Let us use Reason like civilized Exalts
Ulyssian was sprawled out on the divan in the apartment's living room. One might, if they were unfamiliar with his nature and habits, assume he was relaxing. In fact he was keenly concentrating on his superhuman hearing, listening for the signs of someone approaching the door. Sitting kept his armor from scuffing against his body and so limited a possible distraction. That his posture was also comfortable and rested his body at the same time was merely optimal.
Nilul on the other hand was lounging over a pile of pillows at the other end of the stuffed bank of seats. Her present form betrayed nothing of her descent from the Scarlet Empress. Her hair was a frosty blonde instead of the fiery red associated with the Empress, her eyes pools of blue sufficient to shame any Dynast who boasted them, and her face had more rounded features compared to the sharp nose and prominent cheekbones of the Imperial line. A kimono of blue silk, dyed in the colors of Venus, draped her form, and to some of his supernatural senses she registered similar to Pearl.
The Ebon Dragon's powers were, indeed, superb at allowing one to pretend to be something they were not.
"How did you talk me into this, Uly?" Assumed boredom inflected her voice. When he turned to look to her, she batted her eyes at him.
"Because the only way to be sure the Infernals do not know of your identity is to interrogate them," he said, repeating his logic earlier. "And I promised to kill them if they had discovered your identity. Also, don't call me Uly."
She giggled at the shared joke, but it was fragile. Ulyssian knew her instincts were rooted in flight, not confrontation. But when he had pointed out that fleeing the Infernals would leave the question or whether or not they knew of her unanswered, she had found courage to join him. In a convenient disguise, of course. The alternative had been discarding her identity entirely and hiding as far as possible from her known associates. She would take a risk for Ulyssian, Moon, and the others around them at the Academy.
That he had slain Cathak Polemgaos in a single blow had enhanced his case, of course. If the Infernals knew and would not submit, he would slay them on the spot. That would be… a challenge, to be sure, but it actually was necessary. And if the Infernals didn't know, then it was a chance to figure out their agendas and, perhaps, make them work to his ends.
The scrapping of shoes against the sandalwood floor just outside the entrance alerted Ulyssian. He sprang to his feet, moving as silently as a mouse, while Nilul seemed to dissolve into the shadows of the unlighted room. As the handle on the door squeaked, Ulyssian tested a theory. He nodded in Nilul's direction, and as they had considered beforehand, she subvocalized a warning.
'Get out! There is a trap here!'
If they responded to it, Ulyssian would have very little choice but to kill them.
Instead, the door swung open. Fei Ling, the swordswoman and bodyguard of the Mnemon champion, was in first. She scowled as her eyes swung over on Ulyssian and drew her sword. Ulyssian stepped forward, and in a flash of afterimages stood before her with Ambition drawn.
"Sesus Ulyssian," a melodious voice rang out from behind her. The sorceress stepped over to Fei Ling's side. She examined him curiously. "Why are you here?"
"We need to talk," Ulyssian replied gruffly. "In private. Unobserved."
"And you didn't just think to send a messenger?" Fei Ling responded acidly. "And what manner of greeting is a brandished sword?"
"Fei Ling, Mnemon Ayala. There is little time for games so I will cut to the point." He tightened his grip on Ambition, and prepared to flow into a supreme defensive stance. "I know you are both servants of the Yozis. That is a concern of mine, and of my master, Admiral Zao."
Fei Ling tensed up. "These are outrageous accusations from someone suspected of being Anathema."
Her companion instead laughed. "So you know. I don't think you will answer how. But you, Sesus Ulyssian, are not suspected of being Anathema. You are a Solar Exalted."
Ulyssian inclined his head. It was to be expected that the servants of the Yozis would have means to contest his disguise. At least until he improved it further. "So we are at an impasse. You know my secret, and I know yours."
"Not quite," Ayala responded in sing-song lilt. "We are two and you are one. I didn't win so easily today as you did, but those odds are favorable."
"The odds said I had only a four in ten chance against Cathak Polemgaos," Ulyssian replied smoothly. "You saw how that went."
"We did. You were lucky, Sesus," Fei Ling responded. "Perhaps you would be so lucky again, but I think not. I saw how you beat the old Dragonblood. You would not best me that way."
"Then I would find another way," Ulyssian replied with a bemused grin. "I always find a way."
Ayala blinked her eyes at the boast, and rocked on her heels to lean forward to state at Ulyssian. After a pregnant moment she blinked again, and her eyes widened. "It is you. Lord Odyssial. How did you…?" She shook her head. "No, you always find a way. Even the Shinma themselves say so."
A very slight tremor betrayed Fei Ling. She gave no other indication of recognizing him personally, but it was clear she knew of Odyssial.
Ulyssian nodded. "How does that change your estimation of the odds?"
"For the worse," Ayala admitted candidly. "You are not of the strength you were, but it is only a matter of time before you eclipse all others. How long have you been Exalted, a year? No…" She paused for a moment and then shook her head. "The story of your bout with that student in the Seacrown Arena. Two months. Then what would you have us speak of, Lord Strategos?"
"Your mission, for one." If they served the Ebon Dragon, their lives would probably be forfeit within minutes. "And your castes and patrons."
"Our mission is the same one that Shogun Feng sent you on, Lord Odyssial," Ayala answered cheekily. "She Who Lives in Her Name does not desire that Creation be swallowed by Fae or overrun by the abomination of the Underworld before she has her chance to mend its flaws. Nor would our own King Malfeas allow the dissolution of Creation to spare the traitor gods the ten thousand years of torment he has mercifully sentenced them to."
"And your castes?" Odyssial eyed them both warily.
