Dyon stood looking down at the crowd, gently holding onto Ri’s small hand.
He smiled to himself looking at her shy reaction, ‘I didn’t think you could get embarrassed. My little feu glace is so adorable.’
However, not everyone was so enamoured by Dyon’s appearance. And they definitely weren’t happy that he had shown up hand in hand with a woman… and who else could be simmering in rage over this other than Wyn Eostre.
He knew exactly how badly this made his daughter look, and yet all anyone around her saw was a relieved smile. As though all she cared about was Dyon’s safety.
The pang of pity made Wyn almost erupt. But, Jade only turned to him with a small smile, “he never forced me to do anything father… you can’t be angry at him for this…”
But… the more understanding Jade was, the more furious the Eostre family became.
And they weren’t the only ones. Opal and Celine felt their hearts trembling with rage looking at Dyon’s calm countenance… as if Jade’s feelings meant nothing to him at all.
Yet still, Kymil Nodin and Darcassan Fletcher snickered to the side, standing near each other in a far corner.
“who else could the human end up with but the ugly duckling?”
“shh, don’t speak so loudly, you’ll hurt her feelings. Her Uncle is quite powerful you know, Kymil.”
Kymil chuckled, “what Uncle? What king? I seem to see neither?”
Dyon turned a calm gaze in their direction, “it seems all elves have a problem with controlling themselves… maybe a little discipline is needed…” he said faintly.
Before Kymil and Darcassan could even snicker in response, Dyon’s manifestation flashed so quickly that only a select few could even grasp what it was…
His soul raged, wildly increasing in strength.
“advanced weapon’s hell array…” Dyon said softly.
Blinding purple-gold formations roared to life, spinning viciously in the air… kicking up the wind and the table dressings.
BOOM!
Four spears sped forward with blinding acceleration…
“AAGHH”
The crowd was stunned… Kymil and Darcassan… two of their best geniuses… wasted.
Each grit their teeth in clear pain…
Not only had Dyon defeated them in an instant… but he had humiliated them.
The four spears had served a very specific purpose… one pierced directly through their thigh… and the other pierced directly into their foot…
In a manner of seconds… Dyon had forced them to kneel.
Dyon chuckled lightly, “speak out of turn again, especially if it’s about my Ri, and I’ll kill the both of you.”
A cold sweat appeared on the backs of the two young men, but when they turned to their families, all they saw were endless looks of disappointment. Their kingdom had fallen so far that a human boy alone was enough to deal with them. Regardless of whether it was a surprise attack or not, the skill to manifest one’s soul so quickly was the mark of a genius… they had nothing to complain about…
They could only grit their teeth in silence, their leg forcefully bent in a position of endless shame and pain…
Sinaht Sigebryht looked on at this scene with interest. He had heard about Dyon before, and especially about how his son had lost a debate to him… but, he wasn’t aware that Dyon was also so powerful.
According to his sources, Ores had vastly underestimated Dyon which resulted in his loss… so, the only explanation was that either Dyon never let Ores use his full potential, or Dyon had gotten significantly stronger in the more than a month since then.
Zaltarish, though, was nowhere near as calm, “is there a reason you’re here? Since when did humans have the right to speak at an Elvin gathering? This banquet concerns the future of the Elvin Kingdom… you don’t have a say.”
Oddly enough, Dyon only smiled at Zaltarish’s antagonistic statement, “hm… Maybe a normal human wouldn’t… but, I’m a little bit of a special case.”
The eyes of everyone in attendance but a distinct group furrowed their brows. They had no idea what Dyon was talking about.
Zaltarish, was of course, not pleased, “being the boyfriend of the cousin of the daughter of a missing king isn’t exactly what you’d call a firm connection… Even if you were the boyfriend of the princess herself, since she has no power, what would make you think you did?”
“Ah, yes. Indeed…
Say, Zaltarish. You’re an elf yourself and understand far more about your kingdom than I do, correct?”
“that is obvious,” Zaltarish said proudly.
