Chapter 13: Hierarchy Among Dragons

POV: Quinn

The Protectors, Guardians, Foundation, The Beginning, Dragons, all names used to call upon one of the three primordial species of the Castle, the Gteju. Yet here I am lowering myself to some pretenders. Little lizards, who believe themselves some distant relative, all to satisfy the whims of a little hatchling I have been bound to since my creation.

"Quinn, you seem a bit distracted." I heard Hilali call out to me, a little too familiarly. It seems she has let this little business adventure go to her head a little too fast.

"Yes, I was lost in thought for a moment. It's not important, and I believe we have discussed everything that we need to?"

"Yes, I think we can look forward to a wonderful partnership. I'll send over the needed documents as soon as possible." Hilali cackled on, finding it difficult for her to contain her excitement.

"There's no need to rush; I still need to iron out some of the details with my sisters here before we move forward. However, I will need to ask a favor." I looked at her with a gentle smile on my face. She wanted so much to be friends, then I'll give the little lizard what she wanted, for now.

"What can I possibly do for you that you can't do for yourself?" Hilali responded with a smile, filled with so much flattery that I felt a bit nauseous.

"Your sister, the hatchling. I wish to speak to her in private once you leave." Hilali Looked at me curiously for a moment and then simply nodded her head. There was no reason for her to deny my request. After all, that little girl was Gteju; it was only natural that I would want to have a conversation with her. While Hilali wanted so desperately to be what she was not, she still had enough sense not to forget her place completely.

"It's good for her to meet some of her kind, and maybe it will curb that attitude of hers." Hilali agreed as she and her husband stood up from their seats. Me Lynoe and Tuwinnie guided them to the door. Leaving the house, we greeted a rather lively scene.

The big lump of flesh Hilali called a son was all but cowering on the sofa. That poor sofa. It looked like it could barely hold on with that boy sitting on it. The girl, Aonani, was still standing in the same position as before. A slight, barely discernible grin was on her face as she looked over towards where the action was. Hilali's meal ticket, Vnexi, seemed to be in a heated, let's say, an argument with Zac. Her foot just smacked him across the face, sending him tumbling across the ground. Mid-tumble, Zac gathered himself and stood straight up as nothing had happened. I could see deep wounds on his arm that were visibly healing at a rapid pace, one of the perks of being half Iwon.

Gteju had the most physically powerful bodies and could heal faster than most other species, except for 2. Iwon was one of them. Unless you obliterated them, an adult Iwon could recover from pretty much anything. They were a very tenacious bunch. It seemed to be causing a problem for Vnexi; no doubt anyone she had hit that hard before would have either died or been broken to pieces. Dealing with Zac would be a headache for her in more ways than one.

"You're a tenacious little punk, but you will still submit."

"Why's that?" Zac asked with a curious expression on his face.

"Knowledge is power, and I don't need to worry about Soul Stars; I can dedicate myself completely to my studies. You'll never possess the knowledge I'll achieve." She responded with a confident smile on her face.

I figured this would happen; if you leave two or more young Gteju in a space alone, a fight will break out. It was ingrained in them by nature regardless of how far they have evolved from their creation. I'll give them a little more time to sort this out.

"I agree; knowledge is power. But how much experience do you have?" Zac smiled as she glared at him.

Before she could respond, the ground beneath her feet began to light up. Zac had activated the defense mechanism we installed on the grounds. A dirty move; I have never been more proud. Vnexi, on the other hand, looked down with disgust, shouting at Zac as she leaped into the air,

"That's cheating!!!"

"It's called home field advantage!!" Zack responded with a smile on his face. She was 20 meters in the air before she realized that nothing had come out of the ground as she had expected.

"You vile, piece of…." She stopped as there was no sign of Zac in front of her. I simply chuckled to myself. Zac fought with Lynoe almost non-stop for the past couple of weeks and dealt with beings much more powerful than himself for years beforehand. If he couldn't play around with this hatchling, I'd be disappointed. Zac appeared to her left, materializing from thin air. He quickly grabbed her by the throat with a sinister look on his face.

"How?" She asked. It was a good question, one I often asked myself. Zac could vanish without a trace. Even the eyes of a Gteju couldn't track his AOS activation if he didn't want them to. He still didn't trust us, so he was less than forthcoming with such information. Only a handful of devices could pull that off, and Zac had access to none of them. The little shit seemed to be born to be an assassin, from his natural born gifts to his instincts.