Ayala nodded, and a green flame appeared upon her forehead, shining sickly light into the room. Seconds later, reluctantly, Fei Ling displayed her caste-mark of crossed sabers. "I am of the Chosen of Malfeas, the Slayers. My charge here is chosen by She Who Lives in Her Name and is of the Defiler caste."
"So the Yozis have not changed any in the past thousand years, as they did not in the five thousand beforehand," Ulyssian commented drily. He shrugged his shoulders, a signal for Nilul to reveal herself. She slinked out of the shadows with a sultry walk. "Also the odds were not two against one. This is Frost Blossom, Chosen of the Maidens. Or Tepet Nilul, as she was known under her most recent guise."
'Blossom' revealed a razor-lined war fan from the folds of her sleeve. "I wish it were more of a pleasure to meet you two," she added coyly.
"Likewise," Ayala stated. "So what now, Lord Odyssial? If we report to Malfeas your existence, efforts will be made to destroy you. Unless, perhaps, you have seen the folly of loyalty to the gods after the Usurpation? You would be a welcome ally for the Reclamation."
"I owed the Unconquered Sun a tremendous gift," Ulyssian stated quietly, "and still do. But I was not loyal to Yu Shan. I had my own vision of a new Creation. A world where the strong do not prey on the weak. Where justice is a principle instead of a lie. That is what I aim for. And what would the Yozis offer you for your efforts?"
"A chance to save Creation," Ayala answered swiftly. "They have power, though it is caged. They are dangerous to harness, but it is necessary. They will emerge in time; the Reclamation has too many resources and too many talented agents. It is better to side with the Yozis and seek to heal their broken natures than to risk Creation to the disinterest of the Incarna or the avarice of the Dragonblooded."
"Then I offer an alternative," Ulyssian replied. "I will find a way to save Creation that does not give the Primordials freedom to run amok and crush humanity under foot again." He looked at Fei Ling and Ayala, challenging them in a wordless gesture. "Do either of you have memories of the Time of Glory? Because I remember when Isidoros crushed whole regions in his revels. When Kimbery flooded a dozen cities to drown one blasphemer. When a Deva of Lethos murdered the petty remnant of a tribe to win a marketplace bet."
Fei Ling met his gaze longer than Ayala's, but she too broke eye contact as Ulyssian remember his long-gone sister. There was still a trace of fury in his voice when he remembered the incident.
"You know what the Yozis are like, anyway," Nilul said, slinking around Ulyssian's flank. "Adorjan still murders countless First Circles every single hour of every day. Malfeas crushes entire regions and billions of demons. Orabilis still works the will of Cecelyne in eliminating those who hold whatever knowledge she decides is forbidden. And there's the Ebon Dragon…"
"I can't answer that," Ayala replied. "We weren't going to just let them out as soon as we could," she said, shrugging. "So you would have us bet on you, Lord Odyssial, in place of our own patrons?"
"And in place of mine," he replied grimly. "I will save Creation. I would prefer to gather all aid I can. But I will overcome all obstacles in my path."
"I would expect no less." Ayala looked over to Fei Ling. "Odyssial always finds a way. But with what? You know the power and resources at the command of our patrons."
"Does he need more than himself?" Nilul surprised Ulyssian by answering for him. "In two months of Exaltation my lord Odyssial has defeated foes most Celestials would not be able to face in a decade or more. You know of his achievements in the First Age, clearly. But to answer you, he will have the backing of Shogun Feng, which is no small matter among the Dragonblooded. He may count on many other powerful Exalted allies who would not give the Yozis the time of day. Odyssial is still creating his power base, but unlike yours it will not destroy the very mortals he aims to protect."
Fei Ling grimaced. "She has a point there."
"She does," Ayala agreed, and licked her lips. "So you are still assembling your coalition, then?" She clasphed her hands behind her back and rocked back on her heels again. "Then, early contributions will be more valued than later contributions, all else being equal. We would want, hmm, influence on your direction. A say in your deliberations. The resources we need to be effective. And if you, Lord Odyssial, look to reform Creation, then could you not also reform the Yozis?"
His memories touched little on the Yozis, the Primordials, after their defeat. He knew he had intimidated Lethos into assisting his reincarnation. But had Odyssial ever considered fixing the Yozis? Perhaps. As a project for after Creation was righted, undoubtedly. It would not have been a priority. But even the Magnus had thought something needed to be done about the Yozis and their kin, the Neverborn.
"Of course," he answered.
"The safest course would be to say whatever you want to hear, and then return with summoned demons and as many fellow Infernals as we could gather. Or betray you to the Immacualte Order," Ayala mused. "If we wait a few years, my Lord Odyssial, you will grow in power until no single being in all of Creation could defeat you. And while I recognize the flaws of the Yozis, I do owe them a significant debt. But if your word can be trusted you would greatly advance the purpose of the Reclamation without furthering the less desirable consequences of it."
"Then let us discuss the matter further," Ulyssian said while slowly loosening the grip on his sword. Fei Ling relaxed out of her stance. It meant nothing, of course. Both of them could be ready for violence in less than an instant. But it was a gesture the mood was less tense and that negotiations were possible.
They were entering a sphere where Nilul's skills would be far more valuable than his own, so he was inclined to defer to her. That was, after all, the nature of the trust they shared. It was the same in many ways as the trust he had shared with Lealope. But before he did so, there was one other question he wanted answered.
"Your memories of your former incarnation are more extensive than that of most Exalted," Ulyssian said to Ayala. "Who were you?"
Ayala's grin broadened, becoming both teasing and devious. "Wouldn't you like to know, Lord Odyssial?"
~2,250 words
