The nations of Corus were flung into panic after the disappearance of the flying city, as many thought its defences to be impenetrable. The Three Thrones of Corus thus decided to hold a conference to determine the steps that are to be taken, seeing as the only thing holding up the peace between them was gone. The city of Lesall was decided upon to be the place the summit would be held, one month after the fall of Edenia, as each nation needed some time to prepare for the journey.

On the day of said conference, inside of a heavily guarded, palatial carriage, drawn by 2 giant, golden-feathered birds known as Kaiser Birds, sat a rather tired looking man wearing a golden crown adorned with the Cross of Light, clad in regal attire of the finest and most valuable fabrics, tapping his right foot in annoyance. Though his face would give one the impression to be looking at a veteran soldier who had seen many a battle, and the dark-blonde hair of his full-beard and on his head already showed signs of greying, the man was still only in his late-30s, the current Emperor of Merdelum, Godrick II. Alphonse Lucien Lux-Eternum. The source for his current displeasure sat on the bench in front of him, a man in pristinely white plate armour which covered his entire, bulky body. Over his armour he wore a black tabard with the symbol of the empire, the 12 stars representing the 12 Zodiacs, the guardian deities of Moros, encircling the Cross of Light, the symbol of the Ardent Path. In his hands he held a sheathed sword, ready to be drawn immediately at the slightest sign of danger.

"Come on, Erik, I know you are all about protocol, but can you not at least remove the helmet? It bores me to talk with the human equivalent of a can of beans.", the emperor asked while rubbing the bridge of his nose in annoyance.

"My apologies, my liege, but as you know, if we were to be ambushed, I would need to be ready for combat immediately.", the captain of the imperial guard, Erik Haduwig Denholm replied with a bow of his head. Though he tried to hide it, Godrick still managed to catch the sarcasm in his tone.

"I do not believe that putting on a helmet would take enough time to validate your claim. Also, just because chamberlain Oliver chastised you for not wearing your helmet at our departure does not mean you have to wear it all the time. On a different note, have you been briefed on who will attend the summit in Lesall?", emperor Godrick inquired.

"Of course, my lord!", Denholm answered with another bow.

"Enough already, Erik. We have known each other since childhood and this is the first time in a month that we are able to hold a conversation without anyone listening in, and I tire of talking to the human equivalent of a can of beans.", the emperor grumbled, irked by the demeanour of his childhood friend, even though he knew it was in jest.

"Your wish is my command.", Denholm answered with a theatrical bow, before removing his helmet with a wide grin, which caused a small amused smirk to appear on the emperors face as well.

Despite being the same age, Erik seemed much younger than Godrick, as he was not quite under the same stress as his friend. His raven-black hair was kept short and gelled back, as to not block his bright green eyes during a fight, and his face was clean shaven. He was the first son of the Duke of Utstraling and therefore had the birthright to succeed his father in his position, though he refused to follow in his footsteps, as Erik wanted to become part of the imperial guard instead. His father adhered to his wishes, as he believed that a position in the imperial guard to be just as honourable as serving the empire as the next duke, and enrolled him into the imperial academy in Corazón, where he became a rival and later the best friend of the, at the time, crown-prince of Merdelum.

"Back to the question I have asked you earlier, what do think about the leaders of the other nations? Do you think one of them could be behind the incident?", he asked the captain in a more serious tone.

"If it truly was an attack of one of the other nations, I believe Domitor to be the culprit. Since one of the leaders of the Northern Alliance is the descendant of one of the 7 Liberators of Moros, I do not believe someone of such honourable lineage would even think about attacking Edenia without a formal declaration of war.", Erik claimed.

"Duchess Sangdracon, you mean? Who knows, with the help of the Holy Greatsword Balmung someone like her might be capable of a feat as grand as taking down Edenia in a single-..." the emperor started but was quickly cut off by Erik, who jumped angrily off his seat.

"PREPOSTEROUS! Lady Lorelei would... never...you know what, never mind.", Erik blurted out, only to fall back into his seat, embarrassed about his outburst.

The emperors response to all this was to break out in laughter, as he knew of Erik's infatuation with the Duchess of Balmung since the day he had brought him with him to visit the small country for the first time.

"Oh my, I had hoped for a reaction, but your outburst surpassed my expectations, let's call it even, shall we? However, if you want, I would have nothing against introducing you to her.", the emperor proposed, while wiping a tear out of the corner of his eye.

