2109 secrets from the Past (Part 1)

Both Nandi's armor and patas were made of purified Adamant and Forgemastered with modern techniques created by Bytra, the Fourth Ruler of the Flames. By showcasing them, Nandi was not only intimidating the opponent, but also reminding the disgruntled members of the Organization of Vastor's successes.

The powerful body and cores of the Minotaur surpassed those of most Eldritches despite him being much younger. On top of that, it proved to them that he could use any kind of tools without the Chaos corrupting them into scraps after a few seconds.

Such a sight was enough to quell the rage of the other Abominations and made them get back in line.

"I don't think that you've summoned us here just to scold us, Master." Xenagrosh said. "What's the plan?"

"As you know, I couldn't care less about Thrud. I took part in this war for personal reasons." The hybrid-Abominations who shared an empathic link with him grunted in approval.

They hated Orpal's guts for killing Manohar and having attempted on Zinya's life and that of her children time and time again. The rest of the Eldritches just sighed in resignation.

They had no care for the lives of mortals but they couldn't deny that under Vastor's leadership their race had made more progress in the last few decades than the Eldritches had achieved in eons by themselves.

Thanks to Nandi, they didn't need to scavenge for food anymore while the Master's arrays limited their hunger and stabilized their bodies enough for them to have a taste of their old lives.

The Eldritches would have followed Vastor against Mogar itself if that meant becoming one of his hybrids.

"My goal is to get my hands on Meln Narchat and kill him for good. The problem is that he and Night are held prisoners inside the Golden Griffon. Thrud and her academy are an obstacle in our path but I think to have found a way to get rid of them both."

Vastor leaned forward, handing copies of ancient documents that he had extracted from the Royal Library to everyone.

"Abominations aren't the only beings who were there when Arthan plunged into madness. There are plenty of members of the Undead Courts old enough to remember those events and unlike you, they have always been an integral part of Garlen society.

"While Abominations have always been mere witnesses, the undead have played an active role in most major events, and since before my coming, they were the only rulers of the criminal underworld.

"According to these documents, to escape Tyris' notice and cover his tracks, Arthan sought help from the undead. He tasked them to find the ingredients he couldn't take from the Royal Treasury without arousing suspicions and test some of his Forbidden Spells for him."

"Wait a second." Hushar the Leviathan said, having a hard time believing his own eyes as he read the papers. "Why would the undead bother helping Arthan? His experiments had no value for them and if the Council found out about the Undead Courts using Forbidden Magic, the Awakened would have hunted them down."

"That's where you are wrong." Vastor shook his head. "Undead are eternally young, but not immortal. They hoped that the same technology that today allows Thrud's soldiers to be regenerated inside the Golden Griffon would work for them as well.

"Had they succeeded, the Council would have posed no threat to them anymore. Worst case scenario, even if it didn't work on the undead, they could still use it to bring back their cattle.

"Having an endless source of food would have allowed them to grow their numbers until they become Mogar's master race. Luckily for us, in his madness Arthan was still wise enough to keep that piece of knowledge away from them.

"I read reports about undead being regenerated while trapped inside the Golden Griffon but the Courts must have never learned its secret or we wouldn't be having this conversation today.

"As for the Forbidden Magic, the undead gladly followed Arthan in the hope that what would grant him immortality would also fix their blood cores."

"I see." Hushar the Leviathan nodded. "But how is this knowledge supposed to help us? History proved Arthan wrong and the Golden Griffon is his only achievement. The Madness failed to grant him immortality or even Awakening.

"On top of that, since the Undead Courts are no different today than they were 700 years ago, we can assume that their deal with Arthan got them nowhere."

"That's true but that doesn't mean that the undead learned nothing about the lost academy's workings nor that they have no influence in the final outcome." The Master said. "Don't you find it odd that the undead are the only race that can't be controlled by the Unwavering Loyalty array?

"That Meln Narchat had no fear sending his Chosen to the Golden Griffon and that the Undead Courts were so quick switching sides after planning for his capture? I bet that the reason for their confidence is that they know something that we don't.

"A hidden card to play the moment the relationship with the Mad Queen goes sour. Something that in the right hands will cause her downfall." Vastor took a pause to let his words sink and to give everyone the time to read the documents with new eyes.

"Your theory makes a lot of sense, but I still fail to see how it can help us. We've raided and conquered plenty of branches of the Undead Courts but we've never found anything about Arthan." Abthot was quick to switch sides when it suited her interests.

She didn't care for Orpal, but seeing how much the Master had built from bits and scraps of Arthan's work, there was no telling what Vastor could achieve if he were to get his hands on the full blueprints.

By helping him she would help herself. The same thought crossed the mind of the rest of the Abominations who were now full of enthusiasm.

"That's because until now we didn't know what or who to look for." Vastor replied. "Such precious knowledge must be either hidden behind an ancient code written in a long-dead language or entrusted to the eldest members of the Courts.

"The undead are confident that no one can read them anymore, but between all of you, there is more history in this room than in the rest of Garlen. We can beat them at their own game."

The room mumbled in approval.

"I've already ordered our human associates to look through the documents we have collected during the hostile takeovers and to send over to us anything that makes no sense to them.

"Who knows, maybe we're lucky and we've already got what we are looking for. In the meantime, we're going to increase the pressure on the Undead Courts under the pretense of expanding our turf and stealing their resources.

"In other words, just keep doing what you were doing, but take alive anyone who looks old enough to know about the Golden Griffon.

"To increase our odds, I'm going to have the Eldritches take care of the Kingdom while the hybrids will focus on the Empire. That's where I bet that we'll find the solution to our problem."