Drakengard: The Goddess Seal

"Elves... does it have to be elves?" Evan muttered under his breath, but nobody was listening "of all the places we decide to go, it has to be the bloody elf capital, They know me there, and not in a good way"
"To be fair, can you think of a single place where they don't know you in a bad way?" Hazzakan exclaimed
"...here? Besides, most of those places wouldn't want me arrested, but the elves..." Evan went quiet. He could hear the Olympian Thrones arriving at the castle, but they were far behind as the group left the tunnel.
"This must have been before my time, what did you do?" Hazzakan inquired
"I lived there for a time studying magic... eventually I got into some rather taboo magic... let's not say anymore" Evan turned to the one with the trident "However that was years ago, it's probably been forgotten, which way is Inel'Cinahe? I had a compass once but I traded it for a banana, you can lead the way"​

 

Akin listened as each person said their part. He had nothing to say on the matter; his opinion would change nothing. For all his wisdom and knowledge, he had no idea what was coming due to not traversing that path before and not being able to see ahead. However, one of them had suggested staying, a dangerous decision indeed. The voice sounded like that of a regular man, yet it came from a much lower height than would be expected. Either they had a companion who loved sniffing the ground, or there was a dwarf in the party. Akin walked over to where he'd heard the voice come from and picked up the leprechaun by the back of his shirt. "There is no reasoning with men of war; all they know is bloodshed. To stay behind is to risk death, to attempt to converse with The Thrones is to ask for it. We will be leaving nobody behind, little dwarf" Akin said gently and calmly as he placed Stewert on Gale's back despite the small man's wiggling and squirming. He then continued walking with the others, trying to keep pace.


Calor sighed once again. The great dragon wasn't particularly serious all the time naturally, but around Travis he tended to be. One of them had to be the adult, and it certainly couldn't be left to his pact partner. "It is as he says, although we will not be requiring your hunt. I am perfectly capable of fetching my own meals, you know this very well Travis. Besides, I do not hunger" he spoke, not in a condescending tone but the implication was there. However, his stomach betrayed him, rumbling slightly. At least, slightly to him. In reality, it was quite loud due to his size. "Perhaps...one kill would not be out of the question" the creature added. If he were not red naturally, he most certainly would have been then. ​

 

It had been decided. They were going to see the elves. It wouldn't be a permanent solution, but it should at least be able to get them out of immediate danger. Sinbad didn't say much else as they were lead out of the tunnel. There wasn't much else he could say. The plan was set. They just had to escape from the battle. They walked through the dark tunnels, light only by the light of his torch. Eventually, after about an hour of walking, they found their way to a sealed door, barred from the side they were on by stone beams. Sinbad handed the torch to the goddess, and placed both hands on one of the beams. With a groan of effort, he pushed it aside. Ordinarily, it would take at least two or three strong men to move it, but pact makers were stronger in every way than ordinary men. It had taken effort, but he was able to move the beam alone. He pushed the doors open and covered his eyes as sunlight cracked into the tunnels.

Stepping out, he walked up a set of stone stairs into a small field, overlooking the castle far off. It was set ablaze, burning to the ground. Even from this distance, they could see that the ground was littered with bodies from their sheer numbers. The battle had been a bloody one, but if the goddess didn't get away, then it would all be for nothing. "Come on, the elven capital is to the south. That'll be this way." He said before starting to walk off.

As it turns out, East was in fact, not south. Who would've known? Were it not for one of the others having the proper sense to know where they were going, they would've been wandering for a long time. In three days journey, they had reached a hilltop. Sinbad looked over in the distance. it was impossible to miss. The glimmering white city was enormous. It shone like a star fallen to earth, likely how it had earned its name. 'There it is." Sinbad said, though it needed no introduction. The group proceeded onward, approaching closer.

