The Heavens Shall Fall

Returning from their individual missions, the Wardens reconvened in the castle's main hall just a few hours after dawn. It wasn't a sunny day at all, thanks to the thick clouds still covering most of the sky, turning the sunrise into a dull, subtle shift from black to gray. It wasn't snowing yet, but everyone could feel that it could come down at any minute. As for the groups, Siu's had returned first, followed by Seloryn's half an hour later and Vael's more than an hour after.

“I guess we all found something,” Vael said as soon as he looked at the others. "Question is, how bad will it look when we put them together?"

“If you say that, it will be the worst,” Siu answered, with nothing else to say, and let out a long, tired sigh.

“Gods help us...” Vael muttered in answer, rubbing his face in desperation.

With everyone back, they gathered around the same table where King Valasiy had detailed their situation not long ago. Even the night's papers were still there, including the map. No matter how early it was for mortals, King Valasiy arrived in a hurry, followed by both his Generals, Devren and Kost, while the Lord Captain, Harel, was the one who came last, closing the door behind him.

“What did you find, Honored Cultivators?” Valasiy asked, visibly shaking a little, afraid of what he was going to hear.

"Nothing good," Siu said bluntly before he looked around the table and put down the bag that Marly had stolen, right on the map where the Watch was, letting its contents spill out.

“What is that?” the Lord Captain asked, knowing the answer, but not wanting to believe it. Cultivation Crystals were rare... So rare that the kingdom's coffers held that much only when they received some gifts from Stormglass.

“Sadly, this is proof of payment,” Siu said, looking at the king. "Your enemies are cultivators, and I can tell you now that they look to be mercenaries."

"Really now?" Ruben's eyebrow rose, matching what he'd just heard with what they had learned, as he leaned forward and picked up some of the CC. "Payment, you say? Bren?” He asked with a smile, throwing it to him.

"Rough." He stated at once, touching it and raising it to eye level, letting the light refract within it. Ruben even expected him to give it a lick, but that didn't happen. "But these are indeed usable Flame Crystals. You could pay with it back home, too."

“Around a hundred,” Siu continued, watching Bren in the meantime. “This was sitting inside Fort Marden, right out in the open, not in a safe or something. Marly could easily snatch it, which means it's not even that big of a deal for the occupiers. They have enough resources to keep paying these vagabonds."

"What Arya and Marly found is that Marden has around a hundred mortal fighters there, too." Rinmei added, "Maybe more, but that's the best count Arya could get us. As for cultivators, they counted fourteen when we were there.”

"Are we doomed?" Valasiy's face fell just by hearing it, and his generals grabbed his arms to keep him standing.

"Not yet," Siu said calmly, while the generals cursed, not knowing what else to do. "None of them appeared to be at Blood Resonance, so not all things are lost. Naturally, we can't face them all at once; that would still be too dangerous.”

“They most likely are at the Marrow Cleansing,” Rinmei added, explaining it to the King, who didn't have much insight into cultivation levels. “Going by Arya and Marly's senses... And they should be right. Still, their numbers are the problem, because we can't confront them openly. Simply put, numbers still win, even in our world, King Valasiy. More importantly, the strongest person Arya found there isn't their real leader," She added, looking at the others. "We confirmed it, because they were waiting for a message from them.”

“Yeah, we found them, I think," Joren snorted, throwing a look at Seloryn as everyone turned towards them.

“The ones who took Lord Belgar hostage?” Valasiy asked, recovering just enough to speak again.

"Yes, and he is not a hostage." Seloryn said with a sigh, "Before anyone asks questions, you better listen to this! Especially you, Vael..."

Before he could go white in the face, Seloryn picked up her flute, activated her breathing technique, and let the recorded conversation replay loudly between them. General Kost looked the most alarmed as the recording kept going, replaying everything from start to finish. He was taking it even worse than Vael, who surprisingly began furrowing his brows even more.

“I don't know him,” Vael spoke up as soon as the recording ended. "I know every member of Stormglass, but I don't know him. Neither the name nor the voice matches any Stormglass disciple OR elder."

"Could be a new recruit?" Seloryn asked, leaning against the table. "A guest elder?"

“Or could just be someone unimportant.” Ruben offered.

“No,” Vael answered immediately, shaking his head. "No, no... I memorized everyone in case I can take my revenge, but no. He is not one of us... And he can't be a fresh recruit, because we aren't recruiting in times like this!"

