Chương 277: Honored peer

"We are ready now, River. You are certain about your decision?" Kite asked the priestess, joining her at the edge of their camp from where she had been watching over the final stretch of the procedure of salvaging what was left from the charred remains of the pavilion.

"I am. My… contact has already sent me the location of a safe house where I will receive further instructions," the scarred woman replied somberly, her voice quiet even though the pair were surrounded by a shimmering privacy screen. She of course meant the branch director, but even here she rightfully hesitated in speaking more of it as the screen Kite had wasn't powerful enough to completely ward off the attentions of a persistent gold-ranker, should they want to listen in.

"Do you believe that you'll be able to hold out back north? I would not be surprised if there was trouble in store for the guild after this." Surprised at her question, Kite turned to regard River who in turn kept her gaze stubbornly ahead of her.

"I… think we should be alright, at least for the near future. We can't be entirely certain, but if the sects have started acting out like this, chances are that they'll direct any further conflicts towards one another. Hopefully those won't be stretching the bounds and unspoken rules too much, but given what happened here during the Proving… Well, I'm not so sure."

"It is… frustrating, Pathbreaker. To get so close, yet be unable to reach all the way to their throats. Because they're still here, no doubt about it. But it seems like reaching gold rank has never been more important."

"If we can. There is never any guarantee," Kite pointed out, to which River only shook her head.

"We have to, Pathbreaker. We have to push ourselves and our understanding to the very limits. As long as it means being able to grasp my vengeance, no burden or danger is too great."

"Perhaps… I suppose we'll just have to do our best then."

"More than our best."

"More than our best," Kite agreed, trying and failing to hide his smile at the severity of the priestess' declaration. While it was very typical of her, sharing these kinds of sentiments at any kind of length with other people was not. Or at least had not been, because there had been a slow and gradual increase over the last few months. They fell silent for a while, before River eventually nodded towards the people finishing up their preparations for departure.

"Will you really drag that one along with you," River eventually said, and Kite didn't need to ask who she was referring to."

"Well, he did ask very politely, and Soul said yes. So I honestly don't see why not," Kite replied, shrugging helplessly at the sight of Impeccable Silver Edge - or Young Master Silver, as Kite had often thought of him - somewhat hesitantly following along in Soul's wake.

To everyone's surprise, he had apparently shown up while most of the group had been away and waited next to the remnants of their camp until Soul returned, making a most sincere request to follow her north so that they could keep exchanging pointers for some time. That Soul had actually cared enough to directly agree did speak volumes enough about her respect for the inner disciple as a warrior.

"He might be a spy," River pointed out, to which Kite shrugged.

"Honestly, I am not sure what he would learn that most other attempts at information gathering could not manage. The guild itself doesn't have that many secrets, at least not yet. And besides, I suspect that he has… other reasons… that further fuel his motivations here."

"What others?"

"You haven't picked it up from his aura yet?"

"His control is too good for me to know without drawing attention to myself. He could not hide from me, but his more closely held emotions are his own for now," River said, before turning to Kite with a skeptical look.

"And if I cannot sense it, surely it has to be beyond you?"

"Well, yes. At least when it comes to reading the aura. But there are other tells," Kite noted with some amusement.

"It shall be interesting to see if Soul eventually manages to figure it out." At that time, the others had started loading the last of their supplies onto Kite's folding ship, Glint already waiting in her more majestic dragon form.

Vista had also joined them, and together they would soon follow along the procession of vehicles, floating ships and menagerie of familiars that belonged to the members of the Fated Severance Sect, whose members had already started making their way out onto the roads around the city where they would circle it a bit to head north and then west.

"It seems like it's time to go. Farewell, River. May the heavens keep you until next we meet," Kite said, giving his complicated companion a small bow. This gesture left River with that complex expression which had come over her from time to time as of late, but this time she actually spoke too.

"I… It is odd. I find myself concerned that you all are departing. Something about it does not seem right," the scarred woman said, her brows creased in consternation.

"It is most unpleasant."

