Mega Dragon: Harbinger of Death

The Meeting

An urgent meeting was adjourned within the palace walls the next morning. The King, together with Jerome, Ara, Zenon, Alex, Vela, and two other individuals sat at the meeting table. The air was a little stiff to breathe for most people because of the king’s intimidating aura, but the individuals seated at that table were more than capable of handling it. The topic of discussion? – the intruders and the strange old man.

Surprisingly, neither Ara nor Zenon spoke about the events of the previous day. It was as though it never occurred. It was all pretty strange to them, so they decided to ignore it. Alex looked the grumpiest of all those seated. He was irked by the presence of Zenon in a meeting that was specifically for the Croft kingdom’s elites. But he was even more disturbed by Vela’s presence. Why would an individual that was not of noble birth be permitted to sit at their table? She was merely standing in for the grand healer who was on a mission at that moment. He let his displeasure for all to see. He was never the type to take the more subtle approach.

“With all due respect your highness, I see no reason for these two being present,” he said. Everyone knew who he was referring to without him mentioning names.

“And what would the reason be?” Ara spoke on behalf of the king. He was fond of that. The king was never quick to respond. He was usually very careful with his words. Ara often used that window to answer on his behalf and the king never seemed to mind. To him, Ara had as much say in any matter as he did. The only difference was that he happened to be sitting on the throne. He had suggested that Ara took it up several times but he had rejected it vehemently. Regardless of what Ara would give as an excuse or a reason as he would say, king Croft knew that he did it purely out of respect for him. And as such, he was sure to reciprocate that respect.

This situation, however, was very unpleasant for Alex. As the head of the Renoff clan and the Master of the Renoff Manor, he was one of the most powerful people in the kingdom. But no matter what he did, he would always be beneath Ara. The same Ara that continued to taint the sanctity of the Croft nobility by inviting people that Alex would never approve of. Keeping a good relationship with the Lo kingdom was good, but there had to be limits. No matter the alliance formed, Croft kingdom and Lo kingdom would always be two different kingdoms. And if push came to shove, Zenon would pick his kingdom over theirs in a heartbeat. That being said, Alex deemed it unwise to let him in on the secrets of the kingdom. Who knew when he would decide to exploit them with those secrets?

As for Vela, it was a totally different situation. To most, she rose quickly on the hierarchy of healers simply because she was Ara’s friend. But few knew how untrue that was. Certainly, she was noticed a lot more because of her relationship with Ara, but her ascension was purely due to her talent. And Alex would never admit that a non-Renoff was a better healer than a Renoff. It irked him so much that the top positions in the Healers Nest were now occupied by non-Renoffs so much that he boycotted them altogether. The first prompt was the grand healer. She was of nobility but not a Renoff. Even as it was clear that both Miya and Gero had surpassed her, neither of them was given the title of the grand healer. Even Alex believed that he had surpassed the grand healer himself. But who was he to blame? The King? That would be the most sensible option, only that it was not. Nothing would be achieved by antagonizing the king. He was the singular most powerful individual in Croft kingdom, and one of the most influential kings on all of Maori. To seek his displeasure would be unwise. So who did he turn his attention and blame to? – the non-Renoffs of course. It was so much easier hating them and he spared no effort doing so.

And that brings up the bigger problem – they are both Ara’s closest friends. Which means many things would fly as long as he was involved. And now, in front of Croft’s most prominent individuals, he sought to make a fool of him on behalf of those unworthy individuals. He bit his lip as he cursed deep within his mind. He dared not utter a word of disrespect to the prince, especially not in the presence of the king. The king’s respect was with Gero and Miya and not him. Alex was well aware of that.

“Mind I remind you that this meeting is for Croft officials, that of which prince Zenon here is not. And Vela---”

“Is a lot more useful than you are now,” Ara snapped.

This, however, his father did not approve. “Ara!” the king scolded.

“My apologies father. I let my emotions get the better of me,” he said and the king nodded for him to proceed.

“Croft and Lo kingdom are basically one. I have a seat on their council as much as Zenon has a seat here. As for Vela, we all know she is here on behalf of the grand healer. And more importantly, she is involved in this investigation,” Ara added. After a few seconds of silence, he continued. “If there is nothing else then, may we proceed Jerome?”

“Certainly,” Jerome responded.

Alex cursed under his breath. The sad part was that there was nothing he could do. Ara had more power than him in every aspect – influence and physical prowess. There was no revenge that did not see him turn a traitor. And even that would guarantee nothing. That was why when the man Adamas approached him with a plan that would aid his goals, he accepted it in a heartbeat.

