After Amalia had a happy reunion with her two eunuch attendants, Renata and Canard, the group met with a particularly mossy-headed Sadida with a long beard and brows that obscured his face, Chamberlain Tofdrew. The aged Sadida mistook one of the guards for Amalia, welcoming them back with a happy hug, but after a round of laughter, the misunderstanding was cleared, and everyone transitioned to a giant flower that closed its petals around them before ferrying them to the palace's entrance.
"What do you mean that my father isn't here? Where could he possibly have gone...?" asked Amalia, frowning deeply as the group made its way through the palace, formed entirely from hollows within the two massive trees at the forest's center.
"My sincerest apologies, Princess, but the only one who can answer that is your brother..." answered the Chamberlain, dabbing his brows through his bushy brows as he explained, "Since the King's disappearance, Prince Armand has been acting as the interim King in his stead."
Frowning even deeper, Amalia turned to look at Vahn, her tone pointed as she asked, "You can find my father, can't you?"
"I already have..." responded Vahn, smiling casually as he revealed, "He's presently sleeping next to a remarkable tree located deep beneath where we're standing."
"Impossible!? H-H-How could you possibly know that...!?" exclaimed the Chamberlain, his eyes briefly becoming visible as he nearly tripped over his robes while turning to stare at Vahn in shock.
"The place you're talking about is the most sacred location among the Sadida people," revealed Amalia, looking relieved and confused as she crossed her arms, cupped her chin, tilted her head back, and wondered aloud, "But why would father be sleeping there?"
"If we presume he placed your brother in charge before he left, the Prince should have the answer," contended Eva.
"Probably..." conceded Amalia, returning her gaze to Vahn and smiling as she asked, "But why ask Armand when we have a God who can probably answer any questions we might have~?"
Nodding affirmingly, Vahn revealed, "I don't know the reason, but the tree your father is sleeping next to appears to be...afraid. I imagine your father went there to investigate, but looking at the situation, something seems to have gone awry."
"My father...is he in danger...?" asked Amalia, looking anxious but resolute as she prepared herself to rush to her father's side there and then if Vahn confirmed he was in danger.
Shaking his head, Vahn answered, "I'm missing the context behind why he's asleep, but your father doesn't seem to be in immediate danger. The tree is actively providing him energy and nutrients, so if I had to guess, it communicates with people through their dreams."
"Well, as long as he's safe..." sighed Amalia, closing her eyes and exhaling with a mix of relief and exasperation. Then, causing the Chamberlain and her attendants to fluster, she began walking with purpose in the direction of the throne room, where her brother was presently lounging lazily atop their father's tree-formed, moss-covered throne, looking visibly annoyed as he held court and listened to the concerns and complaints of the more affluent and influential members of their society.
"Armand...!" shouted Amalia, pushing open the doors to the throne room with nearly enough force to knock them off their hinges.
"Hm? What's the meaning of this? Amalia...?" questioned Armand, sitting straighter and visibly perking when he realized the person who had burst into the throne room was his runaway sister, finally returned.
"Everyone out! I need to speak with my brother...!" commanded Amalia, causing those present to look back and stare at her confusedly. They all knew who Amalia was, but as she ultimately possessed no political power or authority, they weren't going to leave just because she raised her voice a bit.
"Away with you all. I have grown weary of hearing your prattling. We will continue these discussions tomorrow," stated Armand, making a shooing gesture with his right hand before a remarkably short, almost spherical-shaped Sadida repeated, "The acting King has spoken! Today's audiences have concluded! Return to your prepared quarters or leave the palace and return tomorrow morning...!"
murmurmurmurmurmur
Though they weren't pleased with the development, the would-be nobles of the Sadida people departed the throne room without any direct protest. The only nobility recognized within the forest nation was the royal family, so while they held influence and tremendous wealth, most of which came from outside sources, they weren't in a position to stand their ground and oppose Armand's dismissal.
With the throne room rapidly clearing, Armand got up from his father's elevated throne, spread his hands, and greeted, "It pleases me to see you've returned, Amalia," with a warm smile. Then, glancing past her, his dark brown, nearly black eyes settled on Eva, his expression very briefly brightening before he noticed Vahn at her side.
"And who is this you've brought with you...?" asked Armand, his brows furrowing and his expression and tone exuding hostility.
"This gentleman is Vahn Mason, the Dragon God of Infinite Possibilities, as well as my fiancé," answered Amalia, posing with her chest puffed, her chin raised, and her arms crossed proudly and defiantly.
"Dragon God? Fiancé? What in Sadida's name are you talking about...?" asked Armand, staring at Amalia as if she had sprouted a second head. For a moment, he didn't know where he should be angry or feel sorry for her, as, unless she was deliberately messing with him, it was clear to him that she had been played and taken advantage of.
"As your sister just informed you, I am Vahn Mason, the Dragon God of Infinite Possibilities," repeated Vahn, punctuating his words by spreading his seven pairs of wings, unfurling a long, ivory-white tail lined with gold, flame-like fur from his lower back, and sprouting golden, antler-like horns that parted his now wavy, white, gold-streaked hair. The corners of his eyes, his forearms, parts of his exposed chest, and the whole of his back and shoulders similarly became covered in ivory-white scales, creating a harmonious contrast with his predominantly black kimono.
