Arthur Leywin POV
A/N: Special thanks to Canassian for letting me use his OC
We were all walking through the halls of the floating castle. Tess, Mother, and I walked next to each other while I held Tess close in a side hug. Avier and Sylvie changed back to their owl and fox forms. Sylvie sat on my head while Avier sat on Grandma's shoulder.
Alea and Aya stood on either side of Mom, Tess, and me protectively, refusing to let Bairon near us. Bairon would occasionally glance in my direction with fierce eyes but would look away when Aya caught him.
As we walked through the castle halls, we finally made our way to a set of double doors. Varay stopped at the double doors and turned to face us. "Behind these doors are the council members. It would be best to act formally from this point forward," Varay said.
"Don't worry. Everything will be fine," Alea said, smiling as she looked at Mom, Tess, and me. The three of us smiled and nodded at her. My eyes shifted to Grandma and Caera, who both looked nervous.
I looked back to Varay, who turned around, and pushed open the double doors. We all walked in, with Aya and Alea staying close to us. As we entered, my eyes scanned the room, and I saw all three royal families standing while looking down at us from their elevated seats.
My eyes flicked to Mother, Father, and Gramps, who all had smiles on their faces seeing Tess and I were ok. The Lances all bowed to the council, and we all followed suit.
"Lances. Post," Blaine said in a stern voice.
The Lances nodded and walked away from our group, and proceeded to stand behind their respective royal families.
"Arthur, Tessia, first and foremost, I am glad to see you're both ok," Father said with a smile, while Gramps and Mother nodded.
"Alice Leywin, although I do have questions about this power you used, you have my gratitude. Not only did you stop the threat and save the school, but also my daughter. Thank you," Dawsid said, with Glaudera nodding.
"Likewise. This council is in your debt. Thank you," Priscilla said.
"There is no need to thank me, Your Majesties. I know you have many questions, and I will answer all of them," Mom said.
The council nodded at this. "Arthur Leywin, my Lance tells me you have achieved white core. How?" Blaine asked in a monotone voice.
"Hahaha, I was surprised to hear that, brat; congrats! But I must say I am also intrigued to learn how you managed to get to white core," Gramps said with a smile.
"It was with the help of an asura, Gramps," I said. Everyone looked at me, surprised.
"What?" Gramps said, confused.
"Well, not long ago, I met an asura named Windsom in an old potion shop. He gave me three elixirs. I used one, which got me to the white core stage. Sylvie and Tess took the other two. Tess is now at high silver," I said, looking at Tess proudly.
Everyone looked surprised at this. "T-that's impossible. Why would an Asura give you such a gift?" Blaine asked in disbelief.
"Windsom, huh?" Mother said, raising a brow.
I nodded, "Ya, why?" I asked.
Mom just let out a small giggle. "Knowing him, he is probably here. You can come out now," Mom said, looking around.
"Mom? What are you talki-"
All of a sudden, the double doors behind us opened, and we all turned around as two figures walked in. I recognized one as Windsom. The other was an older, poised individual. Both of his eyes were closed, but he had a third unblinking purple eye in the middle of his forehead.
"Windsom?" I said in confusion.
"Hello Arthur, it has been a while," Windsom said with a smile.
"Asuras?! Kneel!" Gramps yelled.
The council members and their Lances all kneeled while the five of us followed suit.
"Please rise and take your seats. There is much to discuss," Windsom said.
Everyone did as Windsom ordered. The council members took their seats; they had shocked looks on their faces
Windsom's eyes then flicked to Mom, and he smiled. "Been a long time, Princess Alice. You've grown."
Mom nodded while smiling. "It's good to see you again, Windsom."
"Princess Alice?" I said, completely confused as to what was going on.
Mom looked at me and gave me a sad smile. "There is so much to tell you. I'm sorry I've kept so much from you, but you're just a boy. I didn't want to place the burden of such knowledge on you. But sadly, it seems we are out of time."
"What do you mean out of time? What's going on?" Tess asked, a little concerned.
"The war has begun," Windsom said in a grave tone.
"War? What war?!" Gramps asked, shocked.
"First, forgive me for the late introductions. I am Windsom, and this is Aldir. We are both Asura from Epheotus. We have been sent here to advise you during the war," Windsom said.
"A war against whom?" Dawsid asked.
"A war against the other continent of Alacrya. It is led by an Asura of the Vritra clan named Agrona. He has the entire continent under his control and has bred with its population creating an army of Vritra-blooded warriors. Your elven Lance has already met one while another stands before you," Windsom said as his eyes flicked to Caera, who flinched.
"The horned being from the dungeon?" Alea asked as she paled.
"Indeed, the very same," Windsom said.
