As time went by, I took notice of the plethora of mana-nullifying devices the guards were carrying and felt a little more comfortable knowing that they too were prepared. After a wait of some ten minutes, during which we could see the king pacing in the room beyond the curtain and joking with the guards, we heard footsteps coming from the hallway.

A sudden rush of worry enveloped me as I heard muffled complaints being voiced about everyone having to remove their shoes. From where I was standing, I could see the white robes of the officer of the Holy Order who was protesting about it, but only up to thigh height. This was probably the paragon, the personal guard of one of the two archons.

To my surprise, he started walking toward the room entrance but none of the guards moved to stop him. I soon realized they did not need to.

The male priest was met with a force field which, should he have had no strong magical protection, would have violently thrown him backward. Instead, he abruptly stopped moving as if he had walked into a wall.

After a brief back and forth with the guards, I saw him take his shoes off and enter the room without them. Soon after, I saw a female priestess of The Order take off her boots and enter as well. She was the second paragon.

I really hoped the defensive plans of Man and the king included these two powerful spellcasters as well. I still couldn’t see the faces of the paragons, or anything above their waists, but I saw them taking their place at the side of the entrance. Soon after, I heard the voice of the male priest.

“By the name of The Divine and Its mana,” the paragon yelled, “the archon of Divine Restoration comes forth.”

A new, male figure made its appearance now, taking off his boots before entering the room. His feet didn’t look like they belonged to a very old man, but his robes were intricately stitched. The robes of the fourth archon.

I tried to listen for his voice but the short conversation he had with the king was too quiet for me to understand.

Seconds after, the female priest spoke, not as loudly as the male, but her voice reached our ears even more clearly.

“By the name of The Divine and Its mana, the archon of Divine Enforcement comes forth,” she announced.

I could now see archon Simeon’s feet approach the door. His robe was similar to that of the fourth archon, though his emitted a faint golden glow. It was most probably enchanted to +10 or even more.

I saw him stop in front of the doorway and to my horror, he took a step and entered the throne room with his matte black leather boots still on his feet.

Immediately, I saw the feet of all the guards slightly shift toward him, though no movement at all was heard. This was evidence of the unfathomable level of power Archon Simeon possessed.

Nobody else, save for Archon Adah, would be able to bypass such a strong enchantment so easily. In absolute silence, I saw the figure step to the side, take off his boots and leave them inside the doorway.

Archon Simeon’s figure drew closer to the king, and I heard them exchange a few words before they started moving toward the table where we were waiting. The hand of the king appeared first, pulling the curtain across so the guests could enter. The first one through was the male priest who’d had trouble coming to terms with being separated from his shoes.

Name : Tarek Hona

Race : Elf/Human

Class : Divine Paragon

Level : 51

He was followed by the female priest, the paragon of Archon Simeon.

Name : Mielia Setur

Race : Light Elf

Class : Divine Paragon

Level : ??

They were both wearing the traditional white robes of the Holy Order and their faces were expressionless. The male priest barely turned his completely shaved head to regard us while the woman moved her thick curly hair away from her face to look at all of us. Neither gave us even a hint of acknowledgment.

The next person to cross the curtain threshold was Archon Simeon himself.

Name : Simeon

Race : Human

Class : Divine Archon

Level : ??

Even though his white robes were not glowing much anymore, his long white beard and hair gave him a glow of their own. His head was covered by an oversized white hood that was part of his long robes. The edges of his sleeves were made of brown leather, as was his belt, all of them adorned with golden trims.

Once he was closer, he turned his face toward us and gave us a smile under his heavy white eyebrows and mustache. Not expecting it at all, I smiled back and moved my attention to the king who was now looking at me.

I responded to his look with a quizzical expression but he only shifted his gaze to Seika and I noticed Man nodding in understanding. The fourth archon walked in and I felt my fists clench at the sight of him.

“Hello brother,” said Haad, the fourth archon. “Hello, sister.”

Name : Haad

Race : Human

Class : Divine Archon

Level : ??

Had it not been for Man stepping in front of me, and my sister squeezing my shoulder, I would have rushed to gouge his eyes. His clothes and expression may have changed to match his new rank, but his mocking smile remained the same.

“So, you are the brother,” said Man, his face dead serious for the first time. “Archon Simeon, do you make it a habit of giving power to people who beat and torture their siblings?”

My anger was still boiling but my senses returned to me once I saw Man’s serious pose. It was at that point I realized how hard my sister’s hand was pinching my shoulder. This was as difficult for her as it was for me.

I took her hand in mine while I tried to steady my breathing. I saw through his game and I was not going to let him win.

I will be colder than ice.

“King Mena El Os, I feel your son’s stance is not helping us start on the best of terms,” said Archon Simeon.

“My son has his own voice, Archon,” replied the king.

“Indeed, he does,” replied the archon, while looking at Man. “I would like to extend my apologies to everyone in this room who was affected by Haad Leonil’s violent behavior last year.”

We looked at each other part-confused and part-surprised to hear someone as powerful as an archon of the Holy Order apologize. Archons were considered infallible.

“What he did to you, Adel,” he said, looking at me before turning to my sister, “and you Seika, was unjust. I hope you find it in your hearts to accept this apology.”

“The apology would have sounded a lot more truthful, Archon Simeon,” Man started once more, “if it came through the mouth of the culprit.”