On Astral Tides: From Humble Freelancer To Astral Emperor

Side One Hundred And Twenty-Eight – Treyvon James – Black Wolf Company

“Get running, you slugs!” Aliyah was yelling loudly, urging on the men and women of the Company as we ran through the strange, distorted mirror to the world that was the Boundary. We were attracting curious looks, just under a hundred of us sprinting through the strange silver-and-neon lit realm, while juggling a number of metal ball-bearings, not using our hands.

“And if you bastards run out of marbles, I’ll beat your fucking heads until you’ve lost your marbles too!” she cried.

“Yes, boss!” the troops cried, and I smiled to see it.

“Louder, you pathetic idiots! We’re stronger, faster, better!” she roared. “I expect world-record pace for this fucking marathon. So get on with it!”

As we ran, we passed a group of strange, rat-like creatures playing a number of musical instruments, a pretty aura of green radiating from them. The sounds were unearthly, otherworldly, yet the song seemed strangely familiar. Several of the Company slowed down to stare and listen, despite having seen a multitude of such sights, and one of them was rewarded by my sister slamming her booted foot right into his ass, catapulting him off his feet, face-first into the paved path we were racing down. That’s got to hurt. I’d say he might lose a tooth or two, but now…

“Get the fuck up, dipshit.” Aliyah roared, in her element, working out a lot of stress she had been accumulating, ever since the events in Kyoto. “And you’ve dropped all your fucking balls. That’s a hundred press-ups when we reach the break point. No, make that two hundred!”

As the man groaned, laughter from those around him, Aliyah started spreading the punishments, and as I watched, my breathing steady, muscles burning, a satisfying feeling, Travis pulled alongside me. “She sure is back in high-spirits. It’s good to see.” He said, and I couldn’t help but agree.

“Well, my sis is soft-hearted. Too soft at times.” I sighed. “It was hard, seeing those kids die, the small bodies carried out. Reminds us of Sierra Leone. That was a shit time.”

“Well, it couldn’t be helped, could it?”

“Probably not.” I agreed, thinking back. “Well, not before it was too late. But… well, she takes it hard, you know. It’s probably worse because she has a very… conflicted… view of our new boss.” They didn’t exactly hit it off on first meeting, and then there was the whole mess when we got captured. But…

“She’s got to let it go. It’s like we’re on permanent retainer now.” Travis said, his breathing even, pace good. They crested towards where the shrine was located in Tokyo, the hills occupied by a couple of massive trees, one so big as to dwarf many buildings. “Besides, we couldn’t complain if we were killed in action, or left to rot in prison. We get paid, and we even get the opportunity to train like this. We might just be the toughest group of former mercenaries going.”

“Well, you know Aliyah. She’s like a dog with a bone. And that’s why she’s so annoying, when sober, anyway. When drunk it’s an entirely different set of issues. Really, it comes down to her knowing he’s not a bad guy. She’s very sensitive to trouble affecting girls, if he was mistreating any of them, she’d know.”

“Stop flapping your lips Trey, Travis.” She suddenly turned, scowling. “And keep those fucking balls spinning. This is training, got it? Mercs… sorry, private security…” she adapted her favourite joke to their new circumstances. “… need to be at their best at all times. We wouldn’t want our charges to get kidnapped or worse, would we?”

“No, we would not. Akio would kill us for sure if our careless behaviour got any of his friends or family hurt.”

I held in a smirk as my sister shuddered, thinking about it. “Fuck, Trey, don’t remind me of that. When he told me he’d even kill the President of the fucking US of A, he was serious. But so am I! Get bloody juggling, I’d be ashamed if my brother was the only one who was lagging behind. Not that I entirely get the purpose of the training.”

“Uh, I believe the instructions were rather entendible. This is to raise our proficiency with this mysterious energy, the aether.” Luciana said. “Well, this is but the first energy we will learn, so I gather. I find it asombrosa, quite amazing. But it explains a great deal that had been puzzling me.”

