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Qassria

Qassria's world no longer made sense, because the gods had chosen to tell her the general truth of their origins, and how they were once the same race as Leo before their ascension. That revelation prompted her to ask if he was a demigod, and if she had been insulting one this entire time, but they both went on to explain how they weren't gods, and that gods don't actually exist.

They don't know everything, they don't control everything, and they are not guiding every specific person's fate. They were essentially the same as Leo, not at all that important until they were suddenly given so much power by complete accident.

They also went on to explain that her entire type of selarin was just based on a human myth about snow snakes, and that bloodlines meant nothing to them when they created the races. In fact, they brutally told her that the concept was just a byproduct of their technological level, and at some point it would eventually die out.

By the end of the discussion, Qassria's beliefs felt like nothing, and she didn't know what to do or what to think anymore.

Sara : You're probably going through one hell of an internal crisis right now, and you likely don't know what you should believe or aspire to anymore.

Elsie : And it's gonna suck for a while as you figure out your new purpose in life.

Sara : But, we know of something that will make you feel a whole lot better!

Qassria flushed as the two told her what human males were capable of, and that if she wanted to relieve some stress, then Leo was the best and quickest way.

The two left right after making her promise to not talk to anyone about what they discussed, and she stepped out with just a single thing she wanted to do, because she needed something to take her mind off of the fact that her whole world was pulled out from under her.

So with her new found clarity, she walked up to Leo with determination, and even though the word had lost its meaning, she was still going to use it until he made good on the promise he made to her mother.

“Mutt, I'm going to fuck you.”

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Leo

Leo had a whole host of things on his mind while he was flying back to the palace with Qassria in tow.

For one, the confirmation of everything being the product of science put some sense of realism back underneath his feet, but he was a little pissed off when they held out on telling him what mana was. And if the gods wouldn't tell him what mana was, then he had to find out on his own, and there were probably two places that he could go to do just that.

The Archive made by the last summon, because Chad let slip that they had told him, and the waste lands, because of that page in the book on mana. “I know where I'm going for diplomatic relations next.” He muttered the thought aloud.

He felt Qassria's tail coil around his leg while they started to close in on the palace, which reminded him of the here and now. ‘Talking to her didn't work, showing off my magic didn't work, and now the gods told her something that was entirely for their own benefit, because of course they would!’

The princess had been talking with the two gods for about half an hour, and only looked embarrassed at the end. He hoped that they at least set her straight, but she refused to tell him anything that they told her. Therefore the only real option he had left was Anasslia's, but he highly doubted that his dick was going to be a life-changing solution.

‘And damn it! I can feel them watching!’ He thought irritably while they flew around the palace to return to her room.

‘I wonder what Fel is up to right now…’

_________________________________________

Fel

Completely and utterly bored was what Fel had been since Leo had left. While he was gone, she had spent the first day making sure the sentries were properly deployed, but everything after was spent doing nothing while sitting in the mansion with Glia. They both had had some fun nights together, but during the day was what Glia aptly dubbed, grass duty.

Fel was the strongest creature in Telnar at the moment, so it was on her to keep Leo's seat warm while he was away, at least until they were both sure that the sentries could handle themselves.

Laid out on the couch with half lidded eyes, she watched Glia as they sat across from her and messed with the runes on her wooden legs. “This is so boring...” She groaned.

Glia tapped a few runes in a small compartment in her leg. “That's guard duty, and boring's good, it means that things aren't going to shit.” She closed the compartment to stretch out the wooden appendage. “Well, until it does.” She finished with an amused snicker.

The dragoness sighed while she picked at her horn. “I guess you're right… It just feels like things are moving when Leo is around. I mean, I could help out with construction on the fortress, but it's not like we need it at the moment, and he said he was going to enchant it to be able to defend against an army of dragons. So my help there isn't worth much...” She trailed off a little dejectedly, because she wanted something worth doing to pass the time.

The selarin crossed her arms and gave her a critical look. “A dragon is no help? Fel, do you know how prosperous Telnar is right now? Remember that most people still think that you're responsible for everything, so your presence alone deters other kingdoms from going to war with us. When the city finally calms down, it'll probably be the strongest territory on the continent, a tasty little bite to any kingdom that thinks it's worth the trouble. So you are helping us more than any giant stone building right now.” She stated a matter-of-factly.

Fel arched her brow while her mouth went a little agape at the remark, which prompted a defensive what from the black scaled woman. “I just didn't figure you'd be the analytical type… No offense.”

Glia snickered before standing up with a hand on her hip. “That's right, I got brains, a fine ass tail, and a sexy pair of legs. What more could a woman ask for?” She finished while striking a pose, and Fel couldn't help but giggle at the display while sitting herself upright on the couch.

“Thanks Glia, I needed that.”

The obsidian scaled beauty smiled while stepping over to Fel's side and plopping down next to her. “What are friends for!?” Her smile grew a little lustful. “And I can think of another thing that you might need.” She remarked as her tail slowly slid over her thigh, causing Fel's heart to race a bit at the offer, but a yell from down the hall ruined the moment.