"Are you saying that you might actually miss us?" Kite asked, meaning it mostly in jest until he noted that his words had River's brow only furrowing even deeper. It seems that he might have hit the metaphorical nail straight on this time.

"I… Try not to die. I will need you all to fulfill my vengeance," River then said, a bit faster than usual, before turning and leaving along one nearby alleyway. Donning her mask, she was out of sight before even turning a corner as the artifact's illusory shroud enveloped her. While she was indeed the most complicated member of their little unity, Kite did earnestly hope that she would stay safe in the months to come.

Given how his aura senses picked up more conflicts than ever around the city now, he suspected that it would not be an easy task. As such, it was with a somewhat heavy and conflicted heart that Kite turned and went to rejoin most of his companions, leaving the capital behind. At least for now.

"-and as such, the winner of the dueling tournament of this Grand Proving is Crooked Star, competitor of the Silent Horizon Sect!

May your path be blessed as you have earned this honor before the whole kingdom-" Victory Carved in Storm and Stone found herself unable to care all that much about everything that was going on around her, even the victor's medallion that hung around her neck forgotten along with the rest of the arena and the murmuring crowds around the two that had climbed to the top of their respective parts of the Proving. Something just felt… hollow with the victory.

Storm knew she should be overjoyed even though she had been declared the victor of the monster waves one round too early as the mirage arena had been damaged in whatever had happened there during her round alongside the outcast called Vista. She still hadn't managed to get a straight answer from anyone about that day, and she couldn't help but wonder why. Perhaps it was all these tensions getting to everyone's head. The Proving was done now, though, but somehow Storm got the feeling that they weren't.

Perhaps that too was a reason for the odd feeling she had even as she and her fellow champion had been declared winners; that most among the crowds somehow didn't seem to care. Or at least not beyond what this meant for them and their sect. Glancing to the side, Storm also got the feeling that her sentiment was shared by the dueling champion.

Crooked Star was one of those students who seemed to want to embody their sect until they could merge with the very walls of its compound, the human man's black and white attire as crisp as his composure was somber. Unlike the sect leader who he seemed to idolize though, the younger man's hair was the color of wheat and shorn close to the scalp.

While the capital was ever a melting pot, Storm suspected that he hailed from the southern parts of the kingdom where such colorations were more common among the human population. And while he did not speak, Crooked Star did glance her way, his eyes conveying with no uncertainty that he too felt robbed of something this day.

"Well, nothing more to it now," Storm thought as she kept zoning out from the announcer's words.

"Back to the sect, back to the climb." Her master was sure to give her more attention now after her victory, and even though he had left early, Storm still suspected that Vista would keep his promise. The northerner seemed to be the type to hold to his word, after all. At least that is something with potential that came out of all this.

"I take it that he has confirmed it once more?" Maximillian asked as Anasta Temren emerged from the interrogation room beneath the Adventure Society campus of Heavenward. Outwardly, the branch director looked to be her normal, controlled self, but Maximillian had worked alongside Anasta for long enough to see the grim set of her jaw she always got when receiving confirmation of bad news.

"He did," Anasta replied, walking alongside her deputy as they left the containment complex where the agent of Discord was imprisoned. The truth serums and similar alchemical concoctions worked wonders, but they weren't perfect. But after a few sessions and many confirmations even when asking about it from different angles, there was no longer room for substantial doubt.

"We need to send covert messages to the local high priests that can be trusted, and perhaps a few of those that have kept neutral so far as well. They need to be informed," she continued.

"Or, in the case of Knowledge's people, they need to receive confirmation so that they can act more openly on the information. Send word to the guild too- no, scratch that. Make sure to schedule a portal for me to Convergence when it's deemed possible for me to leave for a few hours without causing a stir. The guild deserves to know too, seeing that it was they who managed to give us this lead. Though I suspect that they won't like what they are about to learn."

