The embassy on Rotaire was as bare as buildings got, with not a trace of formations supporting it in any way. That was due to the cautiousness of the Trigold cultivators. But simple wasn’t necessarily bad.

The sect head representing the Fearsome Menagerie’s interests looked over Aerona curiously. Varinia was a woman covered from head to toe in scars, despite her relative youth. Aerona returned the woman’s gaze without flinching or breaking eye contact herself.

“I would have thought that the other representative with you would be paired with myself,” Varinia said. “The archer.”

“Why should she be?” Aerona asked. “Do we need to wrestle you into agreement? Because I can go get her.”

“You-” Varinia narrowed her eyes. “I don’t understand your true intent.”

Aerona tilted her head. “I didn’t intentionally hide anything in my speech,” Aerona said. “What do you need clarification on?”

“Well, I know our purpose here was different, but now I need to understand something specific. You spoke as if you had encountered others that highly rated physical prowess.”

“Right,” Aerona nodded. She decided full transparency would be valuable. “The Hardened Crown Sect, in fact.”

“Those stubborn fools?” Varinia raised an eyebrow. “They actually came to the negotiating table?”

“Something like that,” Aerona agreed. “Though about half of their willingness was decided in the arena.”

“Against… you?”

“No,” Aerona shook her head.

“And yet… you didn’t actually intend to call anyone else should I actually be interested in a martial demonstration.”

“Also correct,” Aerona acknowledged.

“Interesting confidence,” Varinia said. “You certainly don’t appear weak, yet neither would I judge your strength as a match for that other woman… Nthanda, was it?”

“I would not go so far as to say I am a match for her,” Aerona clarified. “But I am confident in my own strength.”

A few moments of silence. “Interesting. But I suppose we are here for a reason. You wish to know our plans for the future.”

“And you wish to know ours,” Aerona added. “But your motives are still an enigma. You’ve said so little we didn’t even believe you would meet in person for a while.”

Varinia held her back straight, “And your people operated with such a ruthless efficiency we did not think you would stop after wiping out half of us. Why did you stop?”

“Shouldn’t we have?” Aerona asked.

The other woman was clearly uncomfortable with Aerona’s persistent gaze, and while in some circumstances Aerona would have adjusted her own actions for her negotiating partner’s comfort, this wasn’t the right one. “At first, we thought you were simply taking time to replenish your forces, or needed to immediately withdraw them elsewhere for another war,” Varinia said. “And yet, we find that your great warriors still dwell here, along with your mighty ships.”

“We’re not exactly comfortable without, given our neighbors,” Aerona smiled.

Varinia frowned. “You are far from the strongest among your people, yet you are clearly not weak. As for the others… what do you call them?”

Aerona expected them to have heard at least that much through some means… though perhaps the best spies were grouped among the other faction. “The most common name is Assimilation. It is an alternative to ascension.”

“We were unaware of it,” Varinia admitted.

“You should have known,” Aerona said.

“How so?” Varinia asked. “There was no such stage among us, and our first encounter was just recently.” Recency for cultivators was not quite the same as those with smaller lifespans. The war had begun upon contact and stretched for decades.

“Curious. We have some records to share with you from your former colleagues,” Aerona said. Specifically, they had very minimal information that ascension alternatives existed- presumably passed along from one of various sources to the upper realms and back. The Trigold Cluster could have taken note of early Assimilation cultivators as early as during the invasion following the short cycle of the Tides, or they could have learned as recently as the events on Vrelt where some partial information had been transmitted.

“Indeed. It appears they were keeping many things from us. Perhaps even to use against us.” Varinia closed her eyes for a few moments, pondering something internally. “What do you know of the Fearsome Menagerie?”

“I’ve had no prior contact myself,” Aerona admitted. “But I have heard about their prowess in battle.”

“A pleasant way to say they were not strong enough, as your people seem to have been victorious,” Varinia said. “Have you viewed a complete version of the Fearsome Menagerie’s cultivation methods?”

