The meeting took place at the neutral border between Aaru's celestial territories and Dracoryn Dominion.
Neither side had wanted to host the negotiations.
The Egyptian gods feared that meeting inside dragon territory would make them appear weak. The dragon clans refused to allow foreign delegations into their capital while the identity of the missing guardian remained unknown.
After three days of discussion, both sides finally agreed to meet at the Sanctuary of the Dawn Bridge, an ancient temple standing between the two territories.
It had once served as a place where gods and dragons settled disputes without drawing their weapons.
Now, armed guards watched every entrance.
The Egyptian delegation arrived first.
Neferet Raemora led the group, accompanied by Isis, Anubis, and two divine champions. Behind them, several scribes carried sealed records concerning the First Covenant.
Across the bridge, High Sovereign Dravok Tharion approached with Lady Saerynth, Lord Vaerax, and two of Dracoryn's most respected warriors.
Their leader was General Rhazkar Emberclaw, a tall dragon warrior whose crimson armor bore the marks of countless battles.
Rhazkar stopped several paces from the Egyptian delegation.
"We have agreed to speak," he said. "That does not mean we have agreed to trust you."
Neferet inclined her head.
"Nor have we asked you to."
Vaerax studied the Egyptian champions.
"Then perhaps we can finally discuss the guardian without exchanging accusations."
Isis placed a sealed tablet on the stone table between them.
"These are the surviving records concerning the missing guardian. We have brought them so your scholars can examine them independently."
Saerynth looked surprised.
"You are willing to let our scholars inspect Egyptian sacred records?"
"If we expect you to trust the investigation, we cannot demand that you accept our conclusions without examining the evidence."
Dravok nodded approvingly.
"Then let us begin."
For the first hour, the meeting proceeded peacefully.
The scholars compared the black crystal fragment with the magical traces found beneath the eastern shrine. Anubis explained the Egyptian traditions concerning guardian spirits, while Saerynth described how Dracoryn's ancient protectors maintained their connection to the mountain wards.
For the first time, the two delegations began to understand how much they shared.
Both civilizations believed guardians existed to protect others, not rule them.
Both considered the disappearance of a guardian a serious violation.
And both feared that an unknown enemy was exploiting their uncertainty.
Then a messenger arrived.
He carried a silver envelope bearing the seal of Dracoryn's eastern command.
"High Sovereign," he announced, kneeling before Dravok. "An urgent transmission from the eastern border."
Dravok broke the seal.
His expression changed.
Neferet noticed immediately.
"What does it say?"
Dravok looked up.
"It claims that an Egyptian strike force crossed our eastern boundary less than an hour ago."
The room fell silent.
Neferet stared at him.
"That is impossible. Our delegation has remained here."
"The message claims they used a concealed passage."
Isis rose.
"Then someone is attempting to provoke us."
Vaerax turned sharply toward the Egyptian champions.
"Or someone is attempting to distract us while your forces enter our territory."
One of the dragon warriors stepped forward.
"General, we should return to the eastern border immediately."
Rhazkar looked at Dravok.
"Give the order."
Dravok hesitated.
He wanted to believe the meeting had accomplished something.
But his people had entrusted him with their safety, and the message described a potential attack on their territory.
"Send scouts to verify the report," he ordered. "No offensive action without confirmation."
The dragon warrior bowed.
Before he could leave, another messenger rushed into the temple.
This one carried an Egyptian golden seal.
"Lady Neferet! A transmission from Aaru!"
Neferet accepted the tablet.
Her eyes narrowed as she read it.
The message claimed that Dracoryn's champions had attacked an Egyptian sanctuary and that Ra had authorized a defensive response.
Neferet lowered the tablet.
"Both messages arrived almost simultaneously."
Kael's voice came from the entrance.
"And both are false."
Everyone turned.
Kael Veyris entered the temple alone, his expression calm.
Dravok frowned.
"How do you know?"
"Because the eastern passage described in the dragon message has been sealed for six centuries. The Egyptian transmission claims an attack on a sanctuary that was abandoned long before the current dispute."
Isis examined the two tablets.
"They were designed to trigger an immediate response before either side could verify the information."
Vaerax's expression darkened.
"Then we should destroy them and continue the meeting."
"Agreed," Neferet said.
Unfortunately, the damage had already begun.
A sharp alarm rang from outside.
One of the dragon scouts had returned, carrying news that an unknown figure had been seen near the eastern passage.
The figure had fled when approached.
Moments later, a second report arrived.
An Egyptian sanctuary guardian had detected unfamiliar magic near its outer boundary.
Neither report confirmed an attack.
But neither could be dismissed.
Rhazkar looked toward the entrance.
"We cannot remain here while our people are threatened."
The Egyptian champion standing beside Neferet answered sharply.
"And we cannot allow your warriors to approach our sanctuaries without warning."
"Then warn them."
"We did!"
Their voices rose.
Dravok stood.
"Enough. We will verify both reports before"
A sudden flash of crimson light burst outside the temple.
The entire sanctuary shook.
Through the open archway, the delegations saw a dragon scout stagger backward as a golden projectile struck the ground near his feet.
