“Garrylondryth’s full attention and a guarantee of behavior from him. You may keep Yushi while he is here, if you like.”
The Herald of the green dragons was the right hand of the Dragon King, and rather than destroying human civilization, he preferred to enhance the power of nature. He practiced a Path of water and life, and he had made it his mission to restore the natural world after a clash of great powers.
Despite his generally peaceful temperament, he nursed centuries-old grudges against Akura Fury and Northstrider. Something about a relentless campaign against his family and the death of his children in battle; Eithan wasn’t entirely clear on the details.
Rather than continuing to pretend he had no influence over the Dragon Monarch, Reigan Shen said, “Agreed.” He leaned back and twisted one of his rings. “And for yourself?”
“I would like to ensure that the Blackflame Empire is evacuated before the danger of the Dreadgods.”
For once, Reigan Shen expressed mild surprise. “You don’t trust Malice to handle such a task?”
“She will be fighting against the cults. Who are now gathered under your banner.”
The Monarch drummed sharp fingernails on the table. “I can issue a standing order to allow evacuating civilians to continue unmolested, and I can respect whatever shelters Malice creates. I expect any of this to be included in whatever agreement I reach with the other Monarchs. It is not your concern.”
“Just being thorough. Now, to finally answer your question: neither House Arelius nor the Blackflame Empire can appropriately subsidize my advancement.”
“I will sponsor you all the way to Herald once the tournament ends, assuming you can overcome the other barriers yourself.”
That was another truly generous offer. Advancing through Overlord and Archlord could be astronomically expensive, and even Monarch factions did not spend such sums lightly.
There was no guarantee of return on such an investment; most would-be Overlords or Archlords stalled out at one of the other bottlenecks that could not be broken through with advancement resources.
If you could simply spend a fortune to power through the Lord realm, as you could through Gold, then every rich merchant would be Archlord.
Eithan gave a beaming smile. “Let’s assume that I can. Now, it also seems to me that I’m giving up the most powerful weapon in the world, so I should end up with some weapons of my own in recompense, don’t you think?”
“You’re giving up your chance at the most powerful weapon in the world,” Shen corrected, but a spark of interest had kindled in his eyes. “But if one of my collection has captured your imagination, it’s possible we can come to an arrangement.”
Once again, Eithan was sorely tempted to demand something unreasonable, like Shen’s entire arsenal.
If he waited until the final match, he might have enough leverage to force Shen to agree. Now that was a fortune that could reshape the entire situation on the planet.
But there was too much risk involved. What if Sophara and Yan Shoumei were both eliminated early, and Eithan was left in the finals against Mercy? What a missed opportunity that would be.
Of course, he could use Penance to blackmail Reigan Shen into giving him what he wanted anyway.
Eithan was aiming for the best of both worlds.
You didn’t make it to Monarch by being easy to fool, so Shen wouldn’t give Eithan anything that might affect the tournament. Eithan could funnel any advancement resources to Yerin, Mercy, or Ziel, even if he himself dropped out.
But if Reigan Shen bought him off and Yerin or Mercy won, Eithan would profit twice.
And if they didn’t…well, it was possible that Eithan would have lost anyway, and at least he had a luxurious consolation prize.
“Why would I break up the world’s greatest collection?” Eithan asked, with exaggerated horror. “No, I prefer my weapons made to order. Give me the Soulforge.”
He held a flower up to his nose and inhaled while the Monarch’s jaw worked. “…you’re not even in the top four.”
“Oh, would you prefer to have this conversation after I’ve knocked out one of your fighters?”
Even Eithan didn’t know the distribution of the next round, but given that it was reached by the agreement of the Monarchs, he could guess. Eithan wouldn’t be fighting any allies. Which meant a three out of four chance he was matched against one of Shen’s team.
Unless it was Yan Shoumei and she managed to defeat him, his position would only be stronger after this round ended. They both knew it.
There came a growl from deep in Shen’s chest that rumbled out and shook the table. Shen was perhaps the only Monarch who could make a replacement for the Soulforge, which was the only reason he was considering Eithan’s request at all.
Eithan respected that Shen didn’t try anything foolish, like pretending the artifact was irreplaceable. Any false position he took would only make Eithan more determined.
“This is the last concession I will make,” Shen warned.
“You agree to this and my other conditions, and I will swear on my soul to throw the next match,” Eithan promised. “Except…there is one final thing I do require.”
“Speak, but I will bend no further.”
“Clothes,” Eithan said. “I need new clothes.”
Information requested: Tiberian Arelius, the Storm King, Patriarch of House Arelius and the fallen ruler over half of the Rosegold continent.
Beginning report…
Path: Raging Sky. Most “storm” Paths are really only lightning Paths, but the Path of the Raging Sky harvests water, wind, and lightning aura in balance with one another. As an interesting side effect, practitioners can adjust their madra to bring one aspect or another to the forefront, so that it can often feel like facing three different Paths—one of water, one of wind, and one of lightning—rather than a single, unified set of techniques.
When Tiberian Arelius was young, he was often called a “perfect sacred artist.”
Not only did he have unsurpassed talent in the sacred arts, mastering each technique with grace and skill, but he never stopped working. He was honest and straightforward to a fault, keeping his power under control, showing perfect deference to his superiors and gracious mercy to those beneath him.
The previous Arelius Monarch was only a distant relative of his, but she ascended with peace in her heart when she realized she could leave their House in Tiberian’s hands.
He brought House Arelius to a new era of prosperity, maintaining a tense balance of peace with their rival and neighbor, House Shen.
Until his youngest advisor, a prodigy of their House, came forward to propose something more than an alliance. This advisor had violated family tradition and protocol to raid the tomb of their founding Patriarch, the original Arelius.
From this tomb, he brought relics of an unknown nature.
[WARNING: information incomplete. Continuing report.]
With these relics, the advisor was able to convince Tiberian to embark on an ambitious project: the elimination of the Dreadgods. The same task that resulted in the Dread War and the death of the previous generation of Monarchs.
As a first step, Tiberian approached his neighbor, Reigan Shen and proposed an alliance.
Shen responded with violence.
True battles between Monarchs are rare, and this one destroyed much of the Rosegold continent. In the end, even the Weeping Dragon was drawn in, and Tiberian was struck down.
Leaving House Arelius leaderless and in ashes.
Suggested topic: the fate of House Arelius.
ERROR: topic unavailable. Report complete.
In a snowy village protected by the Frozen Blade School, Yerin did battle with a demon.