Chapter 178: The Great Beastfolk Festival

The morning of the festival began with a mysterious figure appearing in the middle of the city. Eldrin dropped the pile of construction documents he was carrying with a startled gasp as a shimmering portal opened in the air to one side of Dominion Way. A silver circle opened in front of him, revealing a grey-haired wolf mage who tumbled down onto the street before the portal collapsed.

All surrounding monsters paused their work. The wolf mage looked around at the gathering of Goblins, Orcs and Ogres before raising both his hands. "I come from Varghelm and have permission to be here. Please do not attack me." Eldrin stared before slowly rubbing his forehead.

"Lord Tanaka."

In Varghelm, Tanaka sneezed. "You okay?" Garric asked. "I feel like I’m suddenly being blamed for something." "You usually are." Tanaka ignored him.

The teleportation network of the Wolf Crown requires two crystals to be connected to both ends. At the time of organising the invites, there wasn’t a crystal to connect to in Eldoris. A royal space mage offered to create a temporary portal using Tanaka’s Dominion Nexus as a directional crystal. This would allow him to teleport to Eldoris and create a stable connection.

The portal was not long lasting, only lasting for a few seconds and required a lot more mana than the mage would have liked to admit. But it worked. He placed the crystal for the destination end and headed back to Varghelm. This time it was much easier. A stable teleportation circle opened in the royal compound and he walked through it without falling flat on his face.

Tanaka rushed over to the crystal. "It worked!" The exhausted mage nodded. "Yes! The destination has been added. As long as the Wolf Crown keep the connection open and there is enough mana in the crystals anyone with permission will be able to teleport between Varghelm and Eldoris." Tanaka stared at the crystal.

"Can they set up their own network?" Garric grabbed his shoulder. "Not now. We focus on the festival." "But the crystal—" "Later." Tanaka sighed. "Fine." Garric let go, happy that the dangerous slime king wouldn’t try to take apart the royal teleportation network before lunch.

Tanaka was not so sure.

Later that afternoon, Varghelm was full of visitors. The royal square was buzzing with excitement as beastfolk from all over gathered around the competition area, food stalls and magical displays. Children were running around while merchants sold enchanted tools, medicines and strange foods. Musicians played music under floating lanterns.

Tanaka stood with Raizen and Zephyr near the teleportation platform, waiting for the guests from Eldoris. The first burst of light occurred. Sora stepped out of the circle. He looked around and spotted Tanaka instantly. "Tanaka!" Tanaka barely had time to prepare before Sora ran towards him and wrapped his arms around him.

He laughed as he steadied the excited slime boy. "You haven’t been gone that long." "Too long." Sora took a step back and looked around the square. His eyes widened at the magical displays on the buildings. Tanaka didn’t have time to reply as the next group arrived.

Raishin, Rogan, Relia and Ryuken stepped out. Raveana’s eyes instantly landed on the combat area. Razer arrived shortly after and sniffed the air before looking for the nearest food stall. Drakar stopped by the teleportation platform and looked at how it was set up. Sylva was quick.

As soon as she saw the Rabbitfolk section she ran over with obvious excitement. Tanaka watched as she disappeared into the crowd. "At least someone will actually enjoy the festival and not look for a fight." Raveana turned to him. "What does that mean?" "Nothing." "Good." She turned back to watch the arena.

Tanaka thought again.

The teleportation circle activated. Nira stepped through. She smiled when she saw Tanaka waiting by the platform. "Tanaka!" Tanaka’s face lit up. "Nira! You made it." "I invited everyone from Eldoris. Did you really think I would leave you behind?"

Tanaka laughed. "Fair enough." Kaelith stepped through behind her. He looked around the royal square before smirking at seeing Tanaka and Nira together. "So this is what made my sister travel across the teleportation network." Nira’s ears went bright red.

"Kaelith!" "What? The festival looks amazing." He looked at Tanaka. "I guess it wasn’t just that." "Kaelith!" Tanaka laughed as Nira closed her eyes. She was clearly thinking about every decision she had made that had brought her brother here. Kaelith wandered off leaving them alone.

Nira looked around the square. She was genuinely interested in the magical decorations. "This is way bigger than the festivals in Darveim." "Wait until you see the competitions." Her eyes lit up. "Show me around Lord Tanaka!" Tanaka nodded. He was happy she had come.

They joined the others just as the bells above the square began to chime.

