***Tirnanog, Hochberg***

***Vanya***

I nervously fiddled with my hands beneath the table, conscious about revealing any outward signs of impatience or childishness to the gathering of people. It was my first time to interact with the leadership of another clan officially and it was every bit as stressful as I anticipated.

Clan Aerie had shown up with almost all of their elders, demonstrating how serious they were about the situation.

Thankfully, Aerie and Hochberg had a history of being good neighbours. Our clans were close allies and our economies were intertwined through the Caravaners as much as it was possible.

So far, none of the elders had commented on my age.

That took a bit of the weight off my shoulders, though I could feel their doubt and interest.

A generous round table had been chosen for this meeting, with the Aerie elders taking up one half. On the other side sat my people. To my right were the heads of Hochberg's most powerful families and to my left were our powerhouses and influential merchants.

I had given the order to limit our numbers to twenty people, which was roughly comparable to the eighteen elders who had shown up for this meeting.

Compared to the caste-like structure of Clan Aerie, Hochberg's ruling system was a lot more chaotic with people joining and leaving the matriarch's inner circle of supporters and advisers as their power rose and fell like the tides of the ocean.

The only constant was the matriarch's position bringing order to the chaos as the unquestioned representative of Clan Hochberg. Meaning, I was the person to who everyone had to pay their respects. I was the face of the clan and its voice.

A task which I would have gladly left to my predecessor if it had been possible.

I felt a surge of sadness and guilt at her memory, but I squashed the feelings with the knowledge of my actions being a necessity.

The former matriarch's death must have been a surprise for the elders. It was clearly shown by how carefully they started the meeting by giving their condolences and inquiring about Clan Hochberg's stance on Aerie's brewing feud with Clan Thich.

I was determined to have Hochberg grant our support as it was laid down in the treaty between the great clans. Though, we surely wouldn't do so without taking our interests into account.

The elders' behaviour clearly showed they weren't aware of the full picture. If they had known about the whole circumstances around my predecessor's death, we wouldn't be sitting here, trying to follow the treaty's social conduct.

I sighed in relief once Skye Rumen was finally finished with his speech during which he reiterated all the evidence his people had gathered so far.

They even brought the two captured Thich recruiters as witnesses. Aerie's case was air-tight, but we still had to sit through the procedure for the records and as a social nicety.

It was hard to believe it had taken over two hours until everyone was done with greetings and introductions. Then it had taken us a further three hours to present me with all the evidence and a more compact version of the events. After having reviewed all the evidence before attending this meeting, it was hard not to roll my eyes.

Until finally someone managed to bring up the true topic at hand – Aerie asking Hochberg to stand as witnesses during their invasion of the Old Camp.

In my mind, the outcome of this meeting had been a foregone conclusion, but since a meeting between the leadership of two clans was so rare, certain appearances had to be upheld.

Admittedly, my advisers hadn't exactly helped by asking questions and insisting on clarifications, lengthening the meeting unnecessarily. Unfortunately, it would have made us look stupid if I had told my own people to just 'shut the fuck up'.

I eagerly raised a hand to stop Skye Rumen from speaking any further, possibly sending us down another tangent of inquiry about the events.

“There is no question. Of course, Hochberg will join you as an arbitrator between Aerie and Thich,” I answered and looked towards Tianna who was sitting to my left. “We will join Clan Aerie's fleet with supplies and troops to witness future proceedings. And since the evidence is hard to refute, I will have our troops march towards Jeng as soon as possible.”

Trampling through another clan's territory would come with its own set of complications, but just like the Aerie, we would have no other choice if we wanted to get to where the action happened. I was pretty certain the Jeng would turn a blind eye as long as we extended the same courtesy as the Aerie did towards us.

My advisor nodded with a serious expression plastered onto her face.

I turned towards my right, seeking out one of the merchants in charge of our connections with the Caravaners. “Send out the word of what happened to the other great clans. They will need a full transcription of this meeting. Get the documents to either Tianna or me so we can sign them before you send them. Clan Aerie and Clan Hochberg will send troops to the Old Camp and take control. We will deny Thich access until they manage to refute the evidence against them. Aerie and Hochberg are calling for a grand gathering and need Jeng and Vier to stand witness until the dispute with Thich is resolved. Tell everyone Hochberg's matriarch has personally reviewed the evidence and deemed it necessary to have this situation cleared up as soon as possible. Any of the smaller clans are invited to join the gathering to observe the procedure.”

Extending an invitation to the smaller clans was just common courtesy, even if their influence was mostly only local. Nobody would ask a small community with just a few hundred souls to join a war when they had their hands full fighting for survival.

Nonetheless, small groups granting support or denying it could influence the outcome of the coming conflict. And once the accounts were tallied up, the winners would remember who extended a helping hand and who did not.

