“You dismiss people without even giving them a chance because in your head you are only looking for husband material. That’s the worst way possible to search for a partner.
“It doesn’t matter how someone looks on paper, but how they behave when you really need them. You heard Surtr. If you keep acting like this, you’ll end up like Faluel.”
“Let’s say you are right. What should I do?” Tista asked.
“Either you go talk with the Phoenix guy or you call Bodya. If he likes you, he’ll find the time to come here.” Nyka shrugged.
“Fine.” Tista sighed, taking out her Council amulet. “Let’s hope that what they say about the demon you know it’s true.”
Ten minutes later, Bodya was there.
***
A few days after Solus’ birthday Lith received two calls. One was from Peonia who updated him about the situation in the Kingdom and asked him to be her partner for a gala.
Despite the famine and the war, social events were still of the utmost importance to test the political waters and to feel the shifts in the alliance among the members of the Royal Court.
Lith found no joy in being showcased like an exotic beast, but he had to humor the Princess and make sure that she had all the aces in the hole she needed to protect the peace of his home.
Peonia was charming and lovely as always, ending the call with an invitation to visit her any time he wanted.
The second was from Faluel who summoned him to her lair.
“Thanks for coming so quickly.” The Hydra said once Lith, Tista, and Solus arrived. “As soon as Friya joins us, we are going to meet the Council. Solus, go back into the ring unless you want to reveal your existence to the world.”
“Now?” Lith asked in surprise while Solus’ body turned into light and disappeared. “What about etiquette, armor, and everything else?”
“This isn’t a parade like the time your bloodline was revealed. This is a summon for official matters, like when I had to debate with Raagu about who was more suited to be your mentor.” Faluel shook her head.
“Why is Friya coming, then?” Solus asked.
“Because she’s my apprentice just like Tista is yours. They have responsibilities as well.” Faluel replied.
Lith had several questions, but he doubted that Faluel could answer them and there was no point asking them multiple times. Much to his surprise, Friya came accompanied by Phloria and Quylla.
“What is she doing here?” Faluel pointed at the youngest of the Ernas.
“You can’t summon my friends and sisters and leave me behind. I’m a true mage and a part of this group!” Quylla said in anger.
“You are a brilliant mage, but you are still a weakling. There’s no place for you in Council matters.” Faluel shook her head. “To make matters worse, if they discover that you are learning Light Mastery on your own, they won’t hesitate to kidnap you and extort the knowledge from you.
“I’m leaving you behind for your own safety. Manohar thought himself invincible, yet he died. If he couldn’t defeat our enemies, what chances do you have?”
The Hydra opened a Warping Array that moved them to the Council of the Awakened before Quylla could come up with an answer.
She got mad at Faluel for ditching her and making her feel like dead weight. Yet what truly hurt Quylla was the realization that the Hydra was right. Even if they waited there the whole day for her to answer, there was nothing she was better than Manohar at.
‘Unless I put my life on the line and Awaken.’ She could feel her core stirring as she briefly practiced the breathing technique she had developed. ‘If I succeed, I’ll reach heights where not even Manohar has ever been. If I fail, however, I’ll be dead or worse. I might even end up joining Vastor’s ranks.’
Quylla gritted her teeth in frustration, the emptiness of the lair matching the one she felt for being once more the only weak link of the chain.
Meanwhile, the five Awakened appeared in the middle of what looked like a war room. A square oakwood table big enough to accommodate dozens of people lay in the center of the chamber, surrounded by all the Regional Lords of the Griffon Kingdom.
Floating above the wooden surface there was an even bigger hologram of the country that the Lords used to zoom on the cities of their respective territories and arrange battle plans.
The size of the table allowed them to discuss more than one raid at a time and to share the information that Lords from the same region but different factions possessed.
Lith recognized the courtroom where he had been first introduced to the Awakened Council and then judged worthy to be their member. The stand where he had sat was gone now and so were the table for the jury and the seats for the judges.
The five Council representatives sat on wooden thrones aligned against the south wall, to keep an eye on the situation as a whole and be capable of giving their input on all the missions that were being planned.
Lith recognized the empty seat where Faluel was supposed to sit because besides it stood Athung Soranot, the human Lord of the Distar Region. Much to his surprise, she had left her seat to another familiar figure.
Aalejah Eventide was engaged in multiple heated discussions at the same time. She used her Yggdrasil branch to move the troops on the holograms and sometimes she passed it to a Lord who failed to understand her strategy.
The mystical wood of the World Tree helped its wielder to focus, temporarily enhancing their intellect and allowing the less brilliant among the Awakened to grasp her complex strategies.
Her staff was similar to Solus’ but much rougher, with fewer mana crystals and pseudo cores. Unlike Lith, Aalejah didn’t have someone who could undo a poor enchantment at will and lacked the funds to commission the best staff that she could devise.
Until Tista completed her training with both Athung and Raagu, Lith had given her a half-assed job on purpose to make sure that they would uphold their part of the bargain.
Only Salaark could use Creation Magic to reset the staff and only he could ask her such a favor. The poor imitation of the Sage Staff served as a reminder of both his talent and the need they had for him.
Aalejah was the reason the room was slowly going from chaotic to orderly as more and more battle plans were settled and the Lords could start arranging their respective preparations.
It was then that Lith realized that the holographic map didn’t actually allow for complex edits, it was the elf drawing upon it with her staff.
It was just tier zero Light Mastery, but Lith was still impressed.
Learning such a rare branch of magic by herself couldn’t have been easy. The more Aalejah contributed to the meeting, the more Athung’s status increased, and with it Raagu’s who looked at the scene with a smug grin on her face.
Athung was her old apprentice and the elf was her apprentice’s retainer so whatever they did it reflected positively on her.
