Lith stood up and gave Faluel a deep bow that she accepted with a graceful nod of her head.
"Then I hope that my next request doesn't come out as rude as it sounds to my own ears." She said with a sigh.
"What do you need?" Lith asked.
"Information. I have heard a lot about you from Scarlett and Protector, but you've never told me about yourself. As you know, I'm soon going to ask you to prove your wisdom. Wisdom is not intelligence, there is no clear-cut test for it.
"What's wise for some, others might consider it foolish. To give you a mission on which we think alike, I need to know you better. I want you to tell me about your life, your goals, your ideals, everything you think I should know about you." Faluel said.
"This might take a while." Lith sighed.
Faluel conjured two comfortable armchairs, hot tea, and plenty of pastries. The Hydra did all she could to put him at ease yet Lith needed two cups of tea before opening up to her.
***
Griffon Kingdom, Xedros the Wyvern's lair.
The First Wyvern lived on the top of the Golden Crown mountain, near the south border of the Kellar region. It was a peak so high that it was always surrounded by clouds that, whenever there was a storm, thunders would paint its glaciers a golden color, giving the mountain its name.
Xedros's cave was hidden by a thick cloud layer generated by one of the many protective arrays that the Beast Lord of the Region had set around his home, yet such trick couldn't hinder the foresight of the Eyes of Menadion.
Usually, the mana imbued within the mystical clouds would keep techniques like Life Vision from finding the entrance to the lair, but to Scarlett the Scorpicore's pince-nez the entirety of the underground cave system appeared as clear as the day even while she still looked at it from outside.
Xedros was much older than her and allegedly the best Light Master in the Griffon Kingdom. The Scorpicore had come to him looking for answers, yet what she saw raised even more questions.
'Even though Xedros is known to be more a trickster than a deceiver, I can't trust him. I'm not even a lesser Dragon so his greed might get the better of his sympathy.' Scarlett thought.
She took her Council amulet out of her dimensional item and informed several of her friends about her position. That way, if anything happened to Scarlett, her disappearance wouldn't go unnoticed.
She grinned at the sight of Xedros snarling in contempt while looking at her via his surveillance system, unaware that the Eyes of Menadion allowed her to do the same. Scarlett kept her Emperor Beast form that rivaled that of the Hydra in both physical might and aerial maneuverability.
"What do you want?" Xedros's voice held no warmth as he replied to the unexpected visitor knocking on his array.
"Nice to meet you too, Xedros. We need to talk about Council business." After a few seconds with no answer, she added:
"Are you going to open the door, or do you want me to call Feela?" Mentioning the name of the Behemoth leader of the beast Council struck more than one nerve.
Xedros considered himself a Dragon and as such, he held in contempt all other species of Emperor Beasts. Yet the ones he hated the most were those who came from a Guardian's bloodline as well.
The idea that a lesser Griffon had beaten him, taking the throne that was rightfully his, still haunted Xedros's dreams. The defeat had been both political and physical since after losing the election, Xedros had challenged her to a duel.
The Behemoth had pummelled him so long and so hard that only Tyris's punch dwarfed the memory of that pain. Just like Drakes lacked Origin Flames, Behemoths didn't inherit Tyris's Life Maelstrom, but they shared the full physical might of their parent.
The idea that both mother and daughter had easily bested him, had deeply hurt Xedros's pride, making him even doubt for an entire day that lesser Griffons were inferior to lesser Dragons.
After that, he had recovered from the sad hungover and swore to never drink again.
The array disappeared and the rocks blocking her way became ethereal as the Wyvern emitted a low growl in reply.
"What do you want, cat?" Xedros said while looking down on her from his golden throne placed on top of a mountain of gold coins.
Now that he had fully recovered from the wound that Tyris had inflicted him almost two years ago, the Wyvern didn't hesitate to showcase his riches and artifacts to belittle the unwanted guests.
If the creature stood on hind legs, Xedros would have been over five (16'5") meters tall, with his long neck taking a quarter of his height and ending into a long reptile snout as big as a barrel.
His tail was about 1.67 meters (5'6") long, ending with a thick bone spike that resembled the sting of a giant wasp. Two golden membranous wings extended from his forelegs, connecting his little fingers to his hips.
The wings were a few shades paler compared to the scales that covered Xedros's upper body and made the Wyvern shine like a masterfully cut gemstone under the mystical lights illuminating the cave.
The raw splendor of the Emperor Beast was further emphasized by the shining mass of wealth beneath him, making most of his visitor cower I fear at the sight of their host.
Unfortunately for Xedros, the Scorpicore wasn't one of them.
Scarlett was unfazed by his theatrics. Her eyes wandered along the room, allowing Menadion's Eyes to count the coins and appraise the artifacts.
'I really hope I'm the one nearest to his lair when this guy loses it and gets himself killed. I could renovate my labs with all the gold and platinum that he pointlessly hoards.' She thought.
"You are still as tacky as always, lizard." His insult rolled off Scarlett who wasn't ashamed of her upbringing as a common house cat whereas her words struck at the Wyvern's ego like a meteor.
"I'm not a lizard, I'm a Wyvern!" Xedros's roar made the cave tremble and several coins fell from the top of their piles, producing a jingle.
"Leegaain was a lizard and you are Leegaain's offspring, hence you're a lizard as much as I'm a cat." She replied.
"What do you want, cat?" Xedros couldn't argue her logic, only curse at the Father of All Dragons for being obnoxiously open about his origins.
"In case you haven't noticed, the beasts are now at war with the undead. I'm here because you never answered the Council's call and because since we're fellow Light Masters, I could use your advice." Scarlett said.
"I didn't answer because I'm not interested. There's nothing to gain from this war. On top of that, I've already my hands full with my beloved apprentice." Xedros's lips curled up in a cruel grin, making Scarlett shudder.
"What do you mean, you're not interested? They attacked one of your precious Wyrmlings and you gave Lith your word to help him." Scarlett said.
"I upheld my end of our bargain by supporting his plea to become part of our Council. It is him who betrayed me!" Xedros hissed with fury.
