Divine Beast Ascension

“Isaac, I see you’ve already rounded up your local leaders?”

“Treeda, of course, I have.” More polite than ever, Lord Draco brandished an enticing grin. “This is Bradok, leader of the gorilla clan heading this territory. And this is Vloz, the head of this territory’s academy.”

Blinking, Treeda scanned over them both. “It’s my pleasure to meet you both.”

“The pleasure is ours,” Vloz and Bradok replied in unison.

“True, but I’m still glad to come personally. Bradok, it was a shame that I missed your feast last time, so I look forward to experiencing your extravagant dishes while I’m here.” Keeping her subtle smile, Treeda then looked to Vloz. “And Vloz, this isn’t the first time I’ve heard about you. I believe the first time was nearly a decade ago, when you almost assassinated two of my kings.”

“My, my... You have an impeccable memory to remember a lowly assassin, such as myself,” Vloz said sheepishly.

.....

“Nonsense. I’ve been told you’re also an excellent teacher, raising a true candidate for the mortal championship. I look forward to seeing her exploits myself,” added Treeda.

Containing a hint of a chuckle, Vloz stated, “Should Lord Draco allow it, I’m sure Netra would be delighted to show you her abilities.”

“What does he mean by that, Isaac?” Treeda asked.

Keeping his soft grin, Isaac looked his fellow prefecture lord in the eye. “I met Netra not too long ago, so she’s already exhausted from our sparring match. I admit, I was surprised by her potential but there’s no guarantee that she’ll prove herself a true contender.”

“I would disagree,” Zelsh stated, catching Isaac off guard.

“Remember your place, Zelsh.”

“Isaac, I’d like to hear what Zelsh has to say,” Treeda interrupted, determined to dig up the truth.

Nodding to his superiors, Zelsh went on, “During our recent interprefectural exhibition, my candidates reached both the semifinals and finals. They only lost due to me forcing their forfeit. And yet your young fox girl, who’s barely an early-elder at the moment, managed to defeat my three strongest candidates, back to back. As a former runner-up in the competition, I’d say she’s shown more potential than any other candidate I’ve met this time around.”

Intrigued, Inka chimed in before Isaac could respond, “More than any candidate? Does that comparison include Drogat?”

Zelsh nodded.

“Ridiculous!”

“Shut up, Brak. That’s an order,” Lady Inka demanded, glaring at Brak. “Only speak when given permission.”

“Oh, someone finally tightened your leash?” Brak glared at the Wyrm king, but Zelsh continued to laugh, “Either way, Netra is an early-elder with perfect dark affinity, and she’s being trained by a first-class assassin. She’s a unique gem with undetermined potential. Someone as lazy as your spoiled nephew wouldn’t have a hope in hell of defeating her, come time for the competition.”

“My, my, then I’d love to meet her as well!” Inka stated, showing as much excitement with her tone as she did her smile.

Putting up his hands, Isaac stated, “Regardless, she’s exhausted and won’t be in proper form for some time.”

Shrugging, Treeda suggested, “Then, how about we wait and stay here?”

“No, we wouldn’t want to impede on the locals. They’re not accustomed to treating such important figures, and have no means of accomodating your needs,” insisted Isaac.

“Actually,” Bradok, intervened while bowing to show his lower status, “We’ve begun preparations for a grand hotel.”

Impressed with Bradok’s gutsy statement, Treeda looked to the gorilla. “I don’t mind a more meager stay, though I appreciate the consideration.”

Vloz bowed as well, adding, “If I may, we can allocate all our forces and have the hotel finished within three days. Until then, however, we can only offer the best homes within the gorilla clan estate.”

Isaac let out a hint of a sigh, irked by his own underlings’ determination to indirectly defy his intentions.

But Treeda spoke up again while Isaac took a moment to craft a response, “I would love to stay within the gorilla estate. In fact, I’d like to request a meeting with the leaders of the clan and discuss a few things.”

“What have you to discuss with my territory leaders?” questioned Lord Draco.

“Isaac, this regards the passing of my daughter.”

Nodding gingerly, Isaac replied, “Ah, I see. In that case, it should be fine. Why don’t we hold a feast, for all of us?”

“I’d appreciate that as well, but I want my meeting with the Iron-body Gorilla clan to be private, even to you, Isaac,” Treeda added. “It’s the least you can do, considering you weren’t able to protect my daughter as you had promised.”

“Fine, I suppose a single meeting without me won’t hurt anything...”

Humbly bowing, Vloz and Bradok spoke in unison, “We’re happy to accept your stay in our estate, Lord Treeda.”

Lifting a finger, Inka asked, “Might we be able to stay in a guest home as well? If Lord Treeda is staying there, then it’s enough for me as well”

“Of course! we’re honored to have you in our humble territory!” they said together.

“Then don’t worry about finishing the hotel so hastily-”

“Make sure to finish within two days!” Isaac interjected. “We can’t leave my fellow prefecture lords in squalor. So pick up the pace! Make sure it’s worthy of prefecture lords!”

Disregarding the infighting between Isaac and those of his prefecture, Treeda asked, “Then, in three days, why not host a small exhibition?”

“That-”

“That would be great!” Inka replied. “We’ll each bring our four best candidates, to sharpen the skills of our young cultivators.”

Smiling to hide his displeasure, Isaac stated, “I’m sorry, but there’s nowhere-”

“Lord Draco, if I may,” Zelsh interrupted, “there’s long been a stadium here in Iron Town, fit to accommodate over a thousand spectators.”

Telling Zelsh to shut up with his stare, Isaac chuckled lightly, “I’m not sure if such a thing would be good. We’re about to go to war, so how could we treat the people of this territory so lightly? Befriending them only to turn around and destroy their livelihood the next day?”

“Why must we go to war?”