A barrier spell appeared around the scout before the next projectile could reach him.
The Egyptian champion, Serapion, immediately raised his shield.
"Dragon attack!"
Rhazkar's eyes blazed.
"That spell came from your side!"
"It was not mine!" Serapion shouted.
Rhazkar surged forward.
Serapion met him at the edge of the bridge.
Their weapons collided in a burst of light.
The first clash between the Egyptian and dragon champions had begun.
Rhazkar's crimson blade swept across the bridge, forcing Serapion to retreat.
The Egyptian champion answered with a golden shield strike that sent the dragon warrior several steps backward.
Neither intended to kill the other.
But neither was willing to appear weak before their own delegation.
"Tell your champion to stand down!" Vaerax shouted.
"Tell yours to stop attacking!" Neferet replied.
Isis hurried toward the magical traces left by the projectile.
"This wasn't cast by either champion!"
A second burst of energy erupted near the temple's outer wall.
Kael moved his hand.
A transparent barrier surrounded the entire bridge.
The next impact struck the barrier and dissolved without harming anyone.
The champions continued exchanging blows.
Rhazkar's weapon burned with dragon fire, while Serapion's shield shone with solar energy.
Their powers illuminated the ancient sanctuary.
Kael watched them for several seconds.
He could have ended the confrontation immediately.
Instead, he ensured that their attacks could not reach the delegations, the temple, or the surrounding settlements.
The champions had to make their own decision.
"Rhazkar!" Dravok called. "Withdraw!"
The general hesitated.
Serapion lowered his shield slightly.
For a moment, it seemed the confrontation might end.
Then a voice echoed across the bridge.
"THE DRAGONS HAVE ATTACKED THE SUN'S CHAMPION!"
Another voice answered from the opposite side.
"THE EGYPTIANS HAVE STRUCK THE GUARDIANS OF DRACORYN!"
The words were not spoken by anyone present.
They came from hidden magical transmitters scattered throughout the surrounding ruins.
Rhazkar's expression hardened.
Serapion raised his shield again.
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"Enough."
He did not shout.
He did not release a terrifying aura.
He simply spoke, and the magical transmitters fell silent.
The two champions froze as their weapons met in the center of the bridge.
Kael looked at them.
"Neither of you knows who launched the first projectile. Neither of you knows who sent those messages. And neither of you has a reason to continue fighting."
Rhazkar slowly lowered his blade.
Serapion followed.
Dravok stepped forward.
"Dracoryn withdraws its champions."
Neferet nodded.
"The Egyptian delegation will do the same."
Neither side declared victory.
Neither side apologized for something it had not done.
Instead, both delegations withdrew to their respective territories while investigators examined the scene.
The confrontation had lasted less than ten minutes.
Yet by sunset, rumors claimed that an Egyptian champion had nearly killed a dragon general.
Other reports described a dragon assault against a sacred Egyptian sanctuary.
The truth was buried beneath increasingly dramatic versions of events.
And the unknown enemy had gained exactly what it wanted.
The first clash had occurred.
Trust had suffered another wound.
Three weeks passed.
The investigation uncovered evidence of forged magical signatures, false transmissions, and concealed passages that had been manipulated to resemble invasion routes.
But the culprit remained unidentified.
Dracoryn reinforced its borders.
Several Egyptian temples refused to cooperate with Ra's investigation.
Two independent dragon kingdoms suspended diplomatic relations with Aaru.
Then the Greek Pantheon announced that it would investigate whether the First Covenant had influenced its own ancient treaties.
The Norse gods responded by strengthening their protections around several disputed realms.
No pantheon openly declared war.
But every new precaution frightened another civilization.
Every defensive measure looked like preparation for an attack.
And every failed negotiation made peace appear less achievable.
Inside the Infinite Library, Kael studied a new record that had appeared among the forgotten histories.
It contained no title.
Only a single sentence.
WHEN THE FIRST BATTLE IS REMEMBERED, NO ONE WILL REMEMBER WHO STARTED IT.
Kael closed the book.
"So that's the plan."
Shalya, standing nearby with another stack of reports, looked up.
"Your Majesty?"
"The mastermind doesn't need to defeat the pantheons. It needs to make them believe their enemies started the conflict."
"And once the fighting becomes widespread?"
"They'll stop searching for the truth."
Kael looked toward the distant shelves, where countless histories recorded the rise and fall of civilizations.
"The war will become the evidence they use to justify itself."
Far away, in a chamber hidden beyond the boundaries of known cosmology, a veiled figure watched several glowing symbols.
Egypt.
Dracoryn.
Greece.
The Norse realms.
Each symbol had begun to flicker with suspicion.
The figure placed one hand over the eighth symbol.
"The first clash has occurred," a hidden voice reported.
"And the First Covenant?"
"Still buried."
The veiled woman looked toward an empty throne.
"Good. Let them argue over who betrayed whom."
Her voice grew colder.
"By the time they discover the truth, they may have created a new betrayal of their own."
The eighth symbol began to glow.
And for the first time, the ancient throne cast a shadow.
The mythological war had not fully begun.
But the road toward it was growing shorter.