The last four days had been relaxing ones. Tiazanta had continued her talks with Chell Bertner about a few finer details as they had been waiting for the time limit of a week running out.

Which is why Vuthe was quite surprised to find Chell on the fifth day waiting for her in the morning with news from the government assembly.

It appeared that the assembly had finally agreed to their terms and was setting up a meeting between the government officials, the church, and the overseers of the Paranormal council a day from now.

Vuthe was wary as this seemed a little rushed compared to their earlier stagnation, but she was quite happy about the outcome.

They agreed that both Tizanta and Calagrophy would join Vuthe in that meeting and made preparations to set out.

The next day they drove to Berlin, seat of the government, to attend the scheduled meeting. The drive was rather boring, and they spent most of the time going over what was waiting for them and how to deal with any possible situation they could come up with behind a privacy screen, courtesy of Tizanta.

While they all liked Chell Bertner, she had been quite helpful, they excluded her from this discussion on virtue of not being strictly on their side.

Eventually they arrived in front of the Bundestag and got out of the car. To anyone watching the scene with no understanding of what was going on it looked quite comical, three teenagers and a woman in her early thirties making their way to the entrance.

Inside they met some lobbyists and politicians with Chell having made it clear that outside of the assembly most of them were not inducted in the secrets of magic, which is why they ignored them and swiftly made their way to the meeting room.

Once they arrived they walked into the room, the rest of the people already present. Vuthe’s attention was immediately drawn by the two obvious demi-humans in the room, the other five wearing some kind of glamour to look human.

Despite this, she didn’t miss the fact that the five humans present weren’t human at all. They used some kind of magic to disguise themselves. Much stronger than the one she had seen on Devin Decart, the bartender she had met in their first days back on earth.

The moment Vuthe met the eyes of the two demi-humans, both of them trembled and went pale.

„How curious…”, Vuthe said, looking curiously at the two demi-humans.

„Your Majesty”, the male one said, both lowering their heads respectfully.

To Vuthe it was obvious that they felt something in her aura, the question now was what it was. Over the years her aura had been tainted by different things. First was her bloodline, the aura of a trueblooded Shadow Dragon, which manifested itself in the feel of utter dominance and, to her displeasure, pure evil.

The second was her role as a Queen, the feeling of protection and salvation that permeated her entire being.

And lastly was the one thing she didn’t want to think about. She had long since done everything in her power to keep this particular fact a secret. Her role as a goddess herself.

Ever since she had been worshipped as a goddess, her aura had the taint of the divine. Many beings would be happy, but for her it felt like a curse.

The other members of the assembly looked between Vuthe and the two demi-humans. All but one who Vuthe sensed to be a priest, if a godless one. Those were way more prominent than people would believe.

Looking at each member in turn Vuthe sat where she stood, a black throne appearing under her, with both Tizanta and Calagrophy taking a position behind it.

„I am Shade Dragon Vuthe de Thal, Dragon Queen of Thelvadore. It is a genuine pleasure to meet you all”, she said, giving the priest a friendly smile, „You included, priest.”

He was about to say something when she raised her hand to signal silence, „I have no doubt of your faith. In fact I can feel it strong enough to burn me. Few have such dedication. You should be honoured by your unyielding faith.”

Despite his attempts the man looked smug.

If he could read her thoughts he would not be that pleased however. Vuthe, and anyone on her Council for that matter, had a difficult relationship with divinity as a whole, and a few gods in particular. But for the moment, she didn’t need to crush his dreams. She would do that soon enough, even if she didn’t really want to be involved in such matters.

„Now then. I have been invited here to take custody of the prisoner, as well as to fulfil the first part of my bargain.”, she said and looked around.

The disguised drakan spoke first. „Yes, well. About the prisoner…”, he trailed off as the full weight of Vuthe’s aura came down on him like a hammer and he went stiff and deathly pale.

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„What about him? You did agree to the contract, didn’t you? My patience is already running dry, so I hope you produce him promptly.”, she said in an icy tone that seemed to lower the room temperature.

„O-Of C-Course, Y-Your Maj-Majesty”, the drakan said, frantically waving for his aide to do something.

A few minutes later a man was led into the room, shackled on neck, arms, and feet. Vuthe recognised him immediately.

„Ah. Ralos de Vector. Third noble house of Lufin. I should have known that a cockroach like you was the one who survived.” Vuthe’s tone was still ice cold, her gaze levelled on him in a disinterested expression.

The man was about to speak when she raised a hand once more and he was clad in shadows, revealing heavy chains, gags, and suppressive magic. „I have not come here to hear you whine, you filthy pig. I have come here to collect you. So shut up and follow Calagrophy. I’m already sorry she even has to touch you.”

