In the Hall of Clans,
all the clans of the middle regions of Seris gathered.
For the first time in a hundred years, the mightiest clans of the four regions had assembled together — the wise rulers of their lands.
The Mountain Region: The Dragon Clan King, ruler of the council.
The Volcano Region: The Ifrit King, lord of fire and flame.
The Forest Region: The Lion King and the Tiger King, whose relationship remains a mystery — is it rivalry or brotherhood? Yet they stand together to represent their domain.
The Ice Region: The Yeti King, the strongest being present in the entire council.
The five rulers stood together in the grand council hall, each one radiating a fraction of their power, suffocating the weaker clans with pressure.
The Dragon King smiled calmly, his voice echoing like rolling thunder:
"Now that the council has officially begun, you all know why we are here.
The heir of the Dragon Clan will speak on our behalf and lead today's discussion."
He slowly turned his head, locking eyes with each ruler one by one, as though peering into their very souls. None of the region lords betrayed a single emotion.
The Dragon Clan heir rose to his feet — a handsome young man, radiating confidence like a blazing sun. He offered a formal bow and began:
"As the king has said, you all know why we are here… war is coming.
Humans have returned. Soon they will conquer the lower regions, and then they will come for us.
They will kill us. They will show no mercy.
This is our land — our home — and we must protect it."
He fell silent, scanning their faces, trying to read their reactions.
A faint murmur rippled among the weaker clans, but the rulers of the great clans remained expressionless, statues of ice.
The heir noticed this but didn't care — he hadn't come merely to persuade them, but for something far more important.
With a sharp tone of disdain, he continued:
"And what if they are Egyptians?
Yes — they may have once protected us in the past, may have shielded the entire world of Seris, preventing any clan from fighting them.
But does that mean we should now hand over our land to humans simply because some of them are Egyptians?
Should we unite with them and give them our resources?
All of our hard work — just handed over to strangers?
Is that justice?"
His words struck like a whip. The weaker clans, barely surviving on their own meager resources, shuddered at the thought of giving half of it away to outsiders.
Silence reigned, broken only by scattered whispers as emotions began to flare.
The Dragon heir smiled faintly, then pressed further, his tone sharpening like a blade:
"And how do we even know the stories about the Egyptians are true?
These are legends told for thousands of years — how can we be sure they are real?
What if our ancestors were deceived?
Or exaggerated their tales, turning the Egyptians into mythical heroes?"
At that, the weaker clans erupted in outrage, unwilling to hear insult toward their ancestors.
The heir noticed their fury and softened his tone slightly:
"Calm down… I meant no disrespect.
I am merely asking a question: what if these stories were lies told by the Egyptians, back when their lineage had grown weak, so that when they returned stronger, we would welcome them as heroes?
What if our entire history is false — and Egypt never saved us at all?"
Shock swept through the hall like a storm.
No one had ever dared to consider such a possibility.
The stronger clans and region rulers exchanged grim looks — they knew the history was true, but this was the first time a clan dared question it aloud.
The rulers' eyes met, a silent acknowledgment passing between them — something was being set into motion, a hidden plan perhaps already laid.
The Dragon heir let out a weary sigh, as if burdened by his own doubts:
"I know this is difficult to believe.
I, too, wish that my words are false — that Egypt truly did save us once.
But we will not surrender even a grain of our land or a drop of our resources to humans until we are certain of the truth.
Therefore, the Dragon Clan will take this responsibility upon itself.
We will fight the humans.
We will stop them.
But we need your help.
Join us in this sacred war — a war to defend our home against those who wish to destroy us!"
A heavy silence gripped the hall — a silence before the coming storm.
Then, with a confident smile, the heir added:
"Do not worry — the High Clans stand with us, as well as the Eastern and Western Dragon Clans.
We will provide you with resources, power, whatever you require.
All we ask is that you stand with us and crush the humans before they crush us."
Some faces showed signs of approval, but no one moved — all awaited the decision of the great region rulers.
Somewhere in the shadows of the hall, a mysterious figure watched intently, his face unreadable, as though he had been here before.
The Dragon King's smile widened slightly — the first step had been taken.
The weaker clans were now swayed to his side.
The next step was harder — gaining the allegiance of the strong clans, or eliminating them if they refused.
His eyes fell on the Yeti King, the most powerful being present.
Control of the middle regions would begin by weakening him — or killing him.
The Dragon King's smile lingered, as his mind wandered to his dream:
if he succeeded, his clan would rise to the ranks of the High Dragon Clans.
No longer a mere hybrid lineage — but true dragons.
The tense silence was broken by the firm voice of the Ifrit King, ruler of the Volcano Region:
"We will not fight.
We will not stand with you in this war.
But we will support you with the resources you require."
The Lion King and Tiger King exchanged a knowing glance before the Tiger King spoke:
"We, rulers of the forest — the Lion and Tiger Clans — will also not fight.
But like the Volcano Region, we will provide you with the resources you need."
All eyes turned to the last and most powerful ruler — the Yeti King of the Ice Region — waiting for his decision.
Just as he was about to speak, a deafening voice rang out through the hall, freezing everyone in place.
A figure stepped forward — the heir of the Ice Rabbit Clan.
He strode to the center of the hall, tears brimming in his eyes, and cried out:
"We demand justice, Dragon King… against the tyrant Yeti King!"
Gasps filled the hall. Even the other region rulers were stunned.
But the Yeti King simply smiled — a cold, knowing smile, as though he had been waiting for this moment all along.
The Dragon King feigned shock, then let his expression twist into righteous fury:
"What is the meaning of this, Yeti King?"
He turned to the Rabbit heir and said solemnly:
"Tell us what happened.
In my name, I swear — we will bring you justice!"
A wave of dread spread across the room.
Everyone knew the Yeti King was powerful enough to kill them all — even the Dragon King himself.
No one could fathom where the Dragon King had found the courage to challenge him.
All eyes fixed on the Yeti King, waiting for his response…
Next stop: Deception.
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