Nono Nexum

Prelude

Invite a thousand, leave not one,
Enter with the light of the sinking sun,
The feast offered is second to none
And the spectacle has just begun.

~

The New Moon, Paradisus, P.N. 6418.

The Unanimity Dinner is like the Christmas of the Loomian World. Well loved and extremely looked forward to, the messengers of the Loomian World always had a field day recounting the events of the day to the tribes they returned to.

Every eight moons, the marble floors of the Great Hall in the Forum de Diis are polished until they are squeaky clean, the eight chandeliers painstakingly lit candle-by-candle, the paintings on the wall checked for any signs of degradation or dirtying(if anything was detected, they would invite the best of painters to carefully restore it), and the sculptures of famous Loomians inspected for chips.

This year, thankfully, there had only been a little dust contaminating the pictures, which meant cleaning them was an easier job than past times, where once an entire horn had to be restored to the "Lying Trumbull" by a certain Ventacean Van Gogh.

(The Ventacean was more famous for his "Starry Night" painting and other works with swirling strokes and vibrant colours, and as such a painting of a perfectly normal, peaceful Trumbull was rare in the extreme)

Soon, all is ready for the great feast that is the dinner, and the Michelamphiton sculptures at the entrance of the hall nod their heads in welcome to the hundreds that flood in.

There are so many species of Loomians, and each is arriving with a leader and their messenger. It's a wonder they all fit comfortably with space to spare, even with the various sizes of the Loomians.

There are perches for avian Loomians, tables are for those who walk, and pools for the aquatic or semi-aquatic Loomians. They all meld into the design of the main hall synergistically, showing that the creator of this hall truly considered everything.

The scent of fine food and drink permeates the cavernous space that is the Great Hall. And with the chime of a distant but very loud clock (it struck nine), there is a happy roar of excitement, and the starved Loomians tuck in.

Under the watchful gaze of the "Mona Luxoar" by Luminami Da Vinci, the denizens of Roria dine merrily. Conversation is exchanged, the sounds of merriment dancing in the air - business orders, politics, entertainment, current news - everything that can be discussed could be heard.

At the fifth table, there sits less. The Guardians, the most powerful entities in Roria, talk in subdued tones. But they, too, are smiling.

The atmosphere is peaceful, cheerful, and very welcoming. It feels like a festival banquet.

And it certainly looks like one.

Time flows by, an eternal river that never truly stops. Indeed, when the clock strikes ten, the beings in the hall are quite taken by surprise in its quick passage.

But it too is welcome, for then came the highlight of the year.

The Nexum would be personally brought to the Great Hall, and would spend the rest of the evening single-handedly addressing each leader of the Loomian tribes, and give them words of encouragement and advice.

Now, the words of a Nexum - to the Loomians and humans both of Roria, their word was highly valued. Therefore, every word spoken was caught like falling gold, imprinted forever into paper - and memory.

So that night, when the clock struck ten, and the Guardians of Roria donned their cloaks to go meet the Nexum at his door, the dinner is put on hold - a thousand beings are listening, waiting with bated breath for the soft footfalls of the Octavo Nexum.