Path of Dragons 18 - Chapter 23 - A Meeting of Minds (Patreon)

“I really don’t want to do this,” Elijah complained as he struggled not to adjust the lapels of his suit.  It had been quite a while since he’d had occasion to wear the outfit, and he felt distinctly uncomfortable with doing so again. 

It wasn’t that he didn’t like it.  The white suit with green trim definitely suited him.  Moreover, it had been a gift, which gave it no small degree of sentimental value.  Nor was it really uncomfortable – at least inasmuch as the design itself.  The problem was solely with him.

He just didn’t like dressing up.

Nor was he looking forward to why he’d been persuaded to do so.

“You think I could just fly in as a dragon and make them come to me?” he asked, imagining sitting in a field surrounded by comparatively tiny people.  “They could bring me gifts I could add to my hoard.”

“You don’t have a hoard,” Sara said with a roll of her eyes. 

“That’s my point.  What kind of self-respecting dragon doesn’t have a hoard?”

“The kind who plays with plants instead of accumulating wealth,” Okar pointed out as he strode along next to Sara.  The two had clearly become even more comfortable with one another, and they’d even stopped denying that they were together. 

As if that had ever worked in the first place.

Despite their fervent insistence that Okar was just her bodyguard, everyone had known the truth.  And for what it was worth, Elijah very much approved.

Seeing them together also reminded him that it had been quite some time since he’d seen Imal.  She was still in her deity chrysalis, which meant she was entirely unreachable.  When she would emerge was anyone’s guess, but the fact that she had been confined for so long boded well for the power of her new class.

More though, Elijah very much missed her.

It was not the all-encompassing longing one might see in movies or read about in romance novels, but when Elijah’s mind became too idle, some of his thoughts assuredly rested on just how long it had been since they had been together.  That was just one piece of the puzzle that constituted his thoughts, though.

“Is she going to be there?” he asked.

“I would be very surprised if she wasn’t,” Sara answered, not at all fazed by the cityscape surrounding them. 

For his part, Elijah was more than fazed, because Seattle had grown, both in breadth and density, since the last time he had visited.  It truly had come to resemble the futuristic utopia it had begun to hint at decades before.  Every building glistened with metal and glass, the streets were full of sleek vehicles floating on cushions of air, and a complex monorail wove throughout the massive city.

It had spread out quite a bit into the surrounding desert, and it seemed that the sand elves’ influence had given them access to plenty of water.  The streets were lined with artful trees, and Elijah had counted quit a few parks upon arrival. 

“There’s our car,” Sara said, gesturing to the curb. 

The thing looked like nothing so much as a futuristic limousine, notable as much for its flowing design as because it too seemed to hover a little less than a foot off the ground.  Elijah could sense the dense threads of ethera rushing from its engine to the mechanism responsible for its ability to hover.

It wasn’t so different from that ridiculous bike Gunnar had had made, though the discs were a lot more subtle.  He’d probably specifically asked the Engineers to make his bike as ridiculous as possible. 

Sara slid into the back seat as if she’d done so a thousand times, despite never having seen a car before leaving the Empire of Scale.  As she did, Elijah couldn’t deny that she looked the part of a woman meant to ride limousines.  She wore a white dress that left the scales on her arms and shoulders exposed.  The high-necked affair was tasteful, and it had been sewn by the very Tailor who’d made Elijah’s suit.

Over the years, Hope had established a very, very high-end fashion brand, and rightly so.  She wasn’t the highest-level Tailor in the world, but she wasn’t that far off.  That, combined with nearly unlimited access to the grove’s resources meant that she made some of the most popular clothes on Earth.

Okar, who slid in after Sara, wore his armor.

Elijah wished he’d followed the halfling’s lead. 

He entered the limousine after Okar, only to find that the interior was the size of a bus.  There were couches, tables, and even a large television along one wall.  In addition, it was staffed by no less than two attendants, not including the driver.

Elijah settled into one of the sofas and immediately removed one of his leviathan-skin shoes. 

“This is the problem with fancy dress-up,” he remarked, massaging his foot.  “Everyone expects you to wear shores.”

“Amen,” Okar muttered, having adopted that term during his time on Earth.  Likely, he had no notion of the religious connotations of using it.  “Never much cared for footwear of any kind.”

Sara rolled her eyes.  “Savages.”

“Do I really need to go to this thing?” Elijah complained.  “I’m not really in charge of anything.”

“Yes.  You have to be there,” Sara said.

“But I really do have a lot of important things to do.”

“I am well aware of what you think you need to do,” she countered.  “This is important.”

“Agree to disagree,” Elijah mumbled to himself.

“Elijah,” Sara said. “Do you really want another incident like Meridian Lux?”

He frowned.  That was the last thing he wanted.  But just as surely, he wouldn’t let a place like that exist. 

Which was probably the point.  Elijah recognized that, even if he hated the implications.  Probably more than the responsibility that came with it. 

“She’s definitely going to be there,” he repeated as the car took off.  Elijah barely felt the inertia, but he could sense the area around the car whipping by. 

“She’s the Prime Judge, Elijah. She’s going to be there,” Sara echoed the sentiment.

“Stupid name.  I bet she hates it,” he guessed.  Sadie was a lot of things, but she definitely wasn’t the sort of person who’d embrace such a grandiose title.  At the same time, she would tolerate it if it meant it made it easier to do her job.