Yeah, Luciana is a smart one. She’s now our right-hand girl, after doing good work keeping everything together in our absence. And being a girl…

“Shit, Luciana, you don’t need to tell me. I get that, I’ve seen Akio and his girls pull off some crazy shit. I’m just… oh never mind, fuck it. Keep running, last couple of miles of the loop in a dead sprint. Last bastard there will regret it!”

Travis and I exchanged glances, before picking up the pace, running at a sprint that we couldn’t have imagined before. Yeah, my sis is weak to girls. If that was Manx or one of the boys, she’d have knocked him on his ass for backchat… With a wry smile, I started focusing on the multitude of small balls, trying to manipulate the strange energy within me, cursing as several of the metal pellets escaped and went tumbling free…

********

“So, these are guns, you say?” I took hold of the long-barrelled rifle that the rat handed me.

“Yes, we call it a long gun.” The rat said in decent English. I still didn’t understand why a lot of these strange creatures spoke English at all, and when asked, apparently it was one of the languages of the Seelie Court, which they learned from mortals? Well, it’ll only make my head hurt to think about it too much. First thing’s first…

“Well, how does it work? Is it front-loaded, or cartridge-fed?” I asked, inspecting it.

“Here.” He pulled at the rear stock, and the tube slid to the side, allowing me to slot a strangely-shaped bullet in.

“Single shot, huh? No scope too. I doubt that is going to be that accurate.” Around me, the rest of the Company was also inspecting various firearms, my sister of course somehow gravitating to some sort of odd flamethrower-type thing. “Well, let me give it a try.” I looked towards a range of targets, and picked one that looked to be a couple of hundred metres away. If it’s going to be useful, we need at least this level of range and precision.

“Line up… ugh, it’s a bit heavy. It needs to be more compact, unless it’s some sort of sniper or anti-material rifle. Well, here goes.” Sighting my eye, I used all my skills to estimate the shot. There was no wind, which made a difference. Squeezing the trigger, the gun kicked, and the bullet flashed out. Moments later the target was struck, somewhat off centre.

“Well, not bad. But a worse shot than me would struggle to have any sort of decent hit rate.”

“You didn’t put in any aether.” The rat-man observed. “Here.” He took the gun from me, and sighted the same target, slotting in his own shell. A silvery glow, rippling with faint rainbow light, shone around the weapon, before the rat fired. This time, when the bullet struck, it exploded, scattering green and yellow light, the whole target shredded apart, small flames smouldering.

Well, that was surprising. A bit like a high-explosive incendiary round. “So how does that work?” I asked, casting a glance at my sister, who was gleefully barbecuing some nearby targets, shimmering clouds of yellow flame rolling out from the wide nozzle of the barrel-shaped weapon, clinging like an oily slick.

“It is quite the ingenious process. I took the first prototypes designed by Master Engineer Ixitt, and…” As the rat explained that the active ingredient was an elementally-charged metal powder, that was contained and activated by use of this aether, thus totally safe to handle otherwise, I was frowning over some other devices, picking up one that looked rather like a minigun. No, it’s actually more like an old-fashioned gatling gun. As I hefted it, feeling the weight, the rat’s yellow eyes brightened.

“You like that one? Well, that is one of my inventions.” His tail twitched. “I felt that more barrels are better than one, but alas, I cannot seem to make it work, it fails explosively seemingly at random. The devices made by Master Engineer Ixitt based on mortal designs seem to work better, but to produce them at scale to arm all our forces is difficult. This design is far simpler, but…”

“You know, I see the problem.” I’ve always loved weapons. Well, a gun is a Private Military Contractor’s best friend, right? That and a damn good combat knife. I’ve used a few miniguns in my time… “You need cooling, the metal warps when it heats up. And if you’re using those damn incendiary rounds and one pops off, no wonder it blows up. You’re lucky to be alive.” I saw a number of scars through his fur.

“I see. Cooling. Fascinating. So, how would you suggest going about it?” The rat asked me, tail lashing, which took me a few moments to tear my eyes away from. Talking rats. The world’s gone crazy ever since we took that job in Vegas.