“mm,” Dyon continued, “then what do you say is the main reason the grand elders were given their positions?…”
Zaltarish’s frown deepened, “it’s because they head guilds that are of unprecedented importance to the kingdom… their say is without a doubt among the most important because of this…”
Dyon smiled lightly, “ai… that’s what I thought too…”
Dyon’s words were confusing… what was he going on about?
But, his next actions caused something that made even Sinaht’s calm demeanor shatter.
Dyon waved his hand, and suddenly, thousands of arrays appeared above the heads of thousands of elves… elves that happened to correspond to a very specific set of 14 sub families.
*twinkle
The soft sounds of shattering arrays filled the square, raining down particles of purple-gold light.
Grand Elder Cormyth and Kroak smiled as a sudden look of realization flashed across Grand Elder Deryth’s old features.
Suddenly, the sounds of thousands of elves standing was all that anyone could hear… and then… they all bowed.
“Guild members greet Guild Head Sacharro.”
Silence.
Dyon waved his hand nonchalantly, sending a wink towards the surprised Ri, “no need to be so polite. I’m simply here to have my say in a kingdom I clearly have a lot invested in…”
Dyon turned towards Zaltarish, “this is enough, no?”
Zaltarish trembled. Time and time again Dyon foiled and blocked him… just when would it end?
But, what made everything worse was that when he looked towards the Grand Elders, he only found them calmly taking the rings off of their fingers, floating them up to Dyon.
Dyon smiled, finally accepting the Alchemy and Formation Guild rings.
Suddenly, he turned his attention towards Sinaht, completely ignoring Zaltarish, “I believe we have some things to discuss, no?”
Sinaht had already begun to take this boy seriously. He was barely a fraction of his age… and yet he had made but a single move to make not only 2 grand elders yield… but also 14 sub-families.
And yet, was it really that simple? Even if it was just a single move, how many could succeed in pulling it off? What level of genius did you have to be in order succeed in such a way? Even the head of the Norville major family and his wife looked up from fooling with each other to witness this… what was about to happen?
Despite his surprise, Sinaht quickly composed himself, “I guess it was us who judged you rashly. Having such a talent be a part of the Elvin Kingdom is something I would of course wish for. But, if you were planning on comparing your talent to my son, even should you win, I hope you understand why it is that not many would accept you as our monarch.
I am willing to negotiate a position of high standing for you. But, if you’d like more than that, it’s not something I can or will promise.”
Dyon nodded faintly. He was impressed by Sinaht’s response. It seemed he truly did have the best interest of the Elvin Kingdom in mind.
“I have no interest in ruling over the Elvin Kingdom. It’s only that I’ve made a promise to the Princess to help her alliance. So, I’m sure you see where our road splits.”
Sinaht’s eyes narrowed, ‘no interest? This child is not so simple…’
But, Sinaht still smiled at this, “is there even a remaining alliance for you to rely on?” he looked over to the Eostre, Ingram and Coventine families.
Opal and Celine were still fuming and had no intention of backing Dyon’s words… but it seemed like their families were also on the fence about this.
For the past month, to them at least, everything had been over and done with. The Princess was dead, they no longer had a head, and the Sigebryht-Norville alliance was so confident in itself that it made moves even in the face of Grand Elder Deryth…
What were 14 sub-families in the face of a Celestial stage expert unafraid to fight someone as old as Grand Elder Deryth? And, even if Sinaht wasn’t that strong, there was a trump card he had that made him confident… why would they choose Dyon in this situation?
Dyon smiled faintly, expecting this reaction. He lightly squeezed Ri’s hand to let her know he had this all in hand.
“I wonder… Head Sinaht. Who did you ally with to give yourself so much confidence?”
Silence.
Dyon’s words were like knives cutting right to the source of the problem. There were a lot of things that hadn’t been adding up over recent years… the disappearance of the king… the destruction of the Celestial Deer Sect… and all of these things seemed to culminate in the Sigebryht family’s bid for power.
The brows of Sinaht furrowed. He hadn’t expected such a calm, simple and yet so poignant response from a child. Not only were Dyon’s words of appropriate authority for someone with as much influence as him… they weren’t threatening or antagonistic… it was only a simple question… and in a meeting about the future of the Elvin Kingdom, could Head Sinaht really deny answering this question?
