Hmmph... this junior is a good seed [Cultivation Management Quest]

Chapter 18: Bad Moon Rising part 1

It was probably too much to hope I would never see myself in a command position again. Sure my tour at the Night Devil Fortress won a few accolades, but it's never been part of how I see myself or my contribution to the Clan. The weight of having so many Legionnaires lives resting on my shoulders doesn't sit well with me.

The presence of all the refugees makes things even worse.

I stepped out of the line of march for a moment to survey the column, my column, as it trudged along the poorly maintained road.

Two hundred Clan Cultivators in full battle regalia, flags flying and bronze armour resplendent in the noonday sun. Fell handed warriors, practiced with sword and spell, and ready to conjure potent battle formations at a single word from myself or Selene, the junior Centurion in charge of the second cohort. To my eye they even made the blasted road dust they were covered in look heroic.

I shivered and glanced at the distant horizon.

They would all be ash and entrails in but a few breaths if a single man wielding an obsidian spear burst through those far away clouds.

The repeated attacks of the dread lord of the Blood Cannibals had wreaked havoc in the Xin Kingdom. Years of preparation, costly fortifications and elaborate defensive arrays, all were revealed to be children's toys before the unveiled wrath of such a near divine being.

'Staring at the sky doesn't protect you from lightning bolts, focus on the things you can control'

I focused back on my immediate surroundings, my spiritual sense and enhanced vision scanning through the crowd of three thousand refugees that we were escorting to theoretical safety at Three Rivers, a fortress town that should still be too far behind the front lines to draw the ArchCannibal's ire.

All I saw was problems and heaps of human misery. The refugees were a motley lot, coming from countless border towns and isolated villages, a handful of which were so remote that the first they heard of a war was three meter tall wolf-men bashing down their doors one night and demanding a tithe in blood and flesh. They were disorganised, poorly clad for travel and many were young, frail or elderly. I had my subordinates procure every wagon and beast of burden we could find, but around half of them still had to walk and their mortal pace was painfully slow. Just watching them made me feel like the jaws of death were coming for my throat. We had ended up taking in more and more tiny groups of survivors on our journey, we now had three times as many people to protect as the central command had originally predicted. Should I have turned some away? Would I really be able to keep them safe?

At least they were largely free of the illness and injuries that would usually bedevil such a group. Long Bi had come along as my aide on this trip and while the girl would never be much of a fighter she had picked up enough of my medical knowledge to cure most mortal ills with ease. I heard that she was being venerated as a saint by many in the caravan these days.

Despite that I could feel the sense of shock, hopelessness and the cloying desperate fear rolling off them in waves, polluting the sparse desert Qi all around the struggling mass of humanity. Maybe that was the source of my ill mood. With a thought, I called on Intent, my latest Dao Pillar, to steady my thoughts and moved my gaze onto the smaller and more annoying part of the refugee column.

The Order of the 13th Hexagram was the tragically pretentious name for a small clan of Xinite Wood Elementalists that had joined our caravan a few weeks back. They claimed to have their Sorcerer Kings permission to migrate further towards the capital, but I suspected that was a blatant lie to cover their ardent desire to get as far away from the fighting as possible.

Their three grand wagons were more akin to cargo ships than road vehicles, designed to glide through the rough stony soil and sand of this region and pulled by house sized constructs of living wood and vines lovingly pruned into fantastical shapes. I permitted myself a small smile recalling how they had been utterly horrified when I suggested they make space for some of their less fortunate countrymen on the capacious craft. Despicable people, though I admit I might have picked up a bias against Wood Witches in the last few decades.

Untangling the fallout of what came to be known as the Xiangchang incident had taken far more of my focus the last few years than I had wanted. I had stumbled across a conspiracy of Wood Cultivators experimenting with using Blood Path to amplify their elementalism, which was bad enough, then I discovered they were in league with the Clans archenemy and I ended up spending time as a fugitive for their murders while my allies at home put together proof of my innocence. Overall it was a terrible waste of valuable research and cultivation time. Whats worse is that most of the Xin Wood Clans were strongly interrelated. I hadn't met one of them since who wasn't nursing a grudge over some 'certainly innocent' niece or uncle who was implicated in the whole mess.

'Fuckin Sorcerers, once the wars over I'm taking a job somewhere else fast.'

Oh and here comes one right now.

'High Matriarch Zhou Leling' was riding a two metre tall steed of ebony wood and rose bushes directly towards me with a face full of grim resolve. An older woman in appearance, though most likely my junior in years, she would have been striking once but now her steel grey hair and drawn expression made her look like she didn't have much time left. She wore emerald robes plastered in complex looking sigils and draped in glowing jewelry. I confess I couldn't keep the disdain from my face as she dismounted and approached. Only a fraction of the occult gear actually did anything, but no doubt it was fantastic for impressing the peasants and novice disciples.

She spoke, her tone full of determination with an undercurrent of fear, the kind of tone you might use to talk down an angry beast moments before it devours you and your children. "Honoured Centurion Barda, I have consulted with the fellow members of my Order and we must request that the caravan increase its speed. The enemy draws closer with each hour we maintain this laggardly pace. Our Constructs could easily make three times our current time, and I know your folk chaff at the constant delays as well." Her tone changes, from steely to pleading. "I have friends in the Capital, I can promise that you will be greatly rewarded upon our safe arrival."

"You are suggesting that I abandon thousands of your countrymen?"

It takes another surge of Intent to keep my anger under control, a little of the subtle Dao energy must have slipped into my voice however as the woman reeled from each of my words like she had suffered a slap to the face. She took three steps back, fell to a knee and stammered.

"The children, we can take the children. There is space enough on our wagons. Surely it is better that a handful are saved than that we all die together in this ridiculous folly!!"

The fact the woman gave breath to my own dark thoughts of a few minutes ago made me even angrier. The sheer nerve of this woman. I don't restrain my Intent this time, the sheer force of my contempt locks her in place and each word of my rebuttal smacks into her soul like an invisible brick.

"Your heartless disregard for your fellow citizens aside, you would have me leave aid and comfort behind for the Blood Path cretins? May I remind you that each of those people you are so quick to abandon is a small chest of medicinal pills to them."

The witch had a well developed soul, early foundation establishment or whatever the local equivalent is, she kept her feet despite the blood flowing thickly from her nose and ears. She trembled, but somehow kept her voice firm and full of hate.

"As if the infamous Golden Viper couldn't fix that problem in an instant. A few drops of something special in the water before you turn them loose, those flesh eating savages wouldn't know what killed them. You would be doing the war effort a favour."

Little Wang Chun, the name floats across my vision for a moment from over a century ago.(*1) I clench my fist before it can tremble and step towards the woman, my other hand going for the pouch I always keep at my side. I retrieved two pills, one blue and one black. I kept my voice low, my Dao no longer punishing, just letting her know the certainty of my words.

"The Golden Aegis applies to all. Mortals and Cultivators alike. No one will be left behind. You will obey my orders to the letter, hold your position at the centre of the caravan and guard the refugee's if anything gets past us." I grab her hair and pull her head back before jamming the two pills down her throat. Her wounds start healing rapidly but her eyes are full of nothing but fear. "You will guard them like your life depends on it, after all now it does."

I turn away and release my hold on her soul. She flounders to the ground in a hissing mess of outrage and terror as I stomp back to my place in the line.

I can't help but smile when I hear one of my Legionnaires dismiss the sorceress behind me "Get back in line Civilian, and don't bother the Centurion again if you know what's good for you!" Maybe command does have a few perks?

Long Bi is waiting for me when I return to my position at the head of the column. She stands out, dispensing with the heavy armour of the legionnaires in favour of light blue robes. I really would rather see her wear something stouter, but they do go nicely with that coppery prosthetic hand she has been toying with lately.

"Wasn't that a tad overdramatic milady? I trust you managed to slip her the Lung Rotting Pill?"

I nodded "Shoved it down her throat actually. I had to accelerate things. She came far too close to guessing our plans for the refugees."

Indeed Bi and I have been dosing the mortals drinking water with copious amounts of Silversteel Tea for days now. Any Cannibal who poached on my flock would be lucky to see the next sunrise. While I had no intention of deliberately feeding anyone to those beasts, it seemed a common sense measure to take.

Could Leling's 'request' be a deliberate attempt to gather information about that scheme? It was certainly possible, though I favoured the odds that she was just a selfish and fearful woman trying to secure the safety of her family.

"In any case, we have defanged this serpent for now. Even if our suspicions are correct and she is a traitor, she will have to give up her life if she wants to turn on us. I doubt many in a Cannibal Sect have the wits to create her an antidote."

She nods in response before pulling out a sheaf of papers and we start recording the logs for the day. Just because there's a war on doesn't mean the Elders don't want their pound of ink covered flesh.

-----

Our journey continued into the night. The mortals ate on the march, trading off spots on the wagons frequently. The Cultivators had no trouble keeping the pace, I admit I felt a flash of pride watching my Clan members devouring through the endless miles without deviation or complaint.

A red moon was just broaching the horizon as I felt the first few presences stalk into the range of my spiritual senses. I felt a tension that had been building in my shoulders for days suddenly ease.

I turned to Bi "They're finally here" just as the first volley of wild wolf howls and dog barks rolls over the caravan.

-----

Second Omake of the Turn! Feel confident I can get the third out before the turn rolls over. If I am going to try out the 'Aid the Clan' option I want plenty of words behind the dice rolls!

(*1) This was a reference to the very first Omake, where Minervina callously uses a similar tactic against a lone Cannibal that was tormenting a Xin Village. She later comes to regret it.

Edit: @Alectai @Kaboomatic @ReaderOfFate I totally forgot to ask for a threadmark

The Three Frogs training camp was a lot more busy than Maria had expected. When she'd first arrived, she'd imagined some rickety little barracks, an overground field for exercises, and if she was very lucky a separate dormitory for the trainers. What she'd gotten was a surprisingly functional, relatively well-supplied collection of facilities. Three or four training fields, the grass well-manicured, the flagstones properly maintained. A sizable barracks, separate from the city's own guard. A cantina. An armoury, even, stocked with serviceable (if not necessarily impressive) equipment. It had been a nice surprise, if she was honest. Also the only nice surprise she'd gotten since getting here.

