Negotiations

"The great serpent Aguna has often been likened to the gods of this world, but it is my firm belief that there is no being, be it mortal or divine, equal to it in this world. For I believe in the ancient legends that it once fought a 1000 gods and emerged victorious without a single scar." - Text engraved into an ancient statue of Aguna in the city nation of Heracleion.

*A month later, Dynasty of Wu imperial palace*

An old man was sitting on his throne, his gray hair bound up in a knot hidden by the signature piece of an Emperor's attire, the Mianliu Guan. His brown eyes slowly scanned the empty imperial court. Today he was wearing an azure dragon dress that proudly displayed his Azure dragon friend. Sitting to either side of him, on a platform just below his, sat his first and second wife, his anchor and ace. Surveying the court just like they've been doing for over 700 years.

In his hand was a letter from Queen Ase of the Gunnulf Kingdom, explaining something quite interesting to the imperial family and their interests.

"Oh son of mine, what do you think of this?" The Emperor of the Dynasty of Wu looked to his son, sitting just on the right side of his first wife. Quite clearly showcasing who was in contention for the imperial throne.

The heir stood up and slowly bowed. "I believe this information to be true. I have received several messages from our scouts and ambassadors in the Cerviel Holy Land that describe the personality and looks of Mr. Altamari and I find they coincide with the message in this letter." The heir bowed and sat down on his throne.

"We will meet with the Queen of Gunnulf then. I will go there myself on Meng Zhang and discuss the deal with her. I heard she is quite a tough one, so I am looking forward to this." The emperor spoke as he smiled. It had been too long since he had a worthy adversary in this, ever since the old Emperor of the Sloop Empire died he had been quite bored. The young buck that was currently in control just hasn't had the time to develop yet.

His first and second wives quickly stood up from their thrones and bowed down to the Emperor. "Oh mighty ruler of Heaven, we ask that you allow us to go with you" they pleaded as they started to look quite distressed at the thought of their Emperor going alone to an enemy kingdom.

"Of course you will come with me, all my wives will. We can't just enter the home of the enemy without at least some display of threat." The emperor said and left the imperial court without so much as another word.

After walking through the palace, he boarded a small boat that brought him to the Emperor's pavilion. He loved traveling through the palace waters, the sound of bamboo swing pumps, the cherry blossoms flying on the wind, and the large water lilies parting before his boat all gave him this feeling of peace, of tranquility.

He was emperor, but he left the vast majority of the day-to-day operations to his son given to him by his first wife, preparing him for his eventual passing. However, his son will have to pass the title of Emperor to Heaven after he finishes the Academy of war.

"It seems some interesting times are ahead, and yet… I will miss them. Curse this old body of mine" he murmured as he looked at his bony and wrinkled arms. He had really decayed in the last 5-10 years. While he was still extremely strong, he was likely already surpassed by some of the young rulers, as well as by monsters like the new emperor from the Sloop Empire, his own son, but especially by Bloodstone from the Federation of Ashanti and Ase Gunnulf. "Ase... when I first met you during your days at the academy of war, I already knew you were destined to become a monster… a monster capable of drowning the entire world in your might."

He sighed as he watched the passage of water and trees while he was being transported to the emperor pavilion where his friend Meng Zhang was lying taking care of a newborn Azure Dragon. Soon the young Azure Dragon will be brought to Heaven so that they can develop the bond they need to face the coming storm, and what a mighty storm it will be.

"Oh Queen of Gunnulf, I hope you can humor this old man a bit. I beg of you, please" he whispered amongst the trees while he walked the gravel pebble road to his pavilion, perhaps a nap would be a good way to pass the time.

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Another month passed by while the Gunnulf family was recuperating in their palace, well everyone besides Ase. She had a nation to lead and people to care for. The days quickly faded into one while she held several councils with powerful nobles and influential merchants, but today is an important day as the Emperor of the Dynasty of Wu will visit. In his letter back to her, he requested the meeting to be as low fanfare as possible, hence he would visit at night.

