With one of the Gods of Aclium present, Varis felt much more comfortable. The large table in his throneroom was hastily prepared and all of them sat in an awkward configuration. Since he decided to include his most trusted advisors, he needed to occupy one of the longer sides of the table. In front of him sat Ibrevell's delegation, similarly large to his retinue. However, on the short side, considered the head of the table and the place where the host should sit, sat Empress Irene va'Theon. Her Praetorian guards along with Blackbeard and his team simply stood behind her and it was obvious they wouldn't utter a word unless commanded. Varis wasn't sure how he should feel about her. She seemed far more honest and straightforward than the Ibrevellians. However, the fact that her ships were waiting for her order to spare or destroy his country wasn't something he took lightly.

"Now..." Deimos put his hands together, causing everyone to look at him. "Should we start or should I ask Phobos and Harmonia to join us?"

"While the presence of Harmonia might be beneficial for us all, I don't believe we need to bother her." Te'saru shook his head in denial then he looked at Irene and smirked mockingly. "But what about Arcadia? Will you speak with us without a God at your side, Girl?"

In a flash of a blinding light and scorching flames, another stunningly beautiful woman appeared next to Irene va'Theon. Behind her, more black-and-gold clad knights appeared with glaives in their hands. "If you truly insist on deepening the humiliation that eventually will come, Te'saru. Here I am..."

"Hestia..." The Elven God gasped and grabbed the side of the table in disbelief.

"It's truly you, Aunt Hestia! " Deimos brightened and abruptly stood up. "I had heard the rumours you awakened but I dismissed them as lies! I'm so happy to see you!"

"Hello, Deimos. You have grown up well... Things have changed a lot since we last met." Hestia smiled at him as she sat beside Irene. Now, when sitting together, everyone noticed they wore similar dresses and exactly the same crowns on their heads. Hestia smiled charmingly. "I'm Hestia va'Theon, the Flame of Home's Hearths, the Flame Empress, the Everlasting Flame of Hope, and..." Her facial expression hardened as she focused her stern gaze on the Ibrevellian envoys. "The Blazing Sword of Avalon, and the Fourth Empress of Arcadia."

There was a deep silence in the room. Varis held his breath as he realised the implications of what she just said.

"I... I see. Allow me to congratulate you, Aunt." Deimos smiled awkwardly, but his impression quickly faded and was replaced by a more earnest smile. "Sorry, Aunt Hestia. But your marriage... Well, it's the last thing I saw coming... Damn it... I should ask my siblings to join us."

She laughed candidly and waved her hand. "Don't bother. I can leave everything to Irene and surprise them myself just as well. My Sister came here with an honest promise of peace and friendship after all. Remember, Deimos, we Arcadians don't have to lie."

"I... Sure. My brother and sister should be at the temple. You know what? I'll go with you. I want to see their faces." Deimos smiled and the two Gods disappeared from the room.

"Satisfied?" Irene va'Theon looked with deep satisfaction at Te'saru.

"Yes..." The Elven deity nodded stiffly.

"Excellent!" The Elven beauty clapped her hands but her smile couldn't be more sarcastic, even if she tried. Then, with a much more honest smile, she turned to the King of Aclium and inclined her head apologetically. "I apologise that I lost my temper previously, King Varis Tor Aclium. But I had to be sure that Marquis Mhaenal Umelar didn't have any wrong ideas about his and my standings. I'm the Second Empress of Arcadia, whose voice is the voice of Emperor Theon Avalon himself. I'm not his daughter anymore and I owe him nothing. I can't have him believe that I'm the same naive girl who listened to his every whim."

"I see..." Varis quickly nodded and raised his hand so as to not let this banter consume the two again. "I appreciate your honesty, Empress Irene. It was a glimpse of what is going on and why you are here... However, if you would, please start from the beginning."

"Of course." She smiled brightly. "As you noticed yourself, the First Fleet of Arcadia is hovering above your capital to show the reality that we are not joking. With that in mind, before we review history, I would like to have a simple answer, yes or no, to a couple of trivial questions. First is: Is Aclium preparing for war?"

"No..." He furrowed his brows in amused shock.