Two guards donned in full elven armor greeted them at the gates. They looked suspiciously at the group. Most were armed, and several beasts accompanied them. Needless to say, they asked who they were. "We are union refugees, fled from a recent battle." He told them, honestly. There was no sense in lying. The peculiarity of their company didn't leave much room for a believable story, anyway. Lying would only make them seem more suspicious. One of the guards tapped the other on the arm, and he leaned in close. There was some hushed chatter between them, as they looked at the party, but Celina in particular.

"A young elven woman, accompanied by a fairy. She can be none other than the goddess herself...I'm sorry, but we can't let you through. Your presence here would cause tension with the imperial trade that passes through here. The tension between them and what union merchants come here is enough, though there haven't been any actual incidents, but if the goddess herself were to come, then it might give the wrong idea of us fully siding with the union." The guard spoke apologetically, as though the news he was giving them saddened him, but he was only acting on duty. A voice called out from behind him, causing him to turn in surprise to face it.

​

"Nonsense! Our gates are always open to the weary travelers, no matter who they might be! As the herald of God himself, i can allow no less!" The figure that walked up behind him was a tall man, clad in full armor with a bright orange sash and light green hair. He wore a wide, friendly smile as he walked out to personally greet their visitors. "Welcome, my friends! I am Jedediah, ruler of this city and king of the elves! I apologize for the rudeness of my guards. He was only acting on what he thought was best. Surely you will join me in my invitation for a drink as an apology, no? We will talk over wine and song, a feast in front of us!" The man was cheerful, acting as though there weren't a problem in the world. The guards looked surprised by the matter, but parted and let the company through into the lustrous city of the elves. Inel'cinahe was open to them.

 

"Wine? A feast? Song? Sounds great, what am I supposed to call you, your Holiness? your Grace? your Majesty? your Vanity? Forget I said that last one, you're not vain at all, I'm sure everyone introduces themselves as 'the herald of god', I would gladly accept your offer, although we don't have any money" Evan rambled on, in truth he was slightly nervous being here, he hoped nobody recognised him.
"Incredible, I've never seen anything like this" Hazzakan was critically examining King Jedediah with his bright purple eye
"Hazzakan, you can't analyse everyone we meet, this is a king, a god, a god-king, or whatever. He must be treated with respect, also I want some wine... wait a second..." he turned to the King "how did you know we were here? Or did you just happen to be walking in the nearby area and overhear this conversation? Somehow I doubt that..."​

 

​

The girl lost her legs from a pact. What she gained from it wasn't clear to even herself. The leprechaun wasn't much help either. Olivia snared a glare over to the little green man. Her tails were fluffed up at his comments against his pact partner. A pact was meant to be mutual agreement to one another. If he was going to complain about it, he shouldn't have made it, but he did so he was stuck with her. He was going to have to learn to accept it one way or another.

Olivia turned back to the girl and smiled. "It might be harder, but just remember this, if you succeed you will feel like you accomplished something. You have to work twice as hard and you will feel twice as good in the end. Even if your partner seems to disagree with his choices, always know that the choice you made will eventually give you a smile. By the way, I'm Olvia. I'm glad to meet such a talented girl. What is your name?"

She continued to run along, not really caring about the wheel chair. She was fine and their destination was set. Once they arrived at the Elf capital, Olivia placed the girl back onto her wheelchair and smiled. Olivia touched the girl's nose lightly and walked towards Jededaih, the king who willingly saw it right to let them in. That was a relief.

​

He followed inside. He noticed how culture was so much different than his own. The trees were tall, the people were peaceful. Jedediah himself even seemed like a king of everyone, smiling to every person who came to him. Eon walked ahead to meet the king for some conversation.

"Your highness, I am most grateful to your humbleness. I promise that we will not overstay our welcome. If there is even the slightest hint at danger to threaten your kingdom, we shall disappear. We do not wish harm on your people or your land." Eon then proceeded to whisper to the King, "Now, mind telling me a little bit about the girls you got around the kingdom? I'm sure the king gets to see the best of the best."

