Legacy of the Dark Sage

"Is the magic energy from Coelus's corpse enough to get us all to Sovereign?" Aron asked in surprise.

"If my design operates well, then yes, it can," Kyran agreed. "Even if an error occurred and not everyone advances to Sovereign, I'll still have them enter the tower."

"Isn't the tower only accessible to Sovereigns?" Cade asked. "Lady Ames said that it will only accept Sovereigns and High Sovereigns."

"To be precise, the tower's entry requirement states that it is accessible by mages below an Overlord. Since there is no level below the Sovereign in the Higher Realm, they automatically assumed that it was the minimum level required to enter the tower."

The three men nodded in understanding.

"That makes sense," Aron agreed. He then smiled bitterly and shook his head, "But really... the gap in level between the residence of the Higher Realm and the Lower Realm is disheartening."

Kyran looked at his grandfather uneasily, "You... don't feel that way, right Grandfather?"

Aron laughed, thinking his grandson misunderstood his words so he clarified, "I suppose my comment can be misleading. Yes, I don't feel that way. But most mages who learn of this gap for the first time will feel that way."

"I can understand how the Higher Realm can produce Sovereigns from birth," Cade interjected. "Just think of how they could feed on such raw and potent magic energy every day, compared to the magic energy in the Lower Realm... it is the difference between heaven and earth. Although I am not saying the magic energy in the Lower Realm is bad... it just doesn't feel complete."

"I'm right then."

Kyran nodded, "Rather than having a huge gap in the magic energy quality, it's more with the type that the two realms circulate."

He then proceeded to explain what Shaiha told him about the difference of magic energy in the two realms. He continued his explanation by explaining how the magic law in the Higher Realm was the complete version compared to the scattered magic laws in the Lower Realm.

Euan only experienced the difference in magic law between the Human plane and Somuli but he was able to follow the discussion that followed. Nevertheless, he was surprised to discover just planes in the Lower Realm could have an entirely different magic law. But in the Higher Realm, all these laws could be applied and even be combined.

"I believe it all has something to do with the variety of beings living here," Aron voiced his opinion about the matter.

"Hm..." Cade leaned back and nodded. "You may be onto something, father. Most beings in the Higher Realm are manifestations of... I suppose different powerful species. They can make themselves look human when they are not. Take, for example, Lady Ames.

She looks human but she is a dragon."

Euan seemed to have realized something and supplied, "Right. That reminds me, in Somuli, there are humans. Though there is a slight difference in terms of internal body structure, they are still humans. There are also beastmen. Their appearance is a mix of a beast and human, they are not using magic to change their appearance."

Kyran was silent as he listened to them. He found it enlightening to hear the opinions of others because he did not even think of that. He once wondered why humans in Somuli were a little different in the Human plane, and thought it was their way of adapting to the living conditions in Somuli.

Somuli's core, like the Human plane, was a piece of the Land of the Ancients. Some of the Ancients creation was also left there, like the automatons and the humans. But because it adapted to the limited magic energy and magic law it had, these humans also adapted accordingly.

Most planes in the Lower Realm were likely similar to Somuli. While some were planes that fell there during The Fall. Of course, how many of the latter survived after so many War of the Sovereigns was up for debate.

To put all of these in simple terms, the Lower Realm was a nest to all of the Ancients' creations, like automatons, beasts, and humans, that adapted to the barely passing living conditions of the realm. Since they were all creations of another superior being— the Ancients— they could not help the realm by providing good magic energy circulation.

Kyran kept this thought to himself. As far as he was concerned, Aron, Cade, and Euan's knowledge of the Ancients were limited. He wanted to share his thoughts but knew it was not the right time nor the right place for them to discuss it. Ultimately, he decided to tell them more about the Ancients when they entered the Tower of the Ancients.

"The only way for such powerful species to live in this realm is if the quality and completeness of magic energy here can sustain them, and vice versa," Euan concluded.

Cade nodded, "Right."

