Aron slammed his hand on the meeting table and pointed at Seren in rage.

"How could you have kept something like this a secret from us for so long?" He demanded. They had just cleared the room after 12+ hours of discussion. He could no longer find it within himself to hold back his rage. Seren had dropped the bomb that there was a secret monster society living peacefully under their nose.

Not only did they exist, but they had abilities and technology well beyond anything they thought possible. Seren rolled her eyes at Aron not being shaken by his outburst.

"And what would you have done with that information?"

"Plan ways to attack them. Guerrilla warfare, maybe steal some of their technology to reverse engineer and use it for ourselves." Aron reasoned.

"That's exactly why I didn't tell you! Your actions would have just expedited the situation we are already in." Seren slammed her hand down in frustration. He had already caused them more than enough trouble as is.

"If you weren't my wife, you would be brought up on charges of treason!"

"How dare you?! What treason have I committed? I have performed everything for the will of Heka and have done everything as mandated by our laws."

Aron got up from his seat, standing over Seren with a look of rage.

"You withheld information from your leader."

"I am a Dyrthion! Our clan is the keeper of secrets and knowledge. It is under our purview to decide what you should or should not know!" Seren stood up to meet her husband's stare. This was the first time they were this upset with each other since the death of Drakhalon's child.

"So you would ignore my authority?" Aron frowned.

"You have granted yourself authorities that do not belong to you!!" Seren purposely shouted loud enough for those standing outside the meeting room to hear.

"What?!" Aron was shocked by her outburst.

"You are moving the Theronites as you will, you are making unilateral decisions, and you are reporting to the rest of us later. Reneging on promises we have made whenever it suits you. You don't—" Before she could finish her statement, Aron struck her across the face with an open palm.

"I don't what? I don't deserve this position? You wish it was my brother here instead?" Aron was incredulous. Seren was shocked by his actions. He had never dared to hit her before. Aron immediately calmed down and reached out to Seren.

"Don't touch me…" Seren pulled away.

"I have never once compared you to your brother…" Seren said with a pained look on her face. That look nearly broke Aron's heart, but if he could hear Seren's thoughts,

"Of course, I've never compared the two of you… Look at you. There's nothing to compare." Seren turned away from Aron and continued,

"You don't seem to understand what your actions have resulted in. Every decision you make without proper counsel worsens the situation!" Seren frowned as she looked over her shoulder at Aron.

"I'm trying to protect you, Seren."

"Your actions are what put me in danger!!! You learned nothing from the Darkest Day. You just want to one-up your brother by killing the thing that killed him." Seren pushed Aron away from her, not wanting him anywhere near her.

"You are constantly in competition with a ghost you can never surpass because he no longer exists! I won't tell you to get over your inferiority complex. It's so deeply ingrained I don't know what would be left of you. But I'll be damned if I continue to let you lead us to ruin." Seren, still holding her face, walked away.

"Where are you going?" Aron asked.

"I'm going to help our son set up a proper defense. I will no longer leave my survival in your hands." Seren walked towards the door, a sly smile arched across her face. Aron stood there in silence as he watched Seren walk away.

Aron's and Seren's voices pierced the thick walls and entered the ears of Selistar, Léonie, and Stefan, who stood with a handful of elders.

"Are they always like this?" Stefan said, folding his arms.

"No, I've never seen the two lose their cool like this. Especially Mother." Selistar frowned.

"It's understandable; that was quite a lot to take in… Firmatha Sanguar… Jesus." Léonie rubbed her temple as she leaned against the wall.

She had always believed that Chasers were at the forefront of the secret war; that it was just a matter of time before everything was brought to heel. She was correct, only that the human race was currently on the opposite side of that equation.

"While I can understand, we don't have time for them to continue to bicker like this. We are already at a severe disadvantage, and we are not sure if The Anomaly is working with them." Stefan commented,

"I agree." Selistar frowned as he stared at the large door. The elders around them nodded their heads in agreement.

"Has Dr. Hamilton already left?" Selistar asked.

"Yes, she left yesterday before the attack was reported." And Elder responded.

"Good…" Selistar said. He didn't need to worry about keeping Dr. Hamilton safe with what was coming next.

