Rage took a sip of his drink, his eyes flickering with curiosity as he regarded Caspian across the table. "So, Caspian, it's intriguing how your people seem unfazed by the sudden appearance of travelers from another world"
Caspian leaned back in his chair, a thoughtful expression crossing his features. "Ah, yes. Our world has experienced such events before. Over a century ago, during my great grandfather's reign as emperor of the Eastern Empire, portals opened across the land, allowing beings from distant realms to migrate here. Elves, dwarves, fairies—all found refuge in our world after their own was ravaged"
"That must have been quite a tumultuous time" Sensei remarked, his interest piqued.
Caspian nodded. "Indeed. Initially, there was widespread fear and suspicion. Many believed it to be an invasion orchestrated by the Demon King, and nations prepared for war. But when it became apparent that these travelers were refugees seeking sanctuary, attitudes began to shift. It took time, but eventually, they integrated into our societies, carving out their own homes and communities"
"Huh, can you get more into details?" Rage questioned.
"Initially, we thought it was an invasion from the demon king, and many countries started preparing for war, coalitions were formed and even dark mages who were shunned and hated for having connections with dark spirits were called for aid, but when we confronted them, they were normal folk just like us, they wanted to live after their world was destroyed, just like yours, of course the locals were strongly opposed to that, and most of the nations either banned their entrance to their territories or enslaved them, but after almost a decade now they integrated themselves into society and built their own homes in unoccupied lands" Caspian continued as the maids came in with the food, "The elves took over a large forest to the Midwest of the continent and called it Tharmyr, they rarely show themselves to the outside world and they aren't really accepting of humans after the mass enslavement and persecution they faced when they arrived into our world, but after ten years the gates to their world were closed and they were stuck here, so they had no choice but to co-exist with humans and now you'd commonly see them everywhere"
Rage raised an eyebrow, considering Caspian's words. "Fascinating. It's remarkable how your world has adapted to such extraordinary circumstances"
Jimmy chimed in, his tone laced with skepticism. "But what about the initial hostility towards otherworlders? How did your people reconcile with that?"
Caspian's gaze softened, a hint of regret coloring his features. "Unfortunately, fear and prejudice lingered for some time. Elves and dwarves faced discrimination and enslavement in some regions, while fairies retreated to secluded forests to avoid conflict. It wasn't until mutual understanding and cooperation began to flourish that true acceptance followed"
"Does that mean that the elven mage and dwarven slavers were some kind of organization that still held a grudge against the humans? but it doesn't make sense that they were actively enslaving other races as well like the frostborn for example" Rage thought to himself.
"What about the other races like the Therians and Frostborn?" Jimmy asked.
"Fifty years after the elves, dwarves and fairies arrived, during the reign of my grandfather, other gates opened from a different world, since it happened before, the people were used to that situation and didn't bother fighting, we quickly accepted them into our societies and established regulations while dealing with them, needless to say the elves and dwarves did hold a grudge against them but they wanted to maintain the peace" Caspian explained, "And now fifty years later you arrived, so now the grand mages of the magic capital Avalon are expecting another similar event fifty years from now"
"That's rather interesting, i was also initially confused at the degree of anarchy that this world had, but it all makes sense now, but something I'm curious about is why are the people welcoming of us while they were initially hostile to otherworlders" Rage asked with a curious tone.
"Because your world was also inhabited by humans, so the people think that the humans are now more powerful than the other races since they consider your people 'Reinforcements'" Caspian replied looking to the ground and fiddling with fingers in nervousness.
"Well that's a bit rude.. and racist.." Jimmy scoffed.
"I know that the Highthorn clan in addition to a few others are not human, although no offense nobody knows what race you are, the only difference you have with humans is the eyes, so the people think you're just variant humans" Caspian explained.
As Caspian finished speaking, the atmosphere in the room shifted. The Emperor entered, his presence commanding attention as he took his seat at the head of the table, "Except they're not humans"
"Well that's a bit of a misunderstanding" Rage said as the Emperor sat down at the head of the table before everyone followed suit.
"You dare to question my judgment?" the Emperor thundered, his voice echoing off the walls as he glared at Rage and his companions.
Sensei rose to his feet. "We merely seek clarification, Your Majesty. Our intentions are peaceful."
The Emperor's eyes narrowed, suspicion etched into his features. "Peaceful intentions from demons? I find that hard to believe"
Rage met the Emperor's gaze, his resolve unwavering. "Appearances can be deceiving, Your Majesty. We are not here to sow chaos or spread fear. We seek only understanding and cooperation"
Madeen leaned back in his chair, a smirk playing on his lips. "And if understanding is not forthcoming, we are more than capable of defending ourselves"
"Are you threatening his majesty!" One of the guards yelled before Madeen bashed his head into the wall.
"Don't dare yell at me" Madeen glared at the guard as he laid on the ground.
The guards taken in fear took a step back as the Emperor looked up from the table meeting Rage's eyes, "If you were going for the Might Makes Right motto, you should've said earlier, Your Majesty" Rage scoffed.
"I doubt he did that to Adrian too, or is it because we're 'variant humans' as your folk say?" Jimmy stared into the shocked Emperor.
"I- N-" The Emperor stuttered before Sensei stood up.
"You know what we do to undisciplined soldiers back home, Your Majesty?" Sensei said before pausing for a moment, "We discipline them" He continued before punching a hole into the wall behind him revealing a squad of soldiers standing guard outside the room with their weapons raised.
"Father! Were you about to ambush guests who came to your place under your invitation?" Caspian said angrily.
"CASPIAN THEY ARE DEMONS, ROBIN TOLD ME, HOW CAN I LET DEMONS ROAM FREE IN OUR NATION!" The Emperor yelled before Sensei sat back down.
"With all due respect, Your Majesty, the demons you know and the demons from my home are vastly different, the demons in my home are artisans, farmers, hard working people who happen to be more proficient in dark magic due to their connection with the demonic spirits, just like elves who have a deep connection with wind spirits, not that you were any nicer to elves" Rage said before scanning the soldiers with his eyes, "You even underestimated us and didn't even bring a single knight, are all of these paladins? Holy Energy doesn't hurt us if that's what your plan was"
"Y-Your majesty is it true that you're a demon?" Caspian asked.
"Well yes, but if I was a bloodthirsty maniac who was hungry for souls and sought absolute authority over the world, would I be sat here on your table having dinner with you?" Rage answered glancing over to Madeen who seemed to still be enjoying the poisoned food.
Madeen waved his hand over the food as foul green energy started lifting itself from the plates, "Not really a fan of poison, I'd prefer ketchup if you ask me"
"Wait so you knew that the food was poisoned all this time?" Caspian asked, "And you didn't tell me?! Am I going to die?" He started to panic before Rage let out a laugh.
"The poison was put on the plates themselves not the food, so you wouldn't get poisoned since your plate was fine so don't worry" Rage turned his head to look at the Emperor, "Now Your Majesty, shall we start over?"