The Heavens Shall Fall

The Mission Hall was, as usual, pretty crowded when the weekly sect-issued slips were being handed out, prompting disciples to argue over who had priority for what, especially if they reached for the same slip at the same time. Of course, there were those who had people they knew working the counters, walking up to them directly, getting some of the slips before they even had a chance to be posted. Was it fair? Of course not, but it was how the world worked, and they were still part of it, even if they lived inside the Hollow Song.

But to everyone's surprise, a new slip was hung up on the walls, a bit different from the rest, because it announced the creation of a new group. Was it rare? No, not really, but it became so in the past few years, thanks to more associations going bust than emerging.

“Outer Disciples, take note,” it read, “By approval of the Hollow Song administrative office, a new authorized Outer Collective has been registered: Spirit Wardens. Headquarters: Spirit Tower. Leader: Siu. Note: If you are interested in starting anew, free from the current restrictions that are not the Elders' work, come join us. Maybe it will be you who gets his own Spirit Beast next!"

Naturally, the last part wasn't Siu's work, as he wasn't good at advertising. That part was... Neya's handiwork, knowing full well what was the most famous part about Siu, what everyone knew him for around the Sect. And that it was what most of them envied when his name came up in discussions.

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Cal’Fia was having a meeting with the leading figures in her Ember Circle, discussing the latest happenings and the increasing attacks by Stone Ward members on their own, albeit not physically. Their strikes targeted their unity, team cohesion, and, more importantly, going after their coffers. They already lost two reliable people who processed their hunted goods, only to be told outright that they can no longer work with what they bring in, just because Stone Ward members warned them. The group was in the middle of their debate over how to strike back or, maybe, ask the Elders to intervene, when Tian entered the room, drawing all eyes to him.

“He did it.” He said simply, making Cal'Fia raise her eyebrows, but then she understood. Just a day or two ago, he received news from the Golden Scroll that a new organization will soon appear that may prove to be the perfect ally to take Bren down a peg.

“I should have expected it would be him.”

“Yeah,” Tian grunted, rolling his eyes, but hiding a smile, while the others were a bit confused about what the hell was happening.

“He moved quickly,” Kae'Lin spoke up, figuring it out pretty fast, and as she muttered it, she also quickly told the others that it was about Siu establishing a new disciple group.

“Someone from the hunt, that Rinmei girl, she helped out a lot,” Tian added, glancing at Kae'Lin, which then made her pause.

"Really?" She asked back, surprised, "Well, she wasn't like Ryn, and it's good to see her back on her feet. I thought she might disappear after all that happened to her."

“Stone Ward won’t ignore this,” someone else spoke up, making the inner circle of the most popular hunting group refocus their thoughts on the core of the issue.

“And we want them to be unable to ignore it,” Cal’Fia said with a smile, "For a year, Bren has been consolidating his authority, crushing smaller associations, raising rates, and now he is applying pressure on people who have nothing to do with them. The cost of processing our hunts has almost doubled, and we are even getting back less and less! Enough! The idiot has realized he is stuck and may never make it into the Inner Disciples' ranks, so he is setting himself up to remain a king here... Well, I say, we behead that tyrant.”

“I'm with you, Boss,” Kae’Lin gave a grin, while most of the others also began agreeing. “It is even better that Siu didn’t join us, because with this, we can hit the Stone-brained bastards with a pincer attack."

“Tian," Cal'Fia turned to him, while he already knew what she would ask him of.

"I know," He shrugged, rubbing his forehead, "I'll go and talk with him. I feel like I am being demoted from hunter to messenger."

"Don't turn into a girl." Cal'Fia chuckled, closing one eye while looking at the boy, who was one of the best of her latest recruits and someone who had quickly distinguished himself amongst the rest, "We are not only brutes, okay? We do dabble in diplomatic relations."

"Yeah, yeah," He waved a hand, already turning on his heels, "I know."

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“Boss, we have a problem.” One of Stone Ward's liutenants walked up to Bren, who was just about to relax.

He was opening a bottle of liquor as he had finally handed off everything to Elder Faliah, along with all the documents, while also counting their profits in the back of his mind. Although the money he was making was really good, what he truly enjoyed was the power it gave him over others... so hearing that there was a problem, it also meant that someone else with authority had decided to strike at him. It wasn't big news, because he was expecting Cal'Fia's name to ring in his ears the next moment.

“What?” Bren asked, not even looking up from pouring his drink.

“The Blue Quarry Tower was purchased. I just got the news this morning.”

"Huh?" That made him pause, because why would the Ember Circle waste money like that? “By whom?”

“That... Siu person.”

"..." his hand stopped from raising the small cup, squinting a little, considering what it really meant, “How was it registered? Under what name? Because I don't believe you if you tell me he bought it for personal use."

“Spirit Wardens, Boss. A new group he formed.”

"I see..." He muttered, finally putting the edge of the glass to his lips, pouring its contents down his throat, “So, he thinks he can do whatever he wants...” He said next, smacking his lips. Bren had expected pushback, of course, but not from a wholly new angle, which, he had to admit, caught him off guard, blindsiding him. “He bought the tower directly?”

“As far as we could gather, yes, he did, Boss.”

"Where the hell did he get that amount of money from? I would know if he loaned it from us!"

"The Golden Scroll's information says that the Blue Quarry members sold him for a very friendly price," the lieutenant muttered, shaking his head.

"That's still not the entire picture." Bren answered, scratching his chin, "That boy has been here for a year, and that is not enough to accumulate wealth that can support setting up a group, especially not with a base like that. Most of them start out from their own abodes, not from a fixed place! Who assisted him?”

