Ha Tién Long's Story

Celeste MacAvelia and Kanan Thiyer

"Com'on! You have to see this," Celeste said, her lips curled into a bright smile. Kanan was taken aback by her... bubbly personality. How the hell was he going to deal with that?! The platform they had been on brought them up to another level and then another had come down from above, thus the reasoning for Celeste beckoning to him.

He'd been standing in the middle of the room, his gaze sweeping its entirety as it was probably the most beautiful part of the castle that he'd seen yet. Her voice had startled him and he turned to look at her as she and Emrys climbed up on the second platform. Once again his face heated without warning and he fought his embarrassment. Why couldn't he even say anything to her? Kanan just didn't know how... He sighed inwardly and started towards her, his movements stiff as if he were nothing more than a mindless guard.

Slowly he stepped up onto the platform next to her, his chest tight as he stood beside her. It was rare that he ever stood so close to the Lady Celeste. The last ride up was just as painful as he'd been close to her then too. His eye flicked over to the back of her head, examining her bright green hair and then upwards to where they were heading next. He fidgeted slightly with the sword he still held in his other hand. Kanan was trying to drudge up the courage to say at least a couple of words to his Queen, after all he was her protector.

His eye turned downwards and he stared at the platform beneath his feet, his mouth opened and he uttered a few simple words, "Thank you, my Lady."

Celeste arced her eyebrows. This was the first time Kanan had spoke to her in the five minutes they had been together. Things were improving. "No problem."

The platform momentarily shook before beginning to float upwards.

Emrys grunted, but he did so as quietly as possible. The Princess still heard and proceeded to call her butler out. "What's the matter, Emrys?" she asked with a knowing smile.

"Nothing." The butler immediately straightened himself out.

"You aren't still afraid of heights are you?"

"I'm working on it."

Kanan listened to the exchange in curiosity. He was interested to see exactly how high they had gone and so turned and peered down over the ledge. If only he'd known how much of a terrible mistake that was. He had a strong sense of invertigo and swayed on his feet as his eye took in the distance between the top third floor and second floor far down below.

Kanan stumbled slightly, falling backwards and bumping into Celeste on pure accident. His face flushed even redder than before and he quickly dropped down to one knee, with his fist down on the ground before him, the other holding tightly to his sword. He felt his heart racing at the stupidity of his last action.

"My Lady! Please, forgive me," he muttered quickly, his deep voice wavering slightly as he stiffened.

Celeste burst out laughing. The young Protector's reaction was so... innocent. Realizing that she probably wasn't making him feel any more comfortable, the Princess held in the remainder of her laugh. "It's alright Kanan. No need to be so formal all the time--we're all simply good friends. And, I hate titles, by the way."

"Isn't that right, Emrys?" She had noticed that the butler's hand was lightly gripping the sword sheathed in his shield. She cast him a sharp glance.

The butler's hand quickly flew away from the sword hilt and returned to it's position behind his back. "Yes, your Majesty."
The Princess had just been about to jab Emrys in the chink of his armor when the platform came to a stop. "Ah, we're here!"

Thirty years ago, Nicholas MacAvelia had decided that it was necessary to have a room where the King and all of his Protectors--as well as a few selected others--could meet in absolute privacy. It had taken fourteen months to build.

Though Lady Celeste had told him that it was alright, Kanan stayed kneeling all the way up until the platform stopped. Only when she'd stepped off, did he stand again. He kept his head down and didn't look up at her at all. His eye caught sight of the beautiful glass floor that they walked across. The stained glass was in four different colors, blue, red, green and silver. The colors would occasionally clash together, mixing to form new colors across the large floor.

Kanan, unable to keep his curiousity at bay, looked up from his boots and witnessed the large room that was Anemoi. At each corner of the compass, was an archway. The archways were each filled with windows--all tinted on the oppposite side--allowing the morning light to flow in and giving a gorgeous view of the outside world. Clouds lazily floated by as the sunlight was beginning it decent in the eastern horizon. Moutains in the eastern compass rose up, to the west, an empty exanse of nothing but blue/purple sky, the north and south held more mountain ranges, each just as different as the eastern one.

