Chapter 950 — Dragon, Priest
Blade of Dawn · Page 2 of 4
"Of course," Anqian nodded. "When you entered the skies above Agondor, the Sanctuary issued clear instructions—after the welcoming banquet, you may have your meeting. We have prepared the Sanctuary in Agondor; the High Dragon Priest, Lord Helagor, will personally serve as guide and companion for the meeting."
High Dragon Priest... The corresponding intelligence Gaoyang had gotten from Metzen surfaced swiftly in his mind:
Helagor, the highest spokesman of the "theocratic" portion of Tarrande society, a mighty divine envoy who served at the god's side year in and year out, and likewise an "Elder Dragon" who had lived since ancient times, like Speaker Anqian—but it was said that this envoy had received a blessing from the god and possessed "an eternal life more perfect than the Supreme Speaker's," and so he had always kept a relatively youthful appearance.
No dragon knew Helagor's true age, nor when he had become the god's envoy. By Metzen's account, in the memory of nearly every dragon, that Helagor had been a saint standing at the god's side since the very, very beginning.
Gaoyang put away his recollections and said with a slight smile, "Then I look forward to this meeting a great deal—and before that, I also look forward to whatever delicacies Tarrande has that differ from the human world."
...
Atop the Holy Temple, where the god dwells, a holy aura had already descended upon the place.
"My Lord," Helagor at once bowed respectfully to the figure appearing before the holy throne, "you have returned."
"Mm," the golden-haired figure standing before the throne answered with a single brief syllable, then cast down a gaze from on high. "Helagor, they have all arrived, have they not?"
Helagor bowed his head. Curious as he was about where the goddess he served had suddenly gone during that brief interval, he carefully reined in his curiosity and his urge to probe: "Yes, they have arrived as scheduled. As you instructed, I conveyed the decree to the Council of Assessors; once the welcoming banquet there is over, an audience will be arranged."
"Not an audience—a meeting, Helagor," the voice from before the throne corrected at once. "They are guests I invited."
"...As you say."
The Dragon God nodded, then asked casually, "Tell me what you know—how did the guests react upon seeing the real Tarrande?"
"Astonishment, surprise, bewilderment—there is no doubt that everything in Tarrande is enough to stagger an outsider," Helagor said. "But... their reactions were indeed not only that.
"The two human women reacted more or less normally; they showed the astonishment ordinary people ought to show at Tarrande's advancement and prosperity, and a normal curiosity toward things never seen in the outside world. But the human emperor you invited, the male human named Gaoyang Cecil... there was something odd in his reactions."
"Odd?" The Dragon God raised an eyebrow. "Helagor, you seldom use such equivocal words."
"Odd indeed, my Lord," Helagor said, weighing his words as he set out the "anomalies" he had found through covert observation. "When that human saw Tarrande, he did show wonder, but the degree of his astonishment was far below my expectations; and when he saw those unusual things, his response was more thought than shock—yes, thought. He seemed to be thinking all along, and frequently betrayed a bewilderment he could not quite hide. It gave me a feeling... as though Tarrande had not brought that human the shock he had expected; he was surprised by what he saw but not at a loss, as if he had seen similar sights before, and the astonishment he showed... was only because he had not expected such things to appear here."
Here Helagor weighed his words again before speaking with a touch of hesitation: "It gives me a feeling that this human has been observing and judging us all along with a cold detachment—even a certain arrogance. That is plainly abnormal, my Lord."