Novel Full Chapter 803: The Evening Gathering
Chapter 803: The Evening Gathering
The square sanctum area was fully lit and decorated. Trees lined the walls from inside. The catering was placed at multiple locations filled with delicacies from all countries, and it was self-serve.
There were many wooden tables and an open grass field for people to enjoy the outdoor gathering. Already, several groups had formed, with like-minded people finding each other and getting busy in varied discussions.
The commoners who had received the invitations were mostly happy to find people they admired or had heard the names of, following their work. The ones with a noble background were slightly restrained but still took part in conversations they liked. While the Sanctum officials were happy to chat with anyone they could find.
All attention was on the Sanctum gate; however, when the emperor and his family, accompanied by Einar, arrived. Following behind were Faerunian royalty and Evrin, Souldealer. And lastly, Damian, Sam, Lucian, Torvin with the Land-breaker, and everyone from the Highsword organization. Vidalia and Ilvanya were also in this group.
The two elves had roamed around the packed city,
For safety reasons, they had already sent food to all of their guest rooms. This was more of a social gathering than an actual dinner. The safety of the VIP figures was something they had to take special care of. This was the main reason Damian wished they wouldn’t come to this event. But now that they had, they would just have to double their efforts and take better precautions.
This was also not something a host would do. Such important people wouldn’t roam around random people or even their own noble lords without high-level knights and soldiers all around them. They hadn’t limited the number of knights one could bring, but as a guest, none had brought more than ten.
Highswords had not even brought five people.
But only a madman would think about doing something suspicious in Land-breaker’s presence. Damian sensed many weird mana presences from all over the city. Even among the people he had invited, many had some strange runic dungeon relics or odd enchantments. Some people had outright weird mana signatures, but it usually was like that with espers.
Few people were truly odd, even among them. Damian had his agents keep an eye on those. But with so many people in the city, they were stretched thin. Damian had taken precautions for certain situations that might happen with so many high-value people gathered together. Many runic machines were planted here and there, carrying safety spells.
There wasn’t anyone in the Sanctuary who might pose a threat to them, with Vidalia and Land-breaker added to the five transcendents of Sanctuary. Yet some people could take advantage of the situation in other ways.
“Lord Keeper, thank you for the invitation. It is an honor to be here.”
The first one to greet him was the head of the descendant house of Xel’Tharien.
Damian replied with a smile, “I am glad you could make it.”
“Quite a few familiar faces,” The emperor joined the conversation from the side.
Lord Xel’Tharien immediately bowed before his emperor, not lifting his head at all till the emperor ordered him to do so.
“Yeah, half the noble lords from all of mainland are fuming over it. Was it truly worth it, poaching talents like that?” Ilvanya asked from the side.
“It isn’t the talent he is after,” Vidalia commented, picking up a glass of wine from the waiter.
The food he had sent to their rooms was for just their peace of mind. Damian had no problem if anyone still ate at their own risk.
“What is it that he is after then?” the emperor asked back.
They all knew the names of people he had invited way before coming here. Most of them would have already deduced what it was that Sanctuary was trying to do, yet they wanted to hear it directly from his mouth. Well, it was high time he addressed the guests. He nodded at the two questioning him, gesturing that their questions would be answered soon.
Damian also picked up a glass of fancy-looking alcohol. Then, he walked ahead to get to the center of the gathered people, attracting the attention of the people as he moved. To give them something to watch, Damian stretched his hand to the side and activated his skill ’Dust to steel’.
A cloud of dirt was vacuumed by his one hand, and in his other hand, a steel spoon materialised. Using the light sound of the two objects clashing, Damian gathered the attention of even those who were too engrossed in their conversations to pay a mind to his theatrics.
“Good men and women of the mainland,” Damian began. “First of all, I welcome you all to our humble Sanctuary and thank you all for coming to our small event. Here, you may see some things differently. But let it not dishearten you. To us, everyone has equal rights.
My friends, I have always believed that every step forward—whether in study, craft, or courage—enriches us all.
Mankind. Not Sanctuary, Eldorians, Faerunians, or the people of the empire and Highswords. It is all of mankind that takes a shape forward when we create something new. When we give our unique thoughts a tangible shape, whether it be a runic tool, a new spell, a new enchantment, a natural discovery of our world, the dungeons, or anything that answers the curiosity of all intelligent living beings.
The mystery of our existence. The purpose of life. The never-ending race to become better than we were.
Innovation is not something to be feared, but embraced. The runes, the machines, the discoveries yet to come—they are threads that will weave tomorrow’s cloth.
The reason for the invitation, as some of you have already deduced, is to show the world what our Sanctuary has to offer. Hundred dungeons. We have detailed data on each; some have been thoroughly explored, while others still require further study. For more information regarding it, you will have to wait till tomorrow.
For all those who have received the invitations, there is a specific reason for each single one of you. It is not by chance or at random.
This opening event will go on for five days. All of which are full of activities that you can freely be a part of. It is not mandatory, though. Tomorrow’s beginning, however, is something I would not recommend missing out.
For now, let us share good food, good company, and the hope of what lies ahead.”