Sitting on the ledge with Riseth, Alistair decided it was time they addressed the naming situation. He had half dreaded the question but knew they should address it before Nessyra and the rest of the Clan arrived.
"Alright, what should we name this mountain and its surroundings? Should we also decide on a name for the planet or wait to hear what the other civilization called it?" Alistair leaned back, gazing into the vibrant blue sky where streaks of purple slowly traced behind a passing cloud.
"Well, according to Neshan custom, new lands are usually named after the family in charge of discovering them, or after one of its members," Riseth remarked.
"But we can't just slap our names on everything," Alistair teased, grinning. "Unless you're really aiming for something like 'Mount Riseth.'"
Riseth chuckled and playfully nudged him. "Oh, absolutely not. That's awful."
She paused, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "How about 'Riverrise'? It ties into the deeper meaning of our Clan's name and reflects the planet's rivers and lakes."
Alistair considered it, then nodded. "It does sound a bit like 'Riverwood,' but I like it. It’s close, but maybe not quite perfect."
He delved into his knowledge of Earth and Neshan lore, scouring for a word or name that would be fitting. They sat together, brainstorming ideas and exchanging thoughts, yet each attempt seemed to fall short. It felt like hours passed until Alistair stumbled upon an intriguing passage in Neshan literature discussing something similar to double meanings. In their culture, they crafted words that held layers of meaning, calling them 'Edax'. From there, they scoured the list of Edax for a term that sounded great and had a fitting meaning until they came across the Edax 'Rathos'. It could be interpreted as new heights or depths, depending on the interpretation, and it could also mean rise to or depth of power.
"I think that's perfect. Rathos... it has a nice ring to it!" Riseth said enthusiastically.
"You didn't know about Edax before today?" Alistair inquired.
"Well, I did, but we don't use them much anymore. They fell out of regular use about a century ago, though we still learn about them and occasionally use them," Riseth explained.
Alistair let out a sigh of relief, glad that he wouldn't have to name anything for some time.
Half a week had passed with Alistair and Riseth busy fending off wyverns and other monsters investigating or seeking to reclaim the mountain they had claimed. Monsters were attracted to the dense magical mountain lake like moths to a flame. Still, Alistair's presence, radiating out his bloodlust, eventually persuaded most beasts to stay far away. In contrast, those he didn't manage to scare off were killed by either them or the defensive arrays and turret emplacements they had set up.
They had spent significant chunks of their time planning, discussing, and organizing things for the arrival of the rest of the clan. The automata had also finally finished excavating the array chamber, and Alistair, with the help of Braxik, had placed an illusionary array that would hide the chamber and its precious arrays, such as the anti-scrying array, from those not meant to be there. The array manuals they had acquired contained a wide assortment of defensive arrays, including alarms, illusions, and straight-up offensive arrays. They hadn't set up any large-scale offensive or shielding arrays yet since these would need to extend beyond the chamber to be effective. They would have to place the arrays in a separate chamber and extend them outside the mountain. This task would have to wait until they had laid a more solid foundation for their structures and completed the planning on how to incorporate them effectively.
However, a large problem they had with the arrays was that their efficiency depended heavily on the amount of energy funneled into the arrays themselves. They had only one reactor with them, and it required fuel to function, which posed a bit of a problem. While they could use the mana from the dragon vein, it wouldn’t be very efficient since the vein already provided a pure form of energy and was better suited to fuel other functions. Further processing and refining the mana within the reactor wouldn't be much use either. They hadn't found anything ideal for a fuel source yet. There was a vast selection of materials that could be used as fuel; some factions used fast-growing natural treasures, essentially burning them for fuel, while others relied on less magical means such as wind, water, or things like geothermal power from natural formations or other environments. Some factions demanded a tax from its citizenry and had them provide a chunk of their regenerating mana. More cruel factions resorted to using enslaved beasts or even people to meet their fuel needs.
They had debated whether to use their Trial rewards to purchase a crop they could use for fuel but decided that such resources should be common enough to find during their explorations. However, their limited scouting had revealed little other than lakes they could dam up and ley lines they could tap for energy generation, both of which would require significant infrastructure. There were only so many naturally occurring sources that produced mana without siphoning it from the environment or damaging the planet over time without introducing new ones. Dragon veins were one such source; while they could sustain them temporarily, the output was limited. Additionally, they needed the dragon vein to remain strong enough to prevent the Heavenly Purity Ginkgo from withering. The tree itself would very slowly but continuously and passively improve the mana density and purity of the planet, besides providing essential essences for Riseth and Alistair's Body Cultivation.
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Fortunately, they already possessed fluxbloom gems, which would eventually solve all their needs for magical energy storage. However, it would take years for the gems to grow and multiply sufficiently to create a large enough energy bank. They had looked up the costs of these gems in the list of trial rewards and found even the smallest chunks of the gems to be incredibly expensive.