"I guess the stories of the Azure dragon are true, it is one of the fastest methods of travel. If he can move from his imperial palace to our palace in just a couple of hours, it is no wonder why he was able to lead multiple armies in a single day during his youth and conquer cities on different sides of the empire." Ase murmured to herself as she started to contemplate the meeting.

The meeting will happen in a couple of minutes from now and so she was preparing herself. Her throne room was inside a rotunda on the highest level of the palace. The floor was made from white wood, imported from the Timocracy of Tel in the southwest part of the world, unique in its property to nullify the mana in any person who threaded along a path. It required a rare master wood crafter to be able to handle this unique wood, so rare that from what she knew, only three of them were alive in the world. One lived in the timocracy of Tel, one more lived in the Sloop Empire and the final one was a hermit who lived in the Gen Torum mountain range. A strange fellow he was, she had no clue someone even lived in that mountain range aside from the dwarves, but he came to her as rumors spread that a large shipment of white wood arrived at the royal castle.

He didn't even want to be paid for it, all he asked in return was that she would answer a single request from him when the time came. A request that she, unfortunately, had to accept, as the man she wanted to hire from the Timocracy of Tel was extremely expensive.

Evenly spread around the throne room were 16 large yellow pillars decorated with various powerful and mythical people or animals, some of which were sculpted into the pillar or painted on with exquisite craftsmanship. The 16 pillars supported the second level of the throne room, where a variety of boxes and chairs were available to people who wanted to watch the gathering. Generally, the boxes were reserved for the powerful families in the kingdom, while the chairs were free for all.

Upon this second level were another 16 pillars that supported the roof of the rotunda made of crystal glass imported from the Kingdom of Selene on the far western edge of this world. Just under the crystal glass roof, painted on the dark yellowstone were 9 figures, among them a single man. This was the Gunnulf family of old, centuries ago when they first started forming the kingdom that it is today. Next to Aros on his right was Ase and to his left a southeastern woman of the Dynasty of Wu, the sister of Hui-Ying, Nuo-Ying. She was the sword of the Gunnulf Family back then and the one who sacrificed herself to stall Nocturne for a few seconds till they got rescued by someone else.

In the middle of the throne room was a large throne that was divided into 8 pieces, in the middle sat Ase, and to her right and left sat Astrid and Thyra. To the left of Thyra were Svend and Bodil and to the right of Astrid were Adina, Gunhilf, and Hui-Ying. The three mercenaries from the Wu Empire stood to the left side of the throne room cradling two young ophanim's and one darker one while Ferrando Altamari stood just left of the throne.

The rest of the throne room was deserted, for this was a private meeting of great importance that would not only decide the conflict between Gunnulf and the Cerviel holy land, but also the relationship with the Dynasty of Wu. To the right was a large oaken door that was opened in preparation for the arrival of the Emperor.

The Oaken door led into a rhombus-shaped plateau that was used for social gatherings and parties of the high nobility. It held several fountains and large trees that provided cover from the sun if need be. The plateau also held a couple of benches that were scattered among the flower field to the right side of the middle. To the left of the middle were several small soundproof houses where people could converse in private if they so desired. At the end of the plateau was a giant statue of a man holding up a shield that was formed into the heraldry of the Gunnulf family.

The middle of the plateau is where the Emperor of the dynasty of Wu would land, for it was a stone circle intended for people to land on if they arrived on a flying mount. By landing into the middle of the plateau, they could then easily move towards either the throne room or the other sides of the plateau for whatever reason they wanted. Throughout the day, nobles and influential merchants would land here and converse or do business, but over the course of today, no one was allowed here. For everything needed to be kept in pristine condition.

As the winds started to howl, Ase knew the emperor had arrived.

She could see him, out on the platform descending his dragon. He was a man of old age, but yet when he moved to her in front of his wives and heir presumptive, "strong..but old" she murmured to herself, old but still worthy of respect, especially troublesome due to his age..

Throughout her long life, she had rarely ever lost a fight, and she knew of precious few who could ever hope to match her in a fight. The Emperor of the Sloop Empire, and the heir presumptive of the Wu Empire were some who would give her a decent to good fight, The Knights of Summer and Winter from the Sloop Empire needed a few more years to grow, the high-king of Hupomenó, the great holiness from Cerviel holy land and The Celestial Moon of the kingdom of Selene would be annoying as well, but all of them had years left for them to live.