“I can’t say that I have,” Aerona said. “Only a brief overview for comparison, as it was not compatible with my own training.”

“Of the two of us, I would have assumed I had seen a more complete version,” Varinia began. “Until I heard something. Quite roundabout. One of your cultivators met a member of the Shimmering Spears, and instantly recognized flaws in his style. Flaws the practitioner himself was not aware of.”

“I believe I know of who you speak,” Aerona nodded.

“Why did he not participate in the war?” Varinia asked. “It would have concluded much more quickly, would it not have?”

“He did not wish to. Or perhaps some insight drove him away for some reason.”

Varinia frowned. “Another star cultivator. But much stronger than the one who dwells here…” She didn’t seem to be asking for anything from Aerona, so Aerona simply waited for her to continue. “To our understanding, this archer took out an entire fleet. Which was quite convenient for us, as it smoothed our path here.”

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“They did come to him,” Aerona added. “But he didn’t wish to.”

“That is perhaps more terrifying to me than a bloodthirsty warrior.” Varinia shifted. “The star destroying weapons… they were moving through the region to the north?”

Aerona got the feeling she truly didn’t know. The first acknowledgement. “Yes, they were. They came from the upper realms at sublight speed, not carried on any ships.”

“I suppose that would do it. So many things we didn’t know… an entire planet lost, for nothing. Even those who fled were hunted down.”

“That… was something we weren’t certain of,” Varinia replied. “You were able to confirm that?”

“A few broke past the blockade, though getting anyone to come out of hiding and speak was difficult, until we started winning. It only further solidified our convictions… along with the hatred in the souls of Zunrose.”

“The souls…?”

“In the worldheart, of course. I don’t know if it is truly souls or some other form of lingering will… but I do know that the cannon has only just begun to settle down.”

Aerona nodded slowly. “So you did make a weapon of it. And the ammunition?”

“The same.”

“Aren’t you worried about giving away information like that?” Aerona asked. “We might find out that your new mighty weapon has limitations.”

“You were the one who asked,” Varinia folded her arms in front of her. “But ultimately… our reason for being here seems to overcome that. We don’t trust you.” Aerona didn’t immediately get why that was a good reason to give up that information, but she also didn’t think Varinia could successfully lie to her. Either that or she was extremely good at it, but given Varinia’s cultivation style Aerona doubted it. “But we trust the upper realms even less, now. Clearly, they showed favoritism to the Void Scrying Sect and Twin Soul Sect. Even our ‘own’ sects have provided no adequate response to us.”

Aerona nodded, waiting. Varinia seemed to be in a mood to speak, and interrupting her might lead to missing out on something.

“Our intention is to repay them in kind. If we are not truly part of them, they are not truly part of us. You can tell your people that, to ease their minds.”

“It certainly will,” Aerona said. “I imagine you would know we are even less fond of them.”

“You might be wrong about that,” Varinia said. “For you weren’t betrayed by them.”

“The Twin Soul Sect and others have caused more than their fair share of trouble while posing as true allies.”

“Hmm. Perhaps you are right, there. Our betrayal was simply different.” Varinia shook her head. “Regardless, we have no intention to continue their creeds. As for what we desire now, we wish all of our planets to be returned to our hands.”

Aerona had some doubts whether they should be called their planets. But now was not the time to express that. “It may be possible, but for us to withdraw we need something from you. Such as… proof of eliminating all of the Twin Soul Sect spies from within your midst.”

Varinia suddenly had a look of consternation. “Of course there would be some. We thought…” She sighed. “Can it even be done completely? Our counter methods stopped finding them even before my time but… perhaps that was because they were already watching.”

“We know of ways to find and eliminate them. Multiple methods that have been working on the occupied planets, including this one.”

“I need you to prove to us that you have the ability.”

“Of course,” Aerona said. “We can find some for you, though we have eliminated most of those among our controlled area.”

