Ascending Pride

Sebastian kept his face stoic as fresh tears mingled with the blood on Jakub's face, the sight becoming more ghastly with each tear. "The dragon's blessing? Why would the blessing become a… poison…" Sebastian trailed off, blessings of greed… his gaze slowly shifted to Ashton, then to Caius. One migratory, the other a constant wanderer.

Ashton gave a long blink as he both shrugged and nodded, "There is a reason we are considered beasts of sin, and why no humans settle in our territories permanently." Ashton remarked glancing around as he rested his chin on his knee again.

Caius hid his smile as the regina tensed but didn't otherwise show her surprise or confusion. Aiya, so many birds, such a small stone. Let them all learn early so Caius could bring his Little Snack away without resistance. Caius stiffened when his Little Snack glanced back for just a moment, Aiya, was the stone coming back to hit himself? What a rotten stone.

Jakub stared, "How do we kill a dragon that's already dead? No… we can't kill him… then none of the souls can be saved…" Jakub muttered… this was an impossible situation. Freeing the souls was an impossible so long as the dragon was protecting them, but if they killed the dragon first all the souls would lose their protection… then they would be truly damned.

Sebastian focused on the necromancer, "What do you mean? If the dragon is dead he can't bless anyone." Sebastian was trying to put the puzzle together but without an image and missing pieces it was a nearly impossible task.

Jakub turned a horrified, desperate smile on the imperials, "They bound the soul of the ancestor dragon to the land… to keep his blessings… the holy mother, his soulmate removed his still beating heart. That is why we don't have famines or natural disasters… but the greed was too much… so they used human sacrifices to absorb the parts they didn't like…" Jakub half laughed as he started gripping his hair again. This was all self-inflicted…

Ashton took a deep breath, "And your ancestor dragon decided instead of filling up the sacrificed until they were beyond saving wasn't something he was willing to endure. So, for the last 700 years, he has been meticulously filling the souls just under their breaking point. That also means, the mana he used from the mana cores and blood mana was used up faster. The faster the mana drained, the more needed. The mobius ring at its finest."

Sebastian paled, then the dragon was still cognizant of everything that had been happening, "So, we cannot free the ancestor dragon, cannot save the sacrificed… what can we do?" If the two logical options didn't work, there had to be a third less conventional way.

Ashton gave Sebastian a disapproving frown, "Sebastian, all that is needed is for the last light of the empire, to cleanse the sacrificed. Once they are cleansed, the dragon will not need to protect them. Then you can set the ancestor dragon free, and the souls will pass back into reincarnation with minimal consequence."

Sebastian closed his eyes in resignation, that was why Jakub despaired… because the idea of Lucian being able to accomplish any type of cleansing… was inconceivable. The harsh, jarring, sarcastic laughter from Jakub left Sebastian waiting for even more disparaging news.

"ha ha ha, snort, If that was all there might be hope, just rip open his chest, have the dragon priests forcibly heal him, and repeat until he's forced to use his own holy power. But that's nothing, no. Lucian, war general, mindless follower of his father, now his cousin, would have to embrace their pain and lead them back to sanity. Haha ha hahaha." Jakub sneered glaring past the duke to their puppet emperor.

Ashton nodded as he kicked his dangling leg, "No easy feat, but even one soul saved is better than nothing." Ashton remarked glancing over the crowd.

Jakub's despair was like a wave, rolling in and out, "But… every month… every month they are forced to… to relive their deaths… every month they feel their hearts and souls ripped from their bodies… every month… who knows how many have already broken even with the ancestor dragon's protection?"

Ashton sighed, "Less than you would think, while I do not care for the Avarice dragon or his kin, I do respect his ability to endure. Less than a thousand souls have been lost, and each was deliberately left unprotected. They are not worth mourning for, in my humble opinion." Ashton added with a shrug as he leaned back on the fox. Ashton was well aware this fox had a bone to pick, but now wasn't the time or place. Soon enough there would be enough reason to have her come to them.

Jakub's relief was immediate, but subtle. "Why is Lucian the last light?" As much as he wanted to rip out Lucian's heart, bind his soul to his body, and order him about like a true puppet… there was a chance doing so would make it impossible. Death mana and holy mana did not mix well. Not unless one was corrupted, or the other masked… Jakub's gaze ever so slightly shifted to the fox.

Ashton shifted his gaze back to the tense imperials, "Because there isn't enough left of the dragon's consciousness to bless another descendant. Serafin and the others may carry the title, but they won't have the blood. To be completely honest… Jaxon and Monroe are artificial kin so even they would not be able to help."

Jaxon looked up, "What does that mean? Artificial kin?" The… pity in Jakub's eyes scared Jaxon, a mad, deranged, desperate crazed mage weeping while covered in blood… was pitying him.

Jakub had not intended to reveal that truth… but, "Your mother, Duchess Thelma, was a… failed experiment subject. The former pope and cardinals used dragon meat and blood to try and stimulate your bloodlines. The blood and meat increased your physical abilities and resistance to foreign mana sources but… your own bloodlines were corrupted. According to Bodin's memory, there was debate whether your ancestor dragon would recognize you or treat you as territorial invaders."

