Chapter 3463: The Sweet-Loving Elephant
"Lord Vakratunda, we have learned of an anomaly that has infiltrated the continent of Kiriket."
Within an absolutely enormous structure at the very epicentre of the capital city of the Nation of Minala, the home of the Gajanan Clan was a council of elephant men.
Their teeth had been partially turned into tusks while their ears grew long and droopy, turning into flaps that resembled flaps. Their upper halves were bare, covered in all manner of ornaments with many a strange symbol, while their lower halves were covered by a long, wide single-piece cloth fashioned into a garment with a sophisticated bind and knot.
They stood before a throne, of sorts.
A throne made of tusk.
Upon it was a man with a protruding belly.
His head was that of an elephant.
He sat cross-legged on his throne, indulging himself in a plate of a form of traditional sweets native to the Gajanan Clan as his trunk reached out, stretching to grasp more to feed himself.
At first glance, anybody would have mistaken him for a simple glutton who did not deserve the power, authority, and responsibility he had.
That was until they would look into his eyes.
Within them was jolly serene, one of endless wisdom and peace. Despite being the most powerful being upon the continent after the Dragon Emperor, he possessed no discernible ego, while his body mannerisms were relaxed and harmonious.
His power, however, was unfathomable.
His true form was one of extraordinary prowess, one that would have yielded him the entire continent if not for an even more powerful being with the Authority of Alpha.
While the air in the abode of the leader of the Gajanan Clan was heavy and perilous, Lord Vakratunda himself was rather unbothered by the prickling tension that hung in the air.
"There is nothing anomalous about an anomaly," he replied calmly. "Not only on a philosophical level, for everything that happens, happens with purpose, but also on a practical level. The Continent of Kiriket, by its very nature, has many anomalies each day. Is there any reason that you have gone out of your way to bring this one to my attention? I’m sure you realise just how busy I am."
The elephant men couldn’t help but shift their gaze to the plate of sweets before him that his trunk quickly reached out and partook from, eating it up with delight, before exchanging pointed gazes with each other.
"We think that the anomaly might be... the Dawnbringer and the Omni-Martial of the humans from the Panama Continent."
They spoke the names as though they were incantations, as if they were an impending storm. A hint of interest arose within the eyes of the elephant-man seated at the throne.
"Maybe," he admitted. "We’ll see. What is the status of this anomaly?"
"There is a word that was destroyed by a pursuit group involving many clans, My Lord."
"Well, I don’t think the Dawnbringer of human civilisation would be done in so easily, would he?" Lord Vakratunda mused. "It can be speculated that they were wrong, or the anomaly wasn’t them. Regardless, the truth will come out."
He seemed entirely unbothered by the outcome or what could be, continuing to indulge in his delicious meal, satisfying his sweet tooth while his subjects looked around with a hint of concern.
"Shouldn’t we try to look around for him, My Lord? He might be the only one who could help us against the Dragon Emperor."
"If it truly is him, then he will come to us of his own accord."
"But can we trust him? The Dragon Emperor is bad enough, but an outsider with the Authority of Alpha could be even worse. He has no kinship or affection for us. He might try to use his Authority to enslave us. I don’t like the Dragon Emperor, but the dragon does have a point regarding the dangers of an outsider gaining the power to enslave us all!"
The many subjects of Lord Vakratunda continued arguing with each other about how they ought to interact with Dawnbringer while the Patriarch of the Gajanan Clan himself was rather amused by the squabbling of his subjects.
Unfortunately, they didn’t leave him alone for long.
"We will have to trust you, My Lord!"
He turned to find his subjects gazing at him with a hint of reverence in their eyes. Lord Vakratunda heaved a sigh at the sight. "It would do you better to look at me with a more critical gaze, I am eating modaks in the middle of what is a rather important meeting, you know?"
They all lowered their head before him.
"My Lord, you seclude yourself within this grand structure of your own making, all in order to protect our people from the influence of the Dragon Emperor. We are free only because of you, My Lord. We will trust in your Eye of Wisdom!"
Lord Vakratunda grew more serious at those words.
The Eye of Wisdom was a genetic ability that only the therianthropes of the Elephant Path could unlock. Elephants were known to possess great wisdom and intelligence, and it manifested in the form of extraordinary insights into whatever they looked at.
Lord Vakratunda, in particular, had mastered this ability. No secret could be kept from him when it came within his field of vision; his eyes could show him truths that nobody else could even fathom existed.
"Well..." he murmured as he popped a modak into his mouth. "...I do look forward to meeting with the Dawnbringer. Mother Vyia has told me great things about him, so I hope that he lives up to the expectations that have been set for him. He defeated Anthea and survived an ambush within light elven territory. Both of these are highly impressive feats when one considers just how difficult they are. If he is as strong as I think he is, then he should be able to help us achieve what we seek to achieve."