‘Are you kidding me? I have a splitting headache and I’m barely able to stay awake. Speed scanning those golems took a huge toll on me. You were too focused on controlling the Demons to help me and doing everything alone drained my energy.’ Solus replied.
“Impressive display of abilities, little Featherling.” Sinmara landed in front of Lith, helping him to treat the Phoenixes who had lost consciousness or that had suffered wounds that kept them from using their breathing technique.
“I never expected to see someone use Origin Flames that way. Now that you’ve seen what our missions are like, would you be interested in working with the nest?” She said with a huge sarcastic grin on her face.
“I think that I’ll follow your advice and enjoy my freedom until I reach a wall that I can’t overcome on my own.” Lith replied. “Thanks for giving me the opportunity to see you in action.”
“You are welcome, kid.” She patted his head.
“Only one question. Are all of your assignments like this?”
“Gods, no. Liches are rare, let alone Liches with a white core.” Sinmara shook her head. “Yet we still have to deal with Abominations of all kinds, invading armies, and even rogue Phoenixes.
“If you join the nest, you’ll have to spend most of your time training at first and then tending the problems of other people. Until you become powerful enough to get rid of most threats quickly, free time is a luxury that you would rarely be able to afford.”
‘Just as I thought.’ Lith pondered. ‘She brought me here to scare me by showing me how many powerful creatures roam Mogar. Sure, I won’t be facing anyone on Aylen’s level, but I’m still just a deep violet core.
‘Very few can pose a challenge to Sinmara, but there’s plenty of people on my level and I bet that Grandma would put me against them on a daily basis. She needs powerful warriors while I want to take my time enjoying my family.
‘They are not going to live as much as me and I can’t spend the rest of their lives running from one battlefield to another.’
“Thanks for your guidance. This has been an enlightening experience.” Lith gave Sinmara a small bow.
“Glad that you had the opportunity to learn something.” She replied with a warm sisterly smile.
‘You have no idea.’ Lith inwardly grinned. ‘As soon as I get home, I’ll use what we learned to-‘
Solus played in his head the sound of someone clearing their throat, sharing with him the burden from overusing the Eyes to make herself clear.
‘As soon as I get home, we’ll get plenty of rest.’ Lith corrected himself. ‘After that, we’ll combine what we discovered about Aylen’s golems with what we already know about the orc’s crystal to start working on our projects!’
***
Gorgon Empire, house of Fyrwal the Hydra.
After Lith’s departure from Lutia and helping out Ajatar with his problems, Faluel had decided to take a vacation and go visit her family. She had brought Protector and his family along as an apology for sending him on a mission even though he was supposed to be on break.
Selia had gladly accepted the invitation on his behalf, eager to travel outside the Kingdom and learn about the schooling system of the other countries. Her children, Lilia and Leran, both possessed a great talent for magic and in a few years, they would need an academy.
What worried Selia the most, however, was how their life would be in the case that their nature of hybrids was discovered. Most people of the Griffon Kingdom still considered Emperor Beasts as inferior beings if not as monsters.
In the Gorgon Empire, instead, the Magic Empress Milea was working hard to integrate all kinds of magical creatures in society and break the invisible boundaries that kept the human race apart from plants and beasts.
Recently she had made quite some progress thanks to the war against the Undead Courts. Now that the living races shared the same enemy, it was easier for them to find common ground.
Emperor Beasts lived in packs, but unless they had an Awakened ancestor willing to help them, their knowledge of magic would be limited and they would have no access to enchanted items.
Plants and Fae, instead, had access to magical knowledge and artifacts from their own cities, but due to the nature of the World Saplings, there were only so many people that they could accommodate.
Being alone made them easy prey for the undead who used them both as cattle and ingredients for their workings.
Milea considered the war as a blessing in disguise that would allow her to rally three of the four races under her banner, just like it had happened for Valeron almost one thousand years ago.
The real challenge, however, would have only started once the war was over. Even the First King had failed to keep his allies together after the prolonged peace had made them focus more on their differences rather than on what they had in common.
“Why did your mother move to the Gorgon Empire if she has a nice noble title and lots of lands in the Kingdom?” Selia asked.
She was a woman in her late thirties, yet thanks to Protector’s rejuvenating treatments she looked barely past her mid-twenties. She was about 1.7 meters (5’7″) tall, with skin tanned from the years of exposure to the sun while hunting.
Her shoulder-length black hair gave her sharp hazel eyes and features a gentler look. She wore a set of comfortable clothes comprised of black cotton pants and a dark blue shirt.
She held her youngest child, Fenrir, in her arms, doing her best to keep the baby from clawing her way out of her grasp. Hybrids were capable of shapeshifting from birth, yet they had little control over their strength.
“Too many sad memories.” Faluel replied while showing them around the house. “She is one of the only two still living members of Valeron’s party and seeing any of the places that they visited or built together always reminds her of her friends and of everything that time has taken away from her.
“On top of that, my mother has never gotten along with the Royal Court nor with any of Valeron’s heirs. She has fulfilled her role as one of the founding pillars of the Kingdom only until Valeron’s death.
“Then, she refused to obey monarchs that she considered unworthy of her loyalty and to become an accomplice of what she considered a corrupted system.”
Fyrwal had built her home inside Mount Elm. The Hydra didn’t just live inside a lair like most of her children but in a place as luxurious as a noble manor and big enough to allow her to move comfortably in her real form.
Most of the Elm mountain was now empty, replaced by halls, corridors, and rooms whose ceiling was at least 30 meters (100 feet) high. Every piece of furniture had been crafted to suit the physiology of Hydras instead of humanoid creatures.
The chairs had no legs and a hole to accommodate the tail while the doors had no handle. They could be opened simply by pushing them and locked by pressing metal bolts with the stumpy legs typical of the Hydra bloodline.
