Anyone who understands the Ori knows that our primary focus is not only on mastering the mind, but also the shaping and manipulation of knowledge itself. The mind is only a portion of the equation, after all. Essential, of course, but merely the receiver compared to everything “that is.”

Consider this: Your mind is like a mechanism that dilutes water rather than the water itself. It can interface and apply various solutions to the water, but ultimately, it does not fully “grasp” the foundational source of the knowledge. It can only operate based on feeling, learned understanding, and cultural meaning.

This is the purpose behind the Informational Heavens. Because where Highflame has grown quite adept at N-DEF, they still don’t fully grasp the true methodologies of wielding intelligence.

Ignorance is not the only poison one can face, after all. There is also “corroded understanding.” Like suddenly not being able to understand your own language, or numbers, or even the alteration of a specific word.

The changing of such commands like “Hold this position” into “Retreat now” for instance.

For on the battlefield and in the courts, the slightest shifts in diplomacy will see one make the wrong choice, and of no fault of their own.

It wasn’t a problem of their mind, after all. The mechanism was perfect. But the waters were always toxic.

-Connotative Corrosion by Elder Iruru Hitari

33-10

Information (I)

—[The Majority]—

“His behavior is drastic.”

“Planned.”

“Are we sure? The volatility fits his ego-template.”

“Off by a deviation. If he was truly angry, our delegates should be dead. Reference the [Karakan] mem-packet.”

“She could be a special case.”

“Her special case was that he exhausted every effort to keep her alive. Our emissaries are not so hated. Or fortunate. The Guild or faction that the Chief Paladin chooses to support will see a major advantage in an active conflict. His intentions are obvious: Peace. Equilibrium. His anger is part theater.”

“And there is the matter of [Jaus Avandaer]... We have compiled his Shadow. The mem-data is… disconcerting.”

The Majority observed the scene through a few hundred new Constituents. Though Naeko’s decision to use the Lovenet and kidnap a few of Clan Kazahara’s Elders came as a surprise, it wasn’t an unwelcome one, as it allowed the Majority new vectors of perception. Even so, they still couldn’t quite manage to claim Draus’ Shadow, or fully reach Chambers — or even Seeker Shotin for that matter.

“The Dreamer. He has warded them against us.”

“Might he be here? Might this be his plan, his scheme. He noticed us before.”

“He shouldn’t. He would have tried to engage. To burn and consume us. He can see the pattern. He would have responded with an immediate ambush based on our profile of his behavior.”

“Perhaps he is trying to use us to further his plans.”

“Possible, but we are devolving into paranoia. We do not know everything—no one knows everything. We must proceed with our operation. Target Voidwatch. Divert the Chief Paladin’s focus and realign the faction involved in this war. We must continue softly. Carefully. Do nothing to betray our methods.”

“Acknowledgedstopletmeoutletme—what of ‘Jaus Avandaer’? What do we do with him?”

The Majority degenerated into a mess of clamoring voices at that. A good percentage of its internalized population still revered the savior. For the Inner Council to decide anything overt might provoke a rarely experienced veto from the masses — a thing best avoided.

“We watch. We study. And we keep guard. He might be an instrument of the Dreamers. Or perhaps, the claims might be true: The Savior did leave a mind clone.”

“Then… is it not our duty to join him with our cause? To unite him with greater destiny and show him all that we have done in his name.”

“We watch.” And the disagreements among the Inner Council concluded there. “This is a moment of peace. We will use it. We will only act when things are clear. Now is not the time to be drastic. Now is the time to make our adversaries come apart from within.”

***

—[Green River]—

Watching Brilliant Orchard splayed out on the ground, gawking at the Paladins in stunned horror made this circus worth it. Green River knew a bit more about the current situation compared to the other No-Dragons, but even she was awed by the Chief Paladin’s boldness. Even so, that didn’t stop her from playing her role dutifully.

Brushing off her floral dress, she rose from her seat and descended the steps in a hurry. She put on a slightly worried expression on her face as she arrived beside the half-flayed body of Brilliant Orchard. “Senior sister, are you well?” she said, adding just enough sweetness in her voice to sound genuine.

The whites of Brilliant Orchard’s eyes turned to her and glared. For a long while, the Dowager just stared. Doubtless she still suspected things of Green River, but to think her in league with the Paladins was unlikely. No, she probably just thought Green River was trying to curry favor in the present moment for future benefits.

Slowly, Green River pushed the drooping tatters composing the Dowager’s flesh back in place. The Dragon-Curse triggered, and the Dowager’s chrono-biology allowed her tissues to fuse back together. A few seconds later, she was fully ensconced within the upper torso of her steed form bio-rig. Muscular ridges of tissue slipped under her folds of skin before sealing her body in place while leaving her face exposed.