"Is Aclium working with or supporting Nar'verna in their efforts to invade the Southern Alliance?" She smiled brightly in a way that was completely unfitting for her question.

"Of course not! Aclium is neutral!" He looked sharply at her.

In turn, Empress Irene brought out some documents and placed them on a silver tray which Admiral Teach, then, brought to him. He cautiously picked them up and his disbelief turned to anger as he read.

"This... It's lies! Everything!" He shouted after five minutes of re-reading the papers and looked at her. "I can assure you that it was never my intention to attack my neighbours!"

"In that case, what would you say about signing a non-aggression pact with the nations of the Southern Alliance?" She nodded as she procured another set of documents. Suddenly she looked angrily at Te'saru and loudly snapped her fingers with an irritated huff. She then looked at Varis again. "Don't worry. I give you my word that Arcadia will keep an eye on the border and we will intervene if anyone breaks the treaty."

"So you want to guarantee peace?" Varis blinked in surprise.

"Don't listen to her, Your Highness!" Marquis Mhaenal Umelar raised his voice in outrage. "We arrived to warn you about the armies gathering on your borders, waiting for-"

"Marquis, I will hear you out after Empress Irene finishes everything she wants to say. Frankly, she is correct when she noted that she is the Empress of Arcadia while you are, only, a noble of Ibrevell." King Varis interrupted the older Elf.

"What of me, then? Would you offend a God?" Te'saru tilted his head as his eyes narrowed dangerously. "Ignoring Marquis Umelar is ignoring me."

Varis looked as if he was about to panic but the Empress started laughing. "Don't get too cocky, Te'saru, just because you think you are the only deity in the room. Should I call another Arcadian God here? Or, maybe, I should call all of them? I'm sure that you wouldn't mind if Zeus, Hera, Zephyr, Verka, Ertu, Akh'ila, Kaalani, Tulkara, and, most recently, Arletta joined us and started intimidating that pathetic group of thugs you call diplomats..."

"I'm not scared of them." Te'saru waved his hand in contempt. "Their time has passed, they are shadows of what they were-"

"As powerless as Hestia, who you thought was still slumbering? Or maybe as powerless as Deimos whom you are afraid of?" She mocked with amusement but, in an instant, her expression hardened. "Stop interrupting us, Te'saru. That is my final warning. Don't test my patience any further."

"Ekhm..." Varis cleared his throat slightly, terrified that a Mortal was casually threatening a God. "Please, continue, Empress Irene."

She gave a last scornful glance to the Ibrevellians and took a deep breath. She wasn't smiling anymore when she looked at him. She was serious and cold.

"As I said, the countries of the Southern Alliance are working under the impression that Aclium is preparing for war. That situation is mirrored in Aclium. No one wants a war except for Nar'verna and similar countries that wish to plunge the entirety of Aderon into the chaos of war."

"What you are saying is troubling." King Varis sighed heavily. "However, if these intelligence reports are correct, the Southern Alliance has gathered a truly massive army and stationed it at the feet of the border mountains. I can't ignore their presence. I really want to believe you, Empress Irene, but I'm under the impression that you are allied with the Southern Alliance..."

"Please..." Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Derek Vetulia ordered the assassination of my Sister Empress, Aoi Sora va'Theon. In retribution, my husband demanded his head under the threat of wiping them out completely. Derek Vetulia was beheaded ten days later by Hector Breonia. Since then, we tolerate their contentious existence as long as they don't dare disturb NATO. You can hardly call such an arrangement an alliance. We find it more appealing to extend an invitation to our organisation to you, Varis Aclium, than to invite the Southerners."

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He blinked in surprise. "Your organisation? What kind of organisation?"

She simply nodded and pulled, yet, another set of documents out of thin air. Once again, Blackbeard brought them to him with a focused and dutiful expression. It was obvious, by now, that she possessed some kind of storage item. Varis was slightly troubled because he had no verified data about Arcadia. However, judging by their airships, they were undoubtedly the most advanced country of Aderon.

"This is the full status of our organisation. There are no additional rules, hidden or not." The Empress said with a nod and fell silent focusing her gaze on something in the distance.

