“My friends met your kind inside a Fringe and they were violent assholes, to put it mildly. Also, I have dealt with a Sapling in the past and, again, it wasn’t a pleasant experience.”
Lith couldn’t bring himself to trust someone related not to one, but to two species that seemed to only bring trouble to others.
“I would have used much stronger words to define those elves, but I agree with you. The problem with my people is that not only did they never get over losing the War of the Races, but by isolating themselves, they also lost contact with reality.
“It made their understanding of the world stagnate whereas the tribes that sought refuge inside the World Tree have access to their unlimited knowledge. Instead of blaming others for our failures, we understood the errors of our ways and became better for it.
“As for the Sapling, I’m sorry you had to deal with such a fool. The life cycle of the current World Tree is coming to an end so I guess that the Sapling couldn’t accept the idea of dying first or not to be chosen due to its old age.
“I bet that if the undead’s plan succeeded, the moment the World Tree scanned their descendants to find the most suitable heir, the Sapling would have forcefully assimilated the Tree.
“If it wasn’t for you and the other humans of the Griffon Kingdom, my people would have been enslaved by an immortal crazy monster. To me, you and your friend are heroes.” Aalejah gave Lith and Phloria a deep bow, even bending her right knee.
A gesture not only of respect, but also of submission that was reserved to the Royals.
“Because of the debt I owe you, I will be completely honest with you. I’m still an apprentice, which means that my mana core is bright blue and my access to the Tree’s memory is limited.
“To achieve the violet and become one of the Tree’s Chroniclers, they have tasked me to discover both the secrets of Urgamakka and yours. My master is deeply intrigued by the birth of a new species and they have ordered me to find a way to examine you.
“Yet I’m not going to try and take scans of your species unless I have your permission.” Aalejah said.
“Doesn’t that mean that you’ll fail your mission?” Phloria asked, impressed by the girl’s honesty but standing in front of Lith nonetheless to keep her from using Life Vision or any other kind of mystical senses on him.
“Correct, but from what I’ve seen so far, it’s not a huge loss.” Aalejah shrugged. “I lived all my life within the boundaries of the Fringe where the Tree lives. No matter if my mission succeeds or fails, I’m finally free to travel Mogar.
“To me, it’s much more important than gaining a more powerful core or having access to more knowledge. Chroniclers are not much different from Harbingers and I’m still not certain that I’m ready to settle for a life of servitude.”
‘She’s a smart girl.’ Lith thought. ‘Bright blue means no impurities so even with an elf’s body she can always discover the secret of the violet core on her own. If the Tree is anything like the Sapling, I would run away as well.’
Lith found Aalejah’s honesty refreshing and her Yggdrasill staff intriguing, but he still didn’t trust her. For all he knew, every word she said might be a lie and her behavior be an act to make him lower his guard.
“Thanks to both of you for your offer but now, if you will excuse me, I have to update my mentor and I need a bit of privacy.” Lith exploited the mission’s rule that apprentices could keep the materials but they had to share the knowledge they found with their masters to ask Faluel for help.
Unbeknownst to him, as long as he was in Urgamakka, all the calls from a Council amulet would be intercepted so as to make sure that there weren’t traitors in their midst and to be able to properly assess their disciples.
The Council representatives and its Elders spectated the conversation while Lith asked Faluel about the elves, the World Tree, and when he shared with her the hologram of the energy core.
“Excellent work preserving the integrity of the artifact. I will start working on it while you are exploring the city, but I can already tell you that if we work together, we might find a way to apply this technology to your Forgemastering arts and simplify your crafting method for power cores.”
The Hydra was all smiles as she could almost feel the envious gazes of her colleagues.
“Really?” Lith asked in surprise.
“Of course. If this technique allowed such an ancient civilization to mimic power cores, then by applying the same principles to the real deal we can both improve its efficiency and use the energy core as a blueprint for arranging the pseudo cores in an artifact.”
What Faluel described was actually one of the Forgemastering techniques that all the Elders of the Council shared. It was part of the legacy of the fifth Ruler of the Flames and one of the reasons why Tavar Sinak had received such a title.
The artifacts that Inxialot had disseminated throughout the city were actually the key to one of the shared secrets of the past Rulers of the Flames, and they contained hints to learn such techniques.
Only if a disciple brought them to their master was the Elder allowed to pass such techniques upon their apprentice. If the youths kept the relics for themselves and violated the rules, instead, they would be marked as failures and have a much harder time working out the technique on their own.
Another plus mark appeared near Lith’s hologram in the Control Room for sharing the energy core with the rest of the expedition and another one for trusting Faluel, making him the only one with four merits.
“As for the World Tree, you don’t have to worry about them or the elf. The girl has told you nothing but the truth. The Yggdrasill is part of the Council and is one of its most trustworthy allies.
“The Chroniclers have a symbiotic relationship with the Tree so when you deal with one of them is like dealing with the Tree themselves. Even though the Yggdrasill can collect knowledge from other plants, they cannot move.
“The Chroniclers are their eyes, ears, and legs around Mogar, collecting information where the Tree’s vegetation network doesn’t reach. All those I met were trustworthy, so I don’ see why this Aalejah should be any different. Faluel out.”
“That sword’s ability to neutralize an artifact without damaging them seems almost custom made for this mission.” Raagu said to the Hydra. “If I wasn’t the one who came up with the Gargoyles in the first place, I wouldn’t hesitate to accuse you of cheating.”
“Yeah, too bad that I gave Lith that sword two years ago. If you humans can’t raise disciples trustworthy enough to gift them real artifacts, it’s none of my problems.” Faluel replied, making the human representative almost choke on envy.
Raagu deeply regretted not having fought more fiercely to get her hands on Lith back when he was still a hybrid and not having made him an offer so good that he wouldn’t have turned it down.
09/19/21: Extra chaps. Many thanks to Scott D, MrAnderson115 and to Zachary B for their support. I will never thank you enough.
