Recent progress in the lower realms was wonderful. Anton was very pleased with how everything was going. Setting aside Akrys which was as of the current moment not important on a larger scale, several important systems were joining up.
First was Ekict- most likely they would have been ready to join immediately after the war, but politics wouldn’t make that simple. It was a significant period of time to verify that all of those remaining weren’t of the same blanket hatred of outsiders that the former leadership possessed. They still had a healthy distrust of the upper realms- but the Trigold Cluster was the one actually responsible for everything that had happened to them. In the future they would have their own ascension cultivators as part of the Scarlet Alliance, if they wanted to. Otherwise, Assimilation cultivators were useful as well.
Udre had been relatively simple. It just took a matter of decades to properly get to know them, since nobody wanted to jump into things too quickly again. From the beginning it had seemed like an inevitability, but the wait had still been necessary. The other systems discovered at a similar time were still in the works… but Anton didn’t mind more waiting.
Finally, there was the Hardened Crown Sect. From the beginning, they should have been part of Ceretos. It was simply stubbornness to not betray a group that essentially provided nothing for them beyond initial cultivation techniques and promises for any who could ascend. And yet, they had been too reasonable to continue to go along with the actions of the Exalted Quadrant in the upper realms. But with the pressure from one of their members in the upper realms, they were beginning to rethink their choices. If they properly became allies, Anton knew they should be quite reliable.
There were still systems disconnected from the rest, like the far off systems of In’istra and Poriza. Only occasional groups made the long trek beyond Ekict to them. But the induction of Ekict meant they were at least a single step closer, and Anton was certain they would either find more civilizations along that corridor… or places that were good to settle. Because ultimately, they were going to keep spreading. Travel between systems was easier and easier with every passing century.
That was true even for himself… but despite his steady growth in power he wished he could be faster. He couldn’t help but grow to love the people of every planet he visited, regardless of their conditions. He wanted to protect everyone. But there was only so much he could do. And because of that… he preferred to focus on raising others up. His own personal power was significant, and his power as an Enrichment cultivator wasn’t meant just for himself. He could use it for so much more than shooting people. That said… if any invaders happened to end up in the same system as him, they would find out just how much one could do with natural energy. And a bit of other stolen energies.
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Flames wreathed around Hoyt. He was experiencing a similar problem to Anton, half a realm away. He wasn’t the strongest cultivator among the Scarlet Alliance, of course, but he still had a similar level of ambition. He wanted to do the most he could… and that meant reaching as many people and places as possible. He wasn’t even an Augmentation cultivator yet… but the intent was to reach that level soon.
As he improved himself further, he took stock of his various techniques. He wielded an axe, early familiarity making him stick to that weapon. Most of his techniques had been oriented to close combat, until after his ascension- and reacquaintance with his reincarnated grandfather. By that point he had already proved his own ambition, and that he could get by as his own person. He had long since stopped having hesitations about using Falling Stars, and training with Prospero had helped him develop his own style.
Hoyt found himself functional at close range as well as long range… but the distances in space were vast. Ultimately, even his long range required him to get close to people on the scale of a system. He had to be on the correct side of a planet, even for the smaller ones.
He propelled himself forward through space. The shortest distance between two points was a straight line. If he kept the same speed- or acceleration, since there was no friction in space to hold him back- then his route to an opponent was simple. But traversing a system was not always so straightforward. There was a significant chance he might find opponents directly on the other side of a planet. He couldn’t just go through a planet. Well, he might find it technically possible… but he would be much slower, waste a lot of energy, and cause a concerning amount of damage to the planet.
Simply going around planets wasn’t where things ended, however. Getting within their gravity wells had varying effects… and they weren’t always negative. Slingshot maneuvers could impart significant velocity that would save him time and energy.
Rushing across a system could have quite a long variance of time and effort expended, depending upon how he moved. And between systems… he always hoped for something faster. He couldn’t just sit around and wait for ships to catch up to his individual speed. Sometimes, every bit of speed was important.
He practiced in different systems, and between systems, thinking of himself like a Falling Star. He knew that if the Scarlet Alliance had suffered the same losses that the Exalted Quadrant dealt with in the Chikere incident, their own response would not be small. The great power hadn’t made another move yet, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t. Simply that they were taking their time- either on purpose or because such large scale responses were slow. Whenever it was, in a decade or a century or at any point before the next cycle, he needed to be ready to fight. Hopefully, it would be after he was in Augmentation. They needed every bit of power they could scrounge up.
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Anton wasn’t the only one to have visited Akrys. It was simply that beyond himself and the Great Queen, most people were quite hands off. Scientists, simply cataloging the way things were. What Anton didn’t expect was a shining ship to show up along with its owner.
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Even so, Anton went to greet the man. There was basically no one that could travel between systems on their own that Anton wouldn’t know, and this fellow he recognized from long before.
“Greetings,” Anton said to Ty Quigley. “Are you on some sort of special mission for Rutera?”
Ty shook his head. “Oh no. This is something even more important.”
