in the castle.
"oh? she offered to take you with her?" the king sat of the throne, his chin resting on his fist. his gold embroidered robes displaying his elegance. " yes. i've been getting bored of war lately, so i think i will go with her." the second prince said, a lazy smile on his face. a week or so ago, he went home to his estate, only to find Anastasia there. she wore a sad expression on her face, while a gloomy air hung above her. needless to say, the second prince was furious, who was screwed enough in the head to make his beloved big sister sad?! they could only be looking for death! he remembered how she had said that she was going to see ezikiel before she left. but before he could go teach that brother of his a lesson, Anastasia stopped him, she watched them grow up, she knew what he would do.
after talking him out of going to 'see' the third prince, she stayed at his estate since she didn't want to go back to the castle. in the morning before she left, she asked him if he would like to go back to the sect with her. she knew that if any of her three brothers would go with her, it would be Elias. " hmmm, well, i am getting bored here." the second prince replied with a smile. "hmmm, you can do as you please." the king said, as he motioned for the second prince to leave. " send a message to the 3 clans, there will be a banquet tonight, and all of them are invited." after the second prince left, the king ordered. " it shall be done, your majesty." a bald eunuch walked from the darkness behind the throne and bowed, before walking off.
...
in the white tower.
" i understand, but why do you want me to put that kind of inscription there? even if it's there, you won't be able to absorb qi with a dantian that was patched up by an inscription." old gray spoke, his brows furrowed slightly. " i..don't...want the...inscription....there to.....be able to....absorb..qi. i explained...already, i...can absorb different....bloodlines, and....the tattoo kept....them restrained. but....now that it...is damaged, they are....wreaking havoc in....my body, which...is why i am...in this state." small beads of sweat appeared on levi's face as he spoke. " what does this have to do with you wanting me to put a sealing inscription on your broken dantian? although only a part of it is broken, it doesn't mean that you can absorb qi once it is sealed." old gray questioned again.
" i want....you...to make an..inscription that i...would..be able to seal....my bloodlines in...my broken dantian..with. i...want to be....able...to open...the seal at...will.....so that...i will be able to....use my bloodlines...when i...need...them, before....closing it again. i...can feel all....of the...different....bloodlines in my....body, so i...should be....able to restrain...them without....the seal after....a while." levi spoke slowly. " sigh, fine, fine. i will be back in a few days, survive until then, boy." old gray sighed, before the inscriptions in the white room lit up and he dissapeared. Levi closed his eyes in thought. although everything he said to old gray was what he believed, he would still only know the outcome after it was done. if the seal didn't work, then he would have to start trying to restrain the bloodlines himself from the start. since he couldn't do anything else, he drifted into his own thoughts again.
...
in the scorching sun clan.
"father, an eunuch just brought us a message from the king." the scorching sun clan's current head went to see the old master. "humph! invitation? that's only to make it sound pretty, if we didn't go, what do you think would happen? tch, i will also have to go, won't i?" old master scorching sun started to grumble, while the middle aged man stood silently and watched his father. although he was the current clan head, he would still go ask the old master for advice on important things. it was also like this for the other two clans.
in the lighting fist clan.
"a banquet invitation?.....we will go." old master lightning fist told his son simply.
in the flowing water clan. "ho ho, i wonder what the king has in store for us. he most likely wants to talk about the impending war, but for some reason, i feel like there is something else." old master flowing water looked at the white invitation in his hand, a calm smile on his face.
a few hours later, night time.
three large carriages stopped outside the castle wall, waiting for the guards to open the gate. after it was opened, the carriages went in, only stopping again when the people had to get out. the castle was large, it was made from white stone blocks, with four to five towers that varied in hight and width. the imperial guards at the castle doors stood still as the three old masters, the three current heads, and a girl with long, flowing brown hair, and golden eyes walked through. "why did you bring a child with you?"old master lightening fist asked, as he looked to the side. " that invitation pointed this brat out specifically, what choice did i have? humph!" old master scorching sun snorted. "..." old master flowing water looked at the girl. something felt off to him about this situation, but he just couldn't put his finger on it.
creak!
the large wooden door creaked as it opened, everyone walked into the throne room. the usually dark and empty throne room was now filled with people. candles brightened the room, the different cloths hanged in it decorating it. a lot of different people were present, mainly the nobles. a large table with food and different drinks stood in the middle of the room, people occasionally going to pick something up. the three old masters, with their current family heads behind them, walked into the throne room. as they went in, the lively mood seemed to have frozen, before appearing again. " i welcome you all." the king sat on his throne, looking down at the three. " we are not worthy." the three clan heads said at the same time. anyone could tell that both parties hated each other, just by the dry greeting and response.
"before we get to the problems of the impending war, there is a matter that i would like to discuss with you." the king said, as his eyes drifted to the girl. the three old masters kept silent. "that girl, marry her to my third son." the king said calmly. " what?!" old master scorching sun immediately exploded.