"His strength... There's an entire army of them?" Alea asked, almost in disbelief.
"No. Only a select warriors are as powerful as he was. He was a retainer, and they serve under the Scythes. They are Alacrya's elite warriors who possess Vritra blood. They are incredibly strong but not invincible," Windsom said.
"And she's one of them?" Blaine said, looking at Caera, who flinched under his gaze.
"She is. However, she and the director have defected from Alacrya. They can prove to be useful," Windsom said.
"Wait, why does this Alacrya want to wage war against us?" Father asked.
"We don't. It's Agrona. Everyone blindly follows him either out of fear or because they're brainwashed," Caera said in a cold tone.
"She's right. Agrona's influence over Alacrya is so great that they will follow him blindly," Windsom said.
"Then why does Agrona want to wage war against us?" Dawsid asked.
"To answer that, I will tell you the history of Agrona, The Indrath clan, and the Djinn," Windsom said.
"There are nine races of Asura. Kezess of the Indrath, or dragon, clan is the strongest and our leader. Three others only rival his power. Agrona of the basilisk race, Mordain of the Phoenix race, and Bahamut of the storm dragon race. Agrona was once respected amongst the Asura as a scholar. He believed knowledge was power and wanted to know everything," Windsom began.
"One day, the asura stumbled upon a new race. A peaceful yet compelling race who were highly advanced. They're the ones who created the ancient communicators, the teleportation gates, and built the floating city of Xyrus," Windsom said.
"You mean the djinn?" Father asked.
"Yes," Windsom said as his eyes flicked to Mom. I looked at Mom and saw she looked down with a sad smile as a tear fell from her face.
"The djinn practiced aether arts and were incredibly powerful. Through aether, they could warp reality itself. The asuras and the djinn began to speak with one another and share their philosophies. Soon, the djinn and the Indrath clan became close, and they even showed us some basic aether arts. We formed an alliance with them, sharing knowledge with each other." Windsom continued with a smile as he remembered the past.
"Everything was peaceful, and we were living in bliss. The djinn and the asura got along great. Everyone was excited about our races working together and the future we could achieve," Windsom said.
"So what happened?" I asked.
"Agrona happened," Mom said in a murderous tone.
Windsom nodded. "Agrona became obsessed with the power of aether. He went to the djinn multiple times, asking them to show him this power. He wanted to know the secrets to the universe, and he felt he could find his answers through aether. However, the djinn refused, saying they saw darkness in his heart. This infuriated Agrona and drove him insane. So, he did something none of us could have expected," Windsom said, looking down. Mom's expression darkened.
"What did he do?" I asked.
"If he could not be given this power, he decided he would take it by force. He led his race of Asura in a war against the Djinn. However, the Djinn were a peaceful race and were caught by surprise by this sudden attack," Windsom said.
"Agrona and his race were relentless and slaughtered everyone, including the innocent children," Mom said as a few tears fell from her eyes. "And by the time the decision was made to fight back, it was already too late. The few djinn remaining led a war against Agrona and the Vritra clan. In the end, we nearly wiped out his clan, except for a few surviving members," Mom said, looking down.
"How did you escape?" Grandma asked.
"I was the Princess of the djinn. The djinn did everything within their power to protect me from the Vritra's slaughter. I was just a child who could do nothing but watch as my people were slaughtered to protect me. In the end, my father hid me in Dicathen before he died at Agrona's hands. He showed me how to seal my aether abilities so that I could hide," Mom said.
"Why didn't you help them?" I asked Windsom.
"We couldn't. There was a treaty in place among the Asura. We could not go to war with each other. As much as we wanted to stop Agrona, we were bound to inaction. After he killed the Djinn, the rest of the Asura clans banished the remaining Basilisk clan members out of Epheotus, which infuriated Agrona. Agrona and his surviving members went to Alacrya and began to experiment and mate with its population," Windsom said.
"For what purpose?" Gramps asked.
"To rebuild his army and take vengeance against the other Asura races for his banishment. Lady Sylvia desperately led a small group of Asura warriors to try to convince Agrona to stop. However, Agrona already had a good number of Vritra warriors, and the small group of Asura was overwhelmed. We believed Lady Sylvia died in the battle, but it seems we were wrong. She managed to escape with her unborn child," Windsom said, looking at Sylvie.
"Is that why that Vritra man came after her? To kill her because she escaped?" I asked.
"Perhaps. Or maybe it was to capture Sylvie. We believe Agrona was after Sylvie because of her lineage, and Agrona wanted to use her for his own desires. An asura with both Vritra and Indrath blood could prove to be very powerful. Which is why Lady Sylvia used Aether arts to prevent Lady Sylvie from being born until the right time," Windsom said.
