Chapter 146: Aragon's Secret

Chapter 146: Aragon's Secret
Wayne lifted up his eyes to Rojan and said, "Words cannot explain how sorry I am to you, brother. I know you must feel offended-"

"Offended?" Rojan cut him off abruptly, "I am downright annoyed and vexed. Here I was doing my best to hold down the forte, was bending over backwards to hold the front line till the day of your return. Yet you decided on your own to abandon me and everything else. Did you not consider how I would feel? Do I not matter to you?"

He put a hand to his temple, he knew he had hurt Rojan's feelings. "I was doing it for you, and for everyone else. The pressure on you was so much and the madness was not getting better. I hear the whispers that carry on in these walls, my closest subjects want me dead. They think my madness is contagious. How long would it take before the whole plane gathered at my mansion, demanding my dethronement and my head? I had to do something before things got out of hand."

Rojan raked his fingers through his hair "Was death the only option? If you were in control enough to speak, you should have called for me. We could have talked things out and come up with a solution. If you did not have faith in me, you should have at least had faith in yourself."

"I have faith in you. It was my total belief in you that gave me the confidence to take a bow, because I knew you would take care of things in my absence," He explained.

Rojan pinned him with a serious look "Promise me you will never do that again, without talking to me first. That is the only way I can forgive you."

He placed a hand over his completely healed heart and said "I will never do such a thing without talking to you first, I give you this promise on my honor."

Rojan watched him for a moment to weigh the genuity of his words, when he was satisfied with what he saw, his shoulders sagged in relief and he nodded. Finally relaxing.

Wayne also felt a wave of relief wash over him as he had been able to explain himself and mend things with his friend.

Now he could move on to the next topic that filled him with curiosity.

"How did I survive when a sword had clearly pierced my heart? And What happened to my madness, how did I overcome it?" He asked.

"You were lucky to not have twisted the sword or else, your heart would have been shredded and you could have died on the spot. I was able to gently pull out the sword and administer some of the dragon plants to your wound. It healed you completely," Rojan said and added under his breath "It did nothing to you, why then did it change her?"

Wayne's brows quirked, change who? But he did not ask who Rojan was referring to.

"As for your beast, Aragon was the one that suppressed it," Rojan said and gestured to Aragon, who had been quiet the whole time.

"How were you able to accomplish it?" He directed his question to him.

The elder cleared his throat and finally spoke "Eight hundred years ago, the amortal realms were ravaged with wars. A lot of power tussle ensued and the desire for supremacy constituted conflicts across various planes. Many soldiers had lost themselves to a madness after experiencing continuous violence and bloodshed on the battlefield. Their beast became traumatized, was consumed with rage and aggression."

Wayne digested this information.

So, the insanity that had ravaged him was nothing new or strange. It had happened to others as well in the past when their beast had become traumatized.

Just like he had traumatized his own beast with the loss of its mate.

Damn it, he had traumatized his own self when he lost the woman he loved.

"How were the soldiers able to subdue the madness?" He inquired.

"Another soldier, with a more powerful wolf, would bite down on the neck of his comrade and force the beast to submit to his stronger wolf. An act of exerting dominance, that way the beast feels defeated and retreats back, thereby relinquishing control," Aragon explained.

"If you knew this all along, why did you not come to help him sooner?" Rojan asked.

Aragon threaded his fingers through his long white beard "Did you come to me to ask for help?"

"But…but if you knew the rumors were true, you should have come," Rojan insisted.

"I wanted to see what you both could accomplish on your own before I step in, there are several ways to cook a fish," Aragon simply said.

Wayne looked at him, he was speaking in riddles, yet he understood the meaning behind his words. Aragon meant to allow them to explore other solutions before presenting his own. It was his own way of according them respect and believing in their abilities.

Admiration for this millennia-old male's wisdom stirred within his heart, he reminded him so much of his own father.

"There is something I must say to Wayne, I had hoped to keep it hidden for much longer and perhaps say it before I die. But with the recent turn of events, I do not know what tomorrow holds. Therefore, I must say it to you now," Aragon muttered.

What had he been hiding?

Wayne wondered to himself, but waved him on "You may speak."

Aragon's gaze traveled to Rojan "Can you spare us some private moments?"

"Anything you have to say to me, you can say it with Rojan present," Wayne disagreed.

Aragon stared at him "Are you certain?"

"Yes," he answered, "What is this hidden thing you want to speak to me about?"

Aragon was silent for some minutes, before his lips parted and he said "It is the secret of your birth."