To make everything fit, the only thing they had to lie about was how much mana was left in the Reactor.
Once Lith went to meet his guest, he was surprised to see that Constable Griffon had come to see them in person.
Not only because sending a member of the Royal Family was a clear indicator of how serious the events of Kulah were considered to be by the army’s upper echelons, but also because a Constable meant that this would be more an interrogation rather than a report.
Lith wasn’t worried. Phloria knew what to say because they had discussed the matter when he had gone to visit her the previous day, and even if Quylla was still on the fences about how to react to his nature, she had just proved how much she cared for him.
The butler led Lith to the Tea Room for esteemed guests, where Jirni, Orion, Phloria, and Constable Griffon were waiting for him. It wasn’t the Tea Room the family normally used, its furniture was more formal and the seats had more space between them.
Comfortable padded red sofas and chairs were arranged around a white elliptical oak low table. A soft white and silver carpet covered the floor, preventing the moving chairs from making noise and muffling all the sounds that the servants might make while serving the guests so that nothing could disturb the conversation.
The east wall consisted of a glass wall that allowed the morning sun to illuminate the room and make the many silvery ornaments spread throughout the room shine like jewels. On the west wall, there was a huge fireplace surmounted by a huge mirror with a golden frame that covered most of the wall.
Lady Tyris was exactly as Lith remembered her, time didn’t seem to have any effect on her appearance. Finding the whole family assembled for the report was quite odd, but Lith hoped that it was just the deference an old bloodline was supposed to show to a member of the royal family.
Tyris Griffon wore the uniform of a Royal Constable and was 1.76 (5’9″) meters tall. She was a woman in her mid-twenties, or so it seemed. There was something about her that made her look young yet ancient at the same time.
She had shining golden hair braided into a tress long enough to be twisted and knotted above her head resembling a crown. Her silver eyes sparkled like stars under the morning sunlight.
Most men found her beauty intoxicating, but to Lith it was unsettling. Such a degree of perfection in her form and in the symmetry of her features was simply too good to be true.
He gave her a deep bow the moment their eyes met, using it as an opportunity to hide his suspicions and wear his usual poker face. Much to everyone’s surprise, Lady Tyris stood up at his arrival and offered him her hand.
“Ranger Verhen, I had heard that your injuries were quite severe. I’m glad to see that you’re recovering so well.” She said with a dazzling smile.
The moment Lith shook her hand, Tyris used Mother Earth, her version of Invigoration, to scan both hybrids at the same time. Mogar seemed to be interested in Solus as much as she was interested in Lith, so it was time to give Menadion’s Desperation the attention she deserved.
The black hybrid’s mind was a shattered, incomplete puzzle, the pieces of which were fighting to fit each other without falling apart. Some cracks had disappeared, empty gaps between spaces were now filled by small yet growing pieces, showing the healing process Lith was still undergoing.
The white hybrid’s mind, instead, was whole, but with multiple cracks that seemed to have grown over time. Just like Mogar had told her Guardians, Solus’s memory loss coupled with the lack of a physical body had prevented her from having any semblance of normalcy in her life and had deeply affected her mental state.
‘Interesting.’ Tyris thought. ‘His body has further evolved after the events of Kulah. His second life force is now more distinct and the wall between it and the human life force seems to have thinned, unlike how it happened to my children.
‘Normally, the more a hybrid grows stronger, the more apart their life forces grow until one of them has to be sacrificed to allow the other to thrive. In Lith’s case, instead, they have moved closer.
‘I’ve seen it happen in the past. It could mean that either the two life forces will clash for dominance, in which case Lith’s life will be at risk, or that they are trying to fuse. If the latter happens, then Mogar is right and he would be really moving towards becoming his own species.
‘Also, Lith’s core is not a Fallen one. On the contrary, it presents an extraordinary affinity towards the fire and darkness elements. There is no sign of unbalance, the light element flows through his body as well, preventing Chaos energy from being formed and harming his body.
‘As for the woman in the ring, she’s truly unique. She possesses only one life force, yet I can feel she has two bodies and two cores as well. The tower’s core is part of her body just like her own mana core and they have been bonded with means that I’ve never seen before.
‘Yet she’s not a cursed object. She wasn’t sacrificed to give life to the tower or enslaved by it. She’s a true human-artifact hybrid and the only reason she doesn’t have two life forces like Lith is that items do not have life force.
‘Her condition allows her to control Menadion’s artifact in ways that not even the First Royal Forgemaster could. She and the tower are one, making the girl more than human yet less at the same time.’
“Quylla Ernas is the only healer of my generation that I acknowledge as my equal, and the Ernas family has treated me very well every time I needed help.” Lith said, appreciating the soothing warmth that Tyris’s skin exuded.
Looking into her eyes was almost like staring at a placid lake during a spring morning. It made him feel at peace and almost lulled him into staring at the golden reflection of the sun on her irises.
Almost.
“The Ernas truly are one of the founding pillars of the Kingdom.” She said while turning around and giving a deep bow to the masters of the house. “The Crown is deeply indebted with you and for your unwavering loyalty, you have our gratitude.”
Seeing an involuntary nervous spasm on Jirni’s face was something unprecedented, no matter if it had lasted barely a split second. Clearly the situation was as odd for them as it was for Lith.
Yet for Tyris it wasn’t odd, just nostalgic. Orion and Jirni came from two of the most ancient bloodlines, that had been established together with the Griffon Kingdom. Their ancestors had been founding members of the Queen’s Corpse back when Tyris was still Queen and Valeron’s dear friends.
Juria Ernas and Oghrom Myrok hated each other so much that it had taken their families centuries before considering their oath of never mixing their blood just a legend, leading to Orion’s and Jirni’s marriage.
Being inside the Ernas’s tea room was a trip down memory lane to her. While the Ernas couple reminded Tyris of her long lost friends, Lith and his companions reminded her of herself.
Lith was just a candidate Guardian, but she could feel that their bond ran deep.
