A Game of Thoughts

[Alexander]

And the promise day had arrived! The first day of the ninth month- the Castle of Dreams' yearly fall salon. Never mind that fall was still to come, and never mind that Alexander had never been to one of these things in his life. He'd been briefed and spent much time preparing for this exchange of ideals. He was nervous- why wouldn't he be? Such things were challenging for a young man of any upbringing to grasp, and his fears were only partially assuaged when assured that this was meant to be more of a learning experience for him. The Future King, after all, must be both host and participant at the salon.

Alexander recalled the gathering of nobility from all across the Kingdom when the Salons were called in his youth. People traveled from all over, and even came from other worlds. He supposed that made him a little different than most other children. Well, he and the so-called noble children, anyway. They had been raised with the concept of other worlds from the time of their birth. In the case of Alexander and his mother, they even traveled to other worlds on occasion. It was a very cultural experience for the young man indeed.

But what he most valued was that during these Salons, sometimes Nobles from other worlds brought their children. Those were fondly remembered moments- speaking with the son of China's Emperor was perhaps the most fun he and Alan had during the Salons. They played and cajoled, and the boy had a very good humor about him. Alexander had thought about him when he was told the apparent fate of the nobility across all worlds, and silently, if only momentarily, gave him an extra moment of silence alongside his mother.

And now, it lay on Alexander's lap as he sat in the room, sipping tea and dressed in some of his finest clothing. It took a while for him to don this suit, what with all the straps, buttons, and different flaps to be folded out and tucked in. Yet, it was worth it. It was a refit of the King's traditional Salon attire. It saw little use, only being brought out for this specific occasion. The Salon was of high value to the Castle of Dreams. The exchange of ideals among rulers was necessary, even if the rulers weren't allied with them. In fact, as long as the rulers were not aggressive towards the Kingdom or its allies, they could choose to submit a request to join.

Alas, the Salon was not that well known among the worlds anymore as it should have been. The deaths of other nobles most certainly saw to that. Yet, fires of the exchange of ideals did not peter out in Alexander's heart, nor the hearts of his advisers. It roared loudly for the newly-christened ruling class, for they had mostly come from humble origin. They desired to seek and use knowledge to bridge the divide that their precursors had forged through years of justifying their superiority through tradition, familial ties, wealth, education or some combination of them and more still.

The first world on the list was Radiant Garden. It was the recently forged alliance between their worlds that merited their invite. Alexander wished to become familiar with his new ally, and prove to his advisers that he had made if not a wise course of action, an at least forgivable mistake.

The second was Land of Dragons. This was more out of fondness of the old Emperor's son than anything else, but he did recall meeting a young lady who was about his age, and had become the new Empress. He hoped that she would attend.

The third world was Twilight Town. Alexander remembered visiting Twilight Town a few times in his youth, but with the semi-recent destruction and death of the previous Mayor, he wanted to express his heartfelt condolences to the successor, as well as get a feeling for their ideals.

The fourth was The City of Bells, also known as La Cité des Cloches. This world was rife with all kinds of political discourse and discord, yet had a strong government and powerful anti-government presence. After his encounter with Charlotte, he had become exceedingly curious and invited a government official to participate, though he doubted they would attend.

Finally, there was Halloween Town. Alexander recalled meeting it's leader a while ago at a ball, and he came across as quite rude and pushy. Yet, Alexander wasn't sure if this was a cultural misunderstanding or not, and after doing some research and reading came to think Halloween Town was... interesting, to say the least of it. He wanted to know more, and so the invitation was sent.

Of course, each of these leaders could bring a few guests if they wished.

Accompanying Alexander this evening was none other than Oswald the Rabbit, the leader of the people of Disney Town while they were within the Datascape. Alexander wanted Oswald here to get his input on the discussion- he was older and certainly must have had wisdom to offer. He was also there to represent Disney Town's People for Radiant Garden. It would be simple enough for Alexander to assure them they were fine, but it would be better if they heard it straight from the horse's- er, rabbit's- mouth.

Five bells rang out through the Castle of Dreams. As each guest entered, the guards would lead them through to the large study where they salon was held. The room wasn't overly large, nor was it small. It was a pleasant enough size that a table which could seat twenty people fit within while still having room enough that one could easily slide chairs out, and walk behind those chairs with plenty of room between them and the bookcases that decorated the walls, lined with innumerable ancient tomes.

The room was very well kept, and had minimal dust. It's wooden floor caught the light from the windows, the sun beginning to set. If the salon happened to continue past sunset and into the night, candles were about the table and the room which could be lit for ambiance. Truth be told, the castle did have electric lighting, but it also had an abundance of candles. Flickering candle light was much more atmospheric when one got right down to it after all. Alexander and Oswald would continue to eat a biscuit each and drink their hot tea, waiting for others to arrive.

[Celia Darkson]

They were to be the first guests and arrivals, Celia Darkson and Axis Genesis. The Lord of Radiant Garden was still a puppet of course, but no one knew any better. A thought crossed the mage's mind earlier to bring another puppet of hers, who had indeed had connections to a world, but she decided not to. The reason being that she knew deep down it wouldn't net her any gain to bring it, nor was it that important to have even obtained an invitation. Several thoughts occurred when this happened and the silver-haired young lady figured that these invites were sent to those, that Alex may have known through his own network of connections. As such, it would have been very rude to have had the Serenae puppet impose on such a formal event. She kept it elsewhere.

Going back to the task at hand, the two were welcomed and ushered into the Salon. They both dressed to fit the part, of being two sophisticated and well-groomed representatives of their own world. Celia had entered with a white blouse, gilded with gold trim on the edges of the sleeves and hem of the article. The blouse was tucked beneath a light pink skirt that barely went past her knees. For her feet, the mage wore a pair of lolita platform boots, with one boot being white with pink, floral designs on it and the other being a pink boot with white, floral designs. Lastly, her silky, snow-white locks were curled to a degree and seemed to lively bounce with each step she took.

