Chương 1220: 1250 - Princess and her Friends

Beauty, beauty as far as the eye could see; Miuna's arrival at Khosrow's Fane put on display the power of the Ocean King as she filled the streets with all the beauty she could bring to bear. Her jellyfish 'docked' at an arkyard close to Storm Herald, and the smooth, fish-like arks of the rest of her convoy did the best they could to dock close to her.

Leon watched as from the jellyfish's teleportation portal came hordes of beautiful women dressed in blues and greens paving the path ahead with ocean flowers, pulling them from seemingly bottomless baskets, and scattering them as they walked. Next came heralds, all men and about two hundred in total, wearing nothing but kilts that barely reached halfway down their thighs while their muscled and oiled upper bodies glistened in the light of the fane's artificial sun.

They sang songs about the glory of the deep ocean and the beauty and grace of their Princess as they marched, and all before them made way, not due to the power of any particular herald or flower girl but rather due to who they represented. Following them came what seemed like a military parade; warriors in armor that resembled colorful coral emerged from the jellyfish, unarmed but marching in lockstep.

War beasts followed suit, nearly all the same kind of creature: feline in shape but covered in black or dark blue scales, with a fin along their spine that terminated in a thick, many-finned tail. Finally, a horde of attendants appeared, several of whom Leon recognized—especially the serious and eternally unamused features of A'Rei, Miuna's most devoted bodyguard.

Carried by a dozen of them was Miuna's palanquin, larger and more elaborate than any she'd used to visit Artorion—made entirely of Aurichalcum and glistening with gem-like inset Lumenite, the palanquin's roof was made to resemble the organic lines of the Ocean King's coral city at the heart of the King's Ocean. Miuna herself was but a vague shadow, hidden behind thick, but slightly translucent sea silk curtains.

"She's not holding back, is she?" Valeria remarked as the procession pressed past the fane's monks who'd come out to welcome her—in greater numbers than the party that had welcomed Leon, he noticed.

"She has to show off power," Leon said with some resignation.

"I'm just hoping she doesn't make too big of a scene."

"Leon," the perfect silver-haired woman beside him sternly reminded, "the entire reason she invited you to these Games was to show you off, and how good of a relationship she has with you." It was all Leon could do not to click his tongue in distaste, leaving him with no willpower remaining to halt the frown that etched itself upon his features.

"Who did she arrive with?" he wondered aloud in an attempt to hide his discomfort that, judging by his wife's expression, did not go unnoticed. But she didn't call him on it, instead saying, "I'm unfamiliar with them. Maybe we should ask Archelaus?"

"Pretty sure he's still with Ramin—" he began before a rapidly approaching aura stole his attention. Archelaus racing over from Ramin's ark was the source, and as he slowed to land by Storm Herald and formally request entry, he cast a worried look over his shoulder at one ark in particular.

Leon had left standing orders to allow Archelaus in, though he'd need a Paladin escort with him just in case—Leon doubted he'd try anything nefarious, but this ark was Storm Herald, and he wasn't going to give anyone leave to wander around as they pleased—so as Archelaus was being shown in and one of his Paladins was summoned, Leon examined the ark that had seemed to capture Archelaus' attention.

"Whale of a thing…" he murmured as he pointed it out to Valeria.

"Moves well," she said.

"Hardly disturbs the ambient magic." The ark in question was easily the largest in Miuna's convoy, and was possibly bigger than even Storm Herald. Weighted a little more towards the bow with a bulbous head, the rest of the ark tapered the further back it went, giving it the overall shape of an elongated raindrop.

The ark had no visible weapon hardpoints, but had twice as many thrusters as Storm Herald, along with several huge magical things on its sides that weren't acting like traditional thrusters, but still seemed to be playing some part in locomotion, judging by the magic they emitted.

"Looks almost like a pleasure ark," Leon said as the ark's emerald exterior glittered in the fane's light.

"Probably plenty of weapons in there," Valeria responded.