"Looks like your knowledge is still limited. Submit!" Zac responded as both of their eyes connected. Vnexi groaned a bit before mumbling something. After she mumbled, her disposition seemed to change entirely. The girl replaced that look of sadness and defeat with a dead coldness. Even with Zac's hand gripped around her throat, she seemed less than concerned.

"Submitting now would be boring. I finally found something fun to play with." An eerie giggle escaped her lips as clawed nails swiped from the left and right of his sides. One was going for his face, the other for his ribs. Each one looking, not to maim, not to injure, but to kill. Zac quickly released her and shot back in the air. Blood trickled from his face and side as those hastily formed claws of her nearly took out even more significant pieces of flesh.

"Will you submit, or will you slowly suffer through my poison. I have the antidote on hand," Vnexi asked as she licked the blood off her claw. She knew you couldn't kill an Iwon with poison. But you could make them feel pain worse than death if the poison was strong enough and your heart was black enough to use it.

"Pfft, unnecessary." Zack retorted as a black mist flowed out of his wounds and dissipated into the air. It seemed he forcefully removed the poison from his bloodstream somehow. Even Iwon wouldn't be able to altogether remove poison, not like that. His injuries healed faster than they had formed, and the two of them stared at each other. Zac no doubt was shell shocked by the sudden change. He was far more cautious than he let on, and this change was a variable he did not account for. From the moment that girl arrived, she seemed to be a hitch in Zac's plans. Good, this ought to humble the cocky bastard.

"That's enough! I'm tired of watching your theatrics. The two of you get down here." I finally spoke as it seemed the both of them were about to start up again.

"You are not my mother; you do not get to request anything from me!" Vnexi shouted, not even looking in my direction.

"Quinn, stay out of this!" Zac jumped in as both of the hatchlings seemed to be filled with fighting spirit. That must have given them immense courage or fried their brains into stupidity; they have forgotten to whom they were speaking.

"That was not a request, children. Down! Now!" I commanded once again. I was staring at the two of them floating there in the air, and clarity overcame them as they looked over in my direction. They both lowered their heads and slowly descended back towards the ground, trying to avoid my stare as best they could.

"The two of them just started fighting. I have no idea why." Aonani spoke up with a confused look on her face,

"Primal instincts are why," Lynoe responded.

"Hmm, regardless of how far we evolve, we are all still subject to some of our species' most based desires. Gteju's need for obsolete structure is a very hard impulse to fight. Especially when it comes to the hierarchy among themselves." Winnie responded as she looked over at Zac with a smile on her face. She was enjoying this; that was understandable. Zac seemed to be calm and collected, pretending to have everything dancing in the palm of his hand.

It must be nice to see him entirely overcome by such base desires. The annoyed look plastered across his face made the moment even better. Hilali looked over at her sister and then looked back at me,

"I suppose this is the reason you wanted to talk to her? Correct?" She asked, filling in blanks I never left for her to fill. I nodded my head, letting her believe whatever she wanted as long as it made things easier for me.

"That may be for the best. Vnexi, we're going to head home, but I want you to stay here and have a little conversation with Quinn. We'll see you back at the manor." Vnexi just nodded her head,

"If she didn't ask, I was going to request that myself. They're the first Gteju, other than myself, I've ever met." Vnexi responded to her sister, who smiled at her in understanding. She gathered her guards, at least the ones still alive, and then quickly left with her husband and the meat hill of a son. She appeared to be relatively reasonable, but I'd have to be a fool to believe that she changed her tune so quickly simply for a bit of profit. There was no doubt something bubbling under the surface.

"The Galdents have left the premises." Devin's featureless head appeared in front of us.

"Great, it's time for you to go too, Aonani," I said to the girl who was responsible for this inconvenience.

"Huh? But I thought,"

"Just go, Nani, before she blows her top again. I'll call you later to let you know what's going on," Zac said, finally making himself useful. However, I knew him better than anyone; he didn't want that girl here to see what he might do next. Vnexi was a variable that Zac had not accounted for. Given what she was, it was a big enough variable to bring everything he had planned crumbling down. Under these circumstances, I was pretty curious to see what his following movements would be.

Aonani reluctantly left, giving me a final look before disappearing behind our closed gate doors. Her "crisis" was more or less averted now that it was clear that Zac fancied her. There was no need for her to even care about what we would do with the Galdents.

"I wouldn't trust that girl if I were you," Vnexi spoke as her sharp eyes glared at Zac.

"Oh, and should I trust you instead?" A playful grin danced across his face.

"You shouldn't trust anyone, especially me. At least not until you submit." Vnexi smirked back at Zac, all but licking her lips at a chance to subdue him. Gteju were a powerful, wise, but strange bunch. Her words seemed hostile but showed a level of respect that perhaps only their kind would understand.

