The envoys of the Northern Alliances were the first to step forth. None other than a giantess. She wore some surprisingly advanced-looking armor with Tesla coils on her shoulder plates. Everything is made from some bronze-like metal.
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The whole armor coursed with lightning. She was a Throne. Her face seemed old for a Throne, even older than Valencia. And if she was indeed the giantess he believed her to be, then she had to be very, very old. Perhaps close to Orikon, the Gale Glaive.
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Next to her stood a far, far smaller girl. Tyfania. She was still not a Transcendent. But sending her made sense as she had already interacted with Akhenamen. She wore a well made leather outfit alongside a darker leather apron, her hairs now loose, reaching her shoulders.
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And lastly, an orc man stood in front of both, looking around curiously. He looked surprisingly young, with a thick red beard going down to his chest and his hair down in thick braids. He wore a simple fur armor with glowing blue tattoos all over his body. The aura around his body showed his status as an Authority.
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“Do you know him, Ascylla?”
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{No, we have no information on that Authority.}
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“Glad to see you again, Miss Tyfania. Sofya isn’t far if you wish to go see her. May I know the identity of your fellow envoys here?”
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“Glad to see you too, Lord Akhenamen. I’ll see my daughter later. We are here on business after all. This is Thormunda Thundereater. The current headchief to the Thundereater’s clan. And here is Marple Lightningflower. One of the Authority of the Northern Alliance.”
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Thormunda was someone he knew off. His suspicions were confirmed. This was the wife of Thormund Thundereater. The same one who had once been the owner of the banner he had taken from the Prothean’s complex’s boss.
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As for Marple, he had truly no idea, but he was gonna be careful, like he should for any Authority.
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“Greetings to you both. I am Akhenamen. Current Hierarch of the Cygilites.”
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With Thormunda and Tyfania, he should be able to secure an alliance with the.. Northern Alliance. Thormund’s banner could help him achieve that goal. After all, he didn't need it anymore. The Intent at the top of the mirror mountain was useless. Only an Aspect could live alongside another Aspect in his body.
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“Greetings, Akhenamen. I am Marple. I got some big fancy title behind that, but just call me Marple. I can see how you’re looking at me, and yes. I’m pretty young. At least for an Authority. Only in my third century! I have to admit, I have never been able to set foot in Cygislax. This is truly a very strange place.”
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Akhenamen shook Marple’s hand politely.
“I admit it must be strange. Are you perhaps a shaman? Your gear made me think of one.”
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“Well, my class is actually a bit strange. But it’s better if I keep it a secret. However, I’ll give you one hint. It has nothing to do with my name.” He laughed softly.
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Akhenamen simply looked toward Thormunda. While he wouldn’t mind giving her the banner right away, it wouldn’t be optimal with the other envoys arriving; it would look like he was favorising the Northern Alliance.
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“I’d like to say good to meet you, but your people have killed too many of mine. I will never be your friend. Never fake friendship for the sake of an alliance. But… I do not seek war. It has taken too much from my people.”
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“What? Thormunda! Have a bit more-”
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“It’s fine, Tyfania. Thormunda does not lie. I will not hold it against her. Her critique is fair. Please sit next to the envoy of the Pyrax Empire.”
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They all nodded, swiftly going to sit to allow the next group to appear. The Brightheart Covenant. The gods' last true bastion on Zenthia. Once again, one Beyonder, one Throne, and one Authority.
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The Beyonder and Throne seemed like husband and wife. Both wearing priestly garments made of very well decorated brown and spotted fur. He couldn’t spot a single flower or vine on them. Their eyes were exposed eyes that seemed to have been dug in by vines.
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Two empty black holes with a single glowing red point in the middle. They had sharp pointed ears, long golden hairs that wore beautifully carved pieces of bones. Yeah, those were elves. However, they were obviously different from the elves he was used to.
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Their bodies were well-built, carved with beautiful scars clearly done on purpose, both reaching the level where their abs were clearly visible. And their teeth? God, they looked sharp. Made to eat meat, not plants.
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The Authority behind them was a completely different race, looking like werewolves. Just straighter. He wasn’t a hunched panting beast, but a real warrior. Most of his upper body was exposed, showing off the thick fur covering all of it; he did have body hair for some reason, patches of fur thicker than others around his pecs, and what was clearly some sort of beard.
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His lower body was fully hidden by a thick, extremely decorated, and well-made robe.
His eyes closed, no weapons on him other than a single book attached to his hips. His whole body was so muscular that he was a close second in terms of “tallest envoy”. His forearms were lined with bracelets covered in blue runes.
