(In the display room)

  Up next was Angela, who had her bright blonde hair tied up in a tight braid. And her cold blue eyes were clinically examining everything in the room. She could see the residual magic left behind from the other heroes. She quickly scanned the ambassadors before looking at the dirt and sighing disappointedly, “I was hoping for a hard service, but I guess this work.”

  Walking to a spot in the room where the dirt was firm but not loose, Angela took a small knife from one of her pockets. In an agonizingly slow and deliberate matter, she began carving a circle in the ground. Angela began carving concentric circles into the ground. Each was noticeably smaller every time, but they were all no less perfectly round than the one that came before. After that was complete, Angela began meticulously carving symbols into the circles, each one taking every ounce of her concentration.

  When she had finished, a runic circle had been drawn, the likes of which had never been seen before. The warriors among them were impressed by the fine level of detail put into the circle. The more academically inclined countries however knit their brows in concentration as they studied the circle. Their expressions only became more nebulous as they studied the individual working parts of the circle.

  Not content to merely have her creation be watched with slack jaws, “What you see before you is an invention I believe this world would greatly benefit: A self contained power-producing runic array. With a significant enough power source acting to provide energy, this array could potentially power entire cities. Either in providing light and energy for the industrial and military complexes or in acting as an impenetrable defense against enemy attack, this power model has so much potential”, giving the ambassadors a self satisfied expression, “And since you people prefer a flash as well as a bang…”

  She slammed her hand into the runic array and soon an eerie purple electricity began arcing and spreading throughout the entire runic circle. One by one, the symbols lit up and the array began pleasantly humming with energy like the turbine at a power plant. The ambassadors could only sit and watch in amazement at the invention that could possibly save them all some lives that had been casually invented by an otherworldly hero, seemingly on a whim. Their eyes snapped back to the array when the purple lightning seemed to be growing more wild and the light became blinding. The pleasant humming started becoming more shrill, the air began to taste metallic, and the air began to make everyone’s hair stand on edge.

  “Uh oh”, was all Angela could say before she started trying to back away. She wanted to see every working moment of her creation. Barely having any time to throw her hands in front of her face. the runic array exploded. Flying through the air, Angela’s back collided with the wall.While the dust was getting kicked up around the room, the Knowledge hero pitifully raised her hand and scraped herself off the floor to stand shakily to her feet, her whole front covered in soot. Nervously walking forward and rubbing the black ash from her eyes, the only thing left of her expertly crafted runic circle was a charred black outline and a divet in the ground a foot deep.

  Waving a hand in front of her face, “Ahugh”, she coughed loudly, “Well, to be fair, that was only field test one. With a few more tries, we may have something.”

  Realizing she had possibly overstayed her welcome, Angela left.

  Finally, the moment every country had been anticipating since their arrival. It was time to see what the strongest hero could do. Wearing an all white robe with a hood, and carrying a Kempo staff, Adam looked every bit the hero of the Sky god. His outfit gave him the the appearance classical appearance or a warrior priest, both in his appearance of being ready for action, but similarly looking as though he was every bit as ready for prayer as he was for bloodshed.

  Adam planted his staff in the ground and shook it, making the rings on the top jingle.

  Bowing his head, his whole body began glowing. From atop his wooden staff, one large glowing light appeared. But it wasn’t simply a ball of light, it was a miniature star. Blinding, beautiful, and powerful it was displayed before splitting into twelve smaller stars that began rotating across the room. Once they were in position, lines appeared from the stars that both hit the floor and connected above Adam’s head, giving a cage-like appearance to the display. Walls of light formed in between the beams and the entire area inside was bathed in golden light.

  From underneath the balcony, a door opened and two demonically corrupted men were thrown in. They covered their eyes and snarled at the holy light that blinded them. In a vain attempt to extinguish the source of their conceptual opposite, the two demons charged into the glowing dome and immediately began smoking. Almost piteously, Adam raised his hand and the two corrupted men were bound in shackles of light. Approaching the two, the Sky hero swept his hand over the two, causing an arc of light to settle over the two who began thrashing on the ground and foaming at the mouth. But, struggle as they might, their efforts began dying down and the two men’s appearances became less nightmarish and their faces began returning to a normal human look. They heavily panted as they lay on the ground, the Purification from their former demonic selves taking up a serious amount of energy.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Making a circle with his hands, Adam made a sphere of light for both of the men to lay down inside and he escorted the two of them from the room where every ambassador was excitedly chattering about what they just saw.

