Haku and Rhaegal separated after a few minutes. Haku was grateful to his brother: after that short speech and that hug, he felt that his mind was clearer. Sure, he was still angry about what he'd discovered, but now he could think logically again and was better able to keep his cool. Rhaegal seemed to notice this, and asked him: "So... now what do you want to do, brother?"
Haku let out a snort. "I don't want to become the king of all dragons... but you're right, it's nonsense to just leave anyway" he answered. "Therefore, we will try to exploit the situation, as we always have. I don't know if this is part of Akenothustar's plan, but I honestly don't care anymore; I want to reap all the benefits from this place, so I will. First we will learn all the knowledge that old dragon left us in the tablets, after which we will also evaluate what to do with the arachnes. They seem willing to follow us, so if we make good use of our cards we could form a solid alliance. With them and Iluvatan City, we will have a very fierce army"
Now that the initial upheaval had passed, Haku was returning to evaluate the benefits he could derive from that situation. His first priority still remained the protection of his family, the second the happiness of his siblings; creating a functioning community with dragons and newcomers followed these precepts. However Iluvatan City was still weak; even though it was heavily defended by the huge desert that surrounded it, it was too defenseless. If an armed army were able to cross that expanse of sand, they would all be in danger. But now, thanks to the arachnes, that could change. Having an army under his control, combined with his already great capabilities, would have made all the difference. And not just in terms of strength: the arachnes knew the underground well, so with their help they could dig tunnels, design traps, create outposts and lookouts, and even build escape routes. This could make a huge difference in a war. Not to mention the fact that the arachnes had proven to be experts in architecture, almost certainly inherited from dragons, and if Haku had learned it he could use it to fabricate further deadly defenses. And also, the arachnes knew the ecosystem of the various caves and therefore could have informed him about the various minerals, fungi, animals and so on that could prove to be valuable. And all this without even calculating the knowledge that Akenothustar had inserted into the magic tablets and which surely would have been very useful. After all, knowledge was power, and Haku had repeatedly had proof that wars and battles were won by the one who had more intelligence, not more military power.
New plans and schemes were forming rapidly in his mind. If he had played his cards right, then their community would have made great strides and accelerated development tremendously. If he had done well, it wouldn't have been impossible to transform the small Iluvatan City into the seed that would once germinate become a great power.
Rhaegal seemed relieved by that answer: this was the brother he liked to see. However, he was still unsure about one thing: "Um... what about my... situation?"
The serenity faded from Haku's face. He didn't growl or grumble, but his eyes narrowed. "I'm still furious at what those bastards did to you, but like I told you, the choice is yours. Just make sure I'll be on the front lines to see it when the time comes" he answered. "On one condition, though: you'll have to tell everyone else. I don't care if you still have secrets for me, but you can't keep this from everyone"
Haku would have preferred Rhaegal to tell him everything he knew, but he had decided to trust his brother. If he felt it was best to keep some information secret, then so be it. But he couldn't hide the fact that he was being tortured from others. Rhaegal nodded: he knew that this would have unleashed an uproar and that many of his sisters would have wanted to run to the Jurao Kingdom and make a massacre, but now that both Haku and Darbi were on his side he was sure he could be able to calm them down. "I will do it" he said.
Haku nodded satisfied; he didn't want that secret to remain a secret, it was right that everyone in the family knew it. Now he was decidedly more serene and more lucid. His dragon senses had returned to full strength, so he could easily hear the sound of approaching footsteps, and he turned his head towards the stairs. After a few moments, the shadows of Misune, Efren and Atelas appeared in his field of vision. "Hey" they greeted them. "We came to see... how you were"
Haku understood their interest. Misune cared for him and Efren and Atelas cared for Rhaegal: it was normal that they had come looking for them. "We're fine. We've… dealt with it… one way or another" he answered. "You instead?"
The three people didn't seem very relaxed. Misune was noticeably paler than usual, Efren looked like he'd received a blow to the head, and Atelas' fur was matted. "It was... a complicated revelation to accept. I'm not sure I've accepted it yet..." the latter admitted.
Yeah, it was normal. Haku realized that if the situation must be difficult for them dragons, it must be even worse for the newcomers since they strongly believe in gods. Rhaegal must have noticed too, because he said: "If it cheers you up, know that we have no intention of facing the gods just yet..."