To be fair, the other big surprise hadn't actually been unpleasant in itself. Letha – the only other Optimatoi not currently confined to the Healers for long-term observation and recovery – had pulled her aside as they arrived to the camp.

"The flags," she'd muttered, visibly excited. "The- the legion marks, I-"

"Don't know it," Maria had muttered.

"Yes, I know, they're new. I- I think…" Letha turned and looked up at the flags above the camp again. And squeaked. "They are! Oh my Gods, Maria- Maria, we have to- my hair, I have to fix my hair, we look a state-"

"Letha," said Oyster, his voice curling with slight amusement, "as much as I'm sure your hair care routine is in itself a wonderful example of excellence expressing itself even in the most mundane of actions, would you mind perhaps finishing your sentence? The one where, you know, you tell us what the Legion marks mean?"

"They're the 302nd​!"

Maria's brow furrowed. "…So?"

"That's Rina Callista's legion!"

That finally got through, although they'd had to explain why it mattered to Oyster. He'd been confused until they'd told him she reached the 13th​ Heavenstage. Then he'd gotten it.

It had been thoroughly exciting, at first. To even be near such a luminary was an experience. Of course, then they found out said luminary's new legion were hogging most of the training camp's equipment. That had doused their enthusiasm quite a bit. To make matters worse, the three of them had almost immediately been handed their new recruits and told to get to work, despite the fact they were down four instructors. Any attempt to remedy this ridiculous imbalance had been met with, at best, a sympathetic smile and an incompetent effort to free up some resources. More often, they'd been told to shove off.

So here they were, four days later, huddled in the cantina well after midnight, finally eating lunch. Papers were covering the table like a small bureaucratic snowstorm, and the food (fried rice and cold barbecue) was backed into a corner, visibly fighting for what little territory it had managed to hold onto.

"Who has the – the -whatsits?" asked Letha. Oyster shot her an unimpressed glance. She reddened. "The – you know, the thing with the list of requirements to pass them on to active duty?"

"Here," muttered Maria, pulling it from one of the lower strata of forms. "Fucking pointless, though."

"Well, I don't know about that," began Letha, but Maria steamrolled over her.

"Going to fight Cannibals. Need to know the Hoplite Formation, spear-fighting forms, and how to do what they're told. Three things. Don't need…" she gave the form a contemptuous glance, "a full page to write that."

"Are you saying that because the wastage annoys you or because you're jealous of their handwriting?" asked Oyster, face utterly blank and tone of voice so bland he had to be teasing her.

"I'm saying it because it's true!"

"Of course."

"What's left?" asked Letha, not quite crushing the laughter in her voice. Oyster glanced down at his pile.

"Individual initial reports on the recruits-"

"All shit," said Maria.

"Training regimen sheets – nothing too strenuous, just signatures to say we did them – suggested diet plans for the kitchens to maximise qi growth, some general bureaucratic 'we're here too!' forms, and… ah."

His voice trailed off. Letha and Maria shared a confused glance.

"Oyster?"

He looked up.

"A, ah… an after-action report on the… unorthodox problems we ran into on the way here," he said quietly. "For you."

Maria took the sheet from him, and all three sat in the uncomfortable midnight silence. They hadn't discussed what had happened. Not really. On the way, they'd been too busy trying to just get the others to Three Frogs before one of them keeled over, and then there'd been the initial debrief, declaring the mask, healers descending on them like-well-meaning white-clad locusts – one distraction after another.

Honestly, that had suited them. It wasn't a pleasant experience. Ignoring it had been an unspoken agreement.

She scrubbed at her forehead and glared down at the form.

"Why just me?"

The other two shared a glance, and she cursed herself. Her voice had taken on that uncomfortable broken-glass sound again. It always did that when she was tired or angry.

"Calm down," she said. "'M not going to go Red on you. Just annoyed, is all. Why?"

"I would think," said Letha, after a moment, "that since you weren't… captured… for as long as we were, they may have further questions for you."

Her voice was very carefully even. Maria winced.

"Right." She tried not to remember her own capture, but it flickered through her memory regardless. The Pit. The Other Maria.

Me.

Hush.

Letha and Oyster were studiously not looking at her, or each other. They all must have gone back there for a moment. Maria growled.

"That's it?"

"Yes," said Oyster, quietly.

She grunted, took some of the barbecue onto her plate, and rose.

"Then I'll start on this now, get it done, come back after. You two get started on… that." She gestured at the hungry paperwork army devouring the table and fled, enjoying the irritated groans that followed her.

She found herself a quiet spot a few tables over, read through the form, and tried not to get angry. Some of the questions in this thing… Gods. She'd told them what happened. Did they really need it again in so much… detail? It was just-

That's not the problem.

The Red Place had become a lot more talkative, since Kuei. She still wasn't sure how she felt about that. On the one hand, things were less – combative, now. On the other…

Stalling.

Fucking- yes. Fine.

You don't want to tell them about me.

I said fine!

It was right. Somehow that made it worse. She really didn't want to tell them about it. Honestly, it wasn't something she could really explain; her unit knew she could lose her temper, but none of them had any idea there was a voice in her head and a sprawling landscape in her mind that took over if she wasn't careful. Ajax had known, but he mustn't have said anything. She wouldn't have had the career she did if he had.

But that's not the real reason either, is it?

Can't you let me-

Not if you're going to lie to yourself.

She snarled silently.

…I don't trust this place.

It was true. She didn't. Three Frogs seemed like a fine city, all told; boring, admittedly, but no more boring than you'd expect. So what if the local garrison had seemed sloppy? Even amongst the Optimatoi, backwater outposts did not often attract the highest calibre of staff. And yet, despite that, something about the place-

No. Something about the people felt… wrong. That little bit too obsequious, too sly, too… undisciplined. The mortals seemed distant, halfway between cynical and frightened. The cultivators whispered sometimes, watched her with guarded eyes.

It was an old instinct that brought these feelings to her. One that had guided her safely across the great battlefield and the mountains, back to her clan. Not very Devil-like, but…

Effective.

Exactly.

Can't trust the locals. Can't mention me in the report, then. After all, who might read it?

So lie? To my clan?

No need to lie. Just leave out a few details. You fought well, but lost your temper. That's all.

Not a bad thought. And as for the rest…

Well. Investigating couldn't be that hard, could it?




"Who is it Phaidron?"



"Err, Sir it´s the courier with your new reports from the gate." Strange.



As I make my way out of the chamber, Phaidron and Appendix follow me back into my Office.



"Why so soon. Did anyone get some devil bees under them to be more productive all of a sudden or did the rare trader decide to cheat the guards?"



"No, Sir, The front of the vellum allows me decipher them as mission reports from Clan Members coming here to staff the garrison."



"Oh." Well, then let´s have a look. Wow, the Vellum has ears, almost as if no one wants to actually write these reports, heh. No surprise there. They thankfully stop complaining once someone stumbles upon a mortal smuggling ring every once in a while.



"Say, Phaidron, while I read. Is there anything noteworthy about the new garrison members to say?" Ah thankfully Alex is already done with preparing the tea. Makes reading this dry stuff so much more enjoyable.



"Thanks, Alex." And there it is, glorious tea, as cold and black as the heart of the heavens.



"No problem." Shortly thereafter Alex and Phaidron Take their won seats at desks to my sides and begin shuffling with their own work, while we talk.



"Well Sir, all of them were noted by the guard at the time to look very disheveled. They seem to have seen combat and barely survived. Our new members, particularly Lady Maria made a point to state how much she hated fighting that, as she put it "That masked bastard", if that helps."



"Not really, but how are they doing?"



"Oh, the healer recounted the broken bones, bites, burns from acidic spittle and the odd bruises each of them sustained. They recounted each in alphabetical order even!" What?



"Were they not shocked at the sudden influx of patients or at least surprised at something?"

"Oh no, Captain. They joked with each other about finally curing more than alcohol corpses and earning their pay."



*Snort* "Oh I can believe that. Barely anything happens here. We haven´t seen a scorpion hole in months, months. Normally we would have more trouble making sure our troops don´t stumble into their holes than finding one."



With a gesture Phaidron continues filling me in and I begin to read through…the report.



"Alex, how many hours does an average Optimatoi need to have practiced writing to be ready for her level of service?"



"Oh, The rules necessitate at least 20 years of training in writing all kind of different reports to make sure our people are ready for all situations." She explains with a raised finger.



"And in times of crises like these-" I begin. "-it can be shortened for meritous service, yes dear."



"That would explain her chicken scratch at least." With a gesture I allow Phaidron to continue.



"Sir, Lady Maria is a young cultivator oft he 8th Heavenstage, carrying a strange mask with her, declared at the gate mind you, but still. Also she is in the companionship of a cultivator of the mushroom people called Oyster and this trio is rounded out by the honorable Letha Economos. If I may, Lady Economos will no doubt enhance our efforts in this lazy town."



"Ah, truly an eclectic bunch. Did Lady Maria state why she carries the mask? Did it get flagged by any arrays."



"I can inform you with pleasure Sir that, in spite oft he bloody clothes of these new guards, the mask was clean, almost newly made, and did not flag any arrays at the gate!"



"Good, Good." With that said I return to the report laying on my desk. Why does the mask seem so important? Could she be a blood cannibal trying to get in contact with another Cannibal in town?



"Alex, wasn´t there some other way Blood cannibals cultivated? Not in the Sect I mean." After a moment of thinking, Alex seems to have gotten an idea.



"Oh, yes. There was this big Blood Mask many li north where an Old Monster left instruction for anyone to find and to learn about cannibalism."



"It means, hypothetically, that an independent Cannibal could have ridden down here to get a meal before the war truly starts?"



"Well, I suppose that could be the case, but masks are produced by our own legions too you know?!"



"True." Man, who is that´s messing with this town?



Let´s see here. Greetings, yada, yada. Trekked from the Dawn Fortress to teach the new blood…



"By the way, do you mind if I prepare some pouches to make cleaning these arrays of victims in the field easier, Fleety?"



