Lucan entered the dinning room to find Raze seated at the head of the table while two players sat on the left side of the table.

"Am I late?" Lucan asked.

"Your right on time." Raze said, motioning for him to sit at the empty place setting across from the two players.

Lucan took a seat across from the man and the woman. Raze made introductions. "Lucan Quilldrake, My Hand. Hellfire, direct warlock under the Duke of Flames. Lisel Farwest, direct warlock under the Queen of Shadows. I have invited you all here because out of the numerous travelers I have under my command, you 3 have made the greatest contributions. And well, I thought you ought to know each other."

"Thank you for this honor." Lisel said, lowering her head to Raze.

"Yes, it is a privilege to meet you." Hellfire said seriously. "I am gracious for the chance to dine with you at our first meeting." He said while lowering his head to Raze.

While they waited for Lucan's response, they heard the sound of silverware on china. Lucan was loading up his plate with the good stuff.

"Thanks for the invite, I am not going anywhere." Lucan said while eyeing the rice that was just out of reach.

Raze nodded happily and finished adding food to his plate.

Lisel and Hellfire both shrugged off Lucan's rude behavior.

When Lucan finished his plate he turned to the elf woman. "Lisel, you are a shadow elf, right? Or is that rude to ask? How does that work?"

Lisel shook her head. "It is no problem. Yes, I am a shadow elf. Why do you ask?"

"I know somebody who is doing the race change quest to become a shadow elf. She was stuck for a while, but she should be done in a week or two now. Do you mind telling me how you obtained a shadow mana core?"

"Sure, it's not too hard. You just have to build up a decent affinity with the shadow elf race. When it gets high enough the king of the shadow elves will present you with the option to change into their race. It just takes a couple weeks of doing quests to help shadow elf people. And you can't kill any of them, that's important. That is the only way to get a shadow mana core."

Lucan turned to Raze. "What the kind of bullshit did you feed me?!" Lucan yelled at Raze who was sitting a few feet away pretending to be enthralled by the potato he was cutting on his plate.

"Lucan!" Hellfire stood up. "Your rude behavior to our patron has gone too far."

Lisel nodded. "You have not once treated our Master with proper respect."

"We will put this on hold." Lucan said to the old man who was ignoring him and faced the two players across the table from him.

"Do not misunderstand my attitude. I do not consider myself above you. Lisel you seem familiar so I will be polite. You have embraced the realm of Shadows and have gained enhancements because of it, at the same time you have distinguished yourself from your peers through your own personal accomplishments. They look up to you because of it. Hellfire, I respect you deeply, the second ranked warlock and closing on first, you are an idol to us all and have continuously stayed on the forefront, showing everyone how great warlocks can be. You yourself have a sizeable following, a group of cult-like followers who will do whatever you say. And if my information is correct, you have gained the half demon race from the duke of flames."

"Yes, so… All great warlocks have gained power, strength and influence. What is your point?" Hellfire asked.

Lucan clicked his tongue and continued. "Then let me enlighten you to the current situation. You are both 'variables' in an up coming conflict." They both wore confused expressions. "There are 6 hands but only 3 of us here. 6 hands, but only place holders for 3 flags in the courtyard. Yes, attendance wasn't mandatory, but it is still a blatant slap to the face to not even send an envoy." Lucan slammed his fist on the table. "It is a declaration that Raze hold's no sway over them. They 3 other Hands have gone rogue." Both players turned to see Raze smiling and chuckling to himself. He nodded under their gazes. "Did you think this was some happy play realm where everyone lives in peace and harmony? Too bad, that isn't the life of a Traveler. You don't need to worry about my manners. When I became a Hand, I gave Raze a great portion of my power to hold onto. He knowns I sink or swim with him. At the same time, he is the Mighty Raze. The 3 other factions combined still don't pose a threat to him and can only target his followers. Which means it's not his problem." They looked to Raze who nodded again.

In reality, Lucan had no idea about the situation with the other hands. But he did recognize that he was the weakest one. So he took a gamble to draw others to his side and gain their support, even if it meant pitting the hands against each other.

Lucan let them ponder his words for a moment while he poured himself a drink and collected his thought for this rambling speech he fell into.

