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Leon glanced back at Valeria and motioned for her to enter, ignoring Anshu’s discomfort. The man hadn’t seemed to have lost his attitude, but at least he didn’t make nearly as big of a deal of them as he once did.

Valeria took a couple steps further in and closed the door, her eyes locked on the unknown man, her aura feeling restrained, almost like a coiled serpent, ready to strike.

“Anshu,” Leon responded as he clasped the other man’s wrist, treating Anshu a little friendlier than he was otherwise wont to do, mindful of the few seconds it took for his privacy enchantments to fully activate after the room was sealed. “It’s good to see you again. Who have you brought to my home?”

Leon regarded the new man. His features were unfamiliar to Leon, though only in their details; the man was the very picture of average in appearance. His skin was a light dusky brown, his eyes were dark brown, and his hair, cropped short, was dark brown as well. Of all his features, only his stature was remarkable, with the man standing a few inches taller than Leon. His expression, however, was utterly blank; the man was not only completely stone-faced, but his eyes seemed glazed over, as the man wasn’t actually focusing on anything despite looking right back at him.

“Leon,” Anshu repeated, “There have been some… developments…”

“Developments so great that you couldn’t send a message ahead?” Leon asked, his tone good-natured despite the reprimand.

“We had to move quickly,” Anshu explained. “I couldn’t return home to collect my lotus.”

Leon shrugged. It wasn’t like Anshu had always used the lotuses, the man not quite trusting them to relay information as securely as they needed it to be. Updates sent by letter were more the rule for him than the exception. Still, the fact that he’d brought someone unknown to Leon’s home was… not appreciated, even though the stone-faced man appeared only to be fifth-tier.

“I hope I’m not a burden,” the man said, and Leon’s alarm skyrocketed as the man’s lips hadn’t moved. Still, Leon thought he recognized the voice, though he wasn’t quite sure from where. “I made request of Anshu to bring me here not long ago. I was told you were looking to speak with me again, so I believed myself invited.”

As the man finished speaking, he brought a hand up to his jaw and, to Leon’s astonishment, took his face off. The blank, average face flickered as it was brought away from his skull, revealing it to have been nothing more than an illusion the entire time, attached to the front of a metal mask.

From behind the mask, the Jaguar revealed himself, his skin turning yellow with black spots as the mask’s enchantments were removed from his body. Also revealed was a glowing amulet around his neck that appeared to be projecting some kind of shield over the man. It was weak, Leon guessing even a fifth-tier mage might be strong enough to break through it without much effort, but he supposed that wasn’t the point—instead, he guessed that the amulet was hiding the Jaguar’s ninth-tier strength, making him seem four tiers weaker than he actually was.

Valeria donned her armor and drew her glaive in a moment, and Leon fought to stop himself from doing the same thing on instinct. While the Jaguar had just revealed that Leon couldn’t quite trust his eyes, he didn’t assume an aggressive posture, draw a weapon, or call upon his magic. He simply stood there, his mask disappearing into his soul realm in a flash of light, and stared back at Leon as Leon stared at him.

A long silence fell upon them, broken only when Valeria took another step forward, her glaive brandished. Leon held out a hand to stop her, and he said, “I would’ve preferred you call ahead, Anshu. This is what comm lotuses are for. This is why I’ve been insisting on you using yours instead of sending letters.”

“I left it at home,” Anshu confessed with a shrug. “I didn’t want to risk it by keeping it in my soul realm, especially given the life I live. And after picking up this one, I couldn’t exactly head back home to get it.”

“I stressed haste,” the Jaguar intoned. “We were detected by Imperial ships on our crossing, though fortunately, they were too late to stop our landing, thanks to the assistance of your man.” The Sky Devil gave Anshu a brief nod of acknowledgment.

Leon stared at the man for a long moment, evaluating him as a guest. The Jaguar simply stood there, not a single threatening movement to be seen. To his credit, he neither puffed himself up nor shied away from Leon’s evaluating gaze.

“You can’t have come alone,” Leon stated. Glancing at Anshu, he added, “Anshu was telling me about a potential landing of a group of your people.” Anshu nodded in confirmation, but it was the Jaguar who verbally responded first.

“Yes, several of my Tribesman accompanied me to the continent, and have been given shelter some miles to the south.”

“I have some friends keeping an eye on them,” Anshu flatly stated.

Leon smiled and nodded with more cheer than he felt. He was taken completely off-guard, and while he was hoping to get in contact with the Sky Devils, he never thought that the Jaguar of all people would be brought into his home without his knowledge. His displeasure at the surprise and his delight at the opportunity were fighting it out in his head, and neither had the advantage yet.

So, Leon changed subjects a bit.

“That was an interesting mask,” he observed as he walked over to the sitting room’s small bar, pouring for himself a small tumbler of juice. “Can I get either of you anything?” he asked, fulfilling his obligation as a host.

Anshu politely refused, and the Jaguar, for just a moment, seemed almost aghast before covering his expression with careful stoicism. Valeria, now unarmed and unarmored, didn’t respond, her focus reserved solely for the Jaguar. One wrong move from him and her weapon, so recently put away, would be back out. She leaned against the door frame, not quite blocking it, but making it clear that no one was leaving without going through her, first.

