Territory
The Archmage, Elder Barry, Maurice, and Jo gathered in the Territory as the official representatives of their realities, at least for now. The Archmage's inclusion was obvious, and both Maurice and Elder Barry had a history of dealing with the strangeness that surrounded the Sovereigns, but the City's decision to appoint Jo was surprising to many, including Jo herself. She wasn't even part of the City government! But apparently that was a good thing. Transferring someone from an established position would just force them to find someone to fill that position instead. Adding on to that the fact that she was one of the few people they could be certain wasn't a spy for the surface races, along with a long history of competence in the private sector, made her an almost perfect candidate. Salvador was also a good option, but he did have an official position and this war wouldn't last forever, so they'd gone with Jo.
“These are some… interesting decorations.” Elder Barry commented, studying Greg's murals. The surface was for the guards, so they were meeting in one of the underground rooms Greg had made.
“Greg's work, I'm sure.” The Archmage sighed. “He has a rather… peculiar outlook on life.”
“I imagine they all do, given their nature.” Maurice commented. “Tori certainly has her own… eccentricities.”
“Chris is certainly unique.” Jo added with a small smile. “But as interesting as those four are, they aren't the purpose of our meeting today.”
“No, no they are not.” Elder Barry agreed, taking a seat. “First things first, shall we introduce ourselves? My name is Barry Craig and I am an Elder of the Monkey Clan of the Bonded.”
“I am Archmage Palomata Ginatovak of the United Magocracy.” The Archmage introduced herself next.
“I am Maurice, Steward of House Tyverus.” Maurice offered next.
“And I am Jo Vuntula, of Vuntulla Industries.” Jo finished, hesitating for a moment before adding. “I am also known as Jo'vuntula, the exiled princess of the Elves.”
Palomata raised an eyebrow. “You must have a unique perspective on one of our primary concerns then.”
Jo sighed. “Unique maybe, but not necessarily useful. I’ve been in exile for over fifty years now, and my understanding of my former people's capabilities is limited. At most I can give you a general understanding of what their military will look like and how it usually operates, but our true concern is going to be the cultivators, and I can't tell you who they are or what they're capable of.”
Maurice perked up. “Your reality has Cultivators?”
Jo nodded. “Yes, though they are different from yours. In our reality, in order to cultivate you must have a peak physique and ability which… merge, in a sense, allowing their ability to strengthen their physique just as their physique strengthens their ability. Furthermore, while I'm not aware of the specifics, this unification allows them to expand their ability in both power and scope. The only way to defeat a cultivator is with another cultivator or a behemoth.”
“Behemoth?” Elder Barry asked tentatively.
“A creature large enough that they can match a cultivator through physique alone, such as a dragon.” Jo explained.
“And how powerful would you say cultivators are in general in comparison to say a base level human?” Elder Barry continued.
Jo cocked an eyebrow at the vaguely familiar metric. “They start close to two thousand times stronger, and only grow more powerful from there. The most powerful cultivator I've ever seen surpassed ten thousand, and I can't imagine he's stopped growing.”
Elder Barry grinned. “Ah, then we should be just fine. Any Bonded with more than a decade of experience should be able to handle these cultivators without much issue.”
Jo blinked. “They- really?”
Elder Barry nodded. “Really. As long as a Bonded is willing to put in the work, gaining that level of power is a rather simple matter.”
Maurice shook his head. “I hope we never find ourselves faced with a threat from your reality. I can only see it ending… poorly.”
“Agreed.” Palomata nodded. “Though I fear that may be a vain hope… Conflict seems to be one of the few constants in the Multiverse.”
Elder Barry sighed. “Yes, well, let's focus on the conflicts we actually have before we start imagining up new ones. We've established that the Bonded are capable of securing the merged area, so that just leaves the question of what help we can provide the City, which is a much more complicated issue. As has been previously suggested, the Tiger Clan can potentially assist with the evacuation, but they would require an assurance of security, as well as appropriate compensation. With the help of Lord Arose I've managed to secure a budget of credits to assist with this compensation, but anything your people can offer to help secure further support would be helpful.”
