Several days after Sasha was taken in by the Church of Ten.

Far from Sanafalls, roughly a week of travel by boat, a small group of people were meeting in a hastily constructed, but still sturdy, town hall. The island they were on was nearly silent as the recently installed curfew was in effect, and no one was willing to go against it.

The group was composed of numerous Hunters and a few Mages here and there. At the head of the group, looking over maps and trade routes, were two familiar figures.

Kameira and Meryn, new residents and rulers of the island they now found themselves on, were discussing several plots and plans that they hoped to enact in their new territories. Off to the side, their Spirits were shrunken down and relaxing.

Meryn was meticulous in his review of the information he had been receiving, while Kameira had found herself taking a liking to the various liquors that she’d found throughout the island.

All around them, a handful of Followers of Radiance, and the remains of the Reaching Spires, were all going through different bits and pieces of paperwork regarding how the island and the various ships and crews were running.

When they had first arrived on this island several months ago, they knew that they would need to establish some sort of order. Specifically, and order with themselves at the top when it came to authority.

Unfortunately for the residents of this island that meant it was easy for the Cult of Light to take over without word spreading, since it was not a primary hub for trade and travel, being fairly distant from the primary trade routes and other more populated islands.

This island in particular didn’t even have any representatives of the Church of Ten, having originally had a small religion that worshiped and paid tribute to a local Legendary Glacial Spirit and its pack. A Spirit that Kameira and Meryn had teamed up against to take down.

Now, without their protector keeping them safe, the residents of this island were now forced to follow the commands of the two Legendary Hunters that held them at their mercy. The previous rulers of this island, for instance, were now relegated to being transporters and enforcers, rather than commanders in charge of those at lower Tiers.

“Is there any word from your agents in Sanafalls? You mentioned something about having a girl start sowing chaos in their dock district?” Meryn asked one of the Hunters that had arrived to give him a report. The Hunter in question was quick to take a knee in front of his new superiors.

He was only Tier two, but he and his Spirit had once held fairly good positions as members of the island’s raiding crews. A familiar sash with the emblem of a ship with a broken hull was wrapped around his arm.

A couple of the Reaching Spires Hunters looked at him in disdain, knowing that their own Guild was far more powerful than these ragtag fools that merely imitated the Guilds, without having any of the dignity and authority that an actual Guild had in a given area.

Not a single member of the Reaching Spires respected the Hull Breakers. Calling them out for being pirates that were playing at being a Guild, rather than calling them anything else.

“Our last report indicated that the girl’s usefulness was used up. Our contact in their government was making moves to tie up the loose ends. We should be getting word back regarding the results sometime today, if not by tomorrow.” The Hunter from the Hull Breakers said with his head bowed low.

“Hmm. We’ll need to accelerate our plans if we want to start taking more overt actions in Sanafalls. It’s far too peaceful there for our purposes. But I guess it is the technical capital of the Archipelago for a reason.” Meryn muttered in frustration.

“It’s also the biggest island not totally controlled by Spirits or Cruor. Also, I thought you said we couldn’t take any overt actions, since our level of support here is too low for that?” Kameira said from her place at the table.

A half empty bottle was in her hand, and while she wasn’t obviously drunk in her words or actions, the flush across her face was a clear indicator of her current state.

“I only said we need to be more careful because I believed that it would be difficult to spread the true faith to the people here. But it seems like there are many smaller islands that we can bring the Light to without having to spread ourselves too thin. Just look at this island.” Meryn said as he gestured out a large window to the side.

“Other than having an idiotic name like ‘Breaker’s Bay,’ this island is of medium size, and showed little to no resistance when we arrived. The faith is beginning to spread, and the previous Guild Leaders for the Hull Breakers have all fallen in line.” Meryn said proudly as he waved to the still kneeling Hull Breaker in the room.

The Cult members in the room also stood more proudly. Happy that their faith was spreading, while the Reaching Spire’s Guild members looked conflicted. Some had started converting, while others still looked down on the Cult as nothing more than mindless fanatics, yet they still had to work together.