"Sure, go ahead." There is something I am missing I just know it.



"Fleety, you can´t obsess-!"



"Aha" I found it! The combat part! There is something missing.



"-What? /Sir?"



"Well, uhm. Her combat report is strange." Ouch that look.



"You see by the report she wrote in, she would have had to win a fight against a blood cannibal with a full body of qi without any major qi techniques herself and a legionare down. That´s while strange not abnormal for legionares. The really strange part is her dozing off momentarily due to qi exhaustion inbetween."



"Oh you mean they could have been subverted by the mask in some way and they didn´t notice?" I wish it was that easy Alexandria, I really do.



"That´s only one of many possibilities, but in any case we will only get the answers we seek about that report by interrogating the one who wrote it." Seeming to take possible treasonous elements in our midst in stride Phaidron salutes.



"Captain Fleetfit, Sir. Does that mean you would like her to report in for further questioning?"



"Yes, please let Lady Maria know that she is to report in with me at once."



"As you command, Captain!" With that said, Phaidron leaves to locate our newest walking question in this strange town.



"Now to you Fleety. Do you think I forgot?" Ehh, what is she talking about?

"I am talking about the pouches of course. You know, the ones to use against the blood arrays we noticed while we are here?!"



"Oh ehm, Would you believe me I forgot in the excitement?" Please work!



"Sadly, yes and I can even understand why. Whoever infiltrated this town seems to have access everywhere we can´t go to." Thank the Imperator women in the Optimatoi can think beyond their own desires!



"Wait…go to… won´t any reveal of this hidden parasite not necessitate quick action?" That seems to have made her think, because she is pouting and looking confused.



"Well, I suppose, but if it´s in the city we can surely contest any push by these cannibals, right?"

"Yeah, if it is in the city. We have looked all over this town and found nothing. For all we know the cannibal set up an array to fuel his or her ascension a few dunes over the walls."



"Haha, that would be ridicilous Fleety! Three Frog City would need to have been guarded by lazy procrastinators under an underarchieving Commander for decades…. Oh."



"Indeed. Would you like to get Appendix so we can exchange messanges without special equipment long range?"



"Yes, please. I really hope you are wrong, Dear."



"Me too, me too." Well at least the meeting with Lady Maria should illuminate this bloody mess, right?


"Well, Legionnaire," said the gate guard, his face set in an obsequious smirk, "my Captain has never had a problem with how I do my duties."

Maria shot him a disbelieving glance. His gut, swollen and pendulous, rolled out below the bottom of his armour and hung in front of his fat thighs like an overpacked sausage skin. This? This was a Golden Devil?

She crossed her arms, set her teeth, and glared at him.

"Your captain's dense, then. Or he can't see Mount Tai. Your shift change was half an hour ago, and you just amble up now?"

"Three Frogs is safe."

"No fucking thanks to you. Or your friend, scampering off twenty minutes early."

"Barbz has been part of this city's garrison for years. She knows this place better than-"

She saw the words line up on his tongue, but a glance at her face – one grey eye burning coldly into him, one empty socket yawning at the world – changed his mind.

"-those less acquainted with our culture," he finished. "You can tell Captain Zhan, of course."

Zhan. Maria fought down a snarl. The gate captain had been the one to let them in, when she and the others had first arrived. She hadn't thought much of him then. Seeing how he ran his unit had not improved matters.

"No?" gate guard's smirk had bloomed into a full-fledged, shit-eating grin. The kind that made her knuckles itch. "Maybe go higher? Try the commander, maybe. Gaiarados, his name is. Lovely man."

His tongue. I will rip out his tongue. I will paint his name on the walls with it. His blood will be my ink.

No.

"You noticed what year it is?" she asked. Her tone had bite to it, but she wasn't actively bellowing, so she'd call that a win for self control. "You know war's starting up any day now? Some Cannibal's gonna come and *eat* you, bitchtits."

"How dare-"

He took a step forward. Her spearpoint was pressed against his adam's apple before he took another.

"I dare because you are a shit legionnaire. I dare because you are fucking up, royally, and if I don't fix it your captain won't. I dare-"

"Legionnaire! Drop your weapon!"

The voice had 'drill centurion' written all over it in huge burning letters. She was in parade rest before she even realised what she was doing, the spear clattering to the ground. Belatedly, she turned. The man behind her was, at first glance, unremarkable, clad in the same legionnaire's armour she was. His eyes, though. Sharp. Calculating.

Also he'd drawn his spear. That was a factor too. Still, she'd be damned if one spear got in the way of finding out what the hell was wrong with this town.

"Help you with something?"

"You are assaulting an officer of the garrison," he replied, iron-cold.

"the 'officer of the garrison' just showed up half hour late for his shift," said Maria, evenly. "In war time. Or is that just how you do things here?" Something flickered in those sharp eyes. His face stayed frozen, though, and the spear didn't move.

"Your authority does not allow for unprovoked assault."

She was tired of this, suddenly. Tired of this whole town. Every local was either weirdly disinterested in blatant flaws, or just… sloppy. Sloppy in a bone-deep, gut-wrenching kind of way. Her temper was starting to rise.

"My authority is second to my responsibility as Optimatoi, Legionnaire," she snapped. "That responsibility does not allow security breaches to go without comment. Now unless you've got a captain's badge or centurion pins somewhere underneath that armour, either put your spear away or start the fucking duel."

Good girl.

The Red Place's approval filled her with shame. Fuck it though, she'd started this and she was going to see it through.

The stranger's eyes narrowed. If he went for the thrust, she could get under it, go for her own spear, bring up the haft for a defence. That should buy her some breathing room…

He put his spear away, and shot the gate guard a sharp glare. "Back to your post, Hao. Now." The guard fled, gut wobbling as he went.

"Maria of the 263rd​ Legion?" asked the stranger. He'd produced a sheet of paper. She eyed it as she picked up her own spear.

"I am."

He held out the paper.

"Commander Angelus of the Divination platoon wishes to speak with you."

---

She felt her temper building as they walked through the streets. She'd never liked Diviners. There wasn't a good reason for it, at least not one she could explain. Good intelligence was the core of successful strategy, after all. There were Legionnaires and clan members around today who would have died if Divination hadn't uncovered enemy actions before they happened. And yet, for all that, the dreamy-eyed bastards set her teeth on edge worse than anything short of Cannibals.

They'd headquartered in a small, grotty little building in one of the richer districts. She had to duck her head a little to get in the door. The stranger- Phaidron – had stopped outside and ordered her to wait.

That had been fifteen minutes ago. Then, she'd just been pissed off. Now, she was bordering on homicidal.

This is some local trying to cover his ass, she thought. The bitterness and scorn was almost palpable. Has mistresses all over town. Thinks he can hoodwink the stupid turtleblood sandpounder, keep her from spoiling his good thing. Well, fuck that.

Patience thoroughly spoiled, she kicked the door open and stalked in.

"Legionnaire," bellowed Phaidron, "your orders-"

"That's alright," said the man at the desk. He eyed her, fingers steepled in front of his mouth. "We're finished anyway. Maria, wasn't it?"

"Well, you wrote it down on the summons, sir," she growled. Actually seeing him just confirmed her suspicions. Tall, slim, aristocratic – built more like a dancer than a fighter. The blood of bronze must have run pretty strongly in him too, given his dusky skin and sharp features. Dressed in easily the most ridiculous blue silk pants she'd ever seen. Gods. Noble family. Had to be. Probably hadn't gotten in a real fight since the Dawn Fortress finished his training. That sword at his hip was probably ornamental.

He gave her a thin smile, and gestured for her to sit.

"Food? Drink?"

"Why am I here?"

The commander raised an eyebrow. "Direct."

"Frontline fighter. Don't do subtlety. Why am I here?"

"Have you ever actually been to the front lines?"

…Oh, she could feel herself getting angrier, now. It was like acid in her veins.

"I served on the Scorpion road," she growled through gritted teeth.

"Ah. Well." He spread his hands, still smiling, and leaned back in his chair. "Your after-action report made for interesting reading. The additional one was particularly good. Thank you for being so prompt."

Enemy, growled the Red Place. Her shoulders tensed like coiled springs.

"I have a few more questions on it, if you don't mind. For the records. You understand."

She didn't say anything. Just eyed him.

"This… Kuei. You said he was a cannibal?"

She shook her head.

"True Mask, he said. Not a cannibal. Different path."

"Ah. Of course." He rustled through his papers. "And he incapacitated the rest of your unit besides Adonia Illias. Tell me, are you often afflicted with Qi exhaustion?"

"No."

"Or fighting outside of a unit?"

"No more than anyone else."

Enemy.

"But you managed to defeat this Kuei, after he had run you to ground."

ENEMY.

"What are you hiding?" she growled. The commander's face stilled. "Dragging me in here. Guards out there barely fit to hold a spear, let alone hold the city against cannibals, and you drag me in here?!"

"The Cannibals," said Angelus, voice silken and calm, "are not predicted to attack Three Frogs."

"So?!"

"So is there something you'd like to tell me?"

It came so brutally out of left field she took a moment to even understand.

"What?"

Angelus rose from his chair.

"You arrive with a mask. A very, very strange mask. Your unit is severely wounded. Your story for why these two things have occurred has gaps in it, specifically one where your only witness is suffering from Qi exhaustion, during which your supposed attacker is killed. And now, under questioning, your first thought is cannibals. In Three Frogs. So let me ask again, Legionnaire. Is there anything you would like to tell me?"

For a moment, her fury was so strong, so hot and blinding, that it burnt white in her head and utterly silenced her. Then it turned red, and she fell into darkness.

---

Alexandria was perfectly calm. This was important. Zeno had worked out the array was outside the city. That was fine. Completely, absolutely fine. In no way, shape or form did it irk her that he'd seen it before she did. Not at all. Did not even slightly fill her with murderous rage. It was of course completely coincidental that she'd spent all day trying to work out where precisely it was with an expression of barely restrained fury etched on her face. Her aides had given up talking to her that morning when she had flung a tea cup at one of them for refilling it too loudly.

