Chapter 488: A Great Gathering (2/2)

Even with King’s Ga to say and only nodded firmly in response Thankfully, Sylvie appeared at my side She extended a hand to Lord Kothan, who took it with the same wariness hich he had watched me earlier “Lord Kothan We appreciate your words and the intent behind theainst s across both our worlds You don’t owe us anything”

Well said, I thought to her gratefully

Rai stood and straightened his battlerobes Without speaking further, he rounded the table and took a seat next to where Lord Avignis was now sitting

It see the lord of the pantheons and Kezess himself

“Arthur, you and Lady Sylvie will join ap had been left between his seat and Radix’s, directly across from Kezess’s throne “It is customary that you stand until you are either dismissed or, in this case, offered a seat at the table”

Nephele laughed, and a cool breeze that sh the cha”

I stood in the expected spot, Regis to one side and Sylvie on the other The six gathered lords and ladies eyed me expectantly for a moment, then as one turned toward the throne Suddenly Kezess was sitting in it There was no flash of light, no sense of aze settled on the only empty seat at the table He closed his eyes briefly, then opened them to look at Lady Mapellia “Lord Thyestes is purposefully taking his time, it seems, but he will be here momentarily Until then, we shall wait In silence”

At his left hand, Lady Mapellia sat stiffly Beside her, Nephele fidgeted restlessly The rest of the lords’ deaze settled not on ht ave me a subtle wink

A full minute passed in this aard, forced silence It was finally broken when a tall, athletic figure landed on the same balcony we had entered from The doors opened, and he strode in purposefully This man, who I knew to be Ademir Thyestes, lord of his clan and all the pantheon race,eyes flicked toon the eht purple eyes on the sides of his head moved constantly, however, froularly back to Kezess

Kezess watched Lord Thyestes get settled for several long seconds before returning his attention to the rooether—and most, it seems, have already discussed the situation inwill be a short one”

The haested that this hu a ht be considered a new branch of the asuran family tree” She paused and stared around to ensure that everyone had heard “Our only task today is to decide if this is true First, we open up this session of the Great Eight to any lord or lady ishes to express their opinion” She then sat

I glanced from the corner of my eye to Veruhn, but he rely, it was Lord Thyestes who stood He looked straight atthat you all engage in This lesser has killed two of the Thyestes and brought down the Vritra clan as well None of us wish to believe a lesser could do such a thing, and yet this one has Instead of acknowledging reality, however, you seek tohe is not Because he is not an asura, and even killing General Aldir of Clan Thyestes can’tthe pantheon, rather he was inspectingabove her seat, let out a huff that made her flutter around “Only a pantheon would think you earn your way to being an asura by killing people Ademir! Look at hiolden eyes!” She turned thoughtful and looked at Lady Mapellia to her right “Do lessers norolden eyes?”

Morwenna returned her look stone-faced and gave a s

Ademir sat, his arms crossed “We’ve all heard by now the tale of Lady Sylvie’s sacrifice and the physical rebirth of both their bodies Perhaps she gave hiainst the eons of evolution and eh?”

Lord Grandus leaned forward, his elbows on the table and his hands folded into his thick beard “If we look at this boy’s actions, then we are forced to consider how these actions were performed The actions themselves aren’t the reason we’re here, only the catalyst for the discussion” His deep voice ruh the air so that I felt it inmade it our business to study the advancement of life, and even to h the application of powerful enoughside the rest of the asura, a case could also bethem into our culture for a variety of reasons We should resist the urge to jump to a decision and instead take time to study Arthur further”

“While study is warranted…” Rai of the basilisk clan, Kothan, had raised a finger into the air as he started speaking He hesitated in thea furtive look to Kezess, who nodded very slightly “While study is warranted,” he began again, “we shouldn’t overlook the current situation”

He stood, pressed his palrona Vritra has been a danger to us for many hundreds of years, and his occupation of our motherland—the very soil that birthed Epheotus—has been an insult and a threat We have been shut off frorona, and it has blinded us to their progress Arthur Leywin is standing here as proof of their evolution, and his service in defeating the Vritra clan should be rewarded appropriately”

“The naood will!” Ade and bickering It only ended when Kezess sent out a pulse of King’s Force that drew all attention back to himself