“The mask is an old design,” the Jaguar said after a long moment of silence as Leon took a seat, sitting down himself after Leon gestured for him to do so. “We no longer have the capacity to make them, and there are only a few left. My Clan and Tribe both agreed that it was in the interests of my mission to carry it.”

“And what mission would that be?” Leon asked.

The Jaguar fixed him in his gaze and said with grave seriousness, “To find you.”

Leon shallowly smiled, but his elation suddenly gained a huge advantage against his displeasure. “Interesting. Why are your people so interested in me?”

The Jaguar cocked his head slightly, his eyes narrowing. “You piqued our interest, Raptor, and I believe that was your intention.”

“Me? No, I find attention, especially from those I’m unfamiliar with, to be quite undesirable.” So Leon spoke, but he didn’t even try to make his tone all that convincing.

“Let’s not play coy, this room is warded against those with low ears and lower honor,” the Jaguar growled. “Let us be blunt, Raptor. My presence here deprives my people of my power and places you at risk.”

Leon held back a chuckle of amusement, but he supposed he agreed. “Fine, then. Why don’t you start? What do you want? What do you hope to gain from this adventure of yours?”

“A King,” the Jaguar candidly stated. “Not all of the Ten Tribes remember their past, but my Jaguar Tribe still recalls the power of the Thunderbird, and the glories we earned under your Clan’s wing. There is no better ruler for our people, the only King that could rule us is one of your blood. Kingship over our people is your birthright.”

Leon blinked in surprise once the spiel was over. “What a distance to travel, for something so small as a crown,” he sarcastically stated.

“It is something you seek as well if the lengths your man went to so that we may speak here now are any indication,” the Jaguar riposted. “It is not unknown to me how long he’s been attempting to send messages to my fellow Tribesmen on the Sword.”

“If we’re being blunt, then fine, I’ll admit that I wished to get into contact with your people. I was hoping to learn if there were any that still remembered my Clan down there. Being offered a throne was not, I’ll admit, something I was expecting.”

The Jaguar averted his gaze, an awkward look crossing his face. “I… My Tribe remembers the Thunderbird, but we are in thin company. No matter to us, jaguars are solitary creatures, but in this, we cannot directly offer you a throne. We can only offer you our support.”

Leon nodded again, though his smile thinned. “More in line with what I was expecting,” he muttered. “Were I not inclined to take up your offer of Kingship, Jaguar, what would you do?”

“I would return home,” the Jaguar readily replied. “Though I would see the rule of your bloodline reestablished, fulfilling the ancient will of my ancestors, I would not force you to do anything. An unwilling King is a terrible King.”

Leon hummed in thought. “And if I were to accept…?”

“My Tribe would acclaim you as the rightful ruler of the Ten Tribes. Your claim would be heard by the Elder Council, and I believe we could eventually get enough support for you to claim the throne of our people, so long left vacant.”

Again, Leon had to fight the urge to laugh, though it was a far different laugh than the first. “Just like that? It would be that easy? I would walk into your capitol building and your people would fall to their knees in worship and adoration, all but forcing me into a crown? Please forgive me my doubt, but I rather expect the opposite. It’s been a long eighty-thousand years, and a lot of blood has been spilled between your people and those of the mainland.”

“Great is our anger with the savages of this continent,” the Jaguar admitted. He began to look slightly more uncomfortable as he continued. “I… would also confess that… there would be much friction back in Stormhollow. Again, my Tribe would acclaim you readily, as would, I believe, several others. But many Tribes and Clans would not have us return to the old ways. They seek to destroy our traditions and histories, and would place their faith in others, and their new ways.”

Leon read more than a little anger in the Jaguar’s otherwise controlled tone and body language. There was more there that the man wasn’t telling him, or at least hadn’t gotten around to yet. If this was an introductory meeting, then there would doubtlessly be nuance later. For now, he guessed all the Jaguar wanted to know was whether or not Leon was willing to be their King.

Though, he had to admit that he found it just a little strange that the Jaguar hadn’t demanded some proof of his identity before spilling all these secrets.

‘As a matter of fact,’ Leon thought to himself as he leaned forward.

To the Jaguar, he said in an authoritative tone, “Give me your hand.” He held out his hand for the Jaguar to take, and the spotted man didn’t hesitate for more than a second. He leaned forward and presented his hand to Leon.

Leon then took his hand and channeled some of his power. Silver-blue lightning danced merrily along his arm and over the Jaguar’s hand. The Jaguar, a slight smile breaking out over his face, called upon his own bloodline’s magic, and red lightning rose to meet the silver-blue.

However, Leon could feel that he had the advantage in their unserious clash. Whether that was because of his new ninth-tier power or because the Jaguar was holding back, he wasn’t sure. He hardly believed himself yet an equal to a man who’d been a ninth-tier mage for longer than he’d been alive.

He glanced at Valeria, and his gaze seemed to draw her attention. Their eyes met, and she gave him a subtly skeptical look, one he was inclined to agree with.