Her work was interrupted by a muffled thud. Violence. Nearby. She'd turned and dropped into a fighting stance before she saw her own office wasn't the one being attacked. It was coming from…

Next door.

Zeno.

She darted out into the hall to see Phaidron skid to a halt in front of her.

"The suspect," he gasped. "She's just attacked Commander Angelus."

"Fuck." She glanced over his shoulder, saw a flurry of blurred motion. "Come on."

She pushed past him and saw-

Well. One hell of a fight.

The suspect was a mad, spiralling streak of white skin and golden hair, her spear arcing through the air like a comet, over and over. Utterly without grace, but primal, ferocious, and underscored by bestial, snuffling roars and snarls. Zeno, by contrast, was gliding through his combat steps with breath-taking speed and poise; he could have been tutoring students at a dance academy, if it weren't for the sword in his hand. The office itself was a state; his desk lay in two halves and haloed by splinters against the far wall. Most of his other furniture had been similarly demolished.

They'd been fighting for twenty seconds tops, how had-

Zeno leapt over a spear thrust that buried itself in the wall. The suspect bellowed like an angry bull, tore the blade lengthways through the stonework, and heaved chunks of it at him. His blade swept through them and scattered them away from his body.

…Yeah, that'd do it.

Her first instinct was to assist her boyfriend. Three on one should stop this homicidal lunatic, surely. But something stopped her. It took her a moment to figure out what.

The attacks. They were brutal, yes. Direct. Violent. But not a one of them was a killing blow. Whoever this woman was, she was fighting to cripple. That… warranted further study.

Well. Nothing ventured, nothing gained…

"Let me try something," she said. Phaidron nodded. She had to imagine he regretted it when she dropped her spear and flung himself into the fray, though. Alright. This would either work, or it wouldn't. The two of them seemed so wrapped up in killing each other that they hadn't noticed her yet. She had to get between them. It couldn't be misinterpreted as an attack, either. She jumped, twisted in mid air, and spread out her arms.

There was a moment where she gazed into the face of the suspect, and their eyes met. Cold grey and an empty socket, shocked, furious. She stared back with calm acceptance.

Behind her, the air shifted. Zeno's sword-strike, twitched aside to glide through the very tips of her hair.

The woman's spear, inching towards her face. Closer. Closer.

Don't move.

And then stopping. The grey eye… changing, somehow, indefinably.

She landed between them. Silence fell.

"So!" said Alexandria, bright and very annoyed. "Got that out of your systems?"

---

The Red Place was a confused haze in the back of her head. Maria stared. This- lunatic- either had a death wish or the kind of reckless genius that normally started wars.

"…The fuck did you think you were doing?"

"Stopping you from being stupid," she replied, tartly.

"Quite right," said the Commander, eyes still locked on Maria. "Drop your weapon, Legionnaire-"

"BOTH of you." One hand flicked out and slapped Angelus across the back of the head.

"AH! What the- why did you-"

"She was fighting to wound. I have to imagine you recognised that, unless you have spontaneously become an idiot in the last few minutes."

"I- well-"

"Traitors who think they're caught would most likely proceed directly to the attempted murder part, yes?"

"They-"

"And one odd report does not count as definitive evidence, does it?"

He avoided her gaze. That was… interesting. The woman turned back to Maria.

"Now. Since the catastrophe appears to have been averted, maybe we might try the rest of this conversation?"

…Enemy?

I don't… think so.

"…Traitor. You said traitor." She looked at the two – three, that legionnaire was still here – of them. "What the fuck's going on?"

The commander looked at his smashed desk, then the wreckage of his office, then back at her.

"You first."

She coloured. He had a point.

"…I- I'm a… berserker," she said eventually. "Battle fury. You know? Happens sometimes. I don't like talking about it. When I- Kuei, he made me fight it. When I didn't, he couldn't control it any more."

Angelus' face was inscrutable. "Interesting. True Mask, you said?"

She nodded.

"Hmmm."

"That's me. What about you? What do you mean, traitors?"

There was another, longer, pause. The woman turned away from her and looked at Angelus. They seemed, somehow, to communicate silently, through expressions. Then she turned back.

"There is something wrong with this city," she said. Maria nodded. "More than one would expect. When we arrived, we began investigating. There is evidence of treachery."

Enemy, growled the Red Place. Secret enemies. Worst kind.

Yeah.

No wonder she'd been feeling so on-edge.

"Whoever they are, they're using cannibal techniques. Human blood symbols to confuse and control civilians. Worse, we believe they have an array outside the city, in the desert somewhere."

Maria stared.

"…You thought I was one of them," she said, as it finally clicked. "Threatening the guardsman. Sabotage attempt."

"And you," said the Commander, heavily, "thought I was… what, incompetent? Corrupt? Trying to blackmail you."

She nodded. Winced. Fuck. She'd been- idiotic. He had a similarly embarrassed look on his face. She had to fix this.

"Alright." She flicked her spear back onto her back. "How can I help?"






"Where is it?! I thought you knew oh so much about searching?"



"I don´t know" Where could it be? Paperwork from the guards lead us all around City.



"Hey, Fleetfeet. Why are you searching about spies anyway?"



"I don´t know." It all just doesn´t add up. The guard reports make everything seem alright, but I was already wrong with Maria. A mistake now would be…dangerous.



"Can you say anything else?" Well yes anger in flesh I could if I had anything to add.



"It doesn´t make any sense. According to the guard reports everything should be in order, but the paperwork and actions taken by individuals don´t quite follow the same pattern as they should. Do you follow my idea?



"Hmph, no, but if these guards are so important for the City and their actions don´t match then they are clearly the source of our problems."



"You want to look trough their personal lockers in the barracks to check for contraband?" Is it really that easy Maria?



"I wanted question these idiots more directly, but we can always do that later." Of course, how could I expect anything else.



"This way to the barracks then Maria."



"Yeah, they should be more helpful with you around." I am sure they will be Maria, I am sure.



Thankfully it doesn´t take us too long before we arrive at the barracks. The twilight before dusk is a perfect time for a surprise inspection.



"A-Are you sure you wish to look at their belongings now, Sir?" Truly, subtelty is lost on the average Guard. Even my grandmother could perceive such thinly veiled distain for Maria.



"I don´t see how Lady Marias presence should lower the integrity of my inspection in any way soldier. Now open the lockers and have a chat with my esteemed colleague while I do my due diligence."

"Y-Yes, Sir." At least he still remembers to salute. Man retraining that to them was annoying. It took them weeks before I had to stop inventing new ways to clean the latrines. There are surprisingly little ways to clean something so soaked in excrements.



"Maria, you too won´t have any problems right?" Ah that grin. Yes, she clearly enjoys being on the other end for once.



"Of course not, MY CAPTAIN. He will tell me everything I need, I am sure."

With that said I leave the two of them to search-

"Ah, Sir. Apologies if I may-." Ah Proactive involvement. I should encourage him before that flames gutters out.



"Yes, Legionare?"



"-Word on the grapevine has it the three lockers in the back are regularly dirty." Ah I see. Smart man.



"I will keep that in mind. Until later."



"Yes sir!" And with that I truly make my way, with a goal in mind, to the three lockers in the back oft the barracks.



Ah, his description truly did not disappoint. Clothes are just stuffed in in the first and I can even see a chestbind with frills in the third one. These clothes look like they haven´t been washed in months. With that in mind I open the first locker and I thankfully step back.



"How did he even fit that many clothes and paper in his locker. It´s as if they didn´t have private lodgings."



Ah what is that. Right next to the calligraphy set on the topmost shelf are some flyers. This is strange.



"Now why does a guard have at least 50 different array flyers inked with blood neatly stuffed in his otherwise disgusting locker?"



Imperator must have surely blessed Maria, because I just had to arrive with a small stack of flyers, and a sample of their hair, in hand to get the rest of the information about our three renegade guards.

"Truly Captain, all three?" Whispered the young boy with a shocked face.

"Unless all three have taken to buying blood arrays from the clan arrays as collector items with the salary they clearly don´t possess for it, then yes."

"Ha finally! The boy was almost useless. It should be clear that three guards that always leave their shifts early are to be looked at more closely, hmph. Now let´s go. You have a plan, right?



"Sure, but for that to work our erstwhile helper will need to assume his protection duty in my office."



"Really? / Me?"



"Yes, you boy. The papers don´t guard themselves now get going Maria and I have to farsee our problems and the evening is still young."



"You mean that dance you talked about some time ago?" Her confusion is understandable most legionares only help each other with qi constructs in direct battle. "Well yes, but I will explain the rest in the courtyard of my office. There should be enough place."



"Ugh, fine. If it helps." That´s the spirit! With a grin on my face and her willing cooperation we start walking towards a goal, finally.



Thankfully our headless searching through the day made sure that Maria and I knew this settlement like no other here and we made good time back to my office. Before we knew it Maria and I stand in the courtyard.



"Where is your other half anyway. Couldn´t she do it?" Good question.



"True she could, but sadly she needs to do the regular duties so we can focus on the immediately important stuff."



"Fair enough. Now is this everything?" With that said she mirrors my movements of the farsight dance almost perfectly. Only practice could improve it over time.



"Yeah. You´re damn good for someone that I showed the moves like a few moments ago."

Sadly I don´t get much more than a "Thanks." And a back turned my way for the compliment. Eh, can´t win them all.



"Now, let´s begin. Ready?" With a nod we begin our dance with the light of dusk at out back, making every shadow longer, improving the accuracy of the dance.



"Ready." Now the guard noted the three of them to be leaving towards the desert as a group that way. They can´t be more than a days march away at best. On the other Hand they need, whatever they wish to hide, away from regular patrols.



"O-On the Ground, there they are!"



"Yes, Lady Maria. Zhan, Hao and Barbz, hiding behind a cliff face away from the walls is smarter than I thought them capable."



"Then how can we get to them? They are already working something."



"This dance and our cultivation allows should allow us to jump there through shadows."

"Good. How, alone?"