Between each of the archways, the wall was made entirely of shiny white stone. Kanan thought it to be marble at first, but the texture and color wasn't right for it to be so. He didn't know exactly what type of stone was used in the wall, but it looked glorious. Above him, as he raised his eye upwards, he spotted a huge dome. The dome was made also entirely of glass, just like the floor. The only difference was that it was clear glass and the sunlight shone through it easily, splaying the colors of the floor all across the room and walls.

Kanan stopped in mid stride, not making it to the center of the room and just gazed about. He was awe struck by the beauty of the fourth floor, amazed at the ingenuity of it and the pure power that he could feel rushing through the winds thats mixed together at the center of the Palace of Aeolus. He never knew such a place existed. It made him all the more intrigued by his queen, and even more desiring of protecting her.

Celeste beamed at her Protector's reaction. It had been a while since she had last introduced a person to Anemoi and watched awe fill their expression--most of the Protectors simply acknowledged it as another room and never regarded all the brilliant work that had come together to make Anemoi. Her gaze trailed around the room and rested by the eastern window.
There, an elderly man stood, looking out towards the mountains. He was dressed in simple green robes and an oriental leaf hat hung off of his back. His hands were clasped together in a very relaxed manner. A silvery beard wrapped around the sides of his face--aside from that, the man was virtually bald with only a few patches of silver here and there. Ocean blue eyes twinkled in the morning sunlight. He was smiling peaceful and showed no signs of noticing that the three had just entered the room.
Shifu Tien. The Princess smiled in recognition. The man who had taught her all of the basics of Wind Magic leading to her mastery of the element just two weeks later. It had been a long time since she had seen the elder Protector.

Kanan turned his eye back around the area, doing a full circle as he did so. As he came back across the eastern window, he caught sight of the elderly man that he hadn't seen the first time. Kanan cursed himself slightly for not noticing him until that moment. However, it didn't seem like the man was all that threatening so Kanan calmed himself, knowing full well that if there had been any threat to Celeste, he would have known immediately. It didn't seem as if the elder man had taken any notice to their entrance, so Kanan turned back around and faced his Queen.

"My Lady," Kanan uttered, his voice soft and heavy, deep as it was, "What is this room?"

He was answered by two voices; that of the Princess and another deeper and slower one. "Anemoi." The two continued, their voices sounding in union. "The place where the winds meet. Where, in times of necessity, those of Aeolus retreat."

"Basically, it's just another one of King Nicholas' secret rooms," the bearded man added with a light tone contrasting with the more poetic one of his last line. The old man turned around and smiled at Celeste, "It has been a long time, Princess of the Winds."

