Chương 1155: 1185 - Invitation to Games

Disappointment settled in Leon's stomach like a rock. After more than two centuries of marriage, and nearly as long spent trying for children, he could almost convince himself that he'd grown used to failure on that front, but every time it was confirmed, his hopes sank even further. Elise and Cassandra each held a small enchantment about the size of their fingers, the purpose of which was simple: when activated, the paper would turn pink if the holder was pregnant.

If they weren't the paper would remain stubbornly white. Both of Leon's wives held white paper in their hands. Maia's paper, too, had been white, though in a fit of anger that Leon found quite understandable, she'd thrown it away and stormed into the adjacent bathroom where she collapsed into the bath, vanishing from sight within the water. Valeria had been the only one of Leon's wives not actively trying to have a kid. She wanted one with Leon too, but she was quite against having Leon's firstborn.

Still, she stood behind both Elise and Cassandra, quietly rubbing their arms comfortingly. With a weak smile, Elise looked up at Leon, her eyes dry after so many disappointments, but Leon could see the dejection she felt as plain as day.

"Maybe… next time?" she whispered, her voice wavering slightly. There was nothing that Leon wanted to do more in that moment than walk over and take her into his arms, whispering any words of comfort into her ear that she needed to hear. But his feet remained planted. In centuries of trying, they'd been thorough in trying to find the cause for the childless union. Leon knew the cause. He'd always known the cause. He knew that his wives always knew the cause. The problem lay with him.

The Ten Tribes had similar issues. The Jaguar's own sister had married Solomon, but theirs had been a childless union given both partners had awakened bloodlines. Unfortunately, even for all their expertise in raising the fertility of those who carried such power, two bloodlines were an obstacle that was almost impossible to surmount. His bloodlines gave him great power, but they stood in his path to children. He couldn't burn this problem away with black fire.

He couldn't channel the power of the Thunderbird and blast it away with silver-blue lightning. He couldn't do anything, apparently, since even the best alchemists and healers that he had access to couldn't help him. Or at least, all of their efforts had been for naught. Finally, he willed his feet to move, and he took Elise into a tight embrace. No tears were shed. This wasn't a particularly surprising outcome.

But they held each other closely, Elise burying her face into Leon's chest while he nuzzled into her hair. After a moment, Leon loosened his hold over her only just enough to bring Cassandra in, too. The blond former Princess was more composed than Elise, but her disappointment was just as palpable—not to mention, she was hardly one to skip out on some intimacy, even if it was only a quick embrace.

As they stood there in silence, Valeria glanced out of the window for a long moment, her lips pursed, her eyes not truly taking in the sights. She bit her lower lip and grimaced before finally turning back to Leon.

"I think… or… I… have an idea… about how to solve this…" One of Leon's eyebrows shot straight up while Cassandra and Elise spun around, disentangling themselves from Leon's arms so quickly he almost thought that they hadn't been embracing in the first place. From the bathroom, a loud splash echoed through the bed chambers before a very serious and very naked Maia burst back into the room, her lake-blue eyes finding Valeria and staying locked upon her.

Valeria stood tall amidst such attention, however, a mixed smile breaking out across her face.

"I don't want to get anyone's hopes up…" she hesitantly whispered before Elise almost jumped down her throat.

"Just tell us! What's your idea?!"

"Every trick has been tried," Valeria slowly stated as she glanced appreciatively at Maia.

"Every little tip and method found in the records of House Raime and those we've managed to salvage from the Thunderbird Clan. Those worked for the bearers of the Thunderbird's legacy. Methods devised by other Tribes haven't worked because they were designed for other bloodlines. So… logically… that leaves us with one more option…" Leon frowned deeply, knowing what she was going to say. It was an idea he'd had before, though he'd never vocalized it.

He'd always hoped that it wouldn't be necessary, that he could solve this problem himself with what he had. The best blood mages of Aeterna were in his personal employ, after all. A transformation enchantment crafted by a Primal God had been improved and built upon by his blood mages, yet the simple and primal problem of making children stumped them. All of the options they knew of had been tried, and all had failed. That left the options they didn't yet know about.

"The Great Dragon Clans," Valeria concluded, and in the wake of her statement came a distinct lack of surprise. Elise's gaze dropped to the floor while Cassandra sighed and collapsed into the nearest armchair. Leon felt a rush of anger through his connection with Maia, and the river nymph spun on her heel and returned to the bath, though he knew that she was still listening in.

