Though the situation on Torthunes had swung in the favor of the Scarlet Alliance, it was hard to say they had achieved a victory. Tauno had fought against Luksa, causing her more injuries than he himself received but he was unable to kill her. Abhilash escaped, fatigued but only mildly injured. The Harmonious Citadel still had another saint unhindered, and they would be more cautious about their movements to avoid being trapped in another formations. But they remained on Torthunes to continue the fight.

That was probably best for the Scarlet Alliance, but troublesome for Catarina and Timothy. Though they had prominent positions, they couldn’t just go running off as they pleased when trouble could come again at any moment.

“I should have made a killing formation,” Catarina said, biting her lip. “He wouldn’t have known what hit him.”

“Perhaps,” Timothy said, placing a hand comfortingly on her shoulder as she looked at her work. “But if it had been Eterna who we entrapped, it would have been a monumental waste of our resources simply to tie her up for a while. Your formation still worked, it just didn’t suddenly change the flow of the war.”

“If he was dead we could go find Chidi.”

“Or we would be even more necessary here, to take the opportunity to slay two or three saints in quick succession. It would have been hard to justify anything other than following through with such an attempt.” Timothy shook his head, “But we can’t change the past. What we must do now is believe in our son. And… our friend.”

“We don’t know if she even looked for him. Or found him.”

“True. But we do know that her presence will change the balance of power on Yaitis. Regardless of direct aid, it should relieve the pressure on Chidi. And we can’t always be there to save him. We let him go, so we have to honor his decision.” Timothy’s face remained stoic. “But if it ever became the next most practical step, going to Yaitis and reestablishing communications would be a worthy endeavor. As it is, we have to rely on the fleets attempting to regain contact on a smaller scale. We just have to wait on their reports.”

Catarina nodded, then shoved her hand into a pile of shattered materials that had once been part of the formation, pulling out a melted hunk of something. “I don’t want to wait. The next formation is killing a saint or…”

“Or what?” Timothy asked.

“We just need them to not be around. A forceful teleportation might do. Just need enough power for it to activate quickly.”

“Where would you send them?” Timothy asked. “If it’s not dangerous, they could just immediately return. And there’s the problem of power.”

“It only has to work once,” Catarina said. “I can empower it with the formation’s future. As for something with power and danger…” she looked up at the sky, towards the sun that was currently boiling the red seas, “It’s quite a bit further than the moon. But it’s free energy.”

-----

During his time on Shrenn and Tenoun’a, Anton couldn’t help but pick up apprentices- formal or informal. Despite having a similar style, Anton didn’t do much with Admetus. It wasn’t simply an issue of using a crossbow, but rather the man’s style was solid enough and happily on its own trajectory. He didn’t need much guidance.

Anton worked with Docia because he admired her capabilities in practical matters- but he also knew that improved cultivation would help her with negotiations or simply continuing to work as she had. She coordinated much of Shrenn, though she had been convinced to pass off some of her work that didn’t strictly need to be performed by a single individual.

On Tenoun’a, Aurelianus was the most sensible of the prominent figures. He was a decent student of both combat and philosophy, and Anton felt confident he would at least make well reasoned decisions for his future choices. Strangely enough, Anton would have preferred if he were weaker so that he could be molded from the beginning… much like Varghese.

He wanted to check up on the lad… and In’istra as a whole. There was still the issue of them being plagued by the Twin Soul Sect, and perhaps other spies from the upper realms. The longer they were left to develop after the invasion, the more they could weave their way into every developing or regrowing sect. Anton didn’t want to wipe them all out himself because it would be better for In’istra to handle their own affairs- with some guidance.

But first, Anton had to make sure this system wouldn’t tear itself apart as soon as he disappeared. For that matter, he began to show himself in public less frequently- and to limit other forms of communication as well. He wanted to see how people reacted. If things looked like they were going on a negative path he would show himself and stop things before they went anywhere, but he really hoped they could maintain their peace and build towards mutual prosperity. They’d been trapped in a hopeless cycle for so long that an outside influence like Anton had been necessary, but he didn’t want them to rely on him except as the catalyst for change. Once he was reasonably certain things would be stable, he could return to In’istra, perhaps visiting a few other locations on the way. One he still didn’t even have a name for, despite it being populated.

-----

It was quite a sight to see the grand formation protecting Ekict, spread between their planets to provide a defensive barrier for everything. It must have come at great expense, and Anishka wondered how they could provide the energy to keep it running.

She could understand why they had it, of course. She was born after the latest invasion, her mother having been pregnant with her, but she had no father because of it. And she knew many others who had lost their family. For that reason, it was reasonable to go to any extreme to protect against invasions from the upper realms.

Like Weos, they were fully spread out among their planets, though with the overall population being much lower. How much, Anishka didn’t know. There were approximate populations given by various visitors from the system, but no official data as far as Anishka was aware. Nobody from out of system had been able to do a survey, obviously, and even if they had the inclination or the time it was only in the last couple of years that they were even willing to accept more than a few diplomats. That likely came from an ingrained distrust of outsiders.

Not that Anishka could say anything for sure. Here she was barely two decades into her life among those who could live for centuries.

Arioron, the city Anishka was landing in, did not have a starport made for the variety of ships that came from Ceretos and the Trifold Alliance. Not that there was a huge difference in the requirements- open space, mostly, preferably flat.

Most notably they didn’t have proper ways to unload people, not that Anishka needed it. She could have vaulted over the railing and landed on her feet below, if it was necessary. But she waited for a ramp to be set up, to do things properly.

