Chapter 391:world tree
By the time evening arrived, the exhaustion from their journey had finally faded enough for Atheline and Lilith to leave their quarters.
The attendants had informed them that dinner would be served in one of the larger halls of the Dragonic Palace. Since several of the invited rulers had already arrived, the meal would be somewhat informal, allowing everyone to become acquainted before the official meeting began.
Atheline wasn’t particularly interested in the diplomatic aspect of the dinner. He was interested in something else.
His family that had also probably arrived. He was going on that assumption.
He and Lilith entered the dining hall together, accompanied by their little fox. The room was considerably less formal than the throne room. There was a long table in the center, already filled with food prepared from ingredients native to Dragonic Island and several dishes brought by the visiting kingdoms.
At the head of the table sat Draco and Eliana. The Demonic King, Seragus, was seated nearby, accompanied by his son, Prince Lucifer.
Atheline’s eyes moved across the room, then he saw them. The High King was seated with the representatives from the High Elven Kingdom. Beside him sat the Solaris, and slightly farther down the table was someone Atheline immediately recognized.
His older brother, Helther.
Atheline’s expression changed and a genuine smile appeared on his face.
Lilith noticed immediately.
"It seems it’s only your brother that came."
"Yes, I thought father would."
"Atleast one of them came."
"Right, still, it’s disappointing."
Helther had already noticed him. He rose from his seat.
"Atheline."
Atheline walked over.
"Helther."
The two clasped arms before Helther pulled his younger brother into a brief embrace.
"It’s good to see you."
"You too."
Helther stepped back and looked him over.
"You look different."
Atheline raised an eyebrow.
"Different how?"
"Stronger."
Atheline smiled.
"Perhaps."
Helther laughed.
"You always were terrible at hiding things."
Lilith approached them. Helther immediately bowed.
"Your Majesty."
Lilith nodded.
"Helther."
The High King’s attention soon turned toward them as well. He rose and greeted Lilith formally before exchanging a few words with Atheline.
Solaris also greeted them.
The introductions and formalities didn’t last long. Everyone had already met through diplomatic channels, and tonight wasn’t intended to be another formal reception. They simply wanted to eat.
Atheline took his place beside Lilith. The Demonic King noticed him almost immediately.
"Looks like you found your family."
"I did."
Lucifer laughed.
"You two look the same, except for the hair."
Atheline looked toward him.
"I don’t think so,many say I take after my mother in more than one way."
"Now that I think about," he chuckled lightly.
Lucifer raised his cup.
"Then at least you don’t have to spend the entire evening wondering where they are."
Atheline smiled.
Dinner began.
For the first part of the meal, the conversation remained light. Draco spoke about the difficulties of maintaining the island’s territories.
Seragus complained jokingly about how long the voyage had been. Lucifer spoke about the Kraken attack after hearing about it from the ship’s captain.
"You fought a Mystic Kraken?"
Atheline nodded.
"Yes."
"Without calling for help?"
"It wasn’t necessary."
Lucifer shook his head.
"You really haven’t changed."
Lilith glanced toward him.
"He was always like that."
Lucifer laughed.
The conversation continued. The dragons discussed the weather, the High Elves spoke about the journey, Seragus mentioned the conditions along the mainland.
The meeting itself would begin in three days which gave everyone enough time to arrive. Some representatives were expected during the night while pthers were likely to arrive tomorrow.
"Once everyone has arrived, we’ll begin," Draco explained. "Until then, consider yourselves guests."
Atheline nodded.
"Thank you."
The dinner continued for another hour. Eventually, Atheline pushed his chair back.
"I’m going outside for a moment."
Lilith looked at him.
"With your brother?"
"Yes."
She nodded.
"Go."
Atheline followed Helther outside.
The balcony overlooked a large section of Dragonic Island. The night sky was clear now and the mountains were dark silhouettes beneath the stars.
For several seconds, the brothers simply stood beside one another, then Atheline spoke.
"So."
Helther glanced at him.
"So?"
