Sanctuary II

In the months following the bonding ceremony, construction finally finished on the new conference building in the middle of the city, it sat above a new tunnel to the Undercity. To mark this day, Dex had called for a press conference.

Hundreds of people were gathered in the hall, as the lights dimmed. Roisin and the others were sat in the front row, as Dex walked out, dressed in a suit that Roisin had bought for him. Dex took to the podium and cleared his throat.

"People of Sanctuary, I called you here today, under slightly false pretences" He smiled. "While this is the first conference held in this state-of-the-art building, it is not the reason I called you here. To help me explain, I would like to introduce, the Mayoress of Ishtall, Lotte Wynd" Dex clapped as he stood back to let Lotte stand at the podium, the audience clapped as she walked on the stage.

"Thank you, Dex, and to all of you here at this fabulous, yet still nameless conference centre. I love Sanctuary as much as I love Ishtall. Our cities share a common bond, in the pursuit of science for the protection of all mankind, but not at the expense of our morals" Lotte began.

"Like many of you here today, I fought for this city, and gave it everything I had, it was as much home as Ishtall. Sanctuary was built as, well, a Sanctuary, for those who had lost their homes, after the fall of Demi, and Aranei, but since then it has become so much more. It stands proud of a city that welcomes Human, Hubun, Elvman, and Lacerman alike, here in Sanctuary everybody is welcome and no one is turned away" She continued.

"I strive for Ishtall to become just as inclusive, which lead to many discussions, with my fellow bunny eared pal, Dex" She smirked, as Dex blushed, which caused the audience to chuckle. "We have decided that neither city shall walk alone, but we shall walk together, in the joint nation of Aodhan" Lotte announced, as the audience cheered. "I'll now hand you over to Dex who will explain more" She smiled, as she stepped to the side to let Dex speak.

"Aodhan will not be an Empire, a Kingdom or an Imperium. The leaders of Aodhan will be chosen by the people, and for the people. No more will citizens have to bend to the will of Headmasters or Emperors, Kings or Queens. The leader of the beautiful nation of Aodhan will be chosen by you" Dex clapped.

"Lotte and I will stay on as the Mayor of each city, for this handover period, but neither of us shall stand to be elected, as we both have unfinished work. Perhaps in a few years time, we shall return to lead, but if we don't it has been a pleasure to be your Mayor, even if it was only for this short amount of time. Thank you" Dex bowed as he stepped back.

"To help tie our two cities together, we shall build new railways, and roads. However, the work will not stop here. As we head out to the rest of the continent, we hope to bring more cities into the nation of Aodhan" Lotte explained. "I mirror Dexter's thank yous, to both the people of Ishtall and Sanctuary, may we walk together to a brighter future!" Lotte smiled. As she stepped back, the audience stood in applause, as the sun shone through the large windows in the tall roof.