The Panteran king's aura was hot, yet everyone's arm hairs stood on end when they heard his cold voice. Scythas felt it more than the others.
"It wasn't a threat, King Ander. But, that girl is a criminal of my land. My pride as a king dictates that I should have her returned, even at the cost of war," Scythas paused, his grin slowly withering as he felt the immense pressure from the Panteran king, "Didn't we all swear not to use our Zeal during these meetings, King Ander?"
"You thought I was using my Zeal?" Ander said with a snort of incredulity.
Confused, the Aakdani king's eyes explored the other rulers sitting at the round table. All of them have a serious face, and none of them agree with his claim. Even Kyrios from the council, who's known for being strict with rules, was silently observing them.
"Sir Damon," Ander Aurusmane uttered.
"Yes, my king?"
"King Scythas has mentioned war, what do you think?"
Damon couldn't contain his smile, "I know that there's no winner in war and it's best to avoid it, but… To be truthful, I've dreamt of fighting in one as did the best warriors of the past. Many of our knights share the same sentiment," he said. Excitement was apparent in his face when he talked about wanting to participate in a war against another kingdom.
"So, you want war, King Scythas?" the Panteran king asked with his chilling voice.
Scythas couldn't help but gulp a mouthful of saliva. His plan of provoking the Panteran king and painting him as the one at fault in front of the other rulers and the council of three didn't go as he envisioned.
One of the earliest world laws was about strife between kingdoms. The law states that an unprecedented attack or move to conquer the land that belongs to another kingdom is prohibited. In the olden days, it was written that the entire might of all kingdoms and Decatris combined would befall the kingdom that broke this law, slaughtering all of its citizens. At present, the law has been revised to only overthrow the monarch who broke the law and Decatris taking charge before another ruler was chosen. This law has never been disobeyed since it was implemented after the Age of Insanity.
It wasn't because there wasn't any conflict between the twelve kingdoms since this law was made, rather, it was because of the second part of this law.
'All conflicts must be addressed in the summit. If war is unavoidable, it would be under the supervision of Decatris. Conditions and rewards of the war would be agreed upon by both parties in the presence of the other rulers and the council of three, as well as their respective Gods.'
The last war happened more than a hundred years ago. It was the kingdom of Caprines against the kingdom of Novis. What sparked the conflict was an underground ancient ruin that spans between the two kingdoms. Inside were great mineral deposits and other valuable artifacts. After thousands of men dying, and still not determining the victor, the two kings called for a meeting with the council of three. In the end, they decided to share everything that would be found in half. Since then, war among kingdoms didn't happen again.
Vandrad decided to step in the middle of their conversation about war, "My kings, we all know nothing good would result from war. Please, let's resolve this matter without bloodshed," he pleaded.
Scythas sighed, "It will be resolved at once if King Ander were to return the prisoner to my custody, Head council member Vandrad," he said.
"I told you, I am bound by oath to protect her. I have no choice but war," Ander replied.
The new ruler, Queen Runa, was getting excited as she watched them. She remained a silent observer for a while but couldn't stop herself from speaking her thoughts, "Why don't you two fight it out?!" she exclaimed. Her right-hand man Steinar once again tried to hold her back when she was about to say something else.
Runa's single sentence caught everyone's attention. More so, Ander's and Scythas's.
Ander wasn't against the Regali queen's suggestion, "We could do as Queen Runa suggested. A fight to the death between the two of us. What do you say, King Scythas?"
Scythas Conium is a cunning yet arrogant ruler, still, he has the wisdom to back it up. Even he knew that there was no way he could win against the Panteran king in a duel. Agreeing to fight him to the death would be the stupidest thing he could do.
He forced a grin on his face, "We all know that most of us here aren't on par with you, King Ander. What's the point of me agreeing in this duel if the outcome is clear," Scythas said.
"Then, I guess it's war."
Still with a grin, King Scythas leaned back on his chair. His impulsive thoughts wanted him to answer with a loud 'yes!', but he knows that even in a restricted war where he has a say in the conditions, his army's chance of winning against the Panteran knights is slim.
"Of course not, King Ander. As Queen Aelflaed said, war is nothing but barbaric and pointless."
Ander sighed, "Since you are afraid of war or a duel, how do you suggest tackling this matter?" he said.
"How dare you call my king a coward, scum!?" Scythas's right-hand man standing behind him blurted out, "Let's give him the war that he wants, my king!" he continued.
Scythas turned to him with a glare, "Pythes…" he muttered.
Pythes Strakas has black hair and dark brown eyes. He is clad in his dark purple armor. The moment he heard his king's cold voice and saw his disappointed face, he apologized to his king, to Ander, and to the others sitting at the round table.
The Aakdani king returned his gaze towards Ander. Although Pythes's sudden outburst did annoy him at first, he realized that it allowed him to end the current strife in a manner that would make it seem that he had the upper hand. A grin formed on his face once again, "Although I still believe that the girl should pay for her crimes under my kingdom, I respect your oath, King Ander. And since my right hand has disrespected you, I decided to let you take the girl under your custody and end this conflict between us. Think of it as my apology gift."
Ander stared at him, "Then, I suppose you have my gratitude," he replied.
After the seemingly long stand-off between the two neighboring rulers, Vandrad from the council of three begged the rulers to continue the meeting without any other disruptions.
***
Seventh of the month of Leo (August), a joyful afternoon when the sun is at its peak and the leaves sing their beautiful songs as the wind visits them. Loud laughter and shouting could be heard coming from the backyard of the Caspius manor. Aeneas, Tiriara, and Neoma were playing with the new toy they bought from the toy shop at Heos. The three kids wore gloves in one of their hands. Each glove has a linkstone partnered with one inside a rubber ball. Linkstones are magical rocks that would link back together when separated.
The gloves are crafted with a material that blocks mana. When you close your hand covering the linkstone at the center, the link between the two stones will be severed. And once you open your hand, the ball will return due to the connection of mana from the stone in the ball and your hand being reconnected.
Aside from the gloves and rubber ball, the three kids wore a vest with blowrocks on them. When hit, the blowrocks would activate, letting out a gust of air and pushing them around. Which was why the three were laughing whenever they hit someone.
Neoma opened her palm, and the rubber ball she threw returned to her hands. Then, she aimed for Aeneas. With a perfect throw, the girl managed to hit the blowrock at the center of his vest, sending the boy back.
Still laughing aloud, "Got you!" Neoma shouted.
"Did you see his face? It was so funny!" Tiriara blurted out.
Neoma was wiping the tears from her eyes from too much laughter, "Yeah, it was. His face was…" She was trying to think of a different word than 'funny'.
It has only been a couple of weeks, yet the girl has become more fluent compared to when she first appeared in front of Aeneas.
"That was unfair!" Aeneas said aloud while he stood up, "Why are you both attacking me? We should be trying to hit each other."
"Well, your face was funny," Tiriara replied.
Neoma looked at her and chuckled, "She's right," she said.
Defeated, Aeneas decided to lay back on the ground, "Then, I quit," he said.
"Come on, you were hard to hit and were good at hitting us. It's only fair for Nene and me to work together.
"She's right. Let's continue, Aenie."
Aeneas lifted his head to look at them, "Nope, I'm tired," he replied.
The two girls looked at each other, then, they both smiled as they threw their rubber balls at Aeneas. One of them hit a blowrock at his side. A sudden burst of air flipped him on his other side like a fried egg.
While the two girls were laughing at him, Eluard arrived at the scene. He also chuckled when he saw the two bullying Aeneas.
After a while, Eluard informed them that Arsen had arrived at the gates of the manor from the port of Lapoli, he went there to fetch his sister and aunt.