"Now that you are starting to see the situation, you must understand that there is more than 'getting to known each other' happening here. When we sell, we often say that our powers come with no strings attached, but that's not really true. We still sell only to those we want to and how can you advance if there is no trust or kinship." Lucan turned to Lisel. "If the Queen of Shadows joined the others would you go with her or stay with Raze?"

"I, um…, I would stay with Raze of course." Lisel said.

"And so would I." Hellfire said standing up from his chair again. "Following Raze through the Duke of Flames has got me to where I am, and I know following Raze can take me much further."

"Pretty words and flattery, still no reason to trust you. If they don't use a carrot, they will use a stick. In our type of relationship, when someone's power starts to reach a certain point assurance are required for mutual cooperation."

"What are you trying to say?" Hellfire asked, returning to his seat.

"If you want to keep gaining power hassle free, give me an assurance that you are with Raze to the end. If you can't, it is safer to assume you are with the enemy even if you are truly neutral."

Lisel rose from her chair, preparing to walk out. "I have been nothing but loyal, I don't appreciate being ambushed like this." She said sternly looking from Lucan to Raze and was about to walk out.

The old man raised his hand to motion for her to calm herself. "Do not misunderstand. I sent Lucan the same message that I sent the two of you. I made no plans except enjoying a meal with the 3 most accomplished Travelers in my service. My goal was for you to get to know each other better. What the three of you discuss is entirely up to you."

Lisel took her seat again while staring daggers at Lucan.

"I may have come on a bit strong." Lucan said before taking a drink. "But I believe we should all be fully invested in this if our factions are to survive. I will put my cards on the table. I am the player who discovered a new essence. It is called ethereal essence, currently, Raze is holding half until I reach level 200, If I were to abandon my class or patron that half of the essence is gone forever. I am tied to this ship while both of you still have the choice to move freely. The hard days will be upon us soon, war and despair are coming to this land. Will you stay and which side will you fight for?"

"I see." Hellfire said while pondering everything he had learned this evening. "As a ranker, the thought of removing a part of my power and giving it to another is counter productive to my goals in the game but I understand your position. Whether I become hand or not I will strive to prove my loyalty to Raze and both of you." He said to Lucan and Lisel.

Lisel frowned and said. "Although I don't need to prove myself. You should know my greatest loyalty is to the shadow elf people. Currently they are under Raze's protection. I will strive to do right by them. They will not turn against Raze, unless he does something awful to them."

"You need to prepare yourselves and those beneath you for a struggle in the future. There is no telling how long things will stay calm."

"It is good to see you getting a long." Raze said.

"Oh don't think I forgot about you old man." Lucan said turning back to him.

"Why am I experimenting on Silent every other night when she only need to do some quests for an elf tribe?"

Raze chuckled. "If you remember, you asked if it was possible for 'You' to give someone a shadow mana core. And I told you it may be possible. It wasn't till later I realized the girl must have been trying to change her race. At that time both of you had started building a core together and I wanted to see what would happen."

Lucan clicked his tongue. 'Damn, all that wasted time on a core that may not even make her a shadow elf.' He started feeling sick to his stomach at the thought of telling Silent about the situation.

"What are we going to do about the 3 Hands who have rebelled?" Hellfire asked. "Is it still safe to go to their territory?"

"It's business as usual, don't go talking about our business with others.". Lucan said. "But get yours homes in order, start forming a kinship with your followers. When things get rough, they will have to fight for their brothers and sisters. They won't do that if they feel like they are part of some super corporation. Stick to the motto that our power is sold with no strings attached but reward those who are loyal to you. Remember that you have already been infiltrated. Slowly make adjustments to slow the leakage of information. Our greatest objective right now is building an unshakeable foundation that will weather the toughest storms."

Lisel and Hellfire both nodded seriously.

"With the authority of a Hand of Raze I request permission to form a warlock coven dedicated to the true followers of Raze. I will need a 'second' from a direct warlock or higher." Lucan said.

"I will second the request." Lisel said without hesitation, which surprised Lucan.

"Your request has been heard and approved." Raze said.