The great sky turtle arrived at the shores of Ortus, a great expanse of land that brought awe to all that laid their eyes upon it, although Ieros wasn’t looking at Ortus as he was still underneath the ocean. He did have a clone taking his place temporarily so he could remain within the ocean to finish his research. He had already sent out observers throughout the continent and was receiving a steady stream of data from all of them so he did not have to be there personally. This knowledge, of course for learning purposes, was also for Plan B. Plan B was what Ieros would resort to if negotiations failed. With extensive knowledge about Auster, it would be able to defeat Auster and conquer it in the name of Athera.
Or perhaps not, it could install a puppet leader who would be loyal to him and he would use this empire to fight against End. There were many courses of action, but the easiest and best solution would be to ensure that the negotiations come to success. Meanwhile, he was busy collecting and studying various specimens of sea fauna and flora.
Back on land, his clone and all the other ambassadors disembarked from the great turtle onto the docks, these docks specifically made to house these sky turtles as they leaned out off the edge of a tall cliff, allowing the turtles to float comfortably while the passengers could disembark onto ground level. It was a majestic sight to see from a distance, a sheer cliff of dark grey stone, the bottom glistening from waves that crashed onto its surface. But Ieros’s clone did not linger on the cliff’s beauty, merely giving it a glance before looking onward, having already memorized the sight. He just followed the ambassadors as he was commanded to do so, the Teryo escorting them.
Gero had wisely brought the humans directly to the Imperial Palace by means of multiple palanquins lifted by human slaves. The ambassadors were shocked at this and some tried to object to it but Gero said that this was not the time, it would be dangerous if the public were to catch wind of free humans. When Ieros’s clone sided with Gero, the ambassadors acquiesced to riding on the palanquins, curtains were drawn up so that no one could see within. In addition to this, Ieros cast illusion magic to further conceal the presence of humans, hiding their scent as well. Gero couldn’t do much about the Teryo and only had to hope that the public would think of them as slave guards.
Thus prepared, the ambassadors and their escorts made their way to the Imperial Palace, encountering no problems on the way. They did get some curious looks but other than that, most commoners got out of their way, especially when they say the insignia of Auster, meaning that these people were of high rank. Once at the palace, Ursus guards blocked the public’s line of sight of the human ambassadors as they exited the palanquins, a few more Ursus escorting them into the safety of the palace where none would dare harm the guests of the Emperor. Ieros had by now taken the place of his clone, commencing the switch so flawlessly that no one noticed the change except for perhaps Teryo.
But the Teryo merely exist to protect and serve, not to ask questions. Meanwhile, Ieros created translator amulets for each of the ambassadors to use before they entered the palace. When he finished, they entered the palace where he busied himself by studying the inner architecture of the palace. He saw many similarities to the architecture of the Premen, not that he had seen them in person but rather through the memories of the Surveyor who in turn possessed memories of Darkness. Before Darkness slumbered, he had walked upon several of the worlds he created, one of them being Agleon. He personally created the first cities of Premen and other ancient races such as the Calator, Satorians and the Nanus while he walked among them, these races basing their architecture off of his work.
Of course, each of their architecture was different from one another as although their buildings shared the same ancestor, they made changes to their newer cities to better adapt to their surroundings. The Calator, the ancestors of the elves, adapted their cities to coexist with nature while the Nanus, the ancestors of the dwarves, modified the designs of their newer cities to encompass features such as forges and mines. Meanwhile, the Satorians couldn’t build new cities as they were physically unable to while the Premen hardly made any changes except to make their cities larger.
So judging by the great similarities between the Imperial Palace and the cities of Premen, Ieros deduced that the city of the Satorians must have been the inspiration behind this palace. This wasn’t surprising given what Ieros knew of the Satorians, they were a race that was skilled in the arts of the Mind as their bodies were too weak to be of much service to them. So they instead focused on honing their greatest tool, their minds, allowing them to manipulate the minds of others with great skill. With the Loquimi, this ability would only be amplified and it was to be expected that they were able to use their minds to manipulate all these creatures to serve them in one large Empire.
And this was only confirmed when his observers discovered the City of Silenda, making things a lot easier for Ieros. The Surveyor only needed to appear before them to ensure that the negotiations are a success, the Satorians wouldn’t dare disobey the will of Darkness. But it may not be this easy, the Surveyor calculated a 17% possibility of the Satorians rejecting the will of Darkness as Darkness has slumbered for a long time, long enough for the Satorians to believe that they do not need to obey him. But that was also of no matter, it would kill half of them to teach them a lesson and make sure that the Storians would not rebel against Darkness again.
So having established a new Plan B, Ieros followed Gero who showed him his room, a lavishly decorated chamber that wasn’t really to Ieros’s tastes. But he did not complain and just nodded to Gero. Once Ieros was alone, he created an armchair to sit in as the provided chair was clearly created for a different creature, not a human. Once seated, he began to transcribe the information that he had collected from his memory into books, doing it by hand as he found the process of writing down his findings rather enjoyable. Besides, it was a great way to pass the time and as Ieros possessed no faults, he never made any mistakes in his transcriptions.
It was while he was busy transcribing information that a knock came at his door. Looking up from his transcriptions, Ieros noticed that it was the afternoon, three hours having passed since his arrival. Ieros took a moment to memorize where he had left off and then closed the book, placing it in his mind’s library before answering the door. It was Gero, he was there to tell Ieros that he had been invited to dinner. He told Ieros that he did not need to eat but he absolutely had to attend, the Emperor wished to meet and speak with him. Ieros nodded and followed Gero, Gero’s ears noticing for the first time that he was unable to hear Ieros’s footsteps. He was curious but it seemed such a silly question to ask that he just kept silent.
Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
They soon made their way to the dining hall where the ambassadors were waiting patiently, the Emperor had commanded that none may eat until all who had been invited arrived. All eyes were on Ieros when he entered, his face gaining the attention of all in the hall. It was a custom among the Austerians to avoid hiding one’s face while eating and Gero had warned Ieros beforehand. Ieros decided to follow their customs this time, it would not do to cause trouble. Ieros briefly wondered if he should show his cursed face but eventually decided against it, this would only raise questions that Ieros would rather not answer.
Meanwhile, the human ambassadors looked at him with great interest, this was the first time that they had seen the face of the enigmatic Ieros and it was a great shock, it was not the face they had expected. It was so… mature, for lack of a better word. A face that belied years of existence and great wisdom behind its youthful facade. The Austerians, all of whom were acror-wielders, were staring at him because of the insane amount of pure acror that was inside his amulet. Never before had they ever seen so much acror contained in a single space. All were silent as Ieros took his seat by the ambassadors and waited, the Emperor taking the first bite before everyone began to eat. Ieros followed suit, each movevement meticulous in nature as he partook of every meal on the large table.
The gates that he used to eat foods out of his reach caught the attention of all eating, amazing all as this method of teleportation was the stuff of legends and here was a young boy, barely a man, who was using it as if it was nothing. Meanwhile, the Emperor was watching Ieros carefully, he was curious as to who exactly Ieros was. He knew of humans and Ieros was unlike any human he had ever met before.
He then turned to Gero and asked, “Tell me, Gero, is this the human who single-handedly wiped out our invasion force?”
Gero nodded, “Yes-ss. He told-ss me hims-sself.”
The Emperor then focused on Ieros, saying, “So, you are the human who has caused so much trouble for me.”
Ieros looked at the Emperor impassively, saying, “I’m afraid you were the one who was a thorn in my side. Because of you, valuable time had been wasted fending you off as well as recuperating from the backlash I suffered from using so much energy.”
The Austerians growled, how dare this human insult their Emperor but the Emperor signaled that they wait, his sharp eyes becoming threatening, “Human, it would be best for you to watch yourself in the future.”
Ieros then placed down his eating utensils, bowing his head, “I did not mean offense, your majesty. It is just that your invasion proved to be rather bothersome as it interfered greatly with my research.”
The Emperor asked, “Your research?”
Ieros nodded, “A study on some rather interesting creatures I discovered earlier that day. Of course, your invasion was not without its benefits, the sky turtles proved to be rather fascinating creatures. I took great pleasure in studying them, truly magnificent. Did you know that inside these creatures is a veritable new world, an entire ecosystem almost. I found very strange creatures inside their stomachs and intestines, creatures that seem to have come straight out of a dream.”
The Emperor appeared to be interested, “Could you describe them?”
Ieros nodded and reached into a gate, pulling out a book, the same that he showed to the elven boy not so long ago. He flipped to a certain page and tapped a drawing that he made, using magic to trace an outline of it which he then projected into the air. It was a 3D model and was certainly terrifying to behold, one of the spider creatures that preyed on the intestinal worms. He began to explain what manner of creature this was, relying on his memory to simulate what it would act like in its environment. The Emperor was immensely curious and asked that Ieros show him more of these creatures to which Ieros did, showing all of the creatures that he had recorded during his research of the sky turtle.
He soon finished displaying all of the creatures he had recorded and was putting the book away when the Emperor said, “Are there more creatures you have recorded?”
Ieros nodded, “Of course, I have a rather sizeable library.”
The Emperor said, “I’d like to see it, if I may.”
Ieros immediately shook his head, “I cannot do that. There is sensitive material within my library, records that I vowed never to reveal to the world.”
His grave voice left no room for argument, even the Emperor did not press the matter. He just nodded understandingly and apologized. Ieros accepted his apology with equal understanding, he could understand curiosity and even welcomed it, but there were times when curiosity could not be sated. Ieros excused himself early, saying truthfully that he had to return to recording the knowledge that he had gained from studying creatures underneath the ocean. And he did spend the rest of the night like that, meticulously transcribing his knowledge onto paper. But the night was not peaceful, something attempted to disturb him but nothing could make its way past his Absolute Barrier.
The Teryo noticed this disturbance but they did nothing, they were specifically ordered to do nothing unless someone tried to gain entry through the door. After all, it would be quite problematic to explain the Teryo-sized holes in the walls that the Teryo made when they intercepted the source of the disturbance. So the night went on without too much trouble, the ambassadors waking up to see a new day and Ieros having completed five books. Satisfied at the moment, Ieros was ready to participate in the negotiations that would begin today in the morning.
It was a custom among the Austerians to begin serious discussions such as negotiating peace in the morning when one’s mind is pure and unclouded by the troubles of the day. It was an interesting custom, although Ieros wasn’t sure if it was totally true. One’s mind would still retain the thoughts one would entertain in their mind before going off to sleep, so the mind would still be clouded with thoughts. But this was also true in a sense, waking up fresh in the morning usually brings one’s mind into a sense of calm and relaxation as they had yet to experience any trouble. Interesting, he would have to carry out several tests before he could make a final statement but that was no trouble, he—rather the Surveyor—had plenty of time.