Whatever plans any of the third circle communities had been making before, they suddenly got ruined when the news of the Young King’s declaration spread. Even those third circle communities that didn’t currently have aspirations about becoming a second circle community realized that their ranking would effectively go up as the communities above them went for the open spots in the second circle. For those communities that had already planned on making a run for the second circle the news presented a great opportunity. They had only been biding their time because the Night city communities had been putting pressure on everyone, but now those same Night city communities were also forced to go back.

The situation was also obviously appealing for the Four Winds as well. They had been planning their own rise into the second circle for a while and they were also one of the most powerful third circle communities around. It surprised absolutely no one that they too started to prepare for the move as if their position in the second circle was already a certainty. As ranking changes happened every now and then, communities like the Four Winds had developed ways to move their buildings and cities with them. They could even take along most of their gardens and fields, assuming their new location supported similar plants.

The new location they were aiming for was the result of a heated debate. They had originally aimed for one of the weaker second circle communities because the target was relatively easy, not because the area was especially suitable. In normal circumstances, they wouldn’t have the opportunity to pick and choose the most suitable spot for them, as they had to take the position from an enemy they could actually beat. There were also no bad spots in the second circle; simply some were more suitable than others. Now they had more leeway. Surprisingly it was the Threads of Fate that provided them their target. With their seer abilities, it was not all that difficult to determine a spot rich in the types of resources the Four Winds had the skills to exploit. The only problem was that they were not the only ones coveting that particular area, so they would have to fight for it.

Matters were complicated by the weird mix of groups within the Four Winds Alliance. It was obvious the original four races would go along with them to the second circle, but what about the others? The wolf tribes had sought an alliance and protection against the Night city communities with the Four Winds, a decision that had proved to be wise. But now the threat of Night city had passed. Would the wolf tribes remain as a part of the Four Winds? Amarog had consulted with the alphas of the other tribes and they decided to make the alliance official and permanent, effectively turning the community into Five Winds.

The Rakshasa were another problem. The Anshar representative had managed to start grooming a Raja with some potential among them, but the process was far from finished, so the Rakshasa stuck around. They however, didn’t seem to be a permanent addition, for now at least. The Threads of Fate were the greatest question mark. It was obvious they had their own goals and would not stay forever, so everyone had expected them to return to the fourth circle. But the Threads of Fate acted as if nothing had changed. They didn’t even bring the subject up.

The only thing that had changed was that the seers now actively participated in the meetings between the representatives, though only by providing suggestions. Their representative was also someone they had not seen before, but obviously held a lot of sway. Her suggestions and information were valuable as well. The outwardly human-looking woman hid herself beneath veils and silken garments, so they knew nothing about her. Still, the trade opportunities provided by the Threads was a boon to the others, so they were happy about the situation and didn’t ask too many questions. The seers seemed content with the situation as well, so there was no reason to rock the boat.

As a result, a group of seven representatives had gathered to discuss their next step. The inexperienced Rakshasa Raja was not really taking part and only listening, but he was there at least. “So how many competitors do we have for the spot our friends from the Threads pointed out to us?” Kawhena, the Dagon representative asked.

“At the moment, three.” Nyx replied. Her ability to gather information was deceptively good. Partly because many people didn’t take the Meilin seriously as a race. “Strictly speaking four, but one of them will look elsewhere once they realize the level of the competition. They simply saw an opportunity and tried their luck. The other three however…”

“So we’ll have to compete for the spot.” The Anshar representative grunted. “The Young King specified that the challenges should be resolved with a maximum of ten people. That should work to our advantage.” His tactical assessment was rather sharp. With the new additions of the wolf tribes and the Rakshasa, they didn’t lack skilled immortals.

“I’m still confused as to why this spot is so popular.” Amarog suddenly revealed his confusion. “I get that the honored seer mentioned plentiful resources, but isn’t that true for most of the spots in the second circle? What makes this place so special?”

“The land is a meeting place of several valuable resources found scattered elsewhere.” The enchanting voice of the seer explained. “It’s not overflowing with any of them, but it has almost everything. That makes the area pretty much self-sufficient. Any community with the proper skill will not need much from the outside. Perhaps the most important part is that there are the mines which are filled with high-value ores, including Elementium.”

One of the things that made the second circle special was that thanks to the ambient mana, the local mines refilled itself with ores over time. You could mine them too heavily and break the cycle, but with some careful management, the source of ores would never be exhausted. In cases of materials like Elementium, that was important as the material was rare and found in few places. The metal was basically solidified magic and perfect for mages and for enchanting.

The seer continued. “That said, the area has abundant game for hunting, access to a large lake for high-value fishing, forests filled with high quality lumber perfect for anything from bows to furniture, the soil is great for farming, and best of all the distances between are easy to manage with quality roads and almost no dangerous monsters. The only problem is that the area is very open and isn’t exactly perfect for defense aside from the mountainous part. That’s why it quickly fell to the Night city attackers.”