The Puppet Axis was dressed in rather formal attire, but it wasn't anything like a dress. She preferred to keep her mobility, should conflict ever happen and thus, she stuck with wearing a suit that had the colors of Radiant Garden, plus a pair of easy to move in shoes. After all, she dressed to impress to some degree, but always had to cover her basis. Celia thought it funny, though, that she had to play dress-up with herself, but not quite at the same time. The notion caused her to giggle a little.

When it came to the Prince of Dreams himself making an appearance, along with the rabbit Oswald, the princess put on her best face and showed how happy she was to be there. She gave an excited wave and along with the puppet, picked up their speed a bit to join the two faster. Once they had arrived, Celia curtsied and Axis gave a slight bow of respect to the both of them.

"Greetings once again, Prince Alexander and Oswald. It's a pleasure to see you two once more. Hope the days have served you well?" She inquired and kept her tone the usual colloquial level.

"Yes, yes! It's so great to see you again, Lord Alexander. I hope we've dressed appropriately..." The young girl said softly and showed off a bit of her outfit to the two, but mostly towards the prince. There was a soft, small and shy smile that she wore while doing so and made it a point to make it seem like she vied for his approval. Once more, she tried her had at the game and wanted to see if she could better her skills at diplomacy. However, with her older sister making an arrival, that would of course, set the bar extremely high due to the experience and tact Marigold had when dealing with these affairs.

[Alexander]

The arrival of Lord Genesis and Lady Celia first did not surprise the young prince. They were his allies, after all. So, it was too be expected that they would be present before all other guests. Alexander gently smiled as he placed his cup of tea down upon its small plate, standing at attention to address the two of them. He stepped back from the table and bowed to the pair of ladies, while Oswald imitated his mannerisms and did the same to follow suit. "Lady Genesis, Lady Darkson. It is wonderful that you two have joined us here this evening."

He motioned towards the chairs before addressing their questions, offering them a seat non-verbally while answering their questions. "They have indeed, Lord Genesis. Many things have been occurring as of late. Some of them good, but most of them miscellaneous in nature. In fact, we've had only one issue to address since they've arrived." Alexander took a seat as he turned towards Celia, his gentle expression unchanged. "Lady Celia, you two have dressed finely for the occasion. Both of you appear very lovely and dignified."

Oswald took his seat as well, scooting in as he cleared his throat to speak. "Yes, I can confirm what the Prince has said. It hasn't been a perfect transition by any means, but the citizens of this Kingdom are taking much better to the nature of the people of Disney Town than I would have expected. I suppose a world of Dreamers are more open minded than others might be," he theorized. "Yet, I do feel Alexander may be downplaying the issue at hand a slight amount."

Alexander seemed to be peering reflectively into his tea after finishing, likely reflecting on the issue Oswald and he had referenced. "Quite the case, my friend," Alexander stated calmly. "Though, it is something we should discuss after this Salon has concluded. It may be that our allies in the Radiant Garden may be of some assistance if they'd be inclined." He returned to his smile, addressing Axis directly. "Lady Genesis, I did not mean to be rude, so please pardon my manners. How are matters within the Radiant Garden?"

Alexander also grabbed both the tea cup, and its saucer plate that it sat upon, holding the plate as a base for the cup to rest upon after each ginger sip he took. He lifted them from the table to the front of his chest, extending the cup out a little bit to indicate an offer of charity and politeness, without actually offering them his cup. "Also, would either of you care for tea?" His eyes glanced down at the plate upon the table. "We already have a plate of biscuits, but tea goes quite well with them in the evening I've found."

"I must admit he's correct there," Oswald interjected. "I've never been quite a fan of tea myself, but this particular blend compliments the cookies very well."

[Marigold Darkson]

It didn't take much longer for Marigold to have arrive at the Castle of Dreams, with her entourage in tow. Ysl'Dae Emeraldis and Himeiji Homura, who served as her two personal bodyguards, plus long time friends had joined her on this specific occasion. The Queen had sent her little sister, Celia off first to the gathering, while she herself stayed behind back in Twilight Town to assess some other happenings. All of which she managed to finish within a reasonable time and left whatever wasn't done, up to Three. Once they had arrived, the three of them were all ushered into the Salon, after Marigold showed her invitation and specified that two with her, were for her own protection.

Much to her happiness, her little had in fact arrived with the Axis puppet unharmed. That was good. Not only that, but Celia had dressed herself in the outfit recommended to her by the queen, so that too left a bigger feeling of joy in the golden-eyed woman's heart. However, she had more important matters to gaze at, rather than the attire of her sibling. Her eyes easily shifted over to Prince Alexander of the Castle of Dreams. Whether he knew it or not, the alliance  between his world and Radiant Garden, had in fact extended to her company as well. Meeting him finally, was something that needed to happen sooner rather than later.

Marigold wore a strapless, black dress, with a rising opening on the right side, that revealed her right leg and thigh. The top managed to keep her endowed bust modest and showed off little to no skin at the top. Her snow-white hair was tied into a high ponytail and seemed to have been tied with a wine-red bow. Her footwear consisted of a pair of open-toed, wine-red high-heels. Her toes were painted a ruby red, with her lips being neatly covered in lipstick of the same color.

Ysl'Dae wore her usual outfit, which consisted of a few armor pieces, namely the chest, boots, gauntlets, shoulder and knee pads, all colored emerald green. Where the pieces of armor didn't cover, it was shown that she wore white chainmail as extra protection. The snake-woman's hair was tied into a low pony-tail. The scales beneath her eyes shimmered lightly under the luminescence of whatever source of light was there, with her yellow eyes searching over the place.

