While trapped in Agartha against her will, the Council had at least provided Ren with a reasonably-appropriate place to stay, and if there was nothing else that could be said about it…it had a Hell of a view. In the second high tower in the middle of the city’s center, dignitaries and other ranking officers could expect a comfortable layover between deployments, and a Fafnir Knight was no exception. Though she went to sleep that night without the company of any of the three people she would’ve gladly abandoned her duty to be with, being a responsible adult with some measure of pride for her reputation forced her to stay. And so, she awoke – alone – to daylight breaking across the City of the Eidolon.

Time passed in a blur as she got ready, and she hardly paid notice to the moments between getting to each different place, until she finally descended that tower, went to the other, and rose again. Prince Iresha’s little Sargonian retinue had just finished helping him assemble for the day, and Ren was surprised at how…dressed-down he was.

“I dare say you’re starting to look a little moved-in, Your Royal Highness.”

“Well, come Monday, it’ll be a boring Cadet’s uniform, so I guess I better get used to the idea…including discouraging people from using the Y.R.H. on me in casual conversation.” He answered, looking at his vestments and their complete lack of ornamental armor, “I won’t be given any kind of special dispensation or accommodation at the College. Or, so I’m told, anyway.”

J’ard nodded from his corner of the room, “Indeed. The College is entirely merit-based. You gain prestige by succeeding. It’s part of why your young friend Seth rose so high.”

“…Well, he won’t be coming back, I don’t think.” Iresha sighed quietly, “Kind of a bummer.”

Ren was surprised to hear it, “Oh, were you two starting to hit it off?”

“I guess so.” He answered, and shooed his attendants away. He adjusted his own clothes as he approached the Knight, “It was Lugios’ idea that Seth be paraded in front of me like a dessert. I guess he could anticipate what I might…find useful. In a friend.”

The Fafnir puffed a quiet laugh, but then ushered the Prince towards the door and stepped aside to let him by, “It’s going to be Lord Gabriel from now on, actually.”

“He can pry the Lord from my cold, dead lips.”

“Oof, is that projection or foreshadowing?”

“Better not be either. I have shit to do.” The teen gave a smarmy look over his shoulder, “My father said he has hopes that I’ll learn to get along with people while I’m here, so I can be better equipped to deal with outsiders when I inevitably succeed him. It would be a damn shame to finally get out from under his shadow, only to drop dead cuz I seized-up from having to give Lugios is due.”

That caught Ren by surprise, “Getting out from under you father’s shadow? What do you mean?”

“It sounds a bit pretentious coming from me, but…I’m a bit of a sheltered kid.” Iresha answered, making his way towards the elevators that Ren had just come up in, “In the aftermath of my grandmother’s death, I guess my father became a bit of a home-body. Kept family close, rarely went out unless it was necessary. That meant hardly anyone ever came in, either. …To say that Seth was my first friend wouldn’t be a lie. Maybe that just made me easy to impress, in the end.”

“Seth’s a good kid.” Ren was sure to note, “He’s easy to like. I think you’d probably get along even if you weren’t itching for human contact outside the palace. It really is a shame that Lord Rylen yanked him like he did.”

“Why did he do that, anyway?” The Prince wondered, as he, J’ard, and Ren got into the elevator; the retainers inside the room had subsequently been swapped for two soldiers who had been stationed outside the room, “I had heard that Lord Xanarken set the stage by promoting Lugios, but…why has been less clear. The Eidolon have stood alone for ages. Why change now?”

Ren wasn’t sure how to answer; the details of that revelation were meant to be announced only to the Captains. The only reason she knew was because she was there when the offending event took place. She shook her head, “I think Lord Xanarken just wanted to make sure there were enough hands on deck to handle the conflict with Kitez while not neglecting the needs of the rest of the Accord. We provinces may get along, there’s still differences to sort out. Civan was having a disagreement with the Stonebroken Isles about trade routes in the Dasiner Sea, for example…some of them almost got into fisticuffs over it, from what I heard.”

“…Hmph… Here I thought all the members of the Accord got along perfectly.”

Ren just gave an amused but knowing chuckle, “Hardly. They’re more like…siblings, in a really big family. They all love each other and would do anything for one another, but…that bond doesn’t mean they always get along. Sometimes one of them will proverbially walk into a younger sister’s room, knock things off a dresser, turn off the light, fart, and then close the door behind himself like some ridiculous older brother, just because he can.”

Iresha gave her quite the look, “…Siblings do that?”

“Yeah,” Ren laughed, “And the equivalent of that on the level of the Hadiran Accord is sending fishing boats into neighboring waters, taunting the locals, having a better day on the nets than them, and then leaving. Little sister’s not just going to let it happen, and runs out into the hall to smack her older brother around the head a few times for it.”