Jo nodded slowly. “I suppose it depends on your needs. What do the Bonded value?”
Elder Barry hesitated for a moment, before letting out a sigh. “Entertainment, primarily. We have grown… decadent as our position in the Outside has become more secure.”
Jo frowned slightly, thrown by that for a moment, before pausing as she realized there could be a solution in that. “There- This isn't technically a City resource, but our reality contains an… AI which is currently being used to run a virtual reality video game which is apparently quite popular on our version of Earth. I'm not sure how transferable this technology is, or if the creator would even be interested in allowing it, but at a minimum we should be able to arrange transport to Earth and provide access to this game for your people.”
Elder Barry considered that for a moment, before nodding. “That sounds like exactly the sort of thing our people would be interested in.”
Jo smiled. “I’ll see what I can arrange then.”
“I wish we had the ability to assist as well, but I'm afraid spatial mana is rare and I doubt the mages with access to it are powerful enough to cross dimensions.” Palomata sighed. “Particularly not after they're suppressed.”
“I'm not sure what assistance we can offer either.” Maurice agreed, turning to Elder Barry. “Your Tiger Clan's ability seems to be rather unique.”
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Elder Barry grinned slightly. “Don't let them hear you say that. The striped bastards are arrogant enough as it is.”
There was a brief pause before Palomata spoke up again. “In that case, shall we move on to more general issues, such as trade and immigration?”
Jo nodded. “Yes, of course. Immigration to the City is currently closed, for obvious reasons, but we are open to trades of resources and technology.” She reached into her bag and brought out a few packets, handing them to the others. “I've prepared a list of everything we have to offer, if you'd like to peruse it at your own convenience.”
Palomata and Elder Barry accepted the packets easily, but Maurice frowned at his. He was going to have to ask Tori to help him learn this ‘English’, wasn't he? Thankfully the Archmage's translation spell at least allowed him to talk. He shook his head, ignoring the packet for now. “Immigration isn't exactly an option for us either, at least not in the short-term. As for trade, our resources are primarily Cultivation based, which I doubt will transfer well between realities if Cultivation itself fails to.”
The Archmage nodded. “My people are in a similar position. Mana doesn't mix well with technology in our reality, forcing us to rely solely on it. We can provide raw resources, of course, but beyond that our options are limited.”
“Hm.” Elder Barry hummed slightly, tapping his finger on the table as he perused the packet. “Immigration isn't particularly an option for us either, and our technology is either energy based or slightly worse than the City's from what I can see… I'm not sure there's much we can offer either. At least, not until this area expands.”
Everyone paused at that. “That's another issue we should address, isn't it?” Palomata muttered. “When and how this area should expand. In our reality, the only concern we have is if the area extends outside the ship’s hull, which would take quite a bit to do, and only until we can secure the area around it.”
“We could allow the area to cover Lord Arose's compound, but any further would put it at risk of discovery.” Elder Barry offered. “Unfortunately, I can't imagine that ever not being the case, so the expansion in our reality would have to be limited.”
“For now any expansion in our reality could be problematic.” Maurice sighed. “And future expansion would be dependent on the sect and how many resources they're willing to dedicate to protect it.”
Jo shrugged. “The area can expand as much as it wants in our reality. The more area it covers, the more space there is for those who are actually capable to face the surface races in my opinion.”
Palomata cocked her head. “If that is the case, then it seems reasonable to consider turning the area in your reality into a hub of sorts. An outpost, or possibly even a settlement, for the various different realities to intermix. A multidimensional city, in a sense.”
“We would have to handle the threat of these surface races first, but once they're taken care of that doesn't seem like a horrible idea.” Elder Barry agreed with a slow nod.
“A city created through the intermixing of realities…” Maurice muttered, getting a far off look in his eye. “Could you imagine the wonders that could be created in such a place?”
Jo smirked slightly. “Is the intermixing of realities not enough for you?”
Maurice coughed. “Yes, yes, of course, all this is fascinating, but… well, as much as I appreciate it, without an actual function there isn't much point, now is there? And at its current size, there isn't much function to be had beyond some minor individual benefit, barring the facilitation of your evacuation, of course. But an entire city for people of different realities to intermingle and cooperate… that is something truly exciting.”