With Firmatha Sanguar, Dr. Hamilton's research would be invaluable to their future. He would need to make arrangements to have someone keep an eye on Subject Alpha. He sighed as he started to walk. As the others began to follow him, they heard the door behind them open.

Seren walked out, a red mark still present on her face. Selistar frowned as he looked at the wound on his mother's cheek. He looked into the room, glaring at his father. They made eye contact just as the door was closing. Aron couldn't bring himself to look at his son as he turned away.

"Fucking pathetic coward…" Selistar growled.

The Elders looked at each other and then looked towards Seren. She smiled at them and then looked towards her son and said,

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"I'm sure you know what comes next."

"Yes." Selistar nodded and then began to walk down the hall. He began to give his orders as Léonie and Stefan gave their opinions and suggestions. Seren's eyes widened. She was sure that she would need to offer her son some counsel, but he was handling things well on his own. Selistar looked at his mother and smiled.

"The Persequions have been living rather peacefully; the three of us have been in constant guerrilla warfare for the past five-plus years. You can leave this to us." Selistar smiled. She touched his cheek and sighed.

"You're just… as exceptional as I could have hoped. I'll go check on Roratha then. Contact me if you need assistance." Seren wanted to tell Selistar, he was just like his father but caught herself. She cleared her throat as she separated from the group.

It wasn't long before she found herself in the room where they were holding Roratha. It was a plain room carved out of the ground; all that was there were the natural walls and an open space. Roratha was still unconscious, floating in the middle of a spatial orb. Several Elders sat there maintaining the barrier. Seren's fingers rubbed over an interface on her left wrist as she shut down all recording devices in the room.

"I need you all to leave," Seren commanded.

"What? We can't do that if we drop this barrier…" One of the elders tried to explain.

"She could escape or kill herself. I can assure you that she will be doing neither. I need to talk to her, alone…" Seren commanded the Elders again.

"If she does kill herself or escape, I will take full responsibility; we need all hands preparing for what's coming anyway. So leave!" She commanded for the last time. The elders sighed and nodded their heads.

The orb lowered to the ground, and Roratha lay there unconscious. It would be several minutes before the copious amounts of sedatives pumped into her veins would run their course. She sat on the ground next to her, placing Roratha's head onto her lap.

After several minutes had passed, Roratha slowly opened her eyes. She saw Seren staring down at her and smirked. Seren smiled back at her. Roratha glanced at the room around her and then sat up, leaning her back against the wall.

"What's your scheme?" Roratha asked, not bothering to try anything.

"Whatever could you mean?" Seren asked coyly.

"You're here alone and don't expect me to kill you or myself after we finish this conversation. What are you scheming? I won't help you fight a dragon if that's what you're after." Roratha laid out her stance.

"There's no need for that. I've already had a conversation with the dragon coming for my life. We have struck a deal. I'm here to share the details of that deal. Things will go smoother if you weren't trying to kill yourself." Seren started to giggle.

Roratha rolled her eyes; she didn't know whether it was divine luck, divine intelligence, or a combination. She always seemed to be able to find her way out of these situations. Roratha asked,

"Are you willing to betray Aron and Heka?"

"I'm not betraying Heka… I will do what I must for my child's future. I'm sure you understand." Seren smiled at Roratha.

"So, what did you say to him?" Roratha asked.

Seren leaned her head back against the wall and said,

"Selistar is not Aron's." Roratha didn't say anything. She looked at Seren with a blank expression. Seren stared back at Roratha, shocked by her response. Seren frowned as she heard Roratha

"And?"

"Did you already know?" Seren asked.

"Nope, but it's not surprising. It was more surprising that you went along with being tied to Aron, but now it makes sense. Good… his bloodline needs to die with him." Roratha let out a sigh of relief as she looked at the reddening on Seren's cheek. Drakhalon and Aron were twins, and Selistar looked somewhat like his father, it was simple enough to deduce his parentage. She thought it was a bit of divine judgment that Drakhalon's line would persist and Aron's had already ended. She could now see why Zac would change his methods. She got a general idea of what was going on, but there were some details she needed to be filled in on.

