"No, that's reasonable." He replied. "I didn't blackmail Lith or demand anything. I just asked."

"You-"

"I don't mind." Lith cut the quarrel short. "Having three more white cores is more than I could hope for."

"Three white cores and lots of Griffons and Dragons." Surtr tutted before Lith could even ask for more helpers. "I'll ask our children for help but I won't allow anyone with less than a bright violet core to participate."

"Dear!" Rethia didn't like the idea one bit.

"This is a family matter." Surtr dismissed her objection with a curt wave of his hand. "If it was you instead of Solus, do you think our children would stay still? That I wouldn't ask Lith to bring Elysia, were she old enough to fight?

"Besides, do you really expect that our older children will just stay there and watch their parents risk their lives? This way we can at least know in advance who comes with us and instruct them of the danger.

"If we don't, they are going to follow us anyway but without being aware of our battle plan. The kids would end up endangering themselves and forcing us to rescue them at the cost of disrupting our battle formation.

"It would cripple the rescue mission's odds of success."

"Surtr is right." Valtak stopped Rethia before she could object. "I know that many Fire Dragons will come just to protect me. Even without the reward, my children who love me and the members of my bloodline who owe me won't refuse their help.

"They won't do it for Lith or Solus, but for me."

"I won't allow you to come, Valtak." Lith said. "You are old and there's little left of your life force. You would be exhausted after breathing Origin Flames a few times."

"Then, I'll make those few times count." Valtak snorted smoke from his nostrils. "You can't tell me what to do with my life, hatchling. Besides, my presence makes the difference between a handful of Fire Dragons and a whole greed of them."

"Greed?" Elina echoed.

"Lions assemble in prides, crows in murders, Dragons have greeds." Valtak shrugged.

On the one hand, Lith knew he needed all the help he could get. On the other hand, he didn't want to see the Elder Wyrm consume what was left of his life force on the battlefield.

"Why are you doing this? We haven't met for long and I'm not even the next Father of Fire."

"Because I want to and because you might be the next Father of Fire." Valtak replied.

The truth was that ever since Solus' disappearance, the Elder Wyrm had the nagging feeling that something terrible was going to happen. The Father of Fire had no memory of his vision in the Mindscape but he knew that only he could stop it.

'Maybe it's what Lith will become if he loses Solus or maybe it's what the Yggdrasill will do with the tower. Whatever it is, I can't let it happen.' The Fire Dragon thought.

"If you have nothing more to add, I'll start making a few calls. What we have here is a good start but not enough to consider a full-scale attack on the World Tree. Until you find a way to track Solus down, I'll convince as many people as I can to join us."

"Just one more thing that will help you guys in your negotiations." Lith imprinted the Ears and then handed it to Baba Yaga, but not before adding her, Silvering, and Bytra as authorized users.

"You three knew Menadion and her work best. Until we depart, I would like you to work together to figure out how to unlock the Ears' true potential. I intend to add the code or at least a few hints to the reward."

"Are you insane?" Silverwing stood up abruptly, slamming her hands on the table with so much strength that it would have collapsed if not for being made to withstand a Guardian's weight.

"What's the problem?" Lith remained calm, steepling his fingers as he looked the First Magus in the eyes. "The Fringe is like an enormous mana geyser and as Yaga said, the Ears is the most combat-oriented piece of Menadion's set.

"If we can unlock its true power, the Ears can alter the tides of battle or just reduce the disadvantage we'll face while on the enemy's turf. On top of that, only an idiot would understand that only one artifact isn't enough to motivate powerful beings to risk their life.

"One outstanding, peerless treasure, however, could do the trick. Especially if I offer people the opportunity to give the Ears a try before making their decision. Heck, in a Dragon's shoes, I'd take the risk for just a chance to possess the Ears."

"That's not the problem. She is!" Silverwing pointed at Bytra. "She's the one who killed Menadion and stole her Fury. Look at what she's done."

The First Magus' finger moved from the Raiju to the Absolution hung to her hip and then to the Maws on her and Zoreth's necks.

Even though Silverwing made no mention if it, she hadn't missed how Zoreth's Sky Piercer bore a striking resemblance with the Hands. She had no idea how close the artifact was to the original but she counted it as half as good since there was only one gauntlet.

It was enough for Silverwing to acknowledge Bytra's talent for creating her own version of half of Menadion Set, leaving out only the Ears and the Eyes.

"Even with just Life Vision, I can tell that her hammer is superior to the old Fury just like that mask is superior to the Apprentice Mouth. Even worse, Bytra made more than one. How can you think that giving her the opportunity to get her hands on the Ears is a good idea?

"What if she cracks its secrets? What if people like Tezka and all the old monsters in the Organization get their own Ears of Bytra? What will you do then?"

"That's a problem for another day." Lith shrugged. "Right now, my only priority is to rescue Solus. Not only because she's precious to me and part of my family but also because I won't let the fucker who took her get their own Menadion's tower.

"What if the Tree crafts the whole set as well for their Chroniclers? How will we stop them then? The Yggdrasill would be free to roam Mogar and do whatever they want while Solus would be dead!" With each word he spoke his words seethed with cold fury.

"But-"

"Enough!" Lith cut her short. "Let me be clear, Silverwing. You have no say in this matter and the only reason I tolerate your presence is because I can't afford losing the aid of a white core with a tower."

"She has a tower?" Bytra said in enthusiasm but Lith's glare shut her up and convinced her to save her questions for later.

"Bytra, instead, is my honored guest and someone I trust so I won't allow you to disrespect her any further. She's not the original Bytra, she just has her memories and talent.

"She could have kept her mouth shut and we would have never known who killed Menadion, let alone retrieved the Fury.