The empress was rhythmically drumming the table with her fingers. The clicking noise made her companion nervous, as the poor Phoenix had been the one to deliver the bad news. News that made it clear she had made a mistake. She didn’t make mistakes very often and certainly not ones this big. What made it worse was the fact that everything had gone almost perfectly so far and this mistake might ruin the whole plan.

It had not taken long after Dee had disappeared for the first agents of the Celestial Court to make their way to the Five Winds. Their speed had actually surprised even the empress and she was the most familiar with the capabilities of those agents. She had after all overseen most of their training. The empress had made sure that the agents did not recognize her, and kept out of sight for the most part. The representatives of the Five Winds were smart enough to deal with them, especially with some instructions.

They had not hidden their involvement with Dee. They had also been rather open about the fact that they knew next to nothing about Dee possessing any mountain and had no power to force Dee to hand said mountain over to the Celestial Court. Theoretically, Dee was only employed by the Five Winds as she returned the debt she owed for Moirai’s teachings. In practice though, Dee was more like family, but the agents of the Celestial Court didn’t need to know that. Those agents also didn’t need to know that two members of the Five Winds had vanished along with Dee and that they had every reason to expect all three were coming back at some point.

In fact, the Five Winds made it clear that they didn’t know where she was at the time or if she was coming back at all. They had even less idea when she might return, if she indeed did return. Only the empress actually knew exactly where Dee had vanished, though the others had some educated guesses. As a whole, the Five Winds were very cooperative on the surface, they just couldn’t help. Of course, even if they could help, they wouldn’t.

The agents knew something was going on, but couldn’t quite tell what. They had an idea that the Five Winds knew more than they were telling, but that was always true. It would be bad if the agents simply punished a seemingly cooperative second circle community without a proper reason, and they didn’t think a punishment would be of much use anyway. They also had to take into consideration the fact that the Crimson Path had a large number of warriors present, and those warriors would take a dim view if anything were to happen. The relations between the court and the Crimson Path were not exactly hostile, but they were already a little strained due to Teresa’s refusal to pay her respects to the Celestial Emperor. In the end, the agents decided to just keep an eye on the Five Winds for now.

The empress had taken this into consideration and made a rather public invitation for them to stay here openly as a show of goodwill and to show their willingness to cooperate. Or to be exact, she instructed the representative to do so. The agents decided to accept the invitation, as everyone involved knew they would stay to observe anyway, so there was no point in doing it from hiding. They might as well do it in comfort, and it was harder for the Five Winds to hide anything when the observers were so close. The word spread around fast, though the empress made sure to emphasize the fact that the Celestial Court was here as their guests, implying warm relations between the two communities. The other communities didn’t know any better, and the Celestial Court was certainly not going to reveal the real reason why the agents are here. The empress had turned the presence of those agents into an advantage.

As a result, everyone thought that Five Winds were allied to one first circle community and had warm relations with another. That made even the slightest thought of the Spider Cult trying to attack them disappear. The Five Winds had now enjoyed several years of peace and prosperity and had used that time well. The smiths and enchanters came through, and the products of the Five Winds had already become something of a legend. The Threads of Fate had auctioned off a few of the items the smiths had produced, and the prices had been jaw-dropping. Most importantly, the equipment, weapons, and armor were generously distributed to the members of the Five Winds and almost every powerful member of the Five Winds was armed to the teeth, making them even stronger. The items wouldn’t allow a low ranked person to beat a high ranked one, but any member of the Five Winds had a huge advantage when compared to others of similar level.

The smiths were all too happy to stay for a long time as well. Some of them owed the Five Winds a lot, some were paid in the very same items that were drawing so much attention, and some just wanted to stay because they were learning a lot while working with the best people and materials. Especially the Sidhe smiths were indicating that they might be willing to stay for good, and the Lacademonians were not far behind. The bond between the Lacademonians and the Five Winds had grown strong over the last few years thanks to the protection provided by the connections the Five Winds had made.

The empress had not been idle on the diplomatic front. Many of the communities residing in the second circle had gained that position thanks to the vacancies left behind by the struggle for the spot in the first circle. Most of them knew that they were vulnerable, and the Spider Cult was not shy about lashing out at others now that their earlier targets were gone. Some of the older second circle communities that had retained their position were also feeling at risk, since they had suffered during the fights, and were open to some means to protect their position.