Himeiji came dressed in her typical black and white kimono. It hid the black, full-body suit of advanced technological armor beneath it, with the feet being designed to look as if she wore a pair of black heels. The young woman didn't come wearing her mask this time, due to it being requested by Marigold to not be rude in that type of formal setting, so she didn't. Her stoic and seemingly emotionless face could be seen by all and most noteworthy, her all black eyes. She had her hair down with her curls bouncy as Celia's, but seemed to flow a bit more naturally due to it being her natural hair style.

"You are Prince Alexander, I assume?" Marigold's voice filled the room, with a confidence and a bit of joy. She wore a very dignified smile and easily came over to the prince and outstretched a hand for him to shake. After he did so, she'd offer the same courtesy to Oswald. " Excuse me for interrupting, but pleased to make your acquaintance. I am Marigold Sanguines de Darkson, of the Darkson Company and current acting leader of Twilight Town." She spoke with grace and ease. When their formalities were done, she'd introduce her compatriots with a hand. "These two fine women are my personal bodyguards. Ysl'Dae Emeraldis in the armor and Himeiji Homura in the kimono." Mari described, to which the two of them gave short bows of respect.

[Tyler Saikou]

While he was not truly late, Tyler Saikou-the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town-was not the first guest to arrive. In truth, he had not been expecting to receive the invitation to this "party", considering how he had acted the last time he had been in the castle of dreams. This in and of itself was why he was somewhat late in his arrival to the meeting. He had specifically gone through his closet, transforming parts of his wardrobe into much nicer versions, ending up wearing a suit very fitting of the era within the castle of dreams.

Unlike most other individuals that were attending this meeting, Tyler's method of entry to the world was not very apparent. It was almost as if he simply appeared in front of the gates of the castle. In truth, he actually used both his immense speed and his ability to create portals between worlds to end up a good mile away from the castle. At any rate, he stated his identity, and was allowed into the castle for the first time in quite some time. Unlike the other guests, he entered the Study without any fanfare, simply waiting for the meeting to start rather than speaking. He had nothing to say, so it was just simpler for him to not speak.

Whereas most everyone here so far managed to come with a guest, Tyler himself brought nobody. Not Kia, not his sister, not even the human being he created. They had all either abandoned him or been pushed away by him during his grieving. However, as a direct result of that, he had finally been forced to act as an adult, rather than a child...for the most part. He was taking this meeting seriously. It was a serious topic of discussion, the fate of the worlds. As such, even the youngest member of the group was being quite mature about everything, not speaking out, waiting for the beginning of the conversation, and the idle chatter to end.

[Celia Darkson]

With the Axis puppet, Celia and it took their seats. The silver-haired young lady graciously accepted the host's offer of tea and biscuits. Axis took a drink of tea, while the mage had started to bite on a biscuit. The two, rather than Celia exclusively, had listened in on the status update concerning the citizens of Disney Town. A simple nod of their heads, almost in sync, showed that they overall pleased with what they were told.

"Good. I'm glad that their release was a smart choice and that they've been able to settle in, almost perfectly. But pray, tell us the issue that concerns you two." The Lord urged. Celia herself blushed a little and this time more genuinely, when the Prince of Dreams had complimented on their attire. Axis gave a small smile and turned to her adviser, to see the little one blushing. "Unless that issue concerned you courting my adviser, then I suppose we can talk about that in private." The woman joked and much to the vampire princess' chagrin.

"A-Anyways! We are indeed glad to hear that everyone is doing mostly well and things in Radiant Garden have flourished in the last two months. We plan to turn the entire place into a hub that welcomes any and all! Connection to the peaceful worlds and everything like that." Celia stated excitedly and seemed to bounce happily in her seat. This caused her assets to have quite the motion to them. Usually, she'd have them under wraps and concealed behind her robe and chainmail, but this time, she had completely forgotten that she was a bit more "exposed" than usual. "But of course, as allies, any troubles you may require our help for, we will try our best to facilitate." The young lady added and flashed both Oswald and the Prince a smile.

More and more guests seemed to have arrived into the Salon. Celia herself wasn't surprised when she had seen her older sister arrive, but didn't do too much except smile brightly at her, before turning her attention back to Alexander and Oswald. Axis herself gave a cold stare towards the man who had just entered. Both the Digital Lord and her number two noticed him as Tyler Saikou, Pumpkin King of Halloween Town. Only reason why this was information known, was due to the memories Axis herself had of the man and thus, they transferred to the silver-haired woman as well. More than likely, Marigold herself would remember the description of the man and recognize him as well.

[Alexander]

Alexander smiled at Celia and Axis as Marigold entered and delayed answering their question. "Just a moment," he replied to them. "I must greet the others. Oswald, inform them discreetly," he whispered to the rabbit. "This needs to stay a private world affair while we discuss a solution."

Alexander moved towards Marigold and her company while Oswald seemed to lean across the table in an effort to divulge the information quietly. "It is a problem of the Heartless variety, if you must know. Only one of them, apparently. People have seen it stalking about, but it never attacks. It just stares. Supposedly the guards have seen it lurking around the castle at night." His voice was almost a whisper to the Axis puppet, but he did try to include Celia too. "The guards somehow managed to kill it once. But, it came right back as though nothing ever happened."

Alexander had met Marigold and her entourage before they'd arrived at the table with a smile on his face. "Yes, I am the Prince of this Castle." He bowed slightly to show respect and humility, and stood to shake her hand when it was offered. He caught her name with a bit of an internal wince. Another Darkson? Guests of Celia's, he could only assume. Surprising in who the guests were, but not something he was unprepared for. Probably, he more unprepared to hear she was the acting leader of Twilight Town. The Darkson Corporation certainly got around. "A pleasure to meet your acquaintance, Lady Darkson. I'm glad you could join us this evening, and of course, I'm pleased to meet your esteemed guests as well."

