Three days later, at the Red Fort.
The Red Fort is similar in style to the Ash Fortress. The Wildlands is often windy, and the buildings rarely use spires. As far as the eye can see, there are wide walls, arches, and stone platforms for dragons to take off and land on.
The entire castle stretches along a crimson rock ridge, rising inwards in layers. When viewed from the clouds, the entire palace complex resembles an ancient Ancient Dragon coiled up in the air.
"Then, let him in."
Veloa lay prostrate on the luxurious velvet carpet, waving her hands to dismiss the servants. She maintained her dignified and composed demeanor, though she appeared somewhat tired.
Ferrum responded and came to see him.
Despite glancing at Ferrum repeatedly during the gathering, when the Nether Dragon stepped into the palace, Veloya still looked him over from head to toe, his gaze lingering briefly on his horns, claws, waist, abdomen, and membranous wings before nodding in greeting.
"Welcome."
Her voice was steady. "This should be the first time you've seen me alone, Ferrum. What message do you bring?"
"I am here to apologize for what I did at the gathering, but it was not because I disrespected the leader, nor because I wanted to rebel against the family, but because of my promise to the Lord of Black Lake."
Ferrum bowed his head and said, " Heavy-Metal Dragon always keeps his promises. I beg for the leader's forgiveness."
"I know."
Veloa didn't seem to care. " The Ashmark Lineage wouldn't be harsh on their own descendants. Although I don't know you well, I know Valyria. You are a child that Valyria values and nurtures, and I trust her abilities and vision."
"Furthermore, I would like to offer some explanation on behalf of Lord Black Lake. Seeing her family in such a state of devastation, Lord Zane was anxious and acted rather drastically. That is her nature, so please be understanding and do not take it to heart."
"That's what Ferrum said."
Veloa's expression remained unchanged. "My feud with Zane began the day she joined the tribe and has lasted for thirty years. Whether I mind it or not, it won't affect our relationship, so there's no need to talk about it."
"I now call Zane Mother, and you are the leader I respect. This situation is not what I want to see, and it is harmful to the family."
Ferrum glanced at Veloa's expression, but instead of getting straight to the point, he said, "I've grown up in Ochre Valley all these years, and what I'm passionate about isn't fighting with other Hatchling Dragon, but rather mediating their conflicts and bringing them together. I think this is also what the leader hopes to see. So, is there anything I can do to ease the tension between the leader and the Lord of Black Lake?"
"I know you and Zane are very close. Perhaps it's Zane's powerful and demonic nature that attracts you, or perhaps it's because of the Nether Iron. But in any case, this is something I don't want to see. The reason I didn't summon you alone to lecture you before was because doing so would be seen as sowing discord and might also provoke your rebelliousness."
Veloa paused for a moment, then continued, "But you're all grown up now, no longer a child, and you have your own ability to discern things. You no longer need the Nether Iron. Since you asked, I'll tell you about some things from before."
Ferrum sat quietly, waiting.
" Zane is indeed talented and powerful, but in the thirty years since she joined the family, she has not made us stronger. The original Deeprock Vein and Greenfield were lands that I and Taigo transferred to her. Now they are called Deeprock Abandoned Mine and Withered Wood Plain. Later, she went to Windsong Plateau and slaughtered all the Mountain Goblin, Bearfolk and Cave Dwellers we had just conquered. After that, came Black Lake."
Veloa said, "The events of the Deeprock Vein and Green Field are long past and difficult to trace back, but the Plateau and Black Lake are things you can see with your own eyes. I don't need to describe in detail the damage they caused to the Wildlands."
"I suppressed the subterranean creatures in the Deeprock Vein, wiped out the entire tribe of the rebels in the Green Fields, and swept away the Aberrant Monster in the Mistveil Mountains, so that the northern defense line would no longer have to face the beast scourge. Later, I came to Black Lake and fought a fifteen-year war with Tagoma there, which allowed them to stand high above and hold on tightly to the Steelspine Plains that they regarded as their lifeline."
Upon receiving the message, Zane sneered, " Veloa only tells you one side of the story, isn't that just sowing discord? If she dares to spout nonsense in front of me, I'll cut her tongue out."
"Furthermore, Zane's actions do not align with the family's values. She has deeply hurt our clan. Apart from Taigo, almost every member has been humiliated by her, or even directly attacked."
Veloa said, "It was a bit out of line for me to call her a bastard with only strength, but what holds our family together is our beliefs, our protection, and our mutual respect. These are things that our members would defend with their lives. Without these, the so-called dragon clan would be nothing but a disorganized mess. We can't get along with someone like Zane."
Zane sneered repeatedly, "That's why I said the stupid mistakes they made were humiliation. Making them obey orders was disrespect. A slight punishment was a direct attack. As for their so-called protection, it's nothing but a lie about making the strong pay the price for the weak. Taigo has already died for them. Who do they want next?"
" Zane doesn't respect us, and we don't trust her. We even doubt her true motives. I said she's Heavy-Metal Dragon in Black Dragon skin, which is of course a malicious speculation. But when she joined us, she was indeed being hunted by Black Dragon and claimed to be rebelling. Even now, she still hasn't explained her origins to us."
Veloa said, "Although Zane likes to change her appearance to conceal her true form, you should already be impressed by her appearance. Her bloodline is corrupted by evil; she is indeed a hybrid, not a pure-blooded Iron Dragon."
"I am indeed a hybrid, but it's not the blood of Chromatic Dragon. Even when Taigo was around, he never asked about my origins. Does it give them the right to judge me?"
Zane commented. "On the one hand, they keep saying they want more members to join, while on the other hand, they scrutinize whether outsiders are qualified. They talk about being inclusive and respectful, but what they really think is that I'm worried about kicking her out of the leadership position. They're hypocritical and stupid, and it's laughable."
"Since Zane joined, the family has become much more cautious about admitting new members. In the past, Taigo often said that these little things were not important, but that was because he was Taigo. He had the absolute power to suppress all wrongdoing, while I could not do that."
Veloa said, "All I can do is protect you from harm before you grow up, protect the family's ideals from being corrupted, and prevent the usurpation of power. I can tolerate the barrenness of the territory and the decline of the family, but I cannot tolerate Zane's control of power. No matter if she threatens with war, division, or any other condition, the rest of us have reached a consensus, and our bottom line will not change."
The two Giant Dragon, one filled with resentment and the other with rage, actually started arguing through Ferrum, forcing Ferrum to travel back and forth between the Black Lake and the Red Fort several times to figure out what had happened.