Haug smiled the most fatherly way he could while biting his tongue and nodded. "Thank you!" Dryna embraced him, her tail whipping around in joy. "I was scared you might have tried to stop me or reminded me of my vow of cutting ties with my clan for how they treated me in the past. What do you think Ghirslak want?" Haug shrugged, moving his hands awkwardly in sign language. "I’ve said my piece already. You can speak again." Dryna slapped her forehead. "Thank you." He panted as if holding his tongue also implied holding his breath. "Off the top of my head, I’d say it’s because of the Incontinent King. He’s looking for someone to teach him how to use Origin Flames and you fit the bill. "You are young, naïve, have received basic training from your family, and have a huge chip on your shoulder since the day they exiled you. My bet is that Ghirslak is closing ranks to keep people like you from being turned against the family." "I don’t have a chip on my shoulder!" Dryna snarled, fire seething out of her throat as golden scales covered her skin. "Then you’re a great actor and must have played the long game because you sure had me fooled." Zelima walked out of the kitchen while still wearing her work apron. "Fine!" Dryna clenched her own face, trying to calm down. "I may bear a bit of resentment for the name calling and all that followed." "A bit?" Zelima snorted. "Don’t push me, woman!" Dryna went full Wyvern with complementary roar and a burst of Origin Flames. "If you want my advice, don’t act like this in front of your elders or you’re going to get us both killed." Haug sighed. "When is the meeting?" "In three hours." Dryna replied as she shapeshifted back in human form. "Good. We have all the time to prepare you for- Three hours? Forget preparing you. We’ve got barely the time to get there!" *** Enjoy exclusive adventures from freewebnovel Three hours and several Warp Steps later, Dryna and Haug reached the Golden Crown Mountain. They found two Wyverns wearing their best war gear waiting for them at the entrance. Dryna was in her Wyvern form, wearing solely a hairband Zelima had gifted her on one of her horns. Haug, instead, wore an ample mage robe over a pristine white shirt and black pants. ’I haven’t worn my Council Elder clothes in years. I feel like a clown.’ He thought. The guards glared at the smaller Wyvern and gestured her to follow them with a wave of their sleek necks as they advanced on all fours. "This doesn’t bode well." Dryna’s whisper boomed due to the echo of the caves, making her swallow hard and drawing another glare from the guards. "And you say I can’t keep my mouth shut." Haug chuckled. "Hello, pot. My name is kettle, and I’m black." After a short walk, they reached the waiting room of the Blood Hall. It was the hallowed grounds where the Wyvern bloodline assembled since its birth, dug into the mountain through the efforts of generations of Wyverns as their numbers increased. Dryna saw several other Wyverns lined up against either side of the tunnel. Some were younger than her, some were older. All of them had been exiled from the clan just like her. "Now this doesn’t bode well." Haug said as the guards left them there and flew back to the entrance. "If old Xedros were the one calling this meeting, I would think he rounded up the weak links of the bloodline to kill them all in one fell swoop. "The space is sealed and we are surrounded by millennia-old Wyverns who have forgotten more things we’ll ever learn." The exiled Wyverns’ eyes went wide, looking at each other like cornered rats, afraid their neighbour would bite their throat first. "Haug!" Dryna snarled. "I’m already scared out of my wits. Was that really necessary?" "I said if old Xedros were the one calling this meeting, but he’s dead." Haug shook his head calmly. "Just the fact that Ghirslak didn’t kill everyone in order of arrival is a good sign. It means he has no intention of harming any of us. "Why should he let us discuss and band together when he could just kill you guys one by one?" The Wyverns sighed in relief, feeling part of the tension about the meeting fading away. "If Ghirslak is waiting for all the exiled members of the clan to arrive, it means he has something to say to you and doesn’t want to repeat himself. Also, he might want you guys to discuss among yourself before making whatever decision he’ll present to you." After a few more Wyverns arrived, the massive stone double doors studded with mana crystals and Adamant opened. The Blood Hall resembled a semicircular amphitheatre with a pitched floor. The higher a Wyvern’s seat stood, the higher their authority in the clan. The clan members with the lowest status sat at the ends of the amphitheatre, but even they were in a higher position than the supplicants who were forced to stand on the center stage. The Blood Hall owed its name to the fact it was mostly used for trials, which mostly ended up with an execution. The entire Wyvern bloodline was assembled so there was no empty seat. Hundreds and hundreds of scaled heads, each bigger than a barrel, swayed at the end of long golden necks, forming a line-up as formidable as intimidating. A single collective breath of Origin Flames would have been enough to kill dozens of Divine Beasts, let alone a bunch of poorly trained Hatchlings. Much to the exiles’ surprise, however, the reason there were no empty seats in the Blood Hall was that their chairs had been moved to the center stage. The patriarch didn’t expect them to stand so it was not a trial. Yet by placing the exiles’ seats at the lowest level, the clan was sending them a clear message. They may be guests in the Blood Hall but they were still pariahs. "Sit down, please." Ghirslak’s baritone voice roared like thunder, yet the most shocking thing was hearing him say "please". Clan members and exiles alike stared at him like he had suddenly ascended to Dragonhood. "You too, Elder Haug." A wave of Ghirslak’s winged hand conjured a comfortable porous stone chair. "I’m sorry for the accommodation, but I wasn’t prepared for human guests. You can sit by my side, if you want." The patriarch pointed at a luxurious and massive padded chair that was kept in case of sudden and honorable guests. "Thank you for your offer, Patriarch Ghirslak, but I’ll stand by my pupil." Haug placed his hand on Dryna’s winged limb, reassuring her he wouldn’t abandon her. "Very well." Ghirslak nodded. "I won’t lie to you, my lost brethren, if it weren’t for the threat of the Incontinent King, you probably wouldn’t be here today, but not by my choice." He paused briefly to glare at the clan elders before resuming his speech. "Ever since Xedros the Traitor died, I’ve realized the errors of our ways. We Wyverns have let our pride and hunger for power poison our clan from within."