Later that evening, a commemorative dinner commenced with the purpose of formally gathering everyone to commemorate the upcoming battle.
The mess hall was enormous in size with hundreds of tables spanning the length of the hall for the soldiers to dine at. At the head of the hall on a raised floor overlooking the other tables, a long slender table facing forward towards the lower tables had been setup for the distinguished members of the event.
The table sat Jarek Heraklinos, Jacek Heraklinos, Erika Sage, Pope Gregory, and St. Michael who had only recently arrived via private jet. At the far end of the long table, empty seats went unoccupied for the BloodStar cohort.
Jarek surmised that Victoria, Xenia, Nero, and Constance would not be attending. He breathed a sigh of relief at their absence. He stood to address the congregation, “Attention! If I may have your attention please!”
The hall went deathly silent at his call to order, and the soldiers turned in their chairs to face Master Heraklinos.
His voice boomed throughout the hall, “We gather here tonight to commemorate the upcoming battle between the mighty Pope Gregory and his opponent Warlord Xenia BloodStar. These two combatants need no introduction. Regardless of whose side you fall on in the coming battle, both combatants deserve a great deal of respect for engaging in such a duel. Their one battle will forego many other numerous battles and save many lives of those in every country involved in the ongoing war.”
The crowd cheered and cheered as many stood to their feet with excitement. Jarek then called out, “Dinner is served! Be merry! You are all as of this second off duty for the next 48 hours. The battle will begin in 36 hours, and I encourage you all to watch for the outcome will have a rippling effect. Do not preoccupy yourselves with the defense of the Saber Fortress. I alone will take on that responsibility for the next 48 hours. Enjoy!”
The soldiers cheered even louder at the news of their Master relieving them for 48 hours straight to allow them to relax and watch what was likely the biggest duel of their generation.
Dinner was served shortly thereafter, and wine and beer flowed like a river now that the soldiers knew they had no duty in the morning.
As the masses drank and ate merrily, Victoria unassumingly entered through the main entrance and quietly made her way to her seat at the long table. She smiled and gave a polite, “Hello” as she passed the other Masters and heirs without stopping to make small talk.
She reached her chair and grabbed her glass of wine. She then turned to Jarek and Gregory and said, “I think I will sit amongst the soldiers if that is alright. I don’t get out much, and if I recall, good soldiers offer the best entertainment and story-telling around.”
She raised her glass at the other VIP’s. They likewise nodded in agreement. To say they were relieved to hear her decision was an understatement. Jarek and Gregory had no interest in dining with her, and Jacek and Erika had odd tension around her owing to Jacek’s prior sexual encounters with her daughter.
Victoria walked through the lower level of the mess hall amongst the soldiers with her wine glass in hand. She nodded and smiled as the soldiers shot her glances of astonishment. They had never seen the legendary Empress Victoria BloodStar in person. The stories told of her described her as an overwhelmingly powerful and maniacal vessel of pure evil. However, as they looked on, they only saw a carefree and laid-back beautiful woman with no hate or lust for war.
She eventually reached the last quarter of the hall on her stroll through the tables and came to an empty seat at a table of 11 soldiers. She looked to the seat and said, “May I join you soldiers? The VIP table up there is not my style.”
The soldiers were star struck to say the least, and it took a moment before one soldier finally fell over himself answering her, “Empress BloodStar. It-it-it it would be our honor to have you grace our table with your divine presence.”
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She frowned at the soldier and said, “Thank you. But if I am to join you, I don’t want any more of that fancy speak. Just call me Victoria.”
She took her seat, and every soldier in the hall took note of what was happening. She then smiled and said, “So… why is it that I am the only one around here who hasn’t heard the tale of my daughter saving this place? I’ll tell you what. Tell me that story in all its glory, and I will answer a few questions you may have for me.”
One of the soldiers immediately chimed in, “I can tell you! I remember that day like it was just yesterday.”
Victoria turned her attention to this soldier, “You have my full and undivided attention, sir.”
