The Dining Hall was about the same size as the one at the Luminaris Estate, save a few feet, give or take. Its walls were adorned with portraits of important figures of whom Achlys could only presume to be of the Ausar bloodline, and many palm trees could be seen lining the hall's corners. And, sitting at the table, calmly eating lunch were the matriarch of House Ausar and the crowned heir of House Ausar, Layla and Jabari Ausar.
Layla Ausar had a thin, curvy, beautiful physique, curvy and attractive in all the right ways, with caramel colored skin, luscious black-brown hair and a beautiful, radiant figure. She wore a lovely, golden Egyptian-styled crown fit for a queen and matching jewels and slippers with a white, elegant gown. She radiated a natural beauty — so much so, it had Achlys slightly self-conscious.
"Matriarch Natalie Keresa of House Keresa, Lady Achlys Keresa of House Keresa… Welcome! To my humble abode," the queen stood, stepping forward to shake Natalie's hand. "It is nice to see such powerful women in charge. I am pleased that you are here. I assume you've considered my offer?"
'Humble abode, my ass.' thought Achlys, brow twitching slightly in annoyance. 'This place is big enough to get lost in.'
"Yes, I have,"" Achlys' mother nodded, professionally. "And I see no reason not to go through with it. My daughter, Achlys here, is not only a legacy, but a demigod, as well, at the rank of Peak Legacy. I reckon she will break through into Demigod rank in the coming months —- Good genes, very good genes. Astounding potential for a future mate. And she has the beauty to boot; perfect for your son, Jabari."
Achlys wished she could put headphones on at this moment, as she listened to her mother describe her in the language of eugenics like she were cattle to be bred and sent to have babies. The thought nearly caused her to gag, and not in the fun way how she'd imagined it when fantasizing. It all disgusted her — This was all disgusting to her — This lady was supposed to be her mother, not someone meant to sell her off.
But, then again, she could hardly be surprised. She wished she could say she was surprised by the gesture, but, honestly, she found herself oddly used to her mother's objectifications of her — Ever since her birth, her mother was vert robotic in nature, especially when she dealt with Achlys — Her siblings weren't treated this way; only her. Duty driven and practically emotionless in her interactions with the girl, Natalie wasn't ever the most nurturing of mothers — At least to her, anyways. To her siblings, she was, and quote, "the best mom in the worlds."
She never outright said it, but Achlys knew why she acted that way towards her. It was because when her father, Thanatos, did the deed with Natalie, Natalie wasn't entirely herself. She was a temporary avatar of the titaness, Asteria, the goddess of the stars and prophecy, making her a prophecy child — And technically, not entirely Natalie's daughter.
Achlys knew that she was often treated differently from her siblings. Not only was she only half her mother's daughter, but she was also a primordial spawn. Her father, Thanatos, was the first god of death, and the only primordial god of death at that. He was the son of Erebos and Nyx, which is probably also why Achlys was selected on the mission to find and guard Corven Umbrovante. They were related in more ways than either of them could really grasp. Still, it differentiated Achlys from her mother more when she found out that her baby was a Primordial Spawn. No one likes Primordial Spawns, and that more than likely caused her to get treated differently than her siblings, who were all only legacies.
This became the reason why she was so hellbent on getting stronger as fast as she possibly can, so she could leave her family one day and still protect herself when she was on her own.
That said plan was now void, though, now that her mother intends to marry her off to the heir of House Ausar. She was not happy about it in the least, but she knew her mother, and she knew that her mother have never not gotten her way. She knew she had methods to convince Achlys to do her bidding — There have been times when Aclys was on the other end of these 'method,' and she didn't want to be on the other end ever again. Still, she was not the least bit happy about it in the least, but she still tried her best not to let it show on her face, as she curtsied in a lady like manner towards Layla Ausar in a respectful notion. "I am at your humility, Matriarch of House Ausar, Queen Layla Ausar."
"Ah, fantastic," exclaimed an inspecting Layla, who turned to introduce her son, Jabari, who stood beside her. "And this is my son, Prince Jabari Ausar, and your future husband. You should get to know one another; you will be seeing each other quite a lot in the foreseeable future."
Jabari Ausar was fourteen years old, with light caramel skin, hazel-green eyes and a toned physique most likely from a lifetime of 10 years worth of training and cultivation for 2 years plus, if the rumors about him were true. He had short draided twists that were neatly twisted into locks that reached the ears and jade and gold earring on each ear. He wore all black and gold — Black jeans, black and gold t-shirt and black Egyptian-styled kilts with golden sandals and an ancient Egyptian golden neckpiece with his family's crest embedded into it, as gold as ever. His black kilt had golden embroidings on it and even Achlys could admit it: It worked for him. He was at the mid-level Legacy rank, which, for his age, was especially impressive, and he had a chill albeit hyperactive aura to him — Achlys could tell immediately the guy was ADHD — He looked about ready to burst with questions upon looking at Achlys, which, given his obvious bare control, Achlys knew they'd probably would have an interesting future, to say the least.
'I mean, he's not the worst to look at, so maybe I should at least give this a chance?' she found herself thinking. 'Still frustrating that I'm being sold by my own mother like cattle, but there are worse prospects. Worse comes to worse, and I'll just kill him and call it a day.'
"That said, why don't the two of you get to know one another," gestured an ushering Natalie, who eyed Achlys with a stern look as if to say 'Don't you dare ruin this for me.'
