The Beginning After The End novel Chapter 441

“This is not the Victoriad, and I am not introducing a contestant fighting to be a retainer, so I will skip over the flagrant compliments and unnecessary list of achievements.” Seris paused for a moment, letting the collection of highbloods look around at each other suspiciously. “Although known in Alacrya as Grey, the truth is this: I introduce to you Arthur Leywin, Lance of the country of Elenoir on the continent of Dicathen.”

The room didn’t so much erupt into noise as it simmered, the highbloods’ sense of decorum fracturing only enough to allow some suppressed exclamations and half-whispered exchanges between neighbors. The attitude was all over the place, with some people leaning back in their chairs wide-eyed and flabbergasted, while others wore smug looks like they’d just won a bet. The reaction from most, though, indicated that they’d at least suspected the possibility of my being Dicathian.

Kayden was sitting at the foot of the stairs across the room, a glass in his one remaining hand. Slowly, he looked up from the glass and stared at me, our eyes locking. “You’ve got to be shitting me,” he burst out, then laughed long and loud, silencing everyone else. “So you were…at the academy…and the students…” Kayden broke into heedless chuckling again as the others looked at him with thinly veiled annoyance.

“So our savior is Dicathian,” one of the ascenders, a man named Djimon, said with a hint of disbelief.

Next to him, Sulla was shaking his head. “I heard the rumors, but…” He looked me hard in the eye for a long moment, then shifted to Seris, his expression weakening. “Scythe Seris…what’s all this really been for?”

Several other attendees echoed this question, some nodding along, a couple rapping their knuckles on the table to show their support.

“Enough,” Highlord Frost said. His voice wasn’t loud, there was no harsh command in his tone, and yet the word carried like the sound of distant thunder, quieting everyone else.

Seris looked around for a few seconds, taking the time to meet each highbloods’ eye in turn. “The question isn’t what this was all for, because each of you know the answer already. We fight for ourselves and our bloods, to shape our world so it is fit for those of us with ‘lesser’ blood and not just the asura who have marked it and claimed it as theirs.”

She paused for a moment to let these words settle. “No, I’m certain each of you understands all too well why you’re here. And because of this, you also know that this is not a war between two continents. The Dicathians are as much the victims of the Vritra clan’s hubris and self-righteous apotheosis as we are. They are our allies in this struggle, not our enemies.”

“So, are you the leader of your continent?” Matron Tremblay, the Vritra-blooded woman with blue-black hair, asked me. “What gives you the right to treat with this body on Dicathen’s behalf?”

I returned her unflinching gaze. “That’s not why I’m here.”

“Then why exactly are you here?” Highlord Frost asked. “I’ve heard quite a lot about you from my granddaughter. And more still from my soldiers in Dicathen who were unfortunate enough to cross paths with you. A Dicathian who teaches our children and spares our soldiers? You’ll have to forgive me, Lord Leywin, if I don’t fully understand what connects you to Alacrya.”

A number of the others murmured their agreement.

I sensed Chul shift his stance behind me, his mana billowing as he instinctively called on it. Sylvie, feeling my attention on him, took a step back to whisper in his ear, urging him to be patient.

“My time as an ascender and professor wasn’t intentional,” I said after taking a moment to collect my thoughts. “I didn’t come here to spy on you, infiltrate your institutions, or harm you, but I did consider you my enemy. Seris—and Lady Caera of Highblood Denoir—had done their best to convince me otherwise, but it was your children—kids like Enola—that really showed me the truth. I have enemies on this continent, many of them, but not everyone.”

Uriel smiled, a calculating expression. “Forgive me, but that doesn’t really answer my question. Why are you here now?”

I nodded, appreciating the man’s attention to detail. “Seris helped me protect my people, and so, I am here now to help protect hers.”

The bald ascender named Anvald grunted. “Then why don’t you go through those portals and kill Dragoth and all his soldiers?”

“I could,” I admitted, “but more would replace them, and then even more after that. You and I both know Agrona doesn’t mind spending lives. Besides, you can’t survive in here forever. I don’t know what Seris has planned, but I doubt it includes hiding in the Relictombs until you’ve all starved to death.”

“No, it does not,” Seris cut in firmly. “But this does bring us a step closer to the question we’re actually here to discuss today. Which is, of course, what comes next.”

