Rhaegal was completely caught off guard; his surprise was such that he instinctively took a step back, even though there was no reason for such an action. How did Haku know about that detail? Was it Darbi who told him? No, impossible: if Haku had known the truth he would surely have already left to track down Black Vulture and kill her. It was more likely that he had guessed it himself. "Haku, brother..."
"You told me that you trust me, that you would be happy if I were the king of all dragons, but you don't show it. You have secrets that you keep me in the dark about. You still... fear my reaction" Haku said. "I ask you again: what really happened during your captivity?"
Rhaegal opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, but not a single sound emerged from it. Haku didn't say anything: he remained motionless, waiting for his brother to speak, looking him straight in the eyes with a strange light in his gaze. Rhaegal knew that Haku would not take no for an answer, and that once he revealed the truth to him there would be no turning back. But perhaps it was for the best; maybe it was time to be really honest. "Black Vulture tortured me" he finally said. "She did it to find out as much about us as possible, and then she erased my memory with a special liquid. I don't remember what happened; I know it happened because I had written the essential information into my palate using a tooth of mine, but I have no memory of those events. That's the truth. And I didn't tell you not because I feared your reaction, but because I knew that you and all our siblings would want to punish my tormentors at all costs. You would have put yourselves in danger, and I didn't want that"
Haku's eyes seemed to have a nervous twitch and the lids narrowed like two slits. A snort emerged from his nostrils and a growl emerged from his throat, his claws splitting the floor beneath them and his tail slammed hard against the wall. "What did she do?" he hissed in a voice so low that it was a miracle even for a dragon to hear him. "That bitch... I knew it, I'd felt something was wrong, but I didn't want to believe it... and that king... asshole bastard, it must have been his idea... how... how they dared..."
"I told you, I don't remember anything. It's not a big deal for me" Rhaegal tried to calm him down. "Even though I try, I have no memory of those events. It's as if it never happened. Even though..."
But he knew that this wouldn't be enough to calm his brother, and in fact Haku didn't even seem to hear his words; his irises seemed to become made of flames, and a roar emerged from his mouth, so loud that the frescoes trembled slightly. "I'll fucking kill them!" he shouted. "Why didn't you tell me sooner!? They have to pay... I'll track them down even if I have to go to the end of the world, and I'll slaughter and cure them every single day! I'll devour their limbs one by one and then make them regenerate, and I'll repeat this torment until their minds are completely broken and their spirits vanish from their bodies! They must..."
"NO!" Rhaegal roared even louder than him, drowning out his voice. "I don't want this, Haku!"
Haku stopped and looked at his brother as if he was crazy. How could Rhaegal not want revenge? He didn't remember anything, but the very thought of what had been done to him should have infuriated him! He should have been the first to hunt down those bastards like they were rabbits and tear them apart and skin them and tear them apart until they were eradicated from the world. "You... don't want this? Why...?"
"Because so I chose!" Rhaegal exclaimed. "In the beginning I wanted it too, and in a way I still want it. While I was a prisoner I dreamed of slaughtering those idiots who thought they could torture me and go unpunished only thanks to a stupid liquid that erased my memory. I dreamed of getting out of that cell and show them what happens when you step on a dragon's tail. But when I finally got out, and came back among you, I changed my mind. Mainly because I didn't want to put you in danger"
"I wouldn't have put myself in danger!" Haku growled.
"Yes, instead, you would have done it! And Darbi and all our sisters would have done it too! Because when you're angry you don't think! And this really makes you angry!" Rhaegal replied. "If you tried to avenge me, you wouldn't put yourself against just a group of individuals, you would put yourself against an entire nation! Your target would be the king of such nation and his favorite assassin! It was a battle you couldn't win, and you know it perfectly well, Haku! When we took you out of the arena, you also asked us not to seek revenge, because you knew we would only get ourselves into trouble, and you would never let that happen And here it's the same for me, I knew you'd screw up if you knew the truth, so I avoided telling you!"
Haku let out a slight hiss full of anger, but he couldn't blame his brother entirely. When his siblings had made him escape, they too were angry at the treatment that had been meted out to him, and he himself wanted to take revenge... but he had decided against it, because he knew it would be futile revenge and that he could only lead to further complications and dangers. Even with his dragon pride, Haku knew when it was time to put his head down and let it go. "That's different. I wasn't tortured..."
"You were kept locked up for a year with hardly ever a chance to see the light of day, and every day they forced you to fight a fiercer opponent, and you were wounded and beaten painfully. This is torture; one more form slow and mild torture, but still torture. At least that's how I see it, and that's how we all saw it when we first saw you inside that damn arena" Rhaegal replied. "When I saw you after almost a year of separation, you were fighting against lions that were tearing your scales, skin and flesh off your body continuously. At that moment I wanted to tear apart the whole arena and raze the entire Jurao Kingdom to the ground. And when we finally freed you, I just wanted revenge. You didn't want this, you wanted to go on. You knew there was no point in fussing about... what had already happened and couldn't be changed. You chose to protect the family and we have respected this decision of yours. Now I am making the same decision, and I expect you to respect it in the same way that I have respected yours! I am the victim, and I am the one who has to decide whether to take revenge or not! Not you, not our siblings, not anyone else! Just me!"
