"As soon as the enemy side weakens enough, the Fringe disappears and the Guardian regains the turf advantage, can call for help, or even run away if they want." Right now, you don't even have my help, little brother." Tezka said.

"Does this change your mind?" Lith handed the Ears of Menadion to the Suneater and explained to him the terms of the deal.

Tezka smacked his lips with an excitement that was quickly quelled as he assessed the mission's slim chances of success and the even slimmer chances he would be the one to rescue the girl.

"Depends. Bytra, do you want the Ears?" The Suneater asked.

"I do." She nodded. "Think what we could achieve if we all have one. If I succeed in updating and improving the Ears like I've done with the Mouth. Zor and I are going to ask the Master to participate in the invasion with the Organization's full force."

"In this case, count me in." Tezka replied. "But even I'm not enough to fill the huge gap with a Guardian. My last fight with the little sparrow proves it."

Lith remembered how no Fringe had formed during their fight. If it was because of the Phoenixes sealing the area or Salaark hiding her real strength Lith couldn't say.

"Bytra, please go contact the Master. Yaga, please see if your Firstborns are willing to participate. With Dawn's prism embedded in their chests, daylight wouldn't be an issue." He said.

"Everyone who can call for reinforcements, please do it. The rest of us will discuss a plan to extract the information we need from the Chronicler and attack the Yggdrasill's Fringe in quick succession.

"If anyone has ideas or suggestions, they are welcome."

"I do." Quylla wringed his hands, wondering if somehow her mother had predicted a scenario like that and Quylla was about to help Jirni further her agenda. "First, let's wait for Aalejah to arrive.

"There's no point to make plans just to explain them to her and have to start over based on her input. Second, if you are fine with fighting dirty and disregarding mercy entirely, I think you know a couple of people who can be of help."

"And who might them be?" Lith asked.

"Well, you need the expertise of someone who fought on his own against an overwhelmingly more powerful opponent and that's Balkor. He doesn't have his undead anymore, but you have your demons and he could teach you a few tricks." Quylla replied.

"Also, if you want to keep the Chronicler alive for the duration of the assault to keep the World Tree off their game, you need my mother."

"I appreciate the idea, Quylla, and I'm going to call Balkor but Jirni is no mage. Putting a pregnant woman in a cell with a violet cored Awakened is too dangerous. She can't help us." Lith dismissed the idea with a wave of his hand.

"Just call her. Trust me." Quylla looked as sure of her words as she was nervous.

Lith tried to conjure his communication amulet but to no avail, again. Frustration clenched his hands as he was reminded that his pocket dimension was lost.

"Please, call her yourself and then hand me your amulet."

Jirni answered the call immediately and once Lith was done explaining her what he needed, a soft smile formed on her lips.

"I think I can help. Don't worry, I won't ask you any question. I just need a favor."

***

Blood Desert, Glass Plains, at the same time.

"This is a weird spot for a meeting." Aylen Nagaar, the First Lich, Maker of all Liches, and Inxialot's mother said while looking around nervously.

The residual energy from the fight between Salaark and the Suneater filled the area, making Aylen feel small and insignificant.

"Quite the contrary there is no more neutral ground than this." Sinmara, the Phoenix of Darkness replied. "Here my mother faced her nemesis and let him walk away after defeating him.

"The Glass Plains are testament to the honor of the Phoenix bloodline when dealing even with their worst enemy. Mother let go of Tezka just like I'm going to let you go, no matter your answer."

"I'm your nemesis?" Aylen furrowed her light brown eyebrows. "That's flattering, but also sad. You should find something better to do in your free time than collecting enemies and ranking them. Like a boyfriend."

"I don't collect enemies!" Sinmara snarled, hating to hear from a Lich the same arguments she had with her mother. "I kill them all. You are the exception and not for a lack of trying, mind you."

"I know. That's the flattering part." The Maker of All Liches nodded. "If you want me to introduce someone to you, you're out of luck. I've been too busy with my research to meet hot guys and I wouldn't introduce that moron of my son to my worst enemy."

"Shut up and listen!" The Phoenix of Darkness rolled her eyes. "That's not the personal favor I was talking about when I called you. This is not for me but for Lith. If you agree to help me, you might get yourself a full pardon."

"Lith?" Aylen's eyes widened in shock.

She had no idea who he was until a kitten from one of her pockets showed her the image of a young handsome man from Aylen's communicator.

"He's quite the catch, but he's married." She scrolled the most recent news about him. "I'll kill his wife if you want but I can't accept a full pardon for such a trivial job. It would be dishonest to my nemesis."

She gave Sinmara a curtsy that almost sent the Phoenix of Darkness in a fit of rage.

"I'm not here for a boyfriend!" Before Aylen could ramble about Sinmara's personal life or lack thereof, the Phoenix of Darkness told Aylen about the mission to rescue Solus, the potential reward of the Ears of Menadion, and the risks of invading the World Tree's Fringe.

"Oh. This is definitely full pardon material." Aylen tapped her chin with a finger pensively. "Are you sure you have the authority to grant it to me? Your mother has a pretty clear non-intervention policy in these matters."

"Yes, I do, and yes, she has." Sinmara nodded. "That's why she's not offering it to you. I am. As the Overlord's second in command, I have many discretionary powers like rewarding an ally for her services.

"Like, for example, helping to rescue a member of the family without compromising the safety of the Blood Desert or the lives of any Phoenix aside from me."

"I know how much Salaark loves her hatchlings but what you ask me seems a big favor for no return. For Salaark, I mean. I don't think she's going to allow it. Not even for you." Aylen replied.

"She will if we succeed and we both know that even without the pardon, you'll keep plaguing the Desert with your presence. At least this way my people will gain something from it instead of losing resources like always." Sinmara said with a smile.

"And how do your people gain anything from a full-scale war with one of the most powerful beings on Mogar?" Aylen scoffed.