If Green River had to guess, it was likely the Paladins caught the Dowager while she was about to go on a leisurely run in her gardens. The steed-rig wasn’t exactly suitable for formal occasions.

Not that the Chief Paladin gave a shit.

“Senior Sister!”

“Dowager Brilliant Orchard!”

And now the other sisters descended their steps, rushing to mimic Green River. Too slow, too easily distracted by the theater at hand. Yes, Naeko was very fearsome and all this was unexpected, but one needed to adapt to events if they didn’t wish to drown. Last to arrive was Odd Moon, whose perception was constantly jumping between Naeko and Green River. Poor child looked entirely caught out of her depth.

“Enough. I am well.” Brilliant Orchard looked down. With her upper body sealed into the three-meter-long steed, she stared down at Green River as if an eccentric centaur — a tiny human head protruding from a large bestial body. “Thank you… Junior Sister Green River. For your timely concern.”

“I only did as a junior sister should have,” Green River said. A bit of bile crawled up her throat. There were certain other things she wanted to say to Brilliant Orchard instead, but obsequiousness was the way of things when dealing with a figure of power. Which was why the other Sang copied her words as well, also offering caring inquiries in the hunt for praise.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“Enough!” Brilliant Orchard declared. She swept a hoof aside at her lessers. Green River casually ducked. The other delegates didn’t. A series of cries sounded out as people tumbled and fell, but the Dowager barely regarded them. Instead, her gaze was turned to the Chief Paladin beyond their glass house—at Samir Naeko himself. “You! Chief Paladin Naeko. What is the meaning of this?”

The Chief Paladin, in the middle of his diatribe about how everyone was guilty or something, finally turned his attention to the Dowager. “Ah. Brilliant Orchard, is it? Glad you finally decided to join us.”

“Decided,” Brilliant Orchard said, breathing sharply through her nose. “What a fantastical way to reinterpret kidnapping. Though I have no idea how you managed to trespass into No-Dragon territory, I assure you—”

Brilliant Orchard’s words were cut off as a crushing weight descended upon her. The ground beneath her cracked and broke. Her breaths grew labored, and her body was bent. The same weight passed over Green River as well—the other Sang too. All of them were feeling the full might of Naeko’s scorn, and likening it to a collapsing mountain was too weak a metaphor.

“You don’t assume shit,” Naeko began. Through the dense haze that consumed the space outside, Green River saw what looked like a gleaming panel from the Chief Paladin’s palm and come to a stop right in front of him. He took a step off the middle finger he was standing on and fell through the panel—before emerging in the same glass house as the Sang.

Immediately, they all felt his intrusion. The Curse tasted the stench of a male and reached out from the Sang to strike him low. Yet, though Green River could feel the sickness seeping into him, though she could see the first droplets of blood budding at the corners of his eyes, his Heaven had a say in the matter as well.

“No,” the Sage grumbled. “Away, wyrm-touched. We are not yours to bleed.”

Something recoiled across existence. Slammed back into Green River. She doubled over, and a mouthful of blood left her alongside a stream of bile. All the other Sang suffered the same fate, and for the first time, she wondered if she had misjudged Naeko, if he truly intended to kill them all right there and then.

He watched them as they suffered and groaned, on knees and palms in their own blood, suffering the effects of their curse. This wasn’t like the time he arrived at the Second Fortune and just allowed himself to bleed. No. That was a statement of his personal strength, but this was a declaration of his sovereignty over violence.

Boiling pain traveled through Green River’s arteries, unraveling her from the inside. If the Dragon-Curse killed her, she would resurrect thanks to her Heaven, but the others…

“Sage. Let them go.”

“What?” The Heaven of Peace growled. “You stupid, weak.”

“I wasn’t asking.”

Naeko flexed a few fingers, and a shout of pure outrage erupted from his Heaven. At once, the repressive weight was released from the Sang and shot back into Naeko. Even as their sickness burrowed into him all at once, he barely responded, allowing rivers of blood to run down his face, to further paint his sneering features. “This is all it takes to make you all fold, huh? A little nosebleed. Shit. I get why the Stormsparrow doesn’t want to associate with you all now. Glassjaws are bad for her brand.”

He wiped his face and strode forward, coming face to chest with Dowager Brilliant Orchard. She took an uncharacteristic step backward at his approach, and he snorted. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to do anything to you. As long as you don’t give me a reason to.”

