Red velvet curtains in elegant drapes adorned the dining hall windows. Two chandeliers hung high on the ceiling and lanterns hovered amongst them. Empty tables each had a beige tablecloth with large maroon flowers weaved in the fabric. Wooden chairs flanked both sides, and adult and child Rauvuren occupied most. They all sat in silence. Only a few coughs and squeaky fidgeting of chairs could be heard.

A table near the door was almost full except for three open seats. The one at the head was decked with sapphires and gold specks along the rim. Xohr led Pinti to one seat, Daero next to her, and he took the head. Opposite her sat Emphrelius who squared his shoulders back and clasped his hands in front.

With a slight click, the lights went out. Pinti twitched her whiskers as a tingling sensation buzzed around her. She could hardly smell anything apart from the faint scent of thyme. There were excited murmurs all around. Anticipation made her fur prickle. Every Rauvuren seemed to be waiting for something.

A spark of flames came skidding across the table, startling her.

"Heizak!" she whispered, bristling.

The flames shot up, hitting the chandeliers, and making them sway. Pinti's heart thumped against her chest.

What was that? Silence followed. Her eyes began to adjust to the darkness. Vague purple lumps—Rauvuren—sat around grayish tables. She caught Daero making a light in his paw, trying to see what was going on.

A warmth surged from atop the table. Rauvuren cheered and the lights snapped back on. Instantly Pinti was overwhelmed with all the color but most of all, the scents. Savory, sweet, sour, spicy, nutty—any scent that she could ever identify and more which she couldn't.

Where did all this food come from? She glanced around the dining hall, but there were only walls and no doors as far as she could tell. Despite the delicious scents enticing her to eat, Pinti didn't feel all that hungry. She did eat not so long ago and she still wasn't willing to fully trust Xohr, much less Emphrelius.

"Attention all," Xohr's booming, cheerful voice echoed off the walls, "tonight is a celebration feast. Not of Wegginfaezerie City's carnival," he said and Rauvuren booed, stomping their feet on the floor.

Emphrelius shouted, "Damned Sorcerers!"

Xohr chuckled and gave a wink. "Tonight, we celebrate the arrival of Kathula." He nodded to Pinti and Daero. "Exhaustion has certainly gone to our heads. The past century has been filled with more skirmishes between us than ever before." His face clouded and his ears drooped. Emphrelius reached over to pat his paw. They exchanged saddened smiles.

"But now, the time has arrived. It has been foretold by the Lunar Goddess that when a Kathula comes to Rauvuren Yava, our time has come to an end. Rauvuren will be freed from their debt, I can pass on the powers, the duty of the Keeper, and I can finally lay down to rest."

When he paused, there were a few sniffles coming from different parts of the room. A heavy sadness was felt along with the sour stench of fear. Pinti wondered what they could possible be afraid of. They were going to be freed!

Maybe fear of the outside world? she wondered. Having been secluded and then somewhat freed herself, she did understand that kind of fear.

Xohr panned his gaze around the room and raised his glass. "A cheer to Kathula and a toast to all Rauvuren who have, even in our darkest times, kept Rauvuren Yava in good enough spirits to keep us going," he paused, "one may say, kept us going until this day."

Everyone took a sip except Pinti and Daero. They did raise their glasses, but the contents had a strange scent both sour and bitter. They lifted it to their lips but didn't tip it back. Pinti smirked at herself for remembering this technique she learned from watching Humans.

"Our contents are different," Daero whispered to her. Pinti nodded. The other Rauvuren around them were drinking different beverages to what the two of them had. It could have well been a kind gesture to guests, but Thereanbold's warning was still in their minds. They weren't going to trust these Rauvuren Sorcerers so easily.

"Noticed the Rauvuren?" he whispered again. All around them Rauvuren were in moderate chatter, not overly celebratory, and some were whispering amongst themselves. Pinti met eyes with a Rauvuren female sitting at another table. They locked eyes for a long while until the Rauvuren jerked her head away in haste, hunched her shoulders that rose and fell in a deep sigh.

At another table, a male Rauvuren began to laugh loudly only to be shushed by another. And, out of the corner of her eye, Pinti could tell Rauvuren were stealing glances at them. Tensions filled the air. 

The only part of the dining hall in the mood of celebration was where Emphrelius, a female Rauvuren child, and Xohr were sitting. Around them were some other Rauvuren, leaning back in their chairs and participating, but laughter bounced off their unresponsive walls. The most enticed were a few stiff smiles.