'The greatest danger to me in a fight are those who don't have long to live, for they are willing to put it all on the line to win. Well aside from Bloodstone, that bitch is probably still close to a match to me, though she and I will never fight each other seriously' Ase smiled as she recalled her fond memories of her and Bloodstone clashing with each other throughout their youth.

She was also aware of plenty of divine animals that would outright destroy her in a second, one example would be the Arctic Owl Frode in the northwestern parts of their kingdom, and that is to not even speak of the great serpent Aguna who roamed the seas to the far west, the beast that has been rumored to be so strong it could fight every living being, animal or human, on this planet at the same time and destroy them all in a second.

As the Emperor made his way to the oaken door, he bowed slightly towards the heraldry that was engraved in yellowstone just above the large oaken door. A gesture followed soon by the entire entourage. A sign of respect and goodwill, but she knew that it was all theater. They came here to do business and business is what they would get.

"Greetings mighty ruler of Heaven and the imperial family of Wu. I am beyond glad to have you join us here on this wonderful night. I am Queen Ase of the Gunnulf Kingdom and sitting on the throne are my family, whom I know would need no introduction, for I am sure you've heard of their name" Ase stood up and welcomed the Emperor of Wu and his imperial family.

She took a look at the imperial entourage and noticed that he did bring his family. In front was the emperor but slightly behind him were his wives and heir presumptive. They stood in a triangle shape behind the emperor with the first and second wives slightly behind the emperor on either of his sides. On the right side, next to his first wife stood his heir. Just behind the heir, first wife and second wife stood his third and fourth wives and this pattern continued on for the fifth and sixth. Yet the seventh was missing or so she thought until she noticed some weird distortion in the air in front of the emperor. An assassin.. meant to intervene if she were to attack the Emperor, though clearly not using all her capabilities or she would've never detected her. 'A warning… a warning that they will fight if we attack'

It seemed the emperor noticed what she was thinking when she cast her gaze back to him, as a large smile was visible on his wrinkled face.

"Greetings great queen of Gunnulf, I am the heavenly ruler of the Dynasty of Wu and behind me, you can find my wives and heir. I come here in peace and wish upon you prosperity and good health. Daiyu, reveal yourself and move to your position please." the emperor spoke as a woman moved out of stealth and moved to the back of the entourage.

"I would also like to extend my greetings to you Mr. Altamira. It is not often that I meet with a royal family member of the Cerviel Holy land," he spoke and made a very small bow as he looked to his right at Ferrando Altamira.

He continued walking until he arrived at the table in front of the throne, meant for the person pleading his case to the royal family, and took a seat in the luxurious chair that was prepared for him. One that put him at equal height with the Queen when she sat back down on her throne.

As the Emperor sat down, his heir presumptive took his seat to his right on a chair just a tiny bit smaller than the one of the emperor while the wives took their seats that were smaller than that of the heir presumptive.

`Well then everything is going good so far` Ase thought to herself as she waited for everyone to be seated.

"My apologies Heavenly ruler of Wu, but I decided to not provide you with any refreshments as time is of the essence. We both know you can't be here longer than necessary and waiting for your poison tasters is just going to take away time." Ase spoke as she decided to go on the offensive and take control of the conversation, something she knew the Emperor would contest soon.

"Not needed at all, Great Queen. I know just how valuable time is, believe me. So let's get to the order of business. I see that Mr. Altamira managed to sire three children, two of them Ophanim, and one of them is a male. The third one seems to be a Nephilim, quite rare." The emperor spoke as he turned to look at the three female soldiers cradling their children.

"Correct, what we offer is Mr. Altamira in exchange for a one-sided military alliance. We ask that if the Cerviel Holy land attacks, you will declare war on them and attack their southern border." Ase replied as she looked at, not just the emperor but also his wives and the heir presumptive, but alas they didn't show anything. The emperor was the only one who showed any emotion of some kind. But that emotion was a smile and a small glint, he seems to be enjoying himself.

