(Altura-MC)

I was nervous. The town had been uncharacteristically quiet on my return, the streets were deserted, the windows barred. It did not take a genius to figure out that the Clans had the people fearing for their lives. And why shouldn’t they? The Clans were not what you would call benevolent. The Clans may not randomly kill people, or at least no one had told me if they did, but fear was natural to the human mind.

Which brought me to the next question of philosophy, were the people here truly human? It was an interesting question to be sure. But one that would have to wait. I had a justice system to make. Or at least initialize.

“Aswelth, are you ready? It shall be time soon” I asked, moving towards Aswelth who was walking on the other side of the group.

For a few seconds Aswelth merely looked at me with what I could only describe as ‘no-nonsense’ eyes, a classic look of judgement. “Being ready, your grace, would involve knowing what you intended and why you intended it.” he stated

“But I did tell you what I intended! And why I was doing it! What is it that you are having trouble understanding?” I asked, sighing in frustration.

“These Laws of yours, they are punitive, your grace, they restrict the way one can act to extreme degrees. I do not understand why you insist on doing this.” Aswelth answered.

Ah, so the problem was that even my trusty bodyguard didn’t want to be restricted by the Law.

“Do you like being abused Aswelth? Being harmed for another’s enjoyment? Those are the things that these Laws penalize. Do they restrict you? Yes. That is what they are meant to do. To stop people from actively hurting each other and maybe even allow for a prosperous society. That and I am not a fan of people killing each other for no reason at all on the streets.” I stated back.

“I am still unconvinced that this is the right path, your grace, you are changing the way things have been for generations. The Strong oppress the Weak, should the weak have any protest then they may grow strong enough to kill the strong. That has ensured that our society has a constant supply of new blood, if we go your way then we risk losing much.”Aswelth answered.

So, a stickler for traditional. But I suppose it did make sense to him, why change what had been working for millennia? Even if working seemed like a stretch.

“I would love to debate this with you, but we have arrived at our destination.” I answered, “Do we have a problem?”

“No, your grace, you can rest assured that I shall fulfill my duties.” Aswelth answered.

I nodded back as we entered the City hall. Kerrin and the rest would also be attending the trial as an intimidation tactic. Nothing scared cultivators more than a bunch of other cultivators. Especially when said cultivators were people they had looked down upon.

Welters

Welters was antsy. There was little one could do while waiting for the ambushed to arrive. It hadn’t taken much to convince the other Clan Heads to unite in opposition to the Archduchess once he had shown them his lord’s latest reward. With that in hand the Archduchess wouldn’t be able to touch him or the other clans.

Even Dorien Arches, the commoner loving idiot could see that the Archduchess was but a weakling. A commoner masquerading as a noble and spoiling the pedigree of all nobles, she should have been killed, but the weak King was protecting her. Now his lord would deal with both of them.

“My, my, what do we have here? Three little idiots sitting in a hall, waiting for their superior to attend this ball. Have no idea what they hold, or to whom have their lives been sold, but believe they’re going to win some gold?” a voice, as melodic as it was taunting suddenly emerged from behind Welters.

Immediately, Welters summoned his Qi, whoever this assailant was would not find him an easy target.

“Oh please, stop your little defiance, it is useless. If we were in different circumstances I would enjoy playing with you and making you regret your actions, but that is sadly not on my to-do list today. I think it would be best if I…cleared this world of your filth.” the woman said as Welters suddenly felt the world darken.

The last thing he heard was, “Oh how interesting! A seal of Ducal Pardon! The Drama grows!”

And with that the Clan Head Welters ceased to exist.

(Altura-MC)

I expected to be some movement inside the building, some servants moving about, something that showed signs of life. There was none, it was as if the Hall had been deserted.

I thought that perhaps the Clans were planning something, a very obvious ambush perhaps? But that was until I found the first body. Not a dead body, no, the person was very much alive, but unconscious. Without any of the tell-tale signs of trouble.

Aswelth had to merely take a look before saying, “This is the work of Valoria Darfil, Elder of the Jade Water Sect.” The statement should have given me some confidence, a known enemy was better than an unknown one after all, but the fear that accompanied it did not calm my mind.

