The ballroom was filled with hushed whispers as the guests all turned their attention to the ballroom's grand double doors. The excitement was evident in the air. It should be noted that unless you were a member of their respective forces it was extraordinarily rare for a person to see an ascendant. Many of the people present in the room weren't even aware of what the four ascendants looked like. So, when they saw Charlotte's and Zander's youthful appearance, they couldn't help but gasp in surprise.
"Huh? They're this young looking?" said one of the guests.
"I don't know what I was expecting, but I thought that they would look more wizened" said another.
"I guess it makes sense if I looked old, I would feel comfortable having a child even if I could" joked a guest.
While having a high cultivation caused one to age at a snail's pace. The Four Ascending Kings were the last hold overs from the warring generation meaning they were of the same era as many of the guests deceased grandparents. So, their expectations of a wizened sage were justified.
"Is that the child?" whispered one of the guests upon noticing fidgeting Isabella who was being carried by her father.
"Wow! She looks like a doll" exclaimed a guest.
"Aww, she so cute! I wish mine were that cute." said a middle-aged woman.
"I'm right here mum" grumbled her adult son who was sitting beside her.
*
Seeing the entire ballroom erupt into a tizzy upon their arrival, Charlotte couldn't help but sigh.
"It's always like this no matter where we go, I can't believe I let you convince me to put on this show" whispered Charlotte to the smiling Zander.
"Hey, I just wanted to show off my beautiful daughter to the world, I mean look at how awestruck they are" rebutted Zander.
"I feel like we're a circus act" grumbled Charlotte.
Isabella was looking around the room full of unfamiliar faces. Luckily, she wasn't shy and timid but rather she reveled in the attention.
"Woah! Mummy daddy look look so many people!" shouted Isabelle in excitement.
"I know dear" said Zander, "they're all here to celebrate your birthday" he continued.
Seeing her daughter's excitement brought a smile to charlotte's face, "I guess this is okay" she said to herself. When the family of three reached the seats of honor zander set down Isabella on her seat before quickly running off to make the rounds, greeting the different delegations. Charlotte sat down on her seat and took a quick glance around the room.
"Sigh, it seems the three factions haven't changed much. Though the Isle of Might is leaning more towards our side now rather than remaining neutral." Muttered Charlotte.
As an ascendant who focused mainly on training the soul Charlotte had developed an ability that allowed her to perceive the emotions of others as well as hear the thoughts at the front of their mind. While Zander's main goal in setting up this event was to show off his daughter, one of his secondary goals was to see if there were any changes in the allegiances of the differing factions.
At this time in the Acies continent the major powers where split into three main factions; Those who aligned with the Sage's Valley, those who followed the Aeternum Empire, and finally those who choose to remain neutral (however the neutral party had been steadily shrinking as the other two groups gained power).
The reason Luther was okay with turning away the Blackiron delegation was because the valley was already aware of their full-fledged support of the empire.
After Zander finished his rounds, he made his way back to his seat. Sighing as he sat down.
"Did you manage to check all of them?" he said to Charlotte.
"No major changes, the Isle of Might is leaning to our side so you should find time to talk to them when this is all over." Replied Charlotte.
"Okay, will do" acknowledge Zander.
After giving the guests a few minutes to settle themselves, Zander stood up to talk the the guests.
"Ahem!" He cleared his throat to get their attention.
"It brings me great joy to see you all here to celebrate my daughter's birthday together with us. On behalf of all of us here at the Sage's Valley I want to say thank you" said Zander.
"Today is my daughter's Heaven's day ceremony and to make it a memorable one, we have curated an enjoyable event program full of the continent's finest performers! I promise you that your long journey here will be worthwhile." continued Zander.
Hearing this people in attendance applauded and cheered. Seeing this Zander smiled and gestured towards the musicians on stage before sitting down.
The classical ensemble began playing their instruments filling the room with an exquisite melody. While this was going on the catering staff began to make their way through the room passing appetizers to the casually conversing guests.
Everyone in attendance was enjoying themselves. Their various grudges and tension temporarily placed on the back burner.
Seeing the various delegations happily conversing, some even venturing outside of their factions. Charlotte could help but ask Zander.
"Was this your goal from the start?" she said.
"It was one of them I wasn't sure if it would be successful though" laughed Zander.
"The biggest reason for the tensions between the new generations is the lack of contact and understanding" stated Zander.
"Peace can't be maintained through force alone. We had the use force with the old generation because they had experience with the war. But We have the chance to change things with this younger generation." agreed Charlotte as she fed Isabella some of the pastry being passed around as appetizers.
Isabella was sitting between her parents evidently confused by their conversation. Upon realizing that she couldn't understand she decided to focus on enjoying her food.
After giving the guests some time to socialize and get comfortable. The master of ceremonies stepped up on stage gaining everyone's attention by clinking his glass.
"Clink clink clink, I hope everyone is enjoying their time so far." said the MC.
"The first event of today will be starting soon, The gift giving!"