Demon continent Alsace in the year 307 in the 10-month Asmodum on the 24th day after the shattering of the empire.

It was an eye framed by stone and flesh with a huge mouth under this one eye, which was twisted into a wide smile.

The whole body of the leviathan had similarities to a statue fused with a living being. Or was it rather flowing stone? She bent closer to the Leviathan, which made little difference given its size since the details in its skin were still the same as before. Nevertheless, she could see that parts of his body, which looked like flesh, flowed like lava and disappeared under the parts of his body that were covered by stone.

"Mhm and? Doesn't the little Titan want to answer me, or have you lost your tongue?"

Sounded the leviathan's voice around her and she again had trouble holding herself in place.

"Come speak none of my charges stole your tongue or anything like that, did they?"

With these words, he turned to the Waterborn waiting further behind him, who had lined up behind their elders and Lerna and seemed to be waiting.

"No sir." Replied the elder who had invited her.

"Good, good Izatra."

The Leviathan nodded his head in satisfaction, which made for some currents she had to swim against, noting that the Waterborn seemed to have no such problems.

"I can see why you would invite a Titan like this to our feast today. - " He turned back to her. - "I trust you were treated with the proper respect?" She could only nod, for before she could say anything, he was already talking on.

"Good, that's very good, we haven't had a Titan among us in a long time not to mention one of the blood of Lilith and Asmodus."

He seemed to sink into thought for a moment and she thought it better not to read even his thoughts on the surface. If already the thoughts of the Waterborn were strange, what was the mind of a Leviatan like. And he turned to the Waterborn again, turning his back to her so that she could see that it too was covered with stone.

It seemed to cover him like a shell, similar to crabs. Does he also have a small and a large pincer? She came a little closer to the Leviathan to satisfy her curiosity but could find neither a small nor a large pincer.

With a little disappointment, she turned her full attention back to the conversation between the Leviathan and the Waterborn.

As she had to realize, however, they had switched to their own language, for she could no longer understand a word they were saying. Which made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

She could wait, or she could risk invading a Waterborn's mind, or she could call attention to herself and remind them that a guest was present. Which would also prove whether or not the Waterborn adhered to the custom of hospitality. Not that she had had any reason to doubt it up to this point. But knowing the rules, it was impolite to speak in a language foreign to the guest.

She cleared her throat, which didn't have the desired effect, and as far as she could see, wasn't because she was being ignored, which would have been another bad omen.

"Is there a problem?"

Which was probably the best thing she could ask, which was why she had chosen to. Without implying that she had seen the rules of hospitality disregarded, which she hoped wouldn't upset the Waterborn considering she wanted something from them and which gave the Waterborn a chance to switch back to a language she understood.

"No, no nothing like that we were just talking about what we can offer a guest like we have today to eat. Because unfortunately, we don't eat food like the land dwellers eat and we don't eat food as the fish eat and I would be surprised if you would accept raw fish or seaweed."

This statement made her a bit perplexed because there were humans who ate raw fish.

However, I have never seen a Demon in this life who ate raw fish. Maybe Demons can't eat raw fish? Which made it better that they thought about it.

It would have been unpleasant for both sides if she had spit out the food or worse.

But under the rules of hospitality, as a guest invited to a feast, she had to be offered something to eat and drink.

It would probably be a little too foolish and possibly rude to a high degree to ask directly for the knowledge of the Old Demon Realm, even if I just want to know their writing and language.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

"That's a good point, and I must confess I've never eaten raw fish before."

She left it at that, nothing else needed to be said after all, what could be. She wanted to allow herself and the Waterborn to avoid embarrassment.

Even if she could sense a thought of schadenfreude in some of the other elders' surface thoughts. In Kepa's and in Iker's, to be exact, she didn't want to risk anything and get too deep into their thoughts to know if they had the same thoughts as she did or if it was about internal political, gloating at the expense of a rival within the council of elders.

"That shouldn't be a problem, Izatra send some of the young ones out, tell them to fetch a few of the surface treasures, something to eat and drink."

Said the Leviatan, as he could see that some of the young Waterborn were already swimming away to fetch surface treasures. Whatever those precious things were.

The Leviatan cleared his throat and Izatra, followed by the elders, swam a little closer, yet remaining at a respectful distance from the underwater volcano that radiated arcane energies.

"May I introduce Nereus, protector of the Red Sea and progenitor of the Nereus Ilayda. Not Leviatan, as you mistakenly addressed him."

Oh, that was then probably running into the blunder.

"It does puzzle me how such a young Titan as you would know the name of my cousin who rules the Black Sea?"

Nereus bent his upper body towards her, which allowed her to see that his upper body if it could be called that, was similar to that of a demon or a human man, and the lower body looked like that of a fish or a crab. But the huge body was lost in the darkness around them, and only the occasional flashes of arcane energy gave glimpses of Nereus' abdomen.

Again she noticed that Nereus didn't seem to be coming over a certain line either, basically, he was back in the same position he had been in when she had turned to face him.

"I read it once. But I never met him myself, and it was never mentioned that each of the 13 seas had its own ruler. So I must apologize for my ignorance and can only hope that I have not offended anyone."

Whereupon she bowed briefly until she saw the bottom of the sea, after which she straightened up normally.

"Read? Why did a Titan in demon disguise read about the ruler of the Black Sea? And what 13 seas are you talking about?"

Do the Waterborn count the seas differently than we do?

"I'm talking about the three seas surrounding the human continent and the four seas surrounding Alsace as well as the three seas of the elven continent and the three seas surrounding the continent of the Beastmen."

" Beastmen? Who do you mean by that? Not the Amitan Khuvirgagch?"

Looking at the questioning faces of the elders and the Waterborn, it seems to me that they do not know the term Beastmen. I also hardly heard of them when I lived among the demons.

It seemed that the Waterborn had a different name for the Beastmen. Only, in this case, it had not occurred to her that the children of the Anda might have a different name.

I should probably start talking about the children of Anda or Lilith and Asmodus like the Waterborn do. At least when I talk to races that have knowledge outside their own race and know more than I do. As seems to be the case here. Something she could have imagined, considering that Eder had sent her to the Waterborn to learn how to read the script of the ancient demon realm.

I can only hope that I have not betrayed myself by doing so, and I should probably rejoin Lerna and the other Waterborn since they do not dare to approach the Arcane Volcano or I am standing in a sanctuary of theirs.

With that, she starts to swim back towards the gathering of Waterborn, careful not to get too close to Nereus, but also not to swim so far out of his reach that it looked like she was worried about his hospitality.

"If you mean the children of the Anda, then we mean the same thing. In the book I read, in which Leviatan the ruler of the Black Sea was mentioned, the children of the Anda were called Beastmen, Shapeshifters, or Were-men. That's why I just called them that."

She explained, even if she didn't have to do it, but she didn't want any misunderstanding with the Waterborn or with Nereus, whom she estimated to be on the same step of power as Diva or higher.

"I see. - " the head with the single eye of Nereus turned toward a crowd of young Waterborn who arrived with all sorts of stuff.

"-I see the youths have gathered everything for the feast. Then let us begin and enjoy the feast of salvation to the fullest."