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"I do not recognize your authority, slave! You are all working together!"

He scoffed expressionlessly, "My authority comes from the Nine! What you can or cannot accept is not my concern. Behave yourself unless you wish to be cast out!"

The black water surrounding them from the right side began to seethe and boil as he clenched his fists.

Her first instinct was to attack but seeing where she was and more importantly \'what\' she was here for, Lady Purto decided to belay that. She recalled her aura while taking a step back.

"Are you telling me you did not know about this??" she pointed at Baba Jezda, "We all know how close both your people are!"

Mendax was about to step up to explain but Lord Aekor stopped him.

Tentacles flailing in a rage despite his calm demeanor, Lord Aekor peered towards her with his cold blue eyes.

Her insinuation was preposterous!

"My house has had no quarrels with Baba Jezda because we respect her efforts in the abyss. I will not dare to speak for my master but if you continue on this path, I will be forced to defend my honor, Lady Purto."

She sneered, "Do what you must! I will not be bullied into silence simply because of your position, as \'exalted\' as it might be."

His eyes widened at the mockery and he almost lost control until Baba Jezda interrupted them.

"ENOUGH!" she yelled and tapped the ground lightly with her cane.

A black fog erupted from her body and spread out in every direction, covering the entire island in an instant.

"We are at war! How much longer must we all suffer before you will take this seriously?"

 She was talking to none of them and yet all of them simultaneously but they had nothing to say in return.

Lady Purto spoke up after a brief moment of silence, this time her voice was much lower and her tone civil.

*Sigh*

"We lost the war a long time ago. Now it\'s just a matter of accepting the truth."

Lord Aekor chimed in as well, "She is correct. Maymun\'s armies outnumber us a million to one, if not more. His power continues to grow while the new gods turn the mortals against us and hunt us down at every corner. Now, we must look to the future and cut our losses."

Baba Jezda could not believe her ears, "Do you all...really believe that?!"

Lord Cerrito, who had stayed out of the arguments until now couldn\'t help but agree with the others.

"They are not wrong. I would be the first one to step on the battlefield if there was a chance but even I am not \'crazy\' enough to believe that we can win this war. We were simply too late and too blind to see him coming."

She looked at their downcast expressions and cracked half a smile, "What if there was a chance?"

This time Mendax was the one who couldn\'t keep his curiosity in check, "What do you mean? Is it related to that mortal you brought today?"

The expressions of all three of the lords changed when they heard the news.

"You brought someone personally?!" Lady Purto incredulously inquired.

"...."

Her silence was defeaning.

Lord Aekor peered towards her with narrowed eyes, "No wonder my master sent him out. Seems it will be quite a memorable day," he murmured.

"You will see soon enough. Begin the ceremony," Baba Jezda gestured towards Mendax and he was more than happy to oblige.

"Then without further ado I, Mendax, as the current overseer of the Sanctum, initiate the Gathering of the Cursed!"

Mendax opened his arms wide when he was done and released some of his energy that kick-started a chain reaction.

The island started to shake and rise up into the air. The ground cracked and snapped apart to let out nine stone columns surrounding a larger central platform.

After a few minutes when the shaking finally stopped Mendax gestured for them to get in position behind a column of their own choosing.

"Since it is Lady Purto\'s first time I will explain," he smiled towards her, "It takes a minimum of three attendants to initiate the gathering. Your duty is to be the witness and envoy in place for the champions who could not make it today. You will open yourself up to the will of the Nine and allow them to speak through you if need be. Do you accept?"

"I accept," she nodded solemnly.

"Good. Then you may step up to the column. Place your hand on its surface and announce the seat of your master."

The others were kind enough to let her go first since it was her first time. It was a great honor that was bestowed on a select few so no matter how belligerent she previously was, they would not take this moment away from her.