Jaxon just stared… for the first time understanding the faint hostility from the former emperor, his father, his uncles, his cousins… even Lucian had been faintly hostile when they were children. Their ability to sense mana was stronger, but their ability to wield it had been pathetic at best. "Ha… haha, of course." Jaxon used his right hand to rub his face as his gaze rested on Caius.

Caius flashed a predatory grin, so many birds! Or dragons? Really, they should be thanking his Little Snack. "Aiya, just imagine, had the poor baby not been here all these years, suppressing the dragon's blessing… how could either of you liv in enemy territory? Aiya, no appreciation." Caius sighed as a tail inconspicuously rubbed the baby bird's back in comfort.

Jakub's eyes lit with renewed hope, "That's right, your pride, your pride is stronger than the dragon's greed! And Caius! His lust! That's why there hasn't been an increase in sacrifices in the last decade! The priests thought the dragon's… lack of awareness meant less greed! But it wasn't that, you've been suppressing him… between the two of you…" Jakub started muttering, this was time, time to save them, time to force Lucian to embrace both ancestors.

"Jakub, I am leaving, and the dragon's soul is fading. If I ascend in the empire, the dragon will cease to exist in any form." Ashton cut off the thought, false expectations would make them complacent. Besides, Ashton was sure this fox would take great delight in crushing their false hopes.

Caius rolled his eyes, "Aiya, this whole place reeks of death and worse. Not to mention, tis time for the nations to start reaping what they've sown." Caius didn't let his gaze wander to the Adar delegation, but he was tempted. Soon enough, soon they would also start paying off their centuries worth of debts.

Jakub's heart crashed once again, without the two beasts conflicting blessings… the ancestor dragon's blessing would run rampant. Without fresh souls to absorb the blessing, the older ones would be forced beyond their breaking point. After all this, they were still at square one… "What must we do? What would it take for you to save us?"

"Jakub, I am a beast of justice, not benevolence. If I step forward, there will be nothing left." Ashton stated matter of factly, this wasn't just a matter of practicality, but of principle. Someone must pay for the sins of the empire. Ashton fully intended this lesson to be a warning for everyone.

Jakub stared up, heart shattering into a thousand pieces, "Then let there be nothing. Nothing would be better than now…" Jakub didn't even blink as leaned forward to hold the small, almost delicate foot in his hands resting his forehead against it. "Free them, please." Jakub whispered.

Ashton sighed as the tears and blood wet his foot, "Jakub, I do not just mean for the souls. The empire itself would burn as well. I would leave behind only a desert of ash." Ashton felt the fox stiffen, even the tails had bristled ever so slightly. Ashton turned his gaze to pass over everyone. "Do not mistake my justice for salvation."

Jakub continued to hold the small foot, "How long do we have… until they cannot be saved?" A deadline, a deadline to force Lucian to rise up, or they would all rest together and hope for the next life.

Ashton closed his eyes, "I cannot give you a definite timeline, but without another sacrifice, a year before the dragon's consciousness dies. Maybe two months before the weaker souls start taking too much damage to enter reincarnation. Maybe another six months before the souls are too damaged to be bound by the enchantments. Within days of the first soul breaking free, the rest will follow and start affecting the world around them."

A year, they had a year if the pride and lust beasts could keep suppressing the greed beast. In less than a year they had to get Lucian to embrace the light… Jakub sat slumped against the foot he was still holding.

Novak had been listening, "What would have happened if the ancestor dragon hadn't protected the souls? The church wouldn't have just let hostile souls roam, there had to have been some contingency in place." Novak pitied the dead, but not enough to let them start wreaking havoc. Novak also wasn't foolish enough to sacrifice the living for the already dead. Novak wasn't intimidated by the "polite" smile the young beast sent either, if he wasn't willing to punish the empire for killing people then the beast wasn't such a threat.

Ashton tilted his head, "Novak, I am at the point where humbling men of the empire is no longer my prerogative." Ashton saw the condescension behind Novak's smile, and Novak was not protected with a political title.

Novak felt a chill run down his spine as all the foxes bristled their fur and a few wrinkled their noses. The chill wasn't from the foxes, not even Caius's narrowed eyes. "You won't punish the empire for thousands of sacrifices, but you'd punish me for asking a question?" Novak asked bowing his head to hide his disdain. A beast is a beast after all.

Ashton narrowed his eyes, "Challenge my pride Novak, and you won't have worry about fairness, or anything ever again." Ashton didn't look down at Jakub who had clenched Ashton's foot tighter.

Novak stiffened as the foxes started to slowly back away, the moment the last fox was more than ten feet away, a pressure descended like a mountain. He was forced on his knees. Even stranger, if some force wasn't raising his head, Novak was sure he would be face down in the dirt. Novak stared mutely at the narrow eyed beast pretending to be a youth.