"Well, good question. I will send a message and then we jump. Oh, right you don´t know. Do you see my qi flowing alongside my legs?" Thanks to Alexandrias Robes my qi flow can be viewed more easily and my qi obeys me more. That gift of hers is already paying off.



"Yes. It´s obvious. A danced circle stomps a viewing pool in the ground." That´s one way to put it. At least the idea behind the robes clearly work, though I am not sure if her explanation could be understood by many.



"Y-yes. That´s the gist of it." Thankfully sending a message doesn´t take more than opening a path of communication with Appendix and the sheathing of my sabre. Good, with that message Alexandria and Marias companions should arrive in time to make any enemy movements useless.



With our spears drawn we jump. The sheer amount of qi we get into the formation thanks to Maria makes us jump faster than the desert wind can follow.

____________________________-



Without much fanfare afterwards we are, where so many dream to reach one day, airborne. As we rushed through the air with speed I can barely believe myself. Marias Boost in tandem with the dance allowed us to leave the walls of Three Frog City behind in barely a few breaths. Long before we can perceive the traitors with our qi sense Maria and I see the huge array throwing a shadow over the nearby dunes while bathed in twilight.



We don´t bother communicating a plan for the battle ahead. Our purpose is clear and the winds tearing at our bronzen flesh, which would tear lesser cultivators apart, does not allow for long conversations anyway.



The heavens may not care about the uncountable mortals ground underfoot the cannibals merciless want, but we do. And the Golden Devil Clan is more merciful and more fair than any outsider may hope to know. Therefore, like all fair and righteous beings, we descend unto the traitors in one harmonious Hoplite Formation to vanquish their evil.



We descent first on the fat one. His mass and lacking awareness allows our formation to thrown him unto the woman in their trio. The qi in the formation, beginning to swirl, stutters. As soon as we make contact with the ground we follow up our throw, spear pointed at the enemy. The third one tries to throw the woman out of the way, but to no avail. He is speared alongside the woman on Marias spear.



"W-what the fuck!" What are you doing man?" Maria allows them no time to rebuke before answering.

"We are taking care of trash like you, Cannibal scum!" Their faces. Why is thereso much honest confusion?



"B-but, ow, we haven´t done anything Captain. We swear." Man how could a cultivator have such a nasal voice and wobble like stuffed pudding when trying to Stand up? At least the qi for the ritual gathered here is beginning to disperse.



The arrogant-looking one among them starts this time. "W-Well, Captain. We, uh, we are taking out the trash for the Commander Gaiarados."

"By ritually sacrificing mortals through a ritual using sympathetic connections on blood array flyers?"

"No, no you got it all wrong!" Wow that woman has a shrill voice. I reflexively cycle my qi in case it is some kind of demonic tunist technique I dont know about, but it seems to be her natural voice. My condolences.

"I am sure you can work off the debt for working unknowingly for the enemy." Maybe my best smile and a way out without death should encourage them.

"What have we gotten wrong soldier spill!" Ah, a spear at one of their throat seems to have finally jumpstarted their memories.

"Yes, Ma´am / Yes, Ma´am / Yes, Ma´am!" Ah, the Carrot and the stick. When does it not work?

After a short cough the arrogant begins. "We gave out the flyers as thanks to the Citizens, so they may view the Commanders ascension to Foundation Establishment from afar. The Cleaning part of their flyer is of course a most magnanimous bonus from the Commander out of gratitude.



That story. Wow. So much bullshit told in such a honest manner. Just, wow.



"Captain Angelus, do you have a solution against. ugh. Mental conta-" Wow, so formal. Hmm it surprisingly suits her. Well, mostly because no one expects that of her.

"Do you mean mental contamination?" After a short nod from her and an affirmation for our three idiots that I need to see their ankles to verify my theory we continue.



"Jup you three have it, just hold still." And before they can grumble the blood array is rendered useless on their ankles. They, of course, stumble on their behinds after such a interruption to their qi. Wow the girl in town had more mental fortitude than these sacks of ´shrooms.



"I-I thank you Lord Captain we are so-" I really don´t want to deal with this. How can I break it to them, though?



"Stuff it and tell the Captain what the enemies response will be!" Point for her I almost forgot the possible enemy retaliation after such a sweeping victory.



"Now now, let them at least get some air. We might need them able to stand and fight after all."



"Hmph, if they breath as much air as your dance produces the town guards brains couldn´t withstand the pressure." Ouch. The truth hurts. Wait, did she just subtly make a dig at my training efforts for the guards?

"Well, the Commander will arrive soon to-to make his ascension, honorable Captain." The Fatty sure knows how to lay it on thick.



"Shit." Preach it sister.



"I wish I could think of a better conclusion, but yeah. This is bad."



"Well we still have the mines a few dunes over, which could at make him consider twice against engaging us in a fight."



"True. These mines could be used to pin the enemies movement in and make using the ritual site for the enemy harder, arrogant one."



"B-But my name is Zhan. And why do you treat us so- so disrespectful. We are of the Clan, no?"



"And I will bother remembering your name once you are no longer an unmemorable uselessly arrogant pawn, arrogant pawn. "Man how many cultivators without proper training exist here, ugh?



"To answer the other question. Yes, by blood, but certainly not by deed. You should have gone out of the town to report suspicious behaviour once you noticed it. It´s on the second page of the damn book you recieved!"



"How did you-? "A glare thankfully shuts thems up.



"Maria, could you tend to their wounds while I prepare the mines along the site for our enemy? "



"Sure. Won´t be perfect, though "Oh, that look of horror on their faces makes the annoyance of handling explosives worth it!

"Don´t worry. It´s good enough for them. "At that we share a knowing grin at the expense of these idiots.




The fat one sniffled, still trying to avoid Maria's gaze. That worked for her. It was better than the infuriating smugness he'd given her this morning.

The sunset was starting to fade out now, as twilight gave way to night. They didn't have long. According to Barbz, the Commander was due back any moment now.

"You remember the plan?" Maria growled. They nodded. "So tell me it."

"Wait for Gaiarados to show his face," Zhan said, reciting from memory. "As soon as he does, up out of the sand and into Hoplite. Keep hitting him until he's dead."

"Good." She leaned forward, and glared at them each in turn. "You. Each of you. Have done bad. BAD. Things. You understand? This. This is your only chance to fix it." They didn't look at her. Eyes tracked across the sand, the sky, each other. Anywhere but at Maria. Bad sign. She growled quietly, tried again. "You are Optimatoi. The enemy played you. Turned you on your own. What are you going to do about it?" That… seemed to register, but they didn't have time for her to be sure. "Get into the sand."

She stalked away. Zeno was gone – already underground, she had to assume, unless he had a better trick to hide himself. Not impossible. Maybe one of his dances could do that. Weird, but then again what wasn't, these days?

She knelt at the edge of the array and started to dig. It didn't take long to bury herself. Zeno had given her a reed to clamp between her teeth and breathe through. It was dark, beneath the surface. Quiet. Peaceful, almost, but for the quiet, almost-silent hum of the array by her head. They'd broken a few lines in it earlier – no need to give Gaiarados a chance to actually ascend- but they couldn't destroy it completely. He'd have known. Instead, they were using it as bait.

She made herself relax. No point worrying now. They just had to wait. So, she lay there.

It was later- much later- when at last, she felt him. Gaiarados wasn't even trying for subtle, now; this was his big moment, after all. To her senses, he was an awful weight on the world; the corrupted, roiling qi of half-digested flesh and gnashing teeth. Far away, still, but getting closer. Closer. Closer. The Red Place was a snarling mess inside her skull, desperate to close and lash out in fury. She held it in check.

Not yet. Soon, but not yet.

Closer. Closer. His unveiled qi was almost palpable, like stomach acid and screams.

Not yet.

Closer. Closer.

Just a little longer…

A foot touched down on the sand.

Now.

Maria exploded upwards, snarling as she went. Gaiarados flinched back. He was in the centre of the array, his hands clutching a treasure of some kind; a fat, red dragon fly with a woman's face. He must have flown in. The other four came up as she did, and they slammed together into tight formation.

She roared as she cycled her qi in tandem with the others, and the Hoplite was born. The huge, shadowy figure turned its massive head to glare down at the Cannibal.

"DIE," it said, in all their voices, and lunged.

To begin with, the fight went well enough; their spear lashed out, guided by the Red Place's ferocity, and the shield blocked Gaiarados's desperate return blows guided by Zeno's foresight. The other three poured their qi into the Hoplite with single minded dedication. And it was working. He wasn't much in a fight, it seemed; sneaky, clever, but first and foremost a spy and saboteur, not a combatant.

They were going to win.

And then he ruined it.

Gaiarados had tried to flee earlier, after they'd knocked the treasure out of his hands, but one of the mines had gone off and knocked him away. He'd been keeping away from the Array's edges since. That should have been an advantage, but it must have given him an idea. The Cannibal had barely dodged their last spear-thrust. He was still limping from a glancing blow to his knee by the shield. He'd darted backwards, luring them into the centre of the Array…

And then dropped flat.

"Fuck yourselves, barbarians."

The Array-

Exploded.

Crimson light poured up out of the ground. She shut her eye instinctively. It still blazed bright enough to blind her for a few moments. And the noise. A roar. A howl that echoed over the desert sands for miles. For a moment there was nothing in her head but a high-pitched whine. She fought her way back to sight, sound and awareness, and rose in a fighting stance.

She was out of formation. The explosion had shattered the Hoplite. Worse, she couldn't see Zeno. Barbz was dead, twenty feet ahead of her, chest and belly a gory mess of dark red and black scorch marks.

And something was eating Hao.

It gleamed with the shimmering half-light of a qi construct. Battle Aura, she thought muzzily. Had to be. But it was bigger than any Aura she'd ever seen before; red, translucent teeth bit down into the fat guard's flesh, longer than her forearms. A mouth, easily twice as high as she was, opened to swallow every inch of him. The eyes were as big as her shield.

It reared up.

Lashed out.

Took Barbz' corpse in its jaws.

Withdrew, back into the billowing smoke. She heard nothing but the slurping, grizzly sounds of a predator devouring prey.

