PART IV: AFTER THE DEFEAT OF THE BLACK MAGE

Chapter 16: Morning Star Banquet

• The Primacy called the Adversary inside Tirnog, where they revealed that the Morning Star Banquet, a New Year’s celebration, would soon take place at the High Flora capital of Aboris. Though Gerand Darmoor never attended such banquets, the Primacy hoped to learn more about the Apostles by infiltrating the event.

• The Adversary agreed to help and used a special illusory device created with Gob’s Ancient God technology to disguise themselves as a High Flora commoner in order to pose as a servant during the event. Alongside Khafdi, the Adversary infiltrated the event and began working alongside the other servants to gain information about the Apostles.

• Meanwhile, five Apostles - Reina, Havoc, Baldrix, Limbo, and Ypsilon - were called to Darmoor’s villa by the Apostle Ressa, a human amongst Darmoor’s ranks and the messenger of the God-King. With the other Apostles away on missions, Ressa revealed to them that with Baldrix having confirmed the Adversary’s condition as a stable Vessel, as well as the World Heart well underway towards completion, Darmoor had ordered for the great culling to take place even sooner than originally planned.

• Following the meeting, the Apostles began attending the banquet, with the Adversary being tasked by the head of staff, Chamberlain, with tracking the moods of the Apostles, as the Apostles were not on friendly terms with each other. With the villa’s garden having been tended to by Asha herself, Chamberlain explained that it was imperative that the villa not be damaged, as the Apostles had routinely destroyed the venue each year because of their in-fighting.

• While monitoring the Apostles, the Adversary discovered certain information about the Apostles:

  • Reina had been injured from absorbing the backlash of the draining crystal in Arteria. Because of this, Reina had left the banquet early to carry out Darmoor’s new mission, leaving her adjutant, Lystor, to stay behind and monitor the situation.

  • Limbo was extremely anxious about being reprimanded by Darmoor after his spectacular failure at Carcion.

  • Ypsilon was not on good terms with Reina, taking great pleasure in Reina’s injuries.

  • Havoc found Darmoor’s new mission amusing, especially in light of his own home, Tynerum, on the verge of annihilation. Nevertheless, Havoc remained unconcerned, as Darmoor’s plans for Grandis was irrelevant to him as someone who did not call Grandis home.

  • Baldrix, like Darmoor, did not enjoy banquets and instead spent his time in the garden admiring Asha’s handiwork.

  • Ressa spoke with the Adversary and hinted at the fact that he had seen through their disguise, despite Gob’s earlier assurance that only a Transcendent could see through his divine handiwork. Nevertheless, Ressa claimed that neither the Alliance, the Primacy, nor the Adversary would be able to stop Darmoor’s plan, for which he chose not to call out the Adversary.

• During the event, the Adversary encountered a High Flora who revealed himself to be Khafdi. Khafdi revealed that he was appearing at the banquet in his true body, revealing that he was a High Flora who had turned against his own people.

• As the banquet continued on, four of the Apostles’ adjutants - Lystor, Veronica, Avril, and Albaire - appeared after the Apostles left. Veronica quickly sought out Ressa and began insulting him for daring to be an Apostle while being a human being, insulting him as a ‘lesser race’. Ressa remained polite for a time before subtly jibing at her ambitions to take Kaling’s empty Apostle seat.

• As tensions grew, Veronica and Ressa both unleashed their magic as they prepared to fight each other. Panicking over what to do, Chamberlain begged Avril to speak with Veronica, as Avril had once been a Knight of the Einherjar alongside her before she had become Havoc’s adjutant. Though Veronica lashed out at Avril for serving a demon, and then defending a human like Ressa, she nevertheless listened to Avril and agreed to stand down.

• Following the end of the conflict, the Adversary was tasked by Chamberlain with tracking the moods of the four adjutants, who were the only adjutants to appear at the banquet. During this mission, the Adversary learned more about the adjutants and their situation:

  • Veronica was enraged at the idea that lesser races were being given positions over the High Flora, such as Kaling, Havoc, and Ressa. She believed that the failure of High Flora like Limbo had lowered Darmoor’s standards in his own race, for which she believed that such pathetic High Flora should be purged with the other races, believing that she would deliver far better results than them.

  • Avril was tired from breaking up the fight, as she could barely handle dealing with Havoc. She was confused why Veronica would listen to her, as the two of them hadn’t been close, even when they had been in the knighthood together.

  • Lystor was highly concerned about Reina’s injuries and insistent on accompanying her on her next mission before agreeing to listen to her and remain behind to monitor the situation.

  • Albaire was disturbed by Darmoor’s new orders and began having doubts over the direction of where the High Flora were going.

• With no more Apostles or adjutants arriving, Khafdi and the Adversary agreed to end the mission, having obtained a great deal of key information about the Apostles and their new orders.

• On their way out, the Adversary encountered Melange at the banquet. Though they wished to speak with him, they chose not to draw attention to themselves in order to avoid having their cover blown.

• In the outer garden, the Adversary encountered Asha tending to the garden. Though Asha did not introduce herself by name, she revealed that she was the gardener, and that she was making sure that the flowers were healthy. As she grew angry at the thought of people ruining her flowers, mysterious dark energy began emanating from her, causing the Adversary to realize that she was no ordinary gardener. Recalling how Baldrix had mentioned her, they realized that Asha must be quite notable if the Apostles themselves knew and respected her.