"Terris' arks had visible weapons. If they have no weapons on that beast, then they might not be Lance-based."

"Haven't the Ravens been working on something of that nature?"

"Asger got it into his head that 'autonomous' weapons could be built using a framework similar to golems. Thinks that they can be controlled by wisps and giants from the launching arks and act as delivery vehicles for some of those Aesii weapons that the Sen'uus couple have developed."

"That's… terrifying." Valeria visibly shivered, and Leon instinctively took her hand.

"If it gives us an edge, I'll gladly use them," Leon said. The doors of the ark they were staring at finally opened—they were about fifty feet above the arkpad, and that distance was bridged by a staircase created from what looked like solid light. Leon had to blink several times before he realized that the bridge wasn't made of Lumenite, but instead what looked like glittering condensed water vapor as solid as steel. From within the ark came a procession considerably less eye-catching than Miuna's.

A hundred warriors in scale armor wearing helmets shaped like heads of Maia's river dragons, and between them a dozen attendants, both male and female, and all wearing long, modest formal wear in various blue hues. Between them walked a woman as tall as Leon before factoring in her footwear—what looked like sandals with long, thin heels made of clear blue crystal.

She wore a blue dress that flowed so far behind her that four of her attendants had to hold it lest it drag on the ground, while around her neck were multiple necklaces of pearl and lapis lazuli, and on each one of her fingers were bands of shining gold studded with sapphires and amethysts. She was pale and possessed sharp, noble features, while her raven black hair billowed behind her like a cape. Her clear blue eyes scanned the arkyard, quickly finding Miuna's palanquin.

As she moved to link up with her Princess, however, she turned her eyes in Storm Herald's direction, and if Leon hadn't thought it possible, he might've thought she was looking directly at him. Given her aura, incomprehensible to his senses, he had to concede that she may very well be strong enough to do that, though he felt that an Anax accompanying the Princess might be a bit much, even for the favored daughter of the Ocean King.

"Hosting?" Valeria asked.

"Probably," Leon replied.

"City below seems a tad hostile."

"I'll talk to Eli. How many?" Leon glanced around at the Ocean Lords pouring from their arks as they landed. Some of them seemed keen on joining Miuna—nearly all of them women, he noted—but others looked more ready to visit the fane than accompany their Princess.

"Least fifty Lords," he said.

"Do we have the room?" Valeria responded. Displeasure raced through Leon's veins like lightning.

"No," he said.

"And I'd rather not. I'll ask Archelaus about this. Should get a better place to meet."

"We'll lose control," Valeria pointed out.

"We'll work something out," he said.

"For now, we'll assume we're hosting." Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Valeria nodded and left the room to get Elise. Leon remained at the window for a few minutes longer, watching Miuna's palanquin draw ever closer…

Once Leon met with Archelaus, he found the older Despot quite helpful, at least in identifying who Miuna had accompanying her. Strategissas, Despotissas, and several Basilissas were in her entourage, without even counting all those who were following them. Unfortunately, with what they'd learned from their brief sojourn into the fane, he didn't have a good plan for meeting with Miuna aside from the Roaming Lark, which was likely full by this point.

Even if that weren't the case, Miuna had made a beeline for Storm Herald, and though she'd been slowed by the sheer size of her entourage, Leon found himself standing in the ark's main atrium with his family, friends, and close advisors flanking him while Miuna's entourage assembled just outside the main doors. Anna had already gone out to coordinate their entrance, and when the palanquin reached the large ramp leading up to the doors, she had them opened, allowing Miuna to enter.

Fortunately, the Princess displayed a degree of sense that Leon hadn't been expecting, and left the majority of her entourage outside. Only three Lords and three dozen of her handmaidens joined her. The group trooped up the ramp and into the atrium, facing Leon and his family and bathing them in scrutinizing gazes. Leon stood firm, not backing down in the slightest, and meeting the women's gazes in turn. When the ramp closed, A'Rei stepped forward as Anna returned to her spot with the other Paladins.

