After Skala finished his last sentence, there was no more argument inside the tent.
Nak sat back down, like an old bear that had lost its teeth, anger still lingering in his eyes, but no longer biting.
The midday sun streamed into the Council Hall through the gaps between the animal hides and stones.
Rur stood, his gaze sweeping over everyone before finally resting on Skala and Siye.
"Uglo people," his voice was hoarse but still steady, "we once had a choice, but we were wrong the moment we abandoned the Totem. Now, if anyone wishes to choose again, I will no longer stop them."
He looked at Skala: "You said you weren't here to buy our faith, but to give us a choice."
Skala nodded: "I am not here to judge who should believe in whom. I am only responsible for opening another door."
Rur was silent for a moment, as if weighing the options, or perhaps conceding.
"Give us two days."
"The tribesmen willing to answer your Lord should come to you privately."
"I will neither stop them nor issue orders. But I hope you can stay there and wait for them to walk over, instead of you walking over here."
Skala smiled slightly and said, "Alright, after I open the door, I will stand there and not move."
Then, he looked around the entire room and spoke calmly and clearly:
"My Lord, the Shadow Dragon Obsidian, has three Divine Decrees."
"Those who swear allegiance to me do not need to abandon your old beliefs, but you will receive a response—from now on, you can sleep peacefully, nothing more."
"Those who swear conversion to my Lord will receive protection—freedom from illness, fear, and confusion."
"And those willing to offer everything will receive a boon—that is the path for the few, the grace of introducing the Divine into one's own flesh and blood."
After speaking, he slowly put away the Divine Emblem.
"You have two days; there is no need to swear an oath immediately."
"But I will remain there, waiting for those who wish to believe to come."
Rur nodded, turning to his tribesmen, his tone once again calm and authoritative:
"The council is now dismissed."
--- Divider ---
On the morning of the third day, the wind had not yet risen, the clouds hung low, and the sunlight was slow to spread.
The snow ground of Uglo was packed down into a long path, with bone pillars and broken stones lining both sides like tombstones.
Skala walked at the very front, the Divine Emblem hanging on his chest, shining brightly.
He did not look back, his steps firm; Toka and Gollon stood on either side, their pace seeming much lighter.
Behind them followed seven Trolls of the Uglo clan.
Three Hunters, two young Witch Doctor Apprentices, and two Warriors.
Their expressions varied; some were solemn, some alert, and some had confusion written all over their faces.
The path they chose was known only to themselves, Skala, and the Dragon God silently overlooking the wind and snow.
Only Siye was an exception.
She still wore the cracked Rhunok Bone Amulet, but on the night before leaving, she sewed Aub's Divine Emblem onto the chest of her armor, close to her heart.
She did not ask for protection, nor did she demand power.
She only said one thing to Skala:
"I'm not sure if I should abandon that old bear, but I am willing to fly with this Dragon once."
She made her choice, and she was not constrained by the options Aub had offered.
Along the way, there was no honor guard, no drumming, and Rur didn't even see them off.
But at the edge of the camp, he had sent a boy to deliver a Bone Tablet—an artifact used by the Uglo people in the old days for oaths and inheritance.
The boy said: "This is not an oath, nor is it abandonment. It's just a marker, in case our people regret their decision when you walk back."
Skala offered no explanation and made no further promises. He put the Bone Tablet into his pouch and only replied to the boy:
"We don't go back."
The snow wasn't heavy, but walking was slower than they expected.
The wind blew from the side, and the snow granules polished their skin like fine salt. The path was not straight; it circled around a burnt dead forest and ascended a high northern hill.
Siye walked in the middle of the procession, silent.
She was more silent than before they set out, but her expression was not one of confusion or regret, but a steadfastness akin to contemplation.
She was not the only one like this.
None of the seven people traveling with Skala asked where the next stop was, nor did anyone urge him on.
They were not seeking answers now; they first needed to walk a distance and leave their former selves behind.
"Do you think they will regret it?" Toka asked quietly.
Skala, walking ahead, did not stop: "Everyone will have a little regret."
"What about you?"
He thought for a moment: "I regret starting too late."
Gollon grinned, his voice low: "I regret not killing a few more followers of Hakkah earlier."
They chuckled a few times, and the only sound on the snow was the crunching of their steps.
After a while, Siye suddenly moved closer.
"The third path you mentioned," she looked at Skala, "the 'one who offers everything'."
"Has anyone chosen it?"
"No," Skala answered quickly. "That is not a path anyone can choose. At least... not yet."
He actually wanted to say that this was not a path mortals should take, but he wisely chose a more subtle phrasing.
Siye did not ask again.
The view ahead gradually widened. A massive broken rock face lay across the end of the road—the natural boundary of the next small tribe's territory.
The wind started to pick up.
Skala looked up toward the sky, the Divine Emblem swaying slightly on his chest, as if sensing some distant will.
"He should have started already," Skala whispered.
"Who?" Siye asked.
"My Lord."
He did not explain further, only quickened his pace.
In the distance, above the sky, a storm was slowly gathering.
--- Divider ---
Time returned to a few days ago, when Aub was looking at the data on his Divinity Panel.
His Dragon Eyes narrowed slightly.
Followers: 21 (Ice Troll 20, Proto-Dragon 1)
"A Proto-Dragon?" He was stunned. "Can this thing even count as a follower?"
Following the guidance of the Faith Line, he quickly locked onto the target—it was precisely that unfortunate Dragon he had used as a tool to establish his authority.
This fellow had been driven out of Storm Peaks by him, tormented nearly to death by Shadow Essence, and finally given a good beating. Logically, it should hate him to the core.
Yet... it actually converted?
"Did I beat it so hard that I gave it Stockholm Syndrome?" Aub muttered.
Thinking carefully, when he preached to Skala at the time, this Proto-Dragon was indeed present.
—Either it misunderstood something, or it was truly beaten into submission.
"Tch, fine then." Aub flicked his tail.
He hadn't held much expectation for Proto-Dragons originally.
After all, before the 'Dragonflight' expansion, these things were essentially unevolved beasts in the lore, unable to even speak, at best considered precursors to true Dragons.
However, thanks to the idiot Kaodike, 'Dragonflight' didn't last long domestically.
The expansion hadn't even fully launched before the server shutdown announcement came, and later it just wrapped up hastily with a 'The War Within' prelude.
Aub was constantly grinding Mythic Plus Dungeons then, so he didn't have a deep impression of the plot details.
So he truly overlooked the lore update provided by this expansion—that Proto-Dragons also possess higher intelligence.
But now it seems this is a good thing.
Proto-Dragons are native species of Azeroth, not Titan creations.
—This means they are also suitable targets for conversion.
"Since it delivered itself to my doorstep, I shouldn't waste it."
Aub grinned, revealing his stark white fangs.