Chapter 51
No Gold, No Glitter, All Game

Instead of a two hour guild war session the next week, all guild leaders had to attend the soiree at Prontera Castle.

"You don't look too happy about it, Valkron," said Emeth, looking at him. The knight had chosen Iruna and the wizard to come with him - it was customary for a guild leader to bring two others with him. Adiemus stayed behind in Repherion for the few nights leading up to the event, in order to help him.

"I've seen the inside of Prontera Castle one too many times, of course I wouldn't be happy," answered the knight as he straightened the lapels of his jacket. "And you know I don't like wearing a tuxedo."

"Just wear it for the look of the thing, will you? It's only for a night."

"I swear I still look like a fool in it."

Iruna poked her head around the door. "Both of you men are really depressing, you know? Can't you just change in peace?"

"At least you enjoy being a distinguished woman," remarked Valkron.

"What, you don't want to be a distinguished man?" Iruna laughed. "You just wait until I get myself straightened out, and then I'm coming along to get you straightened out as well!"

"I better get going," muttered Emeth. Valkron watched resignedly as the wizard hurried out of the room. He sighed and went back to making himself look marginally presentable for the event.

The odd thing was that Adiemus was allowed to wear armour to functions like these. Valkron felt envious of him.

"You won't ever want to be seen dead in one of these, Valkron," warned the crusader. "So don't think of it. Ever."

"Well, at least you look your part."

"Yes, but not in this ridiculous ceremonial armour." Adiemus sighed. "Your sword could probably cut through it like paper."

"Well, there's the disadvantage," conceded the knight. "But then again, who else would attack you during a soiree?"

"Of course no one would attack you," said the crusader, giving him a look. "But if an assassin came along, you'd be obliged to protect the king."

And with that, Adiemus won the argument.

Valkron often wondered why Emeth seemed to go so well with his messy look. Although he tried his best to look neat (and Kushana would often help, much to the wizard's embarrassment), about two minutes later he had reverted back to his messy demeanour. Without moving.

Adiemus had said that the word 'messy' did not apply to the wizard.

"Wizards are born aristocrats," he said, watching as Kushana tried to smooth the creases out of Emeth's collar.

"What? Really?"

"Well...in the case of Emeth, maybe not. But they're cold and aloof, in general, and hold their noses up high. You don't have to take me literally, I'm just--"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it."

"So in effect, 'messy' doesn't fit him. Call it...dishabille."

"What?"

"It's messy with style," explained the crusader.

Valkron had given him a look then that made Adiemus reconsider his options and back away.

Later on, the three of them met together in the meeting room. Iruna looked stunningly beautiful. She wore a lilac sleeveless sequinned gown that reached down to her ankles; paired with off-white satin gloves and her waist-length blue hair drawn up into a bun, she was, as Emeth said, "going to shake people up".

"Eni did my hair for me," she said, indicating the bun at the back. There was what looked like a pair of chopsticks artfully pushed into it, with long glittering threads hanging from the tops.

Emeth nudged Valkron. "You've got to be glad you've got her, man."

"I feel somewhat outclassed by her," remarked the knight, who was staring.

Iruna sighed, shaking her head. "I'm trying to make you look as if you deserve to be amongst the guild leaders, but you make it look like I'm the one who should be the leader. At any rate, at least you're not dressing up like this. It's still fairly cold, and the only thing that would go with this outfit is this little fur overcoat, and it's not even warm enough."

"I can imagine that, since you're used to all that heavy armour," said Valkron. He did not add: and have the muscles to prove it.

"True," sighed the crusader.

Emeth cleared his throat. "Well then, shall we go?"

"Good luck!" called out Kushana, as they left the meeting room. Valkron, Iruna and Emeth left with the sounds of their comrades calling out to them ringing in their ears.

Adiemus was waiting for them in the hallway of Repherion. His ceremonial armour, although impractical, gave him an impressive air about him. Valkron, once again, wished he was that lucky.

"Is it me," said Emeth, "or do male crusaders wear armour while females don't?"

"I have a choice," answered Iruna primly. "Besides, ceremonial armour is usually for induction ceremonies, promotions and the like."

"I'd rather not wear a suit," added Adiemus.

Because you were married in it, said a voice in Valkron's head. And you don't want to be reminded of the memories.

