Ar'Kendrithyst

The dining room was fifty meters long and half that wide, while the ceiling hung a good thirty meters above, and dangled with white stone chandeliers. The main dining table, at ten meters long and two wide, sat to the side, atop a wide platform. Smaller tables were scattered around the rest of the large gathering space, with much of the structure of the room reminding Erick of the gathering he had attended back when they announced Tadashi’s antirhine treatment. Those smaller U-shaped tables were also situated upon platforms, with walking aisles open between each of them. The chairs here were not simple drums this time; they were ornate carvings of airy stone.

Everything was white stone and gold leaf, with nuance given over to yellow in the fabrics of the chair cushions and in the drapery upon the entrances and windows. Gold and white fires glowed everywhere, providing soft light and no shadows.

Everyone in the room, of which there were at least a hundred, wore either white, or white with gold trim, or full-on gold, though the latter was reserved for three people in particular: Matriarch Lingxing, Matriarch Tipanri, and Patriarch Hangzi. Each of them sat at the main table, each separated from the next by two meters, each facing the main gathering down below.

Erick sat to the side of the main table, at what some back on Earth would consider the ‘head’, but which was here just a place of honor. He wore his best white robes, and so did his people, but Teressa, Poi, and Jane, were each seated down below, at the first table near the main one.

He wondered, briefly, how a ‘small dinner of no consequence’, ended up like this formal affair, back when he arrived in this space, lightstepping down into the stone garden just beyond the archway. Most people arrived from that direction.

Back when he arrived, the room had been empty, and it seemed like it truly had been a small dinner, done in a huge room. But after small introductions, with Erick seated for three minutes and the first meal served, others had started to arrive.

And people kept arriving.

Erick barely knew any of them for most of them had to be from Holorulo. Every single person came in and bowed to the main table, and then took their spot at the various other tables, according to some arcane methodology, for sure. Mostly, people of high standing went to the front, near the main table, but then Scion Caina went all the way to the back of the room, and Erick lost his understanding of the seating arrangement.

Hangzi, seated only a few meters away and closest to Erick, spoke softly, and his voice carried to the whole of the table; there was an enchantment upon the white stone to ensure they could hear each other, but others could not hear them. “A large change from your first experience at one of these gatherings, I assume.” He gave a wan smile as he sipped his rice wine, and picked at his first dish; a small bowl of fried wontons, stuffed with cheese and meat. The young man’s voice was full of false cheer, masking itself as real. Hangzi was hurting, for sure, but he was putting on a good show.

Erick had his own small bowl of the same appetizers. With one wonton on a fork, as he answered, “You are correct. I’m not quite sure what I was expecting from the invitation, but a gathering was not it.”

Hangzi kept his sad smile, as he said, “There’s no better way to get over tragedy than with shared meals and kingdom rebuilding.”

“Ah.” Erick said, “I haven’t gotten the chance to give my condolences, but I do so now. I have heard your father was a great man, and that he and Yorza both gave their lives saving others.”

“They did.” Hangzi’s demeanor solidified into strength. “Thank you for your words, and for your actions these last ten days. From your attempt to end the war before it began, to what you did for us all afterward. It would be correct to say that much of Songli remains strong because of your actions.”

Tipanri, seated next to Hangzi, spoke, and her voice also carried across the table, “You have done much for us, Archmage Flatt. If there is something you need in return, just ask, and we will attempt to make it happen.” She added, “Aside from what you already asked of us, that is.”

Erick asked, “How is Tadashi and his treatment progressing?”

Hangzi answered, “He has suffered injuries that will take months to heal, but he has survived the worst of it, though he will not regain his lower legs until chelation is understood and implemented upon him.”

Erick almost shivered. Long term disability was practically unheard of on Veird. He said, “I’m sure they’ll figure it out soon enough.”

