“I worry that you are too reliant on the Hindel,” Clement advised me. “You must be careful not to become a vassal state of their Empire. They offer protection but don’t allow that protection to encroach on your sovereignty.”

“I’m not sure what else I can do,” I admitted reluctantly, “I know it might be a mistake to rely on them for the long run, but until our people are stronger, using the Hindel as a shield against the Empire seems the best defense.”

“I agree, but it would be best for you to find ways to build our strengths going forward. Creating a Sect is a good idea. And your plan to trade knowledge of ice and lightning skills and the techniques that go with those elements will go far in balancing the scales of Karmic balance you mentioned the Hindel profess to follow.

“Those skills will be a significant boon for them.

“I think you made the right decision, but I worry about the precedent it sets when the appearance of approaching the Hindel whenever you have a problem you cannot solve. So far, our requests haven’t been onerous, and you have balanced those requests reasonably. Just be aware that you are Queen and Voice,” Clement reminded me, “and your responsibilities as Sovereign outweigh all other considerations.”

“I might have waited to approach the Hindel about establishing a Sect until the people you are reaching out to made a decision about launching a Sect on the island if it weren’t for my concerns about the safety of my brother and sister. I need them safely behind the walls of a Sect.

“And a Sect that won’t try to exploit them or dissect them to see what makes them tic. A Sect powerful enough to even give a Sect as Four Element Sect pause.

“The Hindel were the best choice. Their young are born with the ability to cultivate. Having to teach and guide a ten-year-old girl and sixteen-year-old boy will not be the oddity it would be in any Elven Sect,” I further explained my reasoning.

I wasn't sure who I was trying to convince, Clement or myself. I hadn’t consulted him when making my decision. Perhaps I should have, but I had responded to the threat to my family in what might not have been the most reasoned manner. I knew after the fact that I was motivated by my emotions. To say that I was scared of what would happen if a cultist found my brother and sister was an understatement.

“Has the Alpha mentioned a time frame for starting and staffing this new Sect?” Clement asked. “And have you decided where it will be located, what it will be called, and who will be allowed to join?

“Another matter: will you still allow Four Element Sect to recruit new members at each awakening ceremony across the nation once new Sects are established?”

“Alpha and I have decided to name the new Sect- Three Waters Sect,” I replied. “A reference to the types of water the Sect will be built near- ocean, fresh, and brackish.”

“Storm has mapped a perfect location I plan to use. There is a lake that has formed close to the ocean further south. The two bodies of water are separated by a limestone cliff that allows the run-off from the lake to enter the sea via an impressive waterfall.

“There is a small area of brackish water where the waterfall empties and flows into the ocean.

“Several streams and creeks feed the lake, helping to maintain the level of the lake. The cliffs are wide enough to build on, and Alpha has promised me that the Sect will be crafted and ready for use within the month.”

“And recruitment?” Clement asked, reminding me I had yet to answer his last question.

“Four Element Sect will no longer be given the first pick of the best from each crop, nor will I allow them to attend awakening ceremonies in the future. As more and more people gain access to awakening food, the chances of more people successfully awakening will increase; I want to take advantage of those numbers.

“I won’t stop any individual who wants to find a place in Four Elements from applying, but they will need to find their own way there and pass whatever standards Four Elements implements for accepting Outer Cultivation members.

“Until we find out if there is any interest from those living in the Empire to form a Sect here, the Clan and Three Waters Sect will recruit the most gifted. I will open branch Dojos in each territory so that any Cultivator, regardless of their spiritual root, can receive training and earn contribution points to purchase skills, techniques, and advanced cultivation techniques that we have access to.

“I also plan on establishing an army, one trained to be deployed as living formations. Those Cultivators who are willing to swear an oath to serve for a hundred years will be given the resources they need to advance. Their service will allow them to earn the contribution points they need for the techniques, pills, armor, and weapons that best suit them.”

“I agree that it no longer makes sense to let Four Element Sect have the pick of the litter, but is hiding Geon and Syha at Three Waters Sect the right move? A Sect formed and led by Hindel is sure to draw attention.

“With all of that, Geon and Syha might stand out. Rumors have a life of their own inside a Sect. It’s bad enough that a Sect with a Hindel for a Patriarch will exist; one with only two children as members will only increase the scrutiny that Sect must endure.

“You might think about what you can do to hide the children, maybe advertise what you are doing with the awakening food as an experiment. A test to determine if, given access to that food, the chances of awakening spirit roots make a significant difference.

“You would need to offer membership to a large pool of children. Perhaps the first edition of the newsprint you plan to release can include that offer. Make a lottery available that every family can enter, with children between ten and seventeen able to win a spot in Three Waters Sect,” Clement suggested.

“That isn’t a bad idea,” I agreed. “Let’s limit the first selection to children living in Xiwang. The leaders of the other territories that are members of the Four Element Sect still need to have their loyalty tested.

“I think it strange that they agreed so easily to my demands. Perhaps they realized they had no choice, but I want to monitor them, test their reasons.”

“That might be prudent,” Clement acknowledged. “Although they each swore a Cultivator’s Oath not to harm you or the kingdom, they will test the bounds of that oath and look for loopholes.

“They will watch and find ways to confirm your relationship with the Hindel. If they discover a weakness that can be exploited that will weaken that relationship, they will use it.”

“I agree.

“But the only thing we can do is remain vigilant. That is one of the reasons I will rescind the Four Element Sect’s permission to conduct awakening ceremonies. Not only does it limit their ability to recruit the best, but it offers some protection against the Empire trying to plant Cultivators who are trained in espionage to ferret out secrets.

“Or give them access to information that makes it easy for them to stir up resentment and trouble amongst the populace.” I had been one of those working for the Patriarch as a spy. I knew how she worked and needed to remain resolute and wary against any further machinations.

“What do you want to do with Ja Fiat?” Clement asked, turning to the topic I had been trying to avoid.

“She will have to be executed,” I decided. “Once we have extracted as much information from her as we can, I will kill her and dispose of her body.”

“You don’t want to make a statement by executing her publicly?”

“No.

“I don’t want to give any other Cultist that might be aware of who and what Ja Fiat was that we had stumbled across her. It is better to use their own secrecy against them and act on the knowledge she gives us to stage more surgical strikes against their numbers.”