"And how do you propose we get to the border? I am sure you're aware that there is a nation between the Dynasty of Wu and the Cerviel Holy Land." The emperor replied as he started to look at the southern wall of the Rotunda, where a map of the world was being shined upon by a magical lamp.

"We will offer the Humonepó kingdom the male ophanim. They have been at war with the Cerviel Holy Land for centuries, particularly due to the Hupomenó kingdom being a kingdom of sin and the Cerviel one of grace. They can't stand each other, especially when the high-council of the Humonepó kingdom still carry the original sins. I am sure they will be quite happy to receive a male Ophanim. Even if it is just to parade him before their armies." Ase replied without pause, she needed to contain the momentum and seal the deal. "If we offer them the boy, I am sure they're willing to allow your troops through their land and attack the Cerviel Holy Land.'

"hmmmm…" The emperor went silent for a minute or two as he stared at the world map and then to Ase. "That won't do." He replied. Bringing a stop to the entire conversation.

"I want Mr. Altamira, the girl and the male Ophanim." He quickly offered before Ase could even get a word in.

"Do you realize what you're asking? Trading the three of them for just a one-sided military alliance is completely stupid and totally not worth the price." Ase replied and her tone took on a bit of anger due to being disrespected so openly.

"How I look at it, you need us, but we don't need you. A war with the Cerviel Holy Land is seemingly either not in your capabilities or you have issues elsewhere. Issues I don't care about. So you're not one who is capable of making demands, I am the one who can." He replied as his smile started to fade and he moved in his chair to sit up straight, with a different kind of glint to his eyes. A glint that one found some prey.

Just as Ase was about to counter and respond, she felt the hands of Astrid and Thyra upon her own. And she looked at her family, all smiling and telling her to calm down. She lost control of the conversation, the control she didn't want to let go of. But fighting back without calming down will only result in a loss vs the old Emperor. With a sigh, she calmed down and took a couple of seconds to think.

"It is correct that you don't need us, but you seem to need Mr. Altamira, the girl, and the boy Ophanim for something. You would not show up here in person, especially this fast, if they were not vital or very important to some kind of plan. After all Cheng, Qingling, and Han are women from the dynasty of Wu who have been here for over 50 years at the third step, and reaching the third step requires a lot of resources." She took a long look at the emperor and his heir presumptive, seeking for any sign that would confirm her suspicions.

"I also know that in order to give birth to Ophanim's and potential Nephilims, the woman that will carry the baby has to be very strong, at least third step, and suspiciously enough, these three women were at their fertile period right when Mr. Altamira invaded, seduced and fucked with Mr. Altamira for hours on end without taking in medicine that would kill his seed inside them. And to me, that reeks of a plan long in the workings. A plan you and your empire worked on for a very long time. I don't know what that plan is, but what I do know is that I can cancel this meeting and bid you farewell." Ase replied and a smile turned on her face as she saw the Emperor smile again. It seemed she made the right call. She went from being prey to being a competitor, and it seemed the Emperor enjoyed that.

"Very good, but how will you handle the situation if we leave? The fact is that you still can't deal with Cerviel Holy Land for whatever reason. If we leave, who would you turn to? The Jukhas Kingdom and Tiry Kingdom are not interested in war with the Cerviel Holy Land, they are an important trading partner for them. So, who are you turning to, Great Queen?" The emperor smiled as he gave his honest thoughts, certain of his victory to come.

"The Sloop empire" was all Ase said as her smile turned wider and the smile on the emperor died. "I know very well that the only nation in the world that is your equal is The Sloop Empire and I have no clue why, but you either seem to fear them or you don't want them to grow stronger. So what do you say, the mighty ruler of Heaven, do you accept the proposal of Mr. Altamira in exchange for a one-sided military alliance?" Ase stood up and walked to the table the imperial family of the Dynasty of Wu sat on, extending her hand in order to seal the deal. But the Emperor didn't stand up to shake her hand.

