The environment was so heavily charged with spatial fons that, near the Nexus teleportation station, space itself rippled intensely. Even though most in the crowd were prominent names from Fortress Veridia, they still stopped to marvel at the arrival of the royal processions.
After all, it wasn't every day that the immense teleportation arch was activated, let alone for Kings from other city-states on an official visit. When was the last time this had happened? Only the oldest in the crowd had a vague notion, for they themselves had been children during the first assembly.
It was expected that four Kings would come this time, a historic number compared to the first assembly decades ago. In that period, the population of fons beasts had undergone exponential growth, threatening human existence. That assembly had laid the foundation for the joint military action that delimited the beasts' territories in the savanna and the forest, thereby concentrating their population and diminishing the danger around the city-states.
But this time, the subject of the assembly would be the immortals—or more precisely, the massacre an immortal had recently committed on the battlefield. A prodigy of the space element had torn through the skies of the battlefield and obliterated soldiers from two city-states. The immortals were the distant rulers of humanity, their silent protectors who did not interfere in mundane affairs.
However, the world turned upside down when a legendary being indiscriminately slaughtered mortals. To make matters worse, he washed the battlefield with the blood of other immortals, one being killed and another losing a limb, forced to his knees to survive.
Rumors said this involved a murder plot, and that everything had been the immortals' fault from the beginning, even the dispute between the minor fiefs. The feeling of being manipulated and massacred was nauseating. But who could voice this discontent? To whom? The silent protectors had apparently become far too active, and the price was a sea of mortal blood.
Perhaps this Assembly of Kings could pressure the saviors and executioners of humanity to provide an explanation; after all, without the base, the ruling top would not exist. Who would provide the materials that sustained the cultivators? Without the city-states, the sanctuaries of humanity, the cultivators would eventually be doomed to extinction.
It was amidst this palpable tension that the space within the arch was torn, accompanied by a sound like thunder. From inside the arch, the crowd could see a procession of giant mounts—tamed fons beasts—trotting with firm steps through the teleportation gate.
At the front of the procession, men in red armor cleared the way, mounted on imposing fons beasts resembling tigers. Their swords rested in scabbards incrusted with rubies the size of fists. Without a doubt, they were the royal guard of the city-state of Ignis. Their bravery was the basis of legends and stories about loyal knights that populated the popular imagination across the supercontinent.
Right behind the royal guard, a man dressed in simple trousers and a shirt, yet made of red silk with discreet rubies bordering the collar and sleeves, rode a tiger crowned with golden laurels. Upon his head rested a simple crown, a circlet resembling a wedding band made of Flame Ore. Beside him, soldiers in more robust armor provided his direct guard.
"It seems we were the first to arrive, Your Majesty," said one of the soldiers at the monarch's rear.
"I prefer it that way; my patience is wearing thin. We need to reach a resolution before the Noble's Council organizes and acts. I cannot allow Lord Miller to accumulate more power, and the time to tip the scales in favor of royalty in Ignis is now."
"I agree, but... if I may, Your Majesty, it is not good to remain so eager. The politics involved in this temporary alliance will require caution and calm. Being the 'Impatient One of Ignis' will not help you here."
"Hahaha... quite bold of you, Vicent, to speak to your King that way... You should be punished for it."
"Well, that is one of the privileges of being the King's friend and advisor. But I am serious, Cassian; we are entering a nest of vipers, and you are one of the youngest in the Assembly."
"Humph! Let them underestimate me; if they make that mistake, all the better for me. And I am not the youngest of the assembly. Intelligence confirmed that Attila took over in the North, and the fact that he isn't attending the assembly says a lot about his maturity as a ruler."
"Oh! That is something indeed, my King. If the North proves vulnerable, we may profit more from this alliance than initially intended."
"That is what I think. Keep your eyes open, Vicent; our secondary target will be profiting from North Polar."
As the procession moved forward, soldiers from Fortress Veridia stepped out to greet and guide the retinue to the Palace in the center of the city. The sight of Fortress Veridia's center of power was breathtaking.
The streets were made of planks of gofer wood, giving the feeling of walking on gold because of its golden and shimmering veins.
In a herringbone pattern, the blocks that paved the streets did not only provide the elegance and opulence of a golden city but also served as a military structure. Fortress Veridia's ability to manipulate the secondary Wood element on a large scale was well known. In a crisis, these streets and blocks could be remodeled to stop an enemy advance, with each block transforming into gofer wood spikes that would sprout from the ground to impede or be used as a weapon to halt troop movements.
On each side of the main avenue connecting the Nexus portal facilities to the royal Palace, there were four-story buildings of wide cylindrical shapes, surrounded by ten-meter-wide rings serving as balconies for an ever-growing number of curious onlookers. At the top of each building, trees with leaves of various colors and shapes, birds with four-meter wingspans, and keen-eyed fowl gave an ethereal, dreamlike vision to the entire environment.
"Truly, Fortress Veridia is the closest to transcendent immortal beauty that we mortals can produce," the King of Ignis thought.
"Your Majesty, proceed to the end of the main street; King Alefel's retinue will receive you," informed the Veridian soldier responsible for the guard guiding the Ignis procession, interrupting his contemplation.
"Hm." With a nod, King Cassian signaled for his retinue to proceed toward the worst battlefield of all: the "negotiation table." And in this case, it would be fought first among allies. As his father would say, "politics is the fiercest battlefield; always keep your pen ready, your mind sharp, and advance with calculated courage." With a smile that did not reach his eyes, the King of Ignis met the Royalty of Fortress Veridia.
As the Ignis procession reached the Palace, the teleportation gate rippled with even more fury than the first time. The distance to be crossed by the gate was longer, requiring more energy and making the phenomenon intense and aggressive.
With a sound like dozens of rolling thunders, the gate was activated, tearing through space and connecting the Nexus network to receive the procession from Aetheria.
Differing from the previous procession, at the front of the retinue, a regally dressed and crowned man advanced on his winged mount. The animal, which looked like a hybrid of a wolf and an eagle, possessed a light blue color reminiscent of the sky. Its feathers contrasted well with the pearly white silk of the man's robes.
The crowd immediately recognized that this was Håkon, King of Aetheria. His royal robes along with his graying hair were a determining factor.
His retinue trotted on their own winged mounts right behind the King with unstoppable momentum. The soldiers of Fortress Veridia, responsible for escorting this procession, silently accompanied the retinue of the most powerful nation on the supercontinent.