Azul waited patiently as the woman saw and heard everything packed inside the charm. She was starting to grow nervous. What if it wasn’t enough? Should she have sent a message back down the mountain first?

{You lot are very presumptuous aren’t you?} the woman finally said, {Not without reason, but your pride is high. I knew quite a lot of this information already but this will help convince everyone I am not crazy. They were right to send you. There is no one in this colony that uses Wisdom and there never will be after how we were treated.}

{Are there more like you?} Azul asked.

{Oh yes. You would be surprised how many of us were mistaken as powerless. We were lucky that most people forgot about us, but it was unfortunate that those with Dream had to take the brunt of the hatred in our stead.}

{Are you the Sage?}

{Boss,} the woman corrected, {We use different terms here. Tell me, were you and your friends hoping I would send soldiers to bail them out just because they aren’t scum? Starting a war could end up destroying the culture of the colonies everywhere if things grow too fierce. Not just nearby.}

{From what I understand they have no intention to actually start a war. The other side was the one threatening,} Azul answered.

The woman chuckled. {Good. Spend the day here and I will show you some things tomorrow night I think you might be interested in. I can’t say anything for now, but if things turn out how I think they will, we will lend a hand.}

Azul felt completely left behind but before she could argue she was shoved into a tunnel that definitely had not been there before.

{Call me Zandra when we next meet.} the woman said in parting.

The opening of the tunnel closed trapping Azul in momentary darkness before the walls seemed to glow softly. It wasn’t a tunnel, but a room. Azul’s coral house had been fairly elaborate, but she had to admit that this one was on another level completely.

After decided that whatever had just happened was probably good, Azul sent an update message before trying to sleep.

_____________

Zandra looked over the telepathic mark the newcomer had brought and the message she had intercepted. The Colony of Concordia was much more than she had expected. There were three Sages, they knew about the Oracle and the three types of magic, and now they managed to use a form of magic Zandra had never seen before to send messages.

Beyond that, some of the plants she had seen in the colony were odd. The trees had green leaves and needles, for one thing. The Oracle had told her of the possibility of Outsiders but she hadn’t realized what it meant until she saw the Colony of Concordia pop up.

Now the question was, what to do? Joining sides with them was obvious but she had to be careful how to go about it. She had to find something she could offer them besides numbers. As things stood now the Crimson Colony needed Concordia much more than Concordia likely needed them. Those people were their only hope.

At first the Crimson Colony had survived well enough on its own, but the refugees kept coming and it was hard to provide for everyone. The fountain of the three Sages of Concordia had changed that. Because of the overflowing power it purified more of the land and made it safer for everyone. However, when Concordia expanded they were bound to find out eventually.

If that was all then negotiations would be easy, but there was the fact of them changing the name of the third kind of magic. If they could do something as powerful as changing a name what else could they change?

However, the current visitor did not seem like an Outsider so she could answer none of her questions.

Koko, her top warrior and spy came into the room. {It is confirmed. She is a whisperer. That is how she got here so fast.}

{A whisperer,} Zandra repeated. Even among the Dreamers that was rare. Whisperers were those who could communicate with animals and were able to befriend them. Not all those who befriended animals were whisperers, and not all those who communicated with animals could befriend them. That was part of why it was so rare. {Concordia continues to flaunt its gems.}

{What are your orders?} Koko asked, {Everyone is ready to move out. They are all eager to join with Concordia.}

{That will depend on the three Sages,} Zandra replied, {They may not want us to join them, or they might want to much from us as their condition.}

Koko frowned. {But they contacted us first.}

{I would like to believe that means we share a common interest in each other, but we cannot deny the possibility of this being a trap. We will take a small group of elites and travel down the mountain. I will go personally.}

{Personally? Isn’t that foolish if this really is a trap?} Koko asked, slightly surprised.

{If it isn’t a trap we will lose our one chance to make a good impression on Concordia and that isn’t worth the risk,} Zandra pointed out, {You have seen what it is like there. Constructing the heart of the colony in less than a night, the strange colors, their evident prosperity despite their small numbers… The Colony of Concordia is not something we can afford to offend if it can be avoided.}

{That is true. Do you still intend to try to merge our colony with theirs?} Koko questioned.

{Only if I find them agreeable. And it would be on the condition that I get to become one of the leaders there, turning three to four.}

{It would be a relief to all of us to know that you are there no matter how kind Concordia is,} Koko agreed, {Is there anything in particular you want to know before I give my full report?}

{Can you think of anything we can offer them that they will find priceless?} Zandra proposed.

{There is one thing,} Koko replied after a moment of thought, {They seem terrified of the sunlight, more so than those in other colonies. Even using protection no one goes out during the day.}

Zandra smiled. {And my magic allows me to prevent the sun from burning us. If I agree to share it and teach them how to use it they will not only feel relieved but they will have an advantage should the battle really happen.}

{In the Colony of Concordia there are six there that have Dream. Two of those six are very young children. One of them is the visitor today, and she is the only adult of them. The remaining adults are a doctor and one of the three sages.}

{There are only three adults?} Zandra asked in shock, {No wonder they weren’t taken very seriously.}

{Aside from the Dreamers there are only three with dark hair. One is a hunter, one is the doctor, and I am not sure what the other does. There are six with light hair, though the one with the astonishing white hair is the youngest of them all. That being said, the sixth is strange. His hair is a light color but he does not seem to have Wisdom, Dream, or the magic you have.}

{Power,} Zandra supplied as she thought, {He has light hair but no power in any direction?}

{No. He clearly has power, but even those inside Concordia don’t seem to understand how it works or what it is.}

{Still, doesn’t that mean that there are only fifteen people in Concordia? No wonder they were desperate to contact us,} Zandra considered, {but if we ask to join we may be refused because we will severely outnumber them. I will have to tread carefully in our meeting.}

{I will prepare the elites to come with you,} Koko promised and started to leave.

{You will be one of them, Koko. Make sure you prepare as well.}

{Of course.}