Illaria led a quick recap, reviewing the keynotes of what they had learned from Shoalsatta. “But we still seem to be missing something.” She said.

“I’ve been thinking about it,” Mavec said as he leaned over the fire. “This is old, like, pre-written history old. What do we know about the first emperor?” He asked.

“The story taught in every textbook is that the first emperor rallied the lesser spirits and bound Akrixi, ending a chaotic reign and allowing the empire's peoples to flourish,” Alvec supplied.

“That's what I was taught, too,” Mavec said, nodding. “But many of those stories were recorded long after the events. Is it possible are there any regional variants?”

“There certainly be. I grew up on a very different story,” Illaria said. “The natural world was in chaos. Oceans climbed mountains, saltwater turned fresh, and fires raged strange colors. The man who would be the first Emperor went to Akrixi and informed him of everything going wrong. Akrixi was moved to action by this man, created many spirits to set the lands right again. No one, however, told Akrixy when the job was done, so he damn near exploded before the first Emperor returned again, letting him know that things were settling down. After soothing Akrixi, he became the first emperor..

“Wat, Dat not how it happen.” Bait said as he stomped around the fire. “Akrixi make everything. HUGE explosion. Things great, stuff everywhere. Soon spirits start fighting over stuff, and Akrixy no want to hear it. He tell spirits he choose one to be in charge, so Akrixi can rest and focus on booms! Den dis human showed up asking for a chance. All the spirits laugh, but not Akrixi. He say, ok. DIS HUMAN JUMP INTO DA SKY AND STOLE A STAR. DEN HE ATE IT! Spirits no want to mess with man who can eat a star, so they let him be in charge. He first Emperor.”

“What... the fuck...” Mavec said as he shook his head.

“As interesting as that was, I’ve heard a different story,” said Naya. “Long ago, man and spirit lived in ignorance of each other. One day, a nameless light shone upon the land, fouling waters and twisting the bodies of man. A man seeking help began to speak to the spirits and learned that they, too, were being harmed by this light. With the support of the spirits of fire, he petitioned Akrixy for help. Akrixi agreed and used his smoke to blot out the sky, blocking the nameless light. While the sky was dark, the spirits of fire and water worked to purge the land of its strange influence. In exchange for the spirit's help, the man vowed that he and his ancestors would venerate the spirits. He became the first Emperor.”

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“That's a lot of different tellings.” Alvec mused. “Sarbie, do you have anything to add?”

“No, sorry, all my stories involve Kushang and the rest of the pantheon. As great as they are, I don’t think they’re related to what’s going on,” she said.

“Alright, let's think about this. All of the stories have one point of commonality. A conflict was ended by the man who became the First Emperor. Let's assume that every story we’ve heard has some truth. Where does that get us?” Mavec asked.

“The nameless light and the star the emperor ate, could those be referring to the same thing?” Alvec asked.

“I don’t be seeing why it couldn’t be. Also, the fouling of waters and disruption of the natural world aligns with my story. However, I never heard a reason for why.” Illaria said.

“Is Kavaas a star? Does that make sense?” Mavec asked.

“That's what Naya and Bait’s story seems to imply,” Alvec said.

“Then we’ve got to go tell the Emperor; if Kavaas is returning, only he can wake Akrixi up and deal with it again!” Naya said.

“Not so fast, Naya. We’re a long way from the capital, and we’ll be turned away if we just show up on his doorstep. The very possibly compromised Gold Banner would certainly have us on their radar if we did so.” Mavec said.

“So we get help,” Alvec said as he grabbed some parchment and ink. “We write to Cellocht; we invite him to our compound. We praise our noteworthy public achievements and hope he shows up to see how far we’ve come.”

“The letter is going to take some time to get there, even if our friend LuCol makes it a priority,” Mavec said as he nodded his head towards the man who sat silently musing over all he had learned.

“Which means we can follow up on the Tsuhomma Downs information as we head back towards Sha-Lial,” Alvec said.

“We should keep our ears open about any more sightings of elder Bristlecone too. I still need answers about the Greensleep.” Naya said.

“LuCol, what do?” Bait said as he pointed a finger at the man.

“Me, well. I suppose I have a few things to get in line,” said LuCol. “We’ll have to keep the infernals who did raise ships before you destroyed the Styxweed from forming into a proper raiding party. Beyond that, one of those names on your list is former Blue Banner. I’ll be paying him a visit and seeing what, if anything, I can learn from him quietly. Third, I’ll officially request that the Third Arcane Regiment remain deployed here in Ack-Aziza. That way, Tyir will be safe with the Blue Banner while we investigate what the infernals want with the two of you,”

“Most importantly, we can get the Black Powder Goblins and my parents back to Sha-Lial,” Illaria said.

“Alright, we depart at first light,” Alvec said, gazing at the horizon. He could only hope that Cellocht took the bait and they found more answers in Tsuhomma downs.