 

"Oh, woah. I am really sorry my prince, I didn't realise that you were you know, the prince." Jin apologised hurriedly. Damn. The Prince is a cool dude. I thought princes were all like high and mighty all very pretentious and self obsessed but actually, this guy is pretty chill. I like him, he's cool. Apparently, the Prince, the Prince of the Elf Kingdom where lived actually wanted to buy his stuff. His kills! Even though he didn't really understand society that well, he knew that this was pretty important. He considered the price for a moment. Usually a haul like this would net a price of around 150 for all the meat, skins and antlers produced. He was never sure if that was the right price but it was enough for him to live off, so, whatever. They had some extra cash, so he figured he could afford to drop the price for such a nice guy. And the Dragon could have one kill for free. He pondered this for a while, stroking his chin thoughtfully. Prices were tricky. "Okay Travis you can have this lot for say, 80? And the Dragon gets one free. I'd usually charge more but I like you, and you weren't you know, rude to me." Jin closed his eyes and smiled at the pair for a moment, before taking their kills off the back of the shark and wrapping them them in a cloth. Lan breathed loudly, joyously making use of his now unrestricted lung capacity.
"It's been nice meeting you guys. You're both great. I didn't know princes were so chill, and cool and stuff. I always thought they were too busy like, rescuing princesses and talking to rich people. Have you ever rescued a princess?" Jin asked. He heard Lan sigh.
"Jin, just because he's the son of King Jebediah it doesn't mean that he rescues princesses." Lan pointed out.




Jorso walked down the passage warily. He didn't trust the universe not to cause any more problems after that castle attack. With the Goddess and the whole group in here they were vulnerable, very, very vulnerable. They eventually emerged out, and that's when they had the journey. Three days they travelled, three days where Jorso watched, his red eye observing all. Nothing went unseen by that baleful red eye on that journey. The quiet, masked man watched them all. Especially the Goddess. He watched over her, trying to spot any threats. Charity may be her new eyes, but he was the quiet watcher. A quiet protector. She was his ray of hope. The one symbol of defiance against the Olympian Thrones that had destroyed his life and that made her precious- Invaluable. Nothing could be allowed to harm her, lest his ultimate revenge be halted. He would rather die than see their chance to resist, to defeat the Thrones die. And happily, he would sacrifice all of these people to do the same. He talked to nobody on that journey, only Lelinde. She was the only company he needed and as much as he hated to admit it, he did enjoy her presence. That was perhaps, the one thing he would grant her. She may annoy him, but he did like having her around. Without her, he would have gone insane.

Soon enough, the Elven city appeared on the horizon. He folded his arms as they looked down upon the hilltop. A gleaming city. Beautiful. Another time he might have admired it. In another life, perhaps. That was not this life, however. That was another life where he could afford to not care overly much for anything else. Right now he had a task, and he would achieve it regardless. As the guards halted them in front of the city, Jorso placed himself protectively behind Celina, and remained there even while the King addressed them. If the King wasn't as airheaded as he appeared, then perhaps he would have noticed the suspicious glare radiating from the one eyed man. He elected to not however, keep his sword hand hovering by the hilt. That would seem too threatening, but the stare should be enough. It should make the point. They were allowed into the city however, and Jorso relented his gaze. As they entered, he made sure to stay near to the Goddess and kept an eye on everyone surrounding them. If anyone made so much as a move, he would be there, ready.
​

 

A city of life, a city of peace and tranquility. The elven city seemed peaceful enough, and if King Jedediah's attitude was anything to go by, there were few worries. This both pleased Akin and made him very uncomfortable. This city hadn't been taken by the empire, and they had just come from a fully orchestrated assault. Their pursuers would not stop until they had captured the goddess, and so they would never stop, for Akin would never stop protecting people. He had failed once, he would not fail again. Yet, as he thought more on the friendly nature the king had displayed, a wave of guilt overcame the guardian. Had they not gotten out as silently as they had thought, they would have led the empire straight to not only the goddess, but one of the few establishments unaffected by war. "If it isn't too much to ask, King Jedediah, I would prefer to stand guard outside with your soldiers. I wish I could accept your offer of drinks and wine, but I could never forgive myself should something happen to this place because of us" the man said simply, turning around. He made his way roughly to where he recalled them first encountering the guard and stood there, his attention focused on the sounds of his surroundings, waiting for any intruders that may come his way. Some people would say he needed rest, that someone that worked as hard as him had more than earned it, but Akin would rest when every member of the empire lay dead. Especially Ares.