Lingxing was seated furthest away from Erick, but her words carried as easy as a normal conversation, “We recognize the necessity of this new alchemy, and so Eralis will be devoting a few more resources Star Song’s way to ensure that they develop and solidify chelation. Repair and restructuring take precedence, but chelation is a close second.” She added, “Alchemist Tadashi is doing well, last I heard.”

That was good to hear, but Erick still offered, “If you need more help with anything else I was doing, I could still help.”

Lingxing said, “We appreciate what you’ve done, Archmage Flatt, but Songli is a strong nation. We can support ourselves at this point.”

They always could support themselves, anyway. Erick had only helped because he needed to. He said, “Then I am glad I could help while I could.”

Hangzi said, “I could still use that mana sense blocker for Warzi.”

Tipanri and Lingxing glanced at Hangzi, who in turn gave them no mind.

Erick smiled, and said, “Thank you for that reminder! I had almost forgotten. I haven’t gotten a chance to do that yet, but it is a good experiment for me now, because of a few other facts I heard. It is my understanding that you have City Shields here. Could I get a look at one? I’m thinking I could have one of those sustain other magics. A mana sense shield for Warzi should be applicable.” He added, offhand, “Theoretically.”

Hangzi said, “It will be done. We can also provide you with rooms suitable to your needs, if you are interested in staying in Holorulo for a while.”

“I am interested in that.” Erick said, “Not sure how long I would be here, but I still have some aura control training to undertake from Sister Kaffi of Void Song, and that plan hasn’t changed. Though everything seems to have changed, hasn’t it.”

Lingxing said, “The only constant in life is change.”

Erick nodded, “Very true.”

Food came out on white stone carts, upon gold leaf plates. All in all, it was a nicer dinner than most, and the company was as proper as needed. While Erick and the heads of Songli spoke over small things at the main table, under spells that hid their own discussions from the rest of the room, people at other tables spoke of both small and large things; everything from commoners that stepped up in the time of need who were thus marked for advancement to clans, to reconstruction efforts and monetary flows, to missing people, to found bodies and funeral timings.

Erick had expected an interruption of a [Gate] and bombs to appear the entire time he ate nice food and sipped on watered-down rice wine. He had expected assassination attempts, just because this was a gathering of many, many high ranking people. But Songli seemed to expect that, too. No one was truly happy at the gathering; the mood of the party was somber and apprehensive, and for all that was spoken, the conversations were guarded.

But the food was good, and nothing happened, and many people talked of deals and trade and of better times, with people who would never be there ever again. Erick listened to it all, absorbing the names of people he never met. He also heard of districts in towns that were gone, and of Border Clans who were wiped out, and of how Songli had not been prepared for this war, at all.

That was a sobering idea.

In the matter of a few hours, Erick’s entire notion that Terror Peaks was ‘always going to lose’ had been shattered. Terror Peaks would have won.

Songli had only survived because of him. Millions of lives, saved, because of his actions.

Several people came up during the gathering to speak of these truths to Erick, himself, to tell him of lives he had saved, and of how Ophiel had flown through the sky, delivering light to break the shadows of Terror Peaks.

Already, people were talking of Terror Peaks like they had been invaded by Shadow; their ideals twisted to horrible ends. It was a new idea that a few people floated out there, but which many upheld.

Erick watched, almost detached from himself, as the narrative was built and reinforced by people speaking ‘This is what we say about them’ and ‘This is how we say it’. The number of people using those actual phrases were minimal; those particular phrases were merely trotted out to gauge where to go next. When the next direction was decided, other voices took up the narrative, adding their own thread to the weave, to see toward their own needs.

The night wound down with the first of many desserts, and then others leaving, passing by the head table as they did so to give their farewells, and final words to the heads of Songli, and Erick. Erick and the heads of Songli remained, watching it all happen. And then Lingxing and Tipanri left, as well, giving Erick small words of thanks and offers to further talk, whenever Erick desired.

Soon, Erick and his people, and Hangzi and his people, were the only ones left. This was by design, for Hangzi had asked Erick if he could stay till the end with him. Erick had agreed, and now, they were relatively alone. Even the musicians had vanished, though they had only come in after some noble had wondered where the music was, Erick barely paid attention to them until they were gone. Now, silence stretched in the massive room.

