Ignore this post for now

The goblin translated this to the orks and some seemed to laugh. The gates opened after a few seconds and 20 Orks in full armor marched out. 'Bako!' one of them yelled and they began to walk into the outpost, expecting the others to follow.

"That means follow, I believe." Translated the interpret, The ten follow behind quickly.

"My lord, I hear the red demon prince of Xi'an will become a king in the coming days, if he does he may decide to remove us from control on Terra." General ulrik advised, emperor Iltar thought for a moment.
"We could try to assassinate him." The lord of Krator advised.
"We can't just send an assassin through THEIR security, not even our best with the aid of magic." Another said, Iltar stood and looked towards the shield behind his throne.
"Not unless they're one of theirs." He said, slamming his fist into the table, "master enslaver, do we have any xi'anese officials who we can send without raising any alarm?", the master enslaver opened a book of slave numbers.
"We have one, only been gone fer' a day yer' highness." He assured.
"Good, do we have an enslavement magic powerful enough for long range control?"
"Of course, but it will only last until the end of the coronation." The speaker of the first son said.
"Then we are done here." Iltar concluded, Yktrisen raised his hand, "yes, old friend."
"What if he won't try to kill us, if he doesn't want to fight."
"He's a demon anyway, an unholy beast who manipulates the minds of free people, we would have killed him and his barbaric race anyway.", the council ended with the sign of the high father and parted ways to their work.

"Yktrisen!" Iltar called.
"Yes, what is it your highness?"
"Enough of the your highnesses, how goes the envoy to the orcs."
"I have not heard much other than that they have made it to the border, who knows what happens next.", yktrisen looked worried, maybe he shouldn't have sent his own grandson.

Meeting Hall, Nanking Palace
---------------------

At the exact moment that the sun set the palace grounds began to echo with the haunting music of the pre ceremony. In contrast to the day before, when the palace had been celebrating the coming of age of their prince, the air now felt somber and thick. As if the memory of the dead emperor before were a palpable presence.

Crown Prince Ling, now an adult at 100, was garbed royally in the lavish robes of an Emperor of Xi'an. The future ruler, clothed heavily in a rainbow of silks, was already greeting guests at the door in his usual passive demeanor. He'd lost track of the guests by now, having not even bothered to learn the guest list. Most of them were just there for political reasons anyway, especially the squabbling nobles all trying to inch closer to him and showering him with enough flattery he felt ill.

This was just the start of the lengthy process, and already he was ready to light up to deal with it. Even a saint lacked the patience to stand in place for two hours thanking people for attending, as if they'd had a choice.

On the stage was a funeral pyre, to symbolise the now long dead former emperor. A vivid reminder that Xi'ans throne had lay empty for three years, since an assassin had poisoned his father. He'd been to young to take official power, but now he was a man. A man who would soon symbolically extinguish the fires of mourning.

The orks led them inside. The outpost was just that, an outpost and only consisted of a guard house, stable and meeting house. A single farm could also be seen, with some of the hardy mountain vegetables of Orcad planted there. Only 50 orks were stationed there, but they all had access to full armor and weapons. The orks led them into the meeting house and they saw a three large tables with chairs all around them. A stage stood at the opposite end to the door from which they entered. The orks passed through this large room and into a small one to the left of the stage. Inside was a desk and a chair, and on it sat an ork in fur clothing, with a long sword attached to his waist. He looked up from a book 'Bak?' he said. One of the ork escorts saluted by drawing his sword and holding it vertically in front of his face before sheathing it again. 'Tunhonuk, drugh takohur, rungh takohur (Tunhonuk, the humans want to talk about diplomacy)' the ork said.
'Orun' Tunhonuk said and turning to the humans said 'tako' which the goblin translated as 'speak'.

