Avess closed his eyes and listened to his heart beating. He breathed slow, trying to gain control of his nerves. The tribunal had turned out to be worse than he imagined. Ildor tried to sway the conversation their way, but the Kull would have none of it. The other Magus present seemed to be on his side, but Ornas continued to press the issue, paying no heed to their thoughts.

Now in the great hall awaiting their return, he contemplated what was to come.

The first thought was to change into a dragon and flee, but what would that accomplish? If he did so, it would only strengthen Ornas’s case and give those agitating Magus the means to push the rest of the Order against the Drakku. As easy as it would be to do so, he couldn’t. It would destroy all he tried to hold together.

If he remained as he was, the Kull and his allies could injure him and prevent him from changing for quite some time. It was risky, but it was worth it if he were to earn their trust and secure the alliance between the Drakku and the Order. No matter what happened, he would not be the reason for its collapse.

More than once he thought about his daughter Etain. If something happened to him, would she be ready to lead the Drakku? He’d been grooming her for such a moment. The Onyx Lords would certainly try and stake their claim, probably even using his failure as a reason she shouldn’t be elevated to the position, but he trusted her. She had to be strong enough, and strong willed enough, to see it through. She had plenty of allies and the Drakku weren’t much for sudden changes. They’d eventually see the necessity of backing her. They had to.

He thought about his dear wife, and how she might have handled the situation instead. Her emotions often got the best of her, though in the end she was almost always right in her assessment of the problem. The guidance she offered carried him through many conflicts. Her insight now would have been invaluable.

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Above all, he had to do what was right for the Drakku. They trusted him to lead them and he never wanted to break that trust. It was the reason he was here in the first place. The Magus needed to know about the gray-souls and the missing people of Nighthill, but they quickly turned the tide and blamed him for failing to control the Drakku, as though they were the ones behind the missing villagers.

The Drakku. It was all for the Drakku. They were a proud race with a tendency to be stubborn, but they were loyal to the end. He respected that, and hoped what he was now in the middle of would one day benefit them and preserve the alliance with the Order.

Loud footsteps broke his concentration and he noticed Ildor being escorted down a hallway by two guards dressed in black.

“Get your hands off me! I know how to walk.”

“This way Magus Ildor,” one of the guards replied, shoving his arm forward. Ildor glanced back at Avess, and was pushed back by the guard.

Ildor struggled to maintain eye contact as though trying to tell Avess something, but they forced him away, turning down another hallway where he lost sight of him. It didn’t bode well that he was taken from the proceedings. He must have gone against whatever Ornas had planned. His most loyal and vocal ally, now gone.

Again Avess considered changing into a dragon. The air of danger grew heavy and unmistakable. But he couldn’t. It would not help the cause and would damage the proceedings.

Avess stiffened his back and tried to bring his heart rate down again. Anger bubbling up under his skin was threatening to break loose and he had to control it no matter what. The Drakku needed him. It was his duty to protect them at all costs.

The room fell eerily silent as the minutes passed. Hardly anyone left, all of them seeming to want to know how this was going to play out. He’d not give them the luxury of seeing his anger. He had to remain calm. It was the only way to diffuse the Kull Naga.