Rhaegal didn't understand why he was contacted by Haku with the communication device so urgently. His brother hadn't explained anything to him, just told him to go straight to the cave where they were staying because there was something important they needed to see, and then turned off the device. Rhaegal didn't think there was any imminent threat, at least not immediately, and in fact his brother's tone hadn't sounded scared... just very uncertain and confused, two emotions that Haku rarely showed freely, which it meant that whatever was going on was going to be pretty weird indeed. So Rhaegal had immediately put aside all his plans for the day and ran towards the cave as fast as he could.
On his way there he also came across other of his siblings. Apparently almost everyone had been called by Haku. "Didn't he say anything to you too?" Rhaegal asked.
"Not at all" Serengal answered. "He seemed rather in a hurry... in fact, it was as if he didn't quite know what to say"
"The one that contacted me was Keita" Tikka said. "She too was a bit unclear. She said something about us having a guest"
"This was one of the few times Haku didn't use twenty sentences to explain a concept to me" Darbi murmured. "Whoever this guest is... must have interested him a lot... or worried him a lot... or both"
The dragons continued to run until they reached the cave; when they were close they actually smelled a strange smell, which given the position most likely belonged to the mysterious guest. They had never smelled like it; it seemed like a strange cross between the smell of a human and an insect, indeed, a spider. This only made them even more curious to find out what was going on; and when they finally arrived at the cave and in front of it they found Haku and Keita and their mysterious visitor, they couldn't help but let out a cry of surprise.
The dragons had seen many strange creatures and rather absurd races in their lifetimes, brief as they were, but it was the very first time they had seen a being that had the abdomen of a spider and the body of a human, with completely white skin and eight bluish eyes without pupils, and hair similar to the hairs of an arachnid. They knew some creatures that looked like crossbreeds, but this was decidedly strange. But the strangest thing was that they could not remember ever hearing of such a race before; even if the dragons had certainly not seen all the intelligent races around the world, however thanks to their infiltration into the Jurao Kingdom and the Academy of Magic they had a general knowledge of them... but in their knowledge there was no creature half man and half spider, which was rather disconcerting to them. "What is that?" Darbi asked without concern what the guest would think.
"His race is called 'arachne'. Or at least that's what he says" Haku replied in a half-hearted tone, a sign that he didn't trust the strange visitor at all and that he was somewhat confused by him.
His siblings found this quite strange: Haku never trusted anyone, that was a fact and denying it would have been like denying the evidence, but he didn't usually show it so openly. The fact that he had no qualms about doing so meant that he must have been somewhat upset… but why? Had the strange fellow said or done something that shook him? But what could even shake their unshakeable brother? However, they didn't have time to ask questions because Corgorin stepped forward and pointed his finger at the arachne: "Then I was right! I was sure I saw some kind of albino spider near that anthill! I couldn't have been wrong, and indeed here you are!"
The mysterious visitor smiled. "What you saw was not me, but another member of my kind. Either way, you must be Corgorin"
The dragon was frozen in place. "You... how do you know my name?"
"Because it was written that you would have been the first to see a member of my race after all these millennia" the arachne answered. "Therefore, since you claimed to have seen someone in the underground caverns, it could only be you"
The dragons looked at each other in confusion; many of them glanced at Haku, but for the first time he seemed more incapable of understanding the situation than them. "Written? Written where?" Corgorin asked.
"In the ancient scriptures left to us by the last true lord of the world" the arachne answered, then he looked at the seventeen dragons one by one. "I know all your names, although it might take me a while to figure out who's who. The four hibernating dragonesses, however, are surely Maldor, Sisna, Kotaru and Malchia... while you, who have the biggest horns as a sign of your majesty, can only be Darbi, the bravest and at the same time the simplest of your family... and consequently, by exclusion, you must be Rhaegal, since you are the last remaining male dragon"
This made all the dragons even more uncomfortable. Did that guy know them well enough to be able to recognize them simply by looking at them and comparing their physical and behavioral characteristics? It seemed absurd, yet it was true. They wouldn't have been surprised if that arachne would have guessed the names of the rest of them simply based on how they positioned themselves in front of him. "Ok, now I'm tired of all this bullshit" Haku snapped taking a few steps forward and looking at the man with some hostility. "Tell me who you are, where you come from, what you want and above all how do you know us. Now"
Anyone would have backed away in fear by then, but the arachne made no movement. From the expression on his face it almost seemed that from his point of view being devoured by a dragon would have been a good thing, indeed a great honor. "As you wish, my king" he answered; at those words the other dragons looked confused at Haku, and he nodded to them as if to say 'I'll explain later'. "My name is Arather Simus Ghutal, and I am the High Priest of the arachne people. I come from Tigu-chtu-tal, the City of Noble Bones, which lies below us at this very moment and which was given to us by the last lord of the world. I am here because finally those whom we have waited for nearly twenty thousand have arrived, and seventeen lords of the world are among us again, and among them also stands the one who will forever drive away the cruel usurpers from the lands of mortals"
Those words were rather confusing and full of symbology, but Haku still understood many fundamental things. Now he knew that his interlocutor wasn't alone but that he had an entire people and that he held an important position among them, and that these people lived in a city located underground, probably in natural caves under the surface of the desert. Which explained why Corgorin had spotted one during his subterranean expedition to find the cure for blood death, and why that man, that Arather, had come from the lake since the gateway to the underworld was there. But for all the rest of his speech… he still had some trouble understanding it. "By lords of the world... do you mean dragons?"