Celeste, Kanan, Emrys, and Tien

"It has been a long time, Uncle."
The Princess and the elderly man embraced. Celeste hadn't seen her uncle in nearly two years--since her father left seven years ago, Shifu Tien had periodically left and returned to the Kingdom of Wind. He never told anyone when or where he was going and she, out of pure respect, had never bothered to check. However, whenever he returned, it meant that something significant was happening--the last time Celeste had seen the man, the tyrant Earth King of the time was rebelled against and killed by his own wife. Even whilst hugging her uncle, the Princess' mind was racing. Why is he here? Is he simply late for the Water King's death or is something else coming?
"You're late Uncle!" She stated pulling away from the elderly man. "I already know the Water King is dead."
The old master looked confused. "Is he now?"
In turn, Celeste frowned. She had already anticipated an answer to that effect, but had been secretly hoping--against the odds apparently--that her uncle was actually late for once. Now what? She looked at the man with a grim expression. "So, what is about to happen?"
"I am not sure," he answered, looking out of the window and into the distance. "But, I do know that it will change the course of this land's history."
The Princess resisted the temptation to roll her eyes. Her uncle was always ambigious and it was so annoying at times...
"I see." Celeste turned to the two Protectors beside her, keen to change the topic. She hated being in the dark and talks of the future always left one in the dark. "I guess we had best get to our part in changing history, then." Her gaze rested on Kanan. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "You have never met my uncle before! I'm sorry."
Kanan was startled by Lady Celeste's sudden jump in concentration to him. His eye bounced between her and her uncle, unsure of how to proceed. Luckily, it seemed that Celeste was way ahead of him and spared him the duty of trying to properly introduce himself without making out to be a fool.
She looked from the silver-haired Protector to the elderly master, "Kanan, this is Shifu Ha Tien Long. He is the senior Protector and has been so much longer than any other Protector." Then, looking from her uncle to Kanan, she began, "Uncle, this is--"
"I know." Tien interrupted. He gazed at the other Protector with a gleam of interest in his eyes, like a diviner reading a fortune. "Young Kanan Thiyer..."
Kanan was a bit nervous at having his name known so easily and without his even saying a word. The elder man gazed at him with a strange look that seemed like Tien was looking through him rather than at him. He squirmed inwardly at such a steady gaze. Trying to ignore it, Kanan simply dipped his head down and bowed forward slightly.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Tien Long."
Emrys, had--until now--been standing silently and respectfully beside the platform from which he had come. He had already met the princess' uncle on several occasions now and enjoyed his presence. He, however, had no taste for the elder's ambiguity and subconsciously tapped on the hilt of his sword. Once. Just once.
Celeste heard. She casted her butler a glare for his lack of respect towards the imperial uncle. But, Emrys was right. They had to get the meeting going. She glanced around the room, only two Protectors were present. Breaking the silence, she muttered, "Where are Freece and Aeraki?"

---

[/b]Aeraki, Celeste, Kanan, Freece, Emrys, and Tien[/b]

The fae in question was currently still immersed in the shifting world of her dreams--where much of the colorful landscape was oh-so-fantastic--wait a moment. There was a pause in the sequence of her thoughts; there was something not quite right about this passing whimsy. All at once, the surroundings that had enveloped her seemed rather dull and insignificant. This was most certainly not where she was meant to be. Not at all... There was something else tugging at her, as if pulling her from this world of washed over hues and jagged shapes. This realization was followed by a sudden jolt from her body and, unfortunately, also accompanied by a swift motion from her fist, which collided with something soft.

Aeraki was at a loss for precisely how it happened, suffice to say she was fairly confused to find herself on the ground and a twitching guard no more than a few feet from her. A frown unfurled on her face as she tilted her head. How very mysterious! She wasn't in the same location she had started out in. Clearly, she had mastered the art of teleporta... Oh. The guard was there. She released a disappointed sigh, wrinkling her nose. How borish, really, she had to do something about this habit of falling asleep in the middle of conversation. But, there was nothing the fae could do regarding the matter, things were just so mundane and didn't hold her interest in the slightest.

The girl blinked, the thing that had been prodding her while she slept still hanging around. There was something she was forgetting, something important, clearly, for it to still hold her focus minutes after she had awoken. Aeraki got to her feet, rubbing her eyes with a yawn.

"Oi, you." She said, ignoring the fact that the guard was laying face-down. She prodded him with her foot, though when she didn't receive a proper response, she proceeded to kick him in the shoulder. "I said, 'Oi you'! Get up!" She kicked him harder, the man groaning in the process and rolling over on to his side. Aeraki had actually just been about to stomp on his face so it was a good thing he opened his eyes, elsewise...

"M... Miss... Aeraki...?" He managed, his voice layered with grogginess. A rosiness found it's way on to her cheeks for her embarrassment heightened. She'd never punched anyone out-cold before.

"Who else would it b..." She trailed off, suddenly catching sight a cloud that looked like a dog with one leg. That was incredibly sad, that poor thing... There was some garbled nonsense in the background, probably coming from the guard, or an animal. She forced herself to look back to him, the man stuttering about as he gazed at her.

