The endless staircase led to a large mansion in the middle of the city. The building had seventy stone columns, supporting the roof without struts. Its sight could easily be observed from every point of Seora.
Following the long stairs, a huge iron doorpost emerged in the way. Opening the door would lead the visitors to an unending hallway. The floor was shining the sun's light through the place. Like the outside of the building, the inside pillars also supported the ceiling and embellished the sparkling hall.
At the end of the hall, a circular chamber resided behind a wooden door. It was where the meeting of the Grandwizards would take place, the Seora's Council of Grandwizards.
The room was floored by a large crimson design of snake patterns, covering the whole floor while gleaming a sharp red light. The roof's transparent designs let the sun's light pass through the glossy ceiling and lighten the room. The walls looked thoroughly white, having no windows whatsoever.
Four rows of parchment benches resided in the right and left side of the chamber, two for each side. The first row benches were arranged on the floor, as the second row followed the floor benches in higher ground.
A single majestic chair was placed in the center of the crimson design, within the facing benches around the chamber.
The seats were all empty except that single chair in the center. A blond man in a long purple fur cloak was sitting there, his right foot resting on his left thigh. His hood, trimmed with murmansky fur, put a shadow on his forehead, and under his coat, he was wearing a close-fitting white shirt beneath a black vest, as some obscure dark blue designs of snakes adorned it.
A tight black collar was fastened to his neck, supporting an intricate necklace made of colorful gems.
The difference in his iris coloration implied his complete heterochromia. His right eye appeared in a deep hazel color, and the other one in sapphire blue.
Right hand over the left, he leaned his chin on his fingers, looking straight toward the entering door in a cold manner.
"Finally they're all gone," he said, closing his eyes while inhaling the silent air, "I'm getting tired of this already. When's Angus going to return? I have more sympathy with him now; being in charge is never as easy as I'd thought. We didn't even have enough time to discuss about the Oracle since they argued a lot, but we've already discussed it several times in previous meetings so it can stay for the next one."
The wooden door squeaked as a female figure started walking into the chamber. She appeared as a gorgeous, red-eyed brunette, wearing a pair of cerise leggings and a loose, sleeveless cherry red tunic of silk, a dark brown belt fastened around her waist. Golden dragon patterns could be seen painted everywhere on her garments.
She bore white skin, reddish-brown hair with a long ponytail reaching her back, and a ceremonial sword hung at her side in a gilded scabbard, with flame breathing dragon pictures imprinted on it.
As she walked in, she started stepping toward him, where he was sitting on his chair in the center of the room.
Her footfalls ceased to be heard as she kneeled down before him.
"I apologize for my delay, the Grandwizard Levi. I had to accompany the councilors to the outside of the mansion; they also started arguing in the way so it took a bit more time to get back."
Although that voice belonged to a woman, it didn't sound soft or gentle. It was strong and formal, showing no signs of weakness through her tone.
"Don't mind it please," he replied, resting his hands on the chair's red armrests, "Now, did you want to show me something?"
"Yes! I think it's necessary for the Council's head to know it."
"I see, so what is that?"
"According to my sources, an archer and two strange women have entered Seora. It seems they've decided to join one of the adventuring guilds."
"So what? Are you sure you're not wasting my time? Are those people related to these sudden happenings in the Kingdom? What do they have to do with the Oracle? I don't see anything except trivial information here."
"I also thought the same, but it's not the end of the story. I assure you I'd never share unimportant matters to the head of the Council. My wizardry squad has identified the trace of that archer in Novelion Vermilion Town in the West, exactly at the same time when the people in that town were massacred."
"What?! Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"My sources told me about it 24 hours ago, but I didn't decide to inform you. At first, I didn't expect it to be anything suspicious, but now I'm sure there's something. So I decided to not give you more trouble since the Council already has a lot of problems to solve. I tried to keep doing the proper investigations to see whether it's worth to be shared with you. However, it wasn't possible to ignore it anymore, and thus I had to share it with the head of the Council immediately."
"I get it now. What's more?"
"I've been investigating for over a day now. We tried to study the archer's movements. We also asked for private information about his quests. He's been to Grandwood, Thunder Plateau, and the Novelion Vermilion Town. Still, we have no proper evidence."
"But you should be able to arrest him since we've found his magical trace in the town, right?"
"Of course we can, but then we would fail to get more information. My sense is telling me that he carries a lot more precious evidence. He may lead us to the person who's been behind all of this."
"Are you really sure, Divya? I'd like to trust you, but I want to be assured that you won't waste our time on something useless."
"Master Levi, have I ever disappointed you?"
"No, of course not! But I fear if it's nothing special with those people. That archer and his party could just be in the wrong time and wrong place, and I don't want to waste the Council's precious time on a trivial matter and a simple guess."
"Don't worry Levi, I'd not have shared this matter with you if I hadn't reached the necessary evidence through my investigations."
"I see, then Divya, please act in accordance and handle the ones responsible for the slaughter of our innocent people to the law. I'm trying to trust you, please don't disappoint me at such a critical time, all right Divya? I'm counting on you. We need to fix the problems immediately!"
"Yes Master Levi, I will do my best to find the criminals behind the recent slaughter."
"Council behind you, Divya!"
"Nation behind you, Levi!"