Her voice was venom, and despite her best attempts the other assembly members could feel her hatred as a faint echo in her aura. And it unnerved them. Paul Schürfer in specific, as he had just come under the full effects of her domineering aura.

Calagrophy led the man through a portal conjured up by Tizanta and it closed behind them.

That topic being dealt with, Vuthe turned back to the group, much more happy and friendly now, although Tika and Gerald were still able to feel the echoes of rage beneath the pleasant facade. „Wonderful. Since this is done with, I assume you have some questions, as well as some arrangements for me.”

The priest was the first to catch himself. „Yes, we have questions. For example, who do you think you are that allows you to spout such blasphemy?! Multiple gods?! You must have gone mad! There is only one true god!”

Vuthe looked at him, impassively. She knew of course that this discussion would come, but honestly she had hoped it would still be a while. Alas, it was not to be. Not that it had been the first time in the previous weeks that her hopes had been crushed.

After a moment of silence she spoke, „Well. That is straight forward. And also completely wrong.”, she said, giving him a stern look. „Priest, earlier I commended your unyielding faith. But recognise that I haven’t put a name on it. You worship a false god. It's not bad, don’t get me wrong, it's one of the reasons magic is rising on earth. But ultimately, you are the least qualified to make any assumptions about gods.”

„Heretics always think themselves right and superior!”, the priest barked.

„Yes. Which is why you insist on worshipping a god that doesn’t exist, while I don’t claim any such things. I have met gods. Multiples of them. There is my draconic mother, for one. She’s a local goddess of Shadows on Satien. But I also met others, less nice. Tercalus, the Sword of Vengeance, for example. A human with a superiority complex. Adhara, the Arsonist. A woman who thought any non-elves should burn in fire for the crime of existing. Lateen, the Fey Queen of Nightmares, who was of the opinion that anyone who didn’t worship her should be damned to eternal suffering.”, she gave the man a cold look that seemed to burrow deep inside his soul.

„But we, myself and my friends, also met some of the Celestials. The true gods. Others may claim the rank, but there are those that were created gods. One of which just so happens to be my draconic grandfather, Ga’zeith de Thal, True God of Shadows. Calagrophy de Thal is a distant descendant of Sha’gath de Thal, Ga’zeith sister known as the True Goddess of Light. And all of us had a personal run in with Altis, or True God of Death if you prefer.”, she said, her disdain quite obvious in her gaze, squashing the aura of everyone present with hers, for once glad about the divine taint in her aura.

„You should feel my experience with the divine. Do not talk about gods before me, child. I do not mind those who worship others, but those that claim false divine right are the ones I helped expunge. So I would be very careful about how you treat me, my friends, and our experience and knowledge.”

That produced a loud silence. Eventually Paul Schürfer spoke, „Your Majesty. Since our end of the bargain is fulfilled, and you already started with fulfilling yours, what are the details you would like to discuss?”

„That is a good question, Paul.”, she said with a hungry smile.

Perspective: Paul Schürfer

Paul had no idea what they had gotten themselves into, but if it was up to him he would be very far away. Not only had she shattered his confidence with not much more than a look, similar to the Loltharim siblings, no, he had sensed her genuine experience with gods. Gods. The fact he felt it was the only reason he even believed her words!

The church had been preaching for all of human history of course, but to feel someone’s experience on the matter just by their looks alone was truly devastating. He didn’t want to admit it, but he was genuinely concerned about his afterlife after that revelation.

He had never been a good person per se, but right now he was going through all his deeds, trying to find out if he was eligible for hell.

Not to speak of the utter failure of negotiation on his part. After the assembly so quickly agreed after the Loltharim siblings show of power, he wanted to get some other concessions out of her. But it was all for naught, as her pure will alone was able to crush his with almost physical force. And now they had this dilemma.

The rest of the day was filled with long discussions usually dominated by the Mad Queen. After her first admonishment the Priest was all but mute. Not that Paul blamed the poor man.

If Paul was honest to himself, it had been a disaster. They had been entirely blindsided, mostly thanks to the Loltharim siblings, and now they had to fight for the scraps. The Mad Queen had said she would train some of her people, but ultimately it was the Paranormal Council's people. With both Tika and Gerald Loltharim part of the group.

Paul had witnessed a lot of political blowbacks, but today was huge. And no matter how much he tried to convince himself otherwise, It burned to have his pride ruined like that. He was a drakan. The strongest of all demi-humans!

He realised that his enemy was a true dragon. But for some reason his mind didn’t want to accept it. It was as if a small part of him desperately tried to deny her inherent superiority.

And for that reason he started planning, trying to find a way to salvage this situation to win back his pride and his superiority.

This self-proclaimed Queen would pay for trying to cross him. He just had to tread very carefully to fulfil his plans.