Wu came into the room 'alright it's starting, this is the time to move'. Mol nodded and pulled the hood over his head and they exited the room. 'Sadek (good)' the voice said as they continued on their path 'Tareghudo, kadgart (watch out, to your left)' it said and Mol stopped Wu from walking and pulled her into the shadows just as a guard walked down the corridor in front of them, coming from the left. 'Thanks' Wu said and they walked into the next corridor. They continued this pattern until they reached the room, which they then entered. 'Runga zobor Dru Shikhdub' the voice said, and Mol pulled it out from under a low table. 'Alright we've got it, I'll put it back in the room while you go and attend the ceremony' Wu said.
'If you need to you could hide the book under you robe' Mol suggested, handing her his cloak, him having a robe underneath 'in any case don't get caught'
'I won't, now that I know all of the guards positions getting back should be easy' Wu answered.
Mol nodded 'alright, I'll leave now, wait five to ten minutes before bringing the book back so that they don't suspect we have a connection when they see me' with that Mol left the room and made his way to the ceremony. Wu left 7 minutes later and moved like a shadow on her way back, too much like a shadow one might say. Once she reached the room she hid the book for later and took off the cloak. She then returned the cloak to where she had gotten it before and made her way to the ceremony as well, meeting up with Mol about 20 minutes after he got there.

Astreiden stood just before the wooden desk, he started with the sign of the high father and said "we have a number of things to talk about, orc, most of which include the breaking of mutual peace for the past fifty years.", the interpret translated, "as you should very well know, this could lead to war... none of us want that." He ended.

Tunhonuk laughed 'Kadgoruanhur, eros unhgoruhur. Inu kohukag, unhgark o unhgoruhur, kadziak o kadgoruanhur' he smiled and stuck a dagger into his desk 'Gurokhut unhgakud, kad haaanhur drika inuguro, Dru kadguro, Dru kadshikh, gutob, unhtarehur kadhaagh' the goblin translator translated this as 'You do not want war, but I do. That is what makes us different, I am strong and want war, you are weak and don't. I love war, if you do not want us fighting you, fight us, kill us, try, I want to see you do it'. Tunhanok then said surprisingly in common tongue, although slowly, ineptly and with a heavy accent 'I have killed many humans, what makes you different?'

"There is no difference, just state of mind." Astreiden said, "I do believe you are mistaken, there is no reason for us not to go to war with the likes of you, in fact, we welcome it.", at that he left to return to Theolagius.

Nanking Palace, Xi'an
-----
2 hour jump
-----

With the end of the official mourning for the dead emperor, and the symbolic extinguishing of the funeral pyre, the party had moved outdoors. The water demons had cleared the clouds that morning, leaving a perfect night sky above the capital. The attendees wandered the grounds in small packs as the meeting hall was prepared for the actual coronation by the priests that worshipped the demons as gods.

-----
1 hour jump
-----

With the meeting hall cleared the head priest rang the bells that announced meetings. In the cold night air the clangs of brass echoed throughout the city, surely waking anyone in the capital.

The guests orderly filed into the throne room, which had been cleared of the remains of the previous ceremony. The cushioned floor was soon covered in eager guests, crammed tightly into the space so tight everyone was forced to stand. A short flight of steps led to the platform where speakers would stand while addressing the emperor, which was now occupied by a single man garbed in the distinctive armor of the highest of generals. Behind the general hung a curtain which hid the grand throne which would soon belong to Ling.

"Make way for his Majesty, Crown Prince Ling. Heir to the throne, and head of our military." Barked the general, forcing the already packed room to part a path for the future emperor.

With a solemn slow pace, and a posture which belies one of great wisdom, Ling made his way to the platform and stood before the general. Upon his entry everyone, including the general, fell over each other as they bowed their heads to the floor. OT as close as they could get in the overcrowded mass of bodies. Silently Ling made a note to fire the man who made the guest list, but never let his annoyance show.

"Rise General Iro, and look me in the eyes" Ling said in a voice that exuded raw power

The general did as he was told and kissed the hand of the prince

"Your Majesty. The people demand an emperor, to guide our kingdom into the future"

"What right have you to speak for the citizens of Xi'an?"

