"We tried to get the dragonkin to help us, but they've shut off the entrance to their kingdom. Though it's unlikely that they're afraid of THE CREATURE, it's still very odd that they chose now of all times to disappear. Though we still have a few men trying to find another way in," Avankor continued.
"We haven't made much progress, but if you c--"
"The tree, the glowing tree in the green forest. Is it still standing?" Lucius interrupted a vacant look in his eyes.
"The glowing tree? So that was--" Avankor whispered before pausing, a pitying look on his face.
"They-- they put up a good fight. That tree took down a quarter of THE CREATURE'S forces, our scouts say it spent 10 luna cycles holding their advance from spreading. But unfortunately, it- it stands no more," Avankor explained.
"Jesus Christ," Lucius whispered in a pained voice.
~I-I'm still in the mindscape... yeah, this is just another cycle right,~ Lucius thought to himself, as shadows began to collect all around him.
"Calm down, if you activate your emperor's mantle now, THE CREATURE will find us," Shavak shouted, but all that earned him was an apathetic stare from Lucius.
"Don't tell me..." Avankor whispered as the shadows began to grow thicker.
"He hasn't been taught. Then this mantle is... natural?" Shavak whispered in disbelief, his eyes wide in shock.
"Suppress your emotions, bottle them. Don't let them out!" Avankor shouted, before calling on his own mystic mantle. With that, a few of the shadows coalescing around Lucius began moving toward him instead.
"His command is strong, Shavak I need your help," Avankor shouted.
Shavak snapped out of his daze, before calling on his mystic mantle as well. With great strain, the both of them began commanding the shadows moving around Lucius towards them instead.
The stream of emotions rushing at Lucius seemed to slow down with this, allowing him to keep them in check. After a few moments, the shadows all around him subsided, and he returned to his normal state.
"They can't be dead," Lucius whispered as his vision blacked out, and he fell unconscious.
"He's too unstable, I don't think he can help us. I say we travel to the Behemoth Mountains and recruit their warriors," Shavak said as he approached Lucius's limp body.
"And what will we pay them with? Or do you have mana stones just lying around?" Avankor rebutted, before gently picking Lucius up.
"No, all we need is him. You saw it, didn't you? His is an emperor's mantle," Avankor whispered, as Shavak ordered everyone to leave the congress room.
"And power that strong is useless to us if he doesn't even know how to use it," Shavak retorted, still angry over the stunt Lucius had pulled.
"Think about it. If he can't control it, then that means he fought against THE CREATURE without his full power. If we can teach him, then this war is ours. No, not just that. If we can teach him how to use his Emperor's mantle, then for the first time in millennia, the lower tiers will have someone seated on the forest council," Avankor replied.
"Rubbish, after all they've done you are still bent on getting on the council? Even as an entire section of the forest becomes the feasting ground of these creatures they do nothing," Shavak shouted, before turning to one of his men,
"Bring me ruko, now!" Shavak shouted, before going to sit on his throne.
"Now is not the time to be drinking," Avankor sighed.
"And when else will it be? Once he wakes up again, he'll probably destroy my den," Shavak shouted angrily.
"As he should. Remember, all kings are but stepping stones for-"
"You don't have to repeat those stories to me. I heard them enough times already. I just hope that we get everything we were promised as well," Shavak interrupted before a Chame carrying a worm skin sak walked into the room and handed it to Shavak.
"Father!" a womanly voice shouted as a female Chame entered the congress room. Her figure was a lot more slender than that of the other Chame warriors, and where they had green skin, hers glittered... like emeralds.
Her cloak seemed to be made of blue cloth rather than leather, and it was decorated with all sorts of vibrant patterns.
A line of black jewels had been set into her forehead, forming a sort of crown, intensifying her almost alien beauty.
"Shamira, what are you doing here? I told you women aren't allowed in the congress room," Shavak shouted half-heartedly. He seemed more fixated on his drink than anything else.
"I heard the outsider tried to kill you," Shamira exclaimed as she ran towards her father.
"These councilmen, they whisper like women," Shavak rebutted, now a little annoyed.
"Shamira, it has been long," Avankor said, Lucius, lying in his arms.
"Lord Avankor, I did not see you," Shamira replied, instantly bowing down in respect.
"The princess of a clan need not kneel. Besides, these titles are shortlived, now that he is here," Avankor said, before looking down at Lucius.
"Is that-- him?" Shamira asked, staring at Lucius in a mix of both interest and distaste.
"Havon in the flesh."
"That is the hope of the lower tiers? A newborn?" Shamira asked, a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
"She still doesn't believe?" Avankor asked, looking at Shavak.
"You know the new generation," Shavak replied half-heartedly, now completely entranced by his drink.
"With all due respect father, how many 'Havons' has there been now? Isn't he the fifth this seasonal cycle? How do we know he isn't just another fraud? How do we know that those stories are even real?" Shamira asked heatedly.
From the way she spoke, and the way Shavak sighed, Avankor could see that this was something they had gone over a number of times.
But he could sympathize. Even in his den, there were many who didn't believe in the stories anymore. Too many winters had gone without food, too many summers being hunted by the higher tier beasts, too many frauds who promised them everything and left them with just that much less hope.
"He has the emperor's mantle. And when last have you seen a creature like this before?" Avankor asked, interrupting the squabble that father and daughter were having.
Shamira moved closer to inspect Lucius. Though Lucius was by no means large compared to her, she couldn't help but feel overpowered even as he lay asleep.
She hesitated to move closer, before looking at him properly. She squinted her eyes, trying her best to recall where she had seen this type of creature before. After all, as the princess of one of the largest clans in this section of the forest, she ought to know all the creatures that resided close by.
"I-- My studies didn't cover this," she replied reluctantly.
"He's fae, or something similar, but definitely a direct descendant," Shavak said as he took another shot of his drink.
"Huh? But isn't he too small? And I heard he was just a third tier... aren't the direct descendants of the fae supposed to be tier 10?" Shamira asked in confusion and doubt.
"Havon shall spawn forth, a child of the earth, the lowest among the low. And from there, he shall rise to power, and bring back paradise for all," Shavak replied in a sarcastically grand manner, his words coming out in a drunken murmur.
