Chapter 90: Information Guild
Valentine’s conversation with Vivian was going to have long-lasting effects. Despite knowing how sly Vivian could be, Valentine decided to trust her advice regarding business and take the first step into creating the world’s first mall business, under the name Galleria De Clare.
In a matter of weeks, Galleria De Clare was poised to become one of the best businesses the De Clares had ever invested in, and Valentine would openly attribute the idea to Vivian in his meeting with the gazette, but that was a story for another time.
Vivian was still at the party, meeting people and greeting elders, until she finally found Isabella, who shared a gazebo with several exotic-looking individuals. Vivian had seen some of these exotic races before; one of which was the Draconians like the Emperor’s concubine, and another was the half-Hulkling like Esmeralda. Still, now she was seeing both a Draconian and Maopi.
Draconians are a race claiming descent from dragons, possessing a strange physique: long, slender necks reminiscent of dragons, and agile legs with tails, claws, and horns. While their claim of dragon descent was often overlooked, a single glance was usually enough to convince anyone of their narrative. On the other hand, their faces looked more like lizards than dragons, yet somehow, their appearance possessed a beauty Vivian never understood.
{A/n: Inspired by the Lizards of Divinity series. Scalies, Arise!}
The Draconians ruled the continent of Longdi for many centuries before the Albionese invasion. While powerful and possessing unique arcane arts, the Draconians were an elite minority, and the commoners were Kobolds, a lesser form of Draconians and subjects living in total serfdom.
It was safe to say that the Draconians stood no chance against the endless armies of Albion. To save themselves, the Draconian warlords and maharajas agreed to annex their Empire, joining hands with the nobles and becoming members of the ruling class. While considered an ultimate betrayal, the lesser Kobolds never complained, simply serving a new master with little change to their lives. Later, revolutions began to occur, and here the Maopis entered the scene.
Unlike the oppressive Dragon Empire in Longdi, the Maopis inhabited the jungles, islands, and mountains. Their appearance might seem human from a distance, but they possessed many animalistic features, ranging from fox-like ears and dog-like noses to cat-like eyes and beautiful furs. Their looks weren’t fixed like those of other races; some appeared closer to animals than humans, while others appeared almost human except for a feature or two.
The Maopis were enemies of the Draconians and had long wars with them. Yet, like the Draconians, some Maopis decided to join hands with the Albionese invaders, creating a symbiotic relationship to prevent the Draconians from rallying the Albionese armies against them and driving them out of their lands.
While many Maopis led rebellions against the colonists, the independence war still raged in Longdi with no apparent victory in sight. However, the war transformed the relationship between the two continents into a frenemy situation, where Humans, Draconians, and Maopis formed unique relationships based on rivalry, friendship, and even love.
And so, in that gathering hosted by Isabella, one could hear hisses and tongue clicks between the snoopy Draconians and the rebellious Maopis. While the two were the dominant races of Longdi, it had become a custom among Albionese aristocrats to invite groups of each race together to watch them scowl at each other—a tradition passed down since the days of colonizing the East, intended to spark animosity between the Draconians and the Maopis and prevent them from uniting.