King Of Limbo

The fate of the entire valley Rode settlement now rested on the shoulders of a frozen T'kar. Aron's dim gray eyes gave off a minor glow that could be seen through the spaces of his helm.

Knowing that those eyes were focused solely on her made T'kar feel even more pressure. She moved her eyes to the side but not her head and saw that her people beside her were looking towards her for a solution.

Many trembled and fear could be seen in their eyes. This was the most danger any of them had been in, it was a situation neither they nor T'karhad familiarity with.

This made it even harder to come up with a solution. The most she could do was try to stall for time but she needed to ask herself. 'Would that really work?'

Could she really risk the lives of her people on such a foolish tactic? No. The answer was clear, all that mattered was that the lives of her people were secure.

"We will not fight you. I the leader of the valley Rodes, T'kar, surrender. So please allow my people to leave. This settlement, everything within and my head, I give everything to you so please just spare the lives of my people…"

A caring leader until the end, T'kar was willing to give even her own life for the sake of her people's.

Unfortunately, she was in no position to ask or beg for anything. But at the same time, she was lucky Aron wasn't the type to needlessly destroy or kill.

"If you won't fight then the lives of your people are safe. However I cannot allow them to live and risk them increasing the number of enemies I have to face in the south now can I?"

Aron's reasoning was valid, but still, T'karpushed to try and convince him. "I assure they are no threat, they just-."

Before she could carry on pleading, Aron's already dense fluctuations spread even further and enveloped the entire city, affecting even the Drakar in the skies.

"Don't mistaken this for a negotiation, everything in this settlement, including you and your people, belong to me. If they're that big of a concern for you then I have no problem lessening your burden."

T'kar found it hard to breath but the situation was even worse for those weak among her race. Much of the group she was with on the stares had already passed out or was rapidly approaching death.

It was then that she realized, the being in front of her wasn't one that could be bargained with. Her eyes became red and slightly teary as she faced Aron and begged erratically. "I understand! We Understand, please stop."

In the next moment, Aron retracted his fluctuations and restrained them. Everyone who wasn't already aware now knew that Aron was even deadlier of an opponent than he looked.

And just like that, the valley Rodes, who had maintained their place in the south for many generations, suffered complete defeat.

With the battle over, the dark and red scaled Drakar moved into the city and settled near the ruined buildings at the edge of the city or the wall itself. Acting as both watchers and defenders.

As for the gray scales, they were tasked with returning to the highlands and bringing with them the young and eggs the Drakar had left behind.

The battle only caused light injuries for Aron's side but no casualties. The valley Rodes were also lucky to not suffer any direct casualties but many warriors of their race were so heavily injured that it was unlikely they would live much longer.

For the moment, it seemed like a bitter sweet situation. Bitter in that the lives they once had were now changed forever but sweet in that Aron didn't abuse them and let them return to their homes within the city.

Many kept themselves isolated in their homes as they couldn't just return to their usual activities like nothing happened. They were scared, feeling like it was just a matter of time before they became food for the Drakar.

Their hope was now placed fully in T'kar who was taken to the main building along with Aron's group and the leading Drakar.

Inside the rather bland main hall of the building, that housed only mats to sit on, Aron sat at the stairs that lead up to what used to be T'kar'smat.

Below him, T'kar was seated in a submissive position while Rose and the others observed while standing only slightly further away on either hand side.

The entire point in bringing her there was to of course question her. First on the other southern races and how big of a threat they were and secondly, what she knew about the settlement's history and the people that once resided in it.

T'kar had no problems answering the first question and was quite honest with her words. As much as she considered many of the other southern races allies, her people came first.

She revealed their locations, numbers, fighting tactics and even leaders. Aron wasn't particularly worried about them but he felt it necessary to ask just in case.

Komi weren't like humans who always craved power and were overly greedy. As the Komi in Pesia demonstrated, they don't encroach on the territory of another Komi race just because it is weaker than them.

When choosing a place to stay, the Komi look for favorable conditions their people would thrive under. Different races had different preferences, thus it wasn't strange for a weak combat race like the valley Rodes to hold a large territory even if more dominant races were present.

It's that nature of the Komi that confirmed the olden ones, not just Amarr, were more human and Drakar, thus their desire to reign over other races despite that not holding many benefits in the first place.

As for Aron's second question, T'kar knew even less than the olden ones of the Drakar who had lived far longer and seen live tulsa before.

Most Komi didn't possess a written history and valley Rodes were no different. The majority of knowledge they possessed were passed down from generation to generation through stories.

According to the story passed down to her, the tulsa once dominated the entire land, but then suddenly they began to reduce in number. It was then that the Komi races banded together and launched attacks on the various settlements, forcing the remaining tulsa to flee.

It didn't take a genius to know that the story was missing many points and details that could better explain the situation. But the chance of Aron finding a Komi who had lived long enough to know the entire story was practically nonexistent.

Why? Because thus far, the Drakar possessed the longest lifespan of any Komi he had met, this was even more true for Drakar who had closer ties to their human ancestors.

Just as Aron was about to ask a third question involving what the tulsa left behind, Rose's scouter zipped into the hall and came to her side.

The moment they stepped into the main building, she had sent one out to inspect the layout the building and what it possessed. The results of this caused a small smirk to appear in the corner of her mouth before she directed her gaze to Aron and revealed what she found.

"This building possesses a library on this very floor, a lab of sorts two floors down, and numerous personal quarters above. I doubt we won't find an answer or two if we look in these areas."

Aron turned to her and removed his helm and also showed a smile, a very strange expression for him to display to those who hadn't known him long.

T'kar was especially surprised to find the terrifying being who had brought her and her people to their knees wasn't as scary without his helm.

"Then let's begin immediately, we don't know how long until the other various races attack. Worst case scenario, we may be forced to retreat or worse the city could completely fall and the knowledge would be lost."

Aron didn't want to waste anymore time asking questions. To the others who didn't speak the Pesian language, the exchange between Rose and Aron was nothing more than useless mumbling.

With a set goal in mind, the two decided to split up with Aron taking a look at the private quarters while Rose would handle the library. Aron already planned to go there after and use his legacy ring to take in the knowledge present within.

The only reason he said the knowledge would be lost is because he still kept the ring a secret and didn't want a smart Rose suspecting him.

Before heading towards the upper floors though, he turned to face Greile, Amarr and Mikaa. "Which one of you directed the attack on the valley Rodes."

His tone made it hard to tell whether he was asking for a positive or negative reason. Either way, both Mikaa and Greile cast their eyes towards Amarr who soon admitted it. "It was me…"

Aron looked down at her and nodded. "Then you're now the leader of your people, unless we choose to directly intervene, I expect you to control them well."

After saying this, Aron turned and began walking away. Amarr showed a wide grin, but Aron's next words brought her brief moment of happiness to an end.

"Keep in mind, this also means you'll need to bear the consequences should your decisions or leadership prove to be mediocre. Jagu, look around the other areas of the building and let me know if you find anything. Evanora, come along."

As Aron's entire group left the scene, Amarrdidn't know whether to be happy or frightened.

​

Meanwhile T'kar could only watch with reverence towards Aron.

'How can such a terrifying being exist?'