Graotan was a good country. Devon believed that wholeheartedly, not just because he was born and raised in Graotan but because he had traveled to others and laid eyes on them himself. It wasnt just Ofrurg either. Obviously his experiences as a slave would negatively impact his opinion of the country as a whole, but even discounting that he found Graotan to be much preferable to the few others hed been to.
So of the goodness of Graotan was due to the fortunate fact that they had fertile land. When a country was prosperous, everyone could afford to be generous with each other. Devon believed it extended beyond that with all of the people working to hold up ideals that valued others.
Yet Graotan definitely wasnt perfect. It was impossible for the Order to oversee every part of it, and even if they could, mistakes would be made. Negative elents would crop up every once in a while no matter how firm of a foundation was laid.
Though the majority of cultivators in Graotan chose to join the Order- the requirents werent particularly onerous and it had so of the best benefits- there were still other, smaller sects in the area. Most of them were wise enough to follow the rules set down by the Order. But so of them ignored them, or even completely went against them.
Even though its disciples provided security for the whole country, the Order did not impose heavy taxes. Most of their wealth was gained through the Orders portion of the missions its cultivators were hired for, and long ages of accumulation. So of that wealth was simply a good reputation, and this particular group was damaging that most strongly. But their discovery ca about from villagers concerned about excessive taxation.
There was no good na for the group, since they were simply pretending to be disciples of the Order. The general population didnt know enough about cultivation to prove them wrong, being unable to sense energy in any capacity. But from where Devon was, he felt it clearly. They were certainly cultivators, but their energy didnt match the Orders.
His current job was just to stand around looking intimidating. They already had the place surrounded, and the chances that nobody had noticed the group surrounding the structure were miniscule. It was likely that bringing a full group of Spirit Building cultivators was excessive, but the Order wasnt willing to risk the lives of their disciples- even ones like Devon who was making use of a different cultivation technique.
He sensed so combat taking place inside, but the main force was large enough to handle the entire complent of foes. He was just supposed to stop- or delay- anyone trying to flee.
It wasnt long before he sensed soone coming. He readied himself for combat, but he felt the cultivation of the Ninety-Nine Stars from within them. Did anybody run this way? a middle aged man asked as he stepped out the door Devon was watching.
No, not yet, he answered. Maybe try over that way, Devon gestured.
The man nodded and turned. That was when Devons chains wrapped around him. He wasnt sure what the man had done to disguise his aura, but the group Devon had arrived with wasnt so large that he would forget the faces of those with him, and this man wasnt one of them.
What are you doing? the man said as he raised his own energy defenses too late, Im part of the Order!
Well see about that, Devon said. His chains stiffened, pulling the mans limbs into the positions where he had the least leverage. Even if he were to use energy he would tire himself more quickly than Devon. He twisted and turned, fighting with all of his might- but Devon just wrapped the chains tighter. When the man tried to slacken the chains by darting towards Devon, he found himself held at bay as the chains suddenly stiffened. Then Devon extended more chains to bind his legs together. Now all Devon had to do was wait. After he covered the mans mouth to stop his protestations.
It seed that the rest of the battles were indeed finished very quickly. Another mber of the Order ca out the door, this ti one Devon recognized. The man took stock of the situation, looking between Devon and the man he had bound. What are you doing? he asked accusingly, lowering his spear towards Devon. Hes a mber of the Order. Why have you detained him?
Hes not, Devon said confidently. Though he was beginning to have a few doubts himself. At least, he didnt arrive with us.
Mmph! the man bound in chains tried to mutely defend his position, but another party approached.
Devons right, Jacob, said another mber of the Order, wielding a bow. This man was not with us. We should bring him before the rest and question how he was here, if he was not involved. If he truly has a good reason, the only thing damaged will be his dignity.
... right, the one who must have been Jacob nodded. But Marcio, he practices the Orders techniques. And hes clearly in Spirit Building and this fellow here doesnt use our style at all.
Judging people on the basis of their cultivation techniques? Marcio raised an eyebrow, casually holding his bow ready to be brought to bear should he need it. Im sure Devon will gladly co with us, and we can see whether any of this has been a misunderstanding.
Right, Devon nodded. If I was in the wrong, Ill happily apologize for the inconvenience and discomfort. But he was quite sure he wasnt part of their group.
-----
Ultimately the mans origin was one of the worst situations. Not for Devon, since he ended up justified in his actions, but for the Order. It might have been the worst, because soone emulating the Orders energy signature, while worrying, wasnt necessarily as bad as the man actually being a disciple of the Order. Which he was. A genuine disciple of the Order involved with the taxation sche.
There wasnt much to do but bring him back with them, wrapped in physical chains that restricted energy usage, and not just Devons manifestations. Devon wondered if he could replicate the energy restricting effect himself, but that was an exercise for another day. They simply had to bring back this person- as well as all of the rest that had lived through the battle- to receive judgnt from the Order.
-----
Edwyn Behrend, an imperious voice spoke out. Given the preponderance of the evidence levied against you, is there anything you have to say in your defense?
I didnt do anything wrong! he declared. Those villages offered tribute on their own accord.
An interesting argunt, said the judge, But ultimately unconvincing. It was their very testimony that they offered paynt only under duress, with the assumption that you were working with the blessing of the Order. In addition, the cri of encouraging others to impersonate disciples of the Order is quite serious.
It seems you had already made up your mind, Edwyn grumbled. What is my punishnt then? Exile?
No. Exile is only appropriate in certain circumstances. For soone in your position, the appropriate punishnt is death.
