Dragon Aster Trilogy

15: COUNCIL



Kas had hoped to start and finish the council meeting early that morning, before Sybl could find something to make the mess before him worse. As his opposite, he reasoned that while he tried to save the Sanctus, she would find a way to bring it all down. His ability to see glimpses into the future had all but stopped as well, further adding to his uncertainty.

“Master Kas?”

Kas snapped out of his train of thought and looked at his mentor. “Have you not met her yet, Jru?”

“Not yet.” The dark-skinned Armsman shifted in his seat.

“It is strange that everyone seems so terrified of her,” Kas added.

“I think they’re more scared of you,” Helios, a red-haired phelan added. Others nodded in agreement.

“Only her enemies should be scared of Sybl,” Loki spoke from the side of the table he had been invited to.

“And how fortunate we are to have a son of Crystal at our table. It seems ages ago that your older brother sat at this very table with us discussing peace. What an eccentrically beautiful daoran your mother was,” Helios said. “Would you be the next in line for the throne of Toria?”

“It is still being debated by the Elders.” Loki didn’t add that the Elders likely only had the Line of Solar left alive to discuss anything. He didn’t need to, as Kas had already anticipated such, and spread it by psi to all present in the room.

“You mean killed over,” another Council member added.

Loki didn’t answer.

“No doubt the Caelestis would be a worthy prize to help lift one’s status quo to such?” Kas added. The dragoon was using a great deal of his energy to disguise his scent, but it wasn’t perfect. With so much on Kas’ hands now, the last thing he needed was to worry about who his sister would pick as her Bond, as his Mei to her was still disintegrating.

“I already made it clear to you that I don’t have a problem with listening to her wishes,” Loki replied, growing more agitated by being outnumbered by former enemies. “We seem to all be followers of Aragmoth, and as such, the reincarnation of his right hand comes first to commanding any of us.”

Kas shifted in his seat. He did not anticipate Loki giving him a worthy challenge in a discussion. He was underestimating the creative expanse of mind he had seemingly inherited from Crystal.

“You should all be very fearful,” Xirel added, from where he sat at the other side of the table, “for it seems that only your somns are aware of just how much power that child has within her. Unleashed, she is a walking bomb of an Aur.”

Kas looked at Xirel, questioning the timing to his arrival when communications between the Sanctus and the Efereal Mountains had been cut off for weeks. Apparently all their messengers had never reached the mountains, as well as the one Xirel had sent to the Sanctus. No one knew just what happened to them. “What are you suggesting, Master Xirel?”

“You have seen the inner depths of Aragmoth’s being, as I have, Master Kas. The Aeger is expanding, and by further suppressing her memories, you may have doomed us all.”

“Might I talk with you alone?” Kas asked, as the Council began to rise in whispers of suspicion.

Xirel agreed, and the two of them left the Council Room for the hallway.

“Do continue,” Kas said, setting his hands on the banister as he looked to the Shrine below. Further adding to his stress, he found Sybl alone with Hain.

“The Caelestis is not a single entity capable of saving us all. We all play a part in helping her, whether by sword, or faith, or simply to remind her that we all believe in the hope of peace. But Damek knows that her upbringing on Earth has made her mind unstable, and will no doubt capitalize on that as he has tried already.”

“You saw Damek?”

“Damek’s soul is very much in the realm of death, deep within Aragmoth. He needs her to free himself, as the Great Dragon still has enough strength to hold him. His power is expanding rapidly. Damek will find a way to escape, either by your soultwin or by another means.”

“What do you suggest?”

Xirel looked to the Shrine below, as Hain and Sybl walked elsewhere with their conversation. “There is a reason she was returned to us as a human, and yet all we have done is shunned her humanity instead of determine the reason why. The history between the Feharin Army and the chimera is one filled with bloodshed and loss. Bloodshed that could have been avoided with understanding. While I am hopeful that she can move on from her past feelings and accept my kind, I jump to no conclusions.”

“Sybl has come to accept much, and faster than even I have.”

“I hope for the sake of our continued peace talks that you are right.” Xirel gave a short bow that sent his long, silver hair over his shoulder, before turning his purple eyes down the hall and leaving Kas.

Kas looked back to the Council Room, knowing that he couldn’t just leave to go after Hain. He would strangle the Awl for making it look like he was allowing his sister to freely consort with mercenaries. But he would have to do so later.