"Yeah, right. What if my chest gets exposed while defending Dad?" Tista whimpered at the thought. "Or Senton? Even worse, what if it happens in front of Morok? I’d be branded as the Hekatits or the Divine Breast for life!"
"Do you realize that’s a weird thing to brag about to your brother?" Lith made a retching sound. "Rember that I saw you naked the first ti. I know you pack so heavy equipnt."
"I wasn’t bragging!" She blushed up to her ears. "And you promised that we’d never speak about that accident again. With anyone!"
"Well, Quylla knows and so does Ajatar." Lith scratched his head in embarrassnt.
"I know, but they are discreet. Otherwise, Morok would have already mocked to death." Tista sighed in relief.
"Solus and Kami know as well, sis."
"How? When- Oh, right." Tista slapped her forehead. "You fused with Solus, and she told Kamila. Does anyone else know?"
"No. Solus is no gossip. Your secret is safe, o Divine Breast." Lith bowed to her chest, laughing.
"Don’t call that! Never. Again!"
"I won’t." Lith smiled. "That said, I have good news about your armor. Or rather, a silver lining in the storm my life currently is. I should have enough Adamant to lend you to coat Ishka once he reaches your size."
"Really?" Tista stared at him with starry eyes, feeling so excited that she forgot about her brother’s plight for a mont. "How did you get so much tal in such a short ti? Has the Crucible’s efficiency multiplied?"
"I wish." Lith half sighed and half snorted, annoyed by her cheerfulness. "It’s one of the few perks of having people trying to kill you every other week. They need powerful equipnt to succeed and, if you survive the attempt, you get looting rights."
"Those fourteen Awakened had enough Adamant on themselves for my armor?" She asked in disbelief.
"On them, no. Yet if you add the part of their treasures I got as compensation and the equipnt left behind by ln’s cronies, there is more than enough Adamant for an armor the size of a Divine Beast."
"Are you serious?" Tista improvised a little dance of joy that made Lith chuckle.
"Yes, I am." He replied. "ln sent over one thousand Thralls to attack the Stonewall Fortress, and per our deal with the Undead Courts, Solus and I got half the spoils of battle. There were Treants among them, and their armors are huge."
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Tista tackled Lith in a hug, falling with him on the ground. "You are the best brother on Mogar!"
"Slow down, champ." Lith returned her embrace and patted her back. "I’m just loaning the Adamant to you. You have to pay back in full, and you have only around fifteen years to pay off your debt."
"Knowing how stingy you are, not having to pay interest is gift enough." She chuckled. "Jokes aside, what happens in fifteen years?"
"Elysia will co of age." Lith replied. "From that mont onwards, she will be no longer under the protection of the Guardians, but she’ll still be my baby girl. It’s my duty to protect her, and I need that Adamant to craft her an armor.
"Also, the following year, Raldarak will co of age as well. They both have received gifts from the Nest and the Brood, but it’s nowhere near enough for two armors. Not without the Adamant I’m giving you and the corpses of two Divine Beasts I currently lack."
"Wow." Tista stared at Lith in amazent. "Sotis I look at you and I still see my amazing little brother. It’s in monts like this that I realize you’ve grown up into an amazing father."
"Thanks, big sis." Lith ruffled her hair. "Beware, though. Fifteen years will pass in a flash if you’re not careful."
"Big deal. Once I have my armor, what need do I have for more Adamant?" She shrugged.
"That’s assuming in fifteen years you have no children and don’t plan on contributing to Aran’s and Leria’s equipnt." Lith tutted. "They have no Guardian protection, and they’ll need armor as well. Minimum."
"Good gods!" Suddenly, the loan weighed on Tista’s shoulders like a mountain. "I want to have children, but I’ll never have enough Adamant for them. Heck, I might not even have enough for Aran and Leria."
"Not if you have to pay first. And you must." Lith’s voice lost every shred of playfulness. "I’m willing to make many sacrifices for you, big sis, but the safety of my children is not among them. If you don’t pay back in ti, I’ll take the Adamant back."
"I see." Tista swallowed hard seeing her brother’s stern expression. "You have my word. I’ll return the Adamant or the armor."
"Good." Lith stood up and helped his sister to her feet.
"Not to twist the knife, but haven’t you prepared anything for Valeron the Second?" Tista asked, feeling bad for the little boy.
"I do." Lith nodded. "I’ve already arranged with Grandma and Tyris to upgrade the Arthan Set to modern magic and change its na before returning it to Valeron. Assuming he’s not grown into a threat like his mother, of course."
"What if he does?" The re idea sent Tista’s stomach twisting into knots.
"Then he gets his seven hundred years old junk, and if he puts himself into trouble, whoever kills him gets the spoils." Lith replied without hesitation. "I trust Valeron, Tista, but here we are witnessing nurture against nature.
"His grandfather was a madman, and his mother went crazy when he died. As much as it pains to admit, Valeron might go insane as well if put under the sa circumstances.
"That’s why I planned to wait until he was old enough to understand complicated matters before telling him the truth. I would have done it in a safe space, surrounded by people who loved him, and stopped the mont he felt overwheld.
"Because of those bastards, instead, he got to learn everything at once while a bunch of strangers tried to kill him, and the only person who cared for him was his father’s murderer." Lith clenched his hands and jaw so hard that they popped.
"They ruined everything! If Valeron loses it because of them, those Awakened will spend the rest of their lives inside Grandma’s Pits of Agony."
Tista held Lith’s shoulder gently, trying to calm him down.
She wanted to tell him that everything would be alright, but she couldn’t bear the weight those empty promises would have if Valeron’s young mind broke beyond repair.
***
The Hydras’ secret lab, at the sa ti.
"First, you took away Protheus, and now you want everyone else?" Anata the Hydra, lead Forgemaster of the Dragonhood Project, asked.
"It’s not a request, Hatchling." Leegaain’s human form was shorter than Anata’s, but she felt like an ant in front of the Guardian’s stare. "I’m rely informing you. All Thrud’s forr generals are my guests and under my protection due to the law of hospitality."
"Indeed." She had seven mouths and as many tongues, yet they were all knotted. "Ufyl, however-"
"He is under Fyrwal’s authority." Leegaain cut her short and turned to Faluel’s mother. "Do you want to lose my friendship, Hatchling?"
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