"... bringing you to see Lady Celeste." Ah! That caused her eyes to snap wide open, that was the thing that was lingering around! She nodded to herself somewhat proudly for actually having bothered to pay attention long enough to figure this one out. The girl blinked, frowning again as she regarded the man. So why was he still talking? He had already reminded her of what needed be done--now he was just irking her by forcing his presence upon her. "A-Actually, I can accompany you...? I will be needing to report to S-Sir Emrys of your arrival anyway..." Aeraki's wings fluttered slightly, the first sign of annoyance.
"I don't need to be led around as if a child." She said shortly, this was seriously grating on her nerves! The man didn't seem to take the hint as he smiled (creepily) at her.

"Well, you certainly do have the... ah... the... size to compliment one." This was enough to make her pause, and for Aeraki, that was a feat within itself. The girl never marveled upon any one detail for long enough to pause about it. She removed her gaze from him, now observing her surroundings as closely as she cared. She could just about make out the building he was aiming to take her to and scanned it over. There was a whisper of green hair in one of the windows up on the fourth floor. Despite her lack of proper interest, Aeraki was still a girl who took in details closely. She knew that green hair well, the locks could belong to none other than the Lady Celeste herself.

She didn't even bother with a response, wings spreading out and fluttering a bit as they moved to levitate her properly. The guard looked surprised, reaching out as if to stop her but she didn't even pay attention--she just wanted to be as far away from him as possible! Actually, considering that she wasn't even giving him her full attention, there was a chance she had probably misconstrued some of his dialogue but whatever, she was labeling him as a creep anyway! Her wings raised her into the air with practiced ease and without a look down, she left the guard behind her and glided up to the window.

The wind suddenly picked up as she neared her desination and the light-weighted fae was no match for the gust. She went tumbling through the open window, sprawling on to the ground. Perhaps she could've been a bit more elegant, but the window was open, and that gust of wind was pretty strong... Aeraki shook her head to clear the hair out of her vision, sitting up with wide eyes.

"Miiii?" Was all the girl said, a phrase that was artfully cute and in no way portrayed the abuse she had given the guard earlier. Then she spotted him. "Kanananan!" She squealed, launching herself upon the unsuspecting man and brushing her lips over his in a kiss. The motion was followed by a rather unbefitting faltering of her smile, her expression now painfully bored. She was over the excitement, time to move on to other things. And just like that, she plopped herself on the ground, tilting her head to the side.

Kanan froze. The moment he'd turned to the sound of a body hitting the floor he'd cringed slightly. It wasn't the first time, nor would it be the last he was sure. He didn't know what it was, but Aeraki seemed to always lunge at him whenever they met in the hall or were on duty together. It was the same greeting like always, and like always, he had no idea how to handle it.
The fae jumped at him with arms wide and a huge grin on her face. He should have been expecting it, but utterly failed to do so. Her voice sang out his name as if he were her favorite or something. Then she crashed into him, latching on with an iron grip. Her lips followed soon after and broke his attempt at responding.

"Aer-nnnn!!!" His heart jumped, skipping several times and he was sure his face was beat red. His pale blue eye widened as he stared at her. She released him and in seconds the small fae was bored once more, paying him no heed at all. One hand gripped his sword tightly, tighter than he had when he'd bumped into Celeste on accident, the other had risen half way in a half hearted attempt to push her away. Kanan seemed to be stuck in this position for some time before regaining his wits.

Slowly, his hand relaxed its grip on the large weapon, the other reached up and grabbed a thick handful of silver hair, pulling it back just enough to show the strap of his eyepatch. Kanan sighed heavily and closed his eye as he stood there. Was he ever going to get used to these kinds of interactions? Probably not...

Celeste cleared her throat. "Glad to have you here Aeraki, however... I believe the meeting will proceed much easier without you clamped onto Kanan's face."

There was a slight mutter of agreement from the butler standing beside her. The fae grinned slyly, as if suddenly finding interest in the topic of Kanan again before giving a bat of her eyelashes. "I didn't know you were that jea..." She trailed off instantly as just then, the floating platform glided back into the room with another man on board.