"Princess Miuna thanks you for your hospitality, Leon," A'Rei said. To the unfamiliar eye, she would've appeared at ease, but Leon could see the reluctance and exasperation there. He knew she would've preferred a much more formal meeting and an age and a half of listing each other's titles. Thankfully, it seemed that Miuna had ordered her to expedite matters to the point that she didn't even introduce the other three post-Apotheosis mages standing by the palanquin.

"I'm glad to give it," he smoothly replied, though his accompanying smile didn't quite reach his eyes.

"How about we head further in and catch up?" A'Rei made a show of leaning toward the sea silk curtains as if she were listening to the Princess say something aloud, despite everyone in the room knowing that Miuna was doing nothing of the sort, and when she straightened up, she declared, "That is acceptable." Leon nodded, but instead of immediately leading them further in, they ran into an immediate problem: Miuna's palanquin was just a shade too large to fit through some of Storm Herald's doors and halls.

Fortunately, the solution was simple; he released his advisors and most everyone else in the atrium back to their duties, keeping only his family, Alix, Anna, and Singer-in-Caves with him. Once the room had been cleared of other men, Miuna wasted not a second and shot from the palanquin so fast that Leon almost thought she was going to try something like attacking him—or worse, giving him a hug. But she landed in front of him with nimble grace, not a stitch of her dark blue robes out of place.

She smiled at him like a goddess, her eyes lingering just long enough to become untoward before she turned to his wives.

"Elise," Miuna said warmly as she took a step forward to embrace Leon's first wife. Elise replied in kind, all welcoming smiles and affection. As Miuna worked her way through the rest of Leon's ladies, he took the opportunity to inspect the other three. The first and most notable of the Lords Miuna had brought with her was the woman who'd caught his eye on her arrival. Up close, her beauty was more apparent, though no less inferior to that which his wives possessed than it was before.

More concerningly was the wolfish leer she levied at him, as if he were some poor rat about to be caught and fed to a snake. The second woman had less classically aristocratic attire, with a deep-cut top that left her arms bare and her plentiful assets on display, while her skirt ended a goodly way above the knee.

This left not only much of her dark skin on display but also ensured that everyone could see the runic tattoos that wove their way over her body, from her sandal-clad feet all the way up to her collarbone. She wore no makeup, though her features were comely enough to hardly need it, leaving her adorned only with a feline grin, framed by her black hair, which fell around her face in several braids woven with seashells, pearls, and golden pins shaped like dolphins.

The final woman took after Miuna in general appearance, though she possessed a significantly more lithe figure. Her deep red and gold robes were long, ensuring that hardly a speck of only slightly tanned skin could be seen, while her face was mostly hidden behind a fan she held in her left hand.

Her light brown eyes flitted about the atrium, taking in the murals, tree-like columns, and enchanted ceiling all designed to dazzle upon entering the ark, while her long, dark brown hair was pulled into a loose bun and held there with golden pins shaped like serpentine dragons. Unlike the first woman, Leon could parse the other two's auras, immediately pegging the second woman at the twelfth-tier and the third at the eleventh.

"Leon," Miuna said, drawing his attention back to her. She didn't go in for an embrace, though she looked like she wanted to, but she managed to restrain herself.

"It's good to see you again."

"Hasn't been that long," Leon playfully said. Rising to his challenge, Miuna responded, "I've been looking forward to this for long enough that these past few years have felt like some of the longest of my life!" The first woman behind her laughed and stepped forward.

"Ever since Deianira unveiled her newest toy, our fair Princess has been buzzing with excitement, eager to show off her friend on Belicenion. I hope that whatever secret you have that our dear Miuna won't tell us is worth all this suspense…" She spoke with an accent, musical and light, and didn't flinch at all when Miuna glared over her shoulder.

"I have been perfectly calm," the Princess insisted.