He smiled at the woman, and remembered the etiquette he had been taught as a child. Always be complimentary, as it helped establish good nature and familiarity. It needn't be a complex compliment. A generic compliment with enough honesty was just as well received as a complex or original compliment without. "Would it be terribly presumptuous of me to believe you and Celia are of the same family? You both are quite lovely and dressed well for the occasion." He kept his words earnest, and sounded as genuine as he could. Yet, it wouldn't be much longer before he noticed that Tyler had entered the room as well.

"I've another guest to attend to, however we will be beginning shortly. If you'd like some tea, please inform dear Oswald. He'll see to it that you have tea and biscuits in short order through the servants. I can't wait to begin our chat," he bowed to them once more, stepping back and rising up, heading towards Tyler. "Ah, King Saikou," he addressed the man. "It had been quite a while. I apologize that our last meeting ended poorly, but I am pleased to see that you've come all this way from Halloween Town to have discourse with us. If you'll have a seat, we can get you some tea and pass the biscuits, after which we will only wait a tad longer to begin, to see if the other guests show up."

[Celia Darkson]

"Please, do as you must." The Axis Puppet urged Alexander, as he went to go tend to the rest of the oncoming guests. It was a way to show that he wasn't being rude in the slightest and they'd continue listen to Oswald's words accordingly. Axis didn't have to lean in since she was the one being spoken to, while Celia had to lean just a bit. Truthfully, she didn't have to thanks to the puppet, but it made her seem more legitimate and as a separate entity by doing so. Whatever problem they seemed to have, it had been linked to Heartless.

"Heartless..." Celia had said softly, whisper-like, but the word resonated with her easily. Even the puppet gave a form of response to the word, by stiffening in her chair. After all, she had to play the part of one who wielded a keyblade and to that end, she had to show a particular interest in the creatures.

"It doesn't attack or rather, it hasn't and merely watches? Not only that, but it walks about the castle at night... You've killed it once, but it came back." All the phrases and keywords said Axis shuffled around in her mind and in extension, Celia's. The two looked at each other and exchanged glances. The adviser smiled softly, almost sweetly towards the rabbit and nodded her head. "We understand the situation and will lend our assistance." She said with the same whisper tone as the rest of them. The two had hoped that would settle that particular matter for now, so that they wouldn't look suspicious to the rest of the guests.

[Marigold Darkson]

The first thing Queen Marigold assumed when Alexander met her half-way, was that something between the previous four of them was going on. That wasn't at all something she was just going to jump on, because she had no more signs to confirm it. It wasn't until the Prince of Dreams bowed slightly, did she see the rabbit lean in and began to whisper towards the Axis Puppet and her little sister. A small smile appeared on her lips after seeing this and her eyes instantly returned to the princely figure before her. After they shook hands and she introduced her compatriots, it was all a matter of playing the game accordingly.

"We are quite honored to be here, Sir Alexander. Thank you for your invite." She said justly and matter-of-factly. Her smile widened, which gave her the appearance that she was a bit more excited than she let on. Alexander soon opened up with a question of his own and it was regarding the familiar lineage between her and Celia. Should the prince take a closer look, he'd notice that there were key similarities that would have easily answered his question.

Both Celia and Marigold shared in having long, snow-white hair. Marigold's was much more longer, down to her rear, due to her being the oldest child and keeping it maintained. They had the same golden colored eyes, but the Queen's was sharper and gave off the feeling that she pierced through the mind and heart, of those she gave a once over. Their facial structure was almost the same, but Mari's face a bit more defined, yet just as smooth-looking as her little sister's. Even the pale skin shared between them was yet another indication of just how related the two might be.

Queen Marigold gave off a light chuckle and opened her mouth to answer the question, but Alexander had suddenly stated his need to tend to the other guests. Mari, understanding this all too well, wasn't about to fight him for his attention. A humble nod of the head and she allowed him to carry one. After all, she was the guest in this little soiree and had to keep herself as proper as she could. The young woman went to go join the others, where the tea and biscuits were being served. Marigold was always one to partake in the simple foods that these meetings brought on, but decided against it. She wasn't feeling all that hungry or thirsty either.

When the Darkson woman took her seat, her two guards stayed a few feet behind her, standing. The two preferred it that way, so that they're already on their feet and ready to react to possible threats.

[Alexander]

After tending to Tyler, Alexander returned to his seat next to Oswald, smiling at his guests. "Wonderful. We can begin now, if nobody objects." He looked over the room briefly, taking note of all present. "By my count, we are missing some guests, but they'll be along later I do hope. Oswald, would you like to do the honors?"

The rabbit nodded, his expression more serious than his counterpart. "But of course!" He stood in his chair so that he could look a little more imposing, despite the fact that he was a rabbit and not at all an intimidating creature. His attempt to project authority was nearly laughable, undermined by his own adorable and diminutive stature. He cleared his throat, puffed out his chest, and began to speak with his head held high. "Welcome all to the Kingdom of Dreams' annual inter-world autumn salon! There is a lot of history behind this event, and this is the first year that young Alexander has played host to it. Our themes of discussion this evening are as follows..."

Oswald took a slip of paper from his pocket, only to realize it was the wrong one. He coughed nervously, and looked to Alexander who immediately realized what was occurring. Without altering his expression- it was not big deal after all, even if it was embarrassing- and handed him his own notes. Alexander had done well to memorize them, but had kept the paper for just an occasion. Graciously, Oswald accepted the note and resumed his spiel. "We will be discussing the topics of how to keep superstition from having negative affects in the population, how to best oppose malignant obscurantism, the merits and dangers of organized religions in the social and economic lives of our worlds, defining what constitutes abuse of state power, and finally, preventative measures against such abuses."

