Meeting Part 2

Mondes was the perfect example of a scholar. He loved to read, loved to learn, if possible, he would bury himself in his lab/library and would only emerge once he had learned everything he could before searching for a new place/subject from which he would try to unravel their secrets, if there were any.

Due to this lifestyle of his he never exercised his body, saying it was 'a waste of time', winning him a skinny body with no muscles and the appearance of a ghost.

He never trained, if not on the mystic arts of magic, runes and astrology, which was what won him the title of 'Head Astrologist of the King's Court', a title that came with both benefits and harms many would seek for themselves, or wish not even their enemies had to deal with.

One of such benefits was the giant lab and observatory where he researched new ways on the field of rune inscriptions so he could better read the stars. Sometimes he would spend days if not weeks without sleeping just so he could perfect one of his new formulas.

One of the harms, though, was that, as the Head Astrologist, he was the one designed to inform the king of any news regarding the future of the kingdom that had been gazed from the stars.

And that was exactly what he had done just a few moments ago.

The King of Argus, Belial Franc the Third, was a man known for acting first and asking later. His diplomatic skills were less than average, but it was his outstanding battle prowess that gifted him the throne after his father's passing.

In the battlefield he was many types compared to a bloodthirsty beast, and trait of his was emphasized due to his hot temper, especially when the topic was regarding the many titanic existence from the world of Archeon, one of them being the Calamity Dragon, Boromir.

Mondes knew very well that the moment he told the King that the ancient dragon had awakened; he would be as good as a chunk of meat in front of a hungry lion, which was exactly what happened.

Here he was, kowtowing in the end of the stairs leading to the throne, body shaking from all the fear that was flooding his systems as the 'beast' looked at him from above.

"How did that happen?" the question was said in such a low tone that Mondes thought it was his imagination playing tricks on him from the fear, but the outburst that followed showed that the question was real, and the one to ask it was losing his patience quickly.

"I said 'HOW DID THAT HAPPEN'?!"

The sound of cracking metal entered his ears and he all but could see the King sitting on his glorious throne, hands gripping the armrests so tightly that the metal was cracking from his sheer force, including the many gems that adorned the master piece.

"Y-Your majesty," he began, trying to stand up and failing miserably, "w-we are n-not sure how that h-happened, b-but our best mages are trying everything they can to f-find out."

"Take me to them"

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The Royal Observatory was among the most intricate constructions in the entire kingdom, losing only to the Royal Palace and the temple built for the church of Light. The entire building was made with stone, iron and even special alloys, turning the center of knowledge and research into an almost impenetrable fortress.

The halls were made with polished slabs or marble, something both Belial and Mondes hated, after all, it was pointless to use such fine material in a place like this where researches would be more interested in the sky above, rather than on the floor they were walking.

Despite that, even the King had to admit that the construction was something that continuously amazed him, especially with how old the damn thing was. Nearly a thousand years old, and the building never showed a crack in its form.

Whatever his ancestors did to maintain the building up, it had paid, and very handsomely at that.

Both were escorted by a small group of 'knights' clad in a mix of robes and armor, much like the king's own garments, though a little more modest and battle oriented.

Those were Battle Mages, a special class of Mages that excelled in hand-to-hand combat and magic, becoming as strong as a Warrior and as tricky to deal with as an average Mage. They were the ones tasked with protecting the King at all times, even if he didn't need them.

The group soon arrived inside of one of the main research rooms. The place was filled with mages of all ages and gender, the youngest ones being 16 and the oldest ones seeming to be around 70 or 80 years old.

Some were sitting cross legged in a circular form, a giant magic circle written in chalk under them as they conducted some sort of ritual, mana almost visible in the shape of a fog surrounding them.

Others were looking at old scrolls and books stashed on a giant bookcase carved in the wall, the sheer size of it being as high as to reach the ceiling and as wide as the wall itself.

A third group was looking at a hole in the ceiling from where light illuminated the area, small telescopes in their hands as they studied something outside.