“We’ve heard base emotional reactions, but none of you have presented any proof, only suggested we find it” Kezess’s focus shi+fted to Veruhn “I was told that this conversation had already begun, encouragingit into a more formal environment But I find myself…unconvinced by what I’ve heard here today Only Lord Thyestes seehten and his lips go white as Kezess mentioned hiht have been hostility I considered what I had learned about Aldir’s flight froer about Kezess’s treatnis cleared his throat “Forgivefair to Rai His words bring many questions to my mind Questions that, I think, would be best answered by Arthur hiray eyes se sparks “We have all been made aware of certain facts, Arthur You nearly died while channeling the will of a powerful dragon, Sylvia Indrath, but you were saved by your bond with her daughter, Lady Sylvie The result was that your body beca closer to asura than human You have a core, but it isyour body directly with aether, unlike even the dragons And you channel certain…aether arts Such as the ability you used to interrogate the Vritra criminal, Oludari

“It rerona Vritra” The sparks in his eyes flared, even though the rest of his expression remained passive “What power did you use?”

The hamadryad, Morwenna of Clan Mapellia, hummed in irritation “How does this question help us in our consideration of Arthur’s asuran state?”

It was Radix who answered, leaning forward over the table now so that his chest practically rested on top of it “Of course, Novis! It was necessary for us to take on new for power, even back before our ancestors forged Epheotus fro so, we branded our ths While Arthur’s use of aether is interesting, it is also rather obvious He was granted the will of a dragon in addition to being bonded to Lady Sylvie here That alone proves nothing But this power that captured Agrona…” His steely gaze ha to unearth the truth from me with a pickaxe “What was this power? Is it soons?”

All eyes were on lare Kezess gave is, who had sat down and was now scratching his ear with one hind paw, sent me a mental roll of his eyes ‘Oh screw him I say tell thehter’

Sylvie shi+fted beside ht If Kezess has kept the revelation of Fate fros in our favor’

I thought back to my conversation with Kezess over the fields of lava Maybe, but we also don’t quite see the whole picture yet

“All of ic is aetheric in nature,” I said in answer to the questions that had been posed by Lords Grandus and Avignis “As I gain insight, I aic held within the conscious aether itself, foric that are branded directly into !” Nephele said, floating over the table toward hed against the back of his hand then stood slowly Nephele bit her cheek and drifted back to her seat

Verun’s back straightened seg the impression that he was even older than he looked His sazed blindly around the chaed fifty years between our arrival and now, but I couldn’t tell if it was a show or somehow the result of the conversation itself

“It is deeply correct that everyone currently gathered at this table is passionate about this conversation,” he said, speaking slowly and enunciating each word carefully “Never before has such a thing been considered We asura are slow to grow, slow to change It is not in our nature And so we have reht races since the failure of the wraiths Even the inter of our races has never resulted in a new branch of our long and storied family tree”

Veruhn paused to collect himself and catch his breath His milky white eyes seemed to focus above the heads of all those seated at the table “But we cannot deny what fate has placed right in front of us For this evolution to happen now, as the situation with Agrona see to a full out war, is certainly no rowth, his transformation, was necessary for both our cultures to survive Noe have an opportunity that we have never had before: to change and grow as a people, together with the lessers e have for so long been apart Let Clan Leywin speak on their behalf, be their voice We cannot afford to let their world fester and spawn another Agrona”

The other asuras regarded Veruhn thoughtful as he struggled to sit back down I could see how his words had settled over the the direction of the conversation in mere moments

‘They do not all respect each other, but they do hi put in the le between the asuran clans’

I traced back the threads of each encounter with Veruhn Why did he give ain Out loud, I said, “Thank you, Lord Eccleiah I appreciate your vote of confidence” After pausing to ensure I had everyone’s attention, I continued, “When I was first told about this…offer, I’ll adht, or that I even wanted it”

Adeether in a frohile Morwenna turned her nose up slightly

“I have a home to return to, and people who rely onas we speak Dicathen and Alacrya need me, not Epheotus” I let these words sink in

Kezess was listening politely, his expression otherwise carefully blank Beside hi to you all speak here today, I’ve co” At is took half steps closer to“Those people do need me to be here They needthe asura”

Nephele had sunk down into her seat properly and had her ar on her forear about so else entirely

“Ithe asura, but I have been entwined with your people since before I was even born,” I said firht beside you and against you And, like a crucible, the presence of the asura innew”

I looked directly at Radix, who had eased back into his seat bit by bit as I spoke He was running his fingers through his beard, deep in thought “Not only have I gained great power and evolved beyond the limitations of my humanity, I, like the asura, have transfor a sudden rush of aether, I fully activated both Real my skin and beneath ht floating above my head Aether condensed inveins

My voice resonated as I spoke, the words pieced together froht

“You have asked, and I will answer The power that I wield is Fate itself”