Damn you, thought Valkron irritably. Will you just shut up? Why do I always have to listen to you?

Because there's no way you can switch me off. Anyway, you're going to need me very soon.

Valkron hadn't the faintest idea what the voice in his head was talking about, but he sighed and let it be. He was sure that hearing voices in your head was a sign of insanity, but it was not as if Valkron was actually losing it. Besides, it was only one voice, and he could choose not to listen to it if he wanted to.

Problem was that the advice it gave out at times was very useful.

For now, he'd let it be.

Hlin warped them to Prontera's Western Gate. That was probably when he saw the pecos and carriage, and now realised why, on the invitation, there had been a blank for 'Location of warp in Prontera'.

The pecos were of the Grand species found in the Schwartzwald Republic. They were paler in colour and had less decoration on their beaks than the normal pecos found in Sograt Desert. The thing that was most distinguishable of all was their colourful tails - normal pecos did not have tails at all. Valkron preferred his peco over them any day, even though they were potentially stronger than a normal peco.

They sat in the carriage in silence as the grand pecos pulled it along, with much rattling, to Prontera Castle. Valkron, tweaking aside the curtain to see what was going on outside, noticed people moving out of the way as the carriage passed through the crowds of merchants.

As guild leaders we're a cut above the rest, huh? he thought.

The carriage stopped right up to the doorstep. Valkron got out first and offered his hand to Iruna, who took it gracefully. Adiemus and Raven had come with them (Raven had been waiting at the Western Gate), and they too followed after Emeth, who came after Iruna had emerged.

Valkron had seen Prontera Castle from inside so many times that he was by now unaffected by its grandeur, but this time he too was taken unawares. The castle's red carpet had been rolled out right until it was over the steps leading up to the great doors of the castle. The doors were open, and from the doorway light streamed out.

The three of them - Iruna supporting her hand on Valkron's arm - made their way up the steps into a small room sandwiched between the entrance and the next room. They did not manage to reach the second one, however.

Adiemus caught up with them, saw their faces, and smiled. "Absolutely stunning, isn't it?"

"You're telling me," said Emeth.

The Great Hall of Prontera Castle was where all knighting ceremonies took place. Valkron remembered it being quite a large hall, constructed of marble and with a large crystal chandelier hanging from its ceiling. There were usually torches in brackets around its walls, and burning stands giving out light. The walls were plain, and held nothing more than the busts of the previous kings before King Tristan III.

Tonight the crystal chandelier was brightly lit, and so were the other crystal lamps that, although not as impressive in terms of size, gave out light enough to rival that of the chandelier. Red and blue drapings decorated the walls. On top of them, the great flags of the guilds hung from the ceiling. On the wall behind the decorative throne at the other end of the hall, the great flag bearing the double-headed eagle of the kingdom fluttered slightly in the breeze coming in from the door.

Valkron gazed around the walls of the hall. Maybe some flags remained in honour, or maybe they forgot to take down some of them, but whatever it was he was sure no one was going to remove the guild flags of the El Midor and the Odyssey.

"Valkron!" Iruna gasped, losing her stately composure a little. "Look!"

The knight looked where she pointed - and then understood. One wall was for the guilds that had passed, but should be honoured for time to come. The other wall was for the current guilds.

On that wall, he saw the ring of seven elaborate eyes put together. He saw the cross, with the circle in the centre. He saw the letters E and F intertwined together. He saw the double-headed eagle with the letters DoP printed onto it. He saw the simplistic sword pointing downwards with rays of light emitting from its hilt, and the letters AU on it.

And he saw the graceful phoenix, with its head held high and its wings sweeping downwards.

"They're really serious about this guild business, aren't they?" said Emeth, staring at the flag.

"Hey."

They looked around. Adiemus was standing nearby.

"If you've had enough of ogling the decorations, come this way," he said, jerking his head towards the entrance of the hall. "They need to announce you. Let's see how far this goes."

"It's going to go very far," muttered Valkron. Iruna had assumed her stately pose beside, him; if she had heard what he had said, she wasn't showing it.

They walked into the hall.

The herald saw them. Immediately, with the determination of a man wanting to get it over with, he turned to the crowd below and announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, the Raulus guild!"