"-Yawnnnnn-..."

This was the timely yet crude greeting that the last Air Protector presented towards the Princess, the robotic butler and his fellow protectors. He greeted them all with a nonchalant wave. His eyes of deep green did not betray his emotions of disinterest and disappointment. It seemed that Freece was still caught up with his beautiful dreams about a world of doughnuts and would rather be there than here with everyone else. Well, no one could blame him since he treats this as an obligatory job more than an honor.

"Are we going... -yawnn-... to start... -yawnnn-... or what?"

Freece asked while still yawning in mid-sentences. He did not bother covering his mouth while his hand scratched his head in a gesture of boredom. Unlike Aeraki, the disenchanted protector could have the bearing to stay awake by hanging on his nonexistent will. At the very least, this would be considered his way of respect or proof manners.
"Now that we are all--finally--here," the Princess started, sarcasm layered in her words, "Yes."

After hearing the Princess' answer, Freece could feel his stomach speaking in rebellion. Thinking of which, he had yet to grab something to bite since his good old library sleep.

"I haven't eaten breakfast yet... We have snacks here grumps?"

Looking to his side, his gaze fell on Emrys who always reminded him to be proper especially in front of the Princess. Well, Freece did listen to the sermons but all the same it exited without resistance through the other ear.

The butler stared at the young Protector with an emotionless expression. "I'm afraid not, sir."

"Nope." Celeste agreed. "We've got to get to the Shrine of Aridea--preferably ahead of everyone else. Freece, you'll just have to eat on the fly there." From behind her back, the young woman produced a thick roll of paper and proceeded to pass a fifth of the stack to each of the people present. And then, she began, "Alright. If you haven't been told already, the Water King is dead--killed alongside his Protectors. This has certain significance in upcoming events." She smirked and spoke with an ominous tone, "However, this does not mean that the turn of events cannot be taken advantage of."

Listening to the princess, Emrys nodded. This was Celeste MacAvelia--the Sky Demoness--always ready to manipulate a change in the winds.

Freece remembered the dream where Celeste took all of his doughnuts. It was slowly coming true even more so when a thick roll of paper was handed to him instead a plate of his favorite food. Stretching his arms upwards, it was then he noticed the presence of the old-timer. No wonder he had that dream with that old geezer in it. Perhaps, his spiritual consciousness foretells of the future, that only means his doughnut fantasies were going to come true. With that notion, the uninterested protector had an immediate change in his demeanor. Ignoring the news about the death of the Water King and his protectors along with the roll of paper handed for his reading, he had a rather meaniful smirk across his face.

"Hey Princess! Let's get this show on the road!"

Had he still been looking at Emrys, the Protector would have noticed the large butler glaring at him coldly. The silver haired man couldn't understand why the princess kept him around. Personally, the butler found the way that Freece address the princess to be disrespectful and overly arrogant. Being in the presence of Celeste helped keep Emrys at bay. This was no time to start an argument.

Kanan looked up to Freece as he took the scroll of paper from Celeste. How could the other protector possibly speak in such a way to Celeste? His pale blue eye narrowed slightly and a frown worked its way on his lips. Kanan didn't say anything though as he rolled the paper opened and scanned the contents, trying to ignore Freece.

"All in good time, Freece," she responded simply. She stepped over to the window overlooking the city. "For the past millenium, Lastra has been in a constant state of war and pre-war. Peace is what the people most desire. I believe that now is the best time to make moves toward that peace."

The annoying hum of words, mother earth they were drowning her in boredoooooom. Aeraki had long since stopped looking at the Princess, who was blabbing on and on about some war and peace and the stupid people who lived in the land. Who cared? There were many more interesting things about, oh! Like Emrys, he looked like fun. She decided to stare at him for all of eight seconds before becoming bored again and then collapsing fully on the floor, puffing up her cheeks. Nevermind, that was a silly attempt to keep herself busy.