One of their guards ran into the room with a slight visible panic, and Fel narrowed her eyes at the intrusion. “Look, I'm a little busy at the moment so if you deal wi-”

“There is a dragon here to see you!” The guard interrupted.

Worry overtook Fel, because this was possibly a negotiator from the council, and she was as diplomatic as her paper dragon when it came to dealing with demands. She stood up and started toward the exit, much to the disappointment of Glia when Fel heard her fall back onto the couch in a huff.

The last thing she thought she would see when stepping outside was a man she hadn't seen in years. “Dag?” She questioned a little confusingly.

Dag was a dragon that she met when she was working with Yez, and they had an on and off again relationship whenever they worked together. At some point she wanted a bit more, but Dag told her that it would only end badly with their kind of work. She understood that reality, but the rejection didn't hurt any less. He was still a good friend, and a great guy to be around, but it was a little awkward between them after that talk.

The dragoness stepped in to give her old friend a hug, but his hands seemed to wander immediately, and even though that was their old greeting, it triggered a red flag in her mind with how they left things. “It's so good to see you Fel, and I've missed your bed too.” He joked with a smirk, but something felt…off.

She took the remark in stride while she stepped back from the short embrace. “Come on, you'd sleep around more than I would if you had the stamina.” She jabbed back.

He placed a hand on her cheek as he looked into her eyes. “But nothing compared to yours.” He said before pushing in for a kiss.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

The move caught her completely off guard, and a part of her wanted to let it continue, but the other was screaming at her that this wasn't right. She pushed back from the kiss and finally took specific notice of the large bag on his back. “Dag, what are you doing here?” She questioned more seriously.

Dag puffed out his chest with a proud smile that now rubbed her the wrong way. “Well, you chose to leave Yez, so I thought I'd join you. You always talked about how You wanted to start your own efforts against the council, and now you have the means. So why not?” He answered with a practiced tone that only Fel could catch after knowing him for so long.

Senses on high alert, she crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at the large bag. “Sure, you can join, but only after you let me search your bag.” She answered pointedly.

His tail whipped once, which was the only tell that she needed to see. “Come on snow, that's stuffs pri-”

A massive spike of anger shot through her, and her face warped to match. “Don't you dare call me that you piece of shit, now give me the orb!”

The scumbag winced before he let out an exasperated sigh. “I told her that this was a horrible plan…” He trailed off dejectedly while he pulled out a communication orb from his bag.

Enraged, she snatched it and was tempted to crush it immediately, but wanted to give the bitch on the other side a piece of her mind first. “Get the fuck out of Telnar Dag, or else I’ll have you shot.” She growled through gritted teeth, and he looked confused for only a moment before flying away.

Scowling into the orb, she had to continue to not reflexively break it out of anger. “Answer me you scale worn bitch!” She yelled into the orb.

The orb brightened. “Ah, I guess that's another plan ruined…” Yez sighed exhaustedly.

Fel sneered, and her tail whipped the ground in a rage. “Plan!? How fucking dare you pull this shit! And what were you going to do if it worked, huh? Have Leo killed in his sleep? Poison his food? Frame Telnar for acting against another kingdom? Or maybe just ruin my relationship with him!?” She glowered at the orb while her hands shook, just barely restraining her desire to crush it.

The orb brightened. “Nothing so brash… Though it has crossed my mind. No, I just wanted to have an ear close to Leo. You were just an afterthought.” Yez responded calmly.

She felt the soles of her shoes rip as her toes curled down against the material. “Then you should have infiltrated our guard instead of fucking with my past relationships you cold hearted bitch!”

The orb dimmed. “I tried, but Leo isn't as stupid as I wished he was. He only allows people who were in Telnar during the attack to be in his guard, and none of them are particularly open to the idea of spying on him. So after I got word from a few of my other spies that he repelled a dragon taskforce, then I may have become a little…desperate.” Yez explained a bit harshly.

The torrent of emotions within Fel reached its peak with those words. “Desperate!? Are you serious!? If that was the case, then you'd drop the fucking need to have everything under your control and just work with us like he offered! But now I can say without a doubt that you've burned that bridge. So on behalf of my dear paper dragon, FUCK OFF!” She screamed before smashing the orb into the ground and stomping it into dust, the force of it causing massive cracks in the ground from the impacts.

She stormed back into the manor to get a new pair of shoes, walking past a visibly surprised Glia while the wood under her seemed to creak loudly with each of her steps.

“Uh, you alright? I heard some screaming, but didn't want to go out in case I got in the way.” Glia asked a little tepidly while strolling close behind.

A permanent scowl was fixed to the dragon's visage as she walked into her room. “No, no I'm not, but now I know what I can do to occupy my time.” She paused to pull out a new pair of shoes to put on. “I'm heading out to have a talk with Vesta and Sel, then I'm going to comb the city for every one of Yez's rats.” She hissed in a simmering rage.

‘God's, after that I actually wished that it was the council.’

_________________________________________

Meanwhile

Yelling and shouting filled a massive underground chamber, as nearly two hundred dragons sat around a large obsidian table arguing over what to do about the situation.

“I told you we should have just wiped the city from the map. Now we have to deal with both the potential war and Telnar!”

