Chapter 2 : Sacred Relics Ceremony (1)

Tavern the Right Dwarf, imperial city of Kaloran, a man with short brown hair, about six feet tall, with a face dressed in luxurious leather armor for the average adventurer and carrying a gleaming silver sword at his waist was sitting in a chair at the back of the room in front of the stunned eyes of the bar patrons who were watching him empty his fourth barrel of alcohol.

"Pouah!!"

"Bartender, another barrel before I get sober."

The bartender, a fairly old man in his fifties, wiped the sweat from his forehead before going back into the back room to get a barrel of liquor.

The chestnut-haired man then noticed the stares of the tavern's patrons and smiled at them with his alcohol-reddened face before shouting.

"Drinks for everyone at my expense!"

"Yeah !!!!"

All of the bar's alcoholic patrons roared loudly before toasting the man as the bartender brought a new barrel of liquor toward him.

*Bam* *Bam* *Bam*

The man who quickly took the barrel of liquor from the tavernkeeper's hand and uncorked it, about to take a big gulp, suddenly stopped and turned his head towards the tavern's windows.

"Look the fireworks are on, the festival of the saints has begun!"

"Let's drink till we burst our bellies."

The man in spite of the jovial atmosphere of the tavern frowned while slowly depositing the barrel of liquor on the table and got up walking towards the door while throwing a silver coin in the direction of the barman who accepted it with a big smile.

. . . . . .

In front of the imperial palace, on a large stage, stood a woman with long white hair, azure blue eyes and a delicate face, dressed in an ample golden dress and a scarlet cape with a golden crown on her head.

Surrounded by more than a hundred guards and people in official dress, she stood straight in front of the huge crowd that watched the show from afar, shouting with joy at the fireworks that lit up the sky on this night of celebration.

When the fireworks ended, she looked up and immediately silenced the huge crowd before saying in a soft but strangely powerful voice.

"Our world has been suffering at the hands of demons and monsters for 126 years already...."

"Famines, plagues, wars, all the misfortunes of this world seem to weigh on all mankind but we will not waver! We will not let the evil win!"

"Together with everyone's effort, we will build a world...."

She continued to make an eloquent and powerful speech that made the crowd shout with fervor in the distance before finally stopping speaking and turning her head towards a skinny old man dressed in white with the sign of a glowing sun on his back and a golden necklace in the shape of a sun.

"I thank her majesty the empress for her fabulous speech and I thank you all for being here to witness the glory of the eternals gods."

"Twenty-six years ago, the nine great eternal gods chose the nine new heroes of this era from across the three continents to purge the world of evil in their name."

"Hail to the Eternal Gods!"

The crowd chanted for a brief moment before the old man cleared his throat and continued his speech.

"These heroes are all now 25 years old and, according to the tradition of the nine churches, they will be granted today one of the sacred relics of their predecessors succeeding them in their works of serving justice and our eternal lords and masters!"

The old man shouted and spread his arms in a theatrical way, heating up the vigor and drive of the crowd which was already at its peak.

"Let the distinguished heroes step forward!"

Sitting in the chairs below the bleachers where the most distinguished nobles from the four corners of the world were seated, eight men and women dressed pompously in ceremonial garments rose from their chairs accompanied by their comrades ascending the stage one after the other.

The old man seeing the last person going on stage made a sign to the guard further away who brought to ten a mirror of gigantic circular form of more than ten meters entirely made of sumptuously carved crystal, the object was so heavy that at each of their steps the whole stage shook if it were not for the superhuman strength of the guards the object would have already crushed them.

*Bam*

They put the mirror behind the old man, making the whole scene tremble one last time. The old man looked at the nephew heroes and more serious than ever before with a smile.

They placed the mirror behind the old man, shaking the whole scene one last time before retiring to their posts.

The whole place suddenly became quiet and slightly tense, all eyes were on the old man who was looking at the heroes who had both ecstatic and nervous expressions with a smile.

"I am happy to see you all gathered on this holy day for..."

Suddenly the old man stopped talking and his smile froze as he frowned.

"Where is the heroe of Constantin?"

The crowd, the nobles, the officials, the heroes and their party members and even the empress noticed the absence of one of the nine heroes for the first time since the ceremony began.

"I'm here."