Xoth didn't understand the rush nor why Lith had suddenly become so rude, but it wasn't in the Emperor Beasts' nature to pry into others' personal business. The mayor of Reghia arranged their return home with the Council for that very afternoon.
Fenagar didn't like the idea of seeing Tyris again so soon, but he was too afraid that delaying would fuel her anger even more to deny Xoth's request.
The long-distance Gate opened between the same two spots of Lith's group arrival. The entry point at Aren Dolm's house and the exit at Faluel's lair.
"You cost me a lot of money." Leegaain said with a snigger while looking at the Leviathan. "My money was on one hour and you lost after barely one minute. Maybe you should work out a bit and get in shape."
Salaark had made huge profits out of the bet since Guardians used only the finest magical resources as wagers for their games.
Fenagar knew that no Guardian would ever let him hear the end of it. Being defeated was one thing, being crushed to the point of relying on mercy another. He took Leegaain's words to heart and didn't reply.
This time there was no quarreling nor jokes. Tyris looked calm, but her eyes still burned with fury as they moved from the Leviathan to her precious children. In another time, he would have mocked her for it.
Now, however, he knew better.
"I hope to never see you again." Fenagar said once Lith had crossed over. "You bring nothing but trouble and you can't get rid of the death that follows you more than you can sever the link with your shadow."
The Gate closed and finally, everyone felt home again. The familiar smell of the air and the density of the world energy around them were different from those they had got used to in Reghia.
They all took deep breaths, feeling their body and spirit rejuvenated from the contact with their motherland.
"Welcome back." Faluel greeted them the moment Leegaain reverted to his humanoid appearance, leaving her line of sight free.
Her warm smiled died when she noticed how glum everyone was. She expected that their status of heroes would fill her apprentices with confidence, yet if she didn't know any better, Faluel would have thought they had suffered a huge loss.
"Not so fast, Fanny." Leegaain stepped in as soon as Tyris's eyes went back to normal. Unlike Fenagar, he didn't like to push his luck. "The pins, please. I want them back."
"Did you know?" Lith asked while handing him both Solus's and his own pin.
"I may live in another country or even in a different continent, child, but there's little anyone can keep from me, once I have a mind to know it." Leegaain replied with a cold smile.
'He knows both about Solus and my world tribulations.' Lith thought.
'Either Faluel helped him or we both danced on the palm of his hand. Judging from the tension in the room, we might not be Leegaain's only pawns.' Lith thought while looking at Tyris's warm gaze turning back into cold steel at those words.
If glares could kill, Mogar would have lost not one but two Guardians on the same day.
"What are you talking about, Grampa?" Faluel said with a puzzled look on her face.
There were actually several Great- between the Hydra and the Father of all Dragons, so many that they had to be omitted for brevity's sake.
"Indeed. What are you talking about, old lizard?" Tyris's body surged with so much power that her bones popped and her flesh creaked in the attempt to accommodate it into such a delicate frame.
"You and your disciples have a lot to talk about and I've already overstayed my welcome." Leegaain said while collecting the two remaining pins in a hurry.
'F.u.c.k me and my huge mouth. Tyris's anger kept her from making two and two together and I had to play evil overlord right in her face. I'm the dumbest genius alive.' He thought while warping back to the safety of one of his secret hideouts and activating all of its defense measures, just to be safe.
"I know that you are tired and that you have a lot to catch up to do with your loved ones, but we need to talk." With Leegaain gone, Tyris turned back to her usual self.
She wore the ancient clothes belonging to her time as the Queen and looked like a woman in her mid-twenties, 1.76 (5'9") meters tall. Tyris's golden hair was down and so long that it reached her heels, emphasizing the silver crown resting on her head.
Her silver eyes sparkled like stars at the faintest of lights, filled with so much warmth and love that most of those who met her would lose themselves into them.
Yet no one in the room was in the mood to ask her out or to propose to Tyris. At the same time, however, the cloud in their hearts didn't veil their eyes as well so they didn't miss her peculiar attire.
"I mean no disrespect, Your Majesty, but I'm really cranky right now." Lith tried to sidestep her but she moved along with him.
"I'll keep this short, then." Tyris nodded.
"Kogaluga is no more. The rift has closed and life will slowly return. Such an event can't and will not go unnoticed for long. I plan to give you all credit for it so don't be surprised when you receive an invitation from the Royal Palace."
She gave them a small bow before turning around and opening a Warp Steps to respect their wish for privacy.
"Wait, that's too short even for my grumpy standards." Lith was flabbergasted. "Are you really going to tell everyone how we traveled to another continent, met a lost race, and destroyed an underwater city?"
"Gods, no." Tyris chuckled at the madness of such an idea.
"My plan is to make up something about you not giving up on the Kellar region even after your honorable discharge and disposing of the living legacy that generated the rift with the help of your companions."
"Don't worry about the details, you'll read about it on the interlink, like everyone else. I promise to make you all look good in it." Tyris referred to the information network available to anyone with a communication amulet and a high enough clearance level.
"Why are you going to such lengths for us?" Phloria asked. "Wouldn't it be better for the Crown to give credit to the Ranger in charge or to one of the Royal Departments in charge of the lost cities?"
"Indeed, it would. I expect Meron and Sylpha nagging at me quite a bit, but I trust them to understand the bigger picture." Tyris nodded. "Doing as you propose would strengthen the position of the Crown and show how well spent the tax money are.
"Yet what would it change?" She took a long pause, to give everyone the time to think.
"Nothing. The Crown already has all the power it needs and if the Royal Departments hog such an underserved glory, they will drain even more money and produce even fewer results than they already do.
"To bring change, what the Kingdom needs are heroes. People to look up to that can inspire others."