As Akin left, Gale followed. He had made sure to bow as best as a Griffon could when in the King's presence, before going after his friend. The creature made his way over to Akin, and took his place beside him. Akin, no danger will come to these people. I will ensure their safety, you may go rest, Gale said telepathically to his friend. He felt the hand of the warrior stroking his head and saw him shake his head. No words had to be said, for Gale had known exactly what Akin would respond with. Gale knew that nothing he said would convince Akin to go and get some sleep; he and his guardian friend had that in common. And so, Gale simply sat lay on the ground next to Akin, and the two protectors stayed there, enjoying the company of the one friend they each had and just daring someone to attempt an assault.


Calor ate the food quickly, swallowing the dead animals whole. Once he had finished, he looked at Travis as he left. "Don't get into trouble Travis!" he called out. He then sighed as he looked at the others. "Children and their curiousity will never cease to amaze me. That boy has the attention span of a goldfish, but the heart of a dragon. If he learns to maintain his need to do whatever his foolish mind screams at him to do, he will make a fine king one day. Unfortunately, this does not mean he has rescued any princesses, though if ever we hear of one needing assistance, I can promise you we will help immediately" Calor said, answering the question that Travis had so rudely ignored.

The great dragon turned slowly to face the elven city. For a dragon to spend so much time at the city was unheard of really, except for Jedediah's dragon. The gold dragon was a dragon Calor had often found himself looking up to, something he could say about very few creatures. Perhaps one day he would be as powerful and important as the gold dragon, but that day would not come for a while. However, he could not keep dwelling on it or he would never reach it, especially not while these people that had given him food were there. "Have you ever been to Inel'Cinahe? It is a truly spectacular place. King Jedediah would welcome you with open arms I am sure, and there would be many more people that would be willing to pay you a high price for your future hunts than there would be at your small city. It would be a good business investment to get to know merchants wherever you can, I would think" Calor said in a matter-of-fact tone, before stretching and then crouching down slightly. "I should get after Travis. The only thing that matches his bravery is his love for testing it, so he somehow finds himself in more trouble than you would think. I trust I will see you in the city, and if I do not then I hope you travel safely!" the dragon said, before leaping up into the air and spreading his wings, causing a strong gust of wind to sweep through the area. He then flapped them a couple of times and took off, flying to the gate. He would circle the city for a while to ensure no unwelcome people were there, and then go to find Travis, but he would circle quickly; who knew how long it was before Travis picked a fight with someone on some childish dare?​

 

Iota was tense as the group had made it to the Elven country. It was hardly past her expectations that the group was rejected from the town guards. It was only a natural response when one had proclaimed neutrality. However, what put her on edge wasn't the guard's answer, but rather the king's. It may be something akin to paranoia, however, the way Jedediah acted seemed extremely suspicious to her. He seemed a little too friendly and a little too lax about most likely breaking their neutrality stance in the war. However, no one else seemed to feel this way as they all seemed to gleefully accept his welcoming. Nevertheless she silently decided to follow along with the group and go to this feast that was to happen.

​

As the guards had now let them through and the king and prince were here, and seemed to be oh so accommodating, Ancel couldn't help but have a large grin spread across his face. Looking at Travis he nodded and said, "he did say he would treat us to entertainment, didn't he?" He then turned his gaze to the king as he said, "and if I'm to be entertained, than the only thing that I think that will do the job is an all out fight with you," he pointed to the leader of the elven populace. "Everything we got at our disposal, no sort of safeties or anything."

