The hidden archive beneath Eryndor had revealed a truth more complicated than Vaelthira expected.
For hours, she and Neferet examined the surviving crystal tablets. Each contained fragments of ancient negotiations, agreements, and arguments recorded before Eryndor vanished from history.
At last, Neferet discovered a tablet concealed beneath a layer of black crystal.
"Vaelthira, look at this."
The tablet illuminated.
Seven rulers stood around a circular table. Behind them, the symbol of the First Covenant shone brightly.
An inscription appeared beneath the image.
"THE SEVEN SHALL PROTECT THE COVENANT. NONE SHALL ALTER ITS RECORDS, AND NONE SHALL CLAIM OWNERSHIP OF THE TRUTH."
Vaelthira read the words carefully.
"So they agreed to protect it."
"Yes," Neferet answered. "The original agreement was clear. The problem began afterward."
The image changed.
One ruler argued that the public could not be trusted with the truth. Another insisted that every civilization deserved to know what had happened. A third demanded that the records remain sealed until the seven reached a unanimous decision.
Then the arguments became accusations.
"YOU WOULD DESTROY OUR KINGDOMS WITH YOUR TRUTH!"
"YOU WOULD PRESERVE OUR KINGDOMS WITH A LIE!"
The final image showed the seven rulers separating.
Some carried records away. Others destroyed their copies. One ruler secretly passed a crystal to a dragon guardian before leaving the chamber.
Vaelthira leaned closer.
"That one tried to preserve the evidence."
Neferet nodded.
"And the others were not all acting for the same reason. Some wanted to hide the truth. Some feared what would happen if it became public. At least one tried to prevent the cover-up."
The tablet darkened.
Vaelthira stared at the empty surface.
"Then history condemned all seven without distinguishing their choices."
"Or someone deliberately made certain that distinction disappeared."
Neferet placed the tablet inside a protective seal.
"We must show this to the others."
Vaelthira looked toward the archive entrance.
"Then it is time for the rulers to face what their ancestors left behind."
Three days later, representatives of the Egyptian, Greek, Norse, and dragon civilizations gathered at a neutral diplomatic hall near the border of Dracoryn Dominion.
Kael attended as an observer for the Veyris Empire, refusing the request to preside over the meeting.
"This is your dispute," he had told the representatives. "You must decide what justice and peace mean to your civilizations. I will protect the meeting, but I will not dictate its outcome."
At the center of the hall sat Neferet, Athena, the Norse envoy Haldor Skyrune, High Sovereign Dravok Tharion, and Queen Vaelthira.
Ra stood behind Neferet, his golden expression unusually serious.
Vaelthira presented the recovered tablet.
"The seven rulers once agreed to protect the First Covenant. Their alliance collapsed because they disagreed over who deserved to know the truth."
Dravok folded his arms.
"And the dragon clans were ordered to abandon Eryndor. Our ancestors were told they had threatened the covenant."
Athena studied the inscription.
"Greek records claim the dragons withdrew voluntarily. If this evidence is authentic, our historical accounts may have been altered."
Haldor's expression remained stern.
"Or your records were incomplete. The Norse sagas also mention a gathering of seven rulers, but our oldest surviving version ends before the decision was made."
Ra finally spoke.
"Then every pantheon may have inherited only part of the truth."
"An incomplete truth can still be used to justify terrible decisions," Neferet replied.
The room fell silent.
Dravok leaned forward.
"Then we must identify those responsible and demand justice. If our ancestors were deliberately deceived, the civilizations responsible must admit it."
Ra's eyes narrowed.
"And if the records prove that Egyptian rulers participated in the cover-up, what would you demand of us?"
"The truth."
"And would you accept the same judgment if your own ancestors were involved?"
Dravok did not answer immediately.
Vaelthira watched him carefully.
"That hesitation is precisely why this council matters."
The dragon sovereign's expression hardened.
"Do not mistake caution for guilt, Queen Vaelthira."
"I am not. I am asking whether justice applies equally to everyone."
