Chapter 1301 - The Thickness of Blood (Part 1)
That night, the rulers of the three Undead Courts, Baba Yaga's triplets, and even the Firstborns that currently lived on Garlen had been assembled to discuss the matters at hand.
"This is all your fault." Dawn threw the pristine white helm of her Orichalc.u.m armor on the huge round table while looking at her sister Night.
"Thanks to our brethren from Jiera, we had excellent chances to win this war or at least to permanently change the balance of power in our favor. Now that the Council got involved, the first real opportunity that our race had to become an integral part of society has gone down the gutter!"
The Bright Day looked like a woman of untold age, about 1.78 meters (5'10") tall with golden eyes without pupils. Her skin was whiter than an albino's while her waist-long hair was pitch-black.
Dawn's body was covered by a full suit of armor with more facets than a precious gem. Each one of them absorbed instead of reflecting the light from her surroundings, boosting Dawn's powers and shrouding her in darkness.
Yet the armor was bright, acting as a conduit for the radiance that came from Dawn's real body, the gemstone resting between her bosom. The contrast between light and darkness, between black and white, made her look as if a real dawn was taking place in the War Room.
"As if you ever cared about our race more than I did!" Night mirrored her movements, sending a pitch-black dented helmet clashing against Dawn's.
"The only thing you ever cared about was your precious mission, just like I only worry about having some fun. After getting your a.s.s imprisoned inside a Fringe for centuries due to your stupidity, you are the last one who can patronize me."
Night looked like a young woman in her mid-twenties, about 1.70 meters (5'7") tall, with ebony skin that seemed to devour all light and full lips that not even her anger managed to make less seductive.
She had silver waist-long hair and round eyes without pupils that shone like moons. Her body was covered by a skin-tight black full suit of armor that left only her head exposed, yet she was no less charming than if she was wearing a c.o.c.ktail dress.
"Enough of this." The Red Sun, also known as the Horseman of Dusk and the Hushed King of the Dusk Court, threw his blood-red Davross helm as well, hitting those of his two sisters from the sides and making them stop right in the middle of the table with a clang.
Even though the Red Mother despised Liches, Dusk had chosen one of them as his host due to their immunity to all weaknesses that the children of Baba Yaga usually had. They didn't fear sunlight nor darkness magic and they could use all six elements freely.
In a sign of respect to the Firstborns, Dusk shapeshifted the skeletal body into his real form for the first time in centuries. He looked like a handsome man in his mid-twenties, about 1.9 meters (6'3") tall, with blonde hair, bright red skin, and orange eyes that seemed to flicker like flames every time he moved his gaze.
"There's already enough fighting outside, there is no reason to waste our forces fighting between us. I've assembled you here to find a path to victory together, not to point fingers. Besides, Night is right, Dawn.
"Neither of you has helped their respective Court to grow, you only made trouble for all the members of our kind. First, you exposed yourself while fighting against Verhen, making the three Great Countries aware that we are still alive.
"Then, Night angered the Council, adding them to the many enemies we already have. Both of you are at fault for sacrificing precious elders of our community for your own agenda. The reason you did it doesn't matter, only the result does."
The Bright Day gritted her teeth and kept silent. Her many failures in keeping the Blood Desert under control didn't come solely from Salaark's iron fist and her battle-hardened Feathers.
After Lith had defeated Acala, he had also spread the word about Dawn's experiments on the members of her own race and her plot to sacrifice a part of the Dawn Court to raise her host's status.
Now not even her Court trusted her and the lack of discipline among her ranks had caused countless failures. The undead worried more about becoming her latest test subjects than about the enemies in front of them and didn't hesitate to run away.
Even Night performed better than her in the Griffon Kingdom despite the Organization's meddling.
"Now, if you're done bickering, I'm ready to give my report." The Red Sun said the moment the quiet was restored. "The situation in the Gorgon Empire is stable thanks to the lack of Awakened at the service of the Empress and to Leegaain's not interfering policy.
"Alas, the same can't be said about his daughter, Xenagrosh. She considers the Magic Empress akin to a sister and is helping her to eradicate our Courts. The Empress, in turn, turns a blind eye to the Organization's business as long as they don't deal in the slave trade and Forbidden Arts.
"Even though they are still considered criminals, the human members of the Organization keep the underworld at peace and allow the Empress to focus on us. I firmly believe that if we don't get rid of the Master first, we have no way to win."
"What about your precious Liches?" The Black Night chimed in. "You just flaunted your success in leading the Dusk Court, why aren't the most powerful members of your kin helping us?"
"Liches only care about magical research and Awakening. They only joined my Court for its mutual aid clause and to effortlessly build a network of similar-minded people that could help them with their agenda." Dusk replied.
"Mutual aid? Their entire Court is involved in a war, how can they stay out of it without contradicting such clause?" Dawn slammed her fist on the table while Night supported her stand.
Once again, the Red Sun admired the small miracles that the Lich species effortlessly performed, like making his sisters agree on something.
"Mutual aid only intended as protecting each other's lab and research from invaders. A war, instead, would force them to interrupt their studies and possibly lead to their death, as it happened for Veeza. She was the first elder Lich to die in centuries.
"To help you understand their mindset, allow me to read you one of the replies to my call to arms. This one is from a Lich named Zolgrish." Then, Dusk proceeded to read out loud the following text.
"Dear Dust, I don't give a damn about your conflict so the next time you bother me, I'll just kill the messenger and pretend to have never seen him until I forget about him and turn my lie into truth.
"Right now, thanks to my business relationship with Scourge, I get all the silver I need and maybe a shot at getting myself Awakened simply by minding my own business. If you want me on your side, you have to offer me more to do even less.
"I doubt you're stupid enough to accept such terms, but hope dies last."