What? But none of the others-
The judges voice bood out over his. None of the others swore to uphold justice in all forms and willingly betrayed those oaths.
I was just trying to make money, Edwyn complained.
The Order has many ways to make money.
Hmph, Edwyn snorted. Manual labor? Deaning. Cultivators shouldnt have to do that.
Honest labor has value to society, but if you found it so distasteful the Order has many different kinds of missions to undertake.
So the choices were to work myself to death, or just die? I had no choice except to do what I did.
If you expect to be paid for providing no value to the world, we clearly failed in our assessnt of you, the judge inclined his head, I apologize for that. But willful disregard of the rules will not be tolerated. You clearly went to so lengths to hide it, and the others have corroborated that you knew your sin. The sentence is final, stayed only for the appropriate ti for exculpatory evidence to be presented, late as it would be.
You know nobody will co with anything, Edwyn snorted.
Indeed, we both do, the judge narrowed his eyes, But that is because we are fully aware of your guilt. But if we were mistaken, we would not want to rush an execution. And we shall abide by the rules even where the situation is clear cut.
Kohar watched as Edwyn was dragged away. She almost felt bad. Not for him, in particular, but she had been the one to officially write the charges against all of those involved in the sche. Usually she didnt deal in criminal matters, since the prosecution of cris would be handled by whoever ran a local area. Sotis she had gathered evidence or consulted on laws, but rarely had she been the one bringing the formal accusations.
The punishnts seed sowhat harsh for so of those involved. Exile and being stripped of their position wasnt much less than a death sentence, though she supposed cultivators could more easily handle that. So of those involved seed to have been sincerely unaware that they were doing anything other than properly collecting taxes, but they were still punished.
Of course, Edwyn had been the one to create the sche to fill his own pockets. Yet there was little in the way of restitution coming from his possessions- it seed to have flowed in and out of his pockets at the sa rate. Money that had been spent on expensive wines didnt exactly disappear, but that didnt compensate the people of the villages that had given up their inco to gather that money at the lowest level.
Mostly Kohar was disappointed at how little progress there was creating a larger change in the world at large. Laws were unequal everywhere, and the Orders own strictures were one of the few that actually weighed against cultivators. Other places didnt want to cause trouble with those who were strong and might have powerful connections, though the traditions of favoring cultivators werent always in writing. That was the problem, even if the law sohow beca perfect, imperfect people would be enforcing it.
Kohar watched Devon leave. He didnt appear terribly enthusiastic about the results either. Nothing was exciting about finding corruption. And what was worse, he didnt even have a chance to talk to Anton after he returned. Simply finding out that he was safe was so comfort, but Kohar knew seeing people you cared about also mattered.
-----
Terrible power with undertones of dread streaked through the air. It was just energy, but any power used as a weapon brought along with it the fear of death. And the origins of this particular energy were half intertwined with death.
The last ti Anton had struck soone with a Spirit Arrow using Fleeting Youths power, it had pierced through their chest and exploded out their back. This ti, even though no move was made to defend, it simply engulfed them in a cloud of energy, tearing up dirt and bending trees around the area.
Not too bad, Grand Elder Kseniya said, But I still think that bow is awful, even if its power is decent.
Anton lowered his bow. He wasnt particularly far, but he squinted his eyes to look closely. As far as he could tell, she hadnt even taken a single step back. So much for surpassing his cultivation phase. An Essence Collection cultivator should at least be able to scratch a Life Transformation Cultivator, right? He hadnt felt her concentrate her defenses to any particular degree.
I see several things on your face, Kseniya comnted. But Ill admit to not being a mind reader. So Ill start with so things I think will help. First youre still not really strong enough to use that bow. And I do an strong. It takes more muscle power than you can really manage. But beyond that do you know what it feels like to get hit with that energy?
Anton recalled facing off against strongly condensed energy. Hed actually been attacked by a Life Transformation cultivator, though the fact that he had survived hadnt been related to his own actions. It would be a sort of suppression, probably. But also maybe a bit of unexplained fear?
Thats the problem, Kseniya nodded. If people are going to be suppressed by the pure force of the energy, they need to be crushed. If theyre going to be afraid they need to be so afraid they cant respond. But yours isnt quite either. Explain to once more how your technique works.
It takes advantage of my cognition about my mortality, and my closeness to the end of my lifespan, to draw upon the energy from beyond ascension and into reincarnation. Anton thought for a few monts. Ah.
Do you get it?
Im pulling on two types of energy.
Thats right, she said. I noticed it because of those techniques from the Luminous Ocean Society. Ive studied them more than you, I do believe. They quite easily interfere with what we believe is ascension energy, but that lingering feeling remains. They are so well mixed that I didnt imdiately realize they were not one and the sa.
Thats what I get, I suppose. Trusting in a technique Everheart created but never practiced.
She shrugged, What can I say? Unlike certain others Everheart usually had no trouble creating clear instructions for making use of a technique. You certainly obtained the energy. So it failed to ntion that you might want to separate the energies for different uses. That wont even always be true. A mix might be good if its on purpose, and not due to lack of effort.
I understand, Anton said. Whats next?
Just a thousand shots for a little warmup, Grand Elder Kseniya said.
That was easy enough.
Without using a bow, she added on. I liked hearing about that bowless technique of yours. She quickly ford a bow out of energy, firing an arrow into the sky. Just imagine if you break yet another bow.
So that was it. This was punishnt for destroying bows. As if feeling bad about it himself hadnt been enough.
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