Infinite Realm: Monsters & Legends

Interlude - Question of War

Question of War

War? Velorn Thorntail, Sect Head of the World Tree Sect asked. The drake was frowning, and Tali could see that he was not in agreement with Hitor. It wasnt surprising, Velorn cared only for languishing among the branches of his great tree. War with whom? They are in the center of the core, surrounded by kingdoms and empires, and unless something has changed, they are all still embroiled in their own wars. They havent spent any time on this so-called threat, I dont see that changing.

Hitor placed a hand on the desk. Weve grown complacent, all of us here, and those beyond our borders. We forgot that the Infinite Realm is a test. I am done basing my decisions on the actions of others. If we have to carve a path through their kingdoms and empires in order to eliminate this threat, then that is what we should do.

Immediately the rooms atmosphere changed.

You want to attack them? Jeuk Usho, Sect Head of the Breaking Wave Sect asked.

The kreacean seemed almost disbelieving.

If they will not deal with the threat, and if they will not allow us to pass through, then yes, Hitor answered.

That is madness, Velorn said. They outnumber us, this will mean a true war.

Leaving a blight at the core of our civilization, that my friend is madness, Hitor hardened his expression. But are we really willing to let danger grow until it swallows us whole? I understand your concerns, and I am in talks with several of their leaders. Ive invited some here, to my Sect, the Eratemus the Lord of Death and Sigmund the Voice are here. They understand the severity of the threat and agree with me. They alone will be enough to convince most leaders whose territories we need to get through, some might even join us.

All that we are, Henna Rai Tarun, Sect Head of the Starlight Call Sect started. All that we stand for, the foundations that we built our civilizations on; all of it is based on keeping to ourselves, allowing us time to grow stronger in order to protect our people. You cant think that we will be able to convince all of the Sects, even if it didnt sound like insanity.

Tali knew that this would be the biggest obstacle that they had to cross. The Sects were built in a way that made what Hitor was suggesting hard to accomplish. They saw themselves as better than the Classers, they had honor and didnt engage in the pointless slaughter that they practiced often. To enter their lands uninvited, to spit in their eye and disregard their autonomy it was unimaginable. It would be a breach of personal honor, even though the Classers wouldnt see and understand it, it would mean something to the Sects. Invading with armies is what they did, not the Sects. It would lower them in their own eyes.

Hitor took a deep breath. We were meant to create a safe haven to Cultivate, to grow our power. To reach for greatness. And we stagnated, the entire world stagnated. We grew enamored with peace, playing in little conflicts that never caused any permanent harm. This Dome was a wakeup call. A single Dome caused all of this chaos, and it hadnt even been opened anywhere near us. An entire civilization brought to ruin and its people sent running. Our lands turned against each other. There are twenty-six Domes remaining, and we are not ready for them. This isnt just about stopping a threat, this is about waking our people up about waking everyone up.

Twenty-six that they knew about. The number of the Domes in existence was inferred. They had found a handful of them, and they were all numbered. They had never found a dome with a number higher than 27, so they assumed, they didnt know for sure.

The silence that followed his words spoke more than anything they couldve said. They had to know that he was right. Tali also felt fear. They had all seen just how quickly the rest of the Settled Territories collapsed into wars. Even the Sects themselves had not been untouched. That they had managed to keep the chaos to a minimum was a credit to the system that they built, but still

Before I arrived in this world, over a decade ago, Ryun started to speak. Tali blinked; she hadnt expected him to be the one to fill the silence. I often wondered what this world was going to be like. What was I going to encounter. When I finally reached it, I was disappointed. You are given so many opportunities, so many avenues for growth, and you misuse it. Most of you. In less than a decade, I climbed to match the power of the greatest in the world, lacking only in experience.

You should keep your tongue still, Velorn said slowly. You insult us, when youve probably been raised by Anatalien. Dont mistake your place in this room as anything but a necessity born out of the recognition your name and the lucky circumstances of your past brought you.

Tali snorted, making everyone look at her. If you think that he was raised, then I see that you have still to learn to look beyond your own limited sight, Velorn.

The drake narrowed his eyes, just as Ryun unveiled his core. It was strange. Hard to sense at all, sometimes Tali wondered if she was imagining things, but Ryun could make it more noticeable. Now, a sense of emptiness, of a depth without end, filled the room. Cracks in Ryuns skin deepened and the abyss in his eyes darkened. There was no overwhelming pressure of high tiered Qi, nothing pressing down on the others. An average person would probably think that that meant Ryuns core and Qi were weak. Thankfully, this room was not filled with weak people. The effect of his core was profound on a deeper level. It almost whispered to them, to all Essence around them. As if telling them that they only existed because he had no intent of changing that. That they were all on the edge of oblivion.

And just as it came, the sensation ended.

I gathered my power through my own two hands, Ryun spread his arms, flexing his fingers into a fist. I will not say that I wasnt lucky at times, but luck is merely the willingness to take advantage of opportunities, or creating your own. Cultivation is my life, what I breathe and dream, and I can see that too many Sects slow their advances down for the sake of doing things right. They fear crippling themselves, or doing something wrong. Those are obstacles that will simply make them grow stronger when they overcome them. And if they are not able to overcome them well, perhaps they were never suited for Cultivation in the first place. Regardless of what the Sects want or believe, they are not safe, theyweare living in a state of false peace. The Infinite Realm has no peace, it has no safety, the more we ignore what this world is, the more we are going to lose when the Framework throws something down at our heads.