“Well, air cooling is usually enough, but if you can’t make that work, then water cooling is an option…”

********

“Shit, I feel so much better now.” Aliyah said, grinning. “Nothing like some military drills to work out stress.” She shrugged, and I could see several of the guys eyeing her sneakily. “Well, those guns weren’t bad, but I miss my M16 rifle. Well, seems like that old man whose daughter that guy is smooching with will be delivering us a load soon. It’ll be good to have a familiar weapon in hand.”

A lot of the squad agreed with her. I do too, to be honest. Though at least if we have to battle here, we’ll have some sort of gun to use. Without modern equipment the Black Wolf’s effectiveness drops a lot. But then… I mopped the sweat from my brow, watching the remaining bouts as our recruits were pairing off and fighting in CQC, either unarmed of with combat-style knives which had apparently been procced from some Armoury or other. I had already defeated Manx, who was even now nursing his bruises, while my sis had kicked the ass out of one of the other big guys.

“Close combat is important too. After all, that’s the training they’re doing.” I said, and my sis shrugged again, sweat falling from her face, strangely silver.

“No kidding. Who’d have thought we’d be watching a damn giant and a bunch of trolls go at it. Well, bigger they are, the harder they fucking fall, right?” Her smile was vicious, and it made me smile too, even if I knew she was getting too excited to have the whole gang back together, at least those who didn’t quit on us, which meant she’d no doubt cause some sort of problem soon enough.

“Well, I don’t know how you’d go about making that fall.” I pointed out, and it was Luciana who answered, she having just defeated her opponent, by choking out the bigger man after disarming his knife with her own. Yeah, Luciana looks pretty and petite, but she’s a bit of a wildcat in combat. And it seems she has leadership qualities as well…

“Yes, one blow from that massive fist and muerta, no question you would be dead. Even so, it is not impossible. The ankles, or if you could reach, the knees… bring it down, inmoviliza, and it is simply a helpless target.” She paused. “I would not wish to try though, not unless it was vida o muerta. Life on the line. Best to take it on at range. It will not survive an RPG, no matter how large.”

“My thoughts exactly. But looks like someone has your idea.” I observed, watching keenly as the burly troll, covered in massive rocky armour, easily three metres tall, but still dwarfed by the giant that tripled that, darted in, striking at the knees of the creature even as it avoided fists the size of small boulders. The ground shook, dust showering the hooting and hollering audience of trolls, and as the giant stumbled, lashing out off-balance with a kick, the troll caught the leg, sliding backwards, before raising one leg of his own, sinking into the ground, and unleashing his own kick, sending the giant off-balance to the ground, which shook as though a massive truck had just crashed.

“Grulgor says you lose.” The troll laughed, leaping onto the chest of his fallen foe, dirty yellow eyes staring down at his frustrated opponent. “Well, Grul thinks it was a good fight.” He hopped off, as the giant struggled to his feet.

“You have changed, Grulgor.” The giant rumbled, his voice thunderous and slow-paced. “You do not just rush blindly into battle, but are crafty, cowardly…”

“Grulgor thinks nothing is cowardly, so long as we win.” He exposed his fangs, and I realised he was the strange, heavily muscled bald man we sometimes saw loitering around Akio’s shrine. He’s not really my type, I like men to be more elegant, but… damn, those muscles sure are something. I’m jealous. Instinctively flexing my arms, we continued to watch the discussion, fascinated. He’s right. You get the job done. Though you do have to draw the line somewhere, have some things you won’t do, even for the mission…

“You think like a weasel.” The giant sneered ponderously, massive hands wiping dirt and blood from his body. “What happened to the pride of the giants, those of us who did not desert to the Unseelie? Strength is all, our enemies should be squeezed, crushed, until their lifeblood…” the giant paused as Grulgor glared at him, expression mocking, furious and enough to unnerve him for a moment.

“Grulgor does think like a weasel now.” he agreed. “Like the princess. She was weak, but shed such weakness, to grow strong. If you wish to mock, Grul thinks you should challenge her to a battle. She will kill you, Grul says there is no other outcome. Duke Formor knows. Little princess is closer to us in thoughts than her father. Unseelie blood covers her hands.” He laughed again. “Why else would you be here? Grul knows the Duke wishes to see how we grow stronger. Well, shut up and learn. Grulgor will be going to the coast after he beats you all up. Grul wishes to learn water element, it will make Grul stronger, tougher, faster to heal. Now… fight!”