"I was thinking the same thing," Leon stated, drawing from his ladies grim looks.

"It's a part of me that's… not being addressed. I can't pass on only one bloodline, can I?"

"As much as my frustration would rather me scream that I don't care about bloodlines," Cassandra responded, "you're right. Besides, I'd rather wait a thousand years and get it right once than have a thousand kids and have them all be weak." Elise audibly scoffed.

"You can have that attitude. I just want a child, a perfect baby born of love that I can hug and spoil!" Leon sighed.

"You're going to make me be the responsible one?" A hint of amusement cut through Elise's frustrated, bordering on angry demeanor.

"We have time now," Leon continued.

"Let's not get impatient. It's just… this'll take a long time. And…" An apology died on his lips, but it seemed that a little bit of it made it onto his face as Elise and Cassandra each took one of his arms while Valeria wrapped her arms around his waist. There they stayed for a few seconds before Maia came out and joined them, ignoring the squawks of irritation from the others at how much water she was getting everywhere. Before any more words could be said, a loud, though polite, knock came at the door.

Leon and his wives separated slowly, and with a wave of her hand, Maia dried everyone she'd partially drenched, then clothed herself. Only once everyone was reasonably presentable did Leon call for the door to open, which it did of its own accord thanks to the enchantments in the frame. The open door revealed Felix, Alix and Gaius' son who had risen to the rank of captain in the Tempest Knights, and who commanded the current shift of knights guarding Leon's personal quarters.

"Your Majesties," he said, "Sir Lucianus." Felix stepped aside, allowing Leon's Grand secretary to enter.

"Your Majesties," he said after a short bow, "our Ocean Watchers have reported to us that Princess Miuna is on approach. She'll be here within the day." Neither Leon nor his wives made any grand displays of frustration or antipathy; they'd grown used to this by now as Miuna had visited Artorion every three years or so on average since negotiating peace between them and Despot Terris. That she was showing up now was not much of a surprise, even if no one was expecting her.

"Ready the city for her arrival," Leon commanded.

"Best not to let someone like that wait around for too long."

Miuna's spectral jellyfish danced through the air above Artorion, making lazy circles around Westmount as it did. Such was its wont ever since Miuna had been welcomed into the city itself rather than stopped at the southern shore.

This time, however, the jellyfish was not only playfully chased through the air by Red but it also had to duck and weave through the arks that flew through Artorion's airspace—the usual defense fleet was thick and frequently made their presence known, but the invasion fleet had certainly thickened the air with steel and magic over the past few weeks.

Leon watched from a small arkpad on the more private western side of Westmount as a detail of about a hundred female guards descended, a dozen more spectacularly beautiful female attendants bearing a wondrous palanquin in the center of their formation. The palanquin was made of bright, masterfully carved coral in blues and greens, while the interior was concealed only with sheets of sea silk that hinted at the presence within without making many of her features discernable.

Behind Leon stood his wives and several of his palace attendants, all of them female, with no other dignitaries present, not even Clear Day. Miuna and the Ocean Lords had their own way of doing things, with King Ahndhas Gargan preferring to elevate himself and his progeny above everyone else, keeping them as separate from others as a god might from a mortal. The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Thankfully, Miuna's guard detail no longer ran through her long list of titles whenever she arrived. Leon wasn't sure even someone like him who possessed an origin spark within them had enough time for that. Miuna's group landed lightly on the arkpad, her dozen attendants easily bearing the weight of her ostentatious palanquin despite its obvious weight.

"Princess Miuna," Leon called out.

"Welcome to Artorion." He could see some irritation within Miuna's delegation at his refusal to avert his gaze, but they'd long since given up on enforcing that policy, at least when it came to him.

"King Leon," Miuna's melodic voice responded from behind the sea silk curtains, "it pleases me to once more find myself a guest in your house. Might I ask for your hospitality?"

"Of course," Leon replied.

"Please, come inside." It took several minutes for the palanquin to be brought into Leon's palace, at which point the Princess threw open the curtains and stepped out into Leon's marble halls, not caring at all that she was barefoot. She wore several layers of pink, red, and black robes, all decorated with sea flowers embroidered in gold thread, while her long black hair was tied up in an elaborate knot that looped back and forth behind her head.

Her face was partially concealed by a paper fan she held in her left hand, though from the way her eyes had narrowed, she wore a wide smile behind it.

"I have questions for you, Leon," she declared.

"Not waiting a second, are you?" Leon responded with a smile.

