Chapter 415: The Council Meet Begins
(One week later, Planet FrostBurn, The Annual Elders Summit)
While Leo continued to struggle alongside Dumpy, forced to break out of a new prison setup each day, the long-awaited time for the Annual Elders Summit finally arrived.
A lot was riding on this summit, as there was an untold understanding amongst all twelve elders that a consensus on who the next Dragon was going to be, might be reached in this meeting.
*WHISTLE*
The cold punishing winds of planet FrostBurn whistled past the Twelfth Elder, as he made his way towards the hidden entrance as per tradition.
"Well fuck.... I know that years ago the Elders were paranoid that the Cult may be fully destroyed by the Righteous Faction one day, and that we may not have another safe meeting spot to gather at every year.
So they devised this tradition to visit FrostBurn every year on this day and walk down the hidden tunnels to reach the meeting spot, but fuck me, do I hate coming here every year...." Noir muttered to himself, as he continued to waddle against the snow and the sharp winds.
Eventually, he did reach the hidden entrance, and then as per his memory, made all the perfect turns down the tunnel labyrinth to eventually reach the meeting room, where he was the last elder to arrive.
"Lord First. Lord Second," he said with a respectful bow, acknowledging the two senior-most seats by name, before offering only a silent nod to the remaining members, as he quietly made his way to the far end of the black obsidian table, where he settled into his seat just as the council meeting finally stirred into motion.
"Everyone be calm, we have a lot of agenda to cover today, so it will be best if we avoid needless internal chatter and try to minimize ruckus.
For this meeting only, I propose that only the individual I yield the right to speak, may stand up and address the Council, while everyone else holds their tongues until they’re given a chance." The First Elder began, as he made eye contact from behind his mask with all the other elders present in the room.
"All those in favor of my proposal, please show support by raising your right hand–" He said, as all twelve elders raised their hands together, showing that they all agreed with his idea, however, internally, they all knew that this proposal was not going to be followed five minutes into the meeting when things started to get heated up.
"Very well. Then I yield the first speaking rights to the Fourth Elder, who had informed me prior to the session that he wished to address the Council first," the First Elder declared, as he gestured for the Fourth Elder to take the floor.
The Fourth Elder rose slowly, bowing in formal acknowledgment toward the First Elder as per custom, though the motion lacked any genuine humility.
"Thank you, First Elder..." he said with a carefully measured tone, laced with the kind of politeness that felt more performative than sincere.
"Today, I would like to follow up on the discussion we had during the emergency council session held two months ago, where we finalized the terms for how the next Dragon would be chosen.
If it has slipped anyone’s memory, allow me to reiterate that the conditions presented at that time established two premier candidates under consideration.
The first was Leo Skyshard, put forth by the Twelfth Elder, who was tasked with retrieving the Cult’s lost scroll to earn the title of Dragon.
And the second was my own nominee, Aegon Veyr, who had been challenged to reach the Transcendent Tier within these two months in order to qualify for the same honor.
I’m pleased to announce that Veyr has fulfilled his end of that bargain, successfully breaking through to Transcendent Tier at the age of just twenty-three, thereby becoming the youngest in history to achieve such a feat," the Fourth Elder declared, as the chamber echoed with the sharp, rhythmic pounding of fists against the obsidian table, signaling their unanimous approval.
"Although the council allotted Leo Skyshard 6 months time to retrieve the scroll, of which 4 are still left, it’s my understanding that the Twelfth Elder, with the help of the boy, already gave retrieving the scroll their best shot, however still failed to bring it home.
Agreed, as per the mission report, that I’m sure all you fine gentlemen here must have already read.
The boy did perform admirably, and the mission failure is no fault of his own.
The fact of the matter remains that the Cult does not have the scroll, and I don’t think this situation is going to change in the next four months....." The Fourth Elder said, as many elders within the room nodded in agreement to his words.
"So today, I would like to open this session by giving a chance to the Twelfth Elder to explain his position on the failed mission, and request him to withdraw his candidate from nomination, so that we may not waste 4 more months to arrive at the same conclusion that we can arrive at today.
My independent intelligence sources within the righteous faction indicate that the Universal Government is planning to forcibly seize the scroll from the Serpents now that we came so close to stealing it.
Which means that the difficulty of bringing it home is only going to increase exponentially in the future.
So I suggest we not waste any more time, and name Veyr Dragon here today, so that the people finally have a messiah to believe in after three long decades" The Fourth Elder said, as many elders on the table banged their fists in approval, showing their support for his words.
*Bang*
*Bang*
*Bang*
"Hear! Hear!"
"I agree! No more time wasting!"
Said a couple, as the First Elder raised his hand to demand silence once more.
"Since the Fourth Elder has yielded the position of the speaker to the Twelfth Elder, let’s see if he wants to take the chance and address the Council...." The First Elder suggested, as he gestured towards the Twelfth Elder, who nervously stood up and cleared his throat, as he prepared to deflect as much blame as possible for the failed scroll retrieval mission.