The troll gestured insultingly with his hands, making a ‘come get me’ gesture. Several of the watching trolls charged, quickly followed by several more, and we watched in fascination as the larger troll bullied and battered the smaller ones, be they slimy and warty, or stony and grey like him.

“Well shit. I’m losing confidence a bit here.” Aliyah managed. “Seriously, what the hell are we even here for?”

I feel that. But for now, most of these monsters can’t make it to the real world, can they? And we have the advantage in knowledge and training. Sure, I doubt very much small arms will work on them to any degree, but… “Well, we might lose out in strength, but who can wrestle a grizzly bear, or punch out a tiger? But it’s not the bears and tigers who rule the world, is it? Training, ingenuity… weapons… they’ll carry the day.”

“Indeed. We would not wish to fight them de cerca, no, instead of that, where their speed and strength would tell… I do believe an anti-material round to the head would certainly kill them. And if not, they would surely be disabled, no? Then… explosivos, that would finish the task.” Luciana observed.

“That’s right. You’re a cold one, Luciana.” My sister laughed. “Not that I think guns and bombs can solve every problem. Shoot our boss in the head, and he’d probably just laugh it off. Blow him up, and he’d crawl out and just be mad… I’d be using a bloody MOAB or some thermobarics to drop him, if I was his enemy.”

“Yeah, no matter how tough someone is, it’s hard to see them surviving that. But… well, I’ve been surprised before.” I agreed.

“Well, one question though, Trey.” My sis said, smiling bitterly. “If you could arm the bears and tigers with guns too, wouldn’t things be different? I mean, those dumbasses don’t seem too smart…” she watched as Grulgor was stomping on the arms of one fallen troll, breaking them happily, while rocky spikes were jutting from the ground, impaling more, acidic blood staining the hill and faintly smoking. “… but they have language, and opposable thumbs. No reason they couldn’t be soldiers too. If you think of some of the dumb fucks we whipped into shape…” some of the men laughed bitterly at that. “.. why would they be any different?”

“Good question sis. A damn good question. Well, I think that we need to be more than simply soldiers, bodyguards. We have expertise. Sure, our boss is in tight with the JSDF, but they’re pretty green in terms of when it gets down and dirty. No, I think if we want to secure our future, we’ll need to offer more than merely muscle. Though we need that too.”

“Yeah. Well, I’ve seen enough. Everyone who lost their bouts… you’re sprinting around the hills until I’m satisfied!” Aliyah roared suddenly. “As for the rest of you, we’ll head for that bar they have on top of the giant tree. I hear they have some good booze at least!”

At the mixture of groans from the losers and cheers from the winners, I turned to my sis. “When did you hear about that?”

“That little minx Shaeula told me about it.” The expression on her face was conflicted. “For a little girl, she sure is fiery. But… we talk, all right? I just make sure not to gamble with her, once was enough…”

I’ve still not heard the full story about that from her, but I gather it was strip poker? My sister has always been a bad gambler, so I’ve no idea what possessed her to do that. I still can’t believe that she won at that bloody casino. Miracles do happen, I guess…

********

“That hits the spot.” Aliyah sipped the orange drink in front of her which was giving off a sweet but not sickly smell. “So good. Well…” She paused, looking at the woman in front of her, elegant, graceful and slightly otherworldly. She had a decent chest, though Aliyah’s still triumphed. As usual. She had a fall of reddish-brown hair down to her thighs, and her skin had a slightly green tinge to it, just noticeable under certain lighting from the skies above. Her smile is very calming too. I’m not into women, but if I was, I think I’d find her attractive.

“… how do we pay for this? Shaeula never said.” Aliyah managed, and I paused, having my own glass of the mead in hand.

“Sis, you need to think of that first.” I hissed, only to be met with a tinkle of calm laughter from the woman who had served us.

