Supreme Magus

Aalejah then explained to Lith that, before dying, a Tree had all of their knowledge that they considered irrelevant written down by the elves and stored into devices that worked akin to Soluspedia.

After the old Tree's death, the elves would deliver the records to the new Tree that would, in turn, accept them and become their new home.

"No matter how big and powerful a creature is, their mind can store only so much information." Aalejah said. "This way, the past generation of the World Tree can pass onto the next one only what they can't entrust to us.

"Once the Chosen Sapling turns into the new Yggdrasill, the burden on their minds is minimum and this process keeps them untainted from the bias and traumas of their predecessor."

"Along with the old Tree's connection to the rest of Mogar's vegetation, the new Tree inherits only knowledge, not memories, so that the cycle can start anew.

"Chroniclers can continue their travels, acting as the eyes, ears, and arms of the Yggdrasill while normal elves preserve the irrelevant knowledge that the old Trees entrusted to them in the past ages.

"The current Tree is very old and they have become nearly insane. That's why I told you that I shouldn't have followed those orders. At this point of their life cycle, a Yggdrasill barely cares for their own Chroniclers, everyone else is just a test subject."

"Don't worry, I had figured that much. The Tree exploited me just as much as I exploited them." Lith replied, quite ashamed to admit that, if he was in the Tree's roots, he would do such things from day one since he considered such approach to yield the best results.

Aalejah was about to ask him how he could be so aloof after a near-death experience when she noticed that no matter what form Lith took, Soul Vision always showed him like a grinning creature that avidly grasped at the things he wanted.

"You acted no differently from the Tree in the past, didn't you?" She said.

"Guilty as charged." He shrugged. "Let me ask you one thing. If you don't like your boss, why are you still following their orders?"

"I know that this might sound crazy, but I'm doing it because working under a nigh-insane World Tree allows me to experience the best and the worst of a Chronicler's life. To understand how scary it is to bind your life to that of another."

Aalejah's words made Lith think about his relationship with Solus, but also about the destiny that awaited Friya if she ever became Faluel's Harbinger.

"On the one hand, my people consider being chosen as a Chronicler the highest honor that an elf can achieve. We not only become Awakened, achieving a power that otherwise would be unattainable, but we also become part of something much bigger.

"It gives us back our role in the natural order of things and the purpose that we lost in the War of the Races.

"I dreamed about becoming a Chronicler ever since I was a child. It would allow me to travel Mogar unimpeded, to witness the most important events of my generation, and yet be able to return home in a heartbeat thanks to the Tree's help.

"On the other hand, however, even if I achieved the white core on my own, I would just become an immortal slave at the service of an immortal master. Even if I outlived the new Tree, I would just be passed unto the next along with their knowledge.

"Once established, only death can break the bond between a Yggdrasill and their Chroniclers. To make matters worse, giving up at this point would mean turning my back on my family, my heritage, and on my people if not even getting banished."

An awkward silence fell between them after Aalejah finished venting her frustration.

"Gods, I don't even know why I'm telling you all these things. I barely know you and I've just endangered your life." She said after a while.

"I know very well how being a slave feels." Lith thought back at his infancy on Earth, where his wishes, dreams, and even his wellbeing mattered nothing to his parents.

They had been his masters, abusing the authority that the law granted to them over him and making his life hell until he had broken his chains. At the same time, the Council wondered what his words meant and had an investigation started.

"I don't know either you or your family, Aalejah, but I have walked a mile in your shoes. My advice is to just do what's best for you and screw the consequences. If your family considers something as worthless as honor above your freedom, then they don't love you as much as you think.

"My mother wouldn't hesitate to kill the King if that allowed me or any of my siblings to live just a second longer. My father would die rather than be turned into a tool for my enslavement.

"I can't tell you how to live your life, but my advice is to think carefully about what really matters to you and how you want to spend the time you have left." Lith said while thinking about what Jirni would say if she knew about Friya's decision.

'Scratch that. Jirni is a manipulative monster.' Solus said. 'Have you already forgotten what she has done to Quylla?'

'You are right. What would Orion say?'

'Aside from swearing and declaring war on Faluel? I don't know.' She replied.

"By the way, our failed experiment has helped me to better understand what a Tiamat is." Aalejah deeply regretted having opened up that much to a complete stranger so she tried to cover it up by talking business.

"I was right when I said that your other forms are lesser Tiamats. What I failed to realize before is that they also belong to lesser races as well, making them useless on their own."

"Wait, what?" Lith stopped thinking about Friya and worried about himself while the Council was glad to have never cut off the link with Urgamakka.

"Think about it. Your Dragon form has no Dragon Eyes. Your Abomination form is comprised of darkness instead of Chaos. Your human form is, well, human. What I'm trying to say is that training them would be just a waste of time.

"If I'm right, your bloodline abilities derive from a combination of those that belong to the single parts, making their sum much greater and yet impossible to use without each other because of their unique balance." Aalejah said.

"Take your Demons of Darkness, for example. Your ability to link with the shadows and manipulate your life essence comes from your Phoenix side while that of conjuring the souls comes from the Abomination.

"Taken individually, they are nothing much. Yet combined together, they allow you to safely channel wandering spirits inside the shadows after you have turned them into a suitable vessel by sharing a spark of your life force.

"If you think about it, it's not much different from what you already do for Origin Flames."

"If my Beast side is both a lesser Dragon and Phoenix, how can I conjure Origin Flames then? Isn't that a major bloodline skill?" He asked, not liking much the idea of being comprised of faulty parts.