All members of the Council had become too used to the Father of all Dragons' aloof attitude and treated him as a peer. Leegaain wasn't as overbearing as Salaark, nor passionate as Tyris, so many considered him an eccentric old man.
However, Leegaain wasn't old so much as ancient, and he was no man at all.
"I apologize on behalf of the undead faction and I give you my word that your daughter will suffer no harm from us until our next encounter." Inxialot said while taking a good look at his own shoes.
'I may be crazy, but I'm not stupid. I'm not going to put everything I worked hard for at stake for that dumb tree.' He thought. 'The Horsemen act cocky in front of the Guardians because their mommy has their backs, but for anyone else facing Leegaain without a rock-solid plan is plain suicide.'
After the vow, the undead were allowed to stand. One after the other the representatives of the different factions repeated Inxialot's oath, returning the room to normality.
"All Dragons come from the same bloodline, so I don't care about who sired you, you're my little brother." Xenagrosh said the moment she was certain that no one would interrupt her again.
"As for the array, it's a simple trick, but it requires both an omni pocket and an ability akin to Origin Flames. I would like to tell you more, but Dad might kill me if I reveal more in front of so many Forgemasters." The gold coin disappeared and what looked like a business card had taken its place.
One side had a communication rune engraved on it while the other was blank.
"If you ever find an omni pocket or you just need to talk, apply my rune on your amulet and your rune on the card."
The revelation that Menadion had managed to reproduce Leegaain's craft and the raw power Lith felt from Xenagrosh while she was protecting him shocked Lith. Yet he forced himself to focus on the newly acquired information.
'The Abomination told me even less than Xedros did a while ago, but her words weren't a riddle, and more importantly, I saw her using a pocket. I think…'
"Enough of your nonsense, Lotho. You already made us waste too much time." Raagu's words snapped Lith out of his reverie and earned her applause from Inxialot.
"This is a matter between only the beasts and the humans, yet its resolution can only be determined through the Council's ruling. We need to determine which one of us is better suited to nurture Verhen's talent."
"Indeed." Feela nodded. "The only things the Council respects are wisdom and power. You claim that Awakened Verhen has demonstrated poor judgment and that we failed at protecting the interests of our community.
"Yet what makes you think you can do a better job? Not only has he survived unspeakable horrors, but he has also already defeated the best disciples of some of the most powerful members of your faction.
"In battle, brawns without brains are useless. The fact itself that Verhen is alive proves you wrong. I can find someone who will teach him how to master Origin Flames, even forcing them if I have to. What can you humans do for him?"
Personal opinions and ideals had no place in the Awakened society. They were all too powerful and long-lived to let things like prejudice drive them on crusades to force their way of living onto others.
They firmly believed that power without wisdom was just violence while wisdom without power was just hot air. Both of them reached their true potential in the practice of magic on the battlefield.
Idiots who relied on raw power were doomed to fall for the simplest tricks and die, whereas sages with weak bodies would perish the moment something messed up with their plans.
"You know as well as I do that, unlike humans, beasts rely heavily on their physical abilities." Raagu said. "The body you're now using is just a suit for you, something to discard the moment things get out of hand, whereas humans have no choice but to fight with what they have.
"Just like you, Faluel needs her true form to demonstrate her full battle prowess and as you all saw, Lith is no beast. He's some kind of Wyrmling and his base is still human.
"My faction can offer him martial arts suitable for his body, spells that can allow him to exploit his small size against bigger opponents, and teach him all that allowed us to be a match for your kin.
"He was born a human and needs to reason like a human to survive. Aside from magic, you have nothing to teach him."
"That's a fair point, but I think it's not enough. Awakened Verhen has survived this far against opponents of all kinds and sizes. He's smart enough to learn such tricks on his own." Feela said.
Both Awakened rested their case and waited for the Council's resolution. They were both involved parties, so they couldn't take part in the vote.
"I doubt that any further debate will make either of you withdraw your claims, correct?" Leegaain asked, obtaining nods as replies.
"Then the solution is simple. The beasts claim that they are entitled to take care of Awakened Verhen because they nurtured his talent so far, while the humans claim beasts did a poor job and that they would do better.
"My proposal is to put to test the opening statements. To do that, we'll choose an opponent suitable for Awakened Verhen and have them fight in a controlled environment.
"If he triumphs, then the beasts are right in saying that, between his natural talents and their teachings, he will receive all the care he needs. If he fails, then the humans are right and will claim their prize. All in favor?" Leegaain raised his hand while looking around.
Lotho and Inxialot agreed to the proposal. The Treant trusted the Father of all Dragon's wisdom above all but the World Tree, whereas the Lich just wanted to go home.
"How did it go?" Lith asked while Feela and Raagu joined the rest of the Council to define the details of the task.
"Pretty good." Faluel returned Solus's ring to him. "By revealing your hybrid nature in front of the Council, you have achieved much with no risks. You've given the beasts a reason to watch over you.
"You are not just a human I'm taking as an apprentice on a whim anymore, you're one of us. On top of that, the beasts will do their best to protect their monopoly over Origin Flames. As for the humans, they now see you not only as a suitable heir for one of their legacies, but also as a valuable asset.
"If you learn the secrets of the Origin Flames, the ability to purify metals is precious by itself, but since you're also a Forgemaster, you have the potential to become a Ruler of the Flames.
"Awakened don't care about what race they belong, they are only interested in having someone on their side that will increase the gap between true and fake mages. They wouldn't seek help from the Abomination that once was the 4th Ruler otherwise.
"Last, but not least, you no longer need to hide in the Awakened society. Even if someone were to discover your secret, now they can't blackmail you." Faluel was clearly hinting at Xedros the Wyvern, of which she was becoming suspicious.