Corbett Denoir took his wife’s hand and exchanged a brief look with her. “I think that’s a question on all our minds, Scythe—Lady Seris. Many of us have sacrificed everything to get to this point. Each time it seemed as though our situation had become unnavigable, you have seen us through, but…” He paused, his gaze tracking across the table. When he resumed, he spoke very carefully. “I think it is well past time that we have some understanding of the goal in all this. Not grand designs of self-governance and the ousting of the Vritra clan but real, tangible results. Even if we understand why Grey here can help us, I, at least, do not see how.”

Adaenn of Highblood Umburter, the young man I’d spared at Xyrus, sputtered indignantly. “Did you not see what he did at the Victoriad? I wasn’t even there, and still I’ve heard it recounted dozens of times. He single-handedly retook the Dicathian cities of Vildorial, Blackbend, Xyrus, and Etistin, defeating entire armies. Even the Scythes, I’m told, bowed before his superior might.”

I cleared my throat and gestured for Adaenn to settle down.

“But it wasn’t just Scythes,” Caera said unexpectedly.

The room's attention sharpened. They all knew Caera had been traveling with me, and from the change in atmosphere, it was obvious they had been waiting for her to speak. Additionally, her horns, now proudly displayed without her pendant, had quickly drawn the attention of nearly everyone present. When she spoke, it was like she gave them permission to stare.

She raised her chin and sat a little straighter. “The High Sovereign sent a battle group of Wraiths to track down Arthur in Dicathen. He killed them all.”

Kayden whistled. Matron Tremblay frowned down at her hands.

“The Wraiths…I thought they were a myth.” Sulla rubbed a hand down his face. Shaken, he glanced in my direction. “And you…?”

An older woman, who had been introduced as Matron Amelie of Highblood Bellerose, scoffed. “Fantastical poppycock. Lady Seris, surely you haven’t brought us here only to insult us with bedtime tales.”

Cylrit went rigid, but Seris remained passive as she said, “Matron Bellerose, perhaps my current weakened state has given you the wrong impression. I am not, in fact, so weary yet that I will accept being spoken to in such a manner.”

Matron Bellerose paled, folding her hands in her lap and looking just past Seris to avoid meeting her eye. “I apologize, Lady Seris, you are right of course. My tone was unbecoming my station. Forgive me.”

Seris inclined her head slightly in acknowledgement. “I do not blame you for your skepticism, which is healthy, but it is equally true that none of you would be here if you didn’t have the capacity to see beyond the rigid structure of our society and culture. The Wraiths are quite real, and what Lady Caera has said is true. I tell you this to reinforce one essential point: Arthur has the strength to help us break free of this prison we’ve built around ourselves.”

The room was silent for a long moment after this statement. I caught Highlords Frost and Ainsworth sharing an uncertain look. Matron Tremblay’s eyes never left me, while Kayden seemed lost in thought as he swirled his drink. The others all displayed some similar combination of outward expressions, but no one voiced their thoughts.

‘This isn’t what they were expecting.’ There was a tense edge to Sylvie’s thoughts. ‘They’re terrified.’

They have relied on Seris for all their hope of change throughout this uprising, I sent back, allowing the silence to linger. To be told that she, in turn, is relying on someone else—and an outsider—will be difficult for some of them to accept.

“And so we move on to our next steps,” Seris continued after a long pause. “We have in Arthur an ally capable of striking Agrona’s forces in a way no one else can. In order to build public support, it is essential that we continue to erode the people’s faith in Agrona’s divine infallibility. My publicized execution of Sovereign Orlaeth was the first step. By showing this continent that the asura aren’t in fact immortal, we also reveal to them a potential future where the asura are gone entirely. But one quickly projected image isn’t enough. No, we need a decisive victory, and in plain view.”

“You mean to send Arthur after the Sovereigns,” Sylvie said, moving to stand behind me once again, her hands on the back of my chair.

“Yes!” Chul burst out, making everyone jump. He thrust his fist up in the air and grinned. “It is about time.”

Next to me, Ellie let out a deep breath, trying to relax from the fright Chul had given her. “Fighting asuras…” she whispered, picking at the edge of the table nervously.

