To Drown in Power(And Re-Emerge Heartless)

I Could Be Wise

"King Orobu, it is my honor to welcome you to Edimus Castle," the man greeted with a bow as Orobu stepped out of the carriage onto the cobbled drive, Amina and Noram following closely behind.

Three nations. Six guards. One mediator. This man must be the mediator. Ecton, Amina's voice supplied from the hours she'd spent drilling him on all the proper protocols during the trip here. During the negotiations you will be expected to treat him as an equal, Amina's voice reminded, start by learning his name. He internally thanked her again for forcing him to review all the intricacies of the event.

"The honor is mine to take part in these negotiations once more, Ecton," he replied politely, shaking the other's hand.

"Let's get started then," Ecton said, smiling as he gestured to follow him through the birch doors, an odd choice of wood for the doors. The whole building was odd in his opinion. The walls were made of polished stones cemented together supported by massive beams of katmon wood, and the floors were a patchwork of many woods he didn't know the name of.

His interest didn't go unnoticed.

"This castle was designed to incorporate elements from each of the nations," Ecton explained as they passed through a corridor filled with floor to ceiling windows, "The woods are from Suinal forests, the stones from Aquilo mines, and the design is from Sivic architecture,"

"I never knew that," Orobu replied, his mind already drifting as he resisted the temptation to run a finger along the irregular lines of the slate tiles lining the walls. It was all so surreal to finally be here. The place where his father began his downward spiral. Only now to undo the damage. The event might be called negotiations, but he didn't plan to bargain. He couldn't let his plan fall through.

"The others are already inside," Ecton informed as he came to a stop in front of a set of imposing doors. Intricate carvings and careful embossing snaked downwards, showing the tangled history the negotiations had been a part of.

It illustrated the brutal conflict of the White Massacre that resulted in the formation of Aquilo. It depicted the complete annihilation of the pirates in the War of Red Shores. It chronicled the story of the subjugated islands leading to the Carmine Cobalt Revolt. It recounted the first meeting ever held headed by King Sequi, and noted the peace stemming from the agreement he drafted. It recorded the day decades ago his father had withdrawn from the agreement, and detailed the chaos and poverty it had caused. And below all of this, was blank. Left for him to fill. And fill it he would. He wouldn't make the mistakes his dad did. It was his time.

He nodded to Amina and Noram to stay behind. Guards weren't allowed in because of the closed nature of the negotiations as Noram explained, or as Amina put it, the 'must not let anyone know more than us' complex. How the After she still had her head was beyond him.

Ecton shot him a questioning look, seeking confirmation he was ready. He nodded back and Ecton pulled the doors open in a single flourish. And the room inside was, well, breathtaking.

The adjacent walls were filled with vibrant tapestries of the icy fjords in Aquilo, pristine beaches in Suinal, and expansive fields in Sivic. There were sets of doors identical to the ones he just stepped through at either side of the far end of the room, likely where the others had entered. Shards of colored morning light bounced off of the iron chandelier hanging over the simple slate and birch table and chairs.