Raina sat on her high-seated platform above the others as the other Crest Heads entered without their personal guards. She only wanted them present.
"I take it this summoning concerns the girl," Kit stated, initiating the council, ever the reliable Commander.
"Yes," Raina replied, looking down from her seat. "Now that you all have had the chance to get an impression of her, what are your conclusions?"
"From what I could tell, she is too thoughtful and caring to be involved in taking children," Meira voiced out as she swiped through a digital file comprised of everything they learned about her and everything her bio card revealed to them.
"I agree," Hakan spoke out next. "She was willing to help me save a life without being asked or forced to, and without expecting something afterward. She's more selfless than many of us here."
"That doesn't mean she's not involved," Fade objected. "She may be weak, but she has five cintracies, making her a prodigy. Two of them are divine cintracies, and she commands another klevonian who's a stockpiler. None of us has command over anyone with that kind of potential. I say we detain them and force them to show us where they came from. We need to learn more about them."
"You're uncharacteristically driven about this," Birch stated with his childish yet observant nature. "You sure this isn't personal?"
Fade scowled at him but remained silent.
"Look, the girl's as na?ve as they come; she needs to learn how the world works, but I can't see her having anything to do with kidnapping children," Crete countered, rather unexpectedly to Raina.
"You getting soft over there, Crete? Didn't expect that from you," Pierce said, his slick personality oozing from his words. "Did she offer you anything? She one of your assassins now?" He said mockingly.
"Some of those kids belong to people from my turf. This kidnapping crap is bad for business. No point in wasting time or resources looking further into someone unlikely to be involved," Crete said rationally. "Plus, we all have our secrets, things we'd rather keep to ourselves. If she hasn't done anything to be seen as an enemy, there's no reason to go prying into hers."
"More like you're trying to save face for your...clients," Pierce smirked, hiding his displeasure well, but Raina could tell that Crete defending Alissia vexed him.
"As he should be," Kit said, his voice bellowing over the others. He sat forward with his hands clasped together as he thought. "The fact that this happened under our noses makes us look incompetent. Once we identify the responsible party, there will be no leniency. They need to be made an example out of."
"I couldn't agree more," Raina nodded to Kit. "Birch, I take it you managed to question them to confirm whether or not they are involved."
"Yep! And not just that," Birch grinned playfully. "I can confirm that they know nothing of the children's disappearance. But also, as you expected, and as their friend Michael previously stated, they have already made preparations to venture to Forgeton. I trust if she finds something amiss there, she will follow her moral code and inform us."
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"Good," Raina said before giving Meira the go-ahead.
Meira manifested a yellow-white rift below in the center of the judgment floor where Michael emerged. Surprisingly, he didn't appear angry.
"My deepest apologies about that," Meira directed at him. "It was a necessary safety measure in case your leader couldn't be trusted."
"Thanks to you, I was able to see your discussions. I understand," Michael responded reasonably, looking around at everyone. "I'm glad you all have come to the consensus that we are not your enemies. That's all I needed to accomplish."
"She's done well to choose a level-headed spokesman such as yourself," Raina complimented with a grin. "Now I can only hope that she finds some information pointing to the Klevonian Army..."
"Why would you want that?" Michael asked curiously.
Everyone grew quieter as Raina pondered her response for a moment.
"Because if it's not them, the situation is more dire than I expected."
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Fun fact: The Hellhound District's Sacred Guardian - Similar to the Great Tiger Ox, this creature is capable of devouring the souls of its prey, but does so through a unique heat called Hellfire that more so burns the souls it eats. By linking itself to the residing Crest Head of the district, that individual gains the ability to burn the souls of others as well. For full details about lore you may have forgotten, such as locations, characters, items, or to check out every up-to-date cintracy, visit the series' Patreon!
Legacies Saga Layout:
The Primordials: New World (Volume 5)
The Primordials: Transcended (Volume 6)
The Primordials: Culling War (Volume 7)
The Primordials: Secret Vendetta (Volume 8)
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