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”Well?” Envy asked impatiently. It was the third time she’d asked too.
"I'm still only getting a vague impression to continue in the direction we've been traveling until now," Hope replied distractedly. “Even with Gem’s help, our targets seem to have taken measures against being magically located.”
“This is a fool’s errand!” Envy practically growled, only barely stopping herself from tossing away the cup she was drinking from. “Let me know if you actually find something useful.”
Hope stared after Envy as the Sin walked off to cool her head. The more time they spent together in the confines of this tower, the more obvious it became that Wrath had been the glue holding them together. Without her presence, Hope and Envy had very little in common. The two of them stalked the hallways of the ship pretending to be a tower, mostly staying out of each other's way. It wasn't like they disliked each other, but they saw little reason to reach out to the other person either.
Part of it was the general difficulty old reincarnators had in forming meaningful connections. Another part was just that their personalities were not that compatible. It wasn’t that they were too different or anything, but more so the little things. For instance, Hope wasn’t fond of the way Envy had a habit of not taking things seriously and turning everything into a joke. It was just something the Sin did to cope. They all had their coping mechanisms. It just got on Hope’s nerves sometimes. On the flipside, Hope knew Envy thought she was too soft. Too positive. Envy did a decent job masking her cynicism with humor, but it was clear that she had had a much worse time in her lives than Hope. Probably partially because of why she’d gotten the moniker Envy in the first place. On the other hand, despite the difficulties she’d faced, Hope was also well matched with her Name and remained hopeful. It also helped that Wrath had given her such a good starting point to become a reincarnator. Secretly Hope was rather certain she wouldn’t have even become one without Wrath, or Mom as she still thought of her sometimes.
Another problem, though not really a serious one, was that in many ways they were rivals. Yes, they were currently allies and could help each other, but it was still true that if either of them had been in this universe just with Wrath, they would progress faster. And that in a way was the crux of their rivalry. Similar to how siblings competed for the attention of their parents, the two of them in many ways competed for Wrath’s attention. Like most siblings, it wasn't really a mean-spirited competition, but it was still true that any time and effort Wrath gave to the other was time and effort not spent with them. And while Hope didn’t consider her own obsession with Wrath as potentially unhealthy as Envy’s, it was true that in many ways Wrath’s existence defined both of them.
With a long exhale, Hope pulled her hands off the magical dome protecting the little glowing tree that Gem had turned into. A tree might have seemed like an odd choice, but this particular tree had the sharpest senses for power out of any being alive. And yet, even that didn’t seem to be enough to do the trick. “Zuellni. We’ll need to keep our current heading.” She instructed.
“Reporting: following the current heading will become increasingly challenging quite soon.” The tower spirit had minimal contact with Hope and Envy as well. The spirit had always been a little rude to everyone else besides its master, but that only became more obvious when Wrath was not present. Zuellni did as instructed because Wrath had given orders to that effect, but the spirit didn’t really go out of its way to do anything beyond the minimum.
That was also why it was a little odd it had just volunteered information. “Why?”
“According to my calculations, we’re approaching the conflict zone between the Host and the Scourges. We’ve already entered the area created by the Expansion, and while the Host has pushed the Scourges back, the threat is far from gone.” The spirit only told the minimum facts. “Especially since this area is still relatively uncharted. We have to move slowly because of that.”
That didn’t sound good. If the vague direction she was getting from Gem was correct, then they would have to enter that zone. And there was no way to tell how close to their target they were. There was a good chance that the people they were looking for were in the areas controlled by the Scourges. That would explain why there was so little sign of them.
Hope and Envy had visited some of the places they’d passed in an effort to gather information, though they had tried to remain as secretive as possible. The two of them were not as blatant as Wrath, who wouldn’t be able to hide if her life depended on it, but they’d still draw some attention, and they didn’t want any potential enemies after them. Luckily, most of the players in the Divine Planes seemed to be focused on whatever Wrath was doing, their own machinations, and the war, so the two of them had managed to slip through the cracks so far. Not that they’d found much in the way of relevant information.
“Reporting: we’re entering another system. One world present. Quick scans show that the world is mostly unclaimed. I am detecting some…odd lifeforms. Unable to determine their true nature or their power…” Zuellni seemed mystified.
“Can you show me some sort of a visual?” Hope asked, knowing they were likely too far for anything too precise.
"Not a very sharp one," Zuellni responded as expected, while a hologram came up.
In the hologram, Hope could see what seemed to be some sort of a silvery ship roughly diamond in shape, made of some crystalline material, with several petal-like protrusions coming from the bottom part. The ship was intact, though it had also just as obviously had a crash landing. Some sort of plant-like creatures moved in the surroundings, except these seemed rather mobile and lively for plants. The hologram became a little clearer as they got closer, every moment adding more details. One of the creatures that looked a little bit like a small dog made of branches and grass chomped down on a local animal.