“Don’t say that around the Adjudicators.  They take their symbols very seriously.”

“That’s what she is to them?”

“That and more,” Sara answered.  “She’s their backbone, too.  The ultimate power behind the organization.”

And apparently, she had made that clear when she had executed a dragon in the middle of Ironshore.  That could’ve caused quite a problem if it had been anyone else, but Sadie had developed a reputation for unflinching justice.  Earth accepted her authority, at least insomuch as it meant she would deal with those who stepped outside the law.

Still, Elijah worried that the dragon’s family might take issue.

Sara had assured him that they wouldn’t, courtesy of Kirlissa’s intervention.  Elijah didn’t believe for a second it would hold anyone back from seeking revenge, but they would at least hide their intentions. 

He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

But what he did know was that if any of them came to Earth to seek vengeance, they would find themselves opposed by more than just Elijah.  Earth wasn’t a powerhouse like the Empire of Scale, but Sadie’s actions had proven that they could protect themselves, at least to some degree.

It was a testament to the multi-versal standard of authority that might so often made right.  If Sadie – or someone else like her – hadn’t been there, then there was a good chance that Elijah would have returned to Earth to find it the fiefdom of some overindulged dragon prince.

“I would still bet money that she hates the name.”

Sara shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. She’s stuck with it, for better or worse.”

For the next few minutes, they remained silent.  Doubtless, Sara was going over the details of the upcoming meeting in her head.  Meanwhile, Elijah occupied himself by contemplating his plan for Orveth Kaal.  In some ways, it was just as loose as it had been upon first conception, but he’d begun to hammer down some details.  He hoped that by the time he actually got started, the basics of the plan would become solidified in his mind.

What he pointedly didn’t think about was the prospect of seeing Sadie again. 

He didn’t want to resume their relationship.  He was happy with Imal.  But there was a part of his heart that still twinged when he thought of Sadie Song.  He’d loved her, and she him.  There was even a part of him that still did. 

The real question that haunted him was what he would do if she changed her mind about being together.  Would he change his tune as well?  He didn’t think so.  Certainly, he recognized it for the betrayal it was.  But he couldn’t help but wonder.  He couldn’t help but feel the emotions swirling inside of him.

Their shared history demanded as much.

Finally, the limousine pulled to a stop in front of a very impressive-looking building.  It looked like a modernized version of a renaissance palace, which was to say that the aesthetic was sleek, interspersed with ornate detail.  There were also neoclassical elements to it, especially the massive dome that called back to a thousand capitol cities in the now-defunct United States.

“The League of Harmony,” Sara said. 

“Also a stupid name,” Elijah pointed out.

“I do not disagree,” she acknowledged.  “But it also serves a vital purpose.”

“Of pretending that everyone’s in it for the good of all?” Elijah asked.

“Something like that,” Okar interjected, which earned him a cutting glance form Sara.  “Don’t look at me like that.  You know they’re feckless at best, malicious at worst.  Everyone in that building is out for themselves, and they cloak their intent with performative altruism.”

“That was a lot of big words,” Elijah said, impressed.

“Just because I prefer to solve my problems by fighting doesn’t mean I’m an idiot, Elijah,” Okar said.

“For the record, you’re both idiots,” Sara stated.  “And we all know what the League of Harmony is.  Those of us who aren’t entirely evil believe it still represents a net benefit.  There’s value there, even if it isn’t exactly what the charter claims it is.”

“The value of endless discussions about nothing,” Okar countered. “And trade deals. Can’t forget about those.  All wearing the disguise of –”

“I don’t want to go through this again,” she sighed, massaging the bridge of her nose.  “You don’t trust them.  Neither do I.  But I will use them.”

“Be easier if you just took over.”

“I’m not going to do that,” Sara stated evenly.

“Because your mother told you not to?”

“Because Earth shouldn’t be ruled by a single person,” Elijah interjected. “Sara is right.  She doesn’t have the right to govern the whole world.”  Then, he looked at his adopted sister.  “That is why you don’t want to do it, right?”

“Mostly,” she conceded.

Elijah suspected that her mother’s opinion mattered more than her reservations about ruling a world of which she wasn’t even a native.  But he didn’t point that out.

“Well, we’re here,” Elijah said.  “Best get to it.”

With that, he pushed the door open, startling the driver who had circled around to do it for him.  Elijah apologized, then stepped out onto the sidewalk abutting the massive plaza that sat before the so-called Hall of Harmony.  It sounded too much like the Hall of Justice for Elijah to take too seriously.

Even if he knew he definitely should.

More importantly, he couldn’t ignore the crowd of onlookers, many of them hefting their personal devices and cameras that ran off of ethera.  It seemed that the press was alive and well in Seattle.

Elijah also didn’t miss the tiny drones floating above the plaza. 

He’d noticed them everywhere he looked – evidence that Isaiah was watching.  Not too surprising, given everything Elijah knew about the ruler of Seattle, but noteworthy all the same. 

Elijah extended his hand to Sara and helped her out of the car.  Then came Okar.

Finally, Elijah said, “Might as well get this over with.  Everyone ready?  Game faces on?  Let’s meet some world leaders.”