As soon as she was sure that Simus was indeed gone, Keita dropped her avatar and returned to her real body. She needed to think hard about what she had discovered.
"Well, I haven't gotten the full story as there's clearly a piece missing... but that doesn't matter. What I needed was to know why Tzegorn feared dragons so much, and now I do. There is no doubt that if he knew such a story, even a rational and pragmatic person like him would have use any way to eliminate us. After all, Tzegorn wanted to protect his people, and according to this tale, dragons are an assured danger, so it's normal that he wanted to get us out of the way...". Keita let out a snort: she certainly didn't feel pity for Tzegorn, he deserved to die the moment he dared to endanger a member of their family, but she could understand the reasons behind his actions. From the tigerman's point of view it was only a matter of time before the dragons would reveal their true cruelties and destroy everything. That didn't justify his actions, but it made them more shareable. "I'd like to know the true ending of the story, but it's not a priority at the moment. Tigermen believe in this, and that's all that matters. So I must act on this precept. Fortunately, it seems that only the old upper class of tigermen knows this story, but it is still a considerable danger... now that the Baudonia City Alliance no longer exists and with it all the old noble system, the survivors of the high class they no longer have reason to keep this so secret. If other people knew about this would be a disaster. The best choice would be to eliminate them all immediately, but if I did it that would definitely attract attention... and also, I still don't know if any of them have already revealed this story to anyone else. But acting like Tzegorn I could keep this story secret, and in the meantime I could gather everyone who knows about it to create a fake coup and eliminate them all without anyone getting suspicious... I have to think about it, I can't act too much impulsively. Maybe I should also consult with Haku…"
Keita rubbed her head. It was much easier to kill when they were in human society and nobody knew they were there; now that they were in a common built community and everyone was aware of their existence, they could no longer do so as freely as before. Therefore, even getting rid of problems had become somewhat more difficult. Keita wasn't as bloodthirsty as some of her sisters who loved to kill people, like Malchia, but she still believed that sometimes the simplest solution was to eliminate the problem before it did any serious damage. If someone could become a cause of annoyance, and they openly showed that they wanted to… then better get them out of the way right now.
While mulling over this she walked out of the cave where she and her family were staying, but once outside she found something was up: Darbi and all of her other sisters were gathered there, including Tikka and Teramon (who had presumably momentarily switched off their avatars who were in Tigu-cthu-tal), and among them was someone whom she didn't expect to see. "Rhaegal!" she exclaimed. "You're back, finally! I thought you were lost underground..."
"Yes, I admit it took me and the others a little longer than expected" Rhaegal said. "Efren and Atelas had insisted on making some detours, to have some fun..."
"For some fun or for one last fun before Sarah got her hands on them?" Corgorin asked with a grin, making Serengal burst out laughing, who still had the image of the woman pissed off like a rabid beast very clear in her head, and was already imagining what she would do to the two escaped probationary guildmasters by leaving her all the work without even consult her. She hoped whatever Rhaegal had to say was quick, because she absolutely wanted to go back to the city and enjoy the scene, which she was sure would be hilarious.
Rhaegal let out a snort. He wanted to be amused, but the nervousness of the moment prevented him. "Well... it's not important now" he said. "Listen, I didn't gather you here just to see you again after this brief separation. I have something I have to reveal to you that concerns me directly... and that I no longer want to keep secret from anyone in the family"
Everyone immediately became serious. Rhaegal looked at the faces of his siblings one by one, then steeled himself: the moment of truth had arrived. His entire family was there at the time, apart from Haku, who he knew was listening to everything through Darbi's communication device. "It's about... the time I was a prisoner. It wasn't... exactly just a imprisonment"
His sisters' expressions became concerned, but Rhaegal immediately noticed a strange light in their eyes: it was as if all of them, more or less, had expected such a declaration from him. Well, it was normal... dragons were particularly intelligent, and even if not all of them were geniuses like Haku, it wasn't hard to wonder that once a prisoner with so much information was captured, humans didn't limit themselves to using him as a bargaining chip. Each of them would have done much more… and much worse. "What exactly do you mean by that?" Keita asked. "Look, let's not get around too much. I've had a long day and..."
"They tortured me" Rhaegal said bluntly. After careful consideration he had decided to listen to the advice of his friends: in fact, a direct and incisive communication was decidedly more efficient than an excessively verbose one.
Silence fell in that area and the air seemed to freeze. Rhaegal sighed: that was exactly the reaction he expected. Wishing for something different was an utopia. But in any case, he pretended not to notice it and just kept talking: "They tortured me, and then they gave me a special liquid to make me forget everything. I managed to remember some details through a little trick, but I can't remember nothing else. I just know that it happened, even if I don't remember how"
There was more silence, then her sisters' expressions seemed to turn into pure fire. Rhaegal knew all that anger wasn't aimed at him, but a shiver ran down his spine nonetheless. Darbi and Haku had been equally angry when he told them, but they were just one dragon at a time; so many dragons raging together like that was really terrifying. "Why are you only telling us now!?" Serengal roared. "You should have done it right away, so we would have torn them apart right away!"