“…Your analogies are…really strange.” The Prince commented warily, “But…I think I’m starting to understand. What would Sargon be, in that big weird family? Not that I’m saying we’d join. But…just in case.”

The Fafnir took a moment to think about it, “…The awkward, shy kid down the street who never came out to play, but is suddenly trying to be bold and outgoing.”

“And how do cantankerous siblings treat someone like that?”

“They’d all be vying for your favor and attention, to be the best of the best friends.” She explained, “And you would be wise to avoid playing favorites.”

“I see…”

“So…it’s your first full day in the city. What have you decided we’re going to do?”

.

Iresha’s student-supplies – uniforms, shoes, jackets, etc. – were handed to J’ard, who was rather confused at how easily he’d been turned into a coat-rack. The Prince himself, however, was busy with the real reason he’d wanted to go to the store, instead of letting it all be delivered at the end of the week.

He held out his hands, and in his palms were placed a glasses-case, and he excitedly pushed the clamshell lid open. Within, the spectacles he’d been envious of for some time, “…Seth let me borrow his a few times, and it still blows my mind how much stuff I’m missing around you people when I don’t have them.” He said, and looked to the right arm. On the top was a tiny little sensor that glowed faintly white with his finger-touch, and he slid the glasses onto his face, “Especially on the Aegis.”

“…Access to the World Cloud is definitely a hallmark of Council participation.” Ren agreed, “Wait till you see Agartha with them on.”

“Oh…looks like I have to set them up first.” The teen sighed, “I thought being a nameless number in the system meant I could just turn them on and go.”

“I’m sure you’ll have them going in no time. Access to the Could is still somewhat regulated. Can’t just let anyone have access.”

“…Why would that matter? It’s just clothing and colors and goofy aesthetics. And the overlay, I guess.”

Ren shrugged her shoulders up, “The entirety of human knowledge and insight is accessible on those glasses. It’s not just party favors; it’s access to an information system that vastly out-paces anything that’s come before it. There are, so to speak, certain people who are refused access entirely.”

“People like me…?”

“People like the leadership of Kitez.” Ren corrected, “Those who would do the Council - and those it protects - harm.”

Iresha stared blanky at her through those frames, “Seth was able to just hand me his glasses though. What’s to stop someone else from just giving someone in Kitez a pair?”

“The border barrier, for one; no World Cloud, no overlay, no access.” Ren answered easily, “Second, there’s an A.I. listening protocol built into the system. When it hears Seth speaking words of intent, it goes into Safe Mode, so in the moments between him taking the glasses off and you putting them on again, certain restrictions have already been enabled that essentially put the overlay into Guest Mode. The glasses act also as an identification system; they scan your retinas to confirm you’re the person who’s supposed to have them. So, if they get stolen or – as in your proposed scenario – given away to someone who isn’t registered to have their own access…they stop working.”

“There are exceptions to the rule, however.” J’ard made a point to note, “All of that only applies to access to the World Cloud. If those glasses are connected to a smaller private network, such as those that the Council uses in Kitez, you can access anything that those networks have loaded onto them.”

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“…Well, that just seems like an easy way to get around the rules.”

Ren shook her head, “It’s like giving you a single book from a vast library. Same concept as the World Cloud but on a much smaller scale. Not to mention, to get access to those smaller networks, you have to be invited onto them by already having access to the pods that contain the nanotech you’d be using. You couldn’t just jump onto someone else’s personal stock.”

“Well…I think it’s going to take a minute to me to confirm who I am on these things. I’m starving. What’s good to eat around here?” Iresha wondered.

The five of them departed from the little store and made their way out onto the street. All passing vehicles propelled themselves forward some 20ft off the ground, leaving the surface-level itself free and open for hassle-free walking. Trees were set into curated spaces, and pedestrians got by on both foot and all manner of different slow-moving personal hovering vehicles.

Ren held the door open for everyone to come out, but just as she turned to follow them, she thought she spotted something through the foliage and high buildings in the distance, “…Is…that a SkyFortress?” She asked aloud, “What’s it doing here?”

“Why would it be odd for a SkyFortress to be coming to Agartha?” The Prince wondered.

“Because they arrive on a schedule, and there’s nothing on the schedule right now.” She explained, and craned her head to try and get a better look. When it passed turned just-so in the sky, her brow crinkled, “…Oh, no. That’s the Fulcrum.”

“…Is that bad?”

“It’s one of the two ships that went to escort Gabriel into Kitez.” Ren answered simply, “If it’s here, it means Gabriel didn’t end up back in Trazad. Look at the direction it’s coming from. That’s from the south. If it was coming from Sargon it would be the southeast.”

Iresha stared at the woman, “How can you even tell what direction it’s coming from just by looking at it from here?”