"Thank you again, Mistress Dew. It feels like your sect was forced to pay a heavy price for your association with us," Kite said as he bowed first to the gold-ranker and then to Petal Pressed to Singing Steel who had remained at her teacher's side to say their farewells outside the gate of the Fated Severance Sect.

"I had been looking forward to seeing you fight in the finals too, Petal. Climbing so far through the brackets is a most impressive feat in and of itself." The younger woman failed to entirely mask her own lingering disappointment as she returned his bow, but she kept it together well enough as she replied.

"Worry not, Kite. I trust Teacher that this was the best for the sect in the long run. If I haven't reached gold rank within the next decade, I might get another chance in what I hope are less turbulent times."

"I will be praying for your success then," Kite said with a smile as he turned back to Mistress Dew.

"Are you worried about further repercussions towards the sect? The Proving should have finished by now, meaning that the other sects are probably making their way home as we speak."

"Perhaps. But honestly, it would not be something new, though I fear that some of our neighbors might start making bolder moves against our territory. There has always been a distinct set of norms in regards to the pressure we put on one another, but seeing how those lines were both crossed and stomped on back in the capital, I suspect that things might be intensifying in the days to come," the silver-haired woman said, arms crossed in clear displeasure.

"But I believe that it is I who should be asking you these questions, Kite. Your guild is terribly exposed if a gold-ranker comes knocking."

"Indeed. We will be taking what steps we can to remedy that, but will otherwise have to trust that our remoteness and the more sparse mana up in the north will make the golds of the heartlands direct their conflicts elsewhere for the time being. While the guild could sustain a gold ranker should the need arise, the expense would probably be something few would want to stomach even among the sects. But trust me, Mistress.

While not doable in the short term, we've all gotten quite a good reason to renew our push towards the heavens with greater fervor."

"Good. I look forward to actually sparring against you as equals one day. That allegedly annoying path of yours will surely be something to behold," Mistress Dew replied, with Petal at her side suppressing a wince as the student no doubt remembered her initial clashes with Kite during his visit.

"As for Discord… I will do my best to guide the sect in the days to come and prevent what I can. If I can help you with something, please just ask. The sect still owes you for your intervention in saving Petal and Scar from that cowardly attack against them by Destruction's followers."

"Please, Mistress Dew, don't let an imbalance of karma bother you. You yourself have already come to our aid several times," Kite said before a restless snort from Glint in the distance reminded him that they still had quite some distance to cross before the day was out.

"And I believe that it is time for us to take our leave. I hope to see you again soon. While our reception in the capital was somewhat mixed, I believe that our homecoming will be quite a bit more joyous." Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

"Big Brother Kite! Big Sister Dragonfly!" As soon as the gates to their family compound opened, little Raven came hurtling towards the returnees like a onyx-haired comet. While she was quite fast for a six-year old, it still took a few seconds for her to cross the stretch of graveled path.

This was enough for Kite to conjure a few panes of force before him to form a glowing set of stairs leading up to his open arms, with Raven giggling furiously as she ran up them, only for the giggles to shift into a shriek of laughter when Dragonfly suddenly dove in and intercepted the girl just as she jumped off the final step.

Kite's wife spun before tossing Raven a few meters up into the air, the happy shrieking continuing through what would probably be a positively terrifying experience for most children who had not grown up around silver-rankers.

"Why love, I see that it is you who has so thoroughly corrupted little Raven to become such a daredevil," Kite noted, his voice full of laughter at the reunion.

"I remember when she was just a somber and calm little one, prone to silence and observation."

"Or perhaps, dear, it is just more of Dove leaking through. From the way she started out, one would almost have thought that only parts of Crow had gone into the mix," Dragonfly noted in return, all while having caught Raven and started spinning her in circles.

"I can be nice and good when mama Crow is teaching me stuff. I promise!" Raven protested as she got handed over to Kite, the siblings giving each other a proper hug while somehow just seeming to shrug off the fact that parts of Kite's face remained a glassy mask.

