The Great Festival had come once more.
The tradition that stretched across hundreds of years between the four Crystal Continents was held every five years, to foster good-will and alliance between the kingdom's rulers. As such, races of all kinds mingled together to spar, trade, or even just converse with each other.
Quietus, the neutral land that always hosted this festival, was ruled by a fair and just King, even if his lands were otherwise not note-worthy. Regardless, he, like his predecessors before him, worked to ensure that any bad blood the other monarchs may have with each other did not spill out into war.
Said King was now seated at a large, round table of oak, hands steepled upon the desk as he frowned at the other king before him. The ruler of Quietus, known as Dedrich, was deeply concerned about this man.
Canicus, the King of Flamma, was not an easy man to associate with. His boisterous, arrogant and overbearing attitude made him difficult to speak with civilly, and he did not like his opinion being contradicted. The muscled, battle-hardened king was also not find of others injecting their opinions regarding his rule.
"For the last time," Canicus spoke in a growling voice, my Kingdom's crystal is perfectly fine! There has been on influx of monsters in my lands, no rebellions arising, and certainly not even so much as a crack in the Fire Crystal!"
"Be that as it may," Dedrich replied in a considerably calmer tone, "I, as well as the others, would feel much more at ease if you would provide proof of your Crystal's prosperit-"
A palm cracked the table when they collided, the sound echoing throughout the spacious room.Canicus was on his feet, his growl slowly turning into a snarl with his quickly-mounting anger.
"My Kingdom is as prosperous as magnificent as the day I took to the throne!" he claimed, pointing a finger towards the female by the towering window, "Would you seriously take the word of a spy over mine?!"
Dedrich closed his eyes for a moment. Sometimes, playing Peacekeeper between these monarchs sucked.
"Ooh? Are you upset about a little gossip, perhaps?" the Queen of Amnis chuckled, tearing her teal eyes away from the festivities taking place so far below. Hair matching her eyes fell to her lower back in a graceful wave, radiating an almost serene beauty as she turned to face the furious king, arms folded casually, "Or maybe you're a little bothered that your spies are still jailed for harming my people?"
Canicus growled once more, his hand twitching for the short blade strapped at his waist, "Shameless witch! Your lands are wasted under your rule!"
"Enough," Dedrich ordered calmly, though his eyes remain clenched shut, "Do you forget the reason we are all here?"
The Flamma king gritted his teeth, ready to retort, but finally backed down after a moment's internal debate. As much as he would love to crush Queen Lynna for the insults she threw at him and his glorious lands at each and every turn... this was still neutral land. He could risk a war from the other three Kingdoms if he did anything reckless.
Why did he ever bother with this farce of a gathering, anyway?
"...I will return to my chambers," Canicus said, turning from the others, "But I will not drop this discussion with you, Lynna,"
The Queen merely smirked as the firey ruler left, saying to Dedrich once he was out of earshot, "Quite the grumpy little child, isn't he?"
"Just a bit. I cannot deny that he has some merit in his anger," replied the neutral king, finally opening his eyes at the departure of his biggest cause of stress. Lynna glared at him as he continued, "Yes, I see your reasoning as well. I do not condone either of your actions."
"...And if I hadn't taken a look into his affairs, I would not have been able to bring that troubling bit of new to light," Queen Lynna stated, "Not once in all of history have the crystals' light so much as flickered! What does that fool hope to gain by hiding that information?"
Sometimes, Dedrich wished he were born a simple townsman. Conversing with every passing Adventurer had to be less stressful than wading through a minefield of politics and hand-holding.
"We will simply have to investigate once everyone has gathered," Dedrich decided with dread in his voice, "Not even King Canicus would ignore a request of investigation if we were all in agreement,"
"You underestimate his ineptitude," Lynna sighed, shaking her head as she returned to watching the festival. Quietus' castle was a sprawling architecture that also reached for the clouds. The meeting room was placed in a large tower, overlooking the ocean to the East.
Dedrich hoped, for the sake of everyone, Canicus would at least try and alleviate the fears of his fellow peers.
In contrast to the tense, hostile atmosphere within the castle, the more common folk were having the time of their lives.
Much like previous festivals, the air was thick with jubilation and the yells of opportunistic merchants, hoping to sell their wares to foreigners at (ever so slightly!) raised prices.
As was tradition at the Festival, a small-scale tournament was being held; just a gathering of warriors and admirers sparring for the much-coveted prize of a Rat's Tail. And a free Elixir, courtesy of the Sponsor "Tony Berri's Cut-Downed Price Shop".
Elsewhere, a large stage for theatrics was currently helmed by mages all over, attempting to dazzle audiences with creative uses of their spells and equipment. The stalls that ranged from simple, mobile shops to miniature restaurants drew in all manner of people, and the outskirts contained the Chocobo Pens, as well as holding areas for acceptable, tamed beasts.
Amongst the crows was everyone's Superior, Kaltrina Admiranda.
The white-clad girl in glasses walked with her usual, confident air, giving an overly-critical eye to many of the features on display. Nothing here was worth even one of her precious, hard-earned gil! Surely the shopkeepers should try harder than this? There wasn't even a decent-looking cutlass for her!
Well, regardless of her doubts pertaining to quality, her stomach had been rumbling for about twenty minutes. So, after some debate, she finally conceded some of her precious, hard-earned gil in exchange for... something she hoped wasn't supposed to be a fried chocobo coated in malboro slime or something, because it certainly tasted like it.
"Great, now I need to buy an antidote," Kaltrina grumbled, throwing the remains of her food over her shoulder. It was aimed at the refuse container behind her, but who knew what could happen in a crowded festival when one did not look where they threw?