“For mortal guests, who clearly serve he who saved my Tree from its terrible fate, such a thing as money is not needed yet.” she smiled. “I would be more than happy to share some of the fruits of our labour, is that not right, Hyacinth?” She turned her head, and following her gaze, I could see a familiar face, a woman with dark hair streaked with purple and green, her outfit rather more scandalous than I usually pictured maids. I think it’s a Japanese thing.

“Oh hell, it’s the psycho maid.” Aliyah said, frowning.

“Hooow rude.” Hyacinth snorted. “I am perfectly sane now, I hardly ever get the urge tooo burn down the house, or tooo strangle an insolent wretch anymooore. So be nice.”

“Sorry, you know how my sis is.” I apologised, recognising she was one of the many women the boss kept around. “She does like to put her foot in her mouth.”

“Uh, yeah.” She said, covering for her outburst by taking a drink. “Sorry. But you have to admit, you can be quite the … intimidating woman.”

“Well, I can nooot help that. Hyacinth doooes not like you all that much. None of yooou.” Her gaze roamed over the members of the Black Wolf, who thronged the café terrace atop the great tree. “But that does nooot matter. I do not like giants nooor trolls, yet Akio and mistress Shaeula need them, and Akio says they need yooou, so… enjoy. Asha and I raised the fruit in the ooorchards that makes up these wines. I find joy in that, unlike befooore…” she paused, her violet eyes misted with emotion, and my sis suddenly looked genuinely sorry.

“If it’s too painful to remember, let it go.” She offered from experience. “Well, you’re happy now, right? Doesn’t that count for something? I think it does. Shit, we all have our crosses to bear. If you can put it behind you and be happy, then the fuckers lose.”

Hyacinth smiled then, a haunting yet beautiful grin. “Yes, let the fuuuckers lose.” She scoffed. “And ooone day, Akio, the mistresses, we will all pay a visit to thooose who hurt me. Akio promised. And on that day…” her hands flexed, as if choking the life out of them.

“Yeah, that’s the spirit. Revenge is something I approve of.” Aliyah smiled. She took another sip. “This is damn good, sweet but not overpowering, with a real sharp tang on the end. You really should be selling this, it’s too good to give away.”

“Thank you.” Asha smiled. “I confess to ignorance over currency and trade, though Akio has explained it to me and others. Eventually all who dwell under his protection shall be able to enjoy such luxuries from the fruits of their labours. As one who grows fruits, this does seem a good thing.”

“Speedrunning capitalism, huh?” I scratched my head, thinking. “It has a lot of positives, but then…”

“You end up with the downtrodden poor. Shit.” Aliyah sighed. “Even in strange, magical worlds like this, we have to bring rich and poor, powerful and weak into it.”

“Nooo, you are being disrespectful again, I dooo not like it.” Hyacinth frowned. “You think that the weak, the hurt, the looost will find no favour here?” She scowled, and once more the atmosphere tensed, until Asha placed her hand on Hyacinth’s shoulder, stopping her temper.

“They simply do not know, Hyacinth. Mortals think so small at times.” She addressed us warmly, without any anger. “This is the land of the weak, the downtrodden. Look around us…” Other patrons were small, canine creatures, as well as an assortment of animal-type people. “Kobolds, ratkin, scorned by the Seelie, Hyacinth, lost and tormented. Me, my Tree almost consumed by a great evil. They flock here from the far corners of the land of the Fae, hearing rumours of a land where all are welcome, all can contribute, all can be safe and happy.”

I remembered the small group of child-like, green-skinned creatures, carrying a strange wrapped bundle, which we had seen entering some old apartments. Yeah, they sure looked nervous and oppressed… “Sounds like America. The American dream. But for a lot of people, it is just that. A dream. If it wasn’t, me, Aliyah, many of the others in the Black Wolf, we wouldn’t be where we are today…”

“Yooour thoughts are still sooo small.” Hyacinth sniffed.

