Hedonism is on the menu.

  In stark contrast to the aura in the land of the Order, Zodiac seems to take pleasure in their pleasure.

  Rather than viewing such acts of materialism, sex, or extravagance as sin, the Zodiac view it as proof that you are alive.

  To celebrate the impending games, the twelve families of the Zodiac hold a multi day festival to breed excitement for the tournament.

  “Is this a thing to wear?” Avis fidgets with his outfit as we stand outside the hall awaiting our entrance. “It’s just… a lot.”

  Rather than his traditional adventurers attire, Avis is dressed to the nines in what I can only describe as fantasy couture. His top is made of silver chain links that form a loose necklace. From there strands of silver drape from the necklace down to the base of the top around his waist, totaling about twenty strands of silver. It’s coupled with tight leather pants, silver slip on shoes, and a sheer cape. Honestly, he’s never been hotter.

  “I dig it.” I say as I reach out to touch his chest through the silver strands, he quickly grabs my hand to stop me, pulling his arms into himself to cover his exposed chest. “Feeling shy?”

  “I feel… exposed.” Avis whispers, “I just wish I had my knives.”

  “No weapons allowed.” Art responds as he shuffles us forward and closer to the entrance. He is decked out in a gold sequined bodysuit, and a golden fur coat.

  “Sorry we’re late.” Prisha and Dardania quickly rush to our side. My eyes almost pop out of my head and I’m pretty sure my jaw cracks the pavement beneath my feet when it dropped.

  Dardania, in stark contrast to her normal attire, is wearing quite a provocative dress. It’s a gold and silver dress with a deep plunging neckline and a slit above the knee. Prisha, on the other hand, is wearing a skin tight body suit that is the exact opposite of Art’s. It’s silver and she supports a black leather jacket lined with golden fur. The outfit sits in perfect contrast to her bright white hair. They both look absolutely gorgeous.

  “Dee…” Avis says looking her up and down. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so dressed up. You look beautiful.” Avis smiles warmly at her.

  “You look…. awkward but beautiful as well Avis.” Dardania smiles before nudging him, he blushes. He really is not liking his outfit for the evening.

  I, on the other hand, and obsessed with what I’m wearing. It’s a long sleeve sheer top with a ruche around the neckline. It’s matched with solid black trousers that sit extremely low at the waist. Like, if they slip even the slightest the crown jewels will be on full display for the world to see. The back doesn’t even completely cover my ass. Apparently ass cleavage is popular here. Is this entire country gay or something?

  “This whole thing is starting to feel more like a sexual party than a festival.” Avis says as he takes in the other guests lining the stairs leading into the grand ballroom.

  “That comes at the end of the first night of the festival. The Zodiac do house a bacchanal at the end of the evening, all are welcome to join.”

  “No thank you, I’ll enjoy a quiet evening with a book and a cup of tea.” responds Prisha as she pulls her jacket around herself, clearly uncomfortable by the idea of attending an orgy.

  “I just don’t understand how this country can exist side by side the Order. The sexuality on display here is so… on exhibit.” Dardania slowly spins around as the takes in how the other guests are dressed. Some, I would argue, are barely even dressed. Clearly ready for the after party more than the regular one.

  “Well, the only thing I own is my harness which completely exposes my torso.” I say, not really seeing the difference.

  “It’s quite different,” Art begins, “For a man to have an exposed torso elsewhere is commonplace. Many men choose to work shirtless in the fields, doing construction, or just to be comfortable in the heat. Here, it goes beyond just exposing the torso. It’s men embracing the feminine, sexuality, fetish, and so much more. You merely expose your torso, here you are decorating that torso to put on display.”

  “So, it’s freer here?”

  “The trade off isn’t necessarily worth it.” Art says, completing our conversation as we are finally ushered into the ballroom. What does he mean?

  As the host ushers us to our booth, I am awestruck at the ballroom.

  The center of the room sits a dance floor, lined with floating light orbs to designate the area. Surrounding the dance floor are a flurry of tables, each decorated extravagantly with splashes of red and purple flowers and decor.

  Around the wall were circular booths tucked into give the attendees privacy, while also being able to enjoy the view of the party. At the front of the room stood a stage, raised above the rest of the room.

  “There.” Dardania whispers to me as we continue towards our booth on the far end of the room. I spin around at the balcony that sits above the entrance to the ballroom.

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  Twelve thrones sit atop the balcony, each occupied by what I can only assume is the head of each of the families. If I thought the guests looked extravagant, I was very wrong. The attire and appearance of the members of the Zodiac far exceeded that of the people in attendance. Every single individual appeared as though they had been magically created by the gods themselves, and magic blessed their entire wardrobe on top of that. I truly don’t have the words to describe what they look like, it’s just divine.

  Now it’s time for the rogue’s gallery.

  “May I introduce to you the Zodiac.” Art uses his head to motion towards the twelves families on the balcony. “Starting from the left we have Aquarius, the patron of the arts. Any art of scale is either owned or funded by them, all across the country. I’m unsure as to their family power. I give to you Laia.”

  The head of the Aquarius family looked more like a gorgeous drag queen than royalty. The hair was large and a work of art in and of itself. Her makeup was painted to perfection and her attire was a mixture between fashion, abstract art, and a painting. Literally, several parts of her outfit were painted rather than made from fabric.