"I am the highest ranking of the humans your Majesty, and we have demanded the demons fulfil their contract and rule us."

"Who is it they demand be their Emperor? Proclaim forth the name, so all may hear."

"My lord, your Majesty. The people demand you, Crown Prince Ling, the champion of the people, the demons of the golden heart. We humbly demand you be our emperor, and protect us and care for us as your children"

"I answer the call of the Xianese people, and bow to their demand." With this Ling bowed his head to the general, who bowed in return

"You have the blessing of your subjects" the general said as a human aid brought forth a box. The rectangular box was ornately carved of solid gold, with patterns of scenes that seemed to depict battles. Ruby's and gems studded the box, aided the general's grip as he took it.

"Your Majesty, please take this gift as a symbol of our unquestioning loyalty and love for you."

Ling opened the box and from its depths removed a heavy golden medallion, surrounded by beads of Jade. On its face was a crest of the Kingdom, painted with silver. In à single motion Ling placed the necklace around his neck, where all could see it.

Falling to the floor in a steep bow the general cried "Behold! His Imperial Majesty Emperor Ling!"

The crowd shouted in unison "You honor us! We are unworthy!"

Mol stayed silent throughout the whole ceremony. He felt like an outsider, the brand imprinted upon him by the Dru (an x to symbolize swords) marking him forever as part of Ocrad. Luckily it was on his back and hidden by the robe. The ceremony was slow and to depressing for Mol, he felt that it should be a joyous occasion filled with singing and feasting, not this sad, slow paced thing that felt like a funeral.
Wu stayed quiet and respectful and did what she was supposed too, knowing that Mol would follow her lead. Wu asked him after the ceremony ended 'so what do you think, I take it this is your first coronation'.
'No actually I have seen one before, not in Xian of course, but I did see Drikdaroks coronation 12 years ago. There were feast and it was a joyous time, even for me and I was serving. We got extra rations that day and a generous ork actually gave me some pork which I was surprised at. It was, really the opposite of this.' Mol replied 'not to say I didn't enjoy it however, I do like seeing new this and I understand this is a rare opportunity'.
Wu nodded, not surprised at his reaction 'To be honest I feel similar, but I respect our cultures and I understand that this is also a time of mourning for the dead emperor'.
'Ah that is why it was so solemn, I was wondering. That explains it really. Now are we expected to stay here for much longer or can we leave now?'
Wu could sense this coming 'I think we should stay for a while longer before leaving, if you didn't have the book to attend to would you leave now?'
'No I suppose not, alright we'll stay for the event, tonight could you accompany me while I test some things with the book, I may need you to record some observations'
'And if the same things happen as last time?'
'Well hopefully it doesn't' Mol replied.

Without prompting the crowd began to shuffle as the curtains at the back of the room were pulled back to reveal the throne, upon which Ling proceeded to take his seat. The throne was a marvel of craftsmanship, solid gold with a giant golden sun behind him.

"Those of you who so desire may come forward to swear your fealty" Ling said, prompting a line to begin forming at the base of the steps.

One by one the awkwardly crooked line moved forward as various nobles and servants came forward to swear loyalty to the emperor. Everyone in the line was somber, with the exception of one man who looked oddly spaced out. He was a human servant, dressed in clothes that displayed he was one of the highest ranking servants.

Wu eyed him suspiciously, his lack of emotion being taboo and borderline disrespectful. Something just didn't seem right. Leaving Mol for a moment she sat on the edge of the stage, doing her best to just look tired. There were advantages to being perceived as a weak human at times, such as now when nobody would bat an eyelash at a tires human resting her feet.

It was another ten minutes before the man was close enough for her to see his face clearly. His eyes seemed fixed forward, unmoving. The guards were to busy keeping am eye on the demons to have noticed such a fine detail, after all no human could harm a demon right?