"Calm enough to forget introductions?" the second woman asked, also speaking with an accent, though hers was heavier and emphasized different syllables than the first's. For the slightest of moments, Miuna looked relatively chastened. She hurriedly turned back to Leon and said, "Leon, my friend and partner, I'd like to introduce you to my three oldest friends in the world! They were once handmaidens of mine and share my full confidence." She waved them forward with a smile.

"This," she said as she took the first woman's arm, "is Basilissa Perenelle Alarie de Waterlily. She's sworn directly to my Divine Father, and rules over an Empire in the King's Ocean exceeded only by Basileus Triton's. She commands five Despots and thirty Strategoi." Perenelle smiled and curtsied just enough to be polite but otherwise didn't lower her head.

"Charmed to finally meet you, Despot Leon," she lilted musically.

"My dear Princess hasn't kept quiet about you since she first saw you!" Miuna's smile froze as her hands visibly tightened on Perenelle's arm for a moment before she moved on to the second woman.

"And this is Despotissa Akasi Amenu, also sworn directly to my Divine Father. Her Despotate is one of the richest in the King's Ocean, controlling access through the Strait of Dafydd to the south." Leon summoned his relatively sketchy knowledge of Nexus geography outside of his own territory—he knew most major landmarks in the immense region, but many of the details were not important enough to his Kingdom for him to memorize.

To his knowledge, the Strait of Dafydd lay between the southern hook of the Mountain Lands and a relatively small continent controlled entirely by the Phoenix Clan—which was still many times the size of Leon's Kingdom, the continent exceeded in size only by the six terrestrial Elemental Lands and the continent ruled by the seven Dragon Clans, Arushae.

The strait was separated into three Despotates, and connected the King's Ocean with the Salt Expanse, the only ocean larger than the King's Ocean, and once filled with Lords that the Ocean King struggled to keep under his control.

"I'm not sure about richest," Akasi said with a teasing smile, "but it's been more than enough for me and my husband. We are but humble servants of our Ocean King and his graceful, patient, and oh so noble thirty-third daughter…"

"Aren't you lucky?" Miuna quipped back.

"Who wouldn't want to serve me? I am the single greatest mistress in all of the universe!" She and Akasi broke into a fit of giggles, as if their words were an in-joke. Perenelle smiled in amusement, but the final woman hardly so much as twitched. Finally, Miuna released Akasi and turned to her, almost dragging the woman forward, and though it looked like she considered it, Miuna didn't force her to lower the fan covering most of her face.

"This is Strategissa Mizuno Nagisa, the first friend I ever made! Though she doesn't command a Theme, she aids me in administering my many territories, and in this, she is brilliant! I could sing her praises until the Nexus' next Reconstitution, and it still wouldn't be enough to give her proper credit for the work she does!" A faint hint of color came to Mizuno's cheeks, just barely visible above her fan.

"Greetings," she said quietly, no more words passing her lips.

"Our girl's a bit shy," Akasi said as she leaned in and wrapped an arm around Mizuno's waist.

"Give her some time."

"I understand completely," Leon said as he then launched into introductions of his own. Elise, Valeria, and Cassandra were enthusiastic enough in their introductions, while Maia hardly spoke a word. Miuna's friends seemed to almost take that as an insult until Miuna revealed her to be a 'water mage' like them. After that, there were more smiles, but still a slight undercurrent of mild antipathy.

Thankfully, Alix, Anna, and Singer-in-Caves' introductions were much more straightforward, though the Hawk elder was the only among them to get much more than a polite greeting, likely because Anna and Alix hadn't yet achieved Apotheosis. With the introductions out of the way, Leon led the ladies further into Storm Herald — handmaidens being led to another place to wait for their charges—exhaustion already creeping into his mind as they chatted away.

The favored topic that Miuna gushed about was just how many nice places there were to see in the fane, even for one like her who never showed up in public without being obscured behind her palanquin.

'She's in for a surprise…' Leon mused as the group got comfortable in one of the ark's luxurious sitting rooms.

'Hopefully we'll get through it without any more violence…'