Jaxon dragged deep breaths of the much cooler air. It had felt like he'd been breathing in an oven. Promise had been ordered to heal their slightly singed throats from breathing but he declined, preferring to wait for a mage. Priest healing was unpleasant at best, and while the light burns were uncomfortable it was far from the worst he'd ever suffered.
Sebastian was the best off with his dragon jeweled cane that had kept him safe from the burns, but he was sweating. He glared at the priests as drew himself to his full height towering over the children. "Perhaps Lord Reece should have just blinded the lot of you, as clearly your eyes are useless decorations." Sebastian sneered then left.
Bodin was slowly regaining his wits as he thought about the interaction, whatever had set Lord Reece off could not have been some trivial matter. He was also healing the nobles after his own throat and knees had been healed. There had been cracks in his bones while all his flesh that had come into contact with the stone had been grilled... Bodin shuddered.
After Devlin caught his breath he glanced around, "That wasn't fire from using mana..." He stated with a hint of trepidation, even as the floor was melting, even as fire engulfed the room... even as his flesh baked from the heat... he hadn't detected a single sliver of mana.
Lucian jolted as he met Devlin's serious gaze, "Then what was it?"
Devlin glanced at the Pope and remaining Cardinal, "It almost... felt like a blessing? But it was still different. I, don't think Ashton is human. It's also different from mana I feel from beasts... or beast cores." He finally admitted as the rest of them tensed.
Jaxon shuddered then glared at the pope, "You thought he was a dragon, and you still provoked him?" He rasped out almost in disbelief. It would make a lot of sense if Ashton was a dragon, his control of fire that could kill a land dragon. Those... guardians, his territorial boundaries. The need to barter, the gems he always had.
Bodin composed himself standing to his full height, "I do believe he is a dragon. The dragon heart, which had been all but drained is slowly revitalizing. I also learned the day Lord Reece entered the capital is the day the heart gave the first beat in almost a decade."
Everyone shared glances of awe or horror, "He said he wasn't a dragon." Leonard reminded as Promise finished healing his throat. A mage had arrived, immediately healing Lucian who had refused to be healed by the priests.
Bodin hesitated, "Many breeds of dragons have specific names, calling him dragon in common could also be interpreted as uncommon lizard." He then turned his unhappy gaze to Promise who bowed.
"I was negligent, clearly the ascending process is particularly hard on the young one." Promise apologized. It was her negligence that had enraged the young one. His control was impressive though, there was a reason ascending dragons were held in the church. They could kill thousands in a moment of rage from something as simple as someone speaking in an annoying voice.
Jaxon stared in disbelief, "We could have died, died. You're saying he's not even a full dragon yet?" The mage had finished with Lucian and was now working on his own throat.
Randal had also paled considerably; he'd been challenging a dragon? It was a wonder the capital was still standing. Or that only three were dead in the months Ashton had arrived.
"What do you mean ascending, he's not acting anything like the legends say about the ascending?" Leonard asked looking at both priests, he wasn't particularly fond of the church after learning what Lucian and Jaxon had endured... but that didn't mean he would turn down more effective healing or information.
Bodin sighed, clearly Promise was hoping to get their cooperation in getting Lord Reece to settle in the Empire, allies were appreciated... if they weren't incompetent. "We all know the first Emperor of Smyrna was a trueborn dragon who transformed into a human and mated with holy priestess who became first empress, thus founding the Empire."
Leonard sighed, "Yes, we are familiar with the tale. But Ashton is not part of the royal family." This was hardly a time for legendary grudges turned love affair.
"Like we said, he could be a different breed. We have been searching the archives, but... the imperial library may have more information. The records we've found only explain how rare the survival of half dragons are the further from the dragon parent. Dragon fire can only be controlled by a dragon, even the descendants cannot always adapt. That's why all of the imperial bloodline who show signs of dragon fire are raised in the church." Bodin explained, the imperial records would have a diligent record of their bloodline. The priest records only contained the children they were aware of... but if there was a secret record it would have to be kept by the imperial family.
Lucian sneered, "If a dragon ascended arrives, you intend for him to take the throne." That of course meant, that the current occupant would have to be removed. The church had basically just declared they would rebel.
Bodin's eyes didn't waver, "It may be a sign, but first and foremost, our duty as the Faithful, is to ensure Lord Reece ascends safely." Bodin challenged, the empire was founded by a trueborn dragon, less than a handful of descendants in over 700 years had ever ascended.
Lucian growled as he paced back and forth. Maybe Ashton wasn't Alphonse's bastard... maybe he was a lost line of the Smyrnaean bastards... it would explain his aversion to the capital. All four safe ascensions had been in the heart of the capital's chapel, surrounded by the artifacts left by the first emperor. Seven had failed causing catastrophic damage.
"We also don't know which line of dragon's Ashton would be, we do know they all instinctively found artifacts to sooth themselves, also... all of them already had mates. We should be looking to find one worthy of Lord Reece." Bodin reminded glancing around, having Ashton give his dragon heart to a Smyrnaean mate would ensure he stayed in the Empire. The moment Ashton had a mate... the empire would have a path to salvation.
Jaxon stared at Bodin like he was mad, then glanced at Lucian. Dragons did not share mates, while the trueborn dragon had three mates, and two of his ascended descendants had more than one, all mates had been chaste prior to the claiming. If Lucian planned to take Ashton as a male consort... that would be more than just a battle, it would be a full-blown war.
Leonard also turned to Lucian, "Should we inspect the royal archives for what to do?" When the dragonking attempt to ascend started to show signs of failing, the members and mates were all imprisoned far from the capital. The failures would absorb all the mana for over a hundred miles in all directions... then when the ascension failed the bodies would explode from mana overload.
