The Hidden World

Ember began to descend a few minutes after her talk with Yuki. Her last words ran loops in Yuki’s mind as she tried to understand the impact of this information. She wasn’t the only one of her kind. There was another and he was the leader of the dragons as it seems. 

He wasn’t Yuki’s father by any means. She knew that because of Sophie. Her real parents may still be out there somewhere. But there was a chance that he was related to her in some way or at least knew something about her origin. Yuki wasn’t sure if she would have an opportunity to find out.

The place that Ember looked to be landing was the entrance to a cave. The mouth of it rose up from the middle of a thin forest with grass covering the top and roots dangling in front. It didn’t look like a meeting site to Yuki.

‘Of course, magic is a factor. Maybe it’s an illusion,’ she thought.

Ember alighted onto the ground a few yards away from the entrance of the cave. Yuki landed beside her and they waited for their passengers to hop off before they went back into their elven forms.

“Landed a bit far,” Erica commented as she stretched her back.

“It’s better that way. They have guards, so I want to make sure they get a good look at us as we approach,” Ember replied. “Now, ground rules before we go in. It’s basically just like what you needed to do when we went to the outpost. Don’t speak and wait until you take the oath. Just one small thing afterwards.”

“What’s that?” Akira asked.

“You can’t speak even after the oath. It’s for safety,” she said. “Technically, you can, but it’s better if you don’t because you might say something that you’ll regret. Speak when called on to speak.”

“Can we send messages?” Akira said.

“You can. They can’t hear those. So does everyone got it?”

They all nodded.

“Good. Let’s get going. The meeting should be starting soon.”

She went ahead and started striding over to the cave. As they came closer, Yuki could see the magic woven into the air around it, creating a shimmering bubble over the cave. 

‘So I was right. Magic is disguising this place.’

Ember stopped before the mouth of the gate and waited patiently as if she was waiting to be let in. Yuki’s eyes looked around the area, but she couldn’t find anyone, much less any guards. She wanted to ask Ember what she was doing, but she heeded Ember’s directions and waited to see what would happen.

After a minute, Ember began walking again. She entered the cave, passing through the magic woven around it, and quickly disappeared from view. 

‘Too quickly,’ Yuki thought as she followed after her.

She slipped past the net and found herself in a hall that was much too large to be a part of the cave. Polished stone floors gleamed under the flickering lights of lamps that hung from the curved ceiling. Ember was standing at the front of the hall waiting for them to arrive. 

“What is this place?” Yuki whispered to her.

“One of our meeting places,” she replied. “It’s magic that’s too complicated for me to try and explain.”

“It’s like the Coliseum,” Yuki noted as the rest of her group came in behind her. She could hear the clicking of the bottom of shoes on the floor. “There is a domain here and the cave was the entrance.”

“Yeah. Everyone’s here now. Come on.”

At the end of the hall, a room opened up before them. In the center of it was a golden pedestal decorated with runes that laid on top of a raised platform. Around it were eight seats, seven of them occupied. Each seat had its own unique design and radiated elemental energy. One had lightning crackling about it that seemed to not bother the person sitting on it in the slightest. Another had roots and vines with flowers wrapped around it, the occupant playing with a bird that hopped about the chair.

When Yuki entered the chamber, every person there turned toward her, their eyes calculating and evaluating. A man stood up from his seat of crystal and gave Yuki and her group a wide smile.

“Welcome. I see Ember has brought you all here just as she had said she would,” the man boomed. His broad chest and muscular frame heightened the sense of authority he exuded. “And you, the silver hair lady, you must be Yuki.”

Yuki, not certain on whether or not she should speak, gave the man a nod.

“Wonderful. Ember, can you step aside?” the man asked.

“I’ll be right here if you need me,” she replied. She gave Yuki a meaningful look as she walked past her before stopping at the entrance of the hallway. 

The man waved his hands and chairs arose from the ground. He gestured toward them, telling them to sit which Yuki followed quickly. Akira and Erica took the seats by her sides while Yuna sat behind them with Mathali.

