"Who cares about a bunch of ruins?" Grand Duchess Kolmy replied. "Didn't you hear how the great Manohar got his ass handed to him by Dawn? The same Horseman who Verhen defeated after foiling her plans?
"I'm telling you, the stories about him running away are bogus. I was in Belius during the fight, you can't escape from someone that powerful. I can't wait to see if Manohar throws a tantrum and attacks Verhen out of envy."
"Your story makes no sense. Why would the Royals hide such a feat?" Phalmar asked.
"Because they are keeping him as a secret weapon, you naïve fool." Marquis Xenth chimed in.
"I've got friends in the army who told me that back when the other Horseman, Night, attacked the Verhen Household to avenge her sister, a swarm of monsters appeared from nowhere and kicked her sorry ass to the moon and back.
"According to the official report, the first to arrive on the scene was the seven-eyed demon who helped Verhen back in Othre. Then, even bigger and more powerful creatures arrived to back him up, forcing even Baba Yaga to retreat."
"Exactly." Kolmy nodded. "Verhen is not just an Archmage, but a living army. Even having one of those things at his beck and call is more than most can even dream of. The Royals are probably trying to keep the other Countries from snatching Verhen away."
"Someone is really popular here." Faluel giggled at those baseless outrageous rumors. "By the way, why didn't you bring Tista as your date? You could have watched each other's back."
"First, she and Phloria have been summoned to Court as part of the team that caused Kogaluga's destruction. We decided to come on our own to avoid more pointless rumors about my relationship with Phloria and to avoid getting swarmed.
"The last time I brought Tista to a gala, they surrounded us leaving no way out. Everyone knows that we are siblings so we can't play Tista's usual boyfriend routing without passing for perverts." Lith replied.
The couple arrived in front of the Royals, bending their knee until they received permission to stand up and join the other nobles to the sides of the red carpet.
"God of Healing Krishna Varaja Manohar and his mother, Sitri Manohar." The valet said.
The Mad Professor wore a suit of clothes identical to Lith's but completely white to emphasize his status as the current god of the healing arts.
He was a man in his early thirties, around 1.74 meters (5'9") meters tall with black hair streaked silver all over.
The white of the uniform coupled with his slender build made him look taller while his pained expression made him look like a man who had forfeited his life. His eyes were glued to the small woman walking by his side as if it was a ticking bomb.
Sitri Manohar was a woman in her late fifties, barely 1.52 meters (5') tall, with black hair streaked silver all over and brown eyes. She was even leaner than her son, giving her a frail look.
She wore an elegant yet somber light blue dress that covered even her neck while evening glover hid her arms. Sitri glared at their audience, making the room become appropriately silent.
She was the only person known to be capable of controlling the god of healing and she wasn't afraid of unleashing him if provoked. Many noble dames had found out the hard way what happened when someone badmouthed Sitri or her son.
Some of them had yet to be cured of the "mysterious illness" that plagued them.
"Headmaster Duke Marth and his wife, Ryssa Marth." The Valet said, making Lith's jaw almost hit the floor.
"Have I gone insane or did he say, wife?" His question was answered the moment the couple stepped on the red carpet.
The Headmaster of the White Griffon was a man in his mid-forties, about 1.78 meters (5'10") tall, with thick blonde hair. Aside from his goatee, his face was perfectly shaven, giving him a calm and youthful appearance.
The grey hair from the last time Lith had seen Marth had disappeared. The Headmaster stepped forward with the face of a man who had achieved everything he wanted in life. His uniform was identical to Lith's but his brooch was shaped like a White Griffon.
Ryssa the Dryad looked like a gorgeous woman in her mid-twenties, about 1.78 meters (5'10") tall with the heels of her dress. She had wheat-blond straight hair that fell like a waterfall down to the small of her back.
Ryssa had big yellow eyes, that sparkled under the magical lights like masterfully cut pieces of amber. Her visage was simply stunning, from the delicate features to her full lips.
The only thing that betrayed her non-human nature was the light green skin, but neither that nor her belly swollen from the late pregnancy diminished her beauty, making her the most stunning woman in the room.
"Wife it is." Lith said while admiring Ryssa's scarlet dress that emphasized both her skin and hair.
After Marth and the Dryad, Vastor, Tista, and the Ernas also arrived. Except for Jirni who walked the red carpet arm in arm with Orion, everyone else had no partner. They all wore their best clothes and each one of them raised a different kind of whispers.
For a Royal Gala, the order of introduction was irrelevant since everyone had to arrive on time to undergo the necessary ID check and body search. Each guest would hear the other's being announced either from inside the throne room or from the waiting room where they were lined up in order of arrival.
Once all the guests had aligned to either side of the throne room, the Royals stood up whereas their subjects kneeled.
"Today is a joyous day." King Meron spoke first. "There are many things that need to be celebrated and to be recorded into the Kingdom annals. In the past year, the lost city of Kogaluga has been destroyed, freeing the Kellar region from a threat that was considered to be eternal.
"Easier and faster trading routes have been opened, allowing the region to prosper. All the resources that until that point were invested in the arrays that sealed Kogaluga are now used to build more granaries and to cultivate the once barren lands around the lost city.
"Without the constant stream of dark energy from the lost city, life is returning. Thanks to the recovered fields, the threat of a winter famine has become less likely. The mana crystals and the magic that once isolated the city are now being employed to rebuild it.
"In time, Kogaluga will thrive as a trading hub and life will once again conquer death." Meron's gaze wandered through the room, studying the reaction of his guests.
"During that same year, the same person that gave us Kogaluga back also created a wonderful device that will one day change the lives of all the citizens of the Kingdom for the better." Queen Sylpha said.
"The DoLorean is a marvel of magic that crosses the known boundaries of both law and magic, forcing us to put a halt to its production to keep the wrong people from turning an instrument of progress into one of anarchy."
