The great seaside city of Avina has the title [Great City] for a simple reason: It was a city of cities.
Basically, one that was composed of several other cities all clumped together, with different regions governed by a noble family. Twelve noble families governed a huge patch of land, spreading across the seashore and thriving off of rivers that flowed from the highlands, ocean resources, and the rich soil of the hills. The harbours and docks were famous for spanning nearly the entire seaside controlled by the city. The shipyards could've been a city of their own.
With the sea to Avina's west, the city was mainly divided into four portions. The north, east, south, and central areas. Each portion was mainly walled by natural formations such as hills and rivers while the entire city looked akin to a semicircle.
Perhaps if the docks developed enough into the sea, they could achieve a circular city akin to Aren atop its plateau.
The Arthime Family's lands sat atop a hill that bordered the centre and the southern areas of the great city. Many of the nobles built their homes in a similar fashion, as the borders allowed for easy access between zones.
Only the central castle was not built upon a natural formation.
Sir Xiu and Athelei sat together in a carriage that descended from their manor. A spacious swathe of flatland spread out before the child's eyes.
Athelei had entered Avina through the western gates and travelled around its perimeter to get to where he was in the south. As such, he had only been in the central zone by technicality only once before, and that was when he visited Lisa in Sky Cross territory.
Sky Cross was a famed university, known for its competitive atmosphere and its ingenious setup. Athelei once had plans to attend the school in the future, but now, he felt like he might not have to.
'My plans have all gone haywire,' Athelei dryly chuckled to himself when he looked back on things.
He was already a Rank 1 Dictator, which meant he could bully any child at that school whenever he wished. He was around the level of a young teacher, in fact. If he were to go to Sky Cross, all he would be asking for would be access to the huge library it was said to have.
'Hopefully, Sky Cross survives what has yet to come,' Athelei thought to himself as he patted down his blue evening gown.
Lady Karire had healed enough for her to use Doppelganger on Athelei. Unfortunately, she had yet to regain enough strength to stand, and thus it was only Sir Xiu and Aria who were going. So, Athelei had donned the young girl's appearance to do his job as a phantom.
Sir Xiu and Athelei passed the time through a bit of conversation as they made their way towards the central castle. The topics mainly consisted of what was to occur at the gathering tonight. Sir Xiu reviewed Athelei of many of the subtle details that came with being a noble, as well as a few behaviours Aria tended to exhibit.
Athelei, on the other hand, asked a few questions about the noble families in Avina.
"Hm, well, there's a lot to unpack when it comes to the nobles..." Sir Xiu paused to collect his thoughts before speaking.
"I will oversimplify it for you. The Arthime household which my wife and I head, is one of the top three noble families in this city." Sir Xiu said matter-of-factly, "The other two would be the Veritas and Lotus families. The Lotus family is, as you might have heard, one of the flower families under the Holy King and Queen.
After the top three are the large families, Heather which is another Flower Family, Heroux, and Yi.
Then the intermediate families, Eveque, Ophira, and Lisque.
And finally, the small families, Thiroe, Cast, and Fawnro."
Sir Xiu glanced over and saw that Athelei was still listening intently, so he continued, "This is more or less a loose ranking, reflecting the strength each family has and how much of Avina they own. Every now and then, there are changes, of course, but nothing big has happened recently until now."
"Ah, then, will there be changes in the rankings after the beast tide?" Athelei noticed a few allusions from Sir Xiu's words.
"Most likely," Sir Xiu answered and continued chatting with Athelei.
When they finally made it to their destination, the sun had just set. They had gone through a large portion of the city, over a long paved road, and through quite a few different neighbourhoods. Athelei had wondered where the underground deals were done as they went through.
When Athelei got off the carriage, he stealthily stretched his body to rid himself of the discomforts of travel.
"Come, Aria," Sir Xiu called out to the disguised Athelei and held out his hand, "Let us head inside and find a place to sit."
Athelei wordlessly reached out to grab Sir Xiu's hand, mimicking Aria's mannerisms with all of his might and willpower. The feeling of having someone else's body was an interesting experience, to say the least. It was different from his fog-body wherein he was able to move in a way similar to when he was a Denizen of Infinity.
Having a fleshy, human body, was a lot more... awkward. Athelei's mind knew how to operate his own body, but in Aria's, with its different muscles and biology, he felt suppressed in some manner, somehow.
'There is a difference in fitness, as well as balance and— even simple breathing?' Athelei noted to himself and admired the uncanny ability that made the real phantoms so formidable, 'To be able to adapt themselves to any kind of body they copy... I wonder how they do it?'
As Athelei wondered about many wonders, Sir Xiu towed him through the castle walls. Guards clad in intimidating plat armour patrolled and oversaw much of the castle. There were archers atop the battlements, keeping a watchful eye on the periphery. Servants and maids could be seen working like busy bumblebees.
Behind the disguised father-daughter duo were a few more nobles stepping down from their carriages and strolling in the same direction they were going.
After a few minutes of walking through open-air corridors and spiralling staircases, Athelei found himself on a raised garden. Low-lying tables and soft sofas were placed on top of the soft, green grass and mystic lights were scattered in the air, looking like a galaxy brought down to earth. A few of the nobles present were chatting with light beverages in their hands as a mystical waterfall silently poured into a tranquil lake below, exuding a unique signature of Mystical Energy that could bring refreshment and relaxation.
Athelei blinked and used his Cosmic Interface to run Inspect.
'It seems like the aspect of being cut-off from one's Nebula Gem doesn't apply to someone who has absorbed theirs...' Athelei saw the multi-coloured screen that only he could see materialise to show the results of his skill execution. He was pleased to have Inspect within arm's reach because he had way too many questions fluttering like annoying butterflies in his mind.
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Enchanted Spring
- "To my descendants, I leave this ever-flowing source of life in your hands. May Aniva Fortress forever remain unbreakable."
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'A remnant of the past...' Athelei gasped softly, 'Unfortunately, it seems your fortress had been washed away long ago, whoever you are.'
"Ah, Xiu! You're finally here." A deep voice called out to the man holding Athelei's hand.
"Rex, good evening to you, old friend. How have your... ventures been lately?" Sir Xiu let out a smile as he walked towards one of the tables set on the spacious raised garden.
"It has been incredibly fruitful this past week, but alas I feel that those lucrative days are coming to an end. How's Madame Karire? I heard about what happened last night." Rex said after sipping on his cup of evening tea.
Athelei looked up and saw a man who put on a bit of weight and wore a blazing red coat. His long, wavy hair looked moisturised and oiled, and his skin was clear and soft.
When Sir Xiu sat by the table with Athelei following shortly after, Rex leaned forward and whispered. The look on the man's face was like he was about to speak of a taboo.
"Is it true that there had been some kind of infighting between the Exiled?" He asked, and Sir Xiu tilted his head.
"...From what my wife had told me, it should be true. It isn't much of a surprise, in fact. The Exiled are all unruly people. It would be hard for them all to come together." Sir Xiu replied, unbothered by what had already happened. He did not worry about including the Exiled's issues in his conversations as there were more dangerous things up ahead. He and Lady Karire had already prepared for as many possibilities as they could, but more possibilities kept popping up.
And those possibilities were always more threatening than what they initially gauged.
'I hope the other families understand what we're facing,' Sir Xiu glumly thought to himself while maintaining an outward smile.