Shit. This. This was not the plan. She brought her spear up to point towards where the thing had gone, and backed slowly away. Zeno. She had to find him. Gods only knew where Zhan was – in that thing's belly, probably. The commander was the only one likely to still be alive. She fumbled backwards, praying she'd be able to find him.

After a long moment, the sounds of eating stopped.

"Fuck you both," growled Gaiarados. A blast of wind carried away the smoke. Zeno was next to her; if she'd carried on, they'd have collided. Zhan's armour was empty, tooth-marked and gore streaked. And the creature was revealed.

She was right. It was a battle aura. A sea snake – huge, hungry, and blazing with scarlet light as it coiled around Gaiarados. His malicious eyes were fixed on them both, and one hand was rooted in the sand, pulling the last of the power of the array into him.

"I," said the Cannibal, "could have become something amazing. Powerful in a way you can't even understand, let alone appreciate. And then you came along." The aura swallowed. Maria watched with sick fascination as the last of Barbz slid down its gullet, and broke apart into bright, bloody qi. The sea snake grew a little. "You owe me a meal, Devils," snarled Gaiarados. "Time to deliver."

And then they were fighting again.

This one went a lot more poorly. They couldn't hoplite – every time they'd get close, the Aura-snake would dive at them in a frenzy of vicious biting until they split, just to force it to leave one of them for a moment. Worse, Gaiarados was quick to close himself. The energy of the Array and the cultivation of the guards had filled him with unholy strength; every time he got near, he'd lash out with a butcher's knife and his claw-like fingernails. They had no respite.

This, Maria realised, as she flung herself beneath a particularly brutal swing, is how I'm going to die. Barely twenty years back among my own, and I go out like this.

Well. Best make it memorable. She thrust her hands into the sand, turned her dive into a cartwheel until she could turn. The Aura-Snake had Zeno pinned down under a particularly brutal assault, his sword flashing elegantly in the moonlight as he defended himself. His guard was cracking.

She'd have one shot.

Maria brought her spear up, shifted grip, and threw. It sang as it flew through the air, cutting the wind into a high whine.

Aaaaaaaaaah.

Thud.

It slammed home a moment before Gaiarados's fist caught her temple and sent her sprawling. The Aura-Snake was knocked aside, barely for a full second before it recovered, lashing back at Zeno again.

The Cannibal stood over her.

"Burn in every hell there is," he growled.

His butcher's knife came up-

-down-

Shattered as a speartip struck the flat of its blade, showering the sand with metal fragments.

"You first," said Phaidron. Letha laughed. The two hit him like a whirlwind of carefully controlled violence, driving Gaiarados back from Maria. Alexandria settled by her side.

"Are you alright?"

Maria shook her head to clear it. "Yes." She tasted warm copper on her tongue, but fuck it, there wasn't time for weakness. "Where's Oyster?"

A flash of familiar green light and the keening of throwing knives answered her question. The Mushroom Man had flung himself into the air, the Extant Decay Barrage sending sickly rotting qi into the Aura Snake's body in a thousand places. It wouldn't kill it, but it'd burn a lot of power fixing the damage.

"He's impressive," said Alexandria, wryly. "You make interesting friends."

"Hoplite," said Maria. "Hoplite now-"

But the others, it seemed, were way ahead of her. Oyster's assault had freed up Zeno enough to slip through the distance between them like a fish through water, landing gracefully at Alexandria's side. Phaidron and Letha (who fought like one mind in two bodies) launched one last withering barrage, then surged back into position.

Six clansmen, four of them fresh. That'd even the odds. Their qi cycled, flowed, twisted-

Launched. The Hoplite blossomed over them, more solid this time. Gaiarados roared in fury. The Aura Snake bellowed in unison. Both qi-constructs surged forward-

Struck-

The Hoplite's spear meeting snake's tooth-

Light-



And it was over.

Maria felt the Formation dissipate again. This time, by choice. Gaiarados lay collapsed in the sand not far from them, his head thirty feet away.

For a moment, no-one spoke. Then, slowly, she turned her head to look at Zeno.

"You," she said, "can explain this to the Legate."

"Me?"

"Yes. Commander."
________________________________

Words: 9293(ca. 9k)

This was interesting to write for @BadAtScreenNames and I. Also we are eager to see your responses to our try at the intrigue genre in Xianxia Turtle-World Edition.

BadAtScreenNames: "Really enjoyed writing this one. Juugo set up the core conceit, so I got to play with his seed's themes a bit. Also, writing Zeno is fun, so this may have to happen again!"

@Mochinator , @Alectai please threadmark it.

Gaius Antonius Omake # 13: That Fucking Box

Gaius really didn't like his fort.

Was it his fort? He was the only inhabitant after all, though calling a secure dwelling for a single person with the square footage of a modest apartment a 'fort' at all felt a little bit weird to him. That said, he did not know any word better than that. 'Tactical prison' perhaps, he thought bitterly.

It was a box, really. A boring, all-consuming box that somehow managed to feel much smaller than it already was. After all, Gaius' spiritual sense was unable to get outside of these walls, as remaining hidden was part of the point. He suspected that if he pushed his perception to the absolute limit he could force his way past the seals and feel the outside world, but he wasn't so selfish as to risk jeopardizing a critical mission.

When the Ten Thousand Forts were first designed, some experts insisted that some method of communication be created for the sake of the inhabitants' mental health. Perhaps some kind of letter delivery system, or a tube-based terminal like those for the contribution board. These proposals had all been shot down; an absolute, perfect defense needed to be maintained, and that meant no weak spots and no way in or out besides the blast door.

To Gaius' left was a pantry, stocked with rations of various types. He was beginning to run out of the kinds he liked, and in eleven days would be down to his least favorite configurations. To his right was a large strongbox containing all of the personal items he had brought with him, mostly books to read and tools with which to stay clean. Behind him was his bed, a utilitarian cot with adequate sheets, though his feet dangled off the edge if he didn't pull his legs in. In front of him was the blast door, an ominous thing of thick, heavy black iron, inscribed with arrays to open when the signal was given.

He really hated this box.

It was the feeling of confinement, he thought to himself. In terms of the most important thing, cultivation, he wasn't hindered at all; he'd brought plenty of stones so as to continue the slow and dilligent process during his stay. Rather, the idea of being constrained in any sense at all was anathema to Gaius' Dao, dredging up an ominous feeling of primal discomfort. It didn't help how damn small this thing was too.

At least it was clean and dry, and the False Sun Arrays were particularly advanced, allowing for whatever level of light The Seeker desired. In that sense, this place was much better than a dungeon. Still, he had to wonder why in the world he'd been inside for so long. The battle outside should have progressed to the point that he would be called out already.

That was the whole point, after all: keep three powerful free agents hidden so well that even those mutant Dervishes would never catch wind of their presence, so that they could flank them once they broke through the first line and began to lose cohesion. That was the most dangerous job in the whole operation, relying on a perfect ambush so as to kill, ideally, ten times their number before the enemy became aware. One small part of the larger battleplan, but one that would tilt things in the favor of the second line. Once the Dervishes were driven off, the three of them would return to their Forts, replenish their supplies and await the next attack.

But he hadn't been called out for a single battle yet, after two and a half months. This meant that things on the outside were either very good or catastrophically bad. If the latter, there would be no signal, and he would emerge once he ran out of food to see the Xin Kingdom burnt to the ground.

"This fucking box..."

I've finally got my massive omake backlog up to a sufficient size, so I can start posting the shorter ones toward this turn, so long as I always add twice as many words as I post. Starting off with something light, here's a minor drabble of Gaius going insane in a bunker. The implication being that since the war started off so spectacularly bad for them, the Dervishes had to delay their attacks on Xin by a month.

@ReaderOfFate

Gaius Antonius Omake #14: Please Don't Infract Me

Gaius was brought out of his meditation by a loud series of knocks at his door. He hadn't ever gotten such a frantic visitor, so he was immediately curious. Opening up the doorway, The Seeker was immediately bowled over by a terrified-looking Jiang Li, who clutched a rectangular package to his chest.

"Jiang Li? What are you..." Gaius trailed off, as the other man closed and locked the door, then slumped over against a wall, panting from exertion and nerves.

"We gotta hide this, dude. Gotta put this somewhere no one would think to look..." Jiang Li muttered, thinking to himself. "I've got my hands on something I really shouldn't have, and now I'm being hunted by a conspiracy."

"Wait wait wait! Hold on!" Gaius exclaimed, holding up both hands. "What the hell is it? How bad is this?"

"It's a book, and pretty bad." Jiang Li replied, beginning to calm down. "I don't think anyone will be killed over this, probably. But it could ruin some people's reputations, and hundreds of spirit stones are being thrown around by a bunch of different people over this thing."

"Okay, okay. Let's go find someplace to hide this and then talk about where to go from here." The taller man reassured his friend, patting him on the shoulder.

From there, Jiang Li guided Gaius through an insane tale of this book being written, then being stolen from the author with a threat to reveal it to blackmail him out of an exorbiant amount of stones. The book was then stolen from the first thief by a second thief, who blackmailed the first thief, and the first thief trying to cover this up to maintain her own blackmail.

If that weren't absurd enough, the author and the first thief had both hired gangs of fellow diciples to get the book back, and the second had hired his own gang to protect it. Jiang Li had then hatched a hare-brained scheme to join all three gangs at once to play all three sides and get triple the pay, only to end up holding the book himself and being forced to flee before anyone could notice.

In short, Jiang Li now needed to stay hidden, and hope that three different groups didn't figure out what he had done.

"Okay, just one more question." Gaius said, sitting on his bed with his legs crossed. "What's in the book?"

"No idea, I didn't have any time to look." Jiang Li replied, leaning back in a modest desk chair and twirling his hair.

"...if people find out we've hid the book here, they'll probably think we've read it no matter what, right?" The Seeker blurted out, perhaps driven by his inherent desire to percieve the truth.

"I guess they would, yeah..." His friend shot back with a mischeivious grin.

And so, these two grown men were acting like giggling schoolgirls, hunched over a journal, reading something they shouldn't have been looking at. They skipped to a random page to find...