"Yeah! Now we'll have to track them down!" Glausar hissed in fury. "I propose we take that king first and eat his legs until he tells us where to find his assassin, and then we have fun with them both! In fact, we take their families and tear them apart in front of them!"
"Good idea! I fully approve it!" Kialandì said. "I hope they have some small children in the family, so I'll devour them in front of their eyes. And then I'll vomit their remains all over them and..."
"No" Rhaegal said suddenly, stopping the list of unspeakable cruelties his sisters were compiling.
All of his sisters stopped and looked at him, and it wasn't hard to tell by their expressions that they were amazed. Clearly they expected Rhaegal to be the first to seek vengeance, so the fact that he himself had backed down surprised them in no small way. "What do you mean with 'no'?" Jatara asked confused.
"I mean 'no', exactly in the meaning that this word has" Rhaegal replied in a serious voice and without any hesitation in both tone and expression. "There will be no murder, no torture, no other form of physical punishment. I don't want any of this to happen. I am the victim in this situation, therefore I alone have the right to decide, and I decide that we won't act this way"
It took her sisters a moment to understand exactly what he was saying and that it was, by any standards, totally irrational behavior. The only one who didn't seem surprised by the situation was Darbi, who already knew everything, but who remained silent anyway: it was right that Rhaegal should explain himself. "What are you saying, brother?" Jatara exclaimed. "We can't let them go unpunished! They deserve a horrible end!"
"Yeah! You don't want to forgive them, I hope!" Tikka said with a growl, so much so that what she said almost sounded like a threat rather than a statement.
Rhaegal didn't know whether to be more pleased or annoyed by his siblings' behavior. He was happy that they cared so much for him and wanted at all costs to make his captors pay, but on the other hand everything would have been easier if they had been less... violent and apprehensive. But after all everything, including emotions, had two sides like a coin: loving someone also meant raging like a rabid beast as soon as such events were known. "I won't forgive them" he declared. "But I don't want to punish them like this, with acts of cruelty that will only make us look like the bad guys. I want justice, but not this kind of justice"
His sisters looked more confused than before, so much so that for a moment they seemed to have forgotten their anger. "Um... what does that mean?"
Rhaegal let out a snort. Ok, perhaps it was no longer the time to say things in a short and concise way: it was the moment to use a little more detail. "What I mean is that I'm tired of responding to violence with more violence" he explained. "What we've discovered in the last few days is the ultimate proof that we dragons can be different, better. But even before we could understand it, just look at what we're building here. I've kept this a secret for so long because I think… no, I'm sure we can really live with newcomers, if we really want to, and I want to. But if we want to live with newcomers then we can't use the 'an eye for an eye' logic anymore. Torture and kill someone who has wronged us is... gratifying, but it's not good. It's not good because we would appear evil in the eyes of others, and then someone would come to avenge the king and Black Vulture, and we would then kill that someone, and then someone else would come, in an endless circle of death. But above all, it's not good for us. If we really want to change the ruthless laws of this world, then we have to try to be better. We will punish those people, but we will do it in a different way than theirs, a way fairer... even if I still don't know which"
His sisters looked at him strangely. Some of them seemed to agree with her words, but their judgment was clearly clouded by their fury. Still, even in that state, they couldn't help but notice that Darbi nodded slightly at Rhaegal's words. "You knew it?" they asked him.
Darbi bit his lip. "Um... yes, I admit it"
"I made him promise not to tell you anything" Rhaegal hurried to cover for him. "He would have liked to reveal everything to you, but as you know a dragon never breaks their promises"
His sisters let out an annoyed snort. "And Haku? Did he know?"
"Yes. He told me while he was down here with me" Haku's voice emerged from Darbi's communication device. "I'm angry too and would like to make those people pay, but Rhaegal is the one to make this decision. And I trust him, just like I trust all of you. Therefore, he has my full support"
Rhaegal mentally thanked Haku for the help. His sisters remained silent and looked at each other, then one of them (Finiar) let out an irritated growl: "Mh. Fine"
Rhaegal's eyes widened in contentment. "So... do you agree...?"
"I have to think about it" Finiar replied in a sour voice, then said: "Now excuse me, but I have to go find something to destroy. I need to vent"
"I come with you"
"Me too"
One by one, all of his sisters left. Only he and Darbi remained. As soon as the two brothers were alone, Darbi switched off the communication device and then turned to Rhaegal: "Well, it went well. You know how they are: they will sulk for a while, but in the end they will respect your decision" he said. "I'm glad you finally told the others. So, no more secrets now?"
"Well..."
"Rhaegal!"
"I told Haku I still had a secret, but I also told him I'd rather not tell him right away. He listened to me and said he trusted my judgment, and didn't want me to tell him until I was ready"
Darbi raised an eyebrow, then sighed. "Well, I guess we can consider that a start" he grumbled shaking his head. "I'm glad at least you told him that. I know it was difficult"
Rhaegal smiled. He was really very lucky to have such an understanding brother.