Chapter 162: The Gala Begins

‎At the flying island that had been recently named Agin island,

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‎The majestic castle where the Ivos gala was going to be held was surrounded by numerous photographers, their graphic mirrors shinning non-stop.

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‎”Who’s going to arrive first?” A man asked his group.

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‎”I don’t know, this time the timings are all messy for some reason,” one of them replied.

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‎”Hey, the first person has arrived,” one of them announced, and the graphic mirrors began pointing at the horizon where a grand airship of epic proportions was steadily approaching.

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‎The grand banners rolling off it sides depicted a large wolf with ashy grey fur. The symbol of the House Ashton.

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‎The airship soon slowly descended onto the space that had been reserved for the House Ashton.

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‎The first guests of the Ivos gala had arrived and began stepping down the airship.

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‎At the lead was a man with dark hair and deep emerald eyes. He had a crown adorned with emerald jewels on his head along with the sigil of a wolf. This man was Fenrir Ashton, the Emperor of the Ashton Empire, and the overlord of the Drakara continent.

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‎Behind him was the Ashton royal family. There were at least twenty individuals, and amongst them was a particularly familiar face.

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‎Fabian stood to his father’s right, his gaze as cold as ever.

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‎”Why is it night here, Father?” a little girl asked as she peeked from behind Fenrir, tugging at his robes.

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‎”It’s Illusion sorcery, Luna.” her father responded as he patted his daughter’s silver hair.

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‎Meanwhile the photographers present were excited.

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‎”It’s House Ashton, look at that hair and those emerald eyes,” one of them spoke out as they noticed the dark hair and emerald eyes.

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‎The graphic mirrors started flashing, taking pictures of Fenrir and his family.

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‎”We greet Your Majesty, and Your Highnesses” the servants at the entrance of the gala greeted the Ashton royal family.

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‎”Please let us guide you all to your accommodations,” one of them stepped out and Fenrir nodded.

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‎The servants were to be extremely polite and submissive, beyond submissive even. Alisha, the lady of House Drake, and the one who was in charge of overseeing the Gala had been clear on that.

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‎The servants didn’t need to be told that though, even if Alisha hadn’t said so, they wouldn’t have dared to show the slightest bit of attitude.

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‎The servants guided Fenrir and his family through the entrance where only the noble families, and a few invited parties like the Aetherial association were invited.

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‎After Fenrir entered, the next to arrive was House Stormbreaker. Accompanying the Patriarch, Silvus Stormbreaker was his son, Levi Stormbreaker.

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‎As Levi was already designated as the heir, he walked beside his father with the rest of the family trailing behind them.

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‎Levi looked around, noticing the night sky and the decorations adorning the entrance, crafted by various sorcerers. However, nothing surpassed the sight of the glowing white castle in the distance.

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‎After the Stormbreakers, the next family to arrive was House Forge. At the lead the Patriarch, Cillian Forge, and trailing behind him were the rest of the family. A familiar face amongst them was Caelum Forge, who Damon had squared off against in the quatre finals.

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‎One by one, a few other invited families that were famous in the world also entered through the entrance. All were guided to their accommodations.

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‎The next royal family to arrive was House Necron, with the emperor of the Necron Empire, and the overlord of the Remea continent, Sevas Necron taking the lead. The vivid red hair of every single one of the members of the House was enough to reveal their identity. Though, a certain redhead was missing from their ranks.

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‎”Damn it! She isn’t there.” Many of the reporters had been hoping to catch glimpse of Anastasia Necron, the princess of the Necron family who was said to have popped out of nowhere, but unfortunately she didn’t seem to attend the gala.

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‎”You’re capturing their photos correctly, right?” one of the reporters asked the photographers.

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‎If there was a particular family the reporters were waiting for to arrive, it was the hosts of the Ivos Gala, House Drake, or more specifically, Alistair Von Drake. Though they were the hosts, House Drake had to arrive in a grand manner like everyone else, to show off their status. Though, Alisha, Alistair’s mother was already inside.

