Legacy of the Dark Sage

Two days before the Grand Gathering, the city around the main palace teemed with human-formed dragons. Most of them came from families or tribes far from the heart of the plane, who decided to go to the city a couple of days early so they could sightsee or visit the business district and buy items that were rarely seen in their domain, adding to the allure of the city.

Initially, all dragons attending the Grand Gathering should stay in the main palace's complex. However, the main palace would only be open a day before the Grand Gathering. Thus, all those who wanted to come early had to book and stay at an inn in the city until the main palace opened its gates.

Thankfully, the early arrivals were few. If there had been more, the city inns would have struggled to accommodate them all.

In Aillos's chamber, inside his office, Eissen provided an in-depth report on the city's current affairs.

With his back on Eissen, Aillos watched the buzzing activity outside his mansion through his window.

"All family representatives under the Water Dragon Tribe have arrived and are currently staying at the Havenroad Inn. I have sent a couple of quilin officers to ensure they are well received there.

"The same goes for the different family representatives from the Earth Dragon Tribe. As for their accommodation, they booked a whole villa on Red Peak Street. The owner of the villa is Rugar. He owns a few villas in the same street. Our investigation shows that these villas are vacation houses for his people. Sometimes, he rents them out to his acquaintances.

For the record, Rugar is a merchant and is an Earth Dragon.

"Thus far, there has been no record of entry to the city from the representatives of Flame Dragon Tribes. However, based on their data from previous gatherings, we expect them to arrive tomorrow and come to the main palace at once.

"Some of the Golden Dragon Tribe representatives have also arrived. They booked an inn, similar to the Water Dragon Tribe representatives. However, unlike the latter, who are staying in the east, they booked an inn called Golden Spoon in the south—."

"Is it true that the Venom Dragon Tribe has not confirmed their representatives?" Aillos asked before Eissen could continue with his report.

Eissen paused and looked at his tablet. He checked his record and nodded his head before answering, "Yes. They haven't confirmed who will attend. However, they confirmed their attendance."

Aillos sighed, "They sure are taking their sweet time preparing the right representatives to send for the spar."

Eissen furrowed his brows. The Grand Gathering was supposed to be an event that allowed all leaders of different tribes to meet Aillos and discuss matters about their tribes. The spar was only an activity to exchange notes between promising talents of each tribes. At times when two tribes were at odds, they send their young representatives to spar.

The winner would then decide how they should resolve their differences. However, such spar rarely happened because they all heed Aillos's advice.

This time's Grand Gathering however, would be different. As Aillos remarked, the gathering would focus more on sparring because of the Regis Family.

"Milord, are you really going to allow a spar between the dragons and those…8 humans? No matter how I see it, there is no way for them to match up with even the lowest-level dragon here. It will only be a repeat of the spars those Regis who arrived first experienced against the clan's promising talents."

Aillos raised his brows and looked at Eissun in amusement, "What's this? Are you worried about them?"

Eissen's expression turned blank in an instant and said, "I only worry about what Lady Ames would do if they got hurt."

He still remembered how Ames reacted when he and Nothum tried to take Kyran and his guests and did not want to think about what she would do if they were bullied during the gathering.

Aillos chuckled and said, turning his attention back outside the window, "Don't worry. Like the other families and tribes, there will only be three, five at most, Regis member who will attend the gathering. Kyran will definitely be one, then Aron and Cade. As for the other two spots, it is up to them who they want to come."

"I'm sure they will include the young miss, who claimed to be Kyran's life partner."

"Sisi? Yes, she is invited, but she won't be coming as part of the Regis Family," Aillos confirmed. "Because, technically, she is not a Regis."

"...No? But how did she pass through the route...?"

"That is unimportant. Tell me the rest of your report."

Eissen studied Aillos for a moment before he replied, "... Alright. Since you've already asked about the Venom Dragon Tribe, I'll proceed with the Holy Dragon Tribe and Night Dragon Tribe reports..."

*

More dragon families and tribes arrived the next day, with representatives from the Flames, Holy, Night, and Venom Dragon Tribes arriving almost at the same time. One might even think that they agreed to come together.

Since the gathering will start tomorrow, the main palace opened its gates and escorted all the representatives to their assigned complex suites. Most tribes had about five to seven families each with three to five representatives.

Those with a confirmed number of attendees before the main palace opened their gates were provided complexes close to each other to ensure all families of the same tribe were together.

For those who still needed to confirm, their accommodation was still taken care of. But because they did not confirm the number of their attendees beforehand, some representatives from the same tribe were assigned to complex suites away from the rest of their tribe.

While the main palace was buzzing with activity, at the underground tomb of Coelus, the first few Regis groups that entered the Array Formation showed rapid growth in their mage level.

Those who entered as Masters advanced to Grand Masters; peak Grand Masters were now Exalteds, and Exalteds were now close to becoming Magus. Though their level was still incomparable to those in the Higher Realm, they were steadily getting there.

Meanwhile, the Regis members who were waiting for their turn to enter the formation continued to absorb the natural magic energy in the surroundings and meditate. They were also progressing, albeit they had yet to advance a level. Nonetheless, several of them received enlightenment about the difference in magic energy in the Lower Realm and Higher Realm.

When they were not absorbing magic energy and meditating, they would spar against each other. Since the gathering had not started officially, they could not use the dome to spar. They could also not use the training hall because some of the young dragon representatives used it to compare notes. Thus, they sparred in the open space outside Ames's mansion.