  “To her left, you have her second cousin and the head of the Pisces family. Any form of religiosity or spirituality that exists in Zodiac is due to them. If there was any of the families who more resembled the purpose of Astrology from your world, it would be them. I present Tryst.”

  Tryst is… how do I put this? Unique. I can’t actually see their body, whatever is covering it is simply glowing. It’s as if you are staring into the universe and it’s looking back at you. I’m also pretty sure I can see stars in their body.

  “Continuing on we have the family of Aries, with our current patron being Law; who is aptly named. They are in charge of all things political in Zodiac, their family literally created the political landscape in the country. Law currently only holds this power due to her politically outsmarting her brother and taking the position from him. He has been outcast and hasn’t been seen since.”

  “Is it just me or is she very boring looking compared to the rest.” I say as I examine her compared to the other eleven on either side of her. She’s literally just wearing a black pants suit. That’s it. Nothing extravagant, just a pants suit.

  “It’s not just you.” Art continues, “Law is ruthless and isn’t one for luxury. She would rather focus on rising to the top than being concerned with what she is wearing. Absolutely avoid her at any cost. Continuing, next we have the Taurus family.

  “They are in charge of the banking system and currency, and obviously are the wealthiest family in the world. Since their focus is on banking, they have their hand in pretty much every other pot as well since all requires money. Leading them you have Maul who is equal parts bull headed and a narcissist. As far as the world is concerned, Maul is immortal and has been in charge of the family since their founding. Whether it’s myth or true, that I’m unsure of.”

  Maul is naked. I don’t mean that as a joke, the man is literally naked. He is painted from the neck down in elaborate purple and red works of art and with a golden cape draped over him, but covering nothing. On either arm is bands and bracelets all the way up to his elbows.

  “He’s naked.” Dardania whispers to her brother, “I’m seeing that correct, right?” Avis nods as he sips at his drink while staring at Maul. I mean, naked painted man is hard to not look at.

  “He is in fact naked. Maul will always be wearing or decorated in something that draws all the attention towards himself. He wants to be the name on everyone’s lips. Let’s not get bogged down by that though. The next is the Gemini family. They are the head of high society. If there is a party, the family is there. Honestly, I don’t really know what they do beyond that.” Art scrunches his face in confusion as he stares at the balcony.

  The Gemini throne was currently empty and no one stood behind them. Every other throne had servants or guests with them, but Gemini was noticeably absent. Which I find strange if your whole thing is high society. Doesn’t that generally imply parties and things of the like?

  “Honestly, I can’t tell you much about the next two either, The Cancer and Leo families I don’t have any information on. I do know Cancer owns the majority of the restaurants in the country, but I’m not sure what their angle is with food. Leo, I know nothing about. A lot of their family is famous, but for what apart from being famous, I couldn’t tell you.

  “And then we have—” Art starts…

  “The Saint.” I interrupt through gritted teeth. Sitting next to the Leo family is a throne occupied by a gorgeous man and sitting right at his side is The Saint.

  “That is Guy of the Libra family. Ironically, he prefers the company of men.” Art says turning his attention towards myself and Avis. “For him to have The Saint as his guest, well that seems to betray the foundational beliefs of our dear Saint.”

  Guy is gorgeous with a face full of makeup, his hair perfectly quaffed, shirtless with some simple red trousers. His appearance is simple yet enticing. Almost as if they knew they were our topic of discussion, Godrick and Guy turn their attention towards us and we lock eyes. A small smile forms on Guy’s face, the inverse on Godrick’s. I’m happy to have the chance to cause that mean even a tiny bit of misery.

  “Next we have Karla, the head of the Scorpio family. They are in charge of literature, history, and all forms of writing. If there is anyone who tells the tale of this world, it’s the Scorpios. Her appearance is more modest than the others, but still quite gorgeous.”

  Art was correct, her appearance resembles that of my world. Rather than something extravagant and artistic, it’s a simple form fitting dress and curled hair. It feels like what a celebrity would wear to a red carpet for a movie as opposed to the Met Gala. I don’t know, I’ve gotten accustomed to the more absurd looks that this one feels kind of boring in contrast.

  “The heads of the Sagittarius and Capricorn families won’t be in attendance for this event for they are preparing for the tournament. They will be at tomorrow’s festivities instead. I can introduce you to them at that time. That is all of the heads of the Zodiac families currently in attendance.”

  Art takes a deep breath and exhales. He quickly grabs his drink and downs it in one big gulp, he already looks exhausted.

  “That wasn’t necessary.” Avis said as he pats him gently on the back. “Really, we’d figure it out.”

  “Yeah, that was a lot.” I try to keep my focus on the table rather than the evil man sitting in the balcony who can’t stop looking at us.

  “It’s not a big deal, I would rather inform you now rather than cause any potential conflict at a later date.” Art says as he composes himself. Before any of us could truly get situated, a footman approaches the table.

  “Good evening to all. I beg your attention for you have been honored with a request from the head of the Libra family. Sir Guy has requested the presence of the Major Arcana and those in attendance with them. Please come this way.”