As the Rauvuren ate, Pinti and Daero pretended to take interest in the food. Some pink gloop in a bowl tempted her curiosity more than her appetite. When she sniffed it, it smelled of sweet rose nectar, but she couldn't quite get that extra earthy scent that mingled with it. She picked up the spoon and took some into her bowl, watching it fall and wiggle like gelatin.

Disgusting, Pinti grimaced. Living in the First Ring introduced her to plenty weird Human food including gelatin. The wiggly dessert was always an experience if she was ever in a situation forced to eat it. The gelatin would slip down her throat before she was ready to swallow, and dance in her stomach after. There was no telling if the pink gloop was the same kind of stuff.

Or it could be poisoned. She set the spoon down, hesitant to eat. Daero was poking at it with his spoon, watching it jiggle.

"That's Rose Pudding," a female voice chirped. It was the Rauvuren child that sat next to Emphrelius. But Emphrelius had left. Pinti couldn't see him anywhere.

"It has a bit of lime and peppermint," she continued with a grin. "A popular Rauvuren dessert that I love, and can I have that if you're not having it?"

"Yeah, sure, go ahead," Pinti answered and handed the bowl to her.

"Thank you!" She beamed and her pigtails bobbed as she bounced in her seat. Her hands were Human and her almost black skin ended at her wrist, but up her arms, it was all black feathers. She grabbed a spoon and began to scoop it into her beak-like mouth. It was like a Human mouth with thin lips and with a more pointed middle part. Her bright purple eyes glowed when she swallowed the pudding and licked her lips in satisfaction. She finished in no time. Behind her peeked beautiful black wings that flapped, but Pinti knew Rauvuren couldn't fly.

"Can I have that, too?" She pointed to an orange plate with orange bread on it that Pinti had taken, pretending to be interested. Now she gave it to the eager Rauvuren girl.

"This is tuk-tuk and you dip it in mayvileon soup and the magick reacts and makes the bread into real bread! Awesome, huh?"

She dipped the bread in. A swirl of yellow soup patterned on the bread. She dipped it in two more times, waited for the swirls on the bread to merge into one color and then dipped it in two more times. Pinti smelled rosemary that was not there before.

The child snapped her head up and exclaimed, "Revival magick side-effects!"

A see-through Deel had come out at some point and was hastily making his way back in. Daero gave a short hiss and composed himself.

"So, revival magick?" There was some rippling distortion in Emphrelius' seat and then he appeared. "Something was off about you, I knew."

The female child grinned up at Emphrelius. "Praise me! I knew what magick it was this time."

"Yes, yes you did, Wescherlie." Emphrelius let out a sigh. "But no probing without consent. Lesson number—?"

"Nine." Wescherlie frowned and crossed her arms. "But Unkav," she whined.

"Don't 'Unkav' me. I'm not that old."

Wescherlie stuck out her tongue. "Eighty-four."

"That would be thirty-four in normal years, Wes." Emphrelius turned to Daero and gave a bow. "Apologies. She's just been so frustrated today for not being able to guess the magick I was using. This is Wescherlie, my eleven-year-old niece—"

"In normal years, that's also eleven." She wrinkled her nose in a grin.

"—and to-be heir of Rauvuren Yava, young lady. Wipe your mouth. You have pudding and tuk-tuk all over."

Wescherlie wiped her mouth with her napkin and flashed Pinti a grin. "When I become leader of Rauvuren, I'm gonna change it back to 'Trude'. Yava's a stupid name. It's ancient. I like 'Trude' better."

Emphrelius groaned. "It's Yava, Wescherlie."

"Yes, Emphrelius den," she answered in a mocking tone. "Shall I do my singing now?"

"After you finish your plate."

"But I'm done." She folded her arms tight across her chest.

Emphrelius pointed to a plate of dark green leaves. "Your salad, young lady."

Wescherlie made a face and stuck out her tongue. Suddenly, she smiled at Pinti and said, "You wanna hear a song about the Scepter of Tamido? I'll sing it in Avesian, our native language, and then in Universal so you'll understand. It's been passed down for generational generations! And I'm a really good singer."

Pinti exchanged a glance with Daero. "There's a song about the scepter?" she said. She had never heard about a song about the scepter. Kathula had a song all about frightening Saboteurs and Edglings, not the scepter.

Gulping down a glass of water, Wescherlie jumped off her chair. "Places, everyone! Lady Wescherlie is going to sing now!" she announced herself. Emphrelius tried to grab her, but she slipped out of his grasp. Xohr was watching the exchange with a smirk and an amused tail quiver.