"What do you mean, Lithās tribulations affect Solus as well?" Faluel asked.
"Itās still a baseless theory so I donāt want to get your hopes up. Besides, to share it with you, I would be forced to violate his privacy and reveal some of the secrets Lith keeps for himself." Leegaain said.
"Then I donāt want to know." Faluelās curiosity was strong, but not enough to betray her disciplesā trust. "Are you going straight back home or will you stay for tea?"
"Neither. Weāre going to the Flying Griffon resort and get my blood samples. I swear that if I receive another damn cigar or a blue ribbon, Iāll wage a war so bloody that the undead will be forced to migrate again!"
"Iām sorry, but I canāt leave Lutia." Faluel shook her head. "I promised Lith to protect the village and Iām not letting him down again."
"Nonsense! No one of his family is here at the moment so thereās no one to protect. On the contrary, if you follow me to the Flying Griffon, you will be able to keep an eye on Elina, Raaz, and Rena while also enjoying a nice vacation. My treat."
Leegaain needed Faluel to introduce him, or he would never be able to approach Lithās parents without the Queenās Corps busting his scaly a.s.s into jail, let alone ask them a sample of their blood.
He could easily fend the security detail off and take what he wanted by force, but that would mean angering Lith again and possibly triggering Tyris even more. She was already pissed off with Leegaain and attacking her people on her own turf would have made Fenagarās transgression look like a joke between friends.
"Iām sorry but no. Selia is still here with my goddaughter Fenrir and I wonāt risk their lives nor the safety of Lutia for your sake. Everything Lithās parents have is here. If the village is reduced to a crater, all of my disciples and their families will suffer."
"Very well, Iāll provide you with an excellent stand-in to ease your worries." Leegaain sighed while activating his mind link. "I never took you for such a mother hen. You Hydras have taken too much from my side of the family."
"Iāll take that as a compliment." Faluel said with a thankful nod of the head.
"What are you doing on Tyrisās turf, old lizard? I hope you two are not having fun without me." Salaark looked away from the mountain of paperwork in front of her and turned towards the Kingdom, where the link pinpointed Leegaain.
It was still dawn in the Desert and she usually spent the time until noon dealing with her duties of Overlord, yet Salaark would gladly postpone them for a Guardian party.
"We wouldnāt dare. Iām just working to get rid of those rumors about Lith being a Dragon. I need someone to keep an eye on Lutia while my granddaughter is away or she wonāt leave her lair. Without her help, Iāve got no chance of success." He replied.
"You have hundreds of powerful children and most of them love you. Why do you need mine?"
"Because Iām trying to clear the rumors, not to confirm them. If a few Dragons start to keep Lithās family safe, not even Blood Resonance will ever convince the Council that we are not related." Leegaain said.
"True, but whatās in it for me?" She said, hoping to get something juicy in return.
"I donāt know, maybe I could give you the information about that lost temple you asked me about instead of it casually getting lost in the mail. Or maybe, if you donāt help me, the next time you ask me to create a spell for you, I might put your request on the bottom of my to-do list by mistake." Leegaain snarled.
Even for a Guardian, a day would still have only 24 hours. Salaark spent his mornings nurturing her people, the afternoons researching Forgemastering techniques and practicing martial arts, and the nights by hanging out with her friends, her offspring, or her lovers.
Seeing her empire thrive, providing talented people with the knowledge and equipment they needed while also never losing touch with those she loved, were all priceless things for Salaark.
For everything else, there was Leegaain.
The Father of all Dragons only needed to be pointed in the direction of an interesting line of research to disappear for days in his lab until he got the answer. He had become the Lord of Wisdom thanks to his shut-in nature, just like Salaark was the Lord of War because of the amount of time she had spent in actual fights.
Guardians had a symbiotic relationship that allowed them to take care of everything in the time they had. Leegaain was the to-go guy when you needed knowledge just like Salaark was in charge of major ass-kicking.
"Fine, Iāll send one of the members of my nest, but if this starts new rumors that claim Iām the mother, then youāll have to explain to Tyris why I snatched Lith for my Desert." Salaark said with an opportunistic smirk on her face that sent shivers down Leegaainās spine.
Yet she already knew she had no blood relationship with Lith. No one of her children had ever given up on their Phoenix nature and his parents were normal humans.
A few minutes after the call ended, someone knocked on Faluelās door.
"Sorry Iām late but moving without a Warp makes everything slow." The man in front of Faluel looked to be in his early thirties, about 1.9 meters (6ā3") tall, with black hair and a short beard.
He had emerald green eyes and the light bronze skin typical of the Blood Desert. He wore an ample white robe, a red mantle, and a small white turban with a Phoenix-shaped ruby in the middle.
On top of that, ever since his arrival, the sun seemed to have gotten hotter while the shadows of the woods seemed to have grown colder.
"Who are you supposed to be?" She asked.
"It seems Iāve left my manners home in a rush. My name is Crevan Gershal, at your service." He gave her a deep bow, putting her status of Lord of the region and host above seniority.
"Sorry, Grampa. I canāt leave like this. Heās good, but not good enough." Faluel shook her head.
"I beg your pardon?" Crevan felt insulted by those words. "Iām a full-fledged member of the nest. It means that Iāve got a bright violet core, more than one thousand years of battle experience, and equipment forged by my mother. How can I not be good enough?"
"Can you take a Horseman on your own?"
"Of course I can. I-"
"While protecting an entire village, its people, and my apprenticesā families? If Night comes back with another army, how do you stop them all at the same time?" Faluel cut him short.