Shortly before the 3-night feast, the Salrin hold a meeting in the Great Hall, in the longest building of the circular courtyard.
The meeting hall is quite extravagant, furnished with the highest quality items they could find. It screams expensive comfort.
The Salrin, all full Qitorans besides Carai, intimately debated the future of their people.
"We're losing this war, think with your heads!
We need to think about sharing Deiju Drathar with all of our zhruun,"
firmly but bluntly interjects the irritable Zhaedrix.
The Salrin have been in Ruvak since the moment the Deiju Drathar ended.
"He's not wrong, sir, though still zerath in his speech.
Vorrakuun thrakul vraath; sai vraath, noi krel.
We lose more zhruun each day."
A stern voice quiets the room with his statement. It's Khorvane, the strategist for the Qitoran forces.
He triggers more worry as more dragons slip in and out of the Alnirian language to Azhuric subconsciously.
Constant questions fly through the air like a long battle of only archers, when a female voice silences all questions and bickering.
It's Carai, who stands firmly next to the king with a chillingly angry face.
Practically steaming from her anger, she stares down the remaining council members.
"Who are you all to question the word of Alous himself in his own Great Hall, his place of solitude!
You all must have no faith in your people to talk like this after the miracle we just witnessed during Deiju!
On top of that, our troops are returning from Salaciean soil just in time to arrive for Deiju Zerathil.
Is that not proof enough things are starting to get better?"
The most anticipated voice in the room speaks.
"Carai isn't wrong.
Do you all realize the longest Deiju recorded was just 8 minutes and 27 seconds?
The first child to complete Deiju this year was Narcai at 11 minutes and 41 seconds.
The second was Venshind, who walked through the fire at 25 minutes and 57 seconds.
The final one was Arsheo's spectacle. He made the ritual flames withdraw with his completion at 1 hour, 6 minutes, and 23 seconds.
On top of all of that, none of you saw how the unknown special grades reacted to his spiritual energy."
The flame keeper Isradith was waiting for a good chance to address the room for her own findings.
"I noticed that as well, sir. I was intrigued and dove into the matter myself.
As you all know, as the flame keeper, I protect and dissect the knowledge we acquire from expeditions and trade with other zhruun kingdoms.
When I saw the fire stop abruptly as Arsheo completed Deiju, I was sure it was something I'd read.
One moment, please."
She fumbles through her elder's robe to find the transcript she brought from the Qitoran library.
As she pulls it up to read, she clears her throat.
"Ahem, I found a text that describes this Deiju in what was supposedly the 3rd Deiju ever.
They had a group of 3 that year as well because of a famine that swept Qitor that year, but they were very hopeful about one participant, as he was the Zhaedrin of the first king of Qitor.
It says he was huge and fuming with core energy since he was young, and the people considered him a candidate for kingship.
It said his Deiju was complete in just about 25 minutes, had whirling gusts of elemental energy, and the air vibrated with power."
She's cut off before she finishes by the calm Velithar.
"I thought we were talking about Arsheo. Doesn't that sound more like Venshind's Deiju?"
The keeper of the flame responds calmly and finishes speaking.
"I haven't gotten to the final part.
It says that as he took his first steps, the ceremonial flame became calm and dissipated into the ground, as if to bow for his presence.
The other 2 disciples lasted 8 minutes and 7 minutes."
With the last part of the passage brought more debate around them.
Is it enough to not worry about the declining population?
Could they place this weight on a new adult like that?
The king chimes in with a reassuring look.
"If your worry is if it's enough, he will inherit the king title in a year's time after completing his service as the general of the 3rd squad of Qitor.
The sergeants all over have been swapped around, so we were able to get Venshind and Narci on his squad.
They will train together and force each other to get better consistently.
If you have any faith in me, have faith in these dragons who did nothing but train our techniques for 11 years.
They knew how to draw core energy before it was ever unlocked because of their habitual training.
As for the scroll, does it say why it took so long and was so explosive when his Deiju was complete?"
"It doesn't say why the flames were reacting like that, but it does say that the Iuvarin checked the participants' physical conditions afterward.
The one who lasted longer was showing that he had 12 Corath active, while the others had the normal 10.
They theorized that his spiritual affinity was so high that he had 24 Corath, but they could never find a way to see Kezh'corath, as they're hidden by the Khron'corath."
"How does anyone perform Deiju Drathar if that's the case?"
curiously chimes in Velithar.
The ritual expert, Maelith, prepares to speak.
"The sacred flame floods our entire body, sweeping through the energy pathways, breaking Corath walls, and speeding up natural process.
As you all should know, we have 2 types of Corath as dragons: the ones unlocked through time, Khron'corath, and the ones unlocked through control, Kezh'corath.
The Khron'corath are targeted by the Drathar flames, and the process is accelerated by the ancient magic,"
the expert explains.
The Veysha continues on with a relaxed tone.
"Although it's a tightly guarded secret how the ritual is performed, I can tell you it's never failed to unlock exactly half our cores in the 200 years I've been keeper of rituals.
If those Iuvarin truly did see 12 Corath, the participant most likely did have 24 Corath.
It's a pretty easy assumption, but how did he end up with 2 extra Corath?
The final 4 Corath are wildly stronger than the 16 previous ones.
How strong did this kin member become?"
The keeper of flame, eagerly awaiting her turn to speak, jumps right back into this scroll.
"His name was Veydrath, but no texts mention him by that name besides the Deiju Drathar records from that year.
According to the records, he was immediately promoted to king because of the constant wars due to religion.
He became the 11th king of Qitor and was referred to as Dravkorvahrin, the longest reigning king in Qitoran history."
"Isn't he supposed to be a myth?
No way any dragon lives to be 437 years old. It's never happened since his supposed reign,"
chimes in the now incredibly curious Khorvane.
Everyone's ears perk up at the thought of a myth proven true—a new living legend.
The flame keeper responds to the undivided attention of her now eager audience.
"Neither has a Deiju Drathar like this one. Besides, all forms of script from the war era are considered to be tales and myths because of the lack of evidence to support the claims and the primitive way of life our ancestors lived.
We also don't have that many scripts from that era, so it's hard to piece together all events in a single period.
The most we can gather from the war era are rituals and kings, but those are even hard to tell, as everything was exaggerated to explain things they didn't understand.
If our Iuvarin see 12 Corath within our participants, it could be proof that he existed and his reign was history, not myth."
"What would that mean for my sons?
Would they be thrust into battle with the giants and demons immediately?
I know we can't afford to let the strongest in the kingdom sit here forever, but surely I can't be the only worried one."
Carai starts to ramble, worried about the fate of her sons as the Salirn talk about her sons as if they were already legends.
"If the boys in fact do have more cores than usual, they would be the most capable in the whole kingdom,"
the king announces with a firm and absolute tone.
Carai looks up, worry and fear shape her face and taint her aura.
The king makes direct contact with her while speaking, as if to reassure her directly.
"My plans remain. The three will go through the common process and be our secret force for when the time comes.
They will be here when we need them, as we are there for Alniri."