It was clear that Freece was more active than his earlier actions. Anyone who knew the lacklustered protector could conclude what was the reason behind this. Doughnuts. Walking ahead of the group, he gestured towards the others to hurry it up. There was no time to waste for his dreams could turn into reality any minute. Truthfully, he really didn't care about whatever the Sky Princess was plotting or what she was aspiring for. All those stuff did not matter to him anyway. He had lived far too long to even care about what he could only describe as mundane things. There was only one thing that mattered and that was...
"Get your butts going to the Shrine already, I don't have all day you know!"

The statement relighted her interests, oh! She hadn't played with Freece yet today! His name reminded her of sheep, and that reminded her of soft things, and that reminded her of fluffy things, and that reminded her of... Oh, the list was a long one--but he kept her mind busy so that was a good focus point! The fae jolted up, probably alarming the others with her quick motion and her wings fluttered with her. She hoped the others would move fast enough while she bothered to keep her attentions highlighted on issue at hand, because her mind was prone to scatter. Very. Quickly. Oh! She hadn't greeted him yet! She'd have to make a note to do that...

Celeste had already anticipated her Protectors' responses--they were so easily distracted and left bored. She quickly turned around and smiled, "Neither do I. That's why I recommend you read through the packets I've given you."

Emrys had already scanned the pages he had been given. Details of nine individuals had been contained in the ink, three of whom the butler recognized. The pages contained information regarding various details about the Kings of the Earth and Fire Kingdoms as well as volumnous amounts of information regarding their Protectors and the abilities of each. he looked up at Celeste with a questioning expression. "Princess Celeste, where did you get these?"

"There are ways of knowing."

That particular response didn't satisfy the butler, but he decided not to make any snarky comments.

Kanan raised an eyebrow as he finished looking through the scroll. All of this information... where in the world did she obtain it from? He wasn't sure he wanted to know though. However, Kanan was fairly sure that if the other Kings and Protectors found out that she'd gotten all of their information... well he figured that things weren't going to be quite a smooth.
"What do you plan to do with all of this, my Lady?" Kanan asked softly.

"It's always advantageous to be able to see multiple aspects of a situation before approaching it. It's best that you all know who you could be potentially up against." Then, she added, "Knowledge is power."

Kanan froze for a moment. Had he heard her right? He knew that he was a new protector and all, but this didn't sound like something that could be... right. He looked up from the scroll and straight to his Queen. Pulling a bit of his lip inbetween his teeth he flicked his gaze from her to the other protectors.

"Do you mean... to... fight them?" He asked slowly. He wasn't sure if he entirely liked that idea, however, he was now in her service and questioning wasn't usually something he did. He felt a tightness in his chest and he sealed his lips right after. Hopefully she didn't get angry with him. If she meant to fight them... well, he would do as he was ordered like he'd always done in the past.

It was a different voice that answered Kanan's question. "Hopefully not." Tien stepped closer to the group, "At best, we can avoid confrontation as a whole." He looked at the other Protectors, "But, it is always best to be ready."

Emrys grunted in agreement. He had been out on the battlefields long enough to know that knowing one's opponent beforehand could completely change the outcome of a confrontation. However, things could always go wrong--one could never know about random factors. He flipped through the packet. The Fire Prince only had three Protectors... Immediately, a question came to mind. How updated are these?

The princess nodded in agreement with the elderly man's statement. "No, Kanan. I have absolutely no intention of fighting. This mission is purely for peaceful reasons."

Kanan nodded in agreement, settled then -if only slightly- by her acknowledgement of not wanting to fight. Still... he couldn't shake the feeling that something could possibly go wrong. His eye glanced back down to the paper he held. He would go through them in more detail later on.

"Should we be going then?" He looked up to see his Queen grinning at him slightly before turning to one of the windows. She opened it and then proceeded to jump out into thin air. For a single moment, his heart clenched and he had the urge to lung forward, throwing his power towards her to catch her. However, he realized she was the Queen of Air and figured she would be just fine.