The soldier began, “It was a dark day. There were only 300 of us soldiers within the fortress owing to our prior losses in the fields against the rebel forces. Lord Heraklinos and General Magnus staved off our defeat; however, they ultimately lacked the ability to both attack and defend. With nearly five thousand soldiers laying siege to our fortress, it was only a matter of time before they overran us and slaughtered us all.”
Victoria sipped her wine and smiled as the soldier emphatically told the story. He continued, “I remember saying my prayers. I remember thinking not even the heir of the empire or our general can save us now. However, in our moment of desperation, a black jet flew over the fortress. It was Xenia! She miraculously told us to take our leave. She would handle the remainder of the forces.”
Another soldier chimed in, “She was like a goddess arriving to annihilate all who stood in her way!”
Victoria leaned in and asked, “What did she do next?”
The soldier said, “We had never seen what happened next. Her aura turned a dark red, the lands outside the fortress went deathly quiet, and then we heard the crunching and gashing of flesh and bones.”
The other soldiers stared straight ahead as they recalled the harrowing sounds. The soldier quietly finished, “She killed 5,000 rebels in an instant. It was easy for her. She hardly lifted a finger. Her aura was red, and her eyes were red.”
The soldier finally gained the courage to look Victoria in the eyes and said, “Your daughter saved us. Your daughter saved the heir to our empire. It is not lost on any of us that she saved us, and yet our Master would have us fight her.”
Victoria smiled, “That does sound like my daughter. Always the show off. Oh, and under no circumstances should you ever fight my daughter. If Jarek and Jacek want her dead, let them try to kill her themselves. Trust me, she has no desire to kill the average soldier. She enjoys fighting those that test her strength.”
One of the soldiers nervously asked, “I have a question for you if you don’t mind Empress- I mean Victoria.”
Victoria smiled and raised her glass, “Ask away! What else are we to do at this boring dinner?”
The soldier laughed and asked, “Are you even more powerful than your daughter, Xenia?”
Victoria replied, “A great question! In absolute terms, yes. I am stronger than my daughter. However, she is a true prodigy as she has far outpaced my accomplishments when I was her age. In fact, she closes the gap on me every single day. She is driven. I have bloodline powers that she does not have access to. That gives me a huge advantage over her when we spar.”
Another soldier asked, “So, are you stronger than Jacek and Jarek then too?”
She laughed, “Stronger than Jacek? Don’t make me laugh. A hundred times, Yes. Jarek… also yes but with a caveat… if we were to fight right here, right now, he may in fact best me. We would be quite evenly matched I believe. You see… off my island, I am afflicted by a curse of the Sage Family from the Great War long ago.”
The soldiers intently looked on and listened to her every word as she continued, “This curse cuts my maximum ki power in half and renders my bloodline powers inoperable. A very powerful curse by the last true Sage Family curse master cast it on me at a very great cost. However, even still, within my empire, I have free reign over all of my powers including bloodline power and total ki control. Every Master on Earth could attack my empire, and I would defeat them all.”
The soldiers were speechless as they thought to themselves, “Can she really be that powerful?”
She looked around at their stunned faces and laughed, “Don’t worry though, my fighting days are over. I leave that to my daughter now. One day, I suspect she will be quite stronger than me even.”
A soldier sitting next to her then asked, “So…” He then lowered his voice and whispered, “Who do you think will win the match? Pope Gregory or Warlord BloodStar?”
Victoria leaned in and motioned for them all to lean in with her as she whispered, “Gentleman, there are no guarantees… but if you want to make huge riches… bet your entire net worth on Xenia BloodStar.”
She then leaned back and smiled at them all. Another soldier then asked, “Will Xenia be here tonight? We all remember her so fondly, and we would like to thank her again for saving our fortress.”
Victoria began, “I-…” However, at that moment, the entire mess hall began to rattle violently as if an earthquake were beginning. The rattling slowly came to a stop and a loud thunder-like noise could be heard outside the building.
Victoria smirked and said, “I believe she just arrived.”