While Haku wasn't much of a party person, he had to admit that the arachnes really knew how to entertain guests. He didn't know if it was common practice or if they acted like this just to please those creatures they worshiped as divine entities (more likely the second possibility), but the banquet was a resounding success and even he was almost led to relax a little. The music, though new and strange, was incredibly pleasant and seemed to have the power to soothe the nerves, and the food was tasty and succulent; almost all of them were meat-based, so the dragons had no problem feeding on them, and furthermore the arachnes rarely used cutlery, using them only when there were liquid or particularly slippery foods, and for the rest they ate entirely with their hands which after they cleaned each plate with a napkin, so they weren't shocked to see the dragons use their paws to bring food to their mouths. Haku, Rhaegal, Tikka and Teramon therefore felt particularly at ease in that environment: it almost seemed that that entire civilization was built on purpose to welcome dragons... and given the place where the arachnes lived, perhaps that was the case. And from the words of Arethar and the supreme priest, Haku suspected that there was still much to discover and learn, and that the truth might be far more extraordinary than he thought… indeed, since they had arrived in Tigu-cthu-tal, indeed, since they had arrived in that particular cave, they had received only one surprise after another.
While he was reflecting, Zamor approached him slightly. "When were you thinking of telling us?" the lizardman whispered to him.
Haku looked down slightly. Zamor wasn't the only one who was watching him: Misune, Efren, Atelas and Isaac had also approached and even if they were eating trying not to be noticed, it was clear that they were listening. "About what?"
"About the fact that these people see you dragons as if you were gods! They treat you as if you are superior beings and you are owed everything, even their lives!" Zamor whispered trying not to be heard. "I'm sure you knew that. That's why you wanted to come here, right?"
Haku let out a sigh and forcefully chewed on a piece of meat. His eyes moved slightly and he saw that Rhaegal, Tikka, and Teramon stood motionless, as if waiting to see how he intended to act. It wasn't hard to understand why: literally since entering the city they had become unable to think of any moves and had very slyly (from their point of view) chosen to leave every decision to him and follow him in whatever he did or said, since he was the only one who seemed to have an inkling of how to act. In a certain sense, Haku was happy with this, because in a game of strategy and intelligence like this one, where what mattered were the words, the way he behaved and understanding the opponent's moves, he much preferred to act on his own, since having more players on his side would have meant introducing multiple unpredictable variables. However, at that moment there was no need to think long: he had no reason to deny. "We knew something. Arethar had made us understand... very well... that he saw us as superior entities, but he had mentioned that all the people of the arachnes were like this. But we didn't know if it was true or not"
Zamor let out a slight mutter. "And you didn't mind to tell us?"
"I didn't think it was a good idea" Haku simply replied in his usual flat voice. "If the whole of Iluvatan City would have known of… that, chaos would surely have ensued. You saw how the members of the Council reacted to the mere discovery of a people living nearby. Even you were not at ease. How do you think What would you have reacted if you had known even this rather important detail? Not to mention that it could very well have been a deception or a trap. I introduced Arethar to the Council precisely to test him, and even now I still have countermeasures for a possible surprise attack. It is true, I could only have said it to you... but that would have created some misunderstandings and consequently problems during the trip, and that wouldn't have been good for anyone, so I preferred to wait for everyone to see the truth with our own eyes"
Zamor rolled his eyes. He couldn't blame Haku entirely: in fact, he himself had been terribly worried about the simple fact that Arethar had behaved kindly to the dragons, and for this he had feared that the dragons, the most powerful defense force of Iluvatan City, decide to switch factions. For that simple suspicion he had decided to follow Haku in order to be able to control his every move and intervene if necessary. If he had known that the Arachnes literally worshiped dragons, what would he have done? How would he react? He liked to imagine that he would behave calmly and rationally, but he knew that was false. And the other members of the Council probably would have reacted even worse than him. Of course, this didn't justify the fact that Haku had kept the truth hidden even after they left Iluvatan City... but Zamor was sure that the dragon would find a way to counter each of his accusations, so he avoided launching into an argument without sense. Now it was better to focus on the consequences that all of this would have.
While he was still brooding, it was Efren who spoke up and winked at Rhaegal: "So now you have a people who worship you like a god, eh, man? Wait till the others know! I mean, we had a vip in the team and we didn't know it!"
Rhaegal laughed softly. He was glad that at least his friend considered the matter ridiculous; he wouldn't like it if she started treating him differently. Even Atelas began to tease him: "We are friends of a divine entity... this means that we are automatically in a higher position than all the others! From now on we will have to go around dressed in sumptuous clothes and a whip in my hands, strapping all those who won't respect noble Rhaegal, who dare to take his name in vain and also simply because we're bored!I propose to start with my neighbor Thileran, that asshole always starts singing late at night and it never lets me sleep... it is clearly a sign of disrespect towards a devoted servant of the great Rhaegal, and must be punished accordingly!"