As the man stood before the emperor he bowed deeply, under Wus watchful eyes.
"Your Majesty, I must wish you..." he began to say as he steathely reached up his sleeve. Wu saw the glint of a blade and almost without thinking began trying to rush the stage, hoping to stop him before the guards stopped her.

With a speed that should be impossible for a human the man hurled the knife the six feet between him and Ling, but Wu crashed into him hard sending the knife of course and into the throne by his head instead.

Within seconds the whole room erupted into chaos. Guards froze Wu and the man in ice, as earth demons ssummoned walls from below, splintering the wood as the stage was cut off from the crowd.

"What is the meaning of this treason!" Ling erupted angrily, his voice taking on a demonic tone that turned the blood of everyone to ice, even Mol who was now forcibly being held by a thick female water demon to ensure he wasn't going to try and leave.

With a wave of his hands fire erupted, melting their heads free. With a barked order to the guards Wu was moved, still frozen towards Mol. He knew she had stopped the attempt but for now he didn't know if she could really be trusted.

"Die demon scum!" Shouted the man defiantly

Wordlessly the fire demon emperor summoned blue flames and sent them towards the man. He shrieked loudly as his hair and face began to burn, melting off of him like hot wax.

As the ice melted Ling ordered four soldiers to hold down the human pyre, which they did looking terrified in their eyes. With a wave of his hand the fire dissipated to reveal a horribly deformed face where charged skull could be seen in places.

Grabbing a dagger from an earth demon nearby Ling smiled a sadistic grin as he used it to cut off the silk robes. The man seemed to desperately be trying to talk, but it was if a force was preventing him from doing so. Ling could tell he was under a spell, so now his mission was merely to send a message to whomever wascontrollig this human.

With the skill of a surgeon Ling began to slowly slice off the man's fingers and toes, joint by joint, using his fire powers to cauterize the wounds. Once both hands and feet had been successfully removed Ling grinned evilly, his eyes glowing red.

"Did you know that humans don't need all of their organs?" He asked as he dragged the knife down the chest of the sobbing mess of a human, exposing his ribs as he elaborated on what organs humans don't need. Using his superhuman strength he ripped open the man's rib cage and exposed his inner body.

"It's really true. You only need one lung" he said cruelly, as he used his spare hand to crush his right lung into a bloody pulp, which was then cauterized again. Casting his magic he fed strength into his victim, forcing him to stay alive and conscious.

Half a liver, à kidney, pancréas and several feet of intestines were removed and piled on the floor where everyone could see. Along with his arms, legs ears, tongue and his teeth.

"You know what else you can live without?" He asked coyly

"This!" He said as in a single motion he grabbed the man's genitals, crushing them with his inhuman strength, before ripping them off completely and shoving them into the man's mouth. Several guards threw up as they watched the man be forced to eat his own manhood.

Finally sated Ling cauterised the wounds and ordered one of the few soldiers that didn't look violently ill "have this man treated with magic then dumped at the border with Theo where he'll be found. They're the only ones stupid enough to try this stunt."

(Amazing)

Mol looked on, amazed. Ling was perhaps more like an ork than he had originally anticipated. As the other people looked away in disgust Mol looked on, have seen worse. He wasn't enjoying is as he wasn't sadistic, he was merely watching on and comparing Ling to the orks in Ocrad, particularly Drikdarok. He remember once when a goblin servant, one of his friends actually, had tried to poison one of the ork soldiers that was rather cruel to them. It worked actually, the ork died and Drikdarok found out who it was. He had the goblin strung up by his arms until they dislocated, then he strung him up by his feet until his knees dislocated. He then forced the goblin to walked across the great hall, every time he fell he was picked up roughly by Drikdarok himself. Once this was over he threw the goblin in a dungeon for a day to wallow in his pain. He then cut off the top section of all of his fingers and tarred them up and left him for another day. After that he cut off the rest of his fingers, tarred them and left him for a day. Then his hands, toes, feet, forearms, lower legs, upper arms, thighs, until he was just a living torso. He then did the same with his nose and ears. He took him out and showed him to all of the servants, showing them the consequences of their actions. He then pulled out his spine in front of everyone and left him to die. So Mol was not new to the world of sadistic punishments.

