Chapter 417: A Split Council
The Fourth Elder’s sudden outburst stunned the entire council chamber into silence, as the sheer volume and unrestrained emotion in his voice, forced even the most outspoken of elders to momentarily still their tongues out of deference, if not to the man himself, then to the fire that so rarely ignited within the hallowed halls of this otherwise composed and measured assembly.
He spoke with a fury seldom witnessed within these walls, where civility and protocol were usually maintained regardless of the situation, and perhaps because of that, the others chose to remain quiet, not out of agreement, but out of curiosity—curiosity to see just how far he would go.
"Without mincing my words, Twelfth Elder, I’ll say this to your face," the Fourth Elder began, his tone harsh and unapologetic, "I don’t trust any claims that you make here that are not backed by hard evidence. Maybe the boy is lying to you... maybe you’re lying to us... so unless you show some proof, something concrete that makes us believe in this story of yours, I for one, call this bullshit."
His words, though blunt and inelegant by council standards, struck a chord within the room, as many nodded along, not necessarily out of loyalty to the Fourth Elder, but because the story presented by the Twelfth Elder indeed felt far too convenient, far too perfectly timed, and far too reliant on faith rather than fact, as they were being asked to trust now and verify later—an arrangement that did not sit well with those who had spent centuries navigating webs of deception and half-truths within the political sphere.
"First Elder, if I may speak?" came the voice of the Seventh Elder, who raised his hand calmly at that precise moment, requesting the floor with measured restraint, which the First Elder, seated at the head of the obsidian table, granted with a single nod of acknowledgment.
"I look at this entire situation through a different lens," the Seventh Elder began, his tone casual but laced with undertones of finality. "I say what difference does it make whether the boy has really memorized the scroll or not? The task before us is to name the next Dragon. That is our duty. And I say, if the boy has memorized the scroll for real, then we extract those memories and present them to Veyr as a substitute for the scroll."
He paused only briefly, letting his next words hit with more impact.
"If he has not, then we made the right choice by appointing Veyr in the first place. But I say.... Why let the issue of the scroll factor into our judgment at all? Why make the appointment of the next Dragon dependent on the scroll’s fate? If the Cult had never lost the scroll, none of us would even be thinking this way. The Dragon is selected based on his talent, not on his contributions to the Cult."
His voice grew sharper, more condescending now, as he leaned back ever so slightly.
"I mean, hell, if you feel like we owe something to the Skyshard boy, then we give him a castle to live in, or sponsor his Transcendent Tier breakthrough potion as a reward for his services. But naming him Dragon? Over a 23-year-old who has already reached the Transcendent Tier? I can’t even believe that’s a debate—"
He said before sitting back down, as the Fourth Elder, seated across from him, felt a surge of triumph ripple through his chest, his lips curling into a faint smile beneath the polished mask, as he silently thanked the Seventh Elder for so deftly shifting the perception of the room and gaslighting the chamber into believing that the matter at hand was never up for true debate to begin with.
’Thank you, Lord Seventh. I’ll send you some of my finest tea leaves as a reward,’ he thought smugly, as he watched several elders nodding in thoughtful agreement, as the tide of the debate seemingly began to turn back in his favor once more.
However, just as the Fourth Elder allowed himself to believe that control had returned to his grasp, the Third Elder raised his hand with the calm, deliberate poise of a man who did not speak often, but when he did, expected the room to listen.
"You may go ahead, Third Elder," the First Elder said, granting the floor, as a hushed silence once again descended upon the chamber.
"I completely agree with Lord Seventh on one point," the Third Elder began, his voice steady and precise, "and that is that we should not make this a debate solely about the scroll, but instead focus on the merit of the two candidates. However," he said, shifting slightly in his chair, "I completely disagree with his conclusion that Aegon Veyr is the more suitable candidate to be named Dragon over Leo Skyshard."
He took a breath, letting the weight of his hot take settle across the table.
"Leo Skyshard is a battle-tested talent. He’s won the Circuits for Rodova. He’s infiltrated the Serpent ranks. He’s made it into their impenetrable Vault and managed to set up a dimensional portal inside, undetected."
His gaze swept across the room as he continued.
"Regardless of the success or failure of the mission, which was no fault of his own, the fact remains that the boy performed impeccably under pressure and has achieved far too much in the real universe to be dismissed so casually."
His voice rose slightly, not with anger, but with conviction.
"All twelve of us sitting here are Transcendent Tier warriors, and we know damn well that while we are not weak, we are not something to be revered in the broader scheme of things either. I doubt any of us could replicate what the Skyshard boy has done, were we placed in the same shoes.
So regardless of him being a tier lower than Veyr, what truly matters is his record....his real, tangible accomplishments!"
He leaned forward, his voice tightening just slightly.
"What has Veyr even achieved in the real world? Has he completed a single field mission? Has he gone up against a peer-level opponent of similar skill and found a way to overcome them?
In my eyes, there’s more to life than raw strength alone, and I fear this Council is in danger of forgetting that."
A quiet settled over the chamber as he finished.
"It’s my understanding that the Skyshard boy has everything that the Council wants in a Dragon.
He’s popular.
Handsome.
Marketable.
Good at completing tough missions.
And if it were up to me, I wouldn’t even spare Veyr a second glance."
The ripple effect of those words was immediate and unmistakable, as murmurs returned once more, but this time with no unified direction, only uncertainty, as minds began to wrestle with two clashing truths.
On one hand, what the talent that Aegon Veyr displayed was unheard of.
To become Transcendent Tier at 23 years old was unparalleled.
However, it was also true that he had no real track record.
And in contrast, Leo, who although was not as strong, had proven himself to be a soldier like no other, and had the perfect credentials to be named Dragon.
Hence, the neutral elders inside the council room could not help but feel confused now, as they couldn’t decide which criteria deserved more weight, and how exactly should they go about selecting the next Dragon?