Hangzi leaned back in his chair, and broke that silence, “It was simpler when you were some unknown Scion from the middle of nowhere.”

“I would have preferred that.” Erick said, “And then other people went and had other ideas.”

“Yes. They did.” Hangzi said, “You didn’t know any of those people in the gathering, did you?”

Ah. Here’s where the twist came. Erick had recognized something happening all night, but now, Hangzi was speaking openly of whatever it was they had been doing.

Erick said, “I recognized Caina Small Scare, and Gerella White Wood, and a few others. But not many of them; no. I didn’t even understand the seating arrangement.”

Hangzi smiled, a small expression, then said, “The Court is rather good about being circumspect when they wish, for you don’t get to be part of the Court until you can prove yourself skilled at politics. Usually. It’s an appointment, you see, and many of the nominators are dead and won’t be replaced for months, so we had to go with what we had. We had talked of the small all night, but I had promised you we would talk of the large, as well, and this was it: Tonight was actually a Judgment. Of you.”

Erick felt a sadness creep upon him. With reluctance, he asked, “Did I pass?”

“Yes, but not for the reasons you might think. Tonight was a complicated affair.” Hangzi said, “We don’t have half the pieces to this recent war, for it came out of nowhere for many of us. Less than twenty days from start to finish, with the count starting at the posting of that Quest to retrieve Tadashi.

“But there are a few facts that lead to certain awful conclusions, and we needed to judge based on those conclusions, to determine where Songli would go from here.

“Fact one: the Court here used to be filled with Reformists and Traditionalists and Moderates. The Reformists, for the most part, already approved of Archmage Flatt, and when they found out you were Ezekiel, they approved even more. After what you have done for us to help end this war before it could get truly bad, every single Reformist truly believes in you.

“Fact two: The assassins of Terror Peaks overly targeted the Traditionalists, your main detractors. Even if it was a fluke, we used to have three hundred people in the Court, with 45% of them being Traditionalists. Now, we’re down to 130, with 20% Traditionalists, and with the stronger Traditionalist voices silenced forever.

“Fact three: Queen and Goldie are active in Nelboor. Raidu never lied about that. They’re not active here, though. Songli is just their plaything.

“Fact four: Though you have acted with perfect aplomb, from the outcomes of this war, Queen and Goldie have set you up to win.

“Fact five: When you spoke to the Rain Mage, Shendeng, you seemed distraught that Goldie was giving out notes on pillows, but you also spoke like you could find her if you wished.

“Thus, leading us to believe that you are either an unwitting pawn of the Shades, or you control them now, or any one of a hundred such ideas.

“Thus, tonight’s judgment.” Hangzi said, “You came out justified in your actions, of course, for that is all we can truly judge, but you still needed to be judged. But on a personal note: I am glad that Warzi might finally be freed of his mana sense problem, but it would have been nice if you did not come here while on your Worldly Path. I miss my father; he was much better at this than I am, though I suppose I will have to learn by doing.”

Hangzi’s words were a rapid-fire series of punches to Erick’s chest. Mentioning the Worldly Path and then his father was a sucker punch to the jaw.

Erick wanted to be kind in his response, for Hangzi was hurting, but to be kind in the face of this series of accusations was to be weak. Oh! How he wanted to be kind! How he wanted to speak to Hangzi like the man could be a friend! How he wished that none of this war had happened. That no one had died. That so many things had gone differently.

But the world had turned as it had turned.

Erick softly asked, “Should I have based my choice to come here upon facts I did not know? Upon the plots of others, of which I had no capability of understanding?”

For two incandescent seconds, Hangzi raged behind his perfect mask, and then he calmed. “Of course not. After thinking on it for a while, I understood that the Worldly Path was not responsible for what happened to Songli. Even with your toppling of Ar’Kendrithyst, you are not responsible for what the rest of the world does with our newfound freedom.” He paused. “... It took me a while to get there.” He added, “I’m still not truly there, for it is true that Queen and Goldie are out there, and that they are using us as the Shades have always done. They are manipulating us for war. And you let them live.”