"I still want Mr. Altamira, the girl and boy Ophanim. But it seems you won't part with them so easily. So here is my final offer. In exchange for Mr. Altamira, the girl, and the boy. We of the Dynasty of Wu offer you the one-sided military alliance, the income of the Ji province for five years, and we also offer to host the Lord child that Miss Bodil is cradling and the one you're hiding somewhere in this castle at the imperial palace of Wu. We will host them for both the Academy of War tourney and a year of their choosing for training with our imperial instructors. This offer will be upheld by both me, my heir, and his recently born son." The emperor smiled and stood up to extend his hand towards Ase, who was shocked by the offer. The income of the Ji province alone equalled their entire economy, to not even speak of the value of their imperial instructors.

"Well, him confirming he knows about Erik likely means that he has had an assassin of the fifth step following me for years, or however long their plan has been in the working…" An easy conclusion to come to if they're so desperate for Mr. Altamira and the two Ophanim babies… but the bigger question remains "Why is he willing to part with so much wealth and even the knowledge of their imperial instructors for just Mr. Altamira and the two Ophanim? It can't just be their breeding value, for there are not many women and men of the third step who are willing to throw their relationships into shambles on the order of the Emperor. And he cannot force them either, for each third step combatant is a valuable resource for a nation…" She thought and in her idle musings, she habitually turned to look at the world map, as she has often done when she was thinking about important decisions that not only affects herself and her kingdom, but the surrounding nations as well. In particular, her mind turned towards the land between the Sloop Empire and the Kingdom of Selene and an idea came to her.

"Could it be that the Sloop Empire has managed to deal a devastating blow to the Kingdom of Selene and is rapidly advancing into their lands? That war had been in a stalemate ever since the old emperor of Sloop died, so what has caused the Sloop Empire to go for a devastating blow that would require a ton of manpower and resources? A lord child of their own? But that shouldn't change much… What is going on…" no matter how she thought on it, she could not come to an answer, but what she did know is that she could extract more value from the dynasty of Wu IF her musings are somewhat correct.

"I, the Queen of the Gunnulf kingdom, will not accept this offer. What I want is all that you've mentioned, the details surrounding the war between the Sloop Empire and the Kingdom of Selene. I want your fifth step assassin that has likely been following me for years, and the one who informed you about the second lord child we have, to be gone for at least 20 years, alongside any and all other assassins you got in my kingdom with no replacements being sent in their place. I also want to be kept up to date with how it is going with the Ophanim and Mr. Altamira and how many Ophanim's you got." She rebuked and extended her hand to the emperor who retracted his hand quickly and took a few seconds to think the offer over.

"It is a pleasure dealing with you, great Queen of Gunnulf." The emperor bowed slightly and extended his hand to Ase and accepted her Lord mana, solidifying the deal. After that he sat down and accepted a bottle of something from his first wife and took a sip from whatever was inside there. Afterwards he turned his head towards Ase again and took a moment to think about something.

"The news will likely spread anyway over the next year or two, but the information you want is likely more specific. The Sloop Empire has indeed managed to deal a significant blow to the Kingdom of Selene, both of the large fortresses they had at the border with the Sloop empire have been taken over by the Sloop empire. With these fortresses in their hand, they now have unfettered access into the lands of the Kingdom of Selene and secure resupply locations and it will likely not take long before the Kingdom of Selene is gone. The estimates given to me by my informants say around 20 years at most before their capital is gone and the royal family is imprisoned." The emperor stopped for a moment to see the reaction of the Gunnulf family and it seemed this information came as a shock to them indeed. For all of them knew what the major weakness of the Sloop Empire was and why they were attacking the Kingdom of Selene, and the implications were, to put it extremely lightly, dire.

"We believe that the reason why the Kingdom of Selene lost these two large fortresses is due to the observed weakness from their population, one that intrinsically is tied to the moonwell at their capital, the source of their strength. It has dried up, and so the elves have weakened tremendously. Their mana is no longer so overwhelmingly strong that each warrior of a certain step is equal to three warriors of the sloop empire on the same step. They're just being overrun with numbers now, and once their capital falls and the Sloop Empire gets their hands on the progression path of each unique ranging path in possession of the kingdom of Selene, alongside the magical trees for their bows, we fear that they will be unstoppable in the world, even by us. The only force capable of stopping them then would be 7th step animals, and we know they don't care about us. And no human has ever reached the 7th step.." The emperor finished and took another sip of his bottle before he continued.