“I don’t need such a test,” Varinia shook her head. “You believe it can be done, which means it should be as reliable as your own confidence in yourself. And I have to admit I am not well suited to this situation. And so…”

“You wish to fight,” Aerona nodded. “Very well. We only need to agree on the restrictions. And obviously it isn’t much good for our negotiations if we fight to anything other than submission.”

“I wouldn’t want to make that guy over there angry,” Varinia said, looking far into the distance. “But I would agree anyway. It is wasteful to kill those who are not your enemies.”

-----

Aerona was quite aware of the transformations of the Fearsome Menagerie, having heard tales before. She had not even been alive in the time of the invasions, so she had not experienced it herself. But frankly, despite the fact that she was facing off against some sort of great cat three times her height with sharp quills instead of fur… she didn’t find it as intimidating and fighting Nthanda. And not just because Nthanda was beyond Life Transformation.

The first thing she had to do was survey her opponent, picking out how she would move and fight. Those quills especially would be a problem if Aerona did not react properly. She had to admit, Varinia chose a good form for a submission match. Aerona almost regretted disallowing weapons… but frankly, she wasn’t that good with them.

Varinia moved first, springing forward with the intent to topple Aerona onto her back. If she got caught under those massive paws, she would basically have to give up. Aerona’s natural energy led one way… while her body went the other. Varinia’s trajectory through the air shifted towards Aerona’s feint, causing the great cat to miss by about a meter.

Aerona’s hand snatched out next to her, grabbing onto one of the quills. Even though she gave it a solid yank, it didn’t disconnect from the cat’s form. It was sensible for a transformation ability. Controlling things beyond one’s own body was much more difficult. However, every strength could also be a weakness.

Claws swiped over her head, but Aerona continued to move, using her own body more than augmentation from her natural energy. She over and under exaggerated her movements, the flow of her natural energy not being her only strength. She couldn’t say she was as powerful of a body temperer as Nthanda had been in Life Transformation, but Aerona had found that it was a valuable alternative for her. Aerona’s energy cultivation was mostly meant for diplomatic measures, controlling her own thoughts and expressions.

On occasion it involved deception, and other times that involved great displays of sincerity. Deception was not valuable as a long term negotiation tactic, as an agreement founded upon lies was hardly enforceable. At best, it would breed resentment.

Aerona had thought herself peaceful, and she still considered herself that way- but she found that using the body to fight for fun was actually quite exhilarating. It had taken many months and years of training with Nthanda to reach that point instead of simple pain and frustration, but she had come around.

That was how she smiled as the great cat pounced towards her. Certainly Varinia might crush her if she caught her, but that power was placed into too large of a form. That even gave her room to briefly dart under the belly of the spined cat form, before slipping around the outside of one of the rear legs as Varinia flopped on her belly to try to catch Aerona.

Aerona then grabbed two of the spines. “Surrender.”

Obviously Varinia’s next move was to attempt to roll over her, but the moment she began to twist she clearly regretted it, crying out. If she had been willing to commit to the attack she might have actually overcome Aerona… but that was the point. Aerona looked for anything she could latch onto, either in combat or negotiations. And frankly, even if her gambit failed and she lost, she thought she would have proven herself well enough.

Varinia tried to rotate a few other ways before determining Aerona’s hold was not something she could escape. She tried to swipe, but that motion was also painful. So she began to shrink… and Aerona moved with her resizing body, catching Varinia in another hold when she reached human size.

“Alright, fine, I surrender,” Varinia shrugged.

Aerona smiled, then let go. “That was a good one.” She displayed her ragged palms, and Varinia growned- Aerona had only acted as if her grip was inescapable, when it really wasn’t.

Aerona looked around, surprised Nthanda wasn’t watching. Then she saw her friend hurrying over with a paper in her hands. “I managed to secure a preliminary treaty!” Nthanda beamed. “I… don’t know if it’s good yet… but it’s a start. I never thought I could actually succeed at talking.”

“The opposite for me, I didn’t think I could succeed at anything else,” Aerona shrugged. “It’s a good thing we tried, huh?”