Iota immediately looked to the boy with a baffled look on her face as she said, "do you have any idea what you just asked?"

Beating his chest, with a proud look on his face, "of course I do! After all, if this guy is willing to let us in then that must mean that he isn't afraid of the Olympian Thrones one bit." For whatever reason, rather than military strength, Ancel took this to mean that he had more individual strength. After all, kings were always super badass fighters, right? That's how the world worked. "Which means, he has to be confident in his own fighting prowess to be completely unafraid of them. And I want to see just what strength lies behind that confidence." He then shrugged and said, "besides, it's not like I'll go above and beyond out of my way to kill him per se, but if he happens to die in the fight that just means I'm way stronger right? And if I have the strength to beat someone who has that level of strength than that means I could easily be ready to take on one of Thrones." Pointing back to the king of the elves, he said, "so, what's it gonna be, King Jedediah?"

 

Well, the Dragon flew off. He watched it go with a fairly dazed smile, the fact that he had spoken with a prince, sold him and his dragon his hunt, got extra money from it and got invited into the big city to go find some sort of contexts to make business deals with. He didn't know the first thing about that, but that was okay! He was going to do it anyway, and if the King himself was going to let them in then why not? It seemed to him like that was some sort of acceptance, and from a Prince too! Travis, he decided, was pretty cool. Jin'rael was determined to find his new friend if he could. Besides, the city was an interesting place probably. It sounded big but you know, life was one big adventure so why not take a gambit here or there? 'Twas harmless, right? Smiling to himself, he began to walk in the direction that Calor had gone in, humming happily to himself in the process.
"Are you sure this is a good idea Jin?" Lan' asked. "We both know how you are with people and big places with lots of people. You tend to get a bit anxious."
"I know, but hey. You only live once and well, Travis seemed kinda cool and that King guy he mentioned is apparently pretty cool too. I mean, how couldn't he be? Having a kid like Travis, sure as hell he has to be awesome!"



Jorso didn't make any sudden movements. Instead, he settled for being still while the Goddess talked to Travis. He didn't make any moves, he just stood there obliquely listening and watching what was going on. There was no need to do anything. After all, he was sure that Travis would probably notice the person watching, even if Celina somehow didn't. He was surprised she hadn't said anything, but then again she was blind and couldn't really be blamed for not noticing. He heard Lelinde sigh behind him and looked around at her.
"Jorso dear this is so dull. Why don't we do something more interesting? You've been standing around doing exactly the same thing for days. I have to follow you around you know, I want something interesting to do. Surely you're tired of doing all this?" She complained.
"I'm done when I'm done Lelinde, you know that. For now, we're going to keep doing this. You know what all this is to me."
"Or you could talk to people? It would probably be good for you."
"And what would I say to them exactly? Do you know me for my conversation?"
"No, I can't say that I do. Hmm, you'll have to do something about that."
"But not now. I don't like this. Something just seems off."
"Something always feels 'off' to you."
​

 

As the group had arrived in Elven Captial, they were greeted by the Elf king who had invited them for a feast. While the other had given their various responses to his offer, another presence could be felt. It was almost as if it'd just popped into existence at this precise moment. The presence had belong to Gale, not the bird, the one armed man. As they ventured through the city he made sure to take a look around at it. Compared to most of the places that he's seen, the Elven capital was a cut above the rest. It was a shame they couldn't be here on a better note. Still despite actually existing now, Gale didn't say anything. He chose to wait and hear what Jedidiah said before before saying anything first.

 

Jedediah gave a laugh as Eon asked him about women. Well, he was a man who knew what he wanted, that was for sure. The king could appreciate that. He nodded, giving a silent promise to show him what he asked for later. It was then that Travis returned. He immediately began talking to the goddess. He asked her age, curiously. It seemed the rumor about her was right. She was little more than an infant as far as elven standards went. Elves matured to adulthood about as quickly as humans did, but remained in their prime for centuries to come. He chuckled and put his hand on his son's shoulder. "I hate to tell you Travis, but her job description means she's a bit out of the question, as pretty as she might be." He said, then looked around the group, stopping at Iota. "Her on the other hand would make a fine wife for you! She's even got white hair! Everyone likes white haired girls! You can arrange the date over dinner!" The king said, doing his fatherly duty of embarrassing his son by shipping him in public.