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“Ascylla. Is he a werewolf?”
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{We do not know what a werewolf is, my Hierarch. This race did not exist during the Forgotten War.}
“Greetings to you three. I am Akhenamen. Hierarch of the Cygilite. I suppose you must be from the Brightheart Covenant if I’m not mistaken.”
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Both priests stayed fully silent, but the wolf stepped forward, his body of a similar height to Akhenamen’s. Showing his clawed hand.
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“Greetings to you, Akhenamen. I have no real name, but you may call me Lucius. Those two are Lore and Erol. They are the two representatives of the Goddess Nyx. They have sworn silence, so they will not be talking, but consider my words as one of the Covenant.”
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Akhenamen nodded and shook Lucius' hand. He was familiar with the wolf. He had no information on him, but he knew from his memories that Lucius was someone he should invest in getting along with, as he had been a big participant in the final battle.
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Most of his memories concerning Lucius showed him fighting against some of the strongest fighters of the opposite universe, if we did not count their Aspects.
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“Very well, Lucius. Please sit next to the Northern Alliance envoys while I greet our last guests.”
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Lucuius nodded and moved forward, the two elves following behind him. If the two previous groups had their Authority more like a “failsafe” in case the meeting turned to fiasco, Lucuius seemed to be an actual leader instead of just a fighter.
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The last group was more numerous than the last three, but each was an Authority. First was the Academy dean, Leeros. Next to him stood what could only be described as an octopus woman, with long and thick octopus-like tentacles from her waist and a humanoid upper body.
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Her hair is made from some sort of flowing ink-like material. She had a monocle and wore armor made of shells and some sort of scaled hide. Carrying a book in every tentacle which she was reading one after the other, writing and signing things with a simple feather, she would sometimes dip it into her mouth before pulling it out full of ink.
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The envoy of the mermaid's kingdom, no doubt.
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Another surprising and interesting sight was the envoy of the CBZ (Centralized Bank of Zenthia). He had expected many things, from a dwarf to a goblin, but now… it actually made sense. It was a dragon.
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A dragon who had clearly taken a humanoid form. The two massive reptilian horns, wings, and tail behind his back all showed his identity. Ascylla also confirmed it. He was of the same color as the gold he kept safe. Eyes like burning embers, a skin as black as the night. Wearing a golden toga.
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Two final people stood before Akhenamen. The first was extremely similar to Ascylla’s current body. Almost identical in fact, if we didn’t take into account Ascylla was colorless unlike the green and black snake woman before him. Her tail looked like that of a python. Her humanoid upper body is covered in a heavy and thick-looking armor of jade. Her face was covered in a beautifully carved mask of jade, two powerful-looking feathery wings behind her back.
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And finally, a fair-skinned man. A simple human like Leeros. A well-trimmed beard, ears length, auburn hairs and bright green eyes screaming of mischievousness. Wearing simple leather armor over a white shirt. Holding a mug of foaming beer to his lips as he drank happily. A scimitar at his hip and what seemed like a lute at his back.
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From his future memories, Akhenamen knew the snake woman had to be from the Cloud Kingdom. The last man was, just like Lucuius someone he recognised from his memories. Barnaby. Just Barnaby. Current representative of every Adventurer Guild on Zenthia and one of the most powerful Authorities around.
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He would one day become one of the most beloved NPCs the players would meet, being a true adventurer at heart who would take the defense of the players quite a few times, as many players would join or create guilds.
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“Greetings to you all. I am Akheneman, Hierarch of the Cygilites. It has been a while, Leeros. Sorry, I did not contact you much during my travels, but as you may see, I was sadly rather busy. However, I can swear I’ll make sure to keep in contact next time. As for you all… You must be …”
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He gently nodded at every new arrival, asking for them to present themselves without sounding overbearing.
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“It has been a while indeed, Akhenamen. Do not worry. I understand you must have been eager to see the world and go back to your home after so long sleeping under Kork. You already know me, so allow me to introduce everyone here. This is the envoy of the Merfolks, Filandronna, the envoy of the CBZ, Aquillius, the envoy of the Cloud Kingdom, the Jade Mask, and finally the envoy of the Adventurer Association, Barnaby the…”
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“Just call me Barnaby.”
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“Very well, Barnaby. Once again, I’m glad to meet you all. Now let’s all go take a seat. I believe I have caused everyone great worry. It was truly not my intention. So let’s all sit down and discuss the fate of Zenthia and the Cygilites.”
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