A frozen chair flew past Lainor to smash to bits against the wall. Next was the small wooden table. Raeven was in quite a mood today. He held the rank of Elder in the Cult of Aethron. He wasn't just any Elder. He was the Hierarch's personal attendant, which meant he ranked higher than all other Elders.
If a message needed to be delivered to the Hierarch, it had to go through him, and Raeven was prone to new furniture whenever someone came with bad news like Lainor had.
Raeven smashed his hands down on his table. Ice spread onto his mahogany desk from his fingertips, ruining the beautiful table forever. He leaned forward, a dangerous look in his blue eyes. A slight layer of frost covered his whole form.
Lainor couldn't help but get ready to defend himself. After all, Elder Raeven had two hundred levels on him.
"Those fucking lizards want to summon the Hierarch like he's a common whore…" The veins popped out from his neck. "Who the fuck do they think they are?" He raged loud enough to make the room shake.
The temperature in the room had fallen to freezing, but that was not what made Lainor tremble. He feared the Elder might take out his anger on the messenger, meaning Lainor himself. And if Raeven decided to harm Lainor, as per the Cult rules, he had no option but to take the punishment.
Lainor bowed at the waist. "Elder, I will accept any punishment you doll out, but Dragon Lord Ignis Sunbreath himself gave me this command. He demands the Hierarch to visit him at Daston Hill in Drurith."
"I heard you the first time," Raeven said through gritted teeth. The cold seeped out of him, and the room got chilly as the coldest winter night.
The stairs were behind Lainor, and he wondered if he could make it if he made a run for it. Lainor gulped, remembering the strangulation he suffered at Mirageiros's hands. That was when his troubles began. First, the Cosmarian, then the twin Dragon Lords, and now he was here at the Tower of Aetheron on Ealisto. He stood before an enraged Elder while a snowstorm raged outside, and it was still colder in this room.
Another set of stairs led up to the Hierarch's floor. It was where he had his office and his living quarters. Lainor had only seen the man once, as he only left the room for very important business. So, he couldn't believe his eyes when the man who had led the cult since its inception five hundred years ago casually strolled down the stairs.
The man had a head of white hair but lacked the wrinkles of age. In fact, he didn't look a day over forty. He had a handsome face, marred by a long scar that went horizontally over the bridge of his nose. Lainor didn't know who gave him that scar, but if he ever found out, he would smash their head against the wall.
Lainor dropped to his knees and touched his head to the floor. "Your Eminence."
"Rise, my son," His Eminence, Elrasil Krasir, said. "We only prostrate before the one true god."
Lainor stood and looked reverently upon the greatest priest of Aetheron. The world called them a Cult when they should've been called church—a church that prayed to the one true God. But who was he to question the Heirarch's decisions?
"Aetheron will Prevail," Lainor said.
"Aetheron will Prevail." They both repeated.
His Eminence looked to his chief servant. "Come now, Raeven. A summon from the great Ignis Sunbreath should not be taken as a slight to one's honor. After all, all dragons alive today are descended from the Great One."
"But Your Eminence, you—"
"I am but a simple man who will do anything to hasten my Lord's return. Even if it means I must see Akhessai's son. Now, it's best we don't keep Ignis waiting. Dragons are not known for their patience." They moved for the stairs, but he stopped. "Lainor, when the moment is most opportune, I want you to drop the fact that the champion's sister is traveling with a Sorceress of Akhessai."
Lainor frowned but would comply with any order His Eminence gave him. Even if commanded to end his life, he would happily jump on a sword.
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Lainor, Elder Raeven, and His Eminence stood before the great dragon, who sat atop the big building that was once Drurith's crown jewel. Now, that beauty had been marred but not broken. This was the second time Lainor had seen Ignis up close, and still, he was awed by his majesty.
His tiger-like scales shone in the evening sun. If it wasn't for the shadow of his brother who sat to the side, Lainor could admire his visage for hours. Tigris, on the other hand, was darkness incarnate. Despite his massive size, one wouldn't see him as he crept up on them at night. Some other powerful adult dragons were sitting around their king as he held court as if dragons did such a thing.
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His Eminence bowed his head to Ignis. This irked Lainor, but every man must bow to someone.
"O Great Dragon of Wiryar forest, what can this humble servant of Aetheron do for you?" His Eminence asked.
Ignis huffed, blowing smoke from his nostrils. "Save your fake respect for one who doesn't see through this mask of yours, Cultist. Your man failed to deliver on his promise."
Hierarch straightened. No longer the bent man. There was a fire in his eyes that Lainor hadn't seen before. "But we did deliver. Lainor brought the girl to your brother as agreed upon. He cannot be held accountable for your brother's failures."
Tigris stood and growled. "I will give you one chance to take that back."