It took Varis ten minutes to read everything twice. Aclium was never interested in forging alliances or tying itself with the restrictions of treaties. Mostly, because they were rarely fair or, more likely, threatening to Aclium in a few generations. He passed the documents to his daughter who read them with great attention.

"I see..." He hummed and took a better look at a woman who represented the Empire of Arcadia. He couldn't sense any malice in her, her intentions seemed focused on keeping the peace. Well... "What about Nar'verna? You won't try to persuade them?"

"They are dead set on waging their war. In their hubris, they imagine that they can easily beat the Southern Alliance and then invade the Empire of Metaka." The Empress sighed. "Of course, they can't, but they are blind to facts. However, their plan focuses on involving Aclium, if not directly, in a war against the Southern Alliance then, at least, creating an impression that you support their efforts. They rebuffed our diplomatic attempts and severed all connections between our countries. We can't prevent the madness so desired by them. We can only try to contain their folly."

"Thank you, Empress Irene." Varis thoughtfully nodded and looked at the Ibrevellians. "Marquis Mhaenal Umelar, you may now explain to me the reason for your visit. I was told you desired to discuss some trade agreements, but I'm now under the impression that it was a cover story for your visit."

"I would rather speak with you in private..." The older diplomat looked offended.

"Frankly, I would not." The King of Aclium straightened proudly. He was getting impatient with the attitude of the Ibrevellians. "We have wasted enough time already and I suspect that the Empress would like, and even I will demand, to address some of the arguments you bring. So, please, begin without further ado, Marquis."

"As you wish, Your Highness..." It was obvious that he was displeased by this outcome and, for a moment, he closed his eyes to make a last-minute adjustment to what he was about to say. "It pains me to see my beloved daughter blindly following and supporting the vile agenda of the bloody tyrant sitting on the throne of Arcadia. Because, what else would I call someone whose rise to power was accompanied by so much death? My misguided daughter came to your house preaching about peace, which she so honestly believes, but look at the ships that brought her here. Do they look peaceful to you? No! Those warships are harbingers of doom. They spell disaster for anyone defying their bloody master!"

His speech was full of passion but just a single glance at the Empress was enough to see that she was amused. However, she was silent as if all his accusations were beneath her dignity to address.

"The man who bewitched my daughter isn't someone you can trust, King Varis! For the good of Aclium, you should banish them from your lands and close your ears to their lies!" He pointed with passion at Empress Irene who theatrically covered her lips and pretended to yawn. Varis, however, covertly stared at the Elven God, Te'saru, who was furiously focused on his very person. The King of Aclium was uncertain what the Elven deity attempted to do but, whatever it was, he was failing miserably. The Elven diplomat continued. "They talk about peace, but all they want is to lull you into a sense of false security. As you admitted yourself, the armies of the Southern Alliance are gathering on your borders. Would you let them strike first?! Would you endanger your people by trusting a young girl who was fed lies?! No! You are a wise and responsible King of a powerful nation. I was sent here to warn you of the dangers from the treacherous Southern Nations and offer you the aid of my Kingdom."

"What kind of aid?" Varis calmly asked in a neutral voice when it became obvious that the Marquis wanted his interaction.

"There are a lot of things we can offer. The warning and the information about your true enemies would be first among them." The Marquis smiled in a way most negotiators and diplomats smile. His smile was artificial but somehow friendly. "We could provide you with supplies and weapons you need to protect your country. Our merchants are ready to-"

"Merchants? So you want to sell me those supplies and weapons?" Varis interrupted with a condescending expression.

"Well... It would be prudent to compensate the people involved in the transport of the goods you would require. It would also allow Ibrevell to stay neutral because we can't involve ourselves in a conflict so far from our borders..." The Marquis tried to explain but it sounded fake.

The King sighed heavily and nodded at the Elven diplomat to continue but the Marquis was simply standing with a wide and fake smile.

"That's everything you had to say?" Varis was shocked. Something was strange... "You didn't bring any evidence of your claims to me. I..."

"We can discuss the tariffs if you wish, I'm sure we could come to a reasonable agreement-"

"That would be enough, thank you, Marquis Umelar..." The King raised his hand to stop the Elven noble.

