Chapter 252: Second Rise of the Elwood Family [I]

"I know, perhaps you're thinking that only your fellowmen can use your abilities, however, I'm testing something. And if I'm correct, then one day it'll be possible for all of us to manipulate whatever it is that we want. Whether it be magic, or the forest itself," Lucius announced.

At this, the creatures seemed even more shocked than before. Their faces ran through several expressions at once. Most of which Lucius was unable to identify since differences in anatomy made some expressions seem very alien to him.

However, in the end, most of them seemed to come to the same conclusion. They all had a look of acceptance on their faces.

Lucius didn't ask what this conclusion was, nor did he care for it. For now, all he could offer were empty words; he would have to actually show some results before hearing their thoughts.

Little did he know that it was just more of the 'Oh, so it's Lighted One mumbo-jumbo' conclusions that most creatures in the commune seemed to bring up whenever they could not understand something.

*

"This should've been more than enough time for you guys to come to a conclusion," Lucius announced after several minutes had passed.

He would've usually given them a day to think about this. After all, there was usually some legend being passed down among creatures relating to things like this. However, his meeting with Grenovarish would be happening in less than a day, so he didn't have the time for all that.

"Indeed, Lighted One," one of the furtong said, looking to its comrades before continuing.

"The strongest material we know of is Davoros; however, it has been long since that stone has been spoken about."

"We assume the Lighted One seeks to use the material right now, so we recommend Aternite. It is a material used by the councillors; however, they have restricted access to the areas where it is found," the furtong reported.

"Very well then. One of you go tell Pagan I need to speak to him," Lucius instructed after some thought.

If the council was protecting this material, it meant that it would probably be worthwhile to 'seize' it from them.

"And what about you guys?" Lucius asked, now regarding the castors as one of the bear-men left to summon Pagan.

"If we had to say, the strongest material we can work with within the forest is Miran; however, like Cavenite, the council has restricted its access. In particular, the Gorul have occupied the area of the forest where it grows," one of the castors reported.

Lucius noted how the creature seemed to be more well-spoken than its furtong counterpart.

~So two different areas in one day. I would split us up, but that would be unnecessarily dangerous. Besides, I'd like to see just how powerful we are as a single force,~ Lucius thought to himself.

"Someone else call Hannibal. And tell him to call everyone in the commune's council," he added, before lying down on the altar.

He had a feeling that he wouldn't be able to lie down for a while after this.

*

After a few minutes, the members of council began to arrive in the room one by one.

Lucius had ordered his entourage to wait outside, while the bear-men on duty had been instructed to not let anyone within earshot range of the altar room.

Ghost was the first to arrive, and found Lucius in deep thought.

"When did you get that?" she asked, gesturing towards Lucius's new tail.

"Ah, this, it's a new source of power. Hopefully, you'll have one soon too," Lucius replied, before falling back into deep thought.

As the other members came in, all of them commented on Lucius's new tail as well, and his reply to all of them was the same... 'a new source of power'.

Once everyone had arrived, Lucius got off the altar to address them.

"Eleanour, today you and your men will all receive your cruxes. Pick out a few other leaf-beings who you think deserve one as well and have them wait for me outside the altar room," Lucius instructed.

Eleanour made a gesture to one of her men, and he went to carry out the task.

"That'll mean the entire First watch will be out of commission for a while. Hannibal, you'll take lead of security and recruit a few of the bear-men for your own personal group. Don't pick them hastily, you'll be with that group even after this. I want to test how well you handle smaller groups," Lucius instructed.

He had noticed that although Hannibal was the 'de facto' leader of the camp, his decisions didn't really involve the individuals of the commune. Pagan seemed to be the one handling those issues, the 'people's leader' as it would be called.

This didn't quite sit right with him, knowing that Pagan probably didn't even acknowledge everyone as anything more than 'tools for the Lighted One'. Perhaps a useful perspective in some cases, but not when it came to leadership.

"O-Okay," Hannibal replied hesitantly.

~It's been a while, hasn't it? The last time you were in charge of a group like this... half of them died,~ Lucius thought to himself, feeling a little sorry for his son.

"I know you'll do well," he encouraged, before turning to Pagan.

"You're doing well so far; however, I want you to pick out a few... followers, from our newer additions who you think you can trust. We need to bolster our strength for the upcoming missions," he said, before going silent for a moment.

"And prepare yourself; you and Ghost will be going on a mission with me today. Meaning you won't be a part of the photosynthesis session later," he added.

Ghost seemed okay with this, however, Pagan had a distraught look on his face.

"Lighted One, have I done something to anger you?" Pagan asked in disbelief.

"With the first watch being out of commission, Hannibal will have to play the role as head of the department. And without Alpha, it'll mean we'd be spread too thin if you or Ghost evolved," Lucius explained, before turning to Asclepius.

Ghost tried her best to hide her smile as Pagan broke down in dejection, though she couldn't help but make fun of his sorry state.

"And finally, Asclepius. You've been with us for a while now, and I haven't paid much attention to your evolution. If it's possible, that'll be corrected today. There's a few things we need to discuss before we head to the surface for the session, but I'd recommend you put everything in order before that," he said, before taking a sweeping glance at all of them.

"Ghost, stop making fun of him," Lucius sighed, noticing that Ghost was whispering something in Pagan's ears that seemed to making him even more distraught than he was before.

"I was just trying to help," she whispered, before straightening herself out.

~Pretty soon everything will be balanced out,~ he thought to himself, noting the vast difference in sizes between his children.

Asclepius, Elarnour and the rest of her men were the smallest out of the group, being about the size of small rodents, compared to Pagan who was already about the size of a human dwarf.

Hannibal was only a little smaller than that, and although Ghost should've been around the same size as him, she stood way taller than the rest due to the spider legs that came out of her back.

"Well then, I'll give you all a few minutes to arrange yourselves while I talk to Asclepius," he announced.

As the members of the council dispersed to sort out their various issues, Lucius turned his attention to Asclepius.