"And when trying on the new additions I have procured for your wardrobe," Glint noted in her usual dignified way as she joined them along with Will, Laevyeth, Amica, Braid, Wander and Little Crow. They had already dropped Walker, Soul and Young Master Silver off at the Convergence guildhall on the way, and would soon return there themselves to make some proper plans for the future.

But after the weeks of the Proving and everything that had happened, Kite had found himself longing for home to an almost painful degree. The talk of presents immediately caught Raven's attention, and the girl was soon following in Glint's wake like an expectant little duckling as the two went ahead towards the compound's main building. This was also when Little Sun Sprite turned a corner ahead of them, an urge to run and hug Dragonfly immediately surging through her aura before it was quickly suppressed.

Unlike before though, it was not entirely snuffed out, but the young teenager managed an attempt at a more dignified pace as she went up to her teacher and accepted at least a brief embrace.

"Welcome back, Teacher."

"Thank you, Sprite. I've missed you," Dragonfly replied, her words seeming to both please and embarrass her student who fell in at her master's side.

"But heavens, it was good that you stayed behind for this one. Things got… messy."

"Oh? How?"

"We might as well wait until everyone has gathered, oh student of mine, as I'm sure that Dove and Crow will want to know as well." This was indeed true, and true to form the now quite extended family and friends were seated around the main table of the main building, partaking of tea after a both happy and relieved reception by Kite's aunties. Surprisingly enough, even Verdant Evergreen had decided to join them, which was yet another sign that the prickly dryad was getting quite comfortable with her circumstances.

And while parts of the story were exciting and - with the help of some selective wording - appropriate for the younger among the audience, there soon came a time when it was time for Raven and Sprite to seek entertainment elsewhere.

"Come on, Sprite! Let's go play at the orphanage!" Raven called to the young teenager as she all but dragged her from the room, Dragonfly's student clearly torn between staying - and therefore feeling more like the adults - and the more stimulating prospect of merriment and games.

"It seems like she has continued to take to the other children," Kite noted with a smile that was mirrored on his aunties in light of the display.

"Indeed she has. There were a few weeks of uncertainty there as Raven simply hadn't had many children around her for any extended times," Crow replied, looking at the retreating form of her daughter who was heading for the compound gates.

"We were worried it might be too much of a leap for her, especially since some of the orphans there have had less than ideal circumstances. But with some help from Sprite and the caretakers from Fertility's church, she's taken to it like a fish to water. That part she must definitely have gotten from you, dear," she finished, nudging her wife with an animated strand of hair.

"I'm just so happy that our little Raven has more friends now," Dove sighed in fond relief.

"It should be good both for her and the village. Oh, sorry, villages. There are two in the area now. The second group of settlers arrived just after you left for the Proving."

"Then things are definitely becoming more lively around these parts," Kite noted with some excitement before reality caught up to him.

"But that also means that we really need to see about those surge shelters. We should have at least two years until the next one according to the estimates I've heard, though some speculate that it will be longer. There is talk of the interval between surges gradually having increased, but honestly it's hard to tell."

"The plans are already underway, little Kite. Do not fret. Your aunties can take good care of things here at home, you know," Crow noted with only gentle chiding in her voice.

"My apologies, Auntie. It's… just been a lot weighing on us these last few weeks."

"So I've gathered. Perhaps it is time you tell us more than the heroics of the past few weeks. I may only have caught glimpses of certain happenings in your tellings, but those have been enough to cause quite the concern." So once again, Kite fell into the - by now - comfortable rhythm of a more complete retelling of the journey he and his companions had undertaken. But of every trip, adventure and contract he had left on, this telling was perhaps the one that left the most sour aftertaste.

Kite was proud of what they had accomplished, with the pressure they had created even having helped set up the fall of one of Discord's gold-rankers; something that had to be sorely felt among their foes. If people of that level were a mere common asset for these people, Hua-Xi would be doomed anyway.

Everyone present weighed in plenty of times too, especially Wander who had been active on so many fronts simultaneously that she always had new and important perspective to cast on things, even if her most vivid telling of a steamy tryst between a pair of sect elder turned both Dove and Dragonfly into flushing messes.