Kanan walked over to the same window and looked out to indeed see his Lady quite alright as she called the winds to her and hovered in the air easily. With a shake of his head he followed suite, also calling his own magic to carry him out towards her. From there they would fly most of the way to the Shrine and finish by walking the short distance there through the trees where the Shrine was located.

The rest of the journey was more to say a humdrum. Assassinations, attacks, common thievery and the such never occurred or loomed over Byre even once. Somehow, it was a bit of disappointing in his opinion. After all, it was not too often that he manages to leave the domains of his kingdom. Yet, there had been little inputs along the way as he traveled with his chosen Protectors. The twisting conversations with Eugene, the fleeting observations towards Hebi, and his last protector who entertains him through silence. It was a conundrum of eccentricities that he appreciated in different ways.

"Master, they have already arrived."

Radiating within his consciousness, Telius' conjecture brought the Young King to the reason for this sudden walk out of his realm. The odd familiar was still lounging on top of Byre's shoulder as if it was a charming nest of softness. It seemed that the Wind and Fire Rulers had arrived at the Shrine of Aridea. As such, there was no need for him to linger around in such a relaxing pace. He had only done so in respect to the pride of the Wind Princess who always desired being on time. Adding to that, he did like the idea of being waited upon. It is one of the many luxuries of being late and awareness of the time.

"And so did we."

After stating that, Byre walked through the bushes that had gratefully parted to give way to the Earth King. His clothes reflected his status and rather militaristic qualities of his dominion. He wore white collared shirt with a blue necktie overlapped with a black vest which was covered by an opened military jacket with gold stripes at the end of its sleeves matched by a pair of black pants, half gloves on his hands, and combat boots on his feet. Upon the jacket, there were respective medals and badges some connected intricately by lithe silver chains. It fitted his form perfectly and not a speck of dust or leaf could be seen on his person. He was a vision and without a doubt inherited his father's intimidating yet good looks.

"Greetings Lady Celeste." Byre offered accompanied by a cordial bow to the female King who would without a doubt take another step in this three-way game of chess or even perhaps there were more players than he could conclude.

"I extend them also to you Lord Siya." In this regard, Byre only offered a courteous nod of the head. He had took notice the brief scent of magic that pilfered the winds, the touch of cinnamon and the allure of the forest nymphs.

"You seemed to have trouble on the way Fire King. It is good to know you are still here with us."

The string of words that Byre spoke had no specific tone of sympathy or concern. One could say it was rather empty and dull as if spoken only through the lore of politeness. This was only evident more to his rather apathetic expression as he slightly observed Siya's condition. His eyes also transferred to the Fire King's chosen Protectors.

"It is a pleasing thought that you have reliable protectors with you. Keep them well."

There was a seemingly underlying meaning to those word that its depth has yet to be seen. After saying that, Byre's eyes made a passing glance to a specific guest in the Fire Crew. The sense of a tainted being emitted from the frail form of a girl. He had read about such a creature once in a passing whim. It seemed that the world still have many secrets to be revealed to him. Knowing such concoction, the Earth King only spared a second worth glance to his protectors. He expected them to behave or his temperament would not only be limited to mere chaining them to the wall. It was delivered with the subtle serious intent within those greenish-blue eyes of his that seemed to glow.

As if to emphasize this, Telius who was still on Byre's shoulder delivered his words through the mind of the Earth Protectors in complete secrecy to the others present.

"Bad servants shall be punished. Will you be able to be good little protectors? I highly doubt it."

While the mental charade was going on, Byre once more looked at the Wind Princess and her retinue once she was done healing the wounded Fire King.

"Shall we begin then? The matters to be discussed are of great concern after all. The Balance and The Future are on the agenda as they always have."

Without further ado, Byre lead the way knowing full well his protectors would follow to where the Center Table laid. However, the Earth King stopped before the entrance and gestured for the Wind Princess to enter first. After all, he still have his trained and innate manner to consider in such instances.

"After you, Lady Celeste."