Smash or Pass: The Indomitable Thirteen and Others of Note

-Achille Adelphos: A mixed bag. While he's fairly handsome has that sort of flippant "I don't care" appeal, I can't imagine he'd be a particularly enthusiastic partner. He might turn over and start tinkering with an Array the moment he's finished. Then again, there is that slight chance of being the one person who can unlock his heart and ignite the burning passion that's been sleeping within all his life... eh, probably not. 4/10, pass.

-Amaranth Castellanos: Brawny, handsome, devoted; quite a package, all in all. No bones about it, Amaranth has a great jawline, as well as just a hint of emotional vulnerability. Presuming he doesn't get ambushed by toads in your bedroom, he'd probably be a good pick, either for a one-night stand or a comitted relationship. Plus, let's be real, that life drain has some serious kink potential. 9/10, smash.

-Aretaphlia Myia: Often overlooked in favor of her even more ridiculously gifted colleagues, this beauty is impressive in her own right. She's got a very domineering attitude, so she'd definitely be the one in control in bed. Obviously she's good looking as well, living up to the reputation of her family's women quite well. Furthermore, that constitution of her's, with that vibration... damn, I'm going cross-eyed just imagining it. The only downside is that she's very intense, and seems like the type to get wrapped up in negative feelings, which could make for a rocky relationship if she has a bad decade. 8/10, smash.

-Diogenes Aparámillos: Let's cut to the chase, we all know what we're here for: the monster form. Yeah, it's hot. It's weird and alien-looking and unnerving in the absolute best ways. Sure, the guy looks fine in his normal form, but anyone with any taste is gonna ask him to transform as soon as the door is shut. I don't know what the equipment looks like, but that's fine by me; I'm gonna shove my face in there and figure it out on the fly. His personality seems a little prickly though. Nothing too bad, just a little prone to drama. 8/10, smash.

-Eirene of Nowhere: Big Sister appeal to the Nth degree. Very much a nurturing, innocent type, to the point that even thinking about Eirene in this way is making me feel really bad. Still, she's quite beautiful and extremely charming. The kind of girl you want to start things out slow with, because you really want to make things work. That said, she was in the circus... so she's either very gentle and standard in bed or an absolute animal. Rope, wax, the works. Maybe a mix of both. 9/10, smash, but take her on a really nice dinner date first.

-Ferenike: Thinking about getting in bed with Ferenike turns me into a rabid animal. Beautiful, strong, exotic, sensitive, sad but in a sexy way, owns land, turns into a scary monster, she is literally the perfect woman. She seems likely to be extremely enthusiastic, and anyone who gets with her will be living in her world whenever she's around. The only downside I could even theoretically see to being with her is that I've heard rumors she's competitive. I don't even consider that a flaw, I would love to be rivals-with-benefits with her. 10/10, smash so hard the planet cracks in two.

-Magnus Centenius: A very interesting prospect. The man's a serious workaholic, and anyone in his life will come second to his scientific work. Plus, you're likely to inhale a variety of substances from being around his workshop, which would have wildly varying effects. Still, he's actually very cute under the grime and the messy hair, and he has that "naive genius" appeal, but unlike Achille probably knows what sex is. Finally, you could probably get him to cook up some insane concoction and perform unspeakable things in bed with it. Nonetheless, any relationship you start with Magnus will be one where you're always making the first move, and that's not for everybody. 6/10, smash with a gas mask on.

-Mograine: Kind of an iffy proposition, this one. He's got that sort of "must be protected" energy while being really scary at the same time, which has a lot of inherent appeal. On the other hand, he's got a lot of health problems and, if you're interested in something long term, probably won't be giving you healthy children. Still, he's nice enough, and seems like the type to get very affectionate and tender if you get him to open up enough. 7/10, smash.

-The Ninth Prince: Another incredible prospect. The fact the elders haven't already set this guy up with someone is mind-boggling. Oh, he may act silly, but you just know this man's got experience from the glimmer in his eye. Get with the Ninth Prince and you're in for a whirlwind romance full of excitement and adventure where you'll see things you never thought possible. He's also got a pretty face with just a hint of rugged masculinity, just to top it off. There is one problem though: you're not just getting with him, you're dating half a dozen sapient pet snakes. But really, that just means you're making some friends too. 10/10, smash so hard his former countrymen hear it.

-Peta Condos: Lots of animal magnetism, this one. Very empathetic too, probably a great listener. A bit of a wild child but still fully civilized, so while she probably lives in a house, she'd definitely drag you into all sorts of expeditions and camping trips. The bear's number one in her life, of course, but maybe if you impress both of them enough, they'll make room for you too. 7/10, smash.

-Rina Callista: I feel unworthy to write about the Clan's shining hope like this, but I'm already gonna be found dead in a canal somewhere if these notes are discovered, so whatever. She's... cute. Very cute, actually, and from what I've heard she has a kind of genuine enthusiasm that's outright magnetic. Far from the traditional almighty hero, she's down to earth, and remains idealistic no matter what the world throws at her. It's rumored that she's entered an arranged marriage with some prodigy from another sect, but thoeretically, if she wasn't, she'd be a pretty good catch. 8/10, smash.

-Tassos Basilakes: You know this dude fucks. Tassos carries with him some sexy confidence and a great body. He also seems kind, atentive and understanding. Probably relatively normal in bed but also very proficient. You're eating meat and potatoes, but they were cooked by a Nascent Soul level chef. The one big problem, though, is that if you get into something long term with this guy, you'll probably be expected to move out to the boonies with him some day, and depending on your long-term plans that might not be feasible. 8/10, smash.

-Wei Feng: If I were to rank the Thirteen on looks alone, Wei Feng might top the list. No small feat, considering the stiff competition, but let's make no bones about it, the man is magnetic. There's an effortless grace and beauty to his every movement, and holy shit those MUSCLES. He's also got more than just appearence on his side; he's a genuinely selfless person, morally incorruptible and incredibly hardworking. Almost certainly a fantastic boyfriend who cares for his partner's emotional needs. Plus, you know me, I have to at least bring up that he is a salamander-man. I can't help but wonder if that regeneration of his affects a certain kind of... replenishment. Possible problem: his very high body heat could make cuddling uncomfortable, so ditch the blankets, he's all you need. 10/10, smash so hard the bedroom burns down.

-Jin Muyi: Okay, look. Sometimes an exotic and strange body can be exciting, but this is a little too much even for me. Let's ignore the question of whether he even has those urges anymore, given he's a plant. There's also the fact that it would just... be so utterly uncomfortable. It's vines and bark, dude. You'd probably get all kinds of strange diseases. I'm sorry, the man was definitely a great catch before he transformed, but it's just too much for me now. 3/10, pass, would definitely smash Xiao Yi tho. Probably an 8/10 if he was Xiao Yi.

-Minervina Barda: The exemplary paragon of the "icy beauty" archetype, Minervina may be cold and opportunistic, but perhaps she's waiting for the right person to melt her heart... or maybe that's wishful thinking. Still, she'd be a lot of fun on the occasions where she'd give you the time of day, and unlike her fellow poison genius Magnus, she's a bit less oblivious to other people. Unfortunately, her entire body is toxic now, which spells bad things for her love life. That's a damn shame. Plus, I doubt she'd be a particularly attentive partner anyway. 3/10 with toxic body, 7/10 without, would smash if I could survive the ordeal.

"The whole book is like this..." Jiang Li marvelled, flipping back and forth. "It's all sexual fantasies, even about the Elders. Even the Grand Elder."

"By The Imperator." Gaius swore, taken completely aback. "Yeah, this is the kind of thing that ruins a person's life."

"The guy who wrote this is gonna lose so much face, he'll lose his actual face." Jiang Li confirmed with a nod.

"Burn it?"

"Burn it."

This was a mercy, thought Gaius, as he took a roundabout path out to the northern edge of the Indomitable Peaks and built a bonfire. Better to remove this mass of wicked karma from the world now, before it could do any more damage. The tainted pages burned, turned into a small column of smoke which ascended to the heavens, probably to reincarnate into some evil spirit one day.


Fun fact, this omake is a holdover from an earlier version of Gaius, who was very different(He was somewhat based on Zeus). I still wanted to write it so I came up with an entirely different framing device.

I'm sorry.

@BungieONI

Tisamenos looked over his shoulder nervously.

For the thirty-first time this hour, he counted.

Five Nascent Souls in one place was not unheard of, but it was the sort of meeting that only happened every few centuries. He hadn't even had time to take in the sights of the Spirit Oasis.

He'd been desperately hard at work, after all, scribing everything. Heaps of recording crystals, annotated notes from Old Gold, and his own transcripts to ensure accuracy... it had been hellish. And this was only the prelimary talks!

Eight months ago he'd been thrown in front of Grand Elder Konstantinos, and he'd sobered up quickly. Apparently his name had gone around as a 'scribe with a flair for the dramatic'. He had no idea that his notes - "The Indomitable Thirteen and the Miracle at Pleuron" - had become so popular! Oh, he'd redrafted them a few times, removing less important details and obscuring a few of the key facts around the items and cultivation techniques of the Thirteen, ensuring no truly important information could be inferred, and he had rewritten the dialogues in several points.

He'd been careful not to impute any words to anyone if they hadn't said them, but it turns out if you wanted an inspiring work you just had to cut the twenty minutes Ferenike had spent lecturing on good latrine management.

She had been doing well. She wrote him letters, which was a surprise. He had answered, but it took years these days for letters to reach him, and so they exchanged words very slowly.

Perhaps that was for the best. Spending too much time with someone you idolized couldn't be good for your development.

Still. The fact that enterprising mortals had cut his notes up into three sections, badged each one as a novel, another had rewritten it as a stage play... it was a tremendously popular work. He hadn't bothered putting it on the Contribution Board as his own, and so he didn't get anything from it, but they did attribute him for writing it. Over the last few decades it had become something of a staple of the Clan, performed on stage after tragedies, a comedy to soothe any grief from the former.

