The apparition of the Wyrmling in the Throne Room caused quite a fuss and it took the Royals a while to make sure that it was just some weird greeting from the Overlord instead of a breach of security, but this is a story for another day.
“Mogar is changing.” Leegaain exchanged worried looks with the other two Guardians.
The three ancient beings had taken their real forms, standing tall in Tyris’ underground throne room.
The place was an almost exact replica of the one above but entirely made of stone. Drawings, tapestry, and ceremonial armors were identical, the only difference was that every piece of furniture depicted the feats of Valeron the First.
There was no trace or mention of any of his descendants, not even the children he had sired with Tyris. The Stone Room was a place fixed in time, where everything was the same as the day had been crowned as the First King of the lands he had unified under the name of the Griffon.
On the throne next to Tyris’, sat his life-like statue wearing the full Saefel Set. Only his head was exposed, his dark brown hair ruffled by the wind and his face fixed in a friendly, warm smile as he welcomed his most loyal friends in his new home.
“Until two decades ago, us Guardians would rarely leave our respective turfs and seldom appear in front of non-Awakened.” Leegaain moved his eyes to the White Phoenix.
“Salaark was an exception, but even she would rarely employ more power than a regular Emperor Beast.
“Now, instead, we cross our borders on a daily basis and ever since the Day of the Black Sun, we have shown ourselves to the populace multiple times. We have gotten to the point that we are directly interfering in everyday’s life and affecting the balance.”
“Are you reproaching me for killing Thaymos?” The Golden Griffon growled, her eyes narrowed to fiery slits of white mana. “If it was Shargein crying and begging you to stop that filthy piece of Forbidden Magic, would you have acted any different?”
“No, far from it.” The Black Dragon dismissed the idea with a sweep of his scaled hand. “I’m not a hypocrite and I have no problem to admit that I’d have done the same. Yet this just proves my point.
“Think about it. Until recently, even our children were considered a myth. The only way to see a Dragon or a Griffon was to open an illustrated children’s book. Now, instead, Salaark’s Nest walks Mogar.
“My Brood awakened for the Dragon Dance and one of your descendants even dated a human for a while. Thrud gave birth to a fusion between our races whereas Lith became one. Don’t get me started about Elysia.”
“I agree with you.” Tyris calmed down after pondering his words. “More things have happened in the past two decades than in the last two millennia.”
“The Abominations are back on the path to evolution, Thrud found a way for our Lesser children to become Divine Beasts, and Glemos was this close to undoing the damage that many fallen species brought upon themselves.”
“Don’t forget about you invading Fenagar’s turf twice, you beating Ileza into a pulp and annihilating Verendi’s Council, and Roghar breaking into my home.” Salaark said.
“Even though I understand your reasons, Tyris, you acted the same way as the hungry cur and breached the treaties between the Guardians. Treaties that we all wrote and agreed upon.”
“I know.” The Golden Griffon sighed. “But again, can you blame me for any of it?”
“No. Quite the contrary, I thank you for that.” Salaark shuddered at the memory.
If not for Tyris dealing with Verendi and Leegaain ensuring that the White Phoenix kept a shred of her sanity, she might have miscarried Shargein in her fury.
“Why do you think everything is happening now, old lizard? I hope you are not blaming Lith either. He is our baby.”
“He is not our baby!” The Black Dragon roared in outrage. “He’s another product of Mogar’s schemes, the only difference is that he isn’t failing like all those before him. To answer your question, no, I don’t blame him.
“The Master, Thrud, Glemos, they existed before Lith was even born and have worked on their respective projects for decades, if not centuries, before setting them in motion.
“If anything, I think it’s the other way around. Lith has been placed on the board because of them.”
“What do you mean?” The White Phoenix tilted her head in surprise. “That he’s some kind of counter to all those things? That would be ridiculous. Mogar had no way of knowing that Lith would have managed to awaken and merge his bloodlines, let alone befriend us.
“Had he treated Solus badly or tried to exploit my kindness, he would have died years ago. There are countless variables that altered every step of his path and, more importantly, his relationships.
“Just think about Elysia. How many things would have taken a completely different route if Lith’s first child had been born in a different moment? Mogar is powerful but not that powerful.”
“I know and I agree with you.” Leegaain replied soberly. “My hypothesis is that Mogar saw the possibilities that the future held and played their hand accordingly, just like we do. Think about it.
“The anomaly was born in the Griffon Kingdom and that was outside Mogar’s control. The bloodlines he received to contain his Abomination side, however, are too convenient to be a coincidence.
“By giving him Dragon and Phoenix blood, Mogar bound Lith to two of their Guardians by blood as much as he is bound to the Kingdom by deeds and family. Had he received Dragon and Griffon blood, like Valeron the Second, you would have never gotten involved with him.
“After the Horseman of Night exposed him, he would have fled to the Empire where my non-interference policy would have forced him to become Milea’s right-hand man.
“Kamila would have never gone to him simply because there would have been no deal she could use as a cover for the trip. Had he received Phoenix and Griffon blood, for example, Zoreth would have not cared for him during his first meeting with the Council or befriended him later.
“And I could go on. Take even one Guardian out of the equation and things change dramatically.”
“We might have never gotten close again and Shargein wouldn’t be born.” The White Phoenix shivered at the thought. “And without him, no Dragon Dance.”
“I see your point, young lizard, and I think you are probably right.” The Golden Griffon nodded. “My only question is if you called us here just to explain this to us or if you also have something else in mind.”
“I think we should keep our eyes open and be ready to intervene even if we usually wouldn’t.” Leegaain replied. “There’s something going on that I can’t see, but if Mogar thought it necessary to have contingency plans, we’d better do the same.”
“Plans?” Tyris echoed. “You mean there’s more than one Lith out there?”
“More like there were.” The Father of All Dragons shook his head. “If my hypothesis is correct, they are all dead by now.”
