Ever since the day of Manohar's death, he felt as if he had turned from the sun that shone on his family into a storm cloud that threatened their safety.
His mood was gloomy and he avoided the village as well, knowing that he was this close to making Lutia true to its nickname and turning it into a graveyard.
On the day of the wedding, Lith was glad to take a break from his work, hoping to relieve his mind from the pain thanks to the presence of his friends.
"I hate to bother you, but Friya invited me as her plus one and I don't have a suit. Can I borrow one from you?" Nalrond asked while Lith was checking himself in the mirror.
"Sure, take your pick." Lith was looking for warm colors that would mitigate the cold expression that he seemed incapable of removing from his face.
"Thanks. Who are you bringing with you? Kamila? Phloria? Faluel? The Princess?" The suits were all too big for Nalrond but even a relatively cheap Skinwalker armor could resize them to tailor-fitting for the Rezar.
"Kamila is the bridesmaid, going to a wedding with Phloria would send the wrong message, and I can't let Faluel meet Vastor in a house full of Abominations without putting the Council against the Professor.
"That's why I invited Peonia as my date. I want to thank her for her support and use this opportunity to reinforce our public image as a couple. Solus agreed with my decision and she's coming as well." Lith replied.
"She is? I thought that, without a mana geyser, her body could last only for a short while." Nalrond picked a black suit that complemented his bronze skin but made the current Lith look like an angry mortician.
"Correct, but Vastor's house is built on a mana geyser. On top of that, we have added an enchantment to the Sage Staff that shrinks it to the size of a pendant. Solus will wear it on a necklace and hold her human form as long as she wants." Lith replied.
Under his deep blue Archmage robe, Lith wore the high uniform of the Kingdom. It was comprised of a deep blue jacket with golden epaulets, deep blue mid-waisted black trousers with a trim comprised of two silk stripes to conceal the outer seams, and black shoes.
He wore a silver brooch shaped like a Griffon with emeralds for eyes on the collar of his white shirt and the gold embroideries on the lapels of his jacket were shaped like feathers.
"Wow. You look great, man. Are you sure you aren't going to marry today?" Nalrond admired Lith's broad shoulders and his lean yet muscular body that the tight-fitting suit accentuated.
"This is just my ceremonial suit. Did Solus tell you about my conversation with Vastor?"
"No. What did he tell you?" The Rezar had actually listened to a conversation between Zinya and Elina while they daydreamed of the eventuality that two marriages would take place on that same day.
"Never mind." Lith walked out of his room to check on the rest of his family.
Raaz and Senton were ready, pacing around in their suits, while the women of the family had yet to finish their respective preparations. Aran and Leria had yet to dress because formal clothes were akin to torture to them.
On top of that, the kids had the habit of either taking them off or dirtying them if left unchecked for too long so their mothers planned to dress them at the last minute. Skinwalker armor were off the table, or the children would shapeshift them into something more comfortable the moment their parents took their eyes off them.
Elina came out of her room, wearing a beautiful pale yellow day dress decorated with floral lace and pearls that only left her forearms exposed. Rena wore a pale red day dress decorated with a leaf pattern and small emeralds while Tista wore a simple pale cream day dress with a feather pattern and rubies.
All of the dresses had no neckline and were of dull colors to follow Mogar's tradition to not outshine the bride. For the same reason, they also wore little jewelry, just a simple parure of necklace and matching earrings decorated with the same style of their respective dresses.
Last but not last, Solus wore a plain white day dress with no pattern and no jewelry since she was attending as Elina's lady in waiting. Her hair had been altered with Body Sculpting, reverting it to its original color.
Her hair was of a shade of brown so light that it almost looked golden, with streaks of silver and orange all over. Despite its simplicity, the dress emphasized her bosom and pearly skin.
For the first time since they had met, Lith saw her wearing a light make-up that brought out her kind eyes, her delicate features, and her full lips. At her neck, she wore a simple golden silk string from which the Sage Staff hung, disguised as a mage-themed wooden pendant.
"Good gods, Solus. You look hot- I mean amazing." Lith said, making her giggle.
"Thanks, you too. I'm so happy to finally be able to attend a party with you all. My only regret is that you already have a partner." Solus lowered her gaze, looking dejected for a split second before smiling again.
"Now, for the final push, I need a team effort." At Elina's sign, the adults surrounded the children, cutting them off from their magical beasts and sealing every possible way out.
It was a short and brutal battle, but in the end, everyone was ready and the Verhen family was just a few minutes late. Even Abominus and Onyx had their fur groomed for the occasion and wore a bowtie each.
"Thank the gods we have a Gate in the barn or we would never make it in time." Elina said.
The Vastor Household's ancestral home was no way less magnificent or smaller than the Ernas's. The floors were made of magic-resistant gold-veined marble that, along with the many arrays they had been enchanted with, made them as sturdy as a mountain.
The gold-edged red walls were decorated with animated paintings depicting all the feats of the Vastor bloodline from its very foundations. Every single piece of furniture was a heavily enchanted work of art, making even flower pots a deadly weapon.
The corridor that the Gate brought them to had been decorated with festoons and garlands of flowers. There was one healer on either side of the dimensional tunnel, checking the life forces of the guests with Manohar's final spell.
Zinya and Zogar greeted their guest personally and were waiting for the Verhens at the end of the entrance corridor. On Mogar there was no superstition about seeing the wife before the wedding nor did marriage require an altar.
It was simply considered an act of love that the law recognized in the form of a civil contract between consenting adults.
Zogar wore the Kingdom's high uniform as well, but his was white to distinguish the groom from the rest of the high officials. Were the god of healing still alive, he would have been forced to wear the deep blue like anyone else.
Men weren't supposed to outshine the groom, yet the white and gold clothes made Vastor look like a prime egg when compared to more fit people like Orion and Lith.