“The intruders that day were quite peculiar. One was a very skilled sorcerer and the other was a skilled swordsman. Of course, neither of them would be a match for Zenon nor Ara but they came prepared. That sorcerer was in the Laboratorium while I was there and masked himself in a spell that even I couldn’t detect. There also tried to outplay Ara and Zenon but failed. We could not question them because they both died on the spot, but it was not all for naught. Vela brought to my notice that the aura that the sorcerer possessed was similar to a Lykan within the Laboratorium. A Lykan that bit Ara,” Jerome said.

“That’s impossible!” one of the two men cried. “No beast would dare attack Ara. Not even a wyvern!”

And that had been the case since he was born. He had journeyed around Maori and he had never encountered a beast that defied his instructions. The Lykan came as a surprise but since it happened just once, Ara didn’t put too much meaning into it.

“Well unfortunately for him, he lost all of his teeth and hyperventilated for a few seconds. I invited Vela to look at him after he had calmed down, but he panicked upon seeing Aroha Renoff,” Ara said.

“Gero and Miya’s daughter?” the man iterated.

“Yes. She perceived the scent of Lykan venom on my arm. Probably after the Lykan tried to bite me. We like to believe that they came for that Lykan.”

“Isn’t that quite a stretch?” Alex asked. He kept his face as neutral as possible.

“You’re right, Lord Alex. I thought the same as well. But after I cast a tracing spell, I found proof that the sorcerer did interact with the Lykan. What transpired after that, we cannot say for sure. Everything was still in order,” Jerome said.

“What about the man you spoke of? The man without a presence,” the other man said.

“He’s still at large, but we are certain that the intruders belong to the same group. What is more interesting is that Aroha sensed him for a moment,” Ara said much to everyone’s astonishment.

“Was she staring at him at the time?” the king asked.

“No father. She sensed him like we would sense any normal person and alerted us. Hence the fuss yesterday.”

“Was her sister able to sense him as well?” Alex asked.

“No. We don’t know whether it is a Renoff thing or a healer’s thing or it is peculiar to Aroha herself, but it is certainly a headway. We were hoping you could test it out for us, Lord Alex?” Ara asked.

Alex was uncomfortable and it was obvious. To everyone else, it was because he hated doing anything by himself. But he was trying to avoid suspicion as much as possible.

“You’re saying that as if we know where he will show up next,” Alex said.

“We don’t. So far, he has shown up to my student Kiro and when I and Zenon were accompanying the Renoff girls. That was moments after Kiro left us,” Ara said.

“What would he want with Kiro? Perhaps he saw something just as you did?” Jerome asked.

“He’s a traitor, that’s what he is,” Alex snapped. It was his chance to get out of that duty.

“From the conversation we overheard the first time, I would say not,” Zenon interjected. He hated Alex’s guts but he was mindful because he was still on Croft soil.

“Of course you’d say that,” Alex riposted.

“I concur,” Ara said sternly. The room was silent for a moment before the king spoke.

“This is surely a serious problem. But the competitions will continue nonetheless. Alex, for the time being, I want you around Kiro at all times,” the king instructed.

“Wouldn’t that scare the enemy away?” Alex gloated.

“They certainly were not intimidated by Ara and Zenon. Look at it as a way to confirm whether or not Ara’s student is a traitor while trying to catch the real enemy. That should not be too difficult for a prodigy like you, right?” the king said and Alex nodded. Behind that laziness that crept inside of him alongside his political ambition, Alex was a pretty efficient individual.

“Vela, I want you and the Renoff girls around them occasionally as well. He may have labeled Aroha a threat and might try to stay away if she is too frequent.”

“I’ll do my best, your highness,” Vela said.

“Zenon, I appreciate all you have done for us. Croft Kingdom will always be in your debt,” the king said.

“The honor is mine, your highness. For the sake of both kingdoms, I hope we resolve this quickly.”

The meeting ended shortly after that and Alex left without uttering a word. He would be back surely. No matter how impudent he was, he would never defy a directive from the king. Ara, Vela, and Zenon walked towards the Healers Nest on the pretense of accompanying Vela.

“I don’t want you two distracting my girls,” Vela said.

“Why would you say that?” Ara teased. He was surprised that it was that obvious, however.

“They need to train. You can’t keep hosting them every second. Besides, why did you put the competition into their heads?”

“You don’t think they stand a chance?” Ara goaded.

“That’s not my question!”

“In all fairness, the fact that you refused to participate should not be a reason to stop them. Let them be. They decided to go for it just as you decided against it no matter what we said,” Ara responded.

“Zenon?” Vela asked for his opinion. Everyone viewed him as the more reasonable of the two.

“I’m with Ara here. You could have won it if you participated. It’s not too late, but I don’t want you ruining their chances of winning,” Zenon said.

“Fine then. I’ll let them participate. Train them even. However, they have me to compete with as well.”