If he said he had no backing whatsoever, the opinions of those around him would change drastically. He would go to a thoughtful and well-planned leader, to someone who was taking a last ditched gamble for power he was snubbed in his youth.
But, if he admitted to allying with the Daiyu clan, what world of trouble would that open? Would the Daiyu clan be willing to help him out in the open? Was this a moment of vulnerability they were waiting for in order to entrap him even further? What could he do now?!
Seeing Sinaht’s predicament, many started to ponder further on many things…
Suddenly, an unknown voice came from the crowd. For some odd reason, no one could tell where it came from, and yet that was less important than the words said.
“Did Sinaht Sigebryht facilitate the destruction of the Celestial Deer Sect to drive the King away?…”
Immediately it was as though a question that had been weighing on the minds of everyone was out in the open. Sinaht felt like his world was crumbling for the second time in his life… the first was when King Acacia manifested his soul… and now a human boy had managed to sow descension within his own people against him!
Originally, this wouldn’t have mattered too much… even if the other families felt something was odd, in the face of his power, there was nothing the could do anyway, nor did they feel the need to do anything. This was because, whether or not he was involved, he was still the best option for the Elvin Kingdom moving forward.
As the head of the Sigebryht family, he was already the second most powerful person in the kingdom aside from Grand Elder Deryth… especially since the King had disappeared. In addition, he had a talented son, who had an equally as talented fiancée… the other families would follow purely because of convenience.
However, Dyon flipped all of this on its head. For one, he took less than 3 months to swing 14 sub-families including two grand elders. On top of this, he had unyielding talent… talent that involved an innate aurora that could dominate on the warring fields of the gates!
In addition, if things weren’t bad enough, he was backing the family of the rightful rulers. A family Dyon had clear and deep connections with considering his relationship the niece of the king. Swinging his opinion away from them was impossible!
Sinaht suddenly felt like his back was against the wall… how would you plan for an anomaly like Dyon? How do you account for a genius so blindingly radiant that his very existence changes the course of everything? Sinaht felt aggrieved.
He thought to the communication device the Daiyu elder had given him, ‘should I use it?’
Suddenly, Dyon’s voice broke him out of his thoughts.
“Head Sigebryht… have you heard of an old lady surnamed Everdeen? Have you heard of the orphanage I built in the outskirts of the Elvin City? Have you heard of Aeson Acacia?”
Ri trembled at Dyon’s words, tears threatening to spill from her eyes… she had been raised along with Aeson… although she was known as his drill sergeant, she still looked to him as a close brother…. But now he was gone.
Her grip tightened on Dyon’s hand, seeking comfort.
Dyon gave her an apologetic smile… but these words had to be said.
“I – ,” Sinaht seemed to be struggling with his words. He felt like all of this was a trap. Even if he swore he had nothing to do with all of the things Dyon said, would he really be able to make it out?
Sinaht thought back to the communication device, resolutely deciding to crush it. It didn’t matter if he was being framed. He would prove his worth to the Elvin Kingdom even if it meant having to raise them up from flames first.
“ah, don’t do that Head Sinaht… did I say I was accusing you of being responsible for their deaths? Can’t you tell you’re being played by someone?”
The crowd was stunned… he spent all that forethought and planning just to say that Head Sinaht wasn’t responsible?
The truth behind the death of Aeson and the destruction of the orphanage was something that would have completely buried the Sigebryht family and their hopes of gaining ownership of the Kingdom through the acceptance of its citizens.
Although the major families cared little for the commoners on the outskirts of their cities, elves still had a deep sense of kin. This was clear by the sentiments Sinaht played to in his speech… killing the innocent for the sake of power would be looked down upon no matter what. In fact, it was part of the reason the Sigebryht family had lost their backing from grand elder Cormyth.
Originally, the members of the alliance had assumed that Dyon had been responsible for the death of Aeson and the attack on the alliance headquarters… after all, no one else made sense… who else had knowledge of the location and the motive to betray them? To make things worse, he disappeared!
But then, they started doubting themselves when Dyon appeared with the Princess. If Dyon had only wanted the benefits provided by the Sigebryht family, wouldn’t he make sure everyone continued to think the Princess was dead? Nothing was making any sense!