"But this thought leaves a very bitter taste in my mouth," Aron admitted with a sigh. "It's like admitting that humans are an inferior species that's why the Lower Realm could only produce similar quality of magic energy."

Cade and Euan scowled. The thought did leave a bad taste to them.

"That doesn't matter," Kyran told them, trying to divert the discussion. "Once we enter the Tower of the Ancients, everyone will improve."

"But Kyran," Aron looked at his grandson sternly. "There is a reason that the tower allows mages below an Overlord to enter. The challenges there must reflect the level of those who entered it. Although it did not state that the lowest level it accepts is Sovereign, it doesn't mean the challenge will also be below that."

"Lady Ames did say something about the tower's challenges to be hard even for Sovereigns," Cade also added. "If some of our people failed to advance to Sovereign, the tower might be too much for them."

"You don't have to worry about that," Kyran assured them. "Since I recommend it, then the tower will be doable."

"Alright," Cade replied as if Kyran's words were enough to settle any doubt they had. "We'll leave it to you."

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"But before that, we have to prepare for tomorrow's gathering," Euan reminded them with a bitter smile.

"Kyran," Aron looked at Kyran once more, his expression solemn. "I trust you not to overexert yourself. Preserving the family's honor and such doesn't matter if you ended up dead."

Cade and Euan also looked at Kyran with similarly solemn expressions.

"Don't worry, grandfather," Kyran replied with a faint smile.

*

Fortunately, the arrival of all dragon tribe representatives was completed without a hitch. Apart from the request to use the main palace's training hall to allow the younger generation representatives to condition themselves in preparation for possible spar requests the following day, it was an uneventful day.

Aillos attended the luncheon and met with all of the patriarchs or second-in-command. After that, he visited their complexes to check if they were able to settle in their lodgings without problems.

Eissen and Veles already reported everything to Aillos. Still, he had to visit them in person for formalities. He also wanted to see them and check if the information Veles managed to gather about them was updated.

After visiting the complexes, Aillos made some time to drop by the training hall.

Almost all of the young generation representatives were gathered there on the premise of 'conditioning themselves for tomorrow,' and he did not want to miss the chance to assess them. Besides, coming there in person would give the patriarchs and second-in-commands the impression that Aillos was looking for something.

Frankly, Aillos couldn't care less about what the dragons would think of his visit because he did want them to misunderstand the situation. Once they did, their anticipation for his announcement tomorrow would skyrocket.

"What do you think of the young talents of our clan, Milord?" Veles asked as they watched several young dragons in human form occupy the many mini arenas scattered on different levels inside the training hall.

The training hall had an observation deck that could easily view all the arenas inside, and Aillos was there with Veles. Although they did not announce their presence, the natural pressure emanating from Aillos could be sensed by the young talents. As such, it was noticeable how some of them showed off their prowess by increasing the amount of exchanges they had with their training partners.

At that moment, Aillos was watching Ladon exchange some moves with another Golden Dragon Tribe representative. He remembered her name was Anahita, and she was from another branch family only second to Thorn's.

"I can already see the improvement of Ladon's enlightenment in the Tower of the Ancients."

Rather than providing a definitive response to Veles's question, Aillos remarked on Ladon's improvement.

"The artifact they retrieved in the tower is still in the early stages of implementation to the clan's training regime, but it really does address the weakness you've mentioned before.

Ladon's improvement might be attributed to the fact that he received enlightenment earlier than the ones who had just started the new training regime, but his natural talent allowed him to understand it better than others."

"Hm..." Aillos simply nodded his head while looking at Ladon's more fluid movement while comparing notes with Anahita.

"What about the other talents?" Veles tried to ask yet again.

Aillos did not reply at once, instead shifting his attention to another group of young talents fighting with daggers.

Dragons did not need weapons to fight. However, there were times when they learned them depending on their tribe's specialty. In the case of the young talents Aillos were looking at they were the young talents from the Venom Dragon Tribe.

His eyes glistened slightly as a smile appeared on his lips, "Tomorrow's gathering will definitely be entertaining..."

Finally, the day of the Grand Gathering had come.

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