What could Erick say to that?

He could say that because of Goldie and Queen’s actions, Songli is now positioned to prosper more than any other nation of Nelboor? That those two Shades each have Divine Quests that recognize their own drive to repent? That the Blessing upon them works exactly as intended? And that Hangzi knows this, since he has Raidu under his control, and he knows that the Blessing of Empathy is uniquely powerful, and capable of making someone truly repent who they were?

No. There was no argument here that would work against Hangzi’s trauma. It was time to turn back to kindness.

Erick said, “I’m sorry for your loss. I’ll be working on that magic for Warzi starting tomorrow. I’m going to go back to doing magic for a while, actually. If there’s any other spellwork I can do for you, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

Hangzi did not hesitate. “Can you resurrect the dead? [True Resurrection]?”

Erick paused. He could theoretically talk to Messalina and—

Hangzi noticed the pause, and the thoughts, and he recoiled from himself, as he said, “I shouldn’t have asked you that. I don’t know what came over me. I—”

“The Lifebinder could do it,” Erick interrupted. “Though it might be too late. I have no idea how that works.”

Hangzi looked away. Then, resolute, he turned back toward Erick. “I will not be pursuing that option at this time, or ever. Thank you for your consideration.” He stood.

Erick stood with him.

Hangzi said, “I will inform Warzi that he can expect assistance with his mana sense in a timely manner.” He added, “Raidu’s soul will be sundered in three days. If you wish to speak to him before then, please make an appointment through Devouring Nightmare. Otherwise, your questions are already on the docket. Personally, I suspect that the angels are not involved. I suspect there is a hidden artifact somewhere. But as of right now, and according to what you have told Elder Arilitilo, I also suspect that a world war is coming.

“If, in the future of your Worldly Path, you get the chance to be brutal in the oppression of an enemy state, I suggest you be brutal, so that millions are spared from an improperly handled [First Strike].” He added, “I have seen recordings of what you did to the ballooning spider hordes. I am sure you have stronger spells, or that you can make them. Two hundred thousand dead terrorists is better than two hundred thousand dead terrorists and four-point-three million civilians.”

Erick felt stunned, but his mouth still worked, somewhat; he spoke reflexively, “You are correct, of course.”

“I know I am.” Hangzi said, “But it is good to hear you say it. Good night, Archmage Flatt.”

Hangzi walked away.

In moments, Erick was alone in the room… Except for the servants and his own people.

Stepping down off of the high platform, he walked to his people.

Jane had a soft, yet determined look upon her face. She had overheard Hangzi’s words, too. Thankfully, she didn’t say anything. As for the other two, Poi and Teressa both seemed like simple observers to what had happened. No one said anything until they got back to the rooms.

No one said anything to him before bed, either.

Jane did give him a nice hug, though.

- - - -

Erick needed a kinder way to walk this Worldly Path.

That was the background thought racing through his mind when a formal invitation arrived at his doorstep, held reverently in the hand of a Holorulo courier. Erick sent the man off with a small ‘thank you’, but his heart wasn’t in it, for he had already mana sensed the letter’s contents and read the words therein.

Sikali’s funeral was in a few hours. Erick and his people had been invited. Shortly afterward, the wakes for everyone in Star Song would be held at the same time, on Star Song’s clan mountain in Eralis.

Hours later, dressed in white and under the bright sky, Erick stood in the background of a gathering of twenty four, all of them standing around a short flight of stairs leading into a bright hallway down below. Xue stood by the stairs, holding Sikali’s urn, filled with her powdered bones and intact skull. It was a work of metal art, with flowers and vines and Sikali’s name engraved upon it, in red and black and gold and white. With tears running down his face, Xue handed Sikali’s urn to the man who stood one step down the staircase; the keeper of bones. The keeper then bowed, and took the urn down the small flight of stairs. Sikali’s bones would find their final rest in the mausoleum of Star Song, along with many others.