"I didn't ask for you to stay here to watch you two hatchlings strut around. I have some questions for you." I interrupted the two of them before they could start another fight. However, I didn't have any questions for the girl; I didn't give a damn about her. Her presents made no difference, and we can just remove her if she makes things more difficult down the line. Zac was the one with questions; it seemed he was softer than I had assumed. Maybe the couch time with Lynoe had too much effect.

"I don't know why I'm with the Galdents. I am not entirely sure what happened with my birth parents. All I know is that Big Boss gave me to Hilali's parents when I was still an egg." Vnexi responded before I could even ask the question, which was well and good. The question was an obvious one to ask. At this moment, Zac was the one to speak,

"Who is Big Boss?"

"The leader of the Black Market," I said as I looked over at Zac.

"Leader, huh? Are they anything special?" Zac asked with a smile on his face.

"She is 1 of 2 people in the Castle I respect," I said plainly.

Unsurprisingly, not only Zac but Winnie, Lynoe, and even Vnexi looked shocked. I scoffed at the lot of them. They clearly didn't understand the type of thing BB was; otherwise, they would be able to adjust their worldview properly. They looked at me as some unstoppable Demigod, but there is always someone better. I folded my arms as Zac gathered himself and sent me the following question he wanted to ask. I looked at Vnexi and continued,

"Where is your Quqe?"

She looked at me a little stunned; when seeing the look on her face, Zac started to chuckle.

"Why are you so surprised? You kept talking about being a Breaker, and so above me in every aspect. Surely someone like you has a Quqe. The Castle isn't that blind, right?" Zac mocked the girl who stared back at him.

"Then where's yours?"

"Around, but we're not talking about my Quqe, are we?" Zac responded, not denying that he had Quqe of his own. This bit of information wasn't a shock to the girl. Bolster and brag as she liked, she knew if Zac wasn't worthy of a Quqe, then no one was.

"Enough, tell your friend to come out," I said as I looked at the space behind the girl. Vnexi looked at me in a moment of shock. Calming herself, she nodded her head. The space behind her began to ripple, and a humanoid figure walked out of the void. This was a rudimentary system skill that all Quqe knew of since birth. It was a minimal Space System, allowing us to fold space near our partner to remain by their side undetected.

"So, you're Quinn?"

A rather grating, husky voice followed behind the humanoid figure. From what I could see, the Quqe appeared to be male. Most of their body was covered in a blue long-sleeved hooded sun shirt and a pair of swimming leggings; both clung tightly to their bodies, showing off their athletic build. They were similar to Zac in stature. The shirt had a built-in facemask, and the mask was see-through and filled with bubbling water. I could barely discern the cocky smile filled with jagged teeth on his blue-tinged face. Their shirt had a somewhat distracting ocean pattern that moved like crashing waves.

That was well enough as it took the attention away from their face. That wasn't to say the lad was unattractive. The purplish-blue scales that lined what I could only assume was their bald head and framed his eyes were striking enough. They seemed to have lucked out with a naturally symmetrical pattern as well. I could see the appeal if you were into fish. No, what disgusted me, were those offensively light blue serpent eyes that stared at me like prey.

While Quqe were a separate species, our physical forms are based on existing species at birth. Upon closer observation, this Quqe took its origins from the Niwoe. One of the ruler species that evolved from gigantic, mighty ocean-dwelling serpent-like creatures. In the distant past, the most primitive species feared those serpents as unstoppable creatures of the deep, the Leviathans. It made a certain amount of sense that he'd be partnered with Vnexi. She was the result of Niwoe and Gteju producing offspring. Unfortunately, Niwoe and Gteju were never on the best of terms. That and this Quqe being young wouldn't help matters; he'd be naturally confrontationally. I will have to put him in his place sooner rather than later if we want things to progress smoothly past this point.

"I am."

"That's it?! That's all you have to say?" He seemed annoyed, good.

"It is." I gave him a simple response.

"Well, um… I am Etife (Eh-tif), Designation Beta 100." They proudly puffed their chest and stared down at me, hoping to inspire awe in their assumed greatness. This was a problem that plagued all young Quqe. While we take on the physical forms and abilities of the species we mimic, we have the potential to take their capabilities to the absolute limit, without exceptions. Many young Quqe believed this made them unstoppable.

We are blessed with so much talent and ability. Still, so many fail the simple task of keeping our partners alive simply because of pride. We are exceptional without question, but we are not unbeatable. This young one needs to be brought in line before getting Vnexi killed through their lack of experience.