"Well, those plants have teeth, which makes them infinitely cooler than normal plants," Hope said with a touch of humor in her voice. Just because she disliked Envy turning everything into a joke didn't mean she didn't have some of that fault herself.
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“The Host? That’s not necessarily a bad idea. It is the fastest way to get positive support due to glory in battle, and to show your own power without picking a fight with random members of the major factions.” Khaine said thoughtfully. “And as a Goddess of War, it would be a bit hypocritical of me to say too much about it.”
“The potential downside is that we’d be under someone else’s command.” Valor pointed out.
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“While true, the Host is rather strict about allowing those with the greatest skill to be the ones in positions of power. They’re good at finding out people of skill and promoting them. You'd naturally start under the command of more experienced immortals, but you could relatively quickly be the ones giving orders if you show your abilities. There’s also the fact that the Host usually operates by giving smaller groups a lot of autonomy and responsibility. While there would be generals above you, most of the time those generals wouldn’t do more than assign you general mission guidelines, unless it was some very important operation that needed to be completed in a very particular way, or some large-scale thing that brought all the various squads together for a single attack.” Khaine considered the options for a moment. “Rana is right in that it would be a much faster method than going the social path, and they can arrange it so you’re under the command of people they can trust. You have to give people a reason to support you.”
“We could also use this as an opportunity to forge connections with other factions aside from just the Titans as well.” Karna pointed out. “I’m not sure if relying on them too heavily is the right answer.”
"That's not necessarily a bad idea either," Khaine admitted easily despite her own connection with House Titannica. Just the fact that she’d had a child with a Titan made that connection somewhat obvious, but her daughter didn’t need to be limited in that way. “Of course, you do realize that there will be a fair bit of training and testing before you’re thrust into the front lines, right? Even if you’re much stronger than the average immortal, you’re still going to have to go through the training. That part is non-negotiable. Even Kurnous’ offspring had to do the training before becoming an Emissary, and that position is only tangentially connected to the Host.”
“Naturally. They can’t just throw us into the meatgrinder without at least having the basics in place. Besides, there’s going to be training for the procedure and rules, along with working as a team and within an army.” Valor nodded. No army that wanted to be successful would just throw a random collection of people into the fight. Something like the Host had to be especially strict to enforce a certain level of uniformity in both skill and behavior, as the immortals were so varied in their abilities.
“Although, I’ve heard some rumors that many reincarnators have been thrown into battle with very limited preparation. It almost seems as if someone wanted to cut down on the competition.” Karna pointed out.
“Yes, but this is where your somewhat high-profile nature will work to your advantage. With so many parties paying at least some attention to you, it’s harder to just throw you to the wolves or stab you in the back when the first opportunity presents itself.” Khaine explained. “While murder is a common tool of divine politics, the various players don’t like that being made too obvious.”
“What’s the stance of the Host on magical creatures joining?” Karna suddenly asked.
“The last time I heard, the Host is happy to take them in. You’re expected to be able to transform into a humanoid when necessary, but beyond that…” Khaine shrugged simply.
“What are you thinking?” Valor asked.
“Well, I’m just keeping my options open.” Karna grinned.
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The city world of Golconda was one of the major neutral cities in the Divine Planes, and it was especially notable as the starting point of the bridge that connected to all the realms of the True Gods, and even the Imperial Palace. The large metropolitan city was located on a continent-sized floating island. The city was controlled by a rather sizeable group of gods that formed a full pantheon served especially in certain cultures in the planes below the Divines. This group of gods enforced the strict neutrality of the city with an iron fist, partially made possible due to the heavy Host presence as some of the major facilities of the Host were located in the city.
The city itself was a hodgepodge of architectural designs, and around the city spread the gardens and farmlands that kept it supplied. Many smaller islands also floated around the one the city was on, and most of these smaller islands had been converted into enclaves for various purposes ranging from hunting to pleasure palaces. As the place held such a large political significance, most of the great houses and factions had their own holdings in the city. Partially because of this, the city was actually much larger than it appeared, as spatial magic had been used liberally to enlarge various areas, and there were even several created demi-planes used for various purposes anchored to the city.
One of those demi-planes held the largest training centers of the Host. The location of their headquarters was a relatively well-kept secret, so this facility saw much general traffic as well. “Come again?” Marius asked in shock, as his assistant had just given him a report that couldn’t possibly be accurate.
