Arthur Valar sighed with melancholy, "Rise, child. You are forgiven." He folded his hands on his lap sagely, "Out of consideration for your... mission-pertaining circumstances, I will not force you to speak. Having said that, however, I would like to know what you can reveal, even if it is only minor."
Luca stood again with a mild stiffness, "Yes, Your Majesty. At present, what I can reveal is limited. Firstly, as with any Dragonborn, I must develop my strength as quickly as possible. This is no secret, as only with great power can our missions be completed. Secondly, I must reduce overall casualties between both Light and Dark Factions as best as possible." Several nobles' tempers flared, but Luca continued without pause, "This is one of the key parts of my true mission. If I fail to succeed in this, my chances of succeeding with my true mission will drop significantly."
The Valarian King's fingers tapped against his throne as his grey eyes flickered between surprise, anger, and confusion. While he had not said it outright, Luca had suggested that he must make connections with the Dark Faction. While negotiations were not unheard of, black markets were untouchable and general trade between both sides was rather lax with time, having explicit relations, whether public or private, was considered a traitorous act for a citizen of the Valarian Kingdom, or the Light Faction's nations overall. Considering Luca's status as the Dragonborn, technically, he did not need to answer to any faction, but he chose to do so anyway. Arthur was certain it was because it would be easier to achieve his first key step compared to working alone.
As he pondered his response, Arthur's gaze did not leave the young boy, scrutinizing over everything he could think of relating to Luca. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Luca's left hand twitching slightly. Upon focusing his eyes on said hand, his pupils shrunk in astonished recognition. Luca had his palm slightly angled towards the king, with his ring finger tapping the centre of it. The boy's thumb touched the side of the ring finger three times before stopping. This method of hand signs, or at least this version, was created for the use of the Nightwatchers, the secret intelligence agency that answered only to the king himself. Some higher-ups knew of its existence, as did those of other Light Faction nations, but none knew the scope of their abilities. The signal Luca had just used meant 'critical information', requiring for the Nightwatcher and Arthur Valar to meet alone, away from prying eyes and ears.
Though he had no clue as to how Luca learned this signal, Arthur quickly understood what the boy meant: he could only speak of it to the king himself due to how serious it is. "Hmm... we will have to discuss this another time. Perhaps when the rest of the Royal Council returns... Thomas, inform the councilmembers not present today that we will be moving the monthly review meeting forward to next week. Should they ask for a reason, tell them that we must discuss the Dragonborn's mission posthaste."
"Yes, Your Majesty," responded the king's advisor, who quickly wrote a note in a journal full of such writings. Based on his placement of this note, at a line or two below the top of the page, it was important but not urgent.
"Now, to less important topics. Firstly, the matter of your guardianship. As I understand it, at present, you have no legal guardian. Normally, unless you have relatives or close family friends to take you in, without any noble ties, you would be placed in an orphanage until you come of age at 15. However, Lady Tudor has nominated herself to be your guardian. Having the previous Archmage of Fire as the guardian of the Dragonborn and his Dragonkin familiar would lessen much of the concern that the citizens, and the councilmembers, would have over their safety. After all, accidents happen, and nobody wants to learn just how much damage a Dragon Clansman or a Dragonborn could do, even accidentally." The young boy looked quickly at the Head Guildmaster, who gave him a comforting yet wise smile. "With Lady Tudor's self-nomination, unless anyone here objects, she will be Dragonborn Luca's legal guardian." When no such objections came, Arthur Valar once again had his advisor Thomas note to handle the legal procedures for this case. While the king himself was not part of the judicial court, as long as it was only for minor matters such as Luca's guardianship or, say, the small spats between nobles in court, he could temporarily bear the role of a judge. Due to the restrictions placed upon the royal family due to this, he'd only ever taken such duties a mere three times. Four times, including Luca's guardianship.
"As of last night, Lady Tudor used her familiar to inform me that you now have the full support of the entire Mages Guild, not to mention the three Professional Guilds under its wing. Other than myself, your exact information is confidential, so have no fears over it being revealed." King Arthur had been thoroughly shocked upon reading what Elizabeth had sent via Ella. Even if he had been an incompetent king, which he certainly was not, he knew the value of such a terrifying genius. "After some discussion with Court Mage Crescius Vinipter, we have decided that the Royal Library and, to some extent, the Royal Treasury, will be accessible to you. Be warned, there are quite a number of restrictions required in order to give you this privilege."
Luca, giddy as could be through his nerves, thanked the king again. The Valarian Kingdom, while not the most ancient of the Light Faction nations, was unquestionably the most powerful in terms of resources, manpower, and opportunities. Among those opportunities was the chance to visit the Royal Library. In the Royal Library were countless books and tomes, some magical and some not. Even some forbidden and long-buried knowledge and spells could be found in the Library's seemingly endless bookshelves. Among those countless tomes also lay several well-hidden inheritances from beings long ago. If not for players accidentally discovering them, those ancient inheritances might have gone unknown for eternity. As for the Royal Treasury, it was said to be guarded by a lineage of Salamanders, a distant offshoot of the Dragon Clan's Scarlet Dragonkin. Aside from a select few, or on certain occasions, the Royal Treasury was sealed behind several magical and mechanical locks year-round. Compared to the Royal Library, not one player knew the incredible things sealed within the Treasury. After all, no player had ever set foot inside.