"I didn't ask, nor did I care. I simply hate the idea of a little fish hiding in my presence and can't stand the smell." I responded, trying my best to get under their scaly skin as much as possible.

"Wait, Betta? Like the fish? Hahahahaha, the Castle has a sense of humor. Nice!"

As if we planned this, Zac chimed in. Being an unsolicited asshole was one of his many talents that I am happy could be useful in this situation. Lynoe's snicker, and Tuwinnie's sad attempt to appear impartial through a held-back smile, did nothing to help the crushed pride that Etife indeed felt. The intensity of the bubbles of his mask picked up as an audible growl escaped his lips.

"It's Beta!!! Not Betta!!" They shouted at Zac like a petulant child.

"Oh, sorry, Beta. Like Beta male? It's cool you're comfortable in your scales." Zac responded naturally and with mild disinterest.

Now I was impressed. Was Zac aware that Niwoe ran on a Dominance Hierarchy, similar to the Gteju? Though there were crucial differences. Gteju valued knowledge as well as strength regardless of sex. Those that stood at the top in both regards would-be leaders of the species. Niwoe valued strength in their males and knowledge in their females. Alpha Males tended to lead their military and defenses; Alpha Females more often than not ran their politics.

The Betas were all but forgotten to fill in any miscellaneous things needed for the species. Someone as proud as Etife, even as a Quqe, would find this beyond insulting. I'm sure it was a sore spot for him that his designation was Beta, but that was only something a child would concern themselves. I sighed as I saw the rage burning in Etife's eyes. Zac got under his skin far more naturally than I ever could. The boy's tongue was as sharp as his twisted mind. Etife quickly calmed himself and looked back at me,

"I am not interested in childish games, and I've always wanted to see what the great Quinn was capable of. Now that I know you're a Gteju, even more so."

Etife turned his attention away from Zac. Vnexi, who stood in front of Etife, just sighed while not trying to stop him at all. It was clear she was used to his behavior. The more I interacted with this child, the more annoyed I became. He was going to get this girl killed if he continued like this.

"Then stop talking and make a move," I commanded.

"You should be aware Quqe are prohibited by the Castle. We can not attack other life forms unless they pose a threat to our partner. So consider yourself luck-"

"Ahhhk!!!" Before finishing his statement, I pointed at Vnexi and sent the girl hurling through the air past Etife.

"Like that?" I ask as Vnexi tumbled across the ground. Etife whipped his head towards me and exploded with a roar accompanied by an aggressive clap of his hands. That clap produced a thunderous shockwave and a powerful gust of hurricane-force wind. Lynoe extended her hand, neutralizing the vibrations from the thunderous shockwave that threatened to shatter our bones. Tuwinnie let out a sigh that dispersed the gust of wind that should have jettisoned all four of us. What should have been a devastating attack petered out with a whimper.

I looked over at Etife and saw a look of puzzlement and weariness. This confirmed several things; the first was wholly expected. He couldn't imagine not only me but two others could pose a threat to him in this space. The 2nd was more surprising. He wouldn't be so surprised if he were aware that we, too, were Quqe. I had noticed irregularities from Quqe that bonded with Zac. There were a great many "rules" that I could ignore even before I officially bonded with him. Now it appeared Tuwinnie, and Lynoe benefited from the same phenomenon as well. Under normal conditions, Etife should have had no problem knowing we were Quqe.

"Hehe…" I inadvertently let out a chuckle due to the excitement of my discovery. Etife no doubt took this as mocking as the look in his eyes distorted even further. I could see he was about to go wild. It would be best to subdue him now. I lifted my hand instantly, bringing my system into form. Before Etife could make another move, he felt his limbs grow heavy, and his knees slammed into the ground, followed by his arms and then his head. He kowtowed there against his will. This was an admittedly nasty system I developed.

Vector System: Hierarchy uses the opponent's pride and their strength against them. There was an initial powerful pulling force; anyone instinctively would resist. In that moment of resistance, the system shifts and relies on the target's actions, reversing all their vectors. The more they struggled against the initial force pushing them to prostrate themselves before me, the more futile their subsequent struggle would become. The more they struggled, the more power they added to the pulling of their Vectors. This was made to reign in wild horses, crush useless pride, break spirits, and establish dominance!

"This is what it means to be in the presence of a Gteju. Remember that position. When in my company, assume it."

I looked down at him; his head stapled to the ground at my feet. I could hear the low grumbling as he struggled to lift his head. The moment I was to disable the system, I felt a chilling wind on the back of my neck, and the sky began to darken. I looked up through the opening in the large light pink canopy and saw pitch-black storm clouds swirling madly above. The Large treetops swayed in the powerful winds that began to pick up.