“We rush into things without knowing and we may end up turning other kingdoms against us!”

“He destroyed an academy! If the other kingdoms continue to try and gain favor with him, how long until some choose to get rid of their own.”

“None of them will do that, they are too ingrained in most of their societies at this point. But kicking out our guardians because of Rak is another issue.”

“Of course that short sighted sadistic headache had to die while leaving one last stain on our name!”

“Leave my son out of this! It was the insect's decision to do a purge, he was merely doing his duty as a guardian!”

“Duty!? Then what's the lesson plan in where we teach them that it's perfectly fine to skin people alive!?”

“Silence!” The word reverberated throughout the chamber, ending all of the arguments immediately.

The tall and bulky dragon that caused the interruption was a little young compared to the majority of others present, but it was totally overlooked due to his familial relations. “The solution is simple. If the Summon is at the center of all of this, then we must merely kill him. And if fifty of our best isn't enough, then we must take a more extreme measure. I move for the use of the sword.” He proposed, and everyone else started muttering amongst themselves.

Another young dragon spoke out against him, this one barely an initiate. “You can't be serious? You're not even the council's head yet, so you have no authority to-” She was cut off by the man.

“The hag wanted to honor an old friend and it cost us! And even though most of the general population believes that Fel'aristriza was responsible for everything, every kingdom's spies are informing those that they serve of the truth. That the summon has the power of the gods, and can casually send FIFTY of us back home with our tails between our legs! The longer we wait, the more damage will be done.” He berated the comment while sneering at the woman, who's distant relation was the only reason it was tolerated.

The man smirked as the minor irritation stormed out with a scowl. “I would put it to a vote, but I am going to be the head soon enough anyway. So I'm using it with or without the vote, and anyone who would like to join me to finally put down this problem is free to do so. Those who don't…Will be remembered for later.” He warned as he stood up to head for the exit, and over a hundred fifty left to follow him.

Most who stayed were either very old or new members, and all of them looked very displeased by the situation.

“Phi isn't going to be happy about this…”

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Vipa

Vipa was at the main gate to the city, overseeing the arrivals of the nobles who accepted the invitations for the ball, because every other gate had been closed in preparation. The queen wanted to know in advance who would show up, that way she wouldn't be caught off guard. And even though the ball was set for tomorrow evening, there was a large possibility that some would try to come early enough to make an unexpected showing.

The general was also making sure that her soldiers were on high alert due to the possible number of nobles set to arrive, because assassination attempts, kidnappings, or general public altercations were a very real problem that she had to stay on top of. Her troops were kept plenty busy with all the patrolling from the gate to the palace, but Vipa was at a second checkpoint with absolutely nothing to do but jot down those that would make it to this first gathering.

She looked out the window and noted down another noble family that was passing the checkpoint while she was sitting next to Sairiss, who seemed a little on edge, which concerned her greatly. “Sairiss, is something wrong? I get the mood change when it comes to your sister, but we're just guarding the route.”

Sairiss's lips only slightly curled into a frown as she was visibly in thought for a moment. “This still has to do with my family, because I know that my father-” She paused to scowl. “He likes to make a show, but everyone else will be most likely using a smugglers tunnel to enter the city.” She answered, and Vipa realized that was definitely something to be on edge about.

The Venomara were a family of the most brutally efficient degree, and even though they were little more than mercenaries when you boil it down, their exploits were the stuff of nightmares and legend. Vipa had always thought that most of the stories were just rumors, but she couldn't help but consider otherwise after contracting Sairiss a few times.

On one of those contracts, Sairiss was to assassinate a general, leave no witnesses, and destroy any potential threat to Vipa's promotion. Sairiss returned after a week from starting the contract, and the totality of what she had done was what made Vipa reconsider her opinion on those rumors.

In addition to killing the general, Sairiss had killed every direct subordinate, family member, and close associate, as well as destroying every asset that could be claimed by another third party. Every possible tie the previous holder had was either cut or destroyed, and all it cost her was a favor to the family.

Vipa was terrified what favor they might one day come to collect, but she didn't expect to wake up one night and find the assassin herself to use it.

Sairiss had left her family with her sister and needed work, in exchange she would send a letter to clear the debt and ensure that none of the Venomara would interfere with her. She explained that rule eight of the family was to never kill each other's clients, so as long as she continued to work for Vipa she would be safe from contracts requesting her death.

And after seeing what the terrifying woman had done all on their own, the up and coming general gladly took the deal, since the mercenary would be acting as both her sword and shield.

Though she didn't know why Sairiss chose her of all people to turn to, because she could work anywhere and for anyone given her skills. Sairiss also would never tell her why, saying that their interests were aligned and that was all she needed to know.

After a few hours of waiting at the checkpoint, a massive wooden carriage that might as well be a small house was pulled in by ten horses.

She turned to Sairiss to remark on its excessive size, but she saw that they were gripping the hilt of their sword while looking as if they were ready for an attack to come at any moment.

It took a second for Vipa to come up with a reason for the reaction before she looked back to the carriage with deep worry. “Are you sure tha-” She stopped short and her eyes went wide as three more of them pulled up.

“Yes, it's them…”

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