The rabbit scanned the room, expressing pride over his words as he sat back down. "Now, typically, the host should have the floor..." Despite his pride moments earlier, his tone now seemed wary and cautious. Alexander looked at him quizzically, raising an eyebrow. "And certainly not to offend our young prince, as he is quite intelligent for sure. But as a leader he still has developments to make." Alexander very strongly wanted to scold or call out Oswald for being dismissive. It wasn't that he was incorrect, because he wasn't. But as a matter of pride and learning Alexander wanted to begin the discussion. Yet, polite manners prevented him from cutting Oswald off.

"To that end, I think perhaps one of our more matured and experienced leaders present should start on the subject of Superstition. What say you, Alexander?"

Alexander contemplated the course of thought. He certainly didn't want to be rude now that the offer had been made, but he didn't want to appear incompetent. Fortunately he had compromise already prepared. "If it pleases the others to speak first, I don't see why not. However, if they wish to not speak on this matter I would understand. I do not know if superstition within the populace would have the impact in more technologically developed worlds in the same way that it would in a Kingdom such as ours, and if not then we could strike the subject from the evening and simply address the next on the agenda. Do you all find this agreeable?"

[Tyler Saikou]

(sorry this is so late, school has been super busy for me)

It was interesting to see an individual as young as Alexander play the game so well. It was a game that, at the time of their last meeting, he was not privy to the existence of. Now, however, he had learned much of the game. It was a reason for why he was keeping so silent. However, he did smile. It was refreshing to know a person who did not quite hold his past actions against him. From his remark about being pleased that he came all the way from halloween town, a world which was actually not that far away-even without use of his keyblade glider-Alexander had not quite been expecting him to come. It was slightly strange to him, but he supposed it was reasonable enough. He gave a soft chuckle. You are not the only one that regrets our last meeting, Prince Alexander. There were many aspects of being a leader that I was not knowledgeable about in our last meeting, along with a situation which has been unfortunately forced to remain unresolved. But, that is not what we are here to discuss, is it? I will bite my tongue until I find need to voice my opinion this time. I hope that this meeting turns out well for all involved. He said after listening to the young prince. He simply nodded afterwards, finding his seat across from the woman that was accompanied by two guards.

He kept his word, listening to Oswald, feeling a slight twinge of regret for the fate of Disney Town just by looking at it. He remembered an old friend of his...his mentor in the use of light once upon a time, when the notion of the heart holding its own elemental affinity was not yet noticed. Yet, he forced himself to not go down that road, drawing his attention fully to the group. Oswald had brought to the table the topic of superstitions, and how the superstition of the populace would affect the various Kingdoms. As far as he could gather, the world leaders gathered here were from Radiant Garden-a heavily advanced world-and his own realm of Halloween Town. He did not yet know what world the woman aside him was governing. But, he would not let the group become privy to this. He cleared his throat as Oswald finished speaking. In my own experiences, Superstitions always hold weight, no matter how advanced the society. It is very true that in realms like this-and my own for that matter-hold more than just weight between individuals. Superstition holds weight in Society as a whole. Yet, even if the young prince and I are in the minority, we should not discredit how much weight Superstition holds. I cannot speak for the prince, but it has been difficult for me to lead as effectively as possible in my situation with all the superstitions the citizens hold. Sometimes, the things that seem smallest hold the most weight. We all would do well to remember this.

He said, swiftly falling back to silence after he finished speaking, his hands resting on the arm of his chair, the occupant of it sitting straight up, trying his best to force himself to have proper posture. It might not matter in a casual situation, but this was hardly casual. This was the great game that all leaders played. He had done himself a disservice by owning up to his difficulties as a leader due to superstition, but it was necessary to draw attention to something he felt deserved it.

[Celia Darkson]

Celia had given a giggle at how professional Oswald try to be, when in all honesty, he was just an adorable rabbit. She couldn't help but smile at his attempts to be a more dignified figure. Axis herself remained stoic. Amused by the whole situation, but stoic nonetheless. It was just a wait for the topics of the night to be tossed around and when they finally were addressed, the mage found them quite... Mundane. Mundane only because of the fact she and her elder sister have gone through them before, in fact, it were the last two topics Marigold had personally addressed back on their homeworld and used it to fuel her conquest. Needlessly to say, her elder sister was going to be speaking a lot on most of these topics.

"Might I interject on something that is a little bit off topic?" Axis started and turned her attention to Oswald. "The young prince shouldn't be counted out so easily. While he may lack any experience, how is he to gain any, if he's sheltered and held back like a child? Let the boy grow into a man." That was all she had to say on that topic. After which, the puppet cleared her throat and began to address the topic of superstition. "Superstition is a tricky subject, only because its trickiness lies in its simplicity. Superstition, much like gossip, is shared by any community and develops only as far as lack of evidence against it is concerned. How to keep it from having negative effects among a population is quite simple, in theory. You'd need to give physical proof that the rumors or ghost stories that fly around the mouths of the people, can be analyzed and disproved." She took a slight pause. "However, in a world where magic exists, no, a universe where magic exists, it's quite the battle to try and keep things from being blown out of proportion. However, at the same time, because such concepts like magic exist in our world, it also acts as a form of buffer to the superstitious figures or legends that lie out there. To bring a close to what my point is, superstition and its negative effects on a community, can be lessened and theoretically dissolved, if the proper steps to disprove any such things exist. For our universe, it is both easier, yet harder to do, depending on what's being said, btu it isn't impossible." And with that, the Digital Lord of Radiant Garden had stated her piece.

[Marigold Darkson]

The Queen of the Darkson family and remained silent throughout the display of the rabbit. Unlike her younger sister, who just happened to be amused and tickled by the situation, Marigold was indifferent. Though, one would say that smile of hers that spread her lips was a sign that she found Oswald's "imposing" nature quite small, compared to hers. The woman's golden eyes cast themselves over to the prince. Alexander was a looker, definitely. The way how he managed to keep a composed, regal air and how well-groomed he was, all things Mari respected and found attractive in people. She gave him a once over, before she returned her full attention back to the anthromorphic animal.