Turning back to the Jaguar, he let go of the man’s hand, letting their brief friendly clash end inconclusively.

“You’re giving me quite a lot to think about, Jaguar,” he said. “I have great power and position within Heaven’s Eye. I’ve already reclaimed that much for my bloodline. What more could I need from your people? Especially when, by your own implication, I would be less than welcome by a large number of your people—perhaps even a majority of them. More than that, I know just about nothing of the structure of your society, yet you expect me to drop everything I have here, everything that I’ve built, to come and be your King? You’re not selling this idea of Kingship to me very well at all.”

“I understand that,” the Jaguar admitted. “I do not expect an answer now. I merely wished to make my purpose known to you. I hope in the coming days and weeks we might be able to speak more, discuss my people more, and only later will I ask for your answer. An uninformed King is almost as bad as an unwilling King, after all.”

Leon nodded and smiled. “For… serious reasons, I can’t have you stay here in my home. We’ll never meet here again, either, at least not while you yet war with the Empires. But I can have my people arrange for suitable accommodations for you and your people.”

“That… is agreeable,” the Jaguar responded.

“Good. Then I will confer with my family and allies, and only after a few days will I call upon you to speak again. And we’ll likely not be speaking alone. I have no intention of relaying your every word and concern to my people when they could simply hear it from your tongue themselves.”

“That is also agreeable.”

“Then so be it,” Leon said as he rose, the Jaguar following suit only a moment later. Once more Leon clasped his hand, though he didn’t call upon his power in challenge this time.

The Jaguar donned his mask again and Leon proceeded to have his assistants and household servants follow through on the promise of accommodations.

It wouldn’t do to leave a ninth-tier mage hostile to just about everyone around them to his own devices, after all.

---

“This is suspicious as fuck,” Alix stated as Leon finished his quick spiel. “No one just offers anyone else that kind of power. Never. This has to be a trap!”

“I find myself agreeing with Alix,” Gaius stated. “Kingship is a fine prize and one that isn’t easily turned away. Fine bait for a trap, I say.”

“I hope I’m not finding myself too presumptuous,” Marcus said as he glanced around the room at Leon’s retainers, “but I believe we’re all on the same side of this fence. This is an awfully convenient thing to just be given. Exactly what you’ve been looking for, just falling into your lap.”

“I can’t imagine it’ll be that easy,” Leon replied. “The Jaguar has already said that his Clan—or Tribe, or whatever it is they have down there—will support me, but that’s just one of ten. The others will not so easily bow.”

“And the one that will bow is the one you just so happened to have a duel with?” Gaius asked.

“A familiar figure,” Anna whispered loudly enough for the entire room to hear, “no one finer to set the bait.”

“Someone who tried to kill me,” Leon reminded them. “I’m not looking to believe him right away, but why go to all this trouble to get into contact if we’re just going to dismiss everything the man has to say?”

“Why go to all this trouble just to believe the first words he speaks?” Marcus counters.

“I’m not,” Leon shot back.

“Then there’s no problem, is there?” Marcus responded. “If we’re aware that they’re untrustworthy—or at least have yet to win our trust—then discussions can begin. Trust building. Move on from there.”

“Bah,” Alcander scoffed. “If they betray us, we’ll just cut them down and make our escape!”

“Not letting that seventh-tier power go to your head, Al?” Marcus asked.

Alcander laughed. “We’re all equals of Paladins, Marcus. Why can’t we indulge a bit in that power?”

“So that we don’t blind ourselves to otherwise obvious dangers,” Gaius said.

“Many hunters have fallen when underestimating their prey,” Anna added. “Not that we’re hunting, technically, but hunting and diplomacy do share a few principles.”

“I’m not looking to immediately drop everything and run for the Sky Devil’s Hell,” Leon interjected, hoping to calm some of their emotions. “I’d rather have a few more talks with the Jaguar before making even the smallest of commitments. But I wanted to know what all of you think about the situation. I’m… close to this, personally. I don’t think I can keep myself objective about what he’s offering. I’ll be relying on all of you, as people who know me and my situation, to keep my head on straight.”

“We’re not going to let you lead us all to our certain deaths, Leon,” Alix playfully replied.

“We’d be poor retainers if we did,” Marcus added.

Leon glanced around the room, noting similar sentiments from Anna, Helen, Alcander, Gaius, Red, Tikos, and Anshu. Of his retainers, it was only Talal that was absent, though these days he was less Leon’s retainer and more the man he dumped the administrative duties he didn’t want to deal with on.

Anzu, Elise, Valeria, and Maia, on the other hand, all looked like they had more to say, though they largely agreed with the others that this offer wasn’t to be trusted. They were just holding their peace until they could get into private, that much Leon could see.

But, at least, it was enough to see that his family and retainers were all on the same side, for once. Were it not so important, he might even relish the fact that even Anna and Anshu were in agreement.

Of course, he was hardly going to kick the Jaguar to the curb, all of this just meant he had to tread very carefully as he proceeded. After all, as Gaius said, Kingship was not easily turned down…