“I always know what direction I’m facing.” Her tone was a bit antsy and distracted then, as she tried to see around the space, wondering what may be hiding just around their high walls.

He stared even more strangely, “…Do…you…want to go see?”

“Do I what?”

Iresha deadpanned her, “I know you were Lugios’ partner for a bit. I’ve got the memory of the goose-egg to know that much. If you’re that anxious about the ship showing up here, then let’s just go see what’s up.”

“…I couldn’t. This is supposed to be your day.”

“Well, it’s not like you’re actually protecting me from anything here. I know it’s just for show. But, since you are stuck with me, and I do happen to be the heir to a nation with a very vested interest in what’s happening in Kitez…then I want to go see how that meeting went.” The Prince clarified, then thumbed back at the store they’d just come out of, “Besides… Coming to that place was my only plan. I was going to make one of you two tip me off on where to go next. So…let’s go see the Vice Eidolon of the hour.”

.

It took the better part of 45 minutes to get up to the docking platform nearest to where the Fulcrum ended up stopping. Not far behind it was the Dreadnought. They each parked at a floating island set out at a distance from the main city, but at least for the moment, no one appeared to be deboarding. The third ship eventually landed as well, but it was small enough to be able to access one of the landing-platforms that were actually attached to the city. There were five such towers, set at the edges of the city-center, rising high like the tall prongs on a crown. All the way up and down were different sized balconies for all manner of different skiff-types to come and go.

Getting to the top of the tower used by the envoy’s ship took a little bit of extra work – it wasn’t just some random mediator of the Fourth they were anticipating to encounter up there, after all – but Ren’s credentials seemed adequate for the task. Anxious excitement for getting to see her former mentor again was turning to nervous trepidation as the elevator rose through the central-corridor of landing-spire. By the time the doors opened, and they were able to exit into that long corridor that emptied onto the high terrace, Ren found herself starting to slow her pace.

Iresha ended up taking point on that little side-trip though, moving to the front of their little group with his Sargonian guards on his flanks, and it gave Ren enough of an excuse to lag behind. J’ard noticed, but said nothing.

Those tall gilded doors opened and gave a line of sight to the landed ship, and the crew who were coming back through it the other way. None of them gave any indication that anything might have gone wrong, so it only added to Ren’s concern about why the trio of vessels had come as far north as Agartha so unexpectedly.

Iresha had stopped once he got outside though, and was looking around in confusion. The entire platform had been enshrouded by what seemed to be a white, glossy dome, which completely blocked the sight of the city below. Annoyed, he crossed his arms, “What’s up with this? There wasn’t a dome before…”

J’ard came up beside the Prince and laughed, “Ah, Lord Gabriel is afraid of heights. The dome looks much different to us than it does to you. It’s projecting the image of a forest glade, to give the illusion of being on the ground.”

The teen grumbled, and started finagling with his glasses again, “It’s still saying I don’t have access. What’s the deal?”

“It might be because you received them early.”

“Oh…”

“Nothing that Lord Gabriel probably can’t fix.” The elder supposed, “After all, you are here at the behest of the Fourth.”

“…The Fourth could’ve put in a word beforehand that I was going to be here earlier than planned when he agreed to ship me out like a cow.”

J’ard puffed a laugh and continued forward, “To be young and impetuous.”

The Prince shook his head and lifted his glasses up over the top of his head, and followed the larger figure onto the landing pad. Once they were in sight of the deboarding side, they spotted the man they were after…and one they didn’t anticipate.

“Oh…we’ll have to be patient. Lord Rylen is over there.” J’ard explained, and held his hand out to gently block the way, “We’ll wait here.”

Though his back was turned to the approach, Gabriel would’ve kept his gaze down anyway. His eyes were darkened from the stress, and the true Eidolon seemed less than understanding. However, there was some small solace to be had in getting reamed by the First.

“…It was short-sighted of Xanarken to try and take her out like that.” Rylen grumbled, thinking on the whole sad story, “You Fourth Wingers are always so adamant about seeming like you’re harmless that you stumble around like bloodied animals when you’re trying to be sneaky. Never send a mediator to do an assassin’s job…”

Gabriel could feel his brow get heavier with every word, but he nodded grimly.

“Well, while it’s true that you two have made a mess of things, I imagine one or both of you are trying to figure out how to smooth it over if and when the Duchess makes a stink about it.”

“…What would you have done, then?” Gabriel dared to wonder, “How would you have gone about this filthy affair?”

“That’s easy.” The First said curtly, “After sabotaging the flight-drives, I would’ve lingered aboard – out of sight – until she took her seat. Then I would’ve started to reforge my mantle inside her lungs, until they filled up with nanotech and burst inside her chest. I would’ve stepped out of the gore of her dying body as she choked for breath, and looked in her eyes, seeing my own reflection in them – so she’d know it was me - and I would’ve waited there with her until the ship detonated all around me. The benefit of existing as a nanotech construct means I don’t have to worry about being blown up with my targets. I can make sure – without a shadow of doubt – that when I want something dead, it will be dead.”