“First of all, those so-called Guild Leaders can barely be considered as such. There were several dozen of them, and they were more like a ragtag group of Hunters that were calling themselves a Guild. They’re pirates, nothing more.” Kameira said, much to Meryn’s growing frustration.

“Secondly, just because they’re bound by Spirit Covenants doesn’t mean they’ll stay loyal. The fact that these peasants and porters are even partially useful is only thanks to my Guild’s contributions. Really, other than acting as travel guides, I fail to see how these simpletons are in any way needed.”

Kameira’s tone was filled with disdain as she sneered at the Hull Breaker on the far end of the room. She truly hated being here, and dearly wished to return to the mainland, but due to her own Spirit Covenant that was not an option. Not until Ezekiel was killed at least.

“You can go now. Send another messenger when word from Sanafalls arrives.” Meryn spoke to the Hull Breaker Hunter. The man left with nothing more than a nod in Meryn’s direction, and a poorly concealed glare in Kameira’s.

He got several glares in return. Some of the Reaching Spires were likely to look for him later.

“If you are going to continue antagonizing the help in such a manner, then perhaps we should start putting you to good use.” Meryn said after the Hull Breaker had left.

“Considering neither of us wants to be here, let alone deserves to be here, I fail to see why we have to treat our lessers with any sort of politeness. Maybe if they prove their worth, then I’ll be nice.” Kameira said with disdain.

“Considering the only worth that you care about is that of nobility, and no such thing exists in the Archipelago, it seems like you’ll continue to be rude for a while now.” Meryn said back.

Kameira took a swig of her drink, much to Meryn’s disgust. He had tried the drinks available on this island, and he found them utterly disgusting.

“I don’t understand how you can possibly drink that swill. I thought you were more dignified than that.” Meryn’s face twisted in disgust as the scent of the drink burned the inside of his nose.

Kameira just smirked in his direction.

“Well, for one thing, I can numb my tongue. For another, now that I realized just how low I’ve sunk, there’s no need to keep up appearances. Especially in front of you.” She scathingly retorted.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Meryn asked.

“It means that you and I have the same rank now, oh disgraced regent. You’re not my superior anymore. Not when we’re so far from your little Cult. It’d take several weeks for any messages to reach the mainland, so I don’t have to fear you nearly as much as before. Just as much as any other Legendary Hunter.” Kameira told him with a confident smirk on her face.

Meryn, for his part, could only frown at Kameira’s words. As much as he hated to admit it, she technically had a point. He had originally been a stand in for the Cavern Light of the Followers of Radiance’s Seven Lights.

While he was primarily removed from his position because an appropriate Cavern Hunter had been found to take the position, that didn’t mean that the implications and timing hadn’t stained his record.

There were many in their faith that had doubts about his capabilities due to his loss at the hands of Gerome back in the Ruins. His utter failure to ensure the death of a Tier one child who had never left his home city before was something that many thought their leaders were punishing him for. Hence his new placement in the Archipelago.

He knew better, of course. Better to have a man who had already failed once, and would’ve learned from that mistake, than to have a new person on the job that might fall for the same tricks as he had previously.

“I’ll admit that we do indeed hold the same rank among the Cult right now. But that doesn’t mean that this disrespect is at all warranted. Drink if you wish, but do not let it interfere with your duties.” Meryn said, ending the topic of the conversation for now.

He had to admit, though, a part of him dearly wished for a good drink of his own. Just not the pig swill that was so common and popular on this island. A nicely aged wine was what he dearly hoped for.

“Perhaps I can set aside some time to set up a vineyard? They’re rare, but the island does have a few Life Mages.” Meryn couldn’t help thinking to himself, before shaking his head and internally berating himself for having such self-indulging thoughts.

The Life Mages they had were of better use serving their goals, rather than their personal whims.

