"I need a messenger sent to the elves of Acevia; they have a special set of skills needed for a personal request.
The guards in Acevia should help you get to the king there once they see you're a Qitoran."
The messenger then arrived swiftly, as soon as there was mention of a need for one.
He confirms the king's request, receives the folded message, and disappears as fast as he arrived.
With that, the king stands up and leaves with his consigliere, Carai.
Following their departure, the rest of the Salrin get up from their seats and depart for Deiju Zerathil.
On the other side of the massive, circular courtyard, the feast is well underway.
There are vast displays of Qitoran delicacies, long tables full of vibrant dishes, and excited citizens practically pouring in and out to see the 3 participants of the legendary Deiju Drathar just witnessed.
The 3 remain seated with Arsheo and Venshind's family, receiving all sorts of blessings and praise from the people of Qitor.
A young group of kids waits for the crowd to settle before walking up to the table with one of them leading the way.
"Hey, Izha! These kids want to meet the future king of Qitor, so they asked if I could introduce them.
Drelith Zherin."
The leader of the children, Seru, brazenly states to Arsheo.
Seru is a young Qitoran who lost his parents to Remnants. They were both soldiers and defenders of Qitor.
Arsheo saw a lot of himself in the boy when he met him and has all but adopted him into the family.
The orphaned boy has been with Arsheo since he was around 4 years of age and is just like him in every way but looks.
"Hey, Lazhu! Is that what they're calling Venshind now?
I know he's powerful, but is he really smart enough to be king?
It's more likely to be a Salrin, if you ask me."
Arsheo responds, while his Lazhu gazes upon him, just realizing how monstrous Deiju made him.
The boy, 11 years old and standing around 5'7", was now a full foot shorter than his Izha.
With Arsheo's transformation, his golden eyes shone brighter than before, and his now dark red hair clashed perfectly with the lavender Qitoran armor he was fitted with.
"I'm the one who should be saying that.
Obviously they're talking about you. Do you not remember how you wrecked the hall with your Veythar?"
Venshind wolfs out while placing his food back on his plate.
Venshind's transformation, being greatly effective as well, now has him towering over most of the village.
The rest of his appearance was pretty much the same, except his eyes became a deep silver and they shone with Veythar.
Arsheo suddenly starts to look guilty. He quietly responds.
"I still don't get how that happened.
Couldn't all of our Veythar have combined and caused an explosive reaction?"
"That isn't how it works. Each of our Deiju were different because our Veythar are different.
No Veythar can be the same, and all Veythar Corath are different sizes—otherwise all dragons would be the same build.
There's no way to combine Veythar, just as I couldn't combine with you as one person.
You are as powerful as everyone is saying, and the fact that you can still store the control cores is certainly a cause for wonder and speculation,"
Venshind reassuringly explains.
Arsheo begins to look like his calm, carefree self again.
"I don't get it, though, Venshind. How do we hold twice as many Corath when these 10 feel like they take up my entire body?
And how do I feel Veythar throughout my entire body if I've yet to unlock half of my Corath?"
Venshind responds to his Kezhan after finishing off his drink.
"Those 10 cores each carry another core inside them.
As you continue to gain control of your Veythar, the Kezh'corath will unlock, expanding your Veythar'valen in each Khron'corath.
The Khron'corath are essentially the foundation of our Veythar and house a second Corath inside each one."
Arsheo, now sitting in the middle of all the children as they listen to Venshind, responds with a joke to lighten the mood of the celebration.
"I was wrong. Venshind's way smarter than I am.
Let's go have some fun before we're bored to death from his rambling."
He and the kids go to play a game of Veydrak, a war-like game the Qitorans play that uses their knowledge of Veythar Korveth to subdue and take headbands from their opponents.
The objective of the game is to take over the enemy territory without losing your own. You're out if your headband is taken.
Arsheo kicks off the game as the other Qitorans gather around to watch the entertaining game of tradition.
"Seru and I are captains. I'll go easy on you guys since I'm a lot bigger now.
Seru, you're the blue team, and I'll be green because it reminds me of Narci.
You pick first."
Venshind looks at Narci to see if she was annoyed by the comment, but the beautiful woman, now dressed in a formal Qitoran gown with her emerald green eyes practically glowing from her Veythar, was clearly blushing and looked like she was trying to hide a smile.
Seru picks his first member.
"I choose Zhael.
Your pick."
They each pick 8 people for their teams and do a headcount before starting the 9v9 match.
Arsheo starts.
"Korin, Thaevin, Lioren, Vaelun, Neyira, Zhini, Maerel, and Iuvani.
You all good to go?"
"Yes, sir!"
The green team kids enthusiastically respond while kneeling to their leader.
Seru does his head count in the meantime.
"Zhael, Iuvarin, Darec, Jhazel, Aelira, Ceyra, Thiora, and Veylin.
You all ready?"
"Yes, sir!"
The blue team responds as one walks up to the young captain quietly.
Zhael and Seru converse privately as the crowd watches silently.
Seru addresses the entire crowd with an announcement.
"Zhael is injured from his training earlier today. He can't participate in the match.
He has nominated Venshind in his place."
Venshind looks around in confusion when he hears Arsheo laughing, as if to say that still won't help Seru win.
He steps forward and thrusts his longsword into the ground behind him.
"You better be prepared to win if you're selecting me for your team, Seru.
I won't take it easy if that Varkunth is on the other team.
In fact, I can't take it easy if it's him I'm against."