They headed to the largest building.
Captain Mera was with him, as well as Harkon, Lyra, and Kagerou. The Orcs weren’t invited.
Vacuse would have found it suspicious if Rhydian invited them in the first place.
Before long, they entered the building and the room for the dinner. The first thing that Vacuse noticed was the aroma of meat fried in oil with honey.
He smiled as he saw the full table and then the low lighting of the room.
Then finally, he focused on the man that sat at the head of the table.
Rhydian Vorrakyn, High Commander of the wilderness.
Red eyes met red eyes.
Vacuse smiled cheerfully. "My uncle!"
Beside the man, a woman in her early twenties with red eyes of her own bowed to him. "Dragon heir."
Vacuse turned to her and noticed her impressive stage. She was already a stage above him at the Syncer Soullinked. "Cousin! How have you been? You look more radiant than my uncle, I bet you go out more in the sun!"
Rhydian growled and narrowed his eyes as he watched Vacuse cross the distance to his daughter and clasp her hand. "That is Draya Vorrakyn, rank A, Syncer Soullinked stage."
Vacuse shook her hand and nodded at her. "I am Vacuse Vorrakyn. The Dragon."
Just like her father, Vacuse didn’t have any impression of her in his past life. Her face was warm but a bit stern, as if she would make a joke and turn around to scold you for laughing.
Her mouth curled. "The Dragon?"
Vacuse nodded. "Since I’m going to be the Dragon Lord, I might as well start getting used to it."
Draya’s brows shot up. "You know, in the past, that might have gotten you killed by the Dragon Lord."
Vacuse smiled back and shrugged. "Swears. And in the past, I imagine that Standpoint would have been flooded by Dragons already."
Her face tightened, and since they were still holding hands, her hand tightened on his own. Her face had turned cold. "For what?"
Vacuse smiled, his teeth gleaming. "For endangering the life of the Dragon heir. Shouldn’t you have sent soldiers out to accept me earlier in the journey?
"You know, a lot of people might say you intentionally let the Black Accord attack me."
Three cups exploded simultaneously on the table, and a harsh aura bellowed from the head of the table with intense pressure that made everyone twitch. "Are you... accusing me of treason?"
All his attendants were just as shocked. Even Kagerou was looking at Vacuse as if he couldn’t understand him at all.
Vacuse took his hands from her daughter, who was looking at him with an angry glare. He whirled and sat at the other end of the table. He met the High Commander’s eyes and laughed easily. "I would never do such a thing to the one that saved me!
"See, this is why this talk of the past is all strange. Let’s see, uncle. Why don’t we just enjoy our food?"
Rhydian stared at Vacuse’s smiling face for a long time, his own face seemingly carved from stone.
Tension filled the air, and all those in the room felt a subtle clenching in their stomach as they felt the pressure that flowed from the High Commander.
Finally, he spoke. "It’s been a while since I saw it. They’ve not appeared in our family in a long time."
Vacuse tilted his head in curiosity. "What are you talking about, uncle?"
"Serpentine. Or is it serpent? They’re gone from our pathway, and now we can only see them through the Vorrakyn’s bloodline. Like you."
Vacuse smiled. "I will take this as a compliment."
Rhydian snorted coldly. "Take it as you want. Dragon heir."
Vacuse laughed, and he joined the table. He gestured for his attendants to join him. He rubbed his hands together. "We should start eating now!"
Rhydian only stared at him coldly for a while. "You can start eating."
Vacuse was hungry enough that he didn’t look at anyone else as he began devouring his food with ferocity. He stuffed his mouth with meat, and the way he ate gave everyone a pause.
This... is the Dragon heir?
Vacuse drank the wine, and droplets fell on the table. "Ah! I was really hungry. This reminds me of the time I first ate with my siblings. Can you remember, Lyra?"
She gave a small smile as she ate with a knife and fork in an elegant manner. "Zephyr tried to insult you, but it wasn’t that you can’t eat with manners, you just choose not to."
Something flickered in Rhydian’s eyes. "Zephyr...?"
"My brother. We were direct children of Drenvar Vorrakyn, the Dragon Lord."
Rhydian looked at Vacuse and then at Lyra. "What happened to him?"
Lyra looked straight at him. "Vacuse killed him."
Rhydian’s eyes turned cold. "And you still work for him?"
She shrugged. "I am a Vorrakyn."
He laughed without amusement. "Aren’t we all?
"So... I was right. He is a serpent."
Vacuse only shrugged and continued eating. Before long, the room fell silent, and the only sound was that of eating and drinking, of plates clinking against ceramics.
But after a while, Rhydian sat up and turned to Vacuse once more. "So, your father wanted to make an alliance with the Orcs."
Vacuse finished eating the food in his mouth and drank more wine. Then he looked up at his uncle. "You really don’t want that, do you?"
"Why should I? This is directly against what the Standpoint fortress stands for. Make peace with the Orcs and lead their armies into our land. Do you know how that sounds?"
Vacuse frowned. "Then what do you suggest, uncle? Soon, the other Dukes would join the rest and they would come against us. What do you suggest we do?
"The way to other Regions is already blocked, and they might as well hate us as you hate the Orcs."
"Tell me, uncle, what do you suggest we do?"
Rhydian gritted his teeth. "Everything but licking the asses of the Orcs! My role in the family is to stand guard against this wilderness. Against the Orcs! And you want me to just allow them entry?"