“I was expecting more than a show of force,” Highlord Ainsworth noted as he stroked his goatee. _{ƒгeewebnovёl.com}

Lord Lars Isenhaert, a wiry blond man with a draping mustache, slapped his palm on the table. “Indeed. My thoughts exactly, Ector.”

Seris regarded them both impassionately. “Destroying the Sovereigns may not weaken Agrona’s power, but it will weaken his image with the public. And, more importantly, such a bold strike against him will draw his greatest weapon into the field.” Seris was facing the highbloods as she spoke, but I knew she was speaking directly to me as she said, “His entire mind has been consumed with the Legacy for decades. Its removal is now our highest priority.”

My fists clenched and my jaw tightened. Despite these physical reactions, though, I wasn’t really sure what I was feeling.

One of the highbloods spoke, asked a question, but my thoughts were plunging inward, and I didn’t process the words.

Tessia…

‘She’s right, Arthur,’ Sylvie said, projecting her thoughts into mine. ‘I’m sorry, but you’ve been putting this off for too long. Cecilia needs to be dealt with.’

But how do we do that?

“Why let the girl live long enough to grow into a threat, then?”

Uriel’s words took a moment to sink it, but once they did, I forced my mind back to the conversation happening around me.

“It would have been more prudent, it seems, to kill her months ago, even if that would have meant losing the opportunity for our current act of rebellion,” Corbett added, speaking carefully.

Seris’s dark eyes flicked to me for half a heartbeat before she responded. “Perhaps, but there were many reasons not to as well, not least of which was my own curiosity. I had to know if this power was real and what it was capable of. Additionally, the vessel in which the Legacy resides is the princess of Elenoir, Tessia Eralith. I was not ready to consign her to death.”

“But you are now?” I asked, trying to sound curious and nonchalant. The words came out hollow.

She tilted her head slightly to the side, regarding me intently. “The Legacy needs to be removed from this war. Her control over mana has grown to be absolute, and I believe you are the only one capable of facing her headon.”

Before I could respond, Ellie leaned forward on her elbows and stared hard at Seris. “We’re not going to kill Tessia.”

I felt the bittersweet sting of pride and regret as I looked at Ellie’s fierce expression.

Seris leaned back in her chair, unphased. “I haven’t asked for your presence to tell you what to do. This isn’t an order, but a plea. We lack the strength, either in magic or numbers, to defeat Agrona. From the beginning, this has been about eroding the base of his power. Sehz-Clar, Orlaeth, the Relictombs, each a new crack in that foundation. Without working together, however, neither of us can topple him entirely.”

I knew there was another layer to Seris’s plans. Lyra had told me that Seris’s rebellion was in part to keep Agrona occupied while I fought to retake my continent. She would lose face with her followers if she said it out loud here, but I couldn’t ignore that our success had been, at least in part, at the cost of her people.

Maylis stood, her hands woven into her hair behind her head as she faced away from the table. “But even weakening his foundations, Agrona is too powerful to attack directly.” She spun around, her hands lowering and curling into fists. “I’m sorry, but I don’t see how one Dicathian can match him.”

“Take your seat,” Seris said with the command of one who knows she’ll be obeyed.

Maylis bit her lip and did as she’d been told.

Addressing the table at large, Seris said, “As Matron Tremblay has noted, even with his hold over this continent weakened, Agrona is not someone anyone in this world can defeat. But my goal has never been to engage with him directly.” Seris’s dark eyes swept across the highbloods. “The way to Epheotus is finally open, and dragons have arrived in Dicathen. My plan is and has always been to simply set the playing field properly so that when Agrona and Kezess eventually battle, the outcome can only be in their mutual destruction.”

The room was utterly silent at this proclamation. Only Kayden wasn’t openly staring at Seris, instead gazing gloomily into his drink.

“You are wrong,” Chul said, his deep voice shattering the silence like glass.

Seris’s frown was almost cartoonishly amusing as she regarded my half-asuran companion, clearly at a loss for words.

“Agrona can be defeated by someone in this world. My brother in vengeance and I will prove it when the coward basilisk finally leaves his hole in the mountains.”

“I need time to think about this,” I said, pushing away from the table and standing before the conversation devolved further. Ellie quickly followed my example.