"At least she did not hex you."

"Typhon take this seriously," Antares raised his head as he leaned against the balcony. He was in no mood to jest.

Typhon belched. "I am! Hexes are no laughing matter. Remember the Witches of Zamir?" he took another swig of his newly acquired wine barrel turned makeshift chalice.

The king tried to stifle a smirk but could not help but indulge in the old memory.

"How many ablution baths did we have to take, twenty? Thirty?"

"Five for the rest of us," Antares reminded him. "It would have been the same for you, had you not constantly interrupted the Nightsisters."

Both men shared another laugh as they reminisced on a time although not pleasant in the moment, now as a memory it was easier to laugh at. The sun cradled within the ocean's embrace as night approached. Waning sunlight painted the sky a deep orange and violet, like the eyes of the man who stood next to Antares. The day had been proven to be more eventful than what the Stygian King had envisioned. He had believed the gravity of the meeting of the nine monarchs would occupy his thoughts, but all things considered the longer removed he was from the meeting the more he found his mood improving.

However his afternoon spent with the princess, proved to be more troublesome than he had imagined. Their time together was difficult, Antares made no effort to excuse his role in creating such an unwelcoming environment. The undesirable visions gleamed in the sea had thrown him of course as old memories once thought buried dragged him down along with them. That was not all, he allowed his disdain for Reza's brother and father to bleed into how he saw her. She was no queen, just a girl who happened to be born a princess. The fault was not hers but those who pushed her to this role. She could not carry the responsibility required to be the Queen of Iliad, let alone the Stygian Queen and the trials and tribulations that came with that. So Antares struggled to grasp why her saddened visage upon returning to the castle burned so brightly in his head. Even as nobles swarmed them and they both lied about their enjoyment of their time together. Every time he looked at her he could only see the pained expression she held. His overreaction to her attempts to bridge the divide between them was a step too far. Yet it would be of no lasting consequence, he would put an end to it all.

"I will decline the marriage proposal," Antares stood up straight, determined by his choice. "There will be many who protest and it will be difficult but the Elders will side with me. They should be enough to help withstand what will come of it."

Typhon nodded, as he took another large swig of his wine. "You know best."

"That is it?" the king raised an eyebrow. "No protest? No, 'You are being rash.' Or insight of any kind. Just agreement?"

The Stygian giant shrugged, his ruby hair burning harsher than the setting sun. He rubbed his crimson beard as he savored the taste of his wine. "You are king, you know what is best."

"I did not come to you to be praised, I merely have to step among lesser people for that." There was venom in the king's words.

The Lord of Larsa turned to face him. Like all he stood before, he towered King Antares by a great deal. A lumbering mass of what many deemed the peak of strength. "Then why did you seek me?" His voice boomed with the ancient tongue of the Stygians as the stones shuddered upon hearing a language they had not experienced in millennia.

Typhon Xerxes waited for an answer. He knew what Antares was after but he would not give it to his fellow Lord of War. The Stygian giant was aware of the implications of Antares and Reza's potential marriage and of what it may offer. Many had said that the celebrations that had been going on through the entire city of Longshore was a glimpse into the future of what that union could bring. A lasting peace and a unification of the north and the south towards a shared goal. The final markers to ensure what Barranagan Xerxes, Tereza Altieri, Nero Blackrose and countless others fought for would come to pass.

Perhaps it was due to being a Stygian, but Typhon was not so naive as to have such hopeful expectations. Just as Reza being Queen of Iliad could save Aurum, it could also doom her to a near eternal conflict. It would already be quite troublesome having a witch be their queen, but any fatal harm to befall her similar to that of the late Queen Myrra Stormborne would prove to be the undoing of all the nine realms. The Stygian colossus knew that whoever his oldest friend would choose to be his queen would face challenges both deserved and otherwise. It was the penalty for being Queen of the Stygians. In truth Typhon was in agreement with both Casspien and Antares, Reza was not worthy, through no fault of her own. Even still as he looked at him now–face troubled by his actions with the princess–Typhon could not recall the last time Antares cared about how he was perceived, if it did not pertain to Faye. In that perhaps there was more to the witch princess of Lunaelia than either of them could see.

"I sought you because…" Antares faltered in his growing frustration, "Because…"

"Because you want me to find fault in what you did? To admonish you for the way you treated her, a princess? To tell you, you know better? That she is worthy?" Typhon sat the barrel on the guard railing, turning his attention to the city below. "Of course she is not worthy, she is sixteen. She is a girl. There are Stygians who have lived ten times as long as she has, who are not worthy. Very few are Antares. She is not Faye, none you seek will ever be her my friend."