"Thanks, man, but you don't have to worry about becoming an enemy of the gods or not" Efren said patting his shoulder. "I don't know what's going to happen from this moment on… and personally, right now I'm very conflicted about what to believe or not to believe… but I can assure you that regardless of your or my decisions, you will always be my friend. Even if you have to fight against the Goddess of the Hunt, I won't blame you and my door will always be open to you... assuming you can get inside, given how big you can get"
Rhaegal smiled at those words. The Goddess of the Hunt was the goddess that Efren worshiped in his heart, so declaring that he would remain his friend even in the event of conflict between the two was a demonstration of the deep affection that bound them. Normally such a statement could have been considered blasphemous, and even if Efren had just discovered that the gods were not what he thought they were, he was still very attached to his old beliefs, so making such a statement showed all his sincerity. Rhaegal was glad to have such a friend. "Thank you. It's the same for me. Even if I have to face the gods and you side with them, you will always be my friend. If Akenothustar and the God of Knowledge have become friends even though they were on opposite sides, I don't see why we shouldn't we do it"
Efren smiled back. It felt strange to say those words: normally, if two people found themselves worshiping two enemies of each other, then there would be no possibility of any friendship between them. They could have had truces and sometimes worked towards a common purpose, but not friendship because that would have been blasphemous. But now he felt that following that precept was useless: if the gods really weren't what he thought they were, and in fact the battle between dragons and gods was only a battle between two sides and not a holy war, then what was the point of not doing friendship with the enemy? The world was full of soldiers who, in the long periods of stalemate during wars, ended up becoming friends with the opposing side. If the gods weren't omnipotent and omniscient, then why refrain from doing so?
Rhaegal then looked at Atelas, as if to implicitly ask him how he felt. He just shrugged: "For now, I still have to think about it, so I won't make any promises I can't keep. I'm not sure everything Akenothustar said is true... after all, everyone always thinks they're the hero of their own story, but rarely that's right, so i doubt that during the war all the gods were bad and all the dragons were good. But... you seem like an okay guy, so for the moment I don't think I'll have enmity with you. In the future... we'll see"
Rhaegal didn't argue about that. After all, that was how a normal person would have reacted to such revelations: he just couldn't believe everything he'd heard so easily. It was obvious that Atelas was looking for a way out, a way to justify his faith. He didn't blame him: discovering that everything he'd ever believed in was a lie must have been very difficult.
Haku looked down at Misune, the only one there whose opinion mattered to him. The half-elf was considerably paler than usual, but she didn't seem to have any problems with posture or locomotion, unlike the other two who moved more slowly and uncoordinatedly than usual. He hoped it was a good sign. "And you? What do you think?"
Misune shrugged slightly, looking even smaller than usual. "Well, it is obvious that much of what Akenothustar said is true. If the gods really were who we imagine, there would have been no war with the dragons. The fact that the two factions have fought each other for two thousand years proves that the gods are not omnipotent; and the fact that the God of Knowledge himself revealed that they are native to this world proves that they are not superior entities and they are not those who created Ramat" she replied, then she giggled nervously. "It's really strange… all my life I've believed that there really was someone watching over all of us from above, giving value to life below. Despite all the atrocities I've seen and experienced, I've kept thinking that however all of this had a purpose, and that the gods would always punish the wicked in the end. But now... now that someone has called them selfish and profiteering... while I can't verify that information, it seems much easier to accept that they are actually like that. I don't know why I never thought about it before… now I just wonder why I didn't figure it out myself"
Haku didn't know exactly what to say to her. Misune had judged the situation much more rationally than he expected, but it was clear that she was still not well. After all, Haku had repeatedly seen Misune praying to the gods, especially the goddess Heloisa. Once he had asked her why she did this, and she had replied that it was because the goddess Heloisa taught mutual respect and goodness, which she desired in the world; Haku had been tempted to laugh in her face, since it was enough to look around to realize that such teachings didn't make the slightest sense, given that every life form always survived at the expense of another, none excluded. But that time he had kept his mouth shut, since he had understood that faith didn't follow reason and often covered people's eyes with a veil of lies. And now that that veil of lies had been broken… it was pretty obvious that Misune and everyone else wasn't going to just shrug and say 'well, that's it, who cares'. Haku was pretty sure what they were feeling was very similar to what he and his siblings felt when they found out their mother never loved them.
But then Misune looked at him again with eyes full of determination. "But I'm not going to let this lie continue" he said. "If you want to go against the gods and reveal their misdeeds, I'm up for it. I don't want other people to live in deception and continue to suffer at the hands of these selfish beings. I know I probably won't be able to contribute much, but if you ever have need a hand, count on me"
Haku was somewhat surprised by the half-elf's courage: she was literally volunteering to face divine beings. Even he, who was so much stronger than her and who was destined to get so much stronger as he grew older, would think twice before doing such a thing. Misune definitely had great courage at heart... although it would have been better to combine it with a greater instinct for self-preservation. "Well... thank you for the offer, but for the moment we prefer not to make trouble with the gods" he repeated for the second time.
"So, what are you going to do now?" Efren asked.
Haku snorted. "For now, we only want to see what Akenothustar has left us in the tablets" he answered, although in reality his plans were far more extensive. He started for the stairs, followed by Rhaegal. "Are you coming with us? Could it be interesting?"
The three people nodded and together they climbed the tower.