"Of course! The only ones who have the right to flaunt that title and who reigned over this world for a time not even comprehensible to a limited being like me, until their kingdom was brutally usurped by those who now claim the veneration by mortals" Arather answered. "But that is about to change. Your arrival was prophesied by the last true lord of the world. A great path has been laid before you, something unbelievable and extraordinary, and I cannot but rejoice at the thought of being one those who will be able to witness this great unprecedented rebirth"
"You're still talking in riddles" Darbi grumbled somewhat fed up with this situation. "Why don't you use words that are more understandable to everyone? We are not interested in all these metaphors"
"Yeah" Haku growled. "Just answer our questions. Who is this dragon that prophesied our arrival? What does this prophecy say about us? What is this future you speak of? Why would that dragon reveal this to you? How did he predict the future so well that you recognize us all at first glance? When did all this happen? Where..."
The smile of the arachne widened. "The scriptures spoke very clearly of how inquisitive you would be, my king" he said in an admiring voice. "Curiosity is the basis of knowledge and knowledge is the basis of strength and prosperity, this the last true lord of the world taught my people. Knowing that you too think exactly like him makes it easy for me to imagine why you are the one who is meant to guide us"
"Why do you keep calling my brother 'your king'? Is it because for you we are the... lords of the world, and therefore we would be your kings?" Rhaegal asked confused.
"Oh, no. I am a humble servant and my duty is to obey every order of the lords of the world, but I would never dare to call them my kings. That title can only be reserved for the one who will gather the lords of the world that still exist and will free all the oppressed peoples from the usurpers, and will finally allow us to live again in the light of the sun. Such a title is only for the king of all dragons" Arethar answered looking at Haku smiling. The young dragon was about to ask another question, but the arachne anticipated him: "I will be happy to answer all your questions and to tell you the long story behind you and the legacy you are about to obtain... but first, please come with me to my people, who have long awaited the return of the masters of the world. There I will be able to show you the ancient scriptures that have been left to us, and the prophecy that illustrates how you will liberate all the peoples who are now forced into hiding just like mine. Then everything will be clear… to all of us"
When Arather mentioned the 'king of all dragons', Rhaegal's body suddenly tensed and his eyes widened slightly more than before. Darbi also stiffened and looked at his brother out of the corner of his eye. Both thought the same thing: that arachne knew much more than they imagined... and maybe what he was saying wasn't so absurd.
Meanwhile, Haku was reflecting on the Arachne's proposal. Going to find an unknown people whose objectives he didn't know? It sounded like a very stupid and reckless thing to do. It would have been far better to take Arethar by the throat and force him to spit out the truth with or without his will. But perhaps there was a reason the arachne wanted to take them to see these 'ancient scriptures'; perhaps the explanation he would give them would only be understandable in their presence… or perhaps not, it could also simply be a trap. "Why should we trust you?"
"I would never dare lie to the lords of the world, least of all to you, my king" Arethar replied. "But I can understand that you want a guarantee. Therefore, I am willing to spend all the time with my head locked in your claws. As a pledge of faith, if I have lied you can close your paw and shatter my skull in an instant"
Haku narrowed his eyes. That was a pretty convincing proposition, but there was always the possibility that this person had a plan to die to lure the dragons underground. He knew that among armies there were often many of these 'suicide soldiers' who were trained with the sole task of sacrificing their lives. But before he could ask anything else, Rhaegal spoke up: "Excuse me just a moment... you said that your people are one of those forced into hiding. Do you mean, perhaps, that there are other peoples who see dragons in the same way you see them? I mean... less as monsters and more as higher entities?"
Arethar nodded vigorously in response and smiled even more so that his lips nearly touched her eyes. "Your world is about to get much bigger"