“Speaking of different realities, does anyone know when our ‘system’ counterpart will join us?” Palomata asked.
“Soon, hopefully.” Elder Barry replied. “The guards reported a brief visit just this morning. A few seconds brief. Not that I exactly blame them, of course. I was tempted to simply turn around and forget what I saw myself when I first entered this area.”
Maurice chuckled. “The first time you see reality twist around you is a bit jarring. And the second… the problem is you can't tell where it is from the outside. Even when you expect it, the fact that you don't know when to expect it still gets you.”
“I wouldn't know.” Jo shrugged. “Chris brought me here through a portal, so I never experienced the transition.”
“Just be thankful you weren't part of the initial expansion.” Palomata commented with a sigh. “Stepping into a twisted space is one thing, but watching space twist is another thing entirely. It didn't help that I was immediately thrust into combat either, particularly since I'd just resolved a previous assault.”
“I can imagine.” Elder Barry chuckled. “Say what you will about them, those four do keep life interesting.”
“Too interesting, one might say.” Maurice added. “The amount of trouble that seems to follow them is starting to become almost suspicious. The only one not involved in some kind of conflict is Andrew!”
Elder Barry coughed. “Well, there's no active conflict, but… He has been involved in some encounters with these strange machines that appear to be kidnapping people on Earth. And his First Hunt got caught up in the middle of a Beast Tide…”
Maurice froze. “You have Beast Tides?”
Elder Barry raised an eyebrow. “We do. Do you?”
“Yes… but I imagine yours are much more terrifying.” Maurice shuddered. A horde of Rune Beasts was bad, but given what he knew about the power of Beasts, he couldn't even imagine the destruction such a thing could create!
Elder Barry shrugged. “To the unprepared, most definitely, but with the proper defenses a Beast Tide is more beneficial than not. Unless you happen to be the one individual around who can't simply will themselves back to their other half… then things become troublesome again, though he weathered the trial just fine.”
Maurice frowned slightly. “A Beast Tide would be rather beneficial if we could properly defend against it…” He sighed, shaking his head. “Unfortunately we don't have those types of resources, and even if we did, Beast Tides aren't a particular concern in our region. There hasn't been a Beast Lord powerful or motivated enough to form one in decades.”
Palomata let out a slight cough. “Before we get even further off track, are there any other matters anyone wishes to address?”
“I think we covered everything.” Jo replied. “Evacuation, trade, immigration, expansion, inter-reality city… yeah, that should be it.”
Elder Barry paused. “There is one other issue we may wish to address. We've been talking around it, but even so, it's clear that the four Sovereigns are inextricably tied to this area, and we would be remiss if we failed to address their… position in relation to it. Clearly they have neither the experience nor the interest required to administer it, but they still have a certain amount of authority, if only due to the fact that they control its expansion, and that must be accounted for.”
“I don't know if authority is the right word.” Palomata muttered. “Yes, they created this area, but they don't own or control it. The land still belongs to those who have previously claimed it, if any. Their position is more akin to… wayfarers, establishing a new trade route. We should give them gratitude, and possibly compensation, but once the route is formed, it isn't really theirs anymore.”
Elder Barry paused. “You think we should pay them?”
“If we want them to continue to expand the area, then yes.” Palomata confirmed. “Compensating individuals for their labor is a rather basic tenet of society, is it not?”
Elder Barry blinked. “Huh… that is an interesting way to look at all this. I can't say I disagree though.”
Maurice frowned. “How do you pay someone who can make anything they wish from practically thin air?”
“If you can't provide goods, then all you have left is services.” Jo replied. “So the question becomes what can we do for them that they can't or won't do for themselves?”
Elder Barry sat back in his chair, considering that question for a moment, before shaking his head. “A good question, but not one I think we'll answer without talking to the individuals themselves. But it isn't exactly an urgent matter, so I believe we can adjourn for now. Agreed?” The others nodded, everyone getting to their feet, Elder Barry shooting them one last smile. “I look forward to working with you all to ensure a long and productive relationship between all our realities.”