Across the table, Athena placed a second document beside the crystal tablet.
"Some Greek archives describe the sealing of an ancient chamber as a necessary act to prevent a greater conflict. They do not identify who ordered it."
"Convenient," muttered one of the dragon representatives.
Athena turned toward him.
"You are free to distrust the records. You are not free to decide their meaning before examining them."
"And you are free to defend your ancestors."
"Enough," Haldor interrupted. "Every side claims to seek truth, yet every side becomes defensive the moment its own history is questioned."
For a moment, even Ra had nothing to say.
Then Neferet revealed the most troubling discovery.
"The seven were not united in their betrayal. Some concealed the truth deliberately. Some obeyed because they feared the consequences of refusing. Others tried to stop the cover-up and failed."
She looked around the council.
"If we treat every ancestor as equally guilty, we repeat the very injustice we claim to oppose."
Dravok's jaw tightened.
"Then how do we deliver justice without knowing who made the decision?"
"By continuing the investigation," Neferet answered. "And by refusing to invent certainty where the evidence is incomplete."
The discussion continued for hours.
They drafted a proposed agreement: shared access to surviving records, independent investigations, protection for witnesses, and a commitment that no civilization would be punished solely for the actions of its ancestors.
It was imperfect, but it offered a beginning.
Then the Greek delegation received a sealed message.
Athena read it once.
Her expression changed.
"What is it?" Neferet asked.
Athena slowly lowered the parchment.
"The Olympian council refuses to authorize my signature. They believe opening the ancient records without first securing guarantees for Olympus would expose our pantheon to political retaliation."
"You cannot be serious," Ra said.
"I am serious," Athena replied. "I disagree with their decision, but I will not pretend to possess authority they have not granted me."
She stood.
"The Greek delegation will withdraw from this agreement until Olympus decides otherwise."
Vaelthira rose as well.
"Leaving will not make the evidence disappear."
"No," Athena said. "But signing an agreement without the support of my pantheon would make it meaningless."
She turned toward the exit.
Before leaving, she looked back at Neferet.
"I hope you discover the truth. I only fear what everyone will do when we finally find it."
The Greek delegation departed.
The remaining representatives stared at the unsigned agreement.
Haldor spoke first.
"The Norse Pantheon will continue investigating, but we will not sign today. Our own records must be examined before we accept shared responsibility."
Dravok pushed the document away.
"Dracoryn will not sign while the circumstances of Eryndor's abandonment remain unresolved."
Ra looked toward Neferet.
"And Egypt?"
Neferet studied the blank space where the signatures should have been.
"Egypt will continue the investigation. But I will not demand that others trust us before we have earned that trust."
One by one, the remaining representatives rose from the table.
The peace agreement remained unsigned.
After the hall emptied, Kael noticed a thin black mark beneath the central table.
He crouched and examined it.
Eight silver lines formed a circle around a single sentence.
"THEY HAVE LEARNED THAT THE SEVEN DISAGREED."
A second sentence appeared.
"NOW LET THEM DISCOVER WHICH ONE STILL LIVES."
Kael's expression became unreadable.
Neferet approached him.
"Another message?"
He showed her the inscription.
Her face paled.
"Which one still lives? Are they suggesting that one of the seven rulers survived?"
"Perhaps," Kael replied. "Or perhaps someone wants us to believe that."
Vaelthira stood near the doorway, looking back at the empty council chamber.
"We found evidence that the seven were divided. We brought it to the representatives, and they still walked away."
"Truth does not immediately erase fear," Neferet said.
Vaelthira touched the silver cross resting above her chest.
"Then we will have to give them a reason to keep searching."
Far beyond the council hall, inside an unrecorded chamber, a bell rang seven times.
A veiled woman opened an ancient ledger.
Six names had been crossed out.
The seventh remained untouched.
She placed a finger beneath it and whispered:
"Your descendants are beginning to ask the right questions."
Then she closed the ledger.
"It is time for the surviving ruler to answer."