The festival officially began with a magical display. Hundreds of spell circles appeared above the rooftops and streams of coloured mana shot into the air. Twisting together they formed intricate patterns. Bright wolves soared through the evening sky, silent lions roared and see-through foxes jumped through rings of blue fire before disappearing into showers of light. The crowd cheered.

Sora looked up. "Again!" Tanaka laughed. "I can’t control the festival." "Tell them to do it again!" "I’m not telling the Wolf King to repeat the start because you liked it." Sora looked disappointed but his eyes quickly moved to the nearest competition area as a group of young wolf mages began setting up.

The challenge was to run through an obstacle course while performing a series of increasingly difficult incantations. The competitors had to strengthen their bodies, jump over barriers and hit three targets. One wolf summoned wind around his legs. "Let the wind of the hunt guide my feet. Gale Step!" He shot forward and over the first obstacle.

He raised his hand. "Let the fangs of winter listen to my blood. Frost Bite!" Ice surrounded his claws and he hit the target with great force, shattering it. Tanaka watched carefully. Even in a competition the wolf mages performed their spells with ease. They had a natural flow between their movements and spells.

The spells were part of an ongoing fighting style that didn’t waste time. Raizen watched with his ears twitching. Tanaka looked at him. "You’re not going to try again are you?" "No." "Good." Raizen narrowed his eyes. Tanaka grinned. "Cutting Gale." "Tanaka."

Raizen said nothing but his warning was clear.

The Lion Tribe’s competition was much louder. A few warriors had gathered around an elevated stone platform where competitors showed off their strengthening abilities. They lifted enchanted weights and faced increasingly difficult challenges. Raveana immediately rushed over to the sign up table.

Tanaka grabbed her arm. "Wait." She turned. "What?" "You’re not a Beastfolk." "So?" "So it’s their festival!" Raveana pointed at the arena. "They’re letting outside people compete in some of the events." Tanaka looked over at the sign up table.

The attendant was already looking at Raveana with increasing concern. "We have invited guests who can compete in the combat exhibitions." The attendant said carefully. "But the competitions are monitored. We expect them not to cause serious harm to their opponents." Raveana smiled. "Perfect." Tanaka let go of her arm.

He had a bad feeling. Behind them Razer had found the food stalls. Meat and fresh bread were being handed out. Drakar had joined a group of dwarven craftsmen and Bearfolk builders to talk about the magical building techniques used across Varghelm. Relia had found a healing demonstration by the Rabbit Kingdom.

She was listening closely as a rabbit mage explained how nature magic could help speed up healing. Everyone had found something to enjoy. It was beginning to look like bringing everyone had been a good idea.

As the evening drew on the festival became livelier. Floating mana lanterns lit up the streets. Dancers performed using elemental magic. Fire danced harmlessly between the Lion dancers. Hawkfolk soared through the air on currents of air. Foxfolk illusionists made an entire avenue look like a glowing forest. Nira stood beside Tanaka watching the illusion of golden butterflies flutter through the branches of fake trees.

"They’re beautiful." Tanaka nodded. "They have some amazing spirit magic." She looked at him. "Have you tried learning their techniques?" "A little. It’s harder than I thought to perform proper spells." Nira smiled. "You like your instant abilities." "Yes."

"Maybe you should practice more." Tanaka looked at her. "You’re supposed to be encouraging me." "I am. I’m encouraging you to practice." He sighed. Nira laughed. They didn’t have to worry about any political talks or urgent issues. They could just enjoy walking around the festival, watching the magical displays and experiencing a culture they hadn’t really experienced before.

Tanaka spotted Lynessa near the edge of the square. She was watching a group of young beastfolk practising basic wind magic. Her amber eyes were watching their hands move. When she noticed Tanaka watching her ears twitched and she approached carefully. "Lord Tanaka." "Hey Lynessa. Good to see you."

She looked around at the crowd. "It’s busier than I thought." "It usually is when you invite half a kingdom." Nira smiled. "Hi! I’m Nira." Lynessa bowed slightly. "Pleasure." Tanaka watched as her eyes drifted back to the spell casters.

He remembered the strange mana he had felt within her. Despite her inability to cast even the simplest of spells there was power locked inside her. He had questions but he wouldn’t ask her during the festival. "C’mon let’s see what else we can find." Lynessa hesitated before joining them.

Above Varghelm more magical lights danced across the evening sky. The banners of the Beastfolk Lands were lit up. For one night the rulers and commoners walked the same streets. It was a nice reminder to Tanaka who had spent so much of his life fighting to protect his people.