"After all, you're still the son of a duke and the one who earned the dragon-seat among the 12 Zodiac-Knights of the White Sun Order, you're pretty much Merdelum's second-strongest soldier, after me of course, and a union between a noble of the empire and one of the leaders of the alliance would work greatly in our favour."

"REALLY? ...I mean, please do not involve me in any of your political schemes!", Erik replied grumpily while sinking back into the bench, which earned him another snicker from the emperor.

"YOUR MAJESTY, WE HAVE CROSSED THE BORDER TO SUBALTERNE", a voice from outside shouted.

"Let us continue this conversation later, shall we? We need to stay vigilant. Today might decide the future of not only Corus, but humanity in its entirety, and we do not know yet what will await us. Do not worry, I trust you and your men completely if it comes to the worst.", the emperor stated with a reassuring grin. Though he tried not to show it, his mood had soured immediately once he was reminded of the destination of this journey.

Lesall was one of the biggest cities in the region formerly known as the Beastkin-Nation of Selinófoto, second only to its former capital. However, what once had been the largest of the 3 nations on Corus primarily dominated by beastkin, had become part of Domitor during a bloody annexation war, after which it was renamed into Subalterne, the servant state. As Lesall was situated closest tot he borders of the Three Thrones, it had become the headquarters of the Arcane Union after its conception, which was quite the ironic choice, as beastkin were born with spirits of nature and therefore not able to cast spells. Even after the Arcane Union fled to Edenia, Lesall was still considered to be one of the most advanced cities in terms of magical knowledge and was home to many prestigious academies. The citizens of Lesall, however, where not happy about this development, quite the opposite, as though countless years had passed since their annexation, the remainders of Domitor's ruthlessness were still present, as was the citizens hatred for their oppressors.

"What a grim world we live in, but there is just nothing we can do...", the emperor mumbled to himself while looking out the window, lost in his thoughts.

"Godrick? We have arrived!", Erik exclaimed while donning his helmet, stopping the emperor's thought process in its tracks.

"Oh, have we? Time sure seems to fly by when one ponders the wrongs of the world.", the emperor mumbled grimly, while the imperial guard captain exited the coach and held the door open for him.

"I HEREBY ANNOUNCE THE PRESENCE OF HIS IMPERIAL MAJESTY, EMPEROR GODRICK II. OF MERDELUM!", one of Erik's men shouted as the emperor slowly exited his coach. The sight ahead of the emperor was quite the spectacular one, at least for anyone born outside of royalty, but over the years he had grown accustomed to such luxury. A mansion, rivalling a palace in appearance, and a row of servants bowing deeply to him in greeting in front of it.

"You may raise your head.", the emperor exclaimed in a regal tone. His demeanour had changed completely from when he was talking in the privacy of the carriage, and everything about him exuded the aura of an absolute ruler. "My thanks. This humble servant greets the Emperor of Merdelum and his entourage. I will be the one to lead his imperial highness towards the room in which the meeting will hold place." an elderly man in the uniform of a head-servant greeted the emperor before rising from his bow back to a proper posture.

"The rest of us will see to the carriage and the birds it has been drawn by until the end of the summit. Please allow me to remind His Imperial Highness, that weapons are not permitted within the conference room, and all magic has been sealed off within the building.", he explained while motioning the emperor and his guard to follow.

"How many of the other leaders have yet to arrive?", Godrick asked while following the head-servant through a maze of corridors within the massive mansion.

"His Imperial Highness is the second to arrive so far. His Majesty, King Beorn V., had already arrived the day prior to inspect the estate.", the head-servant answered while continuing to lead them past magnificent paintings decorating the walls, most of which depicted former rulers of Domitor and members of the noble family which owned the mansion. Despite his apparent age, he walked at a brisk pace with such elegance only seen in men who had dedicated their entire lives to serve nobility.

After a while, the head-servant stopped in front of a door and bowed to the emperor while motioning towards it. "We have arrived. Before entering, however, I will have to take the sword of His Imperial Highness and their personal guard in my care for safekeeping.", the butler said while raising both of his hands so he could accept the swords.

The emperor nodded towards his bodyguard and both removed the swords from their belt and handed them over carefully.

