Chapter 712 Arrangents
Ilea watched as a circular table made entirely of wood grew from the stone ground, various detailed imagery at the edge of the surface depicting bits of history the adow had been inford or a part of in both Ravenhall and Hallowforts past. She particularly liked the depiction of herself carrying the tree away from the Daughters of Sephilon, the bit rather small compared to more prominent events.
Chairs appeared next to the massive table, each mber of the respective council including the guests taking a seat as the negotiations comnced.
Ilea wouldve liked to have a phone with her to take a quick picture. Posting it in the Sentinel group wouldve surely been a hit amongst the students. She too took a seat, even though the buffet looked much more interesting than the stacks of paper, books, and folders appearing on the table. A glance to the side showed Navalis looking around with a bit of an uncertain air about her.
Sit next to , she sent to the woman and repeated the sa to Owl, the Lich floating between the buffet and the large circular desk. Youre a four mark Lich. If anyones invited, its you, Ilea thought. Looking at her own lack of notes, she knew her main reason for being here was her high level. That and the fact that she knew most of the people present, better than they generally knew each other.
The Lich and Ranger sat down, both sharing a quick glance before they focused on the details on the table.
Nice touch, she sent to the adow when Twin appeared on her shoulder. The left one.
A few of the attendees glanced over, mainly the representatives of Hallowfort looking at her for a long mont.
Ive done extensive research before this eting. Unlike so people, the adow answered.
See, thats why I appreciate you so much, darling, Ilea answered.
Important eting. Join? Violence maybe later, she sent to the Baron, giving a glance to Rock and Senia, the two Shadows sitting besides Wayland, both stressed enough theyd surely want to blow off so steam once this was over.
The music had stopped and relative quiet returned to the area, a cool breeze flowing in from the caverns.
Catelyn and Claire glanced at each other and opened their books at the sa ti.
The fox started. Welco everyone. To the first official talks between the representatives of Ravenhall and Hallowfort. As the mbers of each council were inford, we will go through the previously established sections first, by their importance as evaluated by both and Claire. Endless adow will docunt all that is said for future reference and docuntation, she said, thin sheets of stone appearing in the air with the words written down as they were said.
I wasnt inford. Tragedy.
Claire gave the fox a nod and stood up. Claire Russel, Head Administrator and council mber of Ravenhall, mber of the Shadows Hand, am here in person, sound of mind and at my own will, she said and sat back down, looking to her left where Trian had already started standing up.
This is gonna take fucking forever, isnt it, Ilea thought with a sigh and glanced over to Navalis.
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Navalis could feel the attention of Lilith next to her, the gaze like the lazy look of a disinterested predator. She stopped herself from gulping and looked at her for a split second before she turned her attention back to the detailed etching before her in the wooden table. Shes obviously not very interested in the talks. I cant take sides. Not disrespecting any of the powerful individuals including Ilea would surely prove difficult, but she would try her best.
As a Shadow and ranger, her specialty was hunting monsters, but shes been a part of her fair share of social events. Nothing quite as important as this, but the other attendees wouldve often thought as much about their downright mundane matters. Compared to even just the woman sitting next to her.
To her left sat Senia, the rogue glancing between the various attendees, her main focus still on Wayland.
He would be a fool and instantly dead if he tried anything here, Navalis thought but she didnt say or signal anything. Few movents in the face of dangerous monsters. The introductions comnced, all around the table with most of them repeating a variation of the words Claire had used.
Navalis didnt particularly like the Fae sitting on Ileas shoulder, the creature sotis giving her a look that made her feel like a child. It didnt help that a second one of the beings appeared on Ileas other shoulder a few minutes later. The creatures looked more or less the sa but even without her perception abilities, they felt like day and night. Only based on their body language and her instincts. Neither of them talked. At least not to her.
Ilea summoned one of the wine bottles onto the table and poured herself a glass, more appearing near so of the participants. Others had mugs with steaming liquids or entire bottles appear. Navalis couldnt tell if everything ca from the adow, Ilea, personal storage devices, or through so other magic. Nor did she know if any communication had happened before. Telepathy. She wondered if the people here had more conversations going on than just the ones talked out loud. It was easy to read Ileas expressions to know she was communicating with the Fae on her shoulders, Claire, Catelyn, and with the direction of the adow. She seed the least serious of everyone present, the mood and now drinks positively affecting the others.
A deliberate effort? Or just sothing that ca natural to her? Navalis didnt know. She wouldve guessed the latter based on her previous interactions with Ilea but a lot had changed.
forr Queen of Rhyvor. And Ill want to know where this wine was made, the woman called Elana finished, sitting down with a look towards Ilea.