“Now, do not be so cold to them, Hyacinth. After all, it seems they too have had a hard life.” Asha smiled benevolently. “If one is hurt, they shall be healed. If one wishes for food and shelter, it is given. Akio wishes for all to live happily. But is that enough? A life without pride is meaningless. I survived by doing terrible deeds in my plague-addled madness, devouring my lost sisters to keep alive and barely half-sane. No, here, dreams and reality mix. Should suffering be found, it will be resolved. Evil will not flourish, neglect rotting us, like it has begun to rot the Seelie Court and the lands of the Fae, Unseelie, Wild Hunt and more spawned from the chaos. No, here all contribute, and all will have a chance to love themselves.”

“Yes, moooney is about value. Work, good deeds, they have merit. Akio believes that good should pay. Is that sooo wrong?”

“No, it isn’t. But it’s hard as hell to get right.” I agreed. “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

“Well, if he was alone, maybe. But he is not, is he Hyacinth?” Asha said softly.

“Nooo. Never. The mistresses, they support him. Ooothers, smart Fae and proud Fae, Ixitt and Ulfuric, Moooira and the princess of the Fae, even clever mooortals, all rush to his aid. Because Akio cares, yet is nooot weak. He will forgive much, Hyacinth knows he forgave me, who tried to kill him. But when evil must be destroyed, he will dooo it!”

“As he did the Myconids, who were the downfall of so much of beauty.” Asha agreed.

“Shit, the two of you really seem head over heels for that bastard.” My sis scoffed, ignoring the look Luciana was giving her to calm down. “Well… fuck.” She downed her drink. “If it’s free, I’ll take another. No, since it should be paid for, put it on his tab. That’s what he gets for scooping up all the women around here into his clutches. Leave some for me!” Aliyah paused then. “You know, I’ve heard him mention all the others, even the new Chinese girl, but… I don’t think I’ve heard of you? He ashamed of you or something? I don’t see why, you’re hot stuff.”

As Asha smiled mysteriously, it was Hyacinth who answered the question.

“Akio does nooot know.” She laughed heartily, her mood flipping on a dime, her earlier anger forgotten. Which is frightening in itself. She’s definitely not the most stable woman I’ve ever met… “He thinks Asha simply has gratitude fooor him saving her and her Tree.”

“I do. Boundless, endless gratitude.” She patted a branch that was forming part of the canopy affectionately. “He even saved another Tree, though no sister remains within it. But…”

“But yooou were captured by his shining light, no?” Hyacinth giggled.

“It did indeed seem like he was shining, his spirit on full display, bright like the moon.” Asha agreed. “So I gave him my kiss. For one who saves a life should take responsibility and ownership for it. Especially when one is so heroic. In my fever dreams, my torments, I begged my father, the other Lords of the Seelie, anyone, to come save me, free me from that hell, even by killing me. And nobody ever did. Until he came. I begged to be put down, for mercy. Instead… he achieved the impossible, and here I stand, my Tree growing strong, and I spend my time cultivating fruits and vegetables and pretty flowers, tending to this terrace I would never have dreamed of.”

“Mistress Shaeula knooows too. She thinks it amusing.” Hyacinth continued to giggle. “Akio does nooot know he has another woman. Nooot that Asha is particularly aggressive.”

“Well, why would I be? I am a Dryad, Daughter of Orion. I live as long as the eternal Rhyming Trees. For now, I am enjoying my time anew, living, growing. There will be ample time for love to sprout like acorns, growing strong, and procreation…” at that Aliyah nearly spat out her drink, and I can’t say I blamed her. “…comes later, when he wishes for it.” She finished.

“Procreation? You mean having a kid? How does that even work, if you’re some damn tree spirit?” Aliyah asked.

“We have a lonely, empty Tree. Well, two, in fact. Daughters could be birthed to bond with them. Daughters will be, in time.”

“Time, huh? But Akio is just a man, right? Sure, he’s got all these new powers, but… he’ll grow old, and…”

“Akio is mooore a Fae than human now.” Hyacinth denied. “Death from ooold age will not claim him. Death from battle… I fear that, but… Hyacinth will be dead first. I will proootect Akio, the ooother mistresses. Those under Akio’s protection. This land… so you must do it toooooo! If you do, you are my friends. If nooot… I show no mercy to Akio’s enemies!” She vowed, eyes chilling.