"Thank you, for putting your trust in this humble servant. Do not worry, I will have them both placed safely in the hands of your guards. His Imperial Highness may take any seat except for the wooden throne, which has been reserved for King Beorn V., who will join after the others have arrived. It was my pleasure to guide you through the estate.", the butler concluded with another bow while holding open the door to the room, through which the emperor followed by the guard captain slowly entered without another word.

Three big windows fit for a chapel let in light on a large rectangular table, on which the symbol of Domitor, four crossed swords, each representing one of the four nations Domitor consisted off, with a yellow crown binding them together at the crossing point, had been painted on. Around the table, 9 cushioned armchairs have been placed, of which the 9th one in front of the door resembled a throne. The emperor chose the seat on the window side of the room, opposite of the throne, and Denholm decided to check the room for anything out of the ordinary. After a while, he returned to the emperor and reported his findings, or rather, the lack thereof. The emperor thanked Denholm for his service, who then took his place behind the emperor, standing at attention.

Not long after they had taken their places, the other regents and their personal bodyguards entered the room.

First to arrive after the emperor was the Duchess of Balmung, Lorelei Guinevere Sangdracon. Balmung, though small in size, had managed to stay independent for 2000 years, thanks to them being ruled by the descendants of Freya Andrea Sangdracon, one of humanities greatest heroes. Just like her ancestor, she was a dragonborn, a human with draconic blood flowing through her veins, though only her golden eyes, the pupils of which were in the form of vertical slits, would indicate such a thing, as she looked like any ordinary human otherwise. She was rather tall, and had long, fiery-red hair. She wore a dark-green military-uniform and a necklace with a small pendant, which appeared to be a miniature version of the holy sword which gave her nation its name. Lorelei decided to approach the emperor together with her guard, a woman wearing full-plate armour, and briefly greeted him before taking the seat to his right. Godrick noticed Erik nervously shifting behind him for a moment, but decided to pay it no mind, as the next attendant of this conference entered the room.

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The man in the attire of a high-born noble now approaching the table was King Mordecai Luja Vanha Astutus II. of Yhose, a country which had formerly been a part of Jhargas, but managed to gain its independence sometime during the Age of Heroes.

Following him was King Charles Pierre Selas of Amvine, a nation managed to rise to one of the greatest trading hubs in all of Corus due to its close proximity to Saibrheas, compared to all other nations of Corus.

Next to arrive was Queen Pyrrha Solfylt Lacrimosa, who ruled over Ulsset, a nation rich in resources which is in a constant struggle against the monsters which breach the Roads of Corus through their various cave systems.

Second to last was Queen Aurora Palatír Elyra Lothir of Eurosa, the second half-human currently sitting among them, as she was an Illumni, a human with elven ancestry.

And finally, the last vacant seat, sans the wooden throne, which was to the immediate left of the emperor and would have belonged to Adam Litoniel Suru, the King of of Jhargas, was instead occupied by a knight in golden armour, presumably a member of the Golden Scale Knights, the elite soldiers of Jhargas, who was sent as a stand-in.

King Beorn Lioux Tenebre V. of Domitor, a rather small and weak looking meridian man with black hair and a short beard, wearing the ceremonial robes of a king and a large golden crown adorned with all sorts of different jewels, was the last to arrive. Behind him walked an orc in pelt armour, a bulky warrior of almost an entire yard in height. The appearance of the orc caused the atmosphere in the room to grow more tense than before, as humanity had always been on edge when it came to dealing with other races, especially the chaotic ones.

King Beorn started the meeting by explaining that the King of Jhargas refused to attend the conference personally, as he did not trust Domitor. Normally, such insolence and disrespect of protocol would result in some form of retaliation, but seeing as all other nations of the Northern Alliance had appeared and the fact that there were more grievous matters at hand, he would ignore this transgression this one time.

"Now that we have taken care of the formalities, let us discuss the recent events regarding the disappearance of Edenia. First, we should hear from the nation closest to where Edenia was last seen.", King Beorn concluded his opening speech and motioned towards the Emperor of Merdelum, who rose from his seat in acknowledgement.

"Very well. As we all know, Edenia has vanished in a magical explosion of never before seen magnitude exactly one month ago. We confirmed it to be an explosion, and not just teleportation magic having gone awry, as an enormous crater had formed below the place it was seen last. Multiple corpses of magi and even crimson-scaled wyverns, who we believe to have been knocked out of the sky by the explosion, had been found in a large radius around the crater, and trees region were found completely uprooted, something completely unheard of in combination with teleportation magic of any kind."