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Typhon was right, Antares had hoped their meeting would offer him some reprimand for his actions. They were not befitting that of a ruler and despite how he felt about marriage he should not have conducted himself in that manner. However what the Stygian King had found with one of his oldest friends was a man who had no desire to further punish another man who had already largely carried out the act on himself. Antares' attempted self-flagellation was met with indifference and a hint of encouragement.

"Unlike Casspien I take no joy in hearing myself speak," he winked at him. "I think you have already punished yourself for your behavior." Typhon placed a hand on his shoulder, "However if your eyes truly show you that she is not the one to guide us. Then so be it. You are my king, I know you will always do what is necessary to protect our home."

Antares leaned against the balcony, "I…My eyes show me nothing extraordinary about her." The king confessed.

The giant groaned audibly, startling the king. "By the ancestors, why would they give someone so useless the eyes of an Akashic?" Typhon leaned on the barrel between them. "Of course she is ordinary, she spent sixteen years locked in a castle. The only true nature you will learn from that is if she prefers to do as she is told or run ragged. From what I have heard and what you have said, it is the latter."

King Antares folded his arms with a slight pout, "Be careful, you mock your king too flippantly."

Both men shared a laugh as their voices echoed through the evening air, the oldest of friends growing warm with each passing second.

Typhon returned to his wine barrel, swirling it around. "Give it until tomorrow evening," the dark liquid was inviting. "After the ceremony, when she is no longer a girl but a woman. Look into her with your Akashic Eyes and see if her nature changes." The sweet taste of the wine bathed his mouth in a myriad of flavors.

Antares did not say anything. His disdain for his eyes was a long held aggravating point for him. So many had looked to them as windows into the future, often he found it humorous. If they held such a power, there would be no need for the grimoires, he thought. No, the power of the Akashic Eyes was in what it revealed to him about mana, ones Will, the soul and the nature of the world. The state of how all things were and the path they took, as well as the lingering after images of what remained if he so desired to look for them. From what he had gleamed into Reza all he saw was how her nature twirled and danced around her soul. Never setting, never sitting still. The rhythmic movement of her essence reminded him of the very sea they had seen. But that is where their comparisons began and ended. Unlike the deep waters that held great mysteries, there was nothing of note within the princess. A life lived without resistance of any kind, waters as calm as the very sky. After the ceremony, when she is no longer a girl but a woman. Look into her with your Akashic Eyes and see if her nature changes. Antares rubbed his forehead and instinctively ran his hands through his hair.

"Alright," the king exhaled. "I will see tomorrow."

"Wonderful!" Typhon beamed with a welcoming smile. "Now drink!"

King Antares tried to protest, "I should not, we have the emperor's night event starting soon."

The Stygian giant would not take no for an answer.

The King of Iliad relented and accepted the gesture, he took a deep drink from the wine barrel. And welcomed the varying tastes and scents that accompanied the wine. From sweet flavors like vanilla and honey to more abstract flavors like his memories of the Storm Islands and his mother. He was greeted with a welcomed feeling. Antares had made it a point to carefully watch how often he indulged in drink while he was in the south, the Stygian King did not want to have his thoughts clouded by any of the spirits. All the same as he was sober his mind was troubled. With each continued drink he found his worries easing slightly, with the added help of his friend encouraging his drinking habits. The two Lords of War sat there and drank for a while. It came to Antares' attention that since his return from exile, this was the first time that he and Typhon had both shared a moment alone. In between laughter and drink, he took a moment to study his red-haired Stygian friend –the oldest of his friends. It amazed him how much he had grown, from the little five year old boy who was ashamed of his crimson hair. To this towering man who was unrivaled among the skies and whose red mane was now his biggest pride and joy. Antares was proud of the man his dear friend was becoming. He could not imagine a future where he was not by his side.

The Twilight King closed his eyes and leaned against him, "I have missed you my friend." A hidden smile crept his lips, "And your red hair."

Typhon attributed the reddening of his face to the wine, "A shame you cannot grow such a lovely head of hair."

Antares laughed in a soothing tone that Typhon did not know he terribly missed until now. "I choose to honor my father in other ways."

"I am sure you do," The giant roared with triumphant laughter.

The last of the sun bid them farewell and when both men had consumed enough wine to lighten their moods they deemed themselves ready to handle the nightly event that was to follow. Antares had only been told some information of what was to come. The Emperor had personally crafted this event to honor the north but above all else the Stygian King himself. He was not looking forward to it, even still Antares would approach with a more welcoming attitude. Truthfully he was intrigued by what it could be.

"Will Casspien be joining, I have not seen him all day?" Typhon's mood soured at the realization his wine had finished.

"The Lord Regent has more pressing matters I am afraid," the king feigned concern.

"With Rose Valentine?" he grinned.

"With Rose Valentine," the King of Iliad returned the expression.

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