"This one doesn't even know the meaning of the word," Cassandra responded.

"I'd have thought she'd learn of such a virtue after all this time," Valeria added. Miuna scoffed with more noble dignity than Leon could ever muster before stating, "My patience is reserved for those that deserve it." After a pause, she refocused on Leon and added, "And those with the time for it." Recognizing the seriousness in her tone, Leon nodded and led his family and his guest further into the palace, stopping only once they'd entered his most private meeting room with the most robust privacy enchantments.

He counted only his wives and Miuna herself as his company. Wasting not a second more, Miuna immediately snapped her fan shut, revealing her gorgeous face for all to see, set in a determined glower.

"Leon, are you preparing for war?" Without a second's pause, Leon answered, "Yes." Miuna blinked, her only outward reaction to Leon's immediate response.

"With whom?" she demanded further.

"The Kesken Cluster," he easily replied. Others he might be more reticent to share such information with, but Miuna was a business and political partner, her continued friendship guaranteeing peace with the Ocean Lords—even though he knew she wanted more than just friendship even after all this time. Without her, he could very well return to a ruined Kingdom, crushed by King Ahndhas while he was gone—not that he thought the Ocean King himself might get involved, but he was careful with the Princess.

With him leading this expeditionary force to Kesken, he wanted to make sure that his Kingdom in the Nexus remained at peace.

"… Kesken…" Miuna murmured, averting her amber eyes for a moment until snapping back to Leon." That place? A nowhere planar cluster hanging off the Nexus like a weed from a house's threshold? Formerly known as 'Sylphia'?"

"If it's so 'nowhere', then why did you know immediately where it is?" Valeria smilingly challenged.

"Because I paid attention when my father's tutors taught me cosmology," the Princess hissed. Leon stated, "I'd have hardly thought that it was so important that even its name change was something you might be aware of. Thought it might be a bit… beneath you, so to speak?" Miuna waved his words away like she was dismissing a particularly contemptible courtier.

"I don't spend my days staring out of a window pining for you, you know. As… delightful as that may sound sometimes. Why are you preparing for war with Kesken?"

"It will be my first foothold in the universe," Leon easily replied.

"It's hardly the largest or most important planar cluster, but it'll give my soldiers valuable experience and a staging ground for further conquests. Why are you so interested in who I go to war with?"

"Of course she'd be interested," Elise jumped in before Miuna could respond.

"We're making her rich with all that Titanstone, aren't we? A little investment in what we're doing is only natural."

"It's not just the Titanstone," Miuna shot back, her tone clipped but lacking much bite.

"You occupy land that my father once ordered depopulated. The complaints of this state of affairs have been endless; I've had to field many an Ocean Lord who demanded that we evict you from this land without delay. I have always refused, as should be obvious, but when I received reports that you were assembling what looked like an invasion fleet here in Artorion, I had to investigate."

"You could've called." Leon pulled out a comm slate and waved it around a bit, emphasizing his statement.

"Don't even try to make me use those things, I have no interest in them."

"I suppose that means you have something better?" Valeria further challenged.

"Yes," Miuna replied without a moment's hesitation. She grinned and locked eyes with Valeria.

"I am doing that 'something better' right now."

"Ha!" Cassandra belted out.

"I guess you do have some patience after all! Enough to launch a weeks-long journey to reach Artorion instead of picking up a slate!" Miuna extended her fan once again, though Leon could tell that a smile had washed over her face.

"There are… other reasons that I wanted to speak with you, Leon," she pressed.

"This was a convenient excuse to see you a little earlier than I'd been planning." Leon's guard immediately went up.

"What sort of… reasons?" Miuna took a few sultry steps forward, stopping only when Elise and Cassandra stepped up to Leon and each protectively clasped one of his arms.

"Have you heard of the Belicenian Games?" she asked, an impish light shining in her amber eyes. Leon scrunched up his face, thinking for a long moment. It certainly sounded familiar—Icarius had probably sent him a primer on this event at some point, but Leon hadn't paid it much mind.

Archelaus was keeping his land borders secure, and Miuna was seeing to his maritime borders, so Leon had kept his attention focused inward, administering and building up his Kingdom rather than monitoring closely what the rest of the universe was captivated with.

"I've… heard of it. Them," he answered. Miuna dramatically sighed, then explained, "Every century, the plane of Belicenion, one of the Sun King's favorite palace planes, plays host to the largest gathering of Lords in the universe. We compete with each other in matters of magic, might, skill, and wit.