Maro approved, the woman replied with a wink which seed to both irritate and amuse Elana.
Hard to read that one. Shes obviously a noble but it feels like she simply doesnt care about schooling her face. The training was there, both in her posture and the way she moved her hands. Just her face, and eyes. Navalis looked away slowly when the woman t her gaze. Look at the engraving. Yes, winged and many ard being fighting monster hordes. She knew it was Lilith. Depicted like so kind of deity. Was it how the adow thought of her? She hadnt gotten the impression that Ilea would like that but people could put on masks.
Ilea, the woman said and stood up. Or Lilith, whatever you prefer. Very resistant to mind magic, forced to be here by my good friends Claire, and Catelyn, she added and sat back down.
No titles? Catelyn asked after giving a glance to Claire.
I doubt the famous Lilith even requires an introduction, the Head Administrator said.
I want so credit in forcing her to be here too, the Headmaster of the Sentinels added, writing sothing into a leather bound book before he glanced up at the ashen myth. He wore a vest embroidered with both the family crest of the Alymie clan from Virilya and the wing of the dic Sentinels, neither of which Navalis rembered seeing on any clothing or armor before. His black eyes were focused, long brown hair falling to his back with a well trimd beard on his face. She wouldve respected his presence, his obvious status of nobility, and the magical power he wielded at his high level, but today he simply paled in comparison to his surroundings.
Trian receives no credit, Ilea stated in a more formal tone than she used before, an amused look in her eyes as she glanced at the tablets of stone where the said was imprinted. The woman glanced at Navalis a mont later.
Shit. My turn.
Done with the introductions, the two administrators started with the first point of discussion. The mood seed a little less tense now, though Navalis didnt feel particularly more relaxed herself. An obvious outco based on the incredible display of power all around her. She tried to activate so of her skills now from ti to ti, slowly getting used to the various presences. Still she couldnt even glance in the direction of the adow, but the rest were fine. She could tell there was more to the Fae on Ileas shoulders but they either concealed a part of what they were or her abilities simply couldnt comprehend the full extent of their nature. She assud it was both.
Ilea herself definitely used sothing to hide her level. She felt like a being at the very least at level seven hundred, perhaps higher. So of the information Navalis got from her didnt feel like anything shed dealt with before. Unconventional. Different. Might just be because I havent t a human at her level. Not knowingly or with my skills active.
What she knew was that Ilea could likely challenge most everyone here in a pure display of magic. Everyone besides the Fae and the flow of near endless power she felt from the direction of the crystal tree. She fits in with the monsters.
The extent of our cooperation is based on the limitations our settlents and peoples will put on the use of the teleportation gates provided by the culminated efforts of the adow, Iana, Christopher, Ilea, and resources gathered and provided by Ravenhall. Every council mber should be familiar with the preliminary draft of the agreent, Catelyn stated. Between the settlents of Ravenhall, Morhill, and Hallowfort, all teleportation will be free. Approval of teleportation shall be limited to the respective mbers of the Shadowguard, and the Guardians of Hallowfort. Each respective mber shall receive a key tuned to their respective mana signature. Limits apply both in frequency and amount of people or goods teleported. Said limits are higher for mbers of the council and other important individuals as defined by the respective councils. Keys will deactivate every week upon which the respective authorities have to evaluate and reactivate the device, Catelyn explained.
Claire nodded and continued. Internal chanisms docunt basic information of how many tis the respective gates were activated, which key was used, and how much mana was expended. Iana, can you inform us as to the security asures?
The enchantress stood up, her eyes glowing with a strange power Navalis had never seen before. Of course. As you know, much of our first prototype is a re imitation of what the Taleen had already built thousands of years ago. Improvents mostly based on what the adow has taught us have made this model more robust and easier to both build, maintain, and use. As to the security, we decided to simply exclude a lot of capabilities present in the Taleen model. Its possible the ancient civilization never expected anyone to be able to intrude on their network but we wont make that sa mistake. Two respective gates are only linked to one another. A gate cannot lead to another destination than its twin. This will allow us to prevent an attack on our entire teleportation network.
What about the technology itself? Can it not simply be stolen once soone owns one of the gates? Haiden asked, the cat like being purring lightly after it had spoken.
Not without a mind like that of the adow. The Taleen believed intrusion impossible, for good reason. Their asures to prevent imitation were just as impressive, and we improved on that. With the twin setup we have additional asures in place that would require a potential thief to need both gates for a complete enchantnt matrix. A task made more difficult by the internal destruction set to happen one hour after a connection between gates has been lost. Though perfect security is simply not possible. We will have to trust the guardians and asures in place, Iana explained.