@Kenny1

(Sorry for missing, posting now)

High King Turak eyed the incident with an indifferent expression. As much emotion could be project by a living skeleton.

He then turned to a nearby, female water demon and asked from her. "Are all these parties really that exciting?" he asked from her.

He was standing with another skeleton, wearing black robes that covered his body while leaning on a staff. A heavy book hanging on his hip.

The moaning man having been removed the earth demons dropped the walls, and a nearby water demon deiced Wu with the permission of Ling.

The crowded room looked on worriedly, having heard the sobbing, pained cries of the man. Exclamations of concern erupted as the crowd got a glimpse of their emperor, now blood splattered and standing near a pile of organs on the floor.

"Order!" Shouted the general from before, rushing back into the stage. The room fell deathly quiet with the exception of a few vomiting humans.

"My people an assassin has attempted to kill me, using a knife dipped in a rare poison that kills demons." A human guard held out the dagger to show it to the room. Cries of outrage echoed across the room, with various people shouting insults at the man's innards

"Let it be clear" Ling said once things had died down "I am unharmed because of the human hand maiden you see behind me. And as you can well see the man paid dearly for his mistake. I suspect that he was sent by Theos, in hopes to provoke a war. I shall not give that child of a king his wishes. I sent the assassin back to his master, to make a clear message that I do not play his game. We will prepare our defenses, but I shall not ask my people to die over this offense."

The moaning man having been removed the earth demons dropped the walls, and a nearby water demon deiced Wu with the permission of Ling.

The crowded room looked on worriedly, having heard the sobbing, pained cries of the man. Exclamations of concern erupted as the crowd got a glimpse of their emperor, now blood splattered and standing near a pile of organs on the floor.

"Order!" Shouted the general from before, rushing back into the stage. The room fell deathly quiet with the exception of a few vomiting humans.

"My people an assassin has attempted to kill me, using a knife dipped in a rare poison that kills demons." A human guard held out the dagger to show it to the room. Cries of outrage echoed across the room, with various people shouting insults at the man's innards

"Let it be clear" Ling said once things had died down "I am unharmed because of the human hand maiden you see behind me. And as you can well see the man paid dearly for his mistake. I suspect that he was sent by Theos, in hopes to provoke a war. I shall not give that child of a king his wishes. I sent the assassin back to his master, to make a clear message that I do not play his game. We will prepare our defenses, but I shall not ask my people to die over this offense."

@Kenny1

(Sorry for missing, posting now)

High King Turak eyed the incident with an indifferent expression. As much emotion could be project by a living skeleton.

He then turned to a nearby, female water demon and asked from her. "Are all these parties really that exciting?" he asked from her.

He was standing with another skeleton, wearing black robes that covered his body while leaning on a staff. A heavy book hanging on his hip.

"No your Majesty." She said, eyeing the crowd for signs of any more trouble.

@Kenny1
(Do the demons actually look what their element suggests?)

"So? How long until we can speak to the Emperor?" asked Turak, he was still versed in the arts of royalty. Having been one himself - so he understood the patience of waiting.

(Ooc: All demons are of great beauty and strength. But they don't physically resemble their elements so you can have a thick and bulky air demon and a thin short earth demon. But they all have eyes to show their clan. Red for fire, blue for water, black for earth and green for air)

"Well your Majesty" she said calmly, obviously unperturbed by the gruesome sight "unless you plan to swear fealty tomorrow is the most likely. As emperor he is obligated to give everyone the full night to swear loyalty. The purge will probably also begin tomorrow, but his Majesty is pretty efficient so he should be done by dinner."

As Wu tried to walk past her she grabbed the human's collar "hold on there girl. I know his Majesty, and he has plans for you tonight. You're not leaving for a while yet"