Even though they had participated in a battle not more than an hour ago,the group found themselves at the dukes manor in the city. They had tended to those who were wounded .
This council consisted of the Duke with his knights Mordecai and Malaci standing behind him. Kojo who sat with Sharone,Koniko,Lin,Sasha and Adriana.They put Adriana to sleep in her room but she woke up and insisted on joining the meeting.
The leaders of the various races;
Centaur chief, Chiron.
Ebern leader of the orcs
Minotaur chief ,Ovid
Harpies chief ,Altair
Lizardman chief ,Gabbi
Merfolk chief ,Proxima
Gnoum Chief ,Hienz who had his injured arm in a sling
Girgon chiefs, Kalori,Euna and Gwen
Sharpling chief ,Eduar.
As well as Glenn and Jack.
They were also joined by Sol ,Arin and Jaro.
Dona sat with Saleem as her attendant.
They were also joined by Lloyd and Hiera.
Felix,Fun and Fiona walked around serving the gathered people with refreshments while Felix wondered if he should even be in a room with so many powerful people.
Eden stood behind Kojo while Mekna and Keo attended him from further behind.
It was quite a large gathering.
They all exchanged reports on the conflict that had just taken place. There was damage to the cities infrastructure which would take a long time to rebuild. The people who lived there would have to be relocated but the people were not hurt and they were able to eliminate Decorum's army. They managed to capture it's remnants and kept them in jail for later questioning.
"I can't believe I missed it," Rey muttered, his voice filled with disappointment.
"I thought defending the city would be a piece of cake. I never imagined it would be this tough."
His words hung in the air, a stark contrast to the somber mood of the group. Those who participated glanced at him, their expressions a that if irritation an tiredness.
"That's not a very nice thing to say brother." Adrian said weakly and coughed. Lin out her hand on her shoulder.
"I know, I know.I wish I could have been there. It sounded like a lot of fun." Rey said.
"We fought tooth and nail, every inch of this city. It was a battle for survival, not a game. And certainly not fun." Jack retorted with his arms folded.
Rey was about to say something else but at that point Eden had walked behind him silently and whacked the back of his head. Rey let out a yell.
"I do apologize for my students insensitivity. I'll do well to discipline him properly at a later time." Rey turned to protest but one glance from Eden and he fell silent wincing and rubbing the back of head,his cheeks burning with embarrassment He had not meant to be disrespectful, but his words had carried a weight he hadn't intended.
"I didn't mean it like that," he said under his breath.
"Your mission was important. It was crucial to the overall defense. If you hadn't gone to the border, things could have been much worse. You can give us your report."
" Ok." Rey said rising from his seat.
After the meeting the day before to discuss how to handle the goblins Kojo decided to study the map. Opal had three borders. It bordered with the province of Carnelia in the north and the Empire of Adonis from the north east all the way to the south eastern part of the province. The south was the border with the but that didn't matter at this time. The goblin nation of Gwaltch was to the North East,in between the provinces of Opal and Carnelia. Carnelia was relatively safer than they were. The province had a standing army that could repel any invaaion. They were also blessed by the fact that there was a large river that took it's source all the way from the mountains of the Garn province and passed through Carnelia right ath the border between the empire of Adonis and the province Carnelia curving around the Goblin nation before entering Opal and continuing it's path until it reaches the northern border with Adonis and stopping. Carnelia had a force tasked with patrolling the waters of the River Chaim.The river itself was extremely wide and would take a long time to cross and would take quite a while to cross. That and the fact that the Empire didn't want to deal with the goblins because of their king meant that if they wanted an invasion of their own this would be the perfect time. The conflict between Decorum and Archadia was actually between the two nations and none of the others on the continent seemed aware. That or they were just content with observing.
Kojo suspected it for a long time that the empire has spy's in their kingdom. Given the way the government was and how ununified the country was it was a given. His biggest suspect was the empire but he had nothing to prove this theory.Perhaps he was just being paranoid but it was better safe than sorry. Kojo didn't have time to call another meeting or it was too much of a hassle and giving iffernt orders now would be confusing. So he called Eden,Rey,Mekna and Keo and assigned them to position themselves along the eastern sideti back up the guards at the border just incase.
" We did ask you asked and no for the most part we didn't find encounter any intruders." Rey said.
" We did spot a few people but they were mostly guards from the empire." Mekna said.
" There was nothing on my end although I did see a group that was suspiciously close to our border. They said they were land surveyor." Keo added." They said they were making some measurements for some operation taking place in their nation."
" Quite suspicious indeed. I took the liberty of entering into the outskirts of their domain without getting caught of course. The seemed to have had some plans to cross over into or territory to "gather data".