People's heads turned. Valkron had been right. They had not been expecting the rookie guild to come in at this moment. However, as the knight remarked sourly later on, the flag was up there, and therefore the Raulus had a right to attend.

The three of them descended the steps into the hallway in complete silence. Despite his previous grudges against going to a soiree, dressing up and participating in something that had absolutely no purpose in his life, Valkron put on what he called his 'formal face'. He usually did that for knighting ceremonies, since he was often required to attend them as a senior knight. No matter whatever happened during them, not even a newly knighted rookie tripping over his own feet, would change his expression.

Iruna later commented that someone could have taken a mould of his face and made a bust out of it.

Emeth, while looking completely messy in his suit, somehow struck the right chord with the women. As the three of them passed through the crowd to where all the guild leaders were supposed to stand, women of all ages sighed wistfully or gasped in lovestruck envy at him. Emeth, however, showed no sign of being interested in anything.

As a rule, all the guild leaders attending the soiree had to stand on a specially made pedestal for them, while the people they had brought with them stood behind. The result was a grumbling Iruna, since Valkron was temporarily taller than her. Emeth promised to tell her what she couldn't see, to keep her at peace.

He was standing in between Adiemus and Raven. On Raven's other side he could see Selvatinius. The priest was standing quite a distance away from the man on the other side, which was Vineis. Later on, Raven switched places with Selvatinius so that the line of guild leaders would not have an embarrassing gap.

Valkron looked at Adiemus. The crusader had an expression on his face that was similar to what Valkron felt like.

"Adiemus?" he whispered.

"Hm?"

"What guild is that?"

The crusader looked at where the knight was pointing. "That flag?"

"Yes."

"That was the Eye of Odin."

Something about the way Adiemus said it made Valkron ask, "What happened?"

"The Eye of Odin was a rookie guild, like yours. Like yours, it rose quickly through the ranks and claimed two hundred members. It was led by an assassin called Horus."

"What happened to it?"

"Horus attacked Fadhgrindh during the Black cross campaign the day you took Repherion. They almost got through." Adiemus' face darkened. "And then they suffered the magic of Sedir."

"One man defeated a guild of two hundred?"

"One man made a guild of two hundred fear him, and then gave us a glimpse of what he could do by poisoning Horus."

Valkron stayed silent. Whenever Adiemus used that tone, he knew there was no use pushing further. The crusader would not say more.

He was just about to ask Adiemus what they were doing on the pedestal when someone flounced past them, waving a black box and a notebook. She came back a few seconds later, when Valkron was still trying to make sure that he hadn't just seen a very revealing...garment...pass by.

"Ooh! Are you Valkron of the Raulus!" she gasped out, her black box flouncing around. She took the pencil from behind her ear, flipped open her notebook and smiled eagerly at him.

The knight had never come across the upper class companies of Prontera. True, he had lived and worked in the city for a good part of his life, but Valkron was wary of people who lived off others' misfortunes without a care in the world.

"Well, yes," he said. The girl looked young, with her hair pulled back and tied into two heavily curled ponytails high up on her head, on either side. Her eyes were so blue that they were almost white.

Although this would have made her pretty, the fact that she had taken it into her mind that kohl around her eyes looked good on her ruined everything.

"I can't believe it! This is your first time in a guild soiree, am I right!"

Valkron was wondering how she could speak so explosively. He could hear every letter of New Runic being forced out on him, and felt sorry for the language.

"Yes, indeed. It's not something dramatic, is it?"

Just then, Adiemus' heavy foot landed on his. It took Valkron all his effort to not wince in pain.

"But to the Prontera Standard it is!" The girl, who appeared to be hopping from foot to foot in excitement, held out a hand. "I'm Serissa! So glad to meet you!"

Ah. So that explained the weirdness. Valkron took it carefully and shook her hand.

"Do you mind if I ask you a few questions," Serissa looked around her, "later?"

"If I have the time," he replied, and added, privately in his head, and if you manage to see me.

"Okay then! See you!"

When she had gone, Adiemus said, "You'd better not say too much to the Prontera Press staff. They'd sell their souls to the devil just to know everything that's going on, and then go and exploit all the information for zeny. Serissa's new, so she might make mistakes, but I doubt they'll get past the editor."