Teramon too began to chuckle at those words, putting a paw in front of his mouth trying not to get noticed. Rhaegal was barely restraining himself from laughing out loud now, which he was pretty sure wouldn't be very appropriate in the situation. "I'm still the same, guys" he said trying to make them stop.
"Yes, but with power!" Efren answered without hiding his mocking smile. "Makes a lot of difference! It's like having a king as a friend, how can you not take advantage of that?"
The three continued to make fun of each other, obviously trying not to become too ridiculous to avoid being noticed by the arachnes; he was practically certain that when they were alone they would say much sillier and more amusing things. In the meantime, Misune too decided to take part in the conversation: "Anyway, I wanted to ask you... do you dragons really become so huge? I mean, I knew you were big... but that seems way too much to me! Well, you can see the bones of that dragoness even from the windows!"
The others also nodded to that question. All of them had never seen an adult dragon, but they knew they were big…but those bones they had seen were way TOO big. If Haku, Rhaegal, Tikka and Teramon felt like ants compared to the gigantic skeleton of the dragon, Zamor, Misune, Efren, Isaac and Atelas felt literally microscopic. "Well... apparently yes. We didn't know either" Haku admitted. "But you heard Arethar, Balagaberan was 10,000 years old when she died. We dragons never stop growing, so I think it's normal that after 10,000 years she had become so huge. But when we become adults we won't measure more than a hundred feet, we won't even be half as long as this dragon's skull. We too would have to be 10,000 years old before we look like this... and I doubt that today in the world there is a dragon that can live even 1,000 years, for a long series of reasons, so I don't think there are any giants like this around"
"So if you want to see us this big… come and see us in 10,000 years" Teramon said with a chuckle, then she looked dreamily. "But it's really incredible... what do you think Balagaberan was like when she was alive? I mean, she must have been like a walking hill, and who knows what power she possessed..."
Everyone felt a shiver down their spine thinking about it, a kind of strange mixture of fear and excitement. Such an immense and powerful dragon had probably been a terrifying vision... but at the same time, something inside them seemed to want to be able to admire it in all its splendor, not only in those giant bones which, however magnificent, expressed only a tiny part of the majesty that dragon had in life. "I wonder what powers he possessed" Isaac murmured. "Well… dragons gain a new domain every 400 years, thus controlling all spells of a new element… but after passing 1,212 years they should have run out of all elements. So what other domains did Balagaberan possess? What color could her scales be? What were the limits of her power? Maybe she didn't even have limits..."
"Yeah... who knows what a wonderful feeling it must be, being so powerful..." Tikka murmured with a look somewhere between dreamy and resentful.
Zamor shook his head. He, too, couldn't help but wonder how incredible that dragon must be, but that didn't matter to him right now. Finding out that dragons could become so huge and powerful was terrifying... but luckily it wasn't something Haku and his siblings would have achieved for a few millennia, so at least for the moment he could rest easy... maybe. After all, a group of thirty meters long flying lizards with a single domain were already an existence beyond imagination and already worthy of his concern. "What are you going to do now?" he asked Haku. "Now that we're here, you're not going to keep your true intentions from me any longer, are you?"
Haku chewed another piece of meat. "No, I'll tell you how it is" he replied. "My first intent was to find out if everything Arethar told me was true, and for now it seems to be so. Therefore, my current goal is to find out the truth about a prophecy"
"A prophecy!?" Zamor almost exclaimed aloud.
"Don't look at me with those inquiring eyes, I have no idea what it is" Haku told him noting that the lizardman wanted more explanations. "I just came here to find out. Apparently the arachnes have a prophecy and they have to reveal it to us. That's all I know by now... and I intend to figure out everything else"
Zamor let out a tired sigh. This situation was getting stranger by the second, and he was no longer even able to tell if it was good or bad. For now, he could just wait and watch, and let Haku take control of... well, whatever he planned to do.
The banquet went smoothly, and everyone seemed happy. But when Haku noticed that the party was drawing to a close, it was then that he addressed the supreme priest: "Noble host, your hospitality has delighted us, and we couldn't have asked for more; however I am still incapable of fully enjoying these gifts which you are offering me, because my mind is full of questions and queries which disturb my peace. The noble Arethar, whom you have sent to contact us, had spoken to us of things which escape my present understanding; words of prophecies and ancient scriptures, which at the moment I am unable to place. I was told that I would receive the answers I seek once I arrived here; here I am, now I am. I therefore ask you to reveal to me the secrets that your people have kept, so that may my heart finally rest from its turmoil"
As usual, he spoke both respectfully and authoritatively; he'd basically said, 'I want answers, so give them to me, I'm not taking no for an answer', just more elegantly. For a moment silence reigned, and Haku wondered if he hadn't exaggerated, but then the supreme priest nodded. "That's right" he declared. "You will have the answers you desire, my king. Today, for the first time in twenty thousand years, the ancient writings left to us by the last true lord of the world, the great Akenothustar, will receive a new master"