Petryn had filled out in the years since he left the palace. He had also finally broken through!
He was a Sliver Tier Immortal! The experiences on his journey were not the true reason. He was convinced that the nearly pure conditions of Amber Scale City had been the major contribution. He could make double the advances with half the effort there!
The search for his sister had ended in failure but not without progress. The high officials of the city did know of his sister. The one they went on about was the mysterious Maester that traveled with her.
After they left the city, they seed to vanish into thin air! Crescent City was the last confird sighting of either but the local war over the Divine Ruin had gone insane.
Whole cities had been wiped out! His father was incensed and had expelled the invaders with extre prejudice.
Still, a few months ago, agents had reported that the Heavenly Maiden Sect's war towers were working once again. Further, an area had been sealed off with people inside that repelled all attackers with seeming ease.
The reason he had been called instead of the army, however, was the sighting of a man with erald hair and similar powerful wards using the sa color! Only 1 person currently matched such a description.
He was currently waiting in a cleared out intersection outside those wards. He could see neat buildings to the west of the towers and a thriving park. The park he rembered having seen it the last ti he ca through the city but the buildings were very new.
His senses could not pierce the wards but they seed very simple despite neat replication. Had they been Forged? It would be a pain to remove if they were.
"The Maester has been busy." A voice broke him from his observations but he smiled wide as he took her hand in his.
It had been a long road but Teegan was now at his side. More precisely, he was at hers. He was never going to inherit anything in the Emprie but forging an alliance with Amber Scale City had been an easy sell to his Father.
Reality was just that he had fallen deeply in love with the leader of the city. He did not use his status to get his way but honest interaction. His brother had been a pest but strangely the demonesses and human won that knew his sister had been very helpful.
They were in fact strangely helpful to the point he wondered why until the na Belia had told him Teegan had been attracted to him! It seed the pair had been trying to be polite to each other while getting to know the other!
His Mother had been over the moon. The letter she sent had made him beet red for days!
Still, the loss of all leads to Delenn had been frustrating. His brother Nest had decided to keep looking back along their known path of travel now that they had it. Any clues would help.
"You speak so highly of him but I do not recall you ntioning why you are so nervous>" He knew his bride to be very well now. She was calm on the surface but her eyes were easy for him to read. She was extrely nervous.
She tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear as she smoothed out her dark tan robes.
"It is difficult to explain to a human. Maester Cord is–special–in ways I am not allowed to disclose. I care for him deeply too as the savior of my legacy. The people of my city owe him more than can ever be repaid. The new gateways we profit from too co from him. How would you feel in my shoes?" Her dark gold eyes looked up at him but Petryn actually smiled back.
"I would be a nervous wreck! You are far better than !" His smile and words made her face freeze until a giggle escaped her! He was glad he could make her laugh. It helped calm her down for sure.
"I am glad to see you are so happy in love, Teegan." A voice suddenly reached them and both swiveled to see a man leading a small contingent out to et them. They were not going to be invited inside?
Petryn needed no introduction and bowed to the far more powerful cultivator in front of him.
"Maester Cord, it is a great honor to et you after all this ti. I have heard many good things as well from many people on my assignnt. Before we go too far, if I may ask–?" He let the question hang but a gentle smile crossed the man's face before he shook his head.
"By necessity, I had to part ways with Princess Delenn, my Master." The last part shocked him so much his head jolted up. An amused smirk ca from the woman with dark tiger ears and tail on his left while he noticed the other woman was a Heavenly Maiden!
"It's true. Master Delenn taught
a great deal about Forging when I first began long ago. She will always be my Master." Petryn felt like sothing warm rose in his chest. Pride? Affection? He had never t Delenn but she was the master to this great Maester in front of him?!
Teegan giggled next to him. She had known!
"Now the personal business is out of the way. Let us address 2 main points before we move to a more secure area. I speak this freely where any may hear it and also swear to Heaven and Earth it is true." The rumble of the skies spoke of his seriousness.
"I accept your resolve for truth." The formal words seed to surprise the man but the Maiden beca solemn when he spoke.
"Very well. First, the structures that are not war towers are temporary. They are only protected by formations and weavings for the safety of the occupants. They can easily be demolished as needed." That was a massive load off of Petryn's shoulders. It showed they were not trying to claim the city.
The war towers were already granted to the Maidens and other ally powers. The offer was not rescinded alongside the expulsion so the Maiden with him made it perfectly fine to claim them back. Given the refugees he had taken in, temporary housing was also acceptable.
"As for the second part, I am afraid I will not allow any force to return to this city until a certain issue is resolved. You all from Amber Scale City are fine for now, but no one else. I will especially not welco any soldiers." The last part was enough to wipe out the relief from before.
"May I know why?" The Maester nodded but turned to the tiger woman next to him. It was only then that Petryn realized she was a Shard Tier!
Her arm suddenly went from pale skin to black scales! A tiger with scale? What was she? The aura of the Maester had drawn him in so much but now the woman's was terrifying.
He felt Teegan flinch back a step too.
"She is a disciple and friend, do not be rude." Maester Cord's words made Petryn beco aggressive but the aura retracted. It instead focused on the cleared street. A crimson thread suddenly appeared!
It was dark and felt vile to him. A soft glow of erald suddenly sprang up around his flesh but it was dimming even as he watched.
"Enough." Her aura vanished as did the thread.
"A day or more here and you will be affected by it once more, Prince Petryn. Teegan has more natural resistance because of her legacy but even she will succumb. Excuse
for a mont." Petryn looked up numbly as a storm suddenly gathered and bolts of white lightning slamd into the ground around them.
"Husband, they are running as planned." The woman spoke but her first word made both Petryn and Teegan freeze in place. Husband? The Maester?
"Sigh, I hate putting on an act for stragglers. At least that is out of the way." The once aweso presence of the Maester suddenly shattered as he flexed his shoulders and stretched in front of them.
"Honestly, all that just to make the masterminds panic? We already have a target on us and you want to make it worse?" The broad shouldered Maiden finally spoke but Cord only smiled at her words.
"I grow weary of the threat over our heads. I want them to co to . I want to leave them with now way out." Petryn was not quite following but a thought occurred to him at the back of his mind.
A thread that could appear and disappear without leaving a trace physically was not simple. A weaving was made up of sigils, traces, and eventually Laws. It did not make threads like that.
Formations were inscribed arrays connected together for their effects as well but they still required a physical dium to work.
A spiritual array was the closest to a weaving that formations could get but even they needed physical anchors. Further, they looked more like fine crystalline when exposed, not crimson.
"A bloodline array?" All the blood drained from his face. The fact it was in the city was extrely bad. The fact the devastation had not broken it was more proof the flags or eyes were well protected!
"Oh? That saves ti. You truly are Master's brother. You look a lot like her in so ways but the mind is the greatest complint I can give. She never gave up in her isolation trap all that ti. She continued to hone her craft and hold true to her values." The comparison made Petryn feel happy inside but it was only a drop in the bucket to the growing horror in his mind.
"How far does it extend?!" Maester Cord held up his hand and pointed behind him.
"It is better to cover the rest within. You may bring so guards, but not too many. The refugees are far from stable." Petryn nodded as he suddenly had a lot more to consider.
A bloodline array was an automatic execution if caught performing one. No defense was allowed, not even a slave collar! How had one been laid over Crescent City and what was it doing?!
Questions swirled as the envoy made its way into the wards around the war towers.
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