“That’s something we can easily solve with some fortifications.” Shioko commented. Her magic was perfect for such work. “The problem is, can we win the spot for ourselves?”

“We should have the advantage.” The Anshar representative said. “Thanks to our new friends, our power is grossly out of proportion in comparison to other third circle communities. With Shioko gaining the new Authority, we added another powerful asset. I hate to admit it, but Dee is also a perfect addition to such ventures. She seems to be capable of facing pretty much any single opponent below rank twelve and coming out on top. We can probably also convince Razark to help. With that, we won’t have to take anyone with the strength of a fresh immortal.”

“About that, we can also send someone to provide some assistance.” The seer said suddenly. “The person I have in mind will not lose to anyone present here.” That was a bold declaration considering the presence of the twelfth ranked Anshar representative. There was another thought everyone had. If the seers had such a person, then why did they seek help in the first place?

“Alright?” The Anshar representative stated with a bit of a questioning tone. “If you guarantee their ability, then we won’t say no to help.”

Nyx gave a small sigh. “I’ll have to go and make sure Dee doesn’t disappear in the meantime. The prospect of a battle should interest her even if she can’t kill anyone.” She was feeling a little disappointed as they had to reschedule their girl’s night out due to the recent events. It would take several weeks to get everything sorted even if they were to gain an easy victory. Knowing Dee, she might well disappear somewhere during that time. She left the room before the others.

“You know what I find highly amusing?” Kawhena suddenly asked with a grin. Dee’s name had reminded him of something. “The Qiraj. If they had just waited a while instead of trying to ally with the Beholders, they would’ve been able to get their old land back once we left.”

That brought several self-satisfied grins from the others. They all enjoyed how things seemed to be working out, and this felt like justice of a kind. The Qiraj had been forced to retreat from the Four Wind’s retaliation and had suffered losses. As a result, they would be lucky to not get kicked out of the third circle instead of claiming the land the Four Winds was about to vacate.

-----

The seer had just returned from the meeting. It was refreshing to work with new faces that were competent and not too busy stabbing each other in the back. The Four Winds seemed almost like a family, which was a grand departure from her previous surroundings. As she was placing her enchanted veil and protective charms away in a small box, she suddenly felt a new presence in her room at the top of the tower. There were always servants and her new bodyguard present, so she had missed it at first. “You can come show yourself now.” She stated calmly. She was powerful enough to face most anything, and her bodyguard was strong enough to face those she would lose to.

Yet her heart seemed to miss a beat once he saw the form of the man that came in from the balcony surrounding the top floor of the tower. This was not an enemy they could go against. “My, you found me fast. What brings the Young King to our humble abode?”

“Empress.” The Young King greeted her with a small nod. His mere presence made the room temperature rise several degrees even if he was doing a good job of hiding himself from other senses. “You may be good at hiding, but he is not.” The Young King pointed at the Phoenix in the form of a flamboyantly dressed man lounging on a divan nearby.

The Phoenix had not reacted to his presence in the slightest. He had known the Young King was here and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. So instead he decided to enjoy the surprised expression of the former empress. However, he had been disappointed since the only sign she had shown was a slight twitch at the corner of her eye. That was a major crack in her composure, but not what the Phoenix had been looking forward to.

The empress gave the Phoenix a disapproving glance and looked back at the Young King. “Well, while that explains some things, it doesn’t answer my questions. Would you like some refreshments?” Despite the situation, basic courtesy should be shown. She had already slipped a bit by asking questions before providing refreshments. She wasn’t boorish enough to repeat the question. He would answer when he chose to.

“I would like that yes.” The Young King replied and a servant soon came to provide some refreshments that the empress knew he enjoyed. He smiled at the empress waiting patiently. “To answer your question, I’m here for some answers. For starters, I’m curious to find out what brings you here. I heard rumors you had vanished. For a second I suspected the Celestial Emperor finally gathered enough courage to have you removed, but that seemed unlikely.”

The empress considered her answer for a moment. She wasn’t entirely sure what to reveal. The Young King was among the beings whose future she could not divine. That also meant that he could mess up the futures of others with his actions. “I’m here to avoid going down with the sinking ship.” She finally answered. She had made preparations for leaving long ago. She didn’t know when those preparations would be useful, but they were in place anyway. The Threads of Fate had done a good job of getting a foothold in the lesser circles. Especially for a project she didn’t give her full attention to.

“Interesting.” The Young King murmured. “You chose to come to a shabby little community in the third circle instead of the illustrious Celestial Court. An odd choice to be sure. And calling the Celestial Court a sinking ship sounds ominous though, especially coming from you. I feel like I need to insist on a bit more details. I need to know if it affects my people.”

“Only if you choose to get involved. And I need to point out that this shabby little community is about to become a second circle community. Not exactly comparable to the court, but not exactly shabby either.” The empress pointed out.

