Xavier's eyes glowed as they entered the palace. It was like nothing he had ever seen. From the beautiful floors to the perfectly sculpted statues. They all looked crazily expensive.
Still following behind Shandock, they got to a large door which was immediately pushed open by two royal guards.
A large hall came to view, more statues were aligned at the sides both left and right. The statues looked to have been sculpted to resemble some warriors as Xavier could see different warriors in different poses all holding different weapons.
At the end of the hall, two exquisite thrones were fixed to the wall, One larger than the other. The large one had a young man seated on it, a crown sat perfectly on his head, he had on him a large purple robe which combed the feet of the throne. And beside him on the smaller throne sat a very beautiful maiden.
She also had a crown on her head though it was smaller making it look like a tiara. Her large pink robe covered her down to her feet. But in no way did it make her less attractive.
Xavier noticed how Drake could not stop staring, he didn't blame him. She was a flawless beauty.
Below the thrones' platform, two seats were placed opposite each other, and on the first seat by the left, a man in green silk robes sat. His long brown hair covered the side of his face preventing Xavier from having a good view. By his side stood a long staff which was suspended in air. It had a silver orb on the top that glowed every once in a while. Xavier couldn't guess who he was but knew one thing for sure, he had to be a mage.
And opposite this man to the right, sat a man clothed in armour. From his neck down to his feet, not a single part was uncovered. His face had a serious look and not only if one looks well, one will not be able to see how young he truly was. The man had a tattoo on his face. Looked like a viper with wings. No it couldn't be that the artist was trying to draw a dragon, could it?
Xavier's observation was cut short when Shandock suddenly raised his voice.
"Your Majesty!!", he clasped his fist into his palm before falling on one knee and bending his head.
The guards that had come in with the Marshals came forward and also did the same.
Xavier and his colleagues started to look at one another. They wondered if they were to also do the same when the atmosphere suddenly became heavy.
The hundred Marshals fell to the ground, their faces centimetres from touching the floor as an overbearing pressure fell on them.
Xavier groaned in pain, he felt his body could be ripped apart anytime. This pressure was familiar, Shandock had done the same to them back when they were outside the kingdom but this was more intense.
Xavier was still trying his best to stay conscious when a voice suddenly spoke up.
"You dare to stand before the king!"
'That didn't sound one bit like Shandock',
Xavier thought.
"Shandock, seems you've not trained these fools", the voice sounded again confirming Xavier's thoughts.
"Forgive me grand mage. I have not had the time since I had to bring them to the kingdom almost immediately", Shandock said.
"Hmph...", the grand mage decided to say nothing and headed back to his seat caging his aura.
Xavier thanked his stars immediately he felt the pressure leave him but didn't dare move. Only God knew what that grand mage was capable of. He had summoned them, he probably had the power to wipe them out. He could remember Shandock saying something about them trying to rebel. Better to stay safe than sorry.
There was a long silence before the king finally spoke.
"Rise"
The bowing heads immediately rose, some of the Marshals were not really sure if they could really raise their heads and had to look around first.
"Forgive my friend here, he has quite the temper you see", the king smiled. His voice was so smooth and filled with honour.
"I am king Jimbad, third of his name, son of late king Mahren.", he stood to his feet proudly.
He looked graciously at the beautiful lady beside him and stretched his hand forth beckoning for her to grab it which she did.
"Here is my beautiful sister. Princess Pamela.", he smiled.
"And to my right is the grand mage of this kingdom, Malnox and my left is the grand knight, Urohara", he said pointing to the grand mage and the grand knight who hadn't said a single word since.
The king walked forward. He stepped down the platform and strolled towards Shandock.
"You did well Captain Shandock", he said patting the knight who bowed again pouring him praise.
He then looked at the guards and praised them for their work before turning to the Marshals.
"I apologize for summoning you all here. Desperate times call for desperate acts.
The whole continent has been thrown into a new era, the dark age. Thanks to the existence of different races, the thirst to show who is the most powerful and to annex other kingdoms have blinded us.", the king sighed.
Xavier, in his head, knew the continent they were in right now. Thanks to the book he had literally downloaded, he knew that there were twelve continents in Ozion. Krodark, Shork, Santamon, Likor, Odon, Dathine, Donilad, Brogan, Livid, Deidre and Bronde.
Donilad was the smallest continent and also the home of Kingdom Xerosa. There were other kingdoms surrounding it and they were not restricted to humans alone.
"Ehm sir, sorry... Your majesty... forgive my rudeness but why haven't you tried to form an alliance with other human kingdoms against other races?", Drake asked.
Xavier was quite surprised Drake could ask such an intelligent question. It was not something you see everyday.
King Jimbad sighed bitterly. He threw a glance at his sister before continuing.
"My late father, king Mahren, used to be known all over the continent. His battle prowess and viciousness were engraved into every warrior's heart, both friend and foe. He was skilled both with the sword and in magic. When the continent fell into the dark age, he decided to call for an alliance with other kingdoms....", King Jimbad paused and sighed again.
".... My father was assassinated on his way to the alliance summit. He and just fifty knights including his best friend and previous grand mage Denrek fought over three thousand assassins. They both died that day.", he finished.
The story was quite pitiful and it caught the heart of the Marshals but Xavier didn't care. That was still no reason to forcefully summon them from their world.
"So the alliance cannot truly happen as everybody is blinded by greed. We have to subjugate this continent if we ever want to bring back peace", King Jimbad turned and started heading back to his throne.
"So I'm sorry but you are my tools till that is done", he added with a serious face before taking his seat on the throne.
Xavier rolled his eyes. This was just a polite way of abduction but the rest of the Marshals didn't seem to mind.
"Don't worry my king. We will help you conquer your foes", Drake stepped forward and imitated Shandock's bow.
Other Marshals started to bow too and soon Xavier was forced to join them.
'Bastard Drake! just trying to get in good standings with the king', Xavier cursed in his head.
The king smiled. He rose his hand and said
"Go wash up and rest for now, your training starts tomorrow but tonight we feast."