Slowly, I swept my gaze over my people. “Until further notice, Hochberg regards Thich as in breach of the treaty. They are to be regarded as a rogue entity, conspiring with Earth, and against the balance of peace between the clans.”

With that, I announced the end of this meeting, wishing to prohibit any further questions.

Men and women stood up, abandoning their seats to intermingle with the other side and meet old friends. Travel between the clans was hard and rare to occur, but the people in this room were old and powerful. Most of them were well-travelled and had visited other clans performing various functions.

Either as traders, diplomats, messengers, or even simple adventurers who sought out exotic mutations to further their power. Some animals were limited to certain biomes that the various clans controlled, limiting access if one didn't nurture the right connections.

Sadly, I couldn't just run off, because Skye and Juliana Rumen made their way around the table with their eyes focused on me. It would be a serious faux pas not to talk to the people who were de facto in charge of the council of elders.

Juliana spoke first once they reached us. “Vanya, I once again want to express my sincere condolences for your loss. I knew Matriarch Greta for decades. After we fought through the war together, it was a shock to learn of her murder, leaving you behind to pick up her position.”

Anajed took a step towards me, deeming the two powerful elders to be too close for comfort. Raising a hand, I gestured for her to take her former position. She was a competent bodyguard. Someone who would lay down her life for me, but if the people in this room ever decided to fight I would be dead either way simply because of being unable to withstand the collateral damage.

I shook my head. “Do not worry. It has been months since Greta's death and I had the time to come to terms with it. I only wished I had more time to grow as her successor.”

Skye nodded. “We knew she was grooming you. I even met you once.” He gestured with his hand somewhere above his knee. “You were this small. Ah, what am I talking about? You probably can't even remember.”

I smiled, surprisingly, without faking it. “I do remember. Most of my mental enhancements came from my parents. Greta had me add only a few mutations later on which balanced out my psychic abilities.”

Juliana nodded. “We are thankful that you want to continue the good cooperation between our clans. Admittedly, our previous correspondence made it clear this would be only a formality, but I wondered nonetheless. Greta was... she became a lot more withdrawn in recent years. It was nothing obvious, but noticeable. Fewer diplomats made the trip to our mountain. Our diplomats not receiving as many audiences as prior.”

She shrugged. “It was a slow decay. Nothing specific to complain about, but it had me worried about your allegiances nonetheless.”

“Please don't think too much of the degrading correspondence.” I shrugged. “My mentor had a lot on her shoulders before she was murdered. I believe she found something concerning the clan's safety and was silenced. Sadly, all our investigations came to nothing. I wish she would have trusted me with her secrets, but she kept my education on the theoretical side until it was too late.”

I gestured towards Tianna. “If it hadn't been for Tianna, I wouldn't have been able to keep Hochberg together as I did.”

“You are honouring me too much, Vanya.” Tianna bowed to the two elders. “Juliana, Skye, it's nice to meet you again, even if these aren't the best circumstances.”

Skye nodded to himself. “You are saying Hochberg was at risk because of Greta's death? I can imagine that. She was always the type to micromanage the different departments, seldom allowing people to think for themselves. The demise of a leader like Greta always leaves a vacuum of power, knowledge, and expertise.”

Tianna pursed her lips. “The clan was not at risk of self-destruction, but Greta's death came at the worst time possible. Several factions with conflicting interests were trying to steer the clan towards their desires. And as you said, the sudden disappearance of her firm hand left the clan in a state of disarray. If Vanya hadn't been able to demonstrate her abilities so decisively and retake control, you might have found the clan in a vastly different state upon your arrival.”

Juliana smiled. “It's fortunate then, though I still have to ask. Why do you have a Thich guarding you? Dejana, I presume?” She looked towards my bodyguard.

I drew in a short breath and threw a short glance behind me, wondering whether it had been foolish of me to assume that a mask would be enough to hide her identity.

On the other hand, her presence was enough to throw people off more dangerous considerations.

“Anajed decided to switch sides and give me her full loyalty,” I explained.

Anajed bowed.

I turned back to face the two elders. “You heard of the incident involving her? I was faced with the decision of having her executed or... having her reconsider... her loyalties. Someone like Dejana simply couldn't be held for any length of time without great risk to her captors. Her capture alive was already a small miracle, only possible thanks to Magnus and Astra surprising her with their abilities. Dejana was taken out before she had a chance to decide there was nothing more to lose and take more drastic actions.”

Skye raised an eyebrow. “Greta would have been against such methods.”

I nodded. “She would have been against it, but I am not her. I already discussed the topic at length with Tianna, but I am adamant about my decision. If the choice is execution or this, then I prefer my method.”

“Well, then in the spirit of your creed, let’s hope that our cooperation will end with the least bloodshed possible,” Juliana offered, accepting my decision.

I acquiesced with a nod. “Let’s hope Thich have a good explanation for their actions.”

My words said one thing, but in my heart, I knew this wouldn't be the case.