Haku felt a lump in his throat. What his brother said was true: he was the one who had to decide what to do, since he was the victim. And Rhaegal and all of his other siblings had respected his decision not to retaliate long ago, so now he too had to do the same. But he couldn't shake that deep fury; no matter how hard he tried to get rid of it, it was like a cancer that kept infesting his mind. However, for once he avoided contesting; Rhaegal took his silence as a sign that he was accepting his decision. "Haku, I know how you feel. It's the same feeling I felt when you were the victim. It's the same awful feeling I felt when I saw you come out of that hydra's body half dead, or when I saw you make you fight in the arena, or when I learned that a stupid tigerman had unleashed a sandstorm on you. I'm not asking you to get rid of your anger... just accept my decision"
Haku gritted his teeth so hard that it made an almost metallic sound. Accepting that decision despite all the anger he was feeling? It was easier to cut off one of his paws... "Is that the only reason? Do you want to protect the family?"
Rhaegal was tempted to shake his head in disappointment; it was clear that Haku was trying to find a loophole that would allow him to convince him to act. But somehow he was glad he'd asked that question. "No" he revealed. "At first it was like that. But then I found another reason, a more important one, at least from my point of view. The same reason that pushed Akenothustar to create his perfect society, and that pushed us to build ours community: we have to be different. No... we have to be better"
Rhaegal well remembered the prophecy that the God of Knowledge had given him: Haku was destined to be the king of all dragons, and he faced either a glorious road or a dark one. Rhaegal had refrained from revealing the truth precisely because he wanted at all costs to prevent Haku from taking the dark path. But then, that simple precept had become something more; Rhaegal had indeed begun to believe that perhaps there was a better way to live than just kill or be killed. After seeing what dragons and newcomers could do together, Rhaegal had chosen to imagine a world where such actions were no longer required. "I still want them punished, yes, but not punished like this. We need to stop paying our tormentors back in kind, that's not what civilized people do. Responding to killing and torture with more killing and torture is barbaric behavior, and can only lead to further suffering. This is not a punishment, it is taking pleasure in the pain of others. There are many ways to punish a person and killing and torture are not the right ones. If we do that, we won't be better than them"
"Why should we care about being better than them?" Haku grumbled.
"Because we can, that's why!" Rhaegal exclaimed. "Because a civilization isn't built by repeating the mistakes of the past, it is built by trying to break the chain of killings and deaths! If we will take our revenge as you want, what would change? Nothing! After killing the king and Black Vulture we would only go to the wrong side, and the Jurao Kingdom will hunt us down, and then we will destroy the Jurao Kingdom, and again we will be seen as the bad guys and the other kingdoms will attack us! It is an endless chain! If we want to break it, we must be better! And we WANT to break this chain! Iluvatan City is the proof of that! We are trying to coexist with the newcomers, just like Akenothustar wanted, and we are trying to be better than those who came before us, we proved it by refusing to obey the laws of this world and become like our parents! We have to try, Haku! I know it's hard, but we have to try! Especially you should understand the importance of this, since you were the first among us to inspire us to be better!"
Haku let out a sigh. Try as he might, he couldn't believe half the things he heard… but his brother really believed them, you could tell by the way he talked about them. "So you want me to forgive your tormentors, and really become the king of all dragons?"
"I didn't ask you to forgive them. Just to hold back your anger and punish them in a different way, one that was more just and less violent" Rhaegal replied. "And yes, I want you to become the king of all dragons. I've always told you: if anyone in the world can save our species, it's you. But not because a dragon that lived twenty thousand years ago designated you as our king, but because you really can do it! And above all because you will never be at peace until you try! You were trying before you heard what Akenothustar meant, even if on a very small scale; and the older we become, the more fight for this dream will become necessary if only to ensure our very survival. You, brother, are worthy of being the king of all dragons, because you have all the qualities necessary to be so; you just have to forgive yourself for your mistakes and accept that you really can be a leader. And both I and everyone of our siblings will support you in any endeavor that comes your way; and if you really fear yourself, then know that I will be by your side, always, and if I ever see you changing again for the worse, I'll stop you in time. You have my word"
Haku sighed again, then looked into Rhaegal's eyes. "There's still something you're hiding from me, right?"
Rhaegal knew he couldn't lie to Haku forever, so he didn't. "Yes" he answered, thinking back to what the priest of the God of Knowledge had told him about Haku's two possible futures. "But I can't tell you, not now at least. One day I will tell you, but for now... I ask you to trust me as much as I trust you"
Haku was silent for a moment, then he nodded. "Okay" he said. "I want to trust your judgment, brother. Don't tell me what you know until you think the time is right. And the king and the Black Vulture… we'll find another way to punish them". He let out a snort. "I don't believe in the world that you expect me to build, but you do, and that's enough for me. If you really think we can be better... I'll do my best to make us better"
Rhaegal smiled. "I knew you'd understand, brother" he said, then he took two steps towards Haku and hugged him. His brother returned the hug, and although his body was still tense, his muscles had finally relaxed a little.