She hadn’t gotten a good look as they were flying in- they went for a practical landing rather than a touristy approach. Arioron was a flat city, as far as Anishka was concerned. A few tall buildings here and there, but it mostly spread out and not up. Eventually the locals might find the need for that, if urbanization increased and the population growth didn’t stabilize. She didn’t know if it would, given the information she had available. Everywhere she could get access to was still in a growth phase, and the Sylanis Cluster seemed to support planets overpopulating instead of settling their growth when they reached their limits.

It was weird to not be scanned in by any sort of device, though there were guards who watched over all of the incoming individuals, their energy passing over them. Anishka wondered if they would notice her stowaway- but it didn’t seem they did. Not that it would have been likely. Even with a decent knowledge of void ants, she had been lucky to notice one.

Anishka wondered why one would want to sneak to Ekict, but while as far as she knew the void ant colonies didn’t have exiles or whatever, she could see one getting wanderlust. This was the furthest from home they could get, if they wanted a change of scenery. She’d tried to ask, but her guest didn’t do much but play dead or dumb if she got personal.

-----

The main part of Anishka’s studies would be performed under the guidance of the Enkindled Sun Sect. Ekict was a planet of cultivators, after all, so there wasn’t a big fancy university she could go to. Though Anishka wanted to understand everything, she also understood that she should stick with fundamentals for cultivation, or she would end up a mess. Fire and ice were her foundations, and she found them to be a practical base for her power. And for combat, if she should need it. She would presume not, outside of sparring, but while she would be safe in most places because of her status as a visitor, she wasn’t going to let herself get careless. Especially since a possible fallout wouldn’t bring her back to life, and would only cause trouble for both Ekict and her home if something happened.

The Enkindled Sun Sect had a decent understanding of fire, though Anishka didn’t plan to incorporate anything she learned within the first few days. It was just… basic. The Fire and Ice Palace had deeper insights. Though Anishka supposed gently pointing such things out was the point of this exchange. As for the sun part, she trusted Anton to have a deeper insight. Still, it was only the beginning and Anishka didn’t expect to be graced with their deepest secrets during her first week.

Instead of spending her time cultivating in the moderately dense natural energy, Anishka preferred to explore the city of Arioron itself. It was quite different, from the style to the practical uses of the buildings to the people themselves. Especially the fact that some people weren’t cultivators.

The market was the best place to see people, though Anishka didn’t plan to buy much. Partly because she was only given a modest budget for her needs with the rest of what she considered money not directly usable- though she could likely get people to trade for cultivation resources if she could convince them of their quality. The other reason she would not buy anything was because nothing was necessary- she had what she needed, and the offerings were honestly mediocre. Then again, she wouldn’t expect the best goods to be present in an open air market.

As she moved around between stalls catering mostly to cultivators with equipment and natural energy infused goods, she came upon a small stall that didn’t seem to have a theme. There was a basket of infused grain, some sort of fruit, tubers, and more with other sorts of food. So a food stall, but the quantities of each were rather slim. But that wasn’t all, there were small baskets of ore and slivers of wood and strips of cloth.

“Quite a variety of good you have here,” Anishka began a conversation with the woman running the stall. “Where do you get them all? Or do you just sell for someone else?” The woman had no cultivation of her own, so the latter was fairly likely.

“Everything is the gleanings of the highest quality fields,” the middle aged woman said. “Plucked by hand, perfectly fresh. Look, inspect the density of the energy,” the woman held up a stalk of grain.

“Well, it’s… fine,” Anishka said. “But how do you even know? You shouldn’t be able to sense it yourself.”

“Sense it? No, perhaps not. But you can see the quality with your eyes,” the woman nodded. “And my regular customers know the quality I provide.”

“You have regulars?”

“Yes, of course! I provide more cheaply than the large vendors,” the woman nodded seriously. “Close to half their price. You will not be able to supply a sect here, of course, but you can make yourself infused meals throughout the week. Or forge yourself a new weapon,” the woman gestured to the lumps of ore. “Or your clothes…” she paused when she said that. “I suppose you do not need them to be replaced. A fine weave. It must be well imbued, yes?”

Anishka nodded. “They’re enchanted to suffice as armor. As for weapons, I generally fight without.” She didn’t really need food either- the options provided by the sect were adequate- but she pointed to an unfamiliar but tasting looking fruit. “How much for one of those?”

“Only a few coins,” the woman quickly placed it in Anishka’s hand, holding out her own for payment.

“That’s too cheap,” Anishka said, even as she paid. “You should know the quality of your own goods. If you cultivated, you could judge more closely.”

The woman shrugged, “I make enough to survive. What more could I ask?”

“You could thrive,” Anishka said. “Want to learn?”

“Alas, I have no money to buy whatever manuals you wish to peddle, nor anything else to offer. I am fine as I am.”

Anishka surrounded them with a small bubble of privacy. There was enough of a crowd that it was better to be safe. “It would be free.”

“I… why?” the woman furrowed her brow suspiciously.

“Because I want to teach someone,” Anishka said. “It seems like it would be a good experience.”

“Do you have the necessary experience?” the woman asked. “I don’t mean to be rude, but you appear youthful and I cannot tell your cultivation, obviously.”

“Oh, I’m actually just about twenty years old,” Anishka said. “But I am a peak Spirit Building cultivator. I can at least guide you through Body Tempering. Any cultivation would make carrying your baskets much easier.”

“Well, I… if your offer is true, young lady, I will gladly accept.”

“It is. What’s your name?”

“Patka.”

“I’m Anishka, of the Fire and Ice Palace.”

“I am afraid I have not heard of your esteemed institution,” Patka inclined her head. “But I am happy to accept whatever guidance you wish to offer.”

“Well, you wouldn’t have. I’m from Ceretos.”

At that, Patka looked slightly relieved. “Truly? No wonder you… acted outside of my expectations.”

“You can say I’m weird for offering something for free,” Anishka said. “It’s true.”