Gavirel stepped into the hall-like dining room, with a table that looked like it stretched an entire mile. There were eight golden seats with two main ones at the start and the end of the table that had blue sapphires on them.
The maids were setting the table, putting cutlery and the feast on the table. There were many items ranging from roasted chicken, pasta, bread, and even sweets. Gavirel went past the table, going onto the balcony, looking at the view of the city with its lit lanterns and passing citizens.
The city was beautiful from atop the castle, and it wasn't like you would see it every day. A smart, skinny, short-haired man with orange hair, brown eyes, and glasses wearing a black suit and tie approached him from behind, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"It's beautiful, isn't it, Gavirel?"
He didn't respond for a while—after all, it was hard knowing he'd get to see this view every day now. On top of the fact that the great Lucien Drosvain, "The Eclipse Of Death," was in the same room as him.
"Yes, it is."
"Our father had a soft spot for peasant boys such as you. Do you understand that everything that my brother does is to keep up appearances?"
"He told me already. I can't believe what you people do to keep up with politics."
Lucien chuckled, ruffling Gavirel's hair a bit, turning away from the city and towards him.
"Trust me, I don't believe it either. If my child turns out to be a girl, I wouldn't want to marry her off."
"So you're wishing for a boy then? When does your wife deliver?"
"In three months. By the time I return to Albionis, the baby might already have been delivered."
Gavirel looked back at him, smiling before reluctantly going back into the dining room, taking a seat next to Orien. It's been a month since he first met him, and since then, he's done nothing besides learn how to use Lemmavis and tend to the Drosvain's livestock.
They were having a feast as a celebration for their youngest brother, Alarin, getting married to a woman of the Shirakomu clan in Auroria. The fact that they were able to put aside their differences was one thing—but marrying into the clan was another.
The more Gavirel thought about it before the feast, the more he thought that Alarin's wife must've either been attracted to power or hated her clan. It was wrong to assume things, but to him, there was simply no other way.
"Do you know how to play chess, Gavirel?"
Orien had asked as the maids pulled out a board, setting the game. He looked down at the silver and obsidian pieces. Was everything in this place either silver, gold, or gems? They were way too rich for their own good.
"Yes, I do."
"Good. You, Cassius, and I will take white. Lucien, Rosalina, and Cassian will take black."
"Okay, that sounds good. Wait, will that work?"
"You and Cassian will control pawns and bishops, Cassius and Rosalina will control the queens and knights, and Lucien will control the kings and rooks. We'll pass the board around the table. You have 2 minutes to make a move or to pass the board."
Gavirel nodded as he envisioned the game and, more importantly, the food that sat there as he waited for the siblings to enter. The first to enter was Rosalina, a tall, graceful, and elegant woman with her orange hair in a braided bun. She was wearing a form-fitting black dress with a custom-made necklace of the Drosvain sigil.
The twins entered shortly after. Cassius was a short, lazy-looking man with orange hair and rings all around his hands. He clearly didn't bother getting dressed, only wearing a long white shirt that reached to his knees.
Cassian, on the other hand, was an energetic man of medium height with the sigil of House Drosvain on his chest. He was wearing a blue cloak that covered his entire form except for his shoes.
All of them took seats with Cassius next to Gavirel, Rosalina on the opposite side of him, Cassian on the opposite side of Cassius, and Lucien and Orien at either end of the table. Once everyone was seated, the maids grabbed plates and began to fill them with food from the feast.
"You first, Gavirel."
Orien moved the board along the table with enough force to shake it slightly, but the pieces still did not fall off. Regardless of that, the board was now in front of Gavirel, and he had to make the first move.
He thought of playing the Queen's Gambit but decided that it was predictable, and decided on the King's Gambit. He tried to move the piece, but it felt like it was at least a thousand pounds.
"You have to move it with Lemmavis. The pieces are made with flosgems—they keep their shape or stay still unless they absorb Lemmavis. If you ask me, they're more suitable for restraints, but I would never dare to question anything Father had made."
