The Mech Touch

6908  A Radiant Gift

When the actual banquet commenced, Ves tried his best to put up a polite facade and clap whenever it was appropriate.

The exotic dishes tasted like air to him, and that was not just because his phase lord physique had lowered the sensitivity of his taste buds to an enormous degree.

He simply was not in the mood to celebrate the friendship between the Larkinsons and the Devosans anymore.

The secrets that he learned from Master Laila Rebecca Devos continued to weigh on his mind and heart.

His wife probably noticed his unbalanced mood. She thoughtfully did not probe him for answers, but spoke up more frequently and covered for his social obligations. While she was not always reliable, he knew he could count on her this time.

One of the elder figures of the Devos Ancient Clan stood up. The man wore a similar formal toga outfit as Master Laila, though his garments were embellished with fluttering symbols of leaves.

He raised a glass above his head.

"Ladies and gentlemen. Terrans and guests. Tonight, we have gathered here to commemorate our friendship and cooperation with the Larkinson Clan. Although it is new and lacks the long and storied traditions of our own, we are a people who are not averse towards change. As our people and state enter a new age, so do the rules that we have abided by for centuries. We have found ourselves in a particularly dangerous period of history. In the past, our people have managed to overcome many existential challenges by following our traditions, but not entirely."

The man whose name escaped Ves' notice took a moment to sweep his gaze across the people sitting at their dining tables. The moody yellow lighting and the garden ambience created a sense of intimacy among the formally dressed individuals.

"The Age of Dawn has shattered the peace that has reigned throughout the Age of Mechs. We are cut off and beset by threats near and far away. It is easy for us to return to the passivity that has been thrust upon us during the previous age. Yet that is a mistake. To avoid change is to be enslaved by our own traditions. If we want to prove ourselves to be as strong as the Terrans during the most glorious periods of the Age of Conquest, then we must regain the courage and values that we have forgotten in the past centuries! We must remember our past as a people who spit death in the face and possessed the courage to defeat the strong while we were still weak!"

"Hear hear!"

"For Terra and humanity!"