The topics that were to be discussed, were all forms of the discussion she's had in the past. Marigold was queen of an entire planet and current leader of yet another world. Anything that had to do with those talks, she was already well-versed in. However, she wasn't going to flex the fullness of her logic, no. The young woman was going to keep some of her knowledge to herself.

Answers brought forth by those who spoke, were quite interesting. Marigold already knew how to tackle the question and provide a clear-cut answer, after everyone else said their piece. Once she was up to speak, a light smile graced itself upon her lips.

"Superstition, as Lady Genesis called it, is tricky. Though, despite this, it's easy to combat it's negative effects through explanations that say contrary to what's believed. The way how we keep the negativity of superstition down to a minimum, as World Leaders, is to become active with our community. Speak with the people and find key things in their speech to discern what's being said about who, what, where, when, why and how. We lend our ear to the population and we have an easier method in preventing them affecting progress." Marigold explained clearly and with a firm tone. She wasn't done yet, however. "But one thing we must remember, is that there will always be the few who will stick to their beliefs. No matter how many facts and proofs lie in their face, they will continue to believe what they have seen or heard. It is because of this, that we must also be open to their opinions and not exactly too adamant or aggressive with an approach to stopping negative superstition." The queen had concluded, then turned her eyes upon the prince once more. She looked between each and every world leader, but she was now deeply interested in what the young man had to say.

[Alexander]

Well, he supposed that settled it, then. Oswald's brow seemed to furrow at Axis' response, but she had gone ahead and explained herself anyway. Alexander was grateful for that much, since it was the sentiment he harbored. Experience imparted ability. Observation imparted knowledge. Knowledge and experience were not the same, linked as they may be. Even so, Alexander found himself perturbed at Tyler's answer not for its content but its lack thereof. He didn't call it out aloud or anything, as doing so would have been unnecessarily rude. However, he did note that the man had an interesting relationship with speech and the amount of times he used the word "weight" within it.

Going back to the discussion at large, Axis and Marigold each offered their views, which closely mirrored one another. He was gauging their faces as they spoke, getting a feel for who they were as individuals as well as leaders. This immersion held use for the young prince as an individual as it was contributing to his personal growth in a manner that was appropriate to his advancement as a leader, but at the same time, he clearly didn't have the same experiences with superstition that the others seemed to have said they had. They had only spoken of the verbal aspect thus far, and they weren't incorrect. Superstition was ultimately a societal meme.

He made sure his poise was appropriate, and his shoulders were relaxed but properly held aloft by his frame. "Superstition is a belief in a supernatural causality that links two processes, related or unrelated rather than a known one." He let that sit for only a moment. "This has always, as far as I would be able to guess, an obtuse and difficult topic for us to combat. Not only do many of the citizens among worlds prove capable of manipulating the forces magic with dedicated practice and study, but others have abilities that seem to be like magic, but can not be explained by it either. The difficulty I feel comes not necessarily from the countering of rumor, but the ability to differentiate between rumor and fact."

"I recall hearing about an event from the old Nobles when I was but a child about a time long before the Kingdom of Dreams was united. People would hunt witches who they believed were causing terrible things to occur all about the lands, which only sounds justified until one is then told that they never had proof that wrong doings had been committed. The implication would then be that these people were instead hunting normal people. But we can't be sure either, because a supernatural ability can't always be observed. Of course, the Kingdom has long since abandoned those negative fantasies but minor examples exist that may yet still inhibit progress."

He tapped his finger against the table briefly, contemplating on his next words. "I suppose then, that combating Superstition in a series of worlds rife with the supernatural and full of magic can become more difficult, though not impossible. This was also why I imagined technologically advanced worlds would actually lack that problem to the same degree as a world like this. Technology replaces magic for more mundane things, which means that people would attribute more to it, shaping how they interact with their society and others because of the different standard of expectations it creates around a basis of normalcy."

"I don't mean to imply that technology alone eliminates superstition, but I do believe that progress can contribute to combating misguided superstition. I don't think it could be fully eliminated since the supernatural does indeed exist, but I do think that through proper education and socialization we could start to counteract the the negative occurrences. Unfortunately my limited experience doesn't shed light on how exactly to go about doing that," he ended with a confession. While it wasn't colored with any particular emotion, one could guess that he wasn't exactly thrilled with the lack of complete understanding on the subject.

[Celia Darkson]

The two had closed their eyes and essentially meditated on the words Alexander spoke of. It made sense on the more educated level when it concerns the topic of superstition. He was very well-taught and was even able to give several concise examples, that explained how the aspect affected society and even agreed that it couldn't really be beaten out permanently. Both the puppet and Celia exchanged glances at one another again, before they turned their attention to the young prince. Axis straightened up in her seat and smirked.

"I find it a bit ironic that in a world of technology, it is easier to beat out superstition, than it is for ones that are less developed in that regard. At the same time, however, I am not surprised by it." She said simply. "You speak of the people being a bit more educated or at least trying to educate them. I want to focus on that for a bit, before we go into the socialization aspect. Education wise, you are aware that superstition passes through each and every generation. This means that we'd have to withstand the test of time and wait for several generations to die off, before we'd be able to properly educate and introduce the ability of heightened rationality to those in less technologically advanced worlds." She explained quite simply and paused for a brief moment, before continuing.

"A simple solution, would be to create schools within the communities. Set up an education system and teach the children of the next generation, the facts between fiction and the real. It's funny, because on Radiant Garden, technology is very real, yet, you have Celia, my adviser, going around putting on magic shows for the children. The children love it, but here's the thing, they know the difference between magic and common legends and the like." Axis said softly. "So I suppose that is one way to go about it, yes? What do you all think?" The puppet asked.