"Could be a connection with the outside? A hired thug?" Nokoh offered, making Vael fall silent. “Cho'Wa smelled four Blood Resonance cultivators around Belgar when he appeared. They have to be the core of this invasion.”

“Vael.” Siu began, while Vael just shook his head, regaining his composure.

“I was the Head Disciple of Stormglass for ten years. I know them all. He is not one of us, and even those who were against the Song would not want to send a newbie or a noname bastard to deal in their name. We are prideful... and this is not how we do things. If we strike, we do it fast, hard, and with ample rumble, as our cultivation decrees! This is not how we do business.”

His voice and the way he spoke shut down the argument, and it was the first time Siu saw him be so agitated, so much so that he was holding onto the table to hide his shaking hands.

“Could be fake,” Bren offered, rubbing his chin. “It probably is, and they know it's the easiest way to use Stormglass to cover their tracks. They are not exactly able to come after them at the moment or may not even learn about this for years to come.”

"We will know when this crisis ends," Seloryn sighed as she crossed her arms. "But okay, let's go from there with that. So Stormglass isn't doing this. Who is it then?” Nobody had an idea, no matter how long she waited for any suggestions. "No matter..." Seloryn added after the silence stretched for long enough, "The Elders will know. King Valasiy," She turned towards him, "Do you have any tablets, ones that have CC and a formation embedded onto them, to record this conversation? We need this proof to be sent home."

“I have one.” He nodded at once. "It's the Royal Constitution." He explained after everyone suddenly looked at him, and his people looked horrified. "When our kingdom was established, Stormglass gifted it to us, and it records my family line and authority. You can use it!"

“Your Majesty?!” Everyone from his side erupted at once. "You can't be serious!"

“Bring it!”

“But—”

“NOW!” he yelled at them, "Bring it now, because it is no longer important! If we don't act, there won't be a kingdom anymore anyway!"

The others said nothing as they argued, and ten minutes later, they brought forward an obsidian box holding a dark green tablet about the length of Siu's hand, with faint golden lines running across its surface. Seloryn didn't wait or ask for permission; she just placed the flute beside the tablet and let her essence blow it, transferring all that onto the tablet itself.

"We will reimburse your kingdom when this is all done," She said, picking up the tablet and checking that everything was normal and functioning.

"I'll be happy if there is a kingdom that I can call home when that date comes..." The king muttered, closing his eyes. "I don't understand why he would betray us, or why anyone would want to conquer us. Or why would anyone dare use the Esteemed Stormglass Pavilion's name when we were always faithful servants...?"

"Because you became more important than Stormglass Pavilion," Ruben said, making Vael close his eyes and pinch the ridge of his nose, fearing what was coming next. He could tell Ruben's group found something big and were waiting for the opportunity to share it.

"What?" Everyone flinched and just listened as Vael told them everything.

“It is a real vein,” Bren added after his summary, "Trust me on this."

"I do..." Siu nodded, arms crossed, his face deep in thought as he watched the map on the table, the spilled CC covering most of the occupied region.

“How valuable... are those?” The King asked, unsure of their actual worth.

"Hm... They are low-level, per se," Bren mused, spreading the CC on the table even more. "But in great quantity, they are still valuable even for our Hollow Song. It is the perfect currency to trade with subordinate factions and sects, and to supply the Outer Disciples' place with resources. The real worth is the land itself. With a vein present, it needs proper protection, preservation, and careful maintenance during excavation. It is something that requires an immediate outpost with an Elder-level cultivator overseeing the mining operations... or even the establishment of a new sect."

"Or in this case," Seloryn interjected, "It would fall under Stormglass authority. They would need to take care of it, operate it, and present the yield to our Sect. In turn, they get a cut. That's why I now believe you, Vael," She said frankly, looking at him. "You wouldn't need to occupy your own mine."

"Only if they want full control over it," Joren said, but everyone shook their heads.

"Not worth killing yourself over a CC mine," Ruben whispered, elbowing his brother.

"The issue is," Bren continued, "That whoever operates it is stripping it too fast. The rate it's being excavated could hurt the vein and ruin the land. And they have been running it for at least a year, by my estimation.”

"What?!" The King and the others gasped, prompting Bren to quickly correct himself.

"You wouldn't notice a thing, as it can only be mined by cultivators. Your land's essence quality would drop even further when they exhaust it and ruin it. But again, that, you, wouldn't notice."

