Ancestor Lion. A man with blazing golden eyes and hair that seemed to alternate in strands of crimson, silver, and a shimmering, star-like gold.
Ancestor Whale. A woman with eyes as deep as the ocean, shades of dark blue interlacing with lines of the brightest of sky blues. Her hair was white with age, but her wrinkles were faint and her beauty seemed hardly touched by the waning of time.
Ancestor Ape. A woman with hair no less wild than Ancestor Lion. Her age was also no less faint than Ancestor Whale's, carrying the same touches of beauty. But her canines were so long and fierce they almost snipped at her lower lip constantly, even with her mouth closed, while the fieriness of her eyebrows gave her a touch of madness the otherwise elegant Ancestor Whale didn't have.
Ancestor Serpent. A woman who didn't even have the same touch of age at all. Beautiful beyond words, untouchable in elegance. She didn't look a day over 22 years old, her delicate cherry lips pursed into a perpetual, graceful smile.
The Title of Ancestor was one that weighed heavier than words could describe in the Emperor Sanctum, a prestige reserved for the pinnacle of the Lineage.
Their Will of their Spirit Beast was the strongest of their Lineage and it could be said that in terms of their importance to the Emperor Sanctum, they were only send to a very small, and very elite group... the God Beasts.
The God Beasts were a rank of Spirit Beast humanoids who were capable of tapping into more than one Emperor Armor, embodying the Wills of multiple beasts in one.
Such existences so rarely appeared that they were hardly in the common consciousness of the Emperor Sanctum as a whole, and even with these events occurring, they still didn't appear.
It could be said that in a time of crisis, though, that the appearance of even a single Ancestor was a world shaking event.
For one of the Four Ancestors to appear meant that the Sanctum was in a situation of life or death crisis.
For all Four to appear, not to mention the Ancestors of the other Lineages as well, from Dove, to Lizard, to Scorpion, and beyond... π³π«ππ²π ππ―ππ¨πππΉ.π°πΌπΊ
Blanketing the skies with their might and presences...
It meant that whatever happened next would decide the path for the Emperor Sanctum for generations to came. Whether they would be destroyed or thrive would be decided here and now.
Elbrum had barely stood back to his feet after Pedraeg dragged him back up, but when he saw the appearance of these Ancestors, he fell to his knees.
He didn't even know what happened back then, or what made Sylas an enemy of them all, but what he did know was that it was impossible for the Scorpion Lineage to escape unscathed this time.
Padraeg's expression had already paled with graveness long before the appearance of the first Ancestor. Now, he could only force himself to regain his composure.
"We have fallen for a scheme of the Thryskai Mortals." The Ancestor Scorpion began. "As many of you already know, they were very interested in our Karma and there is only so much action we can take directly against them when they have the umbrella of protection of the Demi-Gods and Gods beyond them.
"My Scorpion Lineage's Graltih overextended himself and placed a Legacy he shouldn't have on a world he shouldn't have touched. The result is a link between our Emperor Sanctum..."
The Ancestor Scorpion explained with a slow cadence and a calm gaze. But the more he spoke, the rosier Pedraeg became.
This story... wasn't the entire truth, and it was even somewhat distorted, but it was true enough that there were no faults to be found within it. It took the blame without forcing the blame directly onto the Lineage, and even if they were punished, it would be extremely light by comparison.
If the truth came out at a later date, it would be easy to pretend as though they had been fooled as well. And because Sylas' words to Elbrum back then had been reserved for the two of them, even Deacon and Emperor Lizard couldn't refute because they had no idea just how responsible Sylas alone was for everything.
This was the best path they had right now.
Lie.
Lie until their sins were washed grey.

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