Preparations
"We are close to the point of no return," Grey Horde said. "My Summoners and Array Masters have thinned the barrier between the Real Realm and the Ethereal significantly in this valley."
Ryun grimaced, everything that she said made it seem like dealing with this was going to be a headache.
"It has co to the point where we can easily open gates into the Ethereal without needing much power. And the spirits can cross over just as easily, those that don't require vessels to exist for long," she continued.
Ryun knew about spirits like that. The Fire spirits that the Last Ember Sect used to utilize were like that.
"I fear that if the spirits wanted to, they could force their way through to the Real Realm," Grey Horde added.
And the vessels prepared for them were already here. The old form skreen had been changed, made to be mindless so that they could serve the spirits. He now knew that the delay was the crafting of a single vessel for War. Apparently the skreen had so issues breeding a form that could handle sothing on the power scale of the Grand Spirit. "Can you move the vessels?" Nayra asked.
Grey Horde shook her head. "Not without them noticing. The barrier is thin enough that small spirits keep crossing over. Most of those are mindless, but so have a childlike intelligence. War will learn of it."
"And you are worried that War would force her way through if she finds out that you changed the deal?" Ryun asked.
"Spirits need a vessel to survive in the Real Realm for a long period of ti," Grey Horde said. "But my Summoners have told that powerful spirits can cross over without a vessel and survive for so ti. Enough to do damage at least."
Ryun frowned. Having War co through and go on a rampage would not be a good thing. It seed like Transition and Mysteries were right, their plan could be their only way forward. Though he would need ti.
"I have sothing that might help us, but I will need a few things to prepare," Ryun said as he made a plan in his head. He only hoped that it would work.
Berion stood on top of the tower of their fortress hideout, monitoring the space around them. Making sure that nothing intruded. They were in the final days of their preparation for the operation at the Do. He felt space like an extension of his own body, and all the people around them like imprints on his skin. He could track them and know them, but his attention was only on one of them.
Ra'azel was in the small workshop, working on creating items, weapons for them all to use. Berion didn't know how to feel about that. His creations were... powerful, but they also ca with threads of obligations attached.
Kael had grown more and more... zealous, in the last few years. He wanted to change the world, but at every step he had been t with resistance, with failure. Berion knew that what they were doing cause pain and suffering, of course he did. But he had always seen the vision that Kael had. Except that that vision had gotten soaked more and more in blood as the years went by.
Now they were doing things for Ra'azel, hunting on his behalf. And that Berion did not like at all. The yeti had avoided Berion ever since that day when he had touched his plane and did sothing that he had never even dread of before. He crafted a Way, and had achieved sothing that only two people had before him. It was an achievent beyond any other. For the first ti in his life, it made him feel like he was worth sothing. For the first ti he had forgotten that once he was a slave.
Yet, when he closed his eyes, he could still see the ringed eyes of the yeti, his hand reaching for him. It had frightened him. He had seen greed in those eyes, and a complete disregard of anything beyond it. Berion now had sothing that Ra'azel desired, and he had beco so paranoid that the yeti would co after him. But he never did.
It wasn't until recently that Berion realized why. Ra'azel had been avoiding him, because what Berion had achieved, that power frightened him.
He didn't know how to feel about that. If he could have his way, the yeti would've been thrown out already, but Kael would never agree to that. Nor would the others. All of them had been taken by what the yeti taught them. The Runes.
Berion knew and agreed that they were useful, but there were other ways for one to gain power, what he had achieved was the proof of that. They didn't need the yeti.
He glanced down at the box next to his feet. Inside was an item, a gift from Ra'azel. Berion could feel the power coming from the bracer, yet he didn't pull it out. Others had accepted their gifts open heartedly, but Berion couldn't bring himself to trust anything that Ra'azel had touched.
With a small effort of will, he bent space and the box was gone, sent across the world to the bottom of the ocean, never to be found again.
He didn't need Ra'azel's power. He was strong enough on his own. The others didn't see how dangerous Ra'azel was, but that was just one more reason why Ber had to be there for them. He had to watch over and make sure that this coming mission doesn't end up being their last.
He kept his perception focused on the yeti, as the others slept, worrying about what exactly he was scheming. Sohow, he couldn't get the thought out of his head that the Ra'azel knew exactly what Berion was doing.
Tali looked out from the balcony, seeing the fleet being assembled outside the gates. The forces that they were gathering here would serve as the periter of the Do that Awirren was ant to deal with.
They were still waiting for a few factions to arrive. Sigmund's faction was powerful, but it wasn't one of the largest ones. The force that he would be commanding was going to consist out of several factions, like the Wardens. Though, if Tali was being honest, Zacharia by himself would probably be enough to hold the periter, perhaps even to take down the Do, especially if his partner was with him.
But the war against Dos wasn't just about power, it was about perception and politics too. Just being invited to participate in an attack on a Do held prestige, it signified to other factions in the world that those who were called were powerful.
It was also about connections. Many factions had bought their way into the attacks. It was an opportunity, to test their people, to gain better Classes and sharpen Cultivation. And while only the team directly responsible for the attack on the Do got the rewards from it, the periter factions were allowed a piece of the harvested materials. Which by itself was a fortune.
She felt a hand co to rest on her back and turned to see Sigmund standing next to her. With his other hand he signed, and she smiled.
"I'm fine," she answered.
He nodded, the signed again. "Are you ready for this?"
Tali took in a deep breath, then nodded. "I've waited for a long ti. I've dread of this every night I wore that collar around my neck," she answered.
Sigmund reached over and took her hand in his, then squeezed. With his other, he signed.
"We've prepared for this, justice will co for her."
Tali turned to look back at the force they were assembling. She didn't doubt in their plan, she just hoped that they would be able to ti it perfectly. They didn't want to start a war between all those assembled. And despite everything, she didn't want to harm the warriors of Awirren's sect, if at all possible. They were innocent in this.
But she had chosen her path, and she would see it through to the end, no matter what.
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