Chapter 486: “We must play by the rules”

Time passed quickly as Aiden lamented and eventually went to freshen himself up in the washroom. Donning his clothes from yesterday, he left the room and made his way towards the dining room to enjoy what was probably the last of the sumptuous meals for at least the next 30 or so days.

Arriving as last like how a leader should, he quickly took the only empty seat left empty to the side of Masked Mistress who was seated at the helm, and to the right of Sara, who was already donning her 'official' guild attire, only that she left the large hood pulled down for the time being.

Not really bothered by the strange seating plan, he silently nodded at the ones present before taking his seat and turning his attention to the Mistress who, for feasibility, was only using a half-mask, covering the upper half of her face and leaving her thin, fine lips free to look at. At the upper right corner of her lips, the end of the cut mark could be seen.

As soon as the last person arrived and sat down, the Mistress gave a light cough, grabbing the attention of everyone present in the dining hall. With a wave of her right hand, the many maids stationed around the room bowed and quickly alighted from the room, towards the conjoined kitchen at the side. 

Barely a few seconds later they all returned with several bottles in hand. Expensive wines, brandies, or for that matter, a couple of simple fruity juices were brought in and subsequently offered to the guests.

The Mistress smiled silently, waiting until everyone had something in their glasses, before standing up and raising her glass. 

"My dear little champions! Friends of my dear daughter…" She gave a quick, shooting glance at Sara as she spoke, before wandering over to the boy next to her to glance at his reaction. Still, her eyes only lingered on them for a single moment, before it traversed over the others as she continued. 

"Please, allow me to host you one last time and make sure that you are filled and full of energy, for the upcoming arduous ordeal that you all agreed to take up in my name!" 

She raised her glass, whilst reaching for the spoon and then gently hitting it and letting the soft, crisp clinking sound echo in the room. 

"Some, or maybe even all of you think that this farce, this… brutal game that I have asked to join under my banner is just a waste of time, resources, and effort." She continued once the room quietened down once again. 

As she spoke, she turned to look at Aiden once again, as if mostly aiming her next words at him directly. 

"I cannot fault you for thinking that. In fact, I too share your opinion… Why waste so many precious resources, time, and most of all… effort to decide something that doesn't truly hold any substantial authority. Yes you may gain control of the City Guards, but those that are competing already have a hold over several groups in their berks, and that would not change regardless of who would now sit at the top." 

"I'm sorry to interrupt…" Raising his head, Aiden interjected. Turning his attention towards the masked lady, he asked with a contemplative look on his face. "If that is the case… What is the whole point? Why this whole battle? Why do you murder each other, leave everyone just that much weaker, especially with the threat of an invasion looming over our heads? I don't get it…" 

"Aiden…" Feeling the confusion and the subtle anger over the helplessness of the situation in his tone, Sara reached out and placed her palm over the boy's hand, gently squeezing it. She looked at her with a compassionate look in her eyes, smiling warmly, trying to soothe the troubled heart of the youth.

"Khm…" Releasing a fake cough, the Mistress took back the attention of the room. Her eyes still on the confused-looking boy, she explained with a barely perceptible, thin smile curving the edges of her thin lips.

"That is actually a very good question, Aiden… Unfortunately, to understand the reasoning behind this, you would need to look back in mankind's history over the ages." She spoke, shaking his head ever-so-slightly, taking a momentary pause before resuming. "Our society, our civilization is based upon the simple truth: "Might makes right!"

She drew a line with his right hand in the air, causing an image, an illusion, to appear visible to everyone in the room. The image showed a scene from a battle, where two armies clashed against each other. Whilst one side was clearly an endless stream of humans, riding on horses, donned in metal armor, holding bright, shiny swords and spears, the group on the right side of the screen caused Aiden to clench his fists with a rising heat of anger. They were orcs, goblins, and even taller, robust-looking creatures that Aiden recognized from the stories he was told as to be Ogres.

Compared to the disciplined armies on the left, they were looking like a band of misfits, lining up with pitches, and forks, and axes, wearing everyday clothing.

Even from a first glance, it was clear for everyone to see that they were the ones defending against the invading forces of mankind. 

"You see, Aiden, to understand, we would need to go back in time, all the way to the beginning where the settlers, the 'invaders' came to the shores of Eora and began their grand conquest in these lands."

She flicked her hand, causing the image to change, now showing a scene that could very well fit into a nightmare. The once green lands were painted red with the endless river of blood that was spilled over time. Mutilated, dead bodies littered the plain, no matter where one darted his or her eyes. In the distance, the orange-toned waves of fire, eating away the remains of what was probably a once peaceful civilization completed the visual torment. 

"From the very beginning, humanity was just like the Empire. Thirsty for the blood of the primitive natives who came with sticks and pebbles to defend their homeland against our hard steel. We fought, killed, and rampaged through these lands. Our forefathers forcefully claimed these lands thousands of years ago, creating the basis of what you see and know today." The Mistress narrated with a somber tone, flicking her fingers and causing the illusion to quickly dissipate. 

"From the very beginning, our society was built trampling upon the blood and gore of the weak, and this sentiment, this mindset has never truly changed since then. The kingdoms and even the Empire that surrounds us are all based upon this simple, but nowadays seemingly forgotten truth."

She turned towards Aiden, her lips curving upwards crookedly as she sighed and added.

"You see, violence is just rooted in our society, it is built upon that!"

She raised her hands, seeing how Aiden was about to voice a question again.

"I know what you want to ask, and I also want the same. It is for that very reason, we need to play by these rules… hopefully one last time, and push ourselves to the top. Only then, could we slowly, gradually make a change!"

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