Suddenly, someone from the Aedre family spoke out. It was a lady who seemed to have aged a lot recently. Wrinkles of worry lined her face… it was clear her emotions were getting in the way of her health.
Streaks of white tainted her once deep blue hair, and her hands shook violently as she spoke… but she was stabilized by a tall and stoic man who sat beside her. However, the calming touch almost made her break out into sobs again.
“you’ve mentioned so many names,” she said softly, “and yet, why is my daughter not amongst them!? What did Primrose do to deserve death? Did you kill her just because she was friends with Mithrandir?! How dare you talk down to Head Sinaht if you’ve acted just as egregiously!”
The poor lady trembled, shaking violently.
Mithrandir snapped her head in the direction of the Aedre family, a sudden realization hitting her, ‘Primrose?… is dead?…’
Tears streamed down her face. She had once assumed that Primrose hadn’t come because she wasn’t willing to face her in this situation… come to find out that she never had the choice to attend at all.
But, the pitiful Mistress of the Aedre family wasn’t finished venting…
“And you!” she said turning her anger towards the Princess, “Primrose used to be a good friend of yours in your youth! Did you really sign off on her death?! The Acacia family backstabbed this Kingdom once before, it’s clear nothing’s changed!”
The Princess looked like she wanted to say something, but Dyon put his arm out in front of her, shaking his head, ‘not now…’ was what he motioned.
“my little girl had nothing to do with any of this…” the pain in Mistress Aedre’s voice was palpable. In all of this fighting for the kingdom, a death had slipped through the cracks and no one was even aware of it.
Dyon sighed, steeling his heart, “Mistress Aedre, you say your daughter used to be good friends with the Princess, and what happened since then?”
Head Aedre’s faced darkened as his deep voice boomed, “you dare question my wife in a situation like this? What gave you the nerve!”
A formless pressure rushed forth, seeking to end Dyon’s ability to ever speak again…
However, Dyon remained calm as a familiar figure stepped in from of him, dispersing the pressure with a wave of his palm.
“I think you were very much aware of the fact I wouldn’t allow you to lay a hand on my son-in-law, no?” Uncle Acacia’s voice boomed.
The crowd froze… when had Headmaster Acacia gotten so powerful? Peak Sainthood?!
A deep frown etched into the features of Head Aedre, “what a good Acacia family you are…”
Despite Head Aedre’s words, Dyon continued.
“Since you don’t want to answer the question, I can let you know.
Because of your bias, your deeply ingrained hate, and your baseless prejudice against the Acacia family, you drove a wedge between your family and theirs.
But now that it’s convenient for you. Now that you can play on the heart strings of those around you. You want to make use of a relationship you yourself destroyed? If you’d like to align yourself against the benefits of your own kingdom because you lost your daughter, have at it. But, don’t try and claim the moral high ground. I won’t let you.”
Dyon’s words were sharp and held no sympathy. Even Ri and Princess Alex couldn’t help but cringe.
They had never told Dyon anything about this, but wasn’t the story behind this clear? Why else would Ri, who had grown up as the cousin of the Princess, and the Princess herself, seemingly have no close friends? The only explanation was that they were driven away.
Ri and Alex hadn’t been born in the time King Acacia and Uncle Acacia were commoners… therefore the only world they knew were that of nobles… Yet they had no relationships with them? It made Dyon’s blood boil with rage.
Mistress Aedre seemed to react violently to Dyon’s words, trembling in her husband’s embrace. She lost all strength to do anything but stare blankly at the table in front of her… she had many children, but that didn’t mean the loss of one hurt any less…
But, although Dyon’s words rang true… his lack of sympathy and tact seemed to breathe new life into the Sigebryht family. If both sides had committed atrocious acts, didn’t that mean that it was still okay to choose either side?
Suddenly Wyn Eostre spoke, “doesn’t this make it clear that neither the Acacia nor the Sigebryht families are fit to lead?…”
His voice was faint but cut through to a real point. What he said was right! Why were they pretending as though there were only two options? There were 9 major families, including the Acacia family, there were 10 choices, not two!