As he finished his idle thoughts and turned back to the maps and letters on the table, Meryn heard a knock on the door. Gesturing to one of the Cult members to open it, he was surprised to see a handful of people, rather than just a messenger giving a report.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Even more surprising was the woman that was part of the group. She was dressed much more reasonably than the various sailors and citizens of this island. They all tended to dress in whatever rags they could put together from the goods their ships managed to steal from traders and small islands.

The woman was also a Tier three Glacial Mage. One that he hadn’t seen on this island before. Which shouldn’t have been possible, since all the Adepts on the island were required to sign Covenants that bound them to the Followers of Radiance.

“Who might you be?” Meryn asked in a low tone.

Kameira, noticing the same problems that Meryn had, sat up straight, with just the slightest of wobbles, and placed her remaining drink on the table as she focused on the new person in the room.

“My name is Milicent Seryll. I am the previous contact for the Hull Breakers in Sanafalls.” Milicent said to Meryn.

Her voice was tinted with frustration and anger but was held back by no small amount of fear. Her fellow Hull Breakers had informed her of some of the recent happenings when they had landed on the island. Something that she wished she had been made aware of beforehand.

Unfortunately, for her, due to the Spirit Covenants on all Hull Breakers that left the island, they couldn’t warn her about the problems with their home base without losing their Spirits. Else she wouldn’t have demanded that she return here to speak with the Hull Breaker’s leaders.

“And why exactly are you here, rather than in Sanafalls?”

Milicent took a moment to compose herself as she answered.

“There was an incident, and my ties to the Hull Breakers were, unfortunately, put at risk in my attempts to ensure that our loose end was put down.” Milicent explained.

Meryn glared at her as she finished speaking. Something in his gut was telling him that there was more to the story than just that.

“I’m assuming that your loose end is still alive, then? What exactly was this girl aware of that was so dangerous for her to know?”

“She was made aware of several safehouse locations on Sanafalls’ sister islands, as well as the names of several Hull Breaker contacts, including myself.”

Meryn tapped his hand on the table as he thought things over.

“How exactly did you fuck up so badly?” Kameira blurted out before Meryn could speak up.

Milicent winced at Kameira’s harsh tone.

“It wasn’t entirely my fault! If it wasn’t for that little brat that the Church took in then nothing would’ve gone wrong!” Milicent exclaimed.

Meryn and Kameira immediately perked up at the mention of who had thwarted Milicent’s plans.

“What little brat?” Meryn asked. “And how, exactly, did he mess up your plans?”

Milicent was confused for a moment, thinking that the two Legendary figures in front of her wouldn’t be concerned with a child. She had honestly thought they wouldn’t believe her words. Seeing a chance to save herself, she started to explain.

“It was some Void Mage kid that was wearing a robe and badge marking him as an official affiliate of the Church. Somehow, he managed to undo all my work at sabotaging the investigation for the girl.” Milicent explained.

She went into detail regarding the work she put into making sure that the guards doing the investigation were not the best at finding clues and information.

“But, somehow, that kid managed to find more information than any of the guards previously managed to find, combined! Luckily a few of our Tier two Hunters had their Spirits watching, or we would’ve been in trouble even sooner.”

Milicent went on to explain how the Hull Breakers had watchers that informed her of Ezekiel finding information. Which led to her falsifying some documents to get the investigation called off before they could dig any deeper, or worse, send an official team to capture Sasha before they could.

Meryn and Kameira were closely following along with the story. Milicent hadn’t given them a name, but they knew that there was no way there could be another Void Mage Child that was this capable. As such, as far as they were concerned, it had to be Ezekiel, and they were furious at Ezekiel’s interference in their plans, however accidental and indirect it was.

“From there, I informed the Adepts near the city what was happening, and they set an ambush at the girl’s apparent destination. But that stupid brat managed to get a full guard team with three Adept Hunters of his own to fight them off. I only got this information because a Hull Breaker porter was there, and he ran as soon as one of our Adepts was killed.”

Milicent pointed directly at one of the Tier two Hunters that was in the room with them. It was the porter that was waiting with the four Adepts in Sasha’s father’s cabin.

