Legal Slave Trade

In a theater where the refugees were congregated a starter pack was distributed and a clarification followed.

"Inside the super pack, you will find the free nationality of your choice. But what was special for you was pamphlets from different organizations. If you are a noble Vampire, Lioniere, or even mundane, that is fine. All you have to do is choose one to join."

Zamright was just there to pass the time, not that he really cared about any of that. Nonetheless, he checked the pamphlets.

Going through them, there was some good information but not what he wanted. He leaned to Shisha and asked, "Lady Shisha, do you know a place named Transparent Lantern, perhaps the name has changed though!"

Shisha looked at him, this boy was extremely introverted, he never spoke without being spoken to. She was now surprised he initiated the conversation.

"I know a nation known as the Great Lantern but I didn't know if it had been called Transparent in the past!"

"Thank you!" he said with a nod and became silent.

"Why do you ask?"

"I read that it used to have a mirage mountain floating and no one ever reached it!" Zamright answered.

"That's definitely the Great Lantern!" she said, "I expected maybe they changed the name in the past"

A flash of surprise appeared on his face before it faded away. "Thank you!" he said.

Knowing that this enigmatic boy might be someone with power, she can't let go of him. For that, she initiated a conversation and proposed to join her. Like a seller of goods, she hypes her ambition and grand goal for her land and people.

Zamright sighed and said he would think about it. But he was not interested at all, her goals were grand but nothing special at all.

Zamright has come from an era where nations on the mainland were mostly peaceful, with incredible technology, knowledge and power. The mainland was united and thriving on all possible fronts as a civilization.

In that era, people flexed their knowledge on who could be the best or greatest leader among their people. However, now war seems to have ravaged all that.

Besides he needs to see what becomes of his home, Transparent Lantern, now known as Great Lantern.

After the big event, Shisha dragged them to her land. It was beautiful, lush with greenery. Their main occupation was agriculture and botany. The people were nice and passionate about their work.

One thing that Zamright noticed that fascinated him was that they looked at her with respect and loyalty. That meant she was fighting for them. With a little observation, he understood the politics playing around.

The land of Shisha has centuries of history where people governed themselves under the Black Coast Federation. However, new policies came that wanted to annex any land that had no substantial standing or power.

Shisha was strong in its own way and the Leader was very renowned in the federation. Their main business was the supply of Shisha. A herb plant that can be smoked for pleasure or medication and people like it.

Sadly, he died of old age leaving behind two children. The Eldest was named Shisha and her younger brother was named Shan.

Automatically their land should have been annexed but it will take some years of paperwork and procedures. In essence, the land will be auctioned out to one of the main powers within the federation.

This was what Shisha wanted to prevent, under the law if her people reached a sufficient population and were loyal to her, with considerable income she gets to keep the land.

What terrified her the most was that the powers were modernists, they would dismantle anything that her father built and just turn the place into a factory, not necessarily a Shisha Factory but something else. The people will lose their homes and culture and then become nothing workers and servants.

That was why the local people loved her and supported her.

Zamright can help her with some ideas but truth be told he knows things will never be simple for her. Unless she has considerable backing.

"The land is good!" he said as he met her in her office reading some papers. She looked at him and forced a smile. "I'm glad you like it!"

"Yeah. I saw Mudi leaving!" he said. "I thought he would stay!"

She leaned back and sighed, "It was my job to bring him here but not to keep him."

One of the things she was doing in Charred Island was scouting people with True Blessings and reporting them to the Federation. And then convince them to follow her. Mudi has an interesting ability that is very valuable.

"But if he chooses to come back I will be happy!" she said hopefully.

"Well. I will be leaving too. But I don't know where to get my personal bodyguard!"

Her face became alarmed before she signed and said, "You will not stay and help this helpless girl?"

"Helpless?" he questioned, "you are not helpless. You have a land, you have people. What else will you need? Additional pale boy that is out of touch with civilization!" he said, eying her.

"You are an old Vampire, right!?" she said.

"What is a vampire?" he asked.

"Playing games!" she said but seeing he wasn't joking she explained, "You do not age, you are weak under the sun, you drink blood as a sustenance among other things!"

Zamright frowned, there was some truth to that but he shook his head that it was not him. "You are mistaken but I'm a Servant to Exalted one's. I do not age normally but the rest aren't entirely correct."

Seeing that she wanted to drag the conversation he said, "I will leave tomorrow to get my bodyguard and perhaps I will then visit Great Lantern!" and then he left the office.

She can't stop him from leaving and can't bring herself to understand what she can do to make him stay.

*****

Early in the morning, she went to his room. Zamright did not sleep, he only watched the night sky till dawn. The door was open and he turned to look at her.

"This is all I can get about the Great Lantern!" She gave him some papers and a magazine.

Taking them he saw the pictures of a floating white mountain and also some historical sites with their brief history.

His heart beat strongly and he sat and read through everything which was not much but one thing that stuck out was that Great Lantern was the only Kingdom that maintained its borders and sovereignty at the end of the war around 2570 years ago.

During that time there were a lot of revolutions in many countries, some merged, some split and some were destroyed. In the end, none remains the same but the Great Lantern.

However, one thing about them was that they were shrouded in mystery and had strict rules for visitors and tourists. With a small offense, a person will be deported.

For some reason, Zamright felt a wash of relief confirming that his home was still there but he felt sad that no one there knew him or would welcome him. Nonetheless, he needs to see it, only then will he decide what he will do next.

"Thank you, Shisha!" he said.

"It's my job to guide you. The Red Peace has spoken about meeting you but I told them that you are catching your bearing…" she said, "hoping that you will stay with me here."

She sighed and looked through the window, "You know the Blue Blood Family I talked to you about? They left. Other families with considerable influence that were supposed to help me all left. Joining one faction and another. I expected that bringing in Mudi and Lora would solidify my position in the federation but it didn't because they left me!"

Knowing all those devastated her and now she was trapped in a corner.

"Me staying will not change anything!" he said.

"I know, but I just want you to stay. Maybe you will bring me luck!"

Zamright smiled at her and his charm magnified which further made her wish he stayed.

"I will be going now!" he said, "but do you have a book and pen? I want to write some things down!"

Shisha felt dejected but still provided him with what he asked. She wished she could follow him but she forced herself not to.

It was after he was gone for an hour that she returned to normal. She felt she could focus on the job at hand without thinking about Zamright.

A pale charming boy with white hair was inside a moving vehicle, guided by one of the Floating City Guards. As VIPs, they will be escorted everywhere for a month by an official guard.

But the bodyguard Zamright will get is different from this one. The new one will be permanent or semi-permanent depending on what the terms were.

This was done to make sure the refugees had enough time for peace and protection against some unwanted variables on the mainland.

"This is an underground Legal Arena. You can get all kinds of slaves and servants you want." The guard said as they entered a building that went downstairs.

They soon reach a place filled with glass cages of various sizes. Inside were humans and monsters of various sizes and shapes. But all of them look ferocious and dangerous.

The guards spoke with the attendant about their goals and asked Zamright, "What race do you want?"

"Human," Zamright answered.

They were then guided to another section that had only the human race. Along the way they met other refugees looking for slaves.