"Empress Irene... I know I said that I would demand some clarifications or ask you to address the Marquis's arguments... But I don't think there is much need for it." Varis scratched the back of his head. "I'm already aware of the unprecedented pace of Arcadia's rise and the wars that the young Empire was involved in from its beginning. So, I beg your pardon, Marquis, but your offer and speech was rubbish... Passionate, but ultimately, rubbish."

"King Varis! Are you going to let them deceive you? Will you allow them to gather enough forces to invade your country?! Who knows what the bloody Arcadian Emperor is plotting! What if they aid the Southerners in attacking your country?"

"Do you have any proof of that claim?" Varis asked, making the Marquis turn red and look with uncertainty at his God. "I will be blunt, Ambassador. I don't trust you and I don't trust the Ibrevell Kingdom. It is well known that you continually plot to expand your influence."

"Evidence? What evidence do you need besides their warfleet stationed over our heads?!" Marquis bellowed in righteous indignation.

"Ah... The fleet. Would you explain it to us, Empress Irene?" Varis looked at her.

"This fleet is here to guard mine and Hestia's personsage. Theon is very overprotective when it comes to the security of his wives..." She explained with a slight embarrassment.

"Well... I, somehow, can relate." Varis sighed and unintentionally looked at his daughter. He would do the same to protect her... "I reluctantly accept the Empress's explanation."

"You will regret not listening to me..." The Marquis sounded ominously and sadly lowered his head. "The Kingdom of Ibrevell will have to act accordingly in order to salvage peace in the region. I'm afraid that commerce will be problematic in the near future if the war spreads... But I'm sure you won't need Ibrevell's help-"

"Now that sounds like an outright threat, Ambassador..." Varis raised his brow.

"A threat? No. Just a grim reminder that any war makes roads closed to traders. How would the Ibrevellian merchants reach their destinations if the roads weren't safe?" Marquis sadly shook his head. "I'm afraid that you underestimate the scope of the war that will consume your country. I only hope that you are aware that entire years might pass before our merchants reach your cities once the war is over..."

The awkward but almost dramatic silence of the room was quickly interrupted by the voice of a young woman out of nowhere.

"I believe that you would have found the Marquis's reasoning far more appealing, King Varis, if not for the mental protection provided by Empress Irene. I'm grateful you protected my people, Saintess of Eriar."

A young and rather short woman appeared behind the Aclium royals. She wore a simple, white toga and had her short black hair gathered in a ponytail. The woman had a single white flower tucked behind her ear and, while she was smiling, her eyes reflected that she was angry.

"Well..." A golden light enveloped Empress Irene whose form changed. Her wonderful, long black hair changed colour to the stunning gold and a shining halo appeared over her head. "I'm not exactly his Saintess, Goddess Harmonia... I represent him and it's true that he grants me his power, but... It's complicated."

"Oh..." The Goddess paled as her eyes went wide while Te'saru looked confused.

With a blink of an eye, Empress Irene looked normal once again. All the golden light, her magnificent armour, and halo were gone. Only her slowly darkening golden hair was the proof of her brief transformation.

"Goddess Harmonia!" Varis dropped to his knees.

"Stop fooling around, Varis, and get up. We don't have time for this..." Harmonia took a seat beside Roannia and put her hands together. She looked at the Elven deity in disbelief. "What do you think you are doing, Te'saru?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." He huffed angrily.

"You tried to influence Mortals! My Mortals!"

"I'm afraid that we have failed to appeal to their reason, my God." Marquis Mhaenal Umelar shook his head and made an overly sorry face as he raised his voice and tried to change the subject. "From now on, Aclium has to fare for itself without the help of the Kingdom of Ibrevell. I pray you will open your eyes before it's too late for your people."

"You are right, Marquis. We are no longer welcome in Aclium and it seems they blame every misfortune on us." Te'saru immediately stood up and scowled with hate and scorn at the Empress who, in return, flashed a very smug smile at him.

Once the Ibrevell Elves left the throneroom, the Arcadian soldiers were put at ease. The Empress was quiet as her eyes bored holes in the doors that closed behind her father and Te'saru.

"The Elves won't let it end like that." Harmonia shook her head and looked at Irene. "So, I hope your offer to invite Aclium into your alliance wasn't a bluff to just piss off your father, Irene va'Theon..."

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