“My last plan was to have the Guards arrest the girl and the kid’s team under false pretenses. However, I knew that I’d be using up the last of my favors, and would soon be investigated myself, due to the orders I was forging, but I needed to make one last shot at tying up that loose end. I don’t actually know what happened after I sent the order for the arrest. If it worked, then the girl is dead, at the hands of another Hull Breaker. If not, then that means the Church of Ten stepped in before things could get messy.”

Meryn and Kameira were silent as they went over the information Milicent had provided them. Kameira was internally seething at the thought of Ezekiel getting in their way again.

You said that you were the porter for the Hull Breaker Adepts that faced the Anathema and his guards?” Meryn addressed the porter that had accompanied Milicent.

At the mention of Anathema, the Followers of Radiance in the room all bristled in anger and hatred. The Reaching Spires members also showed a degree of frustration and anger. While the residents of the island, and the Hull Breakers, displayed confusion at Meryn’s words.

“Anathema?” The porter questioned.

“The Void Mage child! What did he do during this encounter?” Meryn nearly shouted in frustration and impatience.

The porter was startled by the sudden change in Meryn’s demeanor.

“Ah! The kid did something with his sword! Killed the boss’ Spirit and gave him a relatively deep cut across his chest.” The porter explained.

“He did what?! He’s a Void Mage! He shouldn’t be able to do anything besides strengthening his body!” Meryn stood up in anger, his chair flying out from behind him, and slammed his hands on the table, nearly cracking it from the strength he used.

Everyone in the room jumped slightly in surprise and fear. Meryn’s proud and overbearing figure was now replaced by a man who looked like he was ready to kill anyone who looked at him wrong.

“I-I-I d-don’t know how he did it. Just that he seemed to focus his mana into his sword. When he swung it at the boss, nothing seemed to happen. But as soon as the boss moved, cuts appeared that managed to go nearly all the way through his Spirit’s smaller body. I don’t know how it happened, but he really got lucky, because if the boss’ Spirit wasn’t in its small form, it would’ve barely been injured.” The porter spoke quickly, trying to get as much information out as possible.

“Ancients dammit!” Meryn slammed his hand on the table again.

Milicent and the porter watched nervously, while the rest of the people in the room were somewhat wary of what was going to happen. Meryn had never shown this side of himself before.

“I assume that your boss went into a rage due to the shock of losing his Spirit. So he charged forward before the other Adepts, and ended up getting killed immediately because it was three on one, correct?” Meryn assumed but wanted confirmation.

“Yessir!” The porter exclaimed. “At that point, the other three charged forward, and I ran as fast as I could, to make sure this information was passed on.”

“Tch... Coward.” Kameira muttered under her breath.

The porter looked put out by her statement but wasn’t willing to speak up about it. No one else in the room seemed eager to say anything either.

Meryn sat down heavily. It looked like he wanted to sigh in frustration but held himself back from doing so in front of the others in the room.

“Thank you for bringing this to our attention. My orders now are simple. Get more eyes in Sanafalls, specifically on the Anathema. Also, you two.” Meryn spoke, addressing the two people from Sanafalls. “You both will be signing Covenants. You, a Spirit Covenant, and you, a Mana Binding.”

He spoke to the porter and Milicent separately regarding their contracts. Meryn wasn’t about to let these newcomers get the opportunity to leave their services anytime soon. As much as he was thankful for the information, he wasn’t very happy with what had happened either.

Milicent and the porter were quick to sign their respective contracts, binding their services to him and Kameira. He then ordered Milicent to make a record of all her contacts in Sanafalls, as well as a list of all the safehouses and other facilities that belonged to the Hull Breakers on Sanafalls’ islands.

He then ordered the room to be emptied so that he and Kameira could talk privately.

The moment the room was emptied of everyone but their Spirits, Meryn channeled some mana, activating the privacy seals around the room.

He then proceeded to flip the large table in front of himself, throwing all the paperwork he had been working on into the air and scattering it throughout the room. His and Kameira’s familiars looked at him. The former in disappointment and exasperation, the latter in frustration and disdain.

