Somehow, Chidi managed to say what he wanted to his parents. He explained how he wanted to join the war effort, both to help and for his own training.

“Okay,” Catarina said. “You can go.”

Timothy cleared his throat. “I thought we talked about this…?”

“You said we would give him a chance to convince us. I just skipped to the ultimate result.”

Chidi was still dazed from the sudden answer, so he hadn’t yet processed the rest of the exchange. “Uh…”

“If you tried to sneak off after Velvet taught you, we would have not let you go,” Catarina added. “But we have to admit that both of us were involved in quite serious matters at similar ages and cultivation. Even with this being the upper realms…”

“People here are stronger,” Timothy said. “So you have to avoid the upper end of combatants. The location you picked out… should be reasonable enough. But you must be careful.”

“We won’t be there to protect you,” Chidi’s mother continued. “We finally had you, but… we cannot just keep you locked up here on Xankeshan.”

“Though we would have preferred if you chose to wait until you were stronger,” Timothy finished.

“... that wouldn’t happen,” Chidi said. “I’ve been peak Spirit Building for a while now. I don’t think I can grasp a suitable essence like this.”

“It would come to you eventually,” Timothy assured him. “But I can understand not wanting to wait.”

“So… I can just go?” Chidi asked.

“Yes,” Catarina said. “But there are some conditions. And cautions. You have already chosen an appropriate location. Yaitis is likely the safest location with frequent action in this war. But don’t forget… we won’t be there. And while we’ve done our best to raise you well, you do have to recognize your status won’t help you there.”

“In the best case, it would bring people to sacrifice their lives for you,” Timothy said. “And I’m certain you don’t want that. Both for their sake, and since you’re tired of being protected. So it’s better to keep a low profile.”

“I get it,” Chidi nodded. “Though uh, Aconite will probably stand out.”

“Perhaps,” Catarina admitted. “But she is less likely to be considered as a hostage. Though it would be safest to assume both of you are known about to some extent.”

-----

“Are you crazy?” Docia said in response to Anton’s request.

“Is any cultivator not crazy?” he countered. “Look, you don’t have to go yourself. It just needs to be someone authorized to negotiate. And decisions don’t have to be immediately binding.”

“Yes, but… working with Tenoun’a?”

“I recognize that there is a practically unlimited amount of bad blood between you,” Anton said. “But those oceans will continue to fill with more deaths, and no progress will be made, unless something is done.”

“They’ll probably just betray us at the first opportunity,” Docia said.

“If that happens, it will ultimately be to your benefit,” Anton said. “On that topic, about your star…”

“If you could accomplish what you promise, we would allow you to… bind with our star. Whatever that means. But I don’t see how losing good people could be to our benefit.”

“It would be unfortunate,” Anton admitted. “But if Tenoun’a truly betrays the negotiations I would be fighting on your side.”

“One more Life Transformation cultivator… against potentially losing a few. Even if you’re stronger than the rest…” Docia shook her head.

He had not yet given them the information about his true cultivation. And hopefully, he wouldn’t need to display it. It would be best if the two planets could reconcile under minimal threat. Obviously his mere presence was somewhat a threat, but he hoped his political efforts had done something to change the trajectory of the system so that they could eventually have peace, without bloodshed. That would be nice, wouldn’t it? Next best and more likely- minimal bloodshed. Or moderate bloodshed. Anything short of all-out war and extermination of one side would be lovely.

Anton was certain it would be better than a perpetual war where both sides were barely above sustaining their current state. And the better things were maneuvered, the quicker any damage would be overcome. That included lost life, but that was difficult to avoid with people already dying daily. That wouldn’t stop just because he ignored it, and though it was unfortunate Anton didn’t think human life was always the highest priority. At the very least, he should consider whose life was lost, and the suffering of the current status quo.

“Can you sustain the current situation?” Anton asked. “Truly. Even if the current deaths nearly match the level of population growth, there are many non-renewables that the situation costs you.” And individual people fell in that category, in his opinion. “You wouldn’t have the opportunity to properly transition to different methods, either.”

“I’m not sure I properly believe in your production estimates…” Docia said. “But if we can improve our efficiency, we can’t afford to not try. But if you’re on Shrenn’s side, can’t you just help us?”

“I am on everyone’s side,” Anton said. “I really mean it. But that means you have to deal with difficult situations. Like facing your past betrayals and your current hatred. I can’t imagine the majority of Shrenn sees these raids as purely numerical damage.”

Docia crossed her arms. She didn’t say anything, and her face tried not to say anything.

Anton sighed, “I’m sure even you would like revenge. But that could lead to a cycle more endless than things already are. Or to catastrophic losses all at once.” Anton shook his head, “But I suppose that doesn’t matter as much. Who did you lose?”

“Does it matter to you?”

“People matter to me. And I know what it’s like. Which is why I would prefer it not happen more to Shrenn or Tenoun’a.”

“I had a son,” Docia began. “He… was obsessed with farming. Making our production just a little bit higher…”

-----

Though it was mainly just a single planet, with only a small population spread throughout the rest of the system, Ceretos was amazing. Aoibhin couldn’t help but look in awe at everything. They were prosperous in every way, including cultivators. Not just Life Transformation individuals, but people beyond that stage. People who could match Integration cultivators. And they just trained them.

Of course, the method they managed to reach such heights was not publicly available, but it still impressed Aoibhin. What Ekict would have given for such a thing, back before the invasion. It had been a difficult time. Still, their methods had done right by them.