The tale ended on a somber note though, with everyone present sunk deep in thoughts of their own as they pondered the spreading conflicts and breaking of norms that had previously upheld the balance among the mighty of the kingdom. So far, the north seemed far removed from things, but Kite had no doubt that it would reach them too in time.

Surprisingly enough, it was Verdant Evergreen who spoke up first, and Kite had to admit that he had almost forgotten that the dryad was there as she didn't tend to move around much while seated. Or at all.

"A simple solution to this problem," the dryad said, both her trade speech as well as her Hua-Xian having improved in leaps and bounds during the last two years.

"You have been ousted from your territory by a stronger predator, and a subtle one at that. You need to either find the strength to reclaim that domain yourselves, or allies to do it for you. Such is one of the most basic laws of nature, and I dare say the world too." To this, Kite couldn't help but chuckle slightly as he sat back with his tea. Not in derision, but because he agreed. His mirth simply stemmed from how monumental the task was.

"In that, honored Evergreen, we agree. It is more a question of having so many things to see to while somehow also finding the insights required. I suppose that you know some of how we essence-users differ from more inherent magical beings? It isn't just a matter of time, but other, more abstract things we need to find for ourselves while somehow also managing everything else that is important to us. No wonder silver is the breaking point for many essence-users."

"I don't see the problem," the dryad interjected with her usual sternness that Kite thought was less her mood and more anatomical limitations to her vocal expressions.

"It is as Crow says no? You already have plenty of people in your pack that can help you bear all these burdens, both in power and in tasks. Then spread out that strain so that you might find the focus you need."

"I…" Kite began, but faltered as he was a bit taken aback by the sudden willingness of the dryad to weigh in on things like this. This was probably more words than he had ever heard from her before, and by far.

"I will give your words proper consideration, honored Evergreen. Thank you," he finished, a bit sheepishly, that feeling driven home by the knowing and amused looks from many of his other companions that kindly enough refrained from commenting. Or at least so he thought until…

"Finally someone said it!" Wander cried, present in her actual humanoid body at the time.

"Don't get me wrong, Kite, we all know you trust us. And you're not too hopeless at delegating. But the dryad here - love those needles of yours, by the way - has a good point. We need at least one gold-ranker among us, but probably more, if we are to return to where things are going down and expect to be able to make a difference. And while there are plenty of us on the way, some will have it rougher than others.

Especially someone who happen to have his hand and other nobler bits spread out in as many pies as you~."

"I…" Kite repeated himself as he once again faltered, but this time due to trying to wrap his head around that particular piece of mental imagery.

"Thank… you?" he eventually managed, deciding that accepting the notion of help was the best way to simply move on with his life.

"Well, it's not like we didn't want to become stronger anyway," Dragonfly chimed in.

"But this does put a bit more pressure on us. I assume that most here have been told what progression to gold rank entails?" There were nods aplenty, with Kite's aunties being the only silvers still unaware as they simply hadn't progressed far enough. It chafed at Kite at not just telling them, but Ardent had stressed that the convention was there for a reason, which fortunately both Crow and Dove had accepted without further questions.

"Good," Dragonfly continued.

"That does mean that, while managing everything else we've got going on, we'll have to try to figure out what we in particular need. I… There will probably be quite a difference between us in how fast this goes. The surge might help, but it's also a great risk as always. I really hope that as many of us as possible will make it in time. And that there even is enough time left for it to matter."

"Hopefully, the branch director might be able to tell us something after they've interrogated that rather juicy prisoner Kite managed to secure," Little Crow said thoughtfully.

"I should at least be able to get back into the capital, even if my involvement with you all is quite well known by now."

"It hasn't been all dreadful though, has it, plaything?" Amica asked from his side, to which the celestine assassin grinned in response while the twinkle in her eyes was enough to send Auntie Dove into another blushing fit.

"Oh, I am sure I will live."

"Speaking of which, Amica," Kite said.

