"Any ideas Darius?" I turned to the Grand Vizier, hoping he'd have some insight on the matter, or if he'd noticed something I hadn't, but uncharacteristically the man shook his head with the same furrowed brows I was wearing.

"I have no idea what would compel them to do such a thing." He said.

"Isaac." I called, and my Shade Corps Commander instantly understood his assignment without the need for any further words.

He vanished from my side, as we all quietly awaited his return, which didn't take long, as his well honed skills allowed him to gather the fundamentals of it all in less than five minutes, before he once again rematerialized next to us.

"What did you uncover?" I asked the moment he appeared.

"It was both the Luminous and Boreas Empires who requested a last minute change sire." Isaac confidently answered.

"Why?" I asked, as my brows furrowed their way even deeper into my forehead.

"I couldn't discover the reason for the western hegemon's insistence on entering at the earliest time possible, but the Boreas Empire wishes to enter last on account of some delays they were having in regards to their crown prince." Isaac reported.

'Nicholas?! Did something happen to that bastard?' I thought in concern, my mind instantly thinking that he might be starting to receive his ancestor's divine revelations, but then I remembered that his birthday is not until next week.

'Did the Goddess decide to give him his precognitive dreams ahead of time?' I momentarily thought before immediately dismissing the idea. 'No the Gods would never allow her to break the rules a second time. So what happened? Did some brave fool try to assassinate that scum?' I mused in sadistic happiness, even though I was fully aware that such a thing would be impossible, since he is probably the most well protected person on the planet at the moment, on account of his long awaited birth and his father's full readiness to wage war for his sake, if necessary.

"Fine, I understand why the northern giant might have done what they did, but have you truly heard nothing of the Luminous Empire's reasons?" I decided to shift gears for a moment, as I asked Isaac once again.

"No, sire. They raised no issues on the matter what so ever during the past day's session, when we agreed on the order of our entrances, so the fuss they made today has completely blindsided the event's officials." Isaac said, his eyes flashing with the countless unsaid thoughts racing in his mind, like all the rest of us.

"Alright. Excellent work Isaac, try to find out anything more that we left out in the meantime, but make sure you return before we enter." I ordered, wanting to know everything about my enemies, especially if something truly unfortunate had happened to that northern bastard.

"Understood, my liege." He said, as he once again disappeared from our side.

And so for the remainder of our time waiting in the southern lounge, we just sat there, each busy with his own thoughts, waiting for our cue to step into the banquet hall.

Which thankfully arrived with no further complications, as the voice of the master of ceremony behind the floor to ceiling barred doors before us, echoed out into our ears.

"Apologies for my tardiness, sire." Isaac said as he arrived at that moment with silent footsteps.

"It's fine." I calmly said, as I did a final check to my attire and then asked "Did you find anything new?"

"Nothing anymore concrete than what I said earlier. Though the only consistent words I heard, were that emperor Mikhail delayed his family's entrance because the crown prince had overslept." He shook his head with a sigh, as he remembered all the utterly weird rumours currently spreading, like a virulent disease, among the staff and officials.

Yet while Isaac was shaking off the remanent stupidity of all he'd heard in the last hour, I was battling my rising fears, as the same worries returned to whisper their horrid song in my ear, and I had to constantly try to push them out with my reason.

"...We shall know soon enough I suppose." I sombrely said, just as the master of ceremony's voice reached it's apex.

"My lords and ladies, though this most historical of ancient banquets is held each century for the propagation of peace and harmony, some adherence to tradition and reality is still necessary, so allow me the great honour to introduce the mighty sovereign of the splendorous south; all hail the Ruinous Dragon, the Bloody Emperor and the Mad Monarch; Master of the Scorching Desert, Lord of the Southern Realms, Holder of the Black Throne of the South, and Emperor of the Eclipse Empire, his majesty Alexander the third, along with his two brothers, the princes Nizam and Cyrus."

And with these final words, the door that had been locked, opened and we marched into the hall with an imposing air, as the once clamorous room stilled into such a silence that you could hear the echo of a pheasant's flapping wings.

This was especially so after I slightly eased the restraints of the tyrant, allowing it to relieve some of it's frustrations, as an air of unrelenting danger suffocated those who beheld me, making them feel as though another being of wrath, hate, savagery and pure unabashed insanity was eerily peering through my eyes, glaring at them with unmasked abhorrence and bloodlust.

Meanwhile Darius, who flanked me on the right, walked with a lofty sombre sternness; like a stone mask of contempt; a master who'd apexed the summit of his craft and looked down upon the amateurish work of his lessors. An attitude perfectly befitting his well earned title and position, which were so feared and venerated, that even some of those so called monarchs and sovereigns here today would have no choice but to show him their utmost admiration and respect.

While my brothers, who stood to my left, had donned their own masks, ones they'd painstakingly learned to uphold from our mother's harsh lessons, with Nizam cloaking himself under a fairly simple garb of an utterly apathetic and chillingly cold expression, that screamed of frigid apathy and stinging intellect; a fairly simple and well defined shield, one that didn't stray too far from his usual attitude, making it easier for him to maintain for a long time.