The empress had built the Spider Cult up as a boogeyman everyone had to worry about and not entirely without reason. The alliance with the Crimson Path and the illusion of one with the Celestial Court gave credence to her words and made it seem like the Five Winds had powerful backing. As a result, it had not been all that difficult to build a coalition of dozens of communities against the Spider Cult. For the last year the coalition had slowly tightened the noose around the Spider Cult’s neck, and a few months ago it had turned into open warfare.

The Death Lords of the Spider Cult were individually powerful, and the community was much stronger than most of the communities in the second circle thanks to their tireless undead armies, but the cult had its limits. A single Death Lord was not enough to stand against a dozen immortals from other communities, and many of the Death Lords had fallen in the first weeks of the fighting due to cleverly laid ambushes. The empress had also secured the help of the Radiant Sun and the Holy Orders, who were more than happy to strike at the undead menace, thus bringing the best weapon available to bear against the undead legions in the form of holy power.

The Spider Cult had done their best to make a stand against the coalition, but the combined power of so many communities had pushed the cult back into their sanctum city. The coalition communities were increasingly relying on the command of the empress, though she mostly led from the shadows, allowing the representatives to get the glory. Thanks to her leadership and planning, their losses had also been kept to a minimum, making the other communities even more respectful of their lead. The victory only required a final push, but that’s where her big mistake surfaced.

“Are you sure about this?” The empress knew she had heard correctly the first time; she just didn’t like what she was hearing.

“I’m quite sure. You know we Phoenixes are considered partly divine, and although that is mostly just rumors, we do have very sharp senses towards such things. Not only is the sanctum city of the Spider Cult brimming with holy energy, making a siege a really bad idea, but I’m certain that there is an actual god present in the inner sanctum. Or to be more exact, an avatar of one. It doesn’t take much to guess whose avatar that is.” The Phoenix replied with a grimace. He had flown close to the sanctum to scout things out, and the foul aura of the Great Mother still made him ill.

The empress made a tsk-sound with her tongue. “I had heard rumors, but every cult claims to have access to and the protection of their chosen deity. Who knew the Spider Cult actually wasn’t lying.”

The thing is, she should have known better. She had heard the stories about the Spider Goddess having corporeal avatars, so of course, the most important servants of the goddess had one protecting their sanctum. The problem was that the empress had never really cared about deities. Oh, she knew about the power they granted their servants and how fervent faith could influence the psychology of the worshippers. She had taken things like that into consideration when making several of her plans over the centuries. But she had never given real thought to the deities themselves. In her mind, they were just another source of power like mana and ki. She certainly didn’t take into consideration that one of them would have a corporeal avatar on Pantheon, messing up her carefully laid plans.

“This is a disaster. And you will have to tell me how large of a disaster. I have no idea about the strength an avatar like that might possess.” The empress prompted the Phoenix.

“Well, I have some good news and some bad news on that front. In theory, the deity has divided her power between the avatars. The avatar is unlikely to have offensive potential beyond a medium strength rank twelve immortal. The problem is that avatars are notoriously hard to kill. There are very few deities with avatars, so keep that in mind as you consider the reliability of my information. According to what I know, the avatar is sustained by the holy power of the goddess and is basically impossible to harm until that power runs out. And as one of the most powerful deities, the Great Mother has a lot of power in store. Whether she is willing to spend all of that to protect the city is another thing, but judging by the heavy presence of holy power in the sanctum, I’m pretty sure she is willing to spend a lot.” The Phoenix explained.

“And your fires can’t hurt the avatar?” The empress asked. The fires of a Phoenix were famous for being able to burn almost anything.

“Unfortunately not. The fires of an elder Phoenix might be able to do so, or the breath of an elder dragon, but I’m not able to do so.” He was quiet for a moment. “The girl Dee. Her flames might be a bit different.”

“Really? Well, while that does give us one option, we have no idea when she will return. I did tell her to stay away until she is capable of protecting the mountain. Even for her, that will take time. I don’t know if we can afford to just sit on our hands that long. Much of our success is based on the fact that we have won every battle so far and are driven by the momentum those victories give us. If we just lay siege to the sanctum for years, then some of the communities will get other ideas. I have plans for those communities. I can’t afford to let them get funny ideas. Besides, wasting too much time will give the Spider Cult a chance to regroup and come up with various ways to make things difficult for us.” The empress shook her head in disgust. One damn mistake.