"The Three Valley Incident..." Siu murmured, realizing the situation and why it suddenly felt so similar.

"The what?" Some of them looked at him, but he just shook his head.

"Nothing." He muttered, and then the King spoke up, furrowing his brows.

“The raids haven't been going on for a year, though...”

“They could have still found it early,” Rinmei shrugged, "And began operating it secretly, taking their time to start hiring people before moving into occupying the kingdom, just when Stormglass got into its own troubles, capitalizing on the opportunity.”

“Seems likely.” Seloryn agreed, smiling at Rinmei. "I couldn't have put it better either."

"What now... Honored Cultivators?" The King asked, feeling that the salvation he expected wouldn't come.

“We send word back.” Siu said without hesitation, "No delays, so we go immediately.”

"Go?!" The King inhaled sharply, almost suffocating on his own tongue.

“How far is the closest transport arch?” Siu asked, ignoring his choking voice.

“There.” Vael pointed at the map after scanning it. "It's what Stormglass uses, but it was established by your Song; we are just synced up to it. We can't build them ourselves. So, my best guess is that you can enter it and be transported back home at once; it should recognize you."

It was well away from where they had arrived, but not so far that it would take more than a few days to reach. The King and his men were already ready to go to their knees and beg them to stay, but they stiffened at what Siu said next.

“You're going back, Rinmei.”

“What?” She flinched, feeling she misheard him.

"Sorry." Siu smiled at her while he pointed toward the tablet. "Take it and ride Cinna as fast as you can. If there is a fight, and I can feel there will be, you are the weakest amongst us..."

"Pffft..." She chortled, shaking her head, fixing her clothes. "You brought me along to sneak into enemy territory, and now you tell me to my face that I'm weak. If I didn't know you, I would think you are a big fucking bastard, you bastard!"

"Sorry..."

"Eh, just fuck off," she laughed, picking up the tablet. "You saved my life; now it's my time to save yours if you stay in this slowly boiling pot. I'm not a frog... I know when it's lit up under my ass, so I'm gladly hopping out of the water!" Then she turned serious and looked at the others. "I'll be quick."

Realizing his guests weren't leaving them alone to be conquered by their enemy, the King began wiping his eyes, unable to hold back his tears. As for Cinna, when they went out and Siu explained the task, she was extremely pleased with the plan.

“Are you going to be okay?" Siu asked, but Cinna just began nodding her head, making herself dizzy. "She is riding you, so don't complain, okay?” He added, pointing toward Rinmei, who watched as the bird tilted her head, clearly measuring her, then chirped loudly, spreading her tiny wings and rattling her feathers.

"Afraid?" Seloryn whispered, leaning over to Rinmei, who looked a little bit white, watching Cinna be so loud.

"Stop seeing through me." She whispered back, making Seloryn chuckle as she patted her back.

"Relax... I guess Siu knows his beasts. I think he can make sure that the bird will fly despite the fact that she can't."

“You need to take her to the transport arch.” Siu continued explaining in the meantime, describing the route to her, "And be as fast as you can, okay? And she needs to arrive with you! Do not throw her off!"

Rinmei wanted to say something about not giving her ideas as she climbed onto her back, but time was of the essence. The moment Rinmei sat up on her... she was off. Rinmei was in the middle of telling Siu she would be careful, but she never got to finish because the Redcrown flew out the main gate. It sprinted down the hill, or more like ice-skated down the frozen road while using her talons for the occasion perfectly, and disappeared at once.

"Well..." Joren grimaced. "She should be fine... If she screams less."

"The bird or Rinmei?" Ruben asked, twitching his lips as he watched them disappear.

"Yes."

"Enough," Siu chuckled, shaking his head. "We have to prepare. We must protect the locals, and this city." He continued, turning toward the King, who looked much livelier now than in the castle a few moments ago. “Recall everyone you can.”

"Honored Cultivators..." General Devren stiffened, but still saluted, showing he understood the order. "Everyone?”

“Every soldier, militia, civilian, anyone you can reach," Siu said, "Bring them back here, within the walls and barricades. By now, our enemies will have news of our arrival, and their cultivators will recognize a Redcrown Runner. They will know that officials, or in this case, we cultivators, have come, and they wouldn't want us to discover the reality of the situation. They will come and probe us, probably test our strength, and... after that?" He shrugged, shaking his head. "Sumeck will be besieged. I have no illusions about that."