—Council—

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Iian sat down on the sofa, and with an exasperated sigh, she closed her eyes. When she opened them, she felt welcomed by the aesthetics over the turquoise walls in the waiting room. High arch windows with marble outlines complimented her gown's colour. She rubbed her eyes and yawned. Maybe without fatigue, she would have blended better with the room.

She considered the verbal war in the council over her stack of papers. The throbbing pain in her lower back became profound and how she hated that chair! She clenched her teeth as another episode of aches rushed to her waist.

Finally, the pain subsided and her attention shifted to the stack where she had nearly ripped a page or two. And what could she even do? The meeting broke the backs of the numerous officials working behind the scenes in the meeting. She was just one of them.

It became the most uneventful day in her two millennia of existence.

Who could she blame for the surge of work in an off season? Surely not the leaders of the Nine Realms, for it was one of the most significant days in Dragonix's history that all the leaders graced them with their presence.

Who could she blame, if not Ignia, who left no stone unturned to prove that she had trespassed his house? Her father defended her, claiming her intention was to surprise him with a new skill. A heated childish bickering had ensued between them. Thankfully, the Timberellean queen, Evelyn, intervened and advised them to keep their personal businesses out of the council.

Iian grasped her jaw. “Well, Father saved me today, or I would have been in jail by now.”

Then, Ignia pledged his loyalty to the Rebellion Frontier and Nyctoph king, King Rael Ozmer, welcomed him with open arms. Thus, the Trailblazer Realm chose the path of rebellion. The scale of power tilted towards the Rebellion Frontier. The Rebellion Frontier and Throne Frontier stood at four and five, respectively. One against Throne, the other with it.

"Now it seems the Throne Frontier has lost its overwhelming domination over the rebels." Iian murmured to herself, trying to understand her father's stand. "But father wasn't shocked with this development. So, did he expect it?"

“May I come in?”

Iian turned her head towards the door and found Mrs. Moon rapping her pale knuckles on the open door, waiting for her response.

Iian snapped back to reality and welcomed her. “Please.”

Mrs. Moon settled on the soft sofa and faced her troubled junior. “Look at the creases on your face. The day hasn’t gone smooth for none but the Rebels.”

Iian fidgeted for a while. “About Trailblazer… Will you be okay?”

“Well, Ignia shall replace me as the representative from Trailblazer in King Brar’s absence, which is inevitable. Brother-in-law is way too sick.” Mrs. Moon looked ahead with a little hope in her mind. “Not all of Trailblazer’s ministers have gone down the rebel path. I still have a few allies.”

“And what if that goes downhill?”

Mrs. Moon locked eyes with the younger maiden. Iian felt a shiver caress her spine. Her heart sped up as she felt disturbed by her own question. Something about Mrs. Moon’s demeanour reminded her of how her father would sometimes look at her. A distant, sombre expression, as if peeking into the future.

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“What?”, she said.

Mrs. Moon’s dark eyes curved upwards a little, so did her lips. “Trailblazer doesn’t house only dragons.”

Iian’s eyebrows went up in knots. What was Mrs. Moon aiming at?

“Don’t you find this interesting, Iian? At the top is Throne, the spirit of Dragonix; then the Emperor and the Great Aide. The Rulers of the Realms come next; and then each Realm has their own distinct species other than the dragons.”

Mrs. Moon smiled in genuine conviction. She immediately stood with her hand on her heart. She said, “We Dragons shall accept this responsibility to lead you to prosperity. We shall regard you in the dark days. All in the name of Dragonix, the…”

“…universe you named after us.” Iian completed the oath. “What about it?”

Mrs. Moon’s smile turned into a thin line. “Who do you think the ‘you’ refers to? The one who died is not just a dragon, but the Emperor. When anyone can become the Emperor by proving their merit, why are dragons the only ones kicking a fuss about Emperor Igneous’ death? There should be an uproar throughout the universe.”

Iian stared at the wall behind Mrs. Moon. She felt the mountain was too tall to climb.

“What I mean is that this is a civil war amongst the dragons of different realms, which is being addressed as a universal issue. But dragons are just a species. There are other non-dragons species. What will happen when those species will show their displeasure against the dragons for not ruling the realms well? It won’t be far when they rebel and the universe will be actually under fire.”

Mrs. Moon studied Iian’s face, and she drew her lips inwards. She didn’t like the topic any better than Iian. The room became awkward as Iian lacked words for an answer.

She framed the new information in her head and said, “I think I understood what you said. Supposing a species X and a species Y live in Trailblazer along with the Fire dragons. X and Y have their own territories and their rule in Trailblazer. But, on a universal level, the Fire Dragon King represents the Trailblazer Realm. So, the universe administration hinged on dragons’ survival. And a realm’s existence depends on how these species interact with each other.” Iian’s eyes widened as she dived deeper. “Doesn’t the current situation mean that the Dragons have become greedy?”

Mrs Moon observed Iian’s face as if she was formulating answers in her head. She patted Iian’s head affectionately. “Don’t worry, it’s not that bad yet! But dear, please don’t leave Ignia alone. Look at the bigger picture. While you both are on different frontiers, you are still his friend. You might change his mind. Perhaps what Ignia is experiencing is not a teenage rebellion.”

The bigger picture made Iian wonder what Mrs Moon meant by that. It was the first time she felt a major event unfolding in secrecy, which led to another question—Why wasn’t Mrs. Moon putting in the effort when she was his mother?

Iian nodded despite lacking clarity in the conversation. If not now, she would get to know. Right then, the only thing she knew was that Ignia had changed. He had always been hot-headed, and despised complicated stuff, but he was her only friend. And as a friend, it was her duty to bring back her friend from mania.

Mrs. Moon broke her trance a second time. “Anyway, do you know Dragneel Bloom?”

“Dragneel... Who?” Iian asked.

Mrs. Moon got surprised. “You don’t know her? I thought your father told you.”

“I don’t.” Iian answered. “What did he discuss with you?”

“About some heroine he plans to summon to deal with the Rebellion Frontier. He said she knew tricks to cure Ignia’s megalomania.”

Iian made a face. What was going on? Her father was pulling some strings, and she wasn’t aware of it. He promised to find a solution for Ignia’s rebellious phase, but why was someone being summoned from outside for it?

“Have a talk with your father. Who knows what he tells you?” Mrs. Moon patted her head, gathered her files and documents, and left the room.

Iian sat there and studied at the turquoise coloured walls once again. She pondered over the name for a while. Dragneel Bloom—she had never heard of her. It felt odd. If it would have only been the Rebellion Frontier, then it was considerable. But—where did Ignia fit in that equation?

Was her father hiding something? But then, Mrs Moon wouldn’t have told her anything. So, it was nothing confidential. Was Dragneel Bloom even someone from the universe? An outsider? A personal spy? Or undercover?

But one thing was for sure, if Dragneel Bloom was an outsider, then Iian would never let her meddle with Dragonix. She had to ask her father about Dragneel Bloom and who she was.