They technically could use mana-infused wood as it was quite abundant, but it felt like a waste as they could use it as building material instead. Alistair had high hopes they could find something once they went out and explored the planet properly. Having a whole untouched planet to explore, they were bound to find treasures, veins, and beasts that would be solving most, if not all, their needs. In the worst case, they could explore and import what they needed from other planets.
Their discussions were cut short as one of the screens sprang to life and informed them that their transponder had noted the arrival of the Kaiakos in orbit.
"Finally, they are here; I was getting tired of guard duty," Riseth commented as they stood up to greet the others.
They had flattened and evened out a large area for the Kaiakos to land as a temporary landing site, as they would create more dedicated landing sites later. At a later point, the flattened-out area would make up a chunk of their above-ground building area. Alistair and the rest of the group watched as the Kaiakos entered the atmosphere and approached the landing site. As they watched the landing procedure, he received a request from Nessyra for all the information about the planet and the discussions they had. He was sure she had asked Braxik the same question based on his reaction. Sneaky as she was, she hadn't sent one to Riseth. Alistair shook his head but sent the requested info package with a small message to remind her not to put work first all the time and at least enjoy the reunion.
"I'll enjoy the reunion, but I need to know what I'm working with here, or I can't enjoy it properly! Look at this gem of a planet and its moon," Nessy's voice rang out through the Akashic link, her excitement barely contained. "Also, I hope you finally proposed, or I swear I'll kick your ass." She added with what Alistair knew must have been a smirk.
Alistair laughed at the franticness of Nessyra's voice, drawing the attention of the others, but he waved them off. He knew Nessyra's mind must be racing, envisioning the possibilities and the prospect of directing the growth and expansion of an entire planet. To her credit, when she eventually disembarked with the others, her focus was on Riseth, and she immediately rushed to her sister, hugging her with joyful squeals. Meanwhile, Alistair embraced his mother and the rest of his family, who excitedly chattered about their journey and bombarded him with questions about the new planets he and the others had discovered. Alistair noticed the glance Nessyra gave him after inspecting the choker he had put on Riseth. After hearing Riseth's side of the story, she came over to congratulate him, which broke the news to the rest of his family, who also broke out to congratulate him and insisted they had to throw a celebration. Alistair watched his mother hurry off to intercept Riseth, who was approaching their group, embracing her in a tight hug.
After greeting and talking with his family, Alistair excused himself, leaving them to fuss over Riseth. He joined Nessyra, who had stored the Kaiakos after everyone disembarked and started greeting the rest of their clan members. They looked wide-eyed and excited, taking in the surrounding landscape.
"Welcome to Rathos, our very own seat of power and, more importantly, our new home," Alistair announced.
After a short pause, allowing his words to settle in, the crowd broke into excited cheers, and Alistair noticed some of the Neshan members explaining the meaning of the name to those who seemed confused. Nessyra pulled him away to rejoin the family, content to leave things at that as Braxik took over. As they walked back, Nessyra summoned both Dexter and the Doberman-looking Cerberus, whom she had stored temporarily while addressing the crowd. Alistair inspected the new summon he hadn't seen before. Although it seemed well-behaved, he knew its presence would be intimidating for many non-combatants. The 'dog' was still rather large for a pet, coming up to his hip.
Following his curious gaze, she spoke up, a hint of sadness in her voice. "This is Akrias. He belonged to Kycius, and I couldn't bring myself to leave him behind. Don't worry, he's well-behaved."
Alistair waved off her concern and reached out to pet the Cerberus, reaching for the closest head and scratching him behind the ear, which prompted another head to lick his hand while the third looked at him curiously. Alistair briefly wondered if the creature had three independent minds and personalities, but they reached the rest of the family, who curiously looked at Akrias. Riseth immediately broke off from the group as Akrias excitedly sprinted over to tackle and shower her with kisses. It didn't escape Alistair's notice that both his sister, brother and mother looked at the creature with hesitation, as it was almost as big as them.
"Akrias, stop. Be a good boy," Riseth said as she effortlessly pushed the dog away.
"How does that work? Does this dog have three brains?" James couldn't help but ask.
"He does, but they are kind of in sync and just help his heads to act more independently, but he is still just one creature, not three sharing a body if that's what you are speculating," Riseth replied.
Alistair wondered if the same principle applied to other beasts with multiple heads. Disregarding the idle thought, he stepped over and wrapped his arm around Riseth, rejoining the conversation. Eventually, they moved on as they saw the rest of the people getting ready to settle in and begin the work on the colony in earnest.
Alistair and Riseth led their family to the peak of the mountain, eager to show off the breathtaking view from up high. The roughly carved and earth-shaped chambers Simon had created would eventually become their personal space but, for now, would function as a temporary space for their family and friends. They had reserved most of the space directly below them for the rest of the family to claim in case they were interested. But Alistair suspected most of them to settle on a lake or the nearby beach once they had expanded their territory to the nearby lakes and sea adjacent to the mountain chain, which promised countless beautiful spots for them to put down roots if they wished to have their own place.