Dyon smirked, unable to hold himself back, ‘how predictable…’
“mm,” Dyon hummed, “your words do indeed make sense.”
Wyn Eostre anger flashed toward Dyon, “your opinion is irrelevant to me. If it wasn’t for my being of the older generation, I would have already killed you for what you did to my daugh –“
“I think it’s about time you shut your mouth,” Dyon’s pressure was nowhere as impactful as Wyn Eostre’s, but it seemed like when he spoke, people listened.
“YOU!” Wyn Eostre nearly snapped in his rage.
He shook as he watched tears fill Jade’s eyes.
“Dyon… I know you don’t want me… but is there a need to treat my father this way?…” faint sobbing noises came from Jade as she gripped her dress at her knees… unable to look up at Dyon.
The major families began to turn on Dyon violently. He was so arrogant, and yet he was clearly the weakest existence here! Array alchemy genius or not, what right did that give you to speak to your elders like this!? Especially when Wyn’s anger for his daughter was understandable!
Kymil and Darcassan trembled from their kneeling positions… in too much pain to rise but raging too much to calm themselves. Jade was amongst the queens of their generation! And yet Dyon captured her heart and still stomped on it like this?!
Sinaht watched all of this play out with a confused look that slowly became more and more thoughtful in his enlightenment, ‘you… how deep was this plan… how’d you figure all of this out?!’
Dyon noticed Sinaht’s reaction and smiled, “you’re quite smart old man,” he said sending his voice through wind will while the experts were distracted in their anger, “play your cards right and I’ll crown you interim King.”
Sinaht trembled at Dyon’s words, ‘this isn’t a child… this is a monster…’
Suddenly Dyon spoke again, “I guess my words were a bit rude, hmm?”
Even Ri who had the utmost confidence in Dyon was shaken in the beginning… But she was slowly beginning to piece together what Head Sinaht had… and she couldn’t believe it…
“I guess that seems true from your point of view. But let me ask you a few questions then…
The orphanage was attacked supposedly as an act of revenge against me… yet the only person that was killed was an old lady with information about my whereabouts. The kids weren’t touched… Why is that?
Aeson Acacia was killed. He was a genius, yes… but why kill him? Was his talent really that much greater than those here right now? What changes in this banquet should he come vs should he not?”
The more questions Dyon asked, the more confused the crowd became. Truly… what was the point?…
“The Princess was targeted for assassination, yet much of you disregard her existence now. To you, she’s just an interim leader with no true power… and yet the Sigebryht family supposedly still tried to kill her, yet hinges their argument and their ideals on the betterment of the kingdom and the uselessness of the Acacia family…
Wouldn’t that point be more profound if Princess Acacia was alive and still had no power to stop this coup? Wouldn’t killing Princess Acacia mean that the Sigebryht were still afraid of the Acacia family? Wouldn’t that destroy the whole point?”
The crowd trembled at Dyon’s words as Wyn Eostre’s face darkened.
“I wonder… what family is seen as the most selfless… the one who gave up the most for the kingdom… the family who gave up even their own longevity for the sake of a better future?…
What family would have the most to benefit from the villainization of the Sigebryht family and the elimination of the Acacia family?
What family would want nothing more than for you all to think that Sinaht orchestrated the fall of the Celestial Deer Sect… the destruction of an orphanage… the death of a genius?…
To think that the Acacia family killed a member of the Aedre family?…
What family fits this description more than the Eostre family!” –> <img src=’https://st.moonquill.com/avatar/129′ alt=”…” class=”avatar-img rounded-circle border border-4 border-body”> <h6 class=”header-pretitle”> Author’s Note </h6> <h1 class=”header-title”> Awespec </h1> <h3 class=”header-subtitle text-white”>I love how everyone just conveniently forgot about Kymil and Darcassan kneeling to the side with their legs impaled with spears, LMAAOOO Tomorrow, the major reveals continue! Can Dyon prove his words? When will the Daiyu family show up? If the Sigebryht family is cleared, how do the Daiyu fit in? And wtf is up with Primrose’s death, wtf Author-kun, did you offscreen? Yikes… -1 to the waifu count</h3>