The grand doors glided along the polished floor allowing another entourage to enter into the gathering mass of chatter and boisterous laughter.

  Auelda gazed dully at the new arrivals and grimaced at the wine in his glass. He was never much of a wine person but these kinds of things demanded certain activities.

  With a practiced smile he stepped forward to welcome the new guests.

  “Ah, Auelda,” a man with a lustrous red beard and equally thick eyebrows greeted, “Just the man we wanted to see.”

  “Evening Thokril,” Auelda returned the greeting with a half bow.

  “Just what is this celebration you’ve called together? It wasn’t long ago we were scrambling against the Heldari and-,” He cut off before finishing the sentence.

  “And my father,” Auelda finished for him.

  Thorkril stared awkwardly at Auelda, who in turn allowed the silence to stretch a little longer than was considered proper.

  “To answer your question,” Auelda finally broke the silence, “We are here to celebrate what’s left of the mortal world and the excitement that’s sure to come of it.”

  This caught the group’s attention, a younger man at Thorkril’s side spoke next, “What do you mean?”

  “You’ll see young Grath, I’ll be giving a demonstration and a viewing once everyone is here and has settled in.”

  Pleased with the statement the group moved on to mingle with the rest of the guests, leaving Auelda alone once more. He watched the gathered people appraisingly, that group made the last of the surviving Celestials to arrive.

  Now he was just waiting on the few Abyssal Princes to arrive. That was sure to go over well with the others.

  As if on a timer the doors glided open once more to allow three figures dressed in brilliant obsidian clothes in. One of them carrying a crystal orb in both hands.

  They bowed their heads to Auelda as silence overtook the hall, “We thank you for your hospitality, as does our lord.”

  “My brother wouldn’t deign to appear at such a lavish occasion,” Auelda scoffed, “He hates these things.”

  One of the Princes chuckled at his words.

  Auelda turned to address the crowd, “Please welcome our newest guests at their first gathering.”

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  In unison the crowd turned towards a throne, a figure draped in white tattered robes watching the events unfold from a deep hood.

  The figure gave a simple nod and mutterings of ‘welcome’ floated through the air before the conversations resumed.

  “Please,” Auelda turned back to the Princes, “Take a seat, familiarize yourselves with your new peers. The main event will start soon.”

  Over the course of the next couple of hours Auelda watched the crowd from beside the throne, glancing over at the figure seated in it.

  “Are you sure it’s a good idea to show them what Sirus created?”

  The figure nodded, “It is. Some of those participants will join this council in time.”

  “And they will need to rebuild their forces and houses, selecting the best from this trial will allow them to do so,” Another man chimed in, iridescent eyes twinkling in the light.

  Auelda frowned but nodded, if the Warden and his younger brother agreed on it then it was probably the correct choice.

  “How has that been going by the way?” His brother asked.

  Auelda tilted his hand side to side, “They’ve mostly been slaughtered by the trials the System put in place. Some areas are worse than others.”

  His brother frowned, “Really? I thought the point was to get everything rolling again.”

  “It is,” Auelda sighed, “But the System has been updating and decided that only the strongest will truly thrive.”

  “So nothing will really change then.”

  “No, not really Tandem,” Auelda replied.

  “Shame,” Tandem muttered, “But it makes sense. It’ll create an interesting balance in the new universe. Say when will we get access to this System?”

  Auelda shrugged, “Whenever the initial trial period is over. If I remember correctly it’ll be around three years or so.”

  Tandem nodded, “It’ll be exciting to see what it’ll class us as.”

  “I’m more interested in how it’s going to change things around here,” Auelda admitted, “There’s already been so much change lately.”

  “Speaking of which,” The Warden interrupted, “I believe it is time for the reveal.”

  Auelda glanced at a pocket watch and scowled, “I suppose it is.”

  He stepped forward, and stared out at the room, his hands clasped behind his back. The crowd slowly noticed him and the conversations dwindled down progressively. Faster than he thought possible all eyes were on him.

  He cleared his throat and smiled at the gathering, “Now I’m sure you’re all excited to see why we’ve brought you all out here tonight,” He walked down to the foot of the dais and snapped the fingers of one hand. Bright luminescent emerald screens appeared throughout the hall.

  “This is the Chrono-System, an artifact and failsafe created by the late Great Sage. To give the universe one more chance at existence,” He walked into the parting crowd, glancing between them and the screens floating overhead, “What you’re seeing now are the billions of participants granted first access by the Sage. Their goal is simple, colonize this new world,” He paused and took a breath, “Soon we will have access to this System and given power likely greater than what we already possess.”

  Dozens of voices rang out in question and abject confusion before Auelda raised his hands for silence.

  “I know you have questions, but please, one at a time.”

  “What do you mean a new world? I thought most of them were destroyed and the rest were fractured.”

  “This new world is composed of various bits and pieces of the Lost Worlds. A salvage world if you will.” Auelda answered quickly before pointing at another person.

  “Will we be able to interact with this new world?”

  “In a limited capacity,” Auelda nodded, “While we cannot physically present ourselves there yet, we can communicate with its denizens. Offering gifts, blessings, and other trinkets.”

  The rest of the questions were lost in a haze of commotion as each person attempted to get a look at the screens all at once. Auelda grimaced, they were reacting exactly as he thought they would.

  But he lowered the screens down anyway, allowing them access. Groups gathered around and the commotion only grew as they began to pick favorites from the assorted viewings. Even the Abyssal Princes gathered around one screen and were watching intently.

  Sighing, Auelda walked back up the dais and took a seat next to the Warden, a screen appearing in front of them as well. Tandem was enraptured by the sights before him and he could see the thousands of questions and future pleas in his brother's eyes.

  “A shorter introduction than I imagined,” The Warden chuckled.

  “I thought it would be once they knew they could interact with it.”

  “It will be what it will be,” The Warden mused, “Do not trouble yourself.”

  Auelda rolled his eyes, dismissing notification screen after notification screen, “Sure.”