Chapter 140: Chapter 126 – Where Emperors were Seated

"Out of the cities in the world, Al-Hassid, Sabaya, and Tohrmutgent were the ones with the longest histories. Elves generally do not build cities, while the oldest dwarven citadel, which predated Al-Hassid by a few centuries, was forever lost just two centuries ago. Out of them, Tohrmutgent arguably had the longest history, with how the place existed - even if it wasn't named yet at the time - since prehistory. When I was still alive, I had never thought I would have a chance to visit the other cities… much less all three." - Diary of Aideen Fiachna, the First Unliving, circa 95 VA.

As she walked through the ironwood gates of the palace, hand in hand with Artair and just behind Illyvich and Zoya, the first thing Aideen noted was the sheer size of the palace. It easily matches the size of the Palace of Bones, though without auxiliary buildings and with more open courtyards instead.

 

Those courtyards teemed with life as far as her eyes could see, dense growths of young trees and shrubs covered the grassy soil, as a small man-made river ran the circumference of the open courtyards.

 

Even with the dense growths, it was not haphazard at all. While the plants looked and seemed to be naturally arranged, there was yet a sense of artistry to them, one that gave a soothing, calming feeling for those under its shades.

 

Atop the branches of the still-growing trees, perched plenty of songbirds and small rodents like chipmunks, squirrels, and opossum eyed the newcomers with curiosity in their big eyes. In the rivers swam a multitude of small fish, many of which swam near the surface when the procession walked past the river.

 

The palace itself was more frugal than she expected, although some opulence could still be seen on its architecture. Most of the building was either coated or made of marble, supposedly the work of a cadre of earth archmages from ages past.

 

Instead of paintings and expensive pottery or other such decorative items she recalled seeing when she once infiltrated the house of a noble in the past, the decorations were mostly composed of various weapons and shields.

 

Banners were still present here and there, but instead of the crest of the noble houses she learnt of, the crests displayed were far more tribal in nature. Instead of paintings, woven tapestries and embroidered handiworks depicting battles were displayed proudly on the walls.

 

A pair of therians in maid uniforms led Aideen to a large guest room, with a large bed plenty for her and Artair. They had been on the road for over a month after all, so naturally the delegation was allowed to rest and refresh themselves first, to later reconvene at the dinner feast, while official business could wait until the next day.

 

To Aideen's joy, the guest room they were given had a large bath in a separate room, and said bath was already full of hot water, likely prepared once their arrival was known. With a mischievous glint to Artair, she quickly shed off her clothes, washed herself clean by the side, then jumped into the hot water, as she allowed the warmth to wipe away the last dregs of tiredness from the overlong trip.

 

Artair joined her in the water a while later. He had taken noticeably longer to cleanse himself since unlike her, he did sweat, and fur trapped sweat rather well, which needed proper cleansing. He too sighed as he lowered himself into the hot water, a relaxed expression over his face.

 

It was the first time the two of them had some proper privacy in the past month or so, so the intimacy that followed was to be expected. In the end they barely made it to the dinner on time after they cleansed themselves again properly and quickly put some fresh clothes on after they dried themselves.

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To welcome the delegation from Ptolodecca, Khaer Ul had them ready the main dining room of the palace, one more than large enough to hold both delegations with more than half the room to spare. It turned out that many of the imperial ministers who did not join the delegation joined them too for dinner. A good amount of Orcs and Goblins were amongst their numbers.

 

Aideen was somewhat surprised by how warmly those orcs and goblins welcomed her when Artair went around and introduced her. When she asked a talkative goblin why, she learned that they knew that Ptolodecca treated orcs and goblins well, especially compared to the second empire.

 

Besides that, there was a certain kinship between them, as fellow minorities that were unwelcome in many places. The jarldoms to the east and the caliphate to the north weren't the most welcoming to any of their sort, after all. The empire changed for now, but even so the history of persecution and discrimination it left behind was still a fresh memory to these people.

 

When they sat down, Aideen noticed the preference for low, backless chairs. It made sense, since most therians had a tail or something similar. Such a seat would indeed be more comfortable for them. For her own part, she found it comfortable enough as she sat with her legs stretched under the table, a posture she noticed the orc who sat close to her also adopted.

 

Food was served soon after. Another oddity she noticed was how most plates served either had only meats, or only vegetables in them. Apparently some therian breeds could not tolerate one or the other at all, and thus required such a separation.

 

The table she was seated at had Artair besides her, as well as his older sister and father further away. Quite naturally, the plates on their table were mostly laden with meats, with only a couple exceptions. Aideen did not mind it much, and happily ate along with them.

 

At the head table where the emperor and his granddaughter sat, she noticed a more balanced spread. Wines and fruit juices were poured by servants who diligently asked the diners for their preferences, and when the emperor lifted his glass for a toast, Aideen joined in, along with everyone else.

 

It was a relaxed, peaceful night, one where everyone allowed the tiredness from the month-long journey to fade away.

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