Chapter 384:Meeting.
The following morning, the palace was already busy by the time Atheline and Lilith finished breakfast.
The invitation from the dragons had changed the atmosphere of the royal household considerably. It had arrived as a simple diplomatic document, but the subject of the meeting had made it impossible to treat it casually.
A new variant of corruption had arisen despite the ones already coming from the blood ocean. It worried Atheline that the elemental corrupted were now coming out of the ocean. He couldn’t imagine what trouble that would cost. And now, barely a day after their return, the council had summoned them.
Atheline walked beside Lilith through the palace corridors toward the council chamber. Their little fox remained behind with one of the attendants, since there was little reason to bring it into a formal meeting.
When the doors opened, the atmosphere inside was noticeably heavier than usual.
The Noble elder was already seated his gaze directed to the door. The other councillors occupied their usual places around the long table, while military commanders and representatives of various departments stood toward the rear.
Zelpher was present as well, waiting behind the main chair.
The moment Atheline and Lilith entered, everyone stood.
"Your Majesties, welcome back."
Lilith nodded.
"Sit."
The councillors obeyed.
Atheline took his usual place beside Lilith. The Noble elder looked down at the reports in front of him before breaking the silence.
"We have several matters to discuss."
Lilith nodded.
"Begin."
The councillor took a breath.
"The situation concerning the corrupted has changed."
Atheline’s expression immediately became serious.
"How?"
"They have finally entered the mainland."
Silence filled the chamber. Lilith’s eyes narrowed.
"In such a short period?"
The councillor nodded.
"Yes, your majesty, the distribution has begun," the councillor continued. "We have confirmed corrupted activity beyond the previous boundaries."
Atheline leaned forward.
"How extensive?"
"Not extensive enough to threaten the court." The councillor paused. "But enough that we can no longer consider the mainland isolated from the Blood Sea corruption rampage. It has finally reached the Elven continent."
One of the councillors placed several documents onto the table.
"Reports have come from coastal settlements; strange creatures appearing near fishing routes, water becoming contaminated, and several vessels failing to return. It has completely hindered activities and this has led to complaints from both merchants and fishermen"
Lilith studied the documents.
"Do we know how the corrupted crossed over?"
"We don’t, they just appeared from the coastline, the same as the beast kingdom."
A military commander spoke.
"The distribution seems irregular; some areas have been completely unaffected, while others have experienced multiple incidents within a short period."
Atheline frowned.
"Then it’s not simply an invasion."
"No." The commander shook his head. "It’s spreading into the continent’s."
The word hung heavily in the room. The corruption was distributing itself, slowly, and irregularly. And that made it considerably more difficult to predict.
Another councillor spoke.
"There is something else your majesty."
Lilith looked toward him.
"The Water Elemental Division has provided a report."
Atheline’s attention sharpened.
The Water Elemental Division specialized in monitoring waterways and coastal regions, particularly through elemental manipulation.
The representative stepped forward.
"We’ve been monitoring the waters near the western coastline."
He placed a map on the table.
"Our people were able to glimpse several corrupted entities beneath the surface."
"How many?"
"We don’t know."
"Why?"
"Visibility has proven to be our biggest challenge, your majesty."
The elemental manipulator shook his head.
"The Blood Sea interferes with ordinary perception. Even our Water Aether senses become distorted when we approach known contaminated regions in the waters."
Atheline examined the map.
"Still, you saw them."
"Yes."
"What did they look like?"
The man hesitated.
"We couldn’t identify them properly. Some appeared humanoid, while others resembled ordinary marine beasts. But there were differences."
Lilith looked up.
"What kind?"
"They seemed to be moving together."
Atheline frowned.
"An organized group?"
"Perhaps."
The elemental manipulator immediately clarified.
"We couldn’t determine that. All we know is that there weren’t many."
"How many?"
"Not enough to constitute an army."
That was at least somewhat reassuring.
For now.
Lilith tapped one finger against the table.
"So the Blood Sea has now fully began distributing corrupted life through the ocean in the Elven continent, but the amount reaching the mainland remains relatively small. I didn’t expect it to extend it’s clutches this fast, something seems to have triggered such an eccentric reaction."
"Correct." The representative nodded. "For now we might be in the clear but it’s unknown when things might get out of control."
Lilith leaned back.
"What else?"
The Noble elder looked toward another report.
"There have been disappearances."
Atheline’s expression changed.
"Where?"
