Aurae held her bow, while the others had their breath stolen away from them.
They could tell at a glance they were in the presence of someone incredulously powerful, but none of them dared to let a single word slip. Ryfon, however, could feel their nervousness through tiny tremors in the surrounding mana. He chuckled once through his nostrils and shook his head, allowing a warm smile to grow.
Did she just say Father? Wait, no, that can't be right, Bernar thought, suddenly realizing the weight of what that meant.
"Rise, my beloved daughter. You do not need to bow to me," he said warmly, immediately cutting through the nervous tremors in the mana like a scythe to blades of grass. Aurae looked up with tears welling in her eyes, but to everyone's surprise, she darted forward and embraced him tightly.
"I've missed you so much, and I've done my best to ensure this land was taken care of, just like you asked me to," she said, her voice slightly muffled by his robes. "I've missed you, as well, Aurae. I see you've not only kept your promise, but you've made some extraordinary allies recently," he said, holding her shoulders in his broad hands as he glanced at the others.
"Tell me, how is it that my granddaughter came to wield Wraith mana? I can sense her presence in the realm. Was that your doing?" he asked her, but it was Ren who raised his hand. "Great One, I believe that was partially my fault," he said with a bow, getting a look of pleasant surprise from Ryfon.
"Ah, so you're one of the others I felt here. Yes, I might have guessed as much, since you were the one who gave Bernar, Siraye, and Thoma that power as well. It's a pleasure to meet you, too, Rennyr Virie," he nodded, getting an even lower bow from Ren in return.
"To address your earlier question, Father, she's doing well. I've had Ren keeping an eye on her since they left for the Gramm Isles in search of information on the Great Partition, but it seems they may have discovered a dark secret in the land," Aurae furrowed her brow in worry. Ryfon's large hand went to her cheek and gently turned it back toward him.
"I know what they found, but if my understanding of Thoma and the others who are with him is correct, they'll be able to handle themselves for what's to come next," Ryfon said, allowing Bernar, Taegin, and Ardrin to breathe a sigh of relief.
"However, that doesn't mean it will be an easy task, by any means. They have a challenge they must face ahead of them, and I'm sure the enemy they'll face will not be beaten so easily," Ryfon added, but as the last word left his mouth, a portal appeared off to his right, prompting the others to turn and face it, as well.
As Erumon stepped through the portal, he immediately sensed Ryfon's mana, forcing him to place a hand on his chest and bow deeply. "Duke Ryfon," he said
"My, my; if it isn't Erumon Akkeri, Warden of Kavrass and the Anchor of the Twilight Sea. A true pleasure to see you again, old friend," Ryfon said, offering him a knowing nod. "Duke Ryfon Ansuz, the honor is mine," Erumon said, immediately bowing the moment he realized who was standing before him.
They shared a glance, though it was evident they were catching each other up on the situation until his arrival, since Ryfon gave a few, silent nods of understanding.
"Well, that makes my work here much easier, then. The rest of you can drop the formalities as we won't be needing them anymore, as in this coming war, everyone will need to carry their own weight," he said in a tone that sent shivers down nearly everyone's spines.
"However, to do that, you must all understand what it is we're up against, and who better to ask than the one who's been helping this realm keep them at bay for over a millennium," Ryfon said, gesturing to Erumon, prompting the others to turn and look at him in pure astonishment.
"I knew he'd been fighting his old comrades, but for over a thousand years?" Neko asked Marte hushedly. She couldn't offer him an answer, as she was just as surprised as he was. "It's true, Neko, but I'm afraid our situation has gotten much worse than it was back then," Erumon said, his head hanging a little lower than usual.
"There may be those in my realm who have succumbed to Mideia's influence as well. According to my master, Karthus, the last council meeting they had made it seem like there were more than a few who'd begun to side with him," he began to explain, but only got confused looks from the others.
"You haven't told them about the events of the Great Partition, have you?" Ryfon asked, realizing the source of their confusion. "I didn't know enough details myself," Erumon shrugged tiredly, feeling the weight of his words beginning to weigh on him. "I see. Well, then. Let's move somewhere a little more comfortable, shall we, daughter?" Ryfon asked with a warm smile aimed at Aurae.
She led them to the same meeting room they'd used when Erumon and Ardrin revealed their plan to stop Mideia. Within the hour or so that followed, the others began filling Ryfon in on everything else that had occurred until that point, leaving no detail behind.
"Of course, there was that matter with Liagon's alternate," Anwill said with a furrowed brow. "Tell me, what became of it after the attack?" Ryfon asked. "It's still being studied, but I haven't had time to look at it through the eyes of the Authority since we've been so busy training the others," Anwill admitted with a sigh.
"Bring it here so I can take a look at it," Ryfon said gravely. Within a few minutes, a pair of elves came through the door, using mana to levitate the examination table and gingerly placing it in front of him. The others, namely Trina and Wien, blanched at the sight of the grotesque figure split in half.
"Thank you, gentlemen," Ryfon said, giving the two elves a nod of appreciation before he leaned in to examine it. His eyes shifted from their mismatched colors into ones of the purest white light, causing everyone except for Erumon to shield their eyes. "W-What is that?" Wien stammered. "I've never seen anything like it, so I'm not sure either. All I can say is that it's both welcoming and terrifying," Trina added with a wince as she tried to get another look at it.
As the light from Ryfon dimmed, the others slowly lowered their hands and looked on in shock as the alternate's body was completely repaired, with clear, pale skin free of any runes or markings. "H-How did you…?" Ardrin asked with widened eyes, causing Ryfon to smile.
"That was what's known as Meridian mana. To explain it in full would take a dragon's lifetime, but to put it simply, it is the culmination of nearly all mana combined into one, singular power," he said, clearly pleased with his work on the corpse. "Of course, that doesn't mean it can bring someone back from the dead, but it can heal nearly any wound so long as the core remains intact," he continued to explain.
"After all this time, the answer was so close and yet so far out of reach," Ardrin chuckled in disbelief. "Indeed. Why do you think Erumon knew to tell you that combining Ethereal mana from the Gwynnleaf with Vexing mana would work the way it did?" Ryfon said with a smile.
Ardrin was, for the first time since childhood, too stunned to speak, though Erumon could only offer him a single nod of understanding. "But wait, what does this mean for Kavrass? If the alternate came here and attacked Aurae, what did it hope to gain from that?" Leona asked, but her question immediately caused Ryfon's smile to fade.
"To explain what that meant, I must first go over the events of the Great Partition. I will spare many of the details, as they are no longer important, but the fact remains that Mideia led a rebellion against his fellow dukes," Ryfon began solemnly, forcing everyone to lean in and listen intently.