"What will you do now that the contract is over? Director Temren promised to have our pay logged with the Adventure Society, to be retrieved from whichever branch we chose."

"Well, I am on leave from Gauntlet for a few more weeks before going back. I did say that I was in line for becoming an inner member and forming a team of my own, right? That will probably take quite some effort. But if you don't mind, then I surely wouldn't say no to lingering until it is time to depart? I wouldn't want to leave a particular little Crow of mine before duty calls."

"You sure are welcome to stay however long you like," Kite said, none of those present able to hide their amusement at the look of sheer joy on Little Crow's face at the telekineticist's words.

"Your input on some of our plans will be most appreciated. What about you two?" he continued, nodding towards Braid and Wander.

"I, for one, have had plenty of time to gather new material and make new plans for some updated formations. My study beckons," Braid declared, seeming eager to set off for his nice little villa a few stones' throws away. Wander, on the other hand, just shook her head at her companion.

"And while this bore subsumes himself in study, I'll go back with you guys and help keep a thousand or so eyes on things," the outworlder said, but then turned and smiled sweetly towards her long-time companion.

"But don't worry, Braid, I'll pop in often enough that you won't have time to miss me. That's probably for the best, so that you'll have something else to think of other than formations and threads every once in a while." There was a round of chuckles and laughs as Braid clearly managed to convey his chagrin even through the cloth mask that he wore, and once the merriment had died down, Kite turned to Will and Laevyeth.

"What about the two of you? While we would, of course, enjoy your company and the might of your combined path, I don't want to assume-""Oh please, Kite. This is where we'll find the most important causes to uphold-," Will began before Laevyeth picked up the sentence seamlessly.

"- and where we shall find the most evil to vanquish. Of course we shall stay at thy side as much as possible, Kite," the spear-turned-woman finished, both seeming content with their statements.

"Then we first take ourselves a few days of much needed rest. Hopefully, the recovery from this will be less lengthy than my last time," Kite suggested to a general murmur of agreement as he tapped the rigid left side of his face.

"After that, I'm sure that we'll have more than enough with which to occupy ourselves. Reaching towards the heavens has perhaps never felt as urgent as it does now…" Ametrine sat in silence in the council chamber, as did Gold Mask. The pair were currently alone, not even their closest servants and agents present. The missive in front of her was the reason for their silence, further enhanced by the empty seat that Black Wood Mask used to occupy.

Ametrine still felt quite a substantial amount of satisfaction at the vengeance she had managed to orchestrate against that wicked woman who had set her sights on removing Ametrine's King. Some of her finest work. But as it turned out, this particular masterpiece of hers had come with consequences that she had not been expecting.

"So, it would seem that Black Wood Mask's cowardice and weakness will haunt us even after her fall," Gold Mask said somberly, even his powerful frame seeming apprehensive of the news.

"I suspected that they might send another to replace her, as our work is important, after all. But I didn't expect someone the likes of her."

"I can only agree with you there," Ametrine replied, much of the passive hostility between them laid aside in the face of this new threat to their respective authorities. Because the missive stated clearly that none other than Altessia Sessante was the one chosen by their church. A gold-ranker like them, slightly further along the progression towards the heavens. But, much more concerningly, one far higher in the internal hierarchy of the gold-rankers in Discord's service.

If this Altessia was what she seemed, then Ametrine suspected that both she and Gold Mask might be demoted from equal parts of the council to mere advisors and agents in short order. They would both fight tooth and claw to prevent that, of course, but the risk was suddenly very, very real.

Creating Discord's garden was of course the most important end goal, but where Ametrine and Gold Mask had previously been at the helm and forefront of that endeavor, they now risked being overshadowed even though they had been hard at work at this holy project for decades.

"Let us do our best to prepare ourselves… honored Gold Mask," Ametrine eventually said, the honorific speaking volumes. It was a sign of weakness that she would not have lowered herself to before, but this missive changed everything. And, fortunately, her counterpart seemed to share her sentiment.

"We shall indeed, honored peer. We shall indeed."