"Novak, pray you never see me enact justice, and pray no one is willing to pay the price for me to demand justice for your sins." Ashton informed lightly as he turned his gaze to Jakub, "You have much to do Jakub, and I believe a certain fox has a barter in mind." Ashton added in a kinder tone as Novak collapsed to the ground.

Caius widened his eyes glancing around, "Aiya? Why? Where? Who wants what?" Caius asked bewildered, eyeing all of his kin. How dare a fox want something without letting him know? Was he not trustworthy to provide for them?

Ashton was sure one of these days his eyes might roll out of his head if he stuck around this fox. "Oh? Was there not an interesting toy you wanted from the mage? My mistake." Jakub had let go of his foot, the tears and blood were quickly drying. The mage looked like a lost child, hoping for any adult to come by and take him home, or at least somewhere safe.

Caius laid flat face down using a tail to cover himself, "Aiya, where did I hide all my secrets? Why are they so easily found?" Caius complained peeking from beneath his fur at the small bird. Aiya, karma came so fast!

Jakub had leaned back to sit on his ankles while kneeling, he slowly shifted his gaze to the large fox. "Lord Caius?" Jakub felt like his voice was a thousand miles away, and his thoughts were taking forever to reach him.

Caius huffed as he moved his tail, "Aiya, fine, that toy you used on the three, I want one. I let you spy on me through the female priest, and I have an answer for Novak's question." Caius added propping his cheek back in his hand as he waved the other around dismissively.

Jakub took a moment to start feeling around his chest for his enchanted reversed pentagram. "I… only have one…" Jakub explained looking at it, it had taken decades to perfect, and years to make. Jakub honestly couldn't care less about the three priests right now, he had to save Madeline.

Caius rolled his eyes, "Aiya, I know that. Put your memories of making it into a recording, that will be enough. I will make my own later." As if a human could make a better toy for his Little Snack, this would be an interesting trinket for the baby to play with.

"Oh… yes Lord Beast…" Jakub murmured staring down at the reversed pentagram trapping the spirits and souls, binding them to the bodies. Trapped, and under his control. Even as a shallow imitation of what the priests had accomplished, breaking it would be nearly impossible without damaging the souls beyond repair. The souls were woven into the enchantment, they were an ingredient of the shield, a piece of their own armor.

Jakub clenched his fist around the reversed pentagram, the priest enchantments were in pentagons. While it was extremely difficult, if Jakub could find a way to combine the enchantments, he could substitute the souls… once they were removed there was hope. Jakub stood up, he didn't have time to waste, and hoping Lucian would step up was a waste.

Caius saw the fanatical light return to the mage's eyes, "Aiya, didn't you want to know what should have been happening to the souls once they couldn't be pumped with anymore greed blessings?" Aiya, what a good human, so passionate about his research, it would be a shame if he were distracted. Caius smiled as a tail reached behind the chair, the moment he made physical contact with the hidden Promise everyone saw her. Unlike Bodin and Wilbert, her eyes were darting around wildly, looking for something, or someone.

Novak had pushed himself up, he wasn't smiling anymore but didn't dare expose his real feelings. Novak looked at Promise, her eyes were bloodshot… all three priests should be feeling the same but the other two remained tranquilly composed, if a bit concerned.

Jakub shifted his gaze from Promise, to Caius, "I would like to know…" If the result mattered, better to know now and compensate. No matter how ruthless a priest… surely they never intended for the souls to be forever damned, not when their own priests were sacrificed as well.

Caius used his tail to move Promise forward before he answered, "Originally, since only a few dozen souls a year would suffice, only the most vile of criminals were sacrificed. They were determined that their souls weren't worthy of entering reincarnation. So, once they were filled to the brim with greed, they would just dissipate… then the priests would purify the bones and add the next sacrifice." Caius recounted with a cruel smile as he looked over all the humans who were staring horrified.

Ashton sighed, "Now, there are enough souls to burst through the wards and enchantments even if many will perish. Controlling a dozen souls is vastly different from controlling hundreds of thousands."

Jakub stilled, "How many are there?" How many sets of bones could there be… the original faith only sacrificed a dozen for an entire year… they would have to increase the amount sacrificed each year to compensate for the extra mana expended. Instead of just twelve a year… even if there was only a fractional increase in the amount of mana and souls needed each year. How many a year are now sacrificed?"

"Aiya, not as many as they should, why if my math is right… this year alone would be over 13,000. Without us, of course. I mean, just having this poor baby here, the needed sacrifices were probably cut by… a third, maybe even half?" Caius teased not hiding his malicious amusement.

Sebastian took a deep breath, "And the stronger Lord Reece is, the more he suppresses the dragon's blessings…" Ashton had done far more for the empire than Sebastian had even thought possible… 6,000 lives a year. Just by nesting in the empire, just by breathing their air, Ashton saved not just lives, but souls. Yet Lucian, Jaxon, Leonard, and others couldn't just leave well enough alone, or be grateful.

Caius didn't bother hiding his sneer, "If you had bothered to feed the poor baby, by now I'm sure the dragon's blessings would be completely suppressed, even if he remained human." Caius added in a snarl as his fur bristled.