“The what?” Krysha exclaimed. “There are only three archons. There have always been three archons, and there’s no space for an additional one.”

“That was indeed the case for many centuries, Krysha,” explained Seika. “Each of the archons has their domain. Simeon’s domain is Divine Enforcement which means he plotted the course for the whole nation and made the decisions on behalf of the Holy Order. Gideon towers over the domain of Divine Commandments, receiving instructions from The Divine and creating rules and guidelines under which all of the Elysians should live. Finally, Adah rules over the domain of Divine Judgment and all of those who do not live by the commandments.”

“Exactly!” Krysha protested once more. “There is no domain left for a fourth archon.”

“The domain of Divine Restoration was created to make sure The Divine returns to existence and the Holy Order has a reason to continue,” explained Seika. “This new domain and archon is essentially the Order’s admission that they have lost contact with The Divine and their attempt to stop the chaos that will spill over their nation without It.”

“That does make a lot of sense actually,” said Kard. “It was about time they decided to let the people know the truth about The Divine. Who is this new archon? Anyone we know?”

“Unfortunately, no further information was provided to us regarding the identity of the new archon,” replied Man. “They did ask for you guys to present yourselves before them though.”

“Us?” Kard almost shouted. “The archons want us to present ourselves? How do they even know we are here?”

“Not you specifically, but rather some of the Nara survivors,” Man explained. “And it’s no miracle they found out you settled down here. Although they did ask specifically for Seika, and for you, Adel.”

“Why? Why would the archons demand that I be there?” I asked. I felt my heart beating faster and I was fighting my body to avoid hyperventilating.

“Adel, there is no need to worry. It’s just a means of intimidation,” replied Man. “They know that you know what happened in Nara during the liturgy, and by demanding your presence they insinuate you are still an Elysian and subject to their rule.”

“But we are Elysians, Man,” said Krysha in an urgent tone.

“You are the people of the tower. You are nobody’s subjects,” Man said. “My father has invited you to an audience to discuss whether you want to participate in the meeting with the archons or not.”

“The king wants to see us?” I asked.

“Yes, the king wants to see you,” replied Man. “You don’t need to feel intimidated by this either. The king is my father, after all. He has only not met with you so far because he wanted to leave you out of this whole situation. It seems the Order has now forced our hand. Yet, the decision still lies with you.”

“When are we to meet the king, Man?” asked Krysha.

“I was thinking we could go now and get it over with,” Man answered.

“What?” Kard exclaimed, almost choking on a mouthful of ale. “Are you crazy? We know nothing of the protocol for meeting the king. We need to change clothes and clean the ale from our breaths.”

“There’s no need for that, Kard,” Man continued. “My father may be a king but he’s a merchant at heart. And he is my father. There’s no need for any formalities. He dislikes them as much as I do.”

“Shall we go then?” asked Seika. With no other good excuses, we all nodded awkwardly.

***

Our path to Zakara’s palace took us through the colorful district of the magic bazaar of Zakara, where all sorts of magic items from Elysia were brought to be sold. The cobblestone road was surrounded by thick palm trees throwing heavy shadows onto the market’s tents.

The sounds of horse hooves clicking on the road could be heard amid the shouts of merchants and sizzling of food being fried in metal pans, while the strong odor of numerous spices complemented the freshness coming from the sea.

The stalls themselves were mostly makeshift tents, selling anything from plain pendants and lutes to flying carpets and weather-controlling devices. Some of the merchants waved at us as we passed through, while many of them bowed at the sight of Manal Im, not so much in a manner of servitude but rather of respect.

Our walk eventually brought us to the end of the long series of tents and stalls, on the top of a hill that overlooked Zakara’s palace. The garden of the king’s residence acted as an additional market plaza, with many tents selling mostly local produce, among the countless giant fountains and statues.

The palace itself was made out of colossal yellow stones, with balconies, terraces and windows on all sides, adorned with intricate flower and wave carvings. The yellow building had large rectangular pillars supporting its grand entrance while each of its three stories had balconies surrounded by waist-height fences made of some kind of dark metal.

A clear purple stone path that was left clear of shops led to the palace’s entrance, so we followed it. Minutes later, we were standing in front of the palace gates where two royal guards stood, their shawls covering their faces and their long spears crossed.

Name : Hitham Il Menun

Race : Light Elf

Class : Destroyer

Level : ??

Name : Sierra Lancaster

Race : Light Elf/Human

Class : Templar of the Sun

Level : ??

As soon as the guards noticed Man, they pulled their spears straight, clenched their free hands into a fist and hit them against their chest, slightly bowing their head as a sign of respect to him. Man acknowledged them with a nod and we walked through the palace entrance.

It wasn’t often that I saw individuals with items that allowed them to hide their level from others in the Apocosmos but it made sense that the royal guard would want their level to be a secret. And if someone had enough money to procure items such as these, it was the king of merchants.

The interior of the palace was as beautiful as it was on the outside. The floors were made of polished reflective white marble, while the walls were some kind of mixture between cream-colored granite and glass. They looked and felt cool to the touch, giving the palace halls a refreshing feeling.

The roof was partly made of tinted glass that let in sunlight in different hues, which then reflected on the floor. A man and a woman approached us and, after saluting Man, they prompted us to follow them up the stairs and into a large chamber standing in the middle of the first floor.

I didn’t even bother trying to scan them since I was sure they would be showing no level either. Instead I focused on how delicately airy and beautiful their colorful clothes were. As beautiful as we had come to expect from the people of Leka An.

Before entering what I could only assume was the throne room, Man stopped and took off his boots to enter it barefoot. I followed his example, and so did everyone else before they went inside. Despite the floor’s coldness against my feet, I soon realized the reason for this custom. The floor was actually a giant magic-nullifier. Even though I was Elysian, born and raised around mana, I immediately felt safer knowing that spells would be void here.

The throne room itself was rather plain: some statues here and there, a giant stone table with many black leather chairs around it, and numerous large spherical pillows which looked like they served as seats. At the back of the room, a sturdy man wearing silk and leather robes in the same color as the walls was sitting on one of the large pillow chairs with a rather big scroll in his hands.

He was wearing a large white turban with a pink feather on its side. I didn’t doubt for a moment that everything he was wearing, from the top of his turban to the bottom of his baggy pants, was heavily enchanted.

Name : Mena El Os

Race : Human

Class : ??

Level : ??