The other two systems of the Trifold Alliance were of different levels of interest. Weos had much the same style established, from what she had heard, but Rutera was further behind in terms of cultivation. Their ships were quite powerful, and it would be interesting if Ekict could get their hands on them, but these ‘Assimilation’ cultivators were of the most interest.

Fortunately, they were quite welcoming. Given time, Ekict would doubtless end up with some of that power and prosperity. It was a good thing they’d greeted Anton peacefully. If he’d felt like the upper realms invaders he would have been instantly wiped out, of course, but Ekict hadn’t really considered they could gain anything from others in the lower realms. But they’d been proven wrong.

-----

On the ship to Yaitis, Chidi talked with Aconite. “I think we might have already messed up the first step.”

“What do you mean?” the rough wolfspeak vibrated in his ears.

“Well, this isn’t exactly a standard troop carrier. We’re not coming with one of the waves of trainees from a sect or clan. We’re kind of just along for the ride. We already look special.”

“But we are.”

“Yeah, but the point is to not stand out too much.”

“That will be impossible. Especially with a human speaking to a wolf.”

Chidi frowned, “I don’t want to not talk to you, though.”

“Perhaps in public. It would be a strange conversation they couldn't understand anyway, so we have no reason to speak around others most of the time.”

“Alright, fine, so we show up and take our positions that we got to pick…” Chidi sighed, “Instead of being assigned.”

“That, at least, is not terribly strange. At least for cultivators of our age, having decent talent means people will place us where we do best. And scouting is that place.”

“Yeah, uh…” Chidi said, “You’ll have to deal with all the visuals. I can cover… formations?”

“That is actually quite necessary,” Aconite nodded. “But many of your senses are sufficient to complement mine.”

“I could never catch you unless you stopped training though.”

“And I will never have better dexterity than you, unless you stop using your hands for some reason.”

“Fair enough,” Chidi admitted.

Currently, he was feeling the area around him. He was surrounded by wood, smooth or at least mostly smooth. There was some sort of lacquer and of course various sealants. This was more of a traditional ship, not the things from Rutera. Both shared the tight use of space, though that wasn’t always the case. Some cultivators had big, overinflated vessels to get around. And if they weren’t fighting, it didn’t matter if they were inefficient. This vessel was equipped with weapons and was maneuverable enough to avoid enemy fire if necessary, though it certainly wasn’t meant for battle. Just transport, especially goods. The hold was just an extra large storage bag, more or less. Every layer of the ship had different formations, for structural stability to being able to move without actual propulsion to the outer bubble that was supposed to shield everything happening to the ship. But Chidi quite liked knowing that it was at least airtight if that didn’t work.

-----

Chidi was quite relieved to find that he ended up in a dense forest. Yaitis had a little of everything, apparently. Aconite said it just looked like ‘a planet’. What she meant, of course, were the sorts of planets people lived on. Which was a very small portion of them, at least in any quantity. And especially for lower cultivation individuals like them.

He was quickly assigned to his squad, where he found the captain and vice-captain. A rather slight man, and a larger woman.

“Seriously? We ask for scouts and we get a kid and… a wolf? I guess the wolf is fine,” the woman said, then gesticulated towards him. “But this guy? Do you even have eyes, kid?”

Chidi opened his eyelids. “No.” He knew that the lack of anything would bother people, which was why he kept his eyelids closed. And it was simply easier. “I am also an adult by any reasonable measure, and though my cultivation is not yet in Essence Collection… I am capable of performing my duties.”

The man cleared his throat. “I think that’s enough, Denitsa. And they are both qualified.”

“Even the wolf? I’m certain he can sniff out enemies, but I don’t know if that will lead to precise reports…”

Aconite barked at her.

“Aconite would like to inform you that she is not a boy, and that she knows how to speak,” Chidi said. “She just doesn’t have human vocal chords.”

The woman known as Denitsa at least had the good sense to shrivel up and walk away. But Chidi didn’t have the feeling he’d gotten off to a good start with the squad. At least the captain seemed nice.

The captain sighed, “Sorry about that… Chidi, right?” He nodded. “Right, well, that was vice-captain Denitsa. She’s been having so much fun filling in for the role of scout lately, so she’s had a lot on her plate. I’m Tiras, by the way,” he stuck out his hand, then frowned.

Chidi took his hand before he could think to withdraw it. “Chidi, but you know that. Aconite…” she barked. “Is currently capable of shaking hands as well.” The large wolf held up her paw, and Tiras shook it too.

“Good to meet the two of you. Also glad to have a pair, because a single scout is vulnerable.” He frowned, “Did you say something about poison? I don’t really know wolfspeak but I tried to learn it a little. Are you related to… Spikes and her mate?”

“You can say Fuzz too,” Chidi replied. “It is his name. And I don’t know of any others who use wolfspeak.”

“Right. And you’re…”

“Just Chidi, please,” he said. “Or Weston, I suppose. The surname’s common enough.”

“I’m surprised,” Tiras said. “Powerful cultivators often take on something more flashy.”

“Well, my mother took my father’s name. That was as far as they went.” Chidi cleared his throat, “Can we stop talking about this now? I’d really like people to judge me on my contributions.”

“Sure thing,” Tiras replied. “We’re likely to go on a patrol in the next day or two, that will let you get some time to get acquainted with the squad before then.”

“Is there something I can do to make the vice-captain not hate me?”

“She probably doesn’t hate you. And just perform well. I’m sure she’ll come around. She’s just… not good with people.”

“How did she become vice-captain, then?”

“Her big, spiky hammer,” Tiras grinned, “Like most positions among cultivators.”