Xue bowed, his eyes to the ground as his wife’s urn vanished down the bright hallway. And then he stepped away, and a woman came forward, holding a different urn to hand off to another keeper of bones.

Many people in the gathering of Enforcers held similar urns. Xue had just been the one to go first.

Erick let his own small tears flow. This was entirely too sad.

He needed a kinder way to walk this Path…

One that wasn’t murdering the opposition before they could get a chance to murder the people he cared about.

- - - -

All across Songli, funerals were underway. Some were joyous events, celebrating the life of those who had gone before. Some went unnoticed, except by the single remaining child of the murdered parents, and the mausoleum keeper who took the urns of those who were gone forever. Some funerals were affairs with too many people talking to each other, networking over the fall of business owners, attempting to bring their companies or storefronts or markets back from the brink of annihilation, or figuring out what to do now that they were the only ones left in their border city able to provide blacksmith services, or construction spells.

For many, there were no individual funerals. There were only mass interments by overworked priests into newly-made mausoleums, while a few remaining survivors watched, many of them with glazed-over eyes.

And then there were the outliers.

People who partied hard, with alcohol and drugs and wanton sex, looking for joy wherever they could find it. The bordellos around Eralis were filled with such people.

If Sikali had lived, she and Xue would be doing that, right now, and trying to get others to open up about their sadness.

But Sikali had not lived.

Xue looked upon the [Viewing Screen] of one of their favorite courtesan houses, and lamented. After a battle, when her blood was up, was always a fun time. But that would never happen again. Xue glanced once more at the screen, then willed it away to sit in silence with his rice wine. Sikali didn’t get her own wake; in a little while, a wake was to be held at Star Song for everyone who died.

He was an Elder of Enforcement, now, and so, he needed to be there.

Riri was the Elder of Lore.

Arilitilo was off in Holorulo, outed as a Soul Mage, which was unfortunate. Xue would have liked to have her around for guidance and to help hold the place together, but Holorulo called upon her, and they would not be denied. With Zalindi dead, and Mirizo ascended to Patriarch, Star Song would be more than fine going forward. After all, Mirizo was a vicious political animal with the appropriate amount of leanings toward nicety when needed—

A knock came at his door.

Xue allowed him to enter. It was the new Captain of Capture Squad Four, Enforcer Peroit, the man who Mirizo tagged to take over Sikali’s position. The two of them had already had it out days ago, after Xue became an Elder, with Peroit barely surviving the fight. Now, the man who had come for his wife’s position as captain was falsely contrite, and playing the part of a dutiful clansman.

Peroit said something about the wake starting soon. Xue acknowledged him, and told him to go clean something. Peroit walked away, his mask slipping, betraying his deep anger as he shut the door.

Fuck him!

Xue was about to call him back and tell him to clean the floor with his tongue! But then the anger flowed out of him.

He took Sikali’s position as captain…

… A few more days. A few more days of treating him like shit, then Xue would allow the man to do his job properly. Peroit was a good captain, but…

This was hard.

Xue got out of his chair. He finished off his rice wine and delighted in the burn as it went down his throat. It was time to be political.

Getting to the party was easy enough; down three hallways and up a flight of stairs.

Seeing the people there was harder. The wine helped to dull his senses, but he couldn’t help but feel the eyes upon him. He couldn’t help but understand the expressions of those who turned his way, and saw him walk out upon the courtyard. There was pity. Sadness. Rage from some newly risen clansmen, for some reason, though not directed at him, specifically; he was just the proper target at the moment. Xue would need to look into that.

… Ah.

It was time to get over it all, and to become the center of power that was needed in this trying time.

And then he spied Ezeki— Erick. He saw Archmage Erick Flatt, and saw the man’s sorrow.