The assistant was just a rank 7 mage, but the dwarven woman was very good at her job despite her lacking personal power. “Princess Ynnead, or Wrath as she recently declared her True Name to be, is at the front desk looking to get recruited. She is in the company of a man whose True Name is apparently Valor, and the Goddess of War Khaine Asuryan.”
“So, what you’re saying is, that one of the most powerful True Gods is here with her wayward daughter, who in her own right has been the topic of interest for decades now, and a man bearing the True Name of one of the Virtues. Am I getting this right?” Marius was becoming more and more convinced that he was being pranked.
"Do I look like I'm joking?" The dwarven woman asked with a voice that could cut steel and a disdainful expression.
True, his assistant had never been one to make such jokes. "Well, do show them in. I'll take care of them personally." If it was a joke, then it would become obvious quite quickly.
He still couldn’t stop his eyes from widening a bit when the trio his assistant had announced entered the room. The goddess was easy to recognize. True Gods especially had a certain kind of presence about them, which was hard to ignore. It also helped that they were usually in a form that made them over three meters tall and glowing with holy power. The Princess was just as easy to recognize, if for no other reason than because she looked almost just like her mother. She too had a presence about her, which was eerily similar to her mother. Dangerous and powerful beyond her rank. Her eyes also seemed to be filled with wisdom that was odd for her age. The man that came in with them looked gallant and honorable, and a polite smile seemed a permanent fixture on his face.
“Your Divine Grace.” He stood up and made a bow towards the goddess. “Your Highness.” He made a smaller bow towards the Princess. “Ser Valor.” He nodded to the man.
“Enough bowing and scraping Marius. Judging by your constipated expression, Rana didn’t warn you about our coming.”
Marius’ eyes narrowed dangerously. “The goddess knew you’d be coming?” He would have to have some words with his Shiva. Clearly, he was not in the loop for some reason. His mind worked quickly and came up with several plausible explanations for the situation.
“It was her suggestion.” The Goddess of War declared. “We just happened to agree.”
That was a little out of his expectations, as it would’ve made sense if this goddess in particular had come up with the idea, but it didn’t matter much in the end. “My aide said that you’re here to enter the Host?” He asked while looking at the Princess and the man. “You’re aware that this will be somewhat binding and not something that you can just back down on after a few months?”
“We’re aware. Depending on the situation, the time of enlistment will be at least for a decade.” Ynnead, or Wrath now Marius supposed, replied briefly.
“That’s the best-case scenario. Most spend a lot longer.” Marius felt obligated to point out. “And the training will be on top of that. I happen to know from my time looking for you that you’re quite skilled, but you’ll still have to spend at least a year in training.”
“That is fine. I didn’t expect anything else.” She smiled a bit. “Besides, raking in achievements will take some time anyway.” Directly hinting at her reason for enlisting.
"I suppose it will at that," Marius replied almost to himself. He had little doubt that she would be able to get those achievements. Something in her eyes told him it was only a matter of time. That worked for him. "Well, we can quickly arrange the enlistment part, but it will take a bit of time to arrange a suitable…shall we say support around you. To make sure you aren't assassinated, you understand? The next batch of new enlistees won't be starting until a month from now anyway."
“That works for me as well. We can handle some arrangements in the meantime. There will likely be two more people joining us by then. At least two.” The Princess explained.
He wasn’t sure if he wanted to ask. “And who might these others be? Do note they will have to personally come here and confirm their enlistment. Otherwise, it would be possible for anyone to maliciously enlist their enemies.”
“Naturally. The two carry the Names Envy and Hope.” She replied as if talking about the weather.
‘Two Sins and two Virtues?!’ He thought to himself, feeling a slight bit of panic setting in. “And I assume you’d like to stay together as a squad?” He asked hesitantly. That squad would make a mess of things, that was for certain.
“Naturally.” She replied just as expected.
He rubbed his temple, a headache setting in. This could be a problem. Having powerful members in the Host was great. The problem was that he would need to find squadmates that would be able to match the four. It would be a problem if the members were too disparate in their abilities. Luckily, he had time while they were going through the training to find those people. With any luck, the same training batch would have some other people with enough skill and power. He at least had one person in mind. "Right. I'm going to give you a list of equipment that every trainee will need to possess as well as some materials to read and train with. Just let me know if you can't procure something on your own, and it will be provided."
“Oh, no worries. I have some small skill at crafting. I assume they have to, at least outwardly, look according to the standard specifications. I’m allowed to make upgrades though, right?” She asked, which seemed to elicit amusement from the other two for some reason.
“You can make upgrades, but as you said, they have to appear standard. And the listed specifications are the minimum standard. You won’t have a good time if you don’t meet those.” Marius advised, just in case.
“Oh, I don’t think we have to worry about that.” Valor stated confidently.