“Well, the other option might be worse. We’ll have to keep bombarding the avatar until the goddess runs out of power, while in the meantime she will be free to rampage. The resulting losses are unlikely to endear you to any of the communities involved.” The Phoenix pointed out. He often played the part of a frivolous man, but he wasn’t stupid. It was in his best interest that the empress succeeded.

“Curses! I wonder if I could wrangle the help of one of the elder dragons in the first circle. I know they aren’t exactly the most diplomatic type, but if the price is right…” The empress ran through several possible plans in her mind, but it still left them with the problem.

The empress was interrupted by a communication from the guards. Apparently, the representative of the Meilin was here due to some business. “There’s another problem.” The empress stated with a sigh. “Nyx was sometimes too smart for her own good and was the one to resist my influence the most, but she was also very logical and cooperative when necessary.” The implication was that the new representative was not.

“The new representative is just narrow-sighted. She can be logical as well. It’s just that her limited sight can’t see the bigger picture. She only strives to benefit the Meilin, unfortunately at the expense of others.” The Phoenix pointed out.

With Nyx going missing for several years, it was almost inevitable that the Meilin would pick a new representative. The problem was that the new representative had campaigned for the position with the platform that Nyx was abandoning their race and that she, in contrast, would always put their race first. The representatives had always been more like a group of friends that worked for the betterment of the entire community as a whole, and the new representative changed that dynamic by constantly trying to drive forward the agenda of her own race. That strained the relations between the representatives.

Normally it would have been simple for the other representatives to keep the new Meilin representative in her place, but there were some complications. The Crimson Path had quickly determined that the Meilin were actually perfect for becoming Crimson Witches, as their nature made them less likely to lose themselves when using their full powers. That had increased the importance of the Meilin inside the community, which in turn made the new Meilin representative hard to ignore. The representative was driving a wedge between the races, and ruining the familial atmosphere that the empress had learned to enjoy.

“What does she want?” She asked rather curtly. She had some ideas on how to deal with the Meilin representative, but the timing wasn’t right. It would be so much easier if Nyx came back. Then she would not need to meddle in the internal affairs of Meilin directly. Instead, she could simply support Nyx in retaking her position.

“Apparently the emissaries of the coalition communities are here to plan the final assault of the Spider Cult sanctum. Your presence is requested.” The guard relayed the message.

The empress gave a sigh. The new Meilin representative wasn’t stupid either. She was trying to force the empress out of the shadows. The other representatives were all too happy to ask the empress for advice, but they were less likely to go along if the empress started to give commands. Being unofficial members of the community allowed the Threads of Fate the chance to work from the shadows and be more neutral in their dealings, but it also meant that they had to deal with certain protocol issues. For example, in the incoming conference of the coalition, the empress could only sit among the other coalition communities, instead of sitting with the representatives of the Five Winds. It was also hard for her to refuse taking part personally, or it might be seen as disrespectful.

As a result, she would have to step up if she wanted to take part in the planning. Only the representatives knew she was the source of most of their plans, and if she wanted her plans to be followed then she would have to take a prominent role in the planning during the meeting, clearly coming out of the shadows. It would immediately become obvious who had done most of the war planning so far. The other communities would most likely push her into the forefront due to the success of her earlier plans, clearly designating her as the leader of this little endeavor. And then she would no longer be making suggestions and giving advice, but actually giving commands.

She would have to take a more prominent role at some point anyway, but she wanted to do so on her own terms, so she was planning on hanging back and letting the representatives of the Five Winds handle everything in this meeting. The plan would not make much of a difference anyway. She would be present at the conference, but would not contribute. She would not play the game the annoying Meilin wanted. She was just about to respond to the invitation, when one of the seers contacted her with the best news she’d had in years.

A wide grin split her face. This little conference might become much more interesting after all.

-----

The start of the meeting went about as well as the empress had expected. Most of the coalition members were arguing about how to best approach the situation, and the Five Winds representatives were letting it all happen without interference. They were mostly looking towards the empress, as they knew she was the one to make the plans anyway, but the empress was content to just sit in silence like none of this had anything to do with her.