Xue wasn’t the only one that needed to get a fucking grip. Erick looked like he was about to break, and that was disrespectful to all that he had done, and all the lives of those he had saved. Calling him the savior of Songli would not be going too far, and though he had likely heard those words of praise from others…

Erick had once helped Xue to come to terms with his paranoia, to manage who he was, and who he was going to be.

Xue would do the same.

- - - -

Erick watched as people gave speeches about the dead.

When people came to him, to thank him for saving their life or the lives of people they knew, he welcomed them with as much warmth as he could. Others saw him, and could barely hold their rage in check. Erick had not managed to save everyone. Clearly, some people here thought this war had been Erick’s fault.

And then Xue appeared out from a hallway, and much of the ire directed Erick’s way, went to Xue.

Xue locked eyes with Erick… And then he glanced to Erick’s left, and briefly looked to Jane. It was Erick’s understanding that they had worked together recently, on various things… Erick wasn’t entirely sure about all of that. Jane hadn’t shared much. But then Xue turned back to Erick, and walked directly toward him.

Ah.

Here it comes.

The vilification.

Erick felt himself sweat, as he tried to keep a cool demeanor. He felt the eyes of others upon him, watching as Xue walked his way. No one else had dared to speak out loud of Erick’s failures, and of his presence which caused all this, and of how he could have ended this war before it truly began if only he had pressed that button—

Xue stood before Erick, saying, “I want to talk.”

Erick felt himself nodding. “Sure.”

Xue went back down the hallway he had arrived from. Erick followed. Poi followed behind Erick, but Teressa and Jane stayed at the wake, for Jane was talking to Mirizo about plans and people and Erick didn’t want to interrupt that.

Along the way, the trio of them came across a man walking in the hallways, wearing the white and black of a clan Enforcer and casting [Cleanse] in the hallways. The man saw Xue, and there was hate in that look, but it was well hidden.

In an easy voice, Xue told the man, “Ignore this task, Captain Peroit. The initiates can do this, later. Sorry for foisting my anger out on you; I was being petty and you had nothing to do with Sikali’s death.” He stared the man in the eyes, and said, “Believe me; I checked.”

Peroit’s hidden anger quailed to hidden fear; the man stood straight and then bowed.

Xue said, “Dismissed.”

Peroit walked away, to the wake.

Xue and Erick soon reached a set of rooms on the northside of Star Song’s mountain; a minor gathering location, or perhaps a bar of some sort. The rooms were empty, though. The place looked high class, especially the large windows and the plush furniture, and the bookshelf-like wall with a half-dozen alcohol bottles that were gently illuminated from below by wardlights. There was space for a hundred bottles, but there were only six, here; this place had probably been trashed in the fighting.

With barely any hesitation, Xue grabbed one of the bottles off of the second-to-top shelf. It was mostly full. Another grab netted a pair of glass tumblers from the lower shelves. Xue poured the two of them drinks, then handed him one.

Xue said, “To better times ahead.” And then he downed the drink.

Erick downed his own, afterward. Xue refilled the cups, and gestured to the seats nearby. He took one; Erick took the other.

Xue started off with, “Looks like you’re the paranoid one, now. I saw how you eyed that drink, thinking it might be poisoned.” It was meant to be a dark joke, some gallows humor.

Erick appreciated it for what it tried to be, and not for how accurate it was. The two of them had talked in passing in the last few days, but nothing substantial; nothing beyond the ‘this is happening over here, who is doing something about that’.

Now, here, Erick said what he had failed to say for the last week. “I’m sorry about Sikali. I didn’t hear about it till afterward. That time was… It was quick and terrible and many things happened outside of my sight.”

Xue froze, then wiped away a quick tear, then downed his drink and then refilled it again, saying, “It happened outside of my sight as well. I didn’t hear about it till three hours after the fact. When I heard, I was arms deep in the guts of some initiate, trying to heal out the decay spells that someone had cast into him. That kid survived. Many didn’t.” He said, “Thank you for coming to the funeral, and the wake.”

Erick nodded, and downed his drink, feeling the burn as it went down.

