Muspelheim...North-Eastern Region...In the City of Crux, a young man sat at a table.

Before him lay a circle where many torch fires raged.

He held a drink to his lips, yet was sobered by the sight.

The fires crackled as drums echoed to the dancing of girls in the circle.

The most wealthy girls from the most affluent families wore the best of decorations, while those of lesser means tried to appeal with their humility instead.

Transparent sleeves danced in the wind, they smiled to the crowd as their steps and spins lifted the veils that covered their lips and granted a sneak look beyond the air of mystery and charm.

The young man could not deny that he found their dance captivating, nor could the other men who made up this circle.

This was Crux, a Bronze Class Settlement on the verge of being ranked up to Silver.

The population was over a thousand and there were plenty of Silver Class men and women living here, in fact the Governor and his daughter were even Gold Class, it met all the qualifications.

That very fact was the reason that they had come here, or at least one of the reasons.

This little party was their welcoming in part, but it was also something else.

These women weren’t just showing off for nothing, for them and the men gathered around them, this was a very important affair.

These young and unmarried women were putting on a show because they sought a good man to marry, it was that simple.

The men were also showing off too, albeit with their affluence and means.

The inevitable row that broke out over wine and women also served as a display of their strength and spirit of competition.

Today was a very important yearly event for these youngsters, but to him it really was just a party full of wine, music and good old fisticuffs.

With that said it then came as no surprise to anyone that a blonde young woman dressed in finely jewelled garments chose to approach his table.

After all he was a guest of high status, it only made sense he’d be placed at a seat of high honour.

Her dress was a glittering red, complimenting her milky white skin perfectly.

The young man opened one eye to look upon her. He noticed her misunderstanding right away, of course, but there was no reason to correct her. She’d move on once she realised this fish wasn’t biting.

The young woman danced, showing the curves and contours of her body and waving about her transparent sleeves in the wind. She even flashed him a smile as she realised she’d caught his eye. He smiled back just for the sake of being polite.

Alexander could perceive the fact that this woman’s Ash was stronger than the rest of the people here, so much so that she had even stepped into the Gold Class.

His senses were superhuman and honed uniquely beyond even others in that category, it was only natural that he’d notice.

Truth be told, it was obvious even if he wasn't using any supernatural gifts to see it.

The woman was just about 2.6 whole meters tall standing barefoot, and she had looks that could provoke a nation to go to war, or at least she seemed to think so.

The truth of it was that this woman fit the basic description of a Gold Class to the letter, she was to his eye no more spectacular than the norm, in fact she was even a little bit average all things considered. The phrase “a normal fish in a tiny pond” came to mind.

‘So,’ He thought, ‘That’s Ciara, the governor’s daughter.’ Then the lass stopped suddenly. She stood tall and stared his way in shocked silence.

She was not alone in this, the entire crowd, from dancers to drummers, fell silent and started to stare.

The man smiled wryly as he sensed a presence behind him.

He moved his wine away from his lips as two slender arms wrapped around him.

Those arms were clad in unfamiliar semi-transparent glittering white fabric, and under that was a pair of long black sleeves that stopped below her shoulders.

His senses told him exactly who these arms belonged to, not that he really needed superpowers to recognise them.

The man leaned back, looked up and smiled as he rested the back of his head to her bosom.

There she stood, his wife, Rusalka. Her hair was done up to show the masses that she was spoken for, but her beauty still eclipsed all the other girls by a level and a half.

The masses took forever to recover from the sight of her, but eventually the drummers started sounding once again and then everyone started to turn away from the beauty that’d graced their city.

The men thought it a pity that she was clearly taken, the women however thought it only a great relief.

Her attire was more modest than the lot of them, but also more expensive too, there was simply no comparing to her in any category.

Alexander smiled then towards his bride, he never once looked back at the crowd. Their reactions were but natural, after all his had been the same back in the day.

“So, Alex,” Said Rusalka as she glanced at the masses. Her eyes stopped upon Ciara, pierced into her with a cold but confident glare and finally roused her from her statue like stillness, “See anything you like?”

The man scoffed, he took her by her hand and then gently led her to sit by his side.

“I have now,” Alexander said, then he took another sip of his drink.

Ciara took a step back then. She felt indignation, humiliation and a number of other emotions that bid her to scoff and walk away. She’d never experienced this kind of feeling before, not once in her life.

Rusalka paid the silly girl no mind, she took a sip from her husband’s cup without a hint of shame and then turned to watch the vibrant dancer’s display.

She listened to the thunderous rumbles of the drumbeats and looked upon the waving skirts and sleeves of the dancers with clear interest.

All the colours in the world were gathered here from red to yellow, green and blue. She committed a few designs to memory, even put her imagination to work.

Luckily she wasn’t leaving in a hurry, she should have time to have her people ask about the local dyes and materials before she had to hit the road again.

“Have you spoken to the governor yet?” Her husband asked her.

“Not yet,” Rusalka replied, “He said to meet him after the festivities end.”

“I see,” Said the man as he sipped his drink once more. Their presence here today was indeed not just to enjoy the festivities. With war on the horizon, there were many things on their minds. Both his, and his bride’s.

______________________________________________

Bit by bit then the hours ticked away.

The girls left the circle one by one with their arms wrapped around their chosen man.

The last few remaining on both sides of the circle began to look nervous. The more time passed the fewer prospective mates remained for them.

Rusalka grew bored before long and set about refilling the cup she shared with Alex.

The moon started to eclipse the sun and signalled the end of the festive day. Those few men and women who remained were forced to settle as the drums went silent.

Rusalka propped up her ear to the sound of a boy and girl, who’d apparently been neighbours since young, bickering in the street just outside the circle.

She formed a charming smile as they “settled” for each other in spite of appearing to be at each other’s throats.

Her red cheeked gaze then fell upon the other lingering masses, but by then that smile had turned completely false.

She was sure Alex had also noticed what she did, indeed he probably noticed it sooner than her, that was his speciality after all, in this category she was in no way his competitor.

“Alex, come with me when I meet the governor,” She said as she emptied the cup.

She could handle herself in a fight, Venus women in general were better fighters than most. They were the long cursed descendants of Cyril’s ilk, her kin from the City of Leo.

They, like her, could not have male heirs, so it was only natural that they had to train the women as they would have trained the men.

Even so Rusalka knew that having a proper man around would always prove to be a far better deterrent than going by herself in any situation, including negotiation.

Those “concealed” gazes around her made her feel uncomfortable, she suspected something foul was in the air.

“Yeah,” Alexander rose from his seat. He reached out to her and then took her hand to help her rise after.

He held her firmly when she nearly tripped, but she regained her footing fairly quickly.

The few cups full of alcohol she had drunk would not be near enough to influence their Gold Class physiques that much. He knew her little trip was nothing but a ruse to make herself appear weaker and more vulnerable than she really was to the masses.

Together then the two of them turned to face the manor, the home of the city governor, the man named Crux.