“…That’s deeply disturbing.”

“And the fact that neither of you two thought to kill her with your own hands first is precisely why neither of you should have tried.”

“…It was Xanarken’s idea to use nanotech in the first place!”

“There’s something to be said about those who can stomach the idea of murder, and actually carrying one out.” Rylen shrugged, “Xanarken is a story-teller. I’m sure he can envision a number of terrible scenarios, but the grit to actually carry out the fantasy is something he has always lacked. That’s the difference between a talker and a killer, and why he’s always left the unbecoming aspects of conflict-resolution to me.”

Gabriel just seemed to sink into himself.

“At any rate, since Xanarken has grounded you, take the time to consider all the ways the Duchess might try to use the crash against us. He’s already given you a head-start on some ideas; flesh them out.” The First suggested, and spotted the arrival of the first two figures beyond the Vice’s shoulder. Ren’s apparent absence did not go unnoticed, “And don’t tell the young Prince what happened. I’m told he’s eager to learn, but these are not things a brash teenager with designs for Empire should know at this stage.”

Brows crinkled more than they already were, “…The Prince? Why would he come up?”

The First nudged his head forward, and when Gabriel turned to look, vanished. Gabriel heard the dissolution of the mantle though, and knew there was no point in glancing back just to confirm the obvious. His first thought, upon seeing the duo, was also the noted absence of the expected third. He gathered what little courage he had left and stepped over towards them…only to get far enough around the ship to spot the woman, and the last whispers of it disappeared like smoke.

“So! How’d it go, Mr. Big Bad Eidolon Man?” Iresha asked eagerly, “Were you able to bully the Duchess into submission, too?”

J’ard immediately recognized the weight lingering around the man, and leaned down slightly towards the Prince, “There are probably better ways you could have asked that question, Your Royal Highness. He is an Eidolon now…”

Iresha just scoffed and crossed his arms, “He never treated me with any particular respect.”

“The relationship between teacher and student is not always optimistic.”

Gabriel dragged his feet as he went over…and walked right by them. Iresha watched him go - a disbelieving look on his face - but before he could comment about how rude it was, J’ard cupped the whole of his hand around the lower half of the Prince’s face and pulled him back. The two Imperial soldiers could only helplessly gesture around the two, pleading for their sovereign’s release without being able to directly intervene.

It wasn’t wholly surprising to see Rylen there by the Fafnir, but the look Gabriel got from that one visible bright eye gave him slight chills. The First looked past him though and glanced at the sometimes-mentor bounty hunter, “It looks like you have things under control here.”

“Yessir, Lord Rylen.” J’ard mused, and swayed the scrawny teenager where he’d pinned Iresha to his side, palm still cupped around his mouth despite his muted protests.

“Dame.” Rylen finished with a bob of his head towards her, and took his actual leave then.

Gabriel cautiously approached, and paused several paces away, “…Hey.”

“Hey.” Ren answered; she had a feeling the cloud hanging over the man was unrelated to her. Mostly. She stepped around to the side briefly and waved at the Prince and his retinue, “I’ve been reassigned. You guys have fun in the city.”

“Hmhmprhm!?”

“Be safe, Dame Ren. Thank you for humoring your post, such as it was.”

She nodded and gave a smile, but turned on her heel as Gabriel made his way by to walk beside her. She skipped the few steps to catch up, and leaned forward to try and see his face past his bangs, “How did it go?”

Gabriel just sucked in an uneasy breath, “…Would it be an imposition to ask that…we talk about literally anything else?” He asked carefully, “Spend the whole rest of the day detailing every boring minute of your time with the kid…but just…anything other than the mission.”

“Wow, that bad, okay…well, sure.” She answered, Man, he looks like a kicked dog… No wonder Lord Rylen wanted me to swap. She straightened her posture, and reached around to rub her fingers into her left arm; it had a strange itch at the thought of Kitez, “Let’s go grab a coffee first or something. I’m famished. I’ll need the sugar to tell that dull tale.”

.

The Aegis hovered like a sentinel in that bright noon sky, parked about a half-mile out and away from the First’s research and holding facility. High above, touching the clouds, an ominous shade glided overhead. From eyes that oozed with tails of black and red, Scyrexianori scanned the sight, able to see the abyssal aura given off by its dead counterparts like a path of colored smoke. Deep within the rock at the base of the cliff, the longing power emanating off the Warp Magis’ corpses pulsed like a heartbeat. Scyrexianori smiled eerily to itself, leaned into the wind, tucked in its wings…and dove.