"How are Mother and Father?"
Helther’s expression changed slightly.
"They’re fine."
Atheline immediately noticed the hesitation.
"You’re lying."
Helther sighed.
"I knew you’d notice."
"What happened?"
Helther leaned against the railing.
"After the attack at the royal wedding... things went south for the kingdom as a whole."
Atheline’s expression hardened.
"The corruption."
"Yes."
Helther looked toward the distant mountains.
"It finally crossed into the Elven Continent."
Atheline remained silent.
"We had suspected it might happen eventually," Helther continued. "But nobody expected it to happen so soon."
"How bad?"
"Bad enough." Helther folded his arms. "There have been several outbreaks along the border. Creatures that shouldn’t have been corrupted are showing signs. Some areas are becoming difficult to approach."
Atheline frowned.
"And Father?"
"He’s at the border."
"Personally?"
"Yes."
Helther nodded.
"He’s overseeing the military response and refuses to leave the front."
Atheline couldn’t help smiling slightly.
"That sounds like him."
"It does." Helther looked at his younger brother. "He’s also been asking about you, probably because you haven’t sent a letter home."
Atheline’s expression softened.
"What did you tell him?"
"That you were probably getting into trouble somewhere."
Atheline laughed.
"Accurate."
Helther smiled.
"Mother has been helping as well."
"I hope she’s not at the border."
"No."
"She’s been summoned to the Temple."
Atheline frowned.
"Why?"
"Purification." Helther’s voice became more serious. "The temple has requested her assistance. Her understanding of is strong enough that they believe she can help come up with ways to purify some of the more difficult corruption."
Atheline nodded slowly.
That made sense, then Helther added something that made his expression change.
"There is another concern."
"What?"
"The World Tree."
Atheline went still. Helther didn’t notice.
"The priests believe the corruption may have reached it."
Atheline’s eyes narrowed.
"The World Tree?"
"Not confirmed." Helther quickly added. "But there are signs."
"What signs?"
"Changes in the surrounding land. Some of the energy around the roots has become unstable. The priests believe something is wrong."
Atheline stared at him. For some reason, the words struck him harder than they should have.
He suddenly felt something inside his chest,; a strange pressure. At first, it was barely noticeable, then it intensified.
Atheline’s breathing stopped. His hand instinctively moved toward his chest.
Helther turned.
"Atheline?"
"I’m fine."
His voice came out strained.
A strange sensation moved through his core, it felt like something was cracking something buried inside of him. For the briefest moment, Atheline felt as though another presence existed somewhere deep inside him, then it disappeared.
He swallowed.
"What was that?"
Helther looked concerned.
"What?"
"Nothing." Atheline straightened. "It’s nothing."
He didn’t know why he had said it or whether it was true,but he couldn’t explain what had just happened. And he wasn’t going to speculate without evidence.
Helther continued.
"The priests aren’t certain but they’ve sent people to investigate. Hopefully it’s nothing."
Atheline nodded.
"Hopefully."
The strange sensation had disappeared completely. Perhaps it really was nothing. Perhaps his body was simply reacting to the immense power he had recently acquired. That explanation was easier to accept.
Before Helther could continue, the balcony doors opened and lilith stepped outside.
She looked toward Atheline.
"Everything alright?"
He nodded.
"Yes."
Then he looked toward Helther.
"We’ll talk more tomorrow."
Helther smiled.
"Of course."
Atheline turned toward Lilith.
"Ready?"
She nodded.
They returned inside together.
Before entering, Atheline glanced once more toward the distant darkness. Despite everything he had seen in the ancient memory, he couldn’t explain why hearing that it might be corrupted had caused such a strange reaction inside his body.
He pushed the thought aside, for now. Tomorrow, he could ask more questions but tonight, he had already learned enough
Atheline didn’t yet know that the strange sensation inside his core was not meaningless.
He only knew that something about those words had reached deeper into him than anything else had since he returned from the ancient ruins.
And for reasons he couldn’t explain, he couldn’t stop thinking about it.