All of the mana would return to nature, the increased mana would stabilize the area, meaning droughts, famines, disease, and flooding would be significantly reduced for several decades. But the center where the dragonkin had died, would be burnt for several miles. The mates would also die of mana overload but the damage would only be a fraction of their dragonkin mate.
"Fine." Lucian growled. As if there wasn't enough to do already.
Ashton did not meet with priests, they sent word they would make their apologies at a later date. Ashton spent the night soothing his separated his mana, while he didn't have to break and reconnect, he did have to thoroughly clean his channels.
If his regular mana was water, his mana channels were pipes, the silver mana was akin to snow powder with tiny ice shards mixed in. The only thing separating the water and snow powder was paper over the open pipes, he had to quickly scoop the ice powder away before the paper dissolved or the snow melted. Once the snow powder was in the pipes there was no getting it out. Not only would the snow powder continue to freeze the pipes with each cycle of water, as the paper dissolved it would also start to clog the pipes. Eventually, Ashton would have to find a way to melt the snow... with his current pipes that was not an option.
Ashton was carefully scooping up all the powder, without damaging the paper. Not exactly hard... but tedious and time consuming before they irreversibly mixed.
Ashton skipped the morning court on the third day so he could ride to the market square, he found one of the smaller fountains surrounded by benches near an alley and sat down. He faced away from the alley to wait, less than thirty minutes later a cloaked figure sat on the opposite side of the fountain facing the alley.
"I do hope your people weren't too inconvenienced." Ashton remarked just loud enough for his guest to hear. A silencing ward surrounded the two of them. Ashton examined it, fairly well made, virtually undetectable. He doubted a single person would notice even if they sat beside him.
"What is your purpose?" the disjointed voice demanded, it sounded as if several dozen people were speaking at once.
Ashton sighed, "Dear Lady, I thought we could be more open with each other." Ashton leaned back spreading his arms over the back of the bench as he gazed up. Even here, away from the palace, it was too dark to see the sun...
The figure froze, "You're bluffing."
"To be more accurate, two humans know the full extent of your mother's involvement. Worry not, my goal is just to delay for a bit." Ashton informed closing his eyes to recall how it felt to be bathed in sunlight. That subtle, tender warmth you often didn't even notice. Not until it was gone.
"Why?" a soft feminine voice demanded. So young to be so deep in such conspiracies... to have taken so many innocent lives.
"It would be awkward if the Empire had a full-blown rebellion during my temporary stay," Ashton explained neutrally as he opened his eyes. Though he intended for the church to become the common enemy of nobles and commoners alike... that wouldn't exactly be a rebellion.
"When do you leave?" The young lady demanded; her ward would only last a few minutes.
"If all goes according to plan, four months or less." Ashton informed; poor girl had been working hard. Of course, sacrificing over 6,000 people a year was rather detestable but she'd been quite careful. Hard to believe a lady in her early twenties was the second in command of an organization that had helped the church for nearly 700 years. What a pity they would have to be ousted for the empire to heal... or they would have to kill everyone who knew and support a new emperor.
"We could work together! You clearly hate Lucian just as much as we do." She offered, her main task had been to see if they could win him to their side. If such a powerful mage, or leader of mages worked with them... they might find another way. They weren't doing this for power... they were doing this for the people!
Ashton sighed, "I have no intention of entering Smyrnaean politics. Hopefully my... allegiances will be made clear during the first day of the banquet." There were so many secrets. In their organization, from the church, from the imperial bloodline... it was no wonder none of them were aware of how dire their situation truly was.
"He's a bad emperor, he's going to be the end of us!" she hissed angrily.
"Be that as it may, I didn't appreciate the rats your sister sent. Also, if your mother hurts anyone of the Carlos Dutchy that I'm protecting... well I might find a personal reason to retaliate." Ashton informed coolly. What a pity that this girl wasn't aware of the whole truth... it made sense though. With such a passionate daughter, she would be horrified. Such passion could turn to hate... or despair. Neither of which were conducive to the survival of the empire as a whole.
"He's helping Lucian though! He's a traitor." She growled, "You're making double standards."
"Our opinions differ on the subject, as long as my people and the commoners are kept out of your schemes, including that of the church, I will leave you lot alone. Now, send my regards to your family." Ashton informed as the ward used up the last of its mana. Ashton didn't say anything or look back as the girl hurriedly left. Ashton even believed they were doing the best with the information they had available to them... but they didn't have all the information and without his interference the empire would eventually fall to a hellscape beyond their control.
Ashton continued to watch the bustling scene for another hour. While Lucian was a poor visionary who could only focus on end results, he was trying to become a better emperor and move away from a warmonger. Ashton sighed; it was a pity Lucian was too stubborn to listen to his aids. But all that was understandable... Lucian couldn't even listen to his own instincts... how could he listen to others?
Ashton slowly made his way back ignoring the priests as he let the horse walk all the way to the eastern palace. Being around them, or more specifically the damned souls, was making him irrationally irritable, Ashton took a deep breath. Out of sight, out of mind... at least until he could do something. He couldn't even be bothered to sneer as rumors of a dragon ascending were already being whispered throughout the palace.
Ashton also ignored the missives from the empress, then the emperor, and lastly even Sebastian's. While Sebastian's had the duchy seal, he had clearly not written it. Ashton finished clearing out the last of the still removeable silver mana.
Ashton decided instead of sealing his silver mana... he would seal his regular mana. This would rapidly progress his ascension but keep him from being in debilitating pain.