[Marigold Darkson]

Marigold sat entirely composed and enjoyed the fact the young master had some sort of sense and wasn't being governed completely by the rabbit. A sigh of relief came from her mouth, but she hid the action behind a graceful hand and played it off as a yawn. She excused herself thereafter. Her attention then shifted over to the Axis puppet, which being controlled by Celia, voiced the mage's own opinion. Meanwhile, she formulated her thoughts and pieced them together, before she realized that her little sister had left out the social section of the discussion, but referenced it briefly near the end. That was where she would come in with her opinion and solution to the topic of superstition.

"I feel like Lord Genesis touched upon the social aspect of the topic, just a bit that is." Mari said and cleared her throat briefly. "Now then, magic shows. Odd, are they not? Most of the time, magic performed in less advanced societies, are known to the sleight of hand techniques. Why not show them something very real? This goes back to the witch hunts Lord Alexander mentioned earlier." She turned her eyes over to the prince. "These hunts are similar to an occurrence that happened on my homeworld. Fear bred these hunts, due to the misunderstanding and lack of knowledge of the subjects at large. Plus, in a patriarchal society, women were targeted as these 'witches,' but that's a different story. Anyways, I feel as though proper examples of what you mentioned, actual magic and skills that seem like magic, should be shown to the people. Shown in the education system that Axis proposed. Only then, can we really begin to effectively combat the negativity surrounding superstition." The woman finally finished, then gave a soft smile. "What do you think?" She asked to everyone in the room, but her golden-eyes remained on the crimson-red orbs of the host.

[Alexander]

Oswald remained silent, fairly stunned by the quality of the answer Alexander gave. He didn't suspect that such a young man prince or not would have such a level-headed opinion on the matter. Beyond his years in it, yet... it felt too liberal. Too merciful. Oswald ruminated over the possibility that the prince operated with a soft touch against those who had thick, tough hides and wondered how many hardened criminals had slid out and away to freedom on his "sense and mercy". The truth was that not many had. Not only had Alexander not been sovereign long enough for anything meaningful like that to occur, but the Kingdom of Dreams wasn't exactly a hotbed of criminal activity.

Heck, even the bandits were mild compared the the marauders from other worlds. They could barely be called bandits by their standards. Thieves more accurately described them most days, and thugs did just as well on others. Hard crime was limited here. Something that Oswald, even coming from a world flooded with light, didn't quite seem to grasp. He buried his nose into entwined hands, his brow in a scowl but only just so that it looked not much different from a resting face. His eyes traced around the room to the confident Axis and her cohort, to the silent Tyler, to the enlightened Marigold. Until maybe this very moment, Oswald had thought himself a leader.

It never occurred to him that he might be wrong. Finally, his eyes fell upon Alexander, who had been ruminating over what both Axis and Marigold had proposed. Oswald twitched his nose. What might the young prince be thinking about in his head? He was impressive enough thus far, but was his knowledge limited enough to make room for Oswald? He had at least in part, hoped so. He wished to prove his worth and show his value in order to prove that he too could be a true leader. Yet, it did not seem that he would have his moment in the sun just yet.

Alexander however, was occupied with the truth and sense in what Marigold and Axis had proposed. Their advice was... valuable. But, it was still incomplete. At best, they only confirmed what he had suspected- education on magic and supernatural things was viable. They had given examples of how to introduce it into a society with magic shows (a grand idea- Alexander always favored the illusionists even though he could spot the tricks and techniques they used), but using real magic instead of falsehood. Of course, then came the problem of convincing the people that what they had seen was real, but was it even an issue? Certainly, it would be easy to show them that it was true.

The supernatural component still troubled him. He knew at least somewhat that powerful magi could identify magic, but they couldn't do so with supernatural abilities. How could they translate that to education? Of course magic could be taught. It was based on knowledge but supernatural talents? Alexander frankly knew less than he'd want to. Yet, it all seemed to click just enough for him to speak out. His theory was a stretch, but if he had learned anything sometimes it did good to reach a bit to far. Outlandish ideas often fared better, and perhaps it would receive proper critique from this crowd.

"Social education," Alexander smiled earnestly and broadly. "It addresses an issue with more traditional forms of schooling, almost certainly. If I may speak from the perspective of one who still often must go to lessons," he winced slightly as though the admission hurt him a tad, "such lessons are necessary, but often boring. They impart valuable wisdom to society but it is lost in a dull monotone given by all but the most engaging of tutors but this method? Turning magic education into a show bypasses the primary issues of, well, traditional education."

"It is a good point to bring up children and their relationship with shows of most kinds. Children love to be entertained. Such things draw them in more. And things that are entertaining often discourage fear in those same children, while also making even the world-weary adults feel safer around it. It provides an excellent entry level for magic in order to show our people that not only does it exist, but it doesn't have to be a terrible or scary thing. It would demonstrate that it has positive aspects. The only issue I see is something that we could easily address," he concluded.

"We simply need a method to keep magic from being marginalized by the shows as well. Often do people, so busy and consumed by their day-to-day routines not make a lot of time for developing their world-view and understanding of crucial subjects. It isn't wholly their fault. Time means resources, and those resources make the difference between success and failure and sometimes with morbid implications. Adults and children without access to ample time might regard the shows as being representative of magic and take it as either its limitation, or an example of what its limitation should be. The truth is that magic has many, many applications from entertainment to war, but more ideally? It can be applied to help ease the strain of society on the weak and weary."

"I would propose, going off of Axis' and Marigold's suggestions, that magic take a greater role in societies that can apply it fairly. The Kingdom of Dreams, for example, could benefit from this. The old nobility often kept certain knowledge from the people they saw as lesser, deeming them too ignorant to use it effectively and safely. This included magic. It would be why magic is such a scarcity in this Kingdom even today. We have no systems in place to teach people, but suppose we did? Imagine a force that fought fires not with buckets of water, but through conjuring their own supply? Or guards that didn't have to get into a drawn out fight with a suspected felon because they could merely restrain them on touch? The potential applications for the advancement of societies like mine are great..." his voice trailed, demonstrating his uncertainty.