Jabari looked excited at the concept. Achlys couldn't have been more bothered by it. This was already starting out to be an interesting dynamic of things.
"Oh," Layla suddenly sounded intrigued by the Luminaris guards surrounding Achlys. "Has that old man finally agreed to marry my son as well? What wonderful timing!"
It was normal for males, especially nobles, of the cultivation world, to marry multiple women and vice versa. It ensured a line survives even against powerful cultivators and forces seeking to wipe out one's bloodline. After all, in the cultivation worlds, anyone could be your enemy, and there are lax laws in place that don't prohibit multiple partners. If anything, these laws promote the act, so why not take advantage of them?
This was the thought process of many nobles and cultivators amongst the great families. 'That said,' Achlys sighed in slight annoyance.
"That is not why I am here, my lady," Achlys stated quite bluntly. "I am actually on a mission."
"It isn't?" Layla sounded disappointed before she fixed her tone. "Then why, pray tell, are you here? I am pretty certain all that would be needed to finalize your marriage to my son would be your mother's approval. What is this 'mission' of yours?"
Achlys looked around at her surroundings. "How secure is this room?" Achlys eyeing the room and the guards around them.
Layla, getting the gist that they wanted privacy, snapped her fingers. The entire surroundings quieted; No sound came from any of the other rooms, and the guards that were stationed at each door exit/entrance couldn't hear whatever she was about to say inside.
"The Maezul Incantation," Layla explained when Achlys and Natalie gave her a questioning look. "It secures a given space, not allowing sound to leave it or exit said space. One of my ancestors invented it. No one will hear what you say next outside the four of us."
Achlys was surprised. She knew House Ausar was the bloodline of kings, pharaohs and priests, but to invent a spell requires geniusness, and to create such a powerful spell as the Maezul Incantation? Well, it is no wonder why they are a Great House.
"Achlys, my daughter," Natlalie ushered Achlys to speak, startling her from her own thoughts.
'What is it you seek to tell me, child?" spoke Layla in such regality that Achlys began getting even more slightly self-conscious. "Whatever you tell me, it shall stay between us. I'll give you my word."
Shaking her own self consciousness from her being, regaining the composure of someone from the noble lineage she comes from, Achlys decided to speak.
"It is confirmed. House Umbrovante's last son… has returned," Achlys said, shocking both Natalie and Layla. "He is currently under the care of House Luminaris, but the head House Luminaris wants to initiate the meeting of the Shadow Communal earlier than expected. He has requested all the Shadow Houses' heads and our closest, most loyal of allies to attend the Shadow Conclave."
This bit of news caused a moment of silence to pass through the three of them, before Layla broke it, nodding as she said "I see. This… this is excellent news, indeed."
"This is very good news," exclaimed Natalie, suddenly elated, turning to Layla. "We haven't been to the Shadow Realm since we were children escaping with our mothers during the Sealing all those millennia ago."
"The last son of House Umbrovante… He can bring us home," Layla nodded in acknowledgement. "We have one of the five keys to the Shadow Realm here in our own Treasury Vaults in the manor. Perhaps we shall give the boy it whenever school at the Academy starts. I will have my son, Jabari, deliver it personally. Maybe acquire close ties to the boy."
Jabari, beginning to grasp the importance of who this 'Last Son of House Umbrovante' is, was thankful to be assigned such an important task. He could not wait to meet this person. He wanted to make friends immediately somehow.
"We shall heed the summoning of the Shadow Conclave and talk to the other Shadow Houses still left," Layla said, sounding both regal and authoritative. "All the members of the shadow houses shall rally behind the last son of House Umbrovante."
"But we must also be discreet," Natalie cautioned, looking around in vigilance. "I will send my most trusted advisors to aid you in getting the message around, my daughter, but you must be careful and vigilant; we can never be too certain, but I suspect if words get out that two Great Houses are rallying their banners alongside a handful of other noble houses, the other noble houses will become suspicious of us and seek to interfere with the Shadow Conclave, so be cautious."
Achlys was awestruck. Her mother said 'my daughter' — She never said such things… At least, not with such expectation. She always typically addressed her by her name, and when she would call her 'her daughter' it was typically with a touch of coldness in her tone.
'Could this Shadow Realm be such a serious deal?' Achlys realized she had desensitized herself to Corven's true importance to her family and, indirectly, to her. She had been assigned the mission to get close to Corven due to the connection she felt to him the first time they met[i.e: the blood pact and kin sense] and to confirm if he was, in fact, from the Shadow Realm, but no one was actually certain if he was actually from the Shadow Realm, much less from House Umbrovante until that moment earlier today, when she confirmed the news and told them about what happened the night prior.
"I will also send an envoy of my most loyal, trustworthy guards to guard you on your travels should you accept," Matriarch Layla announced, her head held high in regality. "It will also be announced soon that your house has agreed to co-join with my own through marriage, so the guards will serve their future princess-to-be properly."
"If that is all, why don't you go talk and get to know Jabari, my daughter?" Natalie nodded at Achlys, gesturing towards Jabari. "You two should get to know one another."
Achlys was awestruck. She quickly thanked them, then eyed Jabari, who smiled at her, fidgeting nearly nonstop with his hands, practically jumping up and down on his heels at the recent events.
Eventually, the two of them went to another room in the manor to get to know one another. During that time, Queen Natalie of House Keresa and Queen Layla of House Ausar, worked out a plan of action. They needed to prepare for the Shadow Communal.