Preventive measures were placed around Ames's mansion and the surrounding complex where the Regis Family and Kyran's people stayed to ensure no dragon representatives would discover them. They only needed one more day to stay hidden until Aillos announced their arrival at the Grand Gathering, so they were cautious about being discovered.

*

Behind Aillos's mansion was a large outdoor garden with a clear blue lake at the center. In the middle of that lake was a two-story building that could only be entered through a hidden portal in Aillos's chamber.

Cyneah stayed in that building with a few female quilins who served Aillos and Ames for a long time.

That building was usually empty, and since it was installed with a cleaning array, there was no need for anyone to come and maintain it.

Only after Aillos took a liking to Cyneah did he open the building and allow her to use it. It was also one of the hidden safehaven in the Dragon Plane. Moreover, the building was visible from Aillos's chamber. If something amiss were to happen there, he would know it almost immediately.

Then again, no one was allowed to enter or get close to it, so such problems should not have been possible.

"Young miss, will you have your lunch here again?" a female quilin with a gentle demeanor and amiable face asked. Her small stature, white hair and eyes, reminiscent of a unicorn rather than a dragon. Her name was Soreen, and she was one of the younger quilin Aillos tasked to look after Cyneah.

Cyneah, sitting on a chair beside a four-poster bed, looked up at Soreen and smiled, "Yes, thank you."

Soreen peeked at the young man, who was still fast asleep on the bed and sighed helplessly. From what she heard, the young man was Lady Ames's great-great-great-grandson whom they were searching for.

'His name, if I remember correctly, is Kyran...'

It had been a few days since Lord Aillos brought Kyran there, and Soreen was present when Lord Aillos and Cyneah practically forced him to sleep. Since then, the young miss had almost never left his side. She had her meal there and slept in the sofa.

"It is not good for you to dine all the time in this room, young miss. You need some fresh air and a new environment," Soreen reminded her. She looked at the pillows and blanket neatly folded on the sofa and added, "Are you even able to sleep in such a cramped space?"

Though the sofa was not small, it was still small to be an alternative bed.

"Of course," Cyneah replied, flushing slightly at Soreen's question and adding in a soft voice, "I-It's not cramped at all..."

"But still..."

"Thank you for your concern, Soreen," Cyneah smiled. "But I want to be by his side when he wakes."

Soreen sighed once more and nodded helplessly, "Fine. If you need some company while waiting, don't hesitate to call us."

"I will. Thank you again, Soreen."

Soreen smiled and excused herself.

Almost as if on cue, Kyran's eyes opened the moment Soreen left.

"I don't see why I have to keep pretending to be asleep," Kyran said and sat up, looking at Cyneah skeptically. The truth was that he woke up last night and wanted to check on the others since then. However, Cyneah showed a rare coyness and asked him to keep pretending to be asleep for one more day.

Cyneah reddened and said, "I told you, if they find out your awake, they will let Lord Aillos know and he will make you… leave."

Kyran tilted his head, and a slight smile spread on his face. He found it cute how she could say something so embarrassing yet endearing.

Cyneah raised her head just at the right angle to face him. She had a cute pout on her face and grumbled, "You think I'm acting out of character, don't you?"

"I did think of something, but not about you, acting out of character."

"…"

Seeing Cyneah's flustered expression, Kyran let out a low laugh.

"But you know, if I pretend being unconscious, I'd starve to death."

"I did request more helpings, is it not enough?"

"…I've got a big appetite since I woke up," Kyran admitted. "Probably because I haven't eaten proper food for some time."

"Then I'll request for bigger portions."

"They'll be suspicious then."

"..."

"The gathering starts tomorrow. I need to meet with Father and Grandfather and discuss some things with Lord Aillos before then."

"Why am I the only one who feel the time we spent together is far too short?"

Kyran did not know how to answer that. The truth, he wanted to complete the things he had to do so he could spend more time with her. But he feared that if she told her that, some annoying force would get in his way and he would not be able to fulfill that.

In the end, Kyran chose not to comment on her words and asked, "Have you met with my parents yet?"

Cyneah blinked at his unexpected question. After a moment's hesitation, she replied uneasily, "I haven't left this place since Lord Aillos took me here."

Kyran frowned, "He sure is enjoying his time playing guardian…"

"He knows I have the Macabre Glacier, and he said its best stay away from beings that could potentially trigger it."

"…I kinda have the feeling that's the reason he wants to keep you hidden."

"He did say I can attend the gathering, as long as I stay close to you at all times."

"…I see."

"Such a lackluster response."

"…Sorry, I just thought of something and wondered if our parents heard about it."

Cyneah asked in confusion, "What do you mean? And… our parents?"

Kyran raised his brows, "Didn't anyone tell you?"

"About?"

"Father- I mean, your Father is also here."

"!"

Cyneah gasped at the news and blurted, "W-Why… more importantly, how did he enter the Regis Terram?"

She was aware of the Regis Terram's entry restrictions and was surprised to learn her birth father got passed it.

"I also want to know the answer to that. I'm also curious how my Servants and those I marked entered the terram."

Cyneah sighed. She knew she could not force Kyran to stay any longer with so many things he still had to do.

"Seems like I can't force you to stay…"

"What are you saying? I'm taking you with me."