“Let me introduce myself and my colleagues,” the man said. “We are the Dragon Council, the collective that makes decisions on what actions our people should take. The ones sitting before you are the Seven Archmages, each representing an element. One of them isn’t here which we will get to later. My name is Kilik and I reside over the council. The others’ names you will come to know in time, but we shall skip over that for right now as I do not want to drag on this meeting for too long. Young lady, do you know why you are here?”

Still not certain, Yuki nodded again.

“You can speak,” Kilik smiled.

“Yes,” she said, speaking softly.

“And what is that?”

“The council wants to meet me as I am a dragon that was hatched in unusual circumstances.”

“Essentially. All we want to know is what has happened to you from as far back as you can remember. We only want to know this in order to find out what happened and to grasp a better understanding of you. Are you okay with that?”

“I was expecting that,” Yuki replied. “I have no problems with sharing my story.”

“Then please, do so,” he said, sitting back down onto his crystal chair.

Yuki settled herself and began from the top. She had experience with this, having told her life story to Ember before. The words flowed out from her like a river as she wove a tale that detailed ten years. She wasn’t certain how much time had passed when she was finished. 

“I see,” Kilik said thoughtfully. “You were raised among humans. I’ve been with humans before. They’re quite an interesting group.”

“Very impressionable,” a woman said. She was on a seat made of ice.

“They are, Veronica. A lot has changed since I was there though,” he said. “They seem to have advanced nicely since I left. Makes me glad that I saved them.”

“You saved them?” Yuki asked. She made sure to keep her question short. She didn’t want to risk offending one of them.

“I did. I don’t remember how long ago that was since time moves differently here on Ethros,” Kilik said. “But I came at a time where they used metal spears and lived in simple wooden homes. I took a liking to one particular group. Quite lively people, they were. They called me Erik.”

He smiled at the memory for a moment before coming back to the topic at hand.

“Anyway. I see that you’ve had a difficult childhood,” he said. “I’m sorry to hear that. I do believe that I have more information on why you were in the human world if you would like to hear it.”

“I would.”

“Then, let me enlighten you. Your egg was lost during the Demon War or whatever they call it. Your parents were living in Libra at the time along with a community of other demons. When they were found, your parents ran away, either losing track of you along the way or hiding you.

“After everything had settled, I believe you were found by people sent by your parents. Those were your adopted parents and the ones that raised you on Earth. Their job was to protect two things. You and the fragment.”

“Why me?”

“You are a very unique demon,” Kilik replied. “Like me, you can use every element making you a very strong tool in the hands of others. The Shikaku, as they call themselves, would want you for the same reason they want the fragments of Gaea’s core. They want more power.”

“They seem to have plenty of power to me,” Yuki frowned.

“They need more for their goals. In order to eradicate all demons, they would need power far beyond what is obtainable,” he said. “It’s quite entertaining looking on from the outside. They seek the impossible, but are too ignorant and stubborn to realise this. They even misspell what we are. We are daemons with an a, not just demons. We are not all evil spirits going around to ruin the lives of others. We have good and we have bad, just like everyone else.”

“That wasn’t a distinction I knew of.”

“It’s because no one had told you. We don’t go around correcting people on their spelling,” Kilik said. “Anyway, them having Gaea’s core would be problematic even if it isn’t too threatening. They could destroy many of the things we have built. That is why Gaea elected to destroy her core. Poor Sophie tried her best, but even she could not go more than shatter it. But now let us talk about the more urgent topic at hand.”

He shifted in his seat and gestured toward the one empty chair in the chamber. It was a stone one made of polished rock just like the floors of the room. 

“With Sophie’s unfortunate passing, there is now an unoccupied seat at the council and the Dragon’s of Gaea are without a leader,” Kilik said. “She named no successor before she left, yet we must fill the seat as soon as possible.”

“Why is that?” Yuki asked.

“So far, news of her death has not extended past the people within these walls. Once this news inevitably comes out, a power vacuum will be formed as dragons vie for the title of Archmage of the Earth. To prevent that, we must have a successor.”

Yuki stayed silent, her mind connecting the thoughts.

“You have received Sophie’s blessing as well as the favor of Gaea. You are the clear successor to be the next Archmage. That is the reason why you have been called here.”