Legacy of the Dark Sage

The Solis Clan unsparingly spent its resources preparing the Palace of the King for the upcoming Inter-Clan Conference. As soon as the Emperor announced the date, the executives gathered all their talents and sent them to the venue. Because of their quick action, they completed all preparations within five days.

The preparation included the temporary residence of each clan leader and their representatives, the communication channel that would only be open within the plane’s premises, logistics, and the week-long schedule, which included the entertainment and food served in every banquet.

The clan leaders and their representatives’ residences were created through independent spaces. This setup was necessary because the Palace of the King lacked sufficient rooms for all clans and tribes in the Higher Realm.

Additionally, The Emperor restricted access to certain parts of the palace to prevent outsiders from learning its layout. His intentions were obvious. He did not want others to scout the palace’s interior and observe the intricate array of formations that protected the place.

Those array formations were considered treasures these days, and reading those might give others enlightenment that might help them improve their knowledge or even advance.

A week after The Emperor’s announcement, clan leaders and their representatives, mainly composed of two clan executives, started arriving at the Palace of the King.

Most clans and tribes that arrived early did not belong to the Emperor’s faction. They were mostly neutral, with a few belonging to a small faction. Arriving early was their way of showing respect to The Emperor, so he would continue to ignore their activities.

Following these, the clans under The Emperor’s faction started to arrive. There were 27 clans under him, including the Adamas and the Glacio Clan.

This figure was lower than the total of the small and neutral factions. Yet, these 27 clans were among the elite. Apart from being large, the mages nurtured by these clans were considered the future of the Higher Realm.

Four days prior to the conference, Oceanus and Leif, the leader and representative of the Ogen Clan, arrived. An executive from their clan was initially supposed to join them, but due to time constraints in traveling, they opted to send just Oceanus and Leif instead.

More clans arrived that day, and the Palace of the King became even more spirited. Since there were few instances where clan and tribe leaders could meet, they took that chance to mingle and grow their connections.

Most of their conversations included the sharing of intel, requests for spar sessions, and even trading resources.

These discussions were either made through the exclusive channel that the Solis Clan prepared or in person. When they mingled in person, they all gathered in the common area of the palace. This area was among the ones that The Emperor allowed access to.

At first glance, the common area seemed limited, accommodating roughly a hundred mages in their human forms. Yet, the array formation within the room incorporated both an expansion formula and an auto-adjustment mechanism, enabling it to resize based on the number of individuals present.

Two days before the start of the conference, the congregation was suddenly sent into a commotion.

The cause was none other than the arrival of the Dragon Clan representatives.

Lucian, who had been watching the arrival of the clans since the first day from the highest tower of the palace, looked at the Dragon Clan representatives coldly.

Unlike the congregation, he already knew who would represent the Dragon Clan because he received a formal letter confirming their attendance more than a week ago. Nevertheless, that did not mean he was happy about it.

Ames walked up the bridge leading to the palace’s entrance. Following behind her were Attor and Eissen.

As the congregation assembled in the common area, they were mesmerized by the live feed on the big screen displaying the arrival of the clan representatives. Unbeknownst to them, there had been a recent change in the Dragon Clan, leading them to mistakenly think that the representatives were openly defying The Emperor’s order.

However, when Ames, Astor, and Eissen were escorted inside the common area by a Solis Clan executive, and their presence was declared, the congregation was astonished.

"Confirming the arrival of the Dragon Clan Leader and Representatives, Lady Ames, Sir Attor, and Sir Eissen."

Boom!

The congregation instantly erupted into a fierce discussion. Find adventures at empire

Ames, Attor, and Eissen followed the Solis Clan executive, ignoring all the blatant stares and conversations around them.

Within the congregation, Oceanus and Leif watched them in silence. Their behavior would have appeared strange, but because of the fierce conversations around them, no one paid attention to them.

’Just as Null said, they decided to go this route,’ Leif thought, sending the message only to her father.

’Yes,’ Oceanus agreed.

A few days ago, Kyran met with Oceanus and Shiloh to discuss how they should prepare for the upcoming conference. He also shared his thoughts on how the Dragon Clan might approach the conference while Aillos was still in seclusion.

’We’ll have to relay his message to them before the conference starts. Otherwise, it will be too late,’ he added, still watching Ames and the others.

’I’ll meet with them tonight,’ Leif replied, looking at Ames.

’Be careful.’

Meanwhile, Ames sensed someone looking at her and turned. In that instant, she met Leif’s gaze and shared a silent conversation.

Their gaze met briefly before averting their eyes as if nothing happened.

Typically, the Solis Clan executive would escort the clan leader and representatives to their temporary residence. However, they received a different order in the Dragon Clan’s case.

"The news saddened His Majesty," the Solis executive said while leading them inside the grand hall.

Only the Solis Clan members were allowed there. But only for this day, The Emperor granted Ames, Attor, and Eissen permission to enter.

"Of course, that is not to say he is unhappy about your inauguration," the executive continued. "His Majesty only found the news too sudden."

"It is the same for us," Ames replied, her voice apathetic.

Noticing this, the executive looked at her and was too keen to point out, "You don’t sound sad about it, though."

"Should I be?" Ames asked, looking at the executive with cold eyes. "The inauguration might be sudden, but my father has been preparing me for this day for a long time. Besides, I have far too many things to think about than to wallow in my sadness."

"Please excuse my words," the executive apologized after seeing Ames’s unfriendly gaze. "I heard you respect the Dragon Emperor and found your apathetic behavior strange."

"Everyone has their own way of dealing with unfortunate events," Ames replied, dismissing the executive’s apology with a wave of her hand.

"I suppose that is true," the executive responded, ending their conversation awkwardly.

The rest of their journey to the palace’s highest tower was spent in a strained silence.

After a few minutes of walking through a long corridor and several more stairs, they finally arrived at the door leading to the highest tower.

The door itself did not look any special. However, Ames, Attor, and Eissen sensed it was covered in several layers of advanced array formation.

"I can only escort you until this point," the executive told them while opening the door. He opened it without doing anything special that one who did not sense the advanced array formations on it might think it was just an ordinary door.

The executive stepped aside and gestured for Ames, Attor, and Eissen to enter through the open door.

"His Majesty awaits upstairs," he said while slightly bending forward.

Ames looked through the open door and found a set of winding stairs. Unlike the hall and the door, which were made of fine marble and wood craftsmanship, the other side of the door was made of pure gold.

Though hidden, with a dragon’s enhanced senses, Ames, Attor, and Eissen could make out runes secretly carved on the stairs and the walls.

"Let’s go," Ames said after a short pause and walked passed the open door.

Attor and Eissen followed suit, with the latter looking at the Solis Clan executive before entering.

The executive straightened his back and watched the three walk up the stairs before closing the door.

The winding stair was about two levels high, and at the top was an open room, similarly made of gold.

Ames, Attor, and Eissen entered the room unhesitatingly.

The open room was bright, with its walls made of glass. Lucian was standing on the south side of the room, his back on them as he watched the congregation gather in the common area.

"How is your father?" he asked without looking at them.

Attor and Eissen stood on each side of the entrance while Ames walked up to the middle of the room, "He is still resting."

"But really... to have failed ascension... so unfortunate. And here I was, expecting him to attend after such a long time," Lucian said, his voice laced with noticeable coldness. Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"..."

"I heard you have closed down entry to the Dragon Plane. Is it because of it?"

"No."

"..."

Lucian paused before finally turning to look at Ames.

"Then what is the reason for closing down your doors?"

Ames tilted her head and raised a brow, "Are you feigning ignorance after your people accused us of conspiring against you?"