"So give me the rundown… you little slut." Roratha chuckled. Seren slapped Roratha's shoulder and giggled.

"You're such a bitch." She proceeded to relay her thoughts to Roratha.

Back in the meeting room, Aron stood motionless, gripping his fist. He slammed his fist into the wall behind him.

"Dammit!!!" He was disgusted with himself.

Not only because of what he had done but because of the thoughts running through his mind. Seren had always been the only one in his corner; she was the one who gave him the wings to soar as high as he had so far. She covered up every one of his screw-ups, and she never complained.

"Dammit…" He whimpered.

She was right; he was the direct cause of all of this. He was resentful of Roratha's talent and feared her son would usurp his son's position. When that failed, he made the ill-advised decision to attack that dragon's mate. He felt a sense of accomplishment, killing the same creature that killed his brother, but only for a fleeting moment.

He thought he had always hidden his insecurities well. But the mounting pressure from the recent events and the sudden appearance of Fimartha Sanguar had made him hit his boiling point. He sighed,

"I need to gather my thoughts. Selistar can handle things now, but I can't let him…" Aron caught himself thinking that he couldn't let Selistar shake his foundation. He began laughing as he realized how pathetic he was being. Now he was jealous of his own son?

"What's wrong with me?" Aron slapped himself and straightened his back as he began to walk out of the waiting room. Even if he would let Selistar handle things from here, he would provide whatever help he could. However, he would first need to apologize to his wife.

"Just a moment." A voice called out to Aron, who was given a fright. He jumped away from the voice as he stared into a dark corner of a room. That corner was unnaturally dark, and that figure was wearing a black hooded cloak that covered the entirety of his body and face.

"What the hell are you?" Aron was on guard.

"I am what I am. It hasn't been that long, has it? Hmm, I suppose for you 400 years is quite the time." The cloaked figure walked around the room. He was mumbling something under his breath as Aron interrupted his train of thought.

"400 hundred years? The Wanderer?" Aron gasped.

Aron frowned. He was many things, but he was not a complete fool; he could not simply believe that this person was the Wanderer just from a few words.

"Right, The Wanderer, that was one of the names you gave me. You guys seemed to be in a tight spot… again. So I'm here to give you some assistance." The Wanderer responded, without looking at Aron as he continued to observe the meeting room.

"Can you prove that you are who you say you are?" Aron asked.

"Yes, yes…" The Wanderer, in an annoyed voice, began to list off the past 50 leaders of the Persequions in order. When they got around to Aron's great-grandfather, he stopped them. He had made clear that he was who he said he was. Aron smiled with excitement and asked,.

"You are willing to help us fight Firmatha Sanguar?" The elation bubbled in his throat.

"Oh, no. If it was just them, then sure, but they have the assistance of Dragons. I'd rather not get directly involved in all that." The Wanderer shivered a bit.

"Are even you afraid of the Dragons?" Aron asked. However, what happened next sent shivers down his spine: a single eye of the Wanderer peered out from under his hood for just a moment. Once Aron matched its gaze, he felt the world crumble around him. He could feel his very form being stripped on a molecular level. The Wanderer blinked and then turned away.

Aron let out a gasp of air as he dropped to his knees, struggling to catch his breath. The Wanderer sighed as he ran his fingers along the meeting table.

"I am not afraid of the Dragons, but the… Let's just say we all have rules we are bound by and leave it at that." The Wanderer spat, annoyed with his own situation.

Aron had no doubt that this person was the Wanderer now. There was no reason for someone so strong to play games or toy with him. Aron gathered himself and asked,

"So if you are unwilling to combat the Dragons directly, what help can you offer us?"

"I'm going to tell you how to kill one. And give you some very pertinent information about a certain Dragon. What you do with that information will be up to you." The Wanderer answered.

"Why tell me, and not Selistar or Seren?" Aron was curious.

"Because you are the one who needs to know, for the proper path to be opened." The Wanderer responded.

This declaration filled Aron with pride. Finally, fate had smiled upon him, and he could finally fulfill his full potential like he knew he could. He was certain that he could use this information to protect his family.

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