next to King Victor, he thanked the remaining guests of the banquet which included the many plus-ones and the native nobles of Rising Tide for attending and succinctly turned around and began walking away.

Presumably used to his behavior, King Ulmor and Alexander immediately followed after him while a handful of Elders idled behind, Emile included. King Victor led them through a few hallways, they passed a fountain and the kitchen until they were led downstairs to a single, highly reinforced room.

The room, most likely built as a bunker, wasn't big. It was about the side of a children's bedroom and the only thing in the room itself was a round table and plenty of chairs.

Victor seemingly chose a random chair and sat down. He beckoned to the other chairs and waited for the rest of his guests to take a seat. After everyone settled, King Victor began:

"Thank you all for attending on such short notice—as you can see my advisor is absent at this time, please pay it no mind..."

For what felt like an eternity to Emile, the many occupied seats took turns introducing themselves; some even felt the need to describe their position like they needed to prove they deserved to be here.

Excluding Emile, nine other people sat at the round table. Three kings, two Black Gates Elders, three Fallen Sky Elder's, and Fallen Sky's advisor, i.e King Alexander's secretary.

Since he was unprepared for Victor's icebreaker activities, when it became time to introduce himself Emile simply stated his position as Elder and opted out of any further details.

With that, the true King's Banquet began.

***

"It isn't a matter of history, I can't afford to shave the walls down any further without risking a complete collapse. I'll say it again—Rising Tide cannot accept many Black Gate's refuges." King Victor's voice cut through the bunker like a blade.

For the last two hours the three King's, along with occasional interruptions from the Elders, have discussed what to do with Black Gates displaced people. At the start, King Ulmor insisted that the people he brought with him should be allowed to stay in Rising Tide.

In response, King Victor showcased many diagrams of the ice dome protecting his kingdom. According to him, for the past hundred and fifty years they've already had to shave the cavern down due to population increases.

Rising Tide didn't have the capability to accept Black Gates refugees. It was an argument separated from their exclusive culture so King Ulmor didn't have much leverage to compromise with.

At the end of it all, the three King's formed an agreement stating that Fallen Sky would accept the entire Black Gates population; however, Rising Tide needed to provide adequate supplies for them—enough food and clothing to last three months.

Once the King's had the agreement in writing and they each signed and collected their own copies, the floor was open to additional topics. Without missing a beat, the man who arrived with King Alexander, his advisor, summoned the table's attention.

"Four months ago we sent an elite team from the Forerunners into the decaying forest. Three weeks ago we received our last form of contact with this group, a letter nailed into the shoulder of a beast. The letter reads as follows—'King class. Controlling the creatures in the forest. Invasion. War. Run.'"

A heavy silence settled around the table. The only person who maintained a lax demeanor was King Alexander who obviously arrived at the banquet already possessing this information.

"Is that all?" Zegris asked.

"Since receiving this message we sent another team into the forest. That was eight days ago and we've yet to receive any forms of contact." Fallen Sky's advisor replied.

"Do you have any information on this creature?" Zegris followed up.

"We do—" King Alexander spoke up, "but it's not free."

King Alexander's calm demeanor changed into that of a dangerous predator. He leaned forward in his chair and brazenly locked eyes with King Victor.

As the only Chosen in the meeting, Emile felt the weight of the King's antagonizing behavior far more than anyone else. As if he was suffocating, Emile held his breath and waited for Victor's response.

The purpose of Emile's assignment finally arrived.