‘What the heck? They didn’t even search the magical beasts? I better get out of here fast or someone will chase us to ask me for some frigging favor.’ Lith left in a hurry, dodging several quests that arrived a few seconds after his departure only thanks to the sharp instinct he had inherited from Raaz.
***
After the events in Kolga, Leegaain couldn’t take it anymore. He was sick and tired of Councils and Guardians considering him Lith’s father. The Father of all Dragons knew to be innocent and such claims wouldn’t bother him in the least if not for Lith succeeding in his latest world tribulation.
Guardians bothered him to know which partner had allowed him to spawn a lesser Dragon whose powers could potentially rival that of the Guardians while the Councils tried to cajole him into helping them with promises to help his alleged heir.
No matter how strongly Leegaain denied those allegations, the only thing he had achieved was the Guardians searching for all the companions he had in the past and several members of the Council bothering him so much that he had been forced to mute his communication amulet.
‘I must admit that between the scales and the Origin Flames, Dragons are the first thing that comes to mind when seeing Lith’s proto-Guardian form. Also, his growth speed is simply outstanding.
‘He is this close to reaching the violet core by the age when most hybrids have to worry about choosing their life force and he has already opened five of his seven eyes in the same time that usually takes a Hydra to grow their second head.’ Leegaain thought.
‘Last but not least, his bloodline carries an outstanding power that it’s only limited by his lack of experience and resources. As much as I wouldn’t mind being blood-related with him, I know for a fact that I’m not.
‘If one of my enemies targets him because of me, I’d feel obligated to help him whereas my allies are going to give him gifts for no reason. On top of that, my children now resent me for abandoning their “brother”.
‘Zoreth means well, but by calling him little brother in public is causing me a lot of trouble. My only way out is to prove once and for all that the anomaly belongs to a different species.’ He inwardly sighed.
Never in his life had Leegaain been grateful to fake mages like he was now towards Marth. Blood Resonance would allow him to finally clear that misunderstanding. To do that, he needed a sample of blood from Lith’s parents and a trustworthy witness.
Without the former, he couldn’t perform the test and without the latter, nobody would believe him, claiming that the blood belonged to two random humans.
Reaching Lutia by flight had taken him but a few hours, most of which he had spent trying to go unnoticed. Tyris would have laughed at Leegaain’s attempt and demanded to accompany him during his stay on her turf, making his mission impossible.
He wanted something covert whereas two Guardians moving together for a petty reason like a paternity test would be an unprecedented event. Everyone would believe that the rumors were true and that Tyris was helping him for her own gain if not to hide the fact that she was the mother.
‘If only that stupid Griffon had more than one human form.’ The Father of All Dragons inwardly griped while knocking on a stone door. ‘The appearance she uses always draws attention because she’s too beautiful.
‘With all the trouble that the war against Undead Courts is causing, using a disguise is off the table as well. Not to mention that Tyris is still quite angry about my little manipulation and might even try to stop me.’
“Grampa! What are you doing here and why didn’t you just Warp?” Faluel the Hydra wasn’t expecting visitors that day.
“It’s nice to see you too.” Leegaain grunted.
He looked like a man in his late thirties, about 1.75 (5’9″) tall, with black hair and dark eyes. He wore leather pants, a brown jacket, a light mantle to protect him from the wind, and a hood to shield him from the sun.
Nothing from the color of his skin to his accent made him any different from one of the traveling merchants that passed through Lutia on their way to Derios.
“I’m sorry. Nice to see you, Grampa. What are you doing here and why didn’t you just Warp?” Even though Hydras had a good relationship with their forefather, usually his coming only meant troubles.
“Warping to such distance would require a Guardian tier spell that Tyris would perceive, while using the Beasts’ Warping network would mean leaving a trail. I can’t afford either. As for why I’m here, it’s quite simple.” Leegaain said before explaining his reasons to her.
“Let me get this straight, you need me to get close to Lith’s parents unnoticed and testify the authenticity of the Blood Resonance?” Faluel asked.
“I can’t go to two complete strangers, draw their blood, and expect that no one will make a fuss. Not with all the crazy layers of protections around the Verhen household and the armor they wear.
“On top of that, I can’t perform the spell myself or everyone will doubt its results and I can’t entrust the samples to any member of the Council either.” Leegaain said.
“Yeah. Even one drop of your blood would allow creating artifacts and fuel golems the like Mogar has never seen before.” Faluel nodded.
“I came to you because I trust you enough to destroy my blood after the test and because our relationship it’s not so deep that you would lie for me. Quite the contrary, if your disciple turns out to not belong to my bloodline, your status in both the Council and the Dragon family would decrease.
“You have all to lose and nothing to gain from this.” Leegaain said.
***
City of Xaanx, the local branch of the Mage Association.
After coming out of the Warp Gate, Lith and the kids started moving toward the city gates right after retrieving the magical beasts.
“Why aren’t we flying or something?” Aran asked while holding Onyx’s fur tight to take courage. He had never been to a city before so his first impression was terrifying.
Between its tall buildings and its bustling activity, Xaanx made Lutia look like a quiet graveyard in comparison. Unlike Derios, where people knew Lith and made way for them and treated them with courtesy, here no one would give them a second look.
People were too busy minding their own business to care about three country bumpkins and the moment the kids stepped away from Lith, they had been almost swept away by the crowd.
Luckily, the Shyf had caught her little friend by the shirt and put him on her back before it was too late. Only the space near the magical beasts was safe because of their intimidating look
Their height at the withers reached 1.6 meters (5’6″) and they weighed a few hundreds of kilos of pure muscles. The deadly look of their fangs and their growls the moment someone came too close garnered them lots of personal space.
“I can’t fly while carrying people and I can’t Warp where I’ve never been.” Lith replied while showing for the third time in less than five minutes his ID to the city guards.