"Several villages on the outskirts of the kingdom."
"How many?"
"We don’t have a confirmed number."
Lilith frowned.
"How can people disappear without a number?"
The councillor looked uncomfortable.
"Because the disappearances have been occurring gradually."
He spread several reports across the table.
"A person disappears, then another. Sometimes several weeks pass before another goes missing."
Atheline scanned the documents.
"And no evidence?"
"Very little."
"No bodies?"
"None."
"No witnesses?"
"None who saw anything useful."
A military officer spoke.
"We’ve sent investigators, several times, but nothing was found."
Atheline looked toward Lilith.
"Could it be corrupted activity?"
"Possibly." The officer shook his head. "But we haven’t found any corruption."
"No traces?"
"None."
Lilith looked at the map.
"Where are the villages?"
"Mostly along the outskirts."
Atheline sighed.
"So almost anywhere."
The officer nodded.
"We haven’t been able to establish a pattern."
Lilith’s expression became thoughtful.
"Then don’t assume there’s only one cause."
The councillors looked toward her.
"If people are disappearing without leaving corruption traces, we shouldn’t immediately blame corrupted beasts."
"It could be something else."
"Continue investigating."
The commander bowed.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Another report was brought forward.
This one was considerably thicker. The Noble elder placed it in front of Lilith.
"This concerns the Beastmen Continent."
Atheline opened it. His expression gradually hardened.
"That’s a lot."
"It is."
The report documented a significant increase in corruption activity. Not isolated incidents, but hundreds of reports. Some involved beasts, while others involved unexplained corruption appearing in remote areas.
There were even reports of entire hunting parties encountering creatures that hadn’t previously shown signs of corruption.
The Beastmen territories were responding aggressively, but their response was creating another problem.
"They’re mobilizing."
The military commander nodded.
"Several Beastmen clans have begun moving troops."
"Against the corrupted?"
"Mostly."
"But their movements are causing tension between neighboring territories."
Atheline closed the report.
"And the human continent?"
The councillor produced another collection of documents.
"Similar."
Lilith sighed.
The human continent contained three major kingdoms, and each had its own military, plus its own political interests, and interpretation of the corruption threat.
That made cooperation difficult.
"The increase is happening across all three kingdoms?"
"Yes."
"At roughly the same time?"
"Not exactly."
"But the increase is significant enough that we cannot dismiss it as coincidence."
Atheline leaned back.
"And the restlessness?"
The Noble elder looked toward him.
"That may be the greatest problem."
He gestured toward the various reports.
"Kingdoms are becoming suspicious of one another, the Beastmen are increasing patrols, and the human kingdoms are mobilizing soldiers. Several coastal cities have restricted travel. Merchants are complaining, and rumors are spreading."
Lilith’s expression darkened.
"What kind of rumors?"
"That one kingdom is hiding information, that another has been experimenting with corruption, that the dragons know more than they’re telling everyone, and that the corrupted are being controlled."
Atheline shook his head.
"Rumors, which are dangerous."
The Noble elder nodded.
"Very."
Lilith looked around the table.
"The agreement preventing the major races from fighting each other exists for exactly this reason."
"Yes."
"But agreements become meaningless when people become afraid."
Nobody disagreed.
The corruption wasn’t merely creating physical danger, it was creating suspicion, fear, and fear could become war.
If the kingdoms began blaming one another, the world could descend into conflict without the corrupted needing to do anything.
Atheline looked toward the dragon’s invitation lying among the documents.
"So the timing makes sense."
Lilith nodded.
"The dragons aren’t simply calling everyone together because of a few corrupted creatures. They’re trying to prevent something larger."
The Noble elder looked at them.
"That is our assumption."
Atheline leaned back.
"We intend to attend, the meeting to see what the dragons want."
Lilith nodded.
The meeting continued for several hours. Plans were discussed, patrols would be increased around vulnerable areas, coastal monitoring would be expanded, and investigators would be sent to the villages experiencing disappearances.
The military would remain on alert but avoid unnecessary movements that could be interpreted as aggression. Most importantly, the council agreed that the kingdom would not react to rumors. Evidence would be required.
When the meeting finally ended, everyone was exhausted.
Lilith stood.
"Keep me informed."
The councillors bowed.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Atheline and Lilith left the chamber. Neither spoke much as they walked. The situation wasn’t catastrophic yet, but it was moving in that direction.
And the world was beginning to feel it.