“All these small rooms,” began the countess, “are called Hallowed Oaths. Up to three people can sit in the same Hallowed Oath and join in the Court of Hallows’ discussion.”

Opening one of the ten-plus doors, she waved Gaius and Isabelle over. “Right now, this Hallowed Oath isn’t activated yet, but once it is, your environment will change into that of the real Court of Hallows. It is just a visual representation, but your upper body can be seen by other people sitting in, and vice-versa. At the same time, your voices will be heard, and you’ll be able to hear the others too.”

With a look of pride on her face, Countess Reinford patted the door. “It’s the most advanced means of communication in the Western Holdings.”

“Hmm, uh, impressive.” Gaius looked around at the glassy walls inside, and made a mental note to restrain his movements. It wouldn’t be nice if he accidentally broke something.

“I think the Display might be taking over, though.”

The countess coughed and ignored Isabelle’s incredibly pertinent words. “Once you’re all comfortable and settled in, this red button will start up the Hallowed Oath. Press it again to leave. Any other questions?”

“No, not really.”

“Excellent. Alright, you two just make yourself comfortable. There’s some drinks in that compartment there, so if you ever feel thirsty, open it up.” She stretched. “Alright, see you in a bit.”

A low hum filled the Hallowed Chamber as the countess vanished into another of those little cabins.

“Shall we try it out, then?” Gaius asked. “Should be fun. And besides, it’s a virtual conference. No Demigod’s going to reach out to me physically here, so if I really want to, I can insult them all I like.”

That sentence earned him a rap on his head, but he didn’t really feel anything.

“I’m reminded why I like squishing your cheeks more,” Isabelle muttered, after rubbing her knuckles tearfully. “Your body’s really hard. Hurts.”

Gaius felt bad at that sight, and decided to not mouth off after all. Leading her into the Hallowed Oath, he closed the door and pressed the nice red button sitting on the metal desk. It was the kind of button that made him want to smack it, but Gaius knew full well that a casual smack from him might just ruin the whole artefact, so he had to settle by gingerly pushing the button.

Fortunately, the artefact came to life, and within seconds, their surroundings had changed. They were now in a huge chamber, whose walls were made of shiny, shiny wood. It was like an auditorium or a huge conference chamber, like the Octagon built for the Conference of the Four, and there were other people sitting around the place.

A pleasant chime enveloped the noisy hall, and everyone fell silent as a stately figure sitting at the elaborate table on-stage stood up.

“All rise in welcome of the Lost Star and his beloved.”

“We hear and obey.”

In a single, fluid movement, the others present rose to their feet, and Gaius found himself in awe of how unified the Court of Hallows were. It also didn’t help that everyone present had a head of nice blue hair, which made him think about the tide when everyone stood up.

“Wait,” Gaius whispered to Isabelle, “who were they rising for again?”

“It seems to be us,” Isabelle whispered back.

“Ah.”

“We extend our cordial greetings to the Lost Star and his beloved,” said the person on-stage, who was occupying the centre of attention. “Our gratitude for your assistance in taking down the mad great god.”

Gaius took a long look at Queen Hyperion, before nodding. “Think little of it.”

He didn’t quite know what else to say, so he nudged Isabelle lightly. Diplomacy really wasn’t his thing, so he found himself tongue-tied after his customary self-humbling. In contrast, Isabelle, who had spent her childhood as a noble, was far better equipped to handle such nuanced things like this, so he left it to her.

It was an efficient division of labour, all things considered.

“By invitation of the esteemed Countess Reinford,” said Isabelle, “we have come to witness the proceedings of the Court of Hallows. We know not the purpose of our invitation, but we are nonetheless honoured to be part of such a prestigious gathering.”

Inwardly, Gaius found himself marvelling at Isabelle’s composure. Wondering if he should get her to do this more often, he followed her in bowing, before sitting down with the others

“That’s impressive,” Gaius whispered. “Any tips?”

“Do this many times, and you’ll get the hang of it,” Isabelle replied back.

Gaius blinked. That wasn’t the answer he was hoping for, so he said, “Never mind, you take care of stuff like this in the future. I’ll just sit around and watch you happily. It’s nice to see this part of you too.”

“Meanie.”

“Meanie?!”

Shaking his head, he held her hand and watched the proceedings resume. Queen Hyperion directed a smile at him and said, “Prior to your appearance, my court was discussing the situation at the battlefront. Would you like a transcript?”

“A transcript of your honoured court proceedings will be a great delight for us,” Isabelle replied.

“Excellent. As guests of extreme importance, We will receive your opinions with immense weight and respect. If a time comes in which you feel an imperative to raise an opinion, me and mine shall listen.”

“We thank you for your esteemed view of me and my beloved,” Isabelle replied. “If such a need does strike us, we shall do just that.”

“Thank you.” Queen Hyperion cleared her throat. “We shall now return to the topic at hand — Hereward’s declaration to Orb an hour ago.”

As discussion resumed, the metal desk in front of them hummed to life. Two pieces of paper popped out shortly afterwards. The first one was the timetable of a usual session, while the second was the transcript so far. Right now, they were in the middle of a deliberation, and as Gaius scanned through the transcript, he felt his body jerk.

“Gaius? What’s wrong?”

He shook his head, staring at one sentence. “Topic of today: the reinforcements summoned by Hereward.”

“Seems like that’s the hot topic of the day,” said Isabelle, her voice quiet.

“Yes.” Gaius took a deep breath, and watched as the remaining minutes allotted for deliberations counted down.