He is right, Hitor added. My city was attacked, we fought through an event, as I am sure many of you know. What you dont know is that the attack on my city succeeded. I am standing here today only because of the actions of one man who had reached a great level of power, the second Ranker from the Seventh Iteration, Hitor nodded in Ryuns direction. Zacharia Gardner, another of the people that killed the Dome Leader, without his actions I and my city wouldve been gone. His actions caused the event. Trust me when I say, there is no ignoring this. If we are to survive, if our children are to survive, we must change the way that we see the world.

Tali saw Ryun narrow his eyes. He seldom spoke of the second Ranker from his Iteration, but she knew of the deep history there.

I agree.

Tali turned her head to look at the source of the voice. Awirren Goldenfeather, Sect Head of the Golden Sky Sect, didnt look at her, instead her eyes landed on everyone but Tali.

A threat like that one cannot be allowed to remain. We have a responsibility, to protect even those who are not our own, even if it is from themselves.

Tali tried to see the madness in her and saw just a calm golden-feathered karura sitting in a meeting, calmly. But there, behind the glowing orbs of her eyes, she saw the mad fire, the golden glow that wanted to shine the brightest. She had learned to cope, to hide and present a mask, but Tali knew. Awirren was obsessed with being the most beautiful, the most revered, the most loved. All that she did was in the purpose of that goal. She had been Talis best friend, her right hand. Tali hadnt seen it in time, how her madness took root and tainted everything about her. She envied Tali her strength, the position that she held as one of the most honored and loved Sect Heads in the world. She wanted it for herself. She couldnt stand that Tali flew and made the sky her own, not when that had always supposed to be her placeor at least that was what Awirren thought.

Defeating a threat, saving others she didnt care about their safety, she cared that they saw her. Glowing brightly as she saved them. She cared that they loved her.

How long was it going to take, Tali wondered, before Awirren decided that what she had now was not enough. Before the beautiful and honored image that she built for herself shattered.

Repesh Emsis, Sect Head of the Midnight Reign Sect, shifted in his seat. What has been said, rings true. Ive spent centuries accumulating power, gathering and putting things in place. But even in undeath, I have felt the ages drag on. The power that is gained is a trickle compared to what I once experienced. The last true struggles we had were centuries ago. A Dome was opened, we no longer have the luxury of time.

Hitor nodded. I call for a vote, let us decide if we will go to war. And if we will use our influence to convince the rest of the Sects.

At that, Hitor raised his hand first. Ryun, Tali and Repesh followed closely after, then Awirren and Henna. Already, a majority, but the others followed too. All but Velorn.

And what will we do, if they all turn against us for daring to go through their lands? Velorn asked.

We will do as we have always done, struggle and prevail, Hitor answered.

With a sigh, Velorn raised his hand in the air.

We are all agreed, Hitor said. We will marshal the Sects to war.

Tali and Ryun sat in their lavish meeting room. Far grander than anything they had back in the Sect, and it was just a small part of the guest compound that was given to them. She looked over at the entrance where Lesamitrius was talking with his father, who had come as escort to the Sect Head of the Green Rain Sect. Ryun talked softly with the said Sect Head, just next to her. Warriors wearing the Green Rain Sect heraldry stood in the corner, trying not to look out of place. Erdania had pulled one of the Green Rains Sect Leaders aside and was about to drink him under a table.

It had come as a surprise to Ryun that the escort of a second in their invitation only referred to the Gathering of Sects itself, and that Sect Heads were expected to come with their full entourage. If she was being honest, it was their fault for not making it clear that they could have come with more than just the four of them. Tali had become accustomed to being alone, and Erdania had just attributed it to Ryun wanting to make a statement. Which he unknowingly did. All the other Sects had come with dozens if not hundreds of people as their escorts. The fact that they had come almost alone made them seem far more confident than they had intended.

She sighed as she listened back to the conversation. The Council had agreed to go to war, now it was on each member to convince as many Sects as they could. Their influence was what was going to guide the Gathering. The Twilight Melody Sect had relationships with many of the Sects in the frontier. Tali had influence not because of who she was, but because of stopping the undead attacks years ago. It was a bit refreshing, most of those Sects were young, their people barely knew who she really was.

The Green Rain Sect would follow their lead, it was clear from the moment they spoke with the Sect Head that he respected Ryun and her power. They would need to speak with a few more Sects over the next few days, but Tali could feel that she would soon run out of excuses. Sigmund had been sending her messages daily, wanting to talk and she she had rebuffed him, using responsibilities to her Sect as an excuse.

She knew that they needed to have a real talk, but she was hesitant. She glanced at Ryun and wondered what he would do in her place. The answer was simple, he wouldnt hide, that was for certain. She closed her eyes and made a decision. Tomorrow, she was going to accept his call for a meet.