Supreme Magus

After learning what had happened to her youngest son, Faluel had closed herself inside her lair for a few days to grieve him.

The Council felt guilty for what had happened and offered her reparation. After all, had they intervened when Vladion had requested their help, maybe they would have exposed Xedros's mad plan and many of their youths would still be alive.

Sedra wasn't the first child Faluel outlived yet she didn't resent them any less. She blamed the Council in general and all the Guardians' bloodlines in particular for their carelessness.

From Lith's report, it was clear that the Father of all Wyverns would have never succeeded if not for so many like-minded Emperor Beasts treating their apprentices like the scum of Mogar.

After the events in the Eclipsed Lands, the Council had decided to rediscuss the rules and the protections regarding their youths, hoping to find a way for such a tragedy to never happen again.

Qisal the Wyvern ended up taking his father's place as he had always wanted. The Wyvern's bloodline needed a new elder in the Council and his older siblings had no desire to get mixed with politics.

Yet they wanted to stand tall among their peers and to get rid of the mark of infamy that Xedros had cast upon them all so they taught Qisal both the secret of the violet core and the basics of Spirit Magic.

During that time, Faluel accepted only the visits of her friends, like Feela the Behemoth, and of Lith.

Even in her grief, she knew that between the traumatic events that he had lived, the metamorphosis of the violet core, and the break up with Kamila, the young Tiamat needed all the guidance he could get.

With Scarlett and Kalla gone, there was no one that she trusted enough to care for him more than they did for political plays. Feela was a great woman, but her seat in the Council affected all of her actions and, in his weakened status, Lith was easy prey.

"I know this is the stupidest question in Mogar, but I have to ask it anyway. How are you feeling today?" Lith had gone to visit her two days after his break up yet Faluel had learned about Sedra's fate from Kalla three days back, the same night he had left Lightkeep.

"Like crap. You?" Faluel slouched on her favorite couch, surrounded by bottles of alcohol and plates of sweets.

"Same. Hope this helps. Be careful because it's cold." Lith offered her a huge bowl filled with some kind of thick cream.

Half of it was deep brown while the other half was milky white and both were covered in chocolate chips.

"What's that thing?" She could smell a sweet scent filling her nose.

"I call it ice cream. It works miracles after a break up so I thought it might also help you with grief." Lith replied while taking one of Faluel's bottles.

He took a bowl for himself out of his pocket dimension, sprinkling abundant Red Dragon over the ice cream, mixing them together before using round chocolate cookies to scoop the ice cream.

"Isn't it early for drinking?" Faluel asked.

"The sun has set for a couple of hours already. It's late enough for me."

She had lost track of time, but being close to the winter solstice, darkness would fall early. Faluel followed his lead nonetheless, tasting the weird dessert with and without the alcohol.

"Good gods, it's delicious. Have you ever thought about selling ice cream?"

"I did, but the recipe is too simple. Any magico could make it and I would lose the exclusive faster than you can say seconds, please." Lith replied.

"Well, it would make a lot of people happy. Ice cream would be a great gift for all living creatures on Mogar." Faluel said.

"I'm sorry but I'm not sorry. I've got no intention of becoming the DoLorean Magus nor the Wonka Magus. I'm not going to share anything unless I receive proper compensation." Lith said.

"The who Magus?" Faluel had never heard about Earth's fictional pastry chefs.

"Nothing. Do you want some cookies?" Lith said, eager to change the topic.

"Yes, please. What about the Miser Magus, then?" Alcohol and biscuits gave the ice scream the extra kick it needed to lighten even Faluel's mood.

"Sounds much more appropriate." He nodded.

They ate in silence, grieving alone together. Lith drowned the loss of Mirim, Kamila, and of his humanity while Faluel tried not to think of Sedra's final days.

One big bowl was enough for Lith, but just a snack for a Hydra. Luckily for her, Lith had brought seven bowls, one for each head. Once they were both done eating and quite tipsy, Faluel asked:

"Did you come just for bringing me some ice cream or is there something you need?"

"I know that I'm a jerk for bothering you so soon, but one of the reasons I had to leave my home is that the floor can barely hold my weight now. How do you Emperor Beasts keep yourself from being discovered if you weigh so much?" Lith asked.

"Gravity fusion. Once you know how to circulate six elements at the same time, you can mix them to behave akin to a human." Faluel replied.

"Does it mean that things like Spirit Fusion or Dimensional Fusion also exist?" Lith suddenly felt happy, but also very sleepy.

  "And what they would do?" She chuckled. "Fusion magic already ignores arrays and Dimensional Fusion would kill you. Unless you can survive your organs and blood warping around, of course."

"All right, point taken." Lith nodded. "When can you teach me Gravity Fusion?"

"Not today, that's for sure. The Red Dragon is a liquor for those of our size, created with the purpose of making us pleasantly intoxicated. I'm not going to mess with Gravity magic until I sober up and neither should you."

"How is Solus doing?" She asked.

"She's in the same shit as us plus she feels guilty for me and Kamila breaking up." Lith replied.

An awkward silence ensued while they tried to find something to talk about that wouldn't make their mood turn sour again. Yet both of them could only think about their respective issues, making the Red Dragon bottles sing an alluring tune that only they could hear.

"You should better leave. If we drink more, we might end up doing something that we'd regret tomorrow." Faluel said, pouring herself another drink.

"Agreed. Before I go, I want you to have these." Lith sealed her glass with a layer of ice and handed Faluel a pair of enchanted black gloves.

"Are these what I think they are?" The moment her breathing technique, Lifestream, gave her a grasp of the artifact's nature, excitement instantly sobered the Hydra up. 

"Yes, they are the Hands of Menadion. The King of Kolga used them to keep the water out of the city and fuel the arrays. I have no use for the Hands so I want you to have them." Lith said.

"Are you drunk or are you proposing to me? This is a priceless treasure. How can you say that you have no use for them? The Hands can turn even a crappy Forgemaster into a capable artisan and that's the least they can do." Faluel pushed them toward Lith, but he pushed them back.