“Is that so?” Anton raised an eyebrow. “And what might that be?”
“Well, you know Chikere. And her latest issues.”
“Everything people are willing to share,” Anton agreed.
“She demanded that I raise a meerkat as a sword disciple,” Ty Quigley said. “She indicated it would help her recovery.”
“Well…” Anton frowned. From what he knew, Chikere’s issues weren’t a simple matter of talent or physical injuries. There was a mental block as well. So Anton couldn’t say it wouldn’t help. “It won’t be easy. I’m not saying you shouldn’t, of course. Just that opposable thumbs are generally required for any human weapon, and without that they have to be modified.”
Ty folded his arms in front of him and nodded. “Even so, it must be done. And I have to send pictures.”
Yeah, this was definitely Anton’s fault. Though it wouldn’t hurt to have some alternate teaching available. Even if neither of them provided optimal weapons for the locals, individuals passionate about certain weapons could help the rest develop things they really needed.
That said, bows were a generous enough category of weapons that Anton was making good progress for not only meerkats but also flyers. In short, anything that could have uninhibited limbs. He had just begun testing prototypes with Echoing Cry. They were… bad. But he was working on improvements.
“I’ll see if I can find any volunteers. Though perhaps we should have you display your abilities… on a small scale. Those drawn to the weapon will display better results, after all.” There wasn’t necessarily a perfect weapon for each individuals, but Anton knew that interest made training something that was looked forward to rather than a chore. Three Squeaks wouldn’t want to spend so much of his day simply firing arrows and trying to build muscles that meerkats didn’t usually develop if he hadn’t been enthralled by the weapon to begin with. That didn’t mean diligent study didn’t allow people to learn any weapon… but passion was important.
Ultimately, they ended up gathering the coalition together- the total population was approximately that of a modest village, though Anton could definitely see a population boom in their future as spring rolled back around.
Once gathered, Anton introduced the swordmaster. “This is Ty Quigley,” Anton said. “Another human, like me. He is available to provide some cultivation guidance, but ultimately his intent is to train some of you in the sword. This is another weapon humans use… and yes, we are aware that it is not suited for your bodies. But if you happen to take interest, he will be an excellent teacher.” If nothing else, Ty had practice using sword techniques with things that Anton could hardly categorize as swords. His ship had projectile launchers that shot blades, and the ship itself acted as one sometimes.
“Um, yes, well…” Ty’s composure was fairly good, for someone literally just being introduced to what looked like a bunch of animals. “I don’t speak your language yet. But Anton will help translate. And I can learn. Either way… I will demonstrate now.” He provided a boulder, approximately the height of a man and nearly round. “Observe,” he said. He took his sword in hand, cut horizontally… and returned his blade to its sheath. He waited for a response, but the vast majority of the locals looked confused. “Oh!” he nodded. “Right.” With another flash, he also cut the boulder vertically. And then a small tap caused it to tumble apart, the vertical slice splitting first until it had toppled over enough for gravity to pull at the previously horizontal slices.
Everyone began to gather around, looking at the clean cuts. They were impressed, to say the least. Most likely, they hadn’t seen anything so flat before in their lives. Yet despite the general interest in seeing his technique, very few actually seemed interested in replicating it themselves.
Only Deep Purr approached. “Can I see this ‘sword’?”
After Anton translated, Ty stuck it point first in the ground- deep enough that the crossguard was about head height for the meerkat. “Careful. It’s… beyond sharp,” Ty explained. He demonstrated by softly tossing a rock against the blade.
The captain of the guard gave it proper respect, looking at the thin blade, observing it from every angle. He also took interest in the grip, reaching his arms up to compare but not quite touching it.
Then there was a commotion within the crowd. “Get back here you brat!” the raucous squeaking of Forceful Snort called after a slippery piglet. Said piglet either didn’t understand or didn’t care, and instead raced towards the blade stuck in the ground.
Ty Quigley watched with interest as it charged forward, and he didn’t react even as it skidded to a halt a mere finger’s breadth away from the blade. The piglet swung her head at the sword… almost as if it were trying to knock it away with its tusks. Except said tusks had not grown in yet.
“Half Oink you get back here right now! That’s dangerous!” Forceful Snort ran forward, but the piglet dodged around the sword as he tried to approach, keeping it between them.
“It seems she is interested,” Ty Quigley said. Anton translated, of course.
“She just saw something shiny,” Forceful Snort turned up his head. “No doubt she’ll lose interest.”
“Well, that’s two,” Ty said to Anton, ignoring the warthog’s declaration. “I honestly don’t know about these meerkats, but warthog tusks are almost swords to begin with. Hopefully by the time this one’s tusks grow in I’ll understand the language.”
“Nothing like immersing yourself in the sounds,” Anton said. “And I can help, of course.”
Ty suddenly snatched the sword away as the piglet almost rubbed her nose against the blade. Future students wouldn’t be hurting themselves on his watch. At least not until they reached the point of safety training where they were responsible for themselves. Then it would do them some good to recognize the dangers of weapons.