What happened next was somewhat surprising. The depressed looking boy with the snake had challenged him to a duel. The elven king grinned, nodding his head. "I like your spirit. If it's a duel that will sate your thirst, a duel you'll have! Although I'm afraid it won't be to the death. You're our guests. It wouldn't be very hospitable of me if i were to kill you." He said with confidence. "Tonight, after dinner, we will meet in battle in the Grand Arena! If we are to fight with all our might, then shall we bring our pact partners into the fray?" He grinned. He had confidence that he could win no matter what his answer. Why not give him a little bit of control over their field of battle?

"In the meantime, it's a good thing you showed up when you did. Our other guest was searching for you, m'lady." Jedediah said to Celina. "I believe you've met her before. Heiarch Etos came to me in search of you when news of the castle's fall had reached her. She asked me to help find you, but it seems there is no longer any need for that. Evidently, she had some important business to discuss with you. I didn't ask what it was. You'll need to discuss that with her yourself."

"The Heiarch? The priest that oversees the selection of the new goddess? She's here?" Sinbad asked, speaking up. He hadn't been expecting such an important figure to be here. King Jedediah and his son were a given. It was their city, after all. But what was the Heiarch doing there? Evidently she knew Jedediah on a personal level, enough to ask him for help. Perhaps they were friends. Jedediah nodded at him.

"Aye. The priestess arrived just yesterday, claiming that if anyone could help her find you, it was I. Unable to turn down a plea for help from an old friend, I accepted. However, it seems you found your way to me instead of the other way around. The lord works in mysterious ways. Perhaps this is another blessing." ​

 

​

On the way to the palace, the king impressed Olivia the entire way. He was a gentle soul and a great king it seemed. A man who was for his people, people that loved their king. That was a true ruler. He would probably be written down as one of the most beloved kings in history. It was admirable. He appeared to be a good father as well. This was a man who should have been ruling the entire world, let alone the elves.

Listening to Stuart, Olivia began to grow agitated with him. "Hold on one moment, Rachelle. I need to take care of a little problem." And when she said little, she meant it in more ways than one. The fox girl moved to Stuwart and picked him up bu the beard. "Hey, watch your tone. So help me I will make you live a life of fear and agony. A cage won't even save you from me." She put him down after that small conversation.

Running back up to Rachelle, she began to speak. "Sorry about that. I agree with you. This city is quite magnificent. Beautiful all around. The king is also quite the man of elegance. I feel like we are in good hands. Don't worry about what you said. He seems like a very understanding man. Just be yourself okay?" She smiled happily towards the girl as they continued on.

​

"I'll hold you up to that one, your majesty." He said with a smile as he walked along. Eon quite liked this king. He seemed cool and calm about everything. He wasn't stuck up either like you'd expect a king to be. Listening to one man ask for a match, another for other things, even Eon's inquiry about women, it was all enough for the king to handle.

The talk of the Heiarch caught his interest. Before he could speak up though, he noticed Lron climbing one of the large tree's and resting on a branch. Some things never changed. The damn lion wasn't interested in the slightest. "Leon, you know there is going to be food right!?" He shouted up to him. "Yeah, but I'll just go hunting in the wild lands later." Leon said without much care. "Suit yourself. I'll try to find some catnip for you or something." Eon shouted back. That was always a joke he said, but he had never actually gotten any. "Hey, Jedidiah. You don't perhaps know anyone around that actually sells that stuff do you?"

​

Within the city was a girl who waited long for the union to arise and travel here. Today was that day. Ana was running through the city, completely lost as usual. She hated not having any sense of direction. She went left when she was supposed to go right. If she second guessed herself and went back, she was going the right way originally. She couldn't really navigate anywhere. She made landmarks around the town to help her, but some of them just slipped her mind.