Similarly, Cyrus followed a comparable approach, having donned a simple mask that didn't require him to drastically act against his nature, but it was one that created very different results than Nizam's, as he enrobed himself with a confidently carefree, borderline arrogant smile on his lips, which only served to enhance his natural rogue like charm, causing several of the young and noble ladies in the hall to look upon him somewhat favourably, as their interest rose.

Meanwhile Isaac, who manned the rear, simply portrayed himself as the ever loyal and gentle Grand Chamberlin of the Eclipse Empire, a man who wouldn't harm a mosquito even if it bit him, completely erasing his lethal, sharpened edges, like a dagger comfortably slotted back in it's sheathe.

And finally Abraham, Horus, Leonid and the rest of the guard stood at the door like scary sentinels, glaring menacingly at all and any, without a care in the world. since none here would dare find trouble with the Ruinous Dragon's guards.

We then went to our seats, which were in the southern-central part of the hall, as we received the customary bows of everyone present, while we awaited the master of ceremony to commence with the introductions.

Which he immediately then started after everyone raised their heads back up again, saying "The hegemons of the wonderous west; all hail the King of the Radiant City, Lord of the Western Realms, holder of the Golden Throne of the West and Emperor of the Luminous Empire, Octavian the second, along with his son and heir, the Radiant Dragon, crown prince Aurelius."

The western door loudly opened, and from within streamed a river of gold plated men and women flooding into the hall, and at the center of them stood the four main pillars of the empire, with emperor Octavian in the middle, clad in a brilliant set of masterwork armour, one that had many salivating at the sight of it, as they couldn't even begin to count how much such an extravagant thing would cost, which again reaffirmed everyone's belief that none could ever hold a candle before the economic juggernaut, that is the Luminous Empire.

And empress Roxanna was not any less flashy in her choice of wardrobe, as she was draped in an exquisite crimson gown with golden embroidery, and further enhanced by a few tasteful accessories that were all crowned with the finest rubies anyone had ever seen, which when added all together, only served to complement her carmine hair, and heighten her already monstrous charm and ravishing body.

Aurelius on the other hand was dressed similarly to his father, but with a few adjustments that eased the crushing pressure it induced upon others, and in exchange it was meant to be tailored more to add to his own comfort; a decision undoubtedly made by his doting mother.

And finally Marius was dressed in the least ostentatious way among them, wearing simple wide robes and with the only accessory on his body, being the same ordinary looking ring on his finger, that he never took off.

They then, like us walked to their seats at the western-center of the hall, before receiving everyone's greeting bows, and waiting for the master of ceremony to continue, but unlike before Octavian and I caught each other's gaze, and we both entered into a momentary battle, before we quickly again averted our eyes, though the sudden spike of tension in the room did not go unnoticed by anyone.

And though our exchange was brief, I sensed something odd about his aura, but it was so subtle I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

The master of ceremony then cleared his throat in an attempt to shoo away the earlier pressure, before he continued "The eminence of the astonishing east; all hail the Prince of the Ethereal Lands, Lord of the Eastern Realms, holder of the Emerald Throne of the East and Emperor of the Yue Dynasty, Tianlan the first, along with his son and heir, the Celestial Dragon, crown prince Weixiao and his twin sister, princess Ziyi."

The hall's eastern door then opened, and the Polished Pearl Guard entered, their black blades held aloft in a ceremonial stance, before the three royal members of the eastern empire entered, and again their approach elicited gasps from the audience.

Not because they were dressed with such finery that they even doubted they could buy such a luxurious thing, even if they save up their nation's entire yearly revenue for several years, but due to the attractiveness of the three.

The descendants of the Goddess of the Moon have always been blessed with great beauty, not as much as some others, like the descendants of the Goddess of Beauty and Sex herself, but their silver hair and eyes, the colour of pale moonlight, the trademark characteristic of their house, was enough to enchant many of the women present here today, even if Tianlan and Weixiao possessed some slightly feminine facial features, that could be even described as delicate.

Yet if anything, it only made them more attractive to some with such preferences.

But if emperor Tianlan's and Weixiao's looks were slightly up for debate, depending on ones likes and dislikes, princess Ziyi was not, as no man woman or child would ever claim her to be anything other than a harrowing beauty, one that perfectly inherited the beauty of both her father's and her late mother's.

And though she didn't possess her family's signature silver locks, and instead took after her mother's raven hair, it in actuality worked to even further enhance her charm, as her hair stood as a mesmerising juxtaposition against her large, innocent, soulful silver eyes.

They then took their seats in the eastern-center of the hall, and did just like us the last two times, though I did notice that Golden Glutton's eyes, fixate for a moment on Octavian's armour.

"And lastly, but certainly not least of all," The master of ceremony raised his slightly tired voice for the last time this evening, saying "the dominators of the noble north; all hail the Frozen King; the Overlord of the Bitter Wastes, Lord of the Northern Realms, holder of the Ivory Throne of the North and Emperor of the Boreas Empire, Mikhail the first., and his son and heir, the Everlasting Dragon, crown prince Nicholas."