Suddenly there was a disturbance at the door and a smile spread on the empress’ face. They were here. This was what she had been expecting. She suppressed a shiver as power seemed to be practically rolling off the back of the three people entering the room. One of the trio was noticeably taller than the other two, and the empress could feel the air around that person had changed. That change became even more obvious as the trio removed the hoods that had been hiding their identities until they had reached the room. Before leaving Dee had felt like someone who had been thrust into power, but now she had the aura of a person who had earned it. Earlier, Dee had felt dangerous and someone with power over others due to circumstances, but now she had gravitas.

Many of the emissaries were asking questions and looking disturbed at the sudden appearance of the trio. Four of the five representatives of the Five Winds had wide grins on their faces on the other hand, and Shioko stepped forward to greet her friends. “Nyx, Moirai, Dee, I’m so glad to see you back.” As she got close enough to give the trio hugs she made a theatrical whisper that everyone heard. “I like your new style.” She punctuated her words by ruffling Nyx’s colorful hair.

The current Meilin representative was less pleased though. “Well, the traitor is back. What are you doing here Nyx?”

“Who is the idiot?” Dee asked and gestured towards the Meilin representative looking self-important on the raised seats.

“That would be Ushas. A rather nasty rat that likes to think much of her own abilities.” Nyx replied with a grin. She knew that it would be much easier to just let Dee handle things. Ushas was actually a mouse type Meilin, but Nyx liked to call her a rat as a pejorative.

“The new representative of the Meilin. And you should know your place, walking in with a criminal and a traitor that forsook her duty.” Ushas was puffing her chest, secure in her own position.

“Not a good choice of words.” The Anshar representative grumbled, knowing that Ushas had chosen the wrong path. If she had simply leaned on the fact that the Meilin had voted her into the position, then Dee might have left things alone, but Ushas chose to be antagonistic and overbearing instead. The other representatives knew that out of everyone in the Five Winds, Dee was the closest with Moirai and Nyx, and would not have any qualms about protecting them with violence. They also knew what Dee’s presence here signified about her current strength. She was confident about protecting the mountain.

“No.” Dee stated simply.

“What do you mean no?” Ushas asked a little caught off-guard.

“I mean, no, you are not the representative of the Meilin. I recognize only one representative of your people and that’s not you. And I’m fairly confident my word is enough to have you removed from the position. So until I gave my opinion, your position was temporary.” Dee stated calmly.

“Who do you think you are?!” Ushas started demanding, before Dee’s Domain suddenly crashed on her pushing her to her knees. The dominating aspect of Dee’s Domain had grown a lot stronger with her own strength rising. The others present could feel a whiff of what Ushas was feeling, but Dee had also become a lot more accurate at using her Domain instead of just plopping it on everyone besides her friends.

Dee looked at the other representatives. “My words are true, correct?”

“Correct.” The other representatives voiced almost simultaneously with small knowing smiles forming on their faces. They too were less than pleased with Ushas, and Dee was providing them with the perfect opportunity to get rid of her. Dee looked at the empress as well, surprising the other communities. “Correct.” The empress also declared, making it clear to the other communities that the Threads of Fate also had a vote.

“Well then, your selection to the position of representative has been rejected. Your services are no longer required. Moirai, would you be so kind as to deal with her.” Dee could sense that Moirai was more than strong enough to deal with Ushas, and she also knew Moirai was smart and well-liked enough to deal with the aftermath outside when the other Meilin found out. In fact, Moirai herself was more qualified to the position now than Ushas. Dee turned to Nyx. “Representative Nyx, would you like to retake your old position?”

“I don’t remember relinquishing it in the first place.” Nyx replied with a grin.

“All in agreement say aye. Aye.” The Anshar representative called for a speedy vote and the others were more than happy to oblige.

The other communities could only stare in confusion as a small power struggle took place right in front of them. “Now then, would the emissaries excuse us, as we have certain matters to deal with before any plans can be made? We can pick this up again tomorrow.” The empress suddenly came forward, reinforcing the idea that she was also part of the internal matters of the Five Winds. Now was a pretty good time for her to exit the shadows, even if she didn’t take a prominent position just yet.