  (In the debate room)

  Of course, there was the Rathbourne Empire in the north. Them being directly to the sea that the Corrupted Lands faced made them the primary target in times of warfare. Though it was met with extreme opposition, it was decided that the Rathborians would take Adam and more surprisingly, Angela with them.

  The nomads of Torthuil to the east were never forthcoming with many, and their suspicion of foreigners made it difficult to even slide a toe across their borders without feeling their spears being hurled. But since their land was among the most naturally rich with resources, their primary contribution aside from military force would be in providing emergency food stocks. Because it wasn’t too useful in combat, nobody put up an argument when James was chosen. The woman by the name of Christina was chosen as the Nature hero.

  The coastal country of Mahad Alhadara, especially valuable for its choice location as an international hub of travel by both land and sea, gave it a unique advantage. Their naval capabilities were unparalleled, and its leaders shrewd in their dealings, always looking for a way to make their country benefit. The girl named Sabina and man named Charlie, who were respectively the heroes of Desire and the Sea were chosen.

  The only country even further north than the Rathborians was the frigid land of Ode. Since their land was further west than Rathbourne, and were less populated, they were less of a target. However, because they were in such a position to strike at the Corrupted Lands, they had been under constant siege. It was only thanks to their unforgiving terrain holding back a full invasion that they had remained standing. Frank and the hero of healing, Clara Fleming were chosen to fight on their behalf.

  Then there was the desertous land of Schaffen. What the land lacked in vegetation, it more than made up for it with its metal deposits. Some of the rarest metals and jewels came from Schaffen and the greatest smiths of any sort either traveled to learn or came from there in the first place. Weapons, jewelry, armor, clothing, machinery, both magical and ordinary, were produced there. The man named Nikolas and the man named Thomas Reilly, who were the heroes of Fire and Freedom were chosen for them.

  Finally, there was Cestny, who had the smallest but quite possibly the most important function. Their country was known for being diplomatically neutral which is why the country was known for housing the Court of Absolute Truth. Seen as the highest form of the deliverance of justice on the continent. Being completely free of the influence of any other authority, the Cestnyans took their duty as impartial observers not merely as a solemn oath, but as the way they structured their whole lives. This time, two men were selected. There was Briggs, the hero of Justice and a man simply known as Callaway, the hero of Death.

  These intense debates lasted several days and would have lasted longer, but every minute spent in argument meant their respective countries were potentially losing ground and people. So even though each man would have loved to, in the end, though many negotiations, threats and counter offers were made, the decision was final.

  While the other countries were unhappy how the Rathborians had ended up getting exactly what they wanted, alongside obtaining a hero they had been surprised at her display of power, everyone made their decisions. While having the strongest hero in their command was the best solution for the demons, the more shrewd ambassadors also knew the Sky hero was meant to be the most unearthly. A hero who separated themselves from the ideals of man and committed themselves wholly to matters of the divine. So, even if something nefarious was afoot, it was unlikely to come to fruition.

  After everyone had left to go to their rooms for the night, the only remaining people were a guard and the Pontifex. He sat at the head of the table, looking upwards with his eyes closed, thanking the gods for everything falling into place. It had taken convincing the heroes to showcase a very specific set of their abilities and the countries realizing certain talents would be better suited for their country rather than overt power. But finally, all the pieces were being moved to where they needed to go. Opening his eyes and sighing in confused resignation, the Pontifex realized that every piece but one, had its place. And the decision of this one could lead to issues, if he wasn’t careful in his divining of the delicate matter.

  “You may remove your helmet now”, the Pontifex said almost dismissively

  Reaching up to undo the chinstrap, the soldier removed his helmet to reveal Edwin Thatch