The other rulers started to murmur among them, as most of them only knew of Edenia's disappearance, not of the reason for it, as, despite their alliance, they still did not completely trust one another.

"But how could that be? It stood in the sky for centuries, it cannot just explode out of nowhere!", King Mordecai responded in disbelief.

"It is true, we have seen the crater ourself, as it borders our own nation in the south. The only thing comparable to the destruction we encountered at the scene was what the records of old told of the separation of Nirion.", the Queen of Eurosa chimed in, confirming the story of the Emperor and causing the King of Domitor to involuntarily twitch at the comparison she used.

"It exploding on its own does not make any sense, so someone probably had to have their hands in this. We would even go as far as saying that it might be someone at this very table, is that not right, King Beorn?", the Queen of Ulsset announced accusatory.

"Are you perhaps suggesting Domitor's involvement in this, Queen Pyrrha?", the King of Domitor asked, his voice hiding all but the slightest spark of ire.

"Come on, we all know of the long standing grudge between Domitor and Edenia. Be that as it may, the disappearance of the Magician's Guild would greatly benefit all others of us as well, seeing as Edenia has retained an amicable relationship with Merdelum over the years.", the king of Yhose added.

"Now, now! Let us not come to unfounded conclusions based on hearsay.", Emperor Godrick injected, but was quickly shot down by the king of Amvine, who claimed he had acquired proof of deals between the flying city and the empire via the information network of their nation.

This accusation led to the emperor questioning the king, as to why his country was spying on other nations, and if said network also included Domitor, causing King Beorn to inquire further about it.

This debate raged on for hours, growing further and further into hostile territory, as each nation of the Northern Alliance and even the King of Domitor started to accuse one another of breaking their peace treaties. The situation almost escalated into a brawl, and the guards in the room were already standing at attention to intervene at any time if the situation would call for it. Before the situation could grow violent, however, the bodyguard of the King of Domitor decided to make the first move.

"ENOUGH!!!", the giant of an orc shouted across the room as his enormous fist connected with the table in front of him, breaking 2 of its legs.

All at the table sans the Emperor of Merdelum and the Duchess of Balmung, who subtly started to reach for the pendant of her necklace, yelped in surprise at this sudden act of violence and jumped to their feet. The sudden movement of the orc startled Denholm, but before he reacted, he was quickly called off with a barely noticeable hand gesture from the emperor.

"W-...What is the meaning of this?", the king of Yhose stuttered, still shook by the display of strength from the orc.

"This farce has gone on for long enough. Consider this meeting adjourned. Return to your nations, we will continue this another day!", the orc bellowed and forcefully pulled the King of Domitor to his feet.

"Is that any way to treat your king? Tsk tsk tsk.", Emperor Godrick called out to him in a mocking tone while putting weird emphasis on the word 'king', but was completely ignored.

The emperor's snarky command caused the duchess of Balmung to snicker, but no one else dared to even move as the orc made his way out of the room.

"Well, you heard the man! Same time in three months? Until then, farewell, and send my regards to your leaders, will you?", the emperor announced mockingly and exited the room, the Duchess following with her guard shortly afterwards. After recovering from the shock, the others started to vacate the mansion as well, and each went back to their respective country.

"Well, that could have gone better...", Emperor Godrick stated with a sigh, as he was approached by the Duchess of Balmung and her personal guard outside of the manor, which caused Denholm to tense up slightly.

"That will be all for now. You may return to the coach, I will exchange a few words with the Emperor before I follow you, thank you.", she sent away her guard, before replying to the emperor.

"Does His Imperial Highness really think so? I though it to have gone far better than expected, given the circumstances.", the duchess replied with a smirk.

"Let us drop the formalities, shall we, Lorelei? Now why did the rest of the Northern Alliance opt for this plan? I mean, I understand Domitor, but the rest? They must have realised beforehand that it would not end well.", Godrick asked her while rubbing the bridge of his nose in annoyance, making it her turn to sigh.

"I told those stubborn fools that it was unnecessary, since Domitor would not dare lift a finger as long as I was present, but they insisted that they could not take any chances. The only one who rejected the proposal together with me was Adam, though he decided to openly show his animosity towards both the Alliance and Domitor at the same time instead."