Lucien instructed with a gentle, confident smirk on his face as he did so. Flosgems were already quite rare, but using them for chess was just next level. Either way, he poured his Lemmavis into the pawn, filling it with the silver violets, and moved it to e4.
"King's pawn?! You must be really dumb, the Queen's Gambit has the best opportunity to win, you must be asking to lose! On top of that, you probably won't last the whole game; you just figured out what Lemmavis was. We're clearly going to win!"
"Can you be quiet, Cassian? You're too loud."
Cassian was right, but although Gavirel was new, he was taught by the best there was—Orien. He learned three major things about Lemmavis over the past month. Cassius, on the other hand, just yawned as he passed Cassian the board.
"I get it, so you would pour your Lemmavis into the gem?"
Gavirel said whilst the board slid across the table. He noted that it took a considerable amount to use, and the fact that the gems lit up whenever they reached maximum capacity.
Pour was the power to put your Lemmavis into something, mainly something made out of Flosgems or other metals that could handle it. Strengthen could wrap your Lemmavis around things and your body. If you wrapped it around your body, it'd make you physically stronger and faster.
"I just think of it like filling a glass of water. When it fills to the top, that's when you know it's ready."
Cassius mumbled as he curled up on the chair, putting his feet on the chair. The board stood in front of Cassian as the board began to absorb the Lemmavis that was in the piece that Gavirel had touched.
Absorb was the power to absorb the life energy from things around you, like trees or grass. But Gavirel noticed that the board had repelled the Lemmavis into the air instead of letting the piece stay charged, turning his head to Lucien, expecting him to answer.
"There are two types of Flosgems, Attract and Repel. The board repels the Lemmavis to make sure you have to put your energy back into the piece to move it again. On the other hand, the piece attracts your Lemmavis—I think that would be too simple to explain."
The fact that there were different types of Lemmavis of light and dark, and on top of that, the types of flowers and colors that a person had reflected on the user as a person.
Gavirel, someone with golden violets, meant that he strived for success and was a modest and faithful person. Orien, on the other hand, had green Iris and meant he was calm and filled with courage, whilst also being peaceful and having great wisdom.
Cassian grabbed a pawn, twiddling with it between his fingers before placing it at e5 and passing the board to Orien. He immediately redirected the board towards Gavirel, and as if on cue, the minute the board reached Gavirel, he moved another pawn to f4.
"You really are stupid! I'll accept, after all, that's a free pawn!"
"Don't act so carelessly, Cassian—"
Gavirel passed the board to Cassian and took the white pawn, moving his piece to f4. Rosalina sighed, shaking her head.
"Men are really simple-minded creatures. You might be the one without a brain in there. To make it worse, you're strengthening your pieces; this isn't a fight."
"I can't help it, it's not my fault the gems are worn out!"
Rosalina knocked on Cassian's head, making him yelp in pain as she took the board from him, passing it back to Gavirel. Gavirel thought for a while, examining the possibilities that now that he knew his opponent would most likely see rather than take.
He decided to move his piece to move the bishop and picked it up. He instinctively tried to think more, forgetting that the piece would fall if he didn't hurry, so he rushed, placing it at c4 before passing the board along.
The board eventually landed with Rosalina, and she crossed her legs, moving the queen back and forth with her fingertips before moving it to Qh4+.
"Check."
Rosalina passed the board to Orien, his eyes darting around the board quickly—almost inhumane—even as it glided towards him. By the time the board had reached him, he had made his decision. King to Kf1 was his move, a smirk on his face as he did so.
The board was then passed to Lucien, but he immediately gave it up to Cassian. Cassian was clearly eyeing Gavirel's bishop, placing his pawn to b5.
"Cassius, how lazy can you be? You haven't bothered defending Gavirel yet, and on top of that, you're the only one not to take a move yet. You can at least do something!"
