The palace and headquarters of the famed guild Dark-and-Light was… astounding, to put it simply. From the outside, it had looked grand enough—but now, standing in the massive hall that was the throne room, I could appreciate its true glory. The room was larger than any other room I'd seen in my life, its ceiling and walls so far away from my viewpoint that it almost felt like I was outside. The interior design was stunning as well, and very suited to the guild's needs.
The entirety of the guild was split into two sides which cooperated and functioned together like a regular guild, but were still that tiny bit set apart. The two sides were—as stated in the guild's
name—Dark and Light. As such, the entire palace was separated into these two sides, the Dark side's interior decorated with black or dark purple walls, ceilings and floors, and contained furniture and equipment of the same colours, while the Light side sported a vibrant white and gold.
The throne room, the entrance and center of the large building, was split through the
center—the left side belonging to Dark, and the right belonging to Light.
I gazed up at the thrones at the back of the room from where I stood in the center. The one on the left was a pure obsidian, while the other was a stunning white marble. More importantly, though, was the thrones' occupants.
The twin queens of the guild Dark-and-Light, each leading one of the two sides, yet joint together in an undying friendship.
Sitting confidently in the obsidian throne, one leg crossed over the other and a grin on her face, was Eslaya, Queen of Darkness and leader of the Dark side of the guild. Her purple hair was tied back to either side of her head, and her outfit seemed to be a mix of an adventurer's outfit and clothing of royalty. It was well known that she was greatly respected as one of the main minds behind the operation of the guild, although she humbly deferred control of the guild to the Queen of Light, who was the sole Guild Master.
Her name was Kailla, and she smiled at me kindly as I stared in awe at the two figures at the back of the room. Huge, bony wings I recognized as trophies from the Gates of Darkness emerged from her back and spread to either side of the marble throne. Although her position in the guild named her the Queen of Light, she was queen of something much more important. She was a witch of the dimensions—the Queen of Time and Space.
My heart pounding in my chest, I took one step forward. Then another. Soon I stood before the thrones, and the rest of the guild was fanned out in a semicircle around me.
They were an interesting array of people, ranging from some of the awakened Nasod princesses to archers, swordsmen, and some carrying around massive cannons—I'd heard the cannons were called Destroyers.
I had started to open my mouth to speak when Kailla stood up, stretched a bit, and walked over to me. "So," she started, "I hear you want to join our guild."
I closed my mouth, and simply nodded.
"We don't invite just anyone, you know."
I swallowed and nodded again.
"What can you do?"
This was the question I'd been waiting for. I forced my nerves to calm down, and held up my white staff, the soft feathered wings on the end slowly waving back and forth with the magic the staff held. "I'm a magician," I said simply, "and I'm pretty confident in my skills."
"Oh?" A look of intrigue crossed Kailla's face. "Essy?" She called back to Eslaya.
The Queen of Darkness, silent until now, stood up and stepped towards me. "Of course," she murmured to Kailla.
It's hard to describe what happened next. The room went black, and all I could see was Eslaya standing before me. A ring of light seemed to flash out from her, and I found myself unable to move. A flash of terror rushed through my mind, and I instantly reached out to my staff for magic to repel this binding the Queen had placed on me.
The magical binding seemed to hold against my onslaught for a moment, and then disappeared with a snap.
Blinded by a momentary rage, I instinctively called out to the magic to summon a Hell Stone—a spinning, spiked chunk of rock—and aimed it directly at Eslaya.
Of course, she reacted immediately, and, to my surprise, summoned another Hell Stone to block mine. The two grinded together for a few seconds, but both soon faded and the world returned to it had been—except the entire guild was staring at me, and I had fallen to my knees in shock.
A hand reached out to me, and I glanced up to see the Queen of Darkness. She had a wide grin plastered across her face. "You use the same magic I do," she said incredulously. "I'd like it very much if you were to join the Dark.
Kailla laughed. "Well, I suppose that's decided."
I blinked, and, gathering my wits, took Eslaya's hand. She pulled me to my feet and the rest of the guild, having overcome their own shock and were beginning to clap. Many of them called out to me in congratulations. "Welcome to the guild!"
Eslaya looked at me and tilted her head to the side, still smiling. "What's your name?"
"Tisae."
She nodded, processing this, and turned to face the rest of the guild. "Everyone, may we welcome our newest guildmate Tisae as the Princess of Darkness!"
A gasp ran through part of the crowd, though others had obviously been expecting this.
"What…" I started to mutter, but realizing no one could hear me, I spoke up. "What exactly does that mean?"
Eslaya turned back to me. "It means you're my successor. If anything happens to me, you'll be the new Queen of Darkness." I gaped in surprise. She noted my reaction, and laughed. "Don't worry," she continued, "I'm not planning on dying anytime soon."
Kailla gave me a quick tap on the shoulder. "Let me be the first to say I'm glad to have you here." She flashed me a grin. "I've never seen anyone repel Essy's binding that quickly before."
"A—ah… Thank you… Queen—" As soon as I spoke the word 'queen', she interrupted me.
"Just call me Kailla. We don't call each other by fancy titles around here. After all," she poked my shoulder playfully, "we're all family here."
The rest of the day was a little more than slightly chaotic, spent wandering the palace in an attempt to remember the layout, and meeting countless guild members, some distinctly more interesting than others. A magician girl named Yukari, dressed up like a vampire, insisted that I call her Yukari-senpai. A swordsman with spiked red hair and two large blades strapped to his belt, Naka, warned me very seriously that if I ever harmed Kailla, I would die a painful death.
Needless to say, my dreams were very interesting that night.