"It's also why I formed your mana core early with my mana control rune. So you had the power to protect yourself in case the Vritra came after you. But then, imagine my surprise when you came back to me with Agrona's and Sylvia's daughter. Fate can be a funny thing," Mom said with a slight chuckle, giving Sylvie and me a sad smile.
"I awoke early because of you?" I said, confused at the realization. Mom just gave me a sad nod.
"But I don't understand. Why declare war against Dicathen?" Blaine asked.
"To enslave Dicathen as well. If he were to enslave both continents, he could create a great Vritra army and then wage war against Epheotus," Aldir said.
The room fell silent as everyone processed this information.
"So what now?" Gramps asked.
"Now, we help prepare you for this war. Luckily the continent of Alacrya doesn't have a way to transport their armies over here," Aldir said.
"Which is why they're using the mana beasts," Caera said.
Everyone looked at her. "What do you mean?" Mother asked.
"They're corrupting the mana beasts with Vritra magic to make them stronger and subjugating them under Alacryan control. They plan to use the mana beasts in the Beast Glades to weaken Dicathen armies," Caera said.
"How do you know?" Blaine said.
"I was sent here as a spy, remember," Caera said matter of factly.
"Then we will start planning from there and create defensive strategies," Aldir said.
"Do you know anything else, Caera?" Father asked.
"No," Caera said, shaking her head.
"Maybe the scholars have decoded some of the Vritra's journal," Dawsid said.
"Vritra's journal?" Caera asked with a raised brow.
"Yes, he called himself Uto," Alea said as she shivered a little.
Caera's eyes went wide. "You have his Journal? Uto was deep in the war council. If you let me, I can help decipher it! I know the cipher, after all!" Caera said enthusiastically.
Everyone looked at her for a second, a little skeptically. "Why are you so eager to help us?" Blaine asked.
Caera looked down for a second. "When I was younger, I had a close childhood friend that meant everything to me. When his Vritra blood manifested, he was taken by the Vritra, and I never saw him again. I was scared of what would happen if my Vritra blood manifested, which it eventually did. When my blood manifested, my mentor tried to protect me by keeping it a secret. However, my adoptive father found out. He contacted the Vritra, who subjected me to hundreds of experiments. Afterward, they sent me here to prove my loyalty, under threat of killing my family. After the pain and torture they put me through, I owe them nothing. I'd rather protect the continent I've come to love than the continent I hate," Caera said with tears falling. Grandma took her into a side hug to console her.
"Gramps," I said, getting his attention. "Caera helped protect the students at Xyrus academy. If not for her, several others would have died," I said.
Gramps looked at me for a second before he nodded. He looked back to Caera. "Very well, Caera. We welcome your assistance, but you will still be under watch," Gramps said.
"I thank you," Caera said with a bow.
"Now, I will help advise you during this war, but you must decide on a leader," Aldir said.
The council went silent as they looked around. "I vote for Virion," Dawsid said.
"What? Why?" Blaine asked.
"He is the obvious choice. He has battle experience and has already led and won a war. I will gladly follow his orders," Dawsid said.
"I agree," Mother and Father said.
"Blaine. I agree as well," Priscilla said.
Blaine let out a sigh and nodded. "Very well."
"Now, many hardships lay ahead of you. Aldir will help you prepare for this war by helping you make battle strategies. I will be leaving with Lady Sylvie and Arthur Leywin," Windsom said.
"What?!" Mother, Father, Gramps, and Tess yelled.
"Arthur has the body of a dragon and is half Djinn. He has the beast will of a dragon and is a quadra elemental. Right now, he's your best hope," Windsom said.
"That bastard killed my brother! He deserves to be executed," Bairon exclaimed.
"Execute your best hope? I see you weren't made a Lance for your brains," Aldir said, getting a laugh out of Aya.
"Your brother attacked my son and daughter. Be glad I don't end your entire bloodline," Father said in a voice of anger.
"You dar-" Bairon began but was cut off.
"Enough, Bairon. Your brother attacked them and was killed in the process. End of story. Leave it alone," Priscilla said.
Bairon just gritted his teeth and stared at me.
"A-are you really taking Art?" Tess asked, concerned, as she shook a little.
"Yes," Windsom said.
"No. He's not," Mom said.
Windsom looked at Mom with a raised brow. "Princess Alice, he needs to be trained. His skills are fine now. But he couldn't even defeat a Retainer. How do you expect him to fight a Scythe?" Windsom asked.
"I said he wasn't going with you. I didn't say he wasn't going to be trained," Mom said.
Mom then looked at me with a determined look as she spoke. "He will be trained by the Djinn and learn how to use aether."