“Lad, I feel it’s time we talk through our next steps.”
Vir nodded. This was a conversation he’d been wanting to have as well. He’d just needed some meditation to clear his mind and organize his thoughts, first.
“What are your thoughts?” Vir asked. He noticed how Aida leaned in to listen, and Ashani, noticing her, followed suit despite her supernatural hearing.
“The way I see it, you can go about this one of two ways,” Cirayus said, holding up two fingers with all four arms. “One, liberate and seek forgiveness. Or two, ask for permission from the other clans beforehand.”
“Forgiveness… Permission.” Vir spoke the words like curses. “What permission did the Chitrans have to wipe out my clan? To murder my parents? Why do I need permission to slice off Matiman’s head and display it to the world on a pike? Why should that act require even an ounce of forgiveness? The way I see it, all the clans are complicit.”
“Lad, I understand how you feel, and I agree wholeheartedly. Even so, there are certain rules and customs that must be followed.”
“I get it, Cirayus,” Vir replied, waving away the giant’s concern. “While I’ve never truly played this game, I at least have some understanding of how these things work. I understand the clans will have to be persuaded to join my cause, and I understand that this will be an uphill battle, filled with blood, sweat, and tears. But that doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
“Aye, lad. You certainly don’t.”
“As for what route we choose… The answer seems obvious, does it not?”
“Oh?” Cirayus asked with a raised brow. “I’m listening.”
“We aren’t even close to ready to attack Samar Patag. By my reckoning, we still have some time. Quite a bit of it, if we push deeper into the Ash. Do you agree?”
“Aye, I believe so,” Cirayus replied, stroking his beard. “Even without the time benefits the deep Ash bestows upon us, you are nigh untouchable within the Ash. To attack you, the Chits would have to blindly send forces through the Boundary, unable to choose their destination. From there, they would have to scour the realm for you, in hopes that they locate you before some ancient City-Ender beast gets to them first.”
“Wouldn’t that be just wonderful?” Vir said with a smirk. “If only the Chitran would be so nice as to sacrifice their army for us.”
“Aye. ‘’Tis out of the question.”
“Which means we’re safe as long as we stay in the Ash.”
“Indeed, though Matiman has certain levers he can pull to force you out, should he choose to do so.”
Vir frowned. “Like what?”
“Like torturing and killing Gargans until you face him in battle.”
Vir’s blood ran cold. “Do you think he’d do that?”
“Do you truly think the demon who slaughtered your entire clan wouldn’t?”
“Noted,” Vir said, setting his soup aside. He’d just lost his appetite.
Pulling on the Foundation Chakra to stabilize his emotions, Vir took a long, slow breath, and pressed on.
“The Chitran would never respond to diplomacy, nor do I have any desire to engage with them. The other clans, though… I feel I at least ought to try with the Panav, Iksana, and Aindri. If, by the time we’re ready, I’ve failed to sway them to our side, then we strike, and ask for forgiveness, after.”
Cirayus nodded. “A sound plan. As I said before, with some effort, you ought to be able to sway the Panav. They are a reasonable, level-headed clan, and many still harbor ill will toward the Chitran for what they did to your mother. Now, the Aindri… If I am honest, they feel like a lost cause, but if you can get the Panav and Iksana on your side, they might be cowed into switching. In war, they are some of the most ferocious, but when it comes to politics? Spineless cowards, the lot of them. Always have been.”
“Which leaves the Iksana as the lynchpin,” Vir said.
“Aye. The Iksana… I wish I could tell you one way or another. What goes through their heads, no one knows. What I can tell you is that obtaining Clarity will be a windfall.”
“Seeing the immediate future would be a powerful addition to my abilities,” Vir admitted.
“Aye, but as powerful as it is, its reputation is even greater. I’ve seen demons soil their pants and turn tail the moment they learn their foe possesses Clarity. I’ve seen nations make sweeping decisions based solely on whether the Iksana will intervene with that ability. In the eyes of the other clans, Clarity will elevate you further than Balancer of Scales or even Yuma’s Embrace.”
Vir jumped suddenly to his feet, katar and chakram in hand.
“No need to get so excited, lad,” Cirayus said with a wry smile. “I daresay that’s a ways off.”
“Actually, I think the opportunity might be closer than you think.”
For out of the shadows and cackling madly, a Ghael emerged. Not just Ghael.
Raja Sagun’Ra had arrived.
“What is the meaning of this?” Cirayus demanded, spinning around. “Raja or not, you’ve no right to set foot in my abode without permission.”
“Fear not, Ravager,” Sagun’Ra said. “No harm today. But to him?”
Vir frowned. He’d heard stories of the Iksana clanlord. That he was especially odd, even for the Iksana.
Both Aida and Ashani had jumped to their feet upon the Raja’s arrival. Aida wouldn’t dare assault a clanlord, but Ashani?
Vir caught her gaze and motioned with his eyes to tell her to stand down. This was not a foe they could simply fight, and doing so would have disastrous consequences, even if they happened to win.
“What is your business with me? Do you wish to discuss—!”
Without warning, the Iksana Raja moved with reflexes Vir wouldn’t have thought possible.
Having dealt with Ekanai and Nor, Vir had already expected such an outcome, and had activated Haste at full power. Prana Current ran wildly on the fumes within Vir’s body, desperately soaking up every morsel of Ash prana from the ground and the air.
Vir saw the Iksana’s katar and dodged, striking with his own. Whether or not this was a declaration of war, Vir couldn’t afford to play on the defensive. He knew this Ghael’s power. He saw it, glowing a bright purple on the Raja’s back. Against this foe, he could take no chances.
Ash prana coated Vir’s katar, yet even as he threw the attack, Vir knew something was wrong. Sagun’Ra’s body moved oddly. Not quickly, just… his trajectory felt off, somehow.
His feeling was proven correct as his blade passed harmlessly by, failing to even nick the Raja’s flowing robe.
Shaking it off, Vir struck again. Sagun’Ra didn’t move especially fast—certainly nowhere near as quickly as Cirayus had.
And yet, Vir couldn’t touch him.
Every strike that ought to have landed missed, or glanced harmlessly off the metal armor the Raja wore beneath his robe.
At the same time, Vir found himself taking cut after cut after cut. Despite his armor, Sagun’Ra seemed to aim precisely for the gaps, inflicting strike after strike at the joints.
“A little unfair, using Clarity, don’t you think?”
The Iksana’s eyes widened, and he laughed. “The path to victory,” he said, as if that somehow explained everything.
Realizing close quarters combat—an area Vir excelled—was now too dangerous, Vir backed off and hurled his chakram, augmenting it with a Katar Launch Barrage, slinging blades of pure Ash prana at the Raja one after another. Yet even these, he nimbly dodged, and all they accomplished was to cause an untold amount of destruction to Cirayus’ abode.
Sagun’Ra sunk into the shadows, negating the safety net Vir had just gained by pulling away. The chakram lost its target.