His Eminence turned to him and raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
The dragons weren't shooting off any flames, but still, the heat in this place had risen to the point that Lainor was sweating. He wanted to slowly back out of here but couldn't leave His Eminence alone. He couldn't see Tigris's level, but if some of the Elders were to be believed, His Eminence was over level 900, if not higher. There couldn't be much of a difference remaining between the two.
The silence stretched on for longer still. Even the other high-level dragons stared at what would happen next. Raeven's hands twitched, and Lainor could imagine the storm brewing in his head. Before it spilled outwards, Lainor felt he had to do something.
"Though I must admit, I was at fault too," Lainor said, breaking the standoff. "I could've injured the girl or trapped her before presenting her to you."
His Eminence peeled his eyes off Tigris and looked to his brother. "Lainor, my son, I love your humbleness, but I still believe we have delivered our part of the bargain to Lord Aetheron's kin."
"And yet we do not have the girl, Elrasil," Ignis growled.
Lainor clenched his fists at his side. How dare this lizard address him by his name.
Lainor wasn't the only one who was angry. He could feel a chill emanating from Elder Raeven. His Eminence gave them both a look that told them to calm down.
Ignis continued, "The dragonlings we sent after her were not children, yet one came back like this." He turned his head to the side, and a couple of the dragons stepped aside to reveal a dragon that looked like its scales had melted and fused with its skin, and the less could be said about its wings, the better. It was clearly in a lot of pain, but it didn't tremble or whimper. Its pride shone through its eyes.
His Eminence frowned. "She let him live?"
"A warning to our kind. She killed his sister, and so he challenged her to single combat, and the girl did that."
Lainor's eyes widened. The girl was strong, but this dragon had almost two hundred levels on her.
"This could not have been done by Meera alone," Lainor blurted out before realizing where he was, but he continued. "The sorceress must have helped her. She was traveling with a Sorceress of Akhessai." He looked to Tigris. "That was the other woman I captured, Lord Tigris."
Tigris curled his upper in a sneer, and he cursed in dragon tongue. Lainor didn't know exactly what it meant, but it was something like smashing her eggs before her.
The other dragons repeated similar insults. All save for Ignis, who remained quiet. His eyes remained locked onto His Eminence.
The dragon king made a guttural sound, and all fell silent. "Elrasil, I don't make deals with humans, and yet I did because of your name and reputation among dragons. I want this girl and the sorceress."
His Eminence glared at the great dragon for a long moment. "We do this, and we're through. I don't owe you any more favors after this."
Ignis nodded.
His Eminence bowed, smiling. "It will be our honor to serve Lord Aetheron's kin."
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They stepped through the Gateway Mirror that brought them back to the Tower. It opened in the room adjacent to Raeven's room. The mirror was deliberately planted there so no one could leave or arrive without the Elder knowing. Raeven gripped Lainor by the collar and slammed him against the stone wall.
"Who the fuck do you think you are?" Raeven seethed. "You were totally out of line. You think you are so great that you can come to His Eminence's defense. Huh?"
"I-I—" Lainor didn't know what to say, and Elder Raeven didn't let him say anything.
"Next time, keep your mouth shut, or I'll rip your jaw off."
"Y-Yes—"
"Raeven." His Eminence placed a hand on the Elder's shoulder. "He did exactly what he was meant to."
Raeven let go of Lainor's collar slowly. A frown begining to take form. "Your Eminence?"
"My attempted feud with Tigris was nothing but a façade. I care nothing about the girl evading the dragon. I hope you're not forgetting we also owe a debt to others."
He meant the Cosmarian king, Rothedon. Lainor didn't know why they were dealing with the Cosmarians and what this debt was, and Lainor would never tell His Eminence his business. He was just a cog in the machine. Just here to do his Lord's bidding.
The Hierarch walked to the door. "It is us who will rid the girl of her life. Think of it as killing two birds with one stone, and not to mention, we'll be removing a crucial piece of the prophecy."
Raeven stepped forward. "But Your Eminence, she's always meant to die. The prophecy says so."
His Eminence scoffed. "You weren't there, Raeven, when I orchestrated Serenya's death some two thousand years ago."
Lainor started, but he kept his shock primarily internal. He knew His Eminence was old, but he didn't know he was that old. His best estimate was five hundred years, not two thousand years. The things he has lived through and seen. Truly, there is no one like you, my Lord.
The Heirarch continued. "The woman was so stalwart that even as the maddening crowd lobbed stone after stone, she still screamed the words of her prophecy so the people wouldn't forget them, and yet they did."
"Please explain, Your Eminence," Raeven requested.
The Hierarch turned to face them. "Our Lord is coming, and for him to succeed, both brother and sister cannot make it to the end. One of them must perish."