"You make them sound like the devil's minions or something," remarked the knight, raising an eyebrow.

"If they were demons in disguise, yes, I would."

"I'll try to avoid her as much as I can," the knight assured him. "Besides, I'm already famous enough. I don't need anymore publicity."

"I imagined you'd say that," said Adiemus, looking amused. "But then again, who can defeat the persuasive powers of the Prontera Press?"

Valkron gave him a look at this point.

Suddenly the din in the hall faded away. Valkron found himself standing to attention, and stayed that way. Adiemus, Raven, Selvatinius, Alya, Vineis and the other guild leaders Valkron did not know were doing the same.

The crowd of people parted. Valkron wondered what a crowd of people were doing in a guild soiree, and then realised that they were all nobles. He kept an eye on the gap the crowd had formed.

The first to emerge from it was a group of Prontera palace guards. They took up positions around the Great Hall with their partisans held straight up. They stood in silence as court nobles followed, along with what Valkron later found to be a few of the members of the Kingdom's Musicians assigned to the royal court.

Then came Seyren, his staff of office held high and his usual book held in his other hand. Valkron watched him make his way up to the throne and stand next to it. His face looked lazy and casual, but the knight had spent a long time with people like him, and he was not easily fooled.

Finally, followed by an even larger group of palace guards, was King Tristan III. The knight remembered his knighting ceremonies vividly as he watched the king make his way up to the throne and sit down.

The king made a speech. Valkron generally didn't listen to it, but this time he did.

"Welcome to the first guild congregation of the year!" the old king announced, to polite applause. "I hope everyone is well, for without the guilds of the kingdom we would not be where we are now."

He continued, this time in a more serious tone. "Over the years, guilds have come and gone. However, the Great Hall shall always be decorated with the flags of the guilds worth mentioning, and the leaders of those guilds will have their names etched into the history of the kingdom forever. Let us pray for their peace, and respect them as forerunners of our proud standing in the continent."

There was something Valkron was sure was a minute of silence, except that it lasted for about less than half of its supposed time. When the king spoke again, his tone was much brighter.

"However, I am elated to announce that today we have several new champions amongst us! Let us all celebrate their entrance into the world that is the War of Emperium! May they too alter the history of Rune-Midgard, and prove themselves in the battle of the guilds!"

There was polite applause again, but it quickly faded away when Seyren stepped forward.

"I call forward the guilds that have made their way into the ranks of the War of Emperium and fought to maintain their positions," he said. Unlike King Tristan, he did not shout; his voice was already echoing impressively through the Great Hall. He pulled out a scroll and unravelled it.

"First in the War of Emperium rankings for six months," he read out. "Almost five hundred economy points accumulated. Eleven castles under its control. Boasts some of the best troops in the kingdom. Ladies and gentlemen, the Black Cross."

Valkron watched as Vineis made his way up, flanked by Sheuth and the dark-skinned assassin he knew as Lucius, and bowed to the crowd in front. There were quite a few cheers from the crowd, and someone shouted, "Black Cross forever!" before the people around shushed him.

Once the wizard had gone to the other side of the hall, Seyren looked back down at the scroll. "Second in ranking. Has a total of three hundred economy points accumulated. Two castles under control. Renown for flexibility and excellent cooperation. Ladies and gentlemen, the Seven Eyes."

Once again, there were cheers. Valkron looked at Adiemus just in time to see the crusader roll his eyes.

"They like the two guilds because of their ranking," he explained. "Last time they liked the Exodus Faction and the Defenders of Prontera because of our ranks, too. It wasn't worth it."

Seyren went down the list without any change in his already dull, flat tone. It was as if he was so used to it there was no point in looking forward to it any longer - and Valkron would bet anything that this was true.

The knight was starting to drift off in his own thoughts by now. Adiemus and Raven had gone off, and so was Selvatinius. He was now standing with the leaders of the Guardians of Geffen and the Legionnaires, who were standing as far as possible from him. Valkron ignored them. They could stand as far as they wanted, provided they didn't do it just to get a run up so that they could attack him--

"Sixth in ranking, and rising fast. Has accumulated at least two hundred and fifty economy points. Controls Britoniah, and two castles in Greenwood Lake. Has risen to an impressive stand in six months. Renown for its ferocity, determination and purpose. Ladies and gentlemen, the Raulus."