Now, many would say that this last group was crazy, after all, it was still day and looking towards the sky with a telescope, not to say the sun, was the same as asking to become blind, but that is where you are wrong.

If one looked closely at the lens, they would notice that they resembled the starry sky one could see at night. The telescopes were one of Mondes' most prized inventions, an inscribed item capable of ignoring the light of the sun and allow people to watch the stars at any given moment of the day.

This invention was his pride and biggest accomplishment, many Kingdoms and Empires had requested to buy this miraculous device of his, which helped Argus grow in many ways.

Belial strode inside the room, the group of escorts and Mondes staying at the door, watching the King's every step.

He stopped in the middle of the room and cleared his throat, but no one seemed to hear him, too focused on their tasks to even notice that the King himself was among them.

A scowl soon appeared in his face, and Mondes immediately encased himself in an energy field.

Bloodlust flooded the room, making every person inside, with exception of the Battle Mages and the protected Mondes, freeze in place. Some were even on the verge of fainting, foam escaping their mouths.

The almost thick sensation soon dispersed itself, leaving a thin trace like mist behind, a warning to those inside.

The researches stopped what they were doing, those on the verge of fainting either recovering or falling unconscious, and turned towards the center of the room where Belial stood.

"M-my King, w-what brings you h-here?" The one to ask was a young woman in her early twenties. She had been checking an old scroll, which now laid on the floor, when the King arrived.

Belial looked at all the researchers in the room and asked, "how did that damn lizard wake up?" his voice filled with anger.

"W-we are n-not sure, your highness", answered one of the oldest mages as he tried to stand by using a table as support, "we have been trying everything under our power and knowledge to understand what happened, but it is as if…"

" 'as if' What?"

"… as if the stars themselves had been blinded from where the dragon slumbers, my King." The older man lowered his head, the tone of defeat in his answer was all one needed to understand that it was impossible for them to find what led to Boromir's awakening.

If the stars themselves couldn't 'look' inside Boromir's lair, then they, as mere readers of those entities, could do nothing.

Of course, this didn't please Belial whose blood began to boil in anger.

For as long as he could remember Argus had poured resources in the fields of magic and astrology so they could be one step, two steps, even ten steps ahead of the other nations in both the military and intelligence gathering fields.

But now all those resources, all that work, all that time spent was proven useless in front of a single being? And a lizard on top of that?!

Belial couldn't hold his anger as he looked at the bunch of 'incompetents' in front of him, his voice growing more and more bestial as he all but screamed at them, "are you telling me you can't even look into a LIZARD'S HOLE?! Do you have ANY idea of what that thing is?! What kind of THREAT he can be to Argus?!"

The mages looked at the King, fear and shame splattered on their expressions as he vented out all his anger on them. Even the Battle Mages became fearful as they saw veins popping on the king's neck and the light change of nails into claws.

"I don't care what you will have to do, or how you will do it. As the King of Argus I DEMAND that you all find what woke that STUPID IGUANA and GET RID OF IT!! OR ELSE I WILL HAVE YOUR HEADS!"

The King gave each mage an angry look, his eyes switching to that of a beast, showing he was serious before striding out of the room with heavy steps, the building shaking with each one. He only stopped after arriving at a crossroad, all paths looking exactly the same.

Taking a deep breath to calm down he brought his hand up and pinched the bridge of his nose, the anger soon settling down. It was only after he calmed down that he was able to catch a whiff of perfume, the smell almost seductive.

Turning his head a little he was greeted by one of the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Lascivious black hair flowed down from her head, all the way to the middle of her back, her body was covered by a one-piece strapless dress that accented her curves and her eyes shone like rubies as they looked at him.

"Carina," he softly whispered, but loud enough for the woman to hear, making her move closer and hug the King.

"It's alright my dear, everything will be alright" she sweetly whispered in his ear, the words appeasing the King as she brought him closer with the hug, her warmth sending him on a sort of trance.

The two stayed there, basking in the embrace when Belial began to kiss her neck, his eyes in a sort of haze, dull and devoid of light. Carina simply smirked at that gesture, the devious smile on her lips revealing two pointy fangs.