There it was though, in front of her. When you were looking for something, eventually you had to run into it. The locals were always glad to help her around, knowing her condition and the pact price she payed. The only thing that baffled them and her was how she continued to live while her partner apparently died. They all just thought she lost the partner really. Now, the king was in front of her, the man she had come to respect. She ran over and also saw the goddess. she stopped for a moment and closed her eyes. She gave a light bow before proceeding.

"Hello, um, goddess, ma'am. I'm Ana. I've been trying to find the Union for a few years now. I would love to join if you would let me. I know you won't trust me right away, seeing as my home and the Empire are united together. But please, I want nothing to do with my home. I just want this war to be over." Ana plead her case to the goddess, hoping for mercy.

 

As Calor was circling the town, he heard Travis calling out to him. Perhaps it would be a good idea to go inside the city. It certainly seemed safe enough from above, and maybe he could play mind games with Solaris. The elder dragon had always bested him physically, but mentally Calor was a fierce combatant. As he was flying towards the area he imagined Solaris to be at, or at least one of a select few, he heard a distint Irish accent shouting something about joining the empire. GG Leprechaun.

Immediately, the great dragon sped towards the ground. With a great gust of wind, he landed on the ground, causing several people nearby to struggle to maintain their balance and more importantly knocking Stewert off of his tiny feet. With a single claw, Calor held Stewert down on the ground as he lowered his head as close as he was able to get to Stewert. He let loose a low, rumbling growl and blew a puff of smoke onto the small man. "Care to repeat that?" he asked. His tone was incredibly serious and though many guards were around Calor was fully prepared to swallow the leprechaun whole should he prove to be a traitor.


As Travis mentioned the fact that there were many guards before leaving, Akin barely reacted. He didn't have to look over to Gale to know that he agreed with the elf. Gale was encouraging him to rest whenever he could, knowing how hard Akin worked. But it was for that reason that Akin would not do as Travis had asked. Truth be told, he was hungry enough to eat a horse or two, but if he left that meant there was one less guard. One less guard meant the defences were weaker. Weaker defences meant an easier time to take over the place. And if that happened, then Akin would lose the one thing that meant anything to him; he would lose his best friend. As Gale took a few steps towards Akin, the guardian held up a hand. "Not happening" he said, shutting down the griffin before he'd asked anything.​

 

Evan tried to hang back behind the rest of them. He wasn't particularly comfortable in this city, he had a feeling he would turn a corner and find someone who knew him. Luckily the King seemed ignorant of Evan's past. While Evan was being quiet Hazzakan wasn't helping.
"Look at all this! Why have I never come here before, there's magic everywhere, so much to analyse! I could spend a year in this city and there'd still be hidden mysteries left!" Hazzakan had wonder in his eye
"I'm not planning on staying here a year. We have dinner because I haven't eaten anything good in weeks, we watch this battle because no matter the result I love seeing a smug ******* beaten into the ground. Then we leave. I don't care about the Goddess, we're leaving" Evan didn't like the King, he didn't like most of his companions either, Evan liked very few people. Some people were too depressing, they didn't understand the fun in life. Others were too happy, or arrogant, they were bound to get killed at some point and Evan didn't want to be associated with them. Others were plain stupid.
"Leaving? Really? But we just got here!"
"There are other places we can go that are just as amazing and magical, your scientific mind won't be resting for long" wrapped up in his own thoughts Evan bumped into a palace guard. the guard turned to him and recognition flickered in his eyes "Oops, sorry, slipped"
"on what?"
"On... absolutely nothing. Anyway, I should get back to the others, they'll be lost without me... like sheep" Evan backed away hurriedly, he recognised this man slightly and didn't want to find out how
"Wait a second... I know you! You got banished from this city years ago!" the guard shouted "You killed my brother!"
"Not intentionally!" the others were beginning to look back at the commotion "How was I supposed to know overloading his body with lightning magic would kill him? Or was he part of the necromancy experiment? You'll have to remind me, I killed so many elves and they all look the same" the guard was now even angrier
"You're screwed Evan, and that means I'm screwed... this isn't good" Hazzakan stated as the guard called for backup
"I wish, I'm worse than screwed, we could possibly be executed for the crimes I've comitted in this city..."​