"I worry, though, about those in the Kingdom who would seek this knowledge to abuse it. They would be few and far between, but this is not the same as a madman wielding a sword, or a powder weapon, or even a catapult or cannon. It would be giving him the ability, should he so dedicate himself, the ability to bring great ruin to the Kingdom. That does worry me, even though some small part of me insists that people will always be able to abuse something, or that people will always have that darker nature. I do worry about that potential. Not in a witch hunt sense like those before, but I do recall the story of Disney Town. And, by now, we've most likely all heard about the previous mayor of Twilight Town's rather... extreme approach to firefighting." Another pause. "I still want to believe that they are the rare exception, and not the rule."

[Celia Darkson]

Celia had eagerly turned her eyes over to the Axis puppet and seemed to plead with it, to want to speak on the topic of magic from there. The woman sighed softly, but nodded her head. It appeared the two had been close enough on a level, where only body language was needed to express what they wanted to say to one another. Once given the approval, the mage had happily squeaked, but easily composed herself once more.

Magic was definitely her thing. She thought of both science and magic as a both sides of the same coin. Each had their theories, unknowns and appliances. When combined together, it was an extremely potent and probably overpowered fusion of the two. With that prospect in mind, Celia dedicated her life to studying all kinds of magik, mysticism, illusion, biology, psychology, so much more just to make her knowledge of the subjects that much greater. It was a passion she obtained through frequent self-study sessions and so forth.

Alexander also mentioned about resources and how it could help alleviate a community's workload and give them more time, to study upon the concept of magic. A simple nod of the head at each point laid out on the table, allowed the mage to give a better idea on how to create an optimal system. Not a perfect system, but an optimal one that allows people to have an easier living so to say. Celia had what she wanted to say lined up and merely waited for the prince to finish up his pros and cons about the system they theoretically wanted to create.

"Lessons are indeed very helpful. Given that there are people, like you and I, Prince Alexander, that even though these lessons are boring, impart valuable teachings. Not only that, it breeds scholars such as ourselves, which could create an eventual Circle of Magi, or something like that, which could become the next generation of magical regulators." She explained the future outcome. "But to make them more entertaining, as you've said, is something that'll help make the learning stick better. After all, I didn't really get into magic until I nearly blew our home sky high! The visuals were pretty and I have to admit, I wanted to see cooler spells and things like that!" Celia giggled and seemed to address the topic in a child-like, yet still mostly professional manner. She gave a more personal example and also subtly explained her natural affinity to the study. "In short, I'd say social education is a great idea, if we can include it in the day to day lives of the people... Which addresses your next point!" She'd transition.

"Resources, yes? You mentioned how the lessons may be marginalized due to lack of time, which is attributed to lack of resources. Excuse me for being frank or sounding condescending, but when I imagine the majority of people in the Castle of Dreams, I also imagine there is a peasantry. Simple minded folk who lack the general knowledge of the outside world and thus turn to superstition and other forms of verbal history, as a way to educate themselves to a degree. Besides the obvious nobility, these are the majority, yes?" Celia took a pause. She already knew the answer. "As such, we need to slowly ease them into better technology. Radiant Garden can easily provide the resources for this and, if Lady Marigold decides, can do the same with the Darkson Company. However, we need a test world. A world that has a peasantry, lack of the other worlds out there and the basics in terms of agricultural technology." Her mind hadn't wander, but now she began to spitball the entire process. "Take that world, introduce the concept of magic to gauge their results, then we set up the social education system, while at the same time, introducing better ways for the working class to... Work, for lack of better words. While this happens, we steadily increase the time children and even adults, spend in a school system and voila, we may have the start of a new system!~" The mage was quite excited as she explained the process. Her golden orbs shined with wonder at the possible results, which quite frankly, scared Axis just a bit. It was either a really good thing, or a really bad thing, if Celia got that way. Never an in-between.

"Forgive me for ranting..." The young girl put a hand to her mouth, giggled and straightened herself out. "The old nobility... Ah yes, always the problem children of any social structure." Despite her being nobility herself, Celia showed to have a sharp tone when addressing them. "That ends with your generation of ruling, no? Prince Alexander, I say you put that system into practice and I, as Celia Darkson, will personally provide expertly trained individuals, who can teach your community the ways of positive, magical application." Her words were stern, serious, yet she still smiled. "If I may speak freely, do not waste the potential of this world, Alexander. I can feel the essence of this place. It is sensitive to magic and I have no doubt there are people in it, both peasantry and nobility, that are gifted mages already. They'd be a great asset to the advancement of your world's future." The princess concluded.

"Now then... Time for something we all know. There will always be a darkness to the light. Every concept shares this, well, the philosophical and most of the physical concepts as well. This is apparent everywhere. These madmen will sprout up and cause ruin, yes, but it can be controlled. Who's to say that there isn't a person in your Kingdom already doing such a thing and who would be able to stop them? Your guards? With what, forks and knives? No, you would need to have equal footing with anyone who attempts to bring harm to you and what you've worked to achieve. This is why the advancement of a world such as this is important. That is also why I feel so strongly about the subject and I'm willing to dedicate my own resources to see it happen. I am a very passionate mage, Prince Alexander and I know the positive and negative applications of magic like I know my own body." She smiled. "There will always be madmen, but we can't let that deter us from going forward with a system with potential benefits. Gotta take the risk, you know?" And with that, she was done with her piece. The young girl hoped she hadn't prattled on too much and made her information jumbled, or flawed. She purposefully left out the actions of Amadeo in Twilight Town, to be addressed by Marigold. Celia wanted to see how strongly her older sister felt about the whole thing.

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