"You're screaming again, Cassian, plus unlike you, I'm using my brain. Nothing's defending your pawn from Gavirel's bishop, so you gave him a free piece, and you're the only one to lose a piece so far. Oh, and Lucien hasn't moved either."
Cassius yawned as he finished his sentence. He clearly didn't want to be here—probably preferred eating in his room—but today was a feast, he couldn't just do that. On the other hand, Gavirel's eyes widened as he realized what Cassius was saying, noticing the pawn was open, and waited for the board to come to him.
"Tch. Whatever, asshole."
"Watch your language at the dinner table."
Rosalina grabbed the board from Cassian, narrowing her eyes as she looked at him, clearly disappointed, before giving the board back to Gavirel. He immediately knew what to do and took Cassian's pawn. Bxb5
Gavirel passed the board around the table, expecting Cassian to move, but his 2 minutes were up before he was able to make a move. Next, the board was on Rosalina, and like a hawk hunting for a worm, she placed her knight to Nf6.
"Do you guys think Alarin consummated his marriage yet?"
Almost everyone turned their head quickly to her—as if she had just committed a crime—their eyes widening in disbelief.
"Just hurry and finish the game so we can eat. We'll do a speed round until one team loses."
Orien said before taking a sip of wine out of his glass.
"Huh? No fair! If that happens, Cassius is gonna win!"
"Are you saying you're scared of me, Cassian?"
He instantly shut his mouth, passing the board to Cassius as if challenging him. Gavirel, on the other hand, looked at Orien, who looked like he was waiting for something.
"What did you mean by a speed round?"
"You have 10 seconds to move; if you don't, pass the board."
Gavirel simply nodded his head as Orien slammed his cup down on the table, commencing the round.
White Knight Nf3. Black Queen Qh6. White Pawn d3.
Black Knight Nh5. White Knight Nh4. Black Queen Qg5.
White Knight Nf5. Black Pawn c6. White Pawn g4.
Black Knight Nf6. White rook Rg1. Black Pawn cxb5.
White Pawn h4. Black Queen Qg6. White Pawn h5.
Black Queen Qg5. White Queen Qf3. Black Knight Ng8.
White Bishop Bxf4. Black Queen Qf6. White Knight Ne3.
Black Bishop Bc5. White Knight Nd5. Black Queen Qxb2.
White Bishop Bd6. Black Bishop Bxg1. White Pawn e5.
Black Queen to Qxa1+
Check.
White King Ke2. Black Knight Na6. White Knight Nxg7+
Check.
Lucien smirked, shaking his head, taking all 10 seconds before moving his piece.
"You two are insufferable. You're too greedy."
Black King Kd8. White Queen Qf6.
Check.
Black Knight Nxf6. White Bishop Be7#
Mate.
"I told you Cassius was going to win. It's not fair if he can stare at the board while it's slowed down!"
"I never used my blessing. I think that you're just a little bad at the game."
"If we were to play a game by ourselves, I guarantee you I'd win. Rosalina was making stupid plays."
"Huh?! I was making stupid plays? You pinned me to a corner because you didn't wanna move, you stupid pawns!"
Rosalina screamed at the top of her lungs, taking a deep inhale, and clenching her fist against her chest.
"It's okay, Cassian, I forgive you, you're just... Immature."
Gavirel couldn't care less about their banter now that the maids were bringing the food to the table, immediately grabbing the biggest plate and eating like a wild animal.
Most of them looked at Gavirel like he was some sort of beast—everyone except Orien and Cassian, of course—with Cassian following in quick succession and Orien laughing it off.
"Gavirel, you take the trial in a few days for your church, correct? If you're gonna fight your ghost, I think you should come well prepared. How about we get you an Artifact?"
Gavirel tried to talk with his mouth full of bread, making Rosalina grimace.
"Dat'd ve grweat."
"Chew your food first, boy..."