"I need you because I'm lost. There are countless places and jobs on Mogar, yet not a single one where I fit. I want to find my place in this world, but I feel like I've hit a wall that I can't overcome alone.
"I'm one of the few Dimensional Mages of the Kingdom." Friya performed her Dimensional Ruler spell and showed Faluel its prowess.
"I'm willing to take my sister's same oath, teach you every one of my secrets and share with you what I'll discover in the future. I'm even willing to become your Harbinger." Her offer made Faluel's stone face crumble and her eyes open wide.
While Quylla had practiced her Light Mastery non-stop during the last few days to impress the Hydra, Friya had studied everything about Dragons and lesser Dragons the Ernas library had to offer.
'Once again, I'm the Vastor of our group. To not be left behind, I can't let pride burden me. I must risk it all.' She thought.
"Your offer is quite alluring. No one ever offered to become the Harbinger of a lesser Dragon. Having one would make me the first of my kind and an object of envy of my peers, but do you realize the implications of your offer, child?" Faluel said.
The children of the Guardians had many unique abilities that other Emperor Beasts didn't possess. They would live over one thousand years even without Awakening, they possessed incredibly powerful bodies, and their mana core would never stop developing over time.
Yet long lives were also bound to be filled with loneliness and betrayal. Those weaker than them would covet their power while those stronger would live in fear that once a Guardian's child achieved Awakening, they would be unstoppable.
Dragons, Phoenixes, Griffons, and even their lesser cousins, could bestow part of their essence to a member of any other race that didn't share Guardian's blood and turn them in their Harbinger.
This way, the Guardian's children could secure their lover, obtain a lifelong friend, or simply an emissary in the outside world to deal with their business and properties without ever being forced to leave the safety of their homes.
It was a master-servant relationship that could be broken only with the death of either of them and it had several implications.
The Harbinger would be granted a lifespan similar to that of their master, their body enhanced by the Guardian's blood, and they would obtain knowledge and equipment in exchange for their lifelong servitude.
The bond created by the ritual was so strong that they could always find each other and open a mind link, no matter the distance. All of this, however, came at a price.
The Harbinger could never disobey their master because their bodies wouldn't be completely their own anymore and if angered, the master could seal the Harbinger's mana core as long as they wanted.
In the case the master died, the Harbinger would immediately follow whereas a Harbinger's death would only cause temporary pain to their master. On top of that, because of the physical and spiritual bond they shared, the Emperor Beast could read the mind of their Harbinger at will.
A Harbinger couldn't keep any secret from their master and the moment doubt or treachery seeped their mind they would be immediately killed.
On the other hand, their bond wasn't a slave ring. The Harbinger couldn't disobey a direct order, but could work around them and find loopholes to make a mission fail or information leak.
To make matters worse for the master, they could only have a single Harbinger at a time.
More would weaken them and permanently reduce their prowess. Also, in case the Harbinger died of violent death, their master would experience the same anguish through their bond, receiving a backlash that could take months to recover.
A disgruntled Harbinger could kill themselves when their master was engaged in battle to ensure their defeat, just like enemies could keep them prisoners and exploit the weakness the Guardian's child had created at will.
Due to the powerful bond the ritual created, very few creatures sought to be a Harbinger, and only a handful of them succeeded.
Moreover, the benefits one would gain from a lesser species couldn't compare with those from the pure bloodline of a Guardian.
Friya's pledge was akin to becoming the loyal servant of a second-rate kingdom until the moment of her death, giving the Hydra the right to decide about both her love and social life.
Becoming a Harbinger meant losing her privacy and part of her free will.
"I do." Friya replied. "I'm already 21 years old, yet I never had a significant other, only flings and shallow relationships. I'm not going to inherit the Ernas Household, so there are no blood ties to stop me.
"I've got no dreams nor purpose in life. While my siblings followed their ambitions, I just stumbled around while looking for a place to call my own. Now I discovered that my best friend is some kind of demon dragon, my sister Phloria will follow him for at least one hundred years, and my sister Quylla is so amazing that she impressed you.
"I'm tired of being powerless every time dimensional magic gets sealed. Tired of being left behind by my friends. Without them, I amount to nothing. Please, allow me to follow them on their journey. At this point, I don't care about being relegated to a secondary role anymore." Friya kneeled in front of Faluel.
"21 years? You're barely a child and your words sound more born out of desperation rather than resolution." Faluel replied. "Being my Harbinger is far from a 'secondary role' as you call it, which further shows how lacking you are for the position.
"Maybe today you're sure of your choice but what about tomorrow? If I accept, you would have a long future ahead and I can't risk you losing your motivation the moment you break up with your friends or realize that you don't like being a Harbinger."
"It's a no, then." Friya slouched her shoulders, avoiding the gazes of her sisters and Lith.
They had listened many times to her rants about being the Vastor of the group and wanting to be the best at something, but they had never expected Friya to be so miserable about her life.
She always avoided drowning in self-pity, but those last few days had been terrible for her. Seeing Lith wipe out two armies, Baba Yaga having traveled Mogar for Phloria, and the destruction of the Crystal Shield guild had broken her spirit.
All the time and effort Friya had invested in her guild was gone. Half of its members were dead and the survivors were currently under investigation because suspected of having deserted during the assault.
Even if Lith came forward to clean their name and explained why so many of them had survived while all the others had died, the Crystal Shield guild was done for. The stigma of cowardice would haunt them for a long time if not forever, and Friya didn't have the strength to start over from scratch.
She would have to rebuild the guild's reputation, hire new members to replace the fallen and train them after making sure they were trustworthy. Everything she had built during the last few years had crumbled and all her sacrifices had gone to waste.
Phloria was in her same boat, but at least she had something to look forward to.
