2579 Square One (Part 3) "This is a great opportunity to restore the fallen races forever and get back in touch with our lost kin. We are not sure if we can solve Jiera's crisis with so few people. "Rescuing the Svartalf- I mean, the orcs, might be the first step for the Awakened races to reconnect with the elves like the Guardians suggested." Aalejah said. "Maybe, but we'll never know since your people keep hiding like rats." Raagu shrugged. "Unless you know their location and are willing to act as our ambassador, the orcs are useful only as soldiers. There's nothing to learn by studying their life force since they belong to a non-human species." "I'm sorry but that's impossible." Aalejah lowered her eyes. "I always lived with the World Tree and back when they sent me to Urgamakka, they Warped me straight to the Council. I have no idea where my old home is located since I've never been allowed to leave the Fringe on my own. "Only fully fledged Chroniclers know the position of the elven colonies and I've never become one. Br'ey is the first elf I've met in years." "My point exactly." Raagu said with a triumphant tone. "There is no point in wasting resources for a pipe dream. Also, elves couldn't be part of the Council anyway since they cannot Awaken without the help of the World Tree." Syrah couldn't argue any of the human representative's words. The only card she had left to play was the Tyrant legacy but it was a dangerous gamble. Not only did she think that it belonged to Morok and her people as compensation for Glemos' wrongdoings, but it was also likely to backfire. 'Only Ryla can access the secret compound and I'm not sure she would agree with these terms. On top of that, if we share the Tyrants' legacy with the Council, we'd be left with nothing. 'They would take the few resources left in the vaults and the books, leaving us at their complete mercy. 'Even if the Council succeeds in perfecting the Harmonizers and crafting new ones, we'd have no ingredients to craft our own and we'd end up depending on the Awakened. We'd put a leash on ourselves that might not come undone for centuries.' "Faluel did fulfill her promise." Morok stepped forward. "Humans can successfully evolve and I'm living proof of it." "Don't be ridiculous! Tyrants are Emperor Beasts." Raagu swept the air with her hand, scoffing. "That's what I believed as well until Glemos told me the truth. Tyrants and Balors are two sides of the same coin and we both descend from humans. Check my life force if you don't believe me." Syrah inwardly sighed in relief, glad that he had delivered on Ryla's promise. The promise of a potential evolution was the final card that the Warlord had presented the Hati Queen after the "savior's" departure. The Undead Courts were bound to feel threatened by such a revelation as much as the Council was supposed to be enticed at the idea. The only problem was that Awakened undead had nothing to gain either and ogres didn't present plant folk with much. They had failed to evolve so far and their powers didn't differ much from their cousins. If Zelex wanted to survive, they needed both humans and beasts to ensure a victory or at worst a stalemate during the vote in case the Guardians decided to not get involved in the decision. After studying Balors and Fomors, Raagu managed to catch the similarities between their life forces and the Tyrant's, spotting the common root they had in mankind. "This doesn't make sense." Her jaw was trembling in shock. "If you really are humans, why did you side with the beasts?" "According to my father, it's because my ancestors decided there was nothing to earn from you." Morok replied. "You are weak, egotistical, and lack bloodline abilities whereas beasts are strong and watch after their own. "By siding with the beasts, the first Tyrants got easier access to the Emperor and Divine Beasts' unique skills and avoided drawing attention from those who would have stopped at nothing to reach our same state. "I hope you understand that by revealing this to you, I'm making myself an enemy of my entire bloodline." He turned to Feela. "If you kick us out of the beast Council, most of my people will lose their identity and find themselves isolated. "Many have no idea they are actually evolved humans and consider themselves small, humanoid beasts like the warg." "Then why are you telling us that?" The Behemoth checked the various life forces as well, refusing to believe anything but her own senses. "Because I consider the victims of Glemos' experiments as my people as well." Morok waved his hand at the members of the senate. "I have no idea how many Tyrants were involved in my father's project, but I won't let the people of Zelex once again pay for my bloodline's mistakes just to cover my ass. "They are innocent, just like most Tyrants that live under the sun. I'm bounding my destiny to theirs because this way you can't doom the people of Zelex without hurting your fellow Awakened as well." A shocked silence ensued while the Council representatives tried to figure out the best course of action to avoid recriminations and discrimination against the Tyrants and Syrah struggled to understand the magnitude of Morok's sacrifice. "Thank you." Much to everyone's surprise, the broken and teary voice didn't belong to Feela. "I can only imagine how hard this must have been for you. From now on, the people of Zelex are under the protection of the human Council." Raagu hugged Urhen, then Ryla, and lastly, Morok, looking at each one of them like a long-lost child she had assumed dead. "I'm so sorry for what I said earlier. It's just that I'm so tired of seeing the members of the other races develop new species and branches while us humans always remain the same. "There are hundreds of different Emperor Beasts and as many Fae whereas humans give birth only to other humans. Some are stronger, others smarter, but our abilities have stagnated for as long as history remembers. "Despair, hopelessness, and the awareness that if not for our numbers humans would be the weakest among the Awakened factions blinded me to the priceless treasure you have offered me. "Just one second ago, there was only one human species. Now, there are four of us. Five, if Morok further evolves upon reaching the violet." "Not to be that guy, but what about me?" Lith said. "I'm an evolved human too." "Please." Raagu scoffed, finding her snarky self back. "You are part human, part beast, part Abomination. Before we find a way to replicate that, you'll have as many children as Leegaain. "And that assuming you only keep one companion at a time. They, instead are fully human. New branches sprouted from a single tree that offer us different paths of being a mere source of envy." "According to my father, Tyrants and Balors instead can further evolve by having offspring together." Morok exploited the human representative's sudden enthusiasm to raise the ante.