 

Olivia did now listen to Rachelle knowing that she was completely wrong. After the girl's apology, the little runt was beginning to talk about the Empire and his favor towards it. The white fox tails behind her went to him and rapped around his mouth. "This should shut him up for a while. Hey dragon, I have to ask you not roast him up, as sad as it is, we need him for the girl."

She walked along and noticed that another girl had joined. She seemed alright excluding her origins. A girl from a nation that favored the empire, that was never good. For all they knew, she could have been a double agent. Olvia would keep an eye open on her. It was coming closer and closer to meeting the Hierarchy.



She bowed down to the goddess and was grateful for the acceptance. "You are a goddess though. Your approval is all I ask for. Nobody knows better than you." She stated, lifting herself up to smile and show her excitement. The goddess was beautiful, as she thought she would be. Things seemed like they were going to be okay.

Ana gave a look at everyone in the group. Some of them seemed nice enough, others a little strange. One girl even had foxtails. That girl in specific seemed to glare at her. The other man with white hair seemed innocent and kind. The girl in the wheelchair was honest and saw good in everything. The leprechaun was a bit annoying, but there always had to be that one annoying person in a large group. The others were just as strange and yet they were all giving her a feeling of relaxation.

 

​

Ancel had given a smirk to the king as he had accepted the challenge. Damn, fighting a strong opponent didn't come around like this every day, so this would be quite the treat. It was then that pretty boy, the king's son apparently, had come in to tell him something about skills and age and whatever things that he didn't really care about. Looking over to Trevor, that was definitely his name, he gave an unamused expression as he said, "that's wonderful. I am far too impressed by that statement to actually seem like I care. But trust me, I value what you said." Turning his attention back to the king he was given the option on whether or not he wanted to have his pact partner fight alongside him. The answer was obvious. He and Medea were a dynamic duo. Fire forged friends. Two halves of the same coin. Every fight they did, they did together.

"You're on your own." Ancel looked at the snake, feigning a look of hurt on his face as Medea continued, "I'm not getting involved in this stupid match you got yourself into."

Shrugging his shoulders he looked back to the king of the elves and said, "well there you have it. Sorry that my partners being a spoil sport, but it'll just be me against you." It was then that they were all invited to a feast by this king, and that their duel would have to wait until after the food. Well that sucked. Regardless, Ancel walked alongside the rest of the group, only snickering at the little green midget as a dragon looked ready to roast him.

Iota had continued to be wary of the situation, given that this king seemed to trusting, however she was taken a back for a second when he had essentially told his son to marry her. As the son in question had basically told her that he wasn't interested in settling down and meant no offense by his statement, Iota simply said back, "none taken." She was now not entirely sure what to think of this king. Given how he interacted with everyone, he seemed like a rather spirited man, but she wasn't sure if that was attributed to him being energetic or an idiot...or both. As she was getting ready to travel alongside the rest of the group, the leprechaun that had belonged to the crippled girl seemed to say something that he would have rather kept private. As the dragon that had appeared alongside the elf king's son pinned the small creature to the ground and the fox lady had helped him, he seemed to try to plea for his innocence and use the girl as a shield. It had appeared that this leprechaun was a lower form of life than Iota had previously thought he was. With her one visible eye, she looked straight at Stewart and with a look of cold malice she stated, "there is no room for traitors in this group. And if one innocent must be traded for the rest of the group, then so be it." She had seemed to be gripping her sword tightly during that statement, as if ready to draw it at a moment's notice. After that, Iota had decided to continue along with everyone else to go to this feast.