Supreme Magus

"If any of you still wonders if Magus Verhen did the right thing hiding the truth from us, history has already given you the answer. People called him a monster because he succeeded where they had failed.

"They called him a beast as if it was something to be ashamed of, forgetting that humans are nothing but a kind of particularly cunning beasts. Yet it's thanks to those beasts we were afraid of that we have the luxury to celebrate here today."

The images showed the magical beasts of Lutia fighting alongside the Queen's Corps to protect the citizens of the city from the undead and then the Emperor Beasts who fought side by side with the soldiers on the frontlines.

"The Crown has turned Magus Verhen's beast species into a second name because it's something that he should be proud of.

"Both his Magus title and this new branch of magic are named after his Voidfeather Dragon form to remind everyone that he has more than one aspect and that the Kingdom is ready to embrace them all.

"There is no shame in being different and anyone who thinks otherwise is wrong. It's the diversity of Thrud's forces that made her unstoppable until we did the same.

The images now showed the fight outside Belius between Lith and Iata, Solus and Leari, Faluel shielding Varegrave's soldiers with her body and then rescuing them from death.

"We have chosen to use Magus Verhen's Tiamat name when we introduced him today because it's a sign of the Royal Court acknowledging all of his successes no matter if he achieved them as a human or a beast.

"We all should be thanking him for his sacrifices on the battlefield and his renewed efforts in developing our country. Magus Verhen could have easily achieved a peaceful life by staying in the safety of the Desert.

"Yet he chose to return among us and take care of problems that no longer were his own."

Sylpha stepped forward and patted Lith's left shoulder, then the right, and finally the top of his head with the flat side of Saefel's sword. White light erupted from the blade, bouncing from one Royal Fortress armor to another and forming a pillar akin to that of a world tribulation.

The deep violet of the mage robe turned to pristine white, leaving all those present dumbfounded.

"For the first time in the history of the Griffon Kingdom, today we are crowning a Magus who not only shared with us the gift of knowledge, but who also took the destiny of our country in his hands. For this reason, the title of Void Mogus isn't enough.

"I hereby bestow upon you, Lith Tiamat Verhen, the title of Supreme Magus of the Griffon Kingdom. Something that even in the future might only be matched but never surpassed!" Queen Sylpha said.

At those words, the four Royal Guards surrounding Lith turned toward Lith and raised their swords to the sky in salute.

"All hail the Supreme Magus!" They said in unison as the array paralyzing the crowd disappeared, allowing the chant to spread to Lith's friends and family first, then his allies, and after a few seconds of incredulous stupor, to the whole room.

'Not bad.' Fyrwal used a mind link to talk with her daughter while her mouth joined the choir. 'Unlike us, your disciple had the guts to walk the Royal Palace in his true form.

'On top of that, he just achieved for our race not just the title of Magus, he had one tailor-made for him. Did you two…' She let the last part linger in expectation.

'No, Mom. We didn't.' The younger Hydra blushed yet her mouth kept chanting.

'Shame. Is he married?' Fyrwal asked.

'Yes, he is.'

'Shame again. Oh, well. You win some, you lose some.' The elder Hydra shrugged. 'We'll resume this conversation in a thousand years or so.'

Once the acclamation finally died down, the King took the floor again.

"I think that I speak for everyone when I say that after being struck in the same place for so long, you need to stretch your legs a bit. Let the celebrations begin!" At a wave of his hand, one of the dimensional formations stretched the Banquet Hall to trice its original size.

Now there was enough space for the servants to set the tables for the banquet and for the people from the upper floors to come down and mingle with the rest of the Royal Court.

'Congratulations, Lith.' Solus' silvery voice brimmed with joy from the deep of her heart. 'No wonder there is no trace of the ceremony in the etiquette books stored inside Soluspedia.

'It didn't exist until today. They made it especially for you.'

'Thanks, Solus.' Lith replied. 'My only regret is that you couldn't stand by my side today and be crowned Magus with me. We are the Supreme Magus.'

'Don't worry. I don't care about what the rest of Mogar thinks. Your recognition of my efforts is the only one that matters to me.'

As Lith stood up, his family ran to him with such an impetus that they would have trampled him if not for his body mass being dozens of tons heavy even while in human form.

"I'm prouder of you than words can express, son." Raaz hugged him briefly before patting his shoulder.

"I'm a bit sad that this ceremony is sixteen years late." Elina said amid sobs. "Ever since the day when I brought you to Nana's house and you read her books, you've been my little Magus."

"Congratulations, lil bro." Tista said. "Thanks for sharing the stage with me and for allowing Trion to accompany me. I'm glad we could enjoy this moment with our whole family."

Kamila remained one step away to not intrude.

After a few seconds, Lith noticed her absence and waved her over. As his family made way for her, Kamila said nothing while embracing him. The wings on Lith's back wrapped around her, bringing her more happiness than any title could.

Once again it was a form of tenderness that belonged only to her and Kamila exploited it to kiss him in spite of etiquette forbidding public displays of affection.

"Don't get cocky just because now you are a Magus. You still have to do the house chores and cook me my favorite dishes." She chuckled. "Unless you want to hire house staff and pay for them."

"Over my dead body!" He replied in mock indignance.

Only after the wings folded back did Lith notice that there was a small crowd waiting for him.

"The good news is that I can still be the first Magus of my generation." Quylla pouted while angrily tapping her foot on the carpet. "The bad news is that now it's worth squat!"

She immediately dropped the act and gave him a warm smile.

"I'm joking. Congratulations, Lith." She just offered him her hand to not force him to get free from Kamila's embrace.

"Thanks." Lith said while shaking it.

"You gave us quite a scare, young man." Jirni said. "I was aware of the Void Magus title, but everything else was off script. How did you convince the Crown to pull a stunt like that?"