"We have tried to speak on behalf of the Kingdom of Selene with the city nation of Heracleion and tried to get to an agreement for their interference into the war, but they will not accept any deal. Their power comes from the ocean and they are protected by the great serpent Aguna, and no matter how powerful the Sloop Empire becomes, they will never be able to fight Aguna. I saw Aguna for myself when I was there a month ago for their congress and…that animal is terrifying. If I have to give an estimation of power it would be that if we combine the power of both of our families into one person and we say that strength is a single droplet of water, Aguna would be an ocean spanning the entire world… I fear that not even all the gods united above would be able to defeat Aguna." And as the emperor recalled his sighting of Aguna, Ase and the rest of the Gunnulf family noticed his face growing extremely pale and fearful. But nevertheless the emperor continued speaking.

"We cannot intervene in the war due to our geographical position on the other side of the world. The Delshad empire has no interest either, their empire doesn't fear the Sloop Empire and they are too busy fighting with the small nations to their south-west. The Cerviel Holy Land does not have the resources to even be a thorn in the side for the Sloop Empire if the Humonepó kingdom doesn't sign a truce treaty. And so, I fear the Kingdom of Selene will be gone in 20 years at most." As he finished, he let out a gigantic sigh and rested his head backwards. The entire room fell silent as everyone from the Gunnulf family had to process the information.

"That is quite the tale you spun…but given that you cannot lie under a lord's agreement, I have to accept the information given as the truth." Ase finally spoke after a minute of silence before falling silent again and turning to Astrid next to her.

"If the Kingdom of Selene is gone in 20 years, the only nation between us and the Sloop Empire would be that of the Cerviel Holy Land.. and they have never been on good terms with the Sloop Empire. One can expect that the next target of the Sloop Empire would be the Cerviel holy land and after that.. would be us." Astrid Gunnulf spoke fearfully as she turned to look at Ase, and words unspoken were being transmitted between them. Afterwards, Astrid stood up, left the rotunda and the palace to prepare, prepare for the fight of survival.

Once she left, the room turned silent again until the Emperor of Wu chuckled to himself after Astrid left the room and moved to stand up, as did the rest of the imperial family of Wu. He moved closer to Ase, bent down with his waist next to her ear and whispered: "The world is moving to interesting times, wouldn't you agree, Queen Ase, or…. would you prefer I called you by your true name?" And as he finished, he moved to exit the Rotunda with his imperial family barring his first and second wife as they moved towards Mr. Altamira and the two Ophanim's.

But just before he exited the Rotunda, he turned around and with a smile shouted "With that, I think our deal is agreed upon and we will take Mr. Altamira and the two ophanim's to the Dynasty of Wu. It was, as I said before, a pleasure doing business with you Queen Ase of the Gunnulf Kingdom." He moved once again to exit the Rotunda but only to once again stop in his tracks..

"Oh, while I am here, I would like to offer one final piece of advice.. or more specifically, something for you to think about. Have you ever wondered why the royal family of the Cerviel Holy land let Mr. Altamira out of their royal palace and lead an army into your lands? Surely even they can see he is too incompetent to lead an army, especially with the field commanders he had been given." He smiled and walked out of the Rotunda as Ase stood there in complete silence, shock and fear with a pale face. Whether that was from his last message or any of the others, one would be hard pressed to say.

"Well, no need to worry about that last message. Ase, we secured the deal. We can now travel to the Hupomenó kingdom and secure their part of the deal as well." Thyra walked up and patted Ase on her back. Her pale face slowly regained color as she tried to steady her nerves..

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"Father.. was it necessary to reveal that my child was a lord's child as well?" Syaoran, the heir presumptive of the dynasty of Wu, asked while his father was smiling and humming a tune while they were on the back of Meng Zhang.

"It wasn't, but they would figure it out anyway. Lord Children are born in rapid succession over the entire world after all. A lot of lord children have been born into our nation as well lately...." the Emperor replied as he started to fall asleep.

"Interesting times indeed" he murmured one more time before he fell asleep.