Valkron felt a nudge in his back from Emeth, and automatically turned to go. As he went up, most of the crowd actually erupted in cheers, although there was some fantastic booing thrown in as well. Valkron glanced back and observed that Emeth and Iruna were stony-faced, and not showing any emotion whatsoever.

Someone shouted, "Three cheers for the rookie!" Another person called out, "Three hundred says they disband by the end of the year!" And then, as crowds were wont to do, everyone took up on the bet, until even the most distinguished nobles found themselves being teased into shouting out as well.

"Silence."

It was not a very loud word. It had not been said with any threat or anger whatsoever. Nevertheless, like the tendrils of an ink drop in water, the silence spread, until the crowd was perfectly silent, staring wide-eyed at Seyren.

"This is the Great Hall of Prontera Castle," he said softly. "You stand in front of the king, and the kingdom's most distinguished guilds. You should be ashamed."

Valkron had to fight the urge to listen to Seyren's drawling voice. There was something about the sage that he couldn't quite put his finger on - something that seemed friendly, but warned of danger.

After they had stepped down, Valkron looked at Adiemus and Raven. "Am I in trouble?"

The two of them looked at each other. Then Raven shrugged. Both of them seemed to be at a loss for words.

Selvatinius, who was standing nearby, sighed. "Valkron," he said, his smiling face giving nothing away, "there is no word to describe you."


Valkron found the soiree to be quite dull. All everyone did was to stand around, talk and eat. He had the notion that politics was going around, but right now he wasn't interested in it.

Iruna and Emeth had left him to circulate around the hall, talking and mingling with the others. Iruna had found other fellow crusaders and was chatting brightly to them, while Emeth was constantly in the company of women and seemed to be doing well. Valkron envied his charm that seemed to pull in the ladies without any effort, and yet at the same time the strong self-discipline that kept them away from getting too close to him.

I told you Emeth was the right one for the job, said a voice in his head. Look at him. All he needs is to show his true self now, and you know what his true self is.

It's only a hint, Valkron corrected the voice. Just a hint. It's a mighty big risk I'm doing, banking heavily on him, but I just have the feeling he can pull it off.

"Hello again!"

Too late, Valkron realised that he should have been moving about and not standing in one place. Serissa had caught up with him, and now she was holding her notebook, her pencil poised above it eagerly.

"So how's it like, going from a lone mercenary knight commander to a powerful guild leader!" she said, her eyes shining in anticipation. Valkron suddenly imagined a small dog with very large eyes begging to be played with.

"It's...all right," he said, struggling to keep out of her grasp. "Stressful, though."

"If you had the chance, would you go back to being a lone mercenary again!"

Valkron thought over this before actually saying anything. "No. I think I prefer this life."

"What if your guild was martialled in court and disbanded by force!" Serissa had the amazing ability to scribble in her notebook without looking at it. "Would you rather go back to how things were before the Raulus was formed!"

"I have no idea how to answer that question, and I think I probably wouldn't know the answer unless it really happened," answered the knight carefully.

"Well, it's just hypothetical!"

"Hypothetical or not, it's something a guild leader wouldn't want to think about." Valkron was starting to tire. Serissa was a like a very bright beam of torchlight forcing itself on him, and there was only so much that a man like him could take.

Serissa scribbled this down, and smiled so dazzlingly that Valkron had to use all his effort not to shield his eyes from her sparkling white teeth. "Well then, thank you! I hope we meet again!"

"I certainly hope we don't," he muttered, watching her flounce off to harry the leader of the Legionnaires.

He turned, and came face to face with none other than Vineis.

They stared at each other for a few seconds. During that very short period of time, Valkron realised that Vineis somehow looked like any normal man, with a look of surprise. Then the wizard's face relaxed and he smiled, albeit a tad stiffly.

"I wonder why I'm surprised at your presence here," he said. "As a guild rising through the ranks, you deserve to have your flag hung in the Great Hall. You have made quite an impression on the rest of us. Congratulations."

Valkron inclined his head a little. "Thank you. I myself am awed by your determination and strength in maintaining your position in the guild wars. You must have had many rivals, and yet--"

"--all have been overcome, like hurdles in a race," said Vineis smoothly. "Yes, it has been rather tough, but the experience is rewarding."