She simply breathed, her body twitching with the aftershocks of the Curse. “You—”

“This moment isn’t about me. It’s about us. And what you can do for us. Congratulations, Dowager Brilliant Orchard, because for the first time in your worthless Dragon-Cursed life, you’re going to start doing the right thing because together, we’re going to end this bullshit war.”

Brilliant Orchard just blinked, barely comprehending his words. “What?”

“You. Help. Me. End. War.”

Green River caught Draus cracking a grin just over Naeko’s shoulder. Oh, of course that blood crazed butcher was enjoying this moment. What were they even scheming? And more importantly, why hasn’t anyone cut Green River in on the details? +Chambers… Chambers!+

+Yeah,+ Chambers said, responding through the Lovenet. +What’s up, casino lady?+

+What in Jaus’ name is the Chief Paladin doing?+

The degenerate make a mental lip-smacking noise. +You want me to be honest?+

+What? Yes, of course!+

+Fucked if I know.+

Green River nearly strangled the Heaven of Love’s Bonds in response. +What do you mean ‘fucked if you know.’ Chambers, I have been claimed by your master! We are of a line—through no choice of my own. You can tell me.+

+Yeah, and I just did. Fucked if I know. Naeko’s got something planned. I’m just trying to help him get it done. I don’t got all the details. I’m mainly trying to find more people to snatch and save right now. You know how hard it is not to just get swallowed up by love? Really hard. Gotta focus on that first, otherwise, well… the first time I used the Heaven of Love, I might’ve made some people almost cum themselves to death. Which turned me into a vegetable too.+

+What?+ Green River replied, wondering if she just had a stroke.

+Yeah, it was fucking nova and weird at the same time. Like, have you ever had—+

+Direct me through to Draus. I wish to talk to someone who isn’t the mental equivalent of a nu-dog.+

+Wow. Fuck you too, Green River.+ But despite his words, he did as she asked.

+Draus,+ Green River said, looking to the Regular. +What in the hells is going on? What is your attack dog planning?+

+Who? Naeko?+ Regular replied, barely glancing at River.

+Yes! We were supposed to talk. He is currently threatening a Dowager. The Politburo will not let this go unpunished.+

+Shit. Sounds messy.+

+Draus!+

+What do you want me to say, River? Fucked if I know what he’s doing. I ain’t Samir Naeko.+

Green River nearly let out a defeated groan. How did these people even survive for so long. Was being chaotic and disorganized their strategy?

“Now,” Naeko said, placing a massive hand on Brilliant Orchard’s back—someone one should absolutely never do to a ranking Citizen of the No-Dragons. “Got a few things I’m going to need you to do—and I want you all to serve as witnesses.” Naeko pointed a finger at all the Sang in the glass house. Their faces were pale and their postures tense, but no one made a move, even though someone should have intervened right now. Should have, but the prospect of being rendered a messy smear by Naeko gave even the barest No-Dragon second thoughts. “I need you… to tell me every single grievance you have against the other Guilds, and what it’s going to take for you to come to a full truce.”

“A full truce?” Brilliant Orchard said. “With—with the Massists?”

“Yeah.”

“Ori-Thaum?”

“Yeah.”

“Ashthrone? Sanctus?”

“Them too.”

“And Stormtree.”

“Ah, shit, you remembered all of them. Glad to see your memory’s still there. Seems like you’re not going to need to eat one of your sisters yet, huh?”

“Your request is impossible,” Brilliant Orchard replied. She leaned down, looming over Naeko without fear. “And you misunderstand your position—and mine. This isn’t something a few individuals can decide. It’s more than just our personal wants at stake.”

“No.”

“No?” Brilliant Orchard said, eyes widening.

Green River hated the bitch, but she was struggling not to share an expression. Had Naeko finally lost what remained of his mind.

“Yeah. No.” Naeko chuckled. “Because I’m about to make you an offer. The best offer you’re going to get in this life. Or any life. Same one I’m going to give to the other Guild leaders. Brilliant Orchard. How would you like to be singularly in charge of the No-Dragons.”

“I…” Brilliant Orchard should have rebuked him immediately, but power was an enticing prize and the sheer audacity of his offer was a thing to behold. “I… you can’t do this. You—you don’t have the power. You might be at the Ninth Sphere now, but you are not alone. The—we have means—”

“I’m not the one you need to worry about,” Naeko said, interrupting her. “‘Cause while you were worrying about my palm, you missed the bigger picture. The bigger picture in the form of love. Now. Can you tell me about your relationship with the other Dowagers?”

And with aching slowness, Green River began to understand what Naeko was trying to do. And that he wasn’t even the biggest threat here.

Cum themselves to death…

Oh, dead gods, he was going to use Aedon Chambers to cull the upper branches of every Guild.