Kameira took a swig from her bottle.

“The Anathema is growing stronger. To be able to kill an Adept Spirit in one swing... Even if it was only due to luck and circumstances, that’s a power that no one can be permitted to have!” Meryn exclaimed in fury.

“You mean, ‘no one that’s a Void Mage or against us,’ don’t you.” Kameira snidely retorted.

“This is not the time! We need to start accelerating our plans. The ease in which we conquered this island means we have a sustainable base of operations, but we will need to do something that can draw the Anathema out from Sanafalls.” Meryn started muttering to himself as tried to think of what they could do.

“Just use the Hull Breakers.” Kameira carelessly threw out a reply.

“How would we do that?” Meryn asked mockingly.

“They’re already known to be after the girl that the kid saved, right? Just use silencing her as revenge as an excuse. The folks in Sanafalls killed some of their members, so just call this revenge. That way, the Hull Breakers can take the fall, and no one in the city has to know that we were involved.” Kameira explained.

A gleam of enlightenment appeared in Meryn’s eye.

“Yes... We can do that, and while the Church of Ten is dealing with pirates, we can spread the faith to some of the smaller islands. Increase our numbers for when we go for our full powered attack.” Meryn quietly planned out.

“If we can start exploring some of the more relatively distant islands, we might even be able to find some Ruins, or other resources that we can use to draw people in. I’m sure the Seven Lights will also not be against sending more assistance, seeing as the Anathema is growing stronger.”

Kameira couldn’t help but roll her eyes at Meryn’s final words. She didn’t care about spreading the faith, or the Cult of Light’s fanatical need to kill Ezekiel. But she wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Especially since more help meant that Ezekiel was likely to die sooner, which meant that she could return to the mainland sooner as well.

“Right then. Well, it’ll take at least two weeks, at the fastest speed, before we get word back from the mainland. What should we, specifically we, do in the meantime? It’s not like your and my followers can afford to go out and get caught right now.” Kameira asked.

“For now, we’ll finish solidifying our control over Breakers Bay. Then we can get our own people to start exploring and traveling to some of the smaller islands that are further off the official routes. Finding a couple of small pirate cove towns would be a great boon.” Meryn said as he rubbed his chin in thought.

“For you, in particular, I have a special job. One I think that you’ll like.”

Kameira perked up, interested in what Meryn had to say.

“This island, while nowhere near as large as Sanafalls, is still big enough that most of it isn’t fully explored, nor is it entirely under human control. How do you feel about living up to your title, and hunting down the Wild Spirits that haven’t been willing to submit to the island’s new rulers.?”

Kameira’s face split into a wide toothy grin. One her Spirit was imitating as best she could with a beak. Both stood up from their respective chair and perch.

“I think that that’s exactly what I need right now. So, which part of the island should I start with?” Kameira asked as the thought of actively hunting down something for stress relief got her blood boiling.

“Take a team and head to the southernmost point of the island. Then work your way up in a zigzag pattern. It’ll take a few months, but by the time you get back up here, I should be finished with my part, and reinforcements should’ve arrived.” Meryn said.

“One more thing!” He called out just before Kameira could open the door and deactivate the privacy enchantments.

“While the woman, Milicent, still has useful information, and is a bit too high profile, the porter is not. So, deal with him, for any coward that will run rather than face the Anathema is not needed in the faith. Don’t let anything be traced back to you.”

Kameira smirked at Meryn’s words. She didn’t care about his claims regarding the faith, but she was happy to have a reason and a target to get herself warmed up before her hunt later on. Nodding her head, she left the room with a happy smile on her face.

Meryn then turned to the very messy room and sighed. He then got to work tidying up the various papers and items in the room. His thoughts wandered to the various plans he had to spread the Light to the people and Spirits of the Archipelago.

At the forefront of these thoughts, was the death of a Void Mage who had been a thorn in their side for barely a year. But one that seemed intent on digging deeper and deeper.