“Do you know her?” I asked.

“Know her? No, I have not had the displeasure, your grace, but do I know of her? Yes. It is hard not to. Valoria is the youngest Elder of the Jade Water Sect and a Treeling class expert. That woman’s presence is not a good sign, your grace. It may be signs of an invasion from the Sect.” Aswelth answered.

Now that gave me pause, “You mean there is an army headed towards us?” I asked.

“No, your grace, Elder Valoria is the invasion. If she is here then have no doubt, we will fall and the valley will be theirs. No one here can stand against a Treeling. No one.” Aswelth said in a very serious tone. Now that was a very worrying manner.

But was there anything I could do about it? Wait. Elder of the Jade water sect. As in Viona’s Jade Water Sect. When did that Sect Elder arrive again? Right, the author never gave a specific time except a ‘Shortly after’. In the book the MC had been gone by last night. Technically, shortly after could be now.

It did make more sense than Jade Water Sect launching an invasion into a borderland ‘village’ that no one cared about and sending a Treeling Elder to boot. It just wouldn’t make sense for a Treelign Elder to care about an area that maxes out at Sapling.

“ What shall we do, your grace? I suggest retreat.” Aswelth said.

“And can we retreat Aswelth? Tell me, how long before a Treeling catches up if we run?” I asked back.

“Next to none, your grace, there is nothing we can do. Not against this power.” Aswelth admitted, sighing.

“Then, Lord Protector Aswelth, perhaps we shall see what this Elder wants? I doubt it is an invasion, this valley holds nothing of importance.” I answered as I began walking in, trying to portray confidence to my housemates standing behind me…

“That is true, your grace, but I cannot see why else the Poison Lily would come here.” Swelth answered as he followed suit.

“ Then it is a good thing I can, now come,the Elder is waiting.” I answered wondering how many saw that I had no confidence at all. Inside I was shivering in fear and self-doubt, wanting to be anywhere but here, in this situation.

Thankfully Altura was good at acting, the girl really knew too much, one of these days I needed to find a way to trigger that particular memory. It would be an interesting look inside the character of what I thought to be a one-dimensional villainess.

I had a very different opinion now, perhaps it was because of this being a real world, but there seemed to be more to the characters than was shown in the book. Even Welters was more evil and selfish.

And another body. Well unconscious person that looks like he is dead. That was what I reminded myself, ‘ looks like’. For some reason I wasn’t used to seeing unconscious people. And another. These things were coming more and more frequently. Were we getting closer to the source?

Yes we were, for right after rounding another corner we came face to face with three very special bodies. The first two belonged to Clan Head Dorien and the City Lord and seemed to have been inflicted with the same thing as the people outside. Equality huh. And then there was the third.

Clan Head Welters, sans his head. And above them, sitting on a red throne was a woman, dressed in black from head to toe. A smile seemed to stretch her lips as she observed us enter the room. Finally, she opened her mouth and said,

“I must say girlie, I like your eyes. Too bad I don’t like your great great grandad.”

Wait. What? Wasn’t that supposed to be you? Why was Altura’s great great grandad a factor?

Name

Altura Selrin

Title

Archduchess (In name) (landed)

Element

Dragon Fire, Snowflake ice

Age

10 years

Seeds

Military (ungerminated), Royalty (Seedling-Late(270.95/300)), Energy (ungerminated)

Stats

Strength[The amount of brute force one can use]

9

Endurance[The amount of time one can work continuously]

13

Flexibility[The range of movement of the body]

11

Precision[The accuracy of one’s movements]

13

Perception[The ability to notice nuances and advanced concepts]

9

Intelligence[The ability to comprehend the advanced concepts]

12

Wisdom[The ability to effectively use the concepts]

13

Aura Force[The ability to force your will on your surroundings]

14

Combat[The speed of one’s reactions, ability to process situations and other general combat abilities]

13

Retainers

Kerrin

Mid-Seedling (260/300). Element of Blood, anomalous Seedling.