Competitions are held in more than five hundred arts and disciplines, with prizes of great prestige gifted to the winners—though the greatest and most prestigious prizes are awarded to those who triumph in the various combat sports."

"You… are you asking for my husband to compete in these games?" Elise asked, her tone one of disbelief yet her emerald eyes shining like green stars—Leon knew well her love of chariot races and gladiator fights. It was at her insistence that Artorion now had the largest chariot race track in his Kingdom, though the Lions at least saw to the gladiator arenas.

"Oh, no, of course not," Miuna responded as she once again snapped her fan shut and waved it around as if to physically dismiss Elise's concern.

"Lords do not participate—at least, not usually. This is a competition in sports and arts! And in that, only the best of the best are allowed to compete in any given field! No, I'm asking if your husband will be in attendance, or if any athletes or artists from your Kingdom will be joining the games."

"I… wasn't planning on attending," Leon answered.

"My people aren't usually given to great sports competitions, though we do have some organized sports of our own."

"That's disappointing," Miuna replied.

"I'd missed you last time and had thought that you were simply too busy settling into your new seat here in the civilized world. But… if you're not planning on going, then you can at least act as my escort!" Leon grimaced, barely able to contort it into a very strained smile. The effort he put into such a monumental feat meant that Cassandra beat him to the reply.

"You insult us, Princess, by asking our husband to merely be your 'escort'." Miuna snickered.

"Fine, fine.

'Guest', or 'friend', then? Or you can attend yourself—all who are Lords within Khosrow's Law have open invitations to enter the Games, should they wish—and meet me there. I insist that you attend!"

"Why?" Leon finally asked through tight vocal chords. Miuna giggled softly, extending her fan again. All Leon could see were her eyes mischievously narrowed.

"Because I want to show you off, of course! I want all of my friends to seethe with jealousy that I know you!"

"That… who are your friends and why would they even care?" Leon half-sputtered in surprise and confusion. Irritation spread across what little of Miuna's face that he could see, though it was gone a moment later. Even then, the venom in her tone remained.

"That bitch Deianira recently took a new concubine of two bloodlines!" Miuna hissed.

"She's been showing him off to every dusty cunt in the Nexus for the past decade!" Elise immediately broke out into a giggling fit, though Valeria, Cassandra, and Maia stared at Miuna with varying levels of anger and disagreement.

"Are you… one of these…

'dusty cunts'?" Elise gasped.

"Or have you had someone betwixt your legs at some point recently?" Miuna scoffed.

"My virtue is untouched, I can assure you of that. No, I want to rub that bitch's face in how her new find isn't as exclusive as she makes him out to be!"

"Oh, you just want to show my husband off like a new toy?" Elise pointedly inquired as she regained control over herself.

"Deianira is the daughter of the Sun King," Miuna hissed.

"She will try and use this to gain prestige. She has to know that her new concubine isn't special!" The two began to argue, but Leon lost himself in thought for a long moment, putting aside the newfound revelation that Miuna had something of a rivalry with another daughter of an Elemental King.

'Someone else with two bloodlines? Curious. Guess I'm not unique. Good to know.'

"Fine," he said, interrupting Miuna and his wives sniping at each other and drawing five looks of surprise.

"Well, it depends on the exact date, but I'll tentatively say that I'll attend with some of our best athletes and artists. We'll just confirm which events we care about first, and maybe I'll see you there—I'm certainly not coming as your escort or your guest." Miuna haughtily smiled, closing her eyes as she hid her smile behind a raised hand.

"I can live with that," she said.

"The Games begin in a little over two years. I'll see you there, Leon Raime." Leon nodded as his wives gave him questioning looks, to which he responded with a shrug. If the Belicenian Games were truly so prestigious, then surely many great Lords would be there. Attending might present opportunities to him that would be wasteful to pass up.

With that bit of business done, Leon and Miuna discussed the continued operation of the Titanstone mine on the coast for a few minutes before their conversation finally turned to less formal topics. Leon didn't wait around for those, however, and left Miuna in the company of his wives—despite their bickering, the five had created something that outwardly resembled a friendship over the past century and a half, along with several of Miuna's ladies-in-waiting, though none of them were currently present.

In fact, it seemed to Leon that the only ones missing from that group were Cristina and Asiya, who had come to the Nexus some decades ago, though as he recalled were both now back on Aeterna. He couldn't stay and chat. He had a war to plan, especially if he wanted the planar cluster conquered and pacified within two years…