Chapter 193 - Conclave
A plane could be seen flying over the Great Sea at an extremely high speed, making choppy waves emerge on the water below. A group of white uniformed fighters could be seen seated on the back of the ship.
Among them were two particular individuals casually chatting with one another, the stark midday light shining through the windows beside them.
"My king, shouldn't we bring more people along for this 'conclave?"
"Don't worry, Tobias, if things go south, a few dozen more Kingsblade won't do much."
Hearing such discouraging words, the old wizard grew silent. Not long after, a dark skinned woman walked towards them from the front area of the ship. She regarded the man sitting next to Tobias in a respectful manner, bowing slightly.
"My king, we will arrive at the destination within 5 minutes."
He nodded in response, a slight smile on his face. "Thank you, Zoe. Just pick a spot and drop us down."
"Of course, my king." She bowed again before heading to the hull of the ship to instruct the crew that they were landing soon.
The ship had been flying for hours, passing over the ocean swiftly, and finally, it was beginning to approach its destination; a remote island placed smack dab in the center of the sea. A single white dot among the wide blue expanse, the passengers could see it coming from miles away.
The island was called the Midpoint. It was located right in the middle of the Great Sea, directly between the Arcadian continent in the west and the Asgardian continent in the east.
From the plane, it could be seen that the island was mostly made up of white sand and not much else aside from a tall mountain, a few buildings, and three large boats which were docked on the eastern port of the island.
The flying ship then hovered gently down onto a clearing on the western part of the island. As it descended, the white sand below it thrashed violently in the wind.
A voice began to crackle from the overhead speakers located inside of the ship, catching all of the passengers' attention.
"We have finally arrived at our destination, hope you had a wonderful flight with us."
The backdoor of the ship pushed open, and out walked King Callen with his great wizard Tobias, accompanied by a Kingsblade squad of 10 led by Captain Raika trailing after them.
Raika and some of the members of her squad appeared rather anxious, staying inside the ship for a bit longer, but she tried her best to keep her composure and walked out with the rest of the party.
As they approached, they were welcomed warmly by a group of locals. They were made up of a dozen people with dark skin who wore robes.
"Welcome to Midpoint," several of them said in unison.
The king acknowledged them with a nod. "Thank you, friars. Please lead the way."
These people in robes were the monks who were put in charge of taking care of the island. They have been guarding the island and maintaining it as a place of diplomacy between the two kingdoms.
The group was then led to a hill until they eventually reached a staircase that loomed above them, it seemed to lead to the top of a mountain. The staircase was so high that the top seemed to disappear into the clouds. They walked up many steps until they reached the peak of the hill, where stone carvings and pillars could be seen towering upwards around an open dome.
There were already about two dozen people waiting for their arrival.
From their clothes, the king could see that at least half a dozen of them were Jarls from the barbarian tribes, while the rest were the valiant warriors of Asgard.
Among them were two individuals who were the main focus of the meeting. One of them was a pale looking bald man named Vidar. This man was the one who led the invasion last month.
While the other one had the body of a young boy who wasn't older than the age of 14, he had an aura that emanated a sense of wisdom and mystery that automatically demanded the respect of those around him.
These two individuals were the Asgardian Aesir. They were godlike figures among the barbarian tribes. Vidar was known as the god of vengeance, while Firsetti was the god of justice.
When King Callan arrived, it was Vidar who first stood up and spoke to him in annoyance. He crossed his arms, brows furrowed.
"Huh! Even with your fancy flying machine you are still late!" He huffed.
The king nodded as a sign of respect towards the two Aesir, but stayed silent and did not reply to the man.
The young-looking Aesir Firsetti was the next one to speak. With a calm voice, he asked, "King Callan, welcome. I wonder if any of the elves are coming?"
"No. But just like usual, I will be the one to represent them."
The king's answer seemed to make a few of the Jarls in the group look dissatisfied. They looked at one another wearily.
Vidar added, "Haha, like always! These elves have never put a human in the same regards as them! Haha."
Callan continued. "We should just start now. Will any of the other Aesir come as well?"
"Maybe Tyr or Bragi will come," said the young Aesir.
The sun was already at its highest point in the sky. It was already time to begin the meeting, just as Callan was about to start, a figure suddenly came down from the sky at high speed and crashed into the gathering place.
The man was bald headed but his beard was thick and full. His body was large, with a third of it completely covered in tattoos. Two large axes were sheathed on his back.
"Welcome Tyr, the god of war."
When he arrived, all the other Jarls acknowledged him with utmost respect, bowing their heads slightly in their seats.
"We are all here already!" Said Vidar. "Start the conclave immediately."