“We’re... confirming...”

"Pay the Golden Scroll well," He waved a hand, because if he had something to spend, that was money. "I know that it had to be the Ember Circle, I just want to know who, because we can then sow internal conflict within their ranks. With our pressure and the fact that they are spending on supporting an outsider, we could easily crack their ranks. This is exactly what we need! Heh, maybe this Just Siu had given us the perfect opportunity."

"The informant we contacted told us that it may be... more expensive to find info on it than usual... And it would take more time."

"Doesn't matter," Bren shook his head, "Pay them what they ask for, we have to keep them neutral until we deal with the Ember Circle. Also, put some of our own, paid watchers to monitor the tower."

"Should we send someone to try and join their ranks?"

"Not immediately." Bren said, putting down the glass in his hand, "That would be too obvious. Let some people join first, and then find someone on our debt list. Offer them the opportunity to wipe it away by being our little spy on the inside. Make sure their leash won't come off! Never clean their slates... always leave a smudge."

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As the news spread, soon, not only the biggest groups and their members were talking about it, but the regular, simple disciples too, making up the majority of the sect.

“Hey, have you heard it? That he made a group?”

"Who?"

“The guy with two spirit beasts!”

“The one with the fox?”

"And squirrel, yes. I think I'll sign up, maybe I'll end up with my own, you never know."

"Yeah, sure... Or you will end up like the group he had gone into the forest with... You know, to kill the Icecrown Stag? How many of the twelve came back? Four? Five?"

"He still came back, that's something."

"Ryn came back, too, but apparently because she ran. I guess, only the cowards survived..."

"Didn't he bring back Rinmei, saving her?"

"More like, doom her to a slow death, the sadist."

Of course, more and more, similar talks were happening everywhere, some even going as far as outright put the death of the others on Siu, while counter rumors began spreading, saying that those who lived all did so thanks to him. Nobody really knew which was real or false, and they didn't care, because talking about them was the main fun in itself anyway.

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At the same time, as the news was spreading, Siu stood in the tower’s main hall alone for the first time since the purchase was finalized. With Rinmei's lead, he met with the members of the disbanded Blue Quarry group, handed over the CC without question or further negotiation, trusting Rinmei's word to handle everything. It was clear that the Blue Quarry members weren't happy with their situation, but they weren't that angry either to jump into the fray just yet.

They listened to Siu's explanation of what his group is about, what his rules are, and how it will operate, a bit surprised and also a bit sceptical about paying a... subscription fee. Still, it wasn't priced so high as to make joining impossible. It was just... weird. But then again, when Rinmei explained that every group does this, only covertly, asking their new members to contribute, sometimes not even with CC but with their time, something that can't really be measured how much it is actually worth, their suspicions soon began to disappear.

Which didn't mean they would join just yet, but that was not part of the discussion anyway. After everything was done and finalized, sent to an Elder to nod and make it official, the old signboard brackets had been replaced with new ones, now holding the name 'Spirit Wardens' above the entrance.

"Are we moving in to live here?" Arya asked as she sat atop the table before the fireplace.

"It is pretty big!" Marly agreed, hopping from a piece of empty shelf to another, looking for nooks and crannies to hide stuff in. "Very big!"

"Size isn't everything, little Marly. Technique is just as important!" Arya warned her, speaking like an old sage.

"Big sis, you aren't big yourself." She shot back, prompting Siu to interrupt the two.

“We aren't going to move here," He shook his head, looking around the bare walls, "But we may spend some time here until we paint it and whatnot. And until everything is running... But in the long term, we will continue to live in our own place, which is silent. One thing that will not be true for this place.”

"But what about the space on the other floors?"

"We can let future members who may still be in the dormitories rent it out," he answered, repeating the same words the Rinmei had told him, while the twins suggested turning it into a massage parlor for whatever reason. He was sure their idea of massage was different... so it was a straight: no.

"Master," Arya asked, looking at him, tilting her head to the right, "Are you really going to teach the newcomers how to mate beasts?"

"What did you say?" He glanced at her with one eye open, pretty sure of what he heard but...

"Are you really going to teach the newcomers how to tame beasts?"

"You said, mate." He repeated out loud, while Marly was halfway gone behind one of the empty shelves, finding a hole in the wall, adamant in exploring it as if it were just another tree trunk.

"No." Arya lied without blinking, "It just has the same letters, I know what I said. I didn't mix the order up, I'm not stupid!"

"I didn't say you did it because you are dumb, quite the opposite, doing anagram jokes and, ah, whatever. You just enjoy being a little, well, devilish fox. I wonder how you will be after growing into a human... Should I be afraid of you turning out like the twins?"

"Master! That's rude!" Arya yelped, standing on her hind legs, holding her front paws over her chest, flicking her ears, "I wouldn't do it with others! I am not a loosey foxy! I'm pretty loyal in fact! I'm not digging into holes like Marly!"

"Hey!" came the yelp as the accused squirrel poked her dusty head out, climbing out from behind the shelf, "I am not even half as rotten as you are, Big Sis! I am more interested in eating, anyway... that feels super good!"

"Yeah," Arya sniggered, her body already shaking from the words he wanted to say, including something like 'gobble' and 'nuts,' but Siu had interrupted them again.

"Girls, stop being Milli and Nilli. The two of them are a headache enough, okay? Be more like Neya, please. Now... If you have stopped bickering like two spoiled sisters, let's go! We still have a lot to do... and prepare for accepting the first recruits."