"What a mess... Let us hope that they do not repeat their mistake next time. On a different note, do you remember my dear friend Erik? He's the son of Duke Denholm of Utstraling, and he always wanted to meet you personally, is that not right?", he suddenly changed the topic, causing Erik to tense up even more.

"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, your Grace! I am His Imperial Highness' personal guard, Erik Haduwig Denholm.", he blurted out with a bow as he started to blush at the embarrassment of having suddenly been thrown into this conversation.

"Oh, I remember you! No need to be so tense, Sir Denholm! As I see it, we are currently just some acquaintances who have bumped into one another per chance on our way home, nothing more, nothing less."

"As you wish..."

The emperor watched his childhood friend awkwardly stumble through the conversation with the duchess while barely managing to keep a straight face through it all, until he felt that all he wanted to say had been told, and it had been time to continue on their way back to Merdelum.

"I am sorry to interrupt, but we best be on our ways now. If you want, I can arrange another meeting, if you would like?", he asked, causing Denholm to turn his head in surprise.

"Hmm...You know what, that does not sound like such a bad idea. Until then, Sir Denholm.", Duchess Sangdracon said her goodbyes, before continuing towards her own coach, followed by Godrick doing the same while dragging Denholm with him.

"Well, well, well! I should call you Captain Ladykiller from now on, hm?", Godrick asked before breaking into laughter.

Erik, however, seemed to ignore the remark, as he seemed too shocked from what had just transpired.

"She talked to me! And even invited me to meet her again! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!", he exclaimed in joy with a small jump, before being knocked back into his seat, as he had bonked his head on the ceiling of the coach.

"Yes, I can. Calm down, Erik! Damaging the coach would get me into trouble with the chamberlain again. You know how he gets every time we accidentally break something, so keep your jumps of joy on standby, will you?"

"My apologies.", Denholm answered and removed his helmet, which revealed a beet-red face, which almost caused the emperor to break out into laughter again.

"I told you it would turn out alright. You should now already how good I am at reading people, no?", he asked Denholm, who fell to one knee and took his right hand, throwing him completely off guard.

"His Imperial Highness has given me the greatest of gifts. I will never forget this favour for as long as I live!", he explained, before kissing the emperors ring.

"By the gods, stop it already! I get it, I will stop making fun of you. Just...calm down, okay?", the flustered emperor responded, causing Erik to return to his seat with a smirk.

"Anyway, what was it that you and the duchess were talking about? Something about a proposal?", the guard captain asked, causing the air in the coach change back to a more serious atmosphere.

"Did you not notice? I guess that was to be expected, seeing as your eyes were probably wandering between the duchess and the orc in the room. None but me and the duchess actually arrived in person at today's conference. The rest either just send body-doubles, or, in the case of the king of Jhargas, a stand-in, as Adam had always been a bit more blunt when it came to matters like this. They probably feared for their lives due to Edenia no longer watching over all of us. I suppose their façade had caved due to the pressure put on them by the situation, something of which I hope the actual regents are able to handle without disclosing state secrets. Though I believe most of them to be half-truths and misinformation given to them to trick others into disclosing information of their own, it was still a little much, no? Truly a bizarre situation we have found ourselves in.", he stated dryly.

"With this, the nations of Corus have clearly shown their distrust in one another. Do you think we will be able to settle this matter peacefully?", the guard captain asked perturbed.

"The future looks grim, my friend. However, if worse comes to worst we shall be prepared. Once we arrive at the castle, I want you to call for the Luminary and the head of the Eclipse-Order for an emergency meeting, then raise the state of readiness for the entire army to red."

"Of course!", Denholm answered with a small bow.

Though the empire had managed to settle business with other countries mostly peacefully until now, their military was in no way inferior to those of other nations. Quite the opposite, as the increased sightings of creatures, which were classified as monsters, had inflated the rates at which young people devoted to defending their home against such threats willingly attended military academies to become soldiers of the empire, or at least decided to become government-sanctioned mercenaries, which could be drafted if worst was to come. However, the people of Merdelum started to grow more and more dissatisfied with both the imperial family and the luminary of the Ardent Path, and an opposing faction began to form, which, if it were to gain more followers in the near future, could throw the entire empire into civil unrest. If a war between the Three Thrones were to break out during this time, the end of the empire was not only possible, but an inevitability.

"May the Light of Order guide us on the Ardent Path.", the Emperor muttered barely audibly as if to pray for an answer to his problems while looking at the scenery changing outside the window.