A lonely chandelier hung above a circular table, unlit and unloved. The room was dark and silent. The air was stale.
But the room was not unkempt as one would expect for a place that saw little usage.
Unseen servants meticulously cleaned the small, octangular room with fastidious devotion. Even in the absence of their masters, the room remained spotless and magnificent.
But for the first time in two years, the room now awaited its first visitors. Patiently, it bided its time ten thousand miles beneath Mount Gielnohr, home to the Dwarven nation of Brul'adur.
Eight individuals cloaked in nondescript brown robes descended a winding spiral staircase, marching in silence. Their faces remained hidden by their cowls, but it was clear that there was an air of unease and tentative displeasure.
At last, they reached the end of their journey, stopping before a set of small and unassuming doors. There was no need to make them seem mundane. There were no other doors or hallways in the vicinity.
The sole purpose of the staircase they descended from was to arrive here at this hidden room unknown to any others on the great continent of Celatria.
"_____."
The word reverberated in the air, tugging at strands of space-time as if they were no more than gossamer threads.
The seven who stood behind the speaker shivered as if the air had gotten colder, a chill running down their spines. It was not a word meant for mortal ears.
The doors swung open smoothly with barely a sound. The sound of soft leather soles against polished stone tiles made themselves known as the eight took their positions around the circular table.
The chandelier flickered to life, illuminating the plain room. Eight chairs rose from the ground, unbidden. The hooded ones seated themselves and an eerie silence settled as the door swung shut on its own volition.
"Let us begin the sixth council of the Cloaked Court."
The speaker's voice was deep and sonorous, clearly well-accustomed to assuming command. He removed his hood to reveal a mass of long red hair which hung past his shoulders. A mask in the form of a stylized lion obscured his face.
The rest of the eight removed their hoods one at a time in a counter-clockwise fashion around the table. Fox, tiger, wolf, eagle, rabbit, deer, and dragon.
Had they not simply been masks, this would have been the most interesting gathering of animals to ever occur in history.
"We were not supposed to convene until at least one more year had passed." The woman in the fox mask was the first to break the silence after the lion-masked man had spoken. There was a touch of nervousness to her voice.
"Are you an idiot?" The man in the wolf mask uttered a brief laugh before his voice shifted into a more aggressive tone. "You're the one who said you'd handle everything. So what's this?"
"An unknown force appeared out of nowhere. It was an element that was outside of my control, but that aside, you do not seem to be doing so well yourself. I've heard that your plans were thwarted by none other than the fifth princess who is no more than a child."
"You bitch—"
"Cease your squabbling, Wolf. Fox. Such behavior is unbefitting of the Cloaked Court." A powerful voice shook the very foundation of the room, originating from the person who had opened the doors with that single eldritch word.
Her voice was unbefitting of her frail and thin body, but the dragon mask that adorned her face was all she needed to prove her strength.
Wolf and Fox immediately bowed their heads in acquiescence, but everyone could sense that their animosity hadn't abated even the slightest. If anything, it had been exacerbated, but the woman in the dragon mask suppressed it nonetheless.
"Now then," she continued. "It seems we have lost not only a useful pawn, but also a catalyst and an offering vessel."
Silence pervaded the room. Beneath her mask, her lips curled into a wicked grin. The smell of fear was palpable in the room and she relished it.
"Fox."
That single word caused Fox's entire body to tremble. In the Ardene Kingdom, she was among one of the most powerful nobles and even among the nobility, she was special.
Every day, she held the lives of thousands within her palm as if they were no more than mere playthings for her to dispose of the moment she felt the urge to do so.
But right now it was her life that was on the line, and the feeling of vulnerability was so foreign to her that it utterly terrified Fox to her core. It took conscious effort for her not to pass out then and there.
Fearfully, she turned to face the woman in the dragon mask. Technically, there was no hierarchy here. All members of the Covered Court were on equal standing, but every person who sat at the table knew without a doubt that the woman in the dragon mask was the strongest.
To defy her was to court death.
"Yes, Dragon?" Fox stammered.
"Your plan of using our carefully cultivated Black Constellation to capture and obtain one of the offering vessels has failed. Not only that, but you have lost possession of the offering vessel's catalyst and cast the Black Constellation into ruin."
"My deepest apologies, Dragon—" Before Fox could continue, Dragon held up a finger, stemming her flow of words.
"With the death of Taunes who we had raised in preparation for the calamity within two years, you have reduced an eighth of our powerbase to nothing. The Black Constellation's library has been ruined as a result of its librarian running amok, and that librarian is now missing.
"Now, Fox. I would like to hear your explanation for such an impressive failure despite our complete trust in you when you said you would handle everything yourself. Had I not known better, I would've thought this was sabotage."
The way that Dragon uttered that last line caused Fox to physically shrink in her seat. Right now, she wished that she could be anywhere but here. Yet, she knew deep down that no matter how far she ran, no matter where she hid, Dragon would find her.
Fox knew she needed to choose her words carefully. If her explanation displeased Dragon—and to a lesser extent, the Cloaked Court—she would probably be killed on the spot.