“Well of course it is. With you around, I would be surprised if it didn’t rise to the second circle. In fact, I’d be disappointed not to see you in the first circle within a hundred years.” The Young King countered. He knew how competent the empress was when she chose to act. If it wasn’t for the overwhelming power of the Solarians, the Celestial Court would have become the number one community a long time ago. “In any case, that’s not really for me to worry about. For as long as we will not be affected that is. On to more important matters. You know why I’m here. Where’s the Living Mountain?”

“Closer than you might think.” The empress said with an air of mystery.

The Young King didn’t bother asking, simply raising his eyebrow meaningfully.

“I do not have it.” The empress said simply.

“No, I imagine you don’t. But you know who does.” The Young King shot back.

“I suspect. I can’t say for certain but I’m fairly confident. I’m sure you’re smart enough to figure out the rest.” She said with a small smile.

It only took a couple of seconds for the Young King to look at the floor. “I see. That’s why you chose this particular community. You think they have the mountain. And for some odd reason, they are probably also the ones to sink that ship you mentioned earlier? I can’t see how, but sight is your gift, not mine.”

“Close. It’s not about the community but an individual.” The empress admitted. “This is where you come to a crossroads. Do you want to become involved or not? You will not be able to bring the mountain back. It has chosen a new master. And if you decide to get violent, the new master will be able to escape. If you try to do something to the others here, the Celestial Court might not be the only ship to sink.”

The Young King gave a small whistle. “You have a lot of confidence in this person.”

The empress gave a small involuntary shudder. “It might be beneficial for you to just watch the show. I see her affecting things outside Pantheon as well. I see Paradisia burning.” She had actually been surprised to find the person she was looking for here. The Threads had reported to her about a promising young seedling worth grooming, but she had not made the connection until she arrived here. Whatever was hiding Dee from her sight lost some efficacy when they were this close to each other. Whether this was just blind luck or fate was another matter entirely. Perhaps the other seers had seen more than they told her. She was the leader and the starter of the community, but that didn’t mean she was told everything.

That certainly got the Young Kings attention. The angels getting hit would indeed be beneficial to Pantheon. “I want to see them before I make a judgement.”

The empress wryly shook her head at the timing. “Well, this is an interesting coincidence. I promised to send them someone to help in winning the spot in the second circle. I was thinking about sending him.” She pointed at the Phoenix. “But if you’d like to go instead…” She left her words hanging in the air.

The Young King didn’t look too happy. He was the one who had just declared the rules about the fights for the second circle and now he was supposed to personally take part? What kind of joke was this?

-----------

Moirai, Dee, and Nessera were discussing the future while the others were busy planning. Nyx had asked Dee to stick around for a while, but that didn’t’ mean everyone else had to do so as well. “Are you sure about this?” Moirai asked Nessera a little worried. “The Night city will be especially dangerous now that the communities from here are returning and making waves. They will be taking their frustrations out on everyone they see.”

“I can manage.” Nessera replied with a smile. “Thanks to everyone helping, I’m not as weak as I used to be. Besides, I need to know as well. Even though it was Dee that initially prompted me to look into things, now I want to find out just as much for my own sake. The demons gathering in the Night city might turn out to be important and I’m still one of them. Whatever they decide might end up affecting me as well.”

“Just be careful. Just because you’ve grown stronger, that doesn’t mean anything if you draw the attention of the wrong people. I’d hate to lose a friend.” Dee squeezed Nessera’s hand. The succubus had come and gone lately due to her business with the Mystic’s guild. She could not stay here forever.

“Just a friend?” Nessera asked with a sassy wink.

“With some benefits.” Dee admitted without any shame.

“Benefits that I will expect to continue once I return.” Nessera’s grin widened. “Seriously though. I will avoid any risks. We both need this information though. It might be that I can’t return for a while.”

“Then I will miss you.” Dee said honestly. Even Moirai nodded with agreement. She too had grown fond of the ‘succuslut’ as she still thought of Nessera. Though now the name held more affection than disdain. The succubus had been a good influence on Dee and rather interesting company in certain ways.

As the two later on watched the succubus leave, Dee felt another twinge off loss. “It seems a lot of my friends seem to be either leaving or moving on lately.” She said a little sadly.

“I’m still here.” A little eerily, the comforting words had been said both by Moirai and Croestia at the same time.

“Yes, you are.” Dee answered both of them simultaneously. She had also made new friends like Nyx and Shioko. Still, it was a time of separations. That would always leave a person melancholic. It was a transition point in her life.

A messenger approached them. “Excuse me, miss Haydee is asked to join the representatives. We will be challenging for a position in the second circle within a few hours and you are expected to take part.”

‘Well, at least there’s someone to take my negative feelings out on.’ Dee thought with a small smile. The prospect of violence suddenly appealed to her greatly.