I looked down at Etife and saw the massive amount of Soul Source radiating from his body. He'd rather destroy this entire tree and everyone on it than to simply submit. While layers of defensive systems reinforced all the trees and their platforms, something like this could still cause incredible damage. More importantly, It would no doubt draw the attention of local authorities. I suppose that maybe he believed that we could stop it, but not without suffering injuries ourselves. Perhaps he could save some of his pride that way—stupid, stubborn child.

"Not bad, not bad at all," Lynoe spoke, letting out a whistle.

"It's to be expected; he is a Quqe." Tuwinnie chimed in. There were no signs of worry on either of their faces.

"What kind of Bent does he have?" Zac asked with mild interest.

"Typhoon System: Sky Splitter!!!" Etife shouted before I could answer Zac. Etife could not create such a powerful system without verbal activation, especially in his current condition. Indeed, the sky did split. A massive hole was ripped into the mass of dark clouds as a pillar of lightning nearly as thick and large as the tree itself crashed down. While an impressive attack, what was more surprising was that he could forcefully lift his head off the ground to stare up at me. Now THAT was impressive! It seems the Castle had chosen a Quqe with massive potential for the girl.

The blinding flash of lightning struck. However, where there should have been the sound of thunder loud enough to be heard halfway across the planet was instead utter silence. What should have been an explosion of power that would reduce the tree and all its platforms into a tattered mess if not wreck it, there was instead a gentle breeze.

"Wow…" Zac said with no emotion as he looked up along with everyone else to see the massive pillar of lightning suspended above the canopy before it fizzled itself out. As the sounds of crackling electricity filled the air, I spoke,

"Is that all?"

Vector System: Full stop, it was a simple system that canceled all Vectors in motion influenced by Soul Source. As long as I could handle the amount of Soul Source, there was no system in motion that I could not affect. It was also simple enough not to require a verbal activation. Etife lowered his head again, but this time it was of his own doing. As his muscles relaxed, so did the Hierarchy System I placed on him.

"Your job is to protect that girl. Not flex your talents to strangers. If I had the mind to, that girl would be dead now. Did you even bother to check if she was injured?'

Etife jerked his head up to argue but stopped himself as he jerked his head behind him to see Vnexi walking towards him, perfectly fine. Of course, she was fine; I wouldn't hurt a child to teach another child a listen.

"I'm fine, Etife," Vnexi said as she patted the Niwoe on his back.

"She was more than fine; I placed a protective barrier over her, just in case you went too wild to care about her safety. Seems, I was correct to have assumed so." Etife had already lifted his head and was in a kneeling position with his head down in shame.

"Quqe is awe-inspiring creatures, but you are not unbeatable. While you can never truly die, she can, and without her, you are nothing! Remember that!" Etife flinched, good. It appeared that what I was saying was starting to sink in.

"What's his BENT!!!" Zac shouted, interrupting the rather poignant moment to satisfy his curiosity!

"Complete Weather Bent," Etife said with a smile on his face as he looked at Zac. However, I turned my attention back towards Etife. Complete Weather Bent was extraordinarily rare. The Niwoe were known for their Weather Bent, which split into three categories, Planetary Weather, Cosmic Weather, and Complete Weather, which encompassed both of the former. I turned my attention towards Vnexi. The Complete Weather Bent in the hands of someone like her, Zac will have his hands full in the future. It would be best to ally with her now, though that may be difficult with our plans to kill her sister. Perhaps it would be best to kill her now? It would be a pity; she seems like a beautiful playmate for Zac.

Things had become somewhat complicated with the appearance of Vnexi. It seemed that Zac didn't quite know what he wanted to do either. He could have asked me to continue after breaking Etife if he wanted the girl dead. However, he made no attempts to tell me to continue after I stopped.

"Now it's my turn to ask a question," Vnexi said as Zac and I were still in thought on how to proceed. We turned to Vnexi; Etife had gotten to his feet standing behind Vnexi. That cocky smirk on his face was gone, replaced with something akin to reverence as he looked in my direction.

"What is it?" I asked,

"I know you retired from Assassinations, but do you think you can take on one more job?" She responded with expectations plastered across her face.

"That depends. What's the job?"

"I want you to help me kill my sister." She said through narrowed eyes.

"Just when I was thinking it might be better keeping them alive, for you." Zac's chuckle echoed through the area. No doubt he felt he had been given a grand gift because I felt the same. I looked at Vnexi and Etifa, motioning my head towards the door,

"Let's talk inside."

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