“Yeah, shit, I get it.” My sis snorted. “You’re all the same. But if you all promise to die before each other, how the hell does that even work?” She laughed then, in sudden good humour, and Hyacinth cocked her head, puzzled. That expression made me laugh too.

“Well, just means they won’t die at all, Aliyah. Simple. But simple is best.” I took another long sip of my drink, savouring the flavour. “Yeah, damn, this is good. Guess the boss has some pretty talented women.”

As Hyacinth squirmed at that, clutching her cheeks, happy for the praise, the Dryad asked us to keep these matters a secret, as she did not want to be a distraction, not with so much going on. We all agreed, but knowing Aliyah, she was probably saving it for the perfect time to be a nuisance. Oh well, I suppose there are worse secrets to know. At least this one isn’t likely to get us killed…

********

“Yes, this is outstanding! Unprecedented!” Ixitt was laughing, and I wondered what all the fuss was. We had been doing another round of mock-battles, making sure our bodies were fully accustomed to our differing levels of strength, only to come across a strange convoy. Numerous wheeled wagons topped with silver, cylindrical-shaped devices studded with orange and yellow gems, were rolling towards the workshop area, and out of curiosity we had followed. There we had found the mad scientist Ixitt, who was another frequent fixture at the shrine, though here he was a pale-furred rat-man, his face covered in lenses and other observation devices.

“If I may ask, what has you so excited?” Luciana inquired politely, gathering knowledge, and I silently applauded her.

“Oh, some of the mortal mercenaries Akio has taken under his wing.” He assessed us. “Well, I was testing the new mobile Ether Silos…” he pointed to the wagons. “Akio had asked me to solve the problem of granting ether to his vassals, and extracting ether from other Territories. Etherites are too precious to be wasted anymore. Oh, you hardly care about that, do you? Well, needless to say, it worked. Compared to Ether Spires, creating something to store ether is simple, my fellow Mortal Engineers and their apprentices could manage that from our shared research. Well, I digress.”

“Yeah, you do.” Aliyah agreed, watching his lashing tail. Well, it is kind of hypnotic. “Get to the point.”

“I shall. In fact, you can save me some time, and report to Akio for me. I have much to do!” He glanced towards the strange building nearby, with many heavy metal chimneys that were belching out thick smoke and shining sparkles of rainbow energy into the skies in a straight column. “If only Bjarki was not so deeply engrossed in his forging, I would share this delight with him. Hmm…” the rat pulled out a pocket watch. “… well, time dilation between the Boundary and Material is hardly an exact science, but it should be roughly time for Shiro to come renew her buffs on us. I shall speak to him then…”

“This isn’t getting to the point.” Aliyah insisted, shaking her head, beads in her hair jingling softly.

“So impatient.” He chided her. “Look!” He pointed to where a small, silvery tree was growing. “It is now self-sufficient! Yes, it can hardly provide as much material as stripping off silver and crystals from the upgrading Buildings, but it grows by itself from atmospheric ether! And this is just the beginning! Checking the Territory details, I can see it clearly!” He took out a number of red crystals, crushing them to powder before sprinkling the dust over the little sapling. “Oh, how the possibilities are simply endless… but I have too many demands on my time. Weapons, Alchemy, batteries, generators, this tree and more…”

As the rat rattled on, my sister and I exchanged glances. “Well, he got to the point, but I don’t really understand it. Do you, Trey?”

“No.” I shook my head. “You, Luciana? You seem to have taken to all this quite well.”

“I have no idea. It is… el árbol A tree?”

Travis, Manx, the others, none of them understood what was so special about it. In the end I shrugged, and we left, wishing that our curiosity hadn’t led us to follow those wagons.

“Well, I guess I’ll tell the boss. Not that I know what I’m telling him.”

My sister slapped me on the back reassuringly. “Good job Trey. Yeah, you do it. I think that’s for the best.”

Fine. Well, we might as well squeeze in a last round of training before we go.