"You must attend these soirees with great enthusiasm as well."

Vineis nodded briefly. "Well, why not? It's not everyday that one gets to participate in such glorifying ceremonies. Although I imagine you're not very happy about it, being the knight who dislikes fame."

The knight thought over this. Vineis seemed innocent enough, and yet his words were pushing for somewhere else. Valkron did not want to fall prey to it, whatever it was.

"Let's just say I'm rather disillusioned with everything these days," he said, at length. "At least you, Vineis, are still young enough to be ignorant of quite a lot of things man should never know."

The wizard looked slightly taken aback. "Is that good?"

"It keeps the darkness away," replied Valkron.

There was no change in his expression, but something in Vineis' eyes made Valkron realise that somehow he had touched something - something Vineis had that he didn't show. However, it was lost the next second.

"Well, I should be leaving you to your own," said the wizard. "May you have a good night, and enjoy yourself."

"The very same to you, Vineis." Valkron nodded at him, and watched him go, followed by Sheuth. He overheard the wizard telling the rogue, "Now, we really need to find Lucius. No night is safe without him."

Someone tapped him on the shoulder. The knight turned around to see the dark-skinned assassin who had been following Vineis earlier.

"Lucius?" he said, in surprise.

The assassin put a finger to his lips. Unlike everyone else in the hall, he was not wearing any formal wear; he was wearing the assassin's standard uniform.

"Beware," he said.

And then he was gone.

Valkron blinked in surprise. His first thought was whether it had been his imagination. Then he realised that although Lucius had indeed gone from his sight, it had not been a trick of the light. The assassin was drifting silently through the crowd towards Vineis and Sheuth; the reason why valkron had missed him was because he blended in so well with the mishmash of the colours around him.

The knight scratched his head. Something was going on with the guilds...and he didn't know what it was.

Too old, eh? sneered the voice in his head. You should have taken notice of politics earlier, in your life. Gold and glitter, Valkron, all you see is gold and glitter - and that is what they want you to see, even if you don't want it and have no use for it. Gold and glitter, it's just a disguise. Everyone here has a motive.


Later on he discovered how much gold and glitter there was.

"Being friendly with the ladies is quite a rewarding experience," said Emeth, as their carriage made its way back to the Western Gate. "Once you know how to twist words with them, they tell you everything. They see you as a sensitive man, and then everything comes out."

"Remind me never to talk with you again," commented Iruna.

"The magic we can play can be quite interesting," continued the wizard, ignoring her. "If only you know how to play it right. Anyway - Valkron, I suggest you start taking an interest in politics now."

Valkron stayed silent.

Emeth probably thought the knight was indirectly thinking why, because he said, "It looks like the War of Emperium is starting to revolve around you. Vineis may not mind this, but a lot of his guild members dislike you strongly, and are voicing their discontent. The wizard treats his guild like family, so there's a risk of him taking their word and begin acting on you. I have no idea why the tide is turning in favour of you, but the news of the Repherion Alliance has spread. They're seeing us as a major threat, and they want to get us out of the way. They'll do anything to do it, by hook or by crook. And although Seyren's completely unbribable, they could probably get away with it by using loopholes in the laws."

"It's not just that, Emeth," said Iruna. "There's an awfully complex game being played right now by the Black Cross in general. It seems that Valkron appears to be an obstacle in it. I don't know what the intentions of the Black Cross are in that game, but they seem...significant."

Emeth sighed. "I don't know why this is happening just when we want to live in peace. Valkron, did you hear me? You have to get started now."

When Valkron spoke, Emeth and Iruna stared at him.

"If you don't know, I'm already playing another game, but with Apocalypse Ultima, Defenders of Prontera and the Exodus Faction." He lifted his head. "All we need is for the Black Cross to make a move. On us."


I forgot to add several things in the 'author's notes' sections recently, and I've forgotten quite a few, so I'll add them in as I go along and remember them on the way O.o

If Selvatinius existed in-game, he would be a level 99 battle priest. By battle priest, I mean the kind that uses a mace to stave in people's skulls.

Also – there is nothing to worry about the voice in Valkron's head. He's not insane. That's just the voice of the other knight, the alternate state of mind he has.