Pushed back by the wave of golden energy unleashed from Vahn's body, Armand fell onto his father's throne, his jaw slack and his expression one of abject shock. He didn't believe that Vahn was a God, but the energy he was unleashing was unquestionably beyond what a mortal should be able to assert.
As Armand stared at him in shock, Vahn was similarly evaluating the tall and muscular Sadida Prince. His skin was a darker, even earthier shade of brown than Amalia's, and like all male Sadida, his head was enveloped in evenly trimmed, well-groomed moss that was pulled back into dreadlocks and bound near his chin to form a beard. The energy within his body was several times what Amalia possessed when they had first met, but thanks to her time with Vahn, she would have the edge if the two of them were to compete in terms of Wakfu.
"Hmph! As you can see, Armand, Vahn isn't someone you can afford to disrespect!" chimed Amalia, puffing chest even more confidently as she demanded, "Now, step down from our father's throne and explain to me what happened to the Tree of Life."
"Amalia...just what have you been doing this past half a year...?" asked Armand, genuinely taken aback by his sister's actions. He then looked to Eva as if she might be able to explain the situation, but to his tremendous shock, the woman he had been trying to court for nearly a decade moved to stand closer to Vahn. She didn't throw herself against him or grab onto his arm, but the way she held his gaze as she moved made it clear to him that their relationship wasn't ordinary.
"You...what have you done to my sister and Eva...?" questioned Armand, his expression hardening into a mask of resolute fury as he rose from his father's throne and glared at Vahn like an enemy.
"Quite a lot, but none of what you're imagining," responded Vahn, shaking his head before preparing to explain things. Unfortunately, his words were immediately followed by Amalia boldly declaring, "Eva and I have become Vahn's lovers! And once we marry, I intend to elevate the Sadida Kingdom and our people with his help!"
"Amalia...this really isn't the time to be saying such things..." sighed Eva, crossing her arms, closing her eyes, and exhaling in exasperation as she knew what came next.
As Eva suspected, Armand, looking even more furious, swept out his left hand, struck a commanding pose, and shouted, "Guards! Come forth and arrest this man! He has brainwashed the Princess and her attendant and is attempting to stage a coup...!"
In response to Armand's command, dozens of male Sadida and a handful of other Classes rushed into the throne room from multiple entrances. In place of bladed or metallic weapons, they mostly wielded canes, clubs, or vine-woven nets, the latter of which were promptly flung at Vahn and Eva in an attempt to capture them.
"Mmn...this isn't ideal..." remarked Vahn, solidifying the space within his Domain to freeze the thrown nets, rushing guards, and Armand, who had leaped into the air with a pair of vine-formed whips, in place. At a glance, it appeared as if he had stopped time, but he was actually holding them in place—similar to telekinesis.
Raising his gaze to Armand, Vahn flatly asserted, "I haven't brainwashed anyone," before freeing the groaning man to fall. The moment he landed, Armand reached into pouches at his sides and prepared to scatter seeds, but before he could, Amalia moved like a blur to kick him in the center of his chest, shouting, "Stop trying to attack and just listen! If you intend to keep up this foolishness, I'll stop you myself!"
Touching his chest with his right hand, a look of confusion flashed over Armand's face as he had never known his sister to possess such physical prowess. The kick had only sent him sliding back to the stairs leading up to his father's throne, but he could tell she had pulled her foot back at the last moment. If she hadn't, he might have had his sternum shattered and his ribs broken.
"Amalia...this power..." muttered Armand, a shadow of horror washing over his face as he looked between his beloved younger sister, the woman he sought to one day marry, and the fourteen-winged humanoid dragon who was staring back at him with...sympathy?
'Have I misinterpreted the situation...?' Armand wondered, having no other explanation for why Vahn looked troubled by the situation. Meanwhile, his theretofore lazy, heavily pampered sister was popping the knuckles of her right hand with her left, smiling like a brawler prepared to throw hands the moment he refused to stand down...
Inserting herself into the tension, Eva exasperatedly explained, "Prince Armand. I don't have a way to prove it to you right at this very moment, but Vahn didn't brainwash us. And as Amalia said, his status as a God is genuine. If you don't believe that, you need only to give him a chance to prove himself..."
"Prove himself? How...?" asked Armand, continuing to rub his chest as a bruise rapidly spread where Amalia had kicked him.
"To start, I can deal with that wound..." offered Vahn, adopting a smile as the version of himself watching events unfold from his command theater used Wound Transfer to heal Armand's bruised chest faster than the man could process his words. From the latter's perspective, he just felt a flash of heat, and his chest was completely healed.
"Such extraordinary healing magic..." muttered Armand, his eyes wide and his pupils dilating as it occurred to him that Amalia and Eva might be right about Vahn's identity.
"And if that isn't enough to demonstrate my power...how about something like this...?" asked Vahn, snapping his fingers and unleashing a spherical pulse of warm golden energy that spread outward from his body, passing through those present and ignoring physical obstacles to expand tens of kilometers in less than a second. Nothing had changed at a glance, but as Prince Armand and those present would soon come to learn, every injured or sick person, plant, animal, and insect within the affected area suddenly and inexplicably found themselves healed and full of energy...
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