"I secured the offering vessel and her catalyst early on. The seeding ritual was entrusted to the Twelfth Star, and they had notified me before beginning. It was only supposed to take a little over a day, but I received no further reports, so I sent the Seventh Star to investigate.
"I quickly received a report stating that the entirety of the Twelfth Star was decimated. There were signs of fighting, but no one could identify the assailant or what sort of attack was present. We guessed that there was a small force of Demons who arrived to rescue the offering vessel, so I abruptly changed all of our patrol routes and shifted the guards who were assigned at each time.
"Despite that, I soon received reports that the Eighth Star was wiped out along with the Shade who was assigned to them."
"Jusis was slain?" The man in the lion mask asked, a twinge of concern in his voice. "What a shame. He was a most respectable warrior, despite only being average at best."
"Unfortunately so," Fox replied. "However, what we discovered afterward was quite surprising. When the assailants mounted their attack on the Sixth Star in their attempt to retrieve the catalyst, we learned that the attacker was just one person."
"Haah? Didn't you send Taunes to kill 'em? Are you tellin' me that Taunes lost to one person?" Wolf sneered at Fox. "Y'couldn't tell a better lie even if your life depended on it, dumbfuck."
"Wolf is correct. I do not believe that Taunes would lose to a single opponent, even if they were sufficiently powerful." Dragon interjected, turning her gaze to the woman in the deer mask. "Deer?"
"She speaks the truth, or at least believes she does."
Beneath her mask, Dragon raised an eyebrow in an expression of incredulity. "Very well. Continue, Fox."
"O-Of course. Taunes managed to recover the catalyst, but the offering vessel continued to be lost to us. He reported that he would handle the problem for me, so I trusted him. I was being pressured at the moment, so it was not as if I could've taken care of it personally either."
"It was that Ranger bitch, wasn't it?"
Fox nodded to Wolf. "Indeed. He has quite the keen senses. In any case, I placed my faith in Taunes. He was among the strongest of our pieces, and with Dragon's gift, I doubted he would fail in his mission."
"And the library?"
"A-Ah, yes. The library..." Fox trembled once again at the sound of Dragon's voice. "I do not know what their objective was. The librarian was missing when reinforcements arrived, and my sentries were slain."
"Your security measures were inadequate."
To that, Fox had no response, so she wisely kept silent. This silence remained for a few more seconds before Dragon prompted Fox to continue.
"I-In the end, Taunes recalled all of the Shades to the Precipice of Night. I considered departing to assist him, but my movements were being watched. It was too risky, so I simply had to trust him... I suppose I do not have to explain the rest."
"You do not." Dragon said with an air of finality. "Deer has stated that you have been truthful. You entrusted a great deal to Taunes, but it was a smart decision based on your position at the time. Had you chosen to step in, you would no doubt have set the Nocturnal Ocean Plan back even further."
Fox simply nodded, relieved to finally be slowly moving out of the spotlight.
"Now then, the rest of you. Wolf, Lion, Eagle. Report."
"I haven't been able to make any moves yet, Dragon. That Ranger bastard keeps gettin' in the way! Do somethin' about him, will ya?"
Dragon pondered to herself before responding to Wolf. "With the Black Constellation in shambles, our forces in the Ardene Kingdom are no longer as potent. You will need to devise a different plan. Rabbit, assist him."
The woman in the rabbit mask stood from her seat and curtsied in Dragon's direction before seating herself once more.
"The offering vessel is in my hands." Lion intoned. "Its catalyst is more difficult to obtain, but I am confident that it can be done within the next month."
Dragon nodded. "Very well. I will continue entrusting the dwarven vessel to you. The Nocturnal Ocean Plan can function so long as three of the four offering vessels are obtained."
It was the man in the eagle mask's turn to speak now, yet he did not do so. Instead, he simply tapped the smooth surface of the circular table several times.
"Eagle." It was a command, not a request.
At last, Eagle finally spoke. "And what about you? You ask us to report, as if we are here to serve you. No, Dragon. I won't report until you do."
The air grew taut, and a dangerous stillness pervaded the room.
"...Are you defying me?"
"What if I am, Demon Lord Alesia? Oh, my apologies. Former Demon Lord Al—"
Eagle did not continue speaking. Rather, he could not. An invisible force constricted his throat tightly, preventing him from speaking or breathing. He frothed at the mouth, writhing in the strange and deadly grip of magic.
His eyes rolled back into his head, and his vision blackened. In another second, he would fall unconscious and die soon after. But even that mercy was taken away from him.
At that exact moment, the magic dissipated, and he coughed violently.
The rest of the Cloaked Court were frozen in place by the scene. Once again, they had reinforced a very simple fact: Do not defy Dragon.
"You are not to address members of the Cloaked Court by their true names, whether past or present, Eagle. Now, report."
Eagle knew that he could not wait until he fully recovered before delivering his report, so he choked it out desperately. He knew his life depended on it.
Despite his efforts, Dragon simply did not care. There was a bitter taste in her mouth as she cast her gaze at her seven companions. They could not even begin to compare to him.
No one could.
Useless. Utterly useless. Where are you, Izmael? Did you forget about our promise already, my former Hero?