" Hmm. I see." Kojo said after the report has been made and everyone knew what was had gone down.
"I still wish I could have been there to help," Rey muttered and sighed.
"Well this fight showed us a lot of things. You did well in the defense of this city and ultimately this country. This goes to the defense,the builders and the recon unit at the border." The Duke said.
" We'll have a party this evening to celebrate our success."
They cheered but Jack shook his head disapprovingly.
" We still have a lot to do. This isn't the time for-"
"Come on man loosen up a little. The work can always be done another day." Sol said putting an arm over his shoulder.
" You'll never be a hit with the ladies if you maintain that uptight attitude."
" Get off." Jack pushed him away. They laughed.
Dona got to her feet.They turned thier attention to her as silence filled the room.
"This small display has shown me that you are a strong force," she said, her eyes scanning the room. "While this means nothing in the face of what's to come,it'll do ."
Her gaze landed on Kojo, and she chuckled. "One wouldn't expect someone with such an... idiotic face to have such talent for strategy," she addressed him.
" Huh?"
She continued before he could come up with a reply.
"I can now go knowing that I have a reliable force to count on."
"Wait, are you going to die or something" Kojo asked raising his hand.
"Because that's definitely a death flag."
Dona's eye twitched. Of course he'd create an opening and reply anyway she sighed.
"I'm not going to die. Death is a concept that doesn't exist for an existence like mine." She waved her hand dismissively.
"I'm simply going to attend to my queenly duties."
" Oooooooooh,that." Kojo said with realization.
Dona continued. "I never expected for one of you to attain transcendence, and for another to attain it in a semi-full state." Her gaze landed on Koniko, and she nodded in approval. "You all have exceeded my expectations."
" You Listowells do have golden blood. A boy with a supreme enchantment and his twin sister with transcendence. Not s bad outcome."
Dona's expression turned serious.
"I'm going to clash directly with Minatori. My presence will halt his progress but that doesn't stop the Dark Apostles from making moves. Kojo and his group deal with their machinations and schemes from the ground up." She paused.
Just then, a loud roar echoed outside, and the group rushed to the windows to see what was happening. Five large dragons were circling the skies above the manor, their scales glinting in the sunlight. Kojo's eyes widened in awe.
The first dragon was a stunning blue, with scales that sparkle like the ocean on a sunny day. Its wings were strong and broad, with a subtle sparkle that made them look almost otherworldly. This dragon's bright blue eyes and black horns at the side of its head.
The second dragon was a vibrant green, with scales that shimmering like the leaves of a forest. It had no wings and was slender coiling through the air like a snake. It had due along its spine and two long whiskers in either side of its snout along with four golden horns.
The third dragon is a majestic bronze, with scales shimmering scales and purple crystals protruding from its body like it's back and joints and wind on its arms.
The fourth dragon was also sepentine a breathtaking white, with scales that shimmer like freshly fallen snow. Rainbow coloured clouds under its as it swam through the air.
Last but not least, there's the fifth dragon, which is a shimmering silver-blue. Its scales sparkle like the stars on a clear night, and its wings are strong and broad, with a subtle ripple effect.
They were nothing like the wraith he fought in the Capitol. No these ones were the real deal, eclipsing that wraith in terms of size and presence. A large magic circle which serves as a portal soun in the sky above the. Bordered by clouds.
Two of the dragons the bronze and the white plummeted to the ground, transforming into humanoid forms before landing with an impact that threw up dust. They bowed low, their faces respectful. "We greet the Dragon Empress, Demon Lord Dona Crymson," the bronze dragon had changed into a male dragonkin, Ram the Mountain.
"We apologize for not coming to see you sooner." The female dragokin, Cielo the Sky added.
Dona nodded then turned to the rest of the group.
"My time is up, an I beat be going.But. We will meet again soon." With that, she mounted a third dragonkin the silver blue one, who had landed in its draconic form, and bowed its head for her to mount.
Cielo and Ram bowed as Saleem passed.
"General Saleem ,the Fire." Dona flew off into the sky, followed by Saleem, who flew beside her,still in her human form.
" Thank you for taking care of the empress." Cielo said.
" We shall reward your works in due time " Ram added. With that,the two dragonkin flew off to join their queen transforming back to thier draconic forms in a puff of smoke and roaring. Everyone in the city and even the surroundings stopped what they were doing to behold the sight. They went through the portal which glowed brightly for a moment before disappearing, leaving behind only slowly spinning clouds.
"Wow," Kojo breathed, his eyes wide with wonder as it began to snow once more.