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‎”How many guests have entered till now?” Alisha asked a servant. After two hours, many families had arrived.

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‎”Apart from Darkfell, Whetstone…” the servant began listing the names.

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‎”All of them will arrive within an hour, so get things ready,” Alisha instructed as the maids finished her makeup.

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‎”You look beautiful, Lady Drake,” one of her personal maids complimented.

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‎”Stop flattering me. Ask Alastor to get ready to open the gala with me,” she instructed, rising from her seat. “Alistair should arrive by then.” ‎She had told Alistair to hold off appearing until most families had arrived. Areiving late tended to make a greater impact after all.

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‎Meanwhile at this point, at the entrance, House Darkfell had arrived. Every person paused as they felt the imposing aura of Amon Darkfell, the emperor of the Darkfell Empire and the overlord of the Vorde continent.

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‎By Amon’s side stood Yvonne, whose ageless beauty eclipsed even Amon’s imposing aura. Behind the two were their four children. Aldrich walked next to Ariel, while Emmett walked next to Rose.

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‎Behind the four were many other individual with the signature Darkfell looks. Most were Amon’s siblings or cousins, and the rest were their own children. Devon stood amongst them, including his own children.

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‎Many wanted to take pictures, however, the imposing aura momentarily made a few of them forget to take a picture.

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‎”Damon Darkfell isn’t with them. Is he not coming?” someone murmured in confusion. They had heard rumors that the fallen prince had been called back to the empire, so they couldn’t understand why he wasn’t present. Some even whispered about the rumors being just rumors, and that the fallen prince had never been called back home.

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‎After the Darkfell family, all the other families arrived one after another: the Whitemores, the Tinubus, the Williams, even the Whetstones, and finally, the Drakes who came in last.

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‎As the golden enamored airship of the Drakes landed on their designated parking spot, reporters immediately swamped the area.

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‎Unlike the other Houses where the head of the family or the Emperor stood at the lead, for House Drake, Alistair was the one in the lead, with Alastor right behind him.

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‎Alistair walked forward with a confident demeanor and a sunny smile that dazed the crowd- females mostly.

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‎With Alistair at the center, House Drake could be said to have made the most grand entrance in the Ivos Gala. Reporters kept taking pictures, eager to get a piece of the pie.

Alistair smiled confidently at everyone, projecting an image of the humble genius. A little behind him was Elsa Whitemore. She didn’t arrive with her family, but instead with Alistair and the Drakes.

Elsa had been with Alistair since they left the institute till this moment. Unlike in the novel as Damon remembered, Elsa was Alistair’s only partner at this gala.

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‎After the arrival of House Drake, all the servants were asked to call the representatives of all the noble and royal families to the majestic Castle.

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‎Meanwhile, back at the Darkfell Garden, Damon stood before a massive mirror, adjusting his matte black suit that had not a single crease on it. His jet black hair styled in a way that let a single curly lock fall down over the left side of his face.

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‎Everything from the suit itself, to the tie, or shoes, all were a rich black color. The only things different about his get up today was his striking grey eyes, and otherworldly pale skin.

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‎’Everyone should have arrived at the gala by now.’ Damon thought. He had refused to go along with the Darkfells because he wanted to make his own grand entrance.

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‎But for that, he needed Anastasia to agree to use her favor to ask him to be her partner for the Gala. He was going to need her face card and her anonymity to most, to make their collective entrance even grander.

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‎But, unfortunately, Anastasia had refused to bit the bullet. But, Damon had a feeling she would come through very soon. He just had to outwait her.

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‎Just as he thought that, a ping came through on his graphic mirror. Damon smiled, before accepting the transmission.

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‎The moment Anastasia’s face popped up, she went straight to the matter. “Fine, would you be partner in the Gala in exchange for the favor you owe me.”

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‎Damon’s grin widened.

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‎”You should have said so long ago. Now let’s go awe everyone, shall we?”

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