[1108 Words]
—Arid, The Overworld, the Imperial Capital of Ardynor, Council Chamber, 2003.5 AC—
The council chamber of the capital was full of grandeur; its vaulted ceilings seemed to be lost to shadow, its stone walls filled with inscriptions of the long memory of how the empire had risen and fallen and risen again.
A great table of darkened wood commanded the center, encircled by ten figures drawn from territories and realms as distant as they were divided.
At its head sat Naya.
She carried herself not merely as a ruler, but as one accustomed to the burden of the crown. Her long, flowing blonde hair fell like a river of gold upon her shoulders, framing her face that looked unyielding. Her bright green eyes were sharp as steel as she swept across those assembled, each of them with great authority.
She was the representative of humankind, the adoptive daughter of Adam Kaiser, and the acting empress of Ardynor, a title she carried not as an accessory but as a burden.
To her right sat the envoys of the Demon race.
Yolevina Nyxaia, their Empress, her face looked less calm and more like restraint. Her dark skin had a faint sheen beneath the chamber's dim light, while curved horns rose from her head like a crown.
Her black hair fell in strands, framing eyes of bleeding crimson, thin lines trailing downward along her cheeks like tears that refused to fall.
At her side stood Kai Liovi, her adviser and master of sciences, bearing the same marks of their kind, though his gaze was sharp and, like always, had this calculating look to it.
Across from them lounged Volt Kyotai of the Beast race.
He sat visibly impatient, one leg stretched forward, fingers tapping idly against the table's edge. Wolf's ears twitched atop his head, and a tail swayed behind him in restless agitation.
His attire was a vest and shorts fashioned from tiger skin. His expression was one of thinly veiled irritation, as though the very act of waiting was an insult.
Further along sat the rulers of the Elven race, Seara and Tolowrin Varidian.
They carried themselves with dignity; their presence was like the feeling of a large, deep forest untouched by time. Their dresses were made of leaves, vines, and other things found in the forest.
Their pointed features and steady gazes revealed little, yet suggested much, watchful, patient, and not easily swayed.
Near them sat the Dragon representatives, Lyle and Kyle Drakar.
Both bore the unmistakable marks of their race: horns rising from the back and front of their heads respectively, their slitted eyes that seemed to gleam with fire, and tails that moved slowly and deliberately as they looked at the others, mainly Volt.
Apart from all of them, yet present, was Lior Spirita.
Neither man nor woman, the spirit existed as a being made from energy, its shape shifting subtly as though not fully bound to the physical realm. Golden patterns were traced across its body like tattoos. It did not sit, nor did it stand; it simply was there, representing the Spirit King and the Spirit race.
And last among them, though not least, was Yazin.
He sat apart, not by distance alone, but by nature. His short white hair framed a face untouched by age, and his golden eyes carried a depth that felt both distant and absolute. There was something divine about him. He regarded none of the assembly with particular interest, apart from Naya. To her alone, he gave respect.
"So, now that we've all gathered here, and the freak accidents that have brought destruction to the world have stopped, we should get ahead of this, just in case it were to start up again."
Naya said, her gaze sweeping across the assembled representatives of Arid's races. How long that fragile peace would last before tempers snapped into conflict remained uncertain.
"So what will we do?" Yazin replied, his tone filled with certainty. "I told you, it was the will of the world that caused this. And while our lord is powerful, he will not stand in the way of a world set on destroying itself. If that is the case, then we simply leave the planet." His words made the gods' position clear.
Volt, Seara, and Tolowrin reacted instantly, anger filling their faces. The idea that the world might destroy itself over a single person left a bitter feeling in their chests, especially when Adam's connection to this world was something beyond reason, something almost magical.
"We have to do something. You can't just decide this," Volt shot back, his voice tight with anger and rising panic. "Your gods were born here; they can't truly believe this. What about you, Lior? What does the Spirit King say?"
Yazin stiffened at Volt's tone, irritation flaring as he prepared to answer more forcefully, but Lior spoke first, cutting through the tension.
"The Spirit King has said that if the world falls, we spirits will remain within the spirit realm until we find another world. Until then, we will do everything we can to aid whatever life remains."
"Thank you, Lior. And pass along my gratitude to the Spirit King," Naya said, her voice steady. Then her gaze hardened as it moved across every representative present.
"For now, we will all do everything in our power to save this world, or at least its people. And you will all help, whether you like it or not."
The room answered her with cold, unwelcoming stares, resistance blazing just beneath the surface. Naya met each one without flinching, her eyes flashing with power, power enough to still them, if only for the moment.
But just then, the Demon Empress, Yolevina, sat up, and with her doing that, so did the other representatives, but just when they were about to leave, a horrifying pressure pressed down on all of them, making their backs bend.
Naya's bright green eyes dimmed as she stopped all the representatives in place.
"Girl, you think that's enough to stop us?" Yolevina said, her 9 stars were spinning around her heart inside her body as her red eyes glowed, as she materialized a sword from black energy, pointing it at Naya.
Just when a fight was about to break out, the cause of this entire incident appeared: The Will of the World of Arid, freezing everyone in place.
Come back at the end of V-2 to see what happened next. There is a time difference, so this world will only show up when it is important to the ASOIAF world, but till then, it will show back up at the end of V-2: The Start of The War of Five
[Author's Note: If you're confused about anything, stick with me; I'm making this as we go! Did you like the changes I made? Yes, no, leave a comment and tell me I will do what I can, so leave a review and tell me what you may want to see; and as you know, this is a harem, so who would you want in it?
Disclaimer: I have a rough idea of where this is going, but I haven't mapped out every single detail or an overarching idea. So if you have suggestions to make the story better or who you might want to see, please leave a comment and review! I hope you like the story. While I do use AI, I don't think it is slop, and if there is any, I will try to change it and or add humanity into it, but just give me a chance.
Next time: So the next chapter will show what happened after the time skip in the ASOIAF world, ending V-1: Childhood, we will come back to Arid, but that is for another end of V-2: Start of The War of Five. There will be no more next times in V-2.
Ending Note: Thank you for the support. Have a great( if you're not religious) and or blessed day, and check out my other account where I publish Og novels. It's called Fiction_Dragon! :)]