New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

Even if the head Matriarch had a feeling the power the young king had displayed was not something he could hold for long, she still didn't want there to be a conflict. The original intent was to make him feel bad and indebted for his actions.

There was never really the option of war in the first place. Themiscus had long since fought an actual war, and the peace the kingdom knew was not something the current head Matriarch wanted to break.

The earlier threats were mostly empty.

Of course, they were war ready, if the need ever arose. But the entire kingdom had enjoyed peace for a long time, and unless a major threat appeared from an unseen realm, it would remain at peace.

Even if some smaller kingdoms had fallen to the recent waves of strange beasts and monsters, Themiscus never felt threatened by them.

At best, they made for the perfect training dummies. At worst, the weaker kingdoms got culled, and made room for stronger nations to grow or rise.

New nations, not unlike Stellar Woodlands.

Astaroth undid the meld with Geminae, before looking at the Matriarchs, one by one, giving them judgmental looks from their earlier poor treatment.

The men behind the leaders all looked back at Astaroth with anger. But there was nothing they could do.

As long as he wasn't a threat, they were not supposed to act.

They were husbands, playthings, trophies, yes. But at the heart of it, they were protectors.

Most kingdoms had rulers, and guardians, or lesser gods acting as guardians. But Themiscus was different.

Being the oldest kingdom still standing, Themiscus was part of what had created such a thing to begin with. Back when the Progenitor of Words still ruled the kingdom, she had wanted something to take her place, since she didn't want to rule forever.

And so, she had made a pact with the world that was extended out to the rest of the kingdoms over both continents. One of mutual benefits.

The world would grant them strength, and in turn, they would use this power to help it flourish and thrive. With the use of newly invented runes and symbols, the Progenitor of Words had invented the ruler symbol and guardian system.

Even now, over ten millennia later, this system was still in place and assured new rulers who were recognized by the world itself, some form of extra strength, to defend their lands and people.

But since Themiscus was the starting point of this, it had always been different.

Instead of one ruler and one guardian, Themiscus had more. Which is why the council saw the light of day.

Twelve families would ensure a just rule, and one head, who would make the final decisions. And in each family, a single person, acting as a representation of the guardians.

Each council member held a symbol of a ruler, one that was weaker than a true ruler's mark, but held the same weight, and the head Matriarch held another, that set her atop her peers.

Each Matriarch selected one man to whom she entrusted a set of armour, which granted powers unmatched by regular people. These were the guardians.

But having more people wield power meant the world also imposed more limitations.

The Matriarchs could be voted away, and replaced by other members of their family, and guardians could be replaced. But the biggest limitation was the activation of these powers.

Most rulers could choose when to use their ruler's mark to become stronger.

But Themiscus' council could not. Nor could their guardians.

This was why they had seemed so menacing to Asmodeus when he appeared, but were so tame against Astaroth. He was not threatening the rulers.

Asmodeus looked at all this circus going down and burst into laughter.

"Ah ha ha ha ha ha! Well, THAT is what I call a show. You should be like this more often, young master Astaroth. It suits you more than playing the sage person."

Astaroth glared at him.

"Why are you even out of the ring? I didn't summon you. Go back."

Asmodeus fake pouted, acting like Astaroth's words had hurt him.

"Aww. But I just got here. Let me enjoy this a bit more. Pretty please?"

Astaroth grumbled, as he took a step toward the demon king.

Asmodeus stepped back, his hands raised, as he snickered.

"Fine, fine. I'll leave. But you, young man, are no fun. Call on me again if you ever want to murder this lot. They are old, anyway. They could use a replacement in here."

As he said this, Asmodeus disappeared in a puff of black smoke and got sucked back into the ring. All twelve guardians looked at him with deadly glares, but said nothing.

The head Matriarch took a moment to recenter herself, before clearing her throat.

"As I was saying before, let's not jump into anything drastic. We can resolve this without unnecessary bloodshed, and I believe everyone agrees that we should."

Most of the Matriarchs shook their heads, but a couple of them still looked mad that Astaroth had so openly threatened them.

But in the end, the majority wanted a peaceful resolution, so it would be so.

The head Matriarch nodded her head toward the woman who had been speaking earlier, and a new video was played. One where the complete scene was captured, including the scene before Astaroth arrived.

With this, Astaroth, Phoenix, and Rodney had a lot more leverage against the council of Themiscus.

Once the video had run its course, the room went silent. Both sides knew that the first one to talk would certainly have the upper hand.

But it was hard to gauge what good first words should be used.

Eventually, words were uttered on the visiting side, who also happened to be the victim's side.

"In light of the entire situation, even though the diplomat came from Themiscus, and should have been treated well, I believe we are due compensation," Phoenix said, activating her negotiation mode.

And with that, the floodgates of discussion opened.