Nor is it our only way to prevent theft, Claire said. Ravenhall intends to set up a gate hub in the town of Morhill, from where travelers and adventurers can reach destinations all throughout the Plains and beyond. The sa will be true for the first layer of the Descent, below the very grounds we stand on. Deals will be reached with the various countries, settlents, and beings, with the goal not to profit directly from the gates themselves but from the erging comrce and political influence we have with the control of said devices. Theft will still be attempted but political support and funding will be limited because of our mutually beneficial terms. At least in the human plains, the presence of quickly accessible Shadows, Adventurers, and soon Sentinels will be far more popular amongst the people than their wish to own the technology itself, she explained.
Wayland cleared his throat. He received a gesture from Claire. The ergence of teleportation gates will change up the entirety of the established flow of information. I suggest gathering everything we can on experienced enchanters, space, and void mages everywhere we can. Watching those individuals move will give us a lot of insight into who is investing how much into the acquisition of this new wonder. How long until the talks begin?
After our contracts are signed, Claire said.
The man nodded and summoned a set of books and papers, starting to write furiously.
I understand correctly then, that the goal of this teleportation network is not to send reinforcents to settlents in tis of need? No asked, the leader of the guard in Hallowfort speaking with a deep and vibrating voice, full plate armor covering up his features.
Catelyn turned to the being. The limitations of the keys will allow for plenty of reinforcents, should they be necessary. A limit to quantity is in our favor, even should our potential enemies take control of the gates.
The adow protects Hallowfort, Elana said. And Ravenhall houses the most powerful known institutions in the Plains. Any conflict directly related to our settlents will likely be lost already should the need for reinforcents arise.
Navalis gulped, looking at the quiet group exchange glances.
A few core teams of Shadows, Sentinels, Guardians, or single individuals like Ilea, Kyrian, Owl, or Aki will be more effective than whatever armies we could send, Claire confird.
Navalis looked at the engraving again. The winged individual felt different to her now. She rembered the song about Riverwatch, Lilith challenging an entire army by herself. It hadnt seed outlandish at the ti, she knew how powerful even a single Shadow could be against a group of lower leveled humans or monsters. But now, now that the reality of teleportation gates settled in her mind, she could only imagine the destruction a single high level being could bring. Destruction or protection, from a terrifying being traveling to distant lands in re seconds.
Ilea alone could bring entire nations to their knees in the span of a day. She didnt dare think of the possibilities with all the ntioned factions and beings. Navalis glanced at Sulivhaan, her tension lessening a little when she looked at him. Even with his mask on, she could tell more than enough. He was calm. Serious but calm. He mustve given all this weeks or months of consideration. I never thought he would trust anyone quite as much as this endeavor must require.
As our military agreents are purely defensive in nature, we will focus on reinforcing that aspect of our respective settlents. The sa will be true for anyone that joins these agreents, Claire moved on. Which brings us to the next issue, unified law between the beings of Ravenhall and Hallowfort. Dozens of people from our respective towns have worked together to create a universally usable set of laws. The adow will now present the revised version approved of both myself and Catelyn.
We will go through every paragraph until every present mber of each council is in agreent. The talks will be paused whenever soone requires sleep or sustenance, Claire said as a large book appeared before her.
Navalis glanced at Ilea.
That doesnt include you, the woman sent via telepathy. Good for you. This is gonna take days.
She thought the estimate rather optimistic but felt it dangerous to ntion that to the tired looking woman, the Fae on her right shoulder tapping her cheek in an enthusiastic manner.
Its an important text. I dont think anything like this has ever existed, Navalis said.
Ilea shrugged. Must have. I doubt the Taleen, humans, and Elves wouldve worked together without settling on at least so general agreents.
The what?
Navalis tried to process that but just shook her head lightly. Elves? Working with humans?
She glanced at Sulivhaan before she listened to the fox like being talk. A defensive agreent between species, involving teleportation gates. Could we defend against an all out attack by the Elves? Is that why he seems so calm? A way for us to fight back?
She thought about asking Ilea but the woman was listening too by now, quite focused actually. Sure. None of this is new to her. And she did strike as at least sowhat responsible. She must be aware of the power she wields, the importance of her presence here, and throughout the Plains. Could she alone defend us against the Elves? If the gates do co to be.
Navalis started to think about the enemies of Hallowfort instead, wondering what kind of monsters lurked in the lands around them. How far away were they really? How different was life out here compared to Ravenhall, Kroll, the Empire? Did they have regular wars? Her questions would have to wait. She just hoped at least so would be answered.
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