"The Tribunal." Theoren began, his tone cautious. "They are planning sothing big, sothing dangerous."
Arwen inquired, partly out of curiosity, partly out of worry. "What are they planning, and how do you know this?"
Taking a deep breath, Theoren replied. "According to my sources, they are planning on declaring their independence from Scholastica."
lita gasped at the side while Arwen’s look turned thoughtful.
Seeing this, Theoren added. "As for how I got to know this, it’s simple, actually; I have so contacts working in the council hall. Unfortunately, the man who helped with the tip disappeared after I got the information from him. It was during my attempt to find him that I was abducted as well."
"Did you find him?" Arwen asked with Theoren shaking his head, a regretful look on his visage.
"Not yet. I’m guessing he’s being kept sowhere else, if he isn’t already dead yet."
"Any idea how the council plans on declaring their independence?"
"Not exactly, but I believe it might have sothing to do with the supernatural. There’s no other reason for them to kidnap so many people from the lower districts if not to use them as sacrificial lambs in so twisted quest for power to fight against Scholastica."
"I see." Arwen nodded in understanding, quite agreeable to Theoren’s thoughts on the matter.
Just then, she recalled sothing, prompting her to shift her attention to the beggars, seemingly in search of a person.
After searching for almost a minute with Theoren and lita struggling to understand what she was up to, lita spoke up.
"Are you looking for sothing?"
Arwen shook her head, paused, then nodded. "Actually, yes. I’m looking for a man, a miner who goes by the na Leokhares. He has a daughter, maybe 6 or 7, no older than 8. Scraggly beards, bad hygiene, hysterical."
lita and Theoren exchanged looks, then turned back to her to shake their heads in response.
Disappointed, Arwen turned to the beggars and asked the sa question to them, only to receive the sa answer.
Pursing her lips, she wondered if Leokhares’ situation was like Theoren’s informant within the council hall.
If not, then they were definitely missing sothing.
***
In truth, Alex was hardly the first Mystic to speedrun a Wheel.
He wasn’t the first, nor was he to be the last.
There were many from history and even in modern day that have done the sa, with them being referred to as Blessed by their peers.
Of course, those who were older, more experienced, knew better, and instead of calling it a blessing, referred to it as a curse, one that ensured an early grave.
Unfortunately, their evaluation proved to be correct as most of those who speedrun their Wheels always ended up dying early in life, even when they managed to graduate from the seventh Lock to the eighth Lock, which symbolized the transformation from a re mortal to a divine being.
In any case, it still remained that there were those capable of speed running the Trials given by their Guardians and even more that disregarded the dangers of such an act all for the fulfillnt of a goal.
Councilwoman Thera was one such individual.
Alex took a deep breath to calm his nerves while taking the ti to pull up everything he knew about her.
She was an enigmatic fellow, appearing so ti last year only to grow from a common rchant to a mber of the council, the greatest power in Sklaviunt, within the space of a single year.
Such a feat proved she was not only capable, but brilliant as well.
A foe like her would definitely not be easy to defeat, especially considering the Domain she held control over.
"How skilled is she?" Alex asked, breaking the silence that persisted from the mont Azazel revealed Thera’s true nature.
I have never seen her fight, but my instincts scream for to be cautious whenever I am in her presence. She is mad, but perhaps even she does not know it.
"A mad person that doesn’t know they are mad," Alex muttered while rubbing his chin, moving into deep thought.
All things considered, if he were to face Thera, he could montarily suppress her with Nyx’s Authority, but if it ended up resulting in the sa scenario that occurred at Copenhagen back in Ra’as with the Mother of Lost Souls... Alex shook his head, disregarding the possibility.
No matter what, he has to avoid ever needing Nyx, or he would lose what little attachnt remains of Earth.
He couldn’t allow that.
Which ant Nyx’s Authority was out of the cards, leaving him with his Authority, which was on par with Thera’s, if Azazel’s evaluation was correct.
Speaking of... "How can you be so sure she’s at the 5th Lock?" Alex asked.
Azazel sighed.
Because my brethren and I were instruntal in her growth.
"Explain."
Abyssal, Lover of Despair, Visitor, Origin of Madness, Lunatic... Each of these Locks, save for the third, requires human subjects to be completed. Under normal circumstances, she would need to gather the subjects herself, however...
"However, you helped her gather the subjects." Alex grimaced. "How many people have you taken exactly?"
Eight hundred.
Alex paused, then frowned as a peculiar thought ca to mind.
"Just 800?"
Indeed. We took mostly beggars and scavengers from the lower districts, people that would not be missed.
"Theoren and lita?"
Hmm?
"The printing press owner and his granddaughter."
Ah, they were taken for getting involved. We planned on releasing them once everything blew over.
"Leokhares and his daughter?"
Who?
Alex’s lips parted as he thought to describe the fellow, only to pause, then he shook his head.
"Forget it. Are you sure about the number?... Only eight hundred?"
Indeed, I am certain.
Alex’s frown deepened as he thought to himself.
The total population of Sklaviunt is a little over a hundred thousand, and more than fifty percent of that number was situated in the lower districts.
Even if Azazel had taken eight hundred beggars, there was no way it would put a dent in the lower districts’ population, after all, they were quite good when it ca to making babies.
This ant that if Theoren and lita hadn’t been taken, he would have never known about Azazel and his crazy plan with Councilwoman Thera until it was too late.
However, the empty streets and dilapidated buildings in the lower districts were a telltale sign of the fact that sothing had drastically reduced the population.
If it was not Azazel and his cohorts, then who was it?
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