Somehow that'd found him seized - well, volunteered - and taken to the Spirit Oasis to write up the accounts of a negotiation with the varied powers gathered there.

He'd thought he'd be one of a grand retinue, Core Formation elders and Foundation Establishment experts in their tens and hundreds showing off the power of the Clan.

Instead, it was just him and Old Gold.

Next to him sat the retinue from the Jingshen Clan. Eight Core Formation elders, two hundred and sixty four Foundation Establishment experts, and all sorts of Qi Condensation servants pouring in and out of the massive atrium they sat in.

The Grand Elder had insisted that each party to the talks get given an equal space to prepare before entering, and so to his left sat hundreds of wounded experts from the Strength Purity Sect, to his right the flower of the Jingshen Clan. Over the other side sat a single terrifying old man - Old Cannibal.

The Grand Elder had walked up to him and greeted him by name. Tisamenos had felt the Cannibal's flicker of anger - the mere fact of his emotion left him feeling unsteady and nauseous for days after.

The central plaza was a gorgeous place. The atrium they were in was a massive, gorgeous set of gardens. They were roofed over by glass, flowers spilling from vines that climbed to the sky, bushes and small trees dotting the ground. Several paths of smooth obsidian ran along the ground, kept clean by the constant effort of mortal gardeners, who came and went, sweeping and tending and climbing at all times to ensure the gardens were well-maintained. The massive atrium was surrounded by the fortress that overlooked the Spirit Oasis, a tremendous construct nearly six li squared.

At the very centre of the garden sat an odeon in the style of the Clan - a theatre well-built and roofed, seemingly constructed for the purposes of acoustics. He had asked one of the mortals, and they'd said that there were trained singers who came here to sing most days, as wounded cultivators sought to calm their unsettled spirits in the peaceful environment with beautiful songs. It was that odeon that had been made into a meeting-place.

Manuel appeared in front of him.

Tisamenos had grown used to this. It wasn't that the Grand Elder was trying to humiliate him, merely that Nascent Souls moved far too quickly for the eye to catch. They flickered on occasion, and Tisamenos's original terror had turned to a dull ache of quiet fear. After all, if they wanted him dead, he'd simply die. The reality that there was nothing he could do had been terrifying at first, but now it allowed him to sleep - there was no reason to spend overmuch effort guarding himself.

"Tisamenos. We're entering to talk."

Manuel flickered away, and moments later he saw five Nascent Souls sitting in the centre of the odeon, a small table and set of chairs placed for their convenience. He blinked. None of them had been there half a second ago!

As he entered, the scribes from the other factions did as well.

Five Nascent Souls.

The old, worn face and bronzed skin of Old Gold.

The writhing flesh, the squirming and seething beneath the skin that belied the otherwise handsome face of Old Cannibal.

The red skin and baldness of Lady Jiao.

Old Jingshen, a man rarely spoken of and less rarely seen. He stood a mere four feet tall, and looked more like a shrivelled up prune than a human being. His face was merely a set of constant wrinkles, glimmering red eyes peeking out of an ancient, creaking body.

Lastly was Elder Glorious Strike, having named herself in the style of the Strength Purity Sect. A badly wounded Nascent Soul in the Early stage, she was beautiful. Not in the sense that Tisamenos felt attraction - a crush on a Nascent Soul made as much sense as falling in love with a volcano - but in the sense that her face and limbs were perfect, like works of art. She looked almost inhuman such was her perfection, as though some artist's pure idea of a human being brought to life rather than the messy reality of being alive.

Old Jingshen spoke.

"Alright. We know why we're here. Old Cannibal, you're getting the shit kicked out of you by Konstantinos. Normally I'd join forces with him to kill you, but his interests threaten mine more than yours do, so we need to come to terms. I presume we all have proposals, so let's start there."

-----------

[ ] All that is necessary for evil to succeed...

"Is for you to do nothing as I flee to the Devil Bees."

Old Cannibal had met Manuel weeks beforehand, ensuring their isolation from all others.

"You've won, I'll grant you that much. I'm not fool enough to fight you to the death unless I really have to. So, send me to the Devil Bees. Three favours from you to help me seize power there. In return, I'll try and kill that little whore from the Jingshen Clan, really rile her father up. He's not much a fighter, and that weakness will let you seize my old territories. Then, you let me and my disciples cross your land - take a fake wound or something - I even take out your other enemies. Win-win, really. Oh, you know I loathe you and I'll try and kill you again a few centuries, but you'll be twice as strong."

++ Gain a considerable portion of former Cannibal lands - if Old Cannibal can kill Lady Jiao you could expect to get 70-80% of the lands, if he fails probably 50-60%.
+ Could potentially weaken your new largest rival massively.
- If the Jingshen find out a difference in interests is likely to become a feud. The chances are small immediately, but in the long-term the risk is higher.
- Empowering an enemy who hates you to take over another power is dangerous in the long run.
- Will end the Devil Bee Civil War in favour of Old Cannibal.

[ ] The New Sect

Old Jingshen spoke.

"We cannot of course let one power seize all this land. Let the Golden Devils have their due, and perhaps a quarter or a third of the Cannibal land. In return, the remainder of the land shall be granted to a new Righteous Sect, the Spirit Oasis Sect. We shall set up a new Sect in the desert, one under the auspice of the Strength Purity Sect."

+ Changes the balance of power moderately towards you
+ The new Sect will be appointed and built by the Strength Purity Sect, who are favourable towards you
- The new Sect is likely to oppose any seizure of Jingshen lands
- The best parts of Cannibal land remain with the new Sect
- Old Cannibal is permitted to go to the Devil Bees.

[ ] The Negotiated End

Manuel spoke.

"Perhaps a simpler solution. Old Cannibal is permitted to flee, provided he does not enter the Desert again for two hundred years. The Jingshen Clan and I shall negotiate over the territory remaining, some going to them, other parts to us. "

+ Gain a portion of the former Cannibal lands
- Gain only a portion of the former Cannibal lands, depends on negotiations with the Jingshen
+/- Opens a second round of negotiations to determine who gets what.

[ ] War to the Knife

Old Cannibal started up, and Manuel spoke over him, ruthlessly.

"Of course, we could continue fighting. I killed one Nascent Soul from the Cannibal Sect, what is another?"

+ Winning rids you of an enemy.
+ Cool as hell
- Winning still inflicts massive harm on the Clan
- You're unlikely to be in any shape to seize any land, even if you win.

[ ] What are the qualities of a righteous man? (Can only be taken with "Walk in the Light, Cloaked by Shadow" option from the following post)

Elder Glorious Strike spoke, her voice as perfect and inhuman as the rest of her.

"Why should we fight? Perhaps it is time that the Golden Devils shake loose their devilish bonds. They have proven to be allies of the Righteous Path more often than not lately, and it is well known that their allegiance to the darker ways comes from desperation rather than from true Demonic nature. I come bearing an offer. We shall rehabilitate the Golden Devils, integrate them into the Righteous Path, and win a victory for all the Region. Let the Devils gain what they have won, and in return we shall enforce reasonable tariffs on the Scorpion Road between the new Righteous Powers.

+++ Gain the entirety of Cannibal Territory
++ Old Cannibal is hunted down like an animal by you, the Jingshen, and Strength Purity Sect. Very likely to wipe out an enemy entirely.
+/- The Golden Devils are integrated into the Righteous Path, and this means considerably less latitude on what the Clan can do. It does mean more protection, however - less upside risk but also considerably less downside risk.
- A moderate reduction in combat strength as many formerly available techniques will be restricted. Still much more powerful than a Righteous Clan would be in your situation, however.
- Integration into the Righteous Path means assisting other Righteous Powers, meaning the Clan will be expected to deploy considerable numbers of troops to the war in the Great Battlefield.
- A major reduction in tariffs on the Scorpion Road.
- Costs the incredible bonus you got from writing a million omake words collectively - without Fate itself assisting you this could never be possible.

-----------------

Voting is not yet open. Please wait for the following post prior to making plans.

A fragment.

It woke up, feeling something calling. Someone?

It didn't know. Surrounded by burning, terrible light. Always the light.

It wasn't awake, or aware, not really.

Still.

In the tiniest fragment of the weakest world, it felt something. A frisson of pleasure ran through it, of long-denied power.

Yes.

Power.

It couldn't look, couldn't see, couldn't feel anything else.

The light burned, but it knew... it could cloak something. Guard something from the light. It grasped out blindly, eager to spend the shard of power before the light evaporated it.

----------------

Welcome to your reward for literally writing enough to shift the Heavens! One million words of omake!

[ ] Blind the Thief

The thief. Stealing, always stealing. The spirits, thieved away, the stones, hauled away. The veins bleeding in the wrong places, the air growing thin. Blind the thief. Let it not see. Let it act no more. Let the wealth flow.

[ ] Step into the Light

The old man. So weak, so loyal. The last strand of a web connecting it to the world. So easily exhausted when seen. Strengthen. No more shall the light tire the man of shadows. He shall stand in combat as a peer to all who serve the burning horrid light.

[ ] Cloak the Ways Between

Those who stepped between worlds, who walked the path of slaughter. It couldn't hide the world, but it could twist the space, make it harder to get to. More expensive, more difficult. Less of the worldwalkers shall come to burn out the servants of shadow. Protect them, hide them, cloak them. Weaken the butchers, snuff out their torches as they hunted in the dark.

[ ] Even Lightning comes from a Cloud

Heaven burns with righteous wrath as the invaders seek to seize strength, lightning from a clear sky. Now the lightning must come from clouds, and the clouds shall cloak them. As they seize power Heaven shall prove still their enemy, but less so. Let them rise up. Let them all rise, like clouds rising from the earth to shadow all things.

[ ] Walk in the Light, Cloaked by Shadow (Can only be taken in conjunction with "What are the qualities of a righteous man?" from the prior post)

Fate grinds, the hatred of the light burns. Let it be turned away from the children of shadows, let those who stand in the light hate them no longer.

Not all curses or weakness are removed. Some are merely downgraded. As a rough guide, however, each bonus is worth approximately 2 Shinies in terms of power from the early game Clan construction.