Xue refilled his glass, saying, “So it looks like you’re having some trouble dealing with the aftermath of the war.”

Erick reflectively recoiled. “Aren’t you?”

“Yeah. I am. But your world was much simpler than this one, and now you have power you never expected to have. I bet a dozen people have already yelled at you for not doing something larger, and sooner.”

“… That is not incorrect.”

“You once gave me some good advice, to not jump at shadows and thus make them real by jumping. To separate out those who were truly out to get me, from those who were just being who they were.” Xue said, “I’m going to give you some advice now, from one man who grew up powerless but who gained power through a knack for magic that many others never possessed. The scale is different, obviously, but the fact remains: People have to look out for themselves. You can’t save everyone.”

Erick felt like he had been seen through, and he probably had.

But the immediate feeling after that overwhelmed the first.

Erick asked, “But what if you could.”

Xue paused, then laughed once. He shook his head, and said, “I suppose I should say ‘you shouldn’t save everyone’. The only truth in this life is violence and death. If people cannot handle the first, they will arrive at the second well before they are ready.”

Erick frowned. “Then why does Songli have the Void Song? And all that suppression?”

“The lands outside of the main three cities have no Void Song.” Xue said, “I feel like you have gotten the wrong impression of Songli, Erick. You see us as people to be saved. You see this Worldly Path you’re on as some—” Xue paused, as he saw Erick’s expression.

Erick softly asked, “You knew?”

Xue said, “The Worldly Path does not make wars happen. This war was always going to happen. As soon as that alchemist stumbled upon the cure for the Elixir, which you had already known as chelation, this was the destined outcome.” Xue added, “Maybe, the only reason your Path brought you here, was to prevent a full-scale annihilation, or to help us figure out chelation before it was gone forever. We’re still uncovering most of the reasons and preparations for the war… But Terror Peaks had prepared well. We could have lost half of our people, with the rest broken and divided amongst the invading clans who plotted right alongside Terror Peaks. It would have been like leviathans feasting on the corpse of a whale turtle; everyone taking their pieces and running.

“But now, Songli will expand.

“The pirates of the Highland Ocean are gone. The warlord clans to the north have been brought to heel. Terror Peaks, that ancient enemy, is gone.” Xue said, “Those northern warlords are actually talking of incorporating a new city, at the headwaters of the Wanzhi River. It’s been in the works for a long while, but now that Songli has proven itself as strong and our enemies are laid low or eradicated, we might have a fourth main city added to the Highlands.” Xue said, “If your involvement here has done anything, it has done that.”

That was nice to hear, but a part of Erick could not let go of one question. He stared at the clear liquid in his glass tumbler and sloshed it back and forth. Then he downed it all, and stared at Xue. Xue waited.

Erick asked, “If you could have pressed a button and eradicated Terror Peaks 15 days ago, would you have pressed that button?”

Xue’s face went a little slack. He breathed out, and thought. He downed his drink, then refilled it, then refilled Erick’s as he said, “You once told me to never attribute to malice what is explainable by ignorance, but the continuation of that, is that sometimes the malice is malice. The danger is real. On small scales, this is fine. This is life. But you also proved to me that first strikes are sometimes in error. I was so paranoid about you… and then you went and said all what you said.

“I think it is right that you allowed Terror Peaks to prove who they were… to you.

“We all knew what was going to happen, and we told you, and if it were up to some of the people in charge around here then they would have ‘pressed that button’, as you say.

“But still. Peace must be given a chance. Prosperity cannot happen without people judging in compassion and fairness. War leads to war, as all of Nelboor can attest; it is only through breaking this cycle that prosperity can flow.” Xue asked the air, “Did you make a mistake?” He answered, “No. There were no mistakes. You are not responsible for the actions of others.

“But above all else: Deciding the fates of other nations— Especially nations that are not your own! Deciding the fates of nations with a wave of your hand is nothing more than tyranny. If you go down that path, someone will find something worse to use against you than that soul spear.” Xue said, “If you had eradicated Terror Peaks on your own, Songli would have needed to oust you, for in such an action, we would have suddenly found that Terror Peaks had become a martyr, and all of their allied forces would rally under a new banner, for sure.”

Erick sipped his drink and felt fractionally better for the decisions he had made. “Thank you, Xue.”

Xue smiled, and said, “At least I don’t have to give you the brutality speech! I have to give that one to new clansmen all the time.”

“Ah?” Erick asked, “What’s that one?”

“A kilogram of brutality when it is necessary will buy you a megagram of easy days later.” Xue explained, offhandedly, “It’s something you have to tell the young ones who’ve gained a modicum of power and wealth and yet those young ones are still getting bullied by childhood evils that have grown up right alongside them. I always tell them, to let the bullies prove themselves as wrong, and then you put them down. Hard. And then no one will stand up against you again.”

“… Ah. Yeah.” Erick said, “Took my daughter and a lot of various forces a long time to get me to understand that. But now I worry about going too far.”

“You’re walking a difficult line; swords on one side and the Abyss on the other.” Xue said, “I don’t envy you, but I do thank you for coming here. You’re a lot easier to talk to when I’ve had some drinks in me, too.”

Erick startled, then laughed. He asked, “Did you think I was a dragon, or what, back when you saw me look at that sculpture out front?”

Xue lightly shook his head as he dropped his volume, “That was the worst-case scenario. No one really knew what that sculpture meant, but we all knew it had something to do with dragons.” He said, “I didn’t find out it meant the Worldly Path until after I became an Elder, and even then… Zalindi was supposed to tell you something about that, but he’s gone. Not coming back, either.”

“I’m pretty sure I know what it means, anyway.”

“Oh? What?”

“To seek out the dragons.”

“To seek them out!” With a pointed look, Xue said, “There is a saying: When the dragon is buying drinks at the bar, calmly make your way to the exit, and pity the bartender.”

Erick laughed. “They can’t be worse than Shades.”

“Power wise? They are on the same level. The problem is that while Shades can work together, which makes them much worse, dragons can’t ever find another of their kind or they go into homicidal rages, so the switch to violence upon being found out is… Always a large switch.”

“I’ve heard that.”

“Have you ever seen a dragon fight, though?”

“No.”

That black dragon and the Flare Couatl didn’t really count, did it?

Xue noticed, but did not press, as he said, “I heard Eidolon had a dragon fight back when something happened in the Toxic Jungle and that event spilled into the city. Luckily, the dragons moved outside of the city rather fast. A good hundred square kilometers of forest, razed to ash and lava. I heard that the dragons were totally normal traders, too, until they met, and one thing led to another, and then— Boom! A dragon fight.”

Erick frowned, and nodded.

“We do have…” Xue looked to be internally debating something. He decided to go for it. He said, “We have some dragon that kills all the rest that try to start a fight. Once a year, maybe twice, there’s always some dragon turning to their true form somewhere in Songli, right alongside another doing the same. Half the time the fight just ends— no one is sure why. The other half the time, when they actually fight, a third dragon shows. A long red dragon. Decisively ends the other two before they can do much, then they go back into hiding, all within ten or less seconds.” He said, “The Void Song works on them, too, so we can keep much of the damage contained to small areas, thank Rozeta.”

Erick focused. “And the Headmaster hasn’t come out here and made something of that? Try to kill the red dragon?”

“Nope! No idea why, either. Don’t think anyone ever asked him, for fear of what might happen.” Xue said, “But he has to know, right?”

Erick decided, “Of course he does.”

Erick also decided that he would never raise that topic with the Headmaster, or with the elites he was sending to see about that soul spear.

The conversation moved on to easier topics, like rebuilding and Blood Magic, and fashion. And oh wow, did Xue have opinions and ideas about fashion. Erick smiled at the mundanity of the conversation. He needed this, and he felt that Xue did, too, especially when, drunkenly, Xue told him as much.