"So what is the council proposing right now? Are you trying to say I can’t step foot in my own world anymore?"
"Yer jumping to conclusions, Jason. We said noth’n like that. There are some solutions to this issue, but yer have to come to the Stone Catacombs to discuss it with the rest of the council before we make a final decision."
"You want me to walk into the territory of the same group that wants to capture me? Why don’t you just ask me to bring myself to you in chains."
Jason said this while frowning at T’arigan, and he could see the way T’arigan’s brow also furrowed in anger as he spoke in an angry voice!
"You Avarans have always been like this with yer damn pride! Who says we’re gonna arrest yer!? The stone catacombs is neutral ground, so we can’t arrest yer even if we want’d ta! Lookie here, boy, I only gave you advice because I think it’s the right thing to do, so don’t yer dare think I’m doing this with some ulterior motive. If the council wanted to capture yer, then we have every right to enter Arandelle and do that right now, but we ain’t doing that cus most of us know you haven’t done anything wrong. If you want to handle yer problems yerself, then ye can go on another adventure and keep running away, but returning to Earth is only possible if yer come to the council and hear what we have to say."
Jason’s eyes narrowed slightly, and he turned away in irritation as he considered his options. Jason had already made a lot of plans in his own head about returning to Earth after so long, and there were a lot of things that Jason wanted to do right after he got back! So hearing T’arigan say that Jason couldn’t go back unless he came to the Stone Catacombs first was slightly irritating! Jason knew that he didn’t really have anything to fear from the council since he had a lot of the council members on his side, but that didn’t mean Jason couldn’t feel annoyed by this development! Jason tapped his finger on the table constantly as his mind ran through all the recent issues, but Jason suddenly stopped as he remembered something that T’arigan said.
"You said Lamina quitting the council is also an issue. Why is that?"
T’arigan grabbed a thin, short piece of wood from somewhere at the side, and he put it in his mouth and chewed on it like a toothpick as he answered gruffly.
"Ter girl is being far too rash. She might not look like it, but she’s pretty versatile. One hell of an leader, that one. Lamina was the one keeping the council books in check, and she was involved in a lot of our current economic plans. Having her quit like this is gonna push us back a few decades at least. It ain’t much to people that live as long as us, but it’s still a significant amount of time."
Jason hummed as he leaned forward on the table and then he had a sudden thought.
"Did anyone try to convince her not to leave the council?"
T’arigan chewed off the tip of the stick, and he spat to the side like some sort of wild west cowboy. Jason easily ignored what he did, and he just waited for T’arigan to answer his question. T’arigan bit into the stick again before he answered gruffly.
"Didn’t ye hear what I said, boy. Tha girl is confused cause yer have that damn blood oath, and she ain’t gonna stay on the council cause of that. There’s a lot of us that’ll be happy to have her stay, but Vympirs take their Blood Oaths very seriously. I don’t think she’ll be coming back."
Jason’s eyes flashed with annoyance once he heard this, and his mind ran through a lot of possible scenarios. Although Jason would’ve usually not concerned himself with whatever Lamina wanted to do, he couldn’t help but feel like she was allowing her loyalty to cloud her judgment. Lamina says she was doing this for him, but the benefits Jason could have with her on that seat were far greater than the benefits he would have with her gone. Jason’s eyes bled red as Jason opened a connection towards his subordinates, and Jason quickly filtered through the millions of Vympirs under his control so that he could find Lamina’s link, and he immediately called out in his mind.
’Lamina.’
On the other side of the link, Lamina had been in the middle of organising a few files that would help them sort out the yearly budget for the kingdom of Nox. Even though Lamina was no longer the ruler of Nox, she knew that someone had to take responsibility for the world, and she decided that she would handle things until Jason could come to take his rightful place. But the second Lamina heard Jason’s voice in her head, she immediately dropped everything that she was doing, and she quickly walked out from behind the table before going to one knee and speaking.
[My Lord. It’s an honor to hear from you. I heard you had gone into isolation for your Blood Metamorphosis, and I am glad to see that you were successful. I took it upon myself to handle the affairs of the kingdom in your absence. Forgive me for overstepping.]
Jason hummed as he ignored her apology, and then he spoke up.
’Why did you go to the council and announce your resignation?’
There was an undertone of anger in Jason’s voice that Lamina recognized immediately, and Lamina bowed her head even lower as she answered!
[My Lord, I-I didn’t think it was right to hold onto a position that was rightfully meant for you. You are the one true lord of Nox, and therefore, it is only right that I prepare the way for your ascension to the throne. I apologise if I overstepped! I was only trying to serve you better!]
Jason sighed internally as he considered all this. In truth, Jason already thought that this was what had really happened. Jason knew that Lamina, as well as all the other Vympirs under his command, only did whatever was necessary to make sure that they pleased him, and Lamina going to announce her resignation from the council the way she did was just a way for her to try and give Jason the seat instead. But Jason couldn’t help the irritation in his heart for what Lamina had done! If Jason had been paying attention, then he would’ve definitely stopped Lamina from announcing her retirement! Because that announcement had only added more problems to Jason’s plate right now! Jason was meant to only be dealing with the issue of still being an enigma, but instead, Jason was also having to deal with Lamina’s case as well!
’If Lamina stays on the council, then the only seat that’ll be open is Rubik’s seat. That means I can have the sixth seat from Rubik and still control the eighth seat through Lamina since she is my subordinate. There should be some way to salvage this. T’arigan said Lamina’s resignation hasn’t been accepted yet, and they don’t want her to leave since she is such an important member. Lamina can still prove useful to me, so I can’t allow Lamina to leave the council like this.’
These thoughts ran through Jason’s mind as Jason quickly figured out a plan, and Jason turned his attention back to Lamina and spoke to her.
’You’re going to remain on the Council of Nine and One.’
[What? B-But, my lord. I am no longer the ruler of Nox.]
’Don’t question me, Lamina! Your stupidity has already made this far more difficult than